recollecters: (Default)
Recollé Mods ([personal profile] recollecters) wrote in [community profile] repeter2017-04-16 09:01 pm

APRIL TDM

TEST DRIVE
APRIL TEST DRIVE
The city of Recollé. A beautiful city you've called home for quite some time. While things can be a little weird, isn't that true of all homes? It's fully spring now, and there are flowers to be found everywhere. April's showers are a familiarity as well, the occasional downpour or drizzle keeping you on your toes.

What will you do today?

I.
April showers bring May flowers, right? Well, there are already plenty of flowers to be had, but that part of the old rhyme being true doesn't save you from the first part of it. While the weather forecasters do their best, their success rate for predicting the rain seems to be about fifty-fifty. Unfortunately, sometimes when they do predict the rain happening, they misjudge how bad it's going to be. Was the sky was clear when you last looked outside? It may not be quite so clear now. Hope you remembered to bring an umbrella today.

But it's not so bad, really! Maybe if you forgot to prepare, someone will share their umbrella with you. Not in the mood to talk to anyone? You can probably find some thrifty umbrella vendors on the streets of Tisse. When in doubt, there are always some loaner umbrellas scattered around in Apprassage at the Recollé Library as well. The library asks that you return any of the mismatched loaners found at the door, but it's not like the system is that strongly enforced. Well, other than the library stamp on the umbrellas, that is.

If you find yourself in Chata today, you could always buy a magazine off the street corners to hold overhead. If you look like you may buy something, vendors don't seem to mind if you idle under their awnings. Check out the latest fashions coming this spring while you wait it out. It looks like buckles are in, but some of the high fashion clothes look a little odder than usual. The hot, new dresses range from large like a billowing tarp to appearing more like an artfully arranged handkerchief than anything else. Fashion sure is weird sometimes.

II.
Recollé Square in Tribunal Terrace boasts a huge assortment of flower gardens scattered throughout the district, though they all appear to be whatever citizens felt like planting at the time. In fact, only flowers in Apprassage seem to match, especially around the University. Today, while the rain's stopped, a large group of people seem to be taking advantage of Recollé Square's mismatching for flower picking, crown and wreath weaving, and bouquet arranging. The activities seem to be loosely led by the city's PTA and some of the other socialite groups from around town. Then again, for long-standing citizens of the city this isn't unusual either. You seem to remember that this is an annual sort of thing even though there isn't actually a name for the event.

Some booths are set up around the park to swap seeds, flowers and food for cash or gossip, the guidelines a little more loose outside of the business districts. It seems as though lot of families are picnicking this weekend. There's even some kind of contest going on for the best flower crown - though usually the city tends to collectively pick a kid for the winner, so your best artistic talents might not get you the admiration you crave.

In addition, there's the most accurately judged flower-growing contest if you've been waiting for this day for a year or more, but that event tends to have the same people involved every year and the majority of Recollé isn't too heavily invested in it. They're here for the picnics and flower crowns, and it seems about the same as it always does. This year, though, there do seem to be more flowers than ever...and for that matter, they're a lot bigger than usual, too.

III.
Despite some of the fashion fiascos the magazines are displaying, maybe you should spend some time shopping this week. It may come as a surprise to you that your clothes haven't been fitting properly as of late. Those skinny jeans are just a hair too loose, and your favorite shirt seems baggier than it used to be. The problem, however, is that every shop you go to seems to stock clothes with the same issues. You're down a size or two or three, or maybe they're just marking everything down wrong. And surely you don't have the time or money to replace your entire wardrobe...will you take your chances? Complain to the store's manager? Or maybe you're an unfortunate soul who has to try and explain the unexplainable. Maybe offering a coupon will appease shoppers today.

IV.
Apparently walking around your neighborhood isn't quite as safe as it used to be - or it isn't safe if you want to trust your eyes. One second the little old lady who lives at the corner appears to be walking her pitbull just as she has every day for the last several years. The next, the pitbull is gone and she's walking a rather angry-looking caterpillar. Blink and you'll miss it, but as time goes on you'll see more and more of these larger-than-life insects wandering around. No matter how hard you try to explain it, the only other people who seem to see this as the least bit weird are people with the Retrospec app.

