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Glitch as ST:
The celebration of one's last unmarried night is said to stretch back into prehistory. "Bachelor", originally meaning a young knight-in-training, was first used to describe an unmarried man by Chaucer in the 14th century. The Spartans were known to feast and toast Grooms-to-be. Such references stretch as far back as five centuries before the common era.
In French, this celebration is referred to as enterrement de vie de garçon: The End of the Bachelor's Life. A wake for the man he once was, to be replaced by a new one as a Husband. This is one of the most joyous outings imaginable, but like many things, it too is a Requiem. Here, among the ruins of failed enterprise and crumbled families, the detritus of modern life, our Groom and his close companions make their merriment.
Calamity:
Calamity has chosen a neighborhood in South Philly for this evening's exploration. Run down and with more empty buildings than full, it's the kind of block that screams "investement opportunity" and "gentrify me!" to any upstanding capitalist.
To Calamity, it looks pretty similar to home, though across the city from their turf. They're in their usual oversized sweatshirt and worn jeans, though their green bandanna is nowhere to be seen, right now. An unlit cigarette dangles loosely from their fingers, a surprisingly new backpack slung from one shoulder, partially full. They're leading the way, loping casually down the street like they own the place, half an eye on their surroundings.
Guy:
Guy is wearing his common attire, black tank and fatigue pants, combat boots, the leather jacket proclaiming him a Hellhound. He’s wearing his hair a little longer tonight, slicked back and actually looking a little stylish. He takes in the night in one long glance, eyes constantly moving over the buildings and his companions, his posture and gait as unhurried and unworried as can be.
Rena:
Rena stands out tonight. She's gotten herself a pricey, well tailored suit that she is rocking. The only flaws to her formality are the untied bowtie wrapping around her neck and the omnipresent knit beanie on her head to cover her roots. She's following Calamity, keeping an eye out as they travel. The last thing this group needs is trouble and the last thing trouble needs is to find this group.
Glitch as ST:
The four that prowl the streets tonight have little to fear. Darkness blots the city out around them, as the moon turns her face away, New and empty in the sky. They are used to being careful, but tonight, they are the Trouble. Suits, hands, and hearts may get dirty, but this is their party.
Curious signs peek here and there as they pass: "--ERNDAL-- UNDERGR-- --ALL" in stark magenta stencil, parts of it perhaps once lit. Narrow doorways with concrete steps leading steeply down into unknown corridors. Manhole covers hissing forth steam. They're well into an area of urban infrastructure that most people simply avoid if they can, a reliquary abandoned by developers and the unhoused alike.
Calamity:
"Heard about this place from a friend of a friend." Calamity eyes the signs curiously, but doesn't stop to try to decipher them, instead padding deeper into the abandoned maze. They wince at one point, and then shake off whatever it was, blinking their wide eyes into the dark ahead of them.
"I don't have t'go first, now that we're here, I don't know any more about it than any'a yinz..." When they turn to glance at the others their eyes have changed - normally sea-green, they've got a golden cast, and cat-like pupils that are wide to take in as much light as possible.
Guy:
“Neat trick,” Guy says with a grin, before his own eyes become golden and slit-irised, though his are more reminiscent of a snakes. In fact, pits open on his face, and a forked tongue flicks out of his mouth. “But I can just see in the dark. This will be handy if anyone tries to jump us down here…though it seems thoroughly abandoned.”
He walks around the space a bit, peering down stairwells.
Arthur:
Artie for his part, looks the role of an urban explorer. A many pocketed black jacket, slightly baggy pants that taper closer to the ankle and sturdy, sporty shoes. Ringing his head is a red bandana to catch sweat and keep haor outta the way. Or maybe it's just to allude to the Groom himself? Anyone who knew Guy knew red was his thing.
Rena:
"I'm a weird shadow bitch. I can see down there too, I just don't look fancy." Rena shrugs. She turns to Artie, "you got a trick too?" Shit, she forgot Artie's name. They'd only ever talked during the Rat stuff. "Um, Tommy?"
