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

[thisloveisjustice]

And then there's questions about how they keep track of us in the first place. What exactly do they mean when they say they can't see us?

[so many questions he never got around to asking Zee...]

[scythegun]

I'm very curious about that as well. We're right here, so if they can't see us then does that mean that somehow we've been removed from whatever it is they can see? Something about the layers, maybe?

Well, whatever happened, as long as we can look out for each other and survive the month, things will probably go back to normal. Or what passes as "normal" around here, anyway.

[thisloveisjustice]

It could be layer related. That's still a concept I find a little difficult to wrap my head around.

Indeed. What is 'normal' anymore?

[scythegun]

Agreed! This whole thing really is such a pain, isn't it? As long as things go better than last month, I'll count it as a victory.

[thisloveisjustice]

Absolutely. I've pretty much been measuring things that way. Was this month better than last month, yes or no? It's kind of been downhill the last couple of months, so it'd be nice if things picked up this month. Starting with us not being 'lost' anymore.

[scythegun]

I've been hoping for a break for a long time now! I really do need some time to get things together for my business and in my personal life! Just one month of downtime would be enough, but it doesn't really seem like things are going to be getting much easier this month...

[thisloveisjustice]

If we don't have monsters overrunning the city and I can just go to work to do my 9-5 M-F, I will be about 50% satisfied. But I hear you on the personal life stuff. It is really hard to take care of yourself and your relationships when the city is going to hell.

[R I P Tatsuo's dreams of a steady work week once a ghost steals his job]

[scythegun]

Precisely! There are plenty of problems to worry about if your friends and loved ones are on the network, but even those that aren't clearly aren't safe. It's frustrating to try to balance everything!

[thisloveisjustice]

Do you find anything helps with balancing all of this?

[being an adult is so hard ;A;]

[scythegun]

Not really, unfortunately! I don't have to worry about work as much as some people do, so I do admittedly prioritize the people closest to me. I find it's a bit easier to handle my own problems after I've helped them out.

[...okay it's more like "someone sits him down and makes him talk about his problems" but you know what, he's trying and surely that counts for something!!]

[thisloveisjustice]

some people would accuse you of avoiding, but i get it. i'm not dealing with some of the weird stuff my friends are dealing with.

[scythegun]

It wouldn't be the first time, I did spend a long time completely avoiding all of my problems, but that really isn't helpful at all.

[it was awful 0/10]

I find that sometimes it helps to have a completely different perspective on it. Just being able to talk about what you've remembered with someone you're close to can help you figure out how you feel about it.

[thisloveisjustice]

Oh, I can definitely give my friends a different perspective on things. Most of the people I know are either remembering some strange fantasy world or an equally strange futuristic sci-fi world. Meanwhile, I'm getting memories of a regular Tokyo in 2015.