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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!

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I do, as well.

[ There is no reason why he can't say that he shares in it with him. He takes in a deep breath as he lets out a sigh. His hands slide behind his back and he holds his wrist in a loose grip. ]

Even if I recalled these events, I probably wouldn't feel much about them anyway. There's no reason to feel anything about them, anyway. [ Kei is quick to add the later part. ] For most, these are just memories of our lives falling apart, after all. The fact you can feel nothing about them is probably the better response.

[ He stares back up at the sky, just barely making out what might be a dragon, or a snake, or a worm- the sparks break up too quickly for him to discern what things are supposed to be. It feels that way about everything that happens, sometimes: things happening, but him so slow to process, that the disconnect is there anyways.

He breathes out, soft. ]

I guess I felt like my life were constantly falling apart, so everything going on with Retrospec was just... comparable. It didn't bring everything to a stop, because that's just how life always is.

[ Retrospec brought things into his life that were impossible, but in terms of the actual happenings? Manageable. ]

You did? Is it because of your emotions not being as bright and vibrant as others?

[ What an interesting conversation to have while fireworks go off overhead. Two people disinterested and disconnected from the show while so many seem to be in awe of the designs and colors. He smiles, despite himself, as he tucks his hands into his pockets. ]

Or was there another reason?

[ There are probably many reasons- multiple, multifaceted- that he could come up with if he sat there and picked at his brain, but Kei touches upon what's oftentimes first and foremost on his mind, that disconnect that prevents him from really feeling and experiencing everything in full like how most others seems able to do.

He isn't so wrapped up in it now, but the admittance still comes with a sigh and a shrug. ]

Mostly that, I suppose. I think things will turn out however they turn out- if it's good, then great; if it's not, then I'll find a way to deal with it somehow. Emotionally... what I feel doesn't matter anyways. The world will progress how it wants... right?

The world will progress how it wants, yes. [ He offers a small, agreeing nod. ] And you can decide if you want to be part of it or not.

People will say that it's best to be part of things, but... this is your life. [ A beat. ] You should do what makes you the most comfortable rather than what is most acceptable.

[ It certainly is difficult to share his words of wisdom over the booms of the fireworks, but he does it to the best of his abilities. ]

Humanity is one that shapes the world. At its core, I believe it to be good. It is the only race that knows what goodness is, that knows what evil is. And it will never want to sway too far into one or the other. [ A smile. ] So do what you like and believe in the people that love this world and shine brightly with their ambitions and drive.

[ In all, it feels like Kei is telling him that it's alright to be selfish. With faith in everybody else to do what's best, it's a little easier for him to breathe and focus more on himself- but it's that faith that he has trouble with sometimes. ]

Can you take a look around you and tell me people love this world?

[ He gestures not up at the sky, or towards the crowd, but back towards the buildings, painted in garish colors, careless and haphazard. He knows that, at the end of the day, all of this could only have been accomplished by everybody coming together and working together, but the fact that it'd all gone in the first place, both buildings and people, there's a reason why all of that happened. He doesn't want to just shrug it off as "Retrospec nonsense"; that wouldn't be doing this world its due justice. ]

Edited 2018-07-09 19:15 (UTC)

I can.

[ Without hesitation, without looking around, he answers the question. His gaze that did find itself fixed upwards drops down to look at Minato, catching the movement of the teenager's hands out of the corner of his eye. ]

No matter what shape this world takes, the people will love it. They will love it and protect it with their lives. [ His smile somehow softens, even though what he says is not necessarily a "good" thing. ] If they hated it, they would do nothing.

And I won't let them grow to hate this world. [ Indeed, he tells Minato to be as selfish as he likes; he will ensure the people will keep loving this city, this place, so the young man need only do what pleases him. For good, or ill, he will see what shape humanity takes in the end of it all. But he will see that it is one that is filled with good intentions and love.

What shape will it take if all it knows is goodness...? ]

[ Minato hums in his throat, remembering back to when he did nothing- wanted nothing from the world, wanted to be nothing himself. Had he hated the world then? He doesn't think he felt anything as strong as hatred, but in the end, the opposite of love isn't hatred, is it? It's indifference. Both love and hatred speaks to the amount of care one holds for something, and he didn't have that back then.

Now, though... he stretches his legs out before him, arms up above with his back flat on the sand, fingers digging into the cool, dry grains. ]

If that's true, I can be glad. I'll be able to rest easy, without worrying about the world, knowing that it's in capable hands.

[ Do what he wants. Leave the world when he feels like it. All these things without worry for the people he leaves behind. ]

It'll be a tough job, though, getting everybody to love. Not something you can just wish and have happen... Not a claim you can make passively.

I wouldn't call them capable.

