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[recollecters]

EVENT + TDM

PREMISE • RULES • FAQ • TAKEN • RESERVES • APPLICATIONS
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV

I. - CURRENT PLAYERS + TDMERS
It's been days since the firewall took over the city of Recollé. The heat is still present even in mid-January and though the wall has consumed much of the outer edges of the city, the buildings and innerworkings of each district are unaffected and still standing tall. Firefighters are working endlessly to try and put out the flames and combat the issue, but the flames only begin to lessen as Retrospec users work together to curb the fire and stop it from spreadng.

This might be the time to jump in and help. Previously, you may have tried to help and found your efforts futile. Those new to the app may even have found themselves thinking the flames were best left to the professionals once the assessment was made that there would be minimal damage. However, there seems to be a power tied to that new app on your phone. Should you attempt to help put out the flames, your efforts shall be rewarded and a pathway will open into a tunnel of fire with a series of doors spread before you.

With many of you finding your way through the firewall and unlocking the doors within, progress is being made to wear down the security measures. Points in the wall will begin to crumble under touch alone and rows and rows of doors begin to appear. The flames are starting to die down outside, but it becomes clear that it's not just a few chambers you must explore. Several thousands of doors are scattered amongst the flames waiting for you to approach. Luckily you won't have to open all of them. The silver doors loom in the distance, but thanks to the efforts of the last two weeks, identifying the doors is much easier than before.

While several of the doors that have been opened are easy to navigate, users will come to find that as they approach a new door an error message will appear and block the path to the door. These messages will not appear on doors that do not contain keys, though this pattern may not be obvious at first. Sometimes the messages will appear just by walking in any of the cardinal directions inside the fire tunnel, popping up right in front of your face and forcing you to walk straight into them. These pop-ups can be dismantled via physical force or magic, though you may wish to be careful. Anyone who directly touches these messages will find themselves…multiplying? Oh dear. Two, three, or even four copies of yourself will appear and begin to wander off not only in the tunnels but back through the wall and out in the city of Recollé. Users who are split apart will have to round up all versions of themselves to become whole again, and the clones themselves will be more than happy to wander as they please, posing as you and attempting to deter others from progressing. Good luck getting them to stop.

II. - CURRENT PLAYERS + TDMERS
The pop-ups aren't the only issue users will begin to experience the longer they linger in the wall. As Retrospec users continue navigating these routes and clearing the paths needed to break down the firewall, things begin to grow a little more difficult to manage. Though the passages of the doors appear to be fine and users can enter new areas to obtain keys, it seems as though there's something bigger that wants to stop the progress occurring.

Users with Retrospec-given abilities will find difficulty in using their powers in ways they've never experienced before. Superstrength gives out after two seconds while shapeshifting will leave you stuck in that form for three days. Magic is on the fritz and spells will backfire, kicking back and damaging yourself for every spell you attempt to use. A small ball of light will escape your fingertips, draining you of your abilities and gifting them to someone else temporarily (though they won't know how to control them the way you do.) The trouble with it all is that no method is the same, and even if you experience a glitch once an outside force will change the consequences so they do not repeat.

You may think to check your phone for answers. Can you Google how to fix your own powers? While a search engine won't be of any use, users will find that the Retrospec app's logo has a new, upgraded appearance. Five of the eight inner petals have will appear gray in color while the remaining three are untouched. A sixth petal is colored halfway in. Should a user activate the app while in the city, they will find that everything around them will pause in a freezeframe. Birds will stop mid-flight, cars will be stopped in the middle of intersections, firehoses will have frozen arches of water aimed to the flames…everything is perfectly still save for other users.

As for those who activate the app inside the firewall, time will become fluid and change around you. Everything seems to move at hyperspeed, actions on fast-forward and time skipping ahead. Your actions will also be at the speed of light, and should you manage to accomplish your goals inside the wall and beyond the doors, a return to the city will show that much more time has passed than you anticipated. Hours or even days have escaped you even if it felt like no time at all.

With some trial and error, users can discover that a hard reset of their phone and re-opening the app will undo these effects. However, it may not be so easy seeing how the app will appear and disappear intermittently. Be quick; you may miss it if you blink.

