Recollé Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
recollecters) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
recolle2019-02-17 05:56 pm
recollecters) wrote in recolle2019-02-17 05:56 pm
Entry tags:
February Event Pt 2
EVENT
PREMISE • RULES • FAQ • TAKEN • RESERVES • APPLICATIONS
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Some mild body horror/the appearance of lots of eyes (Prompt 2) and encounters with flesh-eating monsters (Prompt 5.)
Some mild body horror/the appearance of lots of eyes (Prompt 2) and encounters with flesh-eating monsters (Prompt 5.)
Prologue.
It's been a strange few weeks, hasn't it? Things might have seemed quiet and simple for many of you as you worked to boost your defenses and formulate items of balance. Some of you may have completely ignored it. Nothing was actively attacking the city this time and it may have been easy enough to figure out how to reign in your emotions. There's something driving you toward trying though, and though the iridescent sheen on your skin doesn't wear off, in the days leading up to the 17th you'll feel yourself growing stronger and more powerful. Your agility's up, along with a slight boost in strength and speed. Should you experiment, you may even find that you bleed and bruise less easily. Was this what the liaison meant about making preparations? It's hard to say given he was out of office for a while thanks to some of you.
Regardless, it's on the evening of the 17th that the clock runs out and your phone chimes again. The map you've obtained via completing this test mission will take over your screen, a red light flashing to draw your attention to the location of your silver door. The QR scanner remains embedded in the center of each door, and at this time, you may scan your newly generated QR codes. The door swings open, allowing you to peer straight into the dark and soon something materializes in your hands. Is…that…dog jerky?
Never mind that for now. Along with the jerky comes a new text message, a mass announcement to all on the app.
I got a read on the layer below. Find the centers and dismantle them to sever the bonds under the city. Clear the areas, search everything, and watch out for monsters. Their numbers grow the closer you get. Any questions, listen to Anna.
While it's not much, it's something. Naturally, you don't have to do anything. You could completely ignore the message and close the map. The doors won't pull you through themselves, but they'll remain opened almost indefinitely until used. On the other hand you may wish to attend to them lest someone off the app falls through.
Onward and forward, brave travelers.
It's been a strange few weeks, hasn't it? Things might have seemed quiet and simple for many of you as you worked to boost your defenses and formulate items of balance. Some of you may have completely ignored it. Nothing was actively attacking the city this time and it may have been easy enough to figure out how to reign in your emotions. There's something driving you toward trying though, and though the iridescent sheen on your skin doesn't wear off, in the days leading up to the 17th you'll feel yourself growing stronger and more powerful. Your agility's up, along with a slight boost in strength and speed. Should you experiment, you may even find that you bleed and bruise less easily. Was this what the liaison meant about making preparations? It's hard to say given he was out of office for a while thanks to some of you.
Regardless, it's on the evening of the 17th that the clock runs out and your phone chimes again. The map you've obtained via completing this test mission will take over your screen, a red light flashing to draw your attention to the location of your silver door. The QR scanner remains embedded in the center of each door, and at this time, you may scan your newly generated QR codes. The door swings open, allowing you to peer straight into the dark and soon something materializes in your hands. Is…that…dog jerky?
Never mind that for now. Along with the jerky comes a new text message, a mass announcement to all on the app.
I got a read on the layer below. Find the centers and dismantle them to sever the bonds under the city. Clear the areas, search everything, and watch out for monsters. Their numbers grow the closer you get. Any questions, listen to Anna.
While it's not much, it's something. Naturally, you don't have to do anything. You could completely ignore the message and close the map. The doors won't pull you through themselves, but they'll remain opened almost indefinitely until used. On the other hand you may wish to attend to them lest someone off the app falls through.
Onward and forward, brave travelers.
I.
Those who enter the doors will find themselves immediately and indefinitely falling through the dark, passing by several walls of fire, rock and soot. Dark swirls of blues and greens and purples flash before your eyes, and as you finally land you'll find yourself on a rocky shoreline next to a dark, inky river. The rocks will jab into your hands and feet, pinpricks that force you to move as your eyes adjust to the darkness.
The river gently laps against the shore, acidic and black as hand-like structures appear in the waves. Try not to draw too close; this river has the ability to make you into a blank slate...literally. The river of souls will pull you in, and as the hands lovingly wrap around you to drag you down you'll find yourself losing track of time. While you may fight them off and save yourself from the waters, it will be increasingly difficult to recover the features (both physical and emotional) that make you who you are.
