(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

[dornen_kiste]

Dream Verse A: The Research Tower
The halls all look similar as Yogi walks down them, but he walks with the sureness of someone who has walked these halls many times. They are clean, pristine, the clinical architecture and detachment of medical facilities. Nurses chatter at their stations and between rooms, doctors in flowing coats sometimes working between them.

It wasn't until he got to a specific set of rooms, the area more lit, seemingly more secure, and full of high-tech equipment. He began to tremble as he stood at the edge, his gaze locked on two figures that wouldn't quite come into focus, like looking through a camera lens set to blur. Pink and white on one, a mass of black on the other.

Why he filled with dread he couldn't say, only that he suddenly very much did not want to be there, tears pricking the corner of his eyes.

"Can we go? I want to go..."

Dream Verse B: Past AU Life
There's a controlled sort of chaos surrounding Yogi as he stretches himself on a mat, dressed in a tight shirt and small shorts. Both ankles were wrapped and one hand, his unruly blonde hair tugged back into a knot at the back of his head. Around them other men in similar outfits, though usually shorter and more compact than Yogi, worked through routines on parallel bars, floor, horse, rings, and vault.

Yogi looks both comfortable and nervous at the same time, eyeing in the man currently on the rings. He does look like he could use some cheering on. Or a kick in the ass.

Dream Verse C: When Darkness Attacks
He knows this dream. Some others might too, if they spoke to him before about it. He's in the center of the village, his breathing ragged, body aching as he struggles to lift his twin epees. There is blood, and there are screams. Creatures swarm around, bearing resemblance to cats, but dark and twisted. Made of shadow, with too big mouths and too big eyes and claws. They varied in size, and like a hydra for every one he cut down another came forward.

"It's okay. Just stay behind me, and everything will be all right!"

Said through gritted teeth. Is he talking to you? The person already behind him, though said person never quite comes into focus, like they're always at the edge of your vision, never quite in it. Maybe now isn't the time to worry as another of the creatures lunges.

Dream Verse D: Past AU Life
"Ow! Hnng, this would be so much easier with a big mirror..."

The cries of annoyance are coming from inside a young man's room, the space a mass of pillows and stuffed animals. The animals and covers seem to add all the color to the room, the walls a simple white, and that is probably for the best given the myriad of colors from the animals and the hundreds of images taken from magazines and the internet pasted along the walls, or sketches taken from a sketch book and even some fabric swatches. It is, quite frankly, an assault on the senses.

Yogi himself is stood along a far wall in front of a dresser with a mirror. He's twisted, trying to see along his back as he works pins into fabric, attempting to fit what can only be described as a mixture of princess and southern belle dress on his form - a tight bodice with a blossoming, voluminous skirt. The colors are all shades of rich blue, and a pair of full-length gloves lay on the dresser as well. It looked well put together, though it could so with refinement. Maybe some sparkles too. But not glitter. Never glitter.

"Come on, get in there..." muttered around pins clutched between his lips, fingers fumbling at his back.

Wild Card!
Hit me up with your own ideas or scenarios! Feel free to contact at inkedhymnal

C

[thebeastwithout]

"Uhhhhhhh..."

In the midst of his feverish imaginings, Gar finds himself in a situation that doesn't feel the slightest bit familiar, not like the other odd scenarios that had been swirling through his mind. As he stares at the odd monsters, he reaches up and pinches himself a little bit.

...Nope.

"...Right. I'm just gonna -- Yikes!"

He ducks and stumbles to the side as a shadow creature lunges.

[dornen_kiste]

"Stay back!" Yogi shouts, turning and thrusting with his epee, piercing the creature right through the eye and to the brain. The creature screeched before exploding in to shards of shadow.

Yogi, panting and damaged, look to Garth with a tired smile, as if trying to reassure him.

"It'll be all right. Just stay behind me."

[thebeastwithout]

"Holy crap."

This is all Gar manages to say as he scrambles back on his hands and feet away from the vanishing creature.

"What are those? Monsters? Are you fighting monsters?"

[dornen_kiste]

"Yes, monsters. But I'm... not sure what they're called. But they are monsters!"

His body, in this dream, knew how to fight them. The memory did. It did so with long practice, practically dancing with the blades, long and thin and sharp like rose thorns. The creatures shrieked as they died, mixing with the screams of the townspeople around them.

He got enough of a break to turn and smile tiredly at Gar. "Just stick with me and it will be okay, all right? I'm Yogi, by the way."

