repeter | 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

one

[ The weather sure is unpredictable, isn't it? One short grocery shopping trip seems to have become one longer shopping trip now that he's forgotten to bring an umbrella and gotten stuck at the store. Reiji seems rather casual about it though, hefting his bag with one hand (seeming like minimal effort) and idly looking around the clothes store. ]

Carmine? That was in vogue five years ago. Looks like they're reviving the old style.

[ Yeah, he's talking to you. ]

two

[ Reiji probably should be back home right now, but the display of flowers had caught his attention and there's no way he would pass up a chance to do something fun. Soon he's with the other residents picking flowers and weaving them, the deftness of his fingers not something usually expected from a guy with enough lean muscle to look like an athlete. Once it's done, he'll drop it off on the head of the closest person who looks like they need one (read as: don't have one).

He'll probably be noticed, but that doesn't seem to matter. ]

wildcard

[ The Suwa household operates a Japanese dance school in one of the more high-class regions of Tisse, with an elegantly styled front to match. Existing students stream into the school once lessons are about to start, some of them already clad in their practice clothes.

Reiji comes out instead, greeting a few of the students. He's dressed in a dark blue kimono to complement his hair, a folded fan in one hand. You could catch him outside the door counting the people who go in, or he might be managing the counter or dusting some of the furniture. ]

Hello, and welcome! How can I help you?

[ That was, unexpected.]

Do you want me to hold this?

[Excuse her, while she sits here being baffled and confused. What is Reiji trying to accomplish?]

[ It's okay, no one ever expects Reiji. ]

Wear it! It fits you.

[ Can she resist the Charming Smile (tm)... ]

Oh gosh... I couldn't. I'm not that good looking, I'd probably ruin it.

[ Akane appears to be flustered, her cheeks are red and she's shuffling a lot. This is sort of awkawrd. ]

[ Luckily for her, Reiji doesn't really mind. ]

I think you are.

[ Take the thing. ]

W-Wow, I don't know what to say.

I could fall for you!! [Only that she means it literally, Akane nearly trips on Reiji while grabbing the flowers herself. ]

Sorry. Are you hurt?

[ There's a moment of surprised silence before Reiji catches her in a firm grip and breaks into a chuckle. ]

You're funny.

Ah, um.... thanks.

I got a little nervous there. Isn't it normal?? Any girl would feel the same way in my shoes.

[Not everyone would trip though.]

[ Reiji's oblivious to the kind of aura he has around girls.... or is he, really? ]

Don't worry about it. I don't mind if we're casual.

Okay then. Let's be casual.

My name's Akane, what's yours? [He's an unfamiliar face...unusure. Maybe he's been around here often too? It's possible.]

I'm Reiji. Nice to meet you!

[ Here's a hand for a handshake. ]

I like your hair.

It's not that pretty! Come on now.

You didn't mean that seriously, did you?

[She accepts the handshake.]

I did.

[ Take the compliment, gurl ]

Yikes! [ accalia looks up from the phone she was playing neko atsume on, looking kind of embarrassed that she was caught playing a silly game in place that seemed so beautiful and elegant. whoops. she thought she had enough time to check on her cats before someone spotted her.

bouncing back, she smiles at him and waves to show she's a friendly face and explains why she's there. ]

I'm... I'm here because I heard that you offer dance lessons. Learned it from a friend so I was wondering if I could ask more questions about it? [ since moving to recolle, accalia has been feeling restless. traveling to the woods can only be exciting for only so many times and the other activities/clubs she's heard didn't really appeal to her.

and hearing about this after hitting dead end after dead end? hell yes to checking it out. ]

[ Dude, Neko Atsume is great. ]

Yeah, we do! We offer traditional Japanese dance here, and the focus is on personal expression through storytelling. I've got a pamphlet here if you'd like to read it!

[ He goes over to the counter swiftly despite wearing a kimono and pulls out a piece for her. They're group classes, some are for learning the forms and practicing movements, and others focus on actually putting up a sort of play together. Of course, that one's a bit more expensive. ]

We take students by semester, the next one starts in half a month's time.

[ ~~right?!~~

she takes the pamphlet and nods in thank, taking in the information. ]

Oh! The one about plays sounds exciting. [ bratty as it may sound in her own head, money isn't really an issue for her and her family right now. especially since she knew they wouldn't say 'no' to her if she asked them for something. they had uprooted themselves from new york and moved all the way here for her after all.

-but no need to focus on that. she is totally going to do this. ]

Hopefully I can join you and the others for this round of lessons. This all sounds amazing. Is it hard to learn if you're just jumping into it like I am?

Not really. The spirit of dance isn't in complicated movements or anything, it's in the feelings that you put into it to tell the story.

[ Especially since she's taking the play class. ]

As long as you do your best, you should be fine.

[ These are not professional classes, there's no reason to have high expectations. Reiji himself is trained almost to a master's degree, but that's for a different responsibility. ]

APRIL TDM

reiji suwa | prince of stride

2....

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wildcard;;

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