polymods: (Default)
polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-11-01 03:04 pm

Time for a Cinnabon!

POLYMYTHOS: THE MALL

THE MALL


Ⅰ. ARRIVAL
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
You step off the ferry and find there is no beach. No, the concrete wharf opens up to a vast, flat plain of pavement. It goes on, and on, and on. Sodium lights on tall poles are spaced at regular intervals, and as you move forward you notice white lines painted in neat rows.Those of you from a typical earth world might recognise almost immediately that you are, in fact, in a giant parking lot.

Up ahead you can see a vast building, a long rectangle flanked on either end by an even larger square. In the very center there is a large, triangular glass awning hanging over an entranceway composed of several automatic doors. There is neon tubing running along the inside of the awning, lighting up the glass so it is a beacon shining across the expanse of pavement you’re crossing.

That’s right, Travellers. We’re going to The Mall.

The building is huge - it takes a good hour to walk from one anchor store to the other at the opposite end. There are stores selling damn near everything - clothes, housewares, books, kitchen supplies, movies and music, electronics - as well as hair salons, nail salons, and a ton of kiosks. The merchandise being sold seems to be from different decades - anywhere from the 1970s to the late 2000s. You can find almost anything you could want!

The flooring is faux marble, the pillars decorated with brass detailing halfway up their length. Potted palms are set at regular intervals. The mall’s concourse is huge and open, with a glass ceiling criss-crossed with metal supports. A fountain jets water coloured by lights into the air over and over in the center of the concourse.

Escalators and an elevator run up and down to the second floor, where the food court is, which is a heaven, provided you’re too worried about MSG. Food from across every conceivable world exists here - no matter where you’re from, you can find a fast-food version of something you’re familiar with. And there’s an Orange Julius!

Truly, a paradise. Kind of weird that the automatic doors won’t let you out the way you came in, but you have everything you need right here! Just be really careful on those escalators - wouldn’t want to get sucked under. And by the way, what’s that noise…?

Notes:
1. Please remember to mark threads appropriately with Content Warnings when necessary.

2. These prompts are a jumping off point - how they affect your character and their development is up to you.

3. Any food is safe to eat, and is consumable by non-human entities.

4. The people inside the mall are normal humans unless otherwise indicated. Killing them is possible and will affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation.

5. Have fun!



Ⅱ. BLACK FRIDAY
CW: violence, mob mentality
One of the mall anchors is a huge department store that sells everything under the sun. As you walk through the empty aisles, you’ll notice that there are signs hung everywhere that read “SALE!” Indeed, prices seem to have been drastically reduced. The place seems eerily calm, however; you can’t see any shoppers anywhere.

But if you walk close to the exterior entrance on the far side of the store, you will see them if you look outside.

Hundreds upon hundreds of people pressed up against the glass doors. With a start you see that all of them, from children to the elderly, are missing their eyes. Black, empty sockets stare sightlessly ahead. Store employees, recognisable by their red smocks, stand at the ready.

“Alright, let’s open her up!” one of them shouts, and the employees move to unlock the doors. Immediately the crowd surges forward. The employees pull each other out of the way moments before they can be trampled. The mob rushes through the entranceways, stampeding towards… towards…

Oh. You.

The mob lacks any empathy; people push and climb over one another, uncaring if anyone falls to the ground. You’re pretty sure several of them are actually being crushed beneath people’s feet. Oddly, they aren’t screaming in pain. People’s mouths are moving, but only to form certain words:

“FLATSCREEN!”

“INTELLIVISION!”

“TICKLE-ME-ELMO!”

They are only screaming what it is that they want. They are single minded in their purpose, and don’t care who they hurt in their pursuit.

Make your way to the entrance that opens into the mall and you’ll be greeted with a nasty sight: the gates are closed. No matter what you do to them, they won’t budge an inch, impervious to brute strength, magic, superpowers. That means you’ll have to find another way out if you don’t want to join in the bloodshed. Maybe there’s a ventilation system or a loading bay...

There’s a chance you could just hide out until the sale ends - a store this vast has more than enough food and drink to sustain you, and you could probably get a good night’s sleep in a camping display if it isn’t torn apart by rabid consumers. Just be careful, because the longer you spend trapped in the department store the more likely you are to turn into one of them: mindlessly screaming what it is you want as you tear the store apart.

