setting details

[boxlocks]

Imagine a space that is both sentient and infinite, but also limited in its ability to communicate and the restrictions of its form, and you have the Clock.

Inspired by Doctor Who's TARDIS, Harry Potter's Room of Requirement, Arabian djinni stories, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide's Restaurant at the End of the Universe and The Redemption of Althalus' House at the End of the World, the Clock Box is a contained magical space with the ability to shift and change at will, procure objects from the firmament, and even alter its inhabitants.

Whether it's a magic imbued with its creator's personality or an entity in its own right is unknown, but the Clock has both an immense desire to please, a scientific curiosity about the psychology of relationships, and occasionally a ridiculous sense of humor. It responds well to deep cravings, longing, fierce emotion and heartfelt wishes, but it does also sometimes make mischief for the sake of the reaction and sometimes things get a bit lost in translation.

Physically, the Clock is an infinite series of rooms and doors, from broom closets to spaces vast enough to hold an ocean. It loops around on itself in Euclidean impossibilities and shifts confusingly. Fortunately, as it's not malicious and enjoys interaction, it tends to bring its inhabitants together rather than stranding them alone in its endless maze of wonders.

ARRIVAL

All characters will arrive in close proximity to others, whether the fellow newly arrived or established inhabitants.

There are three ways your character can arrive: accidentally, involuntary, and rescued.

ACCIDENTAL arrivals open a door in their canon, maybe one they walk through every day or something brand new, and have found themselves in another world. The first room is a large plush mansion decked out with anything they would consider wealth, and broad windows that overlook beautiful scenery just waiting to be explored. The Clock will try to tempt them further in with the scent of their favourite food cooking, maybe faint music in the distance, or some other pleasant mystery. But once they've entered, if they turn to look back, they'll find the door home is now closed — possibly for good.

These characters arrive in the state they choose to leave, injured or otherwise, with whatever they have on them at that canon-point (subject to general item restriction).

INVOLUNTARY arrivals simply wake up in a soft, dewy meadow. There's clover (with bees, careful!) and tiny pink and white butterflies, as well as brightly coloured flowers from all different worlds growing amongst the long grass. It's hard to say exactly where the sun is coming from, but the sky sure is blue.

An involuntary arrival may have been snatched from the brink of death, but they arrive completely whole, hale and hearty. Unfortunately, they also don't have any items or clothes — but don't worry! Those will start coming into being as soon as your character starts wanting them.

RESCUED arrivals are characters who were desperately hoping for rescue or relief. Perhaps they had nowhere else to go, or were daydreaming of a better place, but whatever the case, the Clock heard their silent call and gave them a way out. One moment they're in canon, and the next? They're not. Try not to fall over, since the trip can be a little forceful, and hope you didn't interrupt anybody by suddenly popping into being.

These characters arrive with whatever they have on them at that canon-point (subject to general item restriction). Any injuries or malaise will be healed.

AS OF OCTOBER 2016: Accepted applicants will also be assigned a random room from our database. This can be the room that the character arrives in or simply the next one they walk into. Wholly an optional feature, we're providing it as a prompt to give players an extra jumping-off point.

TROPES

The Clock encourages togetherness and interaction. Unfortunately some of the ways it does this are kind of more like the desperate machinations of a fanfiction author writing their favourite pairing.

Tropes involve things like sharing a blanket or being trapped in an elevator, and it is absolutely okay to use the clock's elaborate machinations for your own purposes. Mods may occasionally post trope posts that characters can mingle in to gain new CR and get their meetcute on.

LOCATIONS

Infinite areas. The sky is basically the limit, here. We keep a sortable record of all existing locations here.

If you invent a location you'd like to describe so other people can use it, please leave a comment here. If you purchase a locked location please leave a comment here.

Keep in mind the limitations of what the box can and can't create (listed in the FAQ). All "areas" are one space. The easiest way to think about this is to assume that all doors in an area will lead to other areas at random.

In addition, if you want an empty duplicate of a specific location to appear from a character's world or another canon, you'll need to request it using the activity rewards system.

