A TRAIN COMES INTO THE STATION.
You wake up on a train.
Your phone is buzzing. It's in your pocket, in your hand, on the seat next to you. It's a normal phone, and you're on a normal train car. One of the lights flickers, a little further down. The world is very quiet. It feels like you're right where you're meant to be. On the phone's surface is a white screen and the words—
WELCOME TO THE CITY. BEGIN ORIENTATION?
▶ NO
Please take a moment to complete your orientation.
Once you're finished, the subway doors slide open to let you out onto the train platform. To your right, the platform continues on and eventually ends; to the left is a set of stairs that will lead you up into the station itself. The platform is quiet, clean, empty—there's no one else around, and the only sounds you can hear are your own footsteps, your own breaths, and the occasional faraway sound of a creaking pipe or rush of air. The train you disembarked will stay there as long as you do, its doors still open, until you finally decide to venture up into this new locale.
As you make your way up the stairs to your left, you find yourself in the belly of City Hall station. The station is large, a sprawling underground mini-metropolis of corridors and storefronts. Here, you may find others like you, freshly-arrived city residents from other realms (or even your own). There is also a subway map, which will give you an idea of the layout of the neighborhood, and ticketing machines, which can currently only be used to buy tickets to a handful of stations located on lines 1, 2, and 9.
If you're hungry or in need of any kind of supplies, there are plenty of storefronts inside the subway station as well—snack stands, convenience stores, restaurants, clothing stores, a pharmacy, and a variety of empty shops that may or may not have ever been in use. Everything is unlocked, and you can take whatever you need.
Characters may stay on the train platform indefinitely, and may re-board and re-disembark from the subway as many times as they like, but the train will not depart nor will the doors close. Once they go up the stairs into the train station, they may hear the train doors closing and the train departing. Another train will not arrive, no matter how long the character waits. Only once they come up the stairs into the station itself may characters encounter their fellow newly-arrived residents and take advantage of what the city has to offer.
JUMP TO TOP ↑ | ↓ JUMP TO COMMENTS
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
The station is located in the city center. It has three major exits that lead to areas of interest in the district, but there are several other smaller exits that lead in other directions around the neighborhood. You are welcome to use any of them, but may find the north, southwest, and east exits to be the most welcoming.
TO THE NORTH
The northern entrance to the station leads up into the sunlight and puts you out in a brickwork plaza. There's a modest building in front of you, three or four stories of stone with a welcoming facade. There's a sign above the entryway—it says City Hall. You may be tempted to explore, if you're interested in learning more about the city and how it functions, but prepare to find yourself disappointed—the folders in the records rooms are full of empty, blank sheets of paper, and the logbooks and balance sheets are similarly devoid of information.
Immediately to the southwest of City Hall, you will find a small building that houses the tourist information kiosk. It looks welcoming, with an inviting glass facade and a sign above the entryway announcing it as the "TOURIST CENTER." It's a humble building with a receptionist's desk on the back wall opposite the entrance, empty magazine shelves lining the side walls, and a few spinning brochure racks full of blank pamphlets. Anyone is welcome to peruse the tourist literature, though they won't offer much information, being primarily filled with pictures of the surrounding area—City Hall, the park, a statue garden, and the surprisingly heavily-featured cemetery. There are a few sentences sprinkled throughout about basic offerings of the city, such as apartment complexes and office buildings, as well as a few maps with the same limited scope as the larger version on the wall behind the receptionist's desk.
The main feature of the tourist center is the interactive kiosk installed dead in the center, right in the middle of a few rows of uncomfortable chairs that fill the small room. It's noticeably in the way of any would-be foot traffic through the tourist center, and something about the technology seems a little more modern than the computer behind the desk or the landline phone on the wall. The kiosk is a tall silver rectangle, about average adult height, and the upper half is a screen welcoming visitors to touch it to activate the kiosk. If you were to touch it, the screen would come to life with simple dialogue inviting visitors to ask it their questions.
However, residents should note that the kiosk is only programmed to assist with exploration within the available areas of the city. It may not be able to answer every question, and tampering with the kiosk may result in unreliable or inaccurate answers!
TO THE SOUTHWEST
The western exit of the station takes you up into a city park, lush and green with a very light fog still hanging about the trees. There are lampposts on the walkways and benches where you could rest, and plenty of flora, although you can neither see nor hear any signs of animal life. You walk the paths that meander idly through the verdant grass and you feel a sense of peace, some of your unease about this place easing into a pleasant calm. The air smells fresh, like it's recently rained, and you'll find the grass ever so slightly damp should you decide to take a seat.
