Recollé Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
recollecters) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
recolle2019-02-05 05:06 pm
recollecters) wrote in recolle2019-02-05 05:06 pm
Entry tags:
(no subject)
EVENT
PREMISE • RULES • FAQ • TAKEN • RESERVES • APPLICATIONS
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV
REGAINS • HIATUS/DROPS • PLOT SUBMISSIONS • CALENDAR • MOD CONTACT • NAV
Re:Configure
Prologue.
It's on February 5th that every single Retrospec users receives a message from the liaison known as Zee Carlisle. Several of you have visited and expressed concerns already, but none of that mattered in the grande scheme of what needs to be said.
The thing about the city and the layers below is that the metaphysical can easily become the physical with the power you all possess. It's just a "handy" little trick that comes with intermingling soul essence. Thanks to my field agent, we've received some data that'll help advance our research to help track Vanderweele, stabilize the layers and figure out our next step.
The next step, of course, is going beyond.
You're not ready though. I know that, you're not, but I think I've figured out some workarounds. Just be careful and try to control yourselves. You'll need to embrace who you are and take the next step to protect yourselves.
It's not about finding keys anymore. It's about becoming them, generating the doors yourself and getting ready for things out there that're bound to be bad.
Keep balance in mind. And don't try to hide from what's happening. I'm not sure how this is going to manifest but this is all still you.
Well. That's not ominous, is it?
It's on February 5th that every single Retrospec users receives a message from the liaison known as Zee Carlisle. Several of you have visited and expressed concerns already, but none of that mattered in the grande scheme of what needs to be said.
The thing about the city and the layers below is that the metaphysical can easily become the physical with the power you all possess. It's just a "handy" little trick that comes with intermingling soul essence. Thanks to my field agent, we've received some data that'll help advance our research to help track Vanderweele, stabilize the layers and figure out our next step.
The next step, of course, is going beyond.
You're not ready though. I know that, you're not, but I think I've figured out some workarounds. Just be careful and try to control yourselves. You'll need to embrace who you are and take the next step to protect yourselves.
It's not about finding keys anymore. It's about becoming them, generating the doors yourself and getting ready for things out there that're bound to be bad.
Keep balance in mind. And don't try to hide from what's happening. I'm not sure how this is going to manifest but this is all still you.
Well. That's not ominous, is it?
I.
Not long after the announcement, anyone looking in the sky will soon notice something strange happening. While the moon hangs peacefully in the night sky, the second moon that had appeared some months ago begins moving on its own, slowly beginning to eclipse the regular moon. As the two of them overlap one another, a soft blue light emits over the whole city and in your head you'll hear a faint animalistic cry. Some of you may hear the roar of a tiger while others hear the whinny of a horse and others hear the shrieking of a monkey. These sounds only last for a moment…and then there's silence. The moons split apart again and everything seems to go on as normal.
The next day on the morning of the sixth, you wake up and find yourself feeling incredibly chipper and rejuvenated, ready to take on the world and all things in it. Nothing can bring you down today and even those who are usually fussy or angry will find it hard to stay that way for long. Positivity is key here, and as you go about your day you'll find your thoughts are often drawn to capitalizing on positive qualities that you may not even know you have.
This doesn't always mean it's a good thing, however. Just because a trait is positive doesn't mean that it's only meant to do good. Being overzealous and foolhardy can cause a clash and several of you may find yourselves being too caught up in your own traits to notice they'll imbalance the people around you. A person who finds themselves in strong possession of being charming may wind up over-promising several things to several people in order to win favor. Someone who's suddenly lucky at love will have to fend off admirers that come from all sorts of directions. Goal-oriented minds will find that they're creating several to-do lists and pushing themselves too hard to finish all of the tasks at hand. Each trait manifests itself differently for each person, but it's the year you were born that seems to determine which set of traits are being amplified. It's a pattern that will take time to recognize, but talking to one another may help bring this comparison to light.
