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.

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i

[ annie is not prepared for rain in the slightest, so when she walks out of freshens with a couple of bags filed with bought goods, all she can really do is just stop and stare at the downpour. she, could, in theory, just hang around inside the store for a bit until the rain lets up. or like... buy an umbrella?

except she already has too many umbrellas at home, precisely because she keeps leaving the house without them and ending up buying one while stuck in messes like these. and also she is already bored? of this store???

so that's why, if you are also standing at the entranceway of freshens, annie will be approaching you, batting her eyelashes. ]

Is that an umbrella in your pocket, or... no, seriously, is that an umbrella?

iv

[ or maybe you're just walking around the city. if you're near the a good bean care, you can spot annie there too! she's just exiting the shop, and she seems to be in a good mood. that is, until a lady walking her dog accidentally bumps into her. annie hastily apologizes... and then looks down.

that... that sure is a beetle on a leash, isn't it.

there is a moment where it may seem like she doesn't think this is strange. perhaps, annie also thinks that it is perfectly normal for bugs to be on leashes?? that is, until she just screams and then launches herself on a nearby bench. ]

Holy shit goddamn! [ startled and threatened, the beetle starts to growl?? at her?? makes whatever the beetle equivalent of growling is?? at that, annie just raises her hands in surrender ] Oh my god! No, see? I'm harmless? Please don't eat me sending my body back to my parents is going to be such a pain in the ass and I don't want to be buried in America-- no offense? It's a lovely country and all, but. God. You are so ugly?

[ the owner of the beetle is offended? at her baby being called ugly?? wow

anyway, at this point annie just takes off her shoe and starts swatting at the beetle and lady with it. someone please stop this nonsense. ]

wildcard

[ or come at me with whatever else you want?? here is her workshop comment ]

[ ...?

he was out trying to have a good time and he sees someone being attacked right now? but it could be in self-defence since there's a beetle the size of a dog near the poor lady?? what's going on he just wanted to fly his kite and see his brother.

shifting said kite to his side, he digs out his cellphone from his pocket and calls out, ] Excuse me! Should I call the cops?

[ who is he speaking to? the lady with with the shoe? the lady with the beetle? both of the ladies? this day is full of more questions than there are answers. ]

Yes! [ it comes from the both of them, of course.

roderic calling out draws the beetle's attention to him, and annie has a moment of panic where she imagines a small child getting eaten by a giant bug on a leash. tragic. so she hops off the bench, shoe still in hand, and just hops over to where he is. ]

Shoo! Shoo, get away from him! [ she pauses, then laughs slightly. ] Oh... I don't mean shoe. Like the one... that I'm holding... oh just go away!

Auuh! [ he's instantly on the side of annie since she's defending him from the too big beetle while the lady is just yelling at them to not be mean to her 'baby' and he's trying very hard to not panic. he and stress and loud noises did not mix but!

something had to be done. he didn't want the nice lady defending him to get in trouble or, worse, have to actually fight the scary bug.

taking a deep breath, he pretends to punch in numbers on his phone and forces himself to speak loud as he could to be heard over the hubbub. ] Hello? Police?

A lady can't control her- her pet and now they're being threatening to me and another lady! Help! [ is this going to work or will he need to make fake police siren sounds?? he can make a good impression of them if they're needed in a pinch. ]

[ the lady does not look too happy about the phone call? it's unclear whether or not she believes him though, because it just so happens that a pair of police officers are walking this way completely by chance. she sees them, and that is enough for her to fall for the trick, because the mean lady quickly walks away with her dog but not before flashing annie and roderic a rude gesture??

annie lets out a sigh of relief and then turns her attention to the young boy. ]

Jesus! That was weird, right? Like, completely not normal? [ she gestures at the now retreating beetle. ] It's a bug on a leash!

[ thank you coincidences and happenstances. (and yes. roderic is great at scrabble.)

he's even happier he sided with annie now because roderic is sure she wouldn't be flashing rude gestures at him over this. if he could, he would shout at her that that's a dollar for the bad jar or something but he doesn't want to get her attention again. sticking out his tongue will have to do.

hearing annie's exclamations as him snap out of his little sulk, he is relieved to hear his thoughts said aloud by someone else and an adult no less too. vindication! ]

Yeah!! That was really weird! She gave it a collar and a leash and everything. [ what's going on with recolle. first the awful ruckus from the machines going off and now this. are they getting... punk'd, as some people on the internet go? if so then none of this is very funny in his opinion.

he huffs but shifts his concern to her now, looking up with a worried expression on his face. ] Are you okay? Did it bite you or anything?

[ now that he has mentioned it... annie does a quick once over for herself, checking to see if she is in fact okay. maybe it bit her but she was too worked up over GIGANTIC BEETLE!!! to notice?

once she confirms that everything seems to be in one piece, she shrugs. ]

I seem to be okay. Ugh, could you imagine getting bitten by something like that though? Do insects have rabies?

[ annie gasps, ] Maybe it's radioactive? That would explain the size.

