september mini-event log

[recollecters]

MINI-EVENT

All's Well That Ends Well Summer's officially drawing to a close in the city of Recollé. Students and faculty alike begin to prepare for classes to resume. Vacations come to a close and stories are shared among co-workers. The amount of beachgoers lessens which each day and the nights start to become a little cooler as the leaves slowly change color. Unreality is kept at bay for now. But that doesn't mean the city's entirely back to normal... I. It's a beautiful day and many citizens in the city are embracing their last days of freedom. With a long weekend ahead of them, several people pack up and head back down to the beach to welcome the ocean home and partake in the annual End of Summer party. Much like July's celebration, Peach Beach is the place to be for food, fun and sun. The food trucks are back (and seriously, is this the only action they get?) and the stage is set up for musical and theatrical performances. Soak up some rays and spend the day with your friends, and don't forget to take advantage of the end of summer deals on the boardwalk. However, the party doesn't get too far before there's the sound of a something soaring through the air. One by one, beachgoers will notice several boats falling straight from the sky and down into the ocean creating huge waves that crash against the shore. Tour boats, sailboats, and even a houseboat will plummet down into the water, miraculously avoiding crushing any swimmers. Make way, everyone: the boats are back and they're making a splash. II. Perhaps you're new to the Retrospec network and you've spent the last couple of days trying to remove the persistent app. Or perhaps you've been a part of this group for a while and you're currently filled with dread bracing yourself for whatever will inevitably come this month. It's not a bad assumption to make and though it may seem as though all things are normal for once, it all starts with an innocent text message. From an unknown number, all users will receive a picture message along with a smiley face. Though there's no name or message attached to it, several users may know exactly where this came from. Try as you might, replying to the text message won't work. No matter how many messages you send, the last half of these messages are unknowingly sent out to various Retrospec users. Likewise, you may receive other out of context messages from other users experiencing the same weird effects. Well that's inconvenient, isn't it? III. You know, texting can be considered overrated. Why text when you can settle for good old-fashioned face to face communication? With several new faces in the city and the autumn season beginning to settle in, there are plenty of places to go and people to see to unplug for a while. Now that all of the monsters are gone things seem to run smoothly as you go about your daily business. While there's some debris left around the city, the buildings are all in one piece and NPCs seem to be as oblivious as always. It may be unnoticeable at first. After all, how many people look above their own head? Not many. At any given moment unprompted and unannounced, a gray wispy cloud appears overhead displaying any thoughts you may not wish to share with the public. While the thought bubble won't remain at all times, it will pop up on and off throughout the month of September changing messages and even changing color when speaking to someone face to face. Think your professor's talking too much? Want to ask out that cute barista? Good thing they can read all about it! IV. Even with the embarrassing texts and thoughts, this appears relatively tame by Recollé standards. Maybe the effects of unreality really did mess things up and the team's too focused on fixing it. Or, perhaps, this month's twist is a small one in comparison to the temporal storm of August. On the other hand, it wouldn't be Recollé if things weren't a little more physical, now would it? Settling back into everyday life, users will find that things seem more vibrant now. Sights are brighter, smells are more savory, and sound is sharper than ever. Sound has become so loud, in fact, it's almost as if the sound waves have taken on a life of their own. No matter where you go or what you do, sound will make itself present in new and interesting ways. Musical notes will float out of your mouth as you sing along to your favorite song. Glaringly red jagged lines wind themselves around the feet of someone being yelled at. Storm clouds follow and drench someone who's crying. Hearts rise up in the air like bubbles and pop into small showers of confetti with every expression of love. Sound is fluid and expression is free; there seems to be zero limits to what shape the noise will take. What are you doing today, Retrospecters? You may find yourself dealing with one, two, or all three of these strange phenomenons. BONUS. Over in Tisse, the Retrospec building is as sturdy as ever. Several of you know by now that there is more to this building than meets the eye, but even with the map in-hand it's impossible to navigate anywhere the building does not wish for you to explore. Today, the doors to Retrospec are open to anyone interested in visiting. The lobby appears to be empty as usual and the receptionist desk in the center of the lobby is completely abandoned. Surrounding the desk, however, are several items. In fact, these are all items Retrospec users bought from Jim Halloway's wedding registry during July's bingo game. Several of these items are useful, such as his and her towels or silverware, but other items seem outlandish or useless such as meme t-shirts, rubber ducks, and other assorted odds and ends. A stack of thank you cards sit on the receptionist's desk but it appears they have not been started yet. Although none of the rooms are available for entry, underneath the television mounted on the wall sits a DVD clearly labeled "for educational purposes only." Should anyone put on the DVD, they will find a variety of clips from events from the last several months. Strangely there does not appear to be anything from the nine groups that were split between reality and unreality. It's a nice review of the year so far, isn't it? Perhaps it's time to explain to some new users just what this world is truly capable of. Welcome to recolle's September mini-event! The prompts are simply loose guidelines for you guys to play with and make up your own fun adventures for the entire month of September! While prompt I is only for the long holiday weekend, the rest of the prompts and the bonus can take place over the course of the month. You may also create your own logs or inbox threads based on these effects. All effects will cease on 10/1 at 9pm EST. Any questions you have regarding this event may be directed to the mod comment here.

