repeter | AUGUST TDM

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AUGUST TDM

TEST DRIVE

AUGUST TEST DRIVE
The city of Recollé.

...yeah. Yeah, it's just sort of a mess...

What will you do today?

I.
What the hell happened here? Perhaps you're new to the city, or perhaps you've finally started to notice just how bad the damage is to the beloved city of Recollé. The convention center is still crumbled in pieces and several local shops have boarded up windows and doors to prepare for reconstruction. Vendors on the street try to urge residents to purchase monster insurance for all of their home and vehicle needs. But the moment you step outside, you'll find yourself greeted by a member of the Recollé Restoration Committee as they thrust a hardhat into your hands and eagerly chatter about your new assignment.

Whether you find yourself in Tisse and assigned to haul pieces of stone around or you're placed over in Apprassage to pour cement, you'll find you aren't alone in these tasks. It's nice to meet your coworkers, isn't it?

II.
But really, what caused all of this? This is completely insane and while some of you may be willing to help rebuild the city, others might wish to solve the mystery. Poking around the various districts, NPCs will explain that monster attacks "sometimes just happen" which seems pretty strange in and of itself. Monsters shouldn't "just happen", should they? And where are these alleged monsters anyway?

Careful what you wish for, though. Exploring too much and straying off-task will lead to finding some things you may not want. These creatures will immediately hone in on new Retrospec users and begin to chase them, though they won't outright attack. While the smaller ones may be destroyed with a bit of effort, it might be wise to either cut your losses or find someone with a bit more experience to take on the larger creatures. Don't worry; there's bound to be someone to help.

III.
By now, you may have heard the rumors from some of your fellow Retrospec users that several members of the network have disappeared. You may even hear the rumors that those members are lost in "unreality" and that the city itself is a bit...unstable. But they're just rumors, right?

Everything seems fine as you go about your day (monsters notwithstanding.) However, any time you pass from one district to another suddenly a list of names scrolls past your line of vision . As the list comes to a halt and lands on one name, you may recognize it as a friend or a stranger. If you're lucky, you may get a holographic video connecting you to someone still in the city. If you're even luckier, you may find someone speaking up inside your head due to a telepathic connection. Go ahead and say hi. You just might get some answers from those who have been lost and those you haven't met yet.

IV.
As the night begins to set upon the city, a warm sleepy feeling rolls through. Whatever you're doing, it's hard to fight off the urge to curl up under a shaded tree and take a nap. After some time it's nearly impossible to ignore any longer and no matter where you are, you'll instantly fall asleep. Strangely, even

The place that you wake up, however, may look very familiar to you. You've seen this place before. In fact, you've lived through this very scene before. Maybe it's the little league game you scored your first home run, or maybe it's your high school prom. These are your memories played back to you, and glancing back you may find that again you aren't alone. Any Retrospec user has the ability to pass through these pockets of time and can stumble right into your memories. The memory pockets can appear no matter where a person is, and they'll be able to view and interact with the memories they see. Take a walk through your childhood neighborhood. Sit through the nightmare of your college entrance exams. These memories are yours as you've lived them. However, try not to change anything about the past. Memories can be quite tricky if meddled with too much.

BONUS.
While the makers of Retrospec are a bit scattered and busy at the moment, it seems as though they have failsafes to keep their systems up and running. The latest update push operates on its own and begins to download to your device. Your profile remains the same as always (your name and your photo), but it appears you won't have access to it until you apply one of the brand new filters to your picture. Seems easy, right?

Maybe you should have given this a second thought. As soon as the filter's applied to your photo, you might find that people are stopping and staring at you as you go about your day. They may or may not comment, but what's evident is that something's going on that you're unaware of. A quick glance in your phone's camera, a storefront window or a mirror will reveal all. That fun filter's now applied itself to your face with no hope of coming off for a while. Have fun!

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!

For continuity's sake, for the first time we will be stating that the TDM is dated IC 8/17! This is all in one day. Potential applicants/characters on the TDM will revert back to NPC status on 8/18 and will not remember the events of the TDM until the mod-posted Retrospec post goes up 9/1.

Members of Group 2, since the TDM can be considered game-canon, prompts III and IV are open for you to tag around to new players while stuck in your locations outside of the city!

For Prompt III, members of Group 2 may telepathically connect to someone even if there's a video option, but their faces and surroundings will be obscured! Other members of the game + potential applicants may use video if they wish.

For Prompt IV, please remember these are memories from your AU and not your canon! Should characters deviate from these "memories" too much, they will find themselves thrown back to the beginning of the memory to start over!