On the other side of this rocky plain is another river, just as dark with white wisps floating above it. The water flows faster here, rapids bubbling underneath as it quickly moves south. There are no hands in this river, but it does appear to be a bit shallower.
The only way to proceed through this land is by crossing one of these two rivers. Even if you walk along the shore, the route is endless and you'll find yourself in an infinite loop. Those who choose the acidic river will suffer their consequences of loss, while those who choose the faster route will be struck by blinding, deliberating pain all over their body except for one particular place. Perhaps this is the small of your back, or your big toe, or even your heel. Though the pain is overwhelming, crossing to the other side will leave you powerful and invincible. Nothing can touch you or harm you…unless someone finds your weak point, that is.
No matter which river you cross, you'll find that what lies beyond are several buildings crushed and crumbling around you, black poplar trees in bloom, and the sound of silence as small, ash-like flakes float through the air. You'll recognize buildings such as the Towers, the Stardust, and other staples of the city that are wrecked beyond repair yet still standing. This land is a direct mirror of the city you love and left behind, though a few buildings are missing. Franchises that appeared seemingly overnight such as Big Bang Burger, From Dust til Dawn, and Rainbowland are nowhere to be found. The city is fairly empty, though every now and then an anguished groan or screams of pain can be heard echoing from somewhere far off. Buildings can be explored and ransacked, allowing you to stock up on supplies or items you may find useful. While most of what can be found are everyday items such as non-perishable food items, clothing and small gifts such as books and toys, a little digging will also lead you to find weapons such as crossbows, flamethrowers, healing items such as those found from the Moogle shop and Circus of Values and even items like tranquilizer darts and bear traps. Despite the path you take through the city and all districts available, your feet seem to lead you in a certain direction.
At the end of your path, three wrought-iron gates stand before you. Oh, and in front of these gates is a sleeping friend. Do your best not to awaken the creature, though he is easily roused and will attack on-sight. With a bit of luck and strategy you can slip right past him and in through one of the gates.
Will you continue? Or will you turn back?
Those who enter the doors will find themselves immediately and indefinitely falling through the dark, passing by several walls of fire, rock and soot. Dark swirls of blues and greens and purples flash before your eyes, and as you finally land you'll find yourself on a rocky shoreline next to a dark, inky river. The rocks will jab into your hands and feet, pinpricks that force you to move as your eyes adjust to the darkness.
The river gently laps against the shore, acidic and black as hand-like structures appear in the waves. Try not to draw too close; this river has the ability to make you into a blank slate...literally. The river of souls will pull you in, and as the hands lovingly wrap around you to drag you down you'll find yourself losing track of time. While you may fight them off and save yourself from the waters, it will be increasingly difficult to recover the features (both physical and emotional) that make you who you are.
On the other side of this rocky plain is another river, just as dark with white wisps floating above it. The water flows faster here, rapids bubbling underneath as it quickly moves south. There are no hands in this river, but it does appear to be a bit shallower.
The only way to proceed through this land is by crossing one of these two rivers. Even if you walk along the shore, the route is endless and you'll find yourself in an infinite loop. Those who choose the acidic river will suffer their consequences of loss, while those who choose the faster route will be struck by blinding, deliberating pain all over their body except for one particular place. Perhaps this is the small of your back, or your big toe, or even your heel. Though the pain is overwhelming, crossing to the other side will leave you powerful and invincible. Nothing can touch you or harm you…unless someone finds your weak point, that is.
No matter which river you cross, you'll find that what lies beyond are several buildings crushed and crumbling around you, black poplar trees in bloom, and the sound of silence as small, ash-like flakes float through the air. You'll recognize buildings such as the Towers, the Stardust, and other staples of the city that are wrecked beyond repair yet still standing. This land is a direct mirror of the city you love and left behind, though a few buildings are missing. Franchises that appeared seemingly overnight such as Big Bang Burger, From Dust til Dawn, and Rainbowland are nowhere to be found. The city is fairly empty, though every now and then an anguished groan or screams of pain can be heard echoing from somewhere far off. Buildings can be explored and ransacked, allowing you to stock up on supplies or items you may find useful. While most of what can be found are everyday items such as non-perishable food items, clothing and small gifts such as books and toys, a little digging will also lead you to find weapons such as crossbows, flamethrowers, healing items such as those found from the Moogle shop and Circus of Values and even items like tranquilizer darts and bear traps. Despite the path you take through the city and all districts available, your feet seem to lead you in a certain direction.
