recolle | AUGUST EVENT LOG

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AUGUST EVENT LOG

END EVENT LOG

END EVENT LOG
The city of Recollé.

...yeah. Yeah, it's still sort of a mess...

But the fruits of your labors are ripe, Recollé. Be prepared for the final fight.

I.
You've all worked so hard in these past three weeks to bring back what was lost and patch reality, or to get home. As their final missions close out, the following occurs.

Members of Team Absinthe will find themselves in the Recollé Woods, no longer capable of finding their way to the Bunker but cheerfully updated by Nigel Cavendish on their devices that "Go time is now, it appears! The more you destroy, the more we can bring back. The weapons will last for about twenty-four hours, so use them wisely. Good luck!"

Members of Team Brandywine will find themselves in the RU campus, locked out of their basement. Mr. Baroque updates them that "You've got about a day to help fix this. Try not to die."

Members of Team Cognac will find themselves in the Tribunal Terrace, unable to go as deep into the subways as they could the past few weeks. The NPC updating them as to what's up is Ronnie, who is about as helpful as Mr. Baroque with: "The clock is ticking down. Do try to stay on your toes...you may wish to rendezvous with the others."

Members of Team Daiquiri will find themselves in Tisse, locked out of the Retrospec building. Their update comes from Joanne Wiseman, who says "Aunt Marge just pulled the plug! Those weapons will last twenty-four hours, and we were able to snag the others - but, you're going to have to give us enough leeway here to fix things! It's just like the twists you've done before - destroy the focal points and we can snap things back. Thank you so much for everything, good luck!"

Members of Team Ethanol will find themselves in the Tribunal Terrace, unable to enter the crypts. For them comes a message from Wendy Guo. "Time to hit it. Your weapons are going to last about a day; can't force the protocol longer than that. I'm going to meet up with the others now, try to get shit stable as you do your side. We're probably not gonna see one another again for a while, so...it's been real. Don't die or whatever. Thanks."

Members of Group 3 are intermixed at all locations as they choose, perfectly capable of joining in the battle if they wish. A harried Maurice Fitzwilliam will see fit to update them with "I know this is a little confusing, but if you'd like to help your friends, you may wish to join up with them now - otherwise, I suggest you find a safe house. I'll try to update your phone's gps with a map to the least-impacted areas...Good luck."

Members of Peter Pan crash onto the sandy beach in a large, ornate pirate ship surrounded by a flock of colorful tropical birds and armed with cutlasses and cannonballs. Mechanical sharks cut across the sand menacingly guarding the ship as well. Members of this team may call on the aid of the sharks and birds to help fight while also using the cannonballs to load up and fire.

Members of Snow White appear scattered around the Recollé Woods with a large frog creature in tow and the army of a hundred ghosts behind them, wispy in appearance but strong in determination. There are also two large, stone lions flanking the party. The ghosts can be captured and released from the thermoses the Snow White members brought them in and will come to their aid to help people around them.

Members of Tarzan announce their arrival with the loud, thunderous roar of a dragon that swoops down from the sky, landing directly in the middle of Tisse. Portals rip open around them as several knights in shining armor and equipped with lances flank the creature and the team, ready to spring into battle. Any weaponry the team has picked up along their journey will be available to them and they can direct the knights in battle. In addition, they may use the two raven feathers to call upon the well witch to bail them and others out of trouble with a bit of elemental magic!

And finally, members of Yzma descend upon the rooftop of the highest point at the RU campus in a large, colorful mecha shaped like a panther. By now, the team will know how to pilot the mecha and the weapons attached to it. They will be able to split up and regroup as they please. As it lands, the creature pauses with all eleven members inside and tilts its head back, a feminine, almost regal voice making an announcement for all to hear.

"Champions! Band together and stabilize your reality. Find the last twists and slay the rest of the monsters while there's time. We have twenty-four hours to weather the storm and unravel everything. You can bring back what was lost...but only if you hurry! Now go!"