As you make your way deeper into the park, the trees grow denser and the smell of soil and plant life grows stronger. This is the older part of the park, very nearly a forest, with ivy climbing the trunks of the trees and plants and shrubs growing riotously around their bases. As you turn a corner, you find yourself first in the statue garden, although the statues are harder to see now, choked as they are with ivy. There are many statues, some partially obscured, some fully—very few of them still stand free of the vines and clinging roots. (It doesn't feel quite as peaceful here.) If a statue's face looks a little bit familiar, you may not want to look at it too long.
Continue down the path and you will find yourself in a graveyard, one that seems centuries old. Most of the headstones are worn away by time and covered in moss, rendering them impossible to read. The few that are free of moss are blank, or bear only suggestions of names too faint to be understood. (Was that the name of—no, it couldn't have been. Could it?) Many of the headstones stand at an angle or are toppled over completely, having been subjected to either strong winds or the roots of the trees that grow up from some of the graves, spreading branches toward the sky.
TO THE EAST
The final exit of the station, to the east, puts you out on a quiet surface street. Are you hungry? Or are you paralyzed by choice? There are plenty of restaurants, offering options of almost any food you can imagine. You could try a convenience store—it's well stocked, and the items there seem free for the taking. How about a restaurant? There's no one to take your order, but when you look in the kitchen, there's something on the stove, and it's just what you've been craving. Imagine that.
A few blocks down, you come in through the lobby of a tall building and find yourself in a corporate office. The fluorescent lights are steady and unforgiving, and the cubicles and offices are empty. There are a few pieces of paper on desks, a few folders left in organizers, but everything is perfectly blank. Despite how empty and quiet the office is, it nonetheless gives you the feeling that just a few minutes ago, this place was bustling with workers going about their daily business.
You enter another building and find yourself in the lobby of an apartment complex—finally, a place to rest. The first door you try opens easily into a completely empty living room, freshly vacuumed but without a single piece of furniture. It's a nice apartment, quiet, but with a little too much echo for your taste, maybe. Still, and perhaps oddly, you have no trouble envisioning what life here would be like.
The second door you open leads to an apartment that feels lived-in. Why does it feel lived-in? It's fully furnished with items that seem to go together perfectly, true, but the feeling is more than that—the room feels like someone was just here, maybe standing right in the kitchen only moments before you swung the door open. The air is a perfectly comfortable temperature, and it somehow smells like home despite that you've never once set foot here before. The refrigerator is stocked, and the cabinets are full of spices and flatware and kitchen utensils.
As you look around the living room, you find that there are pictures in frames on the walls and some of the flat surfaces—a seascape, a field, a shot of a city park bench. In each of the photos there's something just slightly wrong with the angle, as though the photographer were aiming for a subject that can no longer be seen.
Characters are welcome to explore the district around the City Hall subway station to their heart's content. The City Hall building itself contains several floors of offices and file rooms, but none of them contain any particularly interesting information. Nonetheless, characters may wish to team up with other newcomers and try to find some hints about the nature of the city. They can also spend a while in the park, the statue garden, or the graveyard. In the blocks surrounding the station there are plenty of options for food and housing, as well as office buildings, storefronts, and alleyways to look around. There are no workers in any of the buildings, and there does not seem to be an honor system for payment, nor any consequences for taking food from the stores or setting up camp in an apartment or office building.
JUMP TO TOP ↑ | ↓ JUMP TO COMMENTS
SO A TURKEY WALKS INTO A BOWLING ALLEY...
There's a bowling alley open in the newly-accessible district, and you're invited to come test your mettle!
Walking into the lobby, you're struck by a peculiar combination of scents—shoe polish, floor wax, pretzels and nachos, and something pungent and a little oily. On the wall behind the desk is a shelf full of pair after pair of shoes, in every size you could possibly imagine, and there's a low rack filled with brightly-colored, heavy bowling balls that are ready for the taking. You can also hear the low hum of machinery and the rattle of pins being reset every time someone knocks them down, the bowling alley a well-oiled machine despite the fact that no one seems to be manning it.
You can bowl alone, start a match play (1-v-1), or bowl as a team, but you'll quickly find that bowling is much more fun (and somehow easier) when you're playing with others. Maybe it's because being around other people raises your spirits, but you feel more confident when you step up to bowl, and you find that when you're playing as part of a team, the bowling ball travels faster and in a straighter line, and you seem to be making strikes and spares with much greater frequency. Teamwork really does make the dream work!
If you occasionally see what you think might be the shadow of someone passing behind the machinery at the far end of the lane, don't worry about it—that's probably just your imagination.
