scott_sanford (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
scott_sanford) wrote2024-08-13 12:03 am
scott_sanford) wrote2024-08-13 12:03 am
Entry tags:
Jenny Everywhere: On the Tube
Another thing for Jenny Everywhere Day 2024.
Sooner or later everyone in the city rides the London Underground, right?
Jenny Cornelius takes a trip
On the Tube
by Scott Sanford; 13 August 2024
“^Mind the gap.^”
Jenny Cornelius paid the warning little mind as she stepped aboard the Tube train. Laura’s flat was only a few stops away and she had other things on her mind.
So she may be forgiven for lapses of situational awareness.
“Blimey, Cornelius. What brings you out?”
She noticed the woman standing next to her for the first time and said in surprise, “Joan Constantine? Good morning. I didn’t know you were back in London.”
“I thought you’d be zipping around in your sports car like the rest of the toffs.”
“In central London? That’s what the Tube is for,” Cornelius said lightly. “Although I admit it’s odd to see you out in the daytime. Usually you’re skulking around in graveyards or wallowing with chavs in unsavory pubs.”
“Compliment my lifestyle later if you wish. Every time we run into each other there’s some eldritch offense to reality lurking in the shadows. Do you know if you’re being followed by anything unnatural today?”
“I should hope not. You?”
“Only the usual,” Constantine said, which was not a particularly limiting claim.
“^Next stop, Strand.^”
“That’s odd,” Cornelius said. “I thought I got on northbound.”
“We didn’t stop at Leicester Square, either. Something’s going on.”
“And there it is,” Cornelius pronounced. “Space isn’t shaped the way it should be. We’re getting the stations out of order.”
“Look at my face. This is me not being surprised,” Constantine said darkly.
They watched as the train emerged from the dark tunnel into the brightly lit Strand station. The doors opened, people entered and left, the doors closed again, and the train departed.
In itself, a completely unremarkable event.
“Nobody else is noticing anything, Cornelius, it’s just us. Fortunately for you, I’ve got a few tricks for just such an event.
“Nobody ever said you weren’t resourceful.”
“Runs in the family, that.”
“^Next stop, Elephant and Castle.^”
“Oh, that’s not even the right branch,” Cornelius observed.
The train arrived at Elephant and Castle Station, despite not being one stop away from Strand and as observed not on the same branch of the Northern Line. Again nothing outrageous happened. The other passengers seemed to take this as normal. In a few moments they were moving again.
“So what’s all this then?”, Cornelius asked.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t a clue.” Constantine rummaged through her jacket pockets. “Let’s try a little basic scrying and see what we can find out.”
Constantine produced a small shallow cup, and a pocket flask from which she poured clear liquid into the cup. She lifted it to her face and gazed into it at a shallow angle for a time.
“Bloody hell this is easier when we’re not on a moving train,” she remarked quietly.
“Hydromancy is an art for quiet moments,” Cornelius sympathized.
“Not much hydro in this stuff, either.” Constantine shrugged and drank the contents, then put away her cup. “Aright, we’ll try something else.”
“^Next stop, Elephant and Castle.^”
“Bloodly hell, we’re in Nidd!”, Constantine breathed. “We’re cycling!”
They arrived at the station they had just left a few minutes ago. Constantine eyed the platform suspiciously, but it appeared exactly as it had minutes before. The arriving and departing commuters didn’t seem to notice anything. Soon they were under way again.
“Repeating stations does appear to be the situation,” Cornelius mused. “The question is what we can do about it.”
“That’s what this mess is going to tell us, if it works.”
Constantine sat down in a free seat and laid a handkerchief down over the moquette of the seat next to her. She arranged various random seeming items into what might have been an occultly meaningful arrangement.
“^Next stop, Elephant and Castle.^”
They paid little attention to their third visit to the station; they’d seen the same platform minutes before.
Constantine intoned mystic words over her assortment of irregular tat while Cornelius stood guard over it. Nothing much happened for a few moments until the entire pile burst into flame. With a curse Constantine swept the entire mess off the seat moquette onto the floor and stomped on it to extinguish the fire.
“Dramatic, but perhaps not useful,” Cornelius commented.
“Bugger that. It’s serious feedback on the mystic side, it is.”
“^Next stop, Highgate.^”
“Ah, see? There’s progress,” Constantine said.
“Yes, yes it is.”
The train slid to a stop in a new and different station, nowhere near Elephant and Castle.
Jenny Cornelius bent down and gathered the scorched geegaws and balled them up in the handkerchief.
“What are you doing?”, Constantine asked.
“I’ve got an idea.”
Just as the doors began to close Cornelius threw the wadded fabric out of the car and across the platform, bouncing it off of the Way Out arrow on the wall.
“And what was that supposed to do?”, Constantine asked.
“Perhaps nothing useful at all. Let’s find out.”
A few minutes later they pulled into a station that was not very close to Highgate.
“That’s more like it,” Cornelius said, sounding very pleased with herself.
The train doors opened and Cornelius stepped out onto the platform. She turned to say, “Have fun riding the Tube, Constantine!”
“Oy, wot, you’re leaving me here on the train?”
Jenny Cornelius gave her a wild grin and spread her arms widely.
“This is where I was going all along – Mornington Crescent!”
Cornelius is a Jenny Everywhere; this might happen every time she tries to visit Mornington Crescent. :-) The game is named after the station which is named after the street. I hope I buried the shaggy dog exactly deep enough.
< See all of Scott Sanford’s Jenny Everywhere stories >
< Back to Jenny Everywhere Day >
A note for any confused London transit fans: Jenny Cornelius lives in the 1960s, so the Strand and Trafalgar Square stations won’t be combined into Charing Cross for about a decade.