At the end of your path, three wrought-iron gates stand before you. Oh, and in front of these gates is a sleeping friend. Do your best not to awaken the creature, though he is easily roused and will attack on-sight. With a bit of luck and strategy you can slip right past him and in through one of the gates.
Will you continue? Or will you turn back?
II.
Those who enter the first gate will find themselves in a desolate suburbia. It's quiet and calm here, the screams from before lacking and the sun just a little brighter. However, it feels as though everything here is just a little too perfect. There isn't a clip of grass out of place, nor a spot of paint missing from the matching trim of each house. Every building in this large neighborhood matches in size, shape and color, and the sleepy street lulls you in further.
As you veer away from the entrance of the cul-de-sac, it becomes a little more clear that something is amiss. Though the area is perfect and beautiful, you're overcome with the sensation that you're being watched. A small, skin-crawling sort of feeling washes over you, and should you catch a glance at your hands the sensation appears to be more literal than you'd like. It's tiny, almost innocuous movements as small ripples appear in your exposed skin, a feeling of pressure somewhere in your head as slow changes overtake you. Some of you may develop claws or scales, while others will find horns beginning to sprout from your forehead or furry stripes mark your body.
Animal instincts begin to take over, aligning with the creatures you were born under. You're still very much you, of course, but the changes you undergo only worsen the longer you linger. Trying to run only shows that the gate's locked behind you, iron bars trapping you in this idyllic wasteland.
And it's then that the eyes appear. Blinking open, eyes of all shapes and colors begin to make their presence known appearing over the walls of the houses flanking the street, popping up in the centers of the picture-perfect daisies lining the sidewalk, watching from their place embedded in the picket fences and drawing ever closer. They monitor your every move, scanning you and picking you apart from their stationary place. You can't walk very far without a pair of eyes following you, but for those who look closely you'll find a small CRT TV on the porch of every house. The screens mirror your every move as though you're on camera, reflecting everything you're doing while standing on the street, and though it may become harder to focus one may soon realize that the eyes have it. Small, glass surfaces line the pupil of each eye as tiny cameras zoom in and out to get the best shot.
The answer, of course, is to render them sightless. For every camera that's covered or broken, the picture-esque scene begins to crumble away. The walls of the houses fall, flora begins to wither up and die, and the sky cracks to reveal a larger, more ominous set of cameras from above. It will take more than one group to destroy and dismantle these spy cameras. You may not be able to escape just yet, but you can certainly recruit others to join you through the gates. They'll open wide enough to let new people in at any point in time. Good luck controlling your instincts.
Those who enter the first gate will find themselves in a desolate suburbia. It's quiet and calm here, the screams from before lacking and the sun just a little brighter. However, it feels as though everything here is just a little too perfect. There isn't a clip of grass out of place, nor a spot of paint missing from the matching trim of each house. Every building in this large neighborhood matches in size, shape and color, and the sleepy street lulls you in further.
As you veer away from the entrance of the cul-de-sac, it becomes a little more clear that something is amiss. Though the area is perfect and beautiful, you're overcome with the sensation that you're being watched. A small, skin-crawling sort of feeling washes over you, and should you catch a glance at your hands the sensation appears to be more literal than you'd like. It's tiny, almost innocuous movements as small ripples appear in your exposed skin, a feeling of pressure somewhere in your head as slow changes overtake you. Some of you may develop claws or scales, while others will find horns beginning to sprout from your forehead or furry stripes mark your body.
Animal instincts begin to take over, aligning with the creatures you were born under. You're still very much you, of course, but the changes you undergo only worsen the longer you linger. Trying to run only shows that the gate's locked behind you, iron bars trapping you in this idyllic wasteland.
And it's then that the eyes appear. Blinking open, eyes of all shapes and colors begin to make their presence known appearing over the walls of the houses flanking the street, popping up in the centers of the picture-perfect daisies lining the sidewalk, watching from their place embedded in the picket fences and drawing ever closer. They monitor your every move, scanning you and picking you apart from their stationary place. You can't walk very far without a pair of eyes following you, but for those who look closely you'll find a small CRT TV on the porch of every house. The screens mirror your every move as though you're on camera, reflecting everything you're doing while standing on the street, and though it may become harder to focus one may soon realize that the eyes have it. Small, glass surfaces line the pupil of each eye as tiny cameras zoom in and out to get the best shot.
