THE THINGS I GAVE YOU.
» THE BANK — INTRODUCTORY NOTES
District 2 is open, bringing with it access to new and interesting locations—including the city's main bank branch. The bank is a large building with a stone exterior, wrought iron grating on the windows, and large, heavy metal doors that take surprisingly little effort to open, their hinges silent and well-oiled.
Early in the day on July 19, characters in the vicinity of the bank will hear first a low, metallic creaking sound from inside the building, like metal straining against metal. This is followed by the sharper noise of locks disengaging, and then the large, heavy doors on the front of the building swing open slightly, enough to let a person through.
Directly inside the doors is the bank lobby, and beyond that is the main banking floor, with elegant marble flooring and dimly lit chandeliers. It would appear that this was once the main commercial bank of the city, although it is now completely empty, with no tellers behind the counters and no cash in any of the drawers.
You may rifle through the tills and filing cabinets to your heart's content, but similar to the files in City Hall, there is no useful information to be found—all the papers are blank, or are empty forms without any personally identifying information. There are no monetary devices to be found either; this is, after all, not a city that operates on a cash system, so there are no coins or paper bills in any of the tills or, indeed, anywhere within the bank.
What you might be able to find, though, is a rack of delicate, burnished brass keys on a wall toward the back of the main banking hall. Each of these keys is attached to a stamped metal keychain bearing a name on one side and a number on the other. Some of these may be names you recognize, and some of them may not, but they are all names belonging to current residents of the city, and each key corresponds to a safety deposit box within the vault at the back of the building. Can you remember what you stored in that box for safekeeping? Maybe you had better go find out.
At the back of the main banking hall is a vault secured with a large circular metal door. The door is currently unlocked and propped open; it can be closed, but cannot be locked (intentionally, anyway) from either the inside or the outside. The vault contains row upon row of safety deposit boxes, each locked. Participating characters who are in possession of a key can open their own safety deposit box, but it is not currently possible to force open any safety deposit box that does not belong to them. After August 1, players will be able to use their safety deposit boxes to store their own belongings, and break-ins will become possible with prior player permission and appropriate consequences.
Below sections detail the safety deposit boxes for both choose-your-own-adventure players and randomized players! Please see the randomized matches for this event HERE.
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IT'S TRUE, PEOPLE TAKE THINGS BUT RARELY.
» SAFETY DEPOSIT BOXES — A SELF-GUIDED TOUR
For some of you, getting into your safety deposit box is quite straightforward.
You take your key from the rack behind the teller's counter and make your way back through the building and into the vault. It's cool inside, the temperature well-regulated and the air dry. On the walls are rows upon rows of safety deposit boxes, and it may take you a moment to find the one that corresponds to the number stamped on your key. Does that number mean anything to you? It may, or it may not.
When you find your box, it takes very little effort to open it. A slide of your key, a quick turn, and the safety deposit box's door springs open to reveal the metal container within. You remove the metal box from the wall and bring it over to the table in the center of the room, clearly placed there for this express purpose. Maybe there are others around, or maybe you're alone. Do you remember yet, what it was you put in here? Well, there's no time like the present to check.
You open the safety deposit box to find—something that shouldn't be there. It's yours, that much you're sure of, but you didn't bring it with you to the city. You reach into the box to pick it up, and the surge of memory is immediate, sending your mind back to your strongest memory associated with the item in your hand.
Then the vault door swings shut, trapping you inside with whoever else has the misfortune of sharing the vault with you right now. No matter what force you try, the door won't open again. There doesn't appear to even be a mechanism that unlocks the door from the inside, and from within several feet of metal and stone, no one on the outside will be able to hear you shout. It seems hopeless—how long can anyone last, trapped in a place like this?
Should you turn back to the open safety deposit box, you might notice a slip of paper resting on the bottom. The paper looks aged, like it's been in the box for quite some time, and in printed text it reads: "Nothing is yours. It is to use. It is to share. If you will not share it, you cannot use it."
Maybe it means you should let another hold the item you've retrieved from the box… or maybe it means you should share the weight of memory. Try to interpret the meaning in whatever way you can. But should you decide to unburden yourself, and share with someone else the weight of the item you're holding in your hands, you may find that there's a means of escape after all.
Once you free yourself from the vault, for the next several days you find yourself feeling rather honest, like you may not be able to stop yourself from confessing the truth about the item you now carry…
Characters who wish to participate in the event, but who do not wish to randomize the contents of their safety deposit boxes, can open their safety deposit boxes to find an emotionally significant item belonging to the character—player's choice as to what the item is. The only guidelines are that it should be small enough to fit reasonably in a pocket and may not have any magical or weapon properties. Similarly, players are able to choose the memories associated with the items in the safety deposit boxes. The vault door will remain closed until the characters in the vault explain to each other the significance of their items and the memory associated with them, at which point it the vault mechanisms will disengage and the door will swing open as if it had never closed to begin with. However, for the four days following the event, characters who carry their safety deposit box item on their person will feel oddly compelled to tell other characters about its significance and meaning.
