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 west of City Hall, you will find a small building that houses the tourist information kiosk. The kiosk is not currently operational, but you may want to remember its location...
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
A WASH, ANYONE?
The coin laundromat is tucked into the first floor of one of the tall apartment buildings. Soap is complimentary, and while the machines say that they cost a quarter per load, in reality they are fully operational without any money being exchanged at all. If you have any clothes that need a wash, perhaps items that have been dirtied by your explorations (or your travels before arriving in the city), you may want to take this opportunity to wash them for free.
From the soap dispenser, you can retrieve packets of detergent in different strengths. There's plenty of stock of for mild to moderate grime and for heavy-duty stains, but there are also a handful of packets with slightly less obvious purposes. For things remembered, says one. For unhappy accidents, says another. Feel free to use whichever seems most suited to your needs.
When your laundry cycle has ended, the buzzer sounds and the door pops open so the clothing can be retrieved. You grab a laundry basket and reach in to start pulling fabric out of the machine by the handful. But wait a second–the more clothing you retrieve, the less familiar the items seem, and by the time you've retrieved the last bundled sock from the depths of the dryer you're absolutely positive: These clothes don't belong to you.
You're sure that you put your own clothing into the machine, but these are someone else's clothes entirely. Did someone sneak in while you weren't paying attention and swap out your laundry? Or did you accidentally open up the wrong dryer to retrieve the wrong load? Maybe you'd better look around at whoever else is in the laundromat with you and have a go at trying to find the owner of these clothes.
Whether the characters have had their clothing swapped or simply opened the wrong machine to grab someone else's laundry is up to the player's imagination, but one thing's for sure: you have someone else's clothes in your basket. Maybe these are clothes that belong to another character in the laundromat, or maybe they're garments that belong to someone that character knew back home. Players are encouraged to mess around with the premise and use it to get to know other characters!
JUMP TO TOP ↑ | ↓ JUMP TO COMMENTS
COME ONE, COME ALL...
Have you ever noticed that flickering sign hanging in the window of that little building around the corner from the parking lot? The one that says PSYCHIC READINGS in bold neon lettering?
You step inside the shop and immediately smell a powerful combination of aromas: herbs, candles, incense, something spicy and warm underneath. It's a small space, cluttered with objects. A crystal ball covered in velvet sits in the center of a table, and there are tarot card sets and drawers full of dried herbs and flowers. On the shelves are various remedies with labels printed so neatly it's impossible to tell whether they're typed or handwritten. Headaches, or hemophilia, and also irascibility and fits of sighing. There are also jars full of less easily-identifiable contents, but a close examination may show you frog legs, fish eyes, rat tails. For some reason, it feels like sticking your hand in one of these jars might not be the best idea.
Toward the back of the shop is a glass case that holds the bust of a woman. As you approach, your movement triggers a light inside the case to illuminate the woman's face–or where her face would be, if she had one. The normal human features of her face are smoothed out until they barely resemble a face at all, with slightly hollowed divots for eyes and a faintly raised bump for a nose. The closer you get, though, the more strongly you feel that despite the absence of eyes, the woman is indeed watching you.
The lettering at the top of the case states FORTUNE TELLER, and a sign affixed to the front of the glass says, Ask for anything, but be careful what you wish for.
You form a question in your mind, then ask your question out loud. The woman shifts, straightening up, and you hear the faint whirring of clockwork and pneumatics moving inside her. She gathers her hands in front of her, cupping them like she's holding water, and strange light emanates from her palms, casting harsh illumination on the blank space where her face should be. Although she has no mouth with which to speak, you nonetheless hear a vaguely female voice intone, "Your fate has been read."
A paper slip emerges from a slot in the front of the case, your freshly-printed fortune, the ink barely dry.
Although the crystal ball will not actually show the future, characters with any kind of herbal knowledge may clock that the herbs and remedies in the drawers and shelves of the shop are legitimate. Characters can ask anything they want of the fortune teller, or make as many wishes as they like. They'll get as many fortune slips as correspond to the number of questions they ask. Players are encouraged to come up with whatever vaguely-accurate fortunes you think work for your character, but if you're low on ideas, you can always try an online Magic 8 Ball or fortune cookie generator.
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)
citylogs2023-06-01 12:00 am
Loki Odinson | MCU
You really are the worst, brother.
