(no subject)

[recollecters]

EVENT

ENCASED. "They are unique in the simplicity, the diversity, the related harmony of the forms of life that they enclose." Marjory Stoneman Douglas The message on the first was probably not that encouraging, but for the next couple of days it appears as though the city remains the same as it was. The paintbrushes from the previous month don't disappear, and the city remains half-painted into existence and a happenstance of colors. The city's quiet and preparing itself for summer...but on the third somewhere around midnight, every user will receive a mass message in their inbox from Zee Carlisle, a man many have heard of by now but that some may not be as familiar with. Okay. The reason we don't reply to you guys when we post to you every month isn't because we don't care and we're sinister, it's because we're busy. Not an excuse, I know. But you're thinking too hard about it. The city itself isn't being hacked, literally. It was a figurative comparison and it's kind of like this. This city and the world you're currently living in exist. Everything about this world is real, you're real, I'm real, etc. But the layers exist in another kind of...realm, I guess? It's freely manipulated beyond the base of the world and that's what's being messed with. Did you know it's hard to trace IPs when they're blocked? Leave that to us. We found a way to break through the blocks on the districts though, but it's up to you guys. Level one. Ready to start generating and get this place back together? Well that's not ominous, is it? THE NPCS What blocks? What the hell is he talking about? It becomes clear the moment you take your first step and a strange, almost invisible ripple appears around you. This ripple might happen right at midnight, or it might occur before or after the time. But not long after daybreak on the 3rd of June, every Retrospec user will notice a few things. The only people they'll be able to notice around the city are those who are also on the Retrospec networks. Friends and family members without the app seemingly have disappeared before your very eyes. No matter where you go to look for them, they've vanished. Animals are still around, and items still exist, but it's just the people who are lacking. The strange thing, however, is that even if you can't see them you can still hear them. Maybe you can hear your parents making dinner in the kitchen, or you can hear your professor lecturing about the importance of showing up for your finals on time. Your annoying co-worker is definitely doing that tapping thing with his fingers against your desk and the worst part is that they can't see or hear you. No matter how hard you try to get their attention, it's as if you aren't there. Trying to call them is a futile effort. Calls are distorted and disconnected, dropping after a few rings. Calling to those outside of the city, however...works? It works! After months and months of being disconnected from the outside world, calls will go through and last for a grand total of 90 seconds. Toward the end, a low, growling noise will filter through the line and distort the phone call and repeated calls to the same person will grow increasingly hard to understand. But hey. At least that's one thing fixed. THE MAINFRAME As of last month, several Retrospec users repainted most of the city into existence but there are still pieces missing! The brushes haven't gone away and while the task of reviving the city is easier now, everything that's been brought back remains a bit unusual. Purple bushes are bright purple and the orange roads are dusted with dirt and drips of colored paint. A lot of the large buildings such as the hospital, the university and more are back though and will need their interiors re-organized. Take some time out of your day to restructure the world around you. You'll never know when you'll need it. THE SOUL ENERGY As you begin to notice the veil that separates you from those not on the app, it becomes quite clear that there are two sides of the same city. Everything you know and love is still in one place, but as you hear the NPCs nearby you'll find that there's no way to get near them. Or is there...? Not long after the first text message, another message from Zee is sent along. The fastest and easiest way to change what layer you're existing on is to generate the energy. It's hard to explain in its entirety but working together will produce the energy needed to bring them back to this layer. It's not a drain or anything, but only you guys can do it. You know. Given where you exist right now. Your energy is staying with you, but the levels will change enough to break down the veil. It's not the same as extracting. We're not doing that here. Pick a district and pick a friend or six. I believe in you guys. Not long after the text, six different links will pop up in your messages, one for each of the districts in the city. Clicking on the links will bring up a map of each district, and each map will have a list attached to it. TRIBUNAL TERRACE Over in Tribunal Terrace, the buildings have mostly been repainted but the NPCs aren't present. With the need to reorganize and bring back the police, the fire department and more, there's a list of tasks assigned as written by Zee. -Volunteer with ReVA to create a community event such as a dance, party or other. -Create decorations and hang them in the children's ward at the hospital. -Clean up Recollé Square. -Discuss crimes or wrong-doings you've committed in this life or the past with one other person. -Solve a mystery. -Talk to the dead. -Take care of the firestation dogs. Suggestions, mostly. Leaving this up to you what any of this means, but go forward with good intentions to accomplish them. APPRASSAGE Several Retrospec users might be stressing about finals and graduations, but it's hard to worry too much when their teachers and classmates are missing. Though the buildings and landscape might be hit and miss, there's a list of tasks assigned as written by Zee. -Help someone study for their finals. -Teach someone a new skill and learn a new skill in return. -Tell someone your favorite story. -Repaint the