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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

[ It's really a moment like this where Natalia is reminded that for however much it is fun to tease Lina and she really does like the girl, it's still... scary. To have her rationalize that like that, is that even... how can she do that? Maybe she's hard harsher memory experiences, or maybe that's just how she is. Natalia doesn't like the arm being jerked, but it's easy to do. She licks her lips and sees the approaching other and...

It really does look like a person...

Hell, even so that's... ]

Lina you can't ask me to kill someone.

[ It's said lightly, but perhaps a little scared. Still for what she's already said about her memories, she has, in that other life, done that before. ]

[Lina lets go, glares at Natalia, then turns her attention to the slowly approaching Zero. if Nat won't do this, she'll handle it herself. she'll throw herself at the specter of Zero until her body breaks if that's what it takes to get her out of here.]

I'm not asking.

[though she completely lacks the physical strength, she knows now that Nat isn't going to be any help. so Lina cracks the knuckles of one hand against the open palm of the other, then does it with her other hand, and starts a slow walk forward of her own.]

If you won't fight, then get the hell out of here. No sense in both of us getting killed.

[and Lina throws a punch, low and towards Zero's gut. it doesn't do much to deter her, but it doesn't look like she was expecting her sweet, innocent sister to fight back very hard. Zero scowls and swings back, a hook that Lina only barely manages to dodge out of the way from.]

[ What the hell is Lina doing. How can she ask that of her? Natalia's red eyes widen and before she can reach out to grab Lina to stop her, the other has run off. She hesitates a little more, closing her hand before she inhales and... ... And then perhaps a little more desperately than she wanted to look calls out after her: ]

Lina, we could just run?! What are you doing?!

[ Be terrified for her... friend. ]

[Lina whips her head back in Nat's direction suddenly, clearly forgetting one of the first rules of fighting as Zero takes the chance to return the favor. the hit makes Lina stagger backwards, bent over and clutching her stomach. thank god it doesn't hit as hard as her real fake sister would.]

She wants to kill me, Nat. I have to make sure I don't end up on one of those spikes like she did to One.

[which is of course a lie, that last part, but she's going to try to sell it anyway and use her aching guts to mask anything that doesn't sound true enough.]

[ They could still run... couldn't they? They could, right? There's no reason to stay here and have a fight fight. That other woman wasn't even moving too fast. Natalia feels herself swimming a little, and seeing the girl she-- A girl she liked getting beat up like this, taking a hit for turning to face her makes her feel a little sick. The former princess reaches to get the jeweled rapier out of her bag.

That's... ]

That's- that's the past, Lina. That's not us...

It's the fucking present right now!

[ugh. but since Lina doesn't actually stand a chance in a fistfight, maybe she should run? maybe. discretion is the better part of not getting her ass handed to her, and she'll have plenty of dreams where she gets to do this and win anyway at the rate Retrospec is going. she blocks another punch with her forearm and it hits harder—enough to hurt, but not yet to break. and she doesn't like what that might mean.]

[her knee comes up sharply and jams itself between Zero's legs. it's a cheap shot and she might not be as vulnerable to it as others might be, but right now Lina just wants to get out. while her sister is reeling, she backs up to Natalia again, this time turning her back on the scene and walking with purpose. only once she's sure Natalia is with her will she start running.]

Then let's go. Use your magic to block them or something!

[ It's the present right now...

Natalia honestly feels very, very on edge. Could this thing break through more? Would more appear? Can she protect Lina? why was Lina fighting when they could run? Can they not run? But when the other comes to her, beginning their run... She nods. She nods and then flicks her wrist upwards. It'll shatter when they get far enough away, but between two trees she wills massive, wide, seven foot blades out of the ground to form a "wall" between them and the other woman ]

There!

[Lina's eyes widen as she looks over her shoulder, and she has to assume that—since she has no memories of what exactly Zero can do—it's going to hold her while they get the fuck out. she only halfway remembers the path she took to get out here in the first place from the city, but it should be easy enough to retrace as long as the flora doesn't disorient her by looking too similar or shooting pollen at them.]

[she's not sure how long they've been running or how far they've made it, but Lina ends up guiding them to a clearing that doesn't have Zero in it. or One. nobody except the two of them—for the moment. hopefully for longer than just that. her chest is heaving, and she leans forward and places her hands on her thighs while she recovers.]

She... said she'd... put me out of my misery.

[her words are coming with difficulty, but Natalia is owed at least some kind of explanation, right?]

