APRIL 2018 EVENT LOG

[recollecters]

EVENT

THE WIND RISES The city of Recollé. By now, several of you have probably heard of the regions just beyond the city and some of you may even plan to travel! With the world at your fingertips, there's nothing stopping you from exploring and learning about the world around you. On the other hand...well. When it rains, it pours. I. Pesgare is known for its rainy seasons and even while it storms the markets are ripe with wares, the townspeople are friendly and the little village remains profitable. However, as April continues onward the rain doesn't let up. In the early part of the month disaster strikes in the form of a tsunami. The waves crash and pull the whole city underwater, disrupting the lives of the villagers and the area at least 300 miles out including all fishing boats, islands and more. Strangely, you won't notice until you cross the appropriate nautical points, dragging you straight into the water. Upon entering this region you'll find yourself unable to breathe at first, struggling until an air bubble fits itself over your head. The need to breathe is no longer a pressing issue and it allows you to get a clear view of the village. The village itself is mostly intact and the citizens of the village have their own bubble-esque helmets helping them navigate the waters. Delighted by your presence, they'll ask for help with Pesgare's restoration process of rebuilding shops, fixing their wares and even breaking apart a dam a few miles out from the village to drain the water. Though draining will help, it will still take time for the village to dry out. However, the longer you stay under water helping out or enjoying your stay, the stranger you may begin to feel. Your might find yourself gasping for air every now and then while being in the bubble. Perhaps your throat will remain dry and parched no matter how much water you drink. Or, perhaps, you'll look down and notice the bright shiny scales popping up in patches across your skin. Do you continue to help or do you abandon ship? You may want to make your decision quickly. The more fish-like you become, the louder the sound of the sea becomes as it calls you home to drag you further into the abyss below. II. It starts out innocently enough. One day you're out in the city going about your day, and the next the earth begins to rumble and the ground near the subway splits. The tunnels underground collapse in on themselves as a large region made of chasms, caves and forges uproots itself and begins to float higher and higher into the sky right above Recollé. Anyone nearby can watch as Respatrum floats upward and they'll be able to catch the glimpses of the small fire spirits escaping their hearths, cackling all the way as they race through other parts of Respatrum and even down into Recollé. These creatures will begin to inhabit large statues of varying kinds, aircraft, and appliances such as stoves, microwaves, televisions and more. The residents of Respatrum will extend a large bronze ladder down from the region in the sky to the city to allow citizens the chance to visit and return the spirits to their rightful hearths, but that's not always easy! While the fire won't burn your hands, the spirits are mischievous and having the time of their lives. Even if you manage to coax them out of their current hiding places, they'll be more than happy to hide inside of you instead. Those possessed by fire spirits will feel warm and suddenly overconfident, brash and unruly as they do things they may not have felt brave enough to do before. The longer the spirits reside in you, however, the more likely it will be that they make themselves too comfortable. A change of heart alters your personality entirely to be more reckless and dark feathers begin to sprout as large raven-like wings appear. Though the wings will help you fly, the longer you're possessed the harder it will be purge the spirits and bring Respatrum back underground where it belongs. Items from Respatrum cannot be brought to the city of Recollé and will immediately be possessed by fire spirits to jump back up into the sky. While it's easy to bribe the spirits with games, objects and promises, purging the spirits from these objects will take work and may require you to bring all items (or yourself) to the people of Respatrum to remove the pesky creatures. III. For those of you who want to get away from it all and take a vacation to Bosuma, you're in luck! The forest is bright and luminous as usual and the weird night pollen seems to have worn off. Your emotional state seems to be free from influence and you're able to enjoy a nice relaxing stroll through nature. Strangely though when you try to leave you'll find yourself on a path you know you did not take on your way in. Your feet seem to be on autopilot as you wander further and further into the woods, away from bright flowers and happy animals and deeper into thickets of vines and marshy wetlands. Trying to backtrack leads you on a continuous loop deeper and deeper into the woods as you soon come across a bubbly swamp, lush greenery and a small stone house. As you approach the house (or even as you try to leave), you'll find yourself confused about how you got there and you may not even recognize the people you're with. Who are they? And better question, who are you? Your own name? How could you have possibly forgotten something such as that? Fear not. While you ponder your name and your mere existence, the door to the house will open and a young woman will step out. Taking pity on you, she'll give you a glance and bestow a new name on you. It may be one with some significance to you or it may be one you've never heard of before. However, with a new name and a new identity comes a price. The witch has waited quite some time for new souls to enter this part of the woods. Memories are tricky, aren't they? Surely you want your memories of your life back and not just memories of another life you may have lived. The witch is kind and benevolent enough to take you by the hand and make you a deal. Complete one task for her in three days' time and you'll return to who you once were. If not…well. You'll find out. Tasks may range from something as simple as being kind to a stranger, performing on stage, collecting half-priced Easter candy or anything that will challenge you. The witch knows your greatest fears and will push you into tasks that conflict with your comfort zones. You're free to return to the city, of course, but the countdown begins as soon as the witch seals the deal. If the task is not completed in three days time, no matter where you are in the world, you'll find yourself pulled right back to the woods to take on a new appearance. Others will have to find you in the woods and identify you, giving your true identity back and helping you reclaim your rightful memories lest you lose yourself forever. IV. Perhaps you're feeling particularly brave and take a trip to Magatus. Known for its bright, colorful lights in the sky and its wintery atmosphere, it may surprise you to find that setting foot into the region sends you straight into total darkness. A dizzying sensation hits faster than you can blink and you'll find yourself knocked unconscious. Minutes later (or