LOADING...

[recollecters]

[ At 9PM on the 1st, all phones or Retrospec-enabled devices will show flickering screens, until a static-filled image appears. It seems to be a security camera shot, in black and white from a high angle, of a simple computer room. Inside is Joanne Wiseman who many of the users may recognize - she looks young, blonde curls loose around her shoulders, and she also looks tired still. A young man who looks only slightly older than her comes in. He's dark-haired with a sweater and glasses, but a white labcoat that matches hers as well. Maurice comes over to stand nearby, watching the screen Joanne is looking at. Neither of them seem to realize they're being recorded. Joanne looks up, and speaks first. ] Did R and D know anything? [ Maurice shakes his head, says: ] No. They can't track them down either - it's almost as if... [ Joanne: ] They have to be somewhere. [ Maurice: ] Jim's trying to figure it out. You know we don't have anyone better at...ah, "creative" solutions? [ Joanne: ] No, I know, just...what if their souls are just, just - [ Maurice: ] I don't think they're gone. I mean - well, they're gone, but I don't think they're gone? You remember August, the one before last. They're, uh, pretty tough? [ Joanne: ] We're usually able to at least try to help them when we can, though! [ Maurice: ] Jo - look, we're doing everything we can. We'll find them. [ Joanne: ] Before they do? [ Maurice: ] Right. I mean...we have to, don't we? [ They both look worried. Before they do was said with a certain inflection - and hey, Retrospec. It looks like the employees have lost track of you for the month. How do you feel about that one? ] As of this post, character usernames are back to being their own names - or rather, characters will be prompted to put in their name as a boot screen loads. Now's your chance to change your preferred name, Retrospecters - but it appears whatever you put in will be locked in as your choice. Hope you didn't put in something ridiculous! Please feel free to use this post as a network mingle. Every toplevel can be considered a new post, and threadjacking is permitted. No NPC response will be given. As a friendly reminder, you may also claim one of this month's freebie by submitting a thread from this mod post. This thread must be 10 comments from you and submitted before AC closes.

Comments

[parodeity]

im a very serious film major
also duh

[fiddlestick]

Aha, Queens and Recolle are my home. But someone from my other life, yeah!

Thanks! You're actually talking. It's [um] "Big Deck Energy"?

[Crow why.]

[frostythehitman]

well
you're not wrong about them spinning their wheels a lot
usually if they're doing something it's all behind the scenes so we can't tell WHAT they're doing
if anything

[frostythehitman]

oh
uh
wow
should i get you a condolences card

[frostythehitman]

go figure

never
nothing has ever made sense here
but i'll tell you this
you haven't lived until you've accidentally shadowjumped your way out of prison so you could flop around helplessly in a grass field

why over easy though
scrambled eggs works too
poached eggs
hard boiled
basically any egg cooking method

[frostythehitman]

oh
then i do know him i'm talking to him right now
what'd he do that was so helpful

[ because like. he's 9. 9 year olds seem more like a liability than anything else. (Which isn't hypocritical of him to say because even if other-him was a child soldier, at least he was 16 when he started!!!!) ]

[frostythehitman]

what makes you think i know
i'm not an adult either
i'm just old enough to know that plenty of adults keep secrets and aren't trustworthy

[frostythehitman]

whoa hold up
who's magnus and what did he do
when did you even hear that about vanderweele's illusions
where are you GETTING all this info

[ HE'S ONLY BEEN IN PRISON FOR LIKE A MONTH AND A HALF, HOW DID HE MISS THIS MUCH!!! ]

[standalonehuman]

He got onto Hawthrone's boat and stole a document when none of the rest of us could get close to the place. Everybody just ignored him because he was a kid, and he used that to his advantage.

[frostythehitman]

[ He almost laughs because shit, if there was any way for a 9 year old to get involved in some kind of high stakes battle (was this technically even a battle?), that would certainly be the way to do it. That sure as hell is how Bucky did things, anyway. ]

well damn
that's real smart of him
but what's this about a boat and a document

[standalonehuman]

Ooh, story time. Okay.

So all those months ago when Pesgare first showed up, there were those missions to all four places to check them out, right?
In Pesgare, there was this guy Hawthrone, who was trying to fraudulently buy out the town from under the residents. His ownership documents for part of the land were forged, and Shinji helped us prove that.

He seemed to know things about the area already. He said something about it being one of the "four original areas." Suggested there was a power source nearby that people have been poking around trying to find since.

We've never proven that he was one of Vanderweele's agents, but that's the theory that's stayed in my mind ever since.

[fabrefactions]

...

[ Oh. RIP Elliot. Sorry about that. ]

I see? He seems... nice. If a little card obsessed. I ran into him in the maze when it was springing up all over the city as well.

[fiddlestick]

Oh you did? Haha, what a small world!

Crow is nice though! We met after he listened to one of my performances at the Catmosphere a couple months ago, and we'd play cards sometimes. I only figured out just now he's from Class VII though, welp.

He was also the one to cure me from the virus. [HE'S A GOOD BOY!!!]

[argone]

There are worse things to be.
I wasn't in any mortal danger or anything and the worst of my impulses were at least not to hurt people.
which I'm very glad for, given my condition.

[mincingminuet]

Oh no.
Your poor fiance.

[manufactured]

...That isn't going to be any less embarrassing and you're fully aware of it.

[drydrown]

Please. I don't think it's the only reason you're here! Just a major one. ♡

[drydrown]

How much benefit of the doubt do we really want to give them, though...?

[spirithacker]

how old r u
ur pic looks like an adult 2 me??

[flametheif40]

Not when your a bystander and said tsunami is about to crash into the island your on...I want to tell a story out of it, but there is no context for most of it. Just random fights or monsters mostly...my first one was apparently picking a fight with a giant elephant.

Mind if I ask what was your first memory?

[flametheif40]

If it's from retrospec...I suppose it's the thought that counts? And you know, not messing with us for a month?

If all we have to complain about it that the eggs have cheap stuff, I'm calling it a good month.

[jurai]

[Give him a minute to quickly skim this. It's a pretty good theory, all things considered, much better than he could've probably come up with...]

If they are, they're probably so detached from the other layers that a missed connection's a big deal...

Like those rooms above a testing lab.

[incandescentfaith]

Well, I can't imagine many people like them?

It's probably a precaution.

[incandescentfaith]

Sounds like we should just replace whatever got slimed then.

[jurai]

[Oh, very special, indeed.

But obvious euphemisms aside..]

Well, you got me there. I've had my deck since before I moved here. It's kinda my good luck charm.