[Open] APPRASSAGE WATER FIGHT 2017

[recollecters]

MINI-EVENT

WATERGATE 2k17 It's the first warm and sunny day in a while after the sprinkles brought on by April's weather. Spring's as beautiful as ever in the city of Recollé, and it's just about that time of year in Apprassage that students long for. Summer vacation is just around the corner. More teachers are willing to hold their classes outside. Study groups meet up under the shade of large trees with cold drinks and plenty of books. All in all, it's a pretty peaceful day...that is, until all across the district, a loud voice booms through the air. "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for battle! The Apprassage Water War begins in ten minutes." I. This happens every year. One minute you're enjoying your day in Apprassage and the next people all around you begin to move as fast as they can. Have those buckets of water balloons always been there? Wait, where are those people going with that giant hose? You better move fast or you might be left behind. The clock is ticking and it's time to show your friends what you're made of. Grab some teammates, some ammo, and maybe a water gun or two to assess the situation and talk strategy. Not sold on the game? Better move fast. You have ten minutes to get to a safe zone. But...where are those, again? You may want to ask around. II. At the ten minute mark, there's a whistle that sounds all over the district. Students, faculty and others from all school levels are thrown straight into battle with their gear. Every year the balloons are filled with nice, cold water to shock your opponents and prank someone who crosses your path. However, as the battle rages on you may come to find that the balloons are different this year. Some are filled with water, of course, but others can be found filled with shaving cream, washable paint, and even what looks like pudding. It's nearly impossible to tell what each balloon will be filled with. Hope you like surprises! III. So, about those safe bases. They're spread out pretty far and wide across the campuses usually in places that make it nearly impossible to stick around for long periods of time. Some bases are located under the trees at the edge of the elementary school grounds. Some are the walkways between buildings under the overhang out of the sun. And some even still are more ridiculous such as a hopscotch square, the inside of a plastic slide, the half-mile mark of the high school track and more. This year it appears as though all of the bases are located in the most inconvenient spots. Are you sticking it out and waiting for the fight to be over? Will you find someone to shield you as you run to safety? Choose wisely and think your plans through carefully! IV. What's the fun of a water balloon fight if there's no incentive? Later in the day, another loud booming announcement seems to echo, but this time it's not from an overhead speaker. This time, it seems to come directly from any mobile device you happen to be on as the Retrospec app opens with a list. "Target acquired. Happy hunting!" For those participating in the water war, they'll find that there's a new score keeper on the display of their phone with numbers tallying for each point earned. This isn't like years before. This is something new...will you play? Or is it all fun and games until Retrospec steps in? Maybe you're one of the unlucky ones who just became a new target. Can you outrun the hoards of people looking to score some points? Let's hope so. BONUS. There sure is a bonus item on that list, isn't there? You can ask around all you'd like, but the bonus doesn't seem to light up on your phone's display no matter what you try. Is the whole thing a hoax? Is it just to instill false hope in your points? And just what are those points for anyway? As the water balloon fight draws to a close and the day winds down, some will notice something a little odd on their devices. A new photo has uploaded to their Retrospec profile. The photo seems to be dated for just a few moments ago, a candid action shot from the battle. Anyone who notices this change will soon find their device lighting up and their score tallying that extra 100 points for the bonus. Maybe it was better not to win this war. With the list cleared of this item, no matter where your character is standing they'll find themselves bombarded with one last round of balloons filled with confetti and glitter. Congratulations! You survived the war! Good luck leaving the district without getting roped into clean-up duty though. Grab a trash bag and maybe a towel. There's still a lot of work to be done. Welcome to recolle's April mini-event! The prompts are simply loose guidelines for you guys to play with and make up your own fun adventures for the Apprassage-wide water balloon fight! Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here.

Comments

[parodeity]

...That's fair enough.

[ because he might have had a similar mindset, before he started remembering things he'd rather never have known. dave's aware the gun is slower than he is - and slower than he can throw balloons - but up until this point he was mostly trying to stay at normal person speed. he lets himself kick it up a notch as he moves, easily dodging the balloon - and catching it.

...he misjudges the force of his hand and breaks it, but eh. nbd.

a split second later a return volley is sent as dave dashes between cover from the sculpture he was at to a tree. ]

[true_noir]

[There was some gratification in seeing the first balloon shatter on his hand. It was hard to gauge if that would happen with his super speed, but that was a lot of fun to see play out, and the amusement was written all over her face.

When he ducked for cover from her second balloon, she made a dash past the cart, grabbing another pair in transit, but this time she started to serpentine to get in closer. It was far riskier, and almost certain to get her wet in the end, but it was the only way she'd have a chance with his speed.

When she threw the balloons this time, she was weeving around the tree, trying to get one in good and close, the whole thing starting to feel a little like an actual fight, definitely happening faster than anyone else was able to keep up with. Folks were keeping kind of clear of this one.]

You're getting better with your speed!

[parodeity]

Practice makes perfect. Or less not-perfect.

[ it feels almost easy to dodge the balloons now that he's as quick as he is, and it has been getting harder and harder not to dodge at the speeds dave can reach, more and more often.

he's still trying to throw the return volley at normal speed, but sometimes he slips, two balloons rapidfire faster than anyone else could have thrown, or similar things. ]

[true_noir]

[The more that they were doing this, the more she was getting into it. Her eyes sparkled as she danced a bit with him, bounding back towards the supply of balloons when she had to. A few of the stray shots had winged her, so there was a bit of dripping water here and there, but she didn't care, right up until...