perhaps hours, or maybe even days), you'll awaken thanks to the howl of a wolf nearby and find yourself in a hidden cave not far from the main town. The sky appears to be its same beautiful colors and no injuries are present. Upon closer examination, a new mark appears on your skin and seems to glow an eerie color not unlike the heart stones from February. The color may even be the same. This mark cannot be rubbed off and it glows even through layers of clothing. Asking around the village will render little answers as the townspeople acknowledge it's a mark and think nothing of it. After some time though perhaps you'll get lucky and receive the answer you're looking for. "A curse", they say, and they gesture to the forest at the base of the mountains and surrounding the town. Wandering into the forest seeking an answer, you'll find yourself growing weak and fatigued, energy fading and the mark glowing even brighter as you hear the whispers of several voices around you. Coming from the trees, you'll hear them discussing your personal failures and things you regret, things you've been running away from or things you harbor guilt over. Maybe it's a lie you told your parents, or maybe it's something much, much larger. Even when you return to the city the mark stays though it doesn't glow as bright. As you ignore the mark, or even as you puzzle out how to remove it, the mark will begin to spread over your skin as more time passes. Without breaking the curse the mark will begin to sting and act as a constant reminder that it's there, bringing forth physical ailments as well. Those who are cursed will begin to feel feverish and delirious, chills running through them and something akin to a particularly nasty case of the flu plaguing them. Nightmares begin to haunt them as well any time they close their eyes, the mark manifesting their failures into their dream-like state. Whether by word of mouth, trial and error or simply talking it out, it becomes clear that the only way to break this curse is by admitting the failures the trees have brought forth and receiving forgiveness whether that's from who you've wronged, another party involved, or yourself. As the curse is broken, the mark simply dies down and all signs disappear into your skin, leaving you free to return to Magatus without fear of infection again. V. But what about those of you who decide to stay home this month? April is the beginning of spring and that includes Spring Break for all Recollé schools. Now seems like the perfect time to kick back and relax, right? Think again. At least once a week from April 3rd until April 30th, citizens of Recollé will hear the sudden flurry of papers and impact of boxes as piles and piles of undelivered mail falls straight from the sky (missing Respatrum, somehow) and into the streets below. There are letters and care packages, orders from Amazon.com and important documents and even some "FRAGILE, PLEASE DO NOT DROP" boxes that appear in these piles. As the wind picks up, the packages begin to dance through the street and scatter around the city and you may find yourself slapped in the face by a letter addressed to a friend. A stranger's package might appear on your doorstep. As citizens begin to sort through the mail it becomes clear that these are packages sent from all over the world from outside of the city to those living in Recollé, a backlog of undelivered mail from several months ago until now. While there are no signs that the outside world is aware mail hasn't come through, the packages themselves are a bit…unusual. Seemingly normal on the outside, as you approach to pick something up some packages may take on a life of their own and transform. Envelopes will open up and reveal razorsharp teeth, shouting the contents of the letter to whomever it is addressed to. Packages will sprout legs and begin to run away to engage you in a game of tag. That pesky wind continues to be a nuisance as it blows heavily and creates a whirlwind of color and letters that trap you in place. Good luck with your spring cleaning, Recollé! You're going to need it. BONUS. While all of this is going on, the cherry blossoms are blooming, the birds are singing, and sometime on April 4th, all Retrospec users will receive a message from Zee. Jo already gave you the heads up, but we're working with some weird effects that are sweeping in as residual from other places. Kind of makes it hard to gauge just what's happening out there, but hey. At least Maury took a vacation finally. The city itself is mostly fine, but if you're heading out stay in touch as much as you can. That's the only advice I have for you at this point while we're working on tempering the storm and clearing out the effects. The RRI will be taking more volunteers for other assignments as things come up, but that's always the case. That's always going to be the case if this keeps up. Anyway…best of luck, Retrospecters. Citizens will also find as spring rolls in, small rabbit-like creatures begin popping up...and multiplying...and will be more than content to follow Retrospec users around. They love being fed and exploring, but do take care not to follow them too much! They don't always notice where they're going and could very well lead characters right out of the city and toward one of the other regions. Welcome to recolle's April's log! The prompts are simply loose guidelines for you guys to play with and make up your own fun adventures for the entire month! You may also create your own logs or inbox threads based on these prompts. For prompt 3: please do not give your characters their canonical name as their new fake name! If they do not already remember their canonical name, we ask that you come up with something else. Other characters who do not venture into the swamp will remember your character's name but they will be unable to speak it for the first three days, or until characters complete their tasks. Characters who fail and lose their identities will still have mannerisms of their former selves but will need to be identified by others to regain their true selves. For prompt 4: the curse mark can be located anywhere and spread anywhere, and it can be any sort of failure your character would personally be affected by! You are also free to play with physical ailments and nightmares as much or as little as you'd like. For prompt 5: this is only mail coming from the outside and addressed to characters in-game! This is not mail that is outgoing and after this mail will resume its usual "cannot be delivered" status. At this time, phone calls out are still unavailable. FINALLY: Each prompt is eligible for one free memory! That is to say you are able to earn up to five extra free memories if you thread all five of these prompts. For freebies to qualify, we ask that the thread that you turn in working toward each objective is a minimum of 5 comments from you and shows clear intent to work toward each prompt's goal (i.e. helping in Pesgare, rounding up fire spirits in Respatrum, regaining your name/doing your task for Bosuma, breaking your curse in Magatus, and delivering mail in Recollé). Please note that we will not accept multiple threads for multiple freebies on the same prompt. Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here.