III. - CURRENT PLAYERS ONLY
It seems a bit suspicious that Retrospec's gone quiet throughout all of this, doesn't it. There hasn't been word from the company since Joanne's last message about the firewall, and as usual any attempt to contact the company is futile. The message from delta#02018329 on the 13th was the last form of communication from anyone tied to Retrospec and since then all has been quiet. The animal guides from before are hard at work helping users discover new paths and find the keys, knowing they need to work quickly.

On the 24th, the firewall begins coming down in large chunks, falling away and shattering into embers when destroyed by an established user. The wall reveals the lines of doors surrounding the city and as of this date the temperature begins to drop again. Good job, users. You've almost fully dismantled the blockade. However, the wall isn't finished yet.

Beginning on this day as well, established users will become public enemy number one for the operator of the wall. A string of bad luck begins to follow you in an attempt to deter you from finishing your task of destroying this wall. Ranging from small feats such as misplacing your phone to larger feats such as removing all doors and windows from a building you're in, these attempts can be easily broken with enough willpower or simply waiting it out. For the truly unlucky, even NPCs will grow suspicious of you and begin to question you, asking you what's changed about you and why you and only you are the one who can put out the flames when the fire department has been working so hard.

Most importantly, however, are the small showers of green sparks that will appear over the city, sprinkling on you from overhead and dousing you in an invisible sheen. An equally invisible force feels as though it's pulling you down quickly despite standing in one place, and when the feeling passes…well. You may wonder what this strange app is on your phone and why you have it. It's new, isn't it? Wonder what it could be. You've never heard of Retrospec before, you think, but it can't be that interesting.

Perhaps you haven't slipped that far. You may be one of those who finds yourself with gaps in your memory, or items on-hand you don't quite recall having before. Images will flash through your mind even if you can't pinpoint where you've experienced these things before. And, of course, there's the fact that you may even literally slip between layers in the city, entering a door in the firewall and falling down into a plain white room. This washed-out castle-esque hall will make navigation difficult as the doorway to return blends into the walls. It only takes a trick of jogging your memory and recalling your true purpose to outline the door. What does it mean to jog your memory? This can be anything from sharing a memory you don't understand to showing off an item or ability and brainstorming its purpose. You will only understand the truth and remember everything upon leaving this castle, but until then? Time to brainstorm.

IV. - TDMERS ONLY
It's a little alarming to suddenly wake up and have a brand new app on your phone that connects you to a special group of people, isn't it? This may not be what you were expecting, but the Retrospec app seems harmless even if it's a bit unusual. With the power necessary to help combat the flames, perhaps you're the type who isn't even worried about what's happening. There's a job to do, after all.

Upon opening the app for the first time though you'll receive a message from a user named Z.C.

You're probably confused right now and I get it, this is really confusing. I was confused, too. But you have to be on-guard. Looks like you're a fresh target.

That's an ominous warning, and yet nothing comes from it for several days. In fact, it isn't until the 25th that those words hold some weight. It seems that there's someone out there who doesn't feel like you belong. No matter where you stand or what's happening for you at that given moment, at the stroke of midnight a large crater will open beneath you and swallow you whole, sending you straight down. The fall feels endless but as you land you'll find yourself standing on barren, gray ground surrounded by a black night sky, spiderweb cracks spreading from the center and moving outward. The world around you is dark and above you you can hear the sounds of the city and the people in it. The sounds of your fellow app-users combatting the wall of fire and even some of the ongoings of what's happening to them beyond the doors echo in this dark chamber.

The space around you is dead. There isn't a single sign of life sans what looks like a large, 80-foot whale skeleton. Even that appears abandoned, though there are footprints in the dirt near the creature's mouth. You aren't the first to arrive, but getting back will be the trick of it all. Someone wants you hidden away, but finding a clever way to reach out to those in the layer beyond will grant you an exit. Shouting, throwing items on hand, anything you can think of to create a diversion and draw attention to yourself may help. The louder you are, the thicker the cracks in the sky grow. It'll take a combination of people working below and people working above to break this barrier. Don't be afraid to reach out. It may be your only way back home.

