JUMP TO MONTHLY PROMPT ↓
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, 3, 4, 5, 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.
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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.
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THE POISON'S IN THE DETAILS.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Monthly prompt includes the potential for body horror, including: mold or fungus; spores; and hanahaki-like symptoms. It also includes the potential for violence, mutilation, or death. Please label potentially triggering content in subject headers and interact responsibly with threads!
With the cacophony of the fun fair now gone, packed up and sent away for another year, the southern half of the park is now empty. That doesn't mean that the park itself is without attractions, though: up in the northern corner, sprawling out across the green, is a curious garden full of winding paths and draping trees, and within it, the smaller poison garden, where a variety of different flowers blossom and bloom along the gravel path. From roses to gladiolus, tulips to belladonna, this garden has many flora that residents may recognize from their homes, and some that they most certainly will not. As residents walk along the paths, observing and smelling and—for the brave—touching these plants, they will encounter a long wooden table, stretched out in the midst of fresh cut green grass.
This table has been decorated for a party, though it seems that all the guests must be late. A strange variety of different sized chairs and cushions have been set out along the long length of the table; it seems to fit at least twenty people, maybe even more. Small dishes and porcelain tea cups lay in random design across the off-white table cloth, used flower doilies and half-folded napkins tucked here and there as though someone left in a hurry. Even stranger still, there are six large, ornate pots of tea, scattered about the table, each warm to the touch and, you guessed it: full of tea. You suddenly find yourself craving a cup, and tuck into one of the chairs to pour yourself some...
...but you didn't think that it would be that easy, did you? Once you've swallowed a mouthful, or even your whole cup, your body starts to feel strange. Depending on the color—or flavor—of the tea you're drinking, you're going to experience some side effects:
| Color |
Flavor |
Effect |
| Red |
Hibiscus: This tart and fruity tea is naturally sweet. |
You will begin vomiting blood. The amount is up to your body's reaction. The correct antidote will fix you. |
| Yellow |
Jasmine: This tea has a light, floral note, and is slightly sweet. |
You will hallucinate something terrifying near you, and may lash out and attack those around you. The correct antidote will fix you. |
| Blue |
Pea Flower: This brilliantly-colored tea has a very delicate, woody flavor. |
You will gradually begin losing one of your senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch). The correct antidote will fix you. |
| Black |
English Breakfast: This is a full body tea, with rich undertones and a bold flavor. |
Something very terrible will begin happening to your body: your hair may start falling out, you may become covered in hives, or your skin may start opening into sores. The correct antidote will fix you. |
| Green |
Green: This tea has a very clean, grassy flavor, like the earth. |
You will begin to transform into a terrifying creature or animal of your choosing. The correct antidote will fix you. |
| Orange |
Ginger: This is a tea with a warming, slightly spicy taste. |
After drinking, you will suddenly fall into a death-like coma. A kiss may wake you, or the correct antidote. |
In a panic, you look for something to help you. Just beyond the table, tucked away into a wall of ivy, is an old wooden shelf, the lettering nearly worn all away on it. Little packets of seeds line the tiered shelves; there are no pictures on them, but the packets themselves seem to all be different colors—and you may notice that the colors match the colors of the various teas on the table.
Ripping open the packet that matches the color of your tea, you find it contains actual seeds—will you swallow them and risk a plant growing in your stomach, just to see if it will counteract the effects of the tea? Oh, surely that's the stuff of fairytales, isn't it?
Residents are welcome to explore the various paths around the outside of the garden, observing plants and flowers of their choosing. The tea party is open to all, and the tea will continue to be brewed somehow, no matter how many people drink it. Players can choose the extent of the negative effects on their character, or have their character remain unaffected by the tea entirely. In order to get rid of the negative effects, characters must either find the correct seed packet that matches their tea and eat the seeds, or wait twenty-four hours for the symptoms to subside. The seeds will not do anything but cure the character—though they're welcome to think something awful might happen.
The tea party cannot be destroyed, and items that are moved from the table can only be moved within the perimeter of the poison garden. Characters are unable to steal things from the tea party; they will mysteriously return back to the table if taken beyond the aforementioned border. The tea party will remain there permanently, though the negative effects of the tea will mysteriously disappear after November 1st.
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A DROP OF BLOOD OR A DROP OF EGO.
At the apex of the path that winds around the poison garden is a large greenhouse that looks like it has seen better days. The panels are filthy, covered in dust and dirt and grime, and the doors creak on their hinges when you open them. Inside, the air is hot and musty, but the smell of herbs and spices fill your senses, letting you enjoy the atmosphere. The greenhouse is clearly separated into two different paths: the one to the left has a hanging sign which reads "DEADLY BEAUTIES" and the one to the right has a hanging sign which reads "BEAUTIFUL DEADLIES".
