WE WERE DREAMING, WAITING FOR NIGHT.
» THE PARK — INTRODUCTORY NOTES
When District 3 opens up, subtle and silent at first, the most noticeable area is the large park. A mixture of open picnic fields and heavily wooded trails, the park offers an escape from the cityscapes for those who seek an oasis amongst nature. Benches and light posts dot the twisting paths, offering a moment's rest to anyone traversing the park for a leisurely stroll or running for… exercise. Unlike its smaller cousin to the south, this park is devoid of statues or monuments, instead more of a tribute to nature and the pursuit of its company. There are, however, several small playgrounds spread around the outer edges for anyone who seeks some playtime with their inner child.
Speaking of your inner child, should you venture to the southern half of the park, you'll find a small carnival that appears to be abandoned. The rides and stalls all appear to be in decent condition despite lying still and silent; if you choose to hop the fence, you'll find that the cables running haphazardly over the grass are connected but powerless. No amount of effort to turn on the rides nor break into the games will prove fruitful, but the park at large has posters stapled to trees here and there advertising the opening of the fun fair very, very soon.
For those who are brave enough to leave the paved walkways to venture deeper into nature, you may find hidden gems—a quiet pond covered in lilypads with a small dock to sit on and dip your feet into the green waters; a romantic pair of swings atop a small knoll overlooking a creek; a shortcut through the trees where even your footsteps are muted by the leaves and dappled sunlight barely reaches your face through the trees above. Here and there you'll find the woods open up to a secluded meadow where the grass is tall and the wildflowers grow thick.
You may also find yourself imagining things just out of reach, like shadowy figures darting from bush to bush, predatory in nature. The phantom call of a crow may echo through the forest's canopy though, like the rest of the city, there is no wildlife to be seen nor heard otherwise. Was that the shout of a woman in the distance, or the cry of a fox? The longer time stretches on, the harder you'll find it is to make your way back out of the treeline, and the trees stretch far above to block out any hope of navigating back to the familiar buildings of the surrounding city. You might want to call for help—if you get find service for your device, that is.
The new park is a permanent location that is open to residents 24/7 as there are no fences nor gates. It's larger than the one new City Hall and has more potential for exploring as well as different features from its cousin. For those that are familiar, it will evoke thoughts of New York's Central Park with its mixture of open areas contrasting with thick woods. Paved walkways, freshwater ponds, picnic areas, and a couple of playgrounds can all be found throughout the park. Along with these, residents may stumble upon other natural and man-made areas such as rocky outcrops, unmarked trails, bicycle paths, fountains, and other things typically found in large urban parks—minus the wildlife. It can be a romantic setting as easily as it can be a horrific one depending on the time of day as well as the company that you keep.
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THEN THE HEAT BROKE, THE NIGHT WAS CLEAR.
» THE FAIR — RIDES & ATTRACTIONS
At 6:00 PM City time on September 19th, the numerous light bulbs of the fun fair burst into blinding color simultaneously, lighting up the darkening sky as loud carnival music slowly churns to life from unseen speakers. The rides all spring into motion, operating on a strict schedule that will allow carnival-goers the time to get on the ride as well as stumble back off after they've had their fun. No one is running the rides that you can see, though they all have the typical podium with an array of buttons that could be used to start and stop the machinery that creaks and groans with age. If you'd like to see what it's like working as a rider operator, you're more than welcome—just make sure you're not making everyone sick.
Due to the fair's small size, the rides are all fairly tame in size and speed. There's a merry-go-round with brightly painted horses to ride along with a handful of mermaids, sculpted hair permanently billowing in the wind. One section at the edge is dedicated to a massive stationary head, evocative of a ventriloquist's dummy, with its mouth gaping open for riders to sit inside, perched on the tongue-shaped bench. For the braver riders, a few other unnerving steeds await, such as a lion with blood dripping from its teeth and claws, a zebra with eight legs, an uncomfortably hairy tarantula, and a gray-skinned creature with its eyeless head split open into a massive mess of razor-sharp teeth. Though the merry-go-round spins at a leisurely pace, staying on if for too long is likely to induce a strange sense of dizziness even after disembarking and attempting to walk it off. The repetitive groan of the pipe organ rings in your ears, hardly helping your disorientation at all though you seek a quiet place to recuperate.
Further along in the fair is a low building comprised of little more than a laminate floor, metal grating roof, and bright red railing that encloses all sides. Strewn about inside are bumper cars, big enough for two if you want to squish in together with a friend, but lacking seatbelts. As you run to find a car you like, you can hear the electricity begin to hum through the roof and spark with the bent antennae of each car as their motors awaken. Loud rock music drowns out the sound of squealing wheels as the drivers begin the arduous task of steering the bumper cars into each other. It's all fun and games at first, but it's easy for a little competition to turn into a grudge match.
