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

[ dave...stops staring at dirk's neck because that's creepy even if it's impossible to tell. there are a lot of options for what to say, so he settles on: ]

I know. [ about his priority, dave means. ] Don't worry so much. It really isn't a huge deal, I just don't feel like gettin' into some ridiculous memory chain here, even if you might not flip like you didn't with crude ogres. I'll admit I've been stressed lately, but it's seriously just bein' busy as fuck. The memories don't help but it ain't nothin' I can't handle. You already know the worst of it anyway.

[ except....................not, since he didn't mention anything after the panic attack about abuse, but whatever. ]

No, I don't. I'm pretty sure of that.

[He's trying not to cling to Dave's hand. It's always been a tendency of his: he is pretty sure he spent most of his infancy latched onto Roxy's arm like she were his security blanket, and even now he sleeps wrapped around pillows and holding them tight. He's been just as clingy emotionally, moving away but constantly coming home to stay in contact with his siblings. He's a needy person and he always has been. But it's louder now, like a panicked scream, a sense that he can't be alone and it's everything he can do to not grab Dave hard enough to bruise him.

He needs to stay calm. He needs to be good.]

I've seen you get busy your whole life, Dave, not to mention all these decades of stress. I'm not discounting that there's a certain amount of change that happens with age, but I know that isn't what this is.

[He makes his hold on Dave loose, so that Dave can yank away, if he really wants to. It's a bad habit to let himself start up again: figure out what he wants most and then allow it to be betrayed.]

[ even if dirk's grip did tighten for a second there, dave wouldn't have reacted. usually he's about as ridiculously clingy as dirk can get. dave liked to hang off of people and touch their arms when he talked or sling an arm over their shoulders or elbow them or a million other things; he's backed off it to a degree but still manages with friends without too much trouble. his first instinct was call dirk or rose or roxy and make them fix whatever was wrong, but it isn't right now, and it's uncharted territory.

he's never really had, before the past few months, a problem he'd actually keep to himself and not let out. ]

So what do you think this is, Bro?

I think you're putting distance between you and me. Maybe everyone else, too. I think you're avoidin' me.

[He thinks his brother pulling away.]

[ like, #bingo? although no one else is calling him on it, though yuri kind of did ("if i can help or listen or do anything please let me. not even let me know, just let me. that's what friends should be for") and anya offered him a hug and they don't even know why he's being off. for the most part, people are fine with the casual cheer he's offering up.

why does dirk have to be so difficult? although with dirk it's maybe a little more pointed, because dirk knows a little too much and pays too much attention - although it's been avoidance pure and simple since yesterday. ]

What makes you think I'm avoidin' you?

[Wow. Really, Dave?]

If I had to put my finger on it, it'd have to be the literal avoidance you've been doing.

[COME ON.]

[ maybe he just wanted dirk to say it, okay. ]

I've never avoided you in my life, except for like two days when I was eight and you were an asshole. [ dirk was probably not being an asshole though. dave was probably being eight. ]

And now.

[Dirk doesn't need to pile up dates and times, messages drops, excuses given for why they can't have ice cream or do a random thing. He knows without the evidence and so does Dave.]

You know I love you, dude.

[ like that's some sort of excuse, or makes it better. ]

I love you too.

[The situation is still what it is, but Dirk will never, ever hesitate to say it back. Perhaps now more than ever.]

I wouldn't give a damn if I didn't.

[ at least there's that. dave drops dirk's hand, shoving both of his into his pockets as he looks around. ]

Seriously, though: puppy. It's been over twenty minutes. You do not earn the dogsitter badge and you don't get to pass go and collect two hundred. In fact, you're bein' sent back twenty paces and owe the bank three-fifty.

Dave.

[Dave's right and technically the puppy is more urgent, but Dave is also worrying him. Dave is worrying him and Dirk doesn't want to let go.

Even if his hand has already been abandoned. He's quiet, worried when he talks, and it isn't about Evie]

I'm assumin' you're too quote-busy-unquote to help me find her.

[Dirk don't say quotes out loud you dick.]

No. [ because as much as he'd like to be alone, he won't actually refuse to help someone else, especially if there's a life on the line? even a dog life. ] It's my damn fault you lost her anyway.

[ so like, he'll hate himself if dirk can't find the dog. may as well try to avoid that outcome, since dave is already full up on ridiculous feelings for the year. ]

But after that I do gotta jet. I'm supposed to teach someone trig today. [ or he will. call yoshiko up and suggest that is a thing they do right this second, whatever. ]

[Great. Now there's going to be an awkward dog hunt followed by something that feels like an excuse. Like, yeah, Dirk believes Dave would be a great trig tutor, but also: bullshit.]

You super do not want to be near me, huh. You can go if you want, Dave. I can find Evie.

That's not it, jesus. [ it's...kind of it but it's mostly he doesn't want to have another anxiety attack in dirk's general direction. he full stop does not want to talk about the latest shit he remembered about dirk, because he doesn't want dirk to remember it.

he hasn't figured out how to fake normal for his family yet, and it's a pity only roxy really buys it. and dave's not sure if she does or not for real. ]

I'm just gonna fuckin' worry about it all day unless you leave with her so I'm helpin', so shut up?

[Dirk frowns but decides not to push it. Instead, he starts calling and whistling for Evie. He wonders if he has anything that smells like home to set out for her? He heard that's the way to find yourself a dog.]

[ dave is. less sure of how to look for a dog but he wasn't lying when he said he'd worry all day until she was found and Hate Himself Forever if not (he did keep bringing her up even in the dark, for kind of that reason) so.

mostly he will assist by darting around looking for the dog, without any real game plan. ]

[It actually isn't that hard, because Evie is a GOOD GIRL.

Obviously she comes bounding over and a giant tongue is gonna lick both the Strider boys though.]

[ dave JUMPS BACK with too-fast reflexes but at least that's a relief. ]

You goin' home? [ to forestall an argument of definitions: ] To your place.

[Fine, Dirk will just stand there slobbered up. It's actually ridiculous and kinda gross and his hair is awful.]

I'll go somewhere.

[He hates the way he now remembers feeling for a whole lifetime.]

[ why does he think dave dodged.

dave...pauses. ]

Which somewhere.

[ apparently this is a choice 1 or choice 2 scenario somehow??? dave you don't even have the authority to do that ]

I was thinkin' a nearby puddle.

[Dirk's rubbing at Evie's leg, soothing down the hairs that are now giant bristles. HE IS STILL VERY SLOBBERY]

What? Fuck no.

[ goddamnit he really doesn't want to stick around but that gets him stuck. ]

You have to take the dog home, idiot. [ that's not even the reason he's forcing himself to stay put, but whatever. ]

I will eventually. It's harder to wash off in the giant sink.

[He needs a puddle? THE DUDE LOVES HIS SHOWERS, DAVE]

Then you're goin' straight back after?

[ why does this matter ]

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