(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

[justchords]

(he should really just walk away. just walk away, not get involved in anymore insane bullshit, especially not from a guy who looks like he got kicked out of hot topic for being too edgy.

but this is apollo, and apollo is dumb and also curious, and has a lot of questions. plus he's a lawyer, he needs to get used to asking clients about crimes and such. so. he takes a seat in front of malik. why him.) Before you say anything, I'm going to tell you right now I'm studying to be a defense attorney, so telling me crimes might make me want to never, ever represent you.

[godcards]

[ he actually got kicked out of hot topic for stealing pleather wristbands ]

For what it's worth, I don't want a junior lawyer to defend me anyway. I want someone who would actually win.

[justchords]

(well that is just rude, like extremely rude. and actually, apollo wants to comment on that! he opens his mouth to retort, explain how he's almost done with his law program in school, but...

well, he realizes malik has a point. his hair spikes visibly deflate, and apollo closes his mouth with a dejected nod.) That's... fair, yeah. So, what's your relationship with crime, then?

[godcards]

I was recently convicted for a felony, but before that... Well, let's say I'm not on the best of terms with the police force. [ He shrugs, almost too casually for what he's discussing. ]

[justchords]

(apollo was expecting something simple, like shoplifting or joyriding. normal young adult stuff. not uh. that.

the shock is evident on his face as he even wonders if he should be here, as if talking to malik is somehow illegal, but. well, apollo believes in knowing the whole story before getting the facts.) How is being a convicted felon not the worst thing with the police force?

[godcards]

Because I don't remember it. Although I didn't say that it wasn't the worst... Just that the police aren't exactly fond of me, even prior to that. We have a history.

[ Because that's what happens when you're a bored, angry youth. ]

[justchords]

(bored, angry youths just do vandalism or steal candy, be a normal fucking kid, malik.) Wait, when you say you don't remember, do you mean you were unconscious for... whatever happened?

[godcards]

[ Well he has done those things also. ]

Something like that. Half of me was.

[ He shrugs. Normally he'd be difficult for the sake of it, but he's telling the truth this time: he doesn't have any real recollection of what happened. ]

[justchords]

(a sort of step in the sort of right direction.) I... wait, I'm sorry, I'm lost. Half of you was unconscious...? How is that possible?

(apollo does have a few other questions, but those might be veering into far too personal for apollo to question right now.)

[godcards]

[ Malik sets his jaw, he's tense, he doesn't like getting into this because it never goes well.

But he's trying to get better, and that means he has to talk. ]

Retrospec decided that I needed an additional personality, and he is the one who was behind the wheel of that whole... thing.

[justchords]

(apollo only raises his eyebrows in surprise, but there's no judgment or fear in his eyes as malik speaks. he can't very well be judgmental of future clients to their face, so this i bedside manner practice to him.) Hm... and I'm guessing since you're still on bad terms, that you don't want to go for any "mentally unstable" routes to lighten any sentences?

[godcards]

Already did. In return, I was automatically declared guilty and put in an aslyum... The alternative was to drag it out in court and end up in prison, so my choice was obvious. I can't say it did anything for the other me, though.

this is me, pulling lawyer nonsense out of my ass

[justchords]

(nani the fuck.) That... is not due process. Mental instability is supposed to be a plea to keep you out of jail. And that you're legally supposed to seek medical attention. They're supposed to talk about what kind of mental issues could cause something like that, too, a case needs to be made for it.

(and apollo is genuinely angry now.)

[godcards]

[ A common issue Malik deals with is his pathological urge to bend the truth; what Apollo is saying did occur, but if Malik can contort the facts so he's more of a sympathetic victim than the villain, well, that works out in his favor, doesn't it? To that end, it really doesn't help that he was mentally checked out half of the time at the very least, even when medical and legal professionals were explaining the various processes Malik would have to go through. Indeed, a plea bargain was offered to him, he was kept out of jail and did get the medical help he needed. That doesn't mean, however, that it was his first choice or what he wanted. He spent two months in a psychiatric care facility, feeling just as trapped an hopeless as if he had gone to jail. As far as he was concerned, there as little difference in how they functioned. The psych ward just happened to be smaller and they'd inject sedatives into your ass if there was an outbreak of violence. So it goes.

