Recollé Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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recolle2018-07-03 04:52 pm
recollecters) wrote in recolle2018-07-03 04:52 pm
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REVERTED. 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! |
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( this miai is too entirely startled to use honorifics or nicknames in this instance, his face considerably paler than it was just a moment ago, even in this light.
he watches her step further out from the darkness like a devil and sit quietly before him, and there's just a way about her and her look that makes a shiver pass through the skin of his body. it pricks his painful, swollen skin, and he swallows. he doesn't see any marks on her; no redness, no flowers, no thorns around her neck. so ... how? )
... Bell-chan... ( though gradual, he tries to regain himself. ) ... What are you doing here?
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[Angels and the like could do that too, but she wouldn't flatter herself by comparing herself to the likes of them. Suzu's eyes cast downward, studying the patterns on his skin, how they compared to the frenzied readings she went through despite others dismissing it as paranoia. Suzu's noticed the one around his neck since they've reunited, but to see all of it like this... It just hammers in the reality of the major thing that had created a rift between them; just how far gone he had gotten into this. Though beautiful on the surface, each flower and thorn filled her with sadness, horror, and most of all, questions. Far too many questions, some of which she still couldn't find the words for.]
I don't feel like I'm a hallucination, though... Maybe it's because... I wanted to see you so much. That this is happening. [It felt strange, to be so honest about her feelings like this, in contrast to how she was in the waking world. The feelings the "her" around this time carried, to be precise. Yet, somehow she felt compelled to. Like she wasn't in control of her own words.] What do you think? Am I real...?
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... Honestly ... I wonder, sometimes, if anything is real.
( he drags his fingers through his hair, clearly in a state of stress, and yet, he can't find it in himself to send her away, real or illusion. this loneliness was sin when it made you accept the devil in your bed, and to this extent he had been taught the perfect method for pulling apart your emotions, string by string, until there's nothing left for the devil to get into. and yet, somehow, when he'd needed it most, he always stumbled. )
If you're real, I'd think you might be a miracle of God ... but He hasn't been very pleased with me lately, so...
( ... )
... But we don't have to talk about that. ( he draws up his knees, wrapping his arms around them. he seems to be a little cold. even so ... he manages to smile, faintly. ) I've wanted to see you, too. I wish I'd have a chance to visit. I wish I could talk to you more too, like when we were kids.
( somehow, once a week felt like an eternity now, compared to never seeing each other ever ... compared to forgetting slowly the names and faces of all the people you used to know )
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Despite the awkward and dour mood of everything, Suzu manages to return his smile with her own, looking back up to his tired face, her left eye barely visible as black locks slide off her face. That same tired, sheepish smile she always had every time she was about to speak about something unfortunate happening to her, always using that light, resigned tone. And indeed, that was the case:]
I... I kept waiting. At the same place we always met. Even if it was raining and I forgot my umbrella. I only went home when it started getting dark... It took me a month. Of going to that spot every Sunday and waiting to finally accept... that you weren't coming back...♪
[She wasn’t angry about that, surprisingly. A bit sad, and a bit fearful about what happened to her dear friend. Thinking back, that may have what been what sent her down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and other such bizarre subject matter, trying to rationalize Miai’s sudden disappearance. Perhaps it was a selfish form of denial towards the idea that perhaps he just got tired of her company one day and went elsewhere... Suzu now wishes that were actually the case, as her far-fetched paranoia has proven to be true.
She manages to pick up on him huddled up like that, the tell-tale slight shivers. Ah, that was right... He never did quite well in the cold, did he? Like that time he got pushed into a river trying to defend her from bullies... Some things don’t change, even after all these years. Strange, if she was real, then why wasn't she cold? How curious.]
Um... A-Are you cold? You must be, so, umm... I'm not sure i-if it'll help much, but, er... [She timidly holds out her arms in invitation.] H-Here...
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and so he knows she doesn't mean to hurt him, because he knows her, and he knows she accepts what he did, regardless of intention, as just another sadness. his crimes are forgiven, and that is precisely why he feels punished, and he begins to wonder if this is not a temptation from the devil, but judgment sent by god. atone, atone, atone, god says, as miai had been growing complacent. and suzu, with her arms held wide with mercy toward his sins, was the very picture of pietà.
sometimes, forgiveness in itself can be an act of malice. )
... I'd like that, thank you. ( he says this with a smile; his usual one, a little mild, a little hard to read ) I should be the one hosting here, I suppose, and here you are spoiling me.