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A CRASH-SITE IS SACRED, WE'RE FAITHFUL.
» SAFETY DEPOSIT BOXES — A JOINT VENTURE
For others of you, the contents of the safety deposit box may be considerably more disconcerting.
You also take your safety deposit box key from the rack behind the bank teller's counter and make your way back through the building and into the vault. It's cool inside, the temperature well-regulated and the air dry. On the walls are rows upon rows of safety deposit boxes, and it may take you a moment to find the one that corresponds to the number stamped on your key. Does that number mean anything to you? It may, or it may not.
When you find your box, it takes very little effort to open it. A slide of your key, a quick turn, and the safety deposit box's door springs open to reveal the metal container within. You remove the metal box from the wall and bring it over to the table in the center of the room, clearly placed there for this express purpose. Maybe there are others around, or maybe you're alone. Do you remember yet, what it was you put in here? Well, there's no time like the present to check.
You open the safety deposit box to find—wait, what is that? It certainly doesn't belong to you. Tucked inside the safety deposit box alongside the item is a slip of paper with another name on it, as well as a cryptic message: "Nothing is yours. It is to use. It is to share. If you will not share it, you cannot use it." The item isn't yours, but it does appear to belong to another resident of the city. Maybe your safety deposit boxes somehow got mixed up? It seems like it would be a good idea to find this person and return their property to them.
Whether you encounter the owner of the item in the vault or elsewhere in the city, when it comes time to hand the item over, two things happen. One—the doors are locked tight, refusing to allow either you or the item's owner out until you both understand what the item is and what it means to the other. To unburden your heart is the only way to free yourself.
And two—as the owner of the item explains its significance, you find yourself oddly captivated, resonating strongly with whatever emotion the item's owner most closely associates with it. You may not be able to see the memory that the other person describes, but you can certainly feel the emotions they felt—after all, the easiest way to unburden oneself is to share the load with another. Isn't that right?
Once you free yourself from your enthralled state, and once you have your own belongings returned to you, for the next several days you find yourself feeling rather honest, like you may not be able to stop yourself from confessing the truth about the item you now carry…
Characters who opted to randomize the contents of their safety deposit box during the plotting post, or who plotted a joint experience with another character, will open their safety deposit boxes to find a small, non-magical but emotionally significant item belonging to another player character in the city. They will need to find the owner of that item and return it to them—this can either be inside the bank vault or in another location within the city. Regardless of where the meeting takes place, the character holding the item will find themselves unable to leave until the character who owns the item explains its significance; as they do, the holder of the item will find themselves swept up in the emotional highs and lows of the memories associated with that item, allowing them to share all of the feelings, regrets, joys, griefs, and rages that the owner experiences in the telling. Additionally, for the four days following the event, characters who carry their safety deposit box item on their person will feel oddly compelled to tell other characters about its significance and meaning.
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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.
This month's event headers come from "The Things" and "The Gatherer," two poems by Brendan Constantine. The text of the paper slip comes from Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed.
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citylogs2023-07-19 08:45 pm
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But he knows that card. Knows how emotional Izuku is and why. And that, in return, just makes him feel...
Augh. Bakugou has been dwelling on a lot of that stuff. Their shared past, that is. ]
Maybe it won't let us out until I look at my box.
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Ahh... Do you think so? Maybe you should open yours, Kacchan.
[But he feels uneasy...]
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[ But he's sighing anyway. Shuffles around towards the box that his key apparently is assigned to. Red eyes bore holds into it before Katsuki eventually slides the key into the slot. After a moment, Bakugou slides the box out and crouches on the floor to actually open it.
And then he pauses. Well. THAT isn't something he would have expected. ]
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... K-Kacchan? Are you okay? What did you...?
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Inside there's something that Izuku should be familiar with. Though it's in a lot of different pieces than when he had originally seen it.
It's a letter that's been ripped up into pieces. ]
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[Izuku freezes when he sees just a small shred of one of the little pieces of paper. Izuku's own handwriting.
It's his letter to Katsuki...
His cheeks feel hot and he takes a step back.]
That's ... How? Kacchan... You don't have to worry about something like that. It ... Probably has nothing to do with this vault.
[He doesn't even know if Katsuki read it, to be perfectly honest.]
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[ It seems like, to Katsuki, that Izuku is also a little flustered to see this letter. His eyes narrow as he looks at the other boy. ]
I didn't even bother to read this thing because I was gonna make you say it to my face. So how could it even be something I want?