Comments

[alitaba]

iii.
[ She's wandering the woods and she doesn't know how she got here. There had been something...? she had been after but those thoughts have gone with her memories leaving her scattered and lost in the forest. (why is she in a forest? and for that matter, where is everyone……? )

The witch, whoever she was, wasn't any sort of help after gifting her a name; a title really- and sending her off with a task. She’s not sure what sort of alternate universe she’s accidentally fallen into, but the ensuing class change to Hero sure is interesting.

Prophet as she now reluctantly calls herself; stares at her phone in disgust. Her challenge if she was so inclined was to exit the forest making use of her surroundings and not relying on google the Internet. Did that include her persona? Texts? Can she still phone a friend? .....Are there friends here to phone? ]

A. [ So she’s stuck wandering the forest, hoping that if she just goes far down the path, it’ll lead her to an exit. It’s like the left-hand maze rule, right? That totally works in forests, right?

She is so lost please send help ]

B. [ Or, in complete exasperation, she's taken the chance to text a random number. does she actually have your number in in her contacts? did her phone just generate it? it’s an honestly debatable mystery. ]

hey
what’s the quickest way out of a forest

B.2 [ However, if you're someone she'd still remember by name, there's an additional location ping to your phone. ]

sos :c

v. ( Late April )
A. Watch out for that-!

[ You know? What if she just never left the house ever again. It’s just wild out there right now and she has had enough of weird shit happening to her for the month.

Except the package she's been waiting on for months finally showed up and she’s been dying with it stuck in limbo. You would think waiting for it to go through customs was bad. Having it vanish into the void with no replacement was just so much worse. But of course, like everyone else's mail, it's developed a mind of its own and she's left barreling down the street after it instead of taking it straight home. ]

STOP THAT BOX!