BONUS.
The firewall gave a good effort, but in the end the power behind the Retrospec users was too much to sustain it for long…or was it? On the 31st the rest of the firewall seems to crumble and turn into smoke and ash as though the force holding it up cut its losses and quit. Several wolf-shaped figures appear from the smoke and surround the city, spreading ash as far as the eye can see before running off in the direction of Magatus. A sharp crackling noise like glass shattering rings through your ears and the wall and the layer below disappear for good. Congratulations, users. It seems as though you've broken down the barriers standing in your way.

However…there's still the matter of all of this ash and dust to take care of. Grab a broom, a dustbuster or a friend. It's time to do some major clean-up on the city and get it back to normal.

For those who venture to Tisse though, looking up to the very top of the towers will show a set of windows that have been dark and dimmed for several months. As the night wears on, however, the lights begin to flicker on until the entire floor is lit. There isn't any way up to the top of the building just yet, but for every light that comes on it seems that the amount of ash lessens. Is there a correlation? Or is it just someone from above helping you out? Only time will tell.

NOTES.
Welcome to recolle's January event part two!

All characters who are TDMing will be begin in-game AU'd as Recollé residents. You may use any of the above prompts for ideas or make up your own depicting your Recollé AU! Prompts do not have to be set in the districts listed above. You can review our list of locations for what's available. Please note that TDM threads can be used as samples, can be kept as game canon, and can also be used for bonus points for future item regains. Share a few minor details of your AU, tag around, and have fun!

If you are TDMing this round, please indicate this by including TDM in your subject line! This will help the playerbase know who is who.

As indicated in the link above for prompt 2, if you would like us to generate a key-tracking scenario for you please sign up at the comment on the first event log!

-For current players, you may claim multiple freebies from this log! These include:
-One freebie memory for threading with a character that is test-driving.
-One freebie memory for combatting the issues occurring in prompts 2+3
-One freebie memory for helping someone else combat the issues occurring in prompts 2+3
All of these threads must have at least five comments from you to be eligible. To submit for your freebie memories, please link us the appropriate thread with the trigger explanation of "freebie."

TDM characters who app in and are accepted before February are also eligible to claim this log's memory freebies! Like current players, please be sure to submit your freebie regain threads before the end of the AC period.

As a special note, we will also allow current players to use a thread from this event/TDM for their AC proofs! As this ties into a game-event, we are making an exception. However, your other proof(s) (at least ten comments) must come from sources outside of this log. Likewise, as this is an event log instead of just a standard TDM, you may use this log to trigger regains as normal.

Finally, be sure to check out January's AU workshop if you haven't yet! 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!

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( coding by fleeting )

Comments

arthur crowe (artorius collbrande) | tales of berseria (TDM)

[armati]

[Some Horrible Amalgamation Of I./II.]
[...Well, okay.

Arthur isn't entirely sure when his thought process shifted to "surely the authorities have this" to "the authorities definitely don't have this", much less why he feels like he should probably do something about it - he has no experience with fire, he has no reason to think that he is going to be capable of doing much against this much fire, but at the same time, the longer he looks at the flames, the more his conscience won't leave him be regarding them.

Except the more he's at this fucking Johnny Cash song gone horribly wrong, the more things seem...strange? Not the firewall itself (...okay, that also seems pretty damn wrong, but details); rather, it's the methods being used to put them out. He's known since before he was on the app that some people are just a little different and that's fine; in fact, up until now he had been pretty sure that they'd always been that way. But seeing it in action now is kind of...

It's kind of.

He can tell himself all he wants that this is something to be worried about that later, but it's all a little difficult to ignore; as such, he's not unwilling to spend some time just gravitating a bit toward those doing anything that may be vaguely interesting in putting the fires out. He's pretty average-seeming for the most part, dressed plainly with long auburn hair tied back, but his expression is pretty analytical, if blankly so. As though trying to sort out exactly how you're doing that.]


[IVa.]
[Of course, there's also the matter of the...well, he supposes it's either a terribly-veiled threat or a uselessly vague warning, if he thinks about it for a moment, but after a while he just...]

