recollecters: (Default)
Recollé Mods ([personal profile] recollecters) wrote in [community profile] recolle2018-12-17 03:59 pm

(no subject)

EVENT
Re:Joice
The city of Recollé...it just doesn't end, does it?

PROLOGUE.
The trials and tribulations of winter seem to know no bounds. Those things in the city can almost pass as fine, with the snowflake portals and Jack Frost abound it's hard for citizens to truly relax during the most "wonderful" time of the year.

The snow seems to have let up just enough that the city is a beautiful winter wonderland rather than an icy, endless tundra. The streets are cleared, the sidewalks aren't as crowded, and on the 14th day of December a loud trumpet seems to blare out of nowhere.

It's one loud note that seems to dissipate immediately. Life moves on, but everywhere you go you seem to be followed by a familiar little tune…

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

The coos, clucks and warbles of French hens, turtle doves and partridges join the song and as the days count down toward Christmas, these birds can be found on the rooftops of buildings in all districts. Their beady red eyes seem to follow as they chirp along in tune, a constant reminder of the Christmas countdown.

…but that's not so bad, right? They're just birds, after all.
I.
Perhaps you've figured out the pattern by the time the 17th rolls around. Or maybe you just know how the song goes and you've braced yourself for it. But is it truly possibly to prepare for anything that happens in this city? As the days count toward the 12th day of Christmas, several things about the city around you draw your attention.

Calling birds will swoop in on the fourth day, immediately diving for your phone and lifting it away to fly off across the city. These birds will make prank calls and may even update statuses for you on your social media accounts, leaving everyone you know with a lot of questions about you. You may wish to hunt them down quickly.

On the fifth day of Christmas, five golden teleportation rings will appear among the districts, zooming under your feet to send you crashing right into the nearest department store, the middle of the park or even your neighbor's bathtub. The rings have zero limits, but you will find yourself transported anywhere people seem to linger.

This pattern continues as the other lines seemingly come to life and come out of order; golden goose eggs roll down the sidewalk as geese chase after them, new eggs appearing each day as the geese bite anyone who get close enough. Swans begin to flock to all bodies of water including swimming pools, fountains, and your kitchen sinks. Pyramids of milkshakes appear in your way as eight women in skates work hard to keep up with the demand of flavors and distribute drinks whether you want one or not.

At one point in time, you may find yourself walking through town and suddenly pulled right into the middle of a flashmob with nine ladies surrounding you. Sidewalks crumble and chasms appear, forcing citizens to leap over the cracks to get to where they need to go and led on by ten men in each direction. The sound of bagpipes fill the air, transfixing you and everyone around you to follow their lead. Do be careful! They may just lead you somewhere you don't wish to go if you don't learn to break the spell with another song.

Good thing there's dozens of bongos around the city to make up your own tunes, isn't it? The twelve drummers will teach you to play any beat you want to reverse these effects.

The manifestations of this song seemingly won't disappear until you find a way to "receive" and undo the giving of these gifts. You can round up the birds to release them in the wild, stump the milkshake-makers by requesting a flavor they cannot provide, ice over the chasms to prevent people from falling...it seems as though whoever's responsible for this brand of magic is testing you and your ability to think quickly, Retrospecters. Teamwork makes the dream work, after all.
II.
At best the 12 Days of Christmas are a minor inconvenience, and at worst they're outright obnoxious. Christmas carols are perhaps best left on paper but it's easy enough to sidestep the events leading up to Christmas.

On the other hand, it seems as though someone other than Jack Frost is hard at work making sure the holidays are present in your lives.

With the days growing shorter and the nights growing longer, it becomes increasingly obvious that the city's growing quieter as the sound of traffic begins to come to a low din. No longer will citizens hear the roar and rumble of cars on the roads or the honking of angry drivers blocking the way. The bright headlights won't shine through the dark and exhaust won't be released into the air mingling with the chilly fog.

For anyone who ventures out after the sun sets, the city transforms before your eyes as the streets are lit with more lampposts than you remember and the sound of bells jingling can be heard from all directions. Rather than vehicles hustling and bustling along it's the clopping of hooves on paved rows as horse-drawn sleighs make their way slipping and sliding down the roads.

Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh, up on the sidewalks they go and look you're in the way.

Try as they might, the drivers will find that the sleighs have minds of their own, invisible engines revving as they zip up onto the sidewalks and out of the street jingling intensely at anyone nearby. Perhaps you weren't moving fast enough, or maybe you were just in the way. But these sleighs will make sure you get to where you need to go as they chase after you, mowing you down and volleying you up into the next empty seat. As the sleighs travel, you'll find yourself unable to get up from your seat and surrounded by several people you may or may not know.

But judging by the look the driver gives you and the cheery little whistle, the only way out is to start singing along...

