recollecters: (Default)
Recollé Mods ([personal profile] recollecters) wrote in [community profile] recolle2018-07-03 04:52 pm

(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 [community profile] 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!
standalonehuman: (TogusaPonder)

Re: A Not Equal Memory

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2018-07-25 02:08 pm (UTC)(link)
The trip over is a blur, as if they just step from one area to the next. Togusa is speaking, questioning their situation even as he follows orders, analyzing what he can to glean more information, in a way that is wholly familiar. So familiar that he isn't paying attention to the exact words he is saying, just acting like he's following a script.

It's when Mariko breaks that script that Togusa starts paying some damn attention again.

"Mariko." He nods. "Yeah, it's me. I'm really here. You are too?"

It's a dumb question, but the only one he can think to ask. He can ignore their situation, and focus in on Mariko. "...Why are you just blending in like you belong here?" Another dumb question. In his gut, he knows the answer. But he doesn't want it to be true. He is searching Mariko's face, he knows how to read her expression better than most.

"You said you remembered someone who looked like me. Why am I still not remembering anyone who looks like you?"
megatechbody: (MariSideEye)

Re: A Not Equal Memory

[personal profile] megatechbody 2018-07-25 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, that’s Mari all right - only she can make a sidelong glance feel like the saltiest ‘Seriously?’ he’s heard in ages. She knows you’re better than both of those softballs you just threw and doesn’t like how what they imply disappears from her mind like wafting smoke.

“Togusa.” There goes her voice - no, it’s too hard, too much like foundation - that’s her Other’s tone and it’s so weird to hear it when...why are they here?

Mariko blinks a few times, glancing around the pipe for any sign of what the situation really is.

“Remember what Sherlock said.” Her tone is still a bit genuinely teasing, even as the situation continues to freak them out. “I know this whole situation is full of impossible things - but what if we bought in for one second. What could we make sense of?”
standalonehuman: (TogusaWorstIdea)

Re: A Not Equal Memory

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2018-07-25 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
The expression only gets a flinch and a tightening of Togusa's expression. Right. Take this more seriously. He heaves a sigh, but despite the clenching feeling in his throat, he dives in to the things he doesn't want to think about.

"You saw the group there, in the beginning. The rest of the team that the other guy works with. Aside from himself, there's six others. Three of them I remember; three I don't. Plus their Chief. The obvious answer is that the person you're remembering is one of the team members I don't."

One hand raises in a shrug, shifting his balance on the tachikoma. "But part of me wants to say that's too neat and clean. That if these two souls happen to both come from the same world, that they're this closely interlinked? Hell of a coincidence."
megatechbody: (Default)

Re: A Not Equal Memory

[personal profile] megatechbody 2018-07-25 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
“Maybe it isn’t.” Mariko looks up into the darkness, just thinking. “They’re trying to put us back together, remember?”

Retrospec was a mess, but they hadn’t quite pissed her off, so she’s still considering the knowledge they’ve been given.

“You wanna jog someone’s memory - you give them something familiar.”
standalonehuman: (TogusaPonder)

Re: A Not Equal Memory

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2018-07-25 05:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn it all, but it's in line with some of Togusa's earlier thinking. He slumps, he hates this theory, but he keeps going down this path. "That's why they give us the items that belong to those other people, even if they might be useless to us. Why when they make a change to our bodies, it's always in favor of what happened to the other person. To make that recall easier."

The follow-up questions stay silent, and Togusa makes a fist and rests it under his chin. What do you remember about him? Why don't I remember her? He doesn't want to know. And he doesn't want to treat Mariko like some kind of cipher towards figuring out his own shit.

That hand leaves his chin, and knock-knocks on the hull of the tachikoma they're sitting on.

"Whoa, hey!" the high-pitched voice comes in return.

"Sorry," Togusa apologizes, then gets a startled look on his face like he realized he just apologized to a robot tank.

"These things." To his point, he looks at Mariko. "What do you remember about them?" It might be a line towards figuring out what the overlap between them is. And it's a safer, more neutral topic than poking and prodding at each other.
megatechbody: (That's cute)

Re: A Not Equal Memory

[personal profile] megatechbody 2018-07-29 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
Mariko perks up at the protest, arching an eyebrow at the spider-tank before smiling. Leave it to him to try and find a way to get answers and still be humane about it.

"Tachikomas, right?" Her gaze flicks down to the chassis of this strange thing - not a vehicle, not a weapon. "I get the feeling they're kinda cute if they weren't so annoying."

That's mean, Ma'am! comes the protest and Mariko can't help but chuckle.

"I dunno. Aside from that feeling, I don't think I have an opinion on them."

standalonehuman: (TogusaTalk2)

Re: A Not Equal Memory

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2018-07-29 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
In a roundabout way, Togusa has Prompto and Ardyn, or maybe Dante and Sora to thank for his reluctance to pepper Mariko with questions. Deep down, they would just be about what he knows, or leading towards an answer he wants to hear, and forgetting about the person that is truly standing in front of him. He's watched two sets of friends screw this up, he is going to do his best to not do the same.

"Even that much, nobody else has known," Togusa shakes his head. "I feel...much the same. Almost exactly the same," Togusa emphasizes, "except-"

"Mister Togusa is a meanie!"

Togusa has to laugh along, shake his head. "Not like that! I was going to say I also feel sorry for you guys, like you're stuck with something tragic, and I don't know why."

The Tachikoma falls silent, as if it, too, is pondering why Togusa would think or feel that way towards them. Togusa's own lack of subconscious information has no idea how to have the machine react, either, so nothing happens.