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

[Snow's AU workshop entry is here]

I
[Even with the tempestuous weather, training waits for no one. As someone on the football and boxing teams, Sean has to keep in the peak of fitness. Unfortunately, an umbrella isn't really practical when you're running five miles.

When the formerly clear sky clouds over and then breaks open, the tall blond is soaked in seconds.]

SHIT!

[He doesn't stop but he starts looking around. So sorry that he bumps into while taking shelter under that awning.]

Guess the weather girl is wrong for the fifth day in a row.

III
[During his last video, Sean realized that his workout clothes don't fit the same way. It's not terrible, as most of his shorts have drawstrings that he can tie a bit tighter and his shirts are just hanging a bit looser, but his jeans and nice shirts are all starting to fit oddly as well.

It's not like he lost weight over the cold winter months. If anything, he's managed to bulk up again. So why don't his clothes fit anymore? And now he's standing around in a clothing store, trying on one garment after another. Nothing fits.]

Look, this is kinda ridiculous. I'm not a small guy. How is it that everything in here is too big for me? This is the normal size that I get!

Bonus
[On the network, you'll see a familiar name and face if you tune into his YouTube channel. And it's pretty obvious that he's confused.]

Okay, I think it's pretty cool that beetles make up 40% of the bug population, but why the hell am I getting notifs like this at 2am? Is anyone else having issues with this stupid app?

yeah constantly
you get used to the issues though
and the constant notifications
these ones are at least readable the other month we got pure nonsense
though i have to say i never had an interest in knowing this month about bugs
so
thats a thing

I never really paid much attention to this thing before.

I lost my phone, so I guess I missed all the issues from before. Wonder if that was a blessing in disguise then.

Well, the first few were kinda interesting and came at reasonable hours, but this middle of the night crap when I have a test in the morning's pretty crap. How in the hell am I supposed to be rested if this keeps up?

I don't even have my notif sounds on and yet they're going off.

if you werent paying attention you may not have had the app
since like
its hard to ignore ngl

if it helps their weirdo notifs usually taper off by the end of the month or within a day
it kind of varies depending on like
the phases of the moon for all i know
for now i guess were stuck in bug trivia hell until whatever is gonna happens happens??

I don't even remember downloading this thing. Probably one of my friends did it.

[ And when he finds out which, they might be dead. ]

Bug trivia hell is better than something else. Could be like bodily functions and shit.

oh it downloads itself dont worry
like
thats a feature
literally go to your computer itll be there too
or a public computer
its annoying that way
like a virus that decided fuck adblock ill show you adblock

ok you have a point
ill take the bugs
even if im like what are you telling me here
are we gonna have giant caterpillars is this gonna be a thing
@ retrospec: doubt

The hell?!
Why is this stupid thing everywhere?
I didn't even notice it on my computer last night when I was studying! Did this happen when it updated after I went to bed?
How do you get rid of it?

Giant caterpillars are okay. They don't really do anything when they're little, so I can't imagine they'd do much worse when their 1000x bigger.
Like, seriously, it's gonna shoot silk at me or something? Such terrible lives we have.
But I get you on the doubt re: this stupid app. I don't even wanna use it anymore.

i mean
you can hand it to someone who isnt plagued by the app and itll go away as theyre holding or looking at it
but thats not so much a long term solution so
my answer is mostly a shrug

ok what about like a giant preying mantis though
or any of these other bugs
im pretty sure i wouldnt want to meet them in a dark alley

Wait?! That actually works?
Does it have to be anyone specific? Or can it just be someone who sits next to me in class?

Okay, point, but I mean, if a bug is that big, you can just avoid it. Unless it flies, I guess. And a lot of them do, according to this stupid app and the factoids it's spitting out. But, honestly, it'd be kinda cool to go toe-to-toe with a stag beetle. I could test out my moves.

yeah but only until you take it back
so like
sorry to get your hopes up i wasnt clear enough there and that was my bad

you
want to wrestle a stag beetle???????

Fuck. That is a huge letdown, man.
Too good to be true.

Who said anything about wrestling? I'm a boxer.
Wonder how long it'd take me punching it before the exoskeleton cracked. Bet I'd have to hit it a lot or something. They seem pretty tough.

ill be more careful from now on but yeah
p much youre stuck with us
on the bright side im stellar company
on the not so bright side: spam

i mean an exoskeleton is literally bones on the outside right
so like
probably a lot?
punching through bone seems like it would at least be moderately difficult
since its like
bone
which is pretty fucking hard

It's not so bad, but I'm sure there're people who would say you just got the short end of the stick being stuck with me.
I guess I'll just have to make sure that my sound's turned off at night, unless I wanna flunk outta school.

Yeah, I guess. That's what I learned in bio class. But, I've broken some bones in boxing, mine and the other guys. Football too. It's not impossible. It would just take a lot of force, like a huge impact, or continuous beatings. Not that difficult when I'm slugging em like a pro.

ok well if you take on a giant stag beetle
let me video tape it because that sounds rad
id even add in badass special effects and sound effects

That would be kinda cool. I could put that up on my channel and watch everyone go nuts about how badass I am.
I mean, I already know that, but it's nice when other people think so too.
Only problem is that stag beetles don't get that big.
Unless I shrank or something.

oh you have a channel?
what sort of stuff do you do
and yeah i mean they dont *yet*
but this could be some clue theyre gonna
because they think its funny or something

Yeah, it's been up for a year now.
It's mostly me and my friends showing off routines to keep in shape. I mean I know not everyone can do the same things that I do for football and boxing, but they can be modified for people who want to stay in good form without killing themselves doing it. There's dieting tips and stuff like that. I also have people from other sports come and show off what routines are good for them. You should check it out if you're interested. Could always use more people to come on.

Damn, I don't even wanna think about giant beetles bigger than me. I'm pretty tall and that would be a freakin monster!

oh neat
i dont mind checking it out though i think im ok fitness wise
ive been doing dance since i was a kid you kinda have to stay on top of your game for it
if you want to like
be decent

yeah honestly bugs dont scare me but that would be weird??

Neat? I guess that's a word for it. I never thought it would take off, but I have a steady following and it's been fun trying to think of things to put up for others.
Also, I don't think we've ever had a dancer on there.
You do street or ballet or something else?

It would be way weird. I mean, the damn thing would be 7