NOVEMBER TDM

[recollecters]

TEST DRIVE

NOVEMBER TEST DRIVE The city of Recollé... What do you mean the city's behaving for once? I. The Mayor's growing desperate with Thanksgiving right around the corner as those gosh darn turkeys continue to elude him. The birds that escaped at the beginning of the month continue to wreak havoc over the city as they mingle with the crowds and lay their golden eggs in less than convenient places. However, with the clock counting down to Turkey Day, the birds appear to be a little more aggressive. You may find yourself actively chased out of a shop or your classroom by one of these wild birds gobbling angrily all the way. Perhaps a bird is nesting in the middle of the sidewalk forcing you to take a new path. Or perhaps you've come across one of their golden eggs, but be careful! It doesn't take more than a gentle touch now for these eggs to explode, showering anyone nearby with surprises such as candy, shaving cream, mud, bugs, plastic cars, crayons or other small tokens. Will you attempt to catch the birds to turn them into city hall for the $50 reward? Or are you too busy running around to avoid them? II. Even with the turkeys on rampage, that doesn't damper the holiday season. Citizens from all over the city are preparing for the festivities of the month. Over at Tribunal Terrace several members from various volunteer groups and the Community Center are organizing their small annual Thanksgiving day parade that kicks off the city's potluck dinner. Grocery stores are swamped with shoppers picking up last-minute supplies for their big meals and you may find yourself fighting for that last jar of gravy. Over at the community theater, children prepare for their Thanksgiving pageant and it's a flurry of activity from costumes to rehearsals to last-minute stage preparation before the big day. There's plenty of work to be done whether you're acting in the pageant or working on-set. The theater will need as many volunteers as possible to pull this show off. Granted, there are plenty of things to go wrong in the chaos. One of the parade floats begins to drift away from Tribunal Terrace and rolls down the street on its own leaving volunteers to chase after it and fight off an onslaught of turkeys. Lights blow out in the theater and some wiring and set pieces need to be repaired. And did that person's grocery cart of food just hit your car? Good luck. Are you prepared for your celebrations and willing to help your fellow neighbor? Or are you a last-minute straggler left high and dry? III. Earlier in the month several stores had discounted prices on all things blue and it looks like the prices just keep dropping. With green fully restored to all items in the city, items such as clothing, art supplies and food change prices every hour, on the hour. The city of Recollé knows a good bargain when it sees it and hundreds of people hit the streets to snatch up what stock they can. It's like Black Friday came early and after a while some stores can't even keep up with demand. Maybe you're among the crowd hunting for just the right shade of green for your holiday packages, or perhaps you're some poor sap who got called into work at 6am on your day off to deal with a swarm of customers. No matter who you are though, you will find yourself having to answer the age-old question: which color is better, green or blue? IV. The blue skies have only been back for a few weeks before the gray of winter rolls in again. The wind picks up a little and the ocean crashes against the shore down at Peach Beach. The city grows dark each day beginning at about 4:30pm and the temperature drops little by little. It's on November 18th that residents will find that there's a bit of frost on their windows when they wake up that Saturday. Toward the early afternoon, the first snowfall of the season begins. It's nothing much, mostly flurries that swirl and dance through the air and cause a burst of excitement among people. Some residents may even remember it's very similar to the Founder's Day holiday. Though this won't be the last time it snows in the city, there's something magical about the first sign of winter as fall exits. Get out there and build a tiny snowman or catch snowflakes on your tongue. At least the turkeys seem to retreat from the snow itself. BONUS. Over the course of the month residents will find that the spotty reception they've always had has grown even worse. Static rings out over the line and long-distance calls stop going through. Emails bounce back despite numerous attempts, and don't even think about getting clear audio or video through Skype. No matter how hard one tries, by November 30th it will become incredibly clear that all phone calls, texts, emails and video chats to people outside of the city have been shut down. The internet will continue to function as normal (browse and share those cat videos to your heart's content) and inner-city communication functions just fine. You can try calling your service provider...but who knows if you'll get through? And last but not least in the world of inconveniences, in some instances your calls and emails may be rerouted to fellow Retrospec users. Sorry about that! 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 current players, please remember that TDM threads can only be used for bonus points, not regains. Please note: you will need a reserve to apply, and current characters must have full AC posted at the time of their reservation. Your November TDM directory is here, and your AU workshop is here! Our mod questions thread for this TDM is over here!