[ His chin drops as he chuckles at the compliment. He only knows that the hands that he's attempting to leave the world in will be "good-intentioned." Whether or not they turn out to be capable will be only something they can show in time. ]

It certainly isn't something you can wish. But I find that people can be negative about something that they love... if an aggressive, nihilistic individual were to admit hate for it, too... they would not wish to admit that they're the same as him.

[ Goodness, he speaks so kindly about himself, doesn't he? ]

The point is not to make them love, but to remind them that they are filled with goodness that wants to love this world. That wants to protect it with everything that they have. [ He digs the heel of his shoe into the sand, letting it sink in. ] The easiest way to do that is to be the villain that they don't want to associate with, Minato.

Being a villain is an even tougher job, probably.

[ He wouldn't be able to do it. It's a fine line that he walks sometimes, trying to practice indifference; being liked and forming attachments is always a bit of a wary process, but he doesn't particularly want to be hated and scorned either- that just makes life difficult. ]

I wouldn't be very good at it. And this little pep talk makes me believe you wouldn't be either.

Ah, you just need the right people to hate you.

[ He waves his hand in a dismissive fashion, denoting that it is not that hard to be the villain of anyone. ]

Once you are hated by the right kind of people, no matter what face I wear, it will be that of a villain. [ His shoulders offer a small shrug as he pauses to look up toward the fireworks. The sky is starting to darken and it seems like the show is coming to a close. ]

No one really believes in redemption. And anyway, people need something to fight against in order to become their best versions of themselves. At the moment, people are fighting against their own hopeless feelings. [ With some cheer: ] The best way to counter that is to give them a face to direct their discontent from time-to-time.

[ He smiles; the smile is felt in the words. ] I also agree that you wouldn't be a very good villain, and I don't think that you should try it. You should do what suits you best... whatever that may be.

[ Whatever it is... He honestly hasn't put that much thought into it; there's no reason to put on an act, as they'd established earlier, so Minato is left silent through the finale of fireworks, deafening and blinding and so close he can feel the reverberations in his chest.

When it subsides, everything feels strangely empty, and he feels a little awkward filling that space up again with his voice. ]

Retrospec was that, I think. I remember everybody being so angry at them— they still are, probably. But it's clearer now that they were trying to help, although their methods... [ Frustrating at best ]

Their methods are clumsy and secretive at the same time.

[ Readily agreeing, he offers a small nod. He takes in a sharp breath before letting it out in a long sigh. ]

It certainly feeds the helplessness feeling when even the ones that are in control seem to be under attack and cannot do anything about it. [ It certainly sounds noble, doesn't it? Be the villain so people can carry on. But he merely considers it the easy way out of actually dedicating himself to anything. His cause is the cause of perpetuating people's hope so that they can shape themselves -- so they can become however they will become.

Yet he doesn't even care what that shape will be. Wretched, pure, hideous, noble; he doesn't care. He merely wishes to see it and see what comes of it. ]

It's quite sad when one's enemy turns out to be neither friend nor foe. They are but a neutral body that suffers with us.

If they're suffering, does that not make them a friend...?

[ Or at least somebody to help- a testament towards Minato's inability to become a true villain- because even if he thinks Retrospec has been a lot of trouble, he can't help but sympathize with people trying to do their best with what they have.

He gets up, shaking the loose sand off the back of his shirt and shorts, and wiggles his toes to get the feeling back into them after having laid around for so long. ]

Misery likes company, et cetera, but misery is tiring... Being able to help them is at least moving forward. Even if it's little things like painting the city, or regaining memories, right?

Does it?

[ There is a rhetorical feeling to his question. Yes, that does make it so Minato is not someone who could ever be a villain. Kei nods to himself as he offers a small sigh. The sound of it isn't resignation or dismissal, but happy -- if one can really name the sound of a sigh. ]

Then, it sounds like you've decided something for yourself, hm? You're going to help them so that you can start moving forward yourself?

Yeah. I believe so.

[ He didn't used to think so, being so caught up in his own problems, that anybody that reached out to him got dragged down with him- that's what he'd thought, not understanding that helping others and helping himself could go hand in hand. ]

There's no reason to try so hard trying to figure myself out. It'll happen, and I'm happiest being kept busy.

[ Distractions, procrastination, but he learns from every single day, and that's all he needs. ]

Congratulations, young man.

[ It seems like someone should offer him some praising words. Indeed, Minato doesn't need to figure anything out about himself, and work to doing what will make him happiest instead. Those sort of questions will answer themselves eventually down the road, so for now -- he should seek out what will make him feel fulfilled. ]

Everything you say is correct. I'm certain that this route is indeed the best one for you. And it's good that you're able to say it clearly now so that you will not forget it later.

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