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
City Hall
The fire alarm is the boring option. [ For a former terrorist who is very much not ashamed of it, sure. Duo stops pawing through files for a moment to tilt his head slightly, popping a stiff shoulder before he's right back to it. Who the hell knows what might be hidden in here, though -
He pauses for a moment, gears clearly turning before he's rifling in the pockets of his leather jacket, producing a yet unopened pack of cigarettes and a multitude of lighters. ]
Actually, that may be the easiest solution.
See if anyone comes runnin' for a certain place if the whole joint's going up.
Everything in here is the most vanilla gossip I've ever read, anyway.
no subject
but then again, he's not judging -- not yet at least. he closes the desk drawer he'd just opened up, shooting the guy a curious look. ]
Guessing you're in a rush to get answers quick too, then?
[ because that at least, is highly relatable. ]
no subject
Well I figure it’s what they should do if I’m gonna be here.
[ yes, he agreed to be here in a round about way, but it’s probably some form of coercion when one is already in a very creepy location.
At any rate, Duo is debating all the ways he can possibly think of to make a fire and fast. ]
This place is creepy silent anyway. Might as well liven it up, right?
no subject
Right. See if this place actually has a pulse.
[ that's it. apparently that one bit of incredulity was all the brakes keith had in his system. he opens up another desk drawer, this time finding a. blank legal pad, which he holds up in his hand. ]
This'll at least get the smoke detectors going.
[ a beat, then: ]
Keith, by the way. You're...?
no subject
He’d intended to use it for cigarettes of course, but here they are in these circumstances. ]
Duo. [ finally his hand lands on something that isn’t a doughnut wrapper or some other snack food, and Duo shows the lighter to his companion. ]
If the entire pad is lit from one side to the other it should burn for a decent time.
no subject
more than likely, duo's probably doing the same. it's a weird thought, though keith doesn't miss a beat in holding out his hand in silent request to take the lighter. ]
Got it.
[ giving the corners of the room another lookover to check for cameras that he knows doesn't exist, he furrows his brow. ]
You gonna stick around to see what happens or do you need a few minutes head start?
no subject
[ Terrorism upon Earth and space does that to a kid. For the moment, Duo is definitely taking note of Keith's willingness to cause a little chaos, but it's little more than that. Who knows what they'll be up against here, anyway, and he has to know who has the ability to play the game, even a little.
He passes over the lighter easily enough, leaning against a nearby filing cabinet as if they're discussing where to get lunch that day instead of arson. ]
It'll take a lot more than a little fire to scare me off. Go ahead and light it.
[ He is usually the one lighting fires and setting off bombs, so it's nice to get a little bit of a day off. ]
Hopefully the first one to come runnin' isn't Wufei.
no subject
clearly, though, duo must have his own flavor of disapproving buddy because: ]
Wufei?
[ lighter in hand, keith holds it under the legal pad before flicking the flint wheel. the flame singes the bottom corner of the pad, fire spreading slowly as keith moves the lighter as duo suggested. ]
You actually know someone here? Or are you trying manifest them into existence?
[ the latter question is, of course, a joke. with the paper now well and truly on fire, keith drops it on top of the desk. time to sit back and watch the show? ... or not. ]
no subject
Yeah. He’ll either storm in here all defacto cop or, as a man who loves a flame thrower, give us some kind of long talk about how we’re doing this wrong. [ going in to what he means by wufei loving a flame thrower will have to wait until later. Talking about their now destroyed gundams still stings a little.
Duo watches the paper light with a sort of normalcy that might be strange. Granted.. Duo is usually rigging up bombs, so. Differences. ]
Nah, he’s here. I actually know three people here, but only that one would probably stop us.
Eh, actually … [ a small pause. ] Maybe Quatre too but that’s probably just dependent on his mood.
no subject
raising an eyebrow, keith refrains from voicing a skeptical but non-committal uh-huh, in favor of picking at the more useful nugget. ]
How'd all of you get caught up in this? Were you all together on a mission or something?
[ not that this would shed much light on their predicament, but if nothing else would explain why keith himself is apparently alone here to deal with... whatever this is.
though speaking of dealing with things, a fire is apparently not on that list. the legal pad continues to burn merrily, but where the flames ought to be spreading onto the desk? the fire simply smokes impotently before dying out. ]
no subject
[ If only the teenage hurricane known as Chang Wufei were fake. A boogeyman with a flamethrowing Gundam to haunt them all forever. Fortunately and unfortunately the man exists, and Duo can't help the little laugh as he notices the raised eyebrow.
Considering how he's forced his friendship upon Heero Yuy, who's the strong and exceedingly silent type... Duo gets the vibe. It's fine, he'll believe him once he meets Wufei anyway. ]
Yeah, basically. Though we're inexplicably missing one but.. I dunno. Leave it to fucking Trowa to come flipping off a building for style or some shit.
[ And no, that is also not a joke. For a moment Duo watches the fire, hoping to see a much larger configuration than what he lays eyes on, brows furrowing slightly as he takes it in. That's.. not usually how paper burns. For experiment's sake, Duo turns to a cabinet and pulls out a folder, moving to the pad and attempting to light the folder to see what happens. ]
Glue is usually an accelerant, what the hell -
no subject
keith's eyebrow stays raised through the description of trowa, but then the matter of the fire more or less sucks all the skepticism away from duo himself. just as before, the flames catch on the sacrificial file, but past that? not so much. ]
They must've treated the furniture with flame retardant or something.
[ which implies... what? city hall sees a lot of fire and not just the political kind? ]
Might need to find gasoline to really get this going.
no subject
Now why the hell would they do that? They light it up all the damn time? [ Now he's irritated, it would seem, though the idea of gasoline of course piques his interest. Duo's brows raise, one of those Cheshire grins spreading.
Truly, he's thrilled to find someone just as happy to cause chaos as he is. ]
Gas? You seen a car or something around here that can be siphoned?
no subject
he looks away from the truly pathetic fire smoldering itself out on the desk towards the grin on his new buddy in crime and... actually huffs in amusement. ]
I've seen plenty of abandoned vehicles. Haven't tried starting any of them, so I couldn't tell you what the gas situation is. Seems like you've already given that a go?
no subject
At any rate - ]
I guess that's the next option. Though.. I dunno. I'm not feelin' hopeful that they'll be sitting brimming full of useable fuel.
no subject
It doesn't hurt to check.
[ people and all animal life disappearing en mase is one thing if there was some bio-organic disaster at some point. something that dispappeared all the fucking gasoline in the town too? seems improbable, but nothing about how they got here has been probable from the start. ]
C'mon.
[ Without further ado, keith turns to leave the office. ]
What machines do you normally work with though?
no subject
Not wrong. [ Wouldn't hurt anything other than his brain, perhaps, to see the gas that they found not really.. take off.. so to speak. Or for it to be claggy and nasty, not fit for use.
Whatever it ends up being, if he gives up ahead of time there's no harm in anything.
Duo nods, indicating for Keith to lead. ]
I prefer a motorcycle, if it's a vehicle to get around, is what I mean. Or a nice little shuttle in case I gotta make a slick exit.