Together, every member of the city must work together to patch the leaks in their reality; no team is locked to any one location, regardless of where they start out. While certain teams have domain over certain summons and items, they may be used to help anyone they come across. The monsters that appears last month reappear with a vengeance but this time they've brought some friends. Multiple slime creatures can be found in all districts and as citizens of the city defeat them and other monsters, they will notice little by little that the city starts to restore itself in a whirlwind of fixes. Buildings begin to uncrumble, shattered glass reforms into window panes, and with every defeat of the slimes, a new stand will pop up. Some of these stands will also pop up simply by exploring the lesser traffic'd areas of the city such as the underground subway, the woods, and the empty buildings scattered around the city. Smashing these buttons will turn the portalizers on, suck up the debris of the monsters and close another twist. As soon as all the twists in an area are closed, the district will snap back to "normal" and all characters will find themselves warped to the beach.

Down at the beach the mouth of the ocean rises up out of the sand, spitting acid and trying to absorb whatever it can. Much like the other monsters, the more it's destroyed the less effective it becomes, whittling itself further and further down as it begins to pull inward on itself. Do what you can to take it out and prevent it from taking the ocean ever again.

Everyone is now back in Recollé, and several groups have new weapons and companions to help them fight. Stick together, reunite with your loved ones and hold down the fort. Your Technical Team is on the job to fix everything.

Hi guys, welcome to the August plot wrap-up! This log is a free-for-all to let everyone get involved, reunite with their CR, and help stabilize the city for now! This will only run from 9pm EST 8/24 to 9pm EST 8/25. At which time, we will then post a Retrospec post ICly tying up the loose ends, and characters may do as they wish with the aftermath.

Also at this time, everyone has regained network access and your characters will receive their stockpile of texts sent to each other and they can connect with each other.

Tomorrow, we will also do our feedback post for this event and an open discussion with the playerbase.

Thank you guys so much for your participation! Characters who clocked 30 comments over the course of this event are eligible for a freebie memory! For members of team 3, we will allow these thirty comments to come from this log as well. We look forward to seeing you on the flipside, and congratulations on a job well done.

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[Orion practically bursts through the doors to the Taco Bell. He needs alot of things right now, but more importantly he needs one of the people who understands him best - and that person happened to be Fai today.

Fai's been there for alot, including several times Orion's not so proud of. Fai was kind and understanding, and... he thinks he recalls something about social work or therapy or whatever.

And, well, after the shit Orion's seen, he needs that break. If he sees one more monster, he's pretty sure he'll be useless as he slides into a panic attack. He doesn't care if he has guns now (which, if Fai is observing him, he'll see two guns stuffed in Orion's belt that weren't there before this whole crazy event), he wants out of something he never signed up for.

He plops down beside the skinnier man in the booth, but there was something he didn't expect - are those tears? No, wait, nevermind that. He sees bruises, and for a moment, Orion's psychological trips no longer matter. There are questions mixing in with venom - he wants to beat whoever did this to Fai senseless and then some.

In as level of a tone as he can muster (which is still tense to say the least), he finally spits out:]

What happened?

[When he becomes aware of someone sliding into the booth next to him, Fai quickly puts the phone down on the tabletop face down. He's clearly not paying very much attention to his surroundings if someone can just slide up like this--

--oh but thank god it's Orion! Fai hasn't seen the other man since this whole mess started, especially since he's been crashing with Jirou and Kenta at their apartment. Fai knew that Orion wasn't one of the missing, but he's been too busy to keep tabs on all of his friends the way he normally does. So it's a huge relief to see Orion here, whole and healthy, and the emotion from the texts on his phone and seeing his friend snaps whatever's left of his composure.

He very carefully winds his arm around the other man's shoulders and leans in for a... sort of awkward hug, given that he's not moving very well and he's trying to protect his broken bones, but he does put his head down on Orion's shoulder.]

I'm so glad you're okay!

[Yea... he... probably should have texted you that sooner, Fai. Sorry dude. Between everything, he barely had time to keep himself together. He didn't bother to text anybody.

And the awkward hug... that... Even Orion knows something's not right. He'll be damned if he knows what that is, though.

Orion huffs out his tension and... awkwardly, gingerly, wraps an arm around Fai. If this man's covered in bruises, he doesn't want to hurt him further from carelessness. How does this hug thing work again, anyway? This is weird. But, if Fai is hugging him, something must be up. And he's not going to be cold to one of the few people he actually gives a damn about.