If you make major changes to a location that others would notice, especially permenant or destructive changes, it might be wise to post to the OOC community and/or reply to the location comment on the Settings page with details.

SOCIETY

The Clock is curious about social psychology and thrives on interaction, which is why it encourages characters together. It will always make choices intended to encourage interaction, so if characters want to start a community and take on specific roles it's probable that it will help rather than hinder.

As an example, if a character's desire to set up a shop producing a specific item (say, bread) is quite high, then the Clock might provide them the materials to help them do so, and may be more reluctant to just procure said item from the ether for others.

Players can request items to start a business or institution using the activity rewards system. If you invent a business or your character starts making themselves available in a specific capacity of work, please leave a comment here.

setting / rules / faq / devices
calendar / reserves / taken / apply
requests / contact / hiatus/drop
action / network / ooc

Comments

LOCATIONS

[boxlocks]

LOCATION NAME

DOOR DETAILS: What does the door to enter this location look like?
LOCATION TYPE: Landscape, sitting room, coffee shop, icy void, cabin in the woods, spaceship interior, etc.
LOCATION DETAILS: Try to cover what people will see upon arrival, and associate some scents and sounds with it too! Be as descriptive as you like, maybe even link some images. If you contradict the way the Clock works, the mods will contact you about any necessary changes, so don't be afraid to be creative.
FURTHER NOTES: If massive changes happen to the area or it becomes a central hub for people to live, this could be edited in here.

<div style="font-family:impact; font-size:2.2em; letter-spacing:3pt; text-transform:uppercase;">LOCATION NAME</div><blockquote><strong>DOOR DETAILS:</strong> Text here text here. <strong>LOCATION TYPE:</strong> Text here text here. <strong>LOCATION DETAILS:</strong> Text here text here. <strong>FURTHER NOTES:</strong> Text here text here.

[boxlocks]

THE CLOCK

DOOR DETAILS: The Clock's door is simple, wooden, with a golden handle. It tends to appear standing alone rather than inset to the wall.
LOCATION TYPE: Shrine.
LOCATION DETAILS: When the door opens, it reveals a small space before a vast monolith.

The space is floorboarded, with the area closest to the base of the clock a raised platform. There are small incense pots that replenish themselves, filling the air with a muggy, dizzying smoke. There are tatami mats on the platform for kneeling, and at the side of the small, empty space, there is a Tanabata tree, and a table with quill, ink, and slips of paper on which to write your wishes.

While the room is small in breadth and width, barely standing room for two dozen, the clock is of a height that stretches up into the darkness. The front of it is the clearest crystal, super-dense and difficult to chip at, and behind it the inner workings of the gears shift slowly as the great clock winds onwards. Within the Clock are embedded hundreds of smaller clocks of all shapes and sizes, their gears all intertwined and their times all different. The room is filled with the noise of ticking. While characters may recognize the face and design of clocks from home, or from their explorations within this nexus, the lowest, largest, and easiest to read face is clearly a replica of the Prague Astronomical Clock.
FURTHER NOTES: The Clock will revert any changes (such as vandalism) when the room is empty.

[boxlocks]

Lux et Nox

DOOR DETAILS: Tinted glass, confusingly bright and dark at once, bearing a little sun and moon logo with friendly steam rising from the middle
LOCATION TYPE: Coffee Shop
LOCATION DETAILS: Where there is a bar, there must also be a coffee shop, for those who answer “What’s your poison?” with “Percolated.” The front of the shop features a clean little foyer, home to a huge Mason jar labeled “tips appreciated!” A quick glance at said jar reveals it’s three-quarters full of not money, but a magpie’s dream come true: shiny foil gum wrappers, bits of ribbon, beads, tiny toy cars: all things that might be left in a pocket and forgotten until they go through the wash.
The coffee shop proper offers two entrances, one bearing a placard Lux and the other Nox. Lux offers warm sunlight streaming in through friendly, open windows, fair trade organic everything, cheerfully blossoming greenery, and maybe the occasional visit from a very friendly cat. Her name is Legs, and you can’t take her home with you. Trying will result in suddenly holding an adorable cat plushy that may bite you a little bit. Relax in incredibly plush chairs that want to claim you for life, trying fifteen different kinds of syrup, or meditate on a pile of pillows spread out away from the noise for exactly that purpose.
By contrast, Nox provides comfort for the other ~typical coffee shop denizen, which is to say: a murky den of goth. What can you do here? Well, you can brood with the best of them, but you can also blend your own teas, partake of many delicious flavored hookas that would put the Carroll’s Caterpillar to shame, fiddle around with every form of divination you can think of (including that one that involves spinning in circles), or weigh your existential dilemmas with the many editions of Sartre lying around. Including some he never wrote! At least … not where you’re from.