If you stop by the bowling alley at night, you will find the place totally transformed. There's a disco ball hanging from the ceiling and brightly-colored lights flashing and dancing around the floor and walls. Any white parts of your clothing glow a delightful blueish color, and you find that you're illuminated in all kinds of interesting shades by the blacklight bulbs glowing in the ceiling. This is cosmic bowling, truly not for the faint of heart!
When you've finished bowling, you may want to stop by the snack area for a pretzel or hot dog, a soda, or—if you're there for cosmic bowling—maybe even a more adult beverage from the food counter on the far end of the building.
There isn't anything especially spooky about the bowling alley—except, of course, being forced to wear shoes that have been worn by a hundred strangers before. Characters are welcome to find their shoe size, grab a bowling ball, and go to town! Characters who come during the day will encounter a normal bowling alley, but they can always come back at night to get the full cosmic bowling experience. There will always be shoes in their sizes, the pins will reset themselves, and the balls will always be returned. Just be careful, those ball chutes can crush your fingers if you're not careful!
JUMP TO TOP ↑ | ↓ JUMP TO COMMENTS
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.
JUMP TO TOP ↑
|
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
citycenter) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
citylogs2023-07-01 11:00 am
arjuna — fate/grand order
( i wish... for eternal solitude.
and yet to his privileged vision this is anything but, the multiplicity of identities that travel about him in this eerie space, the very same faces stepping off the platform time and time again, so difficult to ignore. the first step is noticeably dull, and instantly arjuna can tell that something is off... mostly, with himself. his hands that found no joy in sieving through treasure were less adept at gripping the railing, let alone summoning a bow to his side. even attempting to conjure up any greater magic had it trickling traitorously through his fingers, dispersing quickly into the air.
had he not been summoned here to do war, then, to fight alongside the last vestiges of humanity?
i wish...
arjuna walks, and walks, puzzled by his ability to gradually feel the weight of exhaustion as if he were human, as if this place in all its silence wished to ground his overwhelming confidence. this handicap would take some getting used to. when arjuna next rouses from his thoughts, a dim light from overhead spotlights the surrounding vegetation and the vague impressions carved into each headstone. a graveyard. he takes a quick look around him, unamused, and then--
the thump of his heart, like a drum. that engraving...
it couldn't be.
something sits heavy on his chest, makes his breath shallow, but before he can inspect a particular headstone he hears the strong crack of a branch behind him, whipping around with forearm raised as if to block an incoming attack. )
( while he's fully aware the quickest way to replenish one's energy is the consumption of food, he... was hoping... he might find himself alone at his first choice. alas. the prince remains in his booth, not about to make things exceptionally awkward for the two of them, or draw any untoward attention to himself. nevertheless, he notices a decrease in his appetite once he realizes the meals are arriving without an announcement or exchange of hands. peculiar much?
as soon as the stranger he's sharing this restaurant with reaches for something, arjuna lowers his menu to break his silence and usher a warning: )
Are you sure it's safe?
( harass arjuna as you see fit. )
ii
What do you suggest we do if it isn't?
[ yoink! the pause doesn't last for long. he snags a piece. instead of immediately chowing down, he seemingly inspects it in front of him. ]
There's an absence of life so there's nothing to hunt. I don't have the familiarity with botany to know what's safe to forage, but it feels logical to assume everything would come from the same source. While the word of someone you don't know probably doesn't mean much, for what it's worth— [ cue plopping the piece in his mouth, a chew, and a swallow— ] I've been here for a few weeks now.
[ … notably and purposefully, it isn't a yes or no. so, it kind of is implicit that he doesn't quite trust what he's eating. ]
no subject
( descending upon the city with eyes full of stars to find nothing to sustain their light: his experience thus far. these empty streets and this second life without need for his determination or the brilliance of a warrior—it's as vexing as it is comforting.
( but such feelings are unbecoming of a hero and so, again, again, he suppresses them— )
he wonders vaguely, as this stranger, this boy, seems to savor his every bite, if he posits this place to be a paradise or a prison. )
I don't doubt your word. At the very least, if something were wrong with these dishes, I don't believe I would suffer unduly. Still, this arrangement may as well be akin to unseen gods invoking to give their blessings when and wherever they wish. Perhaps there will be a catch at some point.
( so serious. )
no subject
There are plenty of other things to think about: how, why, where. [ nothing to feel bad about. ] It's a lot to take in.