( small talk; meaningless words. he almost thinks his arms will go through suzu when he embraces her, but, somehow, they don't, and if it isn't further proof she's something of god's - whether blessing or curse - he can't be sure what else might be enough to prove it.
her heat warms him and his cold-burning skin, but, somehow, he's still trembling, even though only slightly. she maybe meant just to huddle up with her, like when they were children, but. he didn't really want her to see his face, didn't trust himself not to look guilty, and make it all about him. he wasn't ... the one who'd suffered the most, he didn't have that right. people who sinned don't have the right to complain about the injury they receive from from their own wrongs. )
... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you wait. To make you wonder. ( the words fall from his lips, and to his own ears they land hollow and flat; not enough, not enough ) I... hadn't planned on leaving, I just...
( not enough, not enough! didn't he feel guilty? then why wasn't he showing it? guilty, guilty, guilty! —he swallows. )
... Are you okay?
( was life at least better without him? or had he left some indelible scar? he doesn't want to have been forgotten, but— the heavy black beast with the voice of the priests weighing down his conscience tells him now he deserves to be. )
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He was cold. So, so dreadfully cold. How long had he been in here? She’s read accounts of former members, the research articles, the theories. Their "tests," how they approached transgressions. Just how many of those had Miai endured through all these years? These petals and blossoms emblazoned on his skin, it told her all.
Yet, here Miai was, being the one to ask her if she was okay. Her, of all people. She hesitates, but decides to be honest, albeit more gently than she would be if she hadn’t put more thought into it:]
I try to be. I can't say that things have been well, since Mama... [Suzu trails off. Since she... what? Suzu was certain the sentence was to be ended with "left us." But, that wasn't right. That couldn't be right. Her mother was alive and well, wasn't she? Yet, she could somehow recall that day when Miai disappeared; her running off as the last rites were performed, standing in the heavy rain, wearing black in mourning, despondently seeking his comfort and never receiving it. Though she finds herself inwardly questioning, words and memories come to her mind, and they just continue to spill out of her mouth, like she was only audience to herself.] ... well, my older brother, he'll take care of things. The least I can do... is be less of a burden to him in return. I’ve been working hard each day to do that.
[... That didn’t seem right, either. Weren’t they doing well? So why does she remember them having barely any money to eat and keep a roof over their heads, remembering Kuro resorting to less than lawful means to keep their family afloat? The longer she was here, Suzu became less certain of what was real. Feeling Miai tremble against her, she reacts by slightly tightening her embrace and rests her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes as she takes a breath in. Like when they were children, yet it was this time around that it was her attempting to do the comforting.]
Ai-chan. What about you?
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(and yet, was that sort of thinking not simply self-satisfaction? because, between the two of them, he had been the first to leave.)
as if in repentance, he tries to be especially gentle as she rests her head against him. for only the act of comforting he feels he owes her something in return, or . . . not just for comforting him, but, for caring for him even after all this time. she should've let go, he thinks, she should have forgotten; but, shamefully, he's grateful she held on. )
... I've been well.
( mm. that didn't sound very convincing, did it? his voice, or the situation. as if to calm himself down, like maybe as though she were soft toy, he pets her head gently in slow, even strokes, the timing of his breathing gradually matching its rhythm. sorry, bell-chan. )
Well ... things have happened, I suppose. ( he starts up again more softly this time, quieter. ) I've been here and there ... I joined the circus, for awhile, and I was taken in by ...
( he hesitates. he doesn't know, suddenly, how to name it, and for a second things seem strange, this all felt a little bit off, but, but— it was only a second. he hesitates, shivering, but feeling numb. )
... If you need help, we can offer you protection. Both you and your brothers; your parents as well. You don't need to see yourself as a burden.
I haven't ... been where I should've been, perhaps, but ... I can make up for that, if you'll let me.
almost 1 month later im sorry my love
Yet... It’s when he conveniently mentions the prospect of joining them at the same time she starts sympathizing that makes her tense up slightly. Right. As sad as it is, she still needed to be careful.]
... I'm... sorry. [The apology, though sincere, sounds like a rejection, and in a way, it is. But:] It's been a while, so you don't know... It's just Kuronii and me.
[She doesn’t want to say it outright still, hoping that the implication was enough. Not only because it was something difficult to verbalize, but also because she was having a difficult time sorting out if it was fact or not. The idea of her family only consisting of her and her older brother at this time strongly conflicted with what she was experiencing in the waking world, yet… Somehow, it felt just as correct.]
Ahaha... It's probably better if we don’t, anyway. Kuronii is pretty wild; and I’m... Well... It might reflect poorly on Ai-chan, and... [She’d rather not have them be the cause of him having to “repent” once more.]