recolle | (no subject)

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shit, you're right. Earlier this month I actually broke my leg because I fell down the stairs. It sucked. Guess that's what happens when the city looks like a kid's coloring book.

[Nanashi shakes his head in disbelief. The reality of their situation is so hard to swallow sometimes....he just doesn't know anymore.]

You didn't trip on anything weird or get hurt recently, did you Gar?

Yeah. I cut my foot on a broken bottle and I got this nasty infection that turned my foot green.

[He shakes his head in mock melancholy.]

...Then the rest of me, too.

It was pretty serious.

Huh? Is that why you're all green? I thought I was seeing things for a moment.

[Gar is not usually so green in the face, no.]

Fuck, that is pretty serious. Now you can tell people you're green in the face and it'll be literal.

Dude, really?

[Gar punches Nanashi lightly in the shoulder.]

I've been green for like, three months, man. Geez. And obviously not 'cause I cut my foot.

[He rolls his eyes slightly.]

...Wait, what was that about breaking your arm? You OK?

I'm just messing with you. You don't seem any different asides from your color.

[ It's still the same old Gar. That's cool! ]

Yeah, I'm fine. It just hurts a little but it's nothing too bad.

[ Nanashi makes some kind of dramatic pose to prove that he's okay. ]

Uh... huh.

[Gar waits a moment and then punches Nanashi again to see how much he flinches.]

You sure about that, bro? If you hurt yourself, you gotta go rest up.

[Oh my god why. Nanashi topples over and he's unable to get up after that.]

Hey, uh?? You mind lending me a hand up??

[Gar, take responsibility for this!! ]

...I think you should go in and rest some more, dude.

[After a few moments of prodding Nanashi with his foot he'll pull him back up.]

Sorry. You OK?

Right, I'll go rest more later so I don't repeat this incident again.

[He gets up and nods.]

It's cool. I should have just told you the truth. I'm sooo tired.

Tired?

...Did you have too much to drink? You get tired when you get drunk, right? Are you drunk? Are you gonna puke?

Sometimes? No, I'm not drunk. I can still see straight.

You're standing right in front of me.

[And he can still see how green you are, Gar. Nanashi thinks he's fine.]

Hold up your hand.

[Gar holds up a hand and holds up three fingers.]

How many fingers is that.

Five? You're holding up five fingers aren't you.

[He's wrong. Nanashi isn't seeing straight and Gar's fingers are...somehow multiplying.]

Are you gonna give me a high five with that?

[Gar pokes Nanashi in the forehead with his three fingers.]

Dude, you're drunk! You are totally drunk. Oh man how much of that stuff did you have?

Shit man. I'm too much of a lightweight. Had about four bottles?

[ Nanashi looks up with a vacant expression on his face. ]

That's two past my limit. How about you? You had some too. You aren't drunk yet, Gar?

C'mon, dude, I had half a bottle. If I got drunk from that, I'd have to like... pack up my bags and leave society forever 'cause that's just embarrassing.

[Gar hiccups a little bit anyway.]

A'ight, let's go inside, 'cause if anyone catches us like this, we're in soooooo much trouble.

That would be embarrassing. Just don't turn out like me and we'll be okay.

[Time to head inside. Nanashi walks unsteadily until they're finally indoors.]

I hope no one saw us.

[That was stupid, but hey? It counts for the task.]

...Yeaaaah, maybe we should like, get rid of these, too.

[Gar glances around before dumping their beer into a public waste receptacle. They're in...]

The town library's probably not the best place to be drunk, right? Let's go... hide in a study room.

Right, thanks. We can't leave evidence at the scene of the crime.

[ Good thinking. ]

The study room's perfect. No one's gonna look for us there. Let's get there as soon as we can.

[Gar pulls Nanashi down the hall and makes a sharp turn immediately into the first private room he can find.]

'K, you go... sleep it off or whatever, and I'm gonna be here in the corner trying not to think about getting arrested and put away forever if they catch us.

Sure, I'll sleep it off. I'm feeling kinda tired anyways.

[ He lets out a big yawn and rubs his eyes. ]

Is this the first time you've done something illegal?

I think skipping school is technically illegal.

[...]

I totally got street cred.

...Look, you just like... rest or whatever. I'll catch ya in a bit. I'll be outside.

[He gives a thumbs-up and slips out, still looking somewhat harried.]

((Sorry for the delay! I was away on vacation - but I think this might be a good place to end!))