She peers downstairs from the top, hoping to see stuff while keeping the rear guarded.
Glitch as ST:
The utter darkness of the night helps them all peer into its depths, no intrusive lights to be magnified into unbearable brightness. Details emerge from the shadows. Enough faded marks can be seen to make out "FERNDALE UNDERGROUND MALL" on the half-ruined magenta sign. A lumpen shape, black and hunched, lays in a corner facing a wall in one of the alcoves. Most of the side paths here are blocked, locked, or simply obstructed.
Save for one. Peering down an ominously long concrete underhang, the inky night within resolves into yet another bare corridor...and an open doorway off to one side, leading further down a set of narrow concrete stairs into the unknown.
Image
Arthur:
Artie blinks.
"Uhm... close. Artie. But uh no not really. I think I just have sharp senses really. Not sure why..." he replies, glancing to the side.
Yeah. That was a fuckin' lie.
Guy:
Guy looks about, sniffing the air, staring at all the dark corners that he can see as clearly as if there was sunshine down here.
“Cool.”
Calamity:
Calamity's pulled their beat-up zippo from their pocket, but they don't open it, just aware enough of the Kindred in the room not to push things. And they can see, anyway, though they eye Artie warily.
"I got a flashlight, 'f you need one...?" A gesture with their head to their bag.
Their attention then turns to the open doorway for a long moment - it's clear they want to go that way. But the shape in the corner proves to be more interesting, and after a short glance at the others they pad in that direction.
Rena:
Rena sees Calamity heading over to the shape and jogs over to catch up to them, before slowing to her patient "don't be faster than humans" walk. "Hey, Bug, be careful."
Glitch as ST:
The billowy black shape is smooth and swollen in parts. From a distance, the mind leaps to one thing: a shrouded body. The long uninterrupted swell of the torso is distinct from the smaller headlike region. As Calamity approaches the shape, its head begins to move, shifting, before part of it splits open with a soft mushy rustling noise.
Shining, reflective eyes gleam back at the other night-dwellers, and the head of the figure reveals itself as a rather rotund raccoon, emerging from one end of an overstuffed black garbage bag. It freezes in place and stares.
Arthur:
"Oh I have a few flashlights and some glow sticks i can bring out? I didn't wanna mess up the vibe though," he answers back, looking slightly towards Guy.
"I figured you guys liked it dark."
Guy:
“Bah, squatters.”
Guy moves closer to the door, clearly curious, but waits for everyone. The raccoon Does Not Like Guy.
“Hmm? Oh a glow stick is cool. Honestly it’s more of a vibe than nothing; things just look normal in the dark to me, so.”
Arthur:
"Oh! Ok then." The wizened pipes up and roots around in a pocket and pulls out a few glow sticks.
The sound of cracking plastic pierces the silence like a broken bone before a vibrant yellow glow emits. The shadows dance as Artie affixes them to clips on his jacket.
Calamity:
"Augh -" Calamity yelps quietly in surprise and skitters away from the racoon, reaching for the bandanna that they aren't wearing to try to pull it up over their nose in advance of whatever stench might be coming from the now open trash bags.
"...Raccoon," they mutter with a grimace, their eye roll almost audible.
Glitch as ST:
The raccoon must be exploring here from a more garbage-laden part of town, because it is almost wider than it is long. Chubby and overfed, it waddles sideways, kicking aside an empty yogurt cup and keeping its wide eyes locked on Rena as it attempt to circle around and escape. It makes a horrible yowling screechy noise, like cats screwing, flecks of spittle on its little teeth.
The doorway simply shows steps leading down into the darkness. They appear to reach a floor at the bottom, fully intact. Three shopping carts are wedged into the staircase halfway down its length, tangled into a metal knot in total darkness. Enough to make a normal person just give up.
Rena:
Rena frowns at the scurrying-away trash panda. It was very cute for something that hated her. She heads over to the doorway and looks down. "Want me to punch that apart, Boss?" She asks Guy. Then she looks around at the general vibe and asks, "And should I look for ghosts?"