[thebeastwithout]

"Uh. Um. S-Sure?"

Gar does not feel terribly inspired to trust this stranger he's just met for the first time, but he doesn't really have a choice.

"I'm... Gar. I can... try and help, maybe."

Do his powers still work in this... wherever he is? As another few monsters begin to circle around them, Gar hesitates, then smoothly shifts into the form of a jaguar that bares its fangs and hisses at the creatures.

sorry for the wait, was getting a regain approved

[dornen_kiste]

"Okay, but be careful - oh!"

Yogi turned in time to see Gar shifting his form, smooth and clean and very green and -

Post-human. Post-animal. Something beyond both. An evolution. A corruption. Monsters. All shapes, all sizes, creatures with thought and some without. Humans their prey. He stopped them. He fought them. His swords cut through them. He was the shinning prince that cut through the their darkness.

"Don't let the Varuga bite you!" he yelled suddenly, the name bursting out of him before he could comprehend why he suddenly knew it, suddenly know what these things were. He spun, slashing with his blades. "And don't swallow if you get any of them in your mouth!"

no worries!

[thebeastwithout]

Uh. What.

Under normal circumstances, there's no way he can communicate, but. ...This is a dream... Maybe? So he isn't entirely surprised when his voice rings out, nonetheless.

Gar's growl turns into a faint rumble of confusion as he stares down the beasts, watching as they circle them. He's pretty sure there's no way he's getting out of this without getting bitten. It's not as if he's got a long weapon of some sort.

Well, it's not like anyone's ever died for real from dying in a dream, right? .......Wait, no, that's what they always say not to do.

His contemplations don't last much longer as one of the things springs forward - Gar launches himself as well, meeting it halfway and bringing his claws to bear.

[dornen_kiste]

The creatures relentlessly, driven, it seems, by pure malevolence and hunger. How anyone thought these creatures were the next stage in any sort of evolution was beyond Yogi. Not all of the Varuga were cut of the same cloth, but he really did have yet to meet one that could say it wanted to be his friend. He wished he had. It would be so much easier, so much kinder, than this mutual slaughter.

Yogi has to trust Gar, to busy himself dancing around the shrouded, blurred figured that had been behind him to begin with, sprawled as if tired and shocked. Perhaps it said something, a muffle sound like so much static, but Yogi couldn't understand. He just knew he had to protect him. He needed to be protected and so he kept slicing and stabbing with his blades, taking blows in return.

"Are you all right?" he called to his green companion, finally seeming to make a dent in the monsters.

[thebeastwithout]

Uh... Not really?

Gar is currently taking turns flipping and pinning one of the things. He seems to be on top at the moment, though its snarling teeth are coming pretty close to his face.

Just saying... I've never like, done this before...

With that, he's kicked away and bounces a few feet, landing heavily on the ground.

Do you know any animals that come with guns...

a

[livingimpaired]

"I don't know where it is that we can go."

Kei decides that he should answer the question honestly. This is "dream logic," but it would seem like there is nowhere that we can go. He breathes in the air of the hallways, finding it to be a familiar scent.

"Could it be that you don't like the hospital?" It's a coy question, because that is obviously not what is frightening Yogi right now. Kei tucks his hands into his pockets as he looks around -- watching the bustling nurses and doctors as they hurry about. "Either way... it would seem like you will have to face your fears if you want to control them and leave this place."

[dornen_kiste]

No, not the hospital didn't frighten him. The place as an object was not what made his legs tremble or his heart race. It was someone else. The figures that wouldn't quite focus, slide into the center of your eye and remained at the edges. He looked up to Kei when he heard his voice, at once surprised and not to see him there.

He reached out, gripping the edge of whatever Kei was wearing between the tips of his fingers. "I don't even know what they are."

[livingimpaired]

That's interesting. He can't look at them. He honestly cannot look at them even as he attempts to look in their direction. Each time he does, he finds them escaping his gaze. His palms, for some reason, end up feeling sweaty and he is uncertain as to why. What is this foreboding that I feel?

But he pulls his gaze away as soon as Yogi grabs onto his clothes. His expression softens as he reaches to place a hand on the young man's back -- and pauses in an apology of not wishing to touch him with his hands. The pause lasts for all of a few seconds; resting his hand on top of the young man's head.

"The only way to know is for us to go see."

