repeter | JUNE TDM

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! tdm

JUNE TDM

TEST DRIVE

JUNE TEST DRIVE
The city of Recollé. The kids are out for the summer and the weather's just fine. The sun's shining brightly, not a cloud in the clear gray sky. Everything seems at peace and citizens are out and about, smiling to one another and enjoying each other's company.

Oh, and this thing (complete with cardboard cut-out) has currently taken the place of the founders' statues in Recollé Square. But that's probably not a big deal.

What will you do today?

I.
What is this thing? Why is this thing here? For those of you in Tribunal Terrace today you may wish to investigate the five-foot-tall spinning wheel. How did it even get here? And where did the statues of the founders go? Even if you cannot answer those questions, it's hard to ignore the urge to give it a spin.

Check out those colors go 'round and 'round. Depending on what number you land on, you will find a notification pop up on your phone with a short list of…words. Are these supposed to be qualifications? Weird. That was a waste of time.

However, the moment you walk away you will find yourself accosted by various recruiters wherever you go, congratulating you on your impressive resumé and leading you to an office in Chata. Their offices have been equipped with tabletop-sized spinning wheels much like the one in Recollé Square that will spin 'round and 'round, determining the position you qualify for. Are you ready to show how these traits make you the perfect applicant? It looks like you have time to consult with your fellow candidates before your turn comes.

Or perhaps you've managed to resist spinning that wheel. The recruiters absolutely love your willpower and determination and want you to join their team! For those who can resist, they will still find themselves whisked away by recruiters to the same office and thrown straight into training to prepare for interviewing their neighbors. Recruiters will set up pairs of interviewers and applicants, leaving them alone to ask the hard-hitting questions and pick the most qualified candidate. Do your best and beat out the rest! It's your time to shine.

II.
Just because school is out for the summer doesn't mean Apparassage is quiet. Students and faculty alike are bustling about already preparing for the next school year. Campus tours of Recollé University run every two hours, and there are open house tours of the local elementary, middle and high school. Perhaps you're a future student exploring the campus and getting to know your future classmates. Maybe you're faculty or a student guide wrangling the kids and keeping them in line. Or you just might be one of the unfortunate ones who have found yourself with six weeks of summer school.

However, no matter where you find yourself in this district things get a little tricky when you're ready to leave for the day. The sidewalks outside of the buildings have all disintegrated, revealing a large void leading to nowhere beneath your feet. Without a clear path it seems impossible to escape, but stacked at the entrances of every doorway are large tiles with the letters of the alphabet carefully printed on them. When you look across the devoid path, you may notice you have a partner in a similar position with their own stack of letters.

Get ready to expand your vocabulary. Building a bridge of connecting words may be your only chance of getting home before sunset. Strangely, as the letters are laid out they seem to suspend mid-air enough to hold your weight as you make your way carefully across this pit. Balance and precision are key in this game. The stack floats along behind you as you cross the void, letters seemingly adding to the pile to provide more materials to build.

But like all games, there can be only one winner. Those who clear their letters first will arrive outside of the district safely, free now to come and go as they please. For those who do not clear their stack in time, you might have luck jumping from word to word to cross the finish line. Try as you might, if this is the method you follow, the moment you land on the winning word to leave the district the letters will glitch out, sending you plummeting into the void and landing on a long slope down to the bottom. Upon landing, you will see a series of chutes and ladders one can use to climb back up. Some ladders lead back to Apparassage. Some lead straight into Tisse, and some even lead to unexpected places. Where will you end up? The journey is up to you now.

III.
The days are longer, the nights are shorter, the sun is shining and it's noticeably warmer. Isn't it a perfect time for a summer potluck? The citizens of Recollé seem to think so and have all gathered today in Hollingberry Field with friends and loved ones to share food and fun. Kids chase after each other in friendly games of tag and hide-and-seek while other attendants mingle with one another, piling plates of food and sharing with their neighbor.