Heading to the left, you decide to observe the various plants there. Shelf upon shelf of various potted plants watch you as you go past; some of them snap at the air, veiny teeth grasping for the delicious meat of fruit flies and ants, and some of them threaten to touch you, with vines that roll and curl outward for just a shivering touch. Overhead, tangles of vined plants and spiked ivy mix together, an oppressive shadow that makes you feel as though you're trapped in this place as you walk through. Be careful: these carnivorous plants might be beautiful, but they won't hesitate to get a little too friendly with you. The floor is caked with dirt, but some of those brown stains might not just be from mud and dust, smeared by shoe heels and work boots. These plants might want a taste of blood.
Heading to the right, you find yourself in a beautiful space, the flowers so large they seem almost overwhelming. Have the plants gotten bigger, or have you simply gotten smaller? Gorgeous purple blossoms, pink petals, bright blue flowers and speckled white flowers cower and bend to cast you under them, like a flower-patterned umbrella sheltering you from the rain. The further you walk under them, however, the more you get the feeling that they're not just there to watch over you: they're there to explore you. At first, it's just a few gossipy whispers, so quiet you might not think they're real; then it's full-blown voices, the flowers bending and twisting as though to speak to each other in harsh, judgmental tones. What are they talking about? Well, they're talking about you—your secrets, your opinions, the things you don't want anyone else to know. These flowers are spilling your tea, and anyone walking along with you is going to hear it.
The back of the greenhouse—if you make it there—has the same doors as the front. They open back out onto the winding, circular path of the poison garden, where you can head back home...or experience the whole thing over again.
The greenhouse is rather large, and characters are welcome to walk through it along any path they wish. The carnivorous plants will possibly nip and bite at your characters, or try to restrain them, but they aren't very strong and can easily be broken away from. Feel free to imagine as much of a struggle as you wish, but they will not inflict any kind of mortal wounds on characters.
The giant, oversized flowers will tell your character's secrets or their deepest darkest opinions—this is open to player choice. The flowers cannot be attacked or hurt, and the only way to get them to be quiet is for someone OTHER than the character they're talking about to scold them or tell them to be quiet. Alternatively, if you can walk the path hand in hand with another character, this will also cause them to go quiet.
Plants cannot be taken from the greenhouse or killed, and they cannot be dug up from their pots. The greenhouse itself also cannot be destroyed, and any fire lit in the greenhouse will be immediately extinguished by an overhead sprinkler system. This place is meant for enjoyment and admiration, not crime!
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WILDCARD.
The city is by no means small, and there are plenty of things for you to see. There are even some places that other residents have created! 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. We highly recommend checking out the Character-Run Locations as well - they might be great places for new characters to get started!
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citylogs2023-10-01 08:38 pm
Adrian "Alucard" Ţepeş | Castlevania
[You ever have one of those days where you're like--]
This might as well fucking happen.
[--right, like that one.
Now, Alucard has had better days. It might be hard to believe but over a year ago, he was decently happy, but it turns out that zealot followers of a church executing your doctor mother and causing your vampire father to spiral into madness is just a good way to kick off for a very terrible time, and it sure hasn't stopped since. He's sporting an unfortunate hangover, and he's squinting as he stumbles off of the train, feeling oddly sapped of his strength. The train is an interesting design, he thinks mildly, an itch of interest in the back of his mind but shelved for the time being.
After all, more importantly, he's wondering how the hell this has happened while also genuinely accepting that it might as well be par for the course.
A remotely social man might stop and ask questions, but Alucard isn't really inclined to do it that way, so as he bumps into a person here and there, he simply grumbles under his breath and keeps pushing forward. Just before he gets to the exit of the station, he realizes something.]
Where the fuck is my sword?
ii. the dog one
[So. Mistakes were made.
One of them being that Alucard had thought to transform into his wolf form to remain more inconspicuous and, ideally, less likely for people to want to talk to him. The only problem is that he's quickly discovered that on top of many of is usual abilities being sapped, he's currently stuck like this for awhile yet. How long, he doesn't know, but long enough that he's pretty pissed about it.
So one can easily spot a rather large white wolf with intense golden eyes and a long scar on his chest sniffing around the city, huffing to himself, and somehow giving off the sensation that he's rather cross despite not being able to say a damned thing.]
iii. the network one | text | un: just.alucard
So. Pros and cons of being here.
Pros: I'm not reminded of home every waking moment.
Cons: I can't just crush a rock with my bare hands if I felt like it.
Those are the main things I have so far.