She just froze.

The last shot went straight to the chest and she took a step back, a hand steadying herself against a tree as she had to calm her breathing down a little. She was still smiling, but there was a forced bit to it, her eyes wilder.] D...Dave, a second... it's happening again.

[She could hear the hails of gunfire, see her blades flicking out from her hands and ... oh god.]

[parodeity]

[ to his credit, dave freezes immediately (behind cover). ]

...We can stop cold, no worries.

[ it isn't like he has any interest in someone powering through something that might be traumatic? ]

[true_noir]

[It took her a second's breath while a hand rested against the tree and she steadied herself. Her eyes were unfocused, darting about seemingly at random, watching a scene play out in her mind. The longer it happened, the more she was sure of a few things and her body started to slacken from rigidity.

Thank god. I'm pretty sure those were awful people. Something about 'triads' kept echoing through her mind, and she knew of that organization. There was nothing kind about them or good.

When her breathing got back to normal, she reached up and brushed her hair back with her fingers, looking in the direction of his hiding spot. There was a dark, low laugh and she shook her head, sounding almost resigned.]

Well, I almost knew that vision was coming someday. Of course she would do something like that.

[parodeity]

...Is it okay to ask?

[ he knows about waiting for a memory you think might come.

he thinks whatever happened to chloe just now, though, it was of a different caliber than what happened to dave. ]

[true_noir]

[She shook her head and got a little clarity back into the fog. Turning towards where Dave was, she sighed and settled herself against the tree she was near to, folding her arms.]

It is ... ok to ask, yes. It was just a little surprising at first, but I should have expected her to end up in the middle of a fight. What do you want to know?

[parodeity]

When you say fight, you don't mean just playin' around with fake sports shit, do you?

[ she means something heavier, something more serious and, well. real. ]

[true_noir]

No, nothing quite so droll. [A grunt.] I think... that it was the triad. I'm not quite sure how I am so certain of it, other than that they were a gang in China or Taiwan. It was definitely no fun in games.

[parodeity]

Like...you were in the triad, or fightin' them?

[true_noir]

Fighting them. She was helping to rescue someone along with the brown haired girl from my other visions. [She shook her head, still obviously a little shaky.] It was all going so fast, and there were so many that she shouldn't have won.

[parodeity]

You still haven't met anyone from your flashbacks, yeah? I mean, IRL.

[true_noir]

No, not yet. I haven't even seen or heard of the triads being here in this town. Do we even have a Chinatown here? [She shook her head.] The only things I have ever seen from my visions are the items that have been brought here.

I don't know whether to think that these were real or fabricated events.

[parodeity]

Uh, I think there's a section in Tisse with some shops, but...

[ dave shrugs one shoulder, barely. ]

I don't know if it's real or fake, either. I think... [ he thinks? ] I mean, I don't know, but I fall on the side of...this shit is real.

[true_noir]

[She rested against the tree, starting to relax a little, though there was a small defeated element to her tone as she spoke.] I suppose I am starting to think it is real, somehow, even if I do not think it is me, if that makes sense.

[parodeity]

You didn't used to want to. [ the first time they talked about it, he thinks. dave doesn't lean against anything, but he crosses his arms. ] A lot of people don't, I think, and it ain't like I don't get their reasoning.

[true_noir]

I've seen too many things, and too much of my body is different. [She shook her head] It isn't right for me to keep pretending, even if I want it to be different than it is. Back then, I think I was just scared.

I still am, but I'm more in control of who I am if that makes sense.

[parodeity]

Kinda. [ he has...similar experiences. ] The person you are now has less reason to be afraid, or more reason to be controlled. Right?

[true_noir]

Something like that. After the first few... they stay in my head, like memories, but I can separate them. I can remember that they belong to someone else. Every time, it gets easier to do, and I don't need to be afraid.

What's the worst that they can show me? I've already shot someone in the head to make them remember their past.

[parodeity]

You did what now.

[ PLEASE HOLD ON EVERYTHING ELSE. ]

[true_noir]

In a hallucination.

[That felt like a very important clarification, though she wasn't about to mention that she 'kind of' did the same thing to Minako, which was how the memory had been triggered. Hey, the evoker didn't have actual bullets, so it was safe!

...not really.]

It... Kirika gave me her gun when I asked for it and I shot her, point blank, to wake a memory of her past, something she'd buried deep. She didn't die, but I still remember Mireille screaming before I told her that Kirika had executed her parents. [She gave him a haunted look.] How can they make this worse, really? What could possibly be worse than doing that, making me think I was doing the same thing as them?

[Just wait, Chloe. It gets much worse.]

[parodeity]

I don't know those people.

[ so uh. got him. ]

I don't...remember hurtin' anyone like that. [ yet ] I think...I think you don't have to become someone you don't want to be, for sure, though. Not like that. Not to that degree.

[true_noir]

Kirika and Mireille are the two girls who keep showing up in many of my hallucinations. Kirika is the one that my other self seems fascinated by for some reason. [She shook her head.] And you're right. I control what I do with what they have given me, don't I? If I do not wish to hurt anyone than I simply won't hurt anyone, even if I pick up pieces of who that girl was...

Still, that was easily the most disturbing vision to date. I can't think of an easy way to top it, at least that doesn't involve something completely insane.

[parodeity]

Rememberin' dyin' would probably suck ass, but...yeah. I hope that's the worst you ever get.