Arthur:
Artie waves at the raccoon. "Bye lil guy. Don't get eaten or nothin."
He glances towards Rena. "Ya know... given how we met, I super hope there aren't a buncha rats down there." He grins, trying to break the ice.
Calamity:
"...Raccoons are better'n rats," Calamity's grimace deepens, and they peer under Rena's arm to see down the steps. "'F there's people-size rats I swear I'm leaving, yinz can have a party without me..."
Guy:
Guy thinks a moment. “I’ll handle the carts, I can’t do ghost duty,” he says with a nod to Rena. “Plus if something nasty stuck those carts there, you can cover Calamity,” he adds, before starting down the stairs. When he reaches the twist of carts, he pauses. “I can make a hole or push this out of the way…first means pokey metal bits, second means a lot more noise.” He glances to the others.
Calamity:
"Anything that's gonna hear the noise prob'ly already heard the raccoon, yeah? And anyone will just think this place's haunted - people've been sayin' that for ages anyhow."
Arthur:
Artie simply shrugs. "I don't mind a lil noise if you don't. Honestly I do 't think there's a lot of stuff scarier than we are if we gotta be."
Glitch as ST:
The stairway is narrow and cramped, barely wide enough for one person. It's clearly not a main entrance, but whatever served as one for this conglomeration of spaces has been thoroughly blocked off. There's no sign of nastiness on the carts. And beyond the carts, deep within the bowels of the earth, lurking within the Twilight...
...there is nothing. Absolutely nothing. No anchored dead, no animated spirits. No life sensed below. This place has been utterly abandoned, without a shred of attachment to any mortal soul, living or dead.
Rena:
Rena's eyes flash pitch black for a second, before returning to their normal color. "Got it, boss!" She looks around a bit before smirking slightly. "We're clean, looks like."
Calamity:
"Rena, that's creepy as fuck." Calamity's voice is quiet, but emphatic.
Guy:
Guy nods to the group and shrugs, then turns and leans into the knot of carts to start walking down the stairs. There’s a god-awful screech as metal drags against concrete, and whenever a cart catches on something, it bends until it’s out of the way instead of slowing Guy down.
At the bottom Guy is practically wearing the carts wrapped around him, and he tears the mess off with a last screech and the tingle of falling bits of metal. “Ok, ears are safe again.”
Glitch as ST:
The screeching tear of the metal being wrenched apart and against itself and the walls, but once one of them pushes free, all three shopping carts fall out of place. They slam and bounce down the stairway one after the other, making a wonderful cacophony of multiple resonating BANGS and SLAMS that echo through unknown depths. When the sound settles, it is yet deathly silent.
At the bottom of the steps, behind a closed but unlocked door with a broken lift bar that opens without much difficulty, a wide open corridor looms in the dark. Shuttered metal covered storefronts here and there. Signs and display cases sit, pristine and flawless, next to barren planters and dust-crumbled plastic banners. It's an entire mall, and the four are the first to set foot in it for decades.
Image
Rena:
"Oh fuck yes. I'm going to get to fist fight a mummy in a hot topic." Rena says, breaking from the herd to idly poke around. "Hey, Guy? Please tell me mummies are real."
Calamity:
"Oh my god, Rena...." it's a moan of mock annoyance as they set foot into this relic of an abandoned mall. "Wonder how much merch is still here, how much we could make bank on all the vintage shit." They're joking, mostly, and slink forward, still close to a wall as they try to get a handle on the space without getting too vulnerable out in the open.
"...'F there's zombies I think I'm outta here, too - 'les I can use fire on 'em. How...uhm. Yinz still're bad with fire, right?"
Guy:
“Uh, yes. Less cursed Egyptians and more timeless servants of Things outside reality, or something like that. Probably not here. Zombies? Zombies you aim for the head, or render them into bits, depends.”
“And if fire is needed, I can deal, myself.”
He looks around, soaking it all in. “This place is…fascinating…”
Arthur:
"Woooowww..." Artie echoes as he spins atound slowly looking at all the space.