In addition to the consequences of your actions, the traits you exude will be capable of giving themselves a physical existence in the form of small, ordinary objects. Creation of these objects is for the most part involuntary and users will not always know how these will manifest. Do be careful, however. An overabundance of each trait may get you in trouble and the objects themselves will backfire in ways you may not expect. Those who are popular can wind up generating several friendship bracelets that physically bind them to too many people. Those whose sense of humor has been amplified could bring a laugh-track to life, a small object that cannot be paused and will chuckle at everything that's said no matter how serious it is. It's possible to resist giving in to these traits and avoid generating these objects, but the longer you resist the harder it will be to concentrate on anything else until the creation is expelled. You'll find your resolve weakening and compelled to give in as the days march on, but the longer you wait the more likely the objects will appear unstable. Perhaps it's best to continually create instead. You never know what you might get.
Not long after the announcement, anyone looking in the sky will soon notice something strange happening. While the moon hangs peacefully in the night sky, the second moon that had appeared some months ago begins moving on its own, slowly beginning to eclipse the regular moon. As the two of them overlap one another, a soft blue light emits over the whole city and in your head you'll hear a faint animalistic cry. Some of you may hear the roar of a tiger while others hear the whinny of a horse and others hear the shrieking of a monkey. These sounds only last for a moment…and then there's silence. The moons split apart again and everything seems to go on as normal.
The next day on the morning of the sixth, you wake up and find yourself feeling incredibly chipper and rejuvenated, ready to take on the world and all things in it. Nothing can bring you down today and even those who are usually fussy or angry will find it hard to stay that way for long. Positivity is key here, and as you go about your day you'll find your thoughts are often drawn to capitalizing on positive qualities that you may not even know you have.
This doesn't always mean it's a good thing, however. Just because a trait is positive doesn't mean that it's only meant to do good. Being overzealous and foolhardy can cause a clash and several of you may find yourselves being too caught up in your own traits to notice they'll imbalance the people around you. A person who finds themselves in strong possession of being charming may wind up over-promising several things to several people in order to win favor. Someone who's suddenly lucky at love will have to fend off admirers that come from all sorts of directions. Goal-oriented minds will find that they're creating several to-do lists and pushing themselves too hard to finish all of the tasks at hand. Each trait manifests itself differently for each person, but it's the year you were born that seems to determine which set of traits are being amplified. It's a pattern that will take time to recognize, but talking to one another may help bring this comparison to light.
In addition to the consequences of your actions, the traits you exude will be capable of giving themselves a physical existence in the form of small, ordinary objects. Creation of these objects is for the most part involuntary and users will not always know how these will manifest. Do be careful, however. An overabundance of each trait may get you in trouble and the objects themselves will backfire in ways you may not expect. Those who are popular can wind up generating several friendship bracelets that physically bind them to too many people. Those whose sense of humor has been amplified could bring a laugh-track to life, a small object that cannot be paused and will chuckle at everything that's said no matter how serious it is. It's possible to resist giving in to these traits and avoid generating these objects, but the longer you resist the harder it will be to concentrate on anything else until the creation is expelled. You'll find your resolve weakening and compelled to give in as the days march on, but the longer you wait the more likely the objects will appear unstable. Perhaps it's best to continually create instead. You never know what you might get.
II.
When the night falls, things change and suddenly everything you may have understood about what's happening doesn't make much sense at all. As the sun sinks below the horizon and the two moons rise again, something in your personality shifts and all of your positive feelings fade away. These emotions are soon replaced by something darker and more negative, altering thoughts and ideas to the point that you may feel like you're a completely different person. Moodswings may run rampant, and insecurities will be heightened the longer the night draws on. Some of you may find greed threatening to overwhelm you, or impatience clouding your judgment and causing reckless decisions to be made. While these may not be traits you possess normally, it all comes back to when you were born and what traits the stars seem to have determined to be yours.
