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, good. That means we can end this bullshit conversation because you seem to be too ingrained in the idea that it possibly won't work rather than hoping that it will.

Yeah sure, this conversation can end... but one problem...

[Derek points at Leon's dead body.]

I'M STILL SUCK HERE, IN YOUR DREAM! WILL YOU WAKE UP! You're a pain in the butt to talk to!

Yes, because clearly I have any semblance of control of that at all. It's probably easier for you to wake up than for me to.

[Seriously.

Even if this is a bad, terrible dream, she'd still rather be asleep than awake. Maybe after he's gone, she can finally have some nicer dreams.]

It's your dream for crying out loud! Why don't you do something to jolt yourself awake, like in that movie...uh... Inception. Have you seen it?

Again: it's not as if I have control over things.

[Her voice is so flat that she can't honestly even laugh at it.]

And no, I haven't seen it. I don't have the time to watch useless movies nowadays

[Derek's voice comes out in a drawl.]

The movie came out in 2010. You were too busy to watch a movie eight years ago?

[Derek leans up against a wall and folds his arms.]

This whole situation is ridiculous! I'm stuck in a dream of an annoying girl with the annoying girl until I wake up.

I was in Japan eight years ago, in a small remote village, constantly preparing to become the heir day in and day out with barely any free time. So yes.

[She can at least smile and answer the question in a rather passive aggressive manner because she honestly doesn't give a shit.]

Then maybe you should pinch yourself awake.

It came out in Japan. Grossed $40 million. But heir? What are you? Some rich kid?

[Derek reaches for the side of his arm and pinches hard. He feels nothing]

Oh, look I pinched my self hard and I don't feel a thing. Why? BECAUSE I'M DREAMING!

You think I keep track of that crap? [Spoilers: she doesn't.] And that's right. I'm the heiress of a canned meat company. And while I might have money, that doesn't mean that I fan it around like an arrogant prick or even tell most people that I am an heiress. I only say it to show just simply how busy I am and how I do not have much time for leisure. My village doesn't even have a movie theater.

[Even in the modern era, some things just don't change.]

Oh, you don't feel a thing? Maybe if I kill you here, you won't feel a thing, either.

No time for leisure? And your other self grew up the same way?

[No wonder she went crazy.]

[Derek gives Mio a look of disbelief.]

That's a bit uncalled for don't you think? I'm assuming you're in jail or some pshyc ward for killing your boyfriend? Killing someone in you dream can't be good for therapy.

I said "not much", not zero, period. I have enough time sometimes to go on a date. But Shion didn't grow up like that. Not at all.

[ And she smiles cooly. ]

I don't mind killing someone in my dreams. It's not like what happens in the dream will happen in real life, and I'm not even really getting therapy anyway. Honestly, you can barely call it a proper psych ward. And I'm perfectly fine now anyway, since I got the disease removed. Anything that happens after isn't me simply going crazy.

It's just the natural order of events. Besides... I'm already a murderer. I don't mind if I end up worse than that, or if everyone else hates me. There's only one person I care about in the end. Because I am a selfish demon who could honestly care less.

Edited 2018-08-06 06:10 (UTC)

[OK, Derek, time for some quick thinking!]

That person you care about, it's Leon right? Do you think he'll be alright with you being OK with killing people still? Because I know him. His cousins are friends with my siblings.

Just because you have connections with his cousins through your siblings does not mean you truly know him. I'm not killing anyone in the real world, so it's fine. If I explain everything to him, I'm certain he'll understand and be on my side.

[Derek gives Mio a look of disbelief.]

It's not OK to kill people in your dreams Mio. Especially if they are just pissing you off! How long are you going to be in your institution? You should double that time and get your morals checked!

[Though if Leon forgives her again, I wouldn't be surprised. But she clearly needs psychiatric help!]

My morals are fine. And I don't plan on staying in that place any longer than I have to, thank you very much. It's not as if that place is actually helping me. It's just simply a 'punishment'.

[But then she laughs and shrugs her shoulders.]

Besides, you were the one who said it yourself, didn't you? You didn't feel anything when you pinched yourself. So clearly, you shouldn't feel anything if I decide to kill you, too. This is more than just simply irritating me.

You're inside my head, seeing things that were never meant to be seen by other people. Of course, the blame all lies with Retrospec, but that doesn't change the fact that you have been a nuisance this whole entire time. If you're unable to wake up, then I'll just have to take matters into my own hands to wake you up. That's all.

[Your morals are NOT fine you crazy girl!]

[Derek take a step back and reaches for his wand. If this girl was going to try and kill him, even if it is in her own dream, he wasn't going to go down without a fight. What's the most possibly embarrassing spell he could use on her? Tickle charm? Nah, she might not feel it. The dancing charm though... that would be a possibility. Derek pulls out his wand and points it straight at Mio.]

If you're going to try and kill me, you'll have to try and get past my magic.

[But before he could even say the spell, there is an sudden blaring beeping noise. It sounded familiar. Ah, it's his alarm to wake up!

Derek lowers his wand and smirks at Mio.]

Looks like you won't be killing me tonight... or I guess morning, since that's my alarm.

[With a chuckle he disappears and he fades out of the dream.

In the waking world, Derek's eyes snap open and he reaches over and hits his alarm clocks snooze button. That was such an annoying dream.]