JANUARY EVENT LOG

[recollecters]

EVENT

Auld Lang Syne The city of Recollé...it's a new year and new changes are around the corner. Are you ready? I. The nights are long and cold during the winter months. Residents of the city will notice that the sun sets on January 2nd at its usual time of around 5:30pm as the street lights flicker on. Neon signs illuminate the busiest areas of the city and the evening continues on as usual. The next morning, however, is a little different. The city is quiet and still, the street lamps dying down around 7am and the sounds of morning traffic filtering in from off the streets. But the sun isn't out. The sun appears to be gone and there's no natural light source visible in the city. Those brave enough to venture outside with a flashlight or other light source will only have to glance at the sky to see a large opaque dome enveloping the entire city, faintly reflective in appearance but blocking the outside world. It still feels warm enough outside. It isn't hard to breathe, and the flora and fauna seem to be responding just as naturally as always. But the city of Recollé is pitch black except for the light citizens shine themselves. The dome stretches incredibly high over the city, but anyone who can get close enough to it via ground or air will find that they can briefly see themselves in the surface. Upon touching the dome it appears to be smooth and almost rubbery in texture despite a shell-like shield appearance. Soundproof and unable to provide clues to what's happening outside of the city the dome is also harmless for those who wish to touch it and examine it, causing it to bounce a few times under light impact. However, do be careful not to trigger its defense mode! Should anyone attempt to damage the dome itself, it will light up with a bright, sickening blue color for three seconds before delivering a shock to its attacker and rendering them unconscious for an hour. Perhaps you'll get lucky and you'll only deal with the too-hot-to-touch surface that self-activates when the dome is threatened, or the spikes that appear at the source of impact. The dome seems to have a temperament of its own. It may be best to treat it the way you want to be treated. II. While NPCs comment on the eclipse-like weather, they seem to be going about their usual business and expect the rest of the city to follow along. Classes for the Recollé school district begin on January 8th and employees across the city's businesses are expected to be at work on time and work through these conditions. On the other hand, there are some workers who seem to have completed their job and have abandoned their worksite for the time being. Some citizens may remember that the old subway system has been under construction for nearly a year now. Others may remember exploring the tunnels that run below and some may even remember certain facilities underground. With the darkness shrouding the city it's easier than ever for anyone to slip into the tunnels...especially given the soft yellow light that seems to illuminate the entrance leading from the city to the rails underneath. For those up for a little adventure, or just curious to follow the light (or hell, maybe you ended up down here on accident), the light will guide you for roughly twenty-five feet before it dies down again. You're allowed to turn back, of course. There's nothing stopping you. But as explorers venture further into the tunnels they'll hear the echos of a bustling transportation hub and the sound of subway cars moving along tracks a few tunnels over. Though the tunnels may be dark and empty, this doesn't mean they're without danger. Similar to another tunnel previously discovered, vines and roots will come to life out of the walls to stop travelers. The red glowing eyes follow, but this time they're accompanied by the forms of large rat-like creatures that rush forward to delay travelers further. Bats echo in the caves even if they can't be seen and while the tracks closest to the city appear battered and broken, they remain whole and stable the further you walk into the dark. Some citizens may have old blueprints or maps to guide them, but they'll find that after a certain point even these won't help as the rail lines lead off the originally discovered paths. It'll take a good sense of navigation or sheer dumb luck to find your way...but where are you going? Is it worth the journey? III. Lucky for you, there are plenty of stops along the way. Or, at least, there are plenty of things to explore down below for anyone brave enough to excursion and get past the defeatable plants and rats. At varying points the main path of the tunnel splits off into other rails and destinations making it difficult to map out exactly where these things are going and where they'll spit you out. On occasion, however, you will find yourself facing an abandoned subway car. The lights of the car and the surrounding area are a washed out yellow glow, eerie in appearance and yet enticing all the same. For explorers who would begin comparing notes, they will come to find there five cars in total, though some seem to be moving on their own. One car appears to be an abandoned passenger car scattered with the remains of life lost. The luggage of vacationers can be opened and ransacked for clues but the newspapers, clothing and items appear to be personal in nature, dating back at least fifty years ago and mirroring the world news and trends from that time period. A second car is a sleeper car featuring rows of beds and musty sheets, also scattered with the belongings of people who no longer exist. A third car appears to be a little more useful. With a full kitchen in the back this dining car has everything you need to dine in luxury...sort of. Some covered platters of spoiled food sit out on tables, but some digging around will reveal food and drinks from the modern era including from new establishments such as Big Bang Burger and Freshens brands. These are safe to eat if you're desperate, but they may come with side effects including dizziness, temporary loss of taste, temporary loss of sight, and sudden transparency. The effects will only last for an hour and will even be in effect if the food is removed from the car itself. If entertainment is more your speed, you may wish to try and find the fourth car filled with old instruments, records, audio equipment, and a strange silver screen at the front of the interior. Stay on the car long enough and the doors will suddenly slam shut, a song playing on the speakers overhead in a crackled, muffled tune. The car begins to move along the tracks and you (and whoever you're with) are