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❅ SHITTY LITTLE TOWN ❅ PART 1
Each year in this town, the winters seem to get harder and the summers seem to get hotter, and this was no exception. After several months of sweltering afternoons and sweaty nights, fall is finally starting to break the town’s fever, although with the cooler weather comes the death of the horseflies, leaving many of the town’s flat surfaces coated in bug carcasses. The sky is overcast, the air remains humid, and in the distance thunderstorms can be heard almost every hour of the day.
During the day, people go about their usual routines, working primarily at the slaughterhouse or mines during the weekdays, vegetating in front of the television on Saturdays, and sitting straightbacked and paranoid in the pews on Sunday, fearful less of the wrath of God than the ire of the neighbors. Evenings for the average person are filled with drinking at Nog’s or Auntie’s or peering at the TV until bedtime.
This is where our heroes find themselves, waking with a new lifestory that integrates them into this, the shitty little town.
PROMPTS
a) NOG'S
Nog's bar is the preferred haunt of most of the miners and slaughterhouse workers in this town, who meet to drink their woes away, complain about their supervisors and speculate on the personal lives of the people around them. Despite Mr. Goluboy's constant harassment, Nog has managed to keep his liquor license, and as such is one of the few successful businesses in town on account of all the stress-induced alcoholism. While one won't find fancy cocktails here, if they're just looking for a beer and some scuttlebutt, this is the place.
Nog's bar is the preferred haunt of most of the miners and slaughterhouse workers in this town, who meet to drink their woes away, complain about their supervisors and speculate on the personal lives of the people around them. Despite Mr. Goluboy's constant harassment, Nog has managed to keep his liquor license, and as such is one of the few successful businesses in town on account of all the stress-induced alcoholism. While one won't find fancy cocktails here, if they're just looking for a beer and some scuttlebutt, this is the place.
b) AUNTIE'S
"Auntie's" is the name of the old-school, 1950's-esque, 24-hour diner in the middle of downtown, with big red pleather booths, checkerboard floors and a jukebox. Typically, the only difference in clientele between Auntie’s and Nog's is that the people at Auntie’s wanted a burger or a stack of pancakes alongside their beer – but unlike Nog's, Auntie’s is only barely hanging on, constantly getting ticketed for waterspots on the silverware and not having enough napkins. Thankfully, one can get a full breakfast meal at Auntie's any time of day for a few dollars.
"Auntie's" is the name of the old-school, 1950's-esque, 24-hour diner in the middle of downtown, with big red pleather booths, checkerboard floors and a jukebox. Typically, the only difference in clientele between Auntie’s and Nog's is that the people at Auntie’s wanted a burger or a stack of pancakes alongside their beer – but unlike Nog's, Auntie’s is only barely hanging on, constantly getting ticketed for waterspots on the silverware and not having enough napkins. Thankfully, one can get a full breakfast meal at Auntie's any time of day for a few dollars.
c) THE DOCKS
The town is alongside a lake, and once upon a time there was enough fish to sustain a modest fishing economy and a river that allowed for trade by boat with other nearby towns. However, with the mines' pollution, fish are no longer considered safe to eat, and only the water immediately adjacent to the springhead on the Warren Family Farm is safe to swim in. Draining from the mines has lowered the level of the river enough that it's no longer navigable. Residents will still occasionally use the lake for boating recreation, but fees at the marina keep going up (into Goluboy's pocket) and mothers are increasingly worried about letting their children get wet in that water.
The town is alongside a lake, and once upon a time there was enough fish to sustain a modest fishing economy and a river that allowed for trade by boat with other nearby towns. However, with the mines' pollution, fish are no longer considered safe to eat, and only the water immediately adjacent to the springhead on the Warren Family Farm is safe to swim in. Draining from the mines has lowered the level of the river enough that it's no longer navigable. Residents will still occasionally use the lake for boating recreation, but fees at the marina keep going up (into Goluboy's pocket) and mothers are increasingly worried about letting their children get wet in that water.
d) THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE
The other major employer, owned by Ms. Cygne. Most of the locals who don't work at the mines work at the slaughterhouse, where the work is disgusting, dreary and grueling. Sometimes people get promoted out of the trenches and into admin. Yay.