Notes:
1. There may be a few Black Friday shoppers loose in the mall, but primarily they stick to the department store.

2. Your character might find a way into the mall again, or the parking lot outside. However they manage that is up to you!

3. If your character does turn into a consumer drone, they can be changed back by being taken out of the department store. Maybe go chill out by the fountain in the concourse or get some chilli fries in the food court.



Ⅲ. UNDERGROUND PARKING
CW: potential starvation, dehydration
If the two floors of the mall are for eating and shopping, where do the down escalators go? Unsurprisingly they lead to an underground parking lot. More surprisingly, if you choose to enter the lot you’ll find yourself suddenly transported to the inside of a car. What car? Any car! It sure isn’t yours! It’s locked and you can’t get the doors or windows to open. Even trying to break your way out is futile.

Thank goodness you have a way to call for help: your ScryWatch! Although you can still access the public network, your ScryWatch will also now function as a private one-to-one device like a phone or a walkie talkie. You can ask a friend to come and help you!

The second person entering the lot won’t be magicked away, but a friendly mall employee will stop you and hand you a set of keys. Clearly they go to a car… but which one? Better start pressing that alarm button, huh?

The parking lot is massive. The party in the car would be wise to describe what they can see to their seeker. After all, teamwork makes the dream work! You sure don’t want to be stuck in a warm car for a couple of days!

Notes:
1. Your character can post/call the network or text/call an individual - in the latter case nobody else can read or hear the conversation.

2. The car might have some goldfish crackers or something in the glove box, or maybe an old gatorade bottle on the floor, but there’s not going to be enough to survive on for any length of time.



Ⅳ. MANNEQUIN
CW: automatonophobia
As you walk through the mall, you’ll see plenty of window displays. Gleaming cookware turning on pedestals under mellow lights, toys going round and round in fake wonderlands, personalised miniature license plates - although they’re all out of Borts - and of course plenty of stylish clothes draped over countless mannequins.

It’s always fun to window shop, isn’t it? Which is how you will come to notice that some of the mannequins look awfully familiar.

Everyone has, at some point in their life, treated someone like they weren’t real outside of what you wanted them to be. The romantic interest you put on a pedestal, the friend you only called when you needed them, or the poor bastard in the office who never did anything to you but who you hated on because it made you feel better. The mannequins greatly resemble that person or persons.

No matter which window you pass, they’re there. It looks like they’re watching you. But that’s silly, isn’t it?

With every mannequin you pass, the more your unease grows. Eventually the feeling of being watched is so great that it’s overwhelming. A sense of guilt grows alongside your paranoia, gnawing at your guts until you feel physically ill. Maybe if you apologise to the dummies for treating them like objects?

Or maybe if you just break all of them into pieces.

Notes:
1. Stating how you have wronged the person the mannequin resembles and apologising will cause the guilt and paranoia to vanish. But then, so will breaking them.

2. Could the mannequins sneak up on you? Move when you’re not looking? Sure! the floor, but there’s not going to be enough to survive on for any length of time.

Come on Jessica, come on Tori! Let's go to the mall, you won't be sorry!


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

kyley_b: (RL sweet boi)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-11-21 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
If there's one thing Kyle can't ignore, it's puppy eyes.

He grins and makes an after-you gesture. "Let's do it," he says. "I'm all hopped up on an Orange Julius."
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (gah!)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-11-21 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Kyle clings tighter. "Fucking Black Friday," he whines. "I hate this shit, why is it always this bad?! I saw a guy on the news once who ate his own kid while waiting in line..."

As Hawks hovers closer to the grate, Kyle finally lets his grip loosen. Just a little. "Dude," he says. "I think we can fit in there, if your wings fold up enough. We need a way to get it open."

Below them someone howls and starts beating another person with a 80% Off sign. I's not terribly effective.
unkindled_madness: (talking)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-11-21 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[He relaxes.]

If it's only visual, then do as you will.

