recolle | JANUARY EVENT LOG

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JANUARY EVENT LOG

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[!!!!

Uh oh. He quickly shuts his mouth and stops moving, glancing at the other two with him. What do they do??]

...... [This could be potentially awkward so better think fast.

Let's see if this girl has any guts and intelligence. Olivia cups her hands and makes some ghost noise that sounds like what one would hear in a awful haunted house.]

[ Oh my God Olivia what? She was prepared to go casual up against the wall with the hoodie over her head, but she's just cupping her hand over her mouth to resist bursting out laughing. Oh. My God. ]

[Ghosts, huh? How cliched in some ways-- but there was no denying that it was somewhat creepy in this situation.

Rubbing her hands over her arms to ease her shuddering, Felicia shook her head defiantly.]

The 'Other Me' might be a clumsy, nervous kind of person, but I'm still me. A few ghosts aren't gonna scare me-- not today!

[She was bluffing, but she had to-- for her own sake.]

[Elliot meanwhile is making this expression at Olivia:

Seriously?? What? And was this girl buying into it?? ]

[LOOK. OLIVIA IS KIND OF AN ASS SOMETIMES.

She stops making noise, thinking of what to do next. Which is where the sword comes in: how are Felicia's nerves going to hold up with the ominous noise of metal scraping against concrete. ~~Silent Hill anyone?~~]

[ . . . Wait like- ]

You have a sword?

[ Comes out her harried surprised whisper because. What. She saw it earlier but now it's being used as a prop she can't help but be amazed all over again. ]

[The scraping of the sword was unfortunately just enough to get her.]

Aaaaaah!

[Felicia wailed, bringing her hands up to cover her ears.]

Why does no one get that I'm not a knight> I'm just me!

[And with that she took off further down the corridor at top speed, with her staff held tightly in her grasp and the subtle ringing of her multiple knives clicking against eachother as she ran trailing in her wake.]

[oh no. The poor girl. Elliot immediately feels AWFUL. ]

O-Olivia!

[DON'T TRAUMATIZE POOR GIRLS]

That wasn't nice...What if she runs into danger now?

[FELICIA... Olivia sighs to herself.]

That's why we go after her. If she reacted that badly, she's going to die.

[ okay it stopped being funny there and Natalia... she sighs and gets out in front here. ]

No, Elliot's right, that was a little too far.

[ So, shall we? She's going to follow behind here Felicia ran at a fairly brisk place.

... Ignore that Natalia is powerless here too, but hey. ]

[Meanwhile, further up ahead...

Felicia, once she was sure she was 'safe', slowed to a stop in the corridor and panned the beam of her flashlight around-- a growing anxiety making her heart pound in her chest.]

We've got trouble, [she said to no one in particular.] I-I don't recognize any of this...

[He makes a little worried sound at the idea of someone dying in here. He doesn't want to be the cause of someone's death, nor does he want to chance dying either]

Why couldn't she have chosen to go to the mall instead of the subway...?

[But there's no time to back down now, he'll start moving forward. As he walks in a brisk pace, now that there's no point in moving around in the darkness, he'll conjure up bubble of blue glowing water to give a little light that hovers above his hand. It's not much, it's probably no brighter than a lava lamp. But it'll give enough light so they can see if they're about to walk into a wall or off a cliff at least.]

[If they ever get to Felicia, yes, for once Olivia will apologize. Maybe. This was a test after all.]

Mall would be worse. Too many people.

[Olivia takes something out of her pocket and there's a slight rustling noise. Don't be startled by the red light coming off of her flashlight now.]

To protect our night vision. [She mumbles mostly to herself, then takes the lead, slowly sweeping the light back and forth to give the other two time to see where they were stepping.]

... Aren't you two prepared?

[ Wow. She was here to take the lead but fine, fine, Olivia's stronger. She'll get into step behind her and sigh a little bit. ]

[Ahead in the tunnel, the beam from Felicia's flashlight may start to become more obvious in the gloom-- for she has started panning it around all of the walls and surfaces in order to get a better idea of her surroundings.]

A subway.... maybe?

[She bit her lip. Being a transplanted country girl, she had never had occassion to ride a subway before.]

Hmm~

I think I'll go try to find Pen before going in. That'll be the smart thing to do...

[And, turning, she started doubling back.]

Oh good thinking. [He says to Olivia. He had't even taken the night vision into consideration. He'll glances over at Natalia, looking confused and worried]

W-Why wouldn't we come prepared...?

[It's dark and we were planning to stalk. Speaking of, there's Felicia in the distance doubling back]

Oh! I see a light. Maybe she's coming back?

[The military teaches you some good things, especially during nighttime shooting drills.]

The day I'm not prepared is the day you'll find me dead.

[If Felicia is coming back...]

We have two choice: hide or make it look like we just happened to be walking this way.

Well, she would never have met me before, I could step out ahead.

[ She offers, with a little shrug. She feels like a bit of a tagger-on here particularly with this whole comparison of preparedness here. Let her at least use her winning charisma!! ]

[And... she thought she heard voices somewhere in the gloom ahead. Training her flashlight before her, Felicia called out.]

Hello? Is someone there?

[He was about to answer when he hears Felicia calls out. Yep. She knows they are there]

...Sounds like hiding is outta the question. L-Let's just pretend we were just heading in here on our own.

[This is what happens when you have people with you who can't keep their voices down...]

Wouldn't surprise her seeing as most of the city seems to be exploring this place...

[ Okay, clapping her hands together... lightly. She can't clap very loud with a prosthetic left hand. But she grips her maglight, makes to step out in front, and... ]

Hello! Was someone there?!

[The sound of another voice, the brief glimpse of lights in the gloom, was encouraging.]

It's just me! No monsters or dragons or anything!

[Welp, so they're doing this. Guess he has no choice but to go along with it and hope for the best. He'll call out as well]

Are you okay?!

JANUARY EVENT LOG

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