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

( ooc; au workshop plotting comment )

i. rainy day man

[ the evening downpour comes so suddenly, hardly anyone has any time to run for cover. fortunately most are not new to the day's odd weather patterns and have come prepared, but the fair few who were none the wiser (or, like ruiji's case, had no means to prepare) get drenched in seconds. he hides under the leather jacket that had been a hand-me-down from his dad, using it as a semi-shield over his head as he jogs towards the nearest store awning—

only to be shooed away from it by a disgruntled and wary shop owner two minutes later.

soaked and grumpy now, ruiji wanders down the streets of the town, trying to stick as close to the buildings as possible, before finally finding himself some shelter... which just so happens to be the same tree you're hiding under.

he scowls (though he's got somewhat of a perpetual scowl) and folds his arms across his chest, trying to stave off the cold. ]

What're you looking at?

ii. wall flower

[ amidst all the flowers and pastels of spring, ruiji sticks out like a rotten, sore thumb. it's half why he's sticking along the outskirts of park, hanging back while the spring festivities take place. (the other half of the reason being there's no reason a member of the [IDK, WHATEVER THE GANG'S NAME IS] gang would ever set foot in a city-wide activity like this... unless it were to cause trouble.

but ruiji isn't here for trouble. surprisingly.

in fact, he seems to be doing his best to appear as inexplicable as possible... even in those scuffed-up jeans of his, and that distinct black leather jacket. but despite his height, he appears to be trying to make himself as small as possible, slinking into the shadows of a nearby stall while his beady eyes scan over the festivities... quietly admiring the arrangements of flowers.

—waitaminute he's not planning on stealing them, is he?!

nearby, the owner of that stall keeps sending ruiji half-annoyed, half-uneasy looks. he really wants ruiji to bug off so that people will actually want to approach his stall and buy something, but he clearly doesn't think talking to ruiji would be a good idea. maybe you can help him? or maybe you can just call ruiji out for being a creep, period. ]

iv. public service

[ the incessant chirping hasn't stopped for hours. it's nearly twelve at this point, and ruiji thinks he's just about ready to lose his mind. he was finally able to coerce (read: beat) the necessary solution out of somebody, and if he were in a better state of mind he would have probably taken the time to realize that such a "solution" hardly seemed realistic at all... but at this point he's willing to try anything.

now all he has to do is find someone with a phone.

and then make them give it to him.

even in his aggravated craze, he tries to single someone out who looks like they could probably buy a new phone two seconds later without any problem, but it's not entirely unlikely his judgment falls by the wayside and he picks someone that doesn't fit that description instead.

whoever it is, he corners them easily, slamming a hand right by their head against the wall to practically pin them against it. he leans in low, making good use of his towering height, his low voice, those demon-like eyes. ]

Your phone, [ he says, voice strained against the chirping he can't stop hearing. ] Give it to me.

bonus: wildcard!

[ feel free to see ruiji anywhere around town, causing trouble or not! if you'd like to plot something out, you can PM this journal or respond to the workshop comment. c: ]

[ Ruiji may notice a pair of legs next to him. It could be a customer brave enough to approach the stall despite the strange young man huddled in front of it... or it could be Yato, immediately identifiable via his tracksuit pants.

Ruiji is a strange one, even by Yato's standards. But he is somehow, in some way, something of a friend... so Yato will do both him and the stallkeeper a favor by moving Ruiji along before someone a little less understanding comes by to do it for him.

Yato nudges Yuiji with one leg. ]

Hey. Troublemaker. You're in the way.

[ the tacky tracksuit is definitely hard not to remember, but given ruiji's own flare for dressing like a dumpster and a hot topic had a wild one night stand, he doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. in a way, it's this sort of mutual feeling of being outliers that binds them together in this strange, not-quite-friendship, not-quite-business arrangement relationship... apart from the illicit deals on the side, that is.

regardless, yato is perhaps one of the few people to call ruiji out like this that isn't automatically met with a fist to the face. he hardly moves at the nudge, but he does bother to give the man a look when he's addressed. ]

Says who? [ he challenges, grunting. ] There's plenty of room.

[ given his obscene height, he's kind of always in the way in some form, even crouched down like this as he is. ]

[ Yato is aware of Ruiji's rough personality, but say one thing for Yato, say he's too young and dumb to be afraid of poking sleeping tigers. He meets Ruiji's look with a quirked eyebrow. ]

You look like an attack dog guarding a lawn. Why's it gotta be this spot?

