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

Lemme get my strings.

[ and by dream logic— his guitar is by his side and ready for him to pick up and sling onto his lap. ]

This one’s from my primos brasileños . . . But it’s got your vibe today, girl.

[ and so, gamzee begins to strum, and soon, he begins to sing. ]

🎶 Tão natural quanto a luz do dia
Mas que preguiça boa
Me deixa aqui à toa
Hoje ninguém vai estragar meu dia
Só vou gastar energia pra beijar sua boca 🎵

[and since she only really speaks German, the meaning of the song is kind of lost on her, but then dream logic kicks in and she gets a very bare understanding of what he's playing and singing, almost as if her brain is relying on some sort of online translating service, and she smiles at what she's hearing.]

[it's rude to interrupt, and she doesn't want to anyway, so she waits for him to finish and sort of just. lets out a sigh, and puts a closed fist gently against her chest, and feels her lips fall into an even bigger smile.]

Yeah. That's what I want to do with her. I want to just... wake up next to her at one in the afternoon and kiss her until she says that she has to get up or we won't be able to get dinner together. I'm... I really care about her. A lot. [what, is it obvious?]

And don’t forget, [ done with that part of the song, gamzee strums the strings of his guitar and begins to improvise a little with fingerstyle. it’s got a spanish touch to the jingle, like one would hear from a mariachi band. ] y’won’t let anyone ruin those days.

[Anna is almost enraptured by the skill he's showing with that guitar. it's an infectious sort of melody, the kind that only a real bard would be able to pull off, and the kind that... somewhere deep inside her, in memories she's not entirely sure she has, sounds familiar. like she's seen him do this, or something like this, before and enjoyed it very, very much.]

Never again. Nobody is going to ruin any of my days. [she's starting to feel... better? like the argument with her parents is so far away it might as well not even exist.] You're really good at... all of this.

[ he doesn’t mind if he gets to keep playing. it’s just some fingerfun for him, and even greater if someone enjoys what they’re hearing.

he smiles, though. a calm and peaceful smile that just screams!!! cordial!!! and ends with a dragging chuckle. ]

My abuelo taught me all the ropes. I like sending my props and thanks to him..

[ he thinks she’s talking about the music though, taking a finger and pointing up. long live abuelo 🙏 ]

Für dein Opa, then.

[she'll correct him in a moment, but even right now she's not bitter enough to assume that everybody else's family relationships should be as bad as hers. and grandfathers are different. she's totally fine with her own Opa.]

But I mean helping me out, too. You just saw a crying girl and you knew exactly what to do to make it better. So like I said. [she gives a small, genuine smile.] You're really good. Thank you.

[ aw . . . aw?? gamzee stops his bard strumming to sit up and turn around to start a better look at her. he was smiling before, but. wow, he’s smiling even more, now. he extends his hand, waiting for her to take it. ]

Anything for a sis. We don’t got the same blood, but, [ if she allows it, gamzee does a little thing with his hand in hers. ] That don’t mean shit to me or Jah.

[ha, of course she does. she fakes her way through the motions, but it's quick and she ends up grinning at herself by the end of it.]

Hell yeah, mein Bruder im Geiste. [it doesn't rhyme as nicely as the English does, but her sentiment should still get across.] Hey, um. I think I'm gonna start heading to the bus station so I can go back to the city. Do you want to come with me, or are you good doing your own thing?

I’m in.

[ he loves buses!! and hanging out with anna. the guitar can get, i suppose, capchalogued into his beautiful sylladex, miracle, before he’s up and got his hands in his pockets. ]

Maybe we can smoke some?

Smoke?

[okay, look, she's not a square. she knows what he means. she just hasn't actually done it yet at this point in her life, because it was only after everything turned to shit with her parents that she dove right into making every bad decision possible all at once.]

I, um. I haven't done that before.

[ turns out the drug dealer is a better chum than your parents, am i right.

it doesn’t make much sense, but at the same time, dreamwise, gamzee doesn’t think to question it. ]

Wanna start out small? [ he pulls out a cigarette box from his pocket and offers. there’s some. weed in there. but it’s properly hidden inside each one. ] S’cool if you don’t, I respect any motherfucker’s heart desires.

[she gives the cigarettes a glance and reaches up tentatively for one. her eyes flit to his as she takes one.]

Don't make fun of me if I do it wrong.

[it's almost like someone being accepting and nonjudgmental of her is a good way to make her feel comfortable and try new things (that she'd always kind of wanted to try anyway). weird, right?]

[ the filters are removed, there’s only a few hits worth of green, the rest is tobacco to help with the smell and smoke in public, but it’s a good first trier. same effect in dreams? dreams can man wonders happen. really small dose. gamzee smiles and preps one up for her, going through his cigarette ritual, tapping the box for two sticks and rummaging his pockets for his lighter. ]

You’re gonna pull some into your mouth to get used to it, cool? Then just breathe in slow and suave. [ gamzee demonstrates first, dragging, holding it in, then exhaling. ] Breathe out.

[ finger bang! your turn while he holds the lighter to her! ]

[and she's nothing if not good at following directions, so the "first" hit she ever takes is actually... she kind of handles it like a pro, after he lights her? like there's some part of her that's been smoking for nine years and knows how to do it perfectly by now. dreams are weird and the flow of time is convoluted.]

Like that?

[she doesn't even cough. yes, she's proud of herself.]

My girl Anna’s a motherfuckin’ natural.

[ gamzee means this. he’s smiling and draping his arm over her shoulder. it’s time to go be god’s hooligans. ]

Let’s bounce?

Guess I am.

[she grins at him and slings her arm around his shoulder in turn, glad that at least some good stuff can happen to her in the midst of all this bad. but it feels like that's something Gamzee's good at.]

Hell yeah.