Why, even Mayor Mayer is out today for this summer kickoff with his lovely red Chocobo, Seabiscuit.

As the evening begins to wind down, however, there's a startled cry from the Mayor as he realizes someone has kidnapped his beloved pet from right under his nose. Was it you? How about you? Everyone has become a suspect and it's up to you to solve whodunnit. The Mayor provides everyone with a pen and a pad of paper divided into three sections for a suspect, a method, and a location. Grab a friend (or even a group of strangers) and get ready to interrogate each other to crack this case.

(With a little looking, however, it's easy to see that Seabiscuit's merely wandered down the hill away from the park. But maybe it's better not to tell the Mayor. He seems very adamant about this game.)

For anyone who manages to solve the case, the Mayor will be immensely grateful and reward you with a valuable prize! Congratulations! However, for anyone who fails to solve the puzzle, or even anyone found guilty of this heinous crime, by order of the Mayor you will be subjected to jail time for a full half an hour. (The Mayor can't stay too mad at his citizens. He loves them all.)

IV.
A nice, leisurely stroll through the entertainment district of Tisse seems to be in order. Summer sales are aplenty and now's the perfect time to shop 'til you drop. On the other hand, that doesn't seem to be the only thing dropping in Tisse. Do you hear that? Perhaps it is easy to ignore the sounds of stone crashing to the ground. Construction isn't unusual in this district. You think maybe you passed an ongoing demolition on your way inside a shop. But the crash happens again, and again, and again, a loud string of booms growing closer and closer.

Are those buildings tipping into one another? Or is it your imagination? You may not have time to answer while the string of events is put into motion. A crane swings overhead, knocking into a well-placed boulder that begins to roll down the street. Cranes, pulleys and wires move in sync as the ball rolls right toward you. Will you run? Will you collide right into the next set of traps? You may recall learning about this type of experiment once upon a time, coming to realize the elaborately planned Rube Goldberg machine spans the entirety of the city.

Maybe you're one of the lucky ones and you find a safe shop to dive into to escape. Or perhaps your sole focus is to run and get as far as you can, failing to notice that the large boulder herds you right to the end of the district and into a caged-in area. Make yourself comfortable. Someone from the outside will have to free you. But hey, maybe you aren't alone in this trap. Misery loves company, doesn't it?

BONUS.
The Retrospec app is at it again, just as useless as it's always been. After downloading to your device and allowing you to upload a profile picture, the app seems to take over your phone. Any time you open your phone to use it, a splash screen appears prompting you to pick one of the brightly colored wedges (or one of the two grayed out ones.)

It's time to exercise your brain and buff your trivia stats. Answering a question from your selected category will allow you to use your phone once again, but if you get it wrong? Retrospec will encourage you not to give up and try again.

...or, you know, you could ask someone to help figure out the answer. Hey, that person looks like they're bursting with knowledge! Perhaps it's best to see if they can help you stop this madness.

As usual, any attempt to get the company to reply are futile. Once a question has been answered correctly, phones will return to their usual functionality until the next time it settles into idle mode.

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!

Your June TDM directory is here, and your AU workshop is here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ yusuke had tried the wheel on a whim, unsure of what to expect once he landed on a 2, but getting ushered into a building for a job wasn't one of them. the offered position of competitive eater is, admittedly, not something he'd mind doing but he unfortunately lacks the necessary qualifications. he didn't know being a competitive eater required many qualifications aside from having a healthy appetite, honestly. ]

I don't have a dragon, but I can assure you that I'm more than capable of participating in a seafood eating contest on my own.

[ it's free to enter?? he's a growing boy??? please. ]

ii.

[ building a bridge with words was not something he had planned for when he decided to sign up for the university campus tour to check out the art department. but it doesn't really look like he's got a choice, so whatever, he takes his stack of letters and looks through them. not a lot he can make with these, but he'll deal. ]

Excuse me. [ or he can approach the person closest to him and attempt to get their attention. ] Would you like to trade some letters with me? I'm trying to spell "chiaroscuro" and I'm missing another "o".

bonus trivia.

