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

[Look be more specific when you ask for earthquakes Minato. Elliot just knew throwing bubbles at the wall wouldn't do much beyond get the wall wet.

After the spell, Elliot has his hand on his chest as he catches his breath. He's still getting used to casting spells of that level. ]

Huh?

[Minato sounds...upset? Over a rat that was gunning to attack them?]

I-I'm sorry? I wasn't aiming for it...

[ Minato closes his eyes and draws a breath, holding himself in stasis for a second before letting it all out. He can tell himself it was an accident, and maybe he would believe it, coming from Elliot. He's upset, but he can keep it out of his face and voice- years of practice. ]

It's... whatever. Let's keep going. It's going to start attracting other rats.

O-Okay...

[He watches, uncertain. Even if Minato tries to brush it off, it was hard to ignore that first reaction- making him feel rather bad about what happened. Also confused. This guy was hoping he'd get poisoned and now he's upset about a rat. What does that mean...

Either way, he'll keep heading in a brisk pace away from the tunnel and the dead rat]

[ It means his concern for people is nonexistent, but who is surprised? He remembers when Minako had given him that same look when he had worried over the well-being of a praying mantis, and could read that thought in her head: Why? Like then, and now, he lets silence overtake the conversation as he continues down the tunnel, the only sounds being two sets of footfalls and the quiet, ragged breathing that takes him too long to get back under control.

If there are more rats, he'll ask Elliot to do that earthquake thing under Minato's own feet instead, since it's only to scare the creatures off. None come, for the moment, but vines aren't scared of earthquakes. Instead, they're drawn to light and there's nothing for Minato to do but bear that as he swings out with his knife.

It's not going to be sustainable for long, so very soon, he has to break the silence. ]

What other magic can you do?

[Minato he is not summoning lances of earth beneath your feet. Minako would kill him if he impaled you. Also he rather not kill humans please

And ah yes, the vines. Elliot worries his lip, because he knows what element would be very useful right now- the exact element he can't use right without something going wrong. But Minato using that knife won't work for long....]

I-I could try fire? B-but I'm not good at it, s-so I'm not sure it'll work...

[ Depending on how this month goes, she might thank him, you never know. ]

It doesn't have to be accurate, or very strong. Fire spreads.

[ Let Minato assume that "not good at it" means "I can produce maybe a tiny flame," because that would be enough. ]

R-Right... [He gulps, looking almost a little sick at the idea of fire spreading. Yeah. He knows how it spreads very well.

But there's no time for that, they need to get these vines burnt. He takes a deep breath in]

I-I'll try then...

[Right. Just a small fire. He concentrates, but clearly his focus is not as strong as it was with the earth spell. Rather he seems troubled, nervous- maybe even a little scared.

A blue flash of light happens again. A fireball forms in front of his hand, a small one.

But that only lasts a couple seconds, before the spell becomes unstable and explodes. Hope you weren't standing too close Minato.]

[ It's fine! He needed a haircut anyways and this jacket was pretty old to begin with—

Minato wasn't even looking at Elliot directly, but he sees the fire grow out of control and barely manages to fling himself off to the side like they do in movie but life isn't the movies and he should have just run for it instead of throwing his arms over his head and feeling the intense heat wash over him and the vines.

He doesn't hesitate in throwing his jacket off instead of rolling in this too small a space to extinguish the flames, then turns to search for Elliot, eyes squinting against the light and smoke. You're supposed to die eating good food, Elliot, not like this... ]

[Elliot fell back to the ground when the explosion happened. He's still on the ground, his hand closest to the fire now has some burns on it- but otherwise he's more or less okay besides looking upset with himself. ]

Not again...

[And with another person nearby, which makes it even worse. He'll look up to check on Minato]

You okay?

[ "Alive," he bites back, because that implies not. He will probably be freezing once he leaves the tunnels and has to get home in just a thin shirt, but he can stand and he's alive.

Forgetting that Elliot's a healer in his own right, Minato swipes the backpack off the floor and pulls out that first aid kit, throwing glances over at Elliot's hand but not being able to tell what degree the burn is without touching it. He roots through it searching for something for burns, but it's not something he's very familiar with treating; in the end, it's cotton balls, alcohol, and gauze that he pulls out. He soaks the cotton with alcohol and holds it out to Elliot. ]

We don't have ice. Use that to help cool your hand. Dab without rubbing.

H-Huh?

[Elliot, on the other hand, has gotten so used to his regeneration power that the burnt hand felt like nothing more than a shot-term nuisance. It hurts, but the pain will fade soon. When Minato offers him a cotton ball and instructs him to use it, it takes a moment to click]

O-Oh. Uh- [He'll take the cotton ball. He did take the time to make one] I-It's okay, I'll heal in a moment anyway...