III.
The elves tried to warn you. The elves really, truly tried to warn you about being good for goodness's sake. As they scramble around for last minute preparations, the curious types will find that the elves seem to be pooling right back toward Wiffle-Waffle. The waffle house stands proudly in Tisse featuring their new Christmas-flavored batter, but most importantly of all citizens will notice an extra wing added just to the left of the Retrospec mailbox, right behind the wafflehouse. The scent of sugar cookies and milk waft from the open doors and windows, and as elves dart in and out the scene before you unfurls.

A large, seven-story workshop stands before you despite the fact that from the outside it appears to be all on one floor. Crammed from head to toe with elves building toys, running quality control checks, browsing Amazon and more, they will invite all who have made Santa's nice list inside.

Exploring the floors, you'll find more of the snowglobes that have appeared across the city and more importantly you'll start to come across special toys and gifts from Christmases past. Things you've outgrown or things you've lost or broken will appear, yours for the taking and sharing.

Loitering too much will wind up with fussy elves moving you out of the way. Lingering too much will be taken as an invitation as well and the elves will drag you down, pulling you along and putting you to work in the workshops to sort presents, assemble gifts and more. Of course, you're free to volunteer as well. Maybe you're a giving type who would love to spread some holiday cheer. (Or maybe you just don't have anything better to do.)

For those who are especially antsy, the elves will share secretive looks with one another before they herd you to the middle of the workshop where a large, red and white Christmas-themed dunk tank sits before you. Milk rests at the bottom in the tank, and seated on the chair tied up in tinsel and a too-small elf outfit is one James Barnes. A large sign is plastered to the front of the tank next to a basket of toys and another basket of baseballs.

"Dunk the Tough Cookie for a free gift!"


If asked, they'll only reply that James is on the naughty list before giggling and scampering off. Well. That's weird, but sure.

Most importantly of all, as the days go by, the elves begin to twitter with excitement and on December 21st, the jolly old man in red will appear. Santa will enter the workshop with his sack of toys and a ho-ho-ho, making his rounds through the shop and asking his happy elves (and you, the elf apprentices) what they would like for Christmas.

Be careful what you wish for though…Santa has that gleam in his eye and a bag full of tricks. You never know what you'll truly get.

IV.
Somehow the tree wasn't enough. Somehow the giant tree in Tribunal Terrace wasn't enough and Mayor Mayer takes it upon himself to open a reindeer farm and petting zoo for the city. Though the decorating stations are still open and the tree can be decked out until Christmas Day, a pen full of creatures sits off to the right for all to enjoy.

The reindeer seem content to mingle with strangers, allowing themselves to be pet and adored. But there's something about these reindeer that seems a bit…off. Several of them have a golden glow to their fur and one, the ringleader, has a red tint to his nose. The red-nosed reindeer (Comet, strangely enough) will draw the attention of the other reindeer and nudge you closer, surrounding you as the creatures appraise what to do next.

Non-app citizens will find the behavior strange and remarkable, but for those who possess the Retrospec app, a new message will come to your phone. A map of the city appears and asks you where you'd like to go. Upon selection, however, things get a little hairy.

The reindeer help one another to throw you onto the back of their friends, encouraging brays and noises to each other before it's up, up and away! Soaring over the city, these flying reindeer will take you high into the frosty clouds and low toward the snowy banks. The map will guide them to wherever you wish, but don't encourage them too much…the reindeer were born to fly free, and you may just find yourself stuck in the clouds for a little too long. Give them a job or give them a treat; these methods will help guide you home and send the deer on their merry way.

BONUS.
Do you wanna build a snowman? How unfortunate if you don't. Just when you think you've seen everything this season has to offer, you'll find large snowballs around the city decorated with corncob pipes, a button nose and two eyes made out of coal. When you walk past these fixtures, you'll hear a voice behind you.

"Hey! Down here!"

The snowman's eyes follow you from its place on the ground, expression animated and alive. If that doesn't send you running and screaming, the snowman will ask for your help in recreating its body so it can move and be out of the way of the ever-impending snowplow.

Helping the snowman will earn you a new friend! This snowman will come to life and befriend you, following you for the rest of the month until the winter magic disappears. Perhaps it's best not to bring them inside though. They are still snowmen.

As for those of you who tell the snowman you have no interest in helping them, well, that's maybe not the right answer. Unhappy by the refusal, the snowman's expression will turn angry before the mouth opens wide and begins spitting out icicles. You can try to outrun them, but they will begin to roll and follow you on your way out, only giving up when an icicle makes contact or you outpace them.

Heads up.

NOTES.
Welcome to [community profile] recolle's December event, part 2!

