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

helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2022-01-01 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Thing was, this wasn't even his native 'quirk' but rather something he had picked up later. The things he could do with his own, the competence that came with it, was something people couldn't see well. They could only see the fruit of it, and not the hard work that went into keeping his own mind manageable.

But hey, impressing people with acquired glowy lights was good too.

"Might have been meant to rescue someone else?" David suggested as he stood and did a cursory once over of his clothes, his hands now coated in the glowing light to protect them. Once he was certain he was free from cuts, he waved the light away and touched the returned yellow lensed glasses he wore.

"I jury rigged a sound analysis program when I had to help Sephiroth. Maybe it will help here to see which car that goes to. Statistically it's unlikely two people are down here at the same time, but unlikely isn't impossible."

And there was David, barely even thinking about how he was. But Hawks asked and he did a mental inspection and offered a brief smile and a shrug.

"Slightly dehydrated due to overheating because I couldn't even roll down the windows. Nothing that won't pass. I'll be fine thanks to you. Also, just how fast were you going there? That was impressive. I know a lot of people with wings back home and typically they can't pull truly high speeds. The relative G-Force would tear their wings apart, even those with healing quirks."

He was going to use Hawks' term for it out of respect.

"The telekinetics tend to get far faster though, because they can redirect the airflow to help some. Though nothing compares for the Beaubiers save members of the Nova Force. And now I'm just rambling. Sorry, I get like that when I'm stressed and sadly being trapped tends to be a recurring stressor of mine."

He needed to sit down, have a hot cup of tea, and maybe something sweet to eat.
prodigalmess: (alrighty)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-02 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
It's not as if he's a virgin, but it's not as if he's incredibly experienced either. His past trauma makes it difficult for him to make emotional and physical connections at times. And, well, he's just awkward.

"You are," he agrees, "but I think Chloe's pretty committed to him. And apparently he's the Devil."

Chloe hadn't hidden the information from him, so he doesn't think she'll mind if she mentions it to Roxy.
gravity_grrl: (cutie)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-02 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah she mentioned that." Roxy says and then peers at Malcolm curiously.

"You don't have a girlfriend back home do you? Or a wife? Boyfriend? Friends with benefits?"
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (gah!)

oh, no worries!

[personal profile] kyley_b 2022-01-02 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
Little from column A, little from column B...

"Okay, good," he says, relieved. He's less ecstatic to be placed on the shelf, but it has to be done. Kyle clings to the shelving so tightly his knuckles turn white. He watches Hawks tug at the grate, only looking away when he feels the shelf vibrate. He looks down.

There are people climbing up the shelves.

Blank-eyed, drooling, they howl like the damned as they try to claw their way up. Kyle shrieks and looks around. He starts knocking things off he shelf as best he can. "HERE! Go away!"

Discount goods bonk off the heads of shoppers, calming some but driving others to keep climbing.

"Dude?!"
antifungi: (06)

[personal profile] antifungi 2022-01-02 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ Joel's expecting more of a struggle - at the very least, being forced to lift some heavy, rusted gate that'll scream so loud on its tracks they'll have half the horde down on them in seconds. But then, he's used to living in a world fallen into far greater disrepair than this one. A door that swings open easily, leaving them unimpeded in their path to the outside, is all but unheard of.

He nods stiffly, following along without a word, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But the world outside the mall is the same as it was, before, empty and vast - an island of concrete, lampposts and parking spaces. No crazed mobs to be seen. ]


Better find a way to block that door. If those things haven't gotten around the whole mall, yet, then we definitely don't want 'em out here.
nanban: (78)

[personal profile] nanban 2022-01-02 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Or maybe to get me to trap myself in a car. Hopefully a big truck or something. Hate to cramp my wings up," Hawks says, automatic, talking to fill space. That doesn't mean he isn't listening or considering, of course; he always is. That's just how he functions.

"Sephiroth? Man, I bet he was thrilled to get trapped in a car," he says with a grin. He's only met Sephiroth once, but he seems like the hyper competent type. Besides, he knows Sephiroth is a military guy. Stoic. He knows that personality type well enough. Not that anyone would be thrilled to be stuck in a car.

He fluffs his feathers and shrugs.

"Dunno. I can go a little faster if I have more space to start up, but I told you, I'm not like a speedster. I can't break sound barriers or anything like that. I just have a nice advantage." He's not really humble about it, but he is realistic.

"I can control each feather on its own," he says. He doesn't talk about the specifics of his quirk very often, though it isn't unknown to people at home. Pro heroes don't have tons of secrets about their quirks; that's just how it goes. There's a couple things Hawks can do that people don't know about, which is why he can be a spy effectively, but feather manipulation isn't a secret, even if it's something people don't really bother to learn. "So that's how I get through the speed thing. But it's intuitive, y'know? I could do it as a kid, too, without knowing that's what I was doing. I can't do the telekinesis thing outside of my own feathers. Be cool if I could, though."