The answer, of course, is to render them sightless. For every camera that's covered or broken, the picture-esque scene begins to crumble away. The walls of the houses fall, flora begins to wither up and die, and the sky cracks to reveal a larger, more ominous set of cameras from above. It will take more than one group to destroy and dismantle these spy cameras. You may not be able to escape just yet, but you can certainly recruit others to join you through the gates. They'll open wide enough to let new people in at any point in time. Good luck controlling your instincts.
III.
Those who enter the second gate will feel the shift from rubbled pavement to something soft and malleable. The gate swings closed behind you, and the dirt beneath you gives way to your footsteps as you enter a field surrounded by magnificent guardians and fruit-bearing shrubs. The black poplars can be seen from a distance, but you aren't alone here.
Then again, it may be a little hard to navigate through this field at all seeing how there are thousands upon thousands of people here. Faces you don't recognize will listlessly watch you and even beings with indescribable features appear in the crowd. Some are more solid than others, and if you aren't careful you can easily walk right through one or more of these beings at a time. The field appears to be endless but several miles away, one can spot the makings of a small obsidian fortress. A large blue crystal can be seen mounted near the top, pulsating every now and then as it sends little shockwaves through the ground beneath your feet Something in your head seems to urge you forward toward the crystal, the inexplainable knowledge that you have to destroy it nestling between your thoughts and driving you onward.
Though the goal is in sight, it’s a dangerous road to travel on as you make you way across the field toward the fortress. The crowd thickens and brushing through the mist-like beings allows their essence to linger on your skin and seep in. Your appearance begins to change to someone you don’t recognize at all. Your age, appearance, and even your gender may begin to shift as memories begin to fill in, backstories that aren’t your own coming to light. Your motivation to step forward and destroy the crystal begins to waver heavily, and you may even stop moving at all.
If you can fight through it and hold on to who you are, the distance seems shorter and the energy radiating off of the crystal is almost palpable. Made of thick, sharp glass, this gem may be broken by physical or magical means, cracking and fragmenting with each hit. Getting up to the highest point of the fortress may give you trouble, the walls almost too slick for climbing and too high to jump. Working harder and working together to break in will be a viable option as well, and it’s only when the crystal breaks that your curse will be broken, too.
The shattering of this crystal will free you and the thousands of souls around you from the bonds tying them here. Let’s hope you have the strength to do it.
Those who enter the second gate will feel the shift from rubbled pavement to something soft and malleable. The gate swings closed behind you, and the dirt beneath you gives way to your footsteps as you enter a field surrounded by magnificent guardians and fruit-bearing shrubs. The black poplars can be seen from a distance, but you aren't alone here.
Then again, it may be a little hard to navigate through this field at all seeing how there are thousands upon thousands of people here. Faces you don't recognize will listlessly watch you and even beings with indescribable features appear in the crowd. Some are more solid than others, and if you aren't careful you can easily walk right through one or more of these beings at a time. The field appears to be endless but several miles away, one can spot the makings of a small obsidian fortress. A large blue crystal can be seen mounted near the top, pulsating every now and then as it sends little shockwaves through the ground beneath your feet Something in your head seems to urge you forward toward the crystal, the inexplainable knowledge that you have to destroy it nestling between your thoughts and driving you onward.
Though the goal is in sight, it’s a dangerous road to travel on as you make you way across the field toward the fortress. The crowd thickens and brushing through the mist-like beings allows their essence to linger on your skin and seep in. Your appearance begins to change to someone you don’t recognize at all. Your age, appearance, and even your gender may begin to shift as memories begin to fill in, backstories that aren’t your own coming to light. Your motivation to step forward and destroy the crystal begins to waver heavily, and you may even stop moving at all.
If you can fight through it and hold on to who you are, the distance seems shorter and the energy radiating off of the crystal is almost palpable. Made of thick, sharp glass, this gem may be broken by physical or magical means, cracking and fragmenting with each hit. Getting up to the highest point of the fortress may give you trouble, the walls almost too slick for climbing and too high to jump. Working harder and working together to break in will be a viable option as well, and it’s only when the crystal breaks that your curse will be broken, too.
The shattering of this crystal will free you and the thousands of souls around you from the bonds tying them here. Let’s hope you have the strength to do it.
IV.
The third gate swings shut immediately after you step through the threshold and there's no wonder why. The dimly lit, dank building sits merely yards ahead of you and the door's wide open and hanging off the hinges. Glancing at the buildings nearby just outside of the gate one might realize that the location of this facility is in the same space as the Wiffle-Waffle waffle house in the city of Recollé. Trying to step around the building appears impossible as it seems to shift with you, the door appearing before you with every movement. It's only when you enter the building that the lights flicker on from above, a soft buzzing noise filling the empty halls and giving you an overview of the area.