The other major employer, owned by Ms. Cygne. Most of the locals who don't work at the mines work at the slaughterhouse, where the work is disgusting, dreary and grueling. Sometimes people get promoted out of the trenches and into admin. Yay.
e) BIG TOP CIRCUS COFFEE
Dick's Coffeeshop is in the bottom floor of an apartment building, and many locals have no idea how it hasn't been shut down yet, given that the owner is famously generous with his resources in a way that clearly irritates the city council. Dick offers jobs to those who Goluboy and Cygne won't hire at the mines or slaughterhouse and frequently sneaks day-old pastries to the hungry. The coffeeshop is one of the few areas where artists tend to converge, usually at the weekly open mic night; however, whatever one expresses at the coffeeshop is likely to be picked up by the town gossips, mocked relentlessly, distorted and spread around.
Dick's Coffeeshop is in the bottom floor of an apartment building, and many locals have no idea how it hasn't been shut down yet, given that the owner is famously generous with his resources in a way that clearly irritates the city council. Dick offers jobs to those who Goluboy and Cygne won't hire at the mines or slaughterhouse and frequently sneaks day-old pastries to the hungry. The coffeeshop is one of the few areas where artists tend to converge, usually at the weekly open mic night; however, whatever one expresses at the coffeeshop is likely to be picked up by the town gossips, mocked relentlessly, distorted and spread around.
f) THE FARMER'S MARKET
Because Mr. Goluboy's malicious prosecution of small businesses has essentially shut down any legal avenue for a farmer's market, a few of the residents of the town have established a black market for homegrown fruits and vegetables, small-batch soaps and candles, and other small products. Words gets out through a whisper network, and a few times a month everyone in the know meets in a parking lot, opens their trunk, and does some bartering and selling with each other until they get found out. Sheriff Mallard and her deputies have arrested many people at these pop-ups and confiscated their products. By now, these pop-ups have around forty people trading and selling at a time, and the city council has announced that out of concerns for food safety the sentence for being caught vending homegrown produce will be increased to a misdemeanor with jail time.
Because Mr. Goluboy's malicious prosecution of small businesses has essentially shut down any legal avenue for a farmer's market, a few of the residents of the town have established a black market for homegrown fruits and vegetables, small-batch soaps and candles, and other small products. Words gets out through a whisper network, and a few times a month everyone in the know meets in a parking lot, opens their trunk, and does some bartering and selling with each other until they get found out. Sheriff Mallard and her deputies have arrested many people at these pop-ups and confiscated their products. By now, these pop-ups have around forty people trading and selling at a time, and the city council has announced that out of concerns for food safety the sentence for being caught vending homegrown produce will be increased to a misdemeanor with jail time.
g) THE LIBRARY
The library, once well-stocked and indulgently funded, is now kept alive sheerly by the passion of the one paid librarian, Aziraphale, and the volunteers who work there. There is no interlibrary loan program and there have been no new books in years. The library is reduced to loaning damaged copies missing pages, and story hours or public events are difficult to organize due to the complete lack of resources. The city council has also forced Aziraphale to put up a sign against loitering or using the library "for any purposes besides the borrowing of books." An organization of local busybodies drops in frequently to comb through the stacks for "objectionable material," which is then destroyed at Ms. Cygne's behest.
The library, once well-stocked and indulgently funded, is now kept alive sheerly by the passion of the one paid librarian, Aziraphale, and the volunteers who work there. There is no interlibrary loan program and there have been no new books in years. The library is reduced to loaning damaged copies missing pages, and story hours or public events are difficult to organize due to the complete lack of resources. The city council has also forced Aziraphale to put up a sign against loitering or using the library "for any purposes besides the borrowing of books." An organization of local busybodies drops in frequently to comb through the stacks for "objectionable material," which is then destroyed at Ms. Cygne's behest.
h) WILDCARD/NEW LOCATION
Feel free to set things around town anywhere you want or make up new locations.
