TDM: JUNE 2023

[citycenter]

TEST DRIVE MEME

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? ▶ YES ▶ 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 ↑

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louis de pointe du lac | the vampire chronicles

[deathoftheauthor]

graveyard (night)

( Of course following the path in this strange dreamlike world leads Louis right to a graveyard. What else?

Louis rather likes cemeteries, most of the time — they're peaceful places, monuments to that mysterious eternal repose that he will never know. But this place is strange, unsettling in its unnatural peace. The above-ground tombs of New Orleans were like silent cities, the smell of dust and decay and funeral flowers hanging eternally in the air, and the endless sounds of human life were never very far away. But here the whole city is silent, and the newest of these graves looks a century old, at least.

He shivers. It's a lonely thing to be the only supernatural being in such a place. Perhaps the only being at all. Still, at least it means that there was indeed life here, once.

For a little while he wanders through the rows, his quiet footsteps stirring a light fog upon the ground. A crumbling, once-ornate headstone, overgrown by moss, catches his eye, and the letters on it turn his blood to ice: Lest——cou—t. He bends to push dead leaves away, running his fingers over the worn-smooth letters, his mind racing. It can't be. But—

He hears something behind him, the first living thing he's encountered so far, and he stands upright to face the newcomer. He could almost be mistaken for a ghost himself, unnaturally pale and dressed in black from head to toe, but the surprise on his face is quite alive. He bows his head in apology, steepling his fingers anxiously in front of him. )

I'm terribly sorry, I hope I didn't startle you. I wasn't expecting to see— well, anyone.

( Which is perhaps why his curious staring seems so intense. )

network

Has anyone else noticed a disturbing absence of rats? The streets of this city are not only empty of human beings, but of life itself. No birds, nor mice, nor even moths around the streetlamps.

I have been far, far from any human habitation before, but I have never in my life heard such unnatural silence.

wildcard

( ooc. info! most importantly: louis is a vampire. if your character can sense that kind of thing, go right ahead. wildcards welcome, or pm this journal and we can work something out! i'm easy like sunday morning. castmates and other vampires are loved. )

network; @harls

[nutbuckets]

yeah I ain't seen even one of the little guys
shame, I kinda like em now

[deathoftheauthor]

Now? Did something change your mind?

[nutbuckets]

well they weren't so bad before, maybe a lil annoying
but I met a new friend who can control em and she helped me kill a giant freakin starfish monster with rats so now they're like
friends I guess
rats are friends

[deathoftheauthor]

( oh. so. normal reasons, then. )

I take it, then, that this isn't the strangest thing that's happened to you.

[nutbuckets]

[Absolutely perfectly normal.]

Nope. Not by a long shot. That'd probably have to be the case of the disappearing Milton. Everyone keeps talking about him, but I never met the guy.

[deathoftheauthor]

Well, you still have one up on me. I've never so much as heard of him.

network

[undisciplined]

I had noticed the lack of animals, yes although rats wouldn't have been the first ones I paid attention to.

Does it matter so much? There don't seem to be any bugs either.

[deathoftheauthor]

Is it so strange to think of the rats first? In such a dense urban area, it is shocking not to see any sign of vermin. A total absence of insects is stranger still.

It would be one thing if something had happened to all of the human residents, but to every living thing?

[undisciplined]

Wouldn't most people think of other animals first?

I would, but i don't think it's that odd that all life disappeared, considering the people did.

[deathoftheauthor]

People first notice what they are familiar with, I'm sure. But what did you first realize was missing? Other than humans, of course.

[undisciplined]

Humans, and then I guess strays. There used to be a lot of those around where I lived. It's a relief not to see them here.

[deathoftheauthor]

Do you mean cats and dogs? Yes, I agree. It would be worse if they were left behind to fend for themselves.

Graveyard

[brothergoblin]

[ Tyler hadn't so much intended to explore the graveyard as found himself overextending his search of the forest. Trees he knows what to do with, had gotten up close to study how similar they are to species from Delos Crossing.

The suggestion of a path had been too tempting not to follow, and the gravestones like jagged teeth jutting from the earth had been a source of curiosity. And minor terror.

Tyler's heart is thudding in his chest as a figure ahead of him seems to loom without warning. ]

Fuck!

