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EVENT

Reverted
The city of Recollé...have you looked beyond the city lately? It may be time to do so.

I.

The good news, perhaps, is that everyone is back in their original bodies. The last few weeks may have been trying and embarrassing for several of you, but never fear! You're all in this together.

The nice thing about returning to your original body is that everything else seems to disappear along with the unintentional swapping. Your dreams on the evening of the 16th and the 17th are unoccupied and you're blissfully alone. Hallucinations fade away and the city almost feels brighter and cleaner. The messy paint job from May and June slowly flakes off to reveal a sparkling almost-new landscape below. All buildings, landmarks, flora and fauna are back to their original colors. The sky, however, is still painted a strange wash of colors and symbols.

The other nice thing about returning to your original body is that it's much easier to feel the sudden, sharp pain on your palm at midnight on the 18th, a needling high-pressure pain that lasts for all of 30 seconds. Upon looking at your hand, however, you'll notice something new.

In bright red font there's a new marking that reads: 13 Days:23:59:59.

58. 57. 56...

The timer steadily counts down, each second synced with each beat of your heart. As the days pass by the timer will slowly shift from the red to a dark, ominous purple. The glow of the mark becomes harder to ignore, and there doesn't seem to be a way to remove it. Good luck with that.

II.

The Retrospec app doesn't seem to be much better. The scrambled messages and posting errors seem to have stopped and users are no longer receiving messages and pictures about themselves.

In fact, the app seems to be quiet for a while.

As users continue to use the app they will find that any post, comment or message that they send via the app will be tagged with a different ID. Instead of their name, all messages will be from Alpha##### or Beta#####. The string of numbers will be unique for each user and cannot be changed at any time. Individual mailboxes will be attached to your name, but the Alpha/Beta ID has made its way there, too.

Over the course of the rest of the month, Alphas (those who have had the app for at least a year from August 2017) will find that messages to other Alphas are sent more easily than to Betas (those who have had the app for less than a year from August 2017) and vice versa. Messages to anyone from the opposite "faction" may drop out half-way or appear blank entirely. It might be wise to find a better mode of communication in the meantime.

III.
Even if you're alone in your dreams, you're not alone in the waking world. No one is free from the timer on their palm, though they may come to find that it impacts some users more than others.

Some users will experience a steady pulsating in their hand as the timer counts backwards, each second ticking by. Standing still just long enough will send the pulse out of their hands and through the rest of their body, over their arms and through their feet straight into the ground.

The earth begins to shake under these unlucky users, little quakes and trembles that spread out and seek out anyone else nearby. Whether you know this person or not, whether you're alone or several of you are impacted by this earthquake, the ground beneath you splits open and you're pulled straight down into the crevice, falling aimlessly. Instead of finding your own life flashing before your eyes, you'll find yourself witnessing events, faces, and memories that are important to the user the pulses came from.

On the outside of things, the user will promptly collapse into a coma-like state no matter where they're at. Inside their mind, however, a scene begins to set itself to welcome you as you land. It isn't a memory and it isn't a hallucination. It's a construct of someone else's innerworkings that have trapped you and blocked you in.

As the haze around you dissipates, the puzzle you received earlier this month floats in front of you. Whether you have finished building it or not it is now fully completed and all of the words have faded except for "Gordian Knot."

Your cell phones will not work in these dreamscapes, and even Retrospec seems to be disconnected. It's up to you to venture further into someone else's mind and help them untangle whatever mystery is hidden within themselves.

IV.
So about that timer. As time begins to run out, more and more people begin to experience dream dives and encounter the knots of others that they must fix. Even inside the dreamscape, the timer glows just as brightly as it had out in the real world and it continues counting down.

At least it gives you a sense of time and just how many minutes, hours, or days you've been stuck inside someone's subconscious. You might even realize that the timer is directly tied to just how much time you have to unravel the knots of your friends, loved ones, and strangers.

Easy, right? Take caution, citizens. The monsters and demons lurking in the corners of someone else's psyche can manifest to something quite powerful. You will not wake up and be booted out of someone's dream if you are attacked, but your physical body and mind will shut down and remain unconscious for one week.

Be careful how you approach these knots, however! Should you change any part of them too much, the host will find themselves rejecting this new information. Too great of a change will result in the loss of an important memory to them and no way to recover it inside the dive.

Even with these possible losses divers are responsible for fixing what's gone wrong and relieving the knot wound tightly in the host's mind. Venture forward, explore, and break it apart to awaken then. You will be greatly rewarded for your effort.

Failure to break the knot and save the host from this comatose state will result in all parties suffering a loss. At first it may not be obvious, but over time it will be clear an important memory or item has left your possession.

Is it just limited to dives though? Some users will feel that even with successful diving they don't quite feel like themselves. It seems as though there's some further self-evaluation they must meet in order to fully recover who they are...or were, as it may be.

Tick-tock, Retrospecters. Mind the time.

BONUS.
Ever since he moved in back in February, the lights have always been on in Zee's office and home at the top of the Towers. Office hours are whenever he feels like making them and he's usually reachable by phone, email, or app.

