recolle | MARCH EVENT LOG

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MARCH EVENT LOG

EVENT

RUMOR HAS IT
In the age of modern technology, people keep in touch 24/7. It's hard to find a resident that doesn't own a cell phone, a tablet device, or a computer. It's even harder to find a resident that doesn't use their devices every single day. But the wonderful folks at Retrospec know just how important it is for you to stay in touch with your closest friends. Retrospec also knows how important it is to bond with your friends and learn all about them. Isn't that how friendships are made? Why would you ever hide something from your friends? That just won't do. After all, Retrospec is all about sharing...

I.
In all parts of the city, all residents with the Retrospec app will notice they have one unread notification. You can ignore the notification all you'd like, but you can't do much of anything else either. Do you have an important essay to finish typing for class tomorrow? Are you trying to search for reviews on the latest restaurant that opened in Tisse? That's too bad. Until you check out that notification your device (and subsequently all devices you try to use) will freeze up.

When you finally get sick of being blocked from everything and open the notification, you'll find a video of…well, you. You don't recall anyone filming you, but that's not the most startling part. What's unsettling about this video is the narration over the audio revealing a deep, dark secret about you. The best part is that the video auto-loops so long as you have the app open, but even if the app is closed the video may very well appear on the newsfeed of all Retrospec members.

The good news is that there is a way to delete the video! With a little work (and after suffering the embarrassment of having their auto-loop blast for all to hear), residents will be successful in deleting the video. Willingly showing it to another Retrospec user will allow the video to play as normal, but at the end a "DELETE" button will appear. On the other hand, Retrospec is still new and filled with little bugs and glitches. That video will be deleted but it might be sent out to the entire network as a private message. It might even go viral on the hottest streaming website. But don't worry, these things are happening to everyone. Will you embrace your secret? Or will you be one of the ones desperately trying to hide it?

II.

Those who aren't glued to their mobile devices will notice that spring is starting to roll in as snow melts away. Birds twitter to one another as they nest in the trees and the rooftops of several homes in the city. The flowers aren't blooming yet, but residents know they will be soon.

Today's just like any other day…but it's strange. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, but it almost feels as though you're being watched. No matter where you turn, you can't shake the feeling that there's a pair of eyes following every step you take and every move you make. Occasionally, you'll hear the flash of a camera but you can't catch the culprit fast enough.

Before you can duck into any of the buildings to escape, however, you'll find yourself ambushed by one, two, or maybe even three tabloids reporters complete with camera crew and microphones. The barrage of questions is dizzying, but it seems as though they want to question you about your secret that was publicized on Retrospec. Refusing to answer their questions will only make the reporters angry. Will you give them a full-spread report of your life? Will you run away and lead a pack of desperate paparazzi down the street? There must be a way to get rid of them once and for all!

…you might need some extra help though.

III.
There's a nervous kind of energy in the air as residents carry on with their daily routines. Kids joke about their silly secrets. Adults hope their colleagues won't judge them for the things they've done in the past. It's not so bad though. Everyone has an embarrassing secret they have to live with.

Oh well. Life goes on, and the city continues the way that it always has. For example, those in the Apprassage district will notice that the Recollé public library is hosting its semi-annual book swap. Residents can come trade their old books for new ones during the first week of March. The library will also be holding a bake sale with all proceeds going directly to the Recollé school district. Are you helping out at the sale? Are you perusing the stacks upon stacks of books to see what catches your eye? It's a great way to mingle with people and share stories.

And speaking of sharing stories, residents may look up and notice that a few people leaving the sale have a piece of paper taped to their back. It's not clear where this paper came from. You're fairly sure you didn't see anyone wandering around taping signs to people's backs. The poor sap in front of you appears to be oblivious, but upon closer inspection you may find that this paper reveals another secret about themselves. Will you alert them about this note, or will you let them walk around advertising their secret for the entire city? Think wisely; you might have your own secret taped to you, too.