From the sound of whomever Z.C. is, it seems as though some of us are being targeted for some reason. His wording, not mine.

I don't understand why someone would be targeting me. I work at the college, so it's not a high-risk profession; I don't have any enemies that I know of, especially none that would seek to target me in any way.

If anyone has any information regarding why someone would be singling me - or any others, I suppose - out, it would be greatly appreciated. As it stands, this is either a poorly-veiled threat or a pointlessly vague warning.


[IVb.]
[On the sliding scale of how surreal Arthur's life has been lately, over the past few days it's gone very rapidly from "I hope the local authorities aren't having too much trouble with the fires lately" to "it's good to see that things are just a few melty clocks away from a Salvador Dali painting." Case in point: he was reading, and then the ground was opening up like he'd just personally punched Moses in the face, and now he's here with a friendly reminder that there are creatures in the ocean the size of buildings for company and very little else.

Things have been a little weird lately, just saying.

That said, he doesn't seem...too concerned? He seems to have resigned himself to pacing the barren space to try to get his bearings after the drop; after a while he just...stops, and he cocks his head back to look at the cracked sky.

Judging by his facial expression, if there are any answers up there, they're looking pretty lackluster.]

...I see.

[...Of all things he could have said, he has gone with the two-word version of "I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed."]

i/ii

[servileness]

[ It's... well, it's not out of character for Clover to be aware of those around her when she always wants to keep a certain image up. That she's being analyzed is something she's always paranoid about, and she's been a bit sensitive lately. She stops her own firefighting (some of it literal, some of it traditional with baking powder and other tools, some of it involving singing (something very unlike Johnny Cash).

She watches Arthur for a second before she speaks up. ]

Is there something I can help you with?

[ She keeps her tone very cordial. ]

[armati]

[His own tone is...placid when he responds, despite the intensity of his expression; it's even, calm even if the situation is definitely not, because there's no sense in doing otherwise, it isn't going to help anything- ]

You could say this area has become more of a curiosity than it has been for me recently.

[He's just recently noticed it's fucking weird, in other words.]

[servileness]

In the middle of the month, not the beginning of?

[ It's not the most common of occurrences, but it's not a complete oddity. Clover switches her mindset to something less fire fighting focused. ]

You're suddenly more aware of how different and peculiar things are. Has anyone explained anything to you? Is there anything you want explained?

[ She's aware some prefer to figure things out on their own. ]

[armati]

[Oh, that's...]

If you have any information you're willing to share about it, I wouldn't mind listening.

i/ii

[blondferret]

[Derek is very aware of this... person staring at him. Mainly because NPC's haven't done that before sooo... either this NPC is broken or... a weirdo. Derek had been using his water charm to put out more of the fire wall, so maybe it is his magic they guy find so interesting. He just kind of dead pans at the guy.]

What? Do you need help with something?

[armati]

Not particularly. Consider it personal curiosity, if nothing else.

[It's even, placid, despite everything going on and the general intensity of his gaze. Hardly much sense in getting too riled, even if all of this is should probably be more than a little much? He doesn't seem off-put by any of this, at least, so that probably ought to count for something.]

[blondferret]

[Derek lowers his wand and looks at the stranger.]

You're new to the app aren't you?

[Just... stop staring at him. His calmness is a bit... eerie for Derek.]

[armati]

I am.

[He shrugs a bit.]

Not by choice, but I think that's the case for everyone...?

Al, in his natrual habitat

[flametheif40]

[So, some guy is watching Al work, no biggie, normally, expect this month people were getting all pissy at him and he hasn't had much sleep this month,

so he sounds a little crabby when he finally stops to talk to the guy after a while of letting him observe

maybe it doesn't help that he is in this form the entire time]

Okay, what's your deal? Trying to get me arrested for something? As far as I know, there isn't a law against magic.

So bite me.

[armati]

[...Ah, good, an idiot.]

If I were trying to get you arrested, I would actually be doing something to bring that about. Don't you think?

[His voice is actually pretty placid despite the confrontation; either he doesn't rile easily or his self-control is unreal, it's kind of hard to say.]

