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Entry tags:
Time for a Cinnabon!
✖ 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…?
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.
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!
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.
Come on Jessica, come on Tori! Let's go to the mall, you won't be sorry!
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.
no subject
Molly blinks. CDs? It might be weird that she's never heard of them, but she hasn't gone to much school, when she had parents they were pretty well off and technologically sophisticated, and her friends have always been both very poor and very, very, very tech and magic savvy. CDs just weren't on her radar, especially in her 12 years of experience on this earth.
"Huh. Do old people not know how the internet works? Look, they're 30% off! But who buys music when you can just stream it?"
no subject
Roxy looks at the directory again and taps a few spots eagerly, "OMG they have so many good clothing stores. I NEED more clothes, I've been wearing the same thing since pumpkin spice island and I HATE it. Do you need clothes? I also need shoes. And underwear because OMG why don't these islands give us more than like three pairs??"
no subject
It was a great piece of wisdom from a 12 year old.
"ME TOO!!! I like to look cute and I haven't been able to find a lot! Do you know where we're supposed to wash our underwear because uh. I've just been cycling through mine and it feels gross." She frowns a little. "I'm not very good at adulting."
no subject
She smiles and motions that they can start walking, she's seen the layout of the mall and like an expert mall bunny she can lead them to all the best places. It's a gift really.
"What kind of stuff do you like to wear? Like, what's you style?" She pauses and then adds, "Oh I'm Roxy by the way. Hiii."
no subject
"Oh, you know, cute stuff. I like fun hats and things on my head. And bright colors! And also I think it'd be cool to have a superhero costume but my friends all say that is lame so I guess I won't get that any time soon but I'm totally Princess Powerful if you've ever heard of me but I bet you haven't because I'm not famous yet but I will be one day just you watch."
She pauses for breath. "I used to want to marry Wolverine, but he's kind of a jerk. And super hairy. A little smelly too. I've punched him a few times, so I know."
no subject
"Cute stuff and bright colors? We've got similar styles, this is going to work out just great." She says with a smile, "And I've never heard of you but I dig the code name. How did you come up with it?"
She leads them into a clothing store that has a wide range of styles for both her and Molly to choose from, the sizes tend to favor someone Molly's size but that's okay, Roxy's always liked things that are a bit too short for herself anyways...
no subject
"Well, I'm really powerful!!" She flexes. It isn't impressive because her super strength is psionic in nature. "And, I dunno, it just sounds cool to call myself a princess. My parents used to call me princess! And it's two "p"s, which sounds really cool." Why no, a middle school dropout does not know the word "alliteration". But she definitely gets the idea!
Molly starts to dig through the store. Unfortunately, she finds herself near the clearance rack, and an errant shopping zombie far from the pack, the first to discover these deals, is suddenly right there reaching out for the cute hat she's found.
"Giiiiiiive....mmmmeeeeee.....cheap..hat....."
"AAHHHHH ZOMBIE!!!!" Her eyes flare pink, and POW, and suddenly a zombie body shatters the window, flying back most of the length of the mall to land in the main crowd, while Molly stands there, fist still extended. "Um..sorry...I just...I just freaked out..he looked like a zombie...I didn't want to get bitten..." In a small voice, she continues, "pleasetellmehewasarealzombie..."
no subject
"You look pretty powerful." Roxy says with a grin when Molly flexes and proceeds to start sorting through some skirts that might cover her considerable rear, the operative word here being 'might'. When Molly suddenly screams Roxy looks up in time to see the zombie go flying through the window and she dashes over to Molly.
"It's okay, it's okay! He was a zombie for sure, are you okay?"
no subject
Molly moves over to the broken window to look at the crowd way across the mall. Fortunately, they seem more preoccupied with the bigger stores. This really was just a stray one. But does that rule it out as a harbinger?
