(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

[reaquila]

[ Nanashi lifts up a single crutch to indicate yes. ]

I can get around this just fine. Thanks for worrying. You're really nice.

What's your name? I'm Nanashi.

[ He doesn't know you.........but he'd like to be friends.]

[idolworship]

( awww... a cute kid )

I'm Miai. It's very nice to meet you, Nanashi.

I think it's pretty normal to worry . . . You really seemed like you might collapse. Basic kindness and courtesy is the easiest thing you can afford another person, isn't it?

[reaquila]

Yeah, it's nice to meet you Miai. Not everyone's friendly towards people they just meet.

[ He nods. ]

I was a little surprised?? Are you always like this?

[ Is Miai always so approachable? ]

[idolworship]

I am as far as I'm aware~? Now I'm worried about you for other reasons . . . Should I have a firm word with anyone bothering you?

( he's half-joking, but also... well, he knows not everyone is particularly nice, but miai is so deeply in the habit of being friendly that it's strange for him to acknowledge the fact that it's an uncommon thing. regardless, nanashi seems happy, so miai is satisfied, too.

they're rounding a corner, and tadah, the cafe! though miai seems to pause, briefly. )

Hmmm . . . The server can't see us, but I think I might be able to make us something in the kitchen. Are you in the mood for anything in particular?

( he kind of forgot about the no npcs thing until just now.... he was distracted being worried, )

[reaquila]

There used to be lots of people who bothered me before, but not anymore. It's okay.

[ Nanashi was so happy about the npcs disappearing, okay. It means he gets some breathing room and space. ]

Think you can whip us some coffee together? And maybe a light snack?

[That might be good and it'll be easy on his stomach. ]

[idolworship]

( oooh, that sounds concerning. miai doesn't know if nanashi refers to the npcs disappearing or if he just means his situation got better; the latter, of course, would be preferable. )

I don't mind being a listening ear, if you ever need it. But if things are better now, I can only be happy for you.

A coffee and snack should be easy to make, though. It'll just be a little bit, so why don't you find a table and rest for a bit? I get the sense you've earned it.

[reaquila]

[ It's a combination of both things really. His situation got better when everyone disappeared....oops. Nanashi nods and walks over to one of the table.

He slouches on the chair and looks absolutely exhausted. ]

I am so tired, holy shit. So about those nightmares I mentioned. [ Nanashi tilts his head over to the side and looks ast Miai. ]

I keep having dreams where I'm killed off every night. Kinda makes you not wanna sleep ever again.

[idolworship]

( as nanashi talks, miai sets to work on the coffee, looking up, though, when he mentions the nature of his nightmares. yikes. )

Mm, I would imagine... I'm sorry to hear it. Have you been stressed lately...? I feel if they're reoccurring, there ought to be a tangible cause behind it.

[reaquila]

I can name at least ninety things that keep me stressed throughout the week.

[He's pretty good about being honest. Nanashi finds it easier to talk to strangers than people he actually knows. This isn't hard for him at all.]

You're on Retrospec, right?

[That's a starting point.]

[idolworship]

( poor thing )

As of just recently, yes.

( coming over to set nanashi's on the table before him; careful, it's hot )

[reaquila]

Hey thanks.

[He doesn't pick it up right away. Nanashi waits for the coffee to cool down a bit.]

Retrospec is so garbage. Why the fuck do we even have to deal with that bullshit application? If we could delete it and live on with our lives, most of our troubles would go away in a flash.

[ONE CAN DREAM...]

[idolworship]

( go OFF king )

Of everyone I've talked to, that seems to be the general consensus.

( rifling through the kitchen, he starts pulling together stuff for a snack. half-croissant sandwiches maybe, since that seems quick and easy to make )

Are your memories what cause you stress? Or is it all— ( general gesture to the city around them, the chatter of the invisible npcs around them floating through the air ) —this sort of thing? The things that happen to the city?

[reaquila]

The memories are part of my stress, yeah. Everyone's in the same boat as us. It's really shitty. [Nanashi makes a pained expression and then sips his coffee.]

I had a bunch of issues with my family and school before this turned up. Life's kinda like that, isn't it? It keeps hitting you with all this crap you don't want.

[Gross.]

[idolworship]

Mm. Well, you're not wrong, really.

( because it's true. bright-eyed and optimistic as miai is, he can't deny he's had his own share of hardships, or that the suffering of others is any less real.

as he talks, he works. )

Even so, we keep on living. We have to find some way, then, to make it bearable. I try to break things down . . . it makes it easier to see things for what they are; makes them easier to deal with.

Well . . . my way of handling things might not be your way. But I think we're all just trying to make do, at the very least.

[reaquila]

My teachers in school told me to do that too. If there's something I don't understand then I should try to break it down. It's helped me a few times. I can't always rush ahead into a huge problem.

[ Useful advice. ]

Do you know anyone at Recolle High? I used to go there.

[idolworship]

Did you transfer?

( finally pouring himself his own coffee, he makes his way to where nanashi sits, placing a plate of mini half-croissant sandwiches across the table and taking his own seat across from him. )

Hmmmmm . . . As for me, unfortunately, I don't know anyone. It's a little embarrassing to admit now, but I never attended high school.

[reaquila]

I stopped attending because I had problems with bullies and the teachers. Now I'm just being home schooled.

[He didn't fit in so there was no point in staying.]

That's not embarrassing. You probably had something better to do, right?

[idolworship]

( he feels bad for nanashi for asking; it seems a shame for a kid his age to be so troubled.

leaning back in his chair, he takes a sip of his drink. )

Well, I'd left home before I ever entered high school, more or less. It's a bit hypocritical of me, I suppose, to say to break down your problems when I'd gone and done that, but . . . Sometimes I suppose it isn't wrong to leave, if there's something brighter over the horizon.

Are you happier now?

( now that he's homeschooled, that is )

[reaquila]

Yup! I'm a little happier now. I got away from some headaches in my life.

[ He tries to smile even though he is feeling so tired right now. ]

The nightmares won't stop though. Do you think it's because I haven't solved the issue completely?