FURTHER NOTES: You still can't take Legs home with you.

[boxlocks]

BLACK SAND BEACH

DOOR DETAILS: You'll smell the salt before you see them: a pair of sea weathered, salt stained shuttered doors that were probably a vivid turquoise back when they were first painted.
LOCATION TYPE: Beach
LOCATION DETAILS: Black sand only happens when there's lava underneath, but try not to let the threat of impending volcanoes distract you. The water is warm and clear, an impossibly perfect shade of blue, and the sand itself is hard packed enough to run on, for those who prefer their day at the sea to be a little more active than indolent. Of course, no beach is perfect, so threats of creepy sea creatures, sunburn (from wherever the sun is) and if you're not careful, sand in uncomfortable places, all still apply.

FURTHER NOTES: Every once in a while, you just might encounter a pink sand beach instead of black.

[boxlocks]

HOBBYIST/PROFESSIONAL SPACES

DOOR DETAILS: varied
LOCATION TYPE: varied
LOCATION DETAILS: Darkrooms for photographers, studio space for artists, basketball hoops and baseball fields for athletes: if it caters to a profession or hobby, it can be stumbled upon.

FURTHER NOTES: As these spaces are Clock-generated and not ones characters will recognize from their personal lives, we encourage players to throw in little touches that lend themselves to the idea that things are just a bit off; maybe your racquetball has a Snitch's wings, maybe your darkroom is carpeted in violently orange 70s shag, etc.

[boxlocks]

HEDGE MAZE

DOOR DETAILS: Heavy wrought iron with creeping ivy, images of shapes and recognizable patterns appearing in all those lines and swirls before the eyes adjust and fade to relative normalcy.
LOCATION TYPE: Outdoor hedge maze.
LOCATION DETAILS: The hedge maze offers a sense of adventure for the curious and foreboding for the cautious, shifting and wavering between the two at any given time. Its walls are high, impenetrable shrub in a green so bright it glows, where a person might wander for hours, or find herself abruptly at the center after only a few turns. The center itself is never the same twice; characters might find inviting little benches and a mysteriously fresh drink of choice awaiting them; they might find strange, thin space that sucks them in and spits them out elsewhere in the clock; they may find an X that marks the spot to [redacted]. How soothing or unsettling they find the experience is completely up to you!

FURTHER NOTES: Flamethrowers and machetes aren't much use here; the Clock might provide them out of sheer whimsy, but any damage done to the walls will heal itself over instantly. Gotta go the long way around, kids.

[boxlocks]

ROSE GARDEN

DOOR DETAILS: One of the few doors you'll find allowing visibility into the area beyond, the Rose Garden's 'door' is long series of archways wound with - you guessed it - roses in all shades of sunset and fire and candy.
LOCATION TYPE: Garden
LOCATION DETAILS: Miles in diameter, the Rose Garden might seem endless to those encountering it for the first or even dozenth time; countless little surprises are tucked behind every row of flowers: a fountain lit with changing lights here, a private gazebo there; if you'd run into it in a romcom, you can trip over it here. Unsurprisingly the Clock milks such a romantic spot for all it's worth: bright colored butterflies dot the roses from one end of the rainbow to the other (might you see an actual rainbow? Don't rule it out!), the temperature is nearly always perfect--except, of course, when you suddenly find yourself caught in the rain with that adorable person you met five minutes ago.

