locations

[polterguests]

THE HEART

Purrfect Penance
A strange, Gothic Revival estate sequestered from more busy areas, alluring in the spontaneous way quirky Airbnb houses are. Basking in its presence baptizes many onlookers with a vague sense of Godly reverence, though that could be the Gothic edges lingering in the style... The inside is furnished with charming maximalist odds and ends: paintings, trinkets, rugs, comforting bulky furniture, wood accents. Somehow, the house always seems to have enough individual rooms with one bed, but despite this, guests often find themselves desiring to room with a friend or acquaintance.

And... cats?

Aloof and enigmatic, felines of various colors and shapes and temperaments roam every space of the house. There isn't any rhyme or reason for when the cats come or go, and they never obey issued commands - typical - however, guests will always likely find at least one cat in their room pushing things off a table, or snoozing on the center of the bed.

Unfortunately, guests wanting the relaxing part of R&R will find they must instead share one of the three full bathrooms which make up the estate. Maybe it's easier to shower with the friend you already share a bed with?

International House of Phagia (IHOP)
A funky little diner with the aesthetics of the 1950s. The booths resemble mock-ups of old American muscle cars, and the food arrives on conveyor belts which look like a highway. The menu is an all-you-can-eat of any food or drink a person could want. Meals from home, meals from other countries and other worlds. Bask in the array of culinary cuisines. The food is delicious. Five stars. The longer customers stay to eat, the more they find themselves less full.

Hungrier.

There is also an alcohol menu for customers who are looking for a way to forget about any troubles. Be sure to practice safe alcohol consumption.

Arcadia
This moderately sized garden covering a portion of the landscape can be found after stepping through the stone circle archway of its entrance. Trees, bushes, plants, flowers, and all manner of botany grow here. Benches are sprinkled throughout the scenery. Some of the trees bear shiny, delicious fruit in peculiar shapes, but posted signs warn not to eat them. Doing so will cause shame-filled dreams of being naked in inappropriate places like school, or work.

Strangely, arcade cabinets are entangled within the loving embrace of nature all around the garden. Many of them function normally, allowing passers-by to try their hand at a maze-runner game, a fighting game, or a badly rendered first-person shooter.

Nostradamus
This beautiful cut of wood and brick is a quaint library. Every turn around the shelves screams elite private school, but... the subject of all of the reading material inside is on accepting and dealing with loss as well as tips and encouragement on finding missing fulfillment in life. Weird.

There are tables and chairs for study beneath moody lighting and plusher chairs for sitting and reading.

The Lake of Glass
The chilly water of this lake is so clear, the bottom of it can be seen everywhere except where it tapers off at the center. The foundation is all sand, wood, and plant debris, populated with ruby-colored fish of different sizes swimming lazily around. The water's surface is deceptive. Stepping in what seems like shallows will instead plunge the curious into a depth of a hundred feet. From below, it's easy to see in the distance the way the middle bends into a massive downward cavern where light is swallowed and the end is obscured by a shroud of darkness.

Any diver venturing toward the pit in the center will slowly become squeezed by pressure, the sensation of being pushed in the middle and pulled at the ends, strung out like a piece of spaghetti. Drawing closer to the lake's black eye steals any relative comparison, and it's difficult to tell what's around, or how much time has passed. Swimming becomes the feeling of the act in the mind. Alone is what remains. Lonely. Empty. Is there comfort in that?

Divers black out. When they open their eyes again, they are lying on the rough shore of the lake, an area covered by a little sand and smooth opaque river rocks.

technology & communications.

As you stumble out of the fog, it seems as though something has slithered into your pocket, coat, or even your shoe or sock if you don't otherwise have anything to carry your items on you. It's a simple compact mirror—its shape and design may vary, but there is always something just a bit ghoulish about it. As if your friendly neighborhood refined goth picked something out just for you. Though it's not just any compact mirror. When you open it, it whispers a simple hello, a faint engraving echoing the word against the reflective surface. A matching goodbye is on the other side. Should you desire to speak to someone else in Purgatory, you'll find that you're able to cross long distances with this device—it's capable of audio, visual, and even text. Sometimes it might even accidentally send your thoughts. How did it do that?

It may take a bit of a learning curve, but these mirrors also operate on Ouija Board rules. Yes, you must say goodbye or some variant of farewell before closing the compact or else you might invite some spirits to play a prank on you.

In sum, this is your communication device. Feel free to use it for voice calls, video calls, text calls, accidental telepathy, misfires, or random curses if you feel like being chaotic. The mirror is unbreakable and it will somehow always find its way back to you by the end of the day, even if you leave it behind.

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week three locations

[polterguests]

WEEK THREE

Bostco
A wholesale corporation meant to fulfill your every need in excess. Quite lucky that there are so many of you to share the wealth, right?

Samples dot the aisles, manned by figureless shapes, luring you deeper and deeper into its tantalising labyrinth. Towering shelves vanish into a limitless ceiling, stacked with quantities so absurd you may as well be preparing for an apocalypse. And yet, is getting one of anything enough? What if it sells out and never restocks again? Occasionally, you are gripped with what feels like primordial fear. It is so very busy, after all. And if you want it, so must other people!

