repeter | AUGUST TDM

Entry tags:

! tdm

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

[Sora flinches slightly at that. It's true, though, isn't it? They're twin brothers, grew up in the same house with the same parents at the same time, but it feels like they don't know each other at all. Like acquaintances that have passed on the street. Is it his fault? Maybe it's no-ones fault at all.

Either way, he doesn't want to fight with Shiori. He doesn't want this to end up like the last time he fought with someone.

So he takes a deep breath, and steps back just a little.]

Okay. I'm sorry.

Maybe we can go together?

[That sounds reasonable, right?]

[Part of Shiori knows he should feel bad as he watches Sora react the way he does. Yet there's far too much stubbornness to even take that part and act on it. He just watches impassively as his older brother takes a step back.

Go together? That... it sounds nice. Even with the distance, it sounds like something brothers would do. Breathing deeply through his nose, he gives Sora a curt nod. There's no way he'll make it sound anything other than business like.]

You know this place better than I do, so you might know where they congregate. Though I have to tell you that I won't run unless I think I should. I'll fight before I turn tail.

[Shiori's answer is relieving. It means that... well, Sora's not sure what it means. That his brother doesn't hate him, for one thing. And that he's willing to spend time with him.

And, well, if Sora goes with him, he'll have a chance to protect him if it comes to that.

Sora's grin returns, and he nods.]

Okay. That's fair. I won't either, then.

[Seeing that grin come back does chase away some of the thoughts that Shiori has had since leaving for school all those years ago. That Sora didn't want him around, that this was all just show because they were brothers.

A faint flicker of a smile passes over his own face before he shoves his hands in his pockets and feigns looking bored.]

Let's go then, before it gets dark.

Right!

[Sora nods again, more enthusiastic this time, excited for an adventure with his brother. He grabs Shiori by the elbow and leads him down the street, more towards the center of the city.]

Let's start with the convention center! That's where the monsters started appearing.

[Just like Sora to be excited for something like this. Let's just hope it doesn't land them in hot water like when they were little. Shiori lets Sora lead since he's not sure where the convention center even is. Comes with mostly spending time indoors and reading.]

.... you think it's where the nest is?

[Now where the monsters there before or after the convention center?]

Well, I mean, if it's anywhere, it's probably there.

[The few blocks as they near the convention center become more and more devoid of people, until, as they come across the ruined building they're the only ones on the street. The surrounding buildings are boarded up, and it almost feels like they're being watched. Luckily, they've yet to come across any monsters.

Sora's keeping an eye out, but he's pretty sure if they come across anything too big, they're probably screwed. Even with his weird new key sword thing.]

So, um... What's up with you?

[It's actually kind of creepy. Shiori doesn't like this feeling at all, and it leaves him feeling tense and uncomfortable. Enough so that he moves closer to Sora as they walk.]

What made them so mad to attack, though...

[And how can it be prevented from happening again?

Then this curveball:]

Huh? What do you mean? Like... right now?

Hehe, no! I mean, like, in general, you know?

[He hasn't seen his brother in over a year. Is it so wrong to want to know what he's been up to?]

Like, I wanna know how you've been.

[He shrugs.] Studying, mostly. So I could graduate.

[This is going to sound depressing.]

I hung out with my friend when I could, but there's not a lot of social time when you're trying to go to college as fast as possible...... what about you?

Oh, um...

[Sora has to think for a second, because honestly, he doesn't do much either. They're both depressing, it seems.]

I'm... I still play soccer. I mean, I was this year. Dunno if I will in the fall.

And, you know, trying to keep Buck from getting into everything. The usual.

[At least Shiori did his best to keep himself from slipping into depressive slumps. Maybe Sora will hear about them one day.]

You know... When mom told me you joined the team, I didn't believe her. I dunno... [It doesn't sound like something his brother would volunteer for. Or maybe he just really doesn't know Sora...]

Buck?

Oh, yeah, I mean, it just sort of... happened. I didn't really mean it to, and then I kept getting asked to keep going...

[He trails off. In other words, he got coerced into it. He doesn't hate soccer or anything, but it's pretty doubtful he'd be playing on the school team if he hadn't gotten pushed into it.

Sora blinks confusedly at Shiori at the question, though.]

Yeah, you know, Buck? My dog?

If you don't like doing it, then don't go back.

[It's as simple as that. If Shiori hates something, he doesn't pursue it unless his grade depends on it.

Right...]

You have so many animals, I can't keep track. [Besides, the name Buck doesn't scream 'dog'.]

Well, it's not that I don't like playing soccer, but I just... I dunno.

[He doesn't want to let anyone down. He can't just quit cold turkey, since his team would have to scramble to replace him, and he doesn't want to put that on them. But he's never really loved playing either.

It's easier to keep playing and make sure everyone else is happy.]

Buck is permanent, though. Mom won't let me keep them, most of the time.

If you do things that don't make you happy, you'll resent it eventually.

[Do you want to resent the sport or keep people happy? What's more important in the end?]

You ever think about being a vet? Because you're sure acting like one.

Hehe, people tell me that all the time. But I don't really have the grades for it.

[Yes, he's cleverly avoiding that first bit. See how clever he is. Sora rubs his arm nervously.]

I'm barely making B's, you know? And that's with a tutor.

[B's with a tutor... Shiori doesn't know what it's like to have a tutor. If he can't do it himself, he'll keep trying till he can.

He lets a soft sigh escape.]

That's why you quit soccer and focus on school. You're gonna be a senior. You still have a year to bring your grades up. Plus-["You've got me"... No. He can't say it. Sora rejecting his help would kill him...]-since I'm in college, you can use the tutoring center there.

I'm... not sure that's how that works...

[He's pretty sure college resources are for the people who are actually attending the school. And it's not like they're able to get away with switching places anymore.]

School's just... I'm not smart like you, Shiori. I was failing before Sorey started tutoring me, and it's not because I wasn't trying.

[Hearing that hurts. He stops walking, grabbing Sora's arm.]

If you're looking on going to college, they have programs that help. Or... [Shiori decides to just go for it. Even if Sora says no, at least an offer was made.] I can help...? I'm not that great with math, but I'm good with some of the other subjects.

[Sora stops when Shiori grabs his arm, yanked back slightly. He looks at his brother, eyes wide with shock, that he would even offer that. He can't even think of what to say to that.]

I... You would do that for me?

[He's tempted to say no, because wouldn't that cut into Shiori's study time? Sora could count on his hands the time they'd spent together since they were ten, and he'd never expected him to whirlwind back into his life like this.]

[Shiori nods, giving Sora's arm a light squeeze.]

Well, yeah. You're my brother. We're supposed to help each other. And mothe-... mom would be happy, too.

[This might be good for the both of them. Years apart with no real communication ~~Sora, why~~ isn't what family is supposed to be like.]

[Sora smiles, eyes slightly watery, and of all the things he'd expected to do today, a teary reunion with his twin was not one of them.

Not that it's necessarily a bad thing.

Sora nods, a hopeful smile spreading across his face.]

Okay. I'd like that a lot.

[Don't cry! You'll make Shiori cry! And then there will be crying twins in the middle of a street.

He genuinely smiles on return.]

Then after we're done here, we should talk details.

Okay. You should come home for dinner, then. Mom would like that, and we can talk afterwards.

[He can't help it! He's just so happy...

Sora reaches up to rub away the water, though, still smiling.]

AUGUST TDM

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