The last ride looks like a large metal bowl with steep sides painted dark blue and covered with stars, plantes, galaxies, and a comically simplistic spaceship. The archway standing just in front of the ride's entrance calls it "THE GRAVI-ATOR" with a disclaimer in small print about holding on tightly to personal belongings once on the ride. Stepping into the door cut out in one side, you'll find there are no straps nor seats—everyone should find themselves a comfortable place to lean, preferably in one of the spots that has padding on the walls, because soon the ride will begin to spin and everyone will be pinned down by centrifugal force.
Though they may not be as thrilling as the mechanical rides, there are a few tamer attractions for those seeking a break from the bright lights and loud sounds of the carnival. A hall of mirrors stands to one side of the area, a gaping clown mouth serving as the entrance to the dark building. The laughter and screams from outside are quickly muffled as atmospheric music plays lowly while you try to navigate through a maze of mirrors, many of which distort your appearance. You may see flashes of people that you don't remember seeing come inside, oddly shaped and shadowy where the corners of two mirrors meet. Did you feel someone brush up against you? No, impossible in such tight corridors, but you should probably hurry along to the exit.
There is also, of course, a tunnel of love, though it is a cheap imitation of one. Rather than sitting in a romantic gondola, those interested in going through will do so on foot—a rather daunting task considering that you'll be in the dark once you walk through the heart-shaped door and through the musty red curtains. Still, there's enough time to steal a kiss, or grasp blindly for a hand to hold if you're scared of the dark. Has your lover always had such cold, rough hands? It might be soothing in the muggy warmth you find inside, or maybe it's reason enough to find the way out on your own.
Located in the southern half of the large park is a small fun fair that will open to the public the evening of September 19 with operating hours from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM City time. Before opening, none of the rides or games will be operational; however, there will be fliers advertising its opening all around the city on billboards and telephone poles, and adventurous characters are able to hop the fence and explore if they so desire. However, they will not be able to turn on any of the rides or games, and will not be able to break into the rides or booths under any circumstances.
Upon opening, there will be a number of rides running themselves on a schedule that allows people time to get on, have some fun, and then get back off again. Though there's something unsettling about the music they play, or maybe how shaky they feel, there's no apparent danger anywhere. Residents are encouraged to enjoy themselves with a group of friends, or maybe a date, and experience all that the fun fair has to offer! The fair will not be open forever, though; its gates will close permanently at 11:00 PM on September 30 and all traces will disappear that night to leave a large, open field behind in the park.
This is a good, ol' fashioned carnival designed to bring together groups of people for thrills and fun. Though there are no overt game mechanics at play, we encourage everyone to get creative and add their own flair to this month's event. If you have any questions about player plots you'd like to run, please revisit the Events & Interactions section of the F.A.Q. and drop us a comment on the mod contact for any additional questions.
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IT SEEMED AN HONOR TO HAVE A MOUTH.
» THE FUN — GAMES & FOOD
The majority of the fair is occupied by stalls full of fair games, their walls and awnings decorated in various themes to match. The shooting gallery is a scene from the American West, cowboys astride horses with a background of cacti and orange rocky mesas. The targets themselves are a variety of desert animals: vultures flying from the roof, lizards skittering along the ground, and coyotes chasing rabbits throughout the middle. A handful of rifles are waiting along the half wall in front, chained and bolted to the wooden surface to keep them from getting carried off, and an array of hats hang above them as prizes displayed for winners. There are the typical cowboy hats, then some pink and green ones, some multi-colored jester hats, and a few that look like uncomfortably realistic rubber masks of faces twisted into horrifying expressions.
The next stall over is as different as can be imagined with psychedelic rainbows, glow-in-the-dark smiley faces, and paint splotches covering all surfaces. Inside is a grid of brightly colored balloons that rain silver glitter once they're popped. Cups of plastic darts lie in wait for those who wish to try their luck to pop five balloons in a row, though the observant will notice there are only four darts per cup. The sides are lined with prizes ranging from sticky fingers, slide whistles, and bouncy balls to an assortment of blow-up weapons such swords, hammers, maces, and frying pans.