FURTHER NOTES: Images for inspiration! These are just to lend a general idea, don't consider them limitations by any means.

[boxlocks]

A BAR

DOOR DETAILS: Huge, dark wood, and a serious effort to open, bearing a logo whose letters have long since been worn to incomprehensibility.
LOCATION TYPE: A bar!
LOCATION DETAILS: While exploring the Clockbox might result in stumbling upon any number of glitzier locations, the bar easiest to find has clearly been uh, broken in, shall we say. Huge, battered (but very cozy!) leather booths line the walls, offset by wooden slab tables of all shapes and sizes dotting the floor. The bar itself, set back in one corner, features high, spinny stools, and can make any drink you can pronounce, as well as a few you can’t. Unless your tongue happens to fork in the middle. Upstairs are a few private apartments, the doors of which are always locked, as well as a few accessible ones that never lead the same place twice. On one occasion you might find a VIP room far fancier than the rest of the bar, on another maybe the ubiquitous broom closet. For those wanting a break from the plethora of possible aromas downstairs, a set of highly conspicuous French glass doors lead out onto a balcony, overlooking scenic downtown--no, it overlooks an alley, and trying to climb down the balcony to get to it will just result in bouncing you back to the bar proper. At least the air up there is nice? And oddly freesia-scented.

FURTHER NOTES: A good starting point for active characters looking down the line to establish a routine! The place could certainly use a bartender.

[boxlocks]

ABANDONED PLACES

DOOR DETAILS: From the rusty to the warped to the crack and torn, these doors vary wildly; their only commonality is neglect and decay.
LOCATION TYPE: Houses, hospitals, parks, factories: if it can be left behind, it's here.
LOCATION DETAILS: Just as it collects people, the Clock collects places. Spaces that were once teeming with life but now stand empty and forgotten: a playground overground with weeds, a mansion that could house twenty home to only dust and weird echoes, a rundown beach arcade, even the ruins of architecture so old it's only a footnote in most history books. The more these areas are visited and explored, the more change and growth characters will find on their next arrival. The Clock's interests are always more active than passive, so finding, for instance, an abandoned garden and wishing for tools to fix it up might expedite that process.

FURTHER NOTES: Beware of hauntings.

[boxlocks]

GRAVEYARD

DOOR DETAILS: Blank, unassuming metal.
LOCATION TYPE: A hilly little cemetery, permanently in a state of autumn.
LOCATION DETAILS: The sun is always just about to set, evening chill beginning to snap in the air. All is quiet at first, though keen ears might make out the rumble of a well-maintained car engine somewhere over the hilltops, but your character might be far more interested in the fact that they're now viewing everything in black and white. If that doesn't hold their attention, the quiet itself begins to drip steadily away, giving rise to noises that might sound like human pain or rage, but just off enough that if you haven't started looking for the way out, you probably should now. Sticking around to see what happens - or just not finding the little caretaker's shed fast enough - will introduce your character to a horde of shambling undead who think they are the perfect aperitif.

FURTHER NOTES: The ideal spot for a picnic.

cinema

[joshing]

OLD CINEMA

DOOR DETAILS: Classic plush red double doors with gold furnishings (example)
LOCATION TYPE: Old cinema.
LOCATION DETAILS: Once upon a time this was a classic small early-American cinema with three rooms: the lobby, complete with a small bar area and smoking lounge; the cinema itself, with about ten rows of lush red seats, three private boxes, and golden curlicue decorations as well as a glorious chandelier, with a red curtain covering the screen; and the projector room, where the film was kept and loaded into the projector, and where staff took their breaks. Now, the place is incredibly run-down: the bar has nothing behind it at all except the empty popcorn machine, the shelves are bare of film reels, the walls are smoke-damaged, the light bulbs have burst and there are cobwebs everywhere. The floor has caved in in the front rows, leaving jagged spikes of wood sticking up from a hole that leads to who-knows-where. Just about everything has the feeling that it's about to fall to pieces around its inhabitants ears. But it'll also play just about any movie you want (aside from stuff that potentially breaks the fourth wall for other characters in game.)
FURTHER NOTES: Josh alternates between being the Phantom of the Opera and actually playing what people wanna watch.

