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

[This is not the hour for coffee, you disaster teen... Why would you even consider that... Anyway, plain cheeseburger and chocolate shake for this dude, not that he pays the waitress much mind.

He picks up the salt shaker and slides it in front of him so he can focus on that instead.]

Close enough. [mmm, as much as he doesn't want to, maybe he should make this slightly less awkward.] What are you doing out this late?

[s-slightly...less awkward...lalli...]

There was a concert in the park. I didn't realize how late it was.

[ But then he yawned and laid down on someone else's picnic blanket, and they woke him up because they had to leave. Still, he'd had a good time, and he thinks they might even still be going... ]

What about you? What are you doing out here?

[ Thinking about a yawn, he has to stifle one. It's really past Emil's bedtime... good thing it's Saturday tomorrow and he doesn't have to work. ]

[He wrinkles his nose at the idea. Concerts were loud and had lots of people... If he'd known, he might not have even left his home tonight.]

Running. Needed air.

[Lalli turns the shaker, adjusting it in a way that comes off as obsessive and calculated, but it's just a bit of fidgeting. Talking to someone in person was weird...]

Are you far?

Pretty far, but the bus runs late tonight. And I could catch an uber.

[ Please don't make him catch an uber, he'd rather walk if it came to that. Anyway, he drinks his sad water. ]

Oh, actually...

[ He takes his phone out and plugs it into the wall. In case he really does need to call an uber. ]

Do you need to charge?

[ He's got two ports. ]

[Man, this boy loves throwing his money around, from Lalli's perspective. What a weirdo. He props himself up on his folded hands, only looking up from the salt because Emil gives him a new object to focus on.]

...No. I never use my phone. No reason to.

[The only thing draining the battery was Tuuri's brother's worried texts and that weird new app always sending him alerts all of a sudden. Maybe a lazy game of the week.]

You're really obsessed with those ubers. Is this an elaborate paid advertisement?

Okay, I'm pretty sure if I worked for uber, you're the last person I'd try to advertise it to.

[ He like, found you on a street and everything. ]

Besides, it's only because the public transportation system here is so bad... Even worse than Stockholm.

[ But seriously, he's totally walking home because he forgot about surge pricing and he bets surge pricing is on and his bank account wants to cry salty tears at him and remind him that he's trying to save up to go to school and he's so, so far behind. ]

[ The fries come first, and Emil pushes them towards the center to offer some to Lalli. ]

[This is a rude boy, he thinks like he isn't also a rude boy...]

Ah. Wondered where you got that accent.

[That's around his neck of the woods, he's pretty sure, so he relaxes against the back of the booth instead of staying in his hunched gremlin form. Still crooks an eyebrow up at the offer, though.]

...Huh.

[Time for appetizers, I guess. Good that he has permission since chances were pretty good that he would've taken some anyway.]

I don't notice that kind of thing. Just walk. ...When I leave.

[ This boy is weird. Like truly weird. ]

What do you mean you just walk? Like everywhere? It's a pretty big city. And it's so hot lately, I definitely don't want to walk around during the daytime too much... It'll be 35 degrees tomorrow!

[ A pause, as he thinks Lalli is American, despite having a name like Lalli. ]

That's like... 200 Fahrenheit or something!

[ It's not, but nice try Emil. ]

...Mhmn.

[Definitely 200. Like, it's actually the case that he forgot how to use Celsius and just accepts the numbers as they come, so he can't say for sure what 35 degrees is, but. mmmmm 200. Nailed it, dude. Nice.]

It's hot. Don't go outside much. When I do, I don't go far. Don't need to.

[ Errr... is Lalli a NEET, Emil is beginning to think Lalli is a NEET with the way he says things like that. Probably why he was lying on the street, the outside was just too much. ]

Okay.

Have you always been in Recollé? Because I don't think I've seen you before, but--

[ --Would have definitely tripped over you? Would probably have remembered this haircut? Definitely just wants to figure out if the instinct about Lalli being a NEET is true or not? ]

--But I think I'd remember you.

[ Ironically. ]

[well at least it would be one assumption that he's been correct about.]

...Over a decade, sure. What's that supposed to mean?

[squints...is this about his not-completely-gone accent or his cheekbones that could cut glass or his clothes that were potato sacks??? suspicious.]

[ Those cheekbones are seriously sharp but no, that's not what he means ]

Just that I've never seen you around before.

