(no subject)

[recollecters]

EVENT

REVERTED. "Every moment is a fresh beginning." - T. S. Eliot Happy July, Retrospecters. Can you believe it's been nearly a year since the city was under attack and several of you were pulled and lost in Unreality? Time sure does fly, doesn't it? But don't fret. It seems as though the city is in for a real vacation this time...rest easy. THE BEGINNING Recollé has been fully restored thanks to the effort of the citizens working to paint the city back to life and breaking down the layers separating the city from most of its non-Retrospec users. The sky is painted multiple colors (a permanent fixture, it seems) and some buildings and plants are extraordinary but everything appears to be in solid, functional condition. All buildings are where they should be. The roads are safe. And everyone around you appears to be preparing for one of two celebrations... THE 4TH OF JULY With the 4th of July tomorrow, citizens of Recollé are preparing for their own celebration. Much like last year, the city will be preparing with a large gathering at Peach Beach, food trucks aplenty, discounts at several stores in Tisse and Enprise, and of course at 9pm sharp the beautiful and historical fireworks display will begin. Street vendors sell glowsticks and lemonade as everyone gathers to watch the show in the sky. This year, however, while the fireworks display still shows events of the city's history citizens may recognize a few new scenes added to the show. As they look up into the sky they'll notice scenes depicting several of the events that have happened over the last year ranging from the Retrospec bingo games to the nightmare fog to the mistletoe bats and more. This year will also include scenery and displays from the four regions around the city. Perhaps you recognize these events a little too well. Care to share the tale with your neighbor? TANABATA It seems as though this week is a non-stop celebration though. As the 4th of July ends, several members of the city are hard at work in preparation for Tanabata. Celebrated on Saturday, July 7th this year, residents are hard at work decorating areas in Tribunal Terrace and Chata with massive colorful streamers and moving in several bamboo plants. Stalls are set up and prepared and carnival games line the sidewalks for citizens to play. On the evening of the 7th, all are invited to attend the celebration and try Japanese cuisine, play a few games, and most importantly write a wish on a colored sheet of paper to hang on one of the bamboo trees. No matter how citizens choose to celebrate at this festival, for anyone who makes a wish and hangs it on the tree they will soon receive a Retrospec ticket in their mailbox. While your wish may take time to be granted, good fortune is upon you and a free gift has been provided. THE NPCS NPCs are back in the city and all is well. They are unaware of the layers they were caught between but they are grateful and happy to see you again! Professors will be lenient of students whose finals have been delayed, employers will inquire about your vacation time, and your friends and family may constantly badger you for time and attention. Isn't that nice? In addition, citizens of the city may now place calls to members outside of the city for up to five minutes. While that pesky growling problem still appears at the tail end of all conversations, citizens will be able to reach out to anyone in the world and speak for that length of time. Let's just hope your loved ones aren't too bothered by the previous radio silence. THE DREAMS What was that about resting easy? Perhaps you won't be able to as well as you'd like. Though everything appears to be fine, the moment you close your eyes beginning on July 3rd, you may find yourself plagued by strange, unusual dreams. As you dream you'll find yourself experiencing everything from wild scenarios set in space or on a pirate ship to everyday, mundane interactions. Your dreams will reflect who you are, but...maybe in a different light. Perhaps your siblings aren't related to you in your dreams, or perhaps your hair is a different color. Maybe you find yourself dreaming about a whole different lifestyle than the one you currently possess. Why, you could even be one of the lucky ones and dream about those memories you've been receiving since you've joined the app. Then again, you'll also find that you aren't dreaming alone. When you look, you may find that someone has joined you. It's easy to move in dreams and intrude on other people's dreams. You may choose to watch the scene play out or find yourself able to change scenarios within these dreams. Some of you will recognize what is and isn't real, but...what is real anymore? Aren't you curious what it all means? The moment you awake, however, these dreams will fade