[dornen_kiste]

Yogi glanced up at Kei, as if very unsure of this plan of action, even though he knew Kei was probably right. He wasn't necessarily scared of the black figure. It didn't feel scary, not in the same way the pink and white was. The pink was intimidating, like he wanted to turn and run, but something told him he wouldn't be allowed to if that figure caught sight of him. He wasn't sure why.

"You're not gonna ditch me when we get close, right?"

[livingimpaired]

"Not at all."

He shook his head, dismissing the idea that he would abandon Yogi. Lifting his head up, he turned his head around to take in their surroundings once more. The hospital had a foreboding feeling to it, but that may be his own feelings coming out. Clicking his tongue, he felt a prickling along the back of his neck but shook his head once more.

"The dream will neither advance nor end if we do not do as we are ordered to do." A beat. "There is logic in a dream, right? And that logic is to keep going forward."

[dornen_kiste]

The hospital itself looked like a normal hospital, albeit with some more high tech advances. It was bright, shiny, and clean. There wasn't anything about it to suggest horror, and the forms of nurses and other doctors around them felt and looked fine, even if there faces looked a little blurred - though not as much as the two figures Yogi seemed more concerned with.

Yogi nodded softly, glancing around and then back at the figures, like smudged painted forms in his vision.

"I know this place," he murmured to Kei. "It's - it's called the Research Tower. It's run by the government, and it's a hospital too. I think I had to come here a lot," he explained, his fingers not leaving their hold on Kei's shirt. "If this is a hospital - maybe they're doctors?" he guessed, glancing around at the nurse uniforms and other flapping coats.

B

[invocate]

Li-Na looks around the gymnasium. In her new history, she's actually taken some gymnastics in addition to her slightly modified dance history. So she recognizes all the equipment, though she'd only reached an intermediate level before coming to Recolle (until she acquired Lenalee's skills that is).

She looks down at herself and realizes she's wearing work out clothes. Good. Maybe the guys won't mind if she takes a tumble when they're not using the floor.

And then she spots Yogi, looking a bit nervous. So she marches over and props one hand on a hip.

"You're going to be fine."

[dornen_kiste]

Yogi jerks when he hears a female voice that is not older near him. Usually they were older because of being moms and coaches, and this was a men's competition. Or at least this portion was. The girls had already gone the days before. He smiled when he recognized Li-Na though, waving at her from his position on the floor, legs spread out in a split and leaning down on the floor.

"Oh! Haha, thanks, I certainly hope so. I've been working hard on this routine for months," he sat up, but kept the splits, flexing his toes.

[invocate]

"Than I will try to wait patiently."

Li-Na crouches down next to him, wrapping her arms around the tops of her knees, but mindful to keep out of reach so she doesn't accidentally get kicked.

"Which competition is this?"

[dornen_kiste]

Yogi titled his head, thinking about it as he looked around at the others. Which one was it? Why was it important enough to dream about? He glanced around through the stands, and he saw them sitting there - the scouts. Oh. He knew why this was important now.

"I'm in high school," he said, even though his current body was that of his adult self, but then, he had his growth spurt around sixteen and had stopped there, so by eighteen he looked more or less as he did now, just a bit more filled out. "I think this was the big nationals match. All the scouts are here..."

[invocate]

Li-Na glances over the crowd... and after a few moments spots the scouts as well. Once you've seen them the first time, you can recognize them every time after. They all have the same... aura. They know the power that rests in their hands and they revel in it.

"Is this how you ended up going to Recolle? A scout saw you here?"

[dornen_kiste]

He nodded. "More or less. I was applying to Recolle anyways, but with the scout I was able to get a better scholarship," he explained and then frowned, because why would he have already gotten one?

Oh, right, a dream. This was a dream? No, he was competing.

"Ugh, I better not focus on them or I'll throw up..."

[invocate]

[Li-Na's not all that familiar with how university is funded in the States, so she misses the discrepancy.

Instead, she just pats Yogi's back, in what she hopes is a comforting manner.]

You're going to be fine. Just focus on the routine, not the audience.

[And definitely not the scouts. Thinking about the people who are judging you is the quickest way to screw something up.]

[dornen_kiste]

_{[ He twisted his head back up to look at her, thankful for the encouragement and someone to distract him, even for a moment. ]}

What are you competing in, Li-Na?

[invocate]

Floor and beam. They compliment my dancing the most.

[though she envies the girls with the power to be really good at vaulting]