Feel free to set things around town anywhere you want or make up new locations.
i) THE SPOOKY WOODS
Outside the town, there are foggy, dense woods, difficult to navigate by foot due to thickets and brambles that come up to a grown man's waist. The city council has done what they can to ban people from going into the woods, and the gruesome animal maulings are a compelling disincentive.
Note: Let the plot mods know when your characters are going into the spooky woods.
Outside the town, there are foggy, dense woods, difficult to navigate by foot due to thickets and brambles that come up to a grown man's waist. The city council has done what they can to ban people from going into the woods, and the gruesome animal maulings are a compelling disincentive.
Note: Let the plot mods know when your characters are going into the spooky woods.
❅ OOC Plotting: Here. More locations can be found there. You can also ask the players running the plot questions there.
❅ Event Length: This part of the plot is to establish CR and characters' roles in town. It will last about a week and half before future parts that allow the characters to start digging into the mysteries of the town.
❅ New Characters: If your character is introing at this time, assume they arrived just in time at the location the plot takes place in to be caught up in the magic drawing everyone in. They would have gotten the Man in the Moon's spiel from the welcome page right before being magically sucked in.
❅ Opt-out: Anyone that doesn't want to play in the plot can handwave their character didn't go on the mission that put the characters in the location where they were sucked in. You can thread your characters back at the Pole or send them on another smaller mission with other characters.
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"I got a flat white Americano!" She calls out, putting the coffee on the counter. She wipes the counter down with a clean rag, tossing the rag into the the laundry bucket.
Hearing the door open and the soft jingle of the bell, June doesn't turn around. "Be right there!" She says, wiping down the coffee machine. Turning with a grin, her twin pigtails bobbing, she bounces over. "Hi! What can I get you?"
II. Nog's [open]
"Beer's up!" June calls, putting the case down with a grunt. Look. She's exhausted from a long day at the coffeeshop, and now she's going to spend a good chunk of her night here.
Talking with the customers, she pours drinks, collects money and generally makes herself helpful everywhere. But as midnight approaches, she starts cutting certain people off (you know who you are!). "Nope, that's it, dude. You're done." She says, refusing to serve another drink to the man in front of her.
She sighs, shaking her head. "Be right with you!" She calls, hearing her name.
III. The Cemetary [closed to Logan]
She knew she'd find him here. She adjusts the bag on her shoulder and walks over, slowly and carefully. She knows that sneaking up on him is a bad idea. She remembers.
But she can't, in memory of his wife who'd taken a shaken kid and treated her with kindness and his daughter who'd been a wonderful friend, leave him here.
"Mr. Howlett?" She says, softly, scuffing her feet through the grass. "You gotta eat." She sighs, seeing the empty whiskey bottle and kickin it softly. "And drink something nonalcoholic."
June crouches next to him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.
I.
"I had a good day selling art by the docks before it started pouring," he says. He pulls a twenty out of his pocket - he doesn't carry a wallet anymore, because what's the point? It's just one more thing to get lost or confiscated. "Can I trade it for a sandwich and a cookie and one of them bottled lemonades for the road?"
He's planning on lurking here all day, trying to feel optimistic about a day where he can fill his stomach and have a little extra left over for Nog's.
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Her hands start moving before she's done talking. It's why June is so popular here and at Nog's. She can talk and do five different things at the same time. Can be a little irritating when you're trying to get a word in edgewise, but it makes her a fantastic barista and bar maid.
She also pours him a hot coffee to get some of the chill off. "Here ya go, Dan!" She says, brightly, making sure he's got everything, including the bottled lemonade. No doubt, later, she'll have to cut him off at Nog's, but at least for now he's got a sandwich and a couple of cookies.
