recollecters: (Default)
Recollé Mods ([personal profile] recollecters) wrote in [community profile] repeter2017-04-16 09:01 pm

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 [community profile] 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.
standalonehuman: (TogusaLaugh2)

Re: Bonus

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2017-04-19 12:09 pm (UTC)(link)
It pulls a laugh out of Togusa, and he bats at her hand as if to wave it off. "Not like that, get your head out of the gutter, Mariko!" He points at her accusingly. "See? See. This is why we're not at the meeting the friends stage yet. But by all means do your worst. There's no way you're scaring her off."

He is able to find a picture on his phone and hands it over. The tone of his voice grows very fond. "She is brilliant and philosophical and completely out of my league but I'm going with it." He leans back in his chair casually. "The actual challenge is going to be finding a day that the both of us are off. You and me. Gentiana's on a University schedule."

"How bad they got you working right now?"
megatechbody: (Ugh)

Re: Bonus

[personal profile] megatechbody 2017-04-19 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hey, you can't blame me for connecting dots when she has you smiling like that."

Her hands go up immediately, placating - the effect of which is diminished by the grin she's failing to stifle. It's nice to see him moving on instead of throwing himself at work for a distraction, even if she is giving him shit about it.

"Meeting friends, or meeting me? According to some I'm a little too friendly for meeting girlfriends..."

She takes the offered phone and blinks, looking back at him for a moment because Good Job, Togusa. He rattles off how amazing she is and when he gets to 'out of my league' it earns him a a smirk and a nod of feigned sympathetic agreement. She passes him the phone back, shaking her head at the mention of workload.

"Bad enough that I'm trying to get an office here so they leave me alone when I'm off duty."
standalonehuman: (TogusaHeadScratch)

Re: Bonus

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2017-04-19 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hey, you said it, not me," Togusa laughs and scratches his head in thoughtfulness. "But sometimes you just bring it out in women, I swear. 'Was not gay until met Mariko.' It needs its own category."

"That was not a challenge, by the way." Not. "We're safe. I think." He points a finger and eyes Mariko mock-suspiciously, but, just like with her, there's far too much amusement in his face for it to be serious.

"I don't see why they wouldn't give you one. There's enough problems that we can't solve without you. Hell, you've been here longer than most of the officers here, some of the detectives, too."
megatechbody: (Casual Jacket)

Re: Bonus

[personal profile] megatechbody 2017-04-23 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Worried your lady friend longs for a softer touch?"

She waggled her fingers a little for emphasis, far too amused with her own reputation.

"Give me some credit, Togusa. You can't wreck a house that doesn't exist and I can't offer anything to someone who is," Mariko pauses for a moment, thinking, before grinning wolfishly and stressing the words lasciviously. "...provided for."

Teasing thoroughly finished, she sighs at Togusa pointing out her work with the department so far.

"It's mostly my doing. I thought that if I wasn't quite so accessible, it would be a little easier to have some peace on my own time. Now with certain changes on a few social media sites -" she looks at him pointedly before continuing. "I think I should bite the bullet now before anything too serious happens."
standalonehuman: (TogusaDudeSeriously)

Re: Bonus

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2017-04-24 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Togusa startles and his eyes widen in that 'did-you-really-just-say-that' face. "Mariko!" Really? See if I let you two in the same room now...

Togusa leans back in his chair and takes in a long breath. "Depends on your definition of too serious." He's gotten used to the little twinge in his chest when he breathes in too deep, been trying not to give away the presence of a change there. "Rest of the Department can take it easy when somebody else would notice something they think is huge." Something has already happened.

"Either way, I know I'd appreciate having you around more. Nobody else with quite your expertise." Another smile, because they can't stay on a serious topic for too too long. "And because somebody needs to challenge Izunia's self-proclaimed 'ladykiller' status."
megatechbody: (That's Cute)

Re: Bonus

[personal profile] megatechbody 2017-04-24 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Scandalizing Togusa is nearly always worth the price of admission, drawing a full laugh from Mariko at thatface.

She sobers up a little as he stretches, still smiling. "Well, it's fortunate I'm thorough, then. Some of us just like to chase hunches when it's quiet."

Mariko knows better than to poke at Togusa, even if something feels off. He nearly always comes clean eventually. Putting the weird instinct aside, she smirks at the crack at Izunia.

"You said it, not me." It's a slightly smug echo of his earlier sentiment."Remember that next week when you see him whining into his coffee."