[vdova]

Boxing Gym

DOOR DETAILS: A glass pushdoor; the glass is tinted so strongly that you can't see inside. There are faded letters, too scratched off and eroded to read.
LOCATION TYPE: A training area for boxers and other assorted fighting types.
LOCATION DETAILS: It's like something out of a photograph from the 1950s, brick walls covered in posters so faded you can't read the name or see the faces of the boxers they're advertising. There's one large boxing ring off to the side, and several punching bags hanging from the black void that makes up the ceiling. Off to the other side is a set of doors that lead to a tiny locker room and an empty office, devoid of anything but a desk, a folding chair, and a table fan, probably broken. The place clearly hasn't been used in decades, but it's safe enough to use.

FURTHER NOTES: The locker room will always contain gym clothes and basic equipment (pads, water bottles) if people are in need of them.

[causational]

DIM SUM PLACE

DOOR DETAILS: A typical glass shop door with pull handle, treated with a stick-on 'frosting' that's chipped and peeling in places, with unreadably faded gold writing in English and Chinese. A small golden cat charm with a bell hangs on a red cord at the top of the door and jingles when it opens.
LOCATION TYPE: A hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant specializing in dim sum and hot pot.
LOCATION DETAILS: The door opens and you're immediately facing a fish tank containing a variety of large fish probably intended for eating and not for being pets.

Beyond the tank lies the definition of a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant, with a few big comfy booths surrounding the main seating area, which is dotted with smaller two-person tables and giant tables for family meals. At the back of the restaurant is the kitchen, with an open window so you could see the cook (if there were one) and a little bar area beside the cash register. The decorations are all in reds and golds, slightly mismatched in style, and the menu is in Chinese with short terribly translated English descriptors in brackets.

Everything is covered in a fine layer of dust, but it's all in excellent condition if you take a moment to wipe it down. You can practically smell the food cooking, if you pay attention. If you go into the kitchen and hope hard enough, food will appear, but you have to serve it yourself.
FURTHER NOTES: The fish will be fine regardless, but there is a shaker of food.

[joshing]

THE ATTIC

DOOR DETAILS: A square wooden trap-door.
LOCATION TYPE: An attic.
LOCATION DETAILS: Smelling of dust and mothballs and pot pourri, thre attic is big enough to fit quite a few people. Originally filled with boxes and trunks of junk, mattresses, lamps, coat racks with musty coats, and a rolled up carpet, a lot of that has been pushed to the side to leave an empty space, and the Clock has helpfully provided the bedding and pillows to set up something like a blanket fort. No windows mean the room is typically dark, but there's light, a shuttered lamp that throws shadows onto the wood-panel wall and makes the whole room seem cozy and golden.
FURTHER NOTES: The Until Dawn cast chill here a lot. When Mike's around, so's the wolf, flopped down in a corner it's claimed for itself.

[divulsion]

KMA AQUARIUM

DOOR DETAILS: A sleek navy blue door with a silver door handle. The brushed metal surface is reminiscent of ocean waves.
LOCATION TYPE: An aquarium with holographic fish.
LOCATION DETAILS: The KMA Aquarium features a large, dark room filled with tanks of holographic fish. While most of the fish and sea creatures (sea horses, anemones, eels, etc.) are tropical in nature, fresh-water fish can also be found within the various tank shapes and sizes. Further more, each tank features a plastic red button. When pushed, the glass of the tanks disappear and the fish are released to swim about the room at will. There is no limit to how many tanks of fish can be released at the same time. Release one tank, or release them all! The fish will swim back to their respective tanks when the buttons are pushed once more. Behind a partial wall at the back of the room, portable tanks of more fish can be found on long stepped-shelves. These tanks seem to run on some sort of internal power and can be claimed by characters at will. They too feature the same plastic red buttons that both release the fish from the tank and call them back. Also, the holographic fish are in no way tangible, and can and will swim through people!
FURTHER NOTES: Example

poetry room

[boxlocks]

MAGNETIC POETRY

DOOR DETAILS: Tall and white, peppered with what look like the clay version of Scrabble tiles.

