SEPTEMBER TDM

[recollecters]

TEST DRIVE

SEPTEMBER TEST DRIVE - EVENT AND FOURTH WALL EDITION The city of Recollé... ...or, at least, a good mimicry of the city. It's been a few weeks since you've found yourself in this digitized version of your beloved city. You've found yourself surrounded by NPC versions of your friends and family who aren't a part of the Retrospec project, you've encountered strange and new places, and the viruses continue to appear despite the fight you've put up. On the evening of the 17th, things change again. No matter where you are, Alphas and Betas will hear the sound of loud clacking, something similar to fingers typing frantically on a keyboard. The dial-up sound rings out, echoing off of buildings and in your ears as a bright blue flash of code scrolls before your eyes. Perhaps it doesn't make sense, but your handheld device might help. It beeps to alert you of a new message, screen lighting up as a navigation app appears and seems to stick. It appears to be an ordinary app like Google Maps or Waze, but the destination is pre-installed and your feet begin to move on their own accord. I. - IN-GAME CHARACTERS ONLY If you're strong enough, you might be able to break free of the mysterious hold that's dragging you across the city and out toward the outskirts of Tisse. It's hard to locate the source of the pull, but everyone will find that as they traverse the city they're all heading in one direction. The navigation app cheerfully blurts out instructions as your body operates on auto-pilot, causing you to stumble through the city and the other districts. You'll find yourself colliding into another user, soon walking in front or behind them as everyone around you begins to form one solid line. The human chain forms steadily and…aren't you lucky? You get to hold hands! Single file, everyone. Maybe you lucked out and you're holding hands with a friend. If you're stuck between two strangers, well, maybe that's a little awkward but the chain is impossible to break. You continue to move. Locked hand in hand with every user in the city, you'll have to help each other navigate, avoid obstacles, and make sure you don't lag behind. Viruses linger and will follow this mass of people, snapping at your heels and attempting to devour anything nearby. Can you fight without your hands? It may be time to find out. The night sky is a bit cloudy and your only source of light is the moon and the glow of lights on buildings you pass by in all districts. The walk shouldn't take you long, but as you venture further away from the center of the city the sun begins to rise and obscures your vision a bit. Has time sped up? Or are you simply walking further than you thought? What an interesting question. II-A. - IN-GAME CHARACTERS ONLY The navigation app leads the group through a long, winding journey that ends just beyond the furthest point of Tisse as the day breaks. As the app chimes, the air before you shimmers as a glass-walled building materializes. Unlike the other buildings in the city, it appears to be solid and smooth, lacking the pixelated quality a majority of the city has by now. The human chain breaks and you let go of your neighbor. You're now free to explore this place. Stepping inside, you find rows and rows of glass cases and chambers off to the sides and in stacks. Accommodated with work stations and instruction manuals, you may find yourself drawn to these computers before the empty cases. While the manuals appear old and frayed, there are instructions one can follow to create the person of their dreams. Are you looking for someone athletic? Simply change the input for a higher muscle mass than your average model. What about someone funny? Copy and paste some knock-knock jokes to embed in their code. It's easy to create anything you desire. The book allows for anything, even those who aren't exactly human. As you code and build, the glass cases and chambers begin to fog up, smoke whirling around inside as something begins to grow and take shape. Be careful! You may have a clear vision in mind of what you wish to create, but the programming may have other ideas… …for those who don't wish to experiment for themselves, or those who are strong enough to shake off those urges, there are several other floors to explore. Unlike the cases downstairs, these ones are occupied and filled with finished models pre-labeled "Projected Example" or "Reboot". Perhaps these faces are familiar to you, or they're someone who looks interesting. A lost friend. Someone from your memories. Someone who you feel doesn't belong encased in glass at all. The possibilities seem endless when it comes to who you'll find inside, but as you continue to stare at the case before you…the glass cracks. II-B. - TDM/FOURTH WALL CHARACTERS. Where are you? The last thing you remember was a wavering, dizzy spell that forced your eyes closed as you fell unconscious. Upon awakening the glass walls around you are stifling and thick, white and blue smoke dances around your ankles as you blink away black spots impeding your vision. Trapped inside a glass case held behind glass walls, it becomes clear that you aren't where you're supposed to be. Any items you had on your person are missing and the palm of your hand burns intensely for ten seconds as a black tattoo forms. Branded as either a "Projected Example" or "Reboot", it isn't easy to understand what these terms mean. Perhaps that isn't what's important though. Rather, what's important is breaking your way out of this glass case and figuring out where you are. Shadowed figures can be seen walking the hallways just outside your case, sometimes alone or sometimes with a friend. It's hard to make out any of their features, but