[ so much for that FRAGILE sticker upon it ]

B. How many digornio jokes can we make

[ Or, in the midst of chasing down her own rouge mail, she’s knocking on various doors looking rather harried and stressed out. ]

Hey, so your mail called.

[ In her arms is either a wiggling box or letter corralled into a pet carrier. (It's probably for the best not to ask where she got that from.) It is, however, getting too heavy with all that wiggling so mind getting it before she drops it on either of them? ]

iii-a

[commandertoolbelt]

[ You know what else this situation needs?

Another slightly lost youth who knows next to nothing about the wilderness. Clearly this will help.

Having wondered how they're holding up with all the recent chaos, Leo's on his way to try to find the village they'd helped out in February, Somehow he's managed to avoid the swamp witch, but how he's gotten this far? Questionable. However, knowing Futaba, he's more surprised (and slightly panicked) to see her wandering around than anything.

If he's to be completely honest, there is definitely a moment where he considers ducking behind a tree until she's gone. After that one memory he'd woken up to last month, Leo isn't sure he's so ready to talk to her about... everything... just yet. But he's been avoiding her for so long already, and multiple people have tried told him to at least try to the point that it feels like they're all hammering "useful advice" into his head. Pen, at least, would probably be disappointed in him for putting it off again when there's an opportunity right here.

There must be some kind of sick irony in them meeting again in Bosuma again. Can't let that go to waste, can they?

And... after a moment, he's realized that Futaba isn't just out here on a stroll. It looks like she's walking in circles? Maybe her phone died, he thinks, and tries to call out to her, but it's like her name is on the tip of his tongue, and refuses to come out. So after a moment's hesitation of wondering if this is the right time after all, he approaches to try again. ]

Uh, hey. You okay? Why are you out here alone?

[alitaba]

[ They can be lost on the road to life together.

But something strange is definitely going on. She startles for one, whirling around to face him and .... take a step back? There's a vague hint of fear that flickers across her expression and for a moment it looks very certain she's about to bolt behind the nearest tree. You would think she's never seen him before. ]

I'm on a quest.

[ She's clutching onto her phone like she wants to desperately call someone but at least she answers him? It's quiet though; far more subdued than her usual spunk. ]

B

[allforyuu]

[Given that he's stuck in the forest himself, Mika can't help but be a little frustrated by the text. It sounds like it was sent to taunt him.]

is this a riddle?

[alitaba]

probably.
but it's a better one than how many times can you go down a different path yet end up where you started.

[ it's amazing how grumpy a text can sound ]

B2

[maskreant]

what's up?

[ HE IS ALREADY OUT OF HIS ROOM GETTING HIS JACKET!! ]

[windeity]

ii. soaaaring, flyiiiing…

[John hasn’t been to Respatrum, but he’s heard enough stories about the place by now to know it definitely shouldn’t be in the sky. Luckily he doesn’t have to use the ladder to get up there and instead he floats on up to the city. He explores the region, finding himself weaving this way and that through various caves and dodging fire spirits before coming face to face with a new friend. Staring at the golden lion, the statue roars before it springs to life, the fire spirit possessing it going wild as the lion charges.

John, luckily, can fly straight up and dodge. Can the same be said for you?]

Go left! [Or right? Who knows which way this lion’s going. Best to move and tackle it together.]

iv. something clever about marks

[While John’s gone to Magatus with someone else and inadvertently will fix the curse with that same someone, when he comes back to town the mark has begin to spread over his body. It doesn’t glow as brightly as it would in Magatus, but the series of marks gradually crawl up his neck and over his face.

Nevertheless he goes about his usual routine. He can be found working shifts at the movie theater, browsing around places like the Towers or Junes, or even sometimes studying in the library on campus.

On campus, however, he can also be found slightly dazed and confused as time goes on and the marks grow more and more. Sluggish and exhausted, he finds himself trying to concentrate and eventually sitting at a table in the library and falling asleep. Wake him up? Find him somewhere else? Hell maybe he’s even sleeping somewhere else, who knows. The choice is yours since he definitely does not care.]

V. anyway the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me…

[It’s fine. It’s fine? One minute he’s walking and minding his own business and the next the wind kicks up to try and swirl a pile of mail. Without thinking about it, John throws out a hand and counters it, changing the direction of the wind to get the packages to settle back down again. The problem is that he’s not as focused as he should be and the wind seems to be fighting him, sending a small package flying and landing right in your path. Ahead, he’s still trying to control the wind and sort the letters, grumbling as he does so.]

