recolle | JULY EVENT LOG

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JULY EVENT LOG

EVENT

SURF AND SUN
With the peak of summer upon the city of Recollé, many people are enjoying some time off to soak up the sun and hit the beach. Pops of green and blue sprinkle the city again though many people don't notice at all. Citizens remain as content as ever, complimenting one-another on their new tank-tops or asking for recommendations of the best ice cream flavors.

It's almost as if there's really nothing strange going on here.

I.
It's a pattern at this point. Those who have been a part of the Retrospec network for long enough have noticed that strange things usually begin on the third of any given month and perhaps some of you may be expecting it. But this time on the morning of the third, everything seems alarmingly normal.

Speaking of alarms, yours seems to be going off. "But I didn't set an alarm, it's summer", you might say, but it sounds strangely like the "wark!" of a Chocobo repeatedly. Some of you are able to turn off your alarms just fine, but others may not be so lucky. For a few selected citizens, disabling the alarm reveals a special pop-up notification from your friends at Retrospec.

A short message appears: B-I-N-G-O! Looking to collect some of your memories? Ready, set, go.

The message quickly dissolves and reveals an electronic 5x5 digital bingo card, each square filled in with an activity to complete. At the center is a prompt that hits almost a little too close to home, whether that be something you would do yourself or challenging you just a little to complete it. Shimmering just under the words of the center prompt, you can barely make out what appears to be a QR code before it promptly disappears.

Wait. Perhaps you may recall that someone once mentioned QR codes. Or maybe you're still learning how this network works and you're uncertain what it all means. There's only one way to find out, isn't there? Grab a friend (or even a stranger) and get ready to play in all districts of your beloved city.

Then again, maybe you really did get lucky and you weren't saddled with one of these cards, or perhaps you're the type to ignore silly games like this. There's plenty happening in the city elsewhere as everyone prepares for the big Fourth of July celebration. Tisse and Chata are bustling with people stocking up and hosting sales, not at all unlike the Founder's Day celebration. Everywhere you turn you may find yourself face to face with people offering samples or tempting you with the best deals around. Are you a shopper today? Or are you one of the employees counting down the minutes until your shift ends? It's just another day in the city of Recollé.

II.
Even though it's the middle of the summer, it's unusually warm for this time of year. A heatwave rolls through the city, but for some of you it's getting hotter than ever. It may be an ordinary day for you when it happens. Perhaps you're a student who's trying to enjoy their summer vacation. Maybe you're cramped up in an office all day desperately trying to soak in the air conditioning, or maybe you're running around trying to fill your bingo prompts. There's no telling where you will be when you come to realize a small item has made its way into your pocket or bag.

Upon inspection, you find a blue-colored fortune cookie, glowing as bright as the Retrospec logo. Some of you may throw it away, while others of you may accidentally break it or even open it out of curiosity. The moment the cookie is cracked, the glow stops and a puff of smoke emits into the air leaving behind a singular white strip of paper.

A short message: "Learn to walk a mile in someone else's shoes."

The heat intensifies for those who have read the fortune before a cool, calming breeze floats over you. Like the crash of a wave, you soon find yourself overwhelmed with a memory that isn't your own, or the feeling of power courses through your veins, the wind whispering a message of a power or memory obtained . Will you seek out who these memories and abilities belong to? Or will you keep them for yourself for a while? There's only one way to change back to the way you were, even if you don't know it just yet.

Yet even for those who aren't blessed with this fortune the heat's proving to be a bit much. The sun beats down intensely and everywhere you turn there are shops handing out cups of water to help keep everyone hydrated. There are several places you can duck into to borrow their AC, but all around the same time at 8pm on the 3rd, a rolling blackout hits the city. The lights go down and the air units stop working. It begins to have the effect of being cooler outside than it is inside (which you recognize as strange, but with the gray sky overhead it's hard to tell if this means rain or another sunset) and you feel the urge to go outside.

That's when it happens. As if on cue, the crickets begin to chirp and cicadas make their presence known. Fireflies begin to pop up in little groups, swirling around Retrospec users in synchronicity. Those off-network will remark how beautiful the bright creatures are, but don't find this behavior strange at all. However, the fireflies will follow users around the city all night long.

Will you focus on bringing the power back like you may have once before? Or will you enjoy the show? The fireflies will be with you no matter the choice.

III.
Down at Peach Beach a celebration's set up to take place over the course of the next two days. A stage sits on the sandy beach to host a variety of musical acts (including a few open mic hours) and food trucks are parked along the walkway. Some of you may notice that thanks to the fiasco during the food truck rally, several of the trucks have been stopped with parking boots. The boardwalk has a variety of games and specials to offer as well, fun prizes for anyone who plays along, buckets and pails prime for the taking to build sand castles and several carts selling Recollé's famous Peach Beach popsicles and ice cream parked along the docks. Best of all, the sun is high and the water's fine, the scent of the gray ocean wafts toward the sand.