Welcome to Bostco! A surreal pilgrimage where you lose track of time, sanity, and somehow end up with an alarming amount of goods you've agreed to haul home. That is, if you first defeat the door boss: the parking lot. You can see the doors, the glowing promise of bulk goods at ridiculously low prices, and you can even walk right up to them… but the moment you try to enter, you materialise in a car, either as the driver or a passenger, condemned to one possibly eternal task:

Find parking in the busiest lot known to humankind, in spaces designed for vehicles precisely your size, all while a chorus of impatient honks rises behind you like a battle cry. Good luck!


Junk in the Trunk
No, not that trunk. Tired of walking around with two weeks' worth of dried blood on your clothes? Feeling like you need to reinvent yourself after the embarrassing reveal of your stony profile? None of those ye olde outfits in the house cutting it for you?

You're in luck then, because this quaint little thrift store has everything you need for a fullbody makeover, from open-toed sandals (so you can let those dogs out) to slightly musty fedoras (m'lady) and everything in between. If you're feeling a little more old fashioned, not to worry! All styles and eras of clothing can be found, including even loincloths and fur pelts.

Weirdly enough, as soon as you slip on your brand new threads, you really do feel as though you've become a different person...or at least the type of person your clothes might suggest you to be. That cowboy hat might prompt you to let out a few more darn tootin's than you usually would, while that ruffled bodice and petticoat set encourages you to thine own self be true. But hey, a little change is good for the soul.


Monochrome Kitchen
From the outside, it does appear to be a neat and tidy building, within it will be several test kitchens. Aside from the kitchens, there is also a large dining area in the room in the back. Stepping into the kitchen will make one be fired up to cook the best dish of their lives— and not just cook, but to also compete with one another. Almost like being possessed, whether they have no cooking skills is inconsequential, they will feel the burning need to cook.

Some unwilling participants may even find themselves emotional and wanting to tell everyone why their dish is the best, and how this dish may even very well define their lives as chefs. Maybe they remember their moms cooking the same noodle everyday after school, or maybe they're just caught up in the vibes, and want to divulge just any sentimental tale.

When it's all done and said, there will be lots of food to dine on. Those who are seated at the dining area, will find them they are forced to complete blind taste tests, and if they're even slightly wrong in guessing the food or flavor profiles used, they will be punished by the curse of wanting to take a bite out of everything, even people?* But, why does everything and everyone taste like tofu?

* Just a bite, this isn't cannibalism. This is for Vampire Sylus.


Mother Peter's School For Impressionable Youths and Decrepit Adults
It's never too late to get your education! Sure, the chairs and desks here aren't exactly top-of-the-line luxury, but you shouldn't get too comfortable anyway, right? You're here to focus on learning. If you come in here alone and take a seat, you'll see detailed notes begin to appear on the blackboard as if written by the ghost of teachers past--spooky! But if you come in with a companion or two, one of you will feel compelled to assume the role of instructor for more... nontraditional subjects. You might feel the need to educate your students on subjects like the politics of scent within the omegaverse, horse facts, financial literacy: how many little guys is TOO many?, and more. (Actual knowledge of any subjects taught will not be required. All you gotta do is get up there and yap away. They'll hire anyone these days.)


Reader's Omniscient Viewpoint
A modern, state of the line library, consisting of three floors and so many books. Books on a whole variety of subjects and content, either completely new or startlingly familiar. Maybe you recognize a few of these titles...? The sections are all ordered by subject and genre, though the biggest section is titled B☆L☆ and is chock full of the alpha bottom omega cake verse fanfic erotica of your dreams... Come and broaden your mind... Books may be borrowed, but they must be returned after one week. If not, then a large, imposing figure dressed entirely in a black trench coat will grab you by the throat and dangle you from the third floor. How dare you. Return those books!!

The trench coat figure will also show up if you break any of the implicit library rules, such as being too loud, bringing in food and drink, being too slutty, and damaging books. They will chase you around the stacks and kick you out of the building. Do not test them...


The Nerd Locker
A large, two floor laboratory with pristine white walls, microbe-resistant flooring, and obnoxious florescent lighting. The first floor hosts chemistry supplies. Along the counters, you can find things like beakers, test tubes, microscopes, flasks, tongs, spatulas, Bunsen burners, droppers, and personal protective equipment. There's also a manner of substances from anesthetic to poisons to mysterious, brightly colored unlabeled liquids just begging to be consumed. The second floor is more for the techies. Here you'll find batteries, wires, machine parts, toolkits, electric panels, scrap metal, and more. There's a work station in the corner with benches and a shelf of tools that include soldering irons, multimeters, laser cutters, a 3D printer, and safety gear.

Tragically, anyone who lingers in the space for longer than six hours at a time will start to get gnarly eye strain and headaches from the horrible, bright lights. This is not your new forever home, dweebs. Get outta here.