repeter | APRIL TDM

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

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I.
[Maybe it’s the amount of time he spends perfecting his outfit. Maybe it’s because his hair likes to frizz up in the most irritating way possible, but Zaveid hates the rain. He’s caught off-guard by the sudden downpour—the damn forecast had said scattered showers, not this monsoon, or whatever it is, causing trouble. He dashes for the nearest building, which just so happens to be the library.

It’s not like he has anywhere to be this time of day, but it’s still annoying. He flashes a quick, charming smile to the librarian, who doesn’t look very amused by his soaked clothes, but hey. At least he’ll dry off in here. He does look a little out of place in here, but at least the building is dry, and he does have a library card on him somewhere.

Still. He saunters over to the librarian.]

You wouldn’t happen to have one of those umbrellas on loan, would ya? Or any books on travel?

II.
[He doesn’t know the first thing about flowers, but one thing Zaveid does know is that beautiful people tend to flock to this particular contest. Still, it’s the same sort of people year-round—and the girls who frequent this place all know his face by now, and his flirtatious ways, but hey. You never know, maybe he’ll get lucky this time around and score a date out of this.

It’s not until he catches sight of a rose bush with flowers the size of his head that he thinks anything of the flowers themselves.]

Are they… supposed to be that big? Or are they one of those weird hybrids?

IV.
[Day-to-day life is a lot more interesting when you establish yourself as being somewhat larger than life. Even if it’s not really all that true. It’s not like the average person cares about Zaveid’s bragging, but once in a while he doesn’t even need to exaggerate things, because that sure is the sweet old lady from down the street walking her—is that a horse or a beetle? God damn, that’s a big bug. A moment later, it’s back to being an overly large dog, but that’s enough to make him look around wildly for anyone nearby.

Once he’s spotted the person nearest to him, he just strolls on up, still looking baffled.]

Did you just see that too?

[He says, pointing to the perfectly ordinary sight of a woman walking her dog.]

[Today is Zaveid's day off. Today is also that flower festival thing that happens once a year. This is surely not a coincidence. If Jaeger knows anything about his employee, it's that Zaveid is very fond of flirting and this seems like the perfect time and place to do it. He's probably got entirely too many flower crows to pass out...

It actually takes Jaeger longer than he's care to admit to find Zaveid but when he does he slides up next to the other man like this isn't weird and speaks up.]

Probably some sort of hybrid, yes! I wouldn't know. I don't particularly care for flowers.

[Hi, Zaveid. How are you this fine day.]

[Well that sure gets him to start, because apparently he was so focused on the giant rose to not notice he was addressing his boss.]

Oh, hey there Jaeger. Didn't realize it was you, boss.

[He brushes a hand up against the flower curiously.]

It's just so big. I've gotta ask the lady her secret.

[It happens. Jaeger does have this nasty habit of popping up out of seemingly nowhere!!]

Probably some sort of special fertilizer or something, ja?

[...he doesn't know the first thing about flowers and he's just guessing wildly, honestly.]

Is that all you're going to ask her or are you going to ask for her number too?

[...WELL.]

Could be. Maybe it's a bit of special fertilizer and some cross-breeding? Heck, I don't know much about flowers.

[He only knows what he does specifically to hit on the women here...

He does, however, laugh at the question.]

Maybe I should. She'd kind of pretty, isn't she?

[Glances over... Actually, she is pretty cute. At least your taste isn't garbage!!]

You're relentless, aren't you? Do try not to make any trouble, ja? It'll reflect badly on me!

[Not really, but he likes meddling, so!!]

Aw, c'mon now, how would it reflect badly on you!

[But he sounds amused, not bothered.]

It's not like I'm askin' you to pick up women with me.

...God forbid.

[Just. This face. Oh my god there are some things you just don't do with your employees.]

But if you are going to pursue this lovely lady do try not to break her heart, ja?

[SPOKEN A BIT TOO LOUDLY...]

[Look, it wasn't a serious suggestion. Fortunately, the lady didn't hear Jeager's quip. Unfortunately, a woman nearby did and she lets out a gasp and whispers to her friend.

Zaveid, naturally, doesn't notice.]

C'mon, I've never been rude to a lady.

[Ah yes, that's exactly the kind of subtle chaos he likes. Jaeger settles a bit and lowers his voice back to a more appropriate range to continue the conversation now that he's gotten some attention.]

Never, Zaveid? I find that a bit hard to believe~!

[It sounds like good-natured teasing... but is it??]

Zaveid | Tales of Berseria

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