you can hear the muffled words being said. It's only when someone is close to your case that you find your strength. The glass begins to spider crack under the pressure of your hand, allowing you to push and punch as much as necessary to break free. There's no shame in needing assistance, of course. Some cases are thicker than others, and as the glass begins to crack it becomes easier to be heard by those outside of your case. How will you escape? Who will you find on the other side of the glass? It's a mystery and one that will not be answered until you free yourself of your enclosure. Breaking free is easy if you try and it gives you a full range of motion. The glass won't harm you, but sparkles adorn your skin as the sunlight shines through the windows around you. You're free to explore the floors of the building and check out the other glass cases nearby. Perhaps you'll even lend a hand and help others who are trapped. How did you all get here? That's yet another mystery that doesn't seem to have an answer, but more importantly…how do you get out of the building? This place is huge. III. - OTA Lucky for you, this building seems to be a safe haven from the crazy world outside. Though several stories tall and filled with cases and equipment as far as the eye can see, nothing strange seems to be happening and navigating the building is almost a pleasant experience. The glass walls allow for plenty of late-summer sunshine to filter in, giving you and everyone you're with a path to follow. This path, however, won't lead you to the front door. The front exit no longer exists and any attempts to reroute to it will send citizens on their way through the halls of the building again. Several doors and laboratories are found on the journey though you may not enter. Labeled areas such as "memory restoration", "accounting", "legal" and "resources", these areas are scattered and just beyond your reach. As you venture through the building and exit out the back door, the sound of music hits you full-force. Bright lights, thick grass and the sounds of children laughing await you. The grounds are vast and empty of other people. While the area is large and sprawling, it's evident that several iconic pieces of this area are missing. A large sign hangs overhead, greeting you and welcoming you to Rainbowland. Complete with a carousel, children's rides such as spinning tea cups, bumper cars, the hurricane and the octopus, and a midway full of games, this amusement park looks like the perfect place to spend an afternoon. Along with the usual set-up, Rainbowland is host to a special event for the next week. Scattered throughout the grounds are banners and stalls proudly proclaiming "WELCOME TO RETROSPEC." Carnival food of all kinds can be found at these stalls with the Retrospec logo plastered on the side. Eat these foods at your own risk! Sweets will grant consumers super-speed, meats such as hot dogs and burgers kick in a boost of super-strength, fried foods will cause a consumer to move in slow motion and drinks may cause temporary invisibility. Weird, right? The midway has a few strange surprises as well. While most games are easy to play (and free at that, why isn't anyone around to take tickets from park visitors?), there are certain games set up by Retrospec themselves that have equally strange prizes. Stuffed animals of a variety of creatures from other worlds line the shelves (some you may or may not recognize), along with glass dolls of you and people you know. The likeness of these prizes is a little too spot-on; dolls will spout a common catch-phrase and stuffed animals will feel as though they are breathing. Finally, in addition to the Rainbowland rides, Retrospec has provided a wooden roller coaster and a large ferris wheel, both branded with their logo. For those who wish to feel the rush, the roller coaster reaches speeds of up to 60 miles per hour and comes with several hills and one full upside-down loop. Riders, however, will experience brief hallucinations after this loop; as the loop completes they'll find themselves seeing visions of a dark, underground river. The hallucination seems within reach almost as if the cart they're in will dive straight into the water. The ride ends with all riders unharmed, however. As for the ferris wheel? It's just a ferris wheel, several stories high with bright blue, encased cars to give riders a bird's eye view of the entire city and protect them inside. As you reach the top, the car will come to a gentle stop and the view from the window will change. Instead of the beloved city of Recollé, the landscape below is different. Perhaps it's a landscape you recognize, or it's an area of a battle-ridden world. Perhaps you see your friend's high school that they've seen in their memories or islands from another life. Every view is different, but by the time you reach the ground again you're back in Recollé. It's a carnival and it's fun, but several things that don't belong to Rainbowland seem off. Those with a keen eye and who have been around for a while may come to realize one important factor; the symbol is drawn inaccurately. The Retrospec symbol is missing a few loops and the particular shade of blue used is too dark to match. A counterfeit Retrospec...is it possible? Maybe it's best just to stick with what Rainbowland itself has to offer. IV. - OTA So maybe carnivals aren't your thing. No matter! You can leave Rainbowland whenever you'd like and make your way back to the city. On the other hand the city and areas around it may not be as you remember it. "Projected Examples" might not recognize this place at all, but "Reboot" will recognize that the pixelation of buildings, the NPC status of people they may know and the