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Which he wasn't expecting on a day when it's raining, but he takes his silver linings where he finds them. He starts to peel off a few layers of clothing - he wears everything he owns, having no place to store anything - and set them on the table he frequents, the one that allows him to snatch up disregarded food and see deputies coming in before they see him.
He comes back up to the counter to get the coffee. "Dick got anything in need of manual labor today?"
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"I dunno." She admits, finally. "No truck today, so that's out." She bites her lip. "Might be able to get him let you mop for closing though, depending?" She offers. She always feels bad about Dan doing her job for her, even if it means that he gets a little bit of cash.
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"You got a shift at Nog's today?"
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"I may rearrange the pantry in a bit?" She offers, thinking that she could organize the pantry better. "I'll talk to Dick." Because she doesn't want to do something that would jeopardize his license.
"As always," June is a workaholic. She works fulltime at Dick's, part time at Nog's (nominally, anyway. She's there almost as often as she's at Dick's). She wags a finger at him. "No drinking games tonight." She teases.
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"I'm going to do my damnedest not to get to the point where you gotta cut me off and send me home." But, while it's more expensive, drinking at Nog's is so much less discouraging than tossing back nip bottles in an alley. He knows it doesn't help his panhandling game when he's seen spending the money he does have on booze, but the financial hit feels worth it. "I know it ain't no fun for you to herd the drunks as the night gets old."
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"It's common decency, Dan. You've never done anything to me." She points out, cleaning the coffee machine.
Then she snorts. "Dan, you're the easiest drunk to get out. Some of them miners are hardcore." June doesn't like having to put up with them, but unless Goluboy cuts them off, they're not going to stop drinking.
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It's something Dan's good at, dealing with other addicts, and unfortunately sometimes handling rowdy, angry men is easier with another guy in one's corner. Even a guy who's the town scapegoat and frequently the target of those rowdy, angry men's harassment.
"Just so long as you ask me before I medicate myself enough to be sloppy."
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"How about this," she says, watching him with too old eyes in a young face, "you don't drink yourself sloppy and if I need you, I can call on you!" She smiles brightly at her brilliance.
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He always tries to keep his distance. Like he's radioactive waste. What's the whole thing with radiation again? He thinks back to his training in the army. He'd done some kind of basic rad training course: It was time, distance, and shielding, right?
(Too bad he'd been able to learn about radiation but they sure as fuck didn't teach them about the shit they were breathing in while piling garbage into the burn pits - or about how enemy ordinance might go off. Big "oops" on their part.)
But time, distance, shielding. He minimizes the time, keeps his distance, and tries to put shields up.
He just - he can't bring himself to actually hurt the kid. The swat is weak. She'll know it, she's seen him woodworking, and he'd sometimes thrown a ball around with Marie and her friends, when she'd joined the Softball League.
"I told you, kid," he slurs out, "I don't need you here motherin' me. There are better things to do with your time."
It's the most he's said to anyone for days and it's obvious from the way the words creak out, like his gravelly voice is falling into more and more disuse.
He picks up the bottle of beer he'd thrown to the side.
"'Sides. Liquid bread. I ate today."
Beer has calories! So she can go away now.
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"Liquid bread is not food." She points out, sighing. "And I'm not mothering you." She totally is. "I'm keeping one of my best friends' dads company while he eats." She shakes the sandwich again. "So you might as well eat, because I'm not going anywhere." She can be a stubborn thing.
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And it's not really about him, after all. It's about Marie. He knows she'd hate to see what happened to him. And that's the only reason he acquiesces.
"If I eat the goddamn sandwich, will you fuck off already?"
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"But the sandwich is a good start. I even brought coffee or lemonade to drink!" Another bright smile. She's not going to leave him here to wallow. Oh, she does sometimes, because sometimes, she does the same thing at her parents' graves, and he'd found her out here a couple times asleep on their graves, wanting them back. But, she doesn't wallow nearly as much as he does - for obvious reasons.
Tonight, he doesn't get to completely wallow. It's time for the weekly 'June will take care of Logan Howlett in spite of himself.'