Another quintessential carnival game is ring toss, set up in an extra large stall with three open sides for groups to play together if they wish. The bottles are all uniform in size, shape, and their clear color, but if you get a good look at a few, some appear to have items floating inside of them, suspended in glowing liquid. Above, massive stuffed animals hang from every possible section of the ceiling. None of them look quite right, though, such as the smiling bear with an extra row of teeth or the goose with two heads at the end of one floppy neck. The dog is pretty cute, but it's missing an arm and a leg in a way that appears intentional, and that cat has its eyes sewn shut.
Of course, no fair would be complete without food. There are plenty of stalls ready to serve, much like the restaurants in the city, where residents are welcome to swing by for some greasy grub. Corn dogs, fries, funnel cake, pizza, shaved ice, and fried junk food are all easy to find around the carnival. Spread amongst the stalls are popcorn machines playing cheerful music, carts with towering racks of bagged cotton candy, and poles planted in the ground with rainbow lollipops and candied apples sprouting from them. In one corner of the fair where the biggest concentration of food stalls can be found, there is an area of tables with umbrellas for anyone to sit and eat. Food at the fair adheres to it's own unique reset cycle and can be found replenished every evening at 6:00PM just in time for opening.
Despite the potential for danger from the shooting gallery and balloon dart games, both are designed to be as harmless as possible—the bullets are rubber, and the darts are made of plastic. While they will still leave a bruise, there shouldn't be risk of blood loss. The shooting gallery guns are chained in place, unable to be stolen. Removing the darts from their stall will result in thiefs walking in a tight circle that always brings them back in hopes the darts will be restored to their rightful place.
Though the food and games are free, the prizes are not—anyone who attempts to steal prizes without winning the games first will find themselves misplacing their items before leaving the carnival. If residents become aware of this phenomenon and try extra hard to focus on not losing their stolen prize, it will nevertheless slip from their hands and be lost—though a keen eye might see it back in its rightful place at the game stall. If you have the right temperament, this could become a game in and of itself!
Additionally, if there are any fair games or foods that have not been explicitly mentioned above, players are welcome to assume they can be found. Nothing as extravagant as a theme park or amusement park will be present as all of the stalls are designed to be mobile—this is a traveling carnival, after all. Similarly, players are welcome to design their own brand of unsettling game prizes as long as none of them can be used as an actual weapon or to otherwise harm fellow fair-goers.
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WILDCARD.
The city is by no means small, and there are plenty of things for you to see. There's no rush in exploring, so feel free to take your time looking around and peering into various nooks and crannies and alleyways—and don't worry, you're not very likely to find anything peering back.
If none of the above prompts appeal, feel free to check out the Locations and Maps pages and write your own freestyle prompt using one or many of the available locations.
This month's event headers come from "Midsummer" by Louise Gluck.
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citylogs2023-09-19 09:00 pm
no subject
[ maybe not as good as this weird addictive popcorn, but pretty good. heine hasn't always been a reliable eater of vegetables, most especially because fresh vegetables were hard to get his hands on back home; here, at least badou has sort of trained heine into eating balanced meals.
the comment about the popcorn being laced makes heine pause briefly, then give welt a withering look with no real heat behind it as he pops another few kernels in his mouth like he's daring the powers that be to do anything. ] If it's my time, it's my time.
[ that's a joke too! ]
But I meant are you having fun.
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Just kidding. That little act of faux mourning cuts off abruptly anyway at the clarification, his eyelids popping back open in surprise and his mouth opening in a tiny o of surprise. ]
Oh! [ He really should have seen that coming. ] Yes, I am, thanks for asking. It's been a long time since I've gotten the chance to relax like this. The last time I had the chance to go sightseeing, I was on babysitting duty.
[ Babysitting two of the most chaotic gremlins in the universe while his usual co-handler was off chasing his own demons. Truly a tragic time. ]
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[ and that's including heine's own, which is plenty weird by a lot of people's standards! but at least he stays in the same universe, with the notable exception of right now in this city. in comparison, babysitting seems fairly normal, except that heine can't figure how somebody who babysits can also be a dimension-crossing traveler. ]
It isn't bad, [ heine says slowly as he looks back out toward the fair. the lights are still a little too bright and the music jangles a little too loudly, but there's no danger waiting for them behind any of the corners. that's a welcome change. ] You've been to a fair before?
no subject
Or would, if he ever bothered talking about more than just a few bits and scattered pieces here and there. ]
After. I was too busy teaching, before that.
[ Too busy trying to guide young folks onto the right path until he accidentally steered one person way off-course by lying to her. But better to not think about that right now. He leans forward in his seat, elbows resting on the top of his thighs. ]
It sounds exciting, but I was really only there for half an hour. Not even. Just enough time to get a brief look around at the area I was in and talk a little with the hosts before I got kicked out.
