repeter | JANUARY TDM

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JANUARY TDM - OVERFLOW

TEST DRIVE

JANUARY TEST DRIVE
The city of Recollé. A beautiful city with beautiful people. The place you call home. It's a wonderful home, isn't it? With everything you could possibly ever want right at your fingertips, why would you ever want to leave?

In honor of this glorious city, the residents of Recollé are preparing for its annual Founder's Day celebration…you'll help out, won't you?

I.
Recollé Square is bustling with activity today and several residents are working together to pitch a large tent. Others are working together to decorate the fountain of the founders with flowers and streamers. Children and dogs run through the area and there's song in the air as everyone works together.

Are you one of the people helping with the streamers? Or perhaps you're holding the ropes of the tent taunt so it doesn't blow away? Hey, maybe you're catering the whole event to feed those hard workers! The choices are endless…but you might want to catch those balloons that are starting to float away!

II.
Meanwhile in Chata, business is booming as everyone crowds the parking lot of Freshens trying to fight their way into the store. You really should have thought to buy your groceries much sooner. Everyone knows that Founder's Day is one of the best potluck days and, weather permitting, picnic days. Are you having any luck getting into the store? Is that the last rack of ribs? You better hurry and snag them!

On the flipside, shop owners in Chata are busy setting up food stalls and merchandise tables in preparation of the main event. The smell of sweets and spices fills the air and you can't help but follow your nose to check it out. The vendors are all friendly and happy to give away samples of their goods in the hopes that you'll be back in a few days' time. Or maybe you're one of those vendors hoping to attract customers for Founder's Day. Do you have all of your supplies? Your permits? Is that teenager trying to steal apples from your produce stand? Everything's a little chaotic in the days before Founder's Day.

III.
The work doesn't stop there. Over in Tisse it's party central with flashing lights, sound tests, and a festive atmosphere that says the celebration's already started for several businesses. The line for Expressive is out the door with customers eager for their Founder's Day special. Be careful, you might have to finagle your way through the crowd. Throughout the day you may hear music and mic tests coming from the Atrium as the local schools work together during their dress rehearsal for the Founder's Day Pageant. You might even have an insider's look if you're one of the students in the pageant or one of the stage hands helping with last-minute set design, costume alteration or any of the other countless things that could go wrong.

The employees at the boutiques inside the Towers are bustling as well, swapping their floor displays and handing out flyers and coupons to shoppers to encourage them to come back for their big sales. Maybe you are one of those employees and now you're dealing with some wicked papercuts, or maybe the smell of butter is seeping into your clothing as Flix opens its doors to an early marathon of historical films depicting the life and tales of the city.

Tisse is most certainly the busiest of the districts today, but there's still so much to be done!

IV.
Most important of all, back in Tribunal Terrace residents will find Mayor Mayer out and about today which may seem unusual. The Mayor tends to stay inside City Hall keeping the city running from there, but today he's speaking with someone handling a large truck. People passing by may hear some scurrying from inside the truck, the sound of claws skittering on the metal floor, and…is that clucking? No, wait, now it's the sound of hoofs clomping and the whinny of a horse.

What's going on in there? Maybe you should investigate and ask around. Employees working for the Mayor will only give you a strange look in response, and the Mayor himself is unavailable for commentary…but it can't just be your imagination, can it?

Upon further examination and questioning residents will be told that these are horses for pony rides for the kids on Founder's Day, but that doesn't stop all of the weird noises. What on earth is going on?

BONUS.
Despite the festivities and the light-hearted mood of the city, it's still winter. Like all winters prior, it's chilly enough that you'll need a warm coat outside, but the storm season has passed. Instead, today in all districts there's a light flurry of snow falling, snowflakes gently twirling and landing on your shoulders and in your hair. It's not enough to stop the work, but it may send several people to crowd inside coffee shops for a hot drink or shops to take a break from the cold.

Bet you weren't expecting that influx of business, were you?

And later…much later, in fact, those carrying cell phones or tablets will feel a jolt from the device. A closer look will reveal that a new application has started to install itself on these devices, but you can't seem to open it right away. That's a bit odd, isn't it? It might be wise to check other devices in the city to see if the application's installed itself. Upon further investigation, though, you'll find only a handful of residents have the app installed. The app pops up on any public computer you may use but fades away the moment you log off.

