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

[Penelope didn't budge, completely unconcerned with the girl's almost robotic motions. She could and would do something to stop the girl from going forward if necessary, though hopefully it wasn't. Her lips parted, about to retort with something sharp when something seemed to get through, even just a little bit.]

That's right. It's a trick.

[She knows all too well that it's a trick, because Freya had bailed her out of a similar situation not too long ago. So, keeping her voice soft, she pushed Lucy back a step, putting her weight into it.]

I know it's telling you something, but those flowers aren't telling you the truth. My friend Freya found me earlier, walking towards them just like you. Only, she couldn't hear what they were saying. Please, let's go back to the path and I'll make sure you get to go somewhere warm and dry. Not the forest.

Edited (so was my autocorrect) 2017-05-07 15:42 (UTC)

[Lucy perked up a bit at that name, more than the assertions that the things she was definitely hearing weren't true. A warm and dry place was nice, yes—more than nice, it made her ache to think about. Both of them were promising that. But only one of them mentioned her roommate by name, which further jarred Lucy's thoughts out of spellbound numbness.]

Freya did...?

[Lucy felt her balance shift backwards, and stepped back to stay upright. She couldn't muster the energy to shove her way forwards right now.

But...

[Her voice, wondering and bewildered before, had turned melancholy again; like a lonely child with hope squashed out of her voice.]

[Well, that helps. If she knows Freya then that's something Penelope is going to use to draw her out of it by focusing on it. She holds out both of her hands, palms up in an offer of stability.]

Freya did.

[Features softening a little, water matting down her hair, she swallows back further concern. The girl could be sad but she'd at least be safe. That was more important right now.]

Do you want me to take you to her? I can do that, you know. If you're her friend, she'd want to see you, and not let you get lost in the woods.

[At that Lucy blinked, reactions a bit less sluggish now. She didn't lean back into place when the hands were taken off her shoulders, but she didn't reach out to tae them either, staring dully down at them instead like she was unsure what to do.]

I guess I...am. A friend.

[It was a strange thing to think about, and just as strange a word to say and actually mean.]

Where...is she?

[Belatedly, the teenager realized she hadn't seen Freya since this morning. She could be anywhere by now.]

[Penelope sucks in a breath and nods her head towards the street. She's not sure what's up with this girl, or what connection she has to Freya, but this is a problem.]

The last I saw, headed back to her apartment. I can walk you there, make sure you get home safely.

[It's...complicated. A lot of Lucy is complicated.]

...okay.

[She couldn't help one more look back to the forest, though. The flowers still glowed, still murmured—but she could no longer make out the faint glow of windows. The magic was gone, the promise empty whispers. She wasn't sure when it stopped.

Lucy sighed through her nose, shoulders huddling up cold and miserable. But she didn't push the stranger's hands away.]

[Well, with that done, Pen takes Lucy by the hand and gently starts tugging her towards the street. Not pushing or forcing her, just a slow step at a time. She's worried about the fact that they are alone, in the dark, at this size but this girl clearly needs a helping hand.]

My name's Penelope, by the way. You can call me Pen.

[That name was unfamiliar to her, but many names were. Lucy mumbled an affirmative noise to show that she heard, but her own response took longer, voice still slow and ponderous.]

Lucy.

[She followed the other girl, slow step by step. She was still too cold to twitch or flinch away from the touch on her hand, even though she was aware of pressure there. Her paranoia hadn't returned yet.

And this person was...probably not going to hurt her. They could have just let Lucy continue wandering until something bit her head off or hypothermia froze her. She was going home, still. Just...to a different one. That wasn't so bad.

Lucy tripped on a pebble as she shuffled, staggering forwards into the other girl's shoulder. She was light, if off balance.]

[Other than a tussle with a possum earlier in the day, Pen isn't likely to hurt anyone. Heck, she's barely 5' on a good day, and right now she's erring closer to 4 inches...

when Lucy tripped, Pen froze, feeling the girl drop against her back. Spinning around, she tried righting her.]

Easy there, Lucy. Don't rush. Just mind your feet. Once we're sheltered, I'll call Freya.

[With the echoes and music fading, Lucy's reactions got faster. Still numb, but not on the verge of going catatonic. She flinched when she saw hands coming towards her head, and tried to straighten faster on her own. But they were just trying to help, not deliver a chastising swat. She was on her feet again in a moment.]

Just. Tripped. Fine...fine now.

[She was drenched and cold and not really fine. Points for...effort?