The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.
Sooner or later everyone in the city rides the London Underground, right?
“You learn the basics, have a hideous experience in a graveyard, they give you a trenchcoat and take away your razor. Like an assembly line, really.” — Ambrose Bierce, Stanley and his Monster #2
On the Tube
by Scott Sanford; 13 August 2024
“^Mind the gap.^”
Jenny Cornelius paid the warning little mind as she stepped aboard the Tube train. Laura’s flat was only a few stops away and she had other things on her mind.
So she may be forgiven for lapses of situational awareness.
“Blimey, Cornelius. What brings you out?”
She noticed the woman standing next to her for the first time and said in surprise, “Joan Constantine? Good morning. I didn’t know you were back in London.”
“I thought you’d be zipping around in your sports car like the rest of the toffs.”
“In central London? That’s what the Tube is for,” Cornelius said lightly. “Although I admit it’s odd to see you out in the daytime. Usually you’re skulking around in graveyards or wallowing with chavs in unsavory pubs.”
“Compliment my lifestyle later if you wish. Every time we run into each other there’s some eldritch offense to reality lurking in the shadows. Do you know if you’re being followed by anything unnatural today?”
“I should hope not. You?”
“Only the usual,” Constantine said, which was not a particularly limiting claim.
“^Next stop, Strand.^”
“That’s odd,” Cornelius said. “I thought I got on northbound.”
“We didn’t stop at Leicester Square, either. Something’s going on.”
“And there it is,” Cornelius pronounced. “Space isn’t shaped the way it should be. We’re getting the stations out of order.”
“Look at my face. This is me not being surprised,” Constantine said darkly.
They watched as the train emerged from the dark tunnel into the brightly lit Strand station. The doors opened, people entered and left, the doors closed again, and the train departed.In itself, a completely unremarkable event.
“Nobody else is noticing anything, Cornelius, it’s just us. Fortunately for you, I’ve got a few tricks for just such an event.
“Nobody ever said you weren’t resourceful.”
“Runs in the family, that.”
“^Next stop, Elephant and Castle.^”
“Oh, that’s not even the right branch,” Cornelius observed.
The train arrived at Elephant and Castle Station, despite not being one stop away from Strand and as observed not on the same branch of the Northern Line. Again nothing outrageous happened. The other passengers seemed to take this as normal. In a few moments they were moving again.
“So what’s all this then?”, Cornelius asked.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t a clue.” Constantine rummaged through her jacket pockets. “Let’s try a little basic scrying and see what we can find out.”
Constantine produced a small shallow cup, and a pocket flask from which she poured clear liquid into the cup. She lifted it to her face and gazed into it at a shallow angle for a time.
“Bloody hell this is easier when we’re not on a moving train,” she remarked quietly.
“Hydromancy is an art for quiet moments,” Cornelius sympathized.
“Not much hydro in this stuff, either.” Constantine shrugged and drank the contents, then put away her cup. “Aright, we’ll try something else.”
“^Next stop, Elephant and Castle.^”
“Bloodly hell, we’re in Nidd!”, Constantine breathed. “We’re cycling!”
They arrived at the station they had just left a few minutes ago. Constantine eyed the platform suspiciously, but it appeared exactly as it had minutes before. The arriving and departing commuters didn’t seem to notice anything. Soon they were under way again.“Repeating stations does appear to be the situation,” Cornelius mused. “The question is what we can do about it.”
“That’s what this mess is going to tell us, if it works.”
Constantine sat down in a free seat and laid a handkerchief down over the moquette of the seat next to her. She arranged various random seeming items into what might have been an occultly meaningful arrangement.
“^Next stop, Elephant and Castle.^”
They paid little attention to their third visit to the station; they’d seen the same platform minutes before.
Constantine intoned mystic words over her assortment of irregular tat while Cornelius stood guard over it. Nothing much happened for a few moments until the entire pile burst into flame. With a curse Constantine swept the entire mess off the seat moquette onto the floor and stomped on it to extinguish the fire.
“Dramatic, but perhaps not useful,” Cornelius commented.
“Bugger that. It’s serious feedback on the mystic side, it is.”
“^Next stop, Highgate.^”
“Ah, see? There’s progress,” Constantine said.
“Yes, yes it is.”
The train slid to a stop in a new and different station, nowhere near Elephant and Castle.
Jenny Cornelius bent down and gathered the scorched geegaws and balled them up in the handkerchief.
“What are you doing?”, Constantine asked.
“I’ve got an idea.”
Just as the doors began to close Cornelius threw the wadded fabric out of the car and across the platform, bouncing it off of the Way Out arrow on the wall. “And what was that supposed to do?”, Constantine asked.
“Perhaps nothing useful at all. Let’s find out.”
A few minutes later they pulled into a station that was not very close to Highgate.
“That’s more like it,” Cornelius said, sounding very pleased with herself.
The train doors opened and Cornelius stepped out onto the platform. She turned to say, “Have fun riding the Tube, Constantine!”
“Oy, wot, you’re leaving me here on the train?”
Jenny Cornelius gave her a wild grin and spread her arms widely.
“This is where I was going all along – Mornington Crescent!”
Cornelius is a Jenny Everywhere; this might happen every time she tries to visit Mornington Crescent. :-) The game is named after the station which is named after the street. I hope I buried the shaggy dog exactly deep enough.
A note for any confused London transit fans: Jenny Cornelius lives in the 1960s, so the Strand and Trafalgar Square stations won’t be combined into Charing Cross for about a decade.
no subject
no subject
This connection is acknowledged on her wiki page.