Your turn.
iii. - text; un: archon
a rough estimation would do if you aren't able to quantify it precisely
no subject
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only once a week? seems to me you're quite the restrained sort, then
or mayhap i'm simply acquainted with too many people who can't go much more than a bell without being dramatic in some manner or another
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one can't go more than ten words without a prithee or thou or forsooth
another has a taste for raining hellfire from the skies and pretending she doesn't thrive on it
we're a merry lot, all told
ah, but now i'm making myself lonesome, from missing them
no subject
May you reunite with them swiftly and painlessly.
no subject
if there's luck to be had, i've already more than exhausted mine on another matter entirely
which of the two sounds familiar, out of curiosity?
neither one strikes me as particularly commonplace
no subject
Oh, the whole "sorceress loves to cause destruction but is in fierce denial" rung a particular note of familiarity to me.
no subject
now i'm just concerned that there are apparently two of them
no subject
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which might actually be worse
hmmmmmmmm
what's a distinguishing characteristic that won't get me set aflame just for mentioning it
let's see here
white hair and black clothes?
no subject
She is a Speaker magician, if you know the terminology. Regardless, she is a powerful sorceress and respectably intelligent, which also means she is creatively dangerous. Not unlike yours, I wager?
no subject
can't say as i recognize the speaker bit, i'm afraid
but the rest of it i can certainly imagine
especially the part about being dangerous
no subject
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if nothing else 'twould keep them busy
working themselves to exhaustion from studying so until they collapsed right there amongst the books
no subject
That would sound right.
[It makes him nostalgic. Even if it was only... maybe two months ago? He really isn't sure. Time's sort of blended together as of late. But it feels like longer.]
ii.
The notion hits her a moment or two after the fact, after that initial beat of terror but before she's had the impulse to try to run away about it. There's nothing at all in the City, so what could this wolf possibly have to eat?
People, maybe. Delicious delectable unsuspecting princesses, quite possibly.
But there's still the chance that it has nothing at all, and the thought of any creature starving — even a wolf — has her heart twisting slightly into knots.]
Wherever did you come from, I wonder...?
[She says it softly, more to herself than to the wolf, as she digs around in her pockets in search of some bread and dried meat she'd managed to procure for herself in one of the "grocery stores" about the town — the very thing she'd resolved to never again go wandering without. And oh, is she ever thankful to have made that resolution now.
Gently, she sets the bread and meat down on the ground, and gives it a little push-kick-slide with the side of her foot, nudging it away from her as best she can before backing up to give the wolf a wide berth.]
Are — are you hungry? Here, poor thing, you can have this. Please eat it and not me.
no subject
He hasn't decided upon his opinion on her yet, but he can expect her to be the honest sort. More clever than any noble he'd ever met, unafraid to do things herself, even if it means ruining a beautiful dress and getting dirt under her nails. And it seems she doesn't lack for compassion.
If it'd been a complete stranger, he might be more wary. As it is, he patiently watches her, his ears flicking.
Alucard doesn't want for food, yet just a mere day ago she'd gone without any for more any mortal should. And here she is, giving away what she has on hand freely, without knowing how an animal might react.
If nothing else, this girl is quite interesting.
Unable to display more than behavior, as talking is not an option, he aims to scarf down what's been given, but keeps his eyes on her. Almost less out of trust and more curious to how she might react.]
no subject
And blessedly, the outcome that follows is the latter: the wolf pads forward, seems to accept the meal. Continues watching her, yes, but that's only to be expected, especially if it's hungry.]
Oh, good. You like it, do you?
[Passingly, she wishes she had a spare arrow of Cupid's — it would be rather nice to just ensure friendship with the help of a little love along the way, but she supposes her adventure in Tamir had spoiled her a bit in that respect, and she'll just have to longhand it instead.]
I'm glad. There isn't much about for you to catch for yourself, is there? Well, at least that should tide you over a bit.
[She frowns a little, regarding the wolf thoughtfully.]
What's that in your fur, I wonder? Did something claw you? ...Bother. I wish you'd let me take a look, but I'd bet you wouldn't like that very much, would you...
no subject
And her instinct is to be friendly with a wolf when it might be wiser to back away from a hungry beast.
But no, she's right; Alucard isn't keen to let her look at the scar. It doesn't matter anyway. There's a huff from his body and he licks his chops before sitting in front of her, curious to see what she'd do next.]
no subject
[Sound logic from a girl from a video game where death that appears on the screen is guaranteed to catch you within a matter of seconds.]
...You know there's a rather nice park not far from here. With trees and bushes and grass. Wouldn't you like that a bit better than cobblestone streets?
[She bites at the corner of her lip, thoughtful.]
Bother, maybe I oughtn't have given you all the food at once. I might've been able to get you to follow me if you thought I had a bit more.
no subject
Noting really sounds better than anything else, but honestly at least her kindness has left some sort of impression upon him. Still, he does opt to stand on all fours and approach her side slowly, but hopefully not indicating any intent to attack.]