While you can still display independent thought and will when you possess your positive traits in the daylight, the amplification of your more negative qualities begin to overshadow all else. Giving in to your darker side is much easier than fighting it off and indulging in these traits never hurt anyone…except for perhaps yourself. While positive manifestation creates objects in abundance to the point of annoyance, negative manifestation seems to generate the metaphysical into a physical being that causes harm. The creation of elements bound to your negative side allows these objects to slowly drain away your energy, zapping the goodness out of you and leaving you as a pale, empty shell. This can be remedied by finding someone who's managed to hold onto some form of positivity, or even going to a place with plenty of lighting to drive back the shadows. Exposing yourself to either of these will help you recognize what traits have possessed you this time.
But what about your "normal" personality? Where has it gone? It's still there buried deep beneath the surface but it's much harder to reach when your less-than-stellar qualities are amped up to the point of consuming you. You may need to find people to remind you of who you once were and allow them to convince you to try and focus on your positive sides again. An imbalance is the likely outcome without someone to check on you. Being alone isn't really an option now, but can you convince others to stay? That's something only you can answer.
Additionally, you'll have to do something about the object you've brought forth in the dark hours. Leaving objects out in the open without binding them to some form of light will allow the creations to begin reaching out and draining anyone nearby. Of course, you can try to destroy these objects as well...but you may wish to remember that time is a factor here.
When the night falls, things change and suddenly everything you may have understood about what's happening doesn't make much sense at all. As the sun sinks below the horizon and the two moons rise again, something in your personality shifts and all of your positive feelings fade away. These emotions are soon replaced by something darker and more negative, altering thoughts and ideas to the point that you may feel like you're a completely different person. Moodswings may run rampant, and insecurities will be heightened the longer the night draws on. Some of you may find greed threatening to overwhelm you, or impatience clouding your judgment and causing reckless decisions to be made. While these may not be traits you possess normally, it all comes back to when you were born and what traits the stars seem to have determined to be yours.
While you can still display independent thought and will when you possess your positive traits in the daylight, the amplification of your more negative qualities begin to overshadow all else. Giving in to your darker side is much easier than fighting it off and indulging in these traits never hurt anyone…except for perhaps yourself. While positive manifestation creates objects in abundance to the point of annoyance, negative manifestation seems to generate the metaphysical into a physical being that causes harm. The creation of elements bound to your negative side allows these objects to slowly drain away your energy, zapping the goodness out of you and leaving you as a pale, empty shell. This can be remedied by finding someone who's managed to hold onto some form of positivity, or even going to a place with plenty of lighting to drive back the shadows. Exposing yourself to either of these will help you recognize what traits have possessed you this time.
But what about your "normal" personality? Where has it gone? It's still there buried deep beneath the surface but it's much harder to reach when your less-than-stellar qualities are amped up to the point of consuming you. You may need to find people to remind you of who you once were and allow them to convince you to try and focus on your positive sides again. An imbalance is the likely outcome without someone to check on you. Being alone isn't really an option now, but can you convince others to stay? That's something only you can answer.
Additionally, you'll have to do something about the object you've brought forth in the dark hours. Leaving objects out in the open without binding them to some form of light will allow the creations to begin reaching out and draining anyone nearby. Of course, you can try to destroy these objects as well...but you may wish to remember that time is a factor here.
III.
There are two moments in each day in which your personalities will come into alignment and you'll have perfect clarity of the situation and who you are. During the hour of sunrise and the hour of sunset, an eclipse-like effect appears in the sky and allows users to grapple with both sets of traits. At the end of the day, you're still you, but these hours will give you the advantage to learn how to cope with veering too far in either direction and learn the sense of balance.
Working together, users will be able to generate items from both positive and negative traits during these hours. They must then learn how to fuse them together and create a balanced concept. Where there's light there must be darkness and while the answer may not be obvious at first, the overlayering of the sun and the moon(s) serves as a hint that perhaps the combination is the key you seek. Strangely, users are able to stare straight at this eclipse without worrying about damage to their eyes. Perhaps it's not as real as you think.