"This is so cool. I wonder when this place was built and left. I wonder why it was left. Like... Philly is still up there."
Glitch as ST:
The mall is practically mummified itself. Dry and dusty, sheer happenstance colluding to seal off at least a good chunk of it, its interior contents were already picked bare of valuables before it was left to rot. Only the glitz of its decor and facade is left; colored plastic tubes without any bulbs inside, rows of empty shelves, untouched seating bolted to the ground. Some parts are utterly destroyed, one escalator smashed into a pile of glass and rubber. Others look like they weren't even fully completed, storefront walls with bare insulation or exposed beams. It sits, out of time, long dead yet never born.
There's a directory nearby, eerie in its normalcy, complete with a cheery YOU ARE HERE sticker in red.
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It is also completely dark down here. Fully enclosed, subterranean, with no power.
Calamity:
"...Is it? You sure we haven't gone into some weird alternate dimension or some shit? Fuckin' gone through some fairy door?" They say to Artie, completely oblivious to the possible reality of the statement. Clearly the mortal doesn't know much about Changelings, if they're making those sorts of jokes.
"God this place was prob'ly dead before I was born. Some place for a party, Guy, you're welcome..." They turn to wrinkle their nose at him, half smiling.
Rena:
"So do we break out the champagne now or..." Rena trails off, way more invested in this cool as hell mall than boring things like a party.
Guy:
He grins to Calamity, then walks over to pick through some rubble by the trashed escalator, ignoring that some are 20ft long pieces of metal. “Did someone bring champagne? I don’t really mind either way, this party is ‘off the chain’ as it is.”
Arthur:
"Yes. I would have noticed if that was a Gate. Plus the Hedge is way wyrder than this. And stuff would be living here." He nods stoutly confident.
At the request of libation, Artie looks around. "I could make us some champagne if you guys want?"
Guy:
“Does it have to be normal champagne, or can it be blood with champagne in it?”
Rena:
"You could make. Champagne." Rena says, incredulously. "You gonna fly to France real quick for the grapes and then mash 'em here?"
Arthur:
Artie scrunches up his face now, tilting his head as he considers. "I... guess it could? But like I have blood."
Calamity:
"...I brought some sorta carbonated shit, didn't look too close..." Calamity swings their backpack from over their shoulder and sets it carefully on the ground.
A bottle is produced, and a bottle opener, even, and they inspect the top carefully. "I've heard my blood's pretty good but I'm pretty sure none'a yinz wanna take me up on that." Satisfied that it's a screw top, they arch an eyebrow at the two Kindred before deftly twisting open the cap of the wine.
It pops, spilling over their hands as they swear and hold it out, and they sigh theatrically. "'S not from France, but it's bubbly enough, yeah?"
Arthur:
"What? No. I'd just make it. Like...with stuff. It's just magic? But it makes real stuff." He half explains. "I guess it's a little Jesus-y though..."
Guy:
“Wait, why wouldn’t we want to drink your blood?” He asks Calamity, obviously curious. “If you don’t want us to that’s fine, of course, but…” He makes a little gesture. “It’s not weird, for me at least.”
Rena:
Rena glowers at Guy, the maddest he's seen her since they first met. "Don't."
Guy:
He blinks, glancing between Rena and Calamity. “Ok, never mind,” he says calmly. “Didn’t mean anything by it.”
He nods to Calamity, and then Rena, and then inspects the bottle of bubbly.
Arthur:
Artie looks between folks, confused and curious.
"I shoulda... no wait."
Then Artie moves over to one of the potted trees and moves behind it. He seems to be looking about, tilting the pot then poking at the dry ass dirt, and then with a little Wizened Wizardry and a "Woah. Awesome!" The tailor produces 4 champagne flutes, crystaline and pure.
"Lookit what I found."
Calamity:
"For what it's worth, I don't care," Calamity says. Very very softly.
The champagne flutes offer an excellent distraction, and the firebug holds out the bottle of very cheap, very not-from-the-Champagne-region-of-France wine. "An' here I was thinking we'd just drink from the bottle..."
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