stars and go stargazing. -Paint a self-portrait and have someone analyze it. -Discuss a dark period in your life and create a display based on that. -Gather the horses and chocobos and have a race. -Guide a tour through one of the museums. Suggestions, mostly. Leaving this up to you what any of this means, but go forward with good intentions to accomplish them. CHATA Even with everything a total mess, there's always time to be kind and try to better humanity. Not sure where to start? Don't worry, there's a list of tasks assigned as written by Zee. -Help someone with their grocery shopping. -Donate items to the orphanage. -Attend to the animals at the animal shelter and hold an adoption drive. -Steal from the rich and give to the poor. -Start a food fight. -Reorganize Freshens and move items to different levels of the store. -Create a Kickstarter for a new business and pitch your ideas to people. -Start a petition about something you're passionate about, collect several signatures. Suggestions, mostly. Leaving this up to you what any of this means, but go forward with good intentions to accomplish them. VIEA VILLAGE Home is where the heart is, but what is it that you love and value? There's a list of tasks assigned as written by Zee. -Plant flowers in front of someone's house. -Create and organize a game day in Hollingberry Field. -Set up a stall at the Farmer's Market and sell your goods. -Do yardwork for a neighbor. -Egg someone's house. -Talk about your family and why you love them with someone. -Do something nice for your neighbor like give them flowers or bake them cookies. -Tell someone about a family secret you've been keeping. Suggestions, mostly. Leaving this up to you what any of this means, but go forward with good intentions to accomplish them. ENPRISE Businesses and empires, items and wares. Enprise's important for those with big goals and big dreams. While those dreams may be on hold, there's a list of tasks assigned as written by Zee. -Host a fashion show. -Return wild animals to their cages in the zoo. -Swim with the sharks. -Volunteer to deliver packages around the city for the day. -Rent/buy paintball equipment and start a city-wide game, tagging buildings as you go. -Analyze your dreams/nightmares with at least one other person. -Engage in a duel of your choice with someone. -Pamper someone. Anyone. Any way you can think of. -Have a public debate with someone. Suggestions, mostly. Leaving this up to you what any of this means, but go forward with good intentions to accomplish them. TISSE Entertainment makes the world go round and there's plenty of entertainment to be found in Tisse. Even if it's just you in the city now, there's a list of tasks assigned as written by Zee. -Complete the Big Bang Burger challenge (or try, anyway.) -Buy a dozen cupcakes from the Confectionary and hand them out to strangers. -Teach a dance lesson at Dancinerate...any kind of dance. -Beat someone at a video game at the Hubbub Hub Arcade. -Steal someone's coffee from the pick-up counter at a coffee shop. -Write a poem about your feelings and share it with someone. -Create a work of art using whatever you can find. -Create a large game of crack the whip at the Stardust, skating and convincing people to skate with you. -Buy someone a drink...anyone...they can even be underaged. (Not that we're condoning that, but trust me, it'll work.) -Host a performance of any kind at the Atrium. -Perform one embarrassing stunt in public. Suggestions, mostly. Leaving this up to you what any of this means, but go forward with good intentions to accomplish them. What do "suggestions" mean here? It means that while these are ideas, things that push and challenge you and encourage building bonds will work the best. But never fret. There are things outside to do, too. OUTSIDE The paint-thinner monsters from last month begin to phase out throughout the month, but several of the creatures around the perimeters of the city begin to move inward, starting to appear around the places that aren't quite filled in yet. Areas that aren't fully painted or areas where tasks aren't being attended to are more prone to being infested with monsters that will need to be defeated. The roads to Pesgare, Respatrum, Bosuma and Magatus seem to have vanished and any attempts to leave will reroute citizens into the woods or into the ocean. The subway tunnels underground are empty and silent, the sound of trains running echoing through them but no trains come. Working together to clear out these areas and ensure that certain areas are receiving high enough energy readings is just as important as completing the above tasks. But then what..? ZEE I know, doing tasks for us is getting old, but given your connection to the world you're the only ones with the right kind of souls to generate the energy field needed to wear down the blocks. Work together. Get to know each other. Make this city your own. And report to me as you cross off tasks so I can track the readings of the district. We'll bring them back. Promise. Welcome to recolle's June log! The information above provides loose guidelines of things occurring this month, so please feel free to make your own prompts based on these. You are also free to create your own logs and inbox threads. Characters will not be able to travel to places outside of the city at this time! As you do these tasks or tasks similar to these, please report them to the correct headers on the JUNE OBJECTIVE REPORTING post in the mod journal! This will help us track what's being done and how it will impact the city for June and July. As a reminder, you may qualify for a memory freebie in June by threading out one district-objective with at least one person you haven't threaded with before. This thread will qualify when there are at least five consecutive comments from you. Finally, if you turn in six threads (one for each district) with your character performing an objective, you will qualify for a memory freebie! The threads must be at least 5 consecutive comments long and at least two of them should be with people you have not threaded with before. Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here.

