repeter | FEBRUARY TDM

TEST DRIVE

FEBRUARY TEST DRIVE
The city of Recollé. What a beautiful, wonderful place. Sure, some things seem a little off sometimes but it's still home. The weather's starting to clear up as little signs of spring appear.

What will you do today?

I.
Spring is in the air and today residents of the city can be found in all districts clearing out the rest of the winter gloom. Snow shovels are replaced for garden trowels as people begin planting flowers, trees, and vegetables. Some residents are in Hollingberry Field over in Viea Village cleaning up stray litter and debris to make the park enjoyable for all. Will you volunteer to help? Are you willing to get your hands dirty, or are you just annoyed that you can't go anywhere without having to side-step a puddle of mud?

II.
It starts innocently enough. You wake up in the morning, walk into your bathroom to brush your teeth and one of your lightbulbs burn out. That's not unusual. You make a note to buy more lightbulbs next time you head to Freshens. What is unusual is that the rest of the city seems to be experiencing similar problems. One of the theatres at Flix can't seem to get their projector to work and several customers are clamouring to get their ticket refunded. The elevator at the Towers stops working halfway up between floors. Neon signs on some of the shops in Tisse flicker and pop until some of the letters fade. The computers at the Recollé Public Library and Resource Center crash making it impossible to do school work.

It's not just outside either. Appliances start acting up. Your phone might ring with a ringtone that isn't your own, but no one else is on the other line. What's causing all of this? It might be worth investigating.

III.
You realize that it might be wise to check Retrospec to see if any of your fellow residents are posting about similar experiences. You reach for your device, (or perhaps you've managed to wrestle one of the library's computers to work with you) and open the application only to be met with a blast of music.

Shutting the app doesn't help. Every time the app is opened, a new song will begin playing on its own. The song changes each time, but they all seem to center on the same theme. The only way to stop the issue is to let the song play all the way through. Good thing you weren't sneaking in some social media time during class or work…were you?

Maybe you're one of the lucky ones who escaped having the app automatically downloaded to your mobile devices or appear for you at inconvenient intervals. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore and the next wave of Retrospec users are chosen. New users will hear a very different song as their greeting when the app begins to download, prompting them to notice their profile filled out with their name and upload a picture. The song will autoloop until new users oblige to these steps. Now wouldn't be a bad time to ask fellow users some questions.

IV.
Billboards, bus stops, and posters make up many of the colorful landmarks in Chata and Tisse. These signs all have a purpose whether it's to advertise new movies at Flix, a special sale at Towers, or a hot new band that will be playing at the Atrium. Too bad things seem to be getting out of hand here, too. What do you mean the sign told you everything must go from the furniture department? Nobody said anything about half-priced movies with all you can eat popcorn!

All throughout the city advertisements pop up displaying false claims. Are you one of the residents trying to cash in on these ads? Or maybe you're an employee who has to clean up this mess. Yikes.

BONUS.
The subway system in Recollé has been down for quite some time now due to construction. It doesn't make travelling through the city impossible, but it does make several people unhappy (including Mayor Mayer.) The non-functional subway has become a part of every day life, but when you pass by over the next few days, you can almost hear the sound of a subway car speeding along the tracks. Any inquiries will be met with disdain, and any attempts to head into the subway station to check things out will be met with construction workers telling residents to scram.

It seems that this area is blocked off for now, but that doesn't mean residents can't investigate.

Welcome to the

recolle test drive meme! All characters will be begin in-game AU'd as Recollé residents. You may use any of the above prompts for ideas or make up your own depicting your Recollé AU! Prompts do not have to be set in the districts listed above. You can review our list of locations for what's available. Please note that TDM threads can be used as samples, can be kept as game canon, and can also be used for bonus points for future item regains. Share a few minor details of your AU, tag around, and have fun!

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The worst possible scenario, aside from being here and no one finding him until his family gets worried, or a construction worker finding him and getting in trouble for this, is those schoolmates finding him in tears and never letting this down. That's why he stayed here, until he could calm down and find another exit to the station, despite the odds. But... he's a bit glad to be found by an adult, even if he's still a mess. ]

Hic...

[ It's hard to see with blurry vision, so he doesn't recognize her. Of course, it's also been a long time since they've seen eachother. He doesn't really know what happened to that side of the family, his family simply describes it as a complicated matter. He doesn't mind her forward too, suppressing his sobs to speak properly. ]

I... I got left behind. They didn't think I'd go with them down here, but now...

[...figures.

She immediately assumes they might have taken advantage of this boy, but...admittedly it's only because, as a kid, Nobu was kind of A Bad Kid alongside her friend Yuuko. They'd literally be the type of people to dare some shy, unsuspecting type into a dark subway like this and just leave him.

So oops.

But uh, never mind that right now, because right now she's genuinely interested in helping him out of here. So.]

Well, whatever trouble they've gotten themselves into is on them. They'll be punished appropriately for it.