However, for those who venture into the gray ocean you may notice that it takes a little longer than usual to cross the sand to the water, the distance stretching before you. The water's clear as ever and refreshing from the sun, though the waves appear choppier than you recall from the past. Perhaps that doesn't bother you. Perhaps you're a great swimmer or you tell yourself the waves aren't nearly as intimidating as they look. Several citizens are out there surfing and sailing. How bad can it be?

Do be careful if you venture further and further from the shore though; after a certain point far enough from the shore, adventurers may find themselves face to face with large, unidentifiable shadows under the water, a slick slide of something brushing against limbs in a gentle caress before the shadows retreat. Walking further will reveal a drastic dip in the ocean floor and you may sink under, the water strangely clear for being gray. Whatever touched you swims out of sight before you can get a close look, but it's clear its multiple fins and limbs propel itself forward and away.

Following it seems to be futile. The waves grow rougher and should you travel too far, the water will carry you back to the shore almost as if it's protecting you from harm.

Weird, isn't it?

IV.
But life goes on even aside from the weird ongoings of Retrospec. Life goes on, the world keeps turning, and the mayor still loves holidays. The Fourth of July is no exception and the city is bustling with activity.

Much like the day prior, the shopping district and the beach seem to be where many residents gather. Several others enjoy the day in Hollingberry field with friends and family, barbecuing and playing games together. Those with bingo cards will receive another sound of alarm, a startled wark! from their device before there is a flash revealing that one day has gone by since the game began. Those who harbor a power or memory that isn't their own feel the impact a little more heavily, urging them to find their match.

However, the world seems to stop as dusk settles around the city. Citizens hustle and scramble to pick the best viewing points for the annual fireworks show. Street vendors sell glow rings and popcorn and sparklers for anyone who wishes to play with the lights. The Mayor sits atop Seabiscuit in Recollé Square with an ice cream cone in hand, anticipating the time the bursts of color will appear.

At 9pm sharp, the first boom begins. Displayed across the sky appears the history of the city in pops of shimmering color, pictures painted across the dark tapestry above among the stars. With most of the city distracted though, now may be the perfect time to do some last-minute sale shopping or cross off a few things on your lists without question. It may even be the perfect time to sneak away from the crowds and get up to some mischief.

BONUS.
It's quiet around the Retrospec building, but the doors unlock for anyone who ventures toward them. They have been locked tight since the first part of May, but you can't help but observe that this seems to happen periodically. A pattern? Maybe, but who are you to look a gift Chocobo in the mouth?

For those brave enough to enter the building, they will find that rooms that were previously accessible are no longer available. Doors are missing, the elevator refuses to work, and the secretary's desk appears to be as clear of evidence as always. However, soft lights adorn the handrail of the stairs beckoning characters toward the second floor.

There appears to be only one room upstairs and the door is ajar. Is it a trap? Possibly, but further investigation shows that it was simply a careless action. Inside this room is another desk, a laptop seated on its table-top and the room itself not much bigger than a walk-in closet. Scattered around are books on biology and genetics, notes about evolution and hybrid animals. Comic books and horror movies sit in a neat pile in a corner near a small TV, screen frozen on a large monster of some sort. A table in the back is home to a few fossilized items in jars, along with empty coffee cups and house plants. In another corner is a clothing rack with a handful of costumes and a sewing machine sits on the floor nearby. Tacked on the wall is a reminder of the dates of the Recollé ReConvention.

What is all of this? A note on the desk reveals that all of this belongs to someone named Maurice and that "he better work harder or he will not receive his school credit."

But what's an intern doing with all of this research? What a great question.

Welcome to

recolle's July event! All characters 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 based on the ongoings of the city! Prompts do not have to be set in the districts listed above. You can review our list of locations for what's available and be as creative as you'd like.

As a note, while you are more than free to use this log to play with the bingo cards and regains swap these are in effect all month! You are free to make your own posts all month long as well and these will qualify for your bingo cards. With regards to the regains swap, as per our notes how your characters switch back is up to you! This could be anything from a hug, a synchronized dance, a duel, etc. Be creative! There is no right or wrong answer.

Please see our monthly plotting post/event sign-ups posts here and here.

Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

B-I-N-G-O:
A: For Pranks and Item Stealing

Another day, another game of Retrospec's. But this one actually seems like a bit of fun. Before he can join in, though, Togusa has to finish out his shift, which puts him at the Department for a full day. Oh, of all the weeks for Togusa to be a creature of habit. He certainly looked at the 'prank an authority figure' square, then ignored it, not realizing that other people have similar cards.

The openings are there for pranks, mischief, and the opportunity for theft. Togusa has been carrying around a paperback book for a while, something that was very easy to overlook, until just recently. Now, the book sticks out like a sore thumb, because the cover happens to be blue. Anybody who reads Japanese can tell that it is a copy of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. But he is certainly taking his eye off it in the uncharacteristic mess that is his desk this week.

