repeter | JANUARY 2018 TDM

TEST DRIVE

JANUARY TEST DRIVE
The city of Recollé...

What do you mean the city's behaving for once?

I.
The large opaque dome enveloping the entire city continues to stand tall and firm, though this may be the first time you've noticed the dome itself rather than believe it's simply an eclipse effect. Faintly reflective in appearance but blocking the outside world, the dome still allows the warmth of the weak winter sunlight to seep through. It isn't hard to breathe, and the flora and fauna seem to be responding just as naturally as always. But the city of Recollé is pitch black except for the light citizens shine themselves.

The dome stretches incredibly high over the city, but anyone who can get close enough to it will find that they can briefly see themselves in the surface. Upon touching the dome, it appears to be smooth and almost rubbery in texture despite a shell-like shield appearance. Soundproof and unable to provide clues to what's happening outside of the city the dome is also harmless for those who wish to touch it and examine it, causing it to bounce a few times under light impact. However, do be careful not to trigger its defense mode! Should anyone attempt to damage the dome itself, it will light up with a bright, sickening blue color for three seconds before delivering a shock to its attacker and rendering them unconscious for an hour. Perhaps you'll get lucky and you'll only deal with the too-hot-to-touch surface that self-activates when the dome is threatened, or the spikes that appear at the source of impact. The dome seems to have a temperament of its own. It may be best to treat it the way you want to be treated.

II.
Going about your normal day, the darkness seems endless aside from whatever light can be shed via flashlights, cell phones and interior lights inside buildings. However, as you wander the streets of the city, under your feet a swirl of yellow light appears before darting ahead, bouncing and bobbing its way over snow and concrete to create a clear path for you. It's a little convenient to have a guide to follow, but you're not the only one. Others around you are following their own lights and they all seem to gather right at the entrance of the old subway station. Perpetually under construction for as long as you can remember, the station appears to be wide open for anyone who ventures in.

The light will guide you for roughly twenty-five feet before it dies down again. You're allowed to turn back, of course. There's nothing stopping you...except for the vine that suddenly snakes along the ground and wraps around your ankle, hooking onto you and beginning to drag you further into the tunnels. Now would be a good time to start calling for help.

III.

Back in the city itself, it's hard to say who, exactly, is to blame for the first hit. People are minding their own business and moving on as if everything is perfectly natural as usual. However, in addition to the hustle and bustle small barrels appear on every street corner with an assortment of colored guns. The moment you step up to investigate one of these barrels it becomes a little more clear what, exactly, is happening here.

A bright red, green, or blue dot appears on your skin as the laser light hones in on you. Someone's decided to make you their next target in a city-wide game of laser tag and you have precisely ten seconds to run. For anyone tagged by the guns, a confetti-effect of red green and blue dots will appear all over you lasting for up to fifteen minutes before you're back in the game.

Will you grab your weapons and join the game? Or will you dodge as long as you can?

IV.
As the evening sets in, there's a smell in the air. It's not the usual winter-y scent of peppermint or warm soup or anything like that. No, you soon realize that the smell is buttered popcorn and now instead of the barrels of laser tag guns there are carts containing popcorn machines, bottles of soda, candy and more. These carts don't move and they do not seem to be manned by anybody so feel free to take as much as you'd like! At precisely 7pm, the street lights dim a little and the dome above you starts to...glow? It glows and a picture stretches all the way across the sky as a movie begins to play for your enjoyment. Maybe it's the first of the Galaxy Fights series, or it could be that crazy archaeologist turned fortune-hunter Kentucky Smith. The movies will rotate one after the other for the rest of the evening until 7am when the street lamps come on, but for now grab some blankets and a good seat. There's always time for a movie with some friends.

BONUS.
Of course communication to people outside of the city is still out of the question. Of course it is. There are absolutely no signs of that changing anytime soon no matter how many times you call or text or email. Snail mail is nearly impossible and don't even think about videochatting.

On the other hand, it seems as though the powerlines above are beginning to spark, pulsing in patterns of a bright blue color visible to the naked eye. What's up with that? Trying to get a closer look will only reveal a thick, crackling sort of energy that is surely not dangerous in the slightest and is nothing to worry about.

The energy won't leave the powerlines at all, but instead the next time you use your phone for anything a song activates instead. It's loud and it can't be shut down, but once it ends you may find yourself in a video chat with a fellow Retrospec user. Say hi!

Welcome to the

recolle test drive meme! 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. Please note that TDM threads can be used as samples, can be kept as game canon, and can also be used for bonus points for future item regains. Share a few minor details of your AU, tag around, and have fun!

For current players, please remember that TDM threads can only be used for bonus points, not regains.

Please note: you will need a reserve to apply, and current characters must have full AC posted at the time of their reservation.

Your January TDM directory is here, and your AU workshop is here! Our mod questions thread for this TDM is over here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Unsurprisingly for the sullen junior at school, Noah was sitting alone besides that weird golden golem that is always with him. He's watching the movie because he can never turn down a good movie, even if it's on a giant dome that's blotting out the sky. Though it was just cold enough that he was rubbing his arms when Rise approaches him]

Oh...thanks. A little.

