Recollé Mods (
recollecters) wrote in
repeter2018-09-17 05:35 pm
SEPTEMBER TDM
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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 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! |

no subject
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. ]
no subject
abandoned again
Anyway, of fucking course he'd choose to sit in front of the door and bar her exit. Of course!! She huffs. Her drink is still visible, so she's going to.... set that down on the ground. ]
Don't you have your Persona?
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He has no face to stare at, thanks to Clover turning invisible, so he stares at the cup instead. ]
I always have my Persona. Just no way to bring them out.
[ No Evoker, not even the ticket to get it back from the mailbox, just him and the clothes on his back. ]
Do you have anything I could use? It'd be dangerous going outside again until it's gone.
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I have nothing. [ She's as useful as he is with his weak lungs. ] If you're invisible, there's a chance the viruses won't sense you. I don't know what parameters they use. [ Code has never been part of her knowledge wheelhouse. ]
... You really don't remember, do you?
[ Her voice is pitched low and soft, sotto voce. ]
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He brings the cup to his lips but doesn't sip, looking a bit contemplative. That might be a chance he wants to take, see if he can turn invisible and sneak past those bugs so he can get back to the weapons stash in his apartment, which he assumes still exists. ]
I would've remembered those things if I'd fought them before, but I don't think I did.
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[ She's a hypocrite, but she doesn't care. Even if she doesn't want him to see her, she doesn't want to lose sight of him. ]
Wait until we part ways, at least. Even if that's not what I meant. [ About remembering. ] I'm glad you don't know what I mean. [ She's glad, but she sounds sad.
She's grateful it doesn't have to hang over him, but even for all its tragedy, a part of her aches for the Minato that killed her. It's selfish, it's unreasonable, and it's self-destructive. ]
It's fine. You'll make it out alive, whether you like it or not.
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He doesn't want to die by getting eaten by bugs. He'd rather die like this: a pointed stare off into the distance that would be much more effective if he could stare right at Clover's eyes, and he downs the rest of the contents of the cup.
Immediately, the hand before his face becomes invisible, presumably along with the rest of him, everything but an empty cup hovering in the middle of the store. ]
no subject
Of course he wouldn't listen to her. Of course he wouldn't. She could cry, but instead, she gets angry. ]
Minato.
[ She's angry, but she sounds scared, her voice fading on the last syllable of his name. Using the stupid cup as guidance, she feels for his hand and then his wrist and grabs hold onto it tight. It's not super strength, but there's desperation tied in the way her fingers curve and constrict. ]
I didn't want to let you go.
[ She knows he won't know what she means. She knows it, but his defiance (his goddamned idiocy) forces a weak confession out of her.
They're both invisible, and she hates it. It's her fault, and she hates it. ]
no subject
I'm not going anywhere. And now you can't run away either.
[ Yeah, he's got no clue what she's talking about, but he's glad to know that his stupid plan worked. ]
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She's so stupid for him. He makes her so stupid. She doesn't know which of those is right, but she knows he's lying. He doesn't know it, but he is.
He's left her before. He'll leave her again. He already left. ]
I'll pick it up later.
[ That's the warning she gives before she lets go of his wrist, plucks the cup out of his hand, and throws it at the nearby wall. It bounces off and rolls uselessly across the ground.
There's a moment's hesitation before she reaches for his other hand, groping empty air until she finds her goal. They're connected but at arm's reach, linked but apart. She's the only one aware of the divide, but that's fine. ]
Don't be a fool. If I run, you shouldn't chase me.
no subject
...You're one of my best friends, Clover. So of course I'd chase after you, no matter where you go. I owe you at least that much, after all.
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[ (She wants him to owe her the world.)
Breath escapes her like she's releasing the good parts of her soul. If she took the chance to laugh like she feels like she could, it'd sound hollowed out. Clover wants him to follow her, to chase her forever to the ends of the world, but that wouldn't bring him happiness. She needs to let him go.
(She wants his happiness to be next to hers. She wants his happiness to include hers. She wants his happiness to be with her.)
She moves their hands until she reaches his chest. She approximates where his heart is, an approximation that would be exact if she could see him. ]
When I say I love you, do you know what kind of love I mean? I never tried to define it before.
[ Before he disappeared off the app. Before he disappeared full stop. ]
no subject
That love was real.
It's still real.
It's just a little different, soft thoughtful looks as Minato stares down at their hands, feels his heart pattering against his knuckles. ]
...The sort of love that's hard to be put into words. The sort where you love a person's existence. Their essence. The way one loves clear blue skies, or a cool ocean breeze... That's what I hoped, anyways. That's what I felt.
