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.
sharplydressed: (party planners)

iv!

[personal profile] sharplydressed 2017-04-25 06:52 am (UTC)(link)
[HERE COMES KIYOMITSU, TO THE RESCUE... It's like he has a sixth sense for fresh Retrospec users or something, incredible.

Or he just has excellent timing. He's out on a jog himself, for similar reasons and non-reasons - it's habit, he still exercises even if he's not into kendo anymore, on and on - which puts him at the perfect place to witness this slow-mo trainwreck as it unfolds. Ah.]


—Oh my god, Chiyuki! You're just the person I was looking for!

[AND IN HE SWOOPS, just as the lady looks like she's gearing up to spit back some Rudeness.]

You're not busy right now, are you? I'll buy you lunch for your time and it'll only take a little bit. [And then, to said lady:] Super sorry, but I gotta borrow her real quick! Cute pet, by the way.

[Just as some last-minute placation, which seems to at least kind of work?! He's a real whirlwind when he wants to be, though, so it's probably hard for her to get a word of disagreement in anyway...

Kiyomitsu's quick to reach forward and grab Chiyuki's arm after that, turning to head in the opposite direction. FLEE.]
adoringpast: (conversational)

[personal profile] adoringpast 2017-04-25 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
Ugh, the more you're telling me to indulge,
the more I won't come over and take them.

Fruit is good for my skin, but putting them in pastries just makes them too sweet.
And I can't eat too much sweets.

But if you insist, I'm coming over. And check to see if your dog hasn't transformed yet and you're not just going insane.
botamochi: commissioned, dnt (pic#11234846)

[personal profile] botamochi 2017-04-25 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
you're giving me mixed signals, Sena. our pastries are also not overly sweet, so does it really count? it wouldn't be bad if you had maybe 2 or 3. maybe 5.

yeah, come check out my dog since you're so worried he'll grow wings. if he turns before you show up, just remember him at his best.


[ Here. Have this video in his memory. ]
crushcard: (knock on the door above the sky)

[personal profile] crushcard 2017-04-25 10:08 am (UTC)(link)
I suppose I could meet you since you've expressed your intention to make amends. My last class on Friday ends at 6.30.

I'll see if I can arrange something. I'd be more inclined to say yes if you're able to make it for the beta testing sessions as well.
goen: ((ノ`Д´)ノ)

[personal profile] goen 2017-04-25 10:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yato rears up, more out of offense than injury. ]

Ow! Did you seriously just bite me? You--

[ He cuts off as something big with too many pointy appendages clicks on up to them and starts nosing its way between them. It's Tyson, of course, but Yato hasn't quite jumped through that mental hoop yet. He turns his attention away from Mafuyu for the moment to shove at the face of this rude horror bug. ]

Shoo! Get!
crushcard: (time to fly toward a higher place)

[personal profile] crushcard 2017-04-25 10:55 am (UTC)(link)
If that's your definition of real, then, yes. [ Is there even an explanation associated with this whole, random turning of pets into creepy oversized bugs thing? The only thing that comes to mind is computer glitching, but that would be absurd, this isn't a computer that they're in.

Right?

Seto also refuses to believe it's magic. ]


I've never seen that happen before, either, but I think some people were posting about it earlier. [ A frown. Does he have to take shitposters on the Internet more seriously now?? ] Frankly, I have to admit that I wasn't even expecting something like this to happen, and I don't know why it's happening.
notyourutopian: Do not take! (Well I suppose..)

IV - a thousand years late

[personal profile] notyourutopian 2017-04-25 10:55 am (UTC)(link)
[Eleanor was having a weird day. Even for days in the post-retrospec world, really. Which was what brought her to Rosalind's door. Well, that and it was on the way between her car and one of her classes, really, but that wasn't the point. Professor Lutece seemed level-headed, and was clearly brilliant, and as far as Eleanor knew, was not on the retropsec app. Which was important right then.]

[Which was why her head suddenly poked in the doorway as the teen rapped lightly on the frame.]


Excuse me, Professor, do you have a quick second? I have a question.
true_noir: (Not my favorite of topics)

[personal profile] true_noir 2017-04-25 02:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Some of the known predators are probably not quite as bad as you'd think, but trust me. Grasshoppers are much scarier when they're big. And yes, it seems that they replaced them. There's a painting of George Washington in the museum. It used to have him on a great white horse, but now it is a Chocobo.

There is a building, but visiting is generally futile and comical. The last time that I went, the security code to enter involved filling out what is called an ad lib, and there was nothing but colored rocks in tubes inside, and no answers.

And no, I am not joking. I broke a tube, picked up a rock, felt insanely homesick and fled to my apartment, chased by paparazzi asking about the mad lib. I really don't suggest going to that place. It will just give you a headache.
tearable: (pic#11068486)

[personal profile] tearable 2017-04-25 02:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She points, almost a bit too suddenly. ]

And you've had no luck deleting it, correct?!