Those words, along with Thor’s scream were ringing in his ears as the world around him slowly dimmed and went dark. The pain burning in his lungs and the crushing ache in his throat slowly dissipated and he was filled with a strange sense of peace…
Suddenly, a loud and obnoxious noise blared out, disturbing Loki from his rest. He sat up quickly, a look of annoyed confusion colouring his features as he glanced around the… train car?
Standing quickly and looking around abruptly, expecting this is some sort of trick by Thanos and his children (that very thought made Loki scoff), but the train car was completely empty. It also seemed very Midgardian, which caused Loki to roll his eyes. He didn’t know where he was, but if it was Midgard, it was hardly a problem. Once they’d stopped, he’d find out exactly where he was and make his way back to Thor.
The small electronic device on the seat next to him made itself known again and he huffed in annoyance, picking it up. Part of him was sorely tempted to crush it in his hand or simply throw it across the car. Watching it smash would be satisfying, he was sure, but he was aware that it was some sort of human communication device and that could come in handy in finding out what was going on.
Loki retrieved the phone and sat back down, looking at the screen. There was a choice laid out for him, but as with most of his experiences in life, it was no real choice at all. He huffed, frowning again before he hit ‘yes.’
Welcome to the Neighbourhood
The orientation hadn’t taken long, but Loki still had a laundry list of what in Hel was actually going on. He knew just enough now to be curious and had experienced enough strangeness in his life to realize that this might be his death.
The ‘dream’ he’d been having when the phone had startled him awake on the train had felt too real, too visceral to be discounted as a mere dream. He would never admit it, but he was starting to believe he had not survived that final encounter with Thanos, but how he’d ended up here was a mystery that tickled his curiosity.
As such, when the train came to a stop, he rose from his seat and exited the train. Despite being alone on the train car, Loki had half expected he wouldn’t be the only person to disembark, but as he walked around the station, there was no other sign of life.
To the Southwest: City Park
When Loki had first left the station, he’d found City Hall and the Touism kiosk, but they had seemed almost void of life so instead of really searching that area, he decided orienting himself more fully with the city was a better option. He took note of the location and headed back to the station to choose another exit.
This time, he came up into a large and quite beautiful park. A smile spread across his face unbidden. It immediately reminded him of his favourite place on Asgard: his mother’s garden.
The air was fresh and cool and Loki felt peace like he hadn’t felt in many years. It was all wild and fresh and it made Loki’s heart ache as he thought of Frigga. Though he had started to truly redeem himself just prior to arriving here, he still felt a tremendous amount of guilt over her death. But this park was instantly a happy place for him. It felt like home.
“This is wonderful,” he said aloud without realizing he’d spoken at all, nor that there was someone else nearby.
To the East: A Restaurant
After spending quite a long time in the park, Loki found himself to be quite peckish. After all, between Ragnarok, destroying Hela and Thanos’ attack on their ship, he couldn’t exactly remember when he’d last actually eaten. Nothing more than a protein bar or some nutritious sludge. He might be a god, but he still needed to eat. Though that brought up the question again, was he actually dead? Did the dead get hungry? Many people may have believed him to be dead before, but it had never actually happened.
It didn’t take long, as he wandered the east side of the city, for him to catch the sent of something wonderful cooking. It smelled of a rich stew full of meat and vegetables. Some freshly baked bread, still warm on the side. Following his nose, Loki made his way into the restaurant. He didn’t notice anyone else who might be sitting in the restaurant, instead simply walking straight back into the kitchen and finding a meal already prepared for him.
Loki had never really been in a standard restaurant as humans of Earth might know them, so it didn’t occur to him that this was odd. So he simply served himself the food and carried it to a table. He sat and inhaled the scent with a deep and contented sigh before digging in.
Come One, Come All!
Once his hunger had been sated, Loki continued his exploration of this strange city, still trying to get his bearings, committing the location of certain locations to his memory as he mentally mapped everything out. What he hadn’t expected to find was a Seer. He stood outside the little shop for a moment, looking at the bright neon sign curiously. Psychics weren’t necessarily common on Asgard, but they weren’t unheard of. The strange thing for Loki was he’d thought it was something that the people of Midgard did not believe in, much like magic.
Loki stepped inside after a short moment of contemplation. The shop was small and dark and the smell somehow comforting, reminding him once again of his mother. He spent a few minutes checking out the contents in the jars, but it all seemed rather standard fare for magic users. Nothing here took him by surprise in the least.