Comments

[dejerate]

Discovering the missing npcs.

[Namely, Yuu's foster father. Yuu might not initially think much of it, but when he can't seem to even get in touch with his foster dad, that is when he gets worried and confused. So he can be found running along the streets, heading to certain cafes or shops the other frequents, checking at family or friend's houses, his father's work at the military.

At one point he probably takes a break to check and glare at his phone again.]

Where is he? The hell is going on?

TRIBUNAL TERRACE:

Hospital:

[Yuu does have a weakness for kids, in spite of his more tsundere and prickly nature at times. So naturally, when he got the chance to do something to try help cheer some sick kids up, he was going to help. While he might not be the most artistic, he at least tries. Even going in to ask the kids what decorations they wanted and helping them make it.

He might not be the most stable in his balancing to attempt to hang the decorations up though....]

Crimes & Wrong-Doings:

It's not like getting into a fist fight is all that serious. Teachers just over react. Besides, it isn't as bad as some other stuff.

[Like his memories of his other life. Which involved literally killing. Stabbing vampires, turning opponents to....er...salt. Yeah. This might be a rather strange and er, 'heavy' conversation if he really does open up more.]

APPRASSAGE:

Stargazing:

[Sure. He might need....a really really really tall ladder. But he tries, in helping to paint in the stars. Not that he thought about the stars amid it all initially, but. Still, even they seem to need to be painted back in. His is a green paintbrush but even so he wants to try help out.

Once he thinks he is done though, he steps back to admire the handiwork of....bright green stars. But still, it's an attempt, as he unintentionally gets some paint on his bangs and cheek as he wipes at his forehead and face.]

I think it's coming along alright?

CHATA:

Orphanage:

[Yuu does have a habit of visiting local orphanages. Usually at least once when he is moving away again in donating things. But this was another good excuse to go through his belongings and find anything that he didn't want, use or fit anymore. He has a bag of stuff he proceeds to empty out in front of the kids, showing them what he had, demonstrating any toys or technology to them, suggesting which child might fit this top or those pants.]

Animal Shelter:

[Playing with a puppy and petting the kittens doesn't seem like that bad of a job. Even if that also involves helping feed them and cleaning up after them. Though Yuu might pause when one kitten climbs up and seems to perch on his head amid his mess of hair, the kitten blending in with being that same dark coloured fur and green eyes.]

Oi, careful there.

[Yuu awkwardly tries to reach up, not wanting to startle the kitten and make him fall off, but also not wanting to ignore it in allowing this since he isn't sure this is okay for the kittens to be doing.]

I forget how much they climb.

VIEA VILLAGE:

Flowers:

Buttercups are cute. I know roses are popular though. Or maybe these ones?