As objects come into being, willed into existence by embracing your positive and negative traits in performing some sort of action or skill encompassing the idea, they will begin to multiply and it will soon be up to users to find what items may match with someone else's items. An item created from love may go well with something created by indulgence. An item manifested from insecurity may react just as well with an item drawn from kindness. Should a user try to form an item created from two positive traits, it will explode into a shower of fireworks that rise up and spark above the city. For those who attempt to shove two negative traits together, a large smoke bomb will go off instead and the items will be destroyed, forcing users to start all over again.
Should users finally get it right and create an acceptable object, something unusual occurs. The object begins to glow and duplicates itself, hovering in front of both creators before they soon dissolve into black and white sparks that wash over you and add a thin, iridescent sheen to your skin. Your phone will beep loudly, announcing that a new feature has been unlocked on your Retrospec app and drawing your attention to a brand new map and a QR code to be scanned. The map will lead to a randomized location somewhere in the city of Recollé, and should a user choose to follow it they will come face to face with another silver door, QR scanner firmly affixed in the center.
Try all you'd like, citizens. These doors will not budge just yet, but the QR code will be accepted. A new message will appear once you've been scanned.
Make some preparations. The doors will open on the 17th and a group will be led down to undo what's been done. You in?
…time to make some decisions, it seems. What will your choose? At least there's a moment's reprieve to decide.
There are two moments in each day in which your personalities will come into alignment and you'll have perfect clarity of the situation and who you are. During the hour of sunrise and the hour of sunset, an eclipse-like effect appears in the sky and allows users to grapple with both sets of traits. At the end of the day, you're still you, but these hours will give you the advantage to learn how to cope with veering too far in either direction and learn the sense of balance.
Working together, users will be able to generate items from both positive and negative traits during these hours. They must then learn how to fuse them together and create a balanced concept. Where there's light there must be darkness and while the answer may not be obvious at first, the overlayering of the sun and the moon(s) serves as a hint that perhaps the combination is the key you seek. Strangely, users are able to stare straight at this eclipse without worrying about damage to their eyes. Perhaps it's not as real as you think.
As objects come into being, willed into existence by embracing your positive and negative traits in performing some sort of action or skill encompassing the idea, they will begin to multiply and it will soon be up to users to find what items may match with someone else's items. An item created from love may go well with something created by indulgence. An item manifested from insecurity may react just as well with an item drawn from kindness. Should a user try to form an item created from two positive traits, it will explode into a shower of fireworks that rise up and spark above the city. For those who attempt to shove two negative traits together, a large smoke bomb will go off instead and the items will be destroyed, forcing users to start all over again.
Should users finally get it right and create an acceptable object, something unusual occurs. The object begins to glow and duplicates itself, hovering in front of both creators before they soon dissolve into black and white sparks that wash over you and add a thin, iridescent sheen to your skin. Your phone will beep loudly, announcing that a new feature has been unlocked on your Retrospec app and drawing your attention to a brand new map and a QR code to be scanned. The map will lead to a randomized location somewhere in the city of Recollé, and should a user choose to follow it they will come face to face with another silver door, QR scanner firmly affixed in the center.
Try all you'd like, citizens. These doors will not budge just yet, but the QR code will be accepted. A new message will appear once you've been scanned.
Make some preparations. The doors will open on the 17th and a group will be led down to undo what's been done. You in?
…time to make some decisions, it seems. What will your choose? At least there's a moment's reprieve to decide.
IV.
For the most part, this is actually fairly tame in comparison to usual Retrospec nonsense. It seems as though this storm can be weathered together and as users seek out one another it's easier to combat these effects with minimal damage. Create objects to manifest doors? That seems fairly simple and though the mysterious preparation message may leave some of you uneasy, it's the right direction to go.
Naturally, of course, there's someone who isn't too happy that light and darkness are becoming balanced and in sync.