And finally, the filters provided in the bonus are just examples and you can swap in any others you want.

Your August 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'm as safe as I can be at the moment, though apparently my hair is nice enough to make me a... ah, nevermind that, [Haru does not need to know he was a potential sacrifice for the Coven,] I'm somewhere in the Caribbean, if I remember right, and until a short while ago I was on a sinking cruise ship. Myself and others were taken by portals on board the Crown Royal, and then onto a submarine, and... we were forced to accept the invitation to a royal wedding.

[He sounds alright about that, straightforward and calm, but his hands keep twisting around themselves.]

I don't believe we'll be staying long after the ceremony, though I'm not sure how we're getting out of here either. We can probably swim in any direction and find land eventually, and there's plenty of fish to eat, so hopefully we'll be home soon.

[There's a long pause while Haru tries to process all that. She doesn't get it at all, likely because everything seemed normal until now, so she had no idea that Goro was going through all of this. Honestly, a part of her feels guilty for that. She should've tried to keep tabs on what was going on, not just ignored it. It's not her fault, she knows, but she still can't help it.

What gets her attention more is how his hands keep wringing. She's known him long enough by now to look for things like that, the subtle body language, than the tone he's trying to convey. She pushes aside her confusion and guilt as a result, and instead balls her fists up to her chest as she takes a step closer.]

I don't entirely understand, but - We're going to find you! You'll come home, I know you will! I'll even share my mother's blueberry pie with you when you come back!

[It always weirds him out when people read his moods, even if he realizes that there are some people who just can, who know him well enough, and Goro may not be able to see her but it's like he's looking right at her anyway, can imagine the determination so strongly in her voice.

He smiles more genuinely this time, laying his hands in his lap with a nod.]

Of course. We're not slacking either, as pleasant as it is down here sometimes; we'll be back before you know it! Especially with such a delicious reward waiting for me.

In the meanwhile, do you want any questions answered? Oh, or I could show off the sea ocarina I've been learning to play! They have a fascinating range of instruments here, not to mention the culture... there are some things that are the same, but there's obviously a lot of differences.

[See, he's back to true normalcy, look at him prattle excitedly.]

[That smile gets her to relax in turn, her hands loosening by her sides, and to smile in return. Soon enough, her hands clasp in front of her collarbones with everything he starts to tell her - getting questions answered would be great, but she can always ask someone who's in the same boat as her, who knows more than her. Hearing about another culture out there underwater, something that sounds like it came from a movie, fascinates her quite a bit.]

Show me the sea ocarina! I'd love to see it! Oh - how do you even play it underwater?

Like any other instrument; I can't say I fully understand how it works, but perhaps it being made of coral has something to do with it?

[... Well, whatever, he's gonna get it, hold on. Look at that blurry background. Beautiful. Here it is!! It certainly is made of pink coral, fashioned together into an ocarina. When he blows into it there's a soft sound, a small stream of bubbles flowing out.]

I helped out a mermaid in town and she gave it to me. She said her daughter had recently gotten over her musical phase and wanted to get rid of it by way of throwing it at one of the Coven, but seeing as the Coven are, um, dangerous, that wasn't going to happen. They're more or less sea witches.

[Yes, that's a beautiful blur of a background. Haru's a bit disappointed; she was hoping to see a bit more of where Goro was, not that a random spot in the middle of the ocean would help her identify it at all. That disappointment fades out entirely when Goro brings out the ocarina, and Goro might hear a clap of Haru's hands.]

It's so pretty!

[And what do you know, it can actually play underwater! Here Haru thought it'd just be a stream of awkward bubbly sounds, like she expects an instrument would sound. She can't imagine playing her violin down there, but something like an ocarina could work.

Especially if it was made by mermaids, what!]

Mermaids? So they really are out there? [Once more, she questions whether this is a dream or not, but she shakes herself out of it. Goro's got gills, it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume there are mermaids.] And sea witches! You'll have to tell me more about this when you come back! [Because this is sounding like some kind of fantastical adventure now.]

Of course I will! Really, the biggest problem I have with this is that my phone is ruined... I can't take pictures of any of this.

[But he can keep the ocarina and that's what is important, he supposes, unable to suppress his smile with Haru's voice distracting him from the worries of the sea. The wedding is nigh, they could be recognized, the Coven were still very much around... but the tiara is safe and uncursed, the ocean is relaxing compared to a sinking ship, and he's finally been able to talk to someone who isn't one of the weird assholes in his group.

Today, at least, is very nice.]

There's mermen as well, and all kinds of denizens of the sea taking up resident in the kingdom -- the royals are octopi, in fact! I almost wish I could show you, Haru, I think you'd quite like it here.

