TEAM ETHANOL LOG

[recollecters]

TEAM ETHANOL

After that strange Retrospec post, you may be wondering how to contact this "technician". Luckily, your phone or whatever device you have handy to check the network chooses that exact second to go haywire... Team Ethanol roster: Almedha, Augustine Sycamore, Chuuya Nakahara, Heine Rammsteiner, Izumi Sena, Kazuma Kiryu, Nui Harime, Peko Pekoyama, Rosalind Lutece, Weiss Schnee, Yukiko Amagi, Zaveid. On whatever device you use to view the retrospec application, you may note the following scrolling on the screen instead of the usual options: ALERT: CRITICAL TIME-SPACE ANOMALY ACTIVE. SEARCHING FOR ADMIN... SEARCHING FOR ADMIN... DESIGNATED ADMIN CANDIDATE: EMPLOYEE #91962 M. MAHONEY PLEASE INPUT AUTHORIZATION CODE. The prompt does not seem to be for you, however, as the text prompts continue to scroll, this time with some input. > ********************** ACCEPT ADMIN STATUS Y/N? > y DESIGNATE PROGRAM TO RUN. PLEASE BE ADVISED WE ARE SYSTEM CRITICAL. > run subroutine designation echolocation-alpha CONFIRMED. EMPLOYEES ACTIVE IN AREA: 2 > list employees EMPLOYEES ACTIVE: M. FITZWILLIAM LEVEL 0 ACCESS, INTERN M. MAHONEY FULL SYSTEM ACCESS, ADMIN > search for alternative assets CONFIRMED. SENDING ALTERNATIVE ASSET LIST. Names scroll by on the screen. and look, there goes yours! It seems like someone is manually picking and choosing from a list of every Retrospec user who didn't disappear into the void, and several names queue up. > initialize support team CONFIRMED. TEAM DESIGNATION? > ethanol CONFIRMED. TEAM ETHANOL MISSION PARAMETERS? PLEASE BE ADVISED SYSTEM ENERGY LEVELS ARE CRITICALLY LOW. > make contact with sysadmin > contact point entrance 6 > temporary access level 1 granted CONFIRMED. MISSION PARAMETERS SET. TEMPORARY ACCESS LEVEL 1 GRANTED. The screen clears itself, and instead of the familiar retrospec logo, there is simply TEAM ETHANOL as a designation. the application will refuse to show anything other than a map, with one point highlighted in red. it is, of course, up to team members to decide whether or not they approach the access point. Team Ethanol's access point is in the Recollé Graveyard. Team members will find the grave of "G. Mahoney" will move aside to reveal catacombs so long as they approach it in groups of two or more team members. Only Team Ethanol team members can see or enter the catacombs at this time. Please see the Objective 1 toplevel for more information on what they can see when they travel further down the tunnels. This is the Team Ethanol Event Log. You are free to toplevel and thread as you choose on this log, but only team members may utilize this log. Important links to mod toplevels are: Mod Questions & Participation Reporting. Please be aware you are responsible for reporting your own participation & objective completion efforts with links; the moderators will try to keep up with threads, but as we are currently running several teams with participation, we require you to keep us up to date! Please read each of the toplevels and instructions! The schedule for Team Ethanol is as follows: WEEK 1: Objective 1; CLEAR: M. Mahoney WEEK 2: Objective 2; IC mission briefing; CLEAR: W. Guo WEEK 3: Objective 3; IC mission briefing 24th: Objective 3 closes (8PM EST), Final city-wide log posted (9PM EST) Objectives will be given in mod toplevels to this post with instructions; please check the log currently for Objective 1 to see how this will work. NPC interactions will be rnged from your team roster once per week, and toplevels for those will also be posted, although all team members can hear/see these interactions!

Comments

[eyestitch]

[She is DELIGHTED!!!

Nui claps along with the skeleton dance and seems genuinely disappointed when it's over, even sticking around to poke at Bernie a bit to see if he has any further responses for her.

Ah, well, dead is dead; she can't go weeping over her lost love like a widower by the ocean!

She's delighted x2 to find that her riddle answer is the correct one. Less delighted is she to see another skeleton laid out in front of them.]

I think I know who this is a job for! [Who's gonna piggyback in the stiff, boys?]

[doublesmall]

[well chuuya did kind of designate himself the Hauler Of Things by carrying the chest, so...]