Man, come on! […maybe some help would be a good thing. He glances over to anyone nearby.] How good are you at catching flying objects?

wildcard

[Hit me with other scenarios! You can either plot via my plotting comment, or over on plurk at alternatively]

iv

[compendiem]

[ Maybe people shouldn't leave the place where something mysterious turns up, before they figure out how to get rid of it. Minato had gotten his curse and broken it earlier in the month with Clover, but hadn't realized the link between talking things out with her and the mark on his chest slowly abating without his notice. So it surprises him to see something like this back in the city, the glow of the marks on John's face standing out in the dim lights of library near closing time.

It's weird being on this side of the conversation, but Minato comes to a stop in front of the table and reaches over to poke John in the middle of the forehead. ]

John. Librarian's going to get mad if we don't leave.

[lalliho]

[ PESGARE. ]

[The weather isn't awful, but Lalli's always leaned towards the gentle chill of rain both in temperature and sound. Not breathing kind of took away any relaxation it brought, but once his body learns to adjust... Okay, he's still thinking about plenty of awful, terrible things, mostly concerning a memory he received from a different one of these new regions. But he's doing his best.

His finds solace again in sticking to tasks. He isn't the strongest or smartest person around, but he's willing enough to follow directions and quiet his anxieties through focusing on step one, step two, step three. Each time some odd impulse takes over him, he tries to redirect towards construction again, until finally this thin bed gremlin looks like a proper scaly monster. Lalli occasionally scratches at his shiny new additions, but overall he doesn't seem bothered, and he huddles up in a floating ball while he picks up debris, only turning widening eyes up from the job when someone else approaches or is clearly working to get his attention.

No intention of leaving, apparently? Maybe he doesn't see it as an appealing option anymore. Every now and then, he does seem to be getting ready to take his bubble helmet off.]

[ WILDCARD. ]

[I just really wanted weirdo water demon Lalli stuff, but I'm open to anything tbh!!]

[compendiem]

[ It was supposed to be a cute fishing village... Two months ago, when Minato had talked to people about this place, that's the impression he got.

Not a tsunami, not his boat getting dragged under water and the darkness closing up over his head before he realized what had happened. The thick winter coat he wears doesn't help, the zipper sticking when he tries to pull it off, thoughts scattered between this, and the possibility of saving his phone, and perhaps considering resurfacing and catching his breath before worrying about his phone dying or wallet falling out of his pocket the more he struggles.

Maybe someone in that little broken ship out there by the village dock needs your help, Lalli. ]

[mercurio]

[could someone PLEASE help prompto??]

[he's been trying to swim, and it's honestly his worst fear, how he flounders and is unable to kick off into the water. at least he's not drowning, but it doesn't help that gravity is all weird because he's underwater and he's trying to climb up rather than float.]

[he lets out a frustrated groan]

[...he hopes his camera is okay. it's in his backpack, back in the bus he took to get here...]

Dammit.

[frustrated, he leans heavily against a fallen wall and... slowly sinks down to his bum, seated on the floor.]

[promisedyou]

Ahaha. ☆

[ She laughs a little bit, but there's something about that laughter of hers that isn't natural in the slightest bit. There's no cheeriness in it at all in the slightest but it soon softens a little bit, hearing the honesty in his words. And while she may appreciate it, there isn't any way that she can accept it, as she swings her arms behind her, shaking her head. ]

I don't know how much you know about me, but you probably just don't know how horrible I actually am. Besides, nobody would want to be friends with a person like me if they knew the truth. There's no way that they wouldn't judge me. Because history can repeat itself.

Pitou | OTA

[playdolls]

II - PITOU IS A NUISANCE
[ Pitou is always brash and over confident. A problem of theirs, although they certainly wouldn't agree with that assessment. They took pride in their wildness, their lack of inhibition. And it's certainly no different today, although there's something a bit meaner than usual today. A strange light glows in their eyes as they trip pedestrians, slap coffee cups out of people's hands, tip over garbage cans.

They're out to cause mayhem and pick a fight, just for the fun of it.

