recolle | May Event Log

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May Event Log

EVENT

RISE AND SHINE
Spring is upon the city of Recollé now. The rainy season is starting to pass and the last of the winter chill has officially shaken off. The weather is perfectly spring-like with flowers blooming all over the city and the local wildlife rousing from their hiding places. People everywhere find themselves awakening to the sound of birds tweeting and the sun shining peacefully on them as they're drawn from the world of dreaming.

Too bad that's about where the peace ends today.

I.
It’s a leisurely morning when you first wake up. The sun’s rising and peeking in through the curtains of your room, birds are chirping happily, and you find yourself drowning in your sheets with the floor much, much further down than you recall.

Wait, what?

You don’t think that you’ve shrunken at all. After all, your clothing still fits perfectly fine. The trouble with it all is that all of your furniture has enlarged several times its usual size and the walls tower over you more than before. Getting ready for your day is going to be a challenge, but the outside world can’t be that bad, can it?

Think again. Buildings skyrocket dozens of stories higher than they originally were. The button for the crosswalk dangles over your head tauntingly. The tires for your school bus are coming dangerously close as you try to cross the street. Be careful out there!

Is there a safe path to avoid further incidents? As the days go on, citizens will find that if they look down a series of lit-up circles appear under their feet. Stepping on one will cause the Retrospec app to open, and a song will begin to play. How long will this go on? Unfortunately, Retrospec seems to be working just fine and will autoloop until your path of lights meets someone new. After all, isn't social media about bringing people together? Best get to exploring and seeing what’s out there…or, maybe, who’s out there.

II.
Speaking of exploring, it's much easier to see the wear and tear of the city at this size. With everything much larger you may notice that everything about your nice city isn't quite so nice. Cracks in the sidewalk present a hazard when walking everywhere and there are fractures in the buildings themselves. You may wish to avoid them entirely for your own safety.

But for the more curious residents (or anyone accidentally finding themselves falling into these cracks) a venture into these spaces will reveal something a little mysterious. Swirls of black float through space, occasionally punctuated by flashes of images and words. Presented almost like a movie, you may not be able to pinpoint what exactly you’re seeing but it seems to be calling your name to draw you further in. At first, the interior space in these cracks seems to expand and the images become clear. It’s…space? No. It’s stars, lots of stars and there’s a rumbling sound that seems to echo through the cracks along with voices becoming more persistent as they cry out for help. The swirls and mist become thicker with each step. Will you turn back? Or will you press on and risk getting lost in the echoes of voices you don't recognize and images you can't identify?

Those who turn back will find themselves on another path of light, resetting their device and urging them onwards to find someone new. Those who continue forward though and wish to seek the truth will find themselves assaulted either with a whirlwind of memories they’ve already obtained since they’ve received the Retrospec app or blacked out by the darkness as the mist becomes impenetrable.

How will you find your way back? It may be wise to work together on this one to retrace your steps.

III.
Despite the fact the city's experiencing some sizing issues, responsibilities are still important and these problems won't stop your boss from demanding you show up to work on time. Did you get lost on your way to school? What a bummer that this is the day your professors spring a pop quiz on you. The challenges of every day life are even more challenging and as per usual, many people don't even realize there's something wrong. Though your pencil may be taller than you are, you won't be allotted extra time to write things down. Even worse, navigating past shopping carts and down grocery aisles is nearly impossible, especially in larger, more crowded places like Freshens.

Outside isn't much better. Beginning on the fifth of May, clouds begin to loom overhead as the rainy season reminds citizens it's not over yet. All around you critters begin to jump into action to prepare for the inevitable storm. From this level of the ground it's easier to see ants hard at work hauling items 30 times their body weight. That caterpillar might be good for hitching a ride back home. Watch out for the furry four-legged beast running your way!

Speaking of beasts...well. Just because you're no longer your original size doesn't mean your furry and feathered friends won't be. Maybe you're lucky enough to have a companion you can hitch a ride with. Or maybe you aren't so lucky after all. Your pets may like you just fine, but other people's pets and even the insects will give in to their animal instincts, prone to chasing and sometimes outright attacking citizens (Retrospec users and non-Retrospec users alike.) Can you fight? Guess you'll have to find out.

Oh, and you better hurry...the rain that begins later in the afternoon is most unforgiving. At this size? It's quite easy to be swept away in a flood.

IV.
Do you hear that? Everything seems to be amplified now and with the rain pounding down around you for the next five days the echoes are even louder. This time, however, the words are much more distinguishable. Above the din of a hauntingly beautiful song, you may find yourself being coaxed to come out into the Apprassage Woods, whispered promises of your most sacred desire filling your ears. Perhaps it's irrational, like scoring well on college entrance exams. Perhaps it's something much bigger like seeing a loved one again long after their passing. Whatever it may be, the song is almost overpowering and tempting.