[ Why does this sound more like a dinner party gone wrong than an actual trek into something that should be unconceivable? ]
no subject
Are we talking about the... what were they called? Candies... something sweet.
[ to be fair, there was a lot going on in the mall at the time, so heine's pretty impressed that he remembers any details about the pocket universe at all, except that it existed and welt went there. ]
Half an hour in a pocket universe still seems like an impressive way to spend your time.
no subject
[ He corrects the term absentmindedly, reaching over to grab a few more crunchy kernals of popcorn. Pom-Pom had been on a health kick before they'd arrived at the Luofu, and had temporarily banned most snack foods outside of fruit and veggie sticks. It's a nice feeling now, to return to buttery, greasy foods that are sure to destroy his gut if he consumes too large a quantity. That's a problem for future him though. ]
They're actually quite nice, it was just the circumstances of our initial meeting that were—unfortunate. [ To say the least. ] Pretty cute too, though I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate me saying so.
[ Lil gray fuzzballs.... ]
But I suppose you're right. It's always worth the time getting to see unexpected sights, unfurl just a little more of the vastness of the universe. [ He looks over to Heine. ] What kinds of things would you want to see, if you had the chance?
no subject
heine's happy to share the popcorn, too. it's good, he's liking it, but he can already tell that if he ate the whole thing himself he'd regret it deeply in about four hours, and he's not trying to have his first brush with food poisoning here in this godforsaken city. ]
Dude, I have to know the story. This is killing me. [ it's like catching the first 15 minutes of a television drama and then never getting to see the end. not that heine has extensive experience with either television or cliffhangers, but he imagines that's what it would be like. ] How did you end up traveling to a pocket universe to liaise with a race of tiny cute creatures named after sweetener?
[ please save him from his own curiosity, he BEGS. ]
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Still, his mild smile never wavers. ]
Are you sure? It's not a very exciting story?
[ Is he just trying to buy himself some time right now to figure out what to say? Maybe. ]
no subject
not a good story, then. definitely not as cute as the name of the creatures might imply. heine nods slowly, then says, ] Not exciting, huh?
[ a shrug. ]
Guess we can skip it, then.
[ because heine might not be kind, but he's not about to make welt sit here and relive something unpleasant for his own benefit. he's had just about enough of reliving anything for a while, and he bets welt feels the same. ]
no subject
His smile turns crooked - half-apologetic, half-bitter (but at himself and not Heine) - and he sits up with a little more gusto, butter-smeared fingers gesturing casually in the air as if to dispel the sudden awkwardness that's been layered over them like a blanket. ]
No, no, it's fine. Just—old memories, you know? Sometimes they're good, and sometimes they're a little less good.
[ The circle of life, dragging them through an endless cycle of happiness and grief. He's seen his fair share of both and he's sure Heine has too. Straightening, Welt crosses his hands lightly in his lap. ]
Do you believe in aliens?
no subject
[ he gives it some thought now, at least: he's never seen any proof that they exist, but nobody has ever seen any proof that heine should exist either, so that definitely doesn't rule them out.
besides, he might not know much about space but he's fairly sure it's big, and it would probably be weird if there was only one planet out there that had life on it. right? ]
I guess I do? I've never met one, but I figure... space is big, or so I'm told. There's probably more than once place where stuff can live.
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You're right about that. [ Look at Heine, so smart. ] The Sugars are aliens, actually, but unfortunately their planet was invaded by another race and they decided to flee instead of risking it all to try and reclaim their planet.
[ The age-old story of domination of one race over another... ]
Their temporary home was a separate dimension - the Candy Jar. [ These names really sound like something ripped directly from the imagination of a five year old. ] It was—hang on, it's probably easier if I show you.
[ Is Heine ready for a series recap because that's what's happening right now as Welt lifts up one slightly buttery hand, a fuzzy image appearing above his palm of a homey little place, decorated with gumball lampposts and toffee steps. Not a perfectly clear rendition, the image shot through with lines and other static, but clear enough to pass along the gist of the setting. ]
no subject
the name of the dimension makes heine's eyebrows go straight up, though. ] You're telling me an alien race called the Sugars just coincidentally ended up in a dimension named the Candy Jar?
[ ISN'T THAT A LITTLE ON THE NOSE. heine is distracted from further protesting by the way welt projects an image somehow directly into the cup of his palm, the first time heine has ever seen someone do that. mystery after mystery, welt yang. he leans forward. a little to get a better look at it, looks up at welt, and then visibly decides to hold his questions for the end. ]
Looks cute.