[He wasn't concerned about experiencing it so much as, well. He doesn't know if she's capable of any kind of medical scans.]
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-11-21 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, when you do get tired of trying to slog through some old git's ramblings on the broad strokes of magic, just let me know. I'll teach you something interesting about it.
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-11-21 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
no, a car

that's what you call them, right? cars? iron caskets on wheels?
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-11-21 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, now, you don't know that.

[ They could end up locked out for a month! Trapped in the parking garage (for good, this time)! There's no telling what might happen. But, really. That's more than he usually manages to wheedle out of anyone, so he'll take it. If not without pushing his luck, as usual. ]

In fact, you've probably doomed us, now. That kind of optimism is just asking to be answered with a terrible twist of fate.
antifungi: (GHyeIQa)

[personal profile] antifungi 2021-11-21 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Gimme a minute!

[ Joel doesn't glance back, focus narrowed down to just getting through the door, finding a way out of this place, before they're overrun. It doesn't take long, but those fleeting seconds feel stretched to their limit, far beyond the time the whole rough operation takes up.

The door rattles inward, wobbling on its hinges with the force of that last blow, and and he turns back just in time to see that briefly stunned, eyeless thing take another lunge at them. ]
quire: (daydreaming)

[personal profile] quire 2021-11-21 11:01 pm (UTC)(link)
even more than the idea of someone stuck in a car somewhere i love the idea that someone from a time or place WITHOUT cars is just
boom.
trapped in one like a dog on a hot summer day.

maybe this place does have a sense of humor...
quire: (calm)

[personal profile] quire 2021-11-21 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
"True. No discounting the shittyness. But like, you probably can't turn it off 'cause feelings are like that. So just, try running right at with me instead huh?" It's risky sure, but it's unusually optimistic for Quentin too.

"You? Were a bully," he smiles a little. It's genuinely a difficult thing to imagine on the man he knows Kyle to be. Someone so obsessed with fairness. "It's ok, I'm not judging. I've been on both sides of that social dividing line," he shrugs. "Did you ever like... tell him that? Not that he was dumb, but that you know you maybe didn't treat him great."
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-11-21 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
oh, good! i was so concerned with whether or not YOU were having a good time
unkindled_madness: (curiosity)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-11-21 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[He probably just means more general theory, and not... how to do it.]

You have a lecture of your own? Or perhaps a demonstration?
kyley_b: (be serious)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-11-21 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Kyle glances at Quentin, hesitance bleeding away. It's annoying, but he's right. All of these islands seem to reward honesty.

"I was not!" Kyle protests at once. "I just. Uhm. Kinda. Went along with it." The excuse sounds feeble to his own ears.

He sighs. "...no. No, I never did."
gravity_grrl: (sweet)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2021-11-21 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"I dunno if was specifically turning people into little kids, I think it was more turning them to whatever age you were when something traumatic happened." She explains and then shrugs, "Either way though I'm glad you didn't ride it."

"Not that dangerous since it was Kyle and no matter what he's a sweetheart." She says, "He's not usually a werewolf but he is originally from Jersey. It was one of those wacky island things where if you went into the haunted house you turned into one of the monsters inside."

She pauses, making a face. "I got turned into a ghost and that sucked."
quire: (hangin chillin little bit'o illin)

[personal profile] quire 2021-11-21 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, hey then, don't worry so much about it. You're clearly less evil than me. I was definitely the ring leader of some specifically cruel antagonism," he admits. It's the sort of thing people have never forgiven him for, but at least he seems to have some self-awareness of it. "My Butters, might have been Glob. Glob Herman. He's so stupid it hurts. But I probbbbabbbly shouldn't have taken advantage of that as much. He just makes it so easy, you know?"

He rubs Kyle's back a little when he hears the boy sigh. "So... tell him?" he suggests, nodding towards on of those mannequins. "I mean, it'll feel fucking stupid, talking to a mannequin, I'm sure, but it's probably easier than saying it to the real guy, right?"
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-11-21 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
No lectures. They'd never let me have an audience willingly.

[ The captive kind is another story, but. Sephiroth is definitely not interested in those misadventures. ]

But I've got plenty to demonstrate. I've always been more of a hands-on learner.
unkindled_madness: (are you sure about this?)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-11-22 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
...and do you expect results of some kind?