[ of course yusuke can really only answer art related questions with no problem and when he chose the "art" category that's what he was expecting, you know, artist related questions. he wasn't expecting things like how many letters are in the Hawaiian alphabet? or how old was novelist Harper Lee at the time of her death in February, 2016? it's no surprise he's stumped more often than he'd like to be.

regardless, there are worst ways of spending his time. so occasionally, you might hear rick astley playing in the background while yusuke is people watching, sketchbook open and forgotten on the bench next to him. it's open to a page of a half-finished drawing, which may or may not be of you. ]

wildcard.

[ hit me up with a pm or over at ramparts if you'd like to do something else! his au workshop comment is here, for reference. ]

Edited 2017-06-18 08:03 (UTC)

[ Yusuke isn't the only one here for the open day at the University, but he definitely is handling this vocabulary game nonsense much better than some people, that's for sure. At first, Korra doesn't actually hear him. The door in front of her definitely still has those huge tiles in place, but it isn't exactly budging at the moment. Even after she tries to kick it down. ]

What on earth is this supposed to be?!

[ An "URGH" follows that as she slams her hands on her hips, glares at the door then the letters... then finally on Yusuke who had only been here to ask a simple question. He only wanted an "o".

Upon realising that the glare is unprecedented, she relaxes a bit then looks back at the tiles again. ]

You mean you actually understand what we're supposed to do with these things?

[ Well this is what happens when you don't listen to instructions well ok ]

Edited (i cant spell sorry ame) 2017-06-18 12:48 (UTC)

[ clearly she's very upset, and yusuke can't really blame her for it either. he simply waits for her to get it out of her system, not entirely fazed by her glare but he is relieved when she relaxes. ]

It seems we're to create a bridge with these tiles by spelling words. [ there's a sort of resigned expression on his face as he adjusts the letters in his hands. ] To be honest, I don't completely understand it either. But with how this situation looks, it might be best if we just went along with it and saved the questions for later.

[ The expression on her face twists a little more, clearly becoming a little more displeased with how they're supposed to go about it. At this point, he probably has a better chance of getting out of this than she does because she hasn't been willing to actually sit and think about it. With his prompting and explanation though, she does let out a long breath. She looks back at the tiles in her hands.

C, E, T, A, I, P, E.

Her head tilts to one side, and she visibly grimaces. ]

What letter did you say you needed again?

"Fourteen years".

[Which, as conversational openers go, is a little bit in media res at best and outright abrupt at words, but so it goes; it seems Yusuke's people-watching is due to be interrupted by an attractive lady of about thirty, dressed in a smart red skirt suit and carrying with her a black leather briefcase as she smiles down at him where he's sitting.

For the sake of clarification, though, she motions slightly to his phone.]

The number of years the protagonist languishes in captivity in Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo — the answer it's looking for is "fourteen years".

[ Guess what?! Akira has reached out to Yusuke despite how this usually seldom happens. It looks like they're staking the Kanoe mansion that rests on top of this forsaken hill, shrouded by dark trees and other foliage. One their way they have encountered plenty of crows, some woodland creatures, but as they draw closer it seems like signs of life cease to exist.

They're finally at the front of the mansion, also rumored to be abandoned. Its architecture is worth admiring, but there's something foreboding about its dark arches and windows. It's eerie yet the smile of Akira's face only conveys his excitement. ]

You ready?