along for the ride. When the song ends, the screen may be of interest to you. It flickers to life even without being plugged into anything and a scene begins to play out. ...what is this? It looks like something you've seen before. One of your already regained memories is on display for the entire car to see, and despite being with few other people you may hear the reactions of unseen company. There are the sounds of laughter echoing through the car if the memory is particularly funny, or the sounds of sniffles and sobs if it's a real tearjerker. How are you going to explain that one to your companion? Oh well. Maybe you won't have to. Maybe you took another route and came face to face with the last car down below. Unlike the other four cars, this one is completely empty. It's a skeleton of a car, lights blinking and broken and the interior ripped to shreds. You can get closer to examine it if you wish! There's nothing to be found inside. But this particular car doesn't like to be touched; the moment anyone lays a hand on it, the engine whirrs to life and the lights focus, headlights narrowing like eyes as the train begins to move right toward you, two metal appendage-like features springing out from the sides acting as its arms. The arms will make an attempt to grab anyone close by, but even if you dodge the train will prepare itself for combat. You can try to fight the car if you think you can! It can be taken out with enough damage so long as you can get enough hits in before the train charges again. But you may be better off trying to outrun it and disappearing into another tunnel even as it gives chase and follows for a while. IV. It's been a long arduous journey for most of you who have ventured this far. You've fought some things, faced some others, and maybe even made some friends along the way. Fear not. The reward may be worth it if you consider a source of light a reward. No matter which tunnel you find yourself stumbling out of or which car you're on they all meet in the center at a grand central hub. The lights are bright down here and though there are no signs of other people there's plenty to look at. Moving past the trains and the tunnels reveals the beginnings of an underground shopping mall with pop-up shops, vending machines and other fancy kiosks. Some shops appear to be older than others with clothes, toys and goods dating from the 50s all the way through the 80s and 90s. Modern shops appear to be on the rise, too, and you may even find items from Tanaka's Shopping Channel or the Moogle Shop down here with a little looking. Most importantly, however, there's a shop at the very end of the mall with a blue hue surrounding it and the Retrospec symbol stamped on the sign above the door. The inside gives the appearance of a travel agency or a real estate office stocked with blueprints upon blueprints of the current buildings in Recollé. There are miniature travel guides as well, though some are more faded than others. "Welcome to Rapture", "Welcome to Tokyo", "Welcome to Gaia", "Welcome to New York", "Welcome to Egypt", the list goes on and on. Some of the guides are blank, but those who have regained several of their memories will find that their home guides will have information that corresponds with their memories and nothing more, landmarks they may find familiar and other facts they know to be true. There will be no new information found in these guides that travelers do not already have. Lastly, there's a large book on the table: "Welcome to Recollé." Flipping through this book details the history of the city and the story of how the four founders traveled far to settle on Earth to create this city decades ago. The city was originally to be a safe haven, a central hub much like this subway station, until the Retrospec project could reform everything. However, the city became a home to the founders, the founding families, and others that were rescued throughout the galaxy who'd lost their planets. The book goes on to explain how Retrospec created their original headquarters in a bunker in the woods hidden from prying eyes so they could do their job with utmost secrecy. Retrospec was never to be looked into by ordinary people and the original company had less than 10 employees working for it. This subway station, it says, used to be the way that travelers from other worlds would arrive to the city of Recollé and a way that they could leave to explore other parts of the planet at their leisure until the system was shut down sometime in the 1970s due to the collapsing of several tunnels. There are several pages at the end of the book, too, but the text is illegible. Instead, in bold letters written in sharpie are the words "LET'S REWRITE HISTORY" and dated 2007. The guides can be taken out of the office, but the book is bolted down to the table. Photos can be taken of the information though. At the end of the day, 6pm sharp, a loud electronic recording will echo through the mall: the last train is now boarding. Please make your way to the station to return to the city of Recollé. Returning to the station at 6pm (and only at 6pm), you'll find a brand new subway car fitted with modern accommodations and fixtures. The train will depart at 6:30pm and return all travelers to the start by 7pm. When the last passenger is off of the train, it will begin to move backwards and take off to return to its start point. Weird. BONUS. Meanwhile out in the city it's just as dark as ever. The dome blocks out light for days on end with little sign of letting up and leaving citizens to figure out their own methods to shed some light on the situation. Several shops begin to provide discount pricing on flashlights and candles. For those brave enough to enter the woods there are plenty of dead branches to carry back and start fires around the city and in fireplaces. No matter which way you accomplish it, however, all new sources of light produce a prism effect. The colorful lights won't appear with street lamps or storefronts but the more creative the light source the brighter the colors will be. On the other hand as soon as those lights turn out again the rainbow disappears. With enough teamwork, citizens may just be able to generate enough light to brighten the inside of the dome with colors but it will take a little extra thinking and a few extra hands. Welcome to recolle's January's event! The prompts are simply loose guidelines for you guys to play with and make up your own fun adventures for the entire month of January! You may also create your own logs or inbox threads based on these prompts. Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here.