Oh, do you not have the Retrospec app? Think again. The sound of chirping crickets will follow you until the next time you look at your mobile device or a public computer, prompting you to accept a profile and upload a user picture. Congratulations! It seems as though you've been selected to be a new tester!

...it's going to be one of those days.

BONUS.
While the Retrospec app only infrequently has posts from the company itself - and those have thus far proven to be universally useless - this month there is an onslaught of updates. At least once per day there's a picture of a new type of flower or insect, along with a "fun fact" about whatever the company has posted.

Did you know, for example, that wasps feeding on fermenting juice have been known to get "drunk' and pass out? Ancient civilizations burned aster leaves to ward off evil spirits. Ticks can grow from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a marble. Roses are related to apples, raspberries, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, pears and almonds. Houseflies find sugar with their feet, which are 10 million times more sensitive than human tongues. Praying mantises prey on other insects, and perhaps you'd better watch your step.

Wait, what?

As usual, any attempt to get the company to reply about the increasingly disturbing information they're sending out is useless. The daily facts grow less and less useful and eventually seem to be nothing but fun facts about how flowers and bugs could kill you or one another. Kind of unfortunate for you, if this is your first time getting any messages whatsoever from the app. How do you unsubscribe? Good luck figuring it out.

Welcome to the [community profile] 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! The April 2017 TDM directory can be found here. The April 2017 Workshop can be found here. The mod questions comment is here.

[personal profile] roughlove 2017-04-20 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Cain looks smug as fuck, has the shiteating, self-satisfied air of a stray tomcat too good for handouts. And like any abrasive, over-proud young adult, he's unreasonably pleased to have schooled one of his elders on... pretty much anything.

Even flower crown construction.

It would probably have been insufferable, if not for the fact that it was hard to exude tough-guy machismo effectively while weaving flowers. ]


See, gramps, you got it. You wanna make it look even better, make sure there's no gaps, you get two flowers, pinch together, and weave their stems like one strand in a braid, yeah?

Who the hell are you making all these for, anyway?
glaciers: (12)

[personal profile] glaciers 2017-04-20 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm only used to my own family.

[He's pretty sure that's not the usual way of things, but it's still what he's grown up with. His mother who's suffered through his father's giant ego and Shouto suffering through beauty pageants because he was his "crown jewel".

Ugh.]


You said you had a daughter?
Edited 2017-04-20 20:15 (UTC)
fairhands: (pic#11044484)

[personal profile] fairhands 2017-04-20 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I suppose I am lucky. The two of them kept making comments about my hair while they were braiding it...

[ Like, "Wow, it's so soft!" and general discussion over how he manages to get hair this nice, as far as he could tell. ]

Oh, how old is she? Maybe she'll get better at it in time.
destage: (SMILE ♡ It's nice to meet you!)

[personal profile] destage 2017-04-20 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
A mural?

[That gets Sayaka's attention, and she seems enthused by it at least.]

Is it somewhere around here, then? And is it something for the festival? It sounds like it's going to be really beautiful, though, if these are your inspiration!
destage: (STARE ♡ Holy shit we're dolls)

[personal profile] destage 2017-04-20 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[...Her skin is fine though--

Either way, Sayaka...traces out the directions with her hand, sort of retracing the path in her mind.]


Not too far from here, actually. I'd say it's probably a thirty minute walk from where we are? Maybe less.
fairhands: (all your roads lead us to heaven above)

[personal profile] fairhands 2017-04-20 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
It looks very cute on you.

[ It's a small, if sincere compliment. He's of the opinion that most people would look cuter with flowers, anyway. ]
fairhands: (other times we use lies)

[personal profile] fairhands 2017-04-20 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He can't help but frown, still. Sure these fashion trends were a minor abomination to have blighted the world, but also, it's just a magazine. ]

You didn't need to go so far as to tear it up, either.
destage: (HMM ♡ That sounds fake but okay)

[personal profile] destage 2017-04-20 08:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sayaka peers up when she feels Mafuyu poke her with her feet, almost jumping up--a swift twinge of pain makes her get up a little slower, gently taking the umbrella from her with a bit of a pained smile.]

