[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.

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[recollecters]

Please use this comment for any mod questions you have regarding this event. Thank you!

Mako | OTA

[browbeater]

i;

[as soon as he sees the water hoses appearing on the margins, he knows that he should have marked his calendar a little bit closer. What a bad day to be outside-- and he absolutely doesn't want to get this particular outfit wet, Besides that, it's a touch too cold for him.

So, he starts heading in the opposite direction. He will have no part in this. Scouts honor.

Besides, he's unarmed, you wouldn't shoot a guy when he's unarmed, would you?]

ii;

[well. given he couldn't find a single one of those safe spaces, he'd decided he was going to stealth it out of there. He's got a pack of balloons, waiting for targets for retaliation. And he's using every bit of that stealth that he learned in the police academy.

Once he gets into the game, he's not going to get caught.

But he might throw a balloon-- right at you.

And it's not like he was expecting neon pink paint to explode all over you.]

Thats-- uh. Whoops?

iv;

[well, now it's just war. Are you ready to be targeted, friend?!]

ota!

[counteracts]

I.
[The announcement rings through the air of the district, and, within the instant, Morgan is in his element.

This had been the case since his very first Apprassage Water War, all the way back in junior high, after he'd first moved into the city. It'd been a shock at first, but quickly enough he realized that the chaos ordered itself in a way that he seemed to understand. By the time high school rolled around, he tended to organize a small group beforehand, laying out plans and speculating the places throughout town the most furious of fighting would occur (and what paths people would take to get to them, as to best set up the best ambushes). As much as he'd left behind that amount of proactivity in grade school... he still couldn't leave it all behind. After all, war changes a person, and you can never escape it.

Within five minutes Morgan has stowed all of his school materials, as well as his jacket, in a safe place, grabbing an available water gun (more like a super soaker with a tank the size of a two-liter bottle) to sling across his back. He scans those milling around with a veteran's eye, and perhaps he notices a) that maybe you look a little deer-in-headlights, vulnerable in what will be, in a few minutes, sheer mayhem. He'd never been someone to prey on someone he felt was an easy target, so he approaches with a hint of vague concern in tone and expression.] All hell's going to break loose, so you better grab something, [a gesture to the piles of aquatic weaponry and water balloons,] or get outta here.

[That, or b) perhaps you've seen an Apprassage Water War or two in your time, or perhaps you're just convinced you can handle it. Morgan can recognize that in a person and approaches you with a nod.] Truce? [Accompanied by a swift, bright smile.] I've found it's best not to go into this as a lone wolf.

II.
[You'd think that someone nearly six and a half feet tall would just be a huge target.

But Morgan is fast, and he ducks and weaves with the expertise of someone who must've survived, triumphant, through plenty of dodgeball in grade school. Not that he's impossible to get a hit on, though, but if you do, he just wheels to face you with a dangerous-looking grin on his face.

Because he's really just looking for worthy adversaries, and at this point, you're standing out.]

IV.
[It's later on into the day when the list is distributed to the phones, and it didn't take much more than a cursory look to see what targets would be more lucrative to hunt down.

Oversized backpacks, headphones, Starbucks, school colors, bicycles? Even without looking how the students' scores were weighted (and not to even mention professors), it suddenly painted a giant target on the university campus. Sure, not every kid had the Retrospec app, but some would, and if they were smart, they'd be on the way to rack up points.

So he prepares.

Then he keeps an eye out. The first sign he sees of someone being pursued by a larger group, he moves to intercept, holding out both hands in an gesture of peace.] Wait, listen. [There's maybe less than a minute before that group of kids descends upon them, and it wouldn't be pretty.] I've got a way to get us out of this, but you gotta follow me.

[But think fast, because the pounding footsteps and shouts are getting closer.]

[parodeity]

[ dave's in jeans and a black t-shirt for the event, and seems to be wearing a watch as well as his shades, but he simply doesn't take either of those accessories off very often. so. ]

i. countdown

[ dave isn't caught off guard, mostly because this yearly fight has always struck him as fun. or. well. he might not do it alone and might have avoided it had he been, but it'd been a sort of friends-and-family activity back when he was a kid and now it's just a tradition. and who is dave strider to break tradition?

he's been outfitted with a water gun or two and plenty of water balloons in a bucket as he casually uses a bench as cover (crouched behind it checking over his gear). if you're rushing around trying to get the hell out of dodge, he'll say: ]

You've got a minute to go time, and the nearest safe zone is further off than that. Might be time to take cover, dude.