IV.
Isn't technology supposed to make things easier? That no longer seems to be the case as a power surge blows through all districts in the city. Appliances start to act up. Lightbulbs burn out. Electronic billboards deliver scrambled messages. Toilets back up, audio feedback blows out the eardrums of performers at the Atrium, toasters catch on fire, everything that could possibly go wrong seems to be going wrong. Are you stuck at work trying to calm down an entire store? Are you forced to go into a lockdown at school until they figure out what's wrong with the lights?

It all comes to a head though starting the night of March 4th. Street lamps are bright and shining on the streets of all districts. Tisse is just as crowded and loud as ever with live music and parties. Employees in Chata go through their nightly procedures to close shop for the evening. It all happens so fast, but one minute everything seems to be functioning and the next the city plunges into a complete blackout. All lights and sounds cease to exist.

Are you out in the city? Maybe you were fortunate enough to be at home already, but it's never a bad idea to check on your neighbors. Mayor Mayer seems to be sleeping through the crisis. It's up to residents to work together to solve these issues and try to bring their power back. Groups can link up and search for any knocked-down power lines in the city (and will most likely find them in Apprassage.) There are several emergency generators scattered in the city, but it's best to take a buddy before wandering in the dark. Residents can also create emergency response teams to hand out supplies and direct other citizens to safe zones as the generators begin to kick in. There are no limits to how people can help. In fact...there may even be some residents who have a few unique ideas.

BONUS.
Okay. So your secret's out. No big deal, right? It's out and you've embraced it and life can move on. If only it were that easy though. Over the course of the month of March, several residents may start to experience other tricks of memory. For instance, maybe you order your favorite coffee drink only to discover it doesn't taste quite the same. A trip to the movies might surprise you when the trailer for the next big feature stars someone who looks a little like you. Your favorite song on the radio might get interrupted by a conversation between two people discussing, well, you.

Look around. You may find you're not the only one second-guessing yourself.

Then again, some people just want answers. For those who are sick of Retrospec butting into their lives, you're more than welcome to head back to their offices in Tisse. Getting in won't be easy. In front of the door is a large monitor-type device and an interactive screen. If you want to step into their headquarters, looks like you'll have to grab a friend and play along.

With the success of a fully completed puzzle, the door will unlock and allow characters to step into the lobby. This time, instead of being completely empty, there are a handful of large glass tubes mounted to the walls. Inside these tubes are colored stones of varying amounts, though it's obvious some are more full than others. The doors in the halls will still be locked, vents and windows will be unable to open, and--huh. Didn't there used to be an elevator? Where'd that go?

There's a large sign that says "DO NOT TOUCH" in front of the tubes, but for anyone who blatantly ignores the sign, they'll be hit with an overwhelming sense of homesickness that will drive them out of the building and to wherever they consider home. But on their way there, they'll find themselves at the mercy of those pesky reporters again, this time asking for details about the story they created with the Retrospec building's new security measure.

Welcome to

recolle's March's event! As a reminder, 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 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 and be as creative as you'd like. As a note, memories in prompts I and II are from your Recollé AU. However, memories from prompt III may hint at a canon memory that your character has recovered! Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[By the time Luke shows up to the Retrospec building he's not in a great mood. He's had a month of dealing with weird bullshit, but this is unusual even for that. As he approaches the building and sees the giant board he pauses to stare up at it.]

Even if I said no you'd drag me along anyway. [He tilts his head.] This wasn't here the last time I checked out the building.

[ both of them being in terrible moods is a great way to go about this break-in, clearly. thalia frowns, but it is still at the building more than at luke, at least! isn't he glad. ]

You're contractually obligated as my best friend to break into anything I want to break into with me. [ it's just, like, a law. she's just decided. ] So they changed the security since you last came here? What is it, though - oh.

[ tapping the screen sure did make the mad libs screen come up.

hm. ]

It can't be serious, can it? [ and yet, she is filling in the first "place" as "neverland" just to see what happens. she'd put cabin eleven, but that's kind of identifying? ]

So that's what I get for not reading the fine print on our friendship. [He shakes his head, though he's eyeing the building carefully.] There was no security last time I looked, but I heard last month when people went inside they got locked in. This is new.