He has no idea.

B: Cops and Robbers?
Togusa's center square was probably the oddest choice, but it also sounded like the most fun, especially with the record heat this week. So Togusa (and Daisuke because the poor pup is shedding little clouds of white fur all over Togusa's apartment) are at the park, water pistols in hand. With any luck, he can wrangle this into fulfilling someone else's card, too. He's prepared to get creative.

C: Off to the races

Chocobos. It had to be the chocobos.

Togusa's lack of ability with horses is one of the biggest running jokes from his class at the Academy. Through a long and entirely foreign to him now series of logical leaps, he ended up taking the class as one of the requirements, and was absolutely awful at it. And, for this reason, he has never dared to even attempt to see if his lack of skill there transferred to a lack of skill on the birds (even though now, everyone's memory in the Department was one of Togusa getting into an argument with a large yellow bird while it walked him off in whatever direction it chose).

But today, that square has appeared on his bingo card, and Togusa cannot avoid this any longer. There is a stretch of beach where the Department runs their birds every so often, and now Togusa is dubiously staring at the pack of birds. Who knows? Maybe he won't be as terrible on the birds. They're smarter, right?

....right?

II: For Professor Sycamore
The fortune cookie was strange enough, but somehow, some way, Togusa should have seen this coming. But the memories he got stuck out, the rush just like the memories before..

...but these are clearly not his. They revolve around a creature he's seen before: Garchomp. No. Wait. Modeste. That's her name. Togusa sees her as a much smaller version of herself, no, a different creature entirely. And there's an understanding that she is far more than just a pet. She has her own wants and feelings, things that maybe got more complex as she changed. It's almost like time jumps, like Togusa is missing the story in between, but he knows it is the same entity, friends with the man he initially brushed off as just the owner of a pet. And there are more of these creatures, things that should be something out of a Kaiju flick, but real. So very real.

Togusa doesn't immediately act on the information. He waits days. His first reaction is actually one of panic and checking in with some of his friends. Did Retrosepc get their wires crossed? Are these memories really arbitrary after all? Or maybe this was intentional. 'Learn to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.'

When nothing else has come up, nothing to fill in the gaps of Modeste's life, maybe it is time to go to the source. But, how, exactly, do you tell someone 'hi, I think I have memories that belong to you?' Especially someone who you weren't very understanding of the last time you talked?

What eventually spurs him into action is the fear that maybe the Professor has some of Togusa's memories, and those are too confusing to just be left without an explanation. So he sends a message over Retrospec.

Professor. It's Officer Hitori Togusa. I wanted to talk to you about, well, Retrospec's latest game. Not really any other way to put it. I think I need your help with something. Modeste's, too.

Catchall:
Togusa can be found trying to catch up on the work he missed while he was sick, but otherwise, he seems to be making an effort to run into people. Whatever the mystery behind these bingo cards, he has a good sense of humor about jumping through Retrospec's hoops, for once.

Edited (birbs) 2017-07-04 02:28 (UTC)

[Ichirou is one of the people with those cards. And he's fairly certain someone will be looking to prank him thanks to the 'authority figure' square, so he figures he might as well get his out of the way good and early.]

Chocolate?

[He's offering from a box. Notable he's in plain clothes, rather than his more professional looking suit. He's also quite obviously not carrying his gun or any other items, at the moment. If Togusa had been paying attention he would have noticed Ichirou coming into the station and like that as well, and spending an hour or so in an interview room.]

Any new stuff on Retrospec, as well?

Togusa's own options for 'authority figure' were Ichirou himself, and Detective Gabranth. So, he is completely off his guard.

"You're here-" early? No, but something is off. Togusa curiously tilts his head at Matsuoka's attire. "On the clock, or off the clock?"

"Ah, thanks." He reaches for the chocolate without even thinking, looking at the Detective, rather than paying any attention to what he's doing.

[It's spicy. Ridiculously so. Far beyond chili chocolate, which is actually conceivably enjoyable. It's not so spicy a person might joke or gag, but well into the realm of "oh god, WHY?"]

Ah. I'm on leave for a few days. There was an incident and... [he kind of rolls his hand along, implying administrative hullabaloo.] I had to discharge my weapon, so all those hoops, y'know.

Also, gotcha.

when you get that tag that you have to go get a new icon for

standalonehuman - 2017-07-04 03:17 (UTC) - Expand

Re: when you get that tag that you have to go get a new icon for

wherethewildthingsare - 2017-07-04 04:08 (UTC) - Expand

Hitori Togusa

A

no subject

no subject

II.

Re: II.

Re: II.

a

Re: a

no subject

A - we're all just here to mess with you apparently

Re: A - wouldn't have it any other way

no subject

C

Re: C

a;

Re: a;

B

Re: B

A

Re: A

a

Re: a

POWERS + PRANKS

no subject