I mean I've only been here a year!! But I move around a lot.

Are you at school?

[Hmm. He's still suspicious and narrows his eyes to convey as much, because what would make this doofus remember him? Easy enough questions, though.]

No. [Small pause.] I'm nineteen.

[just in case that wasn't about college school...he's a little twig, these mistakes have happened before.]

[ He could be in college school, most people their age are here, he thinks. ]

Really? Me too. I work as a massage therapist in Enprise. Oh and we do taxes at the beginning of the year too, I always drop my papers off with them because I don't understand how American taxes work. Why are all the legal papers here so complicated?

[ TOO MANY WORDS ]

[Bless this boy for not blatantly assuming he was a high schooler, at least. He had...thought about college. But not recently.

Aaaand taken right out of those melancholy thoughts by the fact that that sure was a lot to try and absorb.]

...Um.

[THANK YOU WAITRESS FOR BRINGING HIM THIS BOUNTY AND SAVING HIM FOR A FEW SECONDS, mmm chocolate milkshake.]

...Grandma always made me watch her file them. I guess I didn't know it was hard.

Wait, so your grandma does your taxes?

[ A long pause ]

That's so lucky!

My grandma doesn't even speak English.

[ Which makes sense Emil, you're the one who decided to be an independent man and move to a whole other country at the ripe age of no-one-else-who's-native-born-in-america-even-knows-how-to-file-their-taxes-at-this-age. ]

And she's from way north, so nobody around us understands her Swedish either. Sometimes I have to translate for my mom, actually, when she comes to visit.

[He opens his mouth and closes it again, trying to decide whether he should reply "not anymore" or "I didn't have to figure out the intricacies of filing taxes because I never had an income outside of inheritance money". But, uh. Turns out he doesn't really need to figure out which awkward topic to go with, since this boy sure can go, once you get him started.]

...You translate Swedish to Swedish? Or...is your mom a foreigner?

[He's so lost. There's so many words.]

Right, so my mom doesn't understand my grandma's accent and my grandma sometimes doesn't understand my mom, and dad's accent always changes after he talks to grandma, since he's lived in Stockholm so long usually he doesn't speak like that with us, you know?

[ So simple. ]

I mean, it's a small country. Well not that small, it's the biggest in Scandinavia! But there are a lot of dialects, like ah...

I guess like if you don't understand Scottish people sometimes, even if they speak English?

[ Because let's be real, Emil does not understand any Scottish person ]

...Or how an entire classroom can't tell the Finnish kid hasn't even used Finnish for a week.

[grumble grump. Oh well, he has a burger. Pretty good burger, even if he's dismantling it after the first bite, putting each layer on its own.]

That sounds kind of stupid. But if you could understand all of them, that's fine. I guess.

What? No, my mom's not Finnish, none of my family is Finnish...

[ Don't confuse him like this his mind isn't following. He's also sideeyeing Lalli taking apart his burger like that, but he won't say anything, that's rude. ]

I definitely don't know any. Oh wait, I know um...

Kytos.

No, no it's kiitos. That means thank you!

[...this boy...is even stupider than he could have ever anticipated...

And yet he knows a Finnish word. Hrmn.]

That's a weird thing for you to know.

What do you mean? We're neighbors, us and Finland! Even though almost no one speaks Finnish in Sweden, because everyone who visits from Finland and everyone we visit already either speaks Swedish or English...

But of course I know a little bit, you know, like hi and bye...

[ Yeah that's... that's pretty much it. Hi, bye, thanks, can I have a beer, and fuuuuuck! The "I had a Finnish classmate and we all asked him important phrases" starter pack. ]

[the first finnish thing anyone learns is "suomi finland perkele".]

...I guess. It's just a...very different language. A lot of people think it makes no sense. Um, I think.

[cough]

I mean, they told me it was logical? But I don't get it.

[ Emil you're also not very good at parsing logic? ]

Anyway, even if you want to learn Finnish, there's hardly anyone to speak it with, everyone already speaks English... Like really well actually, I keep mistaking them for Americans...

[ the irony ]

[He raises an eyebrow, and there's a ghost of a smile at the corner of his mouth before he hides it in a bite of burger. Specifically a bread piece, this time.]

Mm. That's America. [english or gtfo] Yours isn't bad. Even if you're...like a doe. Naive and panicky?

JUNE TDM

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