Comments

[buncho]

Okay! Follow me!

[ Mafuyu is in fact a terrible GSP in that she doesn't give instructions at all, simply taking off in a run and taking her chances with the crosswalks even if there's only three seconds left on the countdown. She doesn't look back to make sure John's keeping up, but shouts behind her and listens for his response to know he's still there. ]

Where were you going in the first place?

[windeity]

[WHY THIS. But surprisingly he's good at keeping up, weaving his way through foot traffic (and actual traffic) to stay behind her at a fairly leisurely pace.]

Coffee. Someone said there was some Expression place--[Wrong name, John]--or A Good Bean but no directions and no claims about why these places had good coffee.

[buncho]

[ Mafuyu makes a face, though John can't see. Cafes are expensive in general, and coffee is never worth the price. ]

What d'you need coffee for? If you're tired, go to sleep, or run outside, or call me and we can do something fun!

[ Though the last one has just a good a chance at exhausting people, according to various bracket text i've received throughout the months ]

[windeity]

I am outside. [But there's a grin anyway. I'm glad Mafuyu's like this, Card.] Anyway it's not really a being tired thing! It is a "I like how coffee tastes sometimes" thing mixed with "sometimes I'm tired" thing. And besides what am I supposed to do when it's 2am and calling isn't an option?

[buncho]

Then... you buy bulk instant coffee, shove a spoonful of powder into your mouth, and go back to sleep.

[windeity]

Absolutely not! Have you ever had instant coffee, Mafuyu? It is pretty terrible.

[buncho]

[ Clearly she's never, because she laughs ]

Is it that terrible? Do you have any left? I'll take if off your hands.

[windeity]

I feel like none of those sentences should be following each other, but yes. I have plenty left and you can have it all. I might talk to my roommate about getting a coffeemaker or something for our room, too.

[...and there's a slightly devious grin.] Tell you what. You get us to the cafe and back to the dorm, I will let you have all of the instant coffee I have.

[buncho]

It's not a cafe! [ It's an office building but- you know what, it doesn't matter anymore, because Mafuyu makes a hard right and takes John to his originally intended destination of Expressive instead, because 1) it's closer, and 2) he can buy his beans there to use in his future coffeemaker and then he'll have no excuse of withholding that instant powdered garbage. ]

Here we are! [ She flings open the doors of this no-longer quiet little coffee place where people go to relax. ] Now you know how to get here!

[windeity]

[Look. This happens to John periodically where he tries to go one place and then gets completely rerouted so there's that. Still, once they stop at Expressive he actually does look a little grateful.

This is probably a problem but this is a problem for future John so whatever.]

Nice. [And he'll step in and wait for Mafuyu to follow because yes he wants beans.] Thanks for the personal guidance. I'll give you all of our instant shit as soon as I get back and you can take it off my hands.

[buncho]

[ Mafuyu heads right up to the service country even though her pockets are and will always be devoid of any money. This is where she'd heckle John for a cup of apple cider or something for her troubles, but getting to know where John lives is second best, so beans: shelf, her hands, John's hands. Let's go.

aka she hopes they don't mind uninvited guests, because Mafuyu likes inviting herself over and knocking on the door forever until it opens up, hoping people are home and not hiding in the closet pretending they don't hear her. ]

[windeity]

[Surprisingly he doesn't seem too fussed by Mafuyu being Mafuyu considering John himself has a hard time not fidgeting and touching stuff he shouldn't. It's easy enough to get the beans in a bag and he even takes the time to order his own coffee before he pauses, giving Mafuyu a considering look and having absolutely no idea what idea he's getting himself into.