Sure. [It's mostly on instinct that she's going around doing this, a first response to make people feel comfortable and help where she can. The blanket's passed over and she gives Timcampy a mildly curious look like she's not sure what to make of him just yet.] We've never seen anything like this happen before...it'd be a shame to miss it just because we had to go inside.

[It's light and casual conversation. She vaguely recognizes him from the hallways at school even if she's in the class ahead of him, but that somehow makes it a little easier to talk to him even as she looks up again.] Have you seen this one before?

[Timcanpy meanwhile seems to be looking back at her. Maybe. It's hard to tell when he has no eyes] Yeah. I mean, the dome's not good, but it's like the world's biggest IMAX theater.

[He knows this girl is from school, one of the seniors, but he can't recall if she's on the app. ]

Galaxy Fights? Sure, I've seen them all. You?

[~~I can definitely catch my own typos, whoops.~~ There's a giggle despite the fact it's really just flat-out true but it's easy to see she finds the whole situation wondrous and intriguing even so.]

It almost makes up for how freaky it feels to have the sun blocked out. [She shakes her head.] I think my brothers have seen most of them but I've only seen one or two of them. Not really my thing, I guess? [But she's quick to supply:] But I've heard they're pretty good and most people seem to like them. Whoever's picking made a good choice for streaming.

[Well, that answers if this girl noticed the sun being blocked out unnaturally. He dryly snorts]

Yeah, almost. [he'd still take the sun] Tch- don't worry, they aren't my favourite movies or anything. They're fun, but I don't get into that whole fanbase.

What kinda movies do you usually like?

[The sun is important and there's a shy sort of grin. It helps that he's saying the things she wishes she could say without worrying about coming off as kind of weird, especially given she's just noticed these things. Who is she to talk about them like that?

But then again, she's a little interested (and confused) why Noah's actually asking her questions. Elated, of course, because she doesn't mind chatting but still a little curious about him.]

That's a relief. [A bit of honesty. She didn't want to actually offend him so it's nice to know.] You promise not to laugh? [It sounds like she's trying to tease him a little, but it's a touch too nervous to be only a joke.] Superhero movies. And...tokusatsu? [God okay that sounds really, really lame.] And sentai heroes and stuff. The effects are pretty cheesy sometimes but they're still pretty good.

[It's simple really. Ask other people questions, they don't have time to ask questions about you. Plus, he is genuinely curious about her. Anyone who openly approaches the loner weird kid is worth taking note]

Are you kidding? [He snorts a little] That shit's cool. Spent all winter break watching Featherman R 'cause someone sent it to me.

[He's not wrong. It's a clever strategy and one she sometimes uses on people but she's not used to it happening to her. She's even less used to people she hasn't known forever actually knowing what she's talking about and without warning she claps in delight, eyes lighting up as she latches onto the subject.]

Oh my gosh, that's such a good place to start! I have way more to recommend that are just as good. [...] If you want. We have kind of a big collection of stuff at our house so I know a lot about it.

[He offers a friendly little shrug. Noah would never turn down a show recommendation.]

Sure, I'll take recommendations. My Netflix queue is getting pretty damn small.

Here, hold on. [Give her a moment to reach into her pocket and pull out a tiny pink notepad and pen, immediately scrawling a few titles on it and their sources to watch. Some are Netflix, some are other sites.]

These ones--[She points to a few variations of Power Rangers]--are my brother's favorites. And I think Hinata really likes this one. They're pretty goofy but that's the fun part of movies, isn't it? [There's a smile.] You'll have to let me know what you think if you want.

[He'll watch her write down the list, trying to remember the names. He's never heard of any of them, it's a pretty new genre for him- which is pretty great. He sure has exhausted the horror and cooking show selection netflix. So he could use something else]

Alright, I will. Thanks, uh...

Shit, sorry. What's your name. Again?

[This is what he gets for never interacting with people at school]

[The list is passed off and she actually looks fairly pleased with herself, happy to be of some sort of help and sharing something she likes. But of course there's a softer kind of grin, not at all surprised by the question. Even if Noah did talk to people she would never expect people to really know who she is by now.]

I'm Rise. You're one of the underclassmen aren't you? [i.e. it's hard not to recognize him since she pays attention to details but it's polite to also ask for names.]

Rise... [That's a pretty name]

Yeah, I'm a junior. Name's Noah.

[Noah. It's pretty easy to commit to memory and there's a tiny note as she makes a mental note, followed by a more at-ease smile.]

It's nice to meet you officially. I think I've seen you around before, but I don't know that many underclassmen by name.

That's okay, I don't know many of their names either.

[Welp]

But yeah, nice to meet you officially.

Not a fan of people? [There's a slightly teasing grin. A junior in high school and that kind of answer? Either he's new, which she's pretty sure he isn't, or he just doesn't care.

Not caring what people think must be nice.]

JANUARY 2018 TDM

IV

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