[ "dude" is gender-neutral, ok. ]

ii. tapioca

[ if he hadn't gotten back insane reflexes last month, the pudding-filled balloon that sailed towards dave probably would have hit him. as it is he jumped out of the way like a damn cat, not seeming to really register the balloon even as he dodged.

so, that definitely hit either you or near enough to you that you got splattered.

dave makes a face. ]

Is that tapioca? Who the hell decided to fill these up? They definitely should have gone with vanilla or chocolate or like, any other flavor. Ooh, actually strawberry? That'd be kind of like, easier to do dramatic death scenes with. Not that blood is pastel pink or anything. Maybe ketchup would be better, but I feel like that's kind of a waste...I'd say the pudding was, too, but who actually eats tapioca?

iii. target acquired

[ ...that's new. for the record, dave is a high school student wearing sunglasses (this is total bullshit and targeting him directly?) but he's not taking off the shades so whatever, he's a bonus of twenty points all told - twenty-five if sneakers count as athletic gear.

...well. thirty because he's also scrolling through the list on his phone with the thumb of his right hand, his water gun in his left. his eyebrows are raised. ]

I'm not sure I need the incentive, but...may as well see what happens, right?

[ do you match a bonus item on the list, because if so he'll level an even look at your direction, though a hint of a smile breaks out. ]

Target acquired. [ it's mostly teasing and he probably won't shoot anyone trying to escape the chaos...unless he knows them. ]

iv. bonus

[ well, okay. he has a harder time dodging random glitter-and-confetti balloons that seem to come out of nowhere than other things, so while dave stayed Mostly Dry for the majority of the day he gets clipped in the shoulder with one as he leaps backwards, barely catching his balance and looking for all the world like an offended cat.

a glittery offended cat. most of his focus was on throwing up his hands to cover his shades from any splatter, so that's...well, dumb. ]

Hey. [ and there's no one to even be mad at, because as far as he can tell no one threw it? a sharp glance your way seems to indicate that's the case, anyway. ] What the hell do they got against water war skills?? I call bullshit.

wildcard

[ or hit me with whatever! if you would like an individualized prompt hmu via pm or whatnot. ]

[aegist]

i. crap

[ she had an exam and two essays due today, and thalia shoulders her backpack as she leaves the building and realizes...those are hoses. those are water balloons. this is april. the realization is not slow but fast and her immediate seriously not right now expression is obvious. while she doesn't mind the water war usually, she'd wanted to get home. possibly dry? and then like, eat food and maybe die or go to bed, whichever happened first.

god, the safe zones are never even in the same place -

she snaps out a hand to grip your elbow, and says in the tones of someone certain they are about to face Horrors: ]

Do you have a safe zone map? [ she will give up like pretty early on and do her best in the fight but haphazard escape attempts are a go first off. ]

ii. safe haven (no)

[ having gotten a map or threatened safe zone locations out of someone, thalia can be found at a few dumb safe zone locations before she is forced into the fight because this prompt is hilarious to me. you can find her:

a) standing inside a single hopscotch square. if you approach to try to take the square she will cross her arms and raise her eyebrows. ]

I am not moving, and you can't make me.

[ PROBABLY. and if you try to wait her out to get out of the square she might do something drastic like join the fight. god forbid.

or b) at the top of one of these things, where she sits perched with her bag and coffee, chin in one hand as she watches the chaos. if her feet touch the ground she's off the safe zone. this is stupid. ]

...Hey.

iii. aegis

[ thalia grace is 1) wearing a large backpack (20 points) 2) holding a coffee from starbucks (15 points) 3) wearing a campus sweater (15 points) 4) is a college student (20 points) 5) has just pulled out her phone to check the damn retrospec notification (5 points) 6) is wearing school district colors thanks to the damn sweater (25 points) and finally 7) is definitely still trying to escape this chaos (50 points).

her net worth is 150 points. accordingly, she swears as soon as she reads the notification.

she'd tried to book it from a safe zone, bored of waiting around, but clearly she did this too soon. when she glances up and spots someone she glares. ]

Don't even think about it!

[ so, like. you can a) take her warning and engage her in conversation or escort her elsewhere or b) think about it and attack.

those who choose the latter option will find that thalia will drop her coffe and dodge. she doesn't have anything to throw (YET) but after registering this person is from the dumb network, she taps her wrist - no, a bracelet on her wrist - before the next volley hits, and suddenly the bracelet is a shield that takes the blow instead. it's a terrifying shield - literally, there's terror looking at it, and medusa's face engraved on the thing.