away and simply be dreams. THE QUESTS If you're looking for a way to pass the time and bring a little adventure to your life, a new feature on the Retrospec app is the quest hotline! By submitting a request, Retrospec will generate a new task for you to accomplish either in the city or around one of the four regions. While Retrospec cannot claim that all tasks will be exciting, all tasks given are important to the functionality of the city. Or perhaps you're interested in exploring Mementos or Tartarus...? Just what are these new places anyway? Strange. Happy questing! THE REGIONS Travel is available once more for the regions outside of the city, though do watch out for the common monsters that still linger between districts. It will take three hours by boat southward to Pesgare, an hour underground eastward to Respatrum, two hours west via horseback to Bosuma and seven hours via driving north to Magatus. Depending on where you travel though you may find some surprises waiting for you. Fishing season is at its prime in Pesgare and it's the perfect place for a seaside getaway this summer. The region remains untouched and stable, and the economy is thriving once more thanks to the repairs after their tsunami and the work of Retrospec users. In Respatrum, the workers in the mines don't seem to mind the heat and continue crafting and creating. Anyone who ventures into these parts will be put to work, but may be rewarded with small tokens and hospitality from the natives of this region. Bosuma, however, is a little different. The Swamp Witch is nowhere to be found though the forest is alit with bright, blooming flowers, strange multicolored animals and friendly natives from a nearby village in the woods. Monsters lurk the deeper parts of the woods, but one would actively have to go looking for them. But should one linger in this region for too long, they may soon discover that they'll start to see things...not just things, but people. Vivid, life-like forms of people you've seen in your memories will appear before you even if you're unaware of who they are. They seem to beckon you to come closer, happy to see you and encouraging you to explore the forest further. Some of these forms may engage in combat if the relationship you remember is a hostile one. Should you follow or fight them, however, you will soon find yourself lost in the woods and it may take days to return to the city. Do keep sight of what's real, won't you? Finally, over in Magatus, for anyone who has ventured there before they may be expecting the snowy mountains and ski lodge. However, it's summer! Snow isn't fit for the summer and as residents approach the region they'll come to find that the ice-capped mountains have been replaced with cliffs, sand dunes and a desert-esque climate. The iced-over lake is now perfect for swimming and further exploration will lead you to a path in the mountains that's the perfect height for cliff-jumping into waters below. This is the perfect region for you outdoorsy, camping types. Just be careful of the scorpions and rattlesnakes out there. THE CITY It's summer vacation everywhere. How are you spending your days? Maybe it isn't such a bad idea to listen to Joanne and plan your days with fun and exciting ventures. Parties and meetings and spending time with your friends...it sounds nice, doesn't it? Even if some of you may notice your friends seem...off. The city is peaceful. Everything seems to be calm and safe, so much that you may not even notice the difference at first. It all begins in mid-July though. One moment you're sitting in a café and the next you realize you're wearing an apron and you feel as though you should be working behind the counter. One moment you're sitting in your bedroom and the next you look up and notice that the items on your wall have changed. These little hallucinations are minimal and only last a few moments, but they will begin to increase as the month goes on and leading straight into August. But hey. It's probably nothing to worry about. Welcome to recolle's July 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. Regarding Tanabata! If you would like to claim a free 10-20 point item, please head to the regains page and submit as normal! Please indicate that it is a Tanabata freebie. Characters are free to travel to one of the four regions this month (Pesgare, Respatrum, Bosuma, Magatus), but keep in mind the effects/changes as listed above. As a reminder, you may qualify for an additional freebie this month by threading out a dream sequence with at least one person experiencing a new AU! This thread must be at least five consecutive comments from you. Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here. Be sure to review the mods' question thread on the plotting post for important information as well!