Strange, strange, strange. Once it fully loads on your device, you'll find that the app, Retrospec, appears to be a social media app with the option to friend people, share statuses, pictures, videos and more. Those sections are currently blocked out, however. Take some time to fill out your profile if you'd like; that portion of the application seems to be the only one that can be accessed currently. All other social media (Facebook, Twitter, and regular texting) are accessible, but the app itself stubbornly remains on your own profile page.

Welcome to the

recolle test drive meme overflow post! You may use this post to post new top-levels if you didn't post to the original TDM (found here) or link your original top-level to continue threading.

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 if both parties agree, and can also be used for bonus points for future item regains. (Additionally: we will not be allowing TDM threads to be used for memory regains.) Write as many or few prompts as you want, tag around, and have fun!

As a reminder: as per our app rules, please try not to reference other characters in your threads or in your AUs if that character isn't being applied for! Our favorite example is as follows: if an Elsa from Frozen is being TDM'd, we ask that the player not reference her sister Anna by name unless an Anna is planning to TDM and be part of the same AU. Elsa can reference her younger sister in threads as much as she'd like if she has a sister in her AU, but we ask that names are not specified without having that character TDM'd and without the player's permission. Please also remember that posting to the TDM does not equate a reserve, which open on 1/18.

The January 2017 TDM directory can be found here. The January 2017 Workshop can be found here. The mod questions comment is here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Great choice.

[ Spoiler: all the choices are great because they're all equally terrible ideas. No matter what they get, they're both going to look like gigantic assholes who stumbled off a 1980s metal album cover, and it is going to be fantastic.

After a moment, Jack suddenly launches into another train of thought, as if midway through an entirely separate conversation. ]

I always get this - this dream, right? It's about an angel. [ He lets out a breath. ] She's somewhere dark, and she's trapped. I can see her, but I can't get to her, but it's alright because she can still talk to me. And I know she's telling me everything is fine. I can't hear the words, but that's what she says. Ever since I was a kid, she's been telling me how everything is okay.

Any crazy shit like that ever happen to you?

[He's malleable enough that the sudden change of subject doesn't throw him off as it should. It makes him curious, though, and Ardyn nearly tilts his head at him.]

An angel? No. [But reoccurring dreams, though? He had those, with the infrequency of everyone else; mundane things, about law books and misremembered court cases. About family he didn't miss seeing. About a lot of things, most that amounted to nothing.

Though there was one that he often forgot as soon as he awoke, though now that Jack's bringing up his own odd experiences, he seems to remember that he has them.]

I do dream about it being night. [An odd admission, to be sure.] One that stretches out forever. [But, ah, he gives an apologetic shrug.] Not quite as reassuring as yours.

That angel... are you considering it inspiration? [For a tattoo, he means.]

I think we really gotta lay off the caffeine.

[ It's not a direct answer, he knows - he doesn't seem ready to give one just yet, thinking his words over carefully. ]

But yeah, I guess. Always called her my guardian angel when I was a kid. Can't really get better tat material than that, right? [ If he's going for meaningful, at least. ] Problem is, I can never see her face. Feels like when you try to remember what a stranger looks like after you meet 'em - you kinda have the basics, but that's it. I dunno, maybe I'll just go for the good old-fashioned koi.

[ Two cake pops lie destroyed. He's obviously getting less enthusiastic about his sweets now, halfheartedly chewing at the edges of it. ]

Endless night, huh... [ A thoughtful hum. ] Damn, Izunia, way to get poetic. Didn't think you had it in you to get deep when you like dickin' around with people so much.

[ Words that should not be in the same sentence in a non-sexual context: "deep" and "dicking". ]

[His grin turns wry at the caffeine remark. Maybe he was right.]

What can I say? Sometimes I enjoy waxing poetic. [He's overly dramatic and theatrical by nature; getting poetic about stuff is just the tip of the iceberg. He lightly sloshes the coffee in his cup around, feeling for how much is left. It's already nearly halfway through.]

Now, you can't go for koi. What if you decide later that you hate fish, or the color orange, one day? I like the idea of a guardian angel, always watching and protecting. Not being able to see her face is hardly a problem; it's merely a mystery.

A touch of poetry, if you will.

[Basically, get yourself something at least remotely meaningful, Jack. This coming from a man who decided on a demon seemingly out of nowhere.]

Ya know, I think you're right. [ Annnnnd Jack's stuff goes in the trash as they pass the can by. That's probably a ten or fifteen dollar drink he only finished half of, but that's the good part about being sad and lonely and having expendable income, right. ] Real question: where should I get her? You think she's a chest kinda gal, or should I save that space for an ironic drunken tattoo on my next birthday?

