recolle | JULY EVENT LOG

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JULY EVENT LOG

EVENT

SURF AND SUN
With the peak of summer upon the city of Recollé, many people are enjoying some time off to soak up the sun and hit the beach. Pops of green and blue sprinkle the city again though many people don't notice at all. Citizens remain as content as ever, complimenting one-another on their new tank-tops or asking for recommendations of the best ice cream flavors.

It's almost as if there's really nothing strange going on here.

I.
It's a pattern at this point. Those who have been a part of the Retrospec network for long enough have noticed that strange things usually begin on the third of any given month and perhaps some of you may be expecting it. But this time on the morning of the third, everything seems alarmingly normal.

Speaking of alarms, yours seems to be going off. "But I didn't set an alarm, it's summer", you might say, but it sounds strangely like the "wark!" of a Chocobo repeatedly. Some of you are able to turn off your alarms just fine, but others may not be so lucky. For a few selected citizens, disabling the alarm reveals a special pop-up notification from your friends at Retrospec.

A short message appears: B-I-N-G-O! Looking to collect some of your memories? Ready, set, go.

The message quickly dissolves and reveals an electronic 5x5 digital bingo card, each square filled in with an activity to complete. At the center is a prompt that hits almost a little too close to home, whether that be something you would do yourself or challenging you just a little to complete it. Shimmering just under the words of the center prompt, you can barely make out what appears to be a QR code before it promptly disappears.

Wait. Perhaps you may recall that someone once mentioned QR codes. Or maybe you're still learning how this network works and you're uncertain what it all means. There's only one way to find out, isn't there? Grab a friend (or even a stranger) and get ready to play in all districts of your beloved city.

Then again, maybe you really did get lucky and you weren't saddled with one of these cards, or perhaps you're the type to ignore silly games like this. There's plenty happening in the city elsewhere as everyone prepares for the big Fourth of July celebration. Tisse and Chata are bustling with people stocking up and hosting sales, not at all unlike the Founder's Day celebration. Everywhere you turn you may find yourself face to face with people offering samples or tempting you with the best deals around. Are you a shopper today? Or are you one of the employees counting down the minutes until your shift ends? It's just another day in the city of Recollé.

II.
Even though it's the middle of the summer, it's unusually warm for this time of year. A heatwave rolls through the city, but for some of you it's getting hotter than ever. It may be an ordinary day for you when it happens. Perhaps you're a student who's trying to enjoy their summer vacation. Maybe you're cramped up in an office all day desperately trying to soak in the air conditioning, or maybe you're running around trying to fill your bingo prompts. There's no telling where you will be when you come to realize a small item has made its way into your pocket or bag.

Upon inspection, you find a blue-colored fortune cookie, glowing as bright as the Retrospec logo. Some of you may throw it away, while others of you may accidentally break it or even open it out of curiosity. The moment the cookie is cracked, the glow stops and a puff of smoke emits into the air leaving behind a singular white strip of paper.

A short message: "Learn to walk a mile in someone else's shoes."

The heat intensifies for those who have read the fortune before a cool, calming breeze floats over you. Like the crash of a wave, you soon find yourself overwhelmed with a memory that isn't your own, or the feeling of power courses through your veins, the wind whispering a message of a power or memory obtained . Will you seek out who these memories and abilities belong to? Or will you keep them for yourself for a while? There's only one way to change back to the way you were, even if you don't know it just yet.

Yet even for those who aren't blessed with this fortune the heat's proving to be a bit much. The sun beats down intensely and everywhere you turn there are shops handing out cups of water to help keep everyone hydrated. There are several places you can duck into to borrow their AC, but all around the same time at 8pm on the 3rd, a rolling blackout hits the city. The lights go down and the air units stop working. It begins to have the effect of being cooler outside than it is inside (which you recognize as strange, but with the gray sky overhead it's hard to tell if this means rain or another sunset) and you feel the urge to go outside.

That's when it happens. As if on cue, the crickets begin to chirp and cicadas make their presence known. Fireflies begin to pop up in little groups, swirling around Retrospec users in synchronicity. Those off-network will remark how beautiful the bright creatures are, but don't find this behavior strange at all. However, the fireflies will follow users around the city all night long.

