Unlock! (2)

[trainmasters]

Who: Everyone
When: Day 36, early morning
Where: around :)

[In the wee hours of the night, you may be woken by an increasingly loud clear, bell-like tone, a beautiful resonating sound that fills the air. Then, suddenly, a flood of strange square-shaped sparkles appear, floating around like magical fireflies, bringing with them a pleasant warmth. They increase in size and volume until the air itself whites out with a bright but pleasant light. While you can't see, you can hear the bell, and the distant rushing of water.

Abruptly, the sound stops, and the bright light fades to reveal... no particular changes in the immediate area. No visible ones, anyway, besides a break in the rain. Audibly, on the other hand... suddenly, the air is full of birdsong. While a few tropical birds already existed in the nearby jungle, there are far more of them now, especially in the direction of the abandoned town.

Should you head that way, you'll find that the area has been purified -- while the buildings are still a bit damaged and overgrown, the monsters have been replaced by normal lizards and a few chattering monkeys, and the plantlife is now mostly harmless. As the sun rises, millions of new flowers will bloom in its warm rays. Unfortunately, there are still no residents. But their belongings are now yours to shuffle through, or to preserve for their potential return -- it's up to you!

Past the town you'll see that the wetlands on the opposite coast of the island have also been revived. A mangrove swamp grows lush and mossy, with remarkably clear waters full of tasty fish. Wetland birds nest in the trees, and frogs (now without any poisonous ones mixed in) chirp away in the night. This area, however, is not completely harmless -- while free of corruption, there are still perfectly normal alligators!

Head back towards the Prism on the beach, and you'll see that it's now glowing green, and the sea is clear and beautiful much further out than before. In fact, it seems the entire island you're on is now purified -- you can swim all the way around with no trouble. The island itself turns out to be about 8km in diameter -- the rest of the surface is taken up by ocean, now full of healthy fish and even some dolphins!

However, you haven't cleared this Star yet... about 2km from the Prism shore there's another, smaller island, mostly taken up by a some kind of ancient ruin, the sea immediately near the island is black and oddly still -- should you enter it, you'll find the water is still alive, reaching up to try to drag you down into the waiting mouths of unseen horrors. Get past this and you'll find the ruin a trap-filled nest of corrupted snakes, tiger monsters, giant man-eating geckos, and an overgrowth of plants that are almost entirely deeply poisonous. The halls and passages are full of caustic slimes that take on the form of your fears -- basically every enemy you've faced so far is now concentrated on this tiny island. The last baston of Malice on this Star is a deadly one.

But you've made some amazing progress! Almost as if in celebration, a flock of little blue birds settles in the Aurora's clearing, chirping away in the trees. Their song makes you feel celebratory, too -- hearing it greatly increases one of your positive emotions. Joy, love, trust -- some part of you is feeling great!

What a good time to respond to that ChainChat Message asking for upgrade suggestions...]

[[OOC NOTES: CONGRATULATIONS on your TWO levels of Prism purification, guys! There is a toplevel for ICly suggesting train upgrades here, so check it out! You can submit more than one suggestion if you wish, as there will be two upgrades added. Next week we'll post a poll, and the week after the upgrade will be implemented.

The updates to the Setting page to reflect this post will be made soon, so keep an eye out!]]

Comments

[schrodingerscockroach]

They do in the clinic. I thought I'd get some fresh air to see if that'd help before the drugs.

[Also worried if it still doesn't work.]

I can show you where the Med car is if you want?

[survivaltricks]

I found it already.

[oh]

[WAVES A HAND]

Tours are unnecessary when I did some poking around by myself when I first got here.

[schrodingerscockroach]

....and someone was ribbing me for being on top of things.

[survivaltricks]

[completely evenly]

They sound like an asshole.

[schrodingerscockroach]

So what HAVE you gathered?

[survivaltricks]

The birds eat fish.

My name is apparently Twilight Pink Sparkleshy. Spark for short.

[. . . . . . . not what Dusk was asking about probably but ALAS]

[schrodingerscockroach]

Absolutely not what I was asking.

Did Morning name you? [He can't imagine the other two managing that.]

[survivaltricks]

Who? No. I named myself. Technically, I guess.

[schrodingerscockroach]

....well, I think that might mean you were meant for Clover.

The other two are named Noon and Midnight. Morning is also on the team.

[survivaltricks]

[. . . . . . . . . there's a theme. . .]

That's. . .

. . . one hell of a coincidence.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He chuckles.]

Maybe it's a sign of good fortune. You'll bring team unity with your sparkling personality.

[survivaltricks]

[oh my god]

[SPARKLES but not really and fingerguns]

That's a lot of pressure you're putting on a new guy, Dusk-s. . . Dusk. I'm not sure I can cope.

[schrodingerscockroach]

You'll have to. For the sake of defeating the darkness and the power of friendship. [Said with the most solemn tone and obviously trying not to grin.]

Whichever is easier for you, honorific or no.

[survivaltricks]

Please pat my head and give me encouragement if the pressure makes me curl up into a ball and cry in my room.

[HE IS OBVIOUSLY NOT MAKING SERIOUS]

[and he also pauses, and makes a face]

I don't know. Using them feels natural, but I don't like it. And I don't really get it?

[because he doesn't remember anything that puts the honorifics into context]

[bond]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[You are getting a headpat. And affectionate hair ruffle. Because it's going along with the humor, but also hey. Sparks.]

I am pretty good at head pats and encouragement. Don't worry, I will be a pillar of mother henning support.

[He nods.]

That happens. You can figure out a few things about yourself, listening to those impulses. Might be you're not a fan of being formal?

[survivaltricks]

[WELL despite the joke, new guy kind of. . . stiffens a bit at the contact, though to his credit he resists the urge to jerk away]

[but he does seem on guard again, since said guard had dropped a little bit during the conversation]

Yeah, that's it.

[wrinkles his nose]

It's not like I can't tell what sort of things I like or don't like.

[AMNESIA DIDN'T ERASE HIS BASE INSTINCTS or sense of self]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He does notice that and pulls his hand away.] Not a fan of touching. Got it.

Yeah, it's a bit of a trip. And a bit of a boon when you just woke up and told to share 'secrets' with people for points. Had to tell everyone about my love of cats and cocoa.

You heard about the trials?

[survivaltricks]

[. . . less not a fan of touching, more. . .]

I just barely know you. That's all.

[RANK ONE!!!]

The. . . what?

[schrodingerscockroach]

That's fair.

Trials. They're sort of competitions we take part in. A lot are apparently more mingley, get to know you games. Other are apparently things like puzzle escape rooms. Yesterday was a mingley one, so someone else is better to describe the other stuff.

But the trials help with clearing away the corruption. Also if we win, we can earn sparks, and then memories.

[survivaltricks]

[. . . . . . . okay. . . . . . . okay. sure. he can deal with that]

Who oversees these trials? The Star Prince?

[schrodingerscockroach]

....no, I don't think so. I'm actually a little more vague on that.

It sounded like a girl. Really loved the water.

[survivaltricks]

. . . hm.

[at that, he just looks thoughtful. he doesn't have much else to say about it, so he stays silent]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He really has only been here a day.]

Learn about the sparks?

[survivaltricks]

[when they all die this weekend new guy is gonna blame YOU, dusk]

You mentioned them a few times. Based on context clues, they're some kind of currency.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Listen]

[He knows people can die, he knows Morning has died]

[He's ready to deal with death game, but at least he knows to ease into that.]

That's right. There's a sign in the lounge car that says how you can earn them, and every team has a specific way to earn them.

Which involves bonding. The more we bond with people, the more sparks we get, and the more we can get things and memories.