We did, yeah. Thank you so much for your help--I couldn't have done it without you!

[...]

Would you...like to cash in on that favor, though? After all of the trouble you went through, it's...really, the least I can do.
destage: (HIDE ♡ Facepalming or crying tbh)

[personal profile] destage 2017-04-20 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[While the waitress handles that, Sayaka picks out a booth to sit in, gesturing for Ludger to take the seat across. Once that's taken care of, though, Sayaka lays her arms on the table and her head on her arms.]

What a misadventure today's been...sorry for getting you caught up in that, by the way. If I paid more attention, I wouldn't have lost my umbrella...
abovethefold: (pic#11293918)

[personal profile] abovethefold 2017-04-20 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[Does Rosalind know that she's just described Kath's future so succinctly? Probably not. That's okay, Kath doesn't know it yet either.]

You don't have to tell me that. A number of Father's interns have fallen squarely into that category. And up until recently, they wouldn't take me seriously until I'd proven I understood the basic tenets of law and wasn't just there because I'm his daughter.

[Her lips purse slightly, giving an indication of how ridiculous she finds the concept. But then she glances over toward her cousin, suddenly realizing that Rosalind might understand that frustration better than most.]

Do you ever run into things like that, Rosalind? Where people don't take you seriously because you're a woman in the sciences?

[Again, her tone makes it clear that she thinks anyone that would give her cousin trouble is an idiot, but she's also legitimately curious, too!]
destage: (WHY ♡ Everything was a mistake)

[personal profile] destage 2017-04-20 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Better safe than sorry, especially in this season. It's a wonder we haven't gotten thunderstorms yet, with the way the weather's been!

[Not that it would've been any better for stray cats in the neighborhood, really.]

Do you have one, though?
fairhands: (pic#9592867)

[personal profile] fairhands 2017-04-20 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Is there a problem with that, mister officer?

[ He's just teasing the husband now. ]
fairhands: (If only there were someone who)

[personal profile] fairhands 2017-04-20 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Can you really?

[ Considering how...you kind of freaked out just a while ago, Marcell isn't 100% confident. ]
fairhands: (themselves clairvoyant)

[personal profile] fairhands 2017-04-20 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Taichi you fool!!! ]

I never said we were going to my house, I'm saying we should get you to somewhere dry before you actually come down with a cold.

[ Taichi should perhaps be worried about what's going to happen when he finds out this was all just 'showing off'. ]
Edited 2017-04-20 20:37 (UTC)
gudaguda: (pic#11127626)

[personal profile] gudaguda 2017-04-20 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Tch, I can't believe she remembers that old thing...

[ mutters Sakura under her breath.

With all this small talk though, they had finally reached Aki's apartment building. She stopped in front of it and looked up the doorway. The lights flickered slightly and she remembered that she lived in a dump because well... Aki was not picky in any way, shape or form. ]
notbunaga: (Default)

[personal profile] notbunaga 2017-04-20 08:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[It was cute!!

Anyway...now that they're here, she takes a look around (mostly skyward) and realises the rain isn't likely to stop anytime soon. She can't just leave Sakura to walk home in the rain.

(It's her umbrella after all...)
]

Do you want to come inside? At least until the rain stops.

I picked up some vanilla sponge from Hougetsu too. You like sweet things, right?
livingdeadgirl: (blank 1)

[personal profile] livingdeadgirl 2017-04-20 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[For a second Ami looks at her quizzically.

Then at the giant-ass bug she was taking pictures of.

Then back at Angel.]


Dogs have four legs. You know that, right?
zerotohiro: (Til you run out of cake)

[personal profile] zerotohiro 2017-04-20 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[There's a grin even as he twirls the umbrella's handle in between his fingers before shaking it out and popping it back open. This seems to be a good trade idea to him, and he's not too terribly fussed about the idea of ducking out from his own. Not if it means getting rid of the dumb thing.]

I can meet you back at the library when it stops raining. [That doesn't exactly answer her question, but he seems to be stalling on that for a moment.] I kinda go to Recollé U? [Wait, no.] I mean I do. Full-time. But most of my classes are in the morning and early afternoon so it's not that big of a deal to leave later in the day.

