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 learn quite a bit each time you tell them.

[And it makes him happy. It's not hard to see he's got a bit of a thing for foxes; what's the harm in indulging it?]

Besides: I like hearing them. You tell them well.

Shame I can't use that as a line on my CV.

[But he pauses again, the way that he'd done before in the classroom, and eventually ventures: ]

My mother liked them, too — likes, rather. When I was around to tell them, she liked them, is what I mean.

[That past tense is no good, but at least he corrects it.]

Which is her favorite?

[Asked just before she unlocks the car (which is probably a little more expensive and Nice than it ought to be, but whatever, everyone's allowed a vice or two, she likes nice cars), so answer inside, Fawkes.]

[Oh, to be well-to-do. Maybe someday he should look into robbing a bank.

Again, he moves automatically to assist with the juggle of student papers, umbrellas, and the stowing inside the car of the same, and once those are secured he makes his way into the passenger seat, his body language politely withdrawn in that way that people tend to do when they're bid to sit on something they know is Slightly Too Nice for their comfort level.]

She's a romantic at heart. She enjoys the ones where the fox takes human form and weds a mortal, and though circumstances cause them to part, the fox's husband continues to love her all the same despite it.

[Oh. That does sound nice, and Rosalind smiles faintly as she starts up the car.]

You ought to tell me that one properly one day. I think I might enjoy it nearly as much as your mother does.

I hope you're not suggesting that you too are a closet romantic. Whatever would your students say.

[But he's laughing, under his breath.]

This really is too kind of you. I could've walked; the rain doesn't bother me.

If you tell my students any such thing, Christopher, I'll ensure you'll have twice the workload you do now.

[But she shrugs in response to his second statement. It really isn't all that kind, not when she thinks of all the things he does for her. It's quite frankly the least she could do, and really, if he ends up walking in the rain, he's liable to get sick, and god help her if she's stuck on her own for a week.]

[At the sound of his real name, he automatically sits up a little straighter, driven purely on reflex to Behave™ at the sound. Which is a little bit mortifying, frankly, but what can you do...]

Yes, ma'am.

[That, too, comes automatic — not abashed or guilty, but certainly with the haste of someone who knows it's time to be obedient and is already halfway there.]

...Right, well. I'm sure that's classified knowledge I'd sooner keep to myself, anyway.

[Hah. She doesn't laugh, at least, but her mouth twitches into a suppressed grin.]

Naturally. Heaven forbid that get out: if my desk was suddenly swarmed with red roses from students who dreamed they suddenly had a chance, it'd be on your head.

I'd hardly let a disruption like that interfere with your class business, Dr. Lutece.

[Translation: THERE WOULD BE BLOOD.]

Red roses as a vehicle for one's affections are unimaginative and frankly a bit plebeian anyway.

I thought you liked roses.

[Ah, even better than the "Kit's gonna be a weeb" power hour: the "Kit has Opinions on flowers" hour.]

Go on, then: tell us what you'd do, if you were going to give someone you liked flowers.

I do like roses. That doesn't mean there aren't better alternatives — as I said, my objection to them is mostly that a bouquet of red roses is the lowest common denominator. It's the mainstream. It's the absolute least effort one has to put in to make the point.

[Opinions on flowers? Let's try FLORAL HIPSTER.]

For example, if I were going to offer up a rose, I'd at least make it an orange one. As visual interest goes, they're nearly as compelling as the a red rose, but the meaning is of desire and passion — there's an enthusiasm to an orange rose. I'd also be far more inclined to substitute a camellia or a magnolia — both bold, elegant blossoms in a bouquet, but more interesting than just red roses.

[He pauses, then laughs.]

But on a graduate assistant's stipend? A few variegated tulips with accents of lily of the valley and white violet. Or, respectively: "You have beautiful eyes", "you've made my life complete", and "let's take a chance on happiness."

[He's the only person Rosalind knows who actually knows all the meanings of flowers. It's a bit strange, but interesting for all that, and heaven knows she learns something each time she asks.]

My goodness. All that from three months of working for me? Most people notice the hair before the eyes. Although Mr. Carter recently informed me the way I happen to fill out a skirt is what he observed first, but I don't think there's a flower for that.

[THERE IS SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE WHERE DOES HE EVEN START

well, with an undignified noise, probably]

You said "someone I liked" which I naturally and reasonably took to mean in an amorous sense because of course I like you in a personal and professional capacity, don't even start!

[A U G H]

And perhaps Mr. Carter ought to spend more time with his eyes on the board than on your skirt.

[She laughs, first and foremost for that noise, although that rapid-fire explanation is worth a grin or two.]

I'll tell him you said so. Am I allowed to ask if you're blushing, would that fall under the header of starting?

It most certainly falls under the header of starting, thank you very much. Please keep your eyes on the road.

[Lord please do not let them both die because his professor was too busy trying to take the piss out of him to watch the flow of traffic.]

...Peach blossoms.

[Wait for it.]

They're a wish for long life. And some interpretations have them as, "you have a fascinating personality."

[If nothing else, at least that joke was a marker of success for the day. But oh, that's . . . actually quite a lovely meaning.]

Well. I'm going to expect those on my birthday, now.

Are peach trees even in bloom on your birthday? I thought it was in the summer...

[Not that he knows the specifics, mind, but "summer" is something he'd picked up on, and it's easy enough to remember because it's the opposite of his.]

You're the plant expert, not me. Are peach trees flourishing in June?

[Don't all trees flourish during the spring and summer? Isn't that a thing? She's almost positive that's a thing.]

Unfortunately, no. June is right in the middle of fruit season, not blossom season.

[But he smiles at her anyway.]

Perhaps I'm in luck, for that. Surely it'll be much more economical to simply buy you a dozen peaches, instead.

If you're going to do that, you might as well make it apples. At least that way I can make us a pie to celebrate.

You are aware that you can make pie out of peaches too, yes?

[And also cobbler, which is great. Probably. It's well-known, at any rate.]

...What day in June?

[Apple pie > peach pie. It's just a fact.]

The sixth. And you?

Really! That's easily remembered.

[Hopefully she wasn't born in 1966, though.]

December, for me. The 29th.

[She absolutely was, it's 1999 and we're all counting down to the new millennium.]

Caught between Christmas and New Year's.

[Which is a way for her to remember, not just an observation.]

How annoyed were you by that as a child?

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