What must have once been a refined, beautiful facility has become dismal and rotten, cracked and falling apart with every step. Several rooms line the black and white marble hallways, each growing more desolate and dingy by the minute. Expired medications fill cabinets hanging from the wall, overturned gurneys will block your way, and as you split up and explore the sound of several beating hearts will begin to echo above the buzz of the lights. Medical charts for past visitors may be found as well indicating both physical, mental and emotional ailments that those who checked in were seeking cures for. Dated around seventy-some years ago, many of the words have smeared and smudged to become illegible.
It's only once you reach the back of the facility and begin to explore other levels that it becomes a little worse. Comfortable hospital rooms are replaced by iron-barred cells and wire bird cages meant to house adults and children alike. Glass cases fill in the spaces of walls and shelves and small, multi-colored organs seem to thrum under a watchful eye. The skittering of something clawed and alive echoes through the empty facility, and it's then that you may remember the liaison's words a bit too late.
"Their numbers grow the closer you get."
Guided by the scent of fresh opponents, panels in the room begin to burst open as swarms of creatures arrive. Some of these monsters appear to be interested in devouring you, but others will go straight for the organs instead to try and break the containers and take them for themselves. Those who attempt to stop them will be met with claws and gnashing teeth, and the wendigos will change targets immediately. Though rabid and feral, each monster also bears a small, tarnished bracelet with an identification tag attached not unlike a house arrest bracelet that bounds them to this building.
The wendigos will block the path and it becomes a question of whether you plan to try and pacify them, sneak around them, or outright kill them. Those who have dipped in the fortifying river will have an easier time fending them off, but should you be bitten the salvia seeps in rabidly and insatiable greed overrides your senses. You've always wanted to turn on your friends and rip them from limb to limb, haven't you?
The wendigos are after something as they continue trashing the facility, opening new walls and panels to reveal rows of active observation monitors, computers, and intricate cages binding organs and jars of colored smoke. Rows and rows of data fly across the screen, alarms being fed to someone afar that you've broken into this layer of existence and are working to dismantle everything. The wendigos are driven by the scent of human flesh and a tortured mind, but a clever strategist or even someone with dumb luck can trick a wendigo into destroying the research rooms. Be careful with the physical assets available to you; allowing a wendigo to touch the smoke or consume an organ will be another soul lost. Fight your way through the facility and destroy everything inside. Cut off the point of communication and kill the signal going out to free the souls and destroy the wendigos. It's then and only then that this area will be cleared and the hospital will fall silent.
The third gate swings shut immediately after you step through the threshold and there's no wonder why. The dimly lit, dank building sits merely yards ahead of you and the door's wide open and hanging off the hinges. Glancing at the buildings nearby just outside of the gate one might realize that the location of this facility is in the same space as the Wiffle-Waffle waffle house in the city of Recollé. Trying to step around the building appears impossible as it seems to shift with you, the door appearing before you with every movement. It's only when you enter the building that the lights flicker on from above, a soft buzzing noise filling the empty halls and giving you an overview of the area.
What must have once been a refined, beautiful facility has become dismal and rotten, cracked and falling apart with every step. Several rooms line the black and white marble hallways, each growing more desolate and dingy by the minute. Expired medications fill cabinets hanging from the wall, overturned gurneys will block your way, and as you split up and explore the sound of several beating hearts will begin to echo above the buzz of the lights. Medical charts for past visitors may be found as well indicating both physical, mental and emotional ailments that those who checked in were seeking cures for. Dated around seventy-some years ago, many of the words have smeared and smudged to become illegible.
It's only once you reach the back of the facility and begin to explore other levels that it becomes a little worse. Comfortable hospital rooms are replaced by iron-barred cells and wire bird cages meant to house adults and children alike. Glass cases fill in the spaces of walls and shelves and small, multi-colored organs seem to thrum under a watchful eye. The skittering of something clawed and alive echoes through the empty facility, and it's then that you may remember the liaison's words a bit too late.
"Their numbers grow the closer you get."
Guided by the scent of fresh opponents, panels in the room begin to burst open as swarms of creatures arrive. Some of these monsters appear to be interested in devouring you, but others will go straight for the organs instead to try and break the containers and take them for themselves. Those who attempt to stop them will be met with claws and gnashing teeth, and the wendigos will change targets immediately. Though rabid and feral, each monster also bears a small, tarnished bracelet with an identification tag attached not unlike a house arrest bracelet that bounds them to this building.