Along the way, bright, towering flowers serve as a guiding light deeper and deeper into the woods. The further you travel, the louder they echo those desires back at you, even louder than the song itself. Strangely, for those who have been gifted with a supernatural sense or the ability to see ghosts, you may find that there are figments flickering through the trees encouraging you onward. You want their help, don't you?

There are ways to break out of the song's trance, but it will take teamwork and effort to ground each other back to reality. It seems as though the rain itself may very well be the culprit. Will you seek to find shelter? Maybe you're lucky and happen to have a pair of ear plugs in your pocket. Do your best to guide each other home. The woods aren't very friendly after dark even with the fluorescent glow of the flowers.

BONUS.
The nice thing about being pint-sized is that it's much easier to go where you probably shouldn't. Should you find yourself back in Tisse and in front of the Retrospec building, you may notice it's much easier to slip under the cracks of the front door. Several of you may have been in this lobby before. Like usual, the lights are on. At this size, however, it's easier to hear the echoes of footsteps somewhere above you.

But don't worry about them. Being this size means that it's more possible now to enter some the previously locked rooms. Some rooms don't have enough space to crawl under, of course, but the two rooms that do will reveal something quite interesting. There isn't much in the way of furniture in these two rooms, but every inch of the walls and ceiling remains covered in maps. Not all of these maps are blank. Some of them appear to have small splashes of color varying in size and shape, like an incomplete picture. Some of them also appear to have images on them, such as a Chocobo, or an apple with a smileyface, or a strange die. Furthermore, after the fifth of May, citizens may notice one of the maps now has a picture of those strange glowing flowers from the woods.

Should anyone be ambitious enough to count in these two rooms (though really, that will certainly take time), they will come to find that there are roughly 110 maps in all. And with a little digging, they can explore and attempt to open drawers and closets in these rooms. Together, they will discover there are an additional 30 maps, including one with a picture of a strange-looking doll.

So you want to learn more about these maps, huh? For anyone who tries to draw or write on the maps, they will find that whatever they deface the maps with stays there! However, the moment you exit the room anything you drew on the map will appear on any surface of your skin that's available. Tearing the maps doesn't seem to work either. The maps can only be removed from the wall in one whole piece.

If one were to take a map from the rooms, they would only be able to get to the doorway before it dissolves into ash and creates a miniature dust storm for everyone nearby. Strangely, the map will reappear on the wall and the cycle will repeat itself for days on end.

The maps really, really don't like being touched.

What does this all mean? What a great question.

Welcome to

recolle's May event! All characters will be begin in-game AU'd as Recollé residents. You may use any of the above prompts for ideas or make up your own depicting your Recollé AU! Prompts do not have to be set in the districts listed above. You can review our list of locations for what's available and be as creative as you'd like.

As another note, by participating in this log in a thread with five or more comments from you with a character you have not tagged previously, you are eligible for one free memory regain! This means you can claim a memory without a trigger required; we ask that it be low-impact for newer characters, while characters who have been here longer can scale upwards. However please be sure to submit this regain to the regains page and just specify "May Freebie" in the explanation portion of the form. Please see our monthly plotting post for more details.

If you would like to explore parts of the city in their enlarged state, please contact the mod team so we can get you a write-up of what your characters may or may not find! This also goes for if your character has regained any supernatural sensing and you'd like for them to interact with the figments in the woods!

Starting on 5/5, the Echo Flower from Undertale will act as your newest world change! Once the event wraps 5/10, the echoing of desires will stop and they will return to providing white noise and echoing the last thing they heard. These flowers will only remain in the woods.

Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[he makes a "huh" sound before he kneels down, trying to peer into the crack to see if he can spot it]

What was it?

A hat.

[ he's aware of how dumb it sounds out loud. he's also aware that, with how weird everything is right now, people are less likely to pay attention to his horns.

that doesn't matter though. he wants that damn hat back he paid money for it. ]

[At the mention of the hat, he'll glance up just out of reflex and ...oh yeah, those are horns.

... ]

Oh. Fuck man.

[THAT'S ROUGH BUDDY. He looks back down at the crack again, looking for the hat]

I'm not seeing it....

[ honestly, karkat appreciates that he did not acknowledge the horns more directly and just left it at that. this way karkat is aware that they both know they are a thing, but can move on with the info so karkat can pretend he is perfectly Normal.

he grunts, and then a second later actually leans down to reach a hand... into the crack... as if maybe he can reach it. ]

This would be the absolute perfect time for me to suddenly gain stretchy powers,

[Yeah well he just grew an arm that looks like it came out of a horror movie. After that happens to you, you're less incline to point out someone's tiny horns.]

No shit.

[...]

I could send Tim down there. It might be enough room for him to fly.

Who is Tim and will I regret asking that question?

[ it could be something normal, like a pet bird, or it can be something not, considering they are tiny and staring into a crack as if it's the mariana trench.

honestly even if it does turn out to be something weird karkat is just ready to accept it at this point. this is their life now. ]

[Noah just slides his bag off his shoulder and opens it up, allowing this little guy to come fluttering out of the backpack]

That's Tim.