When he speaks again, his tone is more soothed, though there's still a spike of nagging annoyance in it.]

That doesn't answer my question, you know.

[Despite them both trying to be careful, it's a bad angle, and Fai grits his teeth for part of the hug. He's crying again, however this time it's partially out of relief. When they pull apart his eyes are wet but he's put on a small smile for his friend.]

No, I guess it doesn't. But I'm very happy to see you.

[He pulls his arm back from Orion's shoulders and winces at the movement.]

It was a monster. A very large monster. I'll be alright, though. What about you?

You don't look alright. I swear to God, I'll beat all of Retrospec up for this bullshit. Have you been to... [Wait, Orion has to think a moment. Doctors probably aren't around at this hour, much less in what looks like a post-apocalyptic world right now.] Just promise me you'll see a doctor as soon as you can.

.....Please.

[He sounds genuinely concerned, for what it's worth.

He lowers his head when it comes to him, though.]

I'm.... not okay. I mean, physically, I'm fine, but...

[God, how does he even explain what he's seen? Sure, it's monsters. Fai can understand that. But it was the terror that rivaled his hallucinations that really fucked him up. The number of times he was scared, the number of times he wanted to take his medication if it would all just go away, and the pain of knowing it was all real so the medication would be pointless against it.

He hated every last second of it. He'd rather coddle a bottle for weeks at this point. And that was why he came running to Fai the second he could escape this Hell. Or, at least get far away from it.

And then there was that vision he just had not very long ago. About a girl.

Where does he even begin?]

You ever just... feel like a defenseless little kid where all you wanna do is pitch a tantrum and go home and hide under your bed from all the monsters?

[Fai scrubs at the tears on his face and smiles.]

I spent a night in the hospital, don't worry. They did what they could, but there's not much they can do to fix broken ribs short of major surgery and I... didn't want that.

[For more than one reason, but mostly because he doesn't want to have to depend on heavy painkillers.

He's quiet for a moment while Orion speaks, while Orion seems to be puzzling out exactly how to describe what he's going through. At the end of it he nods, his usual smile gone.]

I know exactly how that feels. These last few weeks must have been terrible for you. [They've been terrible for everyone, more or less, but Fai knows that Orion suffers from hallucinations. He has a pretty good idea of how this may have messed with his friend's head.] Trying to sort through what's reality and what isn't when something like this happens....

[He reaches out for one of Orion's hands, just to hold it. To try to provide a bit of comfort.]

Broken ribs!? [He couldn't contain that outburst. Yeano, that ain't gonna fly. He's going to beat up Jim later. It has to be that guy's fault. Orion forces himself to take a deep breath, and pinches the bridge of his nose. He can't do anything right now, so he'll have to wait until things return to something resembling normal.]

You better take it easy. And if you need anything, just... message me or something. I can bring you anything you need.

[Orion lets him take that hand, because the next part is the hardest.]

Speaking of what might be real or not... I...

[It almost physically pains him to say it. Of all the things he's gone through, this one is the worst. Because he can't tell if it's real. Not with what he's seen Retrospec do already. At least he could reason the monsters were real and a threat, whether he liked it or not. But this girl? She's a whole 'nother ballpark.

Orion hangs his head, gripping Fai's hand a little tighter.]

I saw something awful. A vision, or... something. I don't know what it was. For a moment, I couldn't see. And I can't tell where I am or what's going on. And when I opened my eyes, there was this girl. I think I called her... Lilly. But she wasn't breathing. I mean...

[It's terrifying. Orion's freehand covers his eyes. He can feel tears forming and he doesn't know what to do. He feels a mix between something like helpless and the scum of the Earth simultaneously.]

I think... I think I killed her. She was... torn to shreds, in my arms. There was blood everywhere. She was in pieces, Fai. Torn in two with everything falling out of her middle. And I don't know what to do. I don't know what this is. But I feel like... I feel like it isn't fake. Like it feels familiar.

[I feel like a killer... Could he really have done something so awful?]