Comments

[judgementkazzy]

We'll see.

[ Kiryu smirks. He doesn't try to dodge (it seems only fair, when Kiryu got him off-guard in the first place,) and gets pelted right in the face. He counters with his own solidly built snowball, careful not to put too much of his strength into the throw. Super strength, you know. He's gotten the hang of holding back, at least. ]

[mutualistic]

[It's still plenty of force to stagger the lawyer when it hits him in the chest. He's clearly beat where strength is concerned. He aims another quickly thrown together snowball towards his shoulder. He leans on the nearby bench for stability and out of the corner of his eye he's looking at it-- then back at Kiryu.

At the first sign of the next snowball, he'll immediately do his best to duck back behind the bench.]

[judgementkazzy]

[ Getting into cover is probably Tachibana's best bet. Kiryu should be disqualified for being this strong, honestly?? But it's whatever, okay. The hit to the shoulder doesn't stop Kiryu from making a few more snowballs and taking a few shots at the bench to try and lure Tachibana out.

Y'all are adult men, are you seriously having a snowball fight here. ]

[mutualistic]

[He's perfectly aware that he has no hope of competing with him on strength alone. That hasn't done anything to stop him however. It might not look like it, but he has an idea.

The kids he'd been playing with left little bumps in the snowy ground that had served for their down battle. And with Kiryu's back turned on all that, well-- if he could just get him to take a step or two back, he might be able to take out his balance.

Well, this bench doesn't exactly stop snow from flying at him through the gaps in the wood so he can't just stay still. Time to try and throw the next one with a bit more force-- see if he can push him back. (Yes, he is fully aware that that could backfire on him, but what's a tiny risk here or there...?)

...two adult men taking a snowball fight way too stupidly serious.]

[judgementkazzy]

[ Kiryu's enough of a good sport that he steps back once Tachibana starts laying in on him. He isn't going to purposely use his super strength if he can help it, but going easy on him like that is how he ends up stepping back and losing his balance, just a little. He's wide open.

Catlike reflexes is only unlocked through Dragon Style, buddy. ]

[mutualistic]

[You'll need to fight Majima approximately twenty more times.

That's what he was hoping for. And basing his throw on the way Kiryu's body leans, he aims for the part of him that's furthest back. Time to put all his strength into it and see if he can topple him.]

[judgementkazzy]

[ Hannya-Man must be unlocked to proceed.

I mean, realistically, if Kiryu wanted to, he could keep himself supremely steady and not even flinch here. But he's in cutscene mode, not battle mode, and that means getting hit with a snowball and landing in the dirt. Or the snow, as it were. ]

Ah... [ He's not injured or anything, but he is surprised. ] Nice shot.

[mutualistic]

[So it worked. Though he'd hoped it would, he wasn't certain it would. Once Kiryu was down, he was more than happy to come out from his spot behind the bench, brushing the snow off his pants and coat before slowly making his way over to where Kiryu had fallen.]

You were holding back.

[As if he didn't notice. Nonetheless, with a small smile he offers the other man his hand.]

[judgementkazzy]

[ Kiryu lays there, surprised, for a few moments. "Of course I was holding back," he'd say... if Tachibana was on Retrospec and he could explain that not holding back would have probably ended up seriously hurting the man. ]

Sorry.

[ He takes his hand and lets Tachibana pull him up. He's going to need to brush the snow off himself, too.

jk, that thing about not being cocky? That was a lie. Kiryu smirks a little as he adjusts his collar. ]

I didn't want to beat you too badly.

[mutualistic]

[Tachibana hums, amused by the turn Kiryu's attitude.]

I can't say I have any interest in a victory I haven't earned.

[Well, it's fine. They're both cocky in their own ways.]

For now I suppose we'll call it a draw.

[judgementkazzy]

[ He's definitely been getting cockier as he remembers being a badass... But he understands Tachibana's issue with it, too. ]

We can always have a rematch another day. I think if I get any more snow on me, I might catch a cold.

[ Not immune to germs after all. ]

[mutualistic]

No, we can't have that.

[He'd feel guilty if he caused something like that.]

Another day is fine. But no excuses next time, mmm?

[Rest in fucking pieces Tachibana, you're dead.]

[judgementkazzy]

Thanks.

[ god, stop being so nice, Tachibana. Kiryu keeps up his smirk. Wow, he actually acts his age sometimes. ]

Just remember, you asked for it.