MARCH TEST DRIVE

[recollecters]

TEST DRIVE

MARCH TEST DRIVE The city of Recollé... To infinity...and beyond! I. Wake up, get up, get out there, Retrospecters! Today's a new day and with the roads in place thanks to the efforts of Retrospec users, several locations may be explored. With Pesgare three hours south by boat, Respatrum an hour east and underground, Bosuma two hours west through the Recollé Woods and Magatus seven hours north from the city, visitors may come and go to explore the regions and their points of interest. The travel may take some time and the scenery will change around you as you go. Those same monsters from before continue to lurk just outside of the city and on the path to these locations and wild flora sprawls over various pathways. Take some time to study them if you'd like. And speaking of study, along the way you'll find various road signs and warnings along the way including giant man-eating frogs, fire-breathing horses, severe flood warnings and more. In addition you will find large directories in the middle of the road pointing you in the directions of the four locations. However, you'll also find these helpful guys who just want to do a good job and will get to work on these new roads! But wait, shouldn't they be working on some of the unfinished pathways and not the main ones? How do you stop these crazy things anyway? You may have to find a way to subdue the jackhammers or direct them to a new location. Good luck getting them to listen over the noise. II. Then again, with these pathways open now you may find yourself already in one of these new districts and very, very far away from your home. One minute maybe you're driving along, listening to your favorite road trip playlist as you prepare for Spring Break and the next you'll realize a wrong turn has lead you straight into the heart of a snowy mountain. Has this forest always been here? This seaside village is way too crowded! No matter which of the areas you end up in, it will be up to you to find your way out and back without a map on-hand. There's a good chance you can find strangers or maybe even some friends in these regions to fill you in, but there's always something going on to distract from your main goal. In Pesgare, you may find yourself in the midst of a heavy rain shower. While some of you may be prepared and have an umbrella on hand, others will notice that the rain is an iridescent color that falls and curves in arcs. Getting soaked by the rain may invoke a strange desire to cause a scene and yell dramatically at whoever is close by (and perhaps even belt it out if you're unfortunately unlucky.) In Respatrum, the sound of loud cheering and applause draws your attention to a large stadium. In the center of the ring is a man with a red cape, waving it in front of a burning, burly bull. A final flourish sends the bull back into its pen, raring and ready to go the next round. But wait! Without warning, the organizer of the bull fights grabs you by the shoulders and hands you a cape, shoving you straight into the ring with the crowd roaring above you and the bull bursting out of its cage. What a rush! In Bosuma, the creatures of the forest appear to be out and around including rabbits, squirrels, giant woodpeckers and rainbow-colored deer that aren't afraid to approach people. In fact, all of the creatures appear content to welcome these newcomers and show them around the forest. At night, several large, blooming flowers begin to glow in various neon colors. Colored pollen also appears to be falling from the flowers, leaving a mist over you that sweeps over you like a soft waterfall. Depending on the color though, you may find yourself feeling a little different... And finally, what's going in Magatus? Why it's sports! A winter sports competition is going on at the mountain looming above the Magatus ski lodge and the snow is fresh and perfect! However, landing on the slope is probably a bad idea, isn't it? Hope you're ready for a slippery ride down the mountain! III. Back in the city itself, life goes back to normal and several citizens are preparing for spring. The Recollé Community Center has gathered together to start cleaning up the local parks and community areas to plant brand new flowers to brighten up the city. Are you good with a shovel? Come join them in rehousing potted plants, picking up garbage and dead shrubbery from winter's harsh temperatures and more. If planting's not your style, over at Recollé High School several citizens are working together to prepare for the musical production Villainous, as put on by the high school's drama club! Sets still need to be built, costumes need to be finished and advertisements need to be distributed! For you artistic types out there, the drama club would love your support and time to get them ready as the premiere draws closer and closer. IV. Those of you who have lived here for years know that Mayor Mayer loves holidays. He does his best to never miss a celebration of any kind and while sometimes his efforts are smaller and more personal, this year he seizes the opportunity to celebrate an entire weekend dedicated to St. Patrick's Day! Though the holiday is on 3/17, festivities extend to 3/18 for two days of fun. What does this mean? It means that everywhere you go you'll find discounted prices for anyone wearing green, carts selling corned beef sandwiches and cabbage salads, and for those of legal age bars are specializing in green beer and green mixed drinks for miles. Seabiscuit the chocobo rides proudly through the city with the mayor dressed as a leprechaun, encouraging citizens to hunt for his pot of gold that he's hidden somewhere in the city! A series of clues will lead players onward and spreading out through locations such as Expressive, the Towers, Freshens and more. With luck, citizens playing along will find small golden coins emblazoned with a chocobo portrait! Unfortunately, something seems to be in the air and surrounding these coins. Unknown to the mayor, those who pick up these coins will find themselves hit with the overwhelming urge to find someone not wearing green and pinch them as tradition. Whether you're doing the pinching or you're a walking target, the coins' power over you will only wear off when the deed is done. As for the mayor? Anyone who collects more than 10 coins will find that they're eligible for a prize of $50 which can be collected at city hall. Happy pinching hunting! BONUS. The nice thing is that if you're in the city or if you're in one of the new regions, your phone works. Where would we be without technology? It's nice to be in constant connection with your friends and loved ones with the ability to check emails, social updates, maps and more. However, the internet can sometimes be a strange place and you will find yourself receiving a message from a Retrospec user named Zee Carlisle. Hey newbies, how's it going? You're probably pretty confused, aren't you? I think I can fix that. It's all the text says before you find yourself redirected to a private chat with another Retrospec user. Don't be shy now! Say hi and ask all of the questions you need! 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 March TDM directory is here, and your AU workshop is here! Our mod questions thread for this TDM is over here!