However, beginning on the 18th, messages to his inbox begin to go unanswered. Checking the inbox itself will reveal a change as well.

Delta#02018329 is no longer receiving messages.

On the 19th, the lights go off permanently. Beginning on the 20th, anyone who ventures to his office will find the building empty and locked, no sign of Zee at all. Reaching out to him receives a bounce-back error message.

Any previous correspondences with him will remain, though his name has been replaced with his Delta ID.

It's hard to say what's happened, but after some time, all users will finally receive a message from Delta#68422.

Stop him.

No other messages will be sent or received from this account.

Welcome to

recolle's August event, part 2!

As notated in the plotting post, the dreamdives are now live! Players are in charge of creating their own unique dive experiences for characters to explore and play through. These can be as harmless or as dangerous as you'd like. However, please be sure to let us know here if your character will be failing a dive and what memory/item they will be losing!

For Prompt II, characters IDs will be comprised of the following: The date your character first appeared on Retrospec (so in Zee's case, that was 02/01/18) and the last four digits of your character's IC inbox as found in the HTML (in Zee's case, 8329.) These IDs will be more relevant in September, but for ease of playing/making sure no one ICly overlaps please use these numbers!

Friendly reminder that if your character will be keeping their new AUs, please reply to this comment on the OOC plot post! As per Prompt IV, characters who are failing to recover their original AUs will begin to notice something is off and will not be able to accomplish what is needed to regain their original AUs. What this is is up to you!

As per the plotting post, threading out successful dream dives will earn you a free memory! Qualifying threads must be at least five comments from you and can be from you either hosting a dive or participating in one. Please note that failed dives will not be eligible for freebies.

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

[Derek lets out a snort.]

Oh, and you are? And besides... I-I don't even know if I'm... ya know... her type. Just because she laughs at something I say means she'd be interested on going on a date with me.

[No, but clearly he has to be, because otherwise Derek will do nothing.]

It also doesn't mean she's not interested in going on a date with you. Nothing ventured nothing gained. So stop being a wimp and just ask her.

[Derek just STARES at Tatsuo.]

You make it sound like it's SO easy! When was the last time you asked someone out?

[Wow, it is soooo much fun being on the other end of this conversation.]

I'm not saying it's easy, but wouldn't you rather know for certain than keep wondering and torturing yourself? And for your information, I asked someone out about six months ago. It didn't work out, but I'm still glad I did.

[You're enjoying this aren't you Tatsuo?]

[Derek's instantly jumps on the chance to change the topic.]

And pray tell, who did you ask?

[Of course he's enjoying this. Why wouldn't he?]

I'll tell you after you ask her out.

[he jerks his chin in the direction of the door]

What? Oh, come on! That is not a fair exchange at all! It's not like you're trying to ask someone out right now!

Because this isn't about me right now? It's about you.

[Tatsuo pauses]

And if you must know, there's someone in another one of my classes I'm thinking about asking out. So if you go ask out the girl you like, I'll do the same.

[Dream Derek doubts Tatsuo's honestly when he says "thinking about asking someone out."]

Who is it that you plan to ask? I haven't seen you flirt with anyone.

Yeah, 'cause she isn't in this class and it's not like we have every class together.

[Derek leans towards Tatsuo with a very serious look.]

If I find out that you're lying to me about the girl just so that I will ask [Insert name here] out, you're ass will belong to me.

[Derek stands up and grabs his bag.]

Come one let go find her before I loose my nerve.

[uh-huh, he'd like to see you try to beat him up Derek]

Would I do something like that?

[Tatsuo grabs his bag and gets to his feet]

You know which way she went?

['cause they've been talking for at least a couple minutes now, who knows where she went after she left the classroom]

[Who said anything about Derek beating up Tatsuo?]

[Luckily for then, the classroom is at the end of the hall, so there is only one direction for them to go. Derek starts briskly walking down the hall. He turns a corner and suddenly stops. He almost runs into the person he was looking for!]

[insert name here], uh... hi!

[The young woman smiles.]

"Hi, yourself! What up?"

[Derek's so nervous he's about to puke. He was hoping that he'd we her from a distance and be able to mentally prepare himself. Not like this! Just right up in his face! Derek opens his mouth to speak and... nothing. Nothing comes out! The young woman of course notices.]

"Uh... Derek? Are you OK?"

[Derek lets out a breath he's been holding and finally finds his voice.]

Uh... um... I was wondering if you were available this Friday night t-to g-go on a d-date with me?

[The young woman smiles and nods.]

"Yeah, I'd like that."

[Derek grins like a dork. Success!

For Tatsuo, he will see a light emanating from Derek's back, around the area of where his heart is. It's a bright white light. Out of the light comes a small key. This key will float towards Tatsuo and stop at arms length away from her. He might want to grab that.]

