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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

Five.

[He responds simply, still staring intensely at the ground. ...Or what passes for the ground wherever... this was.

Speaking of which... the darkness seems to be lifting somewhat, though the transformation is so slow that it's hard to tell what exactly is happening. Eren will eventually find a proper chair-shaped object near him, though, if he wants to sit. It is... hard and stiff and uncomfortable, but it's there.

Gar seats himself stiffly as well.]

I had a guardian, but uh... that didn't... work out great.

So they sent me to live here with a foster family.

[ that reminds him a bit of elliot’s upbringing, though he doesn’t dare bring it up without him here. instead, the rigid chair invites him to rest his legs and back despite the hardness under him. there’s been worse, and if it wasn’t most like the ground it wasn’t too different from earlier. ]

They were shitstains. You can say that. [ he’s saying this is an encouraging manner. no need to spare them— eren wasn’t very fond of sparing crap piles that disguised themselves as people. ] Was your foster family good to you?

Oh.

[Gar somehow looks even more uncomfortable as he pulls at his clothing... as the darkness lifts, it looks like he's... wearing a suit?]

......Yeah.

I guess he kinda was.

[...]

My family's fine. They're nice. ...Um. I've only been here a year, so it's still kind of awkward.

[The darkness continues to fade, and soon enough, the rest of the details in this void solidify in place. They are... in the middle of a black and white courtroom, frozen in time. Eren is seated in the audience. Gar turns his chair around and faces the judge's bench from the prosecutor's desk.]

...Sorry.

You don't have to stay for all of this... It's not very interesting.

[ formal wear doesn’t suit wearing all too well for eren— it makes him feel a little caged, what makes his clothing now semi formal only: a white button down shirt, dark slim fit jeans and boots that are made to look like formal shoes. his longer, bunned up hair is loosely tied and makes him look like he just left the beach from a surf, but he doesn’t care.

he likes his man bun.

eren keeps himself seated in the audience— odd, because he was never in the audience. if anything, if it brings some sort of comfort, he’s staying. ]

I’ve been to court. [ his arms rest in front of him. ] Once for my ownership, [ which didn’t gave to do with this life at all, but hey, it counts, ] and the other for when my father’s will was probated.

[Gar has opinions about Eren's man bun, but he will refrain from expressing them at this point in time. ...Or ever. It's not like he has any business whatsoever critiquing someone's looks.]

Nicholas Galtry

[A deafening voice booms out through the still-frozen scene. Besides Gar and Eren, the people slowly appearing in the room are all stock-still and completely shadowed... more like silhouettes than actual people. Gar flinches at the sound of the voice.]

This is, um. A trial. ...I've only been to court twice, too. I don't really remember the first time.

Nicholas Galtry.

You have been charged with the following crimes:
Embezzlement
Fraudulent conversion
Attempted murder of the first degree of your ward

How do you plead?

[And now one of the shadowed figures moves for the first time and steps into the light, becoming flesh and blood as Gar shrinks away. He is a thin man with a sharp face, dressed impeccably in a new suit. He doesn't spare Gar a glance as he speaks up.]

Not guilty.

[Gar shrinks away.]

Very well. The prosecution may proceed with its opening statement.

[ this manbun is unquestionable.

but that is not questioned now, what is is the figure that steps up. eren eyes the man up and down, listening to his plea and pondering back on the accusations. he leans over, quietly and his voice just as such. ]

Is that him?

[ the “guardian”. or, as eren likes to call it, the shitstain. ]

...Yeah.

[Gar rises from the prosecution's desk and steps carefully around the still figure of Nicholas Galtry, who is fading back to shadow. He seats himself carefully at the witness stand. In the frozen courtroom, his words echo far too loudly.]

That's Mr. Galtry.

He was... my mom and dad's accountant. After... After what happened, they assigned him to be my guardian... And he was... OK.

I mean.

I knew he didn't... really care that much about me, but I had a place to sleep and food and stuff, so... I couldn't really complain. I didn't see him very much.

...................Last year, he said we should go on a boating trip for my birthday.

I didn't really want to. Because... you know.

But, um, we....

Went.

[The dream is beginning to fade again -- and now... there is the distant sound of crashing waves... Gar looks quite green. ...More so than usual. The witness stand, too, begins to fade - but he gets to his feet and a fist tightly grips the translucent banister.]

N-No.

No, that's... it. I don't -- I don't want to go any further. Stop changing!

[ before eren can go through with the bubbling words at the tip of his tongue, almost leaving his lifted lip— oh boy, they’re skadoo-ing again. he at least holds out his hands to gar’s shoulders to keep him steady, and doesn’t really question their shift.

what he does ask, though: ]

Why do you keep defending him?

[surprise it's more water yaaaaaaaaaay
the beginnings of an ocean are beginning to lap around them now as Gar stares determinedly at Eren's feet, desperately clinging to the banister]

I-I'm not...!

[He kind of is...]

I just --

I just... I still thought he was -- He was still my...

[He can't finish that sentence.]

He really didn't want me that much...?