He laughs a little. "Nervous talker, huh? Same, man, same. Well, I'll keep clicking this key thing and see if we find some other poor sap on our way out. But you need some hydration and some fresh air, I think."
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2022-01-02 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, wings and vehicles don't tend to mix I think," David had to agree. And that wasn't something he thought was easily compensated for. But yeah, that observation has him smile.

"Sephiroth was PISSED. And he had his sword in it and he couldn't get out. He decided afterward to just attack the car but I can accept that. he was frustrated." SO the stoicism had failed a bit there, and David hadn't minded it at all. In fact, he had enjoyed that a lot. It was nice to see that people like that could loose control. Made David feel a bit less bad about when he lost control.

"It's a very nice advantage," David agreed. So not full on speedster. But that's fine. Most winged people didn't seem to get there. And that's for the best for them. But he's really intrigued to hear about the mechanics of it.

"Only the feathers, huh? Is it because they are another 'quirk' or is it because they're so inherently connected to you? Could you manipulate your own hair, for instance?"

Yeah, he's intrigued by the implications of that. Though he's not going to argue about the water and air. David tries to hide how much that good point makes him wince. Oh well.

"I guess I could. There's, uh, a history with parking garages too?"
nanban: (22)

[personal profile] nanban 2022-01-03 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Hawks outright laughs at the mental image of Sephiroth just going apeshit on a car with that sword of his. "Man, how did that sword even fit in a car?" he wonders aloud. He can't blame the guy for being pissed at getting trapped. Hawks's whole thing is projecting an image that he's chill at all times, even when he's not, but he'd have been mad to be trapped too. Sephiroth, though? He has a feeling that man has a temper in there somewhere. Good to know he's not wrong.

He shakes his head. "Just feathers. Dunno why, I guess. It's just how it works. My hair, though. That would be wild, right? Make styling it take way less time than it does."

He tilts his head questioningly and starts walking back towards the entrance.

"History with parking garages?"
nanban: (abuh?)

[personal profile] nanban 2022-01-03 07:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Hawks hears the commotion below and glances down. God, these people are out of their minds. He's heard of some people losing it for sales, but where he's from, no one would act this way. It would just be unheard of unless they were being mind controlled or something. That's not out of the question, but it's not terribly likely, either. He's not sure what's up with these people, but he's more concerned with getting Kyle out of here than figuring out the answer. He's used to prioritising to save people, though. That's part of the whole hero gig, after all.

"One more sec, man, we're gonna get out," he promises. It's not an empty reassurance, either, luckily.

He gets the grate off and turns to chuck it at the person nearest to reaching Kyle. He has good aim and it hits them hard enough to knock them off the shelf. It's just a grate, not a deadly weapon. Hawks isn't looking to seriously harm any of these shoppers, after all, just get Kyle out of danger.

He zips back down to grab Kyle again.

"These people really don't know when to quit, huh?"
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (This Is How It Goes (Lecture Face))

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2022-01-03 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
The actual image itself had been rather amusing too, and David had understood that frustration. Understood it enough to remember it in a positive way.

"It was tightly angled in there. I'm honestly surprised he managed to get it out. Or that he can walk around with that beast of a thing. It's really impressive. Whether he admits it or not, I think he's got some sort of power, to be able to do that."

With Hawks walking, David starts too. It's better to get out of here sooner, right?

"We went into New York City to visit someone important to a friend of mine not long after I started attending a school for mutants like me. Except we didn't know they had been basically been kidnapped as bait to get at my friend and make a public display of hate against us. My friend Laurie almost didn't make it out of that. And the whole of that fight took place in a parking garage."
Edited 2022-01-03 20:37 (UTC)
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (gah!)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2022-01-04 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
The difference between how Hawks handles the shoppers and how some other people do is shocking. Hawks is, without a doubt, a hero.

Kyle clings like Lois Lane to Superman.

"No," he says. "They don't. I haven't seen anything like this in years, dude."

Once he's close to the now open hole leading into the store's air ducts he reaches for the edges and pulls himself awkwardly inside. He wriggles down the vent, looking over his shoulder to see if Hawks can get in.

"You okay?"
prodigalmess: (tongue)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-04 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
Apparently Roxy doesn't find that weird, but he guesses that weird is kind of relative for her.

"No," he says flatly. "The woman that I was seeing right before I came here... she was killed..."
gravity_grrl: (blonde)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-04 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
After some of the stuff that Roxy's been through having a boyfriend who is the Devil is probably on the less weird side of things.

