JANUARY 2018 TDM

[recollecters]

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!

Comments

Reika Rikudou (Ai Aoki) | Fate/Apocrypha

[leaveittomother]

[AU info here. Just a normal average citizen here.]

1. Under Observation

[So, this was Ai's life now. The dome appeared earlier in the month but it's only now that she's brought herself to actually take a look at it. Someone might have a series of questions about it. Why is it here? What is it made out of? Why can't I leave?

Ai simply looks at it, slender fingers touching the surface briefly before taking a couple steps backwards. She didn't mind the darkness. Ai's always been a night person, after all. She had no where outside Recolle to go so being stuck in the city wasn't any particular burden on her.

She thought that getting up close would make her change her mind about the situation. That this obstruction would, maybe, stir something inside her.]

Someone had too much time on their hands.

[Even as she speaks, Ai shrugs. It looks like it was just another waste of time.]

2. Movie Night!

[Ai isn't drawn out by the movies in particular. They're all things she's seen, after all. Though, they're free. So she braves the cold just for that. In the end it's the food that gets more of her attention.

She looks at the unmanned carts, gently picking up the soda and the popcorn before setting it back down.]

Mm...seems kind of fishy. Who would go to the trouble of this?

[That said, she does end up taking a container of popcorn.]

3. Eye to Eye

[Even if she doesn't want to leave the city, Ai still had a few high school friends that did leave. It's only natural to try to contact them in such a situation. The problem was that she couldn't. She's trying once again when she hears that song--

She blinks at the video chat.]

Well. If you have a few moments, do you mind chatting? It's getting boring over here.

[Might as well even if they're not the intended targets.]

ii

[compendiem]

[ To be honest... Yeah, it's fishy. Minato doesn't touch any of the food, though he glances at every passing face to see people enjoying the snacks and not looking ill because of it— food poisoning can take hours to days for symptoms to show up, so he's not holding his breath about it. ]

The city, I guess. Seems like the sort of community event they'd set up.

[ He watches Ai closely too when she picks up the popcorn. Go ahead and eat it and tell him how it is... ]

[leaveittomother]

[If she gets sick later, well. Ai will blame herself. For the moment, though, she couldn't care less. Why not?]

Do you want to try?

[She holds out the bag with a slight giggle. She knows the answer.]

[compendiem]

[ A part of him wants to try— "for science," because the best way to learn something is to do it yourself— but wanting doesn't mean he's going to, so he holds his hands up in a gesture of no thank you. ]

I've tried popcorn before, thanks.

[ Can he get away with it like this? ]

[leaveittomother]

Have you tried it today?

[Definitely not. She's going to persist.]

[compendiem]

...No.

[ He could have lied, but that would just bring up questions about how it tasted, etc., things that he hoped to learn from Ai and not the other way around. His hands remain raised in front of him like a shield, but he peers past his fingers at the popcorn. ]

Sharing wouldn't be weird, would it?

[ That's something friends do, not strangers. But if he's going to die eating popcorn, then it's only fair they die together. ]

[leaveittomother]

[Ah, well. She supposes if this is going to be the death of her at least she dragged someone down with her.]

Of course not. We can split it, no problem.

[You first.]

[compendiem]

[ ...Fine. Minato picks up one singular piece of popcorn and throws it in his mouth. He doesn't crunch it like one would normally eat popcorn, but lets it dissolve in his mouth into a buttery styrofoamy mess before swallowing.

He never really enjoyed popcorn very much. Maybe this is why. ]

[leaveittomother]

[... Okay, that is gross. At least she doesn't say anything as she takes a piece for herself.

At least they're not keeling over after they're finished.]

3!

[promisedyou]

I don't mind chatting at all! ☆

[ Mio practically beams at the opportunity, especially since she doesn't seem to have any problems with talking to strangers at all. ]

So, did you want to start with introductions? Because that should be simple. I'm Mio, [ she says this with an air of obvious politeness in contrast to her high energy peppiness from earlier ] and I'm a senior at Recolle High. And you are?

[leaveittomother]

I'm Ai~

[Well, well. This is a surprise. She wanted to talk to someone from high school but not an actual high schooler. How ironic!] Just a simple waitress, I'm afraid, though I do play piano from time to time.

[promisedyou]

It's nice to meet you then, Miss Ai. [ Politeness is something that Mio's rather used to, even though she really doesn't have to. ]

But a simple waitress...? At what restaurant?

[leaveittomother]

The same to you, Mio. [At least, that's what she's supposed to say.]

The cat cafe.

[promisedyou]

The cat cafe? [ That... still, somehow manages to raise a few question marks. ]

Where's that?

[leaveittomother]

The Catmosphere Café is located in Apprassage.

[...at least that's where she works in this TDM.]