Woe be to anyone who crosses their path... ]

[[ pm me if you wanna FIGHT we can do a quick comparison, pitou still doesn't have all their powers back so their skills are pretty low; by all means beeeat them uuuup. pitou will also just pick on anyone 8') ]]

III - JADA: Help someone out of genuine care
[ The witch tells them their name is Jada, and the magical beast is not so certain. That does not sound right, does not make their heart ring with truth and acceptance. But neither can they remember their name, and so their tail simply twitches irritably behind them, nodding. Irritated, incredulous, but adrift and without any path to follow forward.

The witch tells them they must help someone else to help themselves, and Jada's brows pinch in annoyance. Why should they? Who deserved their devotion like that? There is no answer to that question, only a large empty hole in their mind. Who do they serve. Why are they here.

An existential dread that Jada has not the emotional intellect to articulate, but it niggles in their heart. Tail swishing. Swishing. Swishing.

They stalk off to find someone to be of use to... ]

Hey! You! What do you need help with?

[ This isn't what the witch meant at all, but they don't know a better way. ]

V - MAIL TIME
[ For the first day in what feels like ages, things are quiet. Pitou is drinking coffee quietly on park bench... when the mail begins to topple from the sky. ]

What the fuck!!

[ An angry squawk as a package topples onto their head, but upon figuring out what the fuck they are a bit more intrigued... and begin opening other people's mail... ]

Someone's mother sure loves them.

[ A derisive laugh, all smiles until the envelope bites the shit out of their hand. That envelope gets shredded with sharp, angry cat claws... and when a pile of mailers come after them in retaliation... Pitou just starts a mail bonfire in the middle of the park. Very responsible. ]

Hah. Take that.

BONUS - TOTOROS
[ The little rabbit things are cute, but multiply... Hmm. ]

Maybe we need to catch and neuter these little suckers... Someone catch me one and bring it over to the shelter, I'll do some exploratory surgery.

bonus

[compendiem]

Exploratory surgery is sort of different from TNR... But it's probably a good idea.

[justchords]

(v)

(as much as the thought of visiting the new areas now open to those of recolle, apollo didn't exactly have pleasant experiences going out of town last time. so, when things start getting a bit on the crazy side, he opts for the far more practical and less stressful endeavor of staying at home. catching up on some rest, reading, maybe a little school work during spring break.

until there's a sudden explosion of mail, leaving the outside of the city in all manner of postal disarray covering the streets of recolle. hearing the upsets, apollo hurries outside, and nearly being squashed with various packages the moment he sets foot on the street. he stares at the sight surrounding him in disbelief, letters and envelopes rushing past him, packages of all sizes landing with graceless thuds all around. one package in particular catches his attention, one with a charming little flower patterned box. picking it up to inspect it, apollo sees his own name as the recipient, and with a bit more looking, he eventually finds at least 5 other packages addressed to him.

before he can even begin asking questions of what could have caused this, every single one of his packages have legs pop out of nowhere, scurrying away to mingle with the other escaping packages and letters, leaving apollo to chase after them helplessly.) H-Hey, wait, get back here! Someone stop those... boxes!?

(bonus)

(is apollo one of those suckers who fell utterly in love with the little bunny creatures and is therefore giving them anything they want? that would be a resounding yes. he can be found in a variety of different states, whether it's first only meeting one or two of the little bunnies and offering food as a way to make friends, later on when apollo becomes surrounded by at least ten of the little guys, huddling up to him and signaling for more!! more food!!!! feed them!!! someone stop him before apollo doesn't have dinner.

the most concerning is when they begin dashing off to explore, and apollo can only follow behind them with a smile the way one looks at a precious pet. he walks cautiously, careful not to intrude on their adventure or step on them, but apollo is absolutely not paying attention to where he's going.) Hey, little guys, wait for me, you keep running off.

V

[toobigtohandle]

[Kenta is just walking by. He's been avoiding most of the mail storms so far,and since he isn't exactly expecting anything, he hasn't really looked at any of the letters or packages.

But when he hears the scream and sees the package, he reacts almost instinctively and grabs the package that passes him by... and it takes said package a few seconds to realize it's now airborne, its legs spinning in an attempt to escape.]

Sorry... Is that... your mail?

bonus

[unidolize]

[ the little bunny creatures are really adorable, and dia can't help but stop in her tracks when she sees a man being surrounded by a hoard of them. they seem very adamant about getting his attention, and dia can't help but smile. ]

Would you like some assistance with those little rabbits? They seem very hungry, and I have a spare granola bar in my bag I can offer.