glitches that occur aren't normal by any standards. Exploring the city will allow all visitors to ride the trains and visit the various locations Alphas and Betas have access to, create and travel through the digital scape of half-constructed concepts, and they'll find they're even more susceptible to being attacked by bug-like viruses. These viruses will follow newcomers, snapping and biting to try and devour them. Defeating one will generate two more, and while they aren't as prominent in the digital scape you may find yourself with your hands full. There is no way to reach the outside regions of Pesgare, Respatrum, Bosuma and Magatus at this time, but there's plenty in the city to keep you on your toes. Visitors may have to find lodging for the next few weeks whether that's with friends or strangers, but at least all of the buildings remain standing. And if that doesn't keep you busy enough, the NPC citizens of Recollé are happy to provide you with jobs. If you choose to speak to any of these people, they'll go off of their pre-assigned dialogue and provide you with a small quest. "Find ten bananas and deliver them to someone with red hair." "Pet every dog that you see." "Catch three fish from the ocean and sell them to a neighbor." Some of these quests may not even make sense, but they'll be assigned nevertheless. Upon completion of each quest taken on, a triumphant sound will play from overhead and a banner will appear displaying your new title. Deliver those bananas? "Gone Bananas" will flash over your head. How about those fish? "So Long and Thanks For..." will linger for a while. Too bad no one told you those banners won't go away. When you're alone the title will be hidden, but as you speak to more people in the city the banner reappears, hovering over your head for the entire length of the conversation. The titles will change as you complete new tasks, but it appears as though they're permanent now. Congratulations! BONUS. - OTA Everyone will be equip with a handheld device much like a cell phone but downgraded. Containing only a drawing application, the game of Snake, the Retrospec app and the navigation app to lead you back to that glass building, it's...pretty useless. Technology in the city is hit and miss in its pixelated state, but perhaps it's better to ask the Retrospec network what the next step is. While Alphas and Betas are still posting as their A/B IDs, "Projected Examples" and "Reboots" will find that all posts and comments are tagged as their status and their name. Examples and Reboots will also find that a "Welcome to Retrospec" guide pops up, giving them only a brief moment to read the guidelines before a bright flash appears, snapping their photo for their profile and connecting them to someone new on the network. Whether you're sending or receiving messages, a string of colored text, numbers and code will leave or enter your device. These devices also need to be charged constantly, so be careful when taking them out of the house! You'd hate to get cut off at the worst possible moment, wouldn't you? Welcome to the recolle test drive meme, fourth wall event, and September event part two! Please review these instructions for this particular event! As we are combining a few different options here, we want to ensure players know what options are available. Thank you! All characters who are TDMing 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! Since this is a special event, the TDM is tied with a fourth wall event as well! For players who are fourth-walling characters (canon versions, different canon AUs, CRAU, versions from other games, etc), please label your top-level as "Projected Example." Players who are TDMing to app will fall under "Reboot" and we ask that you label your top-level as such! And finally, characters in-game are not required to label their top-levels with anything. This way, it's easier for your gamemates to know who's TDMing, who's just playing around, and who's already in-game. For Prompt III, any characters who choose to ride the ferris wheel will be able to see the landscape of any canonical world once they're at the top. It doesn't matter if they would recognize it or not, but the image will be brief until the car moves again! Likewise, stuffed animals won from the Retrospec midway games can be creatures your character would recognize from their memories or from other canons they may or may not recognize. Use your best judgment! Prompt IV may be used to create new scenarios and threads based on the prompts from Part One of September's Event! Please feel free to read the prompts in event log one and create your own scenarios for your top-levels. Additionally, you are free to make up your own silly/serious fetch-quests and titles that would be rewarded to your characters. While normally we do not allow this, please remember that current players may earn one freebie by threading with someone who is TDMing! This thread must contain 5 consecutive comments from you to be eligible. In addition, all players may use any threads accrued in this event for bonus points. As a special note, we will also allow current players to use a thread from this Fourth Wall/TDM/Event for their AC proofs! As this ties into a game-event, we are making an exception. However, your other proof(s) (at least ten comments) must come from sources outside of this log. Likewise, as this is an event log instead of just a standard TDM, you may use this log to trigger regains as normal. Please note: you will need a reserve to apply, and current characters must have full AC posted at the time of their reservation. Your September TDM directory is here, and your AU workshop is here! Our mod questions thread for this TDM is over here!