[ But, she sighs. There's a drag down her face as she pieces two ideals together: more people are being added to this. ]

You've been forced to add a photo and such, I'm assuming.
toushiro: (block)

[personal profile] toushiro 2017-04-25 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Sure.

[ not believing that at all. and yes, toushiro turns away and looks like he's about to head off.

catch up? y/n ]
toushiro: (explain)

[personal profile] toushiro 2017-04-25 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ next one it is. sometimes toushiro parents you, elda. adults. ]

Don't embarrass me in public.

[ R U D E ]
accordance: all by <user name="feonixe"> (Default)

[personal profile] accordance 2017-04-25 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's a polite offer and Rantaro is only showing other people his passion, so there's nothing wrong with that. ]

I would be glad to listen, if I am not taking up too much of your time.
honestea: (pic#11259325)

[personal profile] honestea 2017-04-25 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course not!

[His customers' time is way more important that his own, this is basics. Of course, he should pay attention to every single person coming through his door today, but his helper can manage, hopefully.]

It won't be just listening, you should taste some of them as well.
physix: (7)

[personal profile] physix 2017-04-25 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
That's weird, you're right. Maybe there's a scientific explanation for all this? Doesn't make sense to me otherwise.

[She'll leave that thought aside. Akane puffs her cheeks as if she's trying to psych herself up.]

Okay, so chamomile it is! It'll taste good with some biscuits and sweets.

matchbreaker: (D J COLIN)

[personal profile] matchbreaker 2017-04-25 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh come now, you're not embarrassed by your mother now, are you?

[ She shifts the car and... let's go... ]
seeker: (04.)

[personal profile] seeker 2017-04-25 08:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I guess I do. [She had pondered children, in passing — the possibility of a grandchild had been floated sheepishly by her dad once, and she'd dismissed it, with an especially hearty roll of her eyes. But she thought about it, sometimes.

Maybe another time. Some years down, when she'd settled. Right now, she asks Reigen:]
Are you a parent? You sound like you're speaking from experience.
seeker: (13.)

[personal profile] seeker 2017-04-25 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[Wow. Talk about touchy. And weird. Alison stuffs her hands in her pockets, pretends not to notice the tensing.]

Sorry. Didn't mean to offend. [She sounds sincere enough, though she's quiet for a moment after. It edges over into uncomfortable territory before she finds the string of conversation again.] What do you do?
saltsplash: (Swagger)

[personal profile] saltsplash 2017-04-25 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
When I got here, that drink was still hot.

[He snorts.]
saltsplash: (It's a great deal!)

[personal profile] saltsplash 2017-04-25 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a new parent, yeah. I ended up adopting a homeless kid a couple years ago. Didn't get to enjoy the cute baby stage, but it's been a hoot.
checkoutmyttk: (Oops I Did it Again)

Kon-El | DC Comics

[personal profile] checkoutmyttk 2017-04-25 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Check out Kon's workshop comment here!

[III.]

[Conner does not have a basket because he did not think to grab one. An easily solvable problem if he could simply go and retrieve one of the shopping baskets from the front of the department store, but the problem is there is a group of teenage girls standing around chatting right in front of the baskets. While normally he would indulge in the opportunity to be mobbed by a group of no doubt adoring fans, he’s already been shopping for two hours and he does not like the idea of having to abandon his rather large collection of items in order to run away from a mob. (Even if they are a very cute mob.)

He adjusts his very inconspicuous sunglasses (that he is wearing inside, inconspicuously) and pushes an errant curl of bang underneath his equally inconspicuous baseball cap as he passes by the group, hoisting the bundles of clothing higher into his arms and most definitely not almost tripping over himself in the process. He’s way too cool for something like that.

Why couldn’t he have a guy who did this sort of thing? He bet other celebrities had A Guy. They didn’t have to go and do all their wardrobe shopping themselves because when one of their people was all 'hey you’ve worn that shirt three times, you should probably stop doing it' they were like "oh yeah, no problem, let me get my Guy on it." And then their Guy handled it.

Maybe Conner should look into getting A Guy.

Which is probably what he’s mumbling about under his breath when he drops a sweater, gets his legs tangled in the arms, and goes down in an explosion of designer jeans, brightly colored shirts, and faux leather jackets.

He really needed A Guy.
]

[IV.]

[Conner loved the sun, and he especially loved the sun after a streak of rainy days that had kept it concealed behind clouds for days on end. There’s just nothing like the feeling of its rays warm on his skin, filling him with the need to go out and just be. Normally he might take the opportunity to sunbathe next to his olympic sized swimming pool, but the mansion’s quiet was feeling especially bothersome today and he’d decided to get out for a walk instead

And okay maybe going out on his own isn’t always the best idea, but he’s wearing the sunglasses and even a fake mustache that makes him look kind of like a creep, so he really isn’t worried about being recognized. He’s pretty sure people are much more likely to give him a wide berth than approach him and tell him how much he looks like that incredibly talented and sexy celebrity.