"But I guess it tracks. Malls are kinda in zombie mode already. It totally makes sense for a zombie mall to be a zombie home."
no subject
"Nice punch by the way!"
no subject
Molly beams at the praise for her own punch. "Thanks!!! I told you I was really strong!!" She leans in and very obviously whispers, "A lot of people don't believe me."
no subject
Roxy grins at Molly's whispering, she leans in closer and whispers back. "That's because people always underestimate us small girls, but we are usually the best ones in a fight so don't get disheartened."
no subject
The part about a boyfriend she just moves past, because she gets the concept but still kinda just goes "gross!" when thinking about it. Well, okay, so some of her friends were together, but she glossed over that in her head most of the time too. They were her friends. Thinking of them kissing was just weird. Also, it always got so complicated with them, and she wanted none of that noise for herself.
"They DO," she responds emphatically. "And I am. I once punched the Punisher right in the stomach. I didn't know he didn't have powers. Did you? He's just a weird guy who likes guns too much and wears a skull on his chest."
no subject
She motions towards a pile of sweaters in a bin and concentrates, making one float up about a three inches above the others and then back down. When one of the local shoppers goes to inspect it she shifts the gravity and makes it suddenly weigh a lot more, causing the woman to pull and struggle to lift it. Eventually she releases it and the shopper gives the sweater a weird look and moves on.
"Ta daaaa."
no subject
She quickly scampers over to the sweaters and tries to lift it for herself. It's easy since Roxy has released her powers, and she flops it around a little. It is, in fact, just a normal sweater.
"It's like Jean Grey. Is it for real gravity, or telekinesis?" She may not have a lot of schooling, but she knows her X-Men stuff.
no subject
"It's for real gravity." She says, "I can show you some fun anti-gravity bubble stuff later if you want but we shouldn't do that in the middle of a store. Don't want to scare the locals."
no subject
no subject
"And I'm not a mutant, I'm gen-active which really isn't all that different. My Dad was a government agent who got tested on and passed his powers down to me."
no subject
Her friends would be quick to remind her that the whole superhero thing wasn't a game, or it shouldn't be, and the problem was that most super heroes acted like it was, and blah blah blah, but they weren't here and Molly could have a bit of fun if she wanted.
"Gen-active sure sounds mutant-y...I bet it's all AU mutant. Because I've met people here that are obviously from alternate universes. That's what this whole deal seems to be. I think we're in the in-between of universes or something weird like that. I'm surprised the Fantastic Four hasn't shown up yet. This is super duper their thing."
no subject
Not that they really have a lot of missions on these islands but hey, you never know when they might land on an island full of evil scientists or something.
"I think we're in-between universes too, which is fine with me. I've traveled into a bunch of different places and been to space and so far these islands are a lot more fun. Not only is the company way better but now we get to go shopping."
no subject
"Bad stuff happens here." She frowns, remembering some of her experiences, particularly with clowns. "But bad stuff happens everywhere. So if we get shopping and fun here, that makes these islands pretty cool." Her face twists in thought. "But what if we make friends here, and then get sent back? What happens then?"
Molly couldn't possibly know that Roxy had potentially found actual love here, and this might be a real issue for her at some point. But in that way that children have, she's mashing right on an important button without even realizing it.
no subject
Badly.
Which is strange because shouldn't that be what she wants? To be with her friends and family again? She opens her mouth to respond but then grimaces as a flash of white light goes off in her head, it's similar to when she was talking to Malcolm and she gropes at the clothing rack to steady herself.
"I...sorry. I got dizzy there for a second." She says to Molly and then shakes her head, "And I dunno about...after. Guess we'll just have to wait and see and hope for the best."
It's a shit answer but she can't offer Molly anything else, her heart is hammering in her chest and she can taste her own panic in the back of her throat.
no subject
"Hey, if they don't notice zombies and the money here seems fake, do you think they'll notice if I just take...Freefall?" She glances up at her new buddy. "You okay? You look kinda sick."
She stands up straight and looks around suddenly. "Wait are there more zombies that need punching?"
no subject
She knows that this isn't just hunger or from being over caffeinated, this is straight up fear but she can't bring herself to stop and think about where it's coming from because she'll freeze. So instead she tries to focus on other things, telling herself that she's fine and safe and that the world is certainly not spinning or going out of focus around her. Nope. She's here with Molly and the two of them are having fun shopping damn it.
no subject
((I know it's forever late! I just wanted to toss out something of a wrap up and then turn towards the newer stuff hopefully!))
(no subject)