Comments

Ban | The Seven Deadly Sins

[perma_banned]

II - Respatrum
[At first, being attacked by a raging bull was downright terrifying. Ben threw the cape up to distract it and try to imitate everything he had seen on television before. It wasn't working as well as he hoped, so he scrambled, the bull chasing him with every bit of fear and ferocity he was accustomed to seeing in just about anyone who usually chased him. There was no such thing as a cop confident they could catch anyone--they just hid their fear of a criminal turning around and decking them in the middle of a chase. For Ben, he created a very real fear of that.

Of course, the bull probably wouldn't flinch for even a moment at that, so Ben felt he was on the more cowardly side of things. The bull missed a few lunges, trying to skewer Ben in the middle until he was pressed against the wall. The bull's horn grazed the metal lock keeping the ring closed off to the public and snapped it off, prompting Ben's attention. His eyes lit up.

Ben hadn't so much tamed the bull as he had given it an exit, allowing for him to jump past as it escaped. He nearly pissed his pants and had entirely had his shirt burned to cinders when its horns caught him near the belly but he was otherwise unscathed.

The crowd, startled by an entirely unprecedented scare, watched as Ben scrambled out of the exit along with the enraged bull. The night was only going to get worse from there.]

IV

[After temporarily freeing a demon bull from its arena, Ben decided that he needed to sleep things off for a long while and maybe treat himself to a nice big juicy steak as a tribute to the comrade who helped free him. Really, he was feeling delusional and couldn't exactly believe how his evening had gotten that insane but either way--he was back in the city and wasn't dead from being impaled on a bull's horns so he had that going for him.

It didn't take long for him to shoplift a green t-shirt that was definitely too small for him, coming up over his belly button and squeezing his shoulders a bit more than he liked. Even if he wasn't the type to get carded, Ben was infamous for dodging bar tabs and had been banned from a bar or two in town but he knew just as well that there were plenty more. This time, he brought someone else's cash to pay his tab. The glitter-speckled wallet he had gently pulled from a pair of pants so baggy they almost asked him to dig into their depths was rife with cash and gave Ben everything he needed to enjoy St Patrick's day the usual way. When he spent his cash, he ditched the wallet full of credit cards and licenses in a trash bin on the street and went off to the next bar with his next stolen wallet. It was always enlightening to remember how easy it was to get his hands on those things.