[He isn't that big into gardening himself. As much as he does appreciate the greenery and colour. He's just moved so much he's used to not having his own and so he's new to this. But he wants to try help his neighbour in planting something nice outside in their garden, so. Here he is at the garden center trying to decide on what to get.

Or maybe this is later on and he is getting his jeans and hands dirty in the soil as he digs and plants the flower afterwards.]

ENPRISE:

Dreams and nightmares:

Do we have to analyse them? With mine, it's from the app, so. I don't think it really needs to be analyzed when I already know what I did.

[It's kind of hard not to have nightmares when you have memories of losing control, and of stabbing your best friend. Who also happens to be your best friend in this life too. Yeah. It's. Complicated.]

TRIBUNAL TERRACE

[reaquila]

Yeah, I know how it is. I've been in your position before too. It only gets bad when people start using weapons.

[He lets out a sigh.]

Teachers ALWAYS overreact. They're so quick to judge a situation without even knowing all the details. I hate it. Don't you too?

[dejerate]

I've never really used one. I mean, I have one from Retrospec, a sword, but that's different.

[In that he hasn't actually used it against someone in a fight. Not here anyway. Not in this life. His other one, well. That was a different story.]

It's their job though, right? To stop fights and keep us safe or whatever while they have us during the day.

[reaquila]

Oh yeah, you got that sword, right? How is it?

Are you finding it hard to use?

[It'll take a while to adjust to some weapon you don't know too much about. ]

Teachers can only do so much to help. When the going gets rough they run with their tails in between their legs.

[dejerate]

I'm not having trouble with it now. I've remembered how to use it. And it doesn't have the demon sealed in it yet? So.

[So at least he is not yet at risk of being possessed. And is no longer a threat to himself in trying to wield it and cutting himself or something when he was initially learning to wield the weapon.]

I know Mr Nelson has the app at least but. Not all the teachers do, to understand all this happening outside of school in interfering with our studies.

[reaquila]

Wait.


[ Yuu, you're killing him here. Nanashi's looking at you in utter disbelief. ]


What the fuck? "It doesn't have the demon sealed in it?"

Is there supposed to be a monster living in there?

[ He is concerned. ]

viea village

[drizzle]

Hmmm. I never knew you found buttercups to be cute.

[Ava wasn't much of a gardener neither. Always only seeing flowers from a distance, be it at the parks, tennis courts, or formal parties, she has always admired them. With a soft smile forming, while bending down next to him, with a curious tilt of her head.]

Are you thinking of giving these flowers to anyone in particular? Like a cute girl or boy, perhaps?

[Hey, if Yuu accepted a friend request recently, then he may have found a cute person to crush on, right?]

[dejerate]

What? They're tiny and yellow. They're cute. I mean. Not that I know much about flowers or whatever but -- eh? It's one of the tasks. If all it takes to get my foster dad back is giving the neighbour some flowers, I'll take that any day. It's nothing like that, Ava.

[Though probably he should have figured others might read more into this. A teenager interested in buying flowers. A teenage boy no less.]

[drizzle]

Oh, boo, that's too bad.

[About the whole not having a special person to give the flowers to, not about his dad going missing. She can't help sigh a little at that.]

How many are you thinking of giving away? I'll help, even if I don't have much of a gardening finger in my body. [A light chuckle.] Are you okay with that?

[dejerate]

I don't know. Not like Zee was exactly specific on how many things to plant in the neighbour's garden. I guess I'll just grab two or three? But sure. I'm not gonna complain about help. Even if we're probably as new to this as each other.

[This was. Well, not really normal, but. As close to? As things got with the app? Just spending time with family. That's what everyone does, usually, right? Yuu's just missed out on that some with moving around so much. But this is...this should be nice? Fun?]

[drizzle]

Sounds good. I'll pick two or three more too.

[All said with more enthusiasm at the thought of doing something fun and distracting with someone very dear to her. Family was just as important to her too. At the very least, to those she considered to be part of it are.

Looking through the flowers Yuu was already looking at, she begins to wonder.]

Do you think I should pick different flowers to go along with your adorable buttercups? What do you think will look good with yellow? I'm not really good with colors or all that fancy flower language.

