the head | the hand (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
headandhand) wrote2019-06-09 05:28 pm
headandhand) wrote2019-06-09 05:28 pm
city locations.
Dualis is a giant, sprawling city that seems mashed together from an innumerable combination of worlds and cultures. It also has a nasty habit of shifting when you least expect it - new buildings pop up or disappear overnight, streets you thought ran one way curve into another, and entire neighborhoods sometimes move to a completely different section of the city.
We don't have a city map outlined, because updating it with these shifts would be a nightmare, and because we want to make this setting fairly open-world and built on player contributions. There are, however, a few locations that never move.
+ THE DORMS. This building is located smack in the center of the city. Any road should either take you directly to the dorms, or to a transport stop that will take you here.
+ CENTRAL SQUARE PARK. This is a lush, green park the size of several city blocks just to the north of the dorms. Statues and monuments to (approved) historical figures from the city's past are scattered among climbable trees, benches, bricked winding sidewalks, and a few fountains that run from spring through fall as temperatures are above freezing. A section of the park is home to a perpetual chess tournament that welcomes players of any skill. The only oddity that characters may notice about the park is that there are no animals - no squirrels, no birds, no other wildlife to sneak up and swipe your sandwich.
+ DUALIS CITY ZOO. The only animals that can be found in the city are in cages at the zoo. They're well maintained, and the animals seem about as content as animals usually are in zoos. Some animals you may recognize, but others will be completely alien. The zoo is located about six miles to the north of the dorms and the park.
Light trains and buses run like clockwork through all parts of the city at all hours of the day and night. There's plenty of traffic from private vehicles crowding the streets as well, but everything still seems to run perfectly on time. All city streets are one-way, so be sure you pay attention to the flow of traffic! As in the park, there are no stray animals to be found anywhere on the streets.
The city itself is bordered on all sides by nature. To the west are the foothills where the Temple and the Sphinxes are located, where all characters arrive. Farther to the west, where the foothills give way to more mountainous terrain, are mines. To the north is a densely wooded forest, with a few clearings here and there that make good campgrounds. To the east, you'll find dark swampland, and it's generally advised that you steer clear of it, for your safety. To the south is a giant lake and beach, with a boardwalk, a Ferris wheel, rentable paddle boats, and other amusements.
(If you wish to explore beyond the borders of these locations, please contact a mod for details! There's more out there, but it's not easy to get to.)
Player contributions to the setting are quite welcome! If you've narratively established a location (bar, shop, restaurant, etc.) that you think other players would enjoy frequenting, please add it below.
no subject
Brief description: A diner chain restaurant! Decor is pretty drab and generic and a little worn down, like all good diners. Serves every imaginable breakfast food and never closes. If you don't see what you want on the menu, the cooks will be happy to prepare a custom order.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? There are several of these scattered all over the city, one of which is across the street to the south of the dorms.
Other notes: No shirt no shoes no service!
no subject
Brief description: A cozy little coffeeshop. Someone apparently missed nature too much, even though the forests aren't far away. They mostly serve coffee and tea products, but they also have a selection of baked goods.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Not particularly
Other notes: They like to change their outside signs a lot.... And if asked, they say someone suggested 'The Excited Espresso' once and Expresso just stuck.
no subject
Brief description: A shady dive bar with nothing special to it. They serve basic alcoholic beverages, no elaborate fruity cocktails here, and have bowls of stale bar snacks, extra salty.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Four blocks from the dorms, nestled in a tight alleyway.
Other notes: It's kept pretty dark and the tables and seats are well worn. Shadier individuals are known to frequent the establishment. There's a dart board in the back, along with a pool table and an arcade machine with a stuck joystick. The bathrooms are covered in graffiti that no one bothers to clean and they're relaxed when it comes to rules. As long as you don't start a fight, they don't care.
no subject
Brief description: An upscale strip club. They've got several stages for different dancers to work, and the bar serves a variety of cocktails, from classics to the extravagant, guady stuff you can get in resorts on the Vegas strip.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Not really.
Other notes: No one under the age of 18 is permitted entry. Other than that, the place is open to anyone as long as they don't cause a problem.
no subject
Brief description: An abandoned old warehouse full of rubble and useless junk on the furthest outskirts of the city. A good five hour walk, or 1-2 hour bus ride from the dormitories. Repurposed into a "recycling and art center". It's actually a forge and weaponsmith run by Seifer Almasy, with a mechanic portion run by Nida. While it's very work-in-progress in time it'll hopefully burgeon into a full operation.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Ruins on the furthest reaches of the city. Just. Ruins. Everywhere. Interestingly the ruins appear to have been lower tech than that which the city itself boasts.