Comments

PROJECTED EXAMPLE: Minato (P3), Mafuyu (Oresama Teacher), Ryoji (P3)

[p_mortem]

(ooc: please contact me at birdseed for any questions or wildcard prompts! I'm sticking everybody in one post so I don't clutter up the event, but feel free to tag more than one character if you so choose to♥ Specify which chararacter and if you want to play off a canon or AU version of them in your top-level, please!

Minato: canon, Recolle AU, Utopique AU, Spellbind AU, Awash AU, Acata AU
Mafuyu: canon, Recolle AU, Awash AU, Grimm AU
Ryoji: canon, Recolle AU, Awash AU)


MINATO ARISATO
ii.b.
[ Oh... Minato's surprised to open his eyes and find himself pressed up against the glass, hand aching and head throbbing and—

maybe if he just closes his eyes, all this will go away and...

no, that's not going to work. He opens his eyes again and presses his ear up against the glass, as if he could better hear through it. Silence. How much oxygen is in this case? ...He taps on the glass; please assist. ]

iv.
[ He never should have left that case. It was kind of lonely in there, but at least he isn't being chased by weird bugs, and with no bloody nailbat with which to defend himself, he's just... running... and he can run for maybe two blocks before he feels like dying, so in he goes to whichever building is the closest, whether it's a store or maybe he's pounding on your front door, wishing he'd perfected his breaking-into-houses skills. ]


MAFUYU KUROSAKI
ii.b.
[ Oh. How annoying. Mafuyu isn't quite sure what she's doing inside a glass case, voices and figures on the outside as if she were on the wrong side of a observation glass, like some sort of zoo animal. Frowning to herself, she backs up as far as she can in the case she's in, takes a running start, and hurtles her body forward so that her foot breaks through the glass and the rest of herself follows through to kick whoever it is outside in the face, take that gawkers!! ]

iii.
[ At Rainbowland, Mafuyu zooms right in towards the food— of course there's all these rides that she wants to try too, but you can't play on an empty stomach and if a place offers deep fried anything, it's practically a rule that you have to eat it.

That said, haha, she has no money. ]

Hey! Hey! Are you hungry?!

[ Get something to eat, and when you can't finish it, give it to her maybe :) ]


RYOJI MOCHIZUKI
iii.
[ Oh! Rainbowland looks like the stuff of dreams at first glance- all these rides, it'd be a shame to enjoy them all by himself, so Ryoji is eager to turn to anybody who seems to be wandering around by themselves, beaming and expectant and can you really say no to this face? ]

Like a train ride into the sky...! This looks wonderful— would you ride it with me?

[ He extends his hand, like he's scared, but that's a lie. If you take it, he won't ever let go. ]

iv.
[ He's always loved trains, and if he's not hurtling through the sky at 324589062 mph on a rollercoaster, the next best thing is an actual train ride through the subway.

Even if everything out here is decidedly less pretty than he thought it would be. ]

What a strange place... [ Ryoji whispers under his breath as he looks for a seat, particularly a seat next to you, despite all the empty seats he could have chosen from. ]

I wonder if the subway is still under construction?

[ It's been a year and a half, Recollé, get your act together. ]

recolle ryoji iii

[thesettingsun]

[Of course Shuji's going to take Ryoji's hand. He seems to be in a daze seeing his friend right here in front of him, but that won't stop him from grabbing Ryoji's hand and holding it tight.]

Ryoji...? Is that you?

[appraiser]

[ That makes it that much easier for Ryoji to haul Shuji away, a beeline towards the roller coaster and hoping they'll be able to time it just right so they'll have the front seats. ]

It's me! School's been really busy, so it feels like it's been forever since I've seen you!

[ AN ENTIRE YEAR cries, how has it been an entire year ]

gimme that sweet recolle mafuyu, also ii.b

[stressweets]

[ He'd thought it looked like her and oh no that is definitely Mafuyu, he's

he's getting kicked, this is just how his life is, he's crying, thanks— ]

Ma-Mafutaan! Why!!

is any mafuyu sweet? debatable

[buncho]

[ Mafuyu lands on her feet, arms raised in the air in celebration of her triumphant grand entrance and—

grabs Tsukasa by the shoulders, shaking him hard. ]

What happened!? Why are you crying- WHO DID THIS TO YOU??!