[Timcanpy, realizing he's being introduced to someone, looks directly at Karkat and gives a big, very toothy smile. His owner is not at all disturbed by the fact this creature seems to have super sharp teeth.

Yep. This sure is your life now Karkat. ]

Edited 2017-05-04 05:49 (UTC)

[ ah. well. karkat looks at tim, then looks at noah, and then back at tim.

you know what? fine. if noah wasn't going to say anything about the horns, karkat is going to keep his damn mouth shut about this. he refuses to break first (he's most likely going to break first but what matters is that he does not break right away). ]

Yeah. Sure. What's up, Tim.

[ he sounds so dead inside why is this his life now ]

[Tim just flaps his wings more with a grin. He doesn't talk but yeah!! What up!!]

Heh. Tim's weird but you get used to him.

[He looks over at his golem. He's clearly grown fond of this critter...whatever it is]

Hey, this guy's hat fell into the crack. Think you can fly in and get it?

[Tim, somehow, seems to understand and flies closer to the crack...then flies around it. All looking like he's carefully assessing the situation. Maybe.]

Did he just suddenly show up one day?

[ karkat just... watches tim buzz around. he is pretty sure noah will understand that he's asking if noah got tim from retrospec or something. ]

Yeah. In a package from Retrospec that he ate.

[This guy has horns so...yeah, he's just assuming he's on the app]

[ no he just has horns for no reason. ]

That's... I want to say weird, but at this point shit like that is normal. And let me guess, you felt like he belonged to you?

[ considering tim is hanging around him, karkat assumes the feeling is mutual? ]

Yeah, once I got over the terror of having something bite its way out of a package in the mail.

[He shrugs]

He's good company once you get over the weirdness.

[He likes Tim more than he likes most people honestly]

Has he bitten anyone yet?

[ he adds in the "yet" as if it is inevitable that someone is gonna get chomped on eventually. ]

Nah, not yet. I tried to get convince him to eat Dante, but... [he sighs and shakes his head. Way to be a softie Tim.

Speaking of Tim, he seems to finally have worked up the nerve to fly into the crack, and flies into a wider part of it]

Oh! There he goes! Maybe he saw something!

[ karkat snorts at the dante comment. he doesn't know him well, but he knows him Enough to get the joke.

when tim dives in, karkat leans a little closer in an attempt to get a better view. the view still sucks. ]

How the hell does he see, anyway? It didn't look like he has eyes.

Beats me. But he sees well enough to record-

[Except whatever is going on down there? Seems to be effecting Tim, because he starts flying weirdly and nearly crashes into one of the sides.

Noah, whose been watching, is immediately concerned.]

-- Tim?

Does he normally do that?

[ karkat has no idea how tim typically moves, and it's weird to think that that something down a sidewalk crack might be doing this.

then again, it's weird that they shrunk, and here they are. ]

No way. He's way more graceful-

[And BONK. Tim just flew into a wall, stunning himself for a moment]

- Ah!

[Noah, being the fretful pet owner that he is, isn't even hesitating to try to reach in there and grab for his golem friend. Not only is Tim likely out of range of his grip- in general this is probably not a smart idea]

[ this is definitely a bad idea, and karkat can already see what the hell is about to happen because there is no way noah isn't going to end up falling in there.

which is what makes him feel stupid because he immediately grabs onto noah, in some sort of last ditch effort to stop the other guy from falling in after tim. ]

[Yeah unfortunately for Karkat, his attempts at heroics can only end in one way:

Both of them falling into the crack like they've fricking Jack Skellington falling into the Christmas Town door.

Because that's exactly what happens when Karkat grabs Noah, making him lose his balance further and falling straight into that crack.

ENJOY THE STAAAARS]

[ THIS IS BULLSHIIIIIIT

well, at least it doesn't go on forever, like it kind of looked like looking down from above. on the downside, hitting the ground when you didn't expect to fall kind of hurts, especially when you land awkwardly. ]

God fucking dammit I'm starting to hate this city. Hey... [ karkat suddenly realizes they never exchanged names. ] Where'd you land? It's as dark as taint down here.

[Noah meanwhile lands on the ground with a thud, his left arm moving to catch him just in time to make sure he didn't land on his head- not that he notices, since it's pitch black in here.]

Ow...

[He blinks and looks around...yeah. sure is dark in there. He hears that other guys voice and starts moving his right hand around to try to feel out the area]

I'm near I think- [He stops when the hand comes across something that feels like a-] Oh hey, found your hat.

Oh thank fuck.

[ at least falling down here wasn't a complete waste of time then. now they just need to find tim.

and also each other. ]

Wait, hold on. What's with the weird swirly shit?

[Yeah until he finds Karkat he's just...gonna shove that hat into his jacket pocket.

And when Karkat points it out, is when he notices the swirly stuff]

The fuck? That doesn't look like normal smoke. [---]

Also I think it just called my name.

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