[ #important decisions ]

Just tell me you're not getting a calf tattoo. Calf tats are for wimps who can't commit.

[The most important of decisions, indeed. He arches a brow.]

Let it be said that I do nothing but commit wholly to an idea. But as for your question, I'm thinking on the back. Upper left, maybe around the shoulder.

[Said as casually as talking about what to wear for the day.]

But for yourself... I suppose that depends on how boldly you wish to show her off. You do strike me as a intrepid sort of man.

What can I say? I'm a stallion, baby. I got spirit. [ Shrug!! ] Dunno. Got some scars that'd screw up anything on my back, and I'm not sure I could stand some guy stabbing ink into my ribs for six hours, so... maybe a sleeve? Full shoulder-to-wrist piece. I'll crap out something sooner or later, don't worry.

[ #phrasing ]

We are gonna look so frickin' sick. I mean, I'm already unimaginably beautiful and people sometimes tear their clothes off in my presence, but man. This thing's gonna be like putting a cherry on top of a sundae.

[You mean they will look kind of like douchebaggy people, which, admittedly, can be... fair.

Jack, you certainly have a way with words; you give Ardyn so much to work with, so the man is already rising higher and higher in his book of "people worth engaging in conversation with".

For example: where most people would maybe possess enough tact to not linger on the mention of "scars", Ardyn doesn't even seem to hesitate.]

So you'll soon be sporting ink on one side, and battle scars on the other? I imagine there's a story behind that.

[ Even better, they're equally tactless; where most people would change the subject, Jack is as casual as can be. ]

Grandma wasn't very nice to me. Kind of a "Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club" situation. [ He shrugs one shoulder in a way that says he either ( a ) is genuinely unbothered by talking about it or ( b ) has emotionally divorced himself from any and all pain through large doses of liquor and titties. Probably the second one. ] Stole the bitch's car and ran off to Vegas in the end, so it worked out. Got some crazy stories. Remind me to tell you about the time I did coke with Chris Farley sometime.

[ They probably get at least one weird look from passing students - with one in particular, Jack points at his eyes and then to the young man's in that I'm fuckin watchin you sort of way. ]

Seriously. Bet you my best bottle of tequila that your stories can't top mine.

[Even Ardyn has to think that such an admission is said with an unusual easiness, and he wonders idly to himself if it really is something nestled safely in the past, or Jack merely dismisses it because it's frankly just easier that way.

Regardless, the professor may lack a certain kind of tact, but he's not ineloquent with it. His response isn't quite flippant, but it is casual.]

The past leaves its scars, but it only catches up to you if you let it. You appear to have come out all the more lively for it, if you don't mind me saying. [A shrug of broad shoulders. A little eyebrow quirk is thrown at any passing students, coupled with a thin grin. They look away immediately.]

...I'd take that bet, if not for the fact that I'm inclined to agree with you. I've a family of politicians; now, if the question was a matter of "who has survived the biggest cesspit of passive-aggressive manipulation and impossible standards", then I may take that tequila from you.

Don't mind at all. [ Jack thumbs the scar on his face - it's nowhere near severe as a brand, but it's still vicious, like someone held him down and took a knife to his face. ] This thing? Gets me more head than a pillow. Not even lyin'.

[ Mad professionalism going on rite here. ]

Man, the fam sounds like fun, though. How the hell did you end up being... uh. [ He waves at all of Izunia. ] You? You'd think a guy would come out of that kinda environment different.

[ This may or may not be vaguely insulting?? He doesn't mean it that way, but. yeah. ]

[Such professionalism. Ardyn hardly looks bothered, though he must admit that the scar is definitely impressive.] You have a way with words. Has anyone ever told you that? Regardless, best to wear one's scars with pride, I say.

[He can't help but sound dismissive concerning the subject of his family. Sure, he wants nothing to do with them any more, but he's long over being endlessly angry and bitter about them. Reaching the threshold of generalized apathy required much less effort, and in the end he preferred it that way.]

They would tell you that I'm the black sheep in the family. And they're not completely wrong. [Ardyn also doesn't look terribly offended by the way Jack worded his question, either. He's been called a weirdo on more than one occasion; it's its own form of compliment, in his opinion.] But I prefer it that way. I'm not built for a life of politics, in all its hypocrisy. "Settling" for professor -- as they'd word it -- is more than enough satisfaction for me.

