recolle | (no subject)

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

[ oh.... the dream nazuna blinks at mio, and you can see the thoughts processing in his head. his manager okay'd that? well, it's like him to just plan things without telling nazuna about it, really... and it might be nice to work with someone else for a change.

he shakes his head, putting on a smile. ] If that's what you were told, then it must be true. Let me get you a microphone.

[ hmm, hmm... he steps over to a table to grab an ear mic for her, and starts to help put the pack on. ] What's your name...?

[Oh thank goodness, the bullshit lie that she came up with on the spot worked, but she can't just relax yet.]

Sonozaki Mio. I'm actually new to this whole business... but my father said that it would help my family grow and branch out, even though my family's company is very much different than all of this, ahaha.

It's nice to meet you, Mio. [ this nazuna seems a little more subdued than the normal one: he's quieter even as he fixes up her mic, attentive to even moving her hair out of the way and clipping the pack somewhere where it might be comfortable. ]

I haven't sung with a girl since Wish Upon a Meteor... [ this shameless ripoff of disney movie i just made up ] ...it should be fun. Don't worry too much, everything'll be perfect, promise.

[ he gives the mic pack a little pat. ] Comfortable?

It's nice to meet you as well.

[She says those words politely; once he's done adjusting the microphone she bows politely from the waist down before she straightens herself out with a smile.]

I'll try my best not to sing badly. ☆ [Heh.] But I'm comfortable, thank you.

I'm sure you'll sound amazing. ♪ [ he's still reassuring, even more subdued than normal. nazuna turns around, back towards the stage, and pulls the curtain aside to allow mio to go first.

the stage itself is bright, floodlights everywhere, and there are what seems like miles of brightly colored light sticks in the audience laid out before them. they're quiet at first when mio steps on stage, but as soon as the dream clicks properly into place, the crowd starts going wild, even chanting her name.

nazuna pats her back and follows after her, waving: the lights change rapidly from green to bright blue and shake to greet them. he smiles at the crowd, bright and warm, then looks back at mio. ] Are you ready?

You think?

[She doesn't mind that he's subdued in the slightest bit but once he allows her to go first, she easily walks out to the stage with quite a bit of confidence, swallowing any and all of her nerves down as she brightly smiles at the audience chanting her name.

There isn't any hesitation in her posture at all in the slightest bit as she nods.]

Yeah, I'm ready. Let's do this!

[ it's idol time! hopefully mio likes getting poofed into cutesy idol clothes, because the second she walks out on the stage, she's dressed like an idol. nazuna's dream is thorough, clearly. he smiles at her as the music starts--it's pretty and cute, suited for a duet.

time to dance! ♫ the first number seems to fly by thanks to dream magic, and the stage shifts and changes around them, the crowd getting louder and louder. it almost seems like they're rushing the stage, and the atmosphere's starting to get more and more suffocating.

nazuna hasn't noticed yet, though. ] ♫♫

[Mio doesn't mind in the slightest bit, given that she's worn way more embarrassing clothes, but it makes it even more obvious that this is a dream. But it's still a nice one - relatively speaking, given that most of her dreams tend to be a lot worse.

Dancing isn't exactly Mio's forte - she's less of an idol dancer herself and was more used to doing a lot more formal things, but it's strange, somehow, just how easy things come to her. But then again, shouldn't it be like this in a dream? At the very least, Mio's no slouch when it comes to singing, though; her voice may have a softer quality to it, but it's certainly powerful to say the least.

The shift in stages and the crowd getting louder is definitely worrying, but she can't allow the concern to settle on her features. But she does glance at Nazuna every now and again through her peripheral vision to see how he's doing. If he hasn't noticed, then she'll pretend not to either. As they say the show must go on.]

[ he definitely hasn't noticed. not even a little. even in a dream nazuna's wrapped up in the performance, giving it his all as he sings and dances. the crowd continues their noises, and he even looks over to flash her a smile when there's a break. her voice is so lovely! ♪

all of this happiness is quickly interrupted, though, when a hand from the crowd shoots out and wraps around his ankle. he makes a surprised noise, practically jumping backwards. ] Unya!

[ the fans in the pit, still chanting their names, are starting to climb onto the stage. ]

[And it's when things definitely go overboard like that which causes Mio to finally react, halting both her singing and dancing as she notices him jump back, not to mention that they're climbing the stage.]

We have to get out of here! It's too dangerous to stay here if they're going to go mad like that.

R-right-- [ he starts, also stopping. the music continues on behind them--in fact, it's starting to get louder--and the fans keep chanting. encore, encore.

he turns his head to look at mio properly, a startled rabbit, and starts bolting backwards, almost immediately moving to put himself in front of her. the fans keep on climbing, and it feels like the stage itself might just be getting smaller...this is a nightmare, to say the least. ]

Crap--

[The single curse word slips her lips after the first few encores that spews out from the lips of the other fans. This is definitely bad. She doesn't want to resort to doing something terrible, since she doesn't really like the atmosphere that's building up here.]

If you guys don't stop, you're not going to like what happens next...!!

Edited 2018-07-14 04:05 (UTC)

[ this is really bad. nazuna's frozen for the first moment, watching the fans crawl closer and closer--a light fixture crashes by their feet from the sudden rush of movement, and he sees the opportunity for what it is.

nazuna grabs mio's wrist and tugs. ] Come on, run! [ and makes a dash for the backstage or for somewhere safe. ]