So he’s really not concerned about being spotted. And he’s really not worried about running into a trio of giant disgusting caterpillars seemingly playing with each other in the street.

And yet here he is, back pressed to the nearest establishment with his jaw hanging open in horror and shock as the trio of bugs make their way slowly past. Which for some reason everyone else seems to think is perfectly normal. A few businessmen give them a passing look and a group of children even stop to giggle and point, cooing as if they find the sight somehow cute or endearing.
]

Is no one else seeing this? [He half asks half whispers aloud more to himself than anyone in particular.] Did we get taken over by bug shaped aliens in the night and I was too distracted being rich and famous to notice?

[Backdated, closed to that one loser.]

[The plan is to meet in front of the library, partially because it’s one of the few locations Conner knows how to get to and also because no one would expect Conner to ever be found near a library. He’s not a nerd, okay. (Plus he figures Tim has the route memorized by now what with him totally being a huge nerd and probably spending like way too much time there. He’s guessing anyway. What else did nerds do???

He's waiting on a bench dressed incognito and trying to pretend like he isn’t anxious enough to run a few blocks. It’s not like he's nervous or anything. Why would he be? Tim’s never been weird about the whole 'my friend is rich, famous, and so much better looking than me' thing before and there's no reason for that to change now. Even if he is going to be seeing him a lot more and even if some people could be weird about that. The point is he's not nervous about that at all because he's Conner and he's too cool to worry about his very good (best) friend randomly deciding he doesn't want to be friends anymore.

A girl walking past, gives him a weird look, and then leans over to whisper to her friend and Conner wonders if maybe his disguise isn't working. Should he have gone with the full beard? He should have gone with the full beard. He runs a hand over his smooth chin and pulls out a compact mirror (everyone carries those right) to check out his very smooth chin in his reflection. He bets it's his chin giving him away. He had a very distinct ruggedly handsome chin.
]

Maybe I should have gone with a goatee…
mybaby: (our new world)

[personal profile] mybaby 2017-04-25 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oof, that's messed up. He clucks his tongue, looking over it as best he can.]

And it just started doing this on its own? Almost looks like someone put rocks in the thing!
buncho: (100)

[personal profile] buncho 2017-04-25 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ oh ]

Forget about that! [ Who cares about being bitten? Not her, the one doing the biting... But taking advantage of the close proximity, Mafuyu grabs hold of the collar around the bug's midsection, and finds the loop at the end of the leash with her other hand. ] It's Tyson! Dad's going to kill me if I bring him back like this! Yato, help me change him back!!

[ Tyson, to his credit, doesn't understand "shoo" or "get" and is just as defiant and relentlessly friendly in his buggy form as in his doggy form. He pushes his face at Yato's. Opens his mandibles. And unravels a foot long, sticky proboscis to swipe right up against Yato's face in his usual doggy kiss hello. ]

[personal profile] buncho 2017-04-25 10:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Vandalism gives the desk ~*~character~*~. See: simple long division she couldn't do in her head, doodles of flowers with variable number of petals, series of tally marks counting the number of birds she sees outside while waiting for a class to be over. But all of these are done in pencil, smudged and erased as best she could so that only faint tracings of the graphite remain. All of this suggests very clearly just how much attention she pays in class. None.

So this isn't new— bumping her head against the edge of the desk when she scrambles out from underneath it is new, but not standing up straight, voice with full confidence, and— ]


Yes! What was the question again?

[ The go-to response for when you're shamelessly not paying attention... ]
goen: ((๑→‿ฺ←๑))

[personal profile] goen 2017-04-25 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Yato don't give a fuq about modesty so he peels off his drenched jacket and shirt and buttons up a black dress shirt. Even his pants, he'll trade for a dry pair of black slacks. Hope you don't mind, Kazuma... ]

Ain't it? Chuuya's got a soul straight out of the '20s... and a fashion sense to match.

[ Aaand he'll knot up a white tie before slipping into the kitchen. Ten minutes later, the kitchen door swings open with enough force to knock a man out, and out comes Yato bearing a full plate of piping hot chicken wings (and some celery on the side because they're not barbarians). ]

They're heeeeere! I hope you're hungry!

[personal profile] buncho 2017-04-25 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Nobody in their right mind would listen to a rightly angry adult telling them to get back here so they can be given a stern talking to, so the command is in one ear and out the other as Mafuyu jumps that fence and— oh crap, the dog's awake today, and Mafuyu teeters on the edge of the fence, one foot up and the other pulled back so she doesn't get her toes snipped off. Usually she cuts through here after class by herself without angry yelling adults chasing behind her waking up all the guard dogs in the neighborhood!

Ugh... which would be a less painful death...?

Mafuyu stays perched on top of that fence, ignoring the barking and snapping on one side and the very quickly approaching Majima on the other. Game plan: wait until he just about reaches her, hop the fence, then hop back over the fence while the dog chews him up. That could work... She hopes and prays. ]