[ don't sacrifice your dinner mister :( ]

v

[compendiem]

[ Minato is here with his Nail Bat that the NPC citizens around Recollé are slowly getting used to but that really can't be said for anybody else. Archery is fine because there are legitimate archery ranges to practice with, but the same can't be said for the bat balanced over one of Minato's shoulders as he stares at the packages racing down the street towards him.

He straightens up, holds the weapon in two hands like he's about to receive a pitch, little twirl at the end of the bat and all. ]

Which one's yours?

[ Don't worry, Apollo, he'll strike it down in one hit. ]

v

[chuusai]

[ Mao is kind of a worrywart so his are you sure about that instincts tend to skew too far to the side of caution and he generally knows it. Even then, when he sees someone trying to offer food to this new wildlife he can't help but say something.

Especially when it's someone he recognizes. At least they're on solid ground this time. ]

Uh... sorry for intruding but do you recognize those animals?

ah sweats

[refate]

[ This was not how he wanted to get his missing packages back?

Considering how his past almost-year has been since he got Retrospec, though, Kon figures that this probably isn't the weirdest goddamn thing he's seen. At least the place isn't exploding into monsters like it did when he first found himself in possession of the stupid app. But this, uh. Again, not how he wanted to find out what happened to the missing packages that he'd been waiting on for literal ages.

He watches the packages that have apparently caught Apollo's attention... quickly sprout legs, and begin running away.

Well.

He guesses he can help. ]

You got any idea in how to corral them, or are we running wildly after them?

[mercurio]

[for this month, prompto has found himself a well-paying job that only asks that he take pictures of unique places, landscapes, people, and even your every day situations. he's happy to take a trip to the four new regions that opened up around recolle with his photography gear in hand. little does he know what he'll be running into as he goes on this photography adventure of his...]

PESGARE

[prompto can't swim.]

[he knows how to float a skill learned earlier in the month ("skill"... bruh), but he's definitely going to be having a hard time handling himself in pesgare. as of right now, he's stuck underwater. thankfully, he was able to disappear his cameras and backpack into the armiger, but he's basically dwindling here at the bottom.]

[he's not useful at all, bumbling slowly about and trying to climb up atop debris to try and take a snapshot of something or another with his go pro (thank chill satan for waterproof gear). how is he even going to climb up? he has no idea, but he's not liking the bright shiny scales that are starting to decorate his skin. he's going to be the most useless merman in existence!]

[find him a) hanging off a broken wall and taking a picture at a precarious upside down position or b) trying, with no avail, to get a running start for swimming, or c) being obnoxious and actually attempting to rock climb his way up to the surface, every slide down seeming a lot more ridiculous since he could just swim. is he doomed to die here? only you can help him out.]

...maybe I can shoot the bazooka at the floor, jump as it makes impact, and propel myself upwards?

[he's getting desperate (and a little suicidal)]

RESPATRUM

[his second stop is in respatrum, land of everything hot, apparently, but prompto's found that he needs to climb an impossibly long ladder to get anywhere. two things would be useful right now: wings and being able to warp himself places. as it were, he's just human and hanging on to the ladder for a break. are you climbing after him?]

So-sorry!

[he scoots to the side, holding on tight and squeezing his eyes shut, before taking a deep breath and looking up, waving his hand like everything's fine.]

I'm just taking a break. I'm peachy.

[additionally, you could find him already in the region, feet on blessed land, only to hear news that the fire spirits need to be put back in their hearths if they want normalcy in respatrum.]

[prompto is quick to act as a tourist, taking pictures of pretty much everything instead of getting anything done. except for the fact that one of the fire spirits land inside his camera, instead, and hides inside it. it refuses to work properly, and prompto nearly drops it in surprise at how hot it is. instead, he holds it by the strap]

Wait, inside m'camera?! You're gonna destroy it!

[the fire spirit abruptly shows its face, sticking its tongue out and mocking prompto before cackling back inside]

Seriously!?

BOSUMA

[bosuma might be the place with the best set of pictures, in prompto's opinion. the green forests, the animals, the gravely paths-- wait, where is he going?]