That’s far from family, Gar. Your parents wouldn’t’ve wanted that if they knew.

[ if that’s the word he was looking for. gar no longer would need to cling to dear life on the banister— eren’s got him. and if the ocean wants to swallow them, he’s got a plan to take them to high ground.

much higher ground. ]

He was the only person you thought you had?

[The ocean is indeed rising towards their lonely little island of carved out courtroom. Gar hangs his head.]

He is the only person I have.

...Had.

[ when the water seems to want to nip at their torsos, they begin to rise— not the way he usually would, but something from below them is rumbling, forming in knits strand into strand, tissue into tissue until there’s true flesh and skin underneathe them. out of the water, they only continue to ascend, and ascend, a good fifteen to ten meters off the ocean surface.

they’re on the shoulders of a titan now, it’s head of messy hair and pointed ears falling forward like an unhinged doll while eren himself is situated at the nape of its neck. it won’t stop being gross, but he tugs at the tissue that pulls at his face to free himself, leaving scars. ]

I’d rather be alone and have me, and find new people, [ he only removes his arms afterward, but his legs still stay stranded by flesh, molding into it like one. ] than call something like that family.

[ at least, they’re safe from water for as long as gar’s dream allows it. ]

. . . Do you still feel that way?

[ok well
Before Gar can talk much more about his emotions, he needs to process what exactly he's looking at here.]

What...

[Of course, he'd seen Eren like this before, but... not so blatantly wearing a meat suit. Gar simply stares for a few moments in confusion.]

I...

Uh.

[...]

................................I just don't want to be alone.

[ it isn’t too nasty once you get used to it. ]

It’s better to be alone than being with someone who makes you feel alone. [ . . . ] I felt alone when Dad died.

[Gar is still too young to appreciate words of insight like this, but...]

...Yeah?

[...]

...You are alone.

'Cause... they're never coming back. So that's... that.

Your parents aren’t the only people around you. I’ve lost them both once, too.

[ they might be where you come from, and your safe haven but— sometimes you need to learn how to walk sooner than you’d think. ]

It took longer to understand that in this life.

...Uh.

[This advice is getting a bit confusing.]

You... remember them dying, you mean?

[A faint pause.]

Yeah. ...I think mine just... always die in a flood. Some kind of... stable timeline thing, I guess...

I’m talking about the memories we get. I saw everything in those.

[ then again, that might seem pretty confusing— his memories mesh together so easily with his current life sometimes, it’s almost hard to tell apart. maybe because he doesn’t truly differentiate. ]

I know what it’s like to have no one, but then have so many people behind you— you’d think you were blind before. [ a pause. ] Which life do you want to hear?

Uhm.

[...By now, the ocean around them has calmed as Gar is sufficiently distracted from the force of his own emotions. He still looks small and tired, though.]

The one that's most important to you...

This one.

[ it’s on complete automatic, he doesn’t even need to think— it’s this one, by far this one. inhaling sharply, eren takes notice of the ocean, of it’s calm. maybe he’s doing something right, or maybe he just got dream lucky.

it’s usually easier to get someone to talk about themselves by talking about you. mutual trust, yes? ]

My dad died on the night of my birthday. [ rather, ] The morning after, but it felt the same way. April 1st, 1:25am. He was going to his car after work and someone confronted him alone. He’s one of the richest doctors in Recollé. [ he remembers it like his phone number, like his address. ] I was 13. I still had Mom, and my sister, but for years it felt like I was the only one in that house.

Edited 2018-08-04 22:01 (UTC)

...?

[It takes Gar a moment or two to understand.]

You mean he was murdered...?

[...well obviously he means he was murdered, and he flinches a little bit even as the words leave his mouth. It's probably unpleasant to hear it so starkly.]

...What did you do?

[ a nod, yes, murdered. murdered for the riches he had, and the car, and the wallet, rather than the help he’s always offered. turns out eren’s father was being monitored quite some time before the incident. ]

I wanted to fight everyone. I didn’t have any friends, and the ones I did have I pushed away. [ or even fought. ] I’d only see Mom and Clover in passing. I remember going a full three weeks without seeing them. They’d want to talk, but. [ a gesture, his fingers upward and with a shrug. ] I’d either hole up in my room or not come home at all.

((Sorry for the delay! I've been on hiatus for assorted reasons and it extended a lot longer than I intended it to. Feel free to drop this if it's been too long; I'll try to wrap it up soon, too.))

...

[He can't say that this was too similar to his reaction, but... then, he was only five or six years old.]

...Yeah.

I never wanted to talk, either. ...It's not like anyone could fix anything by talking.

[But Eren is obviously fine now...
Maybe...]

( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )

Right?

[ that was how he thought too. at least mostly. no amount of comfort or counseling would bring his father back, or give his attackers the justice eren thought they deserved. it ate him alive and all it gave for him to pull up from was hate, and anger. ]

But you can move forward instead of standing still.

[Gar stands very still... on top of the meaty flesh puppet that Eren is piloting, which, if he pondered too much on it, was still pretty disturbing.]

...I don't really move.

I just kinda let other people push me where they want.....