As the store was rather small, it didn’t take long for him to make his way back to the fortune teller. He had expected it to be an actual person, but it was becoming clear that wherever he was, it was nowhere he’d ever been before. The statue like seer seemed to come to life, of a sort, as he approached and Loki knew right away he was going to ask something, but what? It seemed like thousands of questions ran through his mind at once. Where is this place? How did I get here? What of Thor and the rest of the Asgardians? What of Thanos and his plan?.
Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind and asked, “Am I dead?”
The paper printed out for him and he was just about to read it when he was startled by the jingling of a bell indicating that someone else had entered the shop.
Come One, Come All
"Hi," he greets. "This is some place. Do you have any idea what's going on around here?"
He has no idea that many have been brought. For all he knows, he was the only one and Loki lives here.
Re: Come One, Come All
Still, Loki didn’t quite know how to react when he met people here. It had only been a few hours, after all. And it was nice that no one seemed to know who he was. That rarely brought anything good to Loki’s world. It was nice to have his reputation not precede him for once.
Loki quickly crumpled the paper into his fist and put his hand behind his back, unsure if he wanted any inquiries as to what he was doing here or what the paper may say. Of course someone showed up the moment he had wanted to do something alone. Still, it would be easier to find out what might be going on with the help of others, so Loki smiles politely at the man. “Some place indeed. I am afraid I have no idea what is going on here. I only just arrived a few hours ago. Have you come across anyone else?”
Re: Come One, Come All
"You're the first I've seen," he said. "I guess there must be others somewhere...."
He stared at the place. "This is freaky." Especially the faceless woman.
"I'm Radley, by the way." He smiled and held out a hand.
no subject
“I have encountered a few, yes. Though there does seem to be rather few of us. At very least when considering the sheer size of this city.”
Loki hummed in question looking around when the other man called the place creepy. He supposed it must be for people unfamiliar with magic. Or at least different. “Yes, I suppose,” he replied non-commitally.
“I am Loki, it is nice to meet you Radley. Tell me, as it seems you are also not from around here, did you come in alone on a train as well?”
no subject
He finally smirked a bit. "I have a friend who'd think it's cool, though."
He nodded. "I sure did. I was just in my town and then I wasn't."
no subject
Loki attempted to keep himself from smirking in response, instead just raising an eyebrow. “Oh? Would they now?” This friend sounded like someone Loki might find interesting at least. He always enjoyed people who were more curious about the strange and unusual.
“Yes, I see. It is starting to seem like that is how most arrived, and quite recently, though I have only spoken with a few, so I could be wrong about all of that. Do you mind telling me what you were doing before you found yourself on the train?”
no subject
He smirked. "Oh yeah. Scotch is a very unique, fun guy."
He sighed. "I fell asleep in my diner. Suddenly I'm waking up here."
no subject
Despite his interest, Loki didn't bother to press for more information on the man. It didn't seem as though this friend was here, so it hardly mattered.
"My experience was... similar. I wonder if one has to lose consciousness in order for whatever magic this places uses to work on its intended targets?" Loki wasn't about to say what was happening to him when he was suddenly snatched into this world. It was far too personal and detailed for him to share with a virtual stranger. Besides, it was possible he was actually dead and he really didn't feel like thinking about that. Besides, his point remained. He had, at very least, lost consciousness.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
city park
Creeping feeling at the back of his neck aside, this was the cleanest air he'd ever breathed. This was the first time he'd ever had smog-free air in his lungs and it had honestly made him feel rather invigorated. The weight of his stress was temporarily lifted from his shoulders and he felt almost light, almost carefree. Maybe if this were any other situation he would find peace in the park and the quiet.
He cradled his agent in his hands as his lifeline and security in this alien landscape, keeping him grounded. (And, perhaps, to keep him from getting lost - he could orient himself in a city with infinite landmarks, but in the trees? He couldn't tell one direction from another.)
"I've never seen so many plants in one place before," was the only comment Emerick could come up with. He wasn't sure if he liked the park yet, clearly still trying to decide.
