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.
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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 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.
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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!
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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.
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WILDCARD.
The city is by no means small, and there are plenty of things for you to see. There's no rush in exploring, so feel free to take your time looking around and peering into various nooks and crannies and alleyways—and don't worry, you're not very likely to find anything peering back.
If none of the above prompts appeal, feel free to check out the Locations and Maps pages and write your own freestyle prompt using one or many of the available locations.
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citycenter) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
citylogs2023-06-01 12:00 am
no subject
Clearly because there are snacks and candies, Heero.
A man needs fuel to figure out these mysteries, and he's definitely not gotten distracted here with sugary items. Done with his painful mutterings, Duo will finally move to stand, rolling his shoulders as if he's shaking off his still throbbing head with that motion alone. Casually he points to the can Heero's just put down.
"What're you gonna be makin' with cat food, anyway?"
no subject
...obviously nothing, that's why I put it back?
If Heero's dead silent pauses could speak.
Perhaps he would benefit from something sugary just to lighten this incredibly dour mood of his up, but good luck with convincing him to try and ingest something from a place like this. He feels like a rat in a trap. No weapons, a fraction of his strength, every effort to gather useful intel thwarted.
"Have you found any written information?"
...more useful than a cat food label, that is.
no subject
Duo gets it, though it only sparks a roll of his eyes. Yes, they'd worked together long enough it was as though Heero's answered are beamed to his brain, but he didn't have to prove it still worked so constantly like this.
At any rate, the former Deathscythe pilot goes back to habitual sighing as Heero asks about written information. That alone would be a no, but Duo Maxwell is nothing if not full of chatter, and after switching which side of his mouth his lollipop is on, gets right on in to his explanation.
"So.. I went to City Hall. They have all these rooms full'a filing cabinets and shit, and even after ransackin' the place there isn't a damn bit of useful information on a single piece of paper." Here, Duo stops to mutter something about how he definitely should've just lit the place on fire for the hell of it, as nothing at all would be lost, but then digresses.
"It's all banal bullshit that would matter to like... your least interesting Catholic neighbor who'd be affronted that you fold your towels in squares or something."
no subject
As expected, but still starkly disappointing to hear out loud that he's found nothing. Duo Maxwell is one of the few people Heero can always count on to pick up on what he's missed, but it seems they've made similar observations.
Admittedly, Heero, doesn't really get all the details about towel folding neighbors, but he's learned to skip over the extraneous exposition when it comes to Duo. The gist is they agree that City Hall would be better off on fire for all the good it's done them, so he nods.
"Weapons?"
Heero's search there has turned up empty, too.
no subject
“I tore the place apart, but..” Duo’s shoulders shrug. There was nothing to find, by his estimation, and if there is, literally no one would have the patience or the luck to recover it with so many places to look.
Or at least that’s what he’s telling himself anyway.
“Negative. Other than like. Tiny Swiss Army knife things in the drug stores but those’re useless.” For anything other than nail trimmings, anyway. Duo scratches at his cheek, then, eyes far away in thought.
“I dunno, Heero. This one’s beyond weird.”
no subject
A fully functioning city - clearly stocked with fresh foods and amenities - should logically have weapons just as readily available for the taking. The two of them don't exactly need a signboard emblazoned with GUN N' THINGS to know where to look, either. It doesn't make any sense... unless it's by someone's design.
That's insane, of course. But Heero is aware that he isn't the first person anyone should go to first for a sanity check.
"What do you think?"
A question he only asks when circumstances have become very dire.
no subject
"Stop looking madder than usual." Duo prods with a little shove with his elbow, a good-natured way of telling Heero to stop thinking so damn hard. Yes, it seems like something that wouldn't happen in a normal place, or at the very least is near-on unthinkable.. and yet here they are anyway. Of all people prone to go with the flow (with a few tantrums along the way) - Duo will encourage it from Heero where he can.
Asked what he thinks, though... Duo hums softly, head tipping side to side as if weighing his thoughts in a very literal motion.
"I try not to do that too often, y'know." A lie, but one he's willing to lean into if it so suits him. At the moment it does, at least for the momentary joke, but he's been contemplating what the hell is going on here maybe even a little too hard since he'd arrived thinking he was on his own.
"I'm wonderin' if this is either some creepily elaborate set, number one... Or number two, if the people that live here are.. I dunno. Typically livin' underground? Which seems unlikely, but there's also not like.. animals, at all. Not a subway rat or an ant.. it's fuckin' weird. Even colonies have rats."
no subject
It would be something of a relief that Duo's thoughts are aligning with his, were it not for that slight nudge - it should have been feather light, to Heero Yuy - knocking him off-center. Heero catches himself with a single step back, and nothing more.
He hadn't yet noticed the lack of rats. Duo would. He's even more unsettled than before.