Yeah, I was kinda torn between that one, "more ass than a toilet seat", and "in there like swimwear"? Pretty accurate any way you slice it. Scars are bonafide boner material to most people for whatever reason.

You can totally use those, bee-tee-dubs. Doesn't seem like your style, explicit is kinda my shtick and all, buuuut hell. Go for it.

[ Audible textspeak just happened and he's not even ashamed of himself. Jack listens intently, though, nodding sagely near the end - then leaning over to give Ardyn a comradely pat on the shoulder. ]

Eh, better off this way. Got a good career... fast track to tenure... not totally sure what else you do with your time? Or who? But ya did good for yourself, Izunia. You're a self-made man.

And you're a self-made man that's about to get a frickin' sick tattoo, which is even better. I suggest a flaming demon head vomiting a couple of really pissed off snakes.

[More ass than a toilet seat. The day that Ardyn Izunia even comes close to muttering such a phrase is when the universe collapses in on itself. Being explicit is definitely Jack's forte, though the law professor can certainly appreciate the wit laden behind all of it. And so he just laughs, a sincere one to boot.]

I'll leave the explicit exclamations to you. You say them so much better than I.

[Ah, but at the pat on the shoulder, he shakes his head with amusement.] I do appreciate it. There's something to be said about being unchained from one's familial obligations. [And then he shrugs.] Snakes? Not flames?

[Is he being serious? Joking? Impossible to tell.]

Why not snakes on fire?

[ this icon, basically. ]

But make it extra badass. Blue flames. Maybe snakes coming out of the eyes of the first set of snakes. And they have knives in their mouths like they're gonna fuck you up and take your wallet. Seriously, just have fun with it.

[A somewhat lopsided grin goes here.]

I enjoy impulse as much as the next man, but it takes a certain type of personality to sport snakes within snakes set ablaze, with daggers in their maws. You may be able to pull that off, but I may have a bit more trouble with something that extravagant.

[Then again, he is the man who decided to go with a demon, of all things. Yet, there's something else that compels him to make that decision, something he hasn't quite been able to put his finger on just yet.]

You are such a charmer. Kinda makes me wonder if you're not just buttering me up so you can get my guard down and push me in a wood chipper later. Got plenty of folks down in Tijuana that'd love my soul patch mounted on their wall.

[ Is he exaggerating? Is he flat out lying? The world will never know. ]

But hell, you're the guy that just used maw in a sentence. Pre--tty sure you could pull off anything if you put your mind to it, Ardyn.

[ First name usage!! Social link up. Not a kiddo or cupcake in sight, either. ]

Come now. I'm not much of a wood chipper man; far too messy. Wouldn't you prefer a more graceful death, anyway? Women crying messily and flinging themselves onto a closed casket isn't nearly as dramatic as it should be.

[The morbid humor, it's real. And it slides off of his tongue with such ease, that a passerby might give him a double-take if they heard it.]

I use lots of words, Jack. [Meanwhile Ardyn uses first names like it's nothing!] I can even use "demurrer" and "malfeasance" in the same sentence if I really try.

[Such is the sad fate of anyone who escapes Law School Hell and lives to tell about it.]

Now that I want to see.

[ Yep, totally expecting Ardyn to deliver on that one. ]

[Well, challenge accepted, then.]

Let's see... While the demurrer was intended to throw into question the legal plausibility of the opposing claim, the court could not overlook the sordid malfeasance of the man in question.

Nice show, cupcake. [ ok there's the cupcake. no one is 100% exempt. ] Your homework is to use "amalgamation" and "susurrus" next time around. Unless you wanna give it a shot now?

Only if you refrain from calling me a small, iced cake from now on. [not even bothered, tho.] And honestly, who uses the word "susurrus"?

[But...]

...His conscience was but a susurrus, drowned out by the deafening amalgamation of sin and debauchery surrounding him.

Now, if I start calling you just by your name, I'm gonna have to call everybody by their name, and when the hell am I gonna get the chance to call folks "pumpkin" and "kittentits" then?

[ But he has to laugh, genuine and open, which is slightly unusual for Jack considering he's a gigantic jackass and all. ]

I'll think of one to stump you sooner or later, champ, even if I gotta bust out the dictionary for it.

[His own grin becomes a bit wider, reaching his eyes.]

Maybe using words such a pumpkin and kittentits is the route you should take, if you want to see me stumble. But, ah, maybe that's advice I should be keeping to myself. Pretend you didn't hear anything.

[ Give him a moment. Then, leeeeaning over: ]

Pumpkin-butt.

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