Oh no, not your phone! We'll have to get you a new one when you get back!

[... Not that she's planning on buying a whole new one for him or anything. She's not rich like her canon self. But she can help him with it!!]

I wish I could see it; it sounds so amazing! Oh - are there stingrays there? Dolphins or whales? [Though that makes her imagine...] Do you have a tail? Like a merman?

[A good girl..!]

Yes, yes, I'm fairly certain there are whales but I haven't seen any yet, and no, I wish I did! But I'm more like a frog than a fish, actually, I have webbed hands to help with swimming.

[But no tail. It's actually really disappointing. He'll wiggle his fingers to show off the slight film between them.]

[Haru covers her mouth with both hands to giggle, leaning forward to get a good look at the web between his fingers. It's kind of unbelievable, but there it is right in front of her!]

They look so odd! [She pokes his palm, knowing that her finger will just go right through it without him feeling anything.] Do they feel weird? It looks like they would!

[Goro smiles wider, able to imagine her exactly despite the weeks apart, and stretches his fingers out before dropping his hand to the ocarina again. It's so, so nice to hear someone new, especially that someone new being Haru. It won't be so weird to talk to her when he's buying things now.]

It felt odd at first, like there was something stuck between my fingers that I couldn't get rid of, or a pair of gloves I couldn't remove... but you have plenty of chances under the sea to get used to them.

[Haru makes a shuddering sound of distaste while entwining her fingers together at the phantom sensation he's describing. It sounds so gross, having something stuck between your fingers like that!]

I don't think I could get used to it! [She gives a tilt of her head, a certain lilt in her voice letting him know that she's poking at him now:] But since you swim more like a frog, does that make you a... froman?

A froman... That sounds distasteful, Haru.

[Slightly pained, his expression betraying his still happy mood.]

I think an ambiphiman would work better in a general sense. I can't tell you if I feel slimy or not since I'm entirely wet. [A pause.] Are you wet if you're surrounded by water?

Amphibiman... That does roll off the tongue better than froman.

[Dang, and she thought she was on to something. Oh well!]

Well, I'd... say so? [And she sounded so confident at first, but now that she's thinking of it...] Would you consider me dry if I'm surrounded by air?

As human beings we perceive ourselves as being "dry" if we don't have a trace of liquid on us... and as a result we "wet" things to counter that, so yes. But merpeople can't necessarily do either in the same context we use it for; I'm suspended in water, so I'm normal by their standards, but does that make me wet or dry?

[He can't ask his teammates this because it's stupid but Haru? His good friend? The girl he'd feel comfortable asking to be his beard if needed? Absolutely.]

[Look, if you ever need to seriously ponder incredibly stupid questions, then Haru's your girl. She frowns and taps a finger to her chin, because now this has got her thinking.]

Hmmm... Maybe it's switched around for them? "Wet" is the normal, and if they breach the water, then it's... some sort of "dry"? But then, it'd be dangerous for them if they were completely dry... Perhaps they have different words for these things? Like... hm.

How do you feel, surrounded by water like that? Are you dry or wet?

[... You're making him think about how he feels, um. Huh. Goro rubs his arm, then plays with his hair. Very weightless. But dry or wet? Hmmmm.]

... I don't feel wet, but I'm sure if I broke the surface I would. So I guess I'm dry in the context we're used to?

Calling yourself dry when you're underwater just sounds so odd! Although... When I go swimming, I wouldn't considering myself wet when I'm underwater. It's a different feeling than when you get out of the water, but I don't think there's another word for it...

[But it just sounds bizarre for anyone in an underwater society to call themselves "dry". She ponders to herself a little more, then addresses Akechi again:] Maybe if you see them again, you could ask them?

I certainly will! And I'll let you know the answer to our inquiry as well, because it's going to bother me if I don't have one.

[Otherwise, he's absolutely going to make up a word for it? This is something that needs to be given name to.]

Would you like me to pick anything up while I'm down here? There's plenty of pretty shells, though many have things living in them.

It'll bother me, too. I'd be very grateful if you brought word back to me!

[It can be their own made up word if there isn't any. They can start a new trend.]

Oh, those sound so lovely! Though I wouldn't want to displace their homes if there are already things in there... Maybe if you found an empty one?

[Though if she got a live one she could always give it to Yusuke, he'd probably love it.]

I'll certainly look for some, because I wouldn't want to steal them away either... I'm not sure how to take care of things like that. What do they eat, for example?

[A shrug!! Who knows.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

AUGUST TDM

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