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

2B ( beatrice lehmann ) nier: automata

[tobe]

[au workshop is over here! note that bebe has blonde hair and brown eyes, unlike her icons. she still dresses... pretty much the same, though. also, i'll match prose or brackets.]

I. SHIFTY LOOKING COW

Apparently, it's fashionable to leave the city these days. Bebe only recently arrived, but she wouldn't mind exploring a bit. It certainly breaks up monotony to wander off around the city limits. But she didn't realize it'd be so... weird, out here. The creatures are almost entirely hostile, if not outright monstrous. She's careful enough to avoid the scarier looking ones, but there's just something about this one.

This extremely shifty looking... cow? It almost looks like a cow with arms. God, it's bad to look at. Bebe's eyes are in hell. But she can't tear them away from it.

So yeah, there's definitely a young woman silently glaring at a weird cow, not making any sudden moves just in case it decides to notice her.

II. PESGARE

Bebe most certainly did not mean to wander this far. How did she get this far out without a car? This is nightmarish. She has no idea where she is, and somehow she didn't have the forethought to keep track of where she came from. Is she back in Recolle, or some entirely new town? And now it's pouring rain, and she just feels absolutely miserable and lost.

Soaked to the bone, something suddenly overtakes Bebe and she jumps onto a lamp post and spins around it.

"I NEED TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS BUT I HATE APPROACHING STRANGERS!!! PLEASE ASSIST ME ANYWAY!!"

When she stops spinning and yelling, her eyes go wide and she covers her mouth. She shudders and turns beet red, climbing down and staring off in the distance as if looking for answers as to why she just did that.

"Please disregard that," she mutters to the nearest person who stopped to stare.

IV. ST. PATRICK'S DAY

You can bet this girl who dresses in all black and lace will absolutely refuse to wear green for a silly holiday she has no connection to. She's not Irish. She doesn't have any use for drinking herself into a stupor. She's never even taken a sip of alcohol in her life. She is simply going to go in to work like any normal day, dressed as she normally does, and assist students and other patrons with finding books and other reference materials at the Recolle U library.

Which means she is primed for pinching for anyone who happens to find a golden coin hidden between the shelves as Bebe sorts through returned books and places them back in their proper homes. She seems unassuming enough, only 5'5" and extremely quiet as she goes about her work. The perfect target...?

BONUS

Zee, do you accept constructive criticism on your methods?

[Well, he's probably not around to see them. Bebe just wanted to gripe. She sighs and accepts her fate, addressing the person she's been connected to.]

Hello. Are you affiliated with the "Retrospec" app?

II

[floret]

[ So Jamie sort of showed up in Pesgare by accident, too, but once he got here he decided to make the best of it by bartering his protein bars for a thing of artisanal cheese and a rain bonnet. (YEAH he could've gotten a whole umbrella if he'd thrown in his ballpoint pen and travel bottle of ibuprofen, but carrying an umbrella is an antisocialist act of aggression, don't @ him!!)

Anyway. He's sitting under an awning zoning out and enjoying a cheese when a person he feels like he might've seen before but maybe not (??) makes a relatable declaration! ]

Well... I don't know this area all that well either, I'm afraid, but...
Where are you trying to go? [ Time to boot up Gurgle Maps! ]

[tobe]

[Bebe takes a deep breath through her nose as this person actually responds. Didn't she tell him to disregard what she said? Well, at least he's being helpful.]

I don't know where I am or how I got here.

[It sounds like the sort of thing an incredibly careless person would say, someone who's incredibly reckless and doesn't think of consequences, and that is definitely Not the type of person Bebe wants to be. She's not reckless, she just moved halfway across the world to reconnect with a sister she was always jealous of and then wandered out of town for no reason!

...Well, when you say it that way, you can make anything sound careless.]

...I lost track of where I was going, but I came from Recolle. I live in Birch Hills. I hope you're not a serial killer or kidnapper.

[This is all said completely straight faced, with none of the emotion from the earlier outburst and like her story isn't completely out there.]

[floret]

Ummm, this village is called Pesgare! But I'm not technically here on purpose, either. That kind of thing just seems to be happening lately. [ lol! ]

Oh, respect! I live in Birch Hills, too! And I'm not a serial killer or kidnapper. ...But if I were, I feel like it would almost be sort of impressive? I mean, considering... [ He gestures to... his whole self. (His five-foot-nothing, almost-but-not-quite-100-pound, rain-bonnet-wearing self.) ]

[tobe]

That makes absolutely no sense, [is her blunt response to that. How can people accidentally ending up in another town be a common phenomenon?

But then apparently he lives in Birch Hills, too. Do people her age just say "respect" like that? It sort of makes sense, but she's really not familiar with common slang...]

It's the perfect crime. No one would suspect you.

[floret]

It really doesn't, right? Like, this place is supposed to be a couple hours away by boat, but I definitely don't remember making the trip. It's kind of a hassle... when I'm ready to go back, I'm probably going to have to take the whole ferry ride, because I don't think I'll be able to get lost in the exact same way again...

By the way, you're not a serial killer or kidnapper, right?

ii

[lssj]

[...good lord. The sudden outburst startles Kale quite a bit, but if there's anything that'd calm her down pretty quickly it's Beatrice's embarrassment over the whole affair. Not to mention her admittance of shyness (she assumes) which is something Kale can relate to. Something to relate to in a stranger is always good.]

Um...it's okay. I don't...really like approaching people either.

[She says that, but she moves a little closer anyway.]

I don't really know the way out, but...we can look together...if you want, I mean...

[tobe]

[Bebe has to take a moment to recover from the fact that her outburst is being acknowledged in the first place, and then she looks at the other girl, sizing her up.]