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[He didn't read the letter? .............. Oh thank god.]
Oh- It's... That's true! It's just paper anyway so it must be ... something else!
[Avoiding Katsuki's gaze now.]
There has to be another trick to this place then. A way out of this room.
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"It's just paper anyway." Ah huh. Like he is going to believe that with how flustered Izuku is becoming.
So he sits down on the ground and starts to sort the pieces. ]
Ah huh. You keep on punching things until it or your fist breaks again.
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But then... Katsuki's weirdly quiet over there. When he looks over his shoulder he yelps.]
Ah- Kacchan...! It's just a piece of paper, right? You said yourself, you didn't want to bother reading it?!
[He's totally coming over to try and snatch some of the pieces...]
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Yeah, but there could be a reason that this was picked over something else. Probably has something to do with the contents.
[ Then his eyes slide to Izuku's. Sharp. Perceptive. ]
Though it's looking like there was something important written in there after all.
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N-No, I know what you're saying, Kacchan. But this is probably something else. You don't have to put it together...!
[Why does Izuku look so nervous!!]
It's not important...!
[Not anymore, anyway!]
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If it's not important, then why did you write it in the first place?
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[Izuku frowns in reply and watches Katsuki. He feels this wash of guilt that he doesn't like. And he tries to pull his wrists free.]
At the time, I wanted you to read it. But that was only because I didn't think I was coming back to U.A.
[...]
But I did. So it... It doesn't matter anymore.
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If it didn't matter, then you shouldn't have an issue with me reading it. Since it's not important.
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Kacchan! Please!!
[He almost shouts in desperation.
... Because on those little ripped pieces of paper are a few words and bits that might catch Katsuki's eye. Words and bits like: admiration, wanted you to look, i wasn't going to tell]
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Two options. Either you tell me what is on that letter yourself.
[ Squeezing those wrists! ]
Or let me put it together.
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I'm ... not picking! I don't want you to know what's in that letter a-anymore!
[He's not picking either option. He's choosing to fight and wrestle with Katsuki because that seems infinitely better than admitting the truth to him now. So if he can get a hand free he'll lunge forward to grab more scraps.]
So give those scraps to me right now...! Please!
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It's mine to do with what I want!
[ Going to just securely put himself between Izuku and that box of paper! ]
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[The kick to the gut surprises him (where is his Danger Sense?!) and it winds Izuku enough that he stumbles back with a wince. It only proves to frustrate Izuku enough that he tightens his jaw and prepares to fight Katsuki if he has to.]
I'm the one who wrote it and you're the one who ripped it up, so it doesn't matter?!
[He is going to launch at Katsuki again to try and tackle him away. His own hands grab at Katsuki's wrists to put him in the same hold as he was just in.]
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So he's tackled. Izuku pins him down and Katsuki's hands spark uselessly. There's no real heat coming out of them. No danger there. But that doesn't mean Katsuki isn't dangerous. ]
It's mine do do with what I -
[ Katsuki tries to get his legs up. Hook them about Izuku's waist so he can try to roll them again. ]
Want do do with it!
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[It's not something they should be fighting about but here they are. Katsuki's grip has him grunting and he almost loses his balance as he tries to keep Katsuki pinned to the ground. His hands grab at the blond and he still tries to snatch up any pieces of paper that Katsuki might see or take. It's a mess of arms and legs as they both kick and punch and slap until Izuku is breathing harder and doing his best to keep Katsuki in place without getting a burn from the snapping quirk.]
You said coming to find me to deal with everything face to face was more important than a s-stupid letter!!
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[ HE'S NOT GONNA TAKE ANY PAPER! Katsuki will make sure that his hands are locked with Izuku's. Fingers threaded together and everything. Even as they are rolling around constantly to try to get on top of one another. ]
BUT NOW YOU'RE BEING SO FUCKING SKETCH ABOUT IT THAT I'M INTERESTED!
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That letter had things in it that I wanted to say to you because I thought I wasn't going to see you anymore...!!
[His breathing is laboured and his teeth are clenched.]
It's irrelevant now!!
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[ He hits against the floor. Hard. Even the back of his head knocks against it. Katsuki hisses, feeling all of Izuku's weight holding him down. There's yelling from Izuku. Almost desperate. And Katsuki hears those words, he does. Knows that Izuku means it too - because the little shit had thought that he wouldn't be able to face his classmates again.
But not even the blonde knows what Izuku had planned. Beat the bad guys and then what? Die trying or run off into the sunset after?
Katsuki takes a deep breath. Feels something a little tight in his chest. Something that has nothing to do with Izuku keeping him down on the ground. ]
Nothing, Izuku... Nothing you have to say is irrelevant.
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🎀