[ Most people would scream and cry when hurt- it's the natural reaction- and here Elliot is acting like it was nothing but a paper cut. Minato narrows his eyes at him, wondering if he's just acting tough, or if there's something wrong with him the same way there is for Minato who reacted exactly the same: not at all. ]

If you can heal, do it before bacteria gets inside the wound.

[ That's how most burn patients die, not of the burn itself. But if he can heal even infections, all the better, because Minato can't help with this in his current state, pulling the collar of his shirt over his nose and mouth so that he doesn't breathe in the smoke, and packing the first aid kit back up.

He keeps his bow out and uses the tip of it to scoop up his burning jacket; he can use this to torch the vines now without requiring Elliot to blow up the tunnel. ]

Might've damaged the infrastructure... If you can walk, let's keep going.

[For Elliot, it's hard to say if something is wrong with him. Part of it was being used to regeneration, knowing that the pain will be over very soon. The other part is that he didn't want to worry people, be a bother, or a hindrance. Screaming and crying would only make people worry, and he didn't want people to do that. Not when this is temporary.

In fact even as he moves to stand up, his hand is already repairing itself. The open sores from the burns are already sealing up. In a few minutes, it'll be like it was never there]

Yeah, I can walk. S-Sorry about that.

[He'll start walking, but make sure to keep a distance from that burning jacket. Fire man, it's the worst]

[ Can he really walk...? He sure is lagging behind, Minato watching him out of the corner of his eyes where he can barely see Elliot where the light from the flame catches his face. He's silent for a while, wondering if Elliot had actually taken that more badly than he's letting on, and eventually slows to a stop.

He holds the bow/torch out towards him. ]

Why don't you hold onto this?

[ If Elliot's the one holding a weapon that's effective against vines and rats, he assumes he'll look less worried. ]

Wh-What?

[Elliot actually jumps back a little from the torch. ]

N-No, that's okay! You're doing a great job with it!

[ Minato sure is doing a great job holding the bow, but Elliot can also hold things? It's just holding, with the additional difficulty of walking while holding. ]

If you're sure...

[ He'll just walk a little ahead, then, poking the flaming coat at any vines that try to sneak up at them and leave the entire corridor lined with burning vegetation. ]

[Oh sweet jesus what is with all the fire. Why Minato why.

At first, Elliot tries to ignore it. These plants are in the way and this makes it so they don't have to chop through. Surely they will burn out on their own. There's not much down here that's flammable.

But Elliot can only ignore for so long as his anxieties and fears start to get into his head. What if they do catch onto something? What if there's an exposed pipeline- that could cause an explosion! What if it spreads? What if it traps someone? What if what if--

Eventually, he can't take it anymore. Minato will stop hearing Elliot's footsteps and start hearing splashes of water as he uses his staff to conjure up water bubbles to douse the flames with with extreme prejudice.]

[ It doesn't take Minato very long at all to notice this, turning around and watching all his hard work being put out one by one. He... supposes it's a safety thing? Not leaving a trail of fire on one's wake or something. But he just stands there and waits for Elliot to catch up and either explain, or ignore Minato and continue past him. ]

[Elliot will make sure all the fires are SAFELY out, not even an ember left, before he walks back to where Minato is. Oh no, he's definitely looking, he should probably say something but they are not at the social rank where he can reveal his backstory]

S-Sorry. M-My brother's a firefighter.

[It's not a lie at least!]

[ Aaaaand you want to grow up to be just like him, or what? Now is not the time to emulate your brother, Elliot. Minato does his best to reel in the judgement and keep it to himself. ]

Good to know. I'm going to... go spread some more fire, okay?

[More like his brother would murder him if he burned down part of the city. But oh, he looks so uneasy about that]

D-Do you have to?

You could always take the mantle, if you want.

[ Either with the torch or his explosion spell. One of them's got to do this, though, unless they can come up with a better plan. Minato likes this one, with the vines actively shrinking away from their natural enemy that is fire. ]

[ Uneasy has graduated up to full blown uncomfortable. He'd rather get eaten by vines than go around setting things on fire. But he's not sure how to express his sentiment, so his shoulder's drop and he looks down. His hands are gripping this staff so hard, the knuckles look almost white. ]

N-No.

No thanks..

[ ... They're not going to get anywhere like this, so Minato stops in the middle of the path and turns to look at Elliot. ]

Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or should I just assume you're scared of fire?

U-Um...

[There's clearly something on his mind, as he pauses and tries to deliberate what to say...

But at Minato's current level of Charm, his question fails to make Elliot completely open up. ]

T-The latter. I'm sorry...

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