[But when she touches the screen and lights up the game, he frowns even heavily.] Looks like they might be. "Neverland" huh? Does that make you Wendy in this case? [He'll lean forward too and fill in "working" for the first verb because that's what he does lately. Working.]

Wendy is the brains of the operation, Peter.

[ looking at the screen she adds in "dragon" because a dragon counts as an object and may as well make it Interesting. ]

Maybe it's some sort of psych eval?

[A smirk.] Yeah, yeah...and we both know how I feel about growing up.

[A dragon? He's just going to stare at the screen before filling in "angry" because what else would a dragon be?]

I don't need a psych eval, I need all of this weird shit to stop. [A pause.] Meant to text you about the app a few days ago, but Annabeth told me you were freaking out about it.

[ thalia puts in "less stressed" because THAT WOULD BE IDEAL. ]

I wouldn't say I was freaking out. Kashuu explained most of it to me the day of, but I did tell Annabeth we have basically zero legal options when the company, as far as I can tell? Isn't really a Thing beyond having a business place?

[ give her a moment before she remembers Dragons. ]

Kind of wanted to punch someone for my phone going off a million times while I was busy, though.

Of course you wouldn't say you were freaking out. You'd never admit it. [What about if we fill in "the woods" because the woods would make one feel less stressed.] I want to believe the company isn't really a thing but they keep popping up now and then with stupid stuff like this. You can turn off the notifications though. Somehow.

[There's a pause as he, too, seems to remember something in the back of his head and he scratches his neck idly while staring at the board.] Also? Last time I checked there weren't dragons living in Neverland.

I'm not freaking out! And I wasn't at the time. [ SLUGS HIM ON THE FUCKING ARM? ] And I turned off the notifications, but I was in class when my phone blew up and it took a bit.

[ thalia goes to write in "daisies" out of a lack of better plant ideas before...freezing. kashuu had mentioned vivid daydreams and hallucinations, but even so - ]

There can be dragons living in Neverland if I want there to be, Peter.

[There's a hiss and his hand comes up to rub his arm???] Come on! [He's scowling for all of three seconds before he returns to the subject at hand.] If it makes you feel better, mine went off when I was doing Founder's Day shopping and a hundred dollars of groceries ran away from me and almost crashed into my car. Not fun.

[Daisies. They can both stall for a moment since he's not even sure he wants to ask. But he wants to ask? He has to ask and even her going along with the Peter-Wendy nicknames isn't enough for him not to freak a little.]

...what about in the south of the US? Think they could live there? [He'll just fill in "blue" for the color since...Thalia's eyes are blue. So. You know.]

[ she fills in "overcast" for the weather. and glares at the screen for about. five seconds. okay, he's clearly referencing what she thinks he's referencing, right? fuck it. ]

Kashuu mentioned something about daydreams that's making more sense now. We could go back and forth about dragons and caves, but we could also just, like, ask: did you see what I just saw?

I don't know. [It's short and quick, like he doesn't want to talk about it even though they should really be talking about it.] How did we meet, Thalia? Because last time I thought about this it didn't involve us being kids and meeting in a dragon's cave in South Carolina. I don't think I've ever been to South Carolina.

[He pauses.] ...we were roughly the same age we were when we first met here anyway though.

I punched a kid on the playground and you tried to get into my good graces because you realized immediately how awesome I was.

[ obviously ]

At least the whatever-it-was is keeping up that highly important theme. [ when in doubt: crack a joke and don't let your voice crack. ] I've never even left the state.

I realized you were awesome and also hated that kid anyway so it was doubly awesome. [It's fine. This is fine? This is not fine and he's adding "confusing" to their board.]

That doesn't even cover that, you know, dragons aren't real. And while caves are cool I can't think of why we'd be in one without Annabeth or Jason. [...but.]

...Annabeth told me something kind of weird the other day, too, by the way.