[Because it's really starting to sound like he is.]
quire: (phoenix fire)

[personal profile] quire 2021-11-22 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
Someone shouting anything other than brand names is enough to grab his attention. The way he turns towards Jean-Paul looks like he's doing his best Exorcism impression.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he says, floating at the top of the stairs over his freshly parted sea of shoppers like some kind of vengeful deity. "Crowd control. Every thing, on this floor and up belongs to me now and I don't like to do my shopping amongst the rabble."
prodigalmess: (yep!)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2021-11-22 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm opens one eye to look at the hairy man standing above him. He hadn't been sure if he was going to sleep or not, but he put on the cuffs just to be safe. Even a nap could be dangerous for him or people in the vicinity.

"I did," he replies. "This is mall jail." With a grunt, Malcolm sits up on the air mattress. "Not very high security though." He thumbs the switch on his cuff and releases it from the lead attached to the wall.
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-11-22 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
Me? Well, not exactly. But you certainly seem to.

[ They've just been circling this topic a little too blatantly for a while, now. He may be a fool, but he's not an imperceptive one.

And, admittedly, now he's also curious. ]
quire: (satisfied)

[personal profile] quire 2021-11-22 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
at least they have sarcasm wherever you're from.

i'm going to level with you PennyFarthing
i didn't realize this place had a parking lot any of us could actually reach so unless you're trapped in that Honda Odyssey they're raffling off by the food court I'm going to need a few more hints on your location.
unkindled_madness: (melancholy)

[personal profile] unkindled_madness 2021-11-22 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Welp. He's been found out.]

...

Perhaps it isn't possible. But, we don't know, do we? My world has no Fade.

[It's just, you know, part of the general pursuit of knowledge. That's all.]
howlett: (eh?)

[personal profile] howlett 2021-11-22 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
He follows her gaze somewhere behind her, trying to clock whatever it is she looks like she's running from. Just in case something needs cut.

"The mannequins?" he takes note of that face he's seeing on mostly of them. Or maybe all of them. It's no one to him, but it's enough to rattle her. "Someone you're afraid of?" he asks. It's one part nosiness, and one part survival instincts that makes him want to know just how concerned they should be if this place is conjuring those who haunt other travellers.

"Nah, I'm good," he says. It's genuine if not a little tired. "The fluorescents," he gestures to the ceiling. "They wear on me after a while."
howlett: (bashful)

[personal profile] howlett 2021-11-22 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
His usually narrow eyes look a little wider and softer as he listens. He feels a bit bad that she might be going through something traumatic here and she's unlucky enough to end up with him to get her through it.

With the hesitation of a man who knows he's not good at this and doesn't even look particularly cuddly, he puts a heavy hand on her shoulder and squeezes enough just to give her something to focus on other than the spiralling thoughts and feelings she's describing.

"Hey, hey. Deep breath for me. That's not... Ok, maybe it's a little stupid from a certain angle. But it ain't your fault. And it ain't unforgivable. I been there. Hell, I'd wager a parta me still lives there. Chasin' someone who never wanted me like I wanted them to," he admits. "It ain't you though. That's the thing you gotta make peace with. It's a them problem, not a you problem." It's medicine Logan himself never really learned to swallow, which might be evident but the cracks that make his hopeful smile come out more like a wince.

"Would, beatin' the shit outta one these things help?" he asks with a chuckle as he nods towards the nearest mannequin. "I wouldn't call security on you."
prodigalmess: (looking)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2021-11-22 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
"I have a therapist at home," he tells her. "I also take meds. Thankfully they magically came with me and don't seem to run out, otherwise I probably would have lost my mind by now."

Well, that's pleasant. Malcolm's amazed that anyone would want to be friends with him after they find out that he has to strap himself to the wall to sleep and needs pills in order to feel normal.

"Uh, anyway... you probably don't need to hear about all of that."
mewnifestos: (Default)

[personal profile] mewnifestos 2021-11-22 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
That you know of.

[ Because, really, it's not ruled out until it's really ruled out. And that's never likely to happen, in Anders' estimation. ]

In any case, there's no harm in playing pretend, if that's all it amounts to. And I do enjoy showing off.