Comments

[belowaverage]

[A: Tanabata]
[Recolle has a sizable Japanese-American population. It's never seemed weird to Shinji that they celebrate Tanabata here - especially since this is the only country he's celebrated the holiday in.

Right now, he's looking through all of the wishes hung on the tree. When he was little he couldn't reach most of them, but as a teenager, he's easily able to check even the ones that are higher.]

...Wishing for a thousand dollars, really?

[Also, if you're a tiny person he might offer to help you hang your wish up.]

[B: dreamsharing, recolle ver.]
[Shinji doesn't usually dream of being a little kid again, so it's weird how many dreams he's had lately of being a small child.

Maybe he's sneaking onto a suspicious person's ship in Pesgare, and you're the one accompanying him. Maybe you're both trying to climb up on top of an airship, and instead of the captain showing up to keep him from doing that, you might feel like climbing up too.

Whatever it is, instead of the teenager you may or may not know, you're here with an elementary schooler. Weird.]

[C: dreamsharing, canon death ver. w/ nsfw image]
[This, though? This he's had nightmares about for the better part of a month.

Shinji leans against a wall made of seaweed and observes two people. One is... himself, in a school uniform. And one is -

Actually, is that Sakura Tohsaka? Their faces are the same, but Sakura usually has pants. And hands.

Shinji knows this dream well enough that when he glances over and sees you, he knows you're not naturally a part of it.]

You might want to cover your eyes.

[He doesn't mean because Meltlilith isn't wearing a decent outfit.]

[D: wildcard]
[I'm available at Misheard for plotting! Or just hit me with something.]

C

[promisedyou]

[Mio finds herself frowning and even though she doesn't know who this is, she doesn't exactly like being told what to do.]

And why exactly should I cover my eyes? [She's not bothered by Melt's... outfit at all, actually.]

[belowaverage]

Because I get stabbed in this memory. It's super gross, you don't want to see it.

[Shinji tries to sound casual when talking about his own death, but he can't quite manage it.

Meltlilith speaks. Her voice is the same as Sakura's, if Mio's ever heard it, but the tone is much crueler.]

…you annoy me. You’re no more than a worm, but your ability to irritate is mature. But…the fact that you’ve appeared before me means you’ve prepared yourself, doesn’t it? Or are you going to plead for your life? If you apologize in tears I don’t mind sparing you. Though to be clear, this time I’ll make you into a nano virus, smaller than a mite.

[Memory Shinji responds, much more relaxed than his 'real' self.]

Hah, no way. Act like the king of draining as much as you like. I mean, you’ve got a dull way of thinking. You act cool, but at your core you’re, I don’t know, slow, unrefined? That’s why the person you like avoids you. Ahh, what an embarrassment. Getting ignored after chasing after her so much, doesn’t it hurt? If it were me, I’d kill myself in shame!

[promisedyou]

I'll turn around if you don't want me to see it, but a stabbing is honestly not the worst way to die.

[She says those words just as casually. While she's heard Sakura's voice once before and Mio does recognize it, she's also rather indifferent.]

... Is she a yandere, though? Is that why she's killing you?

[Oh my god]

[pronounces]

[ did you call for one (1) tiny person because here he is. despite having a new au of his own, nazuna has not grown even an inch, which means he's kind of struggling to get his own tag up on the tree.

he seems awfully determined to do it himself, though, one cheek puffed out. his wish says for hanachin to stay happy at his job, though he has three more tucked into the sash of his yukata, one for each sibling.

now if he could just get them on this-- ] Shtupid tree--

[ grumble grumble ]

[belowaverage]

[Shinji can't help but smile, seeing Nazuna trying so hard to get his wishes stuck up there.]

Need any help?

[Today, Shinji is the niichan. Even if Nazuna is still older than him.]

[pronounces]

[ look it's really hard being five feet tall. ]

I can do it! [ no he can't. don't listen to him. he's on his absolute tippytoes now, wobbling on his geta, about three seconds from ending up with a bloody nose from slamming his face into the tree trunk. ]

a

[physix]

It's a normal wish. [Akane's not judging. ]

Humanity's desire for gold and wealth knows no bounds.

What would you do with a thousand dollars? Humor me for a bit.

[belowaverage]

Put it towards college. A thousand dollars isn't actually that much, when you think about it.

[College is soon and intimidating. His options are limited since he's probably not going anywhere out of the city, unless Pesgare has a college or something.]

[physix]

That is a wise investment. [She nods.]

Indeed. A thousand dollars can be spent in a second if you're careless.

Education's always important. Are you going to school now?

[She doesn't know about Shinji's education plan. Tell her about it.]

a I feel like I'm being called out here

[cardcaptured]

[Tanabata wasn't exactly new to Xiaolang either, as Hong Kong had it's own version of the legend of the star crossed lovers. The customs for this particular festival were new to him, but it didn't stop him from participating all the same, quietly happy there was something familiar to him beneath all of this.