[ I'll beat them up, etc etc ]

iv @ minato

[servileness]

[ you can choose whichever version of minato you want tbh

Clover can't handle being around large groups of people lately. It's a reminder of all the people she could've killed the previous month. Death took her Intoner abilities, but she's received all her Retrospec given memories back not too long ago, and it shakes her to the core when she gives herself a moment to think.

She walks into whatever random building Minato has, stops, and stares. Her heart leaps and plummets, and she wants to run away. ]

Why are you here—

[ Nope. She can't deal with this. She still has a drink from Rainbowland and turns herself invisible, thanks.

She wants to run away, but she never could run away from Minato. ]

[p_mortem]

[ What version of Minato would hurt the most--
no, he'll be original Rec AU Minato who remembers nothing explicitly about killing Clover and so is nothing but relieved to see her.

Or- no longer see her. Why. ]

Bugs.

[ As if that's all the explanation he needs to provide, he plants himself in front of the door, back against the wood so nobody can escape. Unless Clover's turned into a ghost... then he'll have bigger problems on his hand. ]

Re: PROJECTED EXAMPLE: Minato (P3), Case by case basis

[flametheif40]

[When Al finally got to the building he starts wondering around. Possibly thinking of taking a few souvenirs for himself. When he sees Minato in a glass case he runs to his case.]

If you're trying to be a vampire, I don't think you've got the casket deal right.

How the hell did you end up here?

[p_mortem]

[ Minato wishes he were a vampire, allowed to sleep however many centuries he wants, and people would be too scared of him to bother him. These glass cases are sort of the opposite, providing little to no privacy at all.

He shakes his head glumly. ]

Your guess is as good as mine. Is there a sign outside? Something like "Feeding time is at noon."

[ Like a zoo. This certainly feels like he's a zoo animal. ]

Ryojiiiii also III, also Recolle AU

[long_live_the_queen]

[You know, Lucy had been in a pretty bad mood before. Between her body doing things she definitely didn't tell it to and the glass room full of experiments, she...wasn't very happy about the situation.

She was going to snap or at least be grumpy, until she saw who was talking to her. Lucy froze.]

I--Ryoji?

[She'd seen him around before, of course. Dropping in to visit Minako, meeting him briefly at the library or the park. But he didn't remember a thing.

This time, he was wearing that yellow scarf.]

[appraiser]

[ September is presumably scarf weather even though it was 97F here today and I wanted to die. Ryoji isn't bothered by it, though, cold hands that reach for Lucy's— she looks stunned enough that he could very easily grab them, if he didn't mind being flipped over onto his back in the next second- but he doesn't, so he clasps his hands behind his back, bouncing on the balls of his feel. ]

Are you out by yourself today, Lucy? I am too, and I'd love your company.

And Recolle Minato because I can't decide, IV

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy had finally managed to get back to Pen's house, and she was definitely ready for a nap. Nevermind going to her room, she was going to feed the cat and pass out on the couch--

Someone started pounding on the door, and Lucy's back went so stiff so suddenly she felt something in her shoulders twinge. Who'd be knocking on Pen's door like that? She'd never done anything to give the police a reason to show up at her door, let alone knock like that.

That also didn't seem like a salesman or someone easily ignored either. Ugh.]

Fuck, hang on.

[With a grumble, Lucy shuffled back to the door. She didn't grab a baseball bat--her vectors would be more than enough to throw an irritating person back out on their ass.]

[p_mortem]

[ If his vision wasn't already darkening around the edges from the lack of oxygen, he might have thought twice about knocking on the door that he did— but he didn't, and he can only be grateful that the door opens at all, and he slides inside before the bug can eat any more of his shoelaces.

He escapes one danger and finds himself face to face with another. ]

—flyswatter. [ He what he manages to wheeze out, but. It'll take a really big flyswatter to kill these bugs. ]

you said to tag both so here I am. minato (recolle-verse), ii.b

[interlucere]

[ Most of the cases that Lucille has come across have been empty, so she's assumed that she must have been the last one to make it out. So when she sees Minato, huddled with his ear against the glass and idly tapping at it, she slides over.

Morse code? She kind of remembers a little bit of it from elementary school. Let's try it, tap tap. ]

...Are you okay in there? Tap once for yes, twice for no.