[ That's the hope! Though who knows, maybe the flora will indeed make it difficult for them. The wall of swords isn't going to last once they get away from it. That said, once they hit the clearing Nat is also winded - she's not used to running like this!! And...

Looks up at... Lina and-

Ah that's... ]

She... she did?

[Lina nods and takes a few more seconds to try to recover. she's terrified right now, now that the anger from the fight and from being attacked is working its way out of her system, but adrenaline is adrenaline. once her lungs are back under her control, she straightens out and gives Natalia a serious look.]

In a memory. I don't know what happened to Two, but Zero wants to kill her. And it turns out I like being alive for the first time in my fucking life [a lie, but she's blown past it already] and I don't actually want to get punched to death in the woods miles away from home?

So, like, no, you don't have to kill her, but we needed to get the hell out of there. And we need to keep going. I don't know if she's still coming.

[ Natalia's red eyes go wide, and if Lina remembers this moment when they go back to normal, it'll probably stand out in her memory as a deep contrast between this Natalia and the normal one. She looks so... lost. Scared and confused and nakedly showing her alarm on her face in a way that the normal Natalia Fairweather would absolutely never allow herself to show. She gasps a little, as if struggling for words and then...

Well, she nods.

This is over her head, isn't it? It is, but then, she's also the one who could (easily, her mind informs her) kill the other. She swallows and, ]

Y-yeah. No... we should go. [ A beat and- ] Lina -- I won't let anything happen to you.

[Lina sighs silently after one long, controlled inhale. breathing out for longer than you breathe in is supposed to help calm her down, or so she's heard, and she absolutely needs that right now. they just don't have time to test it out right now.]

[then Natalia says that she won't let anything happen to Lina and that... she's not used to that. if they were still moving it would have tripped her up, made her step stutter. but it goes without much comment as she processes it and tries to think of the best way to follow something like that up.]

Come on. [she starts walking across the clearing, extending her hand for Natalia to hold if she needs it. or wants it. what she settles on saying is something she's said a couple times before, but the emotion in her voice is hard for even Lina herself to place. she isn't angry or insistent but she's not entirely melancholy about it either? she doesn't even know what she's supposed to feel. the words just come out because they're familiar. because it's what she always says when people are nice to her like this.] Don't do anything you wouldn't normally do just because of me.

[ Natalia does not, in fact, take that hand. Because she needs to have control over her right hand to hold the rapier in it. Which she draws out of her purse and keeps it in hand. Just for if - when, probably - Zero returns.

Natalia' eyes harden a little. What would she do? What would that self in her past life do...? There's a few conflicts there, but she ...

Well, she'll run with Lina. ]

Lina I-- [ She doesn't know... what to say to that either. So she just kind of lets the sentence die with a shake of her head. ]

[Lina's more... walking with purpose to give them both time to recover. she doubts Zero can teleport, after all, and it lets them actually talk to each other like friends, like they're supposed to be. instead of Natalia being Lina's blade. god, okay, she'll beat herself up for that later. now they just need to get back on the path to the city.]

Yeah? [she asks it casually, then reconsiders and just starts talking instead of prompting Nat.] Look, you don't have to do anything I say. People usually don't. I just panicked because I was pretty sure she was actually going to... [she sighs again, but this time it's sharper.]

Just actually tell me to shut the fuck up next time. Get angry at me if you have to.

[ Get... angry.

Honestly, perhaps she should? But Natala ~~in this AU~~ left home and ended up in a cult. Years of dealing with that psychological trauma that she didn't even recognize as trauma at the time have rendered her... not necessarily incapable of being angry, but definitely hesitant to. She had -- she does like Lina. She's not even sure why, she did just. She was cute. She was ... not necessarily nice, but she could be fun. They did have things in common.

To be angry with her?

Natalia shakes her head again and bites her lip, focusing instead at the forest line here, moving with purpose and trying to be aware if she does need to strike with her blades. ]

[Lina glances at Nat's reaction to that out of the corner of her eye. it's a weird request, but is it that much weirder than the demand that she literally kill somebody? probably not. maybe not. Lina doesn't know; she can't place Nat and doesn't know her nearly as well as she'd like to pretend. this is a lot more high-stakes than a text adventure and probably not the right time to be asking those sorts of questions.]

Or don't. I'm not your boss. [she sighs and jams her hands in her pockets while they, like, power-walk away.] I guess just remember that I don't know shit about anything. I got thrown into this same as you and I'm doing a real bad job figuring it all out.