Other notes: Hope you're up to date on your vaccines! The "recycling center" is of course a front. While it's not necessarily organized crime, making unauthorized weapons is probably not approved by the Head. Areas where work and training are performed will be cleaned and shored up to prevent building collapses and fires. Hopefully.
no subject
Brief description: An indoor archery club/gym that specializes in archery year-round. The building is multi-story; the first floor consists of the front desk and locker rooms, with showers, as well as a weight room with standard gym equipment for members to use. The other floors contain gym-sized rooms with targets lined up against one wall that serve as archery ranges, and they offer group and private classes for children and adults. There is also an archery league that meets weekly for friendly competition.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Not particularly
Other notes: Equipment is available for rental, or guests can bring their own. No age restrictions. No guns or weapons other than bows allowed.
no subject
Brief description: A sparkly new cafe that caters to children and the young at heart with iced and hot cocoa drinks of all kinds, delicious pastries, age-appropriate live music, and of course many friendly kitties who love to lounge in laps.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? It's fairly close to the dorms.
Other notes: Any children under the age of 12 (or equivalent) must be accompanied by an adult. All cats are adoptable!
no subject
Brief description: a dive bar with a speakeasy-style old-tech shop called Rick's Lo-Fi Emporium in the basement.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Near the boardwalk, to the south of the city.
Other notes: IT'S A TOTAL DIVE. Missing ceiling tiles, cracked vinyl booths with the stuffing poking out, cheap drinks ... the works. Smells pretty strongly of old cigarette smoke, and smoking inside is allowed. Live music some nights, might be a little loose on the carding, as long as you're not super obviously underage. The shop in the basement is only accessible with employee accompaniment and it's a well-kept secret, so it will be rare for anyone to be granted access.
Also the owner, Rick, is a dog. No joke.
no subject
Brief description: A gym/exercise facility/sports hub located in a sprawling three-story building that resembles an extremely upscale, ritzy "health club," but everything is just a little bit off: the colors of the sports balls and other equipment are weirdly garish, proportions of courts don't match regulation standards, and there's definitely some equipment that's built for a frame that is not humanoid in any way, shape, or form (the four-foot bowl of what looks like spiky grape jello with cherry tomatoes in it, for example). The first floor is twice as high to allow for various sports courts , including a couple that can be made into indoor gymnasiums with the addition of folding mats, along with two small pools with green water, the second has standard ("standard") gym equipment scattered through several large rooms, and the top is geared towards massage, a sauna, and relaxing and removal of stress, along with a play area for young children and a snack-and-coffee bar. For all its oddities, it is a well-run and well-maintained operation, with helpful, respectful staff.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Near-ish to the zoo, but it's one of the ones that shifts almost every day and so can be found on any of its sides. The zoo is a good starting point, though.
Other notes: No children below six are allowed outside the play area aside from designated lesson times for things like swimming, and kids between six and ten have to be accompanied by an adult to use the facilities. They seem very supportive of the new arrivals in town and inclined to help them, sometimes even offering discounts on memberships. The two men who run the place are identical twins, and while at a casual glance they can appear human, something is definitely off about them - they're too tall and thin, their coloring too unnaturally sallow, and their mannerisms a little too ...plastic. Still, they seem genuine enough, and take care both with the selection of their staff but also the selection of their members to ensure a pleasant experience for all.
no subject
Brief description: A premium Whole Foods-ish chain grocery store. Prices are high but they're known for their quality GMO and organic perishables. The actual source or genetic material used to create them are an industry secret. The interior is meticulously labeled and organized, with tiny directory-like screens to help with finding the items you want. While the setup is highly modern and advanced, it prefers to use personnel over robots. Sales are infrequent. Questions about it will be judged. The highly controversial (due to attracting 'the wrong crowd) free-coffee-with-purchase is available with a recently hiked up requirement of 50 duos.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? There are three large outlets to the east, west, and south. Smaller stores pop up every so often as smaller grocers are bought up.
Other notes: The Right Kind of customers (i.e. rich and
snootyclassy) are treated like kings and queens. The 'poor' and 'non-conforming' will be judged by premium customers and staff alike. Mistreatment of employees is common and subtly encouraged.no subject
Brief description: An ax-throwing range plus bar plus mid-price grill-type restaurant.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? A few blocks from the dorms, though exactly where tends to shift from day to day.