...That seems reasonable enough.

[Why are multiple people lost here??? Is this the Bermuda Triangle? Not that Bebe puts much stock in conspiracy theories.]

Did you come here from Recolle as well, or somewhere else?

bonus

[hauntedsavior]

Oh, you're fucking kidding me.

[tobe]

[...]

Oh.

[EVERYTHING BEBE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT SAYING HAS NOW BEEN DRAINED FROM HER MEMORY. Her sister is right there! How does she even--]

Hello, Anise.

Surprise.

[Okay, that's a start.]

[hauntedsavior]

I knew it was only a matter of time before they brought you into this.

What are you here for, Bebe? Do they want you to drag me back kicking and screaming?

[tobe]

[At first, Bebe thinks Anna is talking about Zee Carlisle and whoever is associated with them. Then she mentions dragging her back, and Bebe realizes she's actually talking about their parents.

What even went on between them? Why do their parents only talk about Anna in hushed tones, behind closed doors?]

I'm not trying to get you to do anything. I came here myself. On my own terms.

[hauntedsavior]

Oh, bullshit. What, am I supposed to believe that you came all the way to a city I was pretty sure you didn't give a single damn about just because you were worried about me?

[tobe]

I didn't say that either. I just came to see you.

I didn't want to do this over text.

[hauntedsavior]

No shit you didn't. Nobody wants to run into their sister they haven't spoken to for most of a decade because of some random Retrospec bullshit.

But neither of us is gonna be able to get any peace now that we know this is a fuckin' thing.

[tobe]

[She is swearing so much. Bebe sighs. So her presence is disturbing Anna's peace, is it?

Bebe's not sure what she expected, but this wasn't it.]

Anise, that's beside the point. I want to see you. We can discuss it in person.

Bonus - Look who got redirected to you!

[itshilarious]

Oh!
I didn't expect to be connected to another person...

Uh.
Hello!
I'm afraid I'm about as familiar with this as you may be. Guess that makes this system a bit useless if it redirects you to another newbie.

[tobe]

Incredible. Thanks, Zee. If you're still reading this.

[And laughing. Whoever Zee is must be laughing to complete the mental image.]

Nikolai, huh?

[itshilarious]

I'm sure that's the case.
And yep! That's me.
It's nice to meet you, miss Beatrice.

IV

[meowchanics]

[Dr. Sigmund Klim would be out drinking like the respectable career academic he is, but his grant application had other plans. Not that he's tired or anything. Man, he loves his job! He loves it so much he could just ball his fist up and thump the shelf that is so rudely refusing to materialise the obscure journal he needs.

Which is why he does. Which causes it to creak alarmingly loud in this hushed section of library, and also dislodges something that... glints? A coin, he decides after picking it up and squinting at it for a moment. One of those treasure hunt coins, judging from the design...

Ahh, screw it. If he swallows his pride, he can get out of here with the reference he needs and still have time to pass out in a bar tonight. Yes, getting face to face help from someone in this library suddenly sounds like a really good idea. And who should be rounding the corner but one of the assistants he certainly recognises as a relatively new hire? A new hire who he has probably already told to smile and/or lighten up once or twice, while passing by? Convenient.

That is the story of how Bebe comes to be waved down by a middle-aged man in a polo shirt despite minding her own business.] Hey! 'Scuse me.

[tobe]

[Bebe stops in the process of putting a book away, setting it aside to handle later. If a patron asks for help, you help them -- not much she can do about that. It's part of her job.

She vaguely recognizes this guy when she approaches him, but can't quite place him. She's still putting names to faces for the regulars, but at his age, he's likely a professor or researcher.]

Do you need help finding something?

[meowchanics]

Yeah, if you got a minute. Long story short, I need a quote from [Still holding the coin he found, he reaches up to tap one of the extremely similar, extremely boring nearby journals on the spine.] issue 18 of this thing, but it goes straight from 17 to 20. [Shrug.] Dunno why they'd disappear since, uhh, a month ago, but if you could check -

[The split second when he racks his brain to recall where he last saw the journal is when it happens: his other hand shoots out in a blur towards the girl's wrist. Pinch!]

IV

[perma_banned]

[With a sniff, Ben slid his fingers along a row of cooking books with his eyes shut. He came to a sudden halt in the middle of one row, just behind 2b. There was a scraping sound--one of a flask being unscrewed before he took a long gulp and stowed it. His free hand found a book at random and he drew it out with one eye shut.]

You're not wearin' green. [He commented, not lifting his eyes from the cover of what looked to be a collection of Malasian recipes.]

[tobe]

[Bebe hears something being unscrewed and consumed, but she doesn't think anything of it and simply continues her work. When someone addresses her, she turns on her heel and immediately is less than impressed.

Who asked this guy? She narrows her eyes.]

I guess my shamrock-patterned leggings were in the wash.

[She doesn't mind being sarcastic with patrons if they're being rude. This isn't a retail job.

Besides, she's not even sure if she owns something green. Barely anything in her wardrobe isn't black. She might have olive-lined tights somewhere, but she wasn't going to dig them out to make a half-baked attempt for something so useless.]

[perma_banned]

[In a move that was either anticipated on a generic level or simply a matter of inevitability, Ben instated that no--he didn't catch the end of that as sarcastic at all. He gave Bebe a genuinely confused aside look and stopped at the last page of the book he had been thumbing through, looking past the index.]

...You own shamrock-patterned leggings?

[It was entirely up to him to take bait designed not to be taken. Bebe was one of the many unfortunate librarians/bookstore employees to meet Ben when he was fresh out of bed and fully awake.]