[But enough about that. He stares at the two umbrellas for a moment before he tilts his head.] Here, step under this one and I'll switch you.
zerotohiro: (I can't believe you)

[personal profile] zerotohiro 2017-04-20 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
February? [Oh what the hell. WHY THIS. But he squints for a moment when Dave brings up their fine feathered friends.] I'm used to you saying weird things to me but this is up there. Chocobos. What about them?

[Give it a second…] …oh my god. [Give him a second to bury his face in his hand, too.] Oh my god they aren't supposed to be here. I'm hallucinating, right?
originallutece: an alcoholic father is waiting for meeee (neutral; somewheeere beyond the sea)

[personal profile] originallutece 2017-04-20 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[Ah. Yes, well. She's rather been expecting this, truth be told. From what Rosalind's seen, Katherine is brilliant in her own right, but that hardly matters when you're going into a male dominated field. It makes things worse, point in fact: she's going to outshine nearly everyone she meets, and they'll want to suppress her all the more.]

Oh, yes.

[She smiles thinly, then glances over at her.]

My entire life. It was worse in the field than it is in the classroom, but even at the university, I run into it. All the subtle implications that I don't quite know what I'm doing, or worse: that I do, but that some man knows better. All the little condescending nicknames and suggestive remarks and little smiles . . . yes.

[She pauses for a moment, then adds:]

Don't ever lose your temper. And don't ever cry. They'll never let you forget it if you slip up and lose control, even once.
livingdeadgirl: (smile 1)

[personal profile] livingdeadgirl 2017-04-20 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Unless someone someday apps Indiana Jones, in which case it's Nevada Smith or something BUT WHATEVER either way... Ami's eyes light up, because a real life Indiana Jones would be super cool even if he didn't have the rugged good looks of Harrison Ford, for which she will accept no substitutes.

In fact, it is a little too cool, to where it's beginning to crack through her willing suspension of disbelief. That is, she becomes aware of the possibility that this guy is just fucking with her.]


Well, that's a high bar to set for yourself, mister. Where's your adventuring hat?
zerotohiro: (What do you mean you're not sure?)

[personal profile] zerotohiro 2017-04-20 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[Seto and Hiro both seem to be creatures of logic, and now that there's zero logical explanation that's about the point Hiro's starting to freak out. He knows what he saw, and he's about to apologize to Seto for overreacting and immediately book it...

…but then again, it appears he doesn't have to which…is nice? No, actually maybe that's just worse. Ugh.]


Yeah. To both of those, I mean. [Shaking his head, he manages to stand upright and step out from around the garbage can. He doesn't stray too far as his eyes land on the dog, frowning in thought.]

But if you saw and it I saw it then…that makes it a little more real, right? How are you even supposed to start explaining something like that?
destage: (PRAYER ♡ Ever attentive)

[personal profile] destage 2017-04-20 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sayaka nods her head, raising her fists up in a determined little motion.]

Yeah, that'll work perfectly! Thank you so much...

[Alright, she'll start climbing up there then! It's...easier than she expected, especially with the boost up--though a little scary! Sayaka flinches at least once it twice due to how slippery it is, but she'll make it up to her umbrella in due time!

...And. Work on trying to get some branches out of the inner workings--]


It's okay...it's okay. I'm here now, so I'll help you down. It'll be okay.

[...and babble to her umbrella for a bit because she's entirely sold on this concept. What have you done, Ferid.]
destage: (SHOCK ♡ Run that one by me again?)

[personal profile] destage 2017-04-20 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[--Oh! That dismount is a little worrying, and Sayaka is definitely gonna go to Levy to assist her.]

Levy, are you okay? You hit that landing really hard...how does your ankle feel? Will you be able to keep walking?

[Eternally fretting--!]
gudaguda: (pic#11127632)

[personal profile] gudaguda 2017-04-20 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
I... I mean.

[ Sakura looks flustered for a minute at Aki's kindness. Mostly because she never knows when to expect it, that and she knows that Aki's known for not being the kindest people in the world. ]

I'm surprised you have enough space to have a second person - I'm sure every surface is covered in games and manga!

[ That's not her saying no. ]