[ his eyes widen at the thought of them having met a radioactive animal. it'll be like the big japanese dinosaur from those old youtube videos he watches at home.

so he forgets the possibility it may or may not have been planning to eat him, becoming wide eyed and excited at the prospect of being near such an awesome creature. ] Coooool.

[ not the most appropriate response. ] Was it glowing? Was it talking to anyone?! Maybe it could glow in the dark…

… and maybe there's more of it. [ because the dinosaur wasn't the only super big radioactive monster. there was a moth and a butterfly and everything. that could be the case. ] You think there'll be more beetles or other things?

[ annie does not think it's cool because bugs are already not cool, and they are made even worse when you can no longer easily crush them beneath your heel.

still. she likes kids and decides not to kill his excitement. ]

Well! Who knows? Unless that lady is actually some evil scientist who has been doing experiments in her own home, in which case we probably just pissed off the wrong person?

[ the idea that he may or may not have angered a potentially dangerous person does scare him - evident by the gulping and his paling face - but roderic tries to be brave. if she was willing to stick up for him from the beetle, he's going to be willing to help her out too. ]

I-I'll make sure she doesn't bother you! I promise. [ he sticks out his hand, beaming up at her and trying to look brave as possible. ] 'Cause we're in this maybe secret together. I'm Roderic!

[ annie smiles back, big and filled with genuinely delight at this child? he's adorable. she also takes his hand in hers and gives it a firm shake. ]

I'm Annie. We are now partners in this mess, Roderic, and I am prepared to take this tale to my grave for you.

[Fai is actually heading into the store as Annie waits near the entrance. He's wearing a light rain jacket, jeans and a scarf, and carrying a black umbrella. (He's convinced it's hilarious, even if it might be considered gauche for an actual Frenchman to be carrying it. What the hell does he care, he hasn't lived in France since he was nine years old.)

At the sight of Annie his face breaks into a bright grin and he pulls his free hand from the pocket of his jacket to wave like a dork as he approaches.]

Hey! Fancy meeting you here~

[ annie's face lights up when she sees him, and then she zeroes in on the fact that he has an umbrella. she may never have another opportune chance like this again to not get completely soaked. ]

Freshens, the most atmospheric place for chance meetings, yeah?

[ it's a joke, but she is pretty sure people have probably like met the love of their lives here or something considering how popular it is? ]

Absolutely! I'd be convinced we were in the middle of a rom-com if I were leading man material at all. Instead I'll settle for the helpful gay friend, here as if on cue~!

[Because rom-coms always either have a helpful female friend or a helpful gay friend, don't they? He stops just short of the awning Annie's standing under and gestures with a nod of his head for her to join him under the umbrella.]

May I escort you to your transportation of choice, mademoiselle?

[ her face lights up at his offer. really, she had been ready to just follow him around the store, but this is better?

but oh. manners! ]

Are you sure? It looked like you were about to go shopping...

[He flaps a hand dismissively]

It's fine! I can swing by again after you're out of the downpour. I am mercifully free for the rest of the day, and my cats can wait for their treats. They're getting fat enough as it is~

Did you drive today?

[Fai technically owns a car, but he hardly ever uses it.]

Oh my gosh! Did I forget to tell you?

[ she clears her throat, like she's about to announce a Story. ]

So, a few days ago I decided to drive to the shore because it was a good day out. Perfect beach weather, you know? I went there, had a neat little time, and when I got back to my car there was just sand. Everywhere. It's like someone broke in and just dumped sand into everything as a practical joke. In my engine! In my fuel tank! I had to take it to the shop.

What?!

[He looks, justifiably, horrified.]

But who would do something like that? That's horrible! I-

How bad was the damage? Do they know how long it'll take to fix it?

They said it shouldn't be too long, so I'm just waiting for their call.

[ she wrinkles her nose in distaste. ]

It was probably some kids playing a prank.

[He shakes his head sadly]

Not a very good prank.

[But that kind of goes without saying. He brightens up again, smiling down at Annie.]

In that case, what will it be today? Bus? Taxi?

Taxi, probably! Can you imagine a bus right now? All those wet people getting in and out, you'd probably slip and break your neck.

[ that's a little dramatic, but the chipper tone implies she's mostly kidding. ]

If it makes you feel any better, I could draw adorable little kitties and puppies all over the full body cast while you were in the hospital! And sneak you real food while the nurses weren't looking~

[He laughs]

But in the interest of keeping you in one piece, a taxi it is. Here--let me carry your bags?

Let's go half and half!

[ as in, she'll hand over half of her bags and keep the other portion to herself. it is fair and she is happy this way. ]

Lord, I don't think I've had to actually stay overnight in a hospital in years. I wonder if the experience is still has awful as I remember it to be...

Hmph, fi~ine.

[He puts on a pout for show, protesting that they don't really need to share, but the sing-song voice is more than enough indication that he's not really upset. With his free hand he snags half her groceries.

Fai flinches just slightly at the musing about hospital stays being awful--the expression is there-and-gone so quick it would be easy to miss altogether, replaced once more by his perpetual smile.]

It's been a while for me, too. I just remember the food being terrible. Thank goodness for jello and sugar cookies!

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APRIL TDM

annie sawyer | being human

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close cr version of i? :)

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