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

[doesntdiscriminate]

[Oh well, heaven forbid that whatever weirdness was happening to their town wasn't described poetically enough. On the other hand it helped to lighten the mood a bit, the comment just feeling so... typical.]

Did you try poking it with a stick? [It's what he would have done!

He laughs, though it's not exactly a cheerful sound, and shakes his head in amazement.]

A big, black, rubbery dome. It's all a bit hard to take in, to be honest. Sounds more like something you'd find in fiction. Or like the build up of a really bad sex joke.

[theveilisin]

[Lavrenty snorts quietly at the question, but considering the actual answer... well, he can't tease Sabo too much about it, can he?]

My umbrella, actually. It was the only thing I could think of in a hurry.

[Because touching it with his hands had seemed incredibly inadvisable.]

I'm not sure what to think about the fact that I had roughly the same thoughts. Possibly just that black rubber is suffering from some unfortunate stereotypes. [He purses his lips slightly.] I met two other people who seemed to acknowledge that it was strange. Like you said, anyone else I've asked so far doesn't notice a thing.

[doesntdiscriminate]

[Sabo's laughter is a bit happier this time, but there's still a bit of helplessness to it.]

Not all black rubber. [Then the laughter starts again, only this time it's more like giggles. There's a few false starts before he manages to calm down again with a couple of deep breaths.] Sorry. Um. So we're not the only ones? That's... good?

I'm guessing nothing really happened with the umbrella. [He's pretty sure Lavrenty would have told him already if that was the case but, who knows, he could be buying the lead.]

You know, we both noticed that something was up with the eclipse today, right? And then both of our phones went weird. You think there's a connection?

[theveilisin]

[Lavrenty is just going to sit there with his chin in his hand, eyebrows lifted in amusement as Sabo laughs at his own joke. Really, he's precious.]

We're not, but we do seem to be a minority so far.

[A stray thought makes him wonder if Esther has noticed - he's going to have to be a bit more subtle about asking her, just in case, but he'd really like to know.]

Nothing happened, apart from the surface giving a little bit - hence "rubbery". [He taps his chin with one finger.] And you know, I was wondering the same thing. About all the strange things happening today. It seems a bit too incredible that it would all be a coincidence.

[doesntdiscriminate]

Yeah, I still say that's better than it being a- [He furrows his brows in concentration and gestures with the hand not holding onto his phone as he tries to think of the right word.] Oh, what's it called. Folieux a due! [Yeah, he totally mangled that french.]

And well, you know what they say about coincidences. [He pauses for, obvious, dramatic effect.] They take a lot of planning.

Maybe it's aliens. [Hey,if he's already brought up hackers and demons from hell being possible culprits then he may as well go all out. The truth is out there!]