[She only knows they exist. That's about it. Even if Zee didn't get specific instructions, she does want to try to make a nice flower set for Yuu and the neighbors receiving them. Maybe adding extra effort will be enough to complete the task with more energy or whatever is needed to get everyone back.]

Crimes & Wrong-Doings

[sanephiroth]

[Zephyr can't help but chuckle a little. High school. It feels like such a long time ago]

They are responsible for your safety.

[He points out.]

[dejerate]

Sure, but still. It's just. I mean, there's way worse things to worry about than getting punched in the nose.

[And teachers only have so much power in stepping in with circumstances outside of school that still affect their students. Even outside taking the app and those memories and abilities into account on top of normal life for kids these days.]

I dunno if we're even counting stuff from -- with Retrospec as well, if we are supposed to talk about that too.

[sanephiroth]

It does sound like the other life qualities. [He frowns slightly] But what I remember is not pleasant, so I'll say that I beat up a bully after learning kendo. [Now that's a fun memory] I was never caught.

[dejerate]

I guess it would still count, our other life. Kendo though, huh? My cousin got me into aikido a few months back. As for me, I could go on about scuffles I got into once or twice here but I dunno that would even count. All that was was a fist to their nose. Nothing all that serious.

[So maybe something from his memories? From that other life? Well. He had already told Mika. And this was important. Supposed to help them get everyone back, right? So. Yuu shouldn't hold back.]

I stabbed my best friend. My memories, from Retrospec, I mean.

[Not backstabbed as in talking about Mika. Literally ran him through with his Cursed Gear, his sword that had a demon sealed inside to help Yuu fight against the vampires. Yeah. It's complicated.]

[sanephiroth]

[How many people actually have decent memories to recover in this city? He nods. He's in no place to judge nor need to. It's the other life.]

That must have been unpleasant to remember. Was he of sound mind then?

Stargazing

[strawberrypunch]

[Tatsuma's here with gold paint, looking up at the green stars. Huh...]

It's a nice color.

[dejerate]

The green? Yeah, I know it isn't exactly the normal....gold? Yellow? Or white? That stars usually seem to be from Earth but. This is what I can manage. So. Green it is.

[Since green is his favourite colour, or one of, so. This was the paint he got from Retrospec and all. Still, it probably would mean the sky was more colourful at least? More than it used to be, anyway. Sort of.]

I'm probably messing up some constellation but. I'm trying to help?

[strawberrypunch]

Mm. I think it looks fine.

[It's new! And colorful. He really does mean it, green stars are rad.]

Want some help?

[dejerate]

If you want, I won't turn down help. Something like this, with the however many billions of stars, this is gonna take all of us a while.

[Or so Yuu figures anyway. Even with a few of them working on it. Even if this was just specific to Recolle, presumably. It's still a whole city to try and cover. To try and paint back the stars.]

[strawberrypunch]

Okay.

[Hmm, let's see... He doesn't have a ladder, but there's a nice tree nearby. Crouching down slightly, he jumps and-

Lands. On the top???

He then settles in place like this is perfectly normal and begins dipping his paintbrush into his paint to begin replacing those stars.]

Crimes and Wrong-doings

[littlestbaskerville]

[Lily gives him a very serious look before leaning back in her seat and puffing her cheeks.]

Then what's worse, smart guy?

[dejerate]

Lots of things. I bet you can think of some. I could name plenty from what I remember of my other life.

[Not that he wants to confess to some little girl. There is something to be said for his memories. How they give him nightmares, the things he did. But if this was to help. If this was to get his foster father and the others back somehow. Even if he isn't sure how this was supposed to do anything to get them back.]

[littlestbaskerville]

[She's really curious now but then runs fingers over her the brand on her face.]

I don't remember much from mine...but I woke up with this one day.

[She got a rude awakening that memories aren't always good.]

[dejerate]

Your cheek? It almost looks a little like....?

[Like the marks he'd had. From that forest. And in his memories. Ashuramaru. But he shouldn't just immediately jump to that conclusion in her case. Should he? He's not sure. Hers seem more black in comparison to his which were more a redish purple.]