Recollé Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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repeter2017-04-16 09:01 pm
recollecters) wrote in repeter2017-04-16 09:01 pm
APRIL TDM
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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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[ Plus it's arguably the most normal pick-up-slash-meeting he's had with someone in a while. Rhys moves to shake his hand back with a hopeful smile (he forgets to wipe his hand off, but he hadn't been eating with it to begin with). ]
I mean if you wanna walk too I really wouldn't mind. I...kind of ate a lot of this today. [ he lifts his cone up in a pointed gestured, smile turning briefly wry; an attempt at humour. ]
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Fair enough! I suppose when you put it that way, we could both use the exercise. Plus it'll save us the money. And we don't have to get rid of our ice cream.
[Which, let's be real, would have been the real tragedy here.
Completely forgetting that he's still wearing his bright pink flower crown, Fai tips his head to gesture toward the sidewalk that leads in the right direction and starts that way, moving slowly enough for Rhys to join him. (He's 6' tall, however high that is compared to Rhys. He is, however, very skinny.)]
So what would you have been doing if you weren't out enjoying the nice weather and the ice cream? Or is this a normal day for you?
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Rhys settles into an easy pace at Fai's side, being the 6'giraffe" tallbean that he is. He's mostly leg with a bit of great hair and charming smile, if he had to describe himself. Yup. It's actually a little ego-boosting to see someone skinnier than him for a change because it makes him feel just a tiny bit more macho. Not...that he worries excessively about that sort of thing, but he does have a vain streak. ]
Me? [ he laughs a little, running a hand through his hair. ] Nah, if I had my choice I'd be at home catching up on some TV which I know is lame, but weeknights really get me. Not a lot of time to just veg, you know?
[ That, and Tony Knows Where He Lives ]
What about you?
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No, I don't think it's lame! Trust me, I know all about lacking free time--and my hobbies are much, much lamer.
[He reads romance novels. Old paperback Harlequins. He will not admit this. Especially not to random cute guys.]
Ah... usually I'm either working or studying or running off to class. Or some combination of all of them. On my occasional day off--such as today--I try to remember what having a real life is like.
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It's a winning combination. ]
What're you taking?
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Ah, I'm going back to get my masters in social work! Once I have that I can get my clinical license. What about--
[The words cut off, and Fai's steps slow. Speaking of age, something mildly horrifying has just occurred to him. What if he's planning to hit on a guy who might possibly be straight or could be nineteen years old? Not that Rhys looks like a teenager, but sometimes you just can't tell.]
You-- You're going back to school, right? You're not fresh out of high school?
[A somewhat diplomatic and yet horribly un-subtle way of asking "Please tell me you're not ten years younger than I am." There's a laugh on the edge of his voice, but he does look... mildly concerned.]
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He winds up having to catch some on the back of his hand when he wipes his mouth hastily. ]
Y, yes? I--why?? Do I look like I should be out of high school?
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[Fai sort of unconsciously mimics the hand movement, though in his case it's because he's pressing the back of his free hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh. Sorry Rhys, the sputtering thing is kind of adorable.
Once he's relatively sure that Rhys isn't going to choke or anything he starts walking again, the look of concern replaced by his usual smile.]
I ask because you're cute, and I'm very tempted to hit on you at some point during this little adventure. I just... don't want to be that guy, you know?
[He's only thirty-one. Much too early for a mid-life crisis just yet.]
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...Ohhh. That's. Flattering, actually? Rhys knows he's relatively good looking but he's not used to having someone actually hit on him outside of an awkward blind-date sort of scenario. It's...nice.
And of course has him smiling a tad bashfully, letting out a small laugh. ]
Oh--no, yeah. I get that. You uh, don't have to worry about that. Twenty-five.
[ Please feel free to hit on him a little, he thinks. That would be nothing short of awesome. ]
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Alright, so what's the catch~? Cute guys don't usually just hang around waiting for me to take them away from all of this. You're not a serial killer, are you?
[Between the sly smile and the tone of his voice, he's obviously teasing.]
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[ ....wait ]
I mean--that's not...what I meant. Sorry. [ Yep, this sure is him being a catch here, don't mind him. ] I don't meet a lot of people on my own which I know sounds really bad. I've got some very obnoxious friends who like to insist on setting me up with people.
So...I guess the catch is I'm kinda lame, heh.
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At least they're trying to help, I suppose? I think between work and school, I've been 'too busy' for my friends' attempts at matchmaking so often they've given up on me. But you said it's rare for you to have any free time, so it makes sense you wouldn't meet many people on your own. I don't think it's lame.
Which reminds me, I didn't get to ask--what are you going to school for?