[Reigen, for his credit, manages not to freak out at this tall guy suddenly mugging him. Despite the nervous sweat starting to drip down his neck, he instead puts his hand in front of the stranger's face.]

What are you doing, kid? Not something stupid, I hope. And back up, your breath reeks.

[Even if he's screeching in the back of his mind and mortified that he might get mugged.......]

[ there is a pause, and then a low, soft laugh. sort of pointedly breathy, sort of pointedly right in the guy's face. you don't like his breath, buddy? here, have some more of it. ]

Dunno if you're one to talk about doing something stupid, old man. [ ruiji spares a moment to look him over again — probably only a handful of years older than him, but wearing a suit, so he's likely got a decent job somewhere. yeah, he'll do. ]

Careful... it's been raining a lot lately, yanno? [ he smiles then, and somehow the split in his face only makes those beady eyes of his that much more unsettling. ]

You wouldn't wanna fall and have an accident...

Riiiiight, you want my phone, right?

[He'll take it out and take a picture - man, this guy has quick hands. That phone drops immediately back in his pocket - crimony he's got fidgetty fast reflexes.]

Oh, never mind, I might need it in case a patient calls. Don't worry, I'll share your lovely face with my friends at the police station!

[ ah.

but how fast at your feet.

he's definitely not the only one with fast reflexes around here, because as soon as ruiji realizes what just happens, his hands find the fronts of the man's shirt, and up he goes, just high enough that his toes can still touch the ground if he wants them to. ]

You're real brave, mister. A lotta people are probably gonna miss you, huh?

[Hurk! Reigen's sweatiness just increases, and he pats the guy's cheek.]

Now, now. You wouldn't beat a single father to a pulp, right?

[ ruiji looks like he's two seconds away from biting that hand off... ]

I'll leave you one good hand to work with. Don't say I'm not a generous guy.

You know, you shouldn't make a habit of threatening doctors.

[ he lifts him just a little higher. ]

Is that supposed to mean something to me, doc? Now give me your phone.

It means that you shouldn't pick on someone who knows how not to kill you when he

PUNCHES YOU IN THE THROAT!

[AND VERY ABRUPTLY REIGEN TAKES A SWING AT CHIGIRA'S THROAT

NOTHING WILL GO WRONG HERE]

ah... rip reigen

sanpaku - 2017-04-23 12:24 (UTC) - Expand

he deserves it sometimes

saltsplash - 2017-04-23 12:30 (UTC) - Expand

[majima just laughs at him. he's otherwise calm, despite being pinned to a wall by some punk. ruiji's tall, but so's majima. besides, majima fights all the time. he's pretty sure he can take this kid. it might be a different story if he were held at gunpoint or knifepoint, but, nah, he's pretty sure he can take this kid.]

That's a stupid decision, asshole.

[he says it like he's offering an out. as in, if ruiji doesn't take it, he'll probably try to punch him.]

[ the chirping in his brain just won't let up, and it only seems to get worse when the man he's cornered begins to laugh. he can't hold back his cringe, though his face has already screwed up into something of a half-grimace, half-scowl since they'd began. had he been of a better frame of mind, he probably would have been in better position to notice the warning signs his survival instincts were currently sending him. ]

Hey, jackass — did I ask?

You should have -- but I ain't above teachin' you manners.

[majima attempts to shove him off -- which is, in the big scheme of things, probably better than a punch to the face (which he deserves, as far as majima is concerned) but it's still one last warning before he decides to fight him for real, nice work clothes be damned.]

An idiot who forgot to bring an umbrella out.

[ Mafuyu scowls right back, and she would have folded her arms to mirror him too, if not for the fact that she needs to hold her (practically empty...) backpack over her head to shield her head from the rain. ]

There isn't enough room under here! Move it!

[ There's plenty of room and she's tiny, but it's cold and damp and she's pissed that she forgot to bring an umbrella out today, so she'll just take it out on Ruiji. ]

[ if there's one thing mafuyu manages to do to earn herself some credit, it's saying just the thing to get ruiji to pause in surprise long enough that he can't even summon a retort. though, considering the surprise comes mostly from bemusement over the fact she'd just called herself out in the same breath she means to insult him probably isn't a point of pride, either...

still, she at least gets him quiet enough that he stalls long enough in responding to her next words, so much so that his usual intimidation and bluster is a little lacking. ]

You take up two inches, [ he scoffs before long, practically squinting down at her. he over-exaggerates this, of course, just to drive the point across. considering his sharp, beady eyes, it's that much more pronounced.

he gestures to a lightpost nearby. ]

Go stand under there, amoeba. [ amoeba??? ] That should give you enough cover just fine, yeah?

