repeter | SEPTEMBER TDM

Entry tags:

! event,
! tdm

SEPTEMBER TDM

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i:

Wh--where are we even going anyway?!

[This stupid app. What the heck was going on this time? Yuu is getting rather frustrated more over time as he has to deal with more and more nonsense from this app. That horrible feeling of being helpless, that things were so out of his control with this app.

If one of the viruses come too close, Yuu will try kick at it, given he doesn't have his hands free to use Ashuramaru. At least this might give him something to vent his frustrations at. Only. He might also end up tripping if those he is holding hands with don't help him keep his balance.]

ii-a:

[Yuu isn't necessarily always the most cooperative. Though somehow they make it through the dark under the light of the moon to wherever they were going. Not without some fights but that's probably just to be expected given it's Yuu. But then they get to the glass building and he sees the people in the glass cases. Yuu tenses, frowning in concern and confusion as he walks over to one, a hand instinctively pressing to the glass.]

What is this....? Others that still need their 'soul' or something?

[It unnerves him for some reason, seeing them like this. He swallows, biting his lip.]

iii:

.....Hm? Is this the right logo? Somehow it looks a little different?

[But. Well. The amusement park still has some weird stuff going on, so. Maybe Yuu is just not necessarily remembering the logo right or something. He pauses for maybe a couple seconds before ending up downing the drink anyway. He's thirsty, he still needs to eat and keep hydrated, after all.

Though it might not quite be what he expects to find when he goes on the roller-coaster or Ferris Wheel to get a thrill or better look around. After which he might turn to the other that he went on the ride with, to see if they saw that as well.]

Wildcard:

[Want a different prompt? Something else within the amusement park? Go for it!]

[ Another familiar face. This time someone she sort of knew from school. At least she'd seen him around enough to have become familiar wit how he looked. But it didn't really bring her any comfort, given what he'd just said... Her walk up to him had purpose in every step, but also a look of what could only be described as fear and uncertainty on her face...

But it probably read more like anger. ]

Hey! What did you mean, just now! What's this about souls? What the he-... What the HECK is going on?! [ She still had to watch her mouth. Byakuren was nearby, after all. ]

Hm? I just.....er...that is. The guys at Retrospec mentioned something about our souls? Helping us get them back and getting back who we were or something?

[Which is probably just going to scare her more? Worry her? Make her more confused and frustrated? But it isn't like Yuu is an expert at this soul stuff or whatever either. He is no philosopher in studying what makes someone....them. He shifts, turning to her nervously. Unsure how she might react.]

Honestly, I probably don't know any more on this than you do, really. The whole.....glass cases with people in them thing, I mean.

H-hold on... I'm just getting more confused here. Is there any way to start from the beginning? I'm totally lost...

[ Confused and frustrated was right. She had to keep herself from growling too much. ]

I dunno that I know as much as others to try explain. But. You know about the Retrospec app, right? Those of us that have it, we get memories and belonging and abilities from this other life, thanks to Retrospec saving our souls. Apparently. Something like that?

[Yuu isn't the most philosophical or whatever to really go into questioning or analyzing this nonsense like others might. Nor has he had the app as long as some. It's been a few months though, so he is more or less used to this stuff in what to expect?]

Retrospec app?

Look, up until I woke up in a tube just now, I never heard that name in my life.

Oh. Well, I can try answer some questions but. I'm not sure if I'm the best one to explain. The Retrospec app is, you know, like another app you can get on your phone or whatever? It's supposed to be like a social media thing but. Weird stuff goes on with it.

[He raises a hand to run it through his mop of dark hair, unsure on being the one to explain stuff like this. But he is trying.]

I'm just having a lot of trouble going from "weird app" to. Well.

All of this.

I know this probably is more concerning than reassuring but. You get used to it. Basically anything weird, it's probably because of the app. They even messed with people's sight and sense of taste at one point.

[So yes. It is rather powerful. And rather easy to influence those with the app. Sometimes even those without the app notice things and get involved somehow too, though usually not to the same extent.]

This is a lot to take in... [ So much so that she sort of squats where she was standing, holding her knees to her chest, letting out a worried sound. ]

It feels like a nightmare...

Yeah, it can get pretty rough sometimes. But a lot of us are also dealing with the app, so. You're not alone.

[Even before Mika moved back, Yuu was still able to figure things through talking to others on the app. Through having Ava around. But he can't be sure if this girl has family or friends on the app. If she knows they were dealing with the app, since she seems to have just gotten access to it herself.]

But uh -- look. We'll figure our way out and I can help you find someone? Your family or....?

Oh! Uh, my mom was in one of the tubes, too. She busted me out of mine. But we got split up somewhere in the crowd of people running around confused...

Oh. Well, what does she look like? I can try help you find her?

[Because well. He can't just leave someone like this. Separated from their family and all. Yuu can at least try help. Even in the middle of all this. It's not like he doesn't have the time. So of course he offers to help out. It's the least he could do while figuring this all out himself.]

Yuichiro Hyakua (Yuichiro Amane in au) l Owari no Seraph

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