"We should find shelter."
no subject
Duo watches Heero take a step and his brows furrow. Immediately he’s scanning the other man for signs of injury or .. who knew what, even leaning slightly to make sure that there wasn’t blood in his hair. Heero is usually so unmoved by his gentle rubbing that it takes him aback quite a bit to see him off kilter.
“You good, ‘Ro? What the hell was that? You get hurt somehow?”
The mention of shelter of course doesn’t go astray - Duo very much likes sorting out places to stay as much as he does food.
“Yeah. Below ground or above? They got whole empty apartment blocks, yknow. Should grab some non-perishables from the stores too. Just in case.”
no subject
"Above. Better for surveillance, and we should watch for the others."
Not likely that such an elaborate trap would be set for the two of them alone.
no subject
Duo knows better than to ask, but … it takes a lot not to press at the issue here. It will land them no where with Heero annoyed and Duo likely just as irritated, and so Duo decides to let it go for the moment.
Only for now, though, as he’s too nosey and concerned to let it go for very long where Heero is concerned.
“Yeah.” Duo agrees with a nod, turning to reach over the counter of the convenience store for bags. He passes one to Heero, assuming he’ll know what he’s getting at.
“If anything goes to shit we should be supplied for five days or so.”
no subject
Of course Heero knows what to do with the empty bag, but with his mind too full for niceties, he doesn't even bother to nod an acknowledgement. He just takes it and heads for the tasteless protein bars.
no subject
“Don’t just get those damn protein bars either!” He knows you, Heero Yuy. You and those stupid, flavorless protein bars that are pretty nasty. Look, he’ll eat them, but he won’t like it the entire damn time.
For his end Duo is finding just about everything he can in a can and putting it in to the bag. If it digs in to his hands, oh well.
A small price to pay for a supply run.
“If we can get a little variety it’ll be for the better.”
no subject
No, Heero doesn't think so.
There's no telling when that situation could change on them. It would be more foolish to rely on being handed things he didn't somehow fight for.
"You only got candy," he points out. That's dietary variety.
Heero isn't even looking at the labels as he shoves entire display boxes into the bag.
no subject
"For now! I haven't even gotten a damn bag." Geez, Heero, give him a minute here to make sure he gets something useful going. Duo huffs for a moment before grabbing a bag and beginning his little shopping trip. This includes bags of nuts, the occasional 'cup noodle' kind of thing, and of course some different types of bars, too.
... They are occasionally good for something, after all.
If they're ransacking the place, Duo makes sure to put as much as he can in the bag without it splitting or, you know. Being too heavy to carry for a long period.
"So you're thinkin' one of the high rises, then, for a place to stay?"
no subject
"Near the subway."
If anyone of interest were to appear, they would no doubt spend their time surveilling that area carefully. They should be on alert.
no subject
"Right. Then we'll have an idea of who is arriving, too... " Duo pauses for a moment, then, and makes a slight cluck of his tongue at the thought. Yes, their eyes weren't that bad, but all the same -
"We might wanna see if we can find binoculars or something that can be used like them..." Surveillance uses, and all. He would prefer the scope of a rifle, but they're working with what they have here. Duo sets down one bag of supplies and takes out another empty bag, sighing. "I'd prefer a scope, just in case, but it's better to know up close than not at all."
no subject
He keeps his nod of agreement brief.
"I'll find a sporting goods store."
Which will also have metal bats. Maybe even some manner of protective gear.
They'll be armed, come hell or high water.
no subject
A sporting goods store .. Duo pauses a moment, mind calculating over the possibilities of that kind of store. It’s a good thought, for sure, and Duo hums a little in his agreement as he’s swiping goods in to bags.
“So bats… golf clubs, too, if they’ve got ‘em.” Possibly as durable as a bat, too, if push came to shove.
“Pads or something too I’m sure?”
no subject
Heero wants to personally choose his options, however. He needs to test how a bat swings in his hands and how hard he can hit, and he needs to do it by himself.
"Mn. You go ahead and choose the apartment."
Not only does Heero trust Duo with that task, well... of the two of them, he suspects Duo has the strongest opinions about the type of place he'd like to live. He seems to appreciate comfortable living in a way that Heero doesn't quite grasp.
no subject
“Okay. As high as possible, even better if we can get a corner unit …” More window range can’t be bad, after all. Duo nods to himself as he thinks of how they might go about getting keys or … something like that. Protecting their space would be very important, after all.
He isn’t gathering this up for just anyone’s use. There’s all this talk of sharing of course but.. well. He’s far from the Duo Maxwell that shared food when he was a kid in a gang.
These days the gang is much, much smaller.
“I guess wood bats, then. Aluminum won’t hold up too long ..”
no subject
Heero will bring back aluminum bats too, of course. What if the enemy has flamethrowers? Wufei has flamethrowers.