[promisedyou]

Ohh... that's where it is?

[ She does seem to be slightly interested, and it shows in her piqued tone. ]

So you said it was a cat cafe, right? What's it like?

i.

[assyrian]

[ A similar curiosity to Ai’s flares within Semira, who is casually using some of her free time to examine the dome. Catching sight of the woman, who she knows as a piano instructor that she regularly hires to tutor her children in the instrument, she approaches Ai and nods at her keen observation. ]

They must also be very fond of us. [ She takes a few steps forward, pressing her pointer finger against the dome. ] It appears as though this someone is unwilling to have anyone flee from their embrace.

[leaveittomother]

[She's surprised to see Semira, though she keeps her eyes away from her to keep those thoughts quiet.]

That's one way of thinking. [She touches the dome again. What a strange thing to have suddenly thrust upon them.] The question now is this to keep us in or to keep someone out?

[chaoticwhimsy]

[Knock knock. There's a tap on Ai's front door, and waiting outside she'll find the kid that might be her new foster kid. Luna's in jeans and a hoodie, with her backpack hanging off one shoulder, her pink hair tugged into it's usual sidetail.]

[She had been sent over to 'see how it went.' and had been supposed to bring her rep but, well, that had been boring and she was tired of waiting around. She desperately wanted out of her current foster situation, and so did they, so...hey.]

[Why not.]

[She'd scoped out the place a bit first, thanks fancy teleportation powers, but knocking seemed better than just randomly turning up on the poor lady's kitchen...]

[leaveittomother]

[Ai has been trying to get into the foster care system for a while. Saving up the money and convincing the officials that she was a good fit had been tiring. Considering the apathy she felt towards most things, it was a surprise she managed to make it this far.

That didn't mean she expected Luna today. She opened the door and--] Hello?

[Is that her new foster kid? She thinks so (she looks pretty much like the picture she was given, after all) but... Why was she here alone? Well. Maybe that didn't matter.]

My. You showed up quickly.

[At least she didn't show up in her kitchen. That would have given her some concern.] Mmm...Luna, right?

[In case this is someone else. Not that she thinks it is but you can never tell.]

[chaoticwhimsy]

Hey.

[Okay, she looked like the picture Luna had seen. Right. othing to worry about here, right?]

Yeaaaah...I'm kinda early. [She grinned that friendly if always slightly sly grin of hers.] Snuck a look at my paperwork to get your address and I figured this'd be better than some weird awkward 'meet and greet' thing with my social worker hovering over us.

[She leaned a bit to the side to look past her.]

So, can I come in?

[leaveittomother]

[She rubbed the back of her neck underneath her hair. This? This could be a troublesome kid if she took the time to do this. Ai's relatively quiet life would be turned upside down with a child like this.]

So you did. [Which is exactly while there's actual warmth in the small smile she gives.] That wasn't a bad idea, honestly. Third parties always makes things awkward.

[She steps aside.] Of course you can.

[It's not a big house by any stretch. Even with savings and some reluctant help from her family, Ai's jobs couldn't afford that. It was, though, big enough to fulfill the foster requirements. Two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a living room with the small kitchen attached...Nothing too fancy.

The front door opened onto the living room. It's clean, at least, with a tiny heater in the corner. Some scattered pictures of old acquaintances and some star students on a side table. The most unusual thing, though, is a piano in a space that clearly was built for a bookshelf.]

Take a seat. Do you want something to drink?

[chaoticwhimsy]

[Luna looked around eagerly as she stepped inside, taking it all in...it was nice enough, really. She'd stayed in way worse, at least. She shifted her backpack on her shoulders as she moved further in, looking from one thing to the next as she moved through the living room.]

Nice place. And sure, soda if you have any.

[She said. She didn't sit down though, instead walking along to look at the shelves, then tapping a couple keys on the piano, then pausing at the pictures of the kids on the table.]

...They yours?

[She didn't seem old enough...]

[leaveittomother]

Thank you. [If nothing else, she likes keeping the place tidy for her students. She's not a big fan of sugary drinks herself but, well. When children come to your house once in a while it's a nice little treat.] I'll get you one--will cola be fine?

[The question about the pictures gets a small laugh out of Ai. She definitely wasn't old enough for some of them.] I'm a piano teacher. Sometimes parents let me keep pictures of students--most of those were taken during competitions.

[chaoticwhimsy]

Yeah, sure.

[If this worked out she'd probably learn what a terrible idea it was to give sugar to Luna, but that was a disaster for later on.]

Oh, that's cool. Never actually stayed with a music teacher. [Hm.] Stayed with a geometry teacher once, she was really dull.

[She giggled as she swung her backpack off her shoulder and set it down on the edge of the couch. ...Did it just meow faintly in protest at that?]