You can claim two freebies on this log!
-Players may claim one freebie for exploring Santa's workshop with another character. This must be at least 5 comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by undoing one of the effects of 12 Days of Christmas. This can range from removing swans from bodies of water, beating one of the dancing ladies in a dance-off, figuring out a way to close one of the lords a'leaping chasms or more. Be creative with this one! This thread should be five comments from you for the freebie.

-If you would like to RNG the gift your character gets from Santa, please comment here!

Finally, 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 additional information as well!
blondferret: (what)

Re: III

[personal profile] blondferret 2018-12-24 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
[Derek looks over at Togusa surprised.]

Retrospec gave you a tank? Was your other self in the military or something?
blondferret: (you can't be serious)

Re: III

[personal profile] blondferret 2018-12-24 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
They don't like me. Plus, they remind me of a hippogriff.
blondferret: (amused)

Re: IB

[personal profile] blondferret 2018-12-24 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Derek shrugs.]

It's either that or I put a freezing spell on them.
hauntedsavior: (all sense of past and future)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2018-12-24 06:06 am (UTC)(link)
So what's the lower limit on things that are allowed to come up to your face and talk completely accurate shit to you? Would you accept a nymph? How about a big faerie?
blondferret: (why)

[personal profile] blondferret 2018-12-24 06:06 am (UTC)(link)
[When Xiaolang lands on Derek, he lets out a loud groan. It's like someone punched him in the gut... but worse. Legs are tangled together and he doesn't think he's ever been shoved this far into his couch before. He vaguely hears barking and a cat hissing, but he's not sure. He does know he's going to have a bump on his head soon. He hears a flap of wings. Oh, they woke up Bronte... well, no surprise there. Derek just closes his eyes and and tries to remember to breath. It's a bit difficult with having the wind knocked out of him and a body on him, but he's gonna try.

If he did open his eyes, he would have seen Bronte eyeing one of the small dog and try to determine if he wants to eat it. And the thing is, Blaise wouldn't stop him. Run puppies, RUN!
]
blondferret: (you can't be serious)

[personal profile] blondferret 2018-12-24 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Derek shrugs and picks up another ball.]

Is there a problem for that? There are certain people who I will help with no question, but I don't feel our friendship has risen to that level... do you?

[Derek aims and throws another ball. It misses.]

Hmmm... I am not on my game today... pity.
blondferret: (why)

Re: IA

[personal profile] blondferret 2018-12-24 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
Black with a green case. Nothing shiny about it. The birds targeted my phone.
thisloveisjustice: (clueless)

Re: III

[personal profile] thisloveisjustice 2018-12-24 06:51 am (UTC)(link)
Probably because they can tell you don't like them. And hippogriff is the bird-horse creature, right?
breakingvoice: (i'm better off dead)

[personal profile] breakingvoice 2018-12-24 07:39 am (UTC)(link)
I think that was the deal. It was last month, sort of to encourage everyone to share their food. I set up a booth to share the sugar skulls I was making, but if anybody took some of the food that Retrospec just put out there without offering to share with someone first, they wouldn't be able to eat anything until they made their favorite food and shared that with someone!

[it's kind of complicated to spell it out like that, she realizes. and then she realizes something else that could be embarrassing.]

Oh, um. Are you new to the app? Is this your first time with weird things happening?
keystaff: (Colours and promises)

[personal profile] keystaff 2018-12-24 07:45 am (UTC)(link)
Hm? Ah, no. I'm not new. Or -- I mean, I've been on the app over a year. I just didn't have it for about a month at one point. But I hadn't realized about the food, about the gold, I mean, last month.

[She must have missed that amid everything else? Probably.]
standalonehuman: (TogusaTalk)

Re: III

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2018-12-24 10:30 am (UTC)(link)
Togusa hesitates, and he puts a hand on the side of the Tachikoma. "I don't know. It's more accurate to say they gave me a friend. I don't think the guy I'm remembering thought of it that way, though."

The Tachikoma's eye swivels between Derek and Togusa, because it isn't sure how to respond.

"It doesn't remember anything but this city," Togusa explains. "It was activated..." Uh?

"September the 12th!" The Tachikoma supplies.

"September the 12th," Togusa agrees. "And it doesn't have anything before that."
blacksong: (i brought a present)

[personal profile] blacksong 2018-12-24 10:33 am (UTC)(link)
... Fair enough.

[She's just. Gonna take a sec to make sure her phone's nice and safe in her pocket, ahem.]

But you might be the only one who makes it online for falling out of a tree twice.
standalonehuman: (TogusaSmirk)

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2018-12-24 10:42 am (UTC)(link)
"I mean, the Big Man himself is the judge and jury, isn't he?" Togusa tilts his head. "Although I haven't seen him? Elves acting on his behalf, then?"