Will you focus on bringing the power back like you may have once before? Or will you enjoy the show? The fireflies will be with you no matter the choice.

III.
Down at Peach Beach a celebration's set up to take place over the course of the next two days. A stage sits on the sandy beach to host a variety of musical acts (including a few open mic hours) and food trucks are parked along the walkway. Some of you may notice that thanks to the fiasco during the food truck rally, several of the trucks have been stopped with parking boots. The boardwalk has a variety of games and specials to offer as well, fun prizes for anyone who plays along, buckets and pails prime for the taking to build sand castles and several carts selling Recollé's famous Peach Beach popsicles and ice cream parked along the docks. Best of all, the sun is high and the water's fine, the scent of the gray ocean wafts toward the sand.

However, for those who venture into the gray ocean you may notice that it takes a little longer than usual to cross the sand to the water, the distance stretching before you. The water's clear as ever and refreshing from the sun, though the waves appear choppier than you recall from the past. Perhaps that doesn't bother you. Perhaps you're a great swimmer or you tell yourself the waves aren't nearly as intimidating as they look. Several citizens are out there surfing and sailing. How bad can it be?

Do be careful if you venture further and further from the shore though; after a certain point far enough from the shore, adventurers may find themselves face to face with large, unidentifiable shadows under the water, a slick slide of something brushing against limbs in a gentle caress before the shadows retreat. Walking further will reveal a drastic dip in the ocean floor and you may sink under, the water strangely clear for being gray. Whatever touched you swims out of sight before you can get a close look, but it's clear its multiple fins and limbs propel itself forward and away.

Following it seems to be futile. The waves grow rougher and should you travel too far, the water will carry you back to the shore almost as if it's protecting you from harm.

Weird, isn't it?

IV.
But life goes on even aside from the weird ongoings of Retrospec. Life goes on, the world keeps turning, and the mayor still loves holidays. The Fourth of July is no exception and the city is bustling with activity.

Much like the day prior, the shopping district and the beach seem to be where many residents gather. Several others enjoy the day in Hollingberry field with friends and family, barbecuing and playing games together. Those with bingo cards will receive another sound of alarm, a startled wark! from their device before there is a flash revealing that one day has gone by since the game began. Those who harbor a power or memory that isn't their own feel the impact a little more heavily, urging them to find their match.

However, the world seems to stop as dusk settles around the city. Citizens hustle and scramble to pick the best viewing points for the annual fireworks show. Street vendors sell glow rings and popcorn and sparklers for anyone who wishes to play with the lights. The Mayor sits atop Seabiscuit in Recollé Square with an ice cream cone in hand, anticipating the time the bursts of color will appear.

At 9pm sharp, the first boom begins. Displayed across the sky appears the history of the city in pops of shimmering color, pictures painted across the dark tapestry above among the stars. With most of the city distracted though, now may be the perfect time to do some last-minute sale shopping or cross off a few things on your lists without question. It may even be the perfect time to sneak away from the crowds and get up to some mischief.

BONUS.
It's quiet around the Retrospec building, but the doors unlock for anyone who ventures toward them. They have been locked tight since the first part of May, but you can't help but observe that this seems to happen periodically. A pattern? Maybe, but who are you to look a gift Chocobo in the mouth?

For those brave enough to enter the building, they will find that rooms that were previously accessible are no longer available. Doors are missing, the elevator refuses to work, and the secretary's desk appears to be as clear of evidence as always. However, soft lights adorn the handrail of the stairs beckoning characters toward the second floor.

There appears to be only one room upstairs and the door is ajar. Is it a trap? Possibly, but further investigation shows that it was simply a careless action. Inside this room is another desk, a laptop seated on its table-top and the room itself not much bigger than a walk-in closet. Scattered around are books on biology and genetics, notes about evolution and hybrid animals. Comic books and horror movies sit in a neat pile in a corner near a small TV, screen frozen on a large monster of some sort. A table in the back is home to a few fossilized items in jars, along with empty coffee cups and house plants. In another corner is a clothing rack with a handful of costumes and a sewing machine sits on the floor nearby. Tacked on the wall is a reminder of the dates of the Recollé ReConvention.