Re: city park
Without turning, he addressed the man. “I am truly sorry to hear that. Nature is truly the most wonderful.” Truthfully, Loki wouldn’t mind retiring one day into the woods, being alone in the peace of nature and wild animals. Really, that was the only thing that was off about this place. There was no sign of animal life at all. It was strange and bothersome. “I assume you are also not from here?”
no subject
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He was earnest as he stopped not too far from the stranger. It occurred to him that he may have interrupted some thought and that started to worry him, but he also realized that it was already interrupted and he couldn't undo that. His concern was broken as the man spoke up. First commenting on nature - something Emerick couldn't really respond to, outside of suggesting he had no way of missing what he didn't know - and then with a question.
"You assume correctly." At this point Emerick stepped up so he was closer to the stranger, though still a safe (respectable) distance from him so as not to impose upon his space. He was looking down at the phone cradled in his hands, still a little nervous about having surprised the stranger. "I thought I had fallen asleep on the rail, but where I'm from there's too many people for a train car to be empty." At any time of day, or night, or in between.
"I haven't found anything of use, and there's not much to skim off the network here." It was frustrating, really. An internet with no (accessible) content? What was the point? His gaze finally lifted and he looked to the man. "Have you found anything interesting?"
no subject
Loki waved the man’s concern off. “No apology necessary. I was simply distracted. It is uncommon for someone to take me by surprise, but not unheard of.” He truly isn’t bothered, though that might be because he does not sense any threat in the other man.
“It seems no one I have met around here is from here, though admittedly I have only come across a few.” Loki couldn’t decide what was more concerning, that the population was much more scarce than should be considering the size of the buildings or that no one here was from here and could simply tell them what was happening. “I also found it strange that the train was completely empty. Even with only a small number of people here now, you would think at least some of us had come in on the same train.” Loki was becoming more and more certain that magic was involved with all of this, though he hadn’t sensed anything familiar.
“I’m afraid I have not. Though it is odd that there seems to be nothing living here except for plant life and the very few like us who have just arrived. Nothing that points to how or why we are here.”
no subject
"I don't think I've ever seen a city so desolate." More quietly, he continued, "granted I never really left my home. Before now." Five million people in 30 square miles in 2020, who knew how many in 2045. It would be impossible for Night City to feel this empty, even if most of the population listened to a curfew order and stayed inside.
"It is weird that there's no birds. I'm used to seagulls getting into everything and stealing food from tourists." He glanced up toward the sky, hoping that a bird would lazily glide through his vision. Even if he strained his cyberware he couldn't hear any bird song or calls, or much else for that matter. He never thought the silence would bother him so much.
"I and someone else tried to sift through the records in the city hall to find anything but all of the pages inside seemed to be blank. We couldn't find anything to indicate where we are, or what's happened, or where everyone went." Perhaps the other man didn't care to hear all of this but for as smart as Emerick was, he couldn't piece anything together. He had gotten to the point that he wanted to share what he had found with those he ran into just in case someone had a piece of information he'd missed that made it all come together, or vice versa.
no subject
"Nor I. It might be even stranger than how we suddenly find ourselves here." It certainly was to Loki, who's use of magic was as natural a breathing. The idea that they could be brought here as they had been didn't seem strange to him, he merely wondered why, for what purpose, not how. The idea that there were now only a handful of people in a city that appeared to have enough space for millions was a much more intriguing question.
Loki nodded, looking up to the sky as he mentioned birds. "I sense no animal life at all. There's no rustling of city rodents, no birds, nothing except for plant life and it would seem people like us. It's... eerie." Loki didn't usually get spooked, but this was very odd.
Though the idea that there was a hall of records that had no records concerned Loki, his only reaction was a small frown. "It would seem then, that someone or something does not want us to know what happened. I would say that is a very strong indication that something happened and I would guess it was something we would not like."
no subject
"I'm not sure to make of most of this. It all feels very... Synthetic. Unfinished, even. I fluctuate between wondering where the people have gone, and wondering if there ever were people to begin with." His gaze fell back down to Loki. His gaze flicked to make direct eye contact before sweeping away into the trees. He was a little embarrassed to admit that there was a part of him wondering if people had been here at all. He recognized that perhaps he'd been spending a little too much time on the conspiracy boards looking for leads.
"I'm just not sure why someone would spend the money to build out a city at this level of detail. On the other hand... The lack of animals, of people, the blank records -- something just doesn't feel quite right about it all." Magic, of course, wasn't an option to Emerick. That was reserved for the books he read in his spare time: pure high fantasy fiction escapism from the real world.