[ A little startled, yeah. ]

Scared the shit out of me.

[deathoftheauthor]

( Louis turns his palms upward in that near-universal gesture that means 'I'm unarmed,' though it feels dishonest when he's permanently armed with a pair of fangs. He hears the stranger's racing heartbeat first, and the words follow in second place. )

You surprised me as well. Please, don't worry... In spite of the rather ominous circumstances, I mean you no harm.

( He tips his head to one side, curious and wary in equal measure. Is the young man from this strange place, or is he as confused as Louis? He ventures a soft, wondering comment, trying not to give too much away: )

I was beginning to think I was entirely alone.

[brothergoblin]

Right, sorry. Just uh--

[ Whether he means to or not, Tyler mirrors the stranger and holds his hands up too. No harm no foul, or something. He doesn't know how to finish his sentence. The creeping sensation has been building across the course of the last few... he doesn't even know how long it's been. And that's part of the problem.

The last graveyard he was at was his mom's in the middle of the day and there was nothing eerie about it. Traumatic? Sure. But not filled with a weird creeping sensation in the back of his mind, of which the shadow only seems to grow larger. He doesn't like the idea he's caused the same feeling regardless, so: ]

I really am sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. Didn't even see you there and-- no, I'm not from here. I don't know where here is. I was hoping to find somebody who did but, sounds like you don't know either?

[deathoftheauthor]

( Louis shakes his head. )

Please, there's need to apologize. Unfortunately, I'm as baffled as you are. But it is a small comfort to know that I'm not entirely alone here — wherever here is, as you say. It gives me hope that there may yet be others.

( He approaches at a leisurely pace, fingertips skimming the cool, weathered tops of the headstones. It makes him feel less like he's dreaming, or going mad, to have his senses engaged. )

My name is Louis.

[brothergoblin]

Tyler.

[ Is his name, he means.

His heart is doing its best to settle back into something more normal, even as he watches the stranger ghost fingers over headstones. It strikes him as such an eerie sight, like he’s not actually as comfortable being in the graveyard as he thought he was.

The urge to give in to some deep-seated terror feels like it’s mere fingertips away from him. Like it’s barely kept at bay, and the emptiness in this place seems to be leaving a cavernous void for all the terror to fill. He can’t help but imagine feeling his fear on a cellular level.

It’s visible when he shivers, like it works up through his entire body involuntarily no matter how hard he tries to suppress it. ]

You haven’t seen anybody else? There’s other people here… we’re not alone.

[deathoftheauthor]

Oh, thank goodness.

( His relief is palpable, narrow shoulders dropping some of their tension as he exhales. It does nothing to quell his confusion, though. Are the others like himself and Tyler, newcomers to this strange place? For what purpose were they brought here, and by whom? Questions clamor for his attention, demanding answers that he doubts this young man has. Louis explains: )

I wandered for some time after I exited the train, you see, but I encountered no one and no sign of life. Perhaps it's due to the late hour, or my luck. So I came here, to the park, thinking that at least the trees might keep the silence from being so deafeningly loud.

But this cemetery… I dislike the way it feels. You seem as if you understand.

( It isn't quite a question, but are you all right? is really what he means, and it isn't the sort of thing one asks a stranger. The young man's discomfort is evident to Louis, preternaturally attuned to the smallest nuances of human behavior. He is afraid, and trying not to be. Louis can't help but wonder whether it's this place, or if Tyler senses, as mortals sometimes do, that he is in the presence of a potential predator. Something that shouldn't exist.

The thought, as always, stirs up a current of guilt in his chest. )

network un: VioletRaven

[featherdaggers]

No spirits. No animals. No magic. No real life.
There's no essence to this cursed place.

[deathoftheauthor]

It feels dead, doesn't it? Not just empty, but soulless.

[featherdaggers]

Yes.
Surely even the Void doesn't feel quite this empty.
It's unnatural. I don't like it.

[deathoftheauthor]

When you say the Void, what do you mean?

[featherdaggers]

The Void.
The Realm of Nothingness.
I'm not a scholar, I only know the stories people tell of the place.
But if the voidborn are actually real, then even that place has more life than here.

[deathoftheauthor]

I have never heard of such a place. But that means nothing; this is unlike anything I have ever experienced, and I have no knowledge that could possibly explain it.