Freya could help. All Lucy had to do was follow Penelope to wherever Freya was. So she would. Everything else she could puzzle out later.]

[It's something at least. Penelope takes her time then, walking Lucy back to the street and pulling out her phone to call Freya. She's still got no idea what's really going on, but this is worrisome and she definitely doesn't want to disappoint this girl.]

Lemme see if I can reach her.

[Once the sidewalk and street beyond was in sight again, Lucy remembered to shiver. Much more, all at once—shaking away more than just the cold. She almost felt indignant, at her thoughts being played like a fiddle.

Her voice was still sluggish, though. It'd take more than a bit of shivering to defrost that.]

A...long way to. Go. Isn't it?

[Sluggish is fine, out of immediate danger is the goal here. Penelope nods towards a bus stop with a roof, tugging Lucy over that way to at least get her out of the rain.]

I'm calling her right now to make sure we head in the right direction. Won't be too long.

[Pen called far, far earlier than Freya had expected. She'd barely just gotten up the steps to the apartment; had something happened? She waited to set out again until she found some dry shoes and socks and a rain jacket, but beyond that, back into the cold rain she went. Lucy wasn't what she expected to happen.]

[Freya was already pretty exhausted, but she traveled as fast as a several-inches-tall person could. At least the other two found shelter.]

You're tellin' me the that damned song got her, too?

[Pen stands up from where she'd been resting in the little shelter, drawing herself up to her whole, extra diminutive height and walking over to greet her friend.]

Yeah.

[Shaking her head, she looked over at Lucy.]

I saw someone walking off towards the woods, pulled her out. She perked up at your name. So, figured I'd give you a call.

[With the oversized rain no longer beating down on her head, thinking was easier. Faster.

...sleeping was also very tempting. She knew faintly that she shouldn't, but-

With the drumbeat of the rain, Lucy didn't even hear Freya's footsteps. She jolted fully awake at the sound of voices, though, looking up from her seat on the mostly-dry ground. Her knees were pulled into her chest, and she was still shivering, eyes a bit dull still.]

'm not dead, you...know. Still here.

[Just borderline hypothermic.]

[Freya looked over to Lucy; her speech was kind of concerning.]

'Course she did. I live with her. [She crouches down by Lucy, removing her rain jacket.] You look like hell.

Wait...this is the other one of the fabled roommates?

[Consider her surprised!]

[The pink haired girl blinked at Freya, mumbling in answer. She certainly didn't feel nice, and the rain had done its best to ensure she looked as half-drowned as she felt.

Lucy mumbled again in protest as she swung her head Penelope's way for a moment.]

'M not a unicorn.

[Her voice may have been sluggish, but she was still capable of...well, not quite humor, but a grumpy protest that sounded more like her usual self.]

More like a bunyip. [Freya joked as she settled her rain jacket on Lucy's shoulders.] Get that on. If we're fine, you'd be walking back to the apartment, yeah?

A bunyip. Hah, that's a good one.

[Weirdly she actually knows what those are. Please don't ask how. It's so geeky.]

I guess we are. I...actually have my bag, this time.

[Lucy made an unamused grumble, but didn't flinch or pull away when Freya settled the jacket on her shoulders. She did close her eyes and will herself to not react, which was...much easier than usual, except for the shivers. Stupid cold.

Speaking of that, though-]

...can't really walk.

[Well, she could try. But just getting up seemed like an impossible task, like she'd turned halfway to stone—walking any great distance was almost incomprehensible. It didn't even prickle at her stubbornness this time.]

Oi, I mean it. Arms through the sleeves. [Freya frowned at... a lot of things, really. Her roommate's shivering, noncompliance, admitting she was as bad off as she looked. Freya's muscled ached from her hellish week and she was still shivering intermittently herself, but Lucy seemed to be far worse off.] You want to be more comfortable, or you want to get home faster?

[She glanced over to Pen, and added,] Thanks for callin' me.

[There's a lot to be said about this. But not much, at least, not much that's substantive. Shouldering her sack, she nods to Freya.]

Of course. It needed to be done.

[...did she have to say it out loud? She did. Just getting her arms through the sleeves of the rain jacket was an ordeal.

And Freya said 'home,' which just made her chest ache all over again. That won out over her own stubbornness, though Lucy still dropped her gaze to the left.]

...I need help.

May Event Log

Sorry, dreamwidth was being a butt.

no worries o/

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3 way thread? Or we can call it here and say she drops Lucy off. It's up to you!

I'm okay with a three person thread!

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