When Malcolm mentions that his previous partner was killed her eyes go wide and she touches his arm gently, "Oh my god. I'm so sorry darlin."
nanban: (31)

[personal profile] nanban 2022-01-05 06:51 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, he's from some other world, maybe he just runs on different laws of physics or something, y'know?" he says with a shrug. But point taken. He's not sure just what Sephiroth is, either, if being a non-Earth human (Sephiroth had used the word human at one point in their conversation but Hawks isn't sure if he'd included himself in that description, come to think of it) meant something else, or what his deal was.

"Man, you got all kinds of stories, huh?"

He says this as if he can't rattle off just as many absolutely batshit things just as easily. He doesn't have as many childhood things; after the Commission took him and his mom in, it was all training, very tightly controlled, but in the few years since he went pro, it's been one thing after another, really. Even the past few months have been pretty unbelievable.
nanban: (23)

[personal profile] nanban 2022-01-05 07:08 am (UTC)(link)
This is a truly strange turn of events for Hawks, because what the hell are these shoppers even doing, but it's not anywhere near the most dangerous things he's ever seen. He's not even really breaking a sweat doing this. He's just glad to be useful for once! He's felt like he's not really very heroic on these islands.

Okay, this isn't really heroic in his mind either, but he's helping Kyle not get trampled by shopper zombies, so he's gonna take this as a win.

"Lucky us," he says.

Hawks hovers for a second so he can catch Kyle if he slips. Once Kyle is up in the vent, he pulls himself in. It's not the most comfortable thing, of course. His wings don't work like normal bird wings; he can control his feathers with telekinesis (no the rules don't make sense, it's fine), so he can get his wings pretty close in against him. Still, this isn't his first choice.

"Yeah, I'm all right. This isn't my fave! But I couldn't find another way outta that shit show down there. Are you okay? No sudden urges to buy things on clearance or anything?"
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Default)

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2022-01-05 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's always possible I suppose," David agreed. But there was those eyes. He'd rarely ever seen eyes like those before, and never in straight humans. So he did hesitate.

But he has to laugh, because of course he has stories. So many stories. Most of them bad, which is why the laughter has a bitter edge to them.

"More sad ones than happy ones."
kyley_b: https://fmdinisio.tumblr.com/ (yup)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2022-01-05 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"No, I hate shopping," is Kyle's immediate and somewhat ridiculous response. "Okay, uhm. I think if we head the way I'm pointed, that should take us toward the mall proper unless it veers off. Once we're out there hopefully we can knock open a vent and see if the rest of the mall is insane too."

He starts crawling forward, bony knees making loud, hollow thunk noises as he does.

"Thanks for saving me. That was really impressive."
prodigalmess: (look down 3)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-07 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
"It's okay..." He shakes his head. "It... was complicated. We had kind of broken up? Not that I wanted her dead..."

Malcolm still partially blames himself for Eve's death. If she hadn't come back into he and his father's orbits, she might still be alive. There was a lot that he wasn't able to process before suddenly arriving on the Isles.
gravity_grrl: (cutie)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-07 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
"No of course not." She says softly, rubbing his arm soothingly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She then adds, "I'm sorry if I upset you by asking. Do you want a hug?"
prodigalmess: (smile 7)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-10 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Another time," he says, figuring they've had enough of a heart to heart for now. Malcolm smiles when she asks if he wants a hug. It's sweet of her to offer.

"It's okay... you didn't really upset me." Tragedy has been a part of his life since he was a kid and he's unfortunately become used to it by now. "If you want to give me a hug, you can."
gravity_grrl: (excited)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-10 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
"Of course I want to give you a hug!" She says and wraps her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. She's got a surprising amount of strength for someone so petite.

"If you're my friend you get full access to hugs and cuddles from me."
prodigalmess: (with edrisa - hug)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-11 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
He notices her strength as she nearly knocks him over with the force of her hug. It brings a sheepish laugh out of him. Malcolm's not used to being touched like this, so it takes a moment for him to unstiffen and wrap his arms around her too.

"I guess that's a pretty good perk," he says.
gravity_grrl: (sweet)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-11 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ooc: just curious if you wanted to keep going or leave this thread here since we've got another one started in the Victorian thread?]
prodigalmess: (Default)

[personal profile] prodigalmess 2022-01-12 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ ooc: Let's go ahead and wrap this one! ]
gravity_grrl: (ohgoodie)

[personal profile] gravity_grrl 2022-01-12 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ooc: Also you've inspired me to sit down and watch prodigal son, I'm almost through season 1 and I have to say that you have his voice totally nailed. <3]