Comments

[compendiem]

i.
[ It's dark... Even during the day when the street lights are out, everything is dark, unsettling, comfortable as Minato picks slowly through town. On his back, he carries his bow, carefully wrapped up so that the light does not peek through the fabric, settled alongside a full quiver— just in case. ]

Steven King wrote a book about a dome once...

[ And we know how King books go. ]

ii.a
[ Ultimately, it's the light from the subway tunnels that he follows in the darkness, as there must be a reason why light shines from this place even though the subways have been down for who knows how long? He goes by himself, so unless you've got a light source with you, he's liable to go bumping into people in the dark until right before the subways. ]

Let's head in together?

ii.b
[ Or maybe Minato doesn't bump into you until further inside the tunnels, gritted teeth and ragged breath as he pulls his foot away from a vine that had gotten wound around his ankle. The bow is out now, shining much more brightly than the lights inside the tunnels— it agitates the bats, angers the rats, but no way is he putting it away when this is all he has to defend himself with.

There are other weapons he has on him, but he hesitates to pull them out. Even in the face of aggressive creatures, he simply whacks them away with the bow like it's a sword; he's never fired his bow at a living thing, doesn't think he can. ]

iii.
[ It's the fourth car that Minato eventually ends up in. He keeps one eye on the screen, but picks at the instruments. There's a clarinet, but he's not so sure about placing his mouth on something like that. A piano, which plunks dully when he presses on the keys.

A violin that he picks up and greets whoever comes in with the godawful screeching of a violinist who has no idea what he's doing. ]

iv.
[ Welcome to... Welcome to... Iwatodai. Iwa— There!

Minato picks up the pamphlet turning it over in his hands. Featured, of course, is the ocean, a bridge, a school. It exists. He was born there, so he knows this, but even in his memories it exists. It couldn't have disappeared, like what people have been saying about the outside world. It exists, proof right here in pictures.

"The last train is now boarding."

6 PM.

He doesn't move, doesn't care. There's plenty to see in the mall, and with the light of his bow, he wants to read through all of these guides. ]

wildcard
[ I'm up to playing whatever! ]

wildcard

[spirithacker]

[Minato had already been walking Shinji home from work, so Shinji doesn't have to ask for that.

Which is good, because he looks out into the unnatural darkness of outside and shivers in fear.]

R-ready to go?

[He's very grownup, and he isn't scared of a little thing like heavy darkness.]

[compendiem]

[ Minato vague remembers something about promising he'd take Shinji home before dark after their shift every evening. Broken promises— trust— isn't something he likes to break, but the circumstances makes it impossible this time. He can't bring his bow to work, so their own source of light is their phones, for however long the battery lasts, or... Hmm...

He'll be back tomorrow morning to start his shift, so he doesn't feel quite as bad as he should when he digs through the storage in the break room to find the flashlight they keep there in the case of a blackout, make sure everything he needs is packed away in his bag, and then head out to the front to meet up with Shinji. ]

I'm ready. Do you want to hold this, or should I?

[ Minato's walked the route enough times that he can probably sleepwalk it, but Shinji holding onto the flashlight might give him a little more confidence if he can at least see where he's going. ]

iib

[fiddlestick]

[As one of the aggressive rats lunge at him, not deterred by Minato using that bow as a melee weapon, a sizable mass of water comes flying at the rat, hitting it with enough force to knock it into a nearby wall.]

Minato!

[Elliot comes up from behind Minato. He's got staff with him, that he's holding onto like someone would a lacrosse stick]

You okay?

[compendiem]

[ Any more of this ineffectively whacking rats around and Minato is liable to snap the bowstring and render it unusable altogether, so there's relief in the the breath that he releases as he stumbles two steps back away from the rat, and then turns to continue with his run through the tunnel. ]

I'm good, thanks. But we need to keep going.