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Even if he can't see it, her lips stretch in the widest smile she's given this month, but it's also the saddest. The beat of his heart soothes her. He's here. He's here. He's here. ]
That's more romantic than I thought could come from you, but you're not wrong. [ She doesn't want to let him go. She squeezes his hands. ] It is hard to put into words. [ She sighs again. He always makes her sigh, almost as much as he gives her a headache. ] I was going to say I love you in all the ways I could possibly love someone. You don't need to return the sentiment.
[ It's probably better if he doesn't.
She isn't the Clover of last month, but her love was real. Her love is real. Their love made Clover realize how much. It's not the same. They're not the same. The feelings aren't the same, but they're real. ]
no subject
Mm. I don't have to, but I will anyways. I love you, Clover.
[ He leans in and— would probably misjudge the distance and smash his forehead against her nose or something- so he decides that might not be the best course of action. ]
...Being invisible is hard. Can I give you a hug?
no subject
[ From him and what he made her feel. A sick part of her wished she had physical scars from dying. The worst part of her would've hated having scars from her dying.
She lets go of his hands, gently touches his chest for a guide, and thens wrap her arms around him, answering his question. She presses her forehead against his shoulder after narrowly missing his chin.
She loves him too much to bear. The drink's effect wears off. ]
no subject
He only has a few seconds before he too will return to visibility, so he takes the moment to press a kiss on the top of her head where she can't see, then closes his eyes and takes her in his arms to complete the hug, as she doesn't have to see, to feel and to know. ]
YOU ARE A BULLY
Her grip on him tightens. It's become harder and harder for her to be painful and spiteful and ugly when he's around, and sometimes, she doesn't know if she likes it because she doesn't feel like herself. She doesn't feel like she used to.
These glimmers of happiness are foreign. ]
I wish I could hate you more than I do.
[ It'd be so much easier if she could. She thought she'd have the resolve to let him go, but she doesn't. She's incapable of it.
Her tears darken the fabric of his shirt. ]
ilu ara
For a while, he doesn't say anything, but eventually, ]
I wish you didn't need to.
[ For whatever reason that she does, or thinks she does, he wishes it didn't have to be. If they could just be like this, and be okay. ]
You don't need to. It's easier to love than to hate.
you've made me love minato more than i thought possible and i'm mad
Love is rare and hard for her to grasp and fragile when she does. It crumbles so easily in her hold because in the back of her mind, her belief that love will leave her is strong. It burns a garish brand on her personality. She turns her head so her voice won't be muffled by his shirt. ]
You're different now. Months ago, we talked about change. [ It's a memory bright in her mind. ] You have.
[ That's her judgment. Clover doesn't know if she can say he's happier, but she thinks he's in a better place. He's less passive. He avoids his troubles less.
It should bring her comfort, it should give her relief, and she should be happy for him. It does, and she is, but more than that, much more than that, uncertainty churns in the pits of her stomach and makes her cling to him more. He will need her less now. She will need him more than he needs her, and it makes her sick to think like that.
He's comforting her, and all she can think of is how much he's changed and how much that means leaving her behind. She feels safe in his arms, but her fear is more alive than ever. ]
I wish it were easier to love. I should go.
[ It takes hard, concentrated thought and effort to release him, finger by finger. Her arms withdraw in stiff, jerky movements. She takes a step back from him and looks lost. ]
me watching drakengard in a week and just wanting clover to be loved :(
He's let go, but he doesn't feel abandoned. He feels empty, but that emptiness is freeing. There's a smile on his face, and he doesn't try to hide it. He really has changed. ]
...Alright. But know that you can always come back. I'll be waiting for you, always.
have you seen four's dlc?
She loves his smile. ]
Can I... do one last thing before I go?
[ She knows his answer before the question leaves her. ]
yes........... she needs to be stopped but also loved
[ Now, or whenever, she should be free to do what she wants. It's easier to operate like this way, he's found. The #yolo life. ]
.... I'M DYING maybe love could have made her less genocidal
Minato already has a piece of her distorted heart, for better or for worse.
She takes that one step back between them, locks her fingers behind his neck, and pulls him down for a kiss.
She's lived twice. ]
no subject
"I love you in all the ways I could possibly love someone."
and in this way too, he breaks the kiss first, but lingers there, smile on his lips that he dips back and presses against hers before he pulls away.
He'll leave that with her, so that if ever she finds she can't smile, she'll still have his. ]
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