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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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...How is that a better answer than what I had?

[Gar scrunches up his face a little bit as he finishes collecting his flowers.]

...Oh, um. ...Have you been seeing weird things in this forest, though? I mean, something weird is always happening in this forest, so. Extra weird, though...

I never said it was better? You're the one weird about the flowers.

[They're just flowers!!!]

Weird things..? [he considers] Nothing I can recall. Why?

I'm not weird, I'm just --

[...]

OK, I'm always weird, too, but... never mind.

I dunno, I think I've been seeing things. Sometimes I think there's someone else around - I thought you were just one of those feelings.

...Unless you're a hallucination.

Uh....

[he looks at Gar with some...concern]

I'm not a hallucination. What...kind of flowers are you picking again? [Are you high Gar]

They're just normal flowers...

[stOP jUdgInG his FlOwErs]

You really haven't seen any --

[Gar stiffens as he feels a rustling from behind him.]

There -- look! In the trees.

[There is indeed a faint shadow retreating from them - as if someone had been watching them...]

No I--

[but when Gar tells him to look, he sees that shadow retreating. What the hell?]

Who's that all the way out here??

...I dunno.

[He hedges slightly - he had caught a glimpse of the face, and... it might look familiar... possibly. He doesn't move.]

...Should we go after it?

[....

He cups his mouth and calls out in that direction]

HEY! IS SOMEONE OUT THERE?

[...Silence.

Gar grips his flowers a little more tightly and turns around slowly, peering into the trees all around.]

See?

Weird things.

...Maybe we should just g --

[He cuts himself off with a light gasp as he stares at a point behind Noah.]

[That's weird....but it makes Noah less keen to go after it. The Swamp Witch was still in these woods after all.

And then Gar gasps, Noah will turn around to see what he's staring at]

What?

[There is a definite figure of a young woman with green eyes and blazing red hair standing behind him. Her face and form are slightly shadowed, but she is smiling gently. She is clothed in something that can best be described as... safari gear.

In the next moment, she is stepping backwards into the trees.]

...Mom...?

[...And Gar is following without quite knowing it.]

"Mom?"

[ he sees that woman and widen his eyes. She looks so real, but..something's off? Why is this woman in the forest? And why would it be Gar's mom? From the sound of it, Gar didn't have a- ]

-- Gar! Wait!

[Following after!! ]

[Gar is pushing his way faster through the increasingly dense trees, his eyes focused on just one thing.]

That's -- Wait, I can't --

[Is this just... another dream...? A hallucination...? A returning memory? The longer he looks, the more obvious who she is...

He hasn't seen her in... 10 years...]

[Noah meanwhile is trying to keep up, but keeps getting knocked back by the branches Gar pushes out of the way for himself, slowing him up some. Either way, they're going deeper in the forest]

Stop! Something's not right!

[Gar has almost completely forgotten that anyone was with him, and he presses forward unrelentingly...

But the trees are equally unrelenting. As he squirms and pushes his way forward as quickly as he can, the figure retreats further and further... and it isn't long until he finds himself facing a solid wall of trees and thorny bushes he simply can't push past.]

Mom -- Mom! Wait... Wait up...

[Noah will find him pulling fruitlessly at limbs and vines, tearing up his own hands as he does so.]

[Eventually Noah will catch up. My god after being hit in the face by branches several times is he growing to hate this forest.

But no don't focus on that, focus on Gar. He reaches over and tries to tug Gar away]

Gar stop! It wasn't her!

[He can't seem to stop his arm motions as he continues to pull at branches even as Noah drags him away.]

...

[When he turns to Noah, his eyes are slightly... blank.]

She's right there...

[that's not at all worrying...]

Gar, no. I'm sorry. But it was a trick of the forest. This place is full of magic.

............

[Gar's arms fall heavily to his side and he exhales slowly.]

...I know.

[He knows.
But he still wants to see her.]

[He gives a sympathetic look. He really feels bad for Gar. ]

I'm sorry Gar...

C'mon, lets get outta this forest.

...

[He looks back through the trees and stares into the distance for a few moments before he slowly turns away.]

...Sorry.

[...]

Aw shoot.

I lost all my flowers.

It's okay. I would've done the same.

[Nice reassuring smile!!]

Aw, shit. [he glances around to see if the flowers are nearby and...realizes he does not recognize this area. at all.] ...I don't think they're the only things that're lost.

Huh?

[Gar glances around, too, but... he's not remotely surprised that he doesn't recognize the area given how huge Bosuma is.]

Oh. It's probably fine... I'll just fly up and look for the road...

[He puts his hand on his hip]

Well, that's better than wandering around here aimlessly I suppose.

[So saying, Gar vanishes and a crow circles up into the air.

...

A few moments later, he reappears behind Noah.]

Um.

I've got good news... and bad news.

The good news is... that we get to have more time to pick flowers...