What is all of this? A note on the desk reveals that all of this belongs to someone named Maurice and that "he better work harder or he will not receive his school credit."

But what's an intern doing with all of this research? What a great question.

Welcome to

recolle's July 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 based on the ongoings of the city! 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 a note, while you are more than free to use this log to play with the bingo cards and regains swap these are in effect all month! You are free to make your own posts all month long as well and these will qualify for your bingo cards. With regards to the regains swap, as per our notes how your characters switch back is up to you! This could be anything from a hug, a synchronized dance, a duel, etc. Be creative! There is no right or wrong answer.

Please see our monthly plotting post/event sign-ups posts here and here.

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Emil was prepared to just walk away, and call it a day and have a good laugh, but he feels bad when he sees how distressed Togusa is once he comes out to look at his car. He stops in his tracks and thinks -- no, Togusa is gonna know it's him and he's gonna get arrested! He winces at himself and takes one step forward.

But then he stops again, because what if Togusa gets in trouble at work? What if he needs to answer a call?

Emil starts sprinting back to the car.

"Hey, do you need some help?"

Togusa slowly turns around, because he is still trying to stare at his car. "I-" He lets out a laugh and shakes his head. He slowly smiles at Emil. "I could use it, yeah."

He looks at the car, and takes a few steps towards it. He starts circling the car, peering in the windows before he touches anything. "How in the world!? They got them past the cage." He shakes his head in incredulity. "How did they get balloons into the back of the car?"

Togusa just starts laughing, a little helplessly, because at this point, what else can the man do? "Sorry. Sorry. Ah- Officer Hitori Togusa. You-" He finally turns back to Emil. "Have we spoken before?"

Oh, good. He's not mad. Emil would breathe a sigh of relief but he thinks that might give up the whole ghost. What he does instead is so much more subtle. "Yeah.... No idea how they managed to do that... Haha, kids... These days."

He extends his hand. "I'm Emil. We've met before actually, but just over the network! I forgot you worked here," ha.... ha. He's not a good actor.

Pulling out one of the balloons, he lets it go and then catches it. "Helium," he explains. "Watch out!"

Togusa takes Emil's hand and shakes it, but there is a thought that is sticking out. No you didn't forget I worked here. No one on that network forgets that I work here. He's nervous, but not the kind of nervous in that he actually has done something wrong.

All right. Let's play.

Togusa has never thought of himself at being skilled at interrogation, but the last few months have shown him that maybe he's better at it than he thinks. Or maybe it's just comparatively better than the other people in that building. Whatever. Let's see how far he can get with Emil, then.

Togusa gives a deep sigh as he watches Emil out of the corner of one eye for his reaction. "Helium? Geez. Color me even more impressed, then. You'd need one of those tanks. How do you hide something like that?" Subtle flattery, and phrase it as a potential question. It's rhetorical, doesn't actually need an answer. But if Emil keeps trying to provide answers, he's steering Togusa in a direction.

"Huh, that's weird... Haha..." He pulls out more balloons and hands them to kids walking by so that they don't get wasted, there's a good forty some balloons in the car and he doesn't have any string. Thankfully, a daycare lets out and all the kids take some away.

And yet of course, Emil can't resist answering, even though the moment has sort of passed. This boy is a motor mouth. "Maybe it's one of their weird powers. Helium breath. I haven't gotten any yet by the way, have you? New powers, I mean." He asks this while nervously brushing through his hair with his fingers. It causes his hair to sparkle and there's a faint scent of burnt caramel and birthday cake that may or may not reach to Togusa.

"...You didn't have to be anywhere, right?"

It's so good that Togusa's head is halfway into the car when Emil says that, because helium breath, Togusa does lose it for a second and has to hide a snicker. Okay, how deep can Togusa get Emil to dig this hole? The look on his face is still a little dubious when he emerges with more balloons to give out. Cops with balloons, the kids just love it.

"Ah- no," he admits. "But I haven't heard of anything that weird. The few instances where people have been getting powers, they make a strange sort of sense. Increased strength or agility. I made one too many jokes about people being able to shoot fire, I think at least two people can now."