[ Lucille he can just answer back, the tapping really isn't necessary... ]

[p_mortem]

[ Somebody tapping on the glass is a little startling— it reminds him of those signs on pet shop tanks, kindly reminding people not to tap on the glass or they will scare the animals inside. He understands how they feel, now.

Pressing his ear up against the glass seems to have worked as he'd hoped, though, hearing her instructions and hesitantly raising up his hand again.

He taps one. Pauses. ...And that's it, really, a single tap for being okay, because it's not like he's dying in here, however uncomfortable it is. But even if he wanted to tap twice, he doesn't dare, because right where he had touched the glass, it had started to crack, a little web like crushed eggshell. ]

rec mafuyu iii

[admiringly]

[ You can toss any kind of heartbreak at Clover, but Chiyo deserves only specific kinds.

It's been a while since she's seen Mafuyu like this— without that oblivious veil that people not on Retrospec have. It takes a minute for it to sink in to Chiyo, and tears spring to her eyes.

She laughs. ]

I'll get you anything you want!

[ She's pretty sure none of the vendors care about money, but whatever, she'll fork over any amount of money today to hang out with Mafuyu like she used to. ]

rec ryoji iv

[admiringly]

[ Chiyo would've never stopped keeping in touch with Ryoji even after he lost Retrospec. Even if he forgot her, she would've done her best to make new memories with her. Death didn't scare her away from him, and neither would Retrospec.

His sitting next to her doesn't surprise her. It's his question that takes her back. ]

Ryoji....?

[ Her eyes go wide, and before he can blink, her arms are around him in a tight embrace he doesn't have to ask for. ]

mafuyu iib

[frostythehitman]

[ Why the hell are his former-Retrospec friends behind glass like museum exhibits? James is both confused and angry, but before he even gets a chance to react, he sees Mafuyu behind the glass struggling. That's all the warning he gets before she breaks through, showering him in glass and practically tackling him. ]

Why'd you have to kick me while you were at it?!

recolle minato iib!

[floret]

[ this place sucks and is scary but he can't exactly find the exit so w/e

and oh shit?? ]

Minato, oh my god!!
It--it's me! ...Jamie!
Can you hear me??

iii give me rec mafuyu or so help me

[adoringpast]

[ oh, what the fuck. she's back. ]

No.

[ and as usual sena isn't... eating anything........ ]

Amusement park food is cheap anyway, I'm sure you can scrounge up some change somehow.

i want to tag all three but i'm tired ryoji (rec), iii

[maskreant]

[ Akira would never say no to that face. His eyes light up when he sees his friend in this weird glass building, wondering if he's himself... Or if he's someone else. It makes him hesitant to approach, but of course the bundle of death bounces over and extends his hand.

It's weird since. NPC Ryoji still lives with them, but it feels different today. Instead of answering right away, he pats the hand. ]

I will. [ ... ] It's good to see you again.

[ You get what he means. Don't make him say it. Let's just go die on the ride. ]

recolle minato, 4

[reaquila]

Where the heck did you come from?

[Minato came out of no where and it so sudden. Nanashi isn't sure what to make of it. He figures that Minato's in some kind of trouble. That's how it usually is.]

I wasn't expecting you to be here.

[Thanks for dropping by?]

rec minato IV

[windeity]

[Thanks for banging on his front door, Minato?? John's a little alarmed and a little annoyed because he wasn't expecting visitors and who the hell is--

--!!!]

Dude, what are you doing here? [He looks over Minato's shoulder though and oh. Okay, that makes sense. Sorry, he's grabbing Minato by the collar and yanking him inside to shut the door.]

minato...recolle? idk

[ei_virheitae]

[Being small and scrappy, it hadn't taken Lalli long to kick open a space big enough for him to squeeze through. What was taking much longer...was figuring his way around the facility. A few wrong turns, and he's nearly back where he started -- but this time, instead of a shattered tank, he's in front of another boy. Older, and...a lot more subdued.

Lalli looks around before stepping up to the glass wall and tapping in return. Hello? Are you in distress?]

grimm mafuyu iii this will go perfectly

[thesettingsun]

[Mafuyu's voice is familar, particularly at that volume. Even with how long it's been since they talked, Shuji finds it easy to fall back into old habits.]

I'm not buying you anything.

[She's said literally one sentence to him and he's already exasperated. But not in a bad way? Not in as bad a way as normal?]