Haah?

[ is the immediate reaction Mafuyu has for somebody not stepping aside like she so politely asked them to.

She does turn her head to look where he gestures though, barely a glance at the light post before whipping her head back to stare at Ruiji because is he kidding?? there is zero cover under that light post, and moreover, there's a puddle forming underneath, and what the heck is an amoeba, it sounds like a science thing. ]

No way, I got here first. Why should I move?

[ So this entire point is lost on her who steps forward and plants herself right in front of Ruiji in an attempt to crowd him out, even if it means leaving her dry spot right up against the trunk. It would be intimidating if she weren't just over five feet tall and she's forced to look up at him, glaring just as much as she's squinting to keep out the rain. ]

Give me payment and I might share.

[ it isn't a common occurrence that someone blatantly opposes him like this, especially someone he could probably easily chuck into that lightpost with one hand, so ruiji actually takes a second to appreciate the novelty of the moment. she probably isn't all that smart, thinks the high school drop out, because there's no way she hasn't heard of the [LOUD GROANING NOISES IDK WHATEVER THE NAME OF THE GANG HE'S PART OF IS], just as there's no way she can't tell from the way he's dressed that he isn't part of it.

he'll go ahead and spell it out for her, like the generous thug that he is. ]

Yeah, okay. How 'bout I let you avoid hundreds of dollars' worth of hospital bills, huh? How's that?

[ ...not that he'd actually beat up a girl, but she doesn't have to know that... ]

[ She's stupid. She's so stupid, because she knows of the gang and what it means and her little ragtag group of high school troublemakers is nothing in comparison to an established gang. And yet. Here she is, stupid and fearless only because she isn't afraid of pain, it's nothing new.

Death is new though, a very real possibility and she takes a step back— not retreating, she tells herself, but so she can point at her eyes, point at him. ]

I got your face memorized. Try anything and I'll tattle to the cops! [ she's a kid!! ] A cell's nice and dry, and you get all the space you want!

[ he feels a pang of satisfaction when she steps back, though it's a sort of hollow victory in the sense that a mouse backing away from a lion is just obvious. but where death is a very real threat for her, jailtime is equally a very real threat for ruiji, who has definitely recently set a foot into full-blown adulthood, meaning his stints in juvie are actual literal child's play compared to prison. so there is slightly more strain to his smug little sneer when he responds. ]

I got all the space I want right now. [ not. he's not particularly wide or anything, but he's obscenely tall enough that the bottom leaves of this gd tree are already resting on top of his head. there is a steady stream of rainfall that keeps slipping down right between his eyes that's definitely gonna bug him sooner rather than later. ] And you get to live. Sounds nice, right?

[ Mafuyu grumbles something in response but she's definitely still pissed. There's 360 degrees of space around the tree so that they could easily stand on opposite sides and be out of each other's way, but she's done enough running away already. So it's right there next to him that she stands, letting her backpack fall to her feet because it's gotten so soaked already that it's too heavy to be worth the effort, and dropping her back against the tree trunk heavily enough so that the branches overhead dump all the water right onto their heads, ah... ]

—stupid! This is so stupid! Why can't it stop raining!? Why didn't you bring an umbrella?!!

[ he'd been doing pretty well keeping his calm up until that very moment (which is ironic, considering he's usually a 15 on the emotional scale between 1-10, and only ever really eerily calm when he's extremely pissed and/or fighting), but the sudden onslaught of water down his head and her aggravated shouting finally push him into a similar fit. he whips his head around so quickly that most of the water that'd just come down now flings back towards her, but it's lucky that she's heads shorter than him so she avoids it all landing on her face... ]

What the hell?! Are you cursed??! And why are you so loud?! [ shouts the guy now shouting over the rumbling thunder ]

chigira ruiji | kimi ni koishitei desu ka?

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apologies for the severe lack of icons...

1/2

and I'm sorry for this idiot

iv.

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when ya icons do not currently match your au version rip

lmao all his other icons are so cute wth ruiji

his sordid wannabe shoujo life... don't look

one day he'll get to sparkle and say good mornings...

look deep into your heart, ruiji... you know your shoujo self to be true