Throw out the slightest stab of guilt, see if Emil responds generally, or if he acts like this is his fault. "Well...I don't have to be on the road immediately, but I do have to be on my patrol soon."

He starts to sweat a little bit, just getting a little heated under the collar, and there are a few balloons left and no one to take them... So he starts popping them with death hugs.

"Not all the powers are useful, right? Bet the fire breathers wanna make friends with the helium breathers... Let's hope they don't put out Gregslist ads or anything." He is in the middle of hugging a light gray balloon but it just won't pop. It's probably one of the first ones he blew up. He gets increasingly more nervous as Togusa keeps needing for the truth. Gosh, why does this guy have to be so good at noticing things and interrogating?? Oh right, because he's a cop! Emil decided to prank a cop!

He keeps thinking about what he just said...

And he just feels so bad. And Togusa is doing a good job making him feel pressured like he's the one getting squeezed to death, in fact whether or not Togusa is even looking over, Emil feels something akin to heat beams in his back, and he looks up and accidentally catches Togusa's gaze. He looks like a deer caught in headlights.

There is a squeak. Is it the balloon?? Is it Emil??

Oh, he is so bad at this. Maybe Togusa is primed into overkill from dealing with Dante Rantanen all the time. So when he comes up against a not-skilled liar, he just starts to feel bad.

"No real harm done. But whoever did this just got pretty lucky on their timing..."

Togusa isn't even a dad, but he's learned that parental 'I know what you did' look from his own parents and from Ardyn, so he fixes Emil with that one. Slight patience, I can wait here all day for you to fess up.

You won't have to, Togusa, because Emil is sweating bullets over here. Has he committed a crime? Is this a crime? Is he going to jail? Is he going to get deported? Is he going to rot away in jail?? Will he ever see his mother again? Is she disappointed in him?? "Okay, okay! I did it! I did it, are you gonna arrest me?" he asks, and then--

Realizes how much of that was in his head. Like of course Togusa isn't going to arrest him. This probably isn't even a misdemeanor.

D'oh.

He feels so stupid right now.

Togusa feels bad for immediately laughing, but he does. He shakes his head. "No. Of course not." He points with a thumb back towards the building. "We do worse to each other every day. Gotta give points for the helium though. That's got you in first place for amount of effort. Still have another half of the month to go, though."

"But it is interesting to see how many people are taking Retrospec up on their offer," Togusa goes for another balloon. "And what lines they're willing to cross to get what they want."

Emil fluffs up his chest a little. "We all just want information... any way that we can get it," he says. "It's hard I think... Since they've given us so little."

He frowns. "I don't know. Some of us just... want to feel like we're doing something."

"Any way?" Togusa looks a little more sharply at Emil. "I think that's what Retrospec is testing. And why they're giving us so little. What are we really willing to do?"

Togusa shakes his head at himself. "Sorry, it's not fair. You're not the one who really needs this lecture. But. It's something to think about. Where are the lines that you won't cross?"

"I could have gone and smacked Dante upside the head for a free bingo square at any time. But I'm not going to. Because that's outside what I'm willing to do, no matter what the reward is. I think things are going to escalate from here. That Retrospec is going to demand more."

"Well, I read all the tasks on the card first! It's not like I'd kill somebody if they asked."

He holds fast still, and crosses his arms over his chest defiantly. "And yeah, maybe it's an icy slope and they'll start asking us to do more and more things until we're really hurting each other, but right now... right now I just feel useless.

"Dante understands that, he's the one who decided to let people slap him for five dollars to fill their cards."

There's a pause, and then he softens, holding his head in his hands. "I know they're not playing fair. And we're giving into demands... But the only other thing we can do is fight them, and how are we going to do that?"

"...Five bucks? Enterprising little jerk."

Muttered, not entirely serious, maybe to cut the tension. "Hey." Togusa shakes his head. "Don't feel bad about the things you've already done. It's worth it. But keep it in mind."

"I honestly think the tradeoff of information is going to be worth it," Togusa pulls his phone out and shows his bingo card, gesturing with his thumb to the center square.