[just like many others, prompto ends up in the bubbly swamp, meeting the young woman who opens the door to the small stone house. he doesn't remember why he is here nor what his name is nor the reason why he's holding a camera in his hands. he leaves the area with a name, 05953234, but little to go on with. looking through the pictures on his camera but finding nothing that will clue him in to anything, considering how all the pictures have been of landscapes and seemingly random people.]

[he frowns as he sits down on a large rock outcropping, looking about before taking out his phone. maybe he could send a message to a number of people to help him out...? according to the witch -- his life is different, different from the memories that are currently plaguing his head as true. he doesn't like what he sees in them.]

hey uh
does the name niflheim ring a bell?

[or help him with the task he's been asked to do in order to get back his memories:]

could you help me with something?

[you could also find him, walking kind of aimlessly through the forest.]

MAGATUS

[it's taken him longer than expected, but he's finally in magatus! he knows magatus--mostly--having already been here before. he smiles at the cold and feels, strangely enough, right at home. and as he feels familiar with the place he immediately sets off to take pictures of the surrounding area and the villagers.]

[too bad that halfway through his first hour there, he falls unconscious]

[he wakes up in a cave, finds the eerie glowing color on a patch of skin he'd rather ignore (his right wrist), and instead tries finding some way to remove it. very little help comes from the villagers' "a curse," and prompto's left no other choice but to wander the forest.]

[still... wandering in did nothing. he ran out of it within fifteen minutes, terrified and overwhelmed by the whispers around him of things too personal that he keeps to himself; of fears and failures. he stumbles on his feet on his way out, landing on his hands and knees on the snow as he moves to look back at the forest with wide eyes and trembling hands grasping at the snow.]

[the mark on his arm spreads, and he has no idea on how to fix it.]

Pescare

[quiet_storm]

[Why hadn't Cloud thought to ask Prompto if he could swim before suggesting this trip? Oh, right. Because he figured that his brother would actually say something if it were an issue instead of just agreeing to come along. Cloud was a strong enough swimmer that he would have been surprised if Prompto could keep up with him, but he didn't expect to find him lagging that far behind.

When the scales started to appear on Cloud's skin, as he knew they would, that's when he went looking for Prompto. The search took longer than he anticipated, considering that Cloud didn't even think to look for him hanging off walls. Cloud kicks his way through the water to float in front of Prom, then gives him a consternated look over the proposed strategy.]

Do you even know how a bazooka works? Laws of physics, conservation of momentum? The forces are equal in both directions, that's how you don't rip yourself in two when you fire the thing. You wouldn't go anywhere, but you'd take the whole detonation from point blank range...

What are you trying to do, anyway?

Magatus

[quiet_storm]

Prom!

[After meeting someone who had the grave misfortune of wandering into Magatus, there was nothing that would make Cloud willingly set foot in the place.
Well, he thought that was true. Then someone told him that they'd seen his brother wander in with a smile and a camera.

It had taken hours of looking and the expected amusement park ride through his own personal version of mental torture, but Cloud had finally managed to catch up. His boots kick up snow as he dashes out of the forest with a glowing gash mark on his cheek, then his attempt at a hockey stop has Cloud kicking up a spray of snow and collapsing clumsily on his side next to Prompto, sweaty and out of breath.]

I thought I'd... never... catch up...

[Was his half-brother also half gazelle? Shiva.]

magatus

[frostythehitman]

[ He goes to Magatus once, he's fine. He goes to Magatus a second time, he passes out and wakes up in a cave with a box of scraps a red star on his stump that somehow--somehow!!--manages to glow through the three layers of clothes he's wearing.

By the time he talks to the villagers and ventures into the forest for answers, though, it's spread in a pattern of different sized stars scattered all the way across his left side, creeping up his neck and even onto part of his face. He's just about to enter the forest to fix whatever this is when he nearly stumbles over somebody collapsed in the snow. He's almost annoyed until he remembers that generally, people don't fall over in the snow for fun. ]

Hey! Are you okay? Can you get up?

Pesgare

[fiddlestick]

[ It's pretty obvious that Prompto can't swim from anyone's view. Elliot wasn't a super strong swimmer, but he did well enough to get by. So he's been lowkey watching Prompto, worried about the other. He's not a strong enough swimmer to carry Prompto, so he's been unsure if he should interfere

Until Prompto starts talking about using a bazooka. ]

T-That sounds like a really bad idea.