[ Is she being unfair? She might be being unfair. She's not... she's not sure of much of anything right now. Instead, she just shakes her head lightly and keeps herself on alert here. After all, Lina isn't the only one with monsters from her past. It's entirely possible that someone or something from Natalia's past will go against them too.

Which, well.

One of them does. She sees the glint out of the corner of her eye and She makes to tackle Lina to the ground. The better to protect her from the loud sound of a gunshot aimed towards them in the second before it fires. ]

[and Lina's taken completely off-guard, brought down easily, and her heart doesn't have time to start quickening between the tackle and the gunshot. suddenly it's worth being an on-edge, neurotic bitch sometimes. she hisses something out at Natalia while keeping her head down, as though it's going to help much.]

What the fuck, who's shooting at us?

That one's on me, I think.

[ Dammit, keeping low, she makes to get off of Lina but noticed that in that tackle she jostled her prosthesis. It's not inoperable but it's a bit out of socket and isn't responding perfectly. But she has the rapier in her right hand and... ]

Someone from my memories.

Edited 2018-08-17 23:16 (UTC)

What the hell kind of—

[no, not the right time. she'll grill Natalia more later on why someone from her world is shooting at her with a gun when everything so far has indicated swords and magic. it's not really the thing to focus on. she glances over at Natalia, then at her arm—she's not super great friends with Jen yet, but she's trying harder, and she knows prostheses and she can sort of tell that Nat's has a problem.]

What do we do? Stay low? Can you crawl?

I can crawl [ it's harder, what with her arm. She's honestly not sure if she can per se, but she grips her rapier harder. This might buy time for Zero to show back up...? Either way, the woman inhales and exhales, and ... ] -maybe. But I'll stand and see if I can work out where she's shooting from.

[ In that other life, she has managed to raise up shields of swords faster than the bullets flew to deflect them. She might be able to manage the same this time. She might be able to survive this.

Hopefully. ]

[jesus christ. she can't let Nat do that, can she? but like what the hell is Lina gonna do, catch one in the fucking dome with her also obvious head of hair? there's no good answer.]

[just before she grabs at Natalia's arm to stop her from popping her head up, Lina hears a second person moving around in the brush from a different direction. "who the fuck is shooting a gun?" she hears it ask in the very distinct voice of Zero even though there's been very little speaking from her so far. it... might draw attention.]

[either way, though, she's going to grab the wrist of Nat's hand, carefully avoiding the rapier, and try to keep her down low to the ground now that their threats have doubled. she swears under her breath as she winces, then her eyes widen and her heartbeat starts to race again.]

What do we do now? [it's a harsh whisper, almost a hiss, and she hopes to god she was at least effective in keeping Nat out of sight.]

[ Natalia's heart is racing too. Racing, and her vision almost seems unfocused in this moment and stopped from rising, she isn't sure what to respond with for a long moment. After all, this was the sort of situation where she just wants to fall into the habits she had in that other world. But that said.

Well, if Zero's being obvious out there?

She's going to get shot. Or at least, a musket(ish) ball is being loudly shot towards her from the sniper position of the other. Natalia, for her part...

Laughs. Just a little. ]

[and Lina hears Zero swear as the sound of a bullet hitting flesh reaches her ears, and... she can't help but feel pretty thrilled about it herself. there's a very quiet snicker as the thought "that's what you get, bitch" flashes through her head, but she's smart enough not to voice it.]

[seems like it's drawn Zero's attention, which should at least take the heat off Nat and Lina, but it's not going to resolve anything while the intoner storms off in the direction of the shot with her fists clenched at her sides. Lina isn't paying attention to that fight; she jerks her head to the side as though they should just keep going. no, Nat can't crawl, but—shit, how is this going to work. a pause.]

Hurry. While they're busy. [she gets up into a crouch, trying her absolute best to move slowly and stay low. her hand comes down to grip Nat's.]

[ Natalia does not grip the hand back, because she wants to keep her hand firmly on the rapier, just in case. Trying to keep her senses aware, she listens in on the fight but...

Yeah, they need to hurry.

She can't crawl like this, but she can crouch-walk a little bit as best she can, hoping for the cover the woods to block their exit. She does take the moment to look somewhat regretful at Lina. Sorry about not taking your hand? Unless she was going for the prosthesis in which case have at. Either way, though, ]

Yeah, hopefully that'll hold them.

[ Will it though, will it really? The phantoms were meant for the two of them, not each other. But. Yeah, to have Flamie and that Zero woman fight each other would be for the best. ]