LOCATION TYPE: Imagination Station?

LOCATION DETAILS: A seemingly infinite room composed of three clean, white walls covered in - you guessed it - magnetic poetry strips, finished off by a single black wall stretching as high and wide as the eye can see. For as many varieties of words seem to be in there, you won’t quite be able to pick out exactly the one you’re thinking of: apparently there are limits even to infinity. But not to worry, the only real limit here is the imagination! Compose haikus, dirty limericks, impassioned sonnets...even dirtier limericks, etc.

FURTHER NOTES: Inspiration here!

[paragon]

jazz club

DOOR DETAILS: A plain metal door that could use a fresh coat of red paint with one slim, opaque window and a pull handle. The only thing remarkable about it is the red carpet leading to it with a long canvas awning above, like you'd see on a city sidewalk.
LOCATION TYPE: A 1940s jazz club.
LOCATION DETAILS: It may not actually be in black and white, but it's still like stepping into another time. This door immediately opens onto a grand staircase with a large column in the middle and two sets of curving stairs leading down on the left or right. Walk down either one and you'll move closer to the sound of jazz music, though of course there's no band to be seen on the empty stage at the bottom. In front of the stage is a large dance floor, the focus of the room, tables for sitting and dining surrounding it, luxurious sofas and armchairs against the walls, mirroring those on the floor above. Look back up at the column from this vantage point and you'll be faced with a large clock whose single hand seems to be stuck just before 12:00.

Choose to stay upstairs and you can instead look down at the dance floor from above, though you'll also have a line of sight directly toward the large chandeliers dotting the room. The light is low and flattering, the floor dark hardwood, the walls draped in red curtains. There's also a perpetual smoky haze to the air, though whether it actually smells of cigarettes probably depends on whether you enjoy the scent of that particular vice. The music fluctuates between fast-, mid- and low-tempo for all manner of dancing, but it's always jazz, always a hint of a time past, leaping up with saxophone or piano to the ceiling above. That is made entirely of glass with the occasional thin beams of metal as support structure, making visible a dark night sky. No stars are to be seen, but that's probably just because of all the glitter below.

FURTHER NOTES: Examples: here & here & here.

[novikov]

S.T.A.R. LABS CORTEX BRIDGE

DOOR DETAILS: The door is double wide and metal, like sliding blast doors meant to contain or protect. Across it there is a logo making it clear what lies beyond.
LOCATION TYPE: Advanced Science Laboratory
LOCATION DETAILS: The S.T.A.R. Labs (aka Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories) Cortex Bridge is a cutting edge lab that was repurposed into Team Flash's base of operations. It has advanced computer technology, science equipment and medical equipment, even housing a small medical bay that's capable of coping with dire injuries. The room itself is massive, two stories tall with high windows along the upper half of the room along one wall. The medical bay and monitoring areas are located in the central area, along with a display case for Barry's Flash suit. To each side are slightly smaller labs with science equipment, separated from the main area by partial glass walls. There is a hallway leading to a treadmill room and observation bay. [ Lab Entry - one | Central Area - one - two - three - four - five - six | Treadmill Area - one - two | Medical Station - one - two ]
FURTHER NOTES: Canon location from The Flash

[boxlocks]

THE CARNIVAL

DOOR DETAILS: Fairly ordinary door most of the time, but also if you go through a tent flap you're fifty percent more likely to end up here.
LOCATION TYPE: Amusement park and game arcade.
LOCATION DETAILS: Ten percent modern amusement park, ninety percent 30s style creepy carnival, Joyland boasts amongst its wonders an arcade featuring a wide spectrum of animatronic horrors such as Laffing Sal, fortune telling machines (the paper fortunes from which are always just a bit unsettling), and strangely enough one burly, robotic fellow who tells only Dad jokes. All these can be yours for just one shiny nickel, baskets of which sit out under inviting little spotlights. Maybe you could spend hours whiling away your time here, or maybe you have the constant sense that even when they’re off, the machines have their eye on you.