I hope Dave Strider is prepared to deal with their new stray ig.]

Want anything? Since you're the one who got us here. [Eventually.]

[buncho]

Apple cider with extra cinnamon and a strawberries and cream danish!

[ I guess she had an order already at the ready! One that she shouts loudly enough for the worker at the register to hear, all the while slapping a hand on John's back and shuffling him up to the front of the line, they can order first while everybody is mulling over the menu and trying to avoid her elbows. ]

[windeity]

[He looks briefly surprised before he actually laughs at the expression on the worker's face, shaking his head before awkwardly side-stepping everyone to get to the front and sort of apologizing. Sort of.]

That actually sounds really good? The danish, I mean. [Whatever. So I guess they're getting a cider, a coffee, two danishes and also John's coffee grounds/beans.] Do you always take advantage of people and free food?

[Given he's passing over a debit card already he apparently doesn't care? This is a tragedy.]

[buncho]

[ There's a pretty sizable list of all the people Mafuyu's successfully conned free food from, and it just keeps growing because people are too nice. John will never get a break now. ]

Strawberry anything's the best! And if people are giving away free food, 'course I'm going to take it. It'd be a waste otherwise, right?

[windeity]

[John can be a pushover, news at 11. One of the pastries comes up first and he's passing it to her even while grabbing for the bag of grinds.]

At least their color didn't disappear. And I guess that is one way to look at it, even if it's only free for one person. [It's more musing out loud than anything, dollar signs popping up in his thought bubble above his head suddenly before they're replaced with an image of a large strawberry with legs and arms doing a dance. That's chill.] If I ever get stuck with any leftovers, too, I'll be sure to let you know.

[buncho]

[ It's free for the person who matters: namely her, who takes the pastry and bites into it to claim it as her own so John can't have second thoughts in wanting it back. Also, she didn't have any problems with dancing apples and oranges, but don't imagine that about her strawberries, John :( ]

Yeah, I'll take all your leftovers! Give them to me! You know how to cook?

[windeity]

[Dancing strawberries thankfully don't exist in Homestuck and yet!! And yet. He rolls his eyes when she claims said-pastry before reaching for his coffee that comes up first.]

I mean yes, in theory? I'm sort of used to cooking and baking even if I don't have to be. Is that really surprising?

[buncho]

I wouldn't say surprising— being able to cook is cool! You get to eat whatever you want, whenever you want!

[ She loves her microwaved pizza bites, but sometimes you want something that doesn't come from a box? ]

[windeity]

When you put it that way, yeah. It is actually very helpful! It was something I could do to help out at home and I guess prepare for leaving home, except the dorm's kitchen is kind of pathetic.

[He'll also be grabbing his pastry, her drink, and nudging her to step back.] That should be everything.

[buncho]

[ Mafuyu takes her cider— piping hot and full to the brim, forcing her to actually walk a normal person's pace in order to not scald her mouth. ]

What sort of stuff's in the dorm kitchen? I bet you can make all sorts of delicious things no matter what's in there- it'll be like Iron Chef!

[windeity]

[He sort of knows where he's going, so to the dorm they go! Probably.]

Have you ever actually watched Iron Chef? [But he seems amused nevertheless.] It has a stove and an oven and counter space which is way more than I could ask for in my own room. Dave and I have a fridge but I am pretty sure most of it is filled with apple juice.

[buncho]

I watch the important part: the end, where the food appears like magic.

[ Magic is going to be what it takes for John to make anything out of nothing but apple juice too, apparently, and the thought of drinking apple juice day in and day out is a bit sickening, even for all of Mafuyu's love of sweets. ]

Do you have a microwave? You can make anything in a microwave, from cakes to lasagnas.

[windeity]

Cooking is a pain in the ass. [Tell us how you really feel, John.] TV makes it look really easy but it actually takes forever if you want something that elaborate. But at the same time it is actually okay. [Soothing is the word he's looking for, but he doesn't verbalize it. It pops up in his bubble though.]

You can make anything in a microwave, sure, but does it really taste the same?

[buncho]

You're not going to say something like "Homecooked meals taste like love" are you? Because food's food, and if you're hungry enough, everything's delicious!