[flametheif40]

Yeah, like waiting for me to get tired before you pounce on your prey?

It wouldn't be the first time this month some people went fucking bat shit crazy on me.

But anyway, the question remains, what's your deal?

[armati]

I think I'm within my rights to ask you something similar, really... Outside of "magic" and "pointless belligerence," that is.

IVa

[thisloveisjustice]

[un: tatsuo kihara (he is so boring)]

Z.C. is Zee Carlyle. He works for Retrospec, the company that made this app. I take it you only noticed the app recently?

[armati]

That's right. I assume you're one that's been..."targeted" for a while?

[thisloveisjustice]

Yes. I've had the app for over a year and a half, though I'd say the 'targeting' has been more of a recent development.

First things first, only people with the app can see the app. And only people with the app are able to notice when things are really off. The people around you are able to see the firewall, but while they might find it a little odd, they're mostly rolling with it. However, the app is not the cause, it's more the reverse. Because you're able to see that something is off, the app is made available to you.

The reason you're able to see the weird shit is because your soul is starting to remember a previous life from a destroyed world. I swear I am not making this shit up. I couldn't if I tried.

Retrospec wants to help all of us remember in order to bring back those worlds. Vanderweele, wants the same thing, except he wants to pick and choose which worlds are brought back, and use everyone else as a fuel source. He's a real sweet guy. Most of us think Vanderweele can go jump off a cliff and he's started to consider us a pain in the ass. Hence the targeting.

[he's really sorry about this Arthur, but if it wasn't for the current situation, he'd have tried to ease into this a bit more gently]

[armati]

[...]

I see. Thank you for the explanation.

All of us who are aware of these things are from a destroyed world, then, by that explanation...? What destroyed those worlds to begin with?

[At least he seems to be taking it well enough...]

IV a

[frostythehitman]

[ replying as james barnes ]

don't worry
doesn't matter what you do or what's going on in your life
if you're on the app you automatically get an enemy to go with it for free

[armati]

For what it's worth, while I shouldn't find that comforting at all, the fact of the matter is that I very nearly do.

[frostythehitman]

why's that
have you been craving getting an enemy and just had your wish granted

[armati]

More like it's better that this is something many people have in common, and is to be expected for those of us new to it. Imagine being the only one; that would be terrible.

As it is, it's still terrible - but it's something terrible with an explanation, that people have dealt with before.

IVb

[morgrim]

[Yeah, this might as well happen, right. That's more or less Shigure's stance on it, but thankfully he's only been down here for a little while longer than Arthur.

Not-so-thankfully, he's being a complete savage and trying to scale the whale bones. To his credit, he's probably up higher than a normal person probably should be (assuming a normal person were to attempt this in the first place, which hopefully they wouldn't), but when he hears a voice he's quick to make his way back down before jumping off at a safe distance and landing easily.

After all, Shigure's really not a fan of being alone.]

I was starting to wonder if I'd be stuck down here alone forever!

[...]

Though I guess it kinda sucks that you're down here too—

[...Wait a second, is that...?]

...Arthur?

[armati]

[Well, this is- ...This sure is someone coming down from atop Whale Mountain and gracing him with his presence, and the voice is...not quite familiar, in the sort of way that leaves you feeling like you should recognize it, but like hell if you actually do right off the top of your head and so it takes a moment.

...And you know what, once he manages after the world's most awkward moment of really intense staring, he is suddenly not surprised that he's being greeted by This Guy, jumping down from a fucking dead whale.]

Oh... It's been a while, hasn't it?

[Since, what, high school?]

Our timing for this could have been better.

[morgrim]

[i mean honestly, would you expect anything else from This Guy??]

Hah, definitely! Kind of a weird place to meet up, but hey, at least it'll make for a great story! You know, assuming we don't join our buddy here.

[thanks, shigure.]

[armati]

[looks at you.

looks at whale.

looks back at you.

...looks mildly disappointed.

(it's probably just his face.)]

I'd like to avoid that as much as possible, yes. Not that I've found a way to manage otherwise yet.