Malik is surprised to see someone sympathetic on his behalf, even if it's more the (supposed) legal misteps that fired him up instead of Malik's being. ]

Yeah, well, take it up with them then. There were plenty of people working on the case, I'm sure they have more information than I do. I'm a minor, they think I don't know anything aside from how to commit crime.

[justchords]

(it's not just that he's upset at laws being bent and possibly broken (though that is a large part of it), but apollo is genuinely sympathetic to malik's circumstances. he's the most troubled a trouble teen can possibly be, and even if he committed horrible crimes (that he still doesn't know). but a person, and a minor, no less, who's clearly struggling with things he doesn't understand and is suddenly thrown into a process as stressful as the courtroom and prison?

it's just not right. it's what apollo stands against. his expression is a mix of righteous frustration at malik's situation, while also maintaining a certain level of concern and sympathy.) And that's discrimination, this whole police force sounds like a complete farce. Any decent lawyer worth his badge would never have stood for something like this.

(he lets out a frustrated huff at the very thought of it all, before easing up a little. after all, this is about malik, not just what he went through. if he's going to be any sort of a decent lawyer, he needs to ask the right questions.) Listen, I know we've only been talking for maybe ten minutes, but to me? You just sound like someone who needed help and not a punishment. If you're comfortable with me asking, what were the charges?

[godcards]

[ Malik is surprised - and obviously so - at this change in attitude. While their previous interactions were brief and irritating, Malik certainly didn't expect anything beyond that. He actually fumbles for a minute in his utter shock of someone caring about his experience. He's still wary at Apollo's motives, but his honest disbelief is overshadowing it. ]

Um... Kidnapping and attempted murder. Second degree, I think... I don't know what the difference is. You can probably look it up if you're a lawyer, even a junior one... I can't remember all the details.

[justchords]

(the disbelief and shock aren't missed to apollo, and he's filled with a red hot moment of has NO ONE done anything to try and help him?

it passes soon enough, once he hears the charges, and those are... certainly not good. apollo's eyes widen in surprise, and he's relatively relieved he took up criminal law. it's certainly going to help him here and now. real life experience or something.) Those are some pretty heavy charges. Second degree attempted only means that nothing was premeditated. Which makes sense, given you said you had mental health issues. I mean, it certainly doesn't just erase what you did. You just sound like a kid with an attitude problem, but it's the other personality that has these criminal urges. And that's something a little tricky to deal with.

(he's making a mental note to study up on mental illnesses to see how they could be approached from a court setting later on down the line. in fact, he takes out a notepad to quickly jot that down.

while mumbling to himself and scribbling notes down, he glances back up at malik, waving his hand in a calming motion.) Oh, I'm not writing down any personal information about you. I just want to study up on things like this so I can better help people if I pass the bar exam.

(there is... another thing he wants to bring up, however. with his notepad tucked away, apollo leans over to be only a few inches closer to malik, his tone serious, yet soft.) To me, it sounds like you didn't get the care or representation you wanted, so I'm just going to ask you. What kind of care would you want? Because talking it over with a lawyer or specialized doctor could really help out in the long run.

[godcards]

[ Malik shrugs lamely. ]

I don't have anyone to pay for specialists or someone who might be decent, it doesn't really matter what I get. They're all the same anyway... They all see me as a bad kid, so their help is only going to go so far. Either that or you get self-righteous adults who just want to look good and smear it everywhere how good they are for helping someone who isn't.

I can't exactly say I'd want to deal with more legal proceedings or lawyers or doctors or anything ever again. I just want to stay out of jail and be left alone... The more people you get involved, that's just more people who think something is wrong with me and I should be locked up again.

[justchords]

(while he hums understandingly, realizing that the situation is more than daunting and trying for malik, he also has to look at this from a reasonable perspective.) I want you to know right now I understand what you're saying. Dealing with things like that can be draining, and sometimes leave you feeling worse than you did before. But, you also need to understand this is a problem, and it's not something you can just leave alone. I'm not your lawyer or your guardian, so really, this is me just being a nosy stranger. You can do it when you feel like you really should, on your own terms, but I would recommend at least researching trusted psychologists and lawyers who could offer genuine help.

[godcards]

[ He looks at Apollo incredulously. While the guy does seem optimistic, and not exactly like the other adults Malik had just described, he does find it hard to stay as positive about his situation. ]

No.

[ Yeah that's... that's it. That's all he got. ]