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
So... somewhere between 25 [ heine ] and several thousand [ tsuru probably ], got it.
[ for better or worse heine is terrible at riddles, but he is very good at guns! so he steps closer and reaches out to make some slight adjustments to tsuru's grip. he probably doesn't need to get into real gun hygiene, but it will definitely be useful for tsuru to have a good grip: one hand tight around the grip, the other hand with its fingers folded over the first hand, steadying from the base. ]
The biggest accuracy mistake most people make is looking at the target instead of at your sights. [ those he indicates with one finger: front sight at the end of the barrel, rear sight near the back of the gun. ] These should be lined up. Focus on the one in the front, let the back one be blurry, and line that all up with the target. Then fire.
[ heine it isn't that serious we are doing shooting gallery games. ]
no subject
(Only a single thousand, Heine!
But look, Heine is doing a great job at explaining things but Tsurumaru is too excited. As soon it feels right, he's pulling the trigger which has him jumping back some from surprise. It isn't a real gun so it isn't very loud but it was still louder and stronger than he expected. Mutsunokami makes it look so much easier...)
W'oah!
(Also, he totally missed.)
no subject
[ but he's amused, not really bothered by not knowing. mostly it's just funny to him that white hair is a measurement of age between the two of them, specifically.
the grip is good! the aim... well. ]
Okay, well. [ it's fine! everyone starts somewhere. and it kind of is heine's bad for not warning tsuru better that there would be some kickback. ] Small guns like this don't have much recoil, bigger guns have more. That, you kinda just have to get used to with practice.
no subject
So there's more to it than it seems...
(He's going to try again and get back into the same position he'd been set into earlier. If he aims at the targets like he was told...)
Still, it's easier than a sword.
(And he pulls the trigger. The shot hits the target but it's one of the widest rings. Not the best shot.)
no subject
all heine knows about swords comes from naoto and her batshit insane surrogate brother, and the thought of magato does make his nose wrinkle a little, but he agrees: ] I know a couple swordsmen. Seems intense.
[ heine's a good fighter up close too, but if he can keep some distance between himself and his target, all the better. ]
That's better, by the way. Your grip.
no subject
(Spoken like a true swordsman. Of course, he's going to think his own method is better than others. Still, right now, he focuses on the target once more, settling in and trying to consider how his last shot went and what he can do to adjust it...
The next shot ends up missing completely but not by much.)
... Though, it would be fun to see someone's face when you strike without them ever seeing you.
(A compliment.)
no subject
[ who knows how old tsuru is actually. one million years? thirty years? anything is possible here. but if he's going to call himself old enough to have white hair then heine is going to run with it.
heine watches the next shot bemusedly. overcorrection, not all that surprising. at least he's not surprised by the recoil anymore? ]
I'm not much of a sword guy. I know my way around a knife, but things are easier when I never have to get up close and personal.
—Also that, yeah. Fun to take people out from a distance.
no subject
A knife is easier to get than a gun or a sword.
(He has to readjust his position some. Maybe that's what's wrong? How many shots does he even have on this toy gun... the next shot is high, still in one of the wider rings but at least its back on target.)
Ah, I suppose I'll have to find one soon... (He pulls on the gun, demonstrating how it's attached by a chain,) This city really is no fun.
no subject
he does note that there's no objection to being called old man, which is a little funny. ]
True. I never leave home without one. [ it sounds sarcastic, but he's serious: heine hasn't not had a knife on his person since he arrived. if this place isn't going to give his guns back he has to make do somehow.
ironically, the gun being on a chain makes it even more familiar for heine, but he understands the sentiment. ]
Find a knife? That's easy. You can get a good one and a whestone from the kitchen supply store.
no subject
(He's going somewhere with this really. He only has a few more shots left before his turn runs out and he isn't quite ready to make them. He's more interested in talking about blades but now, he grumbles,)
Imagine, going from the battlefield to the kitchen, and then from the kitchen to the battlefield.... what a life full of surprises!
no subject
[ not that heine has any frame of reference for swordsmithing, but he can certainly understand the frustration of being so skilled at one thing as to make it your life's work, only to be thrust against your will into something else entirely.
(an interesting little mirror for their current situation, isn't it?) ]
Although for me the kitchen is basically a battlefield, so no difference there... [ a self-deprecating snort. heine's cooking is... um, unrivaled. in its ability to destroy tastebuds, that is. ]
no subject
(It might be sad to go from a swordsmith to a kitchen knife maker. And he thinks if he was a sword, he'd be offended to be demoted to a vegetable knife. But good work is good work and it deserves to be recognized.)
Hah! (And he laughs,) I'm not allowed in the kitchen.
(He causes too much trouble. He steals too much food. His ideas are too bad. Even when he tries to genuinely help, things go wrong.)
They call me a menace~
(And no, he's going to try another shot right now. His posture has slackened some since the first time but this shot is closer to the center. Luck, really.)
no subject
Oh, kindred spirits. [ menaces in the kitchen! heine smiles faintly, blink and you miss it, and then nods approvingly at the shot closer to the center, although it's clear that it was really more chance than intent. ] That was good. Just do—whatever that was, but on purpose next time.
[ hah. honestly, heine doesn't get the impression that this dude is necessarily cut out to be a gunslinger, but that's okay—same way heine isn't cut out to be a swordsman. ]
Is that what I should call you too, or do you have a name?
no subject
(And he looks up to see his work. He's totally aware that the shot was luck and his brows knit together as he tries to recall what he just did. He wasn't even trying... but he tries again.
Another wide shot, hitting one of the outer rings and then the final shot is somewhere in between center and wide. When he tries again, nothing happens. He's used up his last shots and he lets out a loud and dramatic sigh, )
Aaaah, I'm really not cut for this! (Get it... because he's a sword.) At this rate, you might as well call me a loser!
(And setting the rifle down carefully and smiles at Heine, a little mischievous even if he tries to be friendly,)
But I prefer "Tsurumaru."
no subject
heine picks up one of the other guns and fires off a couple of pellets, precisely accurate. ]
Loser is a little mean. [ a twitch of amusement at the corner of heine's mouth. nothing wrong with a little mischief, either. ] Tsurumaru is nicer. I'm Heine.
no subject
(Even if he is a sword, he appreciates skill and that includes skill with a gun. These youths these days are so impressive.)
Facts are facts and a loss is a loss; even if it's cruel, it's true!
(He speaks so lightly and in an almost sing-song like tone that it's obvious he's poking fun at himself. As proud as he is, he can admit when he's no good. Not being able to would make him foolish and that's worse than being a loser.)
Heine-kun, let's try blades next time. I'll be sure to surprise you.