[err]

How about we get out of here? You'll be in serious trouble if the construction crew catches you here.

[ ...He may have wanted to prove he was braver than he looked, but he's not ready to embrace a new spin on life as a troublemaker. He gets off from the ground, rubbing out the last of his tears ]

Yeah... Okay.

[ Aki might be right actually, if she's speaking from her (and Yuuko's) experience. The kids who abandoned him did make the mistake of taking the wrong route into those watchful employees. Thankfully they won't hate Koukichi or something, kids are kids, they're glad he didn't become a subway ghost or something. ]

...Akinobu, is that you?

[ Better now than never to ask. He recognizes her voice after after hearing her talk a bit, and even in the dark with only dim service lights in spots and their phones to see... She did have long, dark hair like that, in an oddly traditional and straight cut for her personality. It was pretty though, he thought. ]

...eh?

[Not what she was expecting. No offense to him or anything, but...even if they had ever met, he was likely really young at the time. He was already only 9 years old when she left home, so if they'd met before then...well, whatever small child she'd ever encountered then is a lot more grown up now. Still a child of course, but...

Well, basically it means nothing clicks for her when he says her name. She just spends a moment trying to figure this out in her head.]

Have we met? Sorry, but if you're a regular at the arcade or something I don't make a habit of remembering most people who pass through.

[That's a lie, honestly. Which makes it weirder to her that she doesn't know him.]

No, it wasn't there. I was really small, and you gave me an old toy you had...

[ Because her mom only had something for his dad as a cordial housewarming gift. Ah... but it really was a long time ago. Honestly, he never felt like he grew much at all over the years, it's such a slow progression when you're a kid. ]

It's not a big deal! Thank you so much for helping me.

[ Whatever way that Aki made her way down into the station with the help of Yuuko, Koukichi will be right behind her. ]

[She did...? She doesn't remember all that well, really. If it did happen it must've been...

Well, she'll focus on that when they're out. Nobu puts her hand in front of him and gestures towards the ground.]

Hide for a minute.

[She crouches down too behind some rubble, taking out her phone and starting to write a text.]

We're going to make a break for it once the guys out front come inside. I got someone to take care of it.

[Yato and Yuuko are good friends.]

[ Yeah... the other part to this meeting can wait until their little stealth mission is accomplished. ]

Yes ma'am!

[ It's not like it's hard for him to hide for a minute, crouching. He's curious, but he trusts her and her mysterious contact. ]

[So here they are in total silence...

Except it doesn't last too long. Eventually the sound of heavy footsteps become clearer and clearer as some construction workers come closer from the entrance, talking amongst themselves.]

"...so he said some kids managed to find their way down here? Like that coulda happened. We were keepin' watch the whole time."

"Yeah, but do you wanna be the one sayin' that when one of 'em gets hurt and we're up to our neck in lawsuits?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Let's just get going."

[She...might have specifically told Yato to rat those kids out for her distraction. Nobu was serious when she said they'd be punished, apparently...

But she waits until the men are a fair bit away before grabbing a hold of Kokichi's hand and running on ahead, pulling him along.]

Alright, let's go. It should be clear.

[TO FREEDOM.]

[ Holy shit. Like, if Koukichi knew the extent of it he'd feel... pretty bad. But for now, he's just relieved when the workers take their leave. A bit, it's short when he's tugged along right after. ]

I guess... --Ah!

[ He'll pick up the pace though to remedy that though! No one likes feeling like dead weight, especially him. ]

[Once they've gotten outside, she pulls him along again because now they have to get out of sight. If they're seen hanging near the entrance and someone comes back, they'd likely be reprimanded still, and Nobu doesn't do well getting reprimanded by authority. There'd be trouble.

Which is fine when she's by herself, but best not to get a kid wrapped up in her anti-authority nonsense.

Once they're finally a safe distance away, she lets go of his hand to...well, catch her breath honestly. She's really out of shape despite appearances.]

...hah.

[Alright, she's good.]

Now don't go running off. I want to know who you are.

[ Thank you for having some sense of responsibility even when she doesn't like authority, nor does she realize the relation they have. Kids being kids and forced to take P.E., he isn't as worn out as Aki... but his heart's probably still racing a bit from the fear of getting caught. ]

...Koukichi. That's my name. My dad and your mom are cousins, I think. They were close as kids.

[ There's another name that takes him a while, but he gets it in time, feeling a bit accomplished. ]

You gave me a plush... Sorbat? You said you hated bats in video games, so I could have it.

[ It's pretty cute, and it may be in his room where he's staying. A sentimental shrimp... ]

...ah. No way.

[It's said with a slight rise in tone, reflecting both her surprise and the realisation of who this boy really is, and she leans forward a little to get on eye level with him.]

You got big, Koukichi. I hardly recognised you.

[But not too big; she's still a lot taller than he is, all things considered.

Stay a cute kid forever for her?]

But what're you doing in Recolle?

FEBRUARY TDM

the best kind of meeting

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