Alright, alright, give me a sec here.

[he will return momentarily with bernie! it's time for his starring role as Reference Material-- i mean, they are definitely uniting the skeletons out of the goodness of their hearts and would never use his poor inanimate body for puzzle solving.

anyway chuuya will be here, holding bernie for sena and nui to work off of while they reassemble his friend, because teej needs to sleep]

[adoringpast]

[ siiiigh, more anatomy projects. but at least they have a reference guide now? ]

Right, so. You take care of the upper part of the skeleton and I'll do the legs. Can't be that hard with the three of us here now.

[ so let's get to work. no need to organize the bones into piles according to size, since they're kind of in a hurry here. even so, sena can't help but hum the same tune nui used with their dancing skeleton friend without realizing it as he puts together bone after bone after bone. ]

[eyestitch]

[Somebody (Nui) looks smug as shit right now. The song's not so annoying when it's helpful, right? She starts from the ribs up, working with larger bones that have obvious symmetry to get the big mess out of the way.]

Ah, to have such a lean and striking figure... standards are so high these days. Look at these visible collar bones! [Speaking of...she slots a missing clavicle into place and then goes around back for the scapula.]

I don't think there's a lot missing up top...it looks like we can make these two lovers reunite in no time!

[She'll just start singing too while she and Chuuya finish up. That way, lady-friend skeleton will have a tune to dance to!]

[doublesmall]

[if chuuya ever hears this song again he's gonna punch something. the neck bone won't be connected to anything anymore.

for now, though, he tolerates it in quiet suffering-- he'll just give bernie a touch of weightlessness to leave him hanging in the air so that he can free up his hands, then joins nui and sena in reconstructing their second friend here, busy constructing a new hand for her.]

Why do they have to be lovers, huh? Maybe they wanted to be separate from each other, maybe his sense of humor sucks and she didn't want to be stuck with him.

[maybe he kept singing songs about bones.]

[adoringpast]

Does it really matter? They're dead, either way. Love can only take you so far.

[ so bitter... but at least that got him to stop humming that stupid song, and continues putting this girl's foot back together. ugh, why does her toe bones have to be so freaking tiny?

besides, what's gonna be this chick's name anyway because sena has no idea for one. ]

And how do we even know that these bones belonged to a girl anyway? All these bones look the same to me anyway.

[eyestitch]

[y'all got a problem with rampant heteronormativity or what?]

Well, that's the way it usually is, right? Only some people get love stories! Ah, but I like your idea better. Taboo skeleton love...

[She pats the skeleton on the shoulder.] All done up here! What do you think, sweetie? [She's probably asking the skeleton.

Who at least will answer with a happy little dance as soon as they're all done.]

[doublesmall]

Pretty sure any kind of skeleton love is taboo.

[he's just putting that out there

and then he attaches the skelelady's hand to finish her off! after which he steps right the fuck back because he doesn't need to get smacked in the face if this one dances too, which of course it does. lord.

he's just gonna grab the key and flip it over to sena.]

Here, catch. There was another chest around here, right?

[adoringpast]

[ neatly catches it with one hand and fishing out his phone with the other. they have some nice momentum going on here, let's keep this up! ]

Yeah, it's in that other room Nui mentioned. Come on.

[ time to let these skelelovers rest in actual peace in this room for eternity... or something. ]

[eyestitch]

[She takes Bernie from his floating model position and places him next to his "friend." They're snuggling now! Too bad they're even fake skeletons...]

It's, like, just out there in the hall kinda...Someone really didn't want us to take it because it's basically nailed to the floor.

[She grabs her gear from the side of the skeleton room on the way out, still favoring the wrist she fell on. Nui runs out ahead of the boys to lead them to the chest, pointing out the indentation with a kick of her foot. Wait, come to think of it, weren't there indentations somewhere else in this chamber?

A problem for future Nui again.]

[doublesmall]

Yeah, well, we'll see about that.

[or they can just open it, chuuya...

he picks up their other chest again along the way, just because it seems safer than carrying its contents unprotected, and sets it back down by where that indentation is so he can retrieve the orb and slot it in!

this is probably the most productive they've been the whole time honestly, go them.]