... still, all that said, it was hard to partake in the most important part of the festival, when he was too short to do it properly. It was a frustrating reminder of his youth, even if he's grown quite a bit over the past year, and he's just... going to glare at the tree, with no small amount of annoyance, as he attempts once more to reach one of the talker branches. He's not about to lose to this stupid thing...!

maybe just a little

[belowaverage]

Need any help?

[Xiaolang is responsible for his age, but he's still a kid, and he's easy to annoy with things like reminders of his height.

Shinji can't resist. He only gently bullies kids, so that's as much as he'd intentionally annoy Xiaolang anyway.]

....... was that another short joke

[cardcaptured]

[He scowls up at Shinji for a moment, still fairly prickly about his height sabatoging him in such a way, and he's very close to telling him no, he's fine, he can manage this dumb tree himself-- but then he reconsiders. The tanzaku in his hands-- one maple leaf, one cherry blossom-- held very dear wishes for him, and he didn't want to risk them falling off the branches by being crowded with so many others.]

... I can manage.

But... [And a bit of color blooms on his cheeks, embarrassed to be asking as much] If you can bend a couple of the branches a little lower, that would make things a little easier.

C

[lienhearts]

[...What the hell is she wearing?

Well, anyway, Theo leans against the wall himself with a grimace.]

That bad, huh?

[belowaverage]

[No one knows, Theo.]

If you're into watching teenagers get skewered, go ahead and watch.

[He's used to needling Theo about stuff over the network. That's familiar and easy, and his voice doesn't shake even if he's going to witness himself die again.]

[lienhearts]

Not really...

[Seriously not really...]

...But ignoring it doesn't really help either, does it?

[Still, his gaze isn't... precisely on the scene in front of him, more the peripheral, because jesus he's already seen a corpse (or two) and he's not in a hurry to continue seeing more.]

b

[me_matey]

Ahoy, lil' matey!

-The captain who'd put the idea into his head wasn't really the one saying that. Nor was it Satsuki Hojo, his cousin's best friend, either. No, despite the propensity for orange, he'd definitely never seen that outfit in his life. Even the massive anchor swung over her shoulders was different... Everything was a little different.-

Though, I don't remember granting you permission to come aboard... So maybe the better word for you is stowaway.

[spirithacker]

[It's a weird outfit, but it seems to fit her... massive anchor and all.]

...You aren't going to shoot me out a cannon, are you?

[He thinks he would fit, but that's not a good reason to shoot him!]

[me_matey]

Well that IS the punishment... But since you're just a kid, I'll tell ya what. I'm gonna give you a chance to get out of this situation you find yourself in. Wanna hear me out?

If you're not willing to take a challenge, though, I'll just load you into the cannon myself.

A

[steadycourse]

A thousand dollars isn't really a lot...

[Ishimaru interjects with a slightly distant expression, before he suddenly snaps out of it and folds his arms with a rather intense look.]

But wishing for money is never the answer anyway! People should work hard for the money they want to have! It's what I do!

[belowaverage]

You can't even pay for college tuition for a thousand dollars. If you're going to wish for money without working for it, you might as well wish for a lot of money.

[Ishimaru's work ethic is all very well and good, but Shinji's lazier than that.]

[steadycourse]

College is indeed expensive! I know that I can't afford to attend...

[Maybe in the future? Once his grandfather's debts are all paid off! That's a nice thought... plus it would make his father proud.]

You might be onto something there! Maybe if I write down 'Win 10 million dollars' and only earn one million later, I won't be indebted to a wish!

B

[amodelidol]

[This place looked very familiar. Makoto has been here before, but he was somewhere different. He wasn't trying to keep Shinji from going onto a boat.]

Shinji! We really should get back to the others! What if this boat takes off? Do you know how to swim?

[Please let this boat stay tied up on port. He doesn't want them to float in the middle of the lake.]

[spirithacker]

If everybody keeps worrying about what if this what if that, we're never going to get any evidence.

[Shinji doesn't care about Makoto trying to stop him any more than he cared about Atsushi trying to stop him.]

[amodelidol]

[Shinji made a good point. If they did stand around talking about it then they wouldn't be able to get anywhere, still he couldn't let Shinji on the boat by himself!]

Yeah that's true, but what kind of evidence are we looking for?