On the morning of the fourteenth, positive traits are amplified as usual during the sunlight hours. It's a beautiful Valentine's Day in the city of Recollé. Sweet coffees are on special at both Expressive and A Good Bean. Romantic comedy marathons are queued to air all day long at Flix. Sweet Stems has a discount on flowers by the dozen, and oh look, there are black wispy hearts floating right past you through the air.
Wait, what?
Perhaps you're an overly curious type who will follow the hearts, or you may just be unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. These hearts are slow to move, floating aimlessly until they spot a target upon which they zip forward straight into your own heart. A tattoo manifests somewhere on your person, heart-shaped and black, and you feel an icy chill run through your veins as all kindness, love, and "goodness" are washed away to be replaced by the traits you've combatted in the evenings. Overwhelmed by the effects of the heart, the power within you begins to churn and give life and form to your personal darkness. A musician will be able to play notes that come to life, stabbing their victims and putting them into a deep sleep. An actor will be able to give in to their overly dramatic side and create set pieces around them, manipulating people nearby into "performing" for them. A hair stylist will have the power to create scissors out of their hands and grow out their own hair to use as a lasso to trap those they wish to punish.
The darkness in your heart will generate something different for every single individual, and no "villain" will be alike. Chaos will run rampant during the light hours and those uninfected will have to find a way to reverse this curse. The infected will recognize this as a "kissing disease", and through trial and error the uninfected will have to seek out the new tattooed marks and kiss them away, freeing the characters from their binds and bringing light back to the surface.
Good luck getting to each mark though. It will take teamwork and some clever thinking to outsmart the infected and hold them down. With a little skill, you might just be able to create your own objects to pin down the problem and save the day.
For the most part, this is actually fairly tame in comparison to usual Retrospec nonsense. It seems as though this storm can be weathered together and as users seek out one another it's easier to combat these effects with minimal damage. Create objects to manifest doors? That seems fairly simple and though the mysterious preparation message may leave some of you uneasy, it's the right direction to go.
Naturally, of course, there's someone who isn't too happy that light and darkness are becoming balanced and in sync.
On the morning of the fourteenth, positive traits are amplified as usual during the sunlight hours. It's a beautiful Valentine's Day in the city of Recollé. Sweet coffees are on special at both Expressive and A Good Bean. Romantic comedy marathons are queued to air all day long at Flix. Sweet Stems has a discount on flowers by the dozen, and oh look, there are black wispy hearts floating right past you through the air.
Wait, what?
Perhaps you're an overly curious type who will follow the hearts, or you may just be unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. These hearts are slow to move, floating aimlessly until they spot a target upon which they zip forward straight into your own heart. A tattoo manifests somewhere on your person, heart-shaped and black, and you feel an icy chill run through your veins as all kindness, love, and "goodness" are washed away to be replaced by the traits you've combatted in the evenings. Overwhelmed by the effects of the heart, the power within you begins to churn and give life and form to your personal darkness. A musician will be able to play notes that come to life, stabbing their victims and putting them into a deep sleep. An actor will be able to give in to their overly dramatic side and create set pieces around them, manipulating people nearby into "performing" for them. A hair stylist will have the power to create scissors out of their hands and grow out their own hair to use as a lasso to trap those they wish to punish.
The darkness in your heart will generate something different for every single individual, and no "villain" will be alike. Chaos will run rampant during the light hours and those uninfected will have to find a way to reverse this curse. The infected will recognize this as a "kissing disease", and through trial and error the uninfected will have to seek out the new tattooed marks and kiss them away, freeing the characters from their binds and bringing light back to the surface.
Good luck getting to each mark though. It will take teamwork and some clever thinking to outsmart the infected and hold them down. With a little skill, you might just be able to create your own objects to pin down the problem and save the day.
BONUS.
Beginning on the fifth, a few things will happen. For one thing, anyone who visits the liaison's office any time after this point will find that the door is locked and the office is empty. That's probably nothing to worry about. However, messages will be sent to each user's phone over the course of the next few weeks with status updates.