You know, dragons not being real would have been a compelling argument, like, before any of this? Because I would also argue that horses? Totally real. My Little Pony definitely existed. And yet most of the city - and the world, I guess? - would beg to differ.

[ she is SO FRUSTRATED. "suddenly a RIDICULOUS DRAGON". ]

What did she say?

I wasn't even aware you knew what My Little Pony was at this point. [He shakes his head, though it's clear he's bothered by this and he pauses the game once more because what he says next also bothers him.]

We were talking after Retrospec downloaded on her phone and she asked me if I ever made a promise to her in a back alley when we were kids. Something like promising her I wouldn't fail her like our families did and that she was part of my family now. Which would make sense if she hadn't said she was seven and that you might've been there. [He rubs the back of his neck.] I don't...really know what she's talking about, but I do remember giving her a knife in a back alley after promising her something.

I'm not sure it's coincidence anymore. I didn't tell her what I remembered yet. Or dreamed? Hallucinated? Whatever the hell's going on.

Because you didn't want to worry her? [ she's an older sister. she Gets It. ] Also, fuck you, everyone knows what My Little Pony is? Or everyone used to know what it was. My Little Chocobo does not even remotely have the same ring. I don't even want to look up anything to do with that; I think the internet was weird enough about the series when it was about ponies. It's probably worse now, somehow.

[ ........YEAH, SHE DOESN'T...WANT TO THINK ABOUT THAT, LORD? ]

What do you think it is, if it isn't a coincidence?

As always. [He knows. Thalia's probably one of the few people to get it and he appreciates it. And if you ever say My Little Chocobo again I'm going to scream.

[He shakes his head though.] I have no idea. It's like we were remembering two different parts of the same thing though. She remembered me promising she'd be a part of our family, and I remembered giving her a knife. They fit together but there are still a bunch of questions I have. The biggest one right now is what're we going to do if these things are real?

I don't know. [ about what they'll do. ] If they are - does it change anything? I guess that's the big question. Because they only matter if they change something. I think?

[ and that promise sounds so familiar but she doesn't want to admit it. ]

I think a big part of it would be what do all the pieces add up to?

It changes a lot, but I'm not...[He shakes his head.] Not going there. Not yet, anyway, and I'm not telling Annabeth yet. All I can figure everything adds up to is Retrospec or whoever is specifically watching us and targeting people that spend a lot of time together into remembering bullshit stories or...[He frowns.]

Something bigger. A lot bigger.

You don't have to worry about her hearing it from me. But Luke? [ SHE PUNCHES HIM IN THE ARM. ] It doesn't change us, so just try not to worry about it yet.

Hey! [Why is there always punching!? On the other hand there's a muted sort of closed-lipped smile in response. Sure. Okay. Hallucinating weird dragon-like bullshit doesn't change them at all. They'll be fine.]

It's the "yet" I'm worried about, Thalia. [But he shakes his head and gestures to the screen in front of them.] Whatever, we'll deal with it later. Wanna finish this up and see what we can find inside?

[ goddamnit luke she meant it won't change the important shit, which is that he is her dumbass best friend. thalia rolls her eyes. ]

Yeah, yeah. I think it's your turn.

[For now. He won't say it out loud but he's definitely already thinking about it but it's time to get his head in the game. So.]

A ridiculous dragon. What would you even do with a ridiculous dragon? [He says, as he also fills in "ran" and "sword" for the next two words.] You think we fought the dragon in that cave or whatever? [He's clearly joking but. You know. May as well ponder that.]

[ "I was about to be shisk-kabobed" which is a total verb now? ]

You're asking me if I participated in a fight with a thing that probably wanted to fight? [ THE ANSWER IS CLEARLY YES, DUDE, COME ON ]

[It's fine, apparently Kurt Cobain is joining them on this wacky adventure.]

No, not you. We. As in both of us? I already know you want to fight everything in your path but what makes you think I'd do the same? [Other than he'd follow her wherever but okay, Luke.]

MARCH EVENT LOG

a bonus just for me!!

cracks knuckles

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