Edited 2018-09-13 21:03 (UTC)

[OH GOOD. HE ACTUALLY MANAGED TO DO IT

...

and why is there a key coming out of his back? that is... just weird...

but Tatsuo grabs the key anyway]

[When Tatsuo grabs the key, he will feel a pull, as if he is being lurched forward. This feeling will continue until he suddenly comes to a dead stop. To his left will be a huge iron door with a lock. If Tatsuo tries to open it, he will fail. It will not budge. To his right is a much more plain door, a familiar door. It's the door to the Recolle Crime Labs. If he enters through this door (because it's unlocked), he will find all the different desks of the different CSI members. Tatsuo might feel this place is very nostalgic and even find a desk with his own name on it. The desk will have things in it too, files, office supplies, that sort of thing. The key Tatsuo has will fit somewhere in this room, perhaps in a certain person's desk?]

[When Tatsuo sees the Crime Lab with all of its desk and file cabinets, he's reminded off the the staff room of his high school back in Japan. The times he delivered things to a staff member there. And then he thinks of his own desk at Recolle High.

He looks down at the key in his hand. Pretty much the same size as the key he uses to lock his desk.

Tatsuo looks around the room... and spots the desk with his name on it. He tries in the key there... and it doesn't work. Okay. Then maybe...

Tatsuo searches until he finds the desk with Derek's name on it and inserts the key into the lock.]

[Once the drawer is open, Tatsuo will find a ring box. If he opens it, he will find this inside. Yup, this is the ring AU1 Derek had bought for his girlfriend, that he never gave.

Once Tatsuo examines the ring he will feel as if he is being pulled forward like he was before and he will find himself in an apartment. Tatsuo will recognize that the apartment is from the same complex as his own. Upon arriving in the apartment, he will instantly be greeted by an occumpant of the apartment. Which will include claws and angry meows.]

[Tatsuo is still confused over the ring when he's faced with a very angry Blaise.]

Whoa! Blaise, what's wrong?

[Nothing's wrong Tatsuo, Blaise just hates you. Blaise will continue to try and climb on Tatsuo and meow angrily. If Tatsuo looks around, he will eventually find the kitchen with a recipe for Tatsuo to follow. Perhaps those angry meows are Blaise's way of screaming that he's hungry? Chop chop human!]

Owowowow! Come on, Blaise, I can't figure out what's wrong if you're trying to use me as a scratching post.

[he thought the two of you were friends Blaise ;A;

Tatsuo does his best to move about the apartment, checking to see what Blaise could be upset about....

and eventually finds the recipe after checking the litter box and the cat tree]

Wait, are you hungry Blaise? Did Derek not feed you?

[oh shit, this looks a lot harder than what he's been making for Yujirou... but he's going to try anyway

or try as best he can with an angry cat trying to climb him]

[Blaise meows angrily when Tatsuo asks him if he's hungry. Of course he's hungry you stupid human!

Blaise will continue cling to Tatsuo, and will probably perch on his shoulder while he watches Tatsuo make his food. He will also occasionally swat at his year. This is suppose to be a challenge, so Blaise will make it so.]

Ow... ow... oh come on, Blaise. The more you sink your little claws into me, the longer it's going to take to make all this.

[Eventually, he succeeds in preparing the meal. It's not as pretty as it might be if Derek had made it, and maybe it's not quite as delicious as Derek would have made it. But it's been cooked, and chopped, and mashed, and molded into a shape that Blaise might just recognize.]

There. Are you happy?

[Blaise hops down from Tatsuo's shoulder and looks at the cat food in the bowl. He then pokes it with his paw and then licks the residue off of it. He pauses mid second lick of his paw to think. This... didn't taste too bad. Huh, so the human can cook. Still, just to bug Tatsuo, Blaise sticks his whole paw into the food and presses it in, making a nice hole in it. He then proceeds to lick the food off the paw again.

Yay! Tatsuo got Blaise's approval! Tatsuo is free to walk around the apartment!

I will seem like a normal apartment, except for one thing, the teddy bear dressed up in a Sherlock Holmes outfit sitting on the bed in the bedroom. It's not the outfit that is strange, no, it's the fact that the bear's eyes will follow you wherever you go in the room.]

[Wow Blaise, wow. He worked so hard on that meal and you stick your paw in it?

But at least the cat is finally leaving him alone, so Tatsuo takes the opportunity to start looking around. He quickly determines which bedroom is Derek's and starts rummaging around in drawers and on shelves.

As he's looking in Derek's nightstand, he notices the bear.

And that the bear is looking at him. He's not exactly sure how, because teddy bear, but Tatsuo gets the distinct impression that the toy is looking directly at him.

It is exceedingly creepy.

Tatsuo backs up a step, then starts edging toward the door. And yep. The gaze follows him.

Is he about to die by teddy bear? Because that would be an awful way to go.]

[The bear continues to stare at Tatsuo and then proceeds to raise it paw, and beckons Tatsuo to come closer. The voice that comes out of the bear sounds exactly like Patrick Stewart. Of course Derek's bear would sound like one of the actors form Star Trek!]

"You. Derek needs your help. Will you help Derek, and unlock the door to his missing memories? These are memories Derek has been desperately trying to remember. If you will, you must answer four questions to prove that you truly care about Derek. Do you accept this task?"

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