The wendigos will block the path and it becomes a question of whether you plan to try and pacify them, sneak around them, or outright kill them. Those who have dipped in the fortifying river will have an easier time fending them off, but should you be bitten the salvia seeps in rabidly and insatiable greed overrides your senses. You've always wanted to turn on your friends and rip them from limb to limb, haven't you?
The wendigos are after something as they continue trashing the facility, opening new walls and panels to reveal rows of active observation monitors, computers, and intricate cages binding organs and jars of colored smoke. Rows and rows of data fly across the screen, alarms being fed to someone afar that you've broken into this layer of existence and are working to dismantle everything. The wendigos are driven by the scent of human flesh and a tortured mind, but a clever strategist or even someone with dumb luck can trick a wendigo into destroying the research rooms. Be careful with the physical assets available to you; allowing a wendigo to touch the smoke or consume an organ will be another soul lost. Fight your way through the facility and destroy everything inside. Cut off the point of communication and kill the signal going out to free the souls and destroy the wendigos. It's then and only then that this area will be cleared and the hospital will fall silent.
INTERLUDE.
It will take work in all three areas and breaking down the sources of power in order to free the layer beneath the city from Vanderweele's grip. Should one area receive less attention than another, the damage done will begin to unravel and repair itself. The magic in place will strengthen and the layer will remain unstable and in Vanderweele's control. Talk to one another, Retrospecters. There are break periods between tasks you may use to update one another, strategize, and even tap out to take a breather.
Under the watchful eye of the wizard, you'll wish to stick together. Do take care not to get in over your head.
It will take work in all three areas and breaking down the sources of power in order to free the layer beneath the city from Vanderweele's grip. Should one area receive less attention than another, the damage done will begin to unravel and repair itself. The magic in place will strengthen and the layer will remain unstable and in Vanderweele's control. Talk to one another, Retrospecters. There are break periods between tasks you may use to update one another, strategize, and even tap out to take a breather.
Under the watchful eye of the wizard, you'll wish to stick together. Do take care not to get in over your head.
V.
What about those of you who choose to stay behind? The city remains, outwardly, normal as ever. The sun's shining, the birds are starting to sing again, and doors around the city appear to have a dark energy lingering around them visible to those who pass by. A black, swirling layer seems to block out the silver glint of the doors and as you look around you'll see the blue thin lines running through the ground pumping energy directly into them. With this mass encompassing the doors, your friends who have gone beyond may have a hard time coming home. The lines grow easier to see as days pass, but de-powering them will take a bit of effort. You can try to break them apart with gardening tools or standard exorcise methods, but the curious and the determined can start to follow the lines back to their source.
As you track the leylines through the city, you’ll find yourself being led right to the very center of Recollé and the ground beneath you becomes softer and easier to sink into. Lying in wait under a layer that’s grown thin rests a grotesque entity whose eye appears to be shut. Asleep and dreaming, this entity’s tentacle-like arms are moving and pulling the energy lines to rearrange them around the city, fueling the different doors and changing the direction of the darkness. It seems like it’s made itself at home and is something that’s been there for longer than you may know.
Standing too close will engage the creature, tendrils slithering up to wrap around an ankle or a wrist and bound you in place, a touch opening your mind’s eye and changing the reality you perceive. Around you you may see visions of your loved ones in pain, or oversized bugs ruling the city, or talking animals that encourage you to try to fly. The strange and uncertain begin to filter into your mind, slowly bringing themselves into reality to change the city one more time.
Breaking the bonds tying you down or simply destroying the leylines will awaken the creature. The earth begins to rumble the more it’s disturbed until eventually it uproots itself, moving to other parts of the city. It will attempt to change the reality of anyone in its path, but depending on where you try to fight it, it will retreat in the opposite direction.
Drive this creature away from the city and send it packing. It’s the only way to stop the cycle and stabilize the world around you for now, allowing for the doors to be cleared and to bring your friends home from the sixth layer.
What about those of you who choose to stay behind? The city remains, outwardly, normal as ever. The sun's shining, the birds are starting to sing again, and doors around the city appear to have a dark energy lingering around them visible to those who pass by. A black, swirling layer seems to block out the silver glint of the doors and as you look around you'll see the blue thin lines running through the ground pumping energy directly into them. With this mass encompassing the doors, your friends who have gone beyond may have a hard time coming home. The lines grow easier to see as days pass, but de-powering them will take a bit of effort. You can try to break them apart with gardening tools or standard exorcise methods, but the curious and the determined can start to follow the lines back to their source.