The exterior of the park is always night, and most of the rides are the sort constructed by a traveling carnival: a rickety Ferris Wheel, spinning teacups, a roller coaster constructed of white wood, predominantly the sort that can be taken down and packed up in a hurry. No one’s running the midway, but if you wish hard enough some of the game booths may light up and work for you, dispensing a spectrum of prizes from the adorable to the downright creepy if you can smash all those milk bottles. Likewise, it’s your desires that will make the rides go; in this case you’ll have better luck with a partner! No one wants to ride the carousel alone, right?
FURTHER NOTES: The carnival is genuinely activated by willpower and desire, the more the better. A group will likely have more fun bringing the rides to life than someone riding solo.

[boxlocks]

BOOK SHOP

DOOR DETAILS: Old wood with an opaque glass front, inviting
LOCATION TYPE: Used Book Store

LOCATION DETAILS: Small and somehow friendly for its absence of proprietor, the Animate Book Shop presents a cheerful sort of fire hazard, like all good used bookstores. Well-thumbed volumes fill not only shelves and tables, but also lean in precarious stacks across the floor, in sunny, dusty, window ledges, where-ever they’ll fit. Browsing this bounty of fantasy and sci-fi and romance offers the dreamy, meandering experience that once again all good book shops do, those charming incidences of books the character hasn’t seen since they were a child, or though they’d imagined as such, but for a handful of exceptional happenstance, as one might expect to find in a place like the Clock. Interacting with the books physically produces a number of unusual effects: The Sun Also Rises opens its pages with a blast of light, A Hundred Years of Solitude sends a feeling of loneliness wafting into the air, and a few of the gripping thrillers bite.

Squashy armchairs dot the shop in unexpected places, if the browser wishes to sample its selection. Books can be ‘purchased,’ as the handwritten (by no one visible) sign at the counter indicates, by summoning a memory associated with reading. These can be private, just the character thinking of them allows them to leave the shop with a book, but sharing (aloud) is encouraged! You could try just stealing them, but you’ll be left with a ‘normal’ copy of the book, and those could be acquired as easily by wishing.

FURTHER NOTES: the contents of the shop will change upon each visit.

[boxlocks]

CATACOMBS

DOOR DETAILS: Romanesque, carved with stone statuary. Surprisingly easy to open for as heavy as it looks.

LOCATION TYPE: Manmade catacombs in underground caves.
LOCATION DETAILS: Lit by torches with stands in the shape of graceful arms, the catacombs boast stone walls of such natural roughness they must have been mortared by hand. Dark and smelling heavily of damp, a sense of age pervades the atmosphere, amplified by the occasional pocket of slim, desiccated bones in the walls. Touching these, should the curious character be of a mind, may cause them to crumble. If these labyrinths had a purpose beyond burial it has long since been forgotten, though wander long enough in their depths and you may hear the (always far off) roar of something very large, and very hungry.

Doors to leave aren't plentiful, but they are present for those who'd prefer to exit as quickly as possible; the fastest way to find them is feeling along the walls. Bear the sense of dread long enough and intrepid explorers may find a wide, deep lake lit by hundreds and hundreds of candles, somehow not extinguished by all the water in the atmosphere. Some force must keep the water moving enough that it hasn't gone stagnant, clear enough to see down to a bio-luminescent speckled bottom. Such a natural feature might suggest that these catacombs were once caves.

FURTHER NOTES: Bring a friend.

[boxlocks]

BUBBLE ROOM

DOOR DETAILS: Silver and heavily sci-fi influenced.
LOCATION TYPE: An antigravity chamber one part Glitch, one part Fizzy Lifting Drinks.