He spent the night drinking himself into a stupor before ultimately looking for a basement or abandoned house to sleep in. A shower could come later when a working stiff decided to head out for their shift.]

Bonus

bitch im not givin this phone back

(OOC: Ben's workshop! Also, my plurk: dannication

Let me know if you'd like another prompt or an add-on to the ones above.)

[mercurio]

just real quick did you steal this phone and/or are you a criminal

[ben never had a phone on him, the dude's poor as shit, so it'll take prompto a moment to recognize the name on the chat screen]

[perma_banned]

tf do u think??? lol gps is off

[Ben's writing style was just a hair's breadth from becoming memespeak.]

[mercurio]

at least there's that
is it a good phone tho

[perma_banned]

good enough
lots of games on it

[mercurio]

lmao them priorities
did you also grab a charger with that phone?

[perma_banned]

like 3 but i gotta put paper in em since their kind of bent wrong

[mercurio]

that's no way to live benjamin

[that's your retrospec name-- wait.]

ben? "hey sorry i broke your lock but here's something you can eat" ben??

iv.

[agrizzlysin]

How are you even still standing?

[Harlequin should not be out this late, especially on a holiday like St. Patrick's Day, and truth be told, he'd much rather be home in bed than out on the streets. Yet here he stands, arms folded across his jacket, one shoe tapping the pavement as he sets his most intimidating glare on a drunken Ben. His most intimidating glare isn't intimidating in the least. Neither is the dating sim game flashing on his smart phone.]

[perma_banned]

Ah~? [Ben stood in the street, wobbling from foot to foot as he kept a deceptively tenuous hold on his balance. He looked down at Quin, curious. His eyes sunk to Quinn's phone, not quite seeing the screen but still seeing the glow from the side.

He lifted one hand to place it on Quin's face as his other hand went into his pocket for his own(?) smartphone.]

Heyyyyy, that game you're always playin'. What's its name?

[agrizzlysin]

G-Game? What game? [Don't mind him as he frantically exits out of this particular game. It's a miracle that he manages this with Ben's palm smothering his face, but he does. Only once this task is complete does he go about trying to pry Ben's hand away.] I play lots of games! None of which you're gonna be able to win while wasted!

[perma_banned]

[Ben went silent, patiently watching as Quin did all the work for him to make the scene as embarrassing as possible. It was that pause where Ben made it clear to the young man, as usual, that he enjoyed every second of prodding him.]

Buddy, just tell me the game~. Do you really thin I got any right to judge?

[agrizzlysin]

[Without fail, Harlequin will always lose his cool when it's the least advantageous for him. He glares through Ben's fingers, squirming as he desperately tries to think of what game Ben could be referring to and, more importantly, which answer will be the least likely to shame him forever.]

F-Fracas of Factions?

Bonus. aka Ban why. What are you doing now?

[keystaff]

Huh? It's not my phone? I mean. The one you have?

...wait did you steal someone's phone?!

[perma_banned]

smh tiny

u think i bought it???

[keystaff]

I'm not that small!

And that is the logical conclusion most would have on seeing someone with anything! That they paid for it, yes.

[perma_banned]

midget your gonna grow up and learn that just about everybody steals all the time

not even because they really need to

some people just wanna

[keystaff]

That's not true.

And I'm not a midget! I'm still growing!

bonus

[floret]

[ no!! It's bad enough someone stole Jamie's phone without him realizing, but now the thief is texting just to taunt him?? ]

Please give it back!! I need it!

[perma_banned]

...
when has that ever worked fro u my dude

[floret]

I mean
What's the alternative?

[perma_banned]

theres a couple? first is usually threatening to kick my ass

when all else fails threaten to call the cops

course i can tell ya they really dont care

[floret]

The ass kicking one is a total nonstarter, and even if I were willing to call the cops, I don't have my phone.

Oh wait

Well, either way.

[perma_banned]

well since were both completely on point now

whats up

[floret]

I don't know... not much, I guess
You?