Time for a Cinnabon!

[polymods]

✖ 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

Comments

[unkindled_madness]

Am I supposed to wait quietly?

[helpdesk_hero]

What you so is really about your comfort. I'm just curious. Am I not allowed to be concerned/

[unkindled_madness]

I have no way of stopping you but I would prefer you kept it to yourself.

[helpdesk_hero]

Friends tend to be concerned about their friends, but I will stop talking about it if that makes you more comfortable. I'm sorryl.

[unkindled_madness]

[Please stop referencing his feelings in any way, he doesn't want to think about them.]

I don't require your consideration. I require keys.

[helpdesk_hero]

[As a therapist, Sephiroth, he feels that you need to talk about your feelings some to someone so you can process them properly. Though it was by no means required to have him do it to David.]

Hey, friends consider their friends. I'm sorry, it's the rules.

[unkindled_madness]

[While he's trapped in a car is probably not the time he'll be most amenable to therapy.]

I give you permission to ignore them.

[helpdesk_hero]

[It's okay, he doesn't give his friends therapy. It just doesn't work. Too much stress.]

I don't know if I should be offended to be seen as such a bad friend, or understanding of your point.

Anyway, I've hit row O. Please honk.

[unkindled_madness]

I don't consider you a friend.

[So he can't be a bad one? Sorry, David. Please be offended.

Anyway he honks.]

[helpdesk_hero]

I think I've already made my opinions on that clear. And I think I have an angle on you. Give me another few minutes and we'll have you out.

[And sure enough after several more minutes of strolling down the lanes until he thinks he sees it.]

Sephiroth?

[unkindled_madness]

[Sephiroth stops attempting to destroy windows and settles down, leaning forward slightly to better see out them instead.

Is he supposed to wave? He's not waving. He's also not raising his voice to counteract the muffling affect of the car. Though being trapped in here and having someone visible free on the outside is increasing his discomfort. It's momentary, surely.

...he honks the horn again.]

[helpdesk_hero]

[Hey, it's not going to be long. David approaches faster with the honking. There he was. Was no time at all before he put the keys in the lock and twisted. And it works. God help him, it works.]

There, freedom offered. Sorry it took me so long.

[unkindled_madness]

[Sephiroth is out the door too quickly for it to be considered dignified. Sorry if he winds up shoving you a little, David. He stands for a moment with his hand on the top of the door, trying to relax some of his tension.]

...thank you for your assistance.

[He will now... have to figure out how to extricate his sword.]

[helpdesk_hero]

[It's okay, David tries to stand aside as quickly as he can. Which keeps him from being too winded.]

Need help getting it out? The, uh... weapon?

[unkindled_madness]

No.

[The answer is reactionary more than anything else. He doesn't want to have to accept any more help. He considers the length of the sword and the difficulty (impossibility?) of maneuvering it through the open door. Maybe he'll just skip it. He turns to David, motioning him back so that he can reach the front of the car.]

Stand back.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Oh yeah, he's moving WAY BACK thanks. Like, super far back. Don't mind him, he's going to be here many feet away.]

That thing looks impossible.

[unkindled_madness]

[Good idea, David.]

It won't be.

[He is absolutely not leaving his sword here. He only just got it back. But, he reasons that, now that he's been freed, the magic which kept him trapped may have dissipated.

So he is going to take his utility knife and slam the handle into the windshield from the outside. The glass finally shatters, giving him very easy access to the Masamune's hilt. And a few scratches, but who cares about that?]

[helpdesk_hero]

[Interesting magic, already broken. Huh.]

That's a really big sword.

[unkindled_madness]

It's an odachi.

[Which basically does mean "big sword" anyway. Sephiroth pockets the knife and grabs the Masamune, drawing it free of the car with one hand. He steps back, looking very much like he's considering doing more damage to the car, with the sword.]

[helpdesk_hero]

[Yeah, David absolutely knows the meaning and he's raising an eyebrow at that.]

There's a chance that if you mess this thing up more, you could end up in trouble. Is it worth it?

[unkindled_madness]

You think I'm going to be punished for damaging one car? There are thousands of them.

[helpdesk_hero]

It's another person's property. Theoretically.

[But he considers it all rather carefully and steps further back. There is NO WAY Sephiroth is going to listen.

[unkindled_madness]

How unfortunate.

[He absolutely doesn't care. It's just a stupid car that no one was ever going to drive anywhere anyway.

He slashes out the front tires and scores a few lines across the hood and the front bumper, breaking the lights in the process. Then he gives it a kick for good measure, actually making it bump into the car behind it.]

[helpdesk_hero]

[That kick had David staring, wide eyed. Hot and dangerous. Oh dear.]

ARe you ready to go now?

[unkindled_madness]

...yes.

[He steps back from the car, moving the Masamune into its neutral position, vertical behind his back. He is totally fine and calm now.]

Which way?