Users will find themselves in possession of what looks like a digital map of Recollé with several black dots scattered around. As each user successfully fuses an object that manifests a door, a black dot turns white and flashes on the screen. Over time, all of these doors will begin to appear to show users locations that may grant them access to the next layer.
Users will also find themselves in possession of a short biography about themselves. Featuring information such as their height, weight, level of combat and other key notable traits (three best qualities and three worst qualities), these biographies also appear to have notes added about regains you've recovered or events that have happened in the city.
Too bad these biographies aren't just meant for you. The moment you read over them, the biography forwards itself to just about anyone on the Retrospec app and you'll receive someone else's biography to read over instead. Not long after, a video call will connect you to this new person and cannot be disconnected for a minimum of fifteen minutes.
This gives "getting to know each other" a whole new meaning, doesn't it? Maybe you'll learn something useful today.
Beginning on the fifth, a few things will happen. For one thing, anyone who visits the liaison's office any time after this point will find that the door is locked and the office is empty. That's probably nothing to worry about. However, messages will be sent to each user's phone over the course of the next few weeks with status updates.
Users will find themselves in possession of what looks like a digital map of Recollé with several black dots scattered around. As each user successfully fuses an object that manifests a door, a black dot turns white and flashes on the screen. Over time, all of these doors will begin to appear to show users locations that may grant them access to the next layer.
Users will also find themselves in possession of a short biography about themselves. Featuring information such as their height, weight, level of combat and other key notable traits (three best qualities and three worst qualities), these biographies also appear to have notes added about regains you've recovered or events that have happened in the city.
Too bad these biographies aren't just meant for you. The moment you read over them, the biography forwards itself to just about anyone on the Retrospec app and you'll receive someone else's biography to read over instead. Not long after, a video call will connect you to this new person and cannot be disconnected for a minimum of fifteen minutes.
This gives "getting to know each other" a whole new meaning, doesn't it? Maybe you'll learn something useful today.
NOTES.
Welcome torecolle's February event part one!
You can claim three freebies on this log!
-Players may claim one freebie for manifesting an item and dealing with the consequences. This item may be a positive or negative trait, and this thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by fusing one of their objects with someone else's and creating a door. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by healing someone from the kissing disease. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Please keep in mind that the bonus is a bonus prompt! If you do not want your character's biography floating around for other users to see, you do not have to be affected by this prompt.
-While the Chinese zodiac traits are linked, these are merely suggestions that you can build off of. These traits will be what's most prevalent and attached to characters, but you're free to have others in a similar vein show up. Objects manifested from these ideas into real life may also vary and the above in the log are simply examples.
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!
Welcome to
recolle's February event part one!You can claim three freebies on this log!
-Players may claim one freebie for manifesting an item and dealing with the consequences. This item may be a positive or negative trait, and this thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by fusing one of their objects with someone else's and creating a door. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Players may claim one freebie by healing someone from the kissing disease. This thread must be at least five comments from you.
-Please keep in mind that the bonus is a bonus prompt! If you do not want your character's biography floating around for other users to see, you do not have to be affected by this prompt.
-While the Chinese zodiac traits are linked, these are merely suggestions that you can build off of. These traits will be what's most prevalent and attached to characters, but you're free to have others in a similar vein show up. Objects manifested from these ideas into real life may also vary and the above in the log are simply examples.
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!
no subject
[Tatsuo chuckles]
So, I searched for a ramen restaurant last week, and ever since the news feed on my phone keeps pulling up ramen recipes. I figured if I couldn't escape them, I might as well try to make one of them.
no subject
[ He shakes his head, corner of his mouth twitching. ]
Ramen today, udon tomorrow?
no subject
Yeah, I've got a real nice bouquet ordered, and then I found a little teddy bear and put a bracelet around its neck. What if I take Molly some night so you and Foggy can go off an have a date night?
[Pretty standard Tatsuo mush tbh. It's never big or expensive gestures with him.]