LOCATION DETAILS: An antigravity chamber filled with surprisingly durable (and strangely edible) bubbles of all size: some small enough to fit in a hand, some as big as a person. Characters can bounce off them, bounce them into one another, etc, although they’re slippery, so holding them proves difficult. Both characters and bubbles float with about the same same weight, although they may find their own mass less easy to control. The chamber itself is rounded and tall with a glass top leading out to what appears to be soft, white light, although the top itself cannot actually be reached; the closer one gets to it, the more an invisible force pushes them back down. Doors leading to other places pepper the sides, so if a character wishes to leave they can propel themselves or crawl along the walls toward these.

FURTHER NOTES: Any bubbles a character manages to bring out of the chamber will pop upon exit, leaving behind only sticky residue.

[boxlocks]

THE LIBRARY

DOOR DETAILS: Tucked in the far recesses of an alcove, easy to miss, but grand and impressive for those willing to look for it.
LOCATION TYPE: Library

LOCATION DETAILS: Massive and ornate, the Library boasts a central rotunda with a gold sun embedded in the title floor. Marble staircases with wide, shallow steps fan out like rays, leading to endless rows of tall, mahogany bookshelves, adorned by signs explaining the most basic of category separation (ART, SCIENCE, HISTORY, FICTION, etc). Tall, wooden ladders are provided for top shelves. The books themselves are grouped oddly within their respective topics, not merely standard alphabetization, but for instance one might find a shelf entirely occupied by authors who were exiled from their home countries, or another featuring ones all over six feet tall. The library’s most notable feature may be, however, that a person who browses long enough is sure to find works never written in their homeworld by the authors whose names adorn their spines.

Approaching the library with the aim of finding a specific book may prove difficult, but doable; those who go in guided by vague but specific goals (I want to read a sad book, maybe with griffins in it) will have better luck.

FURTHER NOTES: The atmosphere is always quiet; even the loudest of shouts won’t ring higher than the appropriate library whisper. Books can be removed, but keep them out longer than their standard return time (two calendar weeks) and they’ll simply vanish from the characters possession. They can always be relocated in the library, although not always in the same place.

[boxlocks]

WIKIPOSTIA

DOOR DETAILS: Tall and rounded, made of brass so weathered it's more green than anything else.
LOCATION TYPE: An unusual sort of post office.

LOCATION DETAILS: Imagine a standard wall of PO boxes. Now imagine that wall as a room, magnified to seeming infinity. Each box is labeled neatly with a name, some, should you choose to peruse the rows and rows of metal cubes, you might recognize as others you've met here. Search long enough and you'll find your own name as well; that box is the only one that will open for you. Inside you'll find a small object (of the player’s own choosing and design), determined by relation to a random entry here. The entry for a city might gift the character a snowglobe of that place, for instance, or a composer a piece of sheet music.

FURTHER NOTES: Closing and opening the box, or leaving the room and returning, will generate a new item each time.

[boxlocks]

CASINO

DOOR DETAILS: Gaudy, glaringly neon.
LOCATION TYPE: Casino

LOCATION DETAILS: State of the art, glitzy, glamorous and neon, a casino fully stocked but for games that require the participation of a dealer, though those willing to play the role for others could certainly wish blackjack tables and the like into existence. Thick, plush carpet patterned in gold and red rosettes cover the floors, walls hung with velvet curtains and opulent metal trimmings. A sense of excess floats in the air like smoke, from the constant jingle of tokens and clack of chips, to the wall of sound blasted from line after line of slot machines, to top shelf champagne available in crystal flutes and cigars more expensive than some models of car.

The casino features two floors separated by a long staircase, one entirely for games and the second home to an elaborate buffet table and small stage for cabaret acts and the like. Although there's always uptempo, tastefully risque music playing, up until now the stage has been empty. Maybe you'll be the first to take it? Spangly leotards are available behind the curtain.

FURTHER NOTES: as there's no cash based economy in the Clock, characters who win chips can't cash them in for more than the pleasure of a successful gamble, but at the same time that means there's no possibility of losing one's figurative or literal shirt.