...probably she could have chosen a less drastic method of cover but it's been a long day and she is Done. ]

iv. so anyway

[ at that point thalia apparently decides Fuck It and joins in the fight. you can find her being absolutely terrifyingly accurate at throwing water balloons or having excessively good aim with water guns. she spent a lot of time in these stupid fights as a kid, and when pressed her skills aren't that rusty.

maybe no one should have pressed her because friends and family mean Almost Nothing if you don't ally with her immediately? they do mean something because as long as you don't attack her first she won't attack you back (...usually. if she likes you a lot.) but she is definitely getting a mean streak and attacking people wholesale.

she kind of leaves people trying to escape alone since she Feels You Bro but. ]

wildcard

[ alternately hit me with whatever or pm me for an individualized prompt! ]

Rachel Hishimura | ota

[clear_eyes]

[ii]

[Rachel has never really been big on this whole annual water war thing. But this year is a little bit different. Maybe it's how more open she's become recently, due to having made more friends. Maybe she wants some catharsis after all the stuff Retrospec has put her through, not to mention the looming specter of the end of the school year and finals.

In any case, she's prepared for this. Not only did she make an effort to be the first to get to the water balloons, she had brought not one but two water guns. Yes, indeed. For once, Rachel was ready for a conflict.

In any case, she's going to try and find some high ground to hit people from. She's commandeered a fair amount of water balloons for herself, and set up a sort of camp. Are you being hit from higher ground? Trying to take her by surprise? Those reserves are awfully tempting. Either way, Rachel is ready for war.

Too bad she looks like a huge dork with the sunglasses she put on for this. There's looking cool, and there's trying too hard.]

[iv]

[With her backpack, sunglasses, and status as a high school student, Rachel immediately became aware of her status as a target the moment the notification popped up on her phone. When this happened, her confidence and eagerness started to ebb. And what's more, she'd chosen to wear blue and white that day. She was a fool! A fool!

Oddly enough, it's enough to dampen her enthusiasm a bit more rather than add incentive for her to acquire points. Instead, she's just going to try and get while the getting's good... which, ironically, adds another 50 points to her as a target. She might be willing to make a pre-emptive strike, but for now? It's time to get to a safe zone.]

[frostythehitman]

[ i ]

[ James has been looking forward to this all year. As a Recolle newcomer last year, he had no idea what to expect or what was happening, but this year? Ohhh, this year, he came PREPARED. Mostly in the form of a backpack with a small plastic basin in it to hold the water balloons more safely, and two moderate-sized water guns strapped to his sides. As soon as the buckets of balloons come out, James is sprinting for them and stockpiling as much as he can in the backpack.

And once he's done that, he darts for his locker to bring out the water guns. Once fully armed, he's got a locked and loaded water gun in each hand, and a backpack full of water balloons strapped to his front. Hey, it may not look elegant, but it works.

If he passes by anyone in his mad scramble to prepare for the war, he'll make them an offer. ]

Listen, I'll make this easy for you. Either we work together here and watch each other's backs, or I give you five seconds before you get drenched.

[ ii/iii ]

[ James has read the target list, and he knows full well his backpack makes him a target. But, he's accepted that risk. What's more important, he figures, is going after the big points. So he spends most of his time trying to hover around the safe areas around the university, keeping an eye out for anyone who looks even vaguely like a professor, or someone who's trying to escape to the safe spots.

So, while folks in the university area should be wary of an angry teenager who are basically firing away at anything that might fit his criteria, James should also be wary himself. Because, see, he's made himself very, very easy to sneak up on... ]

[belligerentwarrior]

VI

[This was Freya's element. She's been at this since the very beginning, and by now her clothes are stained with paint (and is that apple sauce?), but it doesn't seem to be slowing her any. She won't target anyone that's clearly upset about the day's war, but everyone else is fair game. Especially the people she knows.]

[And by the end of the day, Freya's competitive streak's escalated this to unreasonable levels. In a tree, waiting to spring an ambush? Somehow managing to climb to the top of the student union and lobbing long shots at the walkways of other buildings (or at the open window of a certain professor's office)? Turning a parking structure into her battle ground of choice by weaving between cars and climbing the railings between levels?]

[Freya does not let a challenge go, whether it's because her target's elusive, or fighting back.]

[Wildcard]

[Wildcard me, I'll roll with it.]