As you track the leylines through the city, you’ll find yourself being led right to the very center of Recollé and the ground beneath you becomes softer and easier to sink into. Lying in wait under a layer that’s grown thin rests a grotesque entity whose eye appears to be shut. Asleep and dreaming, this entity’s tentacle-like arms are moving and pulling the energy lines to rearrange them around the city, fueling the different doors and changing the direction of the darkness. It seems like it’s made itself at home and is something that’s been there for longer than you may know.
Standing too close will engage the creature, tendrils slithering up to wrap around an ankle or a wrist and bound you in place, a touch opening your mind’s eye and changing the reality you perceive. Around you you may see visions of your loved ones in pain, or oversized bugs ruling the city, or talking animals that encourage you to try to fly. The strange and uncertain begin to filter into your mind, slowly bringing themselves into reality to change the city one more time.
Breaking the bonds tying you down or simply destroying the leylines will awaken the creature. The earth begins to rumble the more it’s disturbed until eventually it uproots itself, moving to other parts of the city. It will attempt to change the reality of anyone in its path, but depending on where you try to fight it, it will retreat in the opposite direction.
Drive this creature away from the city and send it packing. It’s the only way to stop the cycle and stabilize the world around you for now, allowing for the doors to be cleared and to bring your friends home from the sixth layer.
NOTES.
Welcome torecolle's February event part two!
You can claim three freebies on this log!
-Players may claim one freebie for heading down into the sixth layer and exploring the rotting city below. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by choosing a gate and working to help dismantle the objects and buildings there. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by working in the city and trying to destroy the leylines. This thread must at least five comments from you.
-While the leylines will make it harder for characters to leave the sixth layer, players will have the freedom to send their characters in and out of the area as they please. While characters must complete a task once they're inside one of the three gates, they will be able to explore the main city on their own and then come back.
Finally, any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here. Be sure to review the mods' question thread on the plotting post for additional information as well!
Welcome to
recolle's February event part two!You can claim three freebies on this log!
-Players may claim one freebie for heading down into the sixth layer and exploring the rotting city below. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by choosing a gate and working to help dismantle the objects and buildings there. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by working in the city and trying to destroy the leylines. This thread must at least five comments from you.
-While the leylines will make it harder for characters to leave the sixth layer, players will have the freedom to send their characters in and out of the area as they please. While characters must complete a task once they're inside one of the three gates, they will be able to explore the main city on their own and then come back.
Finally, any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here. Be sure to review the mods' question thread on the plotting post for additional information as well!
no subject
[Freya's eyes scanned the place as she wandered. It looked mostly like a hospital, but it had a little bit of that old lab feeling going for it. She reached out a hand as she walked, snatching an ancient bottle out of a broken cabinet.]
This stuff's old. 'Most way through a century' kind of old.
no subject
Doesn't sound like it'll help anyone now.
[This place didn't seem like it would help anyone. But that was probably Lucy's hospital bias talking.
There were some overturned gurneys in their way. Empty, but covered in rust-colored stains. A few seemed to have scraps of broken binding attached to the bars. Lucy's jaw clenched at the sight, and when her vectors shoved the gurneys to the side the bars were bent with spectral handprints.]
no subject
You want any kinda weapon? It's not I'm not armed to the teeth. [Hunting knife, pistol, Halligan bar... there were choices.]
[Granted, Lucy always seemed to hand herself just fine with... whatever ghost telekinesis shtick she had going; she had beheaded a deer-thing. Still, Freya worried a little. Lucy was damn small, and as far as she knew, still more squishy-human than not.]
no subject
No, I'm--
[She stopped herself before she said "I'm fine" again.]
I'd probably hit you with them first.
no subject
Right then.
[There wasn't much more to say to that. She looked forward as they reached the next level—and if Freya was the sort, she would've sucked in a shocked breath. Instead, that tense, wary stillness just renewed itself.]
[The cages were a stark difference. The outdated hospital above implied restrain and containment, yes, but this was blatant on an aggressive level. No, a shameless level. Not even the platitude of "this is for your own good" in any civil design.]
Well. Glad this isn't jacked or anything.
no subject
The first time she saw a barred cell door instead of a normal one it almost seemed like a joke. A joke that didn't end. The cages grew more obtrusive, spilling out into the hallways like an animal shelter at capacity.