[ There's more appreciation he'd like to convey aside from just "thanks," but it really isn't the time for that, a slight limp to Minato's step as he focuses less on fighting the rats as he does on dodging their sharp teeth and escaping the battles if he can. ]

i / wildcard??

[lalliho]

[Minato isn't the only one with a weapon strapped to his back, though Lalli's is a hunting rifle that looks to be oddly bound in places. He doesn't feel great about possibly having to use it, but he's far more confident in having it on top of Minato's almost-impossible-to-use bow. To cement this in further, Lalli pulls out the knife he'd been given through the mailbox and offers it out, handle first. He'll feel better if you take this...even if he's only really seen it be used for scraping bones clean, in his memories.]

Oh. I don't read a lot, but I've heard of him. Where does the dome come from?

[Feels a bit silly to discuss this, as they make their way to the forest for a spooky seance or whatever, but ohhhh weeeeell.]

[compendiem]

[ The bow, wrapped and obscured on Minato's back, is getting more comfortable to use every time he gets to practice with it, but he isn't unfamiliar with the weight of a knife he takes in his hands either— he keeps a pocket knife in his work bag, left at home for today because he needs to travel light and doesn't need it hitting his leg at every other step, although the knife's seen its fair use against vines and fruit and not so much living breathing creatures, or ghosts it would be completely ineffective against inside the forest. ]

In the book, aliens. The people in the town could not find a way to break out of the dome, and they all end up killing each other.

[ He did bring up the book for a reason, although he doesn't automatically assume life will play out as it did in the book. If the subways are a way out, great; if not, someone's got to figure out how the dome works. ]

iia

[kabloom]

This is probably a bad idea, isn't it?

[ and yet, here she is, also ready to explore this shithole. mimori is fully transformed, even if it's kind of hard to see it in the dark. the other thing that may be hard to see is what looks like a large egg floating next to her.

sup minato. ]

[compendiem]

[ It's so tempting to pull the wrappings off from around his bow and shoot the egg out of the air, like a little Shadow inside a shell that he might not have hesitated if it hadn't been accompanying Mimori. But the potential danger isn't here, on their side, but rather it's down there in the unknown— bad idea, maybe, but it's ultimately still just a maybe. ]

If there were something really dangerous down there, we'd be hearing screaming.

[ The closest thing he can get to a joke while being completely serious about it; they couldn't be the first and only people to go down there, so at the very least, they're safe for as far as they can hear.

Which is probably not very far, he sees as he steps through the entrance and is almost immediately faced with different possible directions to head, just like a subway station has. Nothing to do but to pick one and go, he supposes. ]

iv

[destiny_key]

[Just as the announcement comes over the loudspeaker, Sora stuffs his own pamphlet into his bag and turns to leave before he notices his cousin standing off to the side. Didn't he hear the noise?

He wanders over to Minato, and tugs at his sleeve.]

Hey, Minato. We've gotta go.

[compendiem]

[ Not yet... He wants to be here a little bit, missing home and everything those short six years had given him.

Minato doesn't think to take the pamphlet with him, seeing as he'd just made the decision to stay here overnight, but he hesitates on telling Sora that, unsure whether he'd be more relieved to hear that Sora would stay with him, or safely go home. ]

...Just a couple of minutes. You can go on ahead. I'll keep an eye on the crowd, and as long as I'm not the last to leave, I'll make it.

iv

[elevelvetor]

[ Ah, a glowing bow... She's not expecting to see Minato with it though. A little worrying, but that's fine. Elizabeth shuts her compendium quietly so as not to disturb him, Thanatos disappearing immediately when she does so, and makes her way over; her flashlight is swinging on a cord around her wrist, light arcing with it. ]

Anything interesting, Arisato?

[ She can convince him about the train in a bit, this is the proper way to start a conversation. ]

[compendiem]

[ Minato keeps the bow propped up against his leg, turning his body slowly so that it doesn't get jostled and fall to the ground as he picks the pamphlet up, half wants to stick it inside his coat like this place is a part of him shared by nobody else but his sister, but in the end, lifts it and angles the page so that Elizabeth could read "Iwatodai" plainly on the front page. ]

Don't know if it's interesting, but this is my hometown. I've dreamt about going back, someday, so it was nice to see again.

[ Nice and nostalgic and painful all in one. ]

ii.a

[steadycourse]

[Carrying a backpack and a flashlight, Ishida turns his light to Minato and looks at him with a small frown. He's as prepared as usual, although, the sunglasses on his person is probably a bit strange considering the lack of sunlight lately.]

This seems rather dangerous!! Isn't it against the rules to go to these sort of areas?