I did see an udon recipe. So that could be up next once I master the ramen.
no subject
[ Matt nods in approval. Mari was always weak for sweet gestures, gift details aside. If she wasn't into the items she was into the one giving them and that was enough.
He slides his hand up and down the handle of his cane and rocks his head back and forth. He clears his throat and pauses his fidgeting. ]
Mmm. Thanks for the offer; it's a bit too early to confirm. Foggy has been... Busy making arrangements for awards season and... I think he's frustrated with me. I don't know if you noticed at the beginning of the month, he's not on the app.
no subject
Damn. I'm so sorry, Matt.
[Sure, they want to be done with this app non-sense, but he's seen it more than once... how relationships get strained when one half of the couple is on the app and the other isn't. At least Matt and Foggy's relationship predates their getting the app
this version of their relationship at least.]When you say you think he's frustrated with you, what do you mean? Is there something he's picking up on? Like items we've been generating this month?
no subject
[ Matt frowns and shrugs his shoulders slightly with a soundless sigh. This is a heavy conversation to be having in the grocery store; he lifts his head and his expression softens. ]
When this is all over, I wonder what will happen to our awareness. Will the sleepers be brought to the same level or will we be sent back, or will we always be on different levels?
no subject
[Tatsuo also knows this feeling because of the whole weird not matching up history thing that's happened.]
I don't really have a good answer for that. It might be easier if we all just forgot about Retrospec and our past selves. Though that could create its own set of problems.
[What would happen to his relationship with Mariko? All the things that happened with Retrospec was what had pushed him to take that leap. How would their minds make things 'fit' with Retrospec out of the picture, especially with their histories not matching up properly?]
no subject
[ That's way more than he meant to pour out standing in the grocery aisle, and still only scratching the surface of the mixture of troubled feelings he was trying to ignore since the start of the month. Tatsuo can probably imagine... ]
Retrospec has been good for some, bad for others. I didn't think about people being separated by layers permanently as a possibility until now.
[ He shakes his head. ]
We're better off together. I wouldn't want you or any of the family on the network without me.
[ Now if only he could punch the problem... ]
no subject
I hadn't really thought about it either... though mostly because I try to not wonder too much about what's going to happen to us, if we succeed in bringing back these worlds our past selves came from.
[And now throwing in this whole people being on different layers thing... One more thing to run around in his head as he lays awake at night. Sure, he might say he avoids thinking about it, but that doesn't mean he actually succeeds.]
All we can do is try to keep our family safe. The sooner Vanderweele is dealt with, the sooner we can get things stabilized again. And maybe there's a way to pull Foggy back up to the same level as us.
no subject
[ It's another detail that sneaks up during the quiet moments. Surprise! Remember this and twenty other problems with everything happening here? Matt nods, Tatsuo has a point. ]
Once Vanderweele is out of the way we can do something about the Retrospec employees. If they can be brought back to our level then other people might too. Won't hurt that they'll owe us one.
no subject
[He reaches out and gives Matt's shoulder a squeeze.]
We'll find a solution.
no subject
[ Matt nods, and keeps his head down for a moment, lips pressed in a firm line as he considers. ]
Uh, you should know there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I just...
[ He lifts his head, a crease between his eyebrows. ]
It's complicated and it could make your life complicated too. I don't know the best way to tell you either... But it's not the kind of conversation to have in a grocery store.
no subject
I just need to take my basket to the cashier, and we could go back to my place and talk?
no subject
If you don't mind me stowing some baby food in your fridge until I leave.
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[He is still a bachelor after all. There's only so much food he needs in his fridge.
30 minutes later they've made it though the check-out line and back to Tatsuo's apartment. He puts said baby food into the fridge along with the items he'd purchased that need to be chilled. It's also finally sunset, and Tatsuo is feeling bit less ambitious over his cooking plans than he had earlier. Oh well.
While Tatsuo finishes up in the kitchen, Yijirou comes over to great Matt, shoving his nose into Matt's hand, tail wagging.]