[Fai bites his lip at Orion's little outburst. He hates worrying his friends. They shouldn't be worried about him, they should be worried about themselves! Even if Fai does enough worrying about them all by himself.] I'll do my best, and I'll let you know. Thank you.

[Just from the way Orion starts to describe the vision, Fai immediately takes that to mean a hallucino-memory. He doesn't want to interrupt, though, not unless it seems like Orion gets stuck at a particular moment, so he stays quiet and holds Orion's hand between both of his own.

...he does go a little pale though, as Orion's description gets more and more chilling. To be forced to see something like that, to remember it as if it's his own memory.... To not know....

Fai doesn't back away. He keeps his expression and his voice calm and soothing, and pulls Orion's hand a little closer toward himself to get his friend's attention gently.]

That wasn't you. It may have been a hallucino-memory, but even if it was, that wasn't you. You didn't do anything. You're my friend, and you're a good person. If you see those images again, just remember that.

Good. I'll check on you every day. [Because he knows your bullshit, Fai.

But Orion still feels guilty. That image was way too real. How can Fai be so sure?]

But what if I did?

[An hallucination can do any number of things, can't it? Including psychotic episodes, right? And it was of him when he was younger. So, what if?]

What if I did something when I was having an episode? What if I freaked out and blocked it out after all of it? I can't tell that I didn't do it, Fai.

[Orion actually begins to tremble. Should he turn himself in, perhaps? Maybe he should go to an asylum, so he can't be a danger to anyone else. Or maybe his own life should be forfeit. He feels low enough that it's in the realm of possibility. If he took someone else's life, what right did he have to continue to live?

But, at the same time, he doesn't have any proof, does he? He can't prove he killed anyone. It's awful, knowing there might be an unsolved crime out there with his name slapped on it. But there's another option he can go with, isn't there? He can do things to make sure that he's lucid 100% of the time.]

I... I probably should go back on my meds. I have to make sure that, if that's what happened, that it can't happen again... And if it turns out I did it, I'll...

I'll turn myself in. I'll make it right. Whatever it takes. I...

Please... help me. I don't think I can do it alone.

[God, Fai really wishes he had that extra couple semesters of training right about now. He's prepared for a general level of counseling, but of course none of it has ever come close to the bullshit Retrospec has been putting them through, and certainly nothing like this. But Orion is his friend and he's going to do the best he can. He can't fail his friend.]

I can tell that you didn't do it. Because unless you're some sort of criminal mastermind and I don't know about it, there's no way you'd get away with something so... hard to contain. You're not talking about a small thing here, Orion, and you're not a criminal mastermind. You're a good guy who just needs some help because your brain likes to do terrible things to you sometimes. And now Retrospec is doing terrible things to all of us and it's really, really not helping.

But I do think going back on your meds is a good idea. Get as much control back as you can, so you can face the rest of this nightmare with as many tools at your disposal as you possibly can.

[Fai's smile now is bigger, brighter than before. It's still not cheery, exactly, but it's warm and friendly and genuine.]

Of course I'll help you, you don't even have to ask. And if somehow we find out that it wasn't a hallucino-memory... I'll still help. We'll figure something out, I promise.

But don't even criminal minds fail? And don't even naïve minds sometimes escape?

God, I hope you're right. I want you to be right. I don't... I don't want to believe I could do something so terrible.

[He leans and rests his head on Fai's shoulder. That shouldn't hurt his ribs, right? He's not used to feeling quite this vulnerable. He's so used to dealing with it all on his own as much as possible. But Fai being around for this, he's willing to show how much he's truly hurting over this. He's willing to let someone help him get through.]

Thank you. I'll do my best. I just... man, I don't want it to be real. I wish I could believe it was fake. [He knows Fai understands the line between hallucination and reality is thin for Orion already. How much that image still trips him.] God, I hope you're right. Thank you for being here.

[He's repeating himself, he knows. But the mix of worry and gratitude, he can't help himself. He doesn't know what else to say at this point. It's the same feeling over and over.]

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AUGUST EVENT LOG

Taco Bell

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CW: Schizophrenia

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cw: gore; mentions of death

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CW: Suicide Ideation; Elabouration on Schizophrenia

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