[...Of course, he wouldn't be carrying all of this stuff if he didn't intend to go down at some point.]

[compendiem]

Ishida.

[ Mr. Public Safety Is The Number One Concern. Minato thanks the gods for his natural poker face that keeps any guilt he feels out of his expression, neutral and a little thoughtful as he ponders of the question. ]

Whose rules? The city's...? [ In the same motion that he nods a head towards Ishida's backpack, Minato raises a shoulder where the bow strapped on his back shifts a little to draw attention. ]

It's not like we're going in unprepared. The city... the people in it... don't seem to pay the subway or darkness any mind. But we can. If there's something dangerous in here, isn't it like a duty to find what it is? Keep people safe?

[ Minato feels a little bad about what feels like emotional manipulation, but his words aren't completely false either. Something strange is definitely going on, and just because the people in the city don't care doesn't mean they can't be harmed by it. ]

iii

[crudest]

[Baren steps inside.

He hears the horrendous violin screeching and does the only thing that he can think to. He stares at Minato for a few seconds before picking up the tanuki that was resting on his shoulder and

throwing him.

Tanuki makes surprise snorting noises but otherwise seems to just be flailing through the air?! pLEASE CATCH HIM, MINATO.]

[compendiem]

[ There are a million and one things Baren could have done instead of flinging a wild animal at him-- god, he thought it was one of those giant rats for a second-- and it feels like all of these possibilities rush through Minato's mind at once as his eyes widen in anticipation of impact. In all honestly, it's a sound plan: if he wants to catch the tanuki, he has to drop the violin, and dropping the violin will put an end to the screeching.

Unless his reaction time is so slow, he's left with no viable option but to stand there and catch Tanuki with his face, the creature hitting Minato's cheek and sliding down his chest to be cradled in the arm holding the violin bow with one last, sad, drawn out screeeee--

...The gods hear Baren's prayers and one of the violin strings snap :( ]

iii

[windeity]

[Yeah. It's the godawful screeching that gets to him and John jumps into the car, giving Minato a flat look and waving his hands a little.]

Dude, I cannot tell if you are trying to revive it or put it out of its misery.

[compendiem]

It's Bach's Prelude in C Major.

[ Does it not sound anything like it, John? Maybe the strings need to be tuned a little... Minato fiddles with the tuning pegs at the top end of the violin; everything should sound a little screechier now. ]

iib!

[sharplydressed]

[Well this sure is a far cry from a cozy little cafe with flavorless cookies... Kashuu steps in to slice away at a few of the reaching vines that seem particularly enthusiastic, keeping his guard up for the bats that swoop downward. His sword - out and at the ready - appears to be clean. It's mostly just because he stops to wipe the blood off every so often, though. Far cry from how hard it had been to strike something down months and months ago.]

Hah, shame we have to meet again under these kinda circumstances. Need any help?

[He's pretty ready to stab a thing if Minato needs any backup, at least! Or bat them away with his sheath, which he holds in his other hand for that express purpose. It's not like he delights in killing things, after all.]

[compendiem]

[ Minato misses that cozy cafe where nothing's trying to kill him except lamentation over not being able to taste. Shame is sort of how he feels right now, though, having gone down into the subway to look around as if it were nothing more interesting than the dark alleyways he takes shortcuts through after work, and being blindsided by things he can't manage on his own. Or, in good conscience, pretend he's capable of it. ]

Help's appreciated.

[ That's an understatement. He draws an arrow from the quiver on his back and stabs into one of the vines that had lashed out at him, and it takes all his strength to pull it back out and tear it through the length of it, like stringing cheese. It doesn't stop the vine from moving or kill it, but it's easier to break out of the hold next time somebody else gets caught in it. ]

iv

[parodeity]

[ dave spots minato lingering and comes over, tapping his elbow against minato's arm lightly. ]

Dude. Last call, and they ain't jokin'. You can come back another day, maybe, but an overnight stay seems like a bad call to me.

ii.a

[livens]

Roger that, Leader~! Ah, but I'm no good in a fight, okay? I'm pure support still!

[ protect him ]

i look...............i have no explanation

[evidentiary]

I don't believe I've read that one, but King novels rarely end well, do they...?

[ kyouko has a small black notebook open, and appears to be mapping the extent of the dome, a flashlight held against the back of the notebook to keep it out of her way. ]

iii

[justchords]

(apollo truly has the worst timing. while he holds many regrets about venturing into the tunnels, this is by far one of his biggest. as soon as the screeching begins, even worse than his own chords of steel.

clapping his hands over his ears and shutting his eyes, as though that magically blocks out the sound at all, he squints to see... minato. of course.) Are you trying to make my ears bleed?