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I think you better sit down for this conversation.
[ He warns Tatsuo, rubbing the back of his neck and pulling off his glasses so he can rub at the bridge of his nose. ]
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[If Tatsuo hadn't already suspected this was serious, he'd definitely knew now.]
Ah, it's that kind of conversation, huh?
[He obliges though, and goes to sit on one side of his couch. Yujirou goes to curl up in the middle, leaving just enough room if Matt wants to sit on the other end.]
So what's this about?
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Has Mari ever mentioned how I accompanied her on some of her cases back when we were dating? Anything about exactly why I ended up in the emergency room and you came to-
[ Does that match Tatsuo's reality? God, this is complicated. ]
I remember you bringing one of my textbooks in while I was kept for observation so I could still study.
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Nooooooooo... she hasn't mentioned anything like that...
[And lucky for Matt, or perhaps unlucky for Matt, Tatsuo does remember visiting his friend in the hospital while him and Mari were dating. A mugging, the story had gone.]
Wait. Wait... Are you saying you weren't mugged that time?
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I was fighting one of the creeps Mari had tracked down on the net. That time there was a group of them, was fine until I got hit in the back of the head. The place was so noisy, they were blasting music, I didn't hear the guy coming up behind me.
We scared a lot of violent and abusive people who had slipped past the system with bribes or lack of evidence or testimony. We hid our faces and nobody knew the wiser. Nobody suspected the harmless blind guy and his girlfriend.
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At the time, he'd thought he hadn't done enough, hadn't taught Matt enough techniques to protect himself. Sure, that hadn't meant Matt would be 100% effective at warding off attackers, but the whole point had been to avoid Matt getting hurt because some asshole decided a blind guy would make an easy target.]
So you and Mari dressed up and ran around beating up people who managed to cheat the justice system. Why?
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We were tired of sitting by knowing people were getting hurt or worse. We wanted to help more than we could in the daylight hours. I knew I might get hurt trying to help a stranger, I learned that the hard way. The lives we could save outweighed the risk for me, and I happened to be damn good in a fight after all the training we did.
I... Worried you wouldn't approve. And I- I didn't want you to feel responsible for my safety if you did find out. It was important to me that I was Mari's partner, not the blind man to be worried over. In many ways it brought us closer together.
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And you would have been right. I wouldn't have approved. The whole point of our justice system is so we don't have any old person taking justice into their own hands. That's what I would have told you, if I'd known back then.
[Tatsuo reaches down to run his fingers through Yujirou's fur. Yujirou tilts his head slightly, indicating he wants scitches behind his hears. Tatsuo obliges.]
So why bring it up now after all these years?
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Of course not just any old person should take something so sensitive into their hands, I'm not saying that and I don't think that's what Mari thinks. But Tatsuo, I know you wouldn't stand by and do nothing if you witnessed someone in real danger. Call for help yes, but what if help wasn't going to get there in time and you knew you could do something? That's what it felt like. We wanted to make sure victims would live another day. Better yet, delay things long enough for their attackers to be caught red handed when the police showed up.
We know better than anyone because we work in this field that the law is not always enough. And now there's Retrospec.
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[Matt's arguments sound logical, perfectly logical and sensible. But Tatsuo also knows how much Matt's heart influences him. It's part of why he loves Matt so much, how much empathy he feels for people, whether he's known them for ten years or ten minutes. And though Tatsuo likes to believe he's more level headed and logical, he knows he's not. If remembering his past life has taught him anything, he's just as susceptible to letting his emotions rule him rather than his head.
He just doesn't want to see the people he cares about get hurt.]
Is Retrospec where the outfit came from?
[He keeps his tone level, not wanting to sound accusatory. At this point, he's about 99% sure. The reasons Matt is giving him are too similar to the reasons the masked man gave. They're both about the same height and build. And with the way Matt's senses had been augmented post-Retrospec...
And if he's wrong, all Matt will have to say is 'what outfit'?]
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