"See, right now.. all I'm thinking of is the number of times I've been dragged out of bed because you were in my interview room. Orr setting a human arm on fire. Maybe this isn't about the law at all." Maybe this is personal.
standalonehuman: (TogusaSmile2)

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2018-12-24 10:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Togusa gets it. There's a difference between 'kid' and 'child.']

"It's fun to be at the age where you get to pass Christmas down to the younger kids."

[Xiaolang... Oh yeah, he's another user. Togusa pops his picture from the network up on his heads up display.]

"That sounds perfect."

"I've got, well. I have the closest thing to family in the city to spend it with. A few of us whose families are all still back in Japan usually cluster up to spend the days together."
breakingvoice: (i'm better off dead)

[personal profile] breakingvoice 2018-12-24 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, good, she's not... weird for wanting to keep this stuff around. Probably. At least she hopes not; this is the first time it's come up, though, and she's just glad someone else understands. She gives this other woman a kind smile.

"Yeah. I still can't remember a lot about what made it different, but... I know she was still me, you know? And if she's still out there in some... other universe or whatever, I don't want her to think that we can just forget about her like that." A beat. "Oh, um. My name's Lina. Sorry, usually I'm better about introductions."
breakingvoice: (i'll be all right)

[personal profile] breakingvoice 2018-12-24 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh! They let you back on the app?

[it's not the strangest thing Lina's ever heard—heck, she should've expected Retrospec wouldn't let any of them go that easily—but it's still a little unexpected.]

Well, hopefully it's not the worst thing in the world to be part of all of this again. [she smiles, then glances in the direction of the extremely busy milkshake bar.] I'm really starting to think we should just jump back there and start helping.
invocate: (Default)

Re: IB

[personal profile] invocate 2018-12-25 01:32 am (UTC)(link)

I... don't think that would help either, Derek.

[Meanwhile the milkmaid Li-Na gave her order to is frantically whispering with one of her coworkers. It seems Li-Na's request is giving them some trouble]

psykick: (Default)

Re: IA

[personal profile] psykick 2018-12-25 01:33 am (UTC)(link)

Have you used 'Find My Phone'?

frostythehitman: (and i'm not)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-12-25 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
No, it doesn't matter what it is! It's just--no one gets to do that when they don't actually have to deal with it! That elf walks up to me and acts like I'm some dumb, pathetic idiot who can't do anything right, but if he had to deal with the shit I went through this year, I bet he'd be on the naughty list too!
blondferret: (wtf)

I

[personal profile] blondferret 2018-12-25 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Derek hears a crash from the main area of his apartment and rushes out of his bedroom. He was dreading what Blaise and Bronte had done this time. He stops when he walks out of his bedroom and sees a girl sprawled on top of his... very broken kitchen table. What the?]

Who the hell are you? And how did you get in here?

[Blaise had been on the table when the girl had fallen on it. Luckily he had jumped out of the way and landed a few feet from the destruction. Thought now he was hissing at the intruder. Derek didn't seem to pleased either, so his hissing was justified.]
invocate: (twintails » worried)

[personal profile] invocate 2018-12-25 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
[Insurance covers four slashes. Not something Li-Na ever thought she'd know, but well... now she does.]

It's locked. I can't get into it at all.

[She turns the phone around so the younger girl can see the screen]

See? It needs either a fingerprint or a PIN.
beastenderblood: (Speaking of Mog let's kill him)

[personal profile] beastenderblood 2018-12-25 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Hmmmmmm. She examines it in consideration.]

I guess I could send you to this place on 5th stree- no, he'd probably just take it from you. Maybe Harvard Avenue? She'd just gouge you in prices though.

I guess electronics shops exist? They could help?
psykick: (⇒ shock)

Re: I

[personal profile] psykick 2018-12-25 06:11 am (UTC)(link)
[The falling that had started suddenly ends just as suddenly. With a rather loud crash as she smashes someone's kitchen table to the floor.

Ow. That had not been the soft landing she'd hoped for.

Rinka groans as she tries to sit up, vaguely noting that a cat is hissing at her and someone is yelling at her.
]

Ow.
hauntedsavior: (the voice of sympathy)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2018-12-25 02:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[as much as she wants to keep giving him shit, yeah, he's totally right and she'd be pissed, too. maybe not to the point of throwing hands, but still. she stops tossing the ball and lets her posture straighten a little.]

The elf does totally sound like an asshole when you put it that way. I mean, you still kicked its ass, but you probably don't deserve to be locked up in here. Think I can break you out, or do they got some kind of Christmas magic going on?
frostythehitman: adult (tame this AAAANIIIIIMAAAAAAL)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-12-26 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
He can't tell how serious Togusa is being right now. Because if he is, James doesn't like where this is going. He works his jaw for a few moments, trying to look for words.

"I didn't make you respond to those. You did that on your own."

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