"Those codes. It's the same as what we found in the subway. I'd love to believe that we made Retrospec play this hand early by finding them first. So the best thing you can do is to keep looking into things, okay? Only way we can fight them."

"Yeah, I'll look into ghosts and get pranked by a bunch of guys who think it's funny to jump out at kids." He heaves a long, exasperated sigh. "This is what they want, isn't it? All of us acting like idiots and debating what to do while they keep plotting what to do with us?"

He frowns. "The QR codes are stupid anyway. What does yours show you? Mine just gives me pictures of cats.

"It's a different cat every time."

He's also got one of ducks I think, and then one of an old lady eating salad. They weren't very nice QR codes. "Maybe we need cats to break into the building."

"Mmm, it keeps fading in and out," Togusa admits. He holds the phone up a little longer, and it's underneath the unfulfilled space 'play a pretend game of cops and robbers with someone.' "I haven't won yet."

"There's only been one common element to everything Retrospec has done. It's to send us at each other. Whether literally lighting up paths to find people, or these games that you need another person to fulfill, or an annoying song that wouldn't go away until you posted? They want us talking to each other. For what, I don't know. But we do at least know what they want."

"So... it thinks we need to get out there and make more friends?" he asks. That's.

Kind of sad. Almost sweet in a way. Maybe his mom wrote it, who knows. Maybe her codename is Maurice.

"Couldn't they just throw a couple parties?"

That makes Togusa throw back his head and laugh. "I know, right!? That would make way more sense!"

He shakes his head, and wipes at one eye. "In the meantime...don't think anything of it, all right? Do what you're going to do, we'll figure out what this means later. Good to know that they're just- video clips, though. But there were hundreds of them down in the subway. Maybe we have to put them all together, eventually."

He bristles a bit when Togusa laughs, but then lets it go once he realizes Togusa isn't laughing at him. And then-- "Hundreds of them? Well.

"If you need help sorting through cat videos." He just about punches himself in the chest. "I'm your man. But you're right, it's probably more puzzles and I'm no good at those. They just want to play games. I always thought Jim was just. Lonely. And misguided."

Togusa nods, and he smiles a little sympathetically. "I'm actually with you, on that one. Have you seen that building? Nobody ever goes in or out. If the Retrospec employees are actually in there at all? They've got to be really lonely."

"Jim's not in charge. He's just the guy that watches us. But never gets to really interact with us. So. Yeah."

"Wait, who's in charge? I can't believe more people work there... How do they make money?" He's always wondered this. "It's a really big building, you know? And there are only two hundred or so users, and we hate this thing, we're not clicking any ads on it or--

"--Do you think it's like that movie?" An idea dawns on Emil. This is dangerous territory. "The one where they bring in cameras that follow this guy around and everything in his life is orchestrated around him?"

Togusa can only shrug. "All the same questions we've been tossing around. I think the prevailing theory is that it was started by someone who was already rich. 'Rich jerk hackers' is what I keep going back to."

"But, is everyone in on it? I don't know if I'd go that far. At least not they're not knowingly a part of it. Remember we keep losing people." He glances back towards the building. "One of my superior officers, he could see things, and now he can't. That's. A little more controlled than the movie was."

"Oh... oh yeah, those people," he says, feeling a little dejected that his idea was shot down so easily. But he doesn't think that everyone they've 'lost' is in on it, especially since he knows some people who have been lost are family-- there's no way.

But that just makes this a bigger mystery.

"But... how can they do so much?" he wonders out loud.

Togusa smiles encouragingly. "Hey. I think you're on the right track. And it's better than not doing anything."

"The other thing we found in the subway, it's filled with computer code, binary. It's the best thing that we've found to maybe being a way that they're changing things. Which points back to the simulation idea," Togusa will admit. "I worry it's more complicated than that. But it's looking more and more plausible."

"Binary?" he asks. "Oh... that symbolly stuff in the Matrix?" No Emil, that was katakana... "Can't you translate that with a computer?" He's pretty sure he found a site to do that once when he wanted to write coded messages to a friend.

It didn't last.

JULY EVENT LOG

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