[ While Aqua's expression doesn't read that he's particularly enjoying himself, the signs from his body language show that he very well is. Despite going at his meal, he is ensuring he swallows before he speaks— it's just once one physically experiences metabolisms slowing down with age, it's hard not to appreciate what one gets as a teenager. ]
And, most likely. We're in the perfect setup for a dystopia. [ There are enough uncanny happenings to have reasonable assumption that the shoe will drop at some point… ] I'd agree that whoever or whatever's responsible for this would have to have nothing short of a god-complex to want to accomplish this in the first place, at least.
[ A sigh. ] Anyway, you came here because you were hungry, right?
[ he wouldn't say it's exactly awkward but he is the only one going at food here…… he's starting to feel like a glutton. ]
i
[ Said perpetrator of Crushed Branch Incident III.6 (she has stepped on a few branches today) waves her hands in front of her in perfectly non-attacking and nonthreatening behavior. She at least seems to recognize this tall stranger is a little quick to react and the last first impression she wants to make is of someone who's about to pick a fight.
... Which, maybe she's been like that before, but he's not a Magical Girl for obvious reasons and she's not like that anymore.
Cautiously, she lowers her hands. ]
I didn't want to bother you if you were, uh... mourning? I was just looking around...
no subject
Mour... ning?
( anything but.
the word lacerates his thoughts, scattering them in an instant before he can even make some excuse for his actions. still, he gathers them... slowly, slowly, brow furrowing. gathers himself together as fast as possible to project the goodness expected of him.
he takes a step back, lowering his arm and regretful gaze to the girl before him. )
I ought to be the one apologizing. Forgive me. This place simply... evokes some bitter memories.
( a foolishness that should've been behind him. )
no subject
It's okay. Cemeteries are kind of rough for me, too. Probably for a lot of people, for a lot of different reasons. I think it's pretty easy to get caught up in your thoughts and not be ready to have someone else show up.
[ So her smile's still a little apologetic. ]
no subject
the thin lines of arjuna's lips crease with quiet discontent over his actions. )
One could argue you're being far too charitable towards a stranger, but... I appreciate your concern. Yes, I found myself a bit unsettled by the nature of our surroundings.
( he angles his head back slightly, in the direction of the disheveled gravestones. an endless stretch of meaningless stone. )
Have you seen them yet for yourself?
no subject
I'm Tsuruno Yui, by the way! [ to prove her point, and his question sounds enough like an invitation that she thinks she can maybe traipse a little closer, which she does. ]
But I haven't yet... is something up with it, if you're unsettled? [ Rather, if he's asking her that, it sounds like there's definitely something weird about it. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
ii
he only glances up when the food suddenly starts appearing before him and a question is posed. ]
... Well.
[ he supposes that there's no telling if it is, but he hasn't fallen over and passed out yet? despite the strange things he's had since arriving? gepard lowers his fork and knife, frowning grimly at the plate of fluffy pancakes in front of him.
what a waste if he's not going to eat it, but the other male's apprehension is justified. ]
Would you rather we cook?
[ does he know how to cook? ]
no subject
I'd be more at ease if it passed through my hands first, yes. Not that I'm as concerned on my behalf.
( technically, a familiar sewn together with magical sinew like himself didn't need to eat. there were other ways to restore his energy.
nevertheless, he is here for that very reason. )
"Accidental" poisoning is regrettably not uncommon, and with our captors unknown to us, I believe it... wise to be a little more cautious.
( in other words: yes. cooking good. )
no subject
since he's offering, then gepard's assuming he can cook. in which case, he's down to make their own food. again, it's a waste not to partake in any of the ones offered by some disembodied entity in the establishment, but concern over the things they put in their mouths is very sound.
even if gepard doesn't see any reason why someone (or something) would try to poison them after going through the effort of bringing them here. ]
Very well.
[ he starts removing his gloves and cloak, leaving them in the booth he's sitting in. can't cause any accidents by having them catch on fire. ]
Do you have any preferences for food? Any sensitivies that I need to take note of?
no subject
the other gentleman is rather impressive in how fast he responded to the challenge of making a meal not just for himself, but for the two of them. it's even a bit... embarrassing, what with arjuna not having offered his services first when he was the one who voiced his doubts, and he holds in a sigh of disappointment over his own reluctance to act.
yes, a warrior of hastinapura like himself can cook, though perhaps not as well as his older brother bhima, for whom even the wind appeared to favor as it carried the aroma of his cooking enthusiastically on the air. )
None that I can recollect, but...