[adoringpast]

[ let's not ruin any other chests just because we're team ethanol, guys

anyways, sena follows them to the chest that's nailed on the floor and kneels down to finally unlock this one, revealing an orb that should go to the indentation over there. ]

Got it. Let's get this over with already.

[ so yeah he's running for the entrance where the indentations for these orbs are and gently places this one orb in. there we go. ]

[eyestitch]

Oh, so that's what I was thinking of! [Nui laughs a little bit. Once again, future Nui has solved what past Nui couldn't! Now that Sena's gone back toward the gate, she realizes that that's where she saw the first indentations in the first place.]

Oooh, ooh, lookie! This one's the same size. Maybe we have a multipurpose thingamabob!

[Unfortunately, Chuuya, that chest probably still isn't movable. Does he feel bad? Can she see him cry later? After very delicately getting orb the second back out of its hold, she follows Sena (slower, since her legs are stinging though they've stopped bleeding) and slots the orb into place.]

[recollecters]

[ there's a flash of light, filling the room.

sena's device pings: employee #32041 is within range, and a flashing red dot with that number label appears on the map.

they can now cross over the boundary line, if they so choose. do they intend to continue? ]

breaking the sequence for a bit!

[adoringpast]

[ huh, okay, that's weird... no name? ]

There's someone out there. Probably waiting for us?

[ turns to nod at the other two and waves for them to come follow him and this signal. just what is waiting for them outside anyway? ]

[doublesmall]

Let's get going, then.

[chuuya nods, and he'll just be keeping pace with sena, because he may have the map but chuuya's not gonna let him get too far ahead. he's the resident monster magnet, he may still need bodyguarding or something out here.]

Nui, you stay close too in case we get jumped, alright?

[eyestitch]

[This is actually a valid call-out since she would definitely skip ahead under other circumstances. Chuuya doesn't have to tell her twice, though, and she sticks closer to him than to Sena as they step through. She swaps her Kuma shield to the hand that wasn't hurt, just in case.]

Someone? Jeez... How do you get stuck all the way out here?

[recollecters]

[ yo, rude! anyway they find this pathway leading up to a temple. following it eventually leads to this platform after walking through a strangely empty temple, but instead of a sword there is a woman sitting rather unhappily at the center of the flower, a shimmering globe of white light over her.

she's wearing jeans, a black leather jacket, and an old t-shirt, and does have a sword strapped to her back.

she kind of blinks at them whenever they come in? ]

[adoringpast]

[ the place feels so unreal but then again they're here to fix that, right? they can easily get lost here but thanks to the lvl2 access on sena's phone, they reach the platform in no time and sees a woman a sword. this must be that unnamed employee, right? ]

What're you staring at us for? Sorry it took us too long to get here or whatever.

[doublesmall]

Sena.

[that comes with an elbow nudge, there, and an exasperated look.]

Sorry about him. Listen, we're here to fix unreality, but-- we're not gonna get stuck or something too if we get too close, right?

[because he is ready to grab either of these two if that's the case.]

[eyestitch]

[Softly--for once, like, an actual whisper that isn't intended to be a stage whisper the woman in the flower can hear.] I think she might be the one who's stuck.

[She raises her voice.] He's right--we don't wanna get stuck her, but are you trapped under there? If you know how to get out, we're getting really good at solving puzzles!

[recollecters]

Who the hell - wait, you're from that application?

[ why the fuck are you in the crypt. anyway, she stands up. ]

It's all fucking riddles, and I can't get to them from here. [ she gestures to the six crystal points around the flower. ] I think it's something to do with those. They all need to be facing outward - bloomed.

[adoringpast]

The app's the entire reason why we're here, so yeah.

[ he does look where she's indicating and tilts his head in confusion. ]

That seems pretty simple enough, so why so stumped over it? Do we need to move those by ourselves or are we supposed to activate something?

[doublesmall]

Little hard to do shit if you're stuck, kid. C'mon.

[and he just gestures for sena to come with as he heads to the closest point, inspecting it. more riddles, huh? fine. that's fine. at least it's not dancing skeletons.]

[eyestitch]

[So we're really doing this again, huh?

She starts backing away from the flower toward a different crystal platform, trying to keep her conversation with the prisoner going while also moving toward the puzzle.]

Hey, uh...no offense. We've had some really bad luck. [She eyes the sword.] If you get out you're not going to, like...

Stab us?

Right?