Other notes: You must be at least 18 to throw axes! Employees are around to give safety instructions and supervise. If you are throwing axes, there is a limit of 1 drink per hour, and the bartenders are very strict about enforcing this rule. Anyone under 18 is welcome in the restaurant section and the viewing room between the restaurant and range to watch the ax-throwing action, but are absolutely not allowed inside the range, even just to watch. Anyone who wishes admittance to the range must sign a waiver that they understand the risks of participating and agree to hold the establishment free of liability in the event of any accidents that cause injury or death.
no subject
Brief description: Half of the rooftop of the dorms has been cordoned off by a wooden fence (with a latched gate) as a stable for a growing chocobo. There's a shelter in a one corner to defend against the wind and cold. Two makeshift troughs are located next to the shelter for food and water. They're empty.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? On top of the dorms!
Other notes: The young chocobo is rarely here. He can usually be found with Squall
no subject
Brief description: A hole-in-the-wall art gallery featuring mostly creepy or surreal artwork, the Gallows features a small showroom with white and colorfully painted walls, a polished hardwood floor, and excellent lighting. A small back room serves as a painting studio. One of its exterior walls has also been prepped to serve as a graffiti wall where Dualizens are free to paint or write what they want. When filled this wall can be repainted and marked again.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? About a block away from the zoo.
Other notes: Anyone who makes art is welcome to submit it to be displayed, sold, or performed at the Gallows. It's also got erratic operating hours, its schedule mostly revolving around the owner's availability.
no subject
Brief description: The main area of the bar and the seating area. They don't have a ton of actual food, but they'll do sandwiches, burgers, and the like. There's another seating area off to the side that's for the more restaurant-feel. A baby grand piano sits in the corner where the music can be heard throughout the bar and to top off the music pun feel of the place, this sketch is on a chalkboard outside and one inside.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Not particularly. It's not exactly centrally-located, but it's on the eastern side of the city.
Other notes: There's a speakeasy-type deal here and the basement is being used as a secret base for the rebellion Cloud and Co are starting.
no subject
Brief description: Owned by a Khajiit transplant named Dra'Ayissma, Isolated Pawn is a slightly shady pawn shop buying and selling everything from fine china to exercise equipment, power tools to entertainment systems, jewelry to games and everything in between. Some weapons are available, but they're either knives, handguns, or decommissioned collectibles. There's a market for non-sanctioned materials too, meaning the shop will sometimes take stolen or illegal goods if they're valuable. An incomplete list of inventory can be found here.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? It's not too far from the dorms, reasonably central and located on a side-street.
Other notes: Not technically a front for criminal activity but the pawn shop is used by both law-abiding citizens and criminals. It can be a decent place to gather information.
no subject
Brief description: It's called the 'Organic Clinic' because 'clinic where I don't have to do the devil work of the AI' isn't a good safe name. Instead use some hippie nonsense, that'll work, right? There's a back room she uses as a plant nursery and a pretty well kept clinical area. There's a linoleum floor and both some typical and futuristic medical tools.
She sells custom medications she's made herself, ranging from antibiotics to contraceptives to pain medication. She has programs to help people manage their addictions and ease withdrawal symptoms.
She will buy enhanced gear from anyone willing to produce some for her, and will pay for blood donations. Pay can be upfront, later, or through bartering as she'll be willing to take items to pawn shops or use food as hunger donations.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? A part of the city where people tend to experience more difficulties.
Other notes: No restrictions. She will consider it a sanctuary for recovering criminals and keep an exit open. She will kick out anyone that she thinks will be a threat to her and her staff. They are able to treat several kinds of androids and cyborgs and keep them from dying, though they may not be able to replace parts like missing limbs.
no subject
Brief description: It's just a normal private eye office. It's got the lettering on the frosted glass. It's got the old wooden desk with a bottle of whiskey on it. It's got a lot of normal paper books. It's got a record player and a CD player.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? In a general cheapish shopping district. Surrounded by a lot of secondhand stores, craft goods, and pawn shops.
Other notes: Hank's pretty sure whatever places are rented are being spied on. So he'll continue to be careful in there.
no subject
Brief description: Up in the north side of city, a large warehouse once used for distributing packages that has long been ransacked for anything but boxes and packaging fluff, etc.
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Other warehouses, storage lockers, etc.
Other notes: Possible to use as a 'safe' location for meeting up, doing whatever with, etc
Location name: Red-roofed Shack
Brief description: Located by the swamps, a shack worn over time but with a roof with a faded red colouring. The inside is a little damp and smells musty, but useful enough as a rest point or go-to while heading out to the swamps
Is it located near any other notable landmarks? Big ol' swamp
Other notes: Possible to use as a 'safe' location for meeting up, doing whatever with, etc
Locations would have been ICly known since around the end of January and available on the bulletin board in Rick's Bar!