( a response to either query. when was the last time he went looking for a meal simply to enjoy it? he raises from his seat with a hand against the table. )
I would think I should be the one preparing the meal for you. A spirit as gifted as myself is more than capable.
no subject
what a strange combination of words, one that gepard ponders on but decides not to question. since arriving in this place, there are a number of things he would like to ask about but finds it awkward or unsettling to ask about them; this isn't an interrogation session, after all. so he won't. he'll figure it out some other way instead.
he shrugs his shoulders at the remark, gesturing at him towards to kitchen. honestly, it doesn't matter to him whichever of them makes the meal. ]
How about we make each other's meals, then? I'd like to think I'm competent enough at cooking after doing it for my sisters and my troops back in Belobog.
[ compromise, see? ]
(no subject)
I Graveyard
He tilts his head curiously at Arjuna, pale gold eyes watching him… almost like a bird studying something from a high perch. And then he smiles, perfectly pleasant but not quite reaching the eyes, )
My… did I surprise you?
( He’s getting good at this. He wasn’t even trying! )
the cutest of dategumi...
arjuna relaxes his stance and tries to give the man a cordial half-smile. "tries" being the important word here since he absolutely, totally fails to do so, the way his thin lips crease being an obvious tell for how unamused he actually is. )
Perhaps.
( he takes a step back. )
Do you make a hobby of startling others from behind?
Tsuru, pulling out a wallet full of photos: can i show you my cute dragon children
(He’s already planning future surprises.) )
Hm? Were you scared? You could have fooled me.
( He seemed so calm… )
Ah, sorry, sorry. As surprising as it may sound… I was just passing by! But I’ll take it.
( He didn’t mean to surprise him but he’ll take it as a win. )
no subject
( not scared.
he pauses again with a notable stiffness, fingers flinching with a vague uncertainty as this stranger attempts to push all his buttons. )
"Take it"? My apologies, but I'm not sure what you mean.
no subject
(He is unbothered. He is rolling with this. His purpose in life is to be a menace and no stranger is going to stop him now,)
You know. "Take it." When you aren't trying but something good happens anyway... so you don't question it! You just take credit for it!
(no subject)
(no subject)
1 / 2
2 / 2
(no subject)
ii.
No, I'm not. But, I'd beg to question back— does it really matter? That probably won't stop us from having to rely on some sort of food source. [ with that, he stirs his iced coffee idly, as he watches the other man with interest. ]
Don't tell me you're waiting for me to drink first.
look... buddy... someone poisoned my brother once and it wasn't cool
his brow furrows at the pointed assertion and apparent lack of caution. call it a warrior's reluctance, perhaps, to be wary of an unseen serpent spreading its influence. still, the boy makes a fair point about their situation; rain or shine, night or day, the people must to eat to survive, regardless of what might drive them pale or drip foul down their chins.
all except himself, that is. if necessary, sleep would suffice.
he abides by the boy's statement, a lotus-soft glove running idly against the title of his menu. )
I am. What you've said hasn't fallen on deaf ears, but if a problem arises, you'll need the aid of someone competent.
rip anchan....
there is probably something there in that statement. somewhere, somehow. fortunately, yoshida wasn't the type to overthink the inevitable, or in this case, unavoidable. nor was he the sort of individual to assign a particular level of care in whether he lived or died in the traditional sense. even when they were swallowed up in a devil's ploy, it's not like he was exceedingly concerned by the concept of potentially expiring away. or perhaps, then and now he's simply confident in his ability to push past. ]
That's fine with me, but...
[ since the food seems to just be appearing. ]
Which one is yours?
[ is he stalling? who knows. ]
no subject
arjuna relaxes the tension in his shoulders, a closed-mouth smile tracing his lips as he next spoke.
( —surely one befitting a hero such as himself, he hoped, he hoped )
he then points to a dish on the left that manifested seemingly out of thin air like the rest, a stir fry of savory red lentils and curried spinach accompanied by a glass of tea. nothing too light, nothing too heavy. )
Odd of this place to be so aware of our preferences.
no subject
he's not sure whether to be impressed or alarmed at their seeming ability to look into their minds and hearts. they do say there was no way better way to someone's heart than food, right? ... it seemed to work with denji to some degree, at least.
still, he continues: ] Almost like they can read your mind.
It makes you wonder what else they know. [ about them.
not that he cares since it's not like it could exactly spoil his plans. ... could he even consider his plan still in motion when they were so far removed from their own reality? whatever the case, he says this almost lightheartedly, as if it had little to do with him or their present predicament. ]
i.
[ Yosano replied to man in her soft melancholic voice. Unfazed by his whipping around to block an attack. My, quite the fast reflexes...
She had been strolling through the city when morbid curiosity led her to the graveyard. Any dead bodies? Previous inhabitants of this desolate city? Instead she'd found a very much alive, and jumpy man. He had been staring quite intently at the gravestone, which peaked Yosano's curiosity. ]
Find anything of interest?