"And if it is the case that this was an actual city with people living in it... If it were some kind of emergency then surely the records wouldn't be destroyed and replaced with plain paper, and the fact that it can't be an emergency is, I mean, the implications scare me." Having enough time to plan out how to get rid of every single piece of animal life and destroy all associated records couldn't be a good thing in the slightest, and that made Emerick uncomfortable to think about. This place could be some blacksite, an epidemiology lab, weapon's testing - and so on - and Emerick's mind was sifting through the possibilities uncomfortably.
no subject
Now that was something that hadn’t occurred to Loki yet. He’d been assuming that there had already been people here simply because it felt right, but there was really no evidence that that was the case. “That is an interesting thought,” he admitted, looking at the other man thoughtfully. “I cannot see why that isn’t possible. That whomever brought us here built this place for those they chose. Though considering the size, I would guess if that were true then we should expect many more arrivals.
Perhaps money is no object. Or this is all an elaborate illusion. There are many possibilities really, and it might not be only one. There could be a number of reasons that all came together and this is the result. I’m afraid we do not have enough information yet to fully understand.” But the information had to be out there, didn’t it? Perhaps those pages had not always been blank, or there was a way to retrieve the information another way.
Loki bit his lip in thought as he considered Emerick’s words. “I suppose it is possible that there was some sort of emergency, but after it was over and no one came back, someone or someones, decided to clean up and try to repopulate. It would not be too hard.” Loki himself was quite adept at illusion magic and could at least raise the image of a city, though he’d never tried anything as elaborate as this.
sorry for being so late, life did some things
Absolutely no worries. Life happens to me all the time.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Restaurant
The restaurant had seemed empty when Seimei had entered it, with no staff present or any automated machines as far as he could tell. Just like everywhere else in the city, it felt like the building had been left behind, or perhaps that it had never been occupied to begin with. He still chose to explore, searching for any clue as to what the city might want from them or who had made it, ultimately finding Loki's table by pure chance as he was already eating.
"The food could be poisoned or cursed. Or it could be the food of the Other World and prevent you from ever leaving this place now that you've eaten it."
Despite what he said, Seimei slipped into a place opposite and watched Loki eat, calmly waiting for his reaction. This was also apparently normal human restaurant etiquette--at least by the casual way Seimei did it.
Re: Restaurant
Loki hadn’t noticed the other man as he’d taken a seat, but he was starting to get used to random people popping up out of nowhere. He gives the man a wry smile. “It takes a lot more than some poison to affect me,” he said confidently. It wasn’t like the man didn’t have a valid point, Loki just wasn’t used to things like that being able to hurt him.
Besides, he was pretty sure he was already dead anyway, if what he remembered of just before showing up on the train was correct. “And it already seems as though we can’t leave. I’d rather not starve while I try to figure out why the train that brought me in never seems to come back.” The train must have come back after all, seeing as he was on it alone and he wasn’t the only person here. It just wouldn’t leave with you on it.
“By all means, take a seat,” Loki said sarcastically as the man sat, though he really was teasing and hopefully showed it when he smiled at him. Loki’s mouth did often get him into trouble. Really, he was curious to talk to anyone else he came across here. That, he thought, might lead to some clues as to why they were here.
no subject
"Maybe it only goes one way?" He offered helpfully. "That train might not have a return track, or this city might have transportation closure for some reason."
He was already making himself at home without any permission, acting like a spoiled pet that thought it owned every new piece of furniture it found. He even smiled with more amusement at the sarcasm, pleasant but still bold as he settled in.
"We might be stuck for some time, if that's the case. Assuming the normal train route is closed and we were forced to stop here, we can't move anywhere until the line is functional again. And since there are no workers around, that would probably take more time."
All of that, of course, was only theory. He couldn't confirm the purpose of the trains or the city at all.
no subject
“That is a good theory. Which means there should be another station around that only takes people out. Or at least that might make some sense. I have seen no indication that this place makes any logical sense yet.” Really, the fact remained that no one had any idea what was going on here. That didn’t really sit well with Loki, but he wasn’t about to broadcast that, at least not yet.
Loki glanced up at the man, a small smile on his face that he tried to hide. It was nice to find someone with some intelligence and he already liked the way this one’s mind worked. “I do wonder if there is anyone else who has arrived that knows anything about trains, or even the tunnels. Perhaps we could simply walk out.” By the tone of his voice, it’s fairly obvious that Loki doubts it would be so easy, but he saw no reason to think it was completely unlikely.