The first one was close enough to strike--and Lucy snapped. Vectors slammed into the metal, shearing the cage door off of its hinges. The second cage didn't have a door--Lucy made one, bars and rivets popping away from each other. There was nothing in the cages now--and there wouldn't be again, if Lucy had her way.
The sound of crumpling, tearing metal echoed loudly in the abandoned building. The horned girl didn't notice the sound of scrabbling footsteps approaching, single-minded in her anger. There were more of them than the skitters of before. More--and louder.]
no subject
[Freya startled at the scream of metal, whirling around. She stared as Lucy faced the cages, invisible forces shredding them violently. At first, she'd assumed something was there, but then the seconds trickled by, and wreckage was all there was to be seen. Christ, Lucy.]
[As she thought about saying something, a sound pricked at the back of Freya's mind. Fang's memories and skills were an ever-valuable boon; the life of a small hunter in a very, very big and vicious pond picked out the scrabbling. Scratching whispers, coming from too many subtle directions to be one thing.]
[Freya had instant to react once her mind finished drawing out the trajectories. She roughly seized Lucy by the back of her jacket and yanked her backwards.]
Move!
[Hidden in the metal screeches of the cages was another metallic tearing sound; this time, from above, as something distended and dark and wrongly shape tore through the ceiling panel above the younger woman.]
no subject
I wasn't done--
[Something bent a ceiling panel above her and broke through, and she glanced up sharply instead of finishing her objection. It dropped onto the space Lucy had been, and her vectors immediately lashed out at it to smack whatever-it-was away from them. The creature toppled backwards into the wreck of the cages like it'd been thrown there, but it wasn't alone.
The lighting was poor here, but it was enough to see how stretched and emaciated and mockingly humanoid they were. The faces were harder to make out, bedraggled and too-long hair in their faces more often than not. No eyes glittered in the fluorescent lights. Did they even have any?]
no subject
[Then another six surged out, clawing through walls. Another dozen, old bracelets around their distended arms clinging against the floor and cages. Skittering and distant clangs still echoed down into the room, promising more.]
[That sure was a lot of teeth and claws. Freya rammed her foot into the face of the one that came up behind her, the rest of the screeching, gibbering creatures encircling the pair.]
Gee, Zee! How nice of you to keep your monsters all in one damn place! [Freya whirled, smacking another aside with a wild sweep of her lance, punching another back with a fire-laced fist. She liked to fight, but two dozen, probably more, was a bit much.]
[...except that not all two dozen were around them. Some broke off, feverishly slinking towards the glowing, organ-and-smoke-filled jars with desperate lurches. She didn't have the time to follow up on that thought, as more teeth gnashed at her.]
no subject
It didn't matter if they had been human once. They were attacking her now. Just smacking them away wasn't good enough.
Some had turned their backs to her. Like some opportunistic predator, Lucy struck out at them without a second thought, vectors tearing into them, dragging them back into range. The first one recoiled and doubled back on an inhumanly flexible spine, gnashing its teeth at her.
Its head kept doing that even when Lucy tore it off. It surprised her with how easy it was to do. Just like the rats, just like any other monster.
Lucy didn't have too much time to think about the ramifications of this. She hurled the headless body towards the other creatures going for the strangely glowing organs, dragging their attention back to her. They howled, surging back towards Lucy.]
no subject
[She couldn't figure out why they were separated from the... pack? Swarm? in the few seconds she had, but Freya did notice they'd separated. There was too much going on, and more creatures coming; and they'd never piece it together under this kind of pressure. With a mental apology to Lucy, Freya leapt backwards, over the swarm of creatures (kicking one in the head in the process, and bumping her own against the ceiling as well), until she could see them out before. Freya whistled, loud—one of those ear-splitting things you do when you want an entire park to look your direction.]
[And the shrill note carried something with it; it was laden with that weird l'Cie power of hers. Each of the simple-minded mutants' head snapped in her direction, their agitation seeming boiling over, and they surged towards Freya in a new frenzy.]
Figure out what they're after! I'll hold 'em!
no subject
Some of the monsters were drawn to the strange organs more than herself, at least before Freya whistled for their attention like they were a pack of dogs. The creatures weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to Lucy anymore, which left her free to wonder what the fuck she was looking for. The weird organs were a clue, at least--this environment wasn't exactly the best for thinking.
So--organs. The creatures seemed to want those. Lucy decided she wanted to keep them away from the things. What were they connected to? They had to be wired up to something, they wouldn't be on otherwise--Lucy scrabbled at the metal paneling with her hands as well as her vectors, throwing the pieces aside as she looked for what was beneath. Wires? Leading where?]