[ How did he even talk you into this? Akira shifts a bit in place before fussing with his bangs, playing coy like this is some prom date. This is most certainly not a prom date and if it is... Then it's a prom date in hell. ]

[ and so the time has come for their... date, if this could be called one. yusuke doesn't even know how he was persuaded into this, especially when the last time he decided to tag along they nearly got arrested or possessed. but you know. yusuke likes living life on the edge sometimes, and apparently so does akira. whatever.

so here they are finally at the mansion. yusuke is armed with nothing but his phone in his pocket and a camera hanging around his neck. it's a little old, but the lens was a gift from his father and still works well. he also may or may not have researched haunted houses and ghosts and cameras, so maybe they might be a little more prepared this time. yusuke gives the dark windows a brief wary glance, before his gaze slides to the smile on akira's face and yeah, okay. maybe that excitement is a little contagious. ]

As I'll ever be. [ his tone is wry as he checks his camera one last time, and then takes the first step towards the entrance. ] Shall we?

[ These are fond mistakes you can tell your children one day. They can't just go through the front door despite how it's claimed to be abandoned. It actually doesn't look like it now that there's a flashing light coming from one of the windows, but no signs of a silhouette. Akira leads Yusuke to the side to look for another way in.

It's even more unsettling than the gates. He guesses he should crack some trivia to help ease their probably shaking nerves. ]

Did you know people used to think you can capture someone's soul with a photo?

[ Then Akira stops by this large brick that is wedged out far more than the rest of the walls. Hm. ]

Yes, I've read about it. It's effective on ghosts, according to some articles I've read.

[ which may or may not be like, a wiki synopsis of a certain video game involving girls and cameras and ghosts. anyway, yusuke isn't even surprised that the side of the mansion is worse than the entrance, and he eyes the large brick warily. ]

... I suppose that would be the mechanism that would trigger the secret entrance?

[ why is this rapidly turning into some shitty horror movie plot. ]

You're so prepared.

[ He's kind of impressed?! Yusuke... Well, some tales hold truths in the world, so he won't fault him for reading a wiki on a videogame!! Cause he totally did, too. He examines the brick for a second. ]

If this was a game, it should.

[ But he's going to take it. If there's one thing that is still intact in this world, it's Akira's way of handling puzzles—he kicks the brick in. Bam. They have a small venue to peek into the estate, but nothing else happens.

Well then... ]

Know thy self, know thy enemy, [ he says, just as akira kicks the brick in, and it would've sounded more impressive if his voice didn't waver just the tiniest bit out of nervousness. sun tzu is probably rolling in his grave but whatever.

anyway, he does try to peer into the new space, but it's too dark to really make out anything. his phone has a light though, and he goes to turn it on. ]

Can you see anything?

[ Akira peeks through the new crevice they made, practically hogging up all the space so Yusuke can't peek in. Peering through the darkness, he thinks he makes out something... It's a bit hard, but the light from the phone helps slightly. ]

A disembodied hand. [ He backs up before turning to his friend, nonchalant and unfazed. ] Mostly debris.

[Cedric can't seem to answer any of the trivia that's being thrown at him. It's a little frustrating, but he's sure that he'll eventually get a question answered correctly.

He hears the voice of Rick Astley and glances at his phone. It wasn't coming from his so he looks around him until he spots Yusuke and where the sound is coming for. The swimmer notices the sketchbook-]

What a great drawing. Did you draw that just now?

[ distracted by the dulcet tones of rick astley, yusuke doesn't register the question first, frowning down at the question on his phone screen. only when he notices a shadow falling on his phone does he actually look up. ]

My apologies, [ he sits up a little straighter, glancing down at his sketchbook. it's a rough drawing of multiple figures, among them a young girl and her father, a small finch, and cedric himself. ]

Thank you. And yes, I did. [ belatedly, he realizes that the cedric he drew and this cedric in front of him are one and the same. ] ... I hope you don't mind.

Edited 2017-06-22 10:27 (UTC)

You don't have to apologize. I've been having trouble with my own phone myself, so I can understand if you're distracted by it too. [He just smiles happily at the other.]

I don't mind at all! Could I take a pictu- [Wait.] Well, once I unlock my phone. It's really good! Are you an artist or is it just a hobby?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

JUNE TDM

yusuke kitagawa | persona 5

ii

shhh i still love u

/)u(\

bonus trivia!

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Bonus Trivia

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