“It seems we have more questions than answers, which is hardly surprising. I know there are others around. Perhaps we all have something this place needs, or something in common that drew us to this place. I am not willing to put any possibility aside at this time.”
no subject
Except that it was also completely unmanned, which shouldn't be possible even if they were dealing with monsters or deities. Everything required some oversight. He knew that truth better than most.
"They do seem determined to keep us guessing, whoever brought us here," he agreed. "Unless it is functioning on an old command, but that would almost certainly have left someone else behind from other trains."
And since they had no guards, guides, or previous victims to use as examples, it seemed much more deliberate in his mind. Someone must have picked them out intentionally to bring to the city.
"Should we introduce ourselves? Maybe the answer is close to home?" If Loki was right and they had some common ground that brought them there, then it could also be the key to leaving. "I don't mind trying to walk along the tracks. Although, that does remind me of a particular story... I don't think we should try it alone."
no subject
"There are a few possibilities, for sure. Perhaps everything is automated here and those that brought us here are working remotely. It would take quite a feat of magic to remove people from their worlds and bring them here, but it is not impossible. I would assume something went wrong. It seems unlikely anyone created this place only to have a handful of people pulled here. I would not even be surprised if this were all some sort of accident. I have certainly seen stranger."
Loki nodded, seeing the value in that. Honestly, he may have introduced himself earlier had he thought of it. Despite encountering more people in recent years who did not know him, he was still used to being quite famous. Royalty didn't often get the luxury of anonymity. "I am Loki Odinson of Asgard and I believe you are correct in that. That kind of exploration is definitely best not done alone. Especially with no information on what is happening in the slightest."
no subject
"Asgard...? That sounds familiar. Is it a famous place?"
Familiar, but it also sounded foreign, and Seimei wasn't exactly up to date on all of the stories and rumors in other countries. With so many local problems to deal with, he rarely did end up talking to other magic users. Or maybe it was just a normal city he had never heard of.
"My name is Abe no Seimei. Seimei is fine. If it's as you say and someone made a mistake, I wonder if the mistake was picking us, or if they actually meant to fill the train. It must take a lot to power a place like this, right? Do you think we conveniently had something they wanted, or that the city is meant for other people and we just stumbled into its path?"
He sounded more seriously thoughtful as he said that, musing other the potential for using people as tools in spells, but then he seemed to catch himself and smiled innocently.
"I'm pretty clumsy, so I guess I could have fallen into something like that."
no subject
Not with Seimei though. It seemed they had hit it off almost immediately. This was not something Loki was used to in the slightest, but he still appreciated it. Normally he did not connect well with people at all. His only real friend ever had been his brother and that had been a tumultuous relationship to say the least.
“To some. Though to many more it has fallen into the stuff of legend. Asgard is… was the home to the leader of the Nine Realms which ruled over all, include Earth. Some people of Earth refer to us as the Norse gods as the core of our believers lived in what I believe is often referred to as Scandinavia, more specifically Norway. Until more recently, we had not stepped foot on that world in some centuries, so I suppose it is not so surprising that most do not believe we are real.” As much as Loki always intended to not say much, he did tend to enjoy talking. As he spoke, there was some sadness in his tone, knowing his home had been destroyed, and so soon after finally accepting it as his home once again.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Seimei. And yes, that could very well be the mistake. There are scores of not so good outcomes I could think of as possibilities. Perhaps they tried to bring more, but only the strongest made it. Perhaps they only have so much power and so need to repopulate slowly. Perhaps we were all in the wrong place at the wrong time and we were brought here purely by random. I simply do not have enough information yet to deduce what is happening.”
Loki watched the expression change on the other man’s face and found it curious, but did not draw attention to it. They had only just met and Loki could hardly blame him for putting up a mask.
“I am not clumsy, however with what was happening when I found myself on the train, I was definitely distracted which I could see amounting to the same thing. Likely exploring the areas that might lead us out is probably best done in larger groups, but I cannot say I am a good leader in these sorts of situations. Especially when I know nothing of those that need leading. I think maybe smaller groups going to check these places out might be the best starting point. We just have to find more people.”
(no subject)
(no subject)