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

[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.....

Don’t you get tired of that?

[Truth be told...

He wasn't tired of it... He didn't feel much of anything about it. That was just the way it was. His life was dictated by the wills of those who, presumably, knew what he was meant to do. They told him to jump, and he didn't ask how high. He just... jumped. Without enthusiasm or motivation, with his feet barely leaving the ground.

Because it just... didn't matter...]

I dunno.

[...]

I'm tired of everything, I guess. I do what people tell me to do 'cause... I don't... have anything I want to do, anyway.

[ that one response is sad, and for a moment eren can’t fathom how someone so young, with so much potential was . . . this despondent.

he can’t blame him for something that was implanted long before he could decide who he was. he can’t judge him for something he never seemingly had. what he could do, though— was help leave room for a new plant to sprout. ]

Because all this time, [ eren takes his arm and props it over his knee to rest. even if he’s keeping a meat puppet up, he should get comfortable. ] you’ve never been free.

I want to hear about you for once.

W-What...?

[He looks up sharply, and there is something almost a little bit like fear in his eyes. Or at least... unease.]

What do you mean?

You... You're seeing all of my stupid... life issues, right? What... else is there about me?

Issues aren’t the only things that define you.

[ should he go first? maybe he should go first to break the ice.

. . . ]

I collect Hot Wheels and my favorite movie series is Fast and Furious.

...Hot Wheels?

[...like
the little kid cars???]

Uh.

Right.

..................I... play a lot of video games. I'm pretty good, I guess.

[ don’t say that outloud he’ll break you ]

Which ones?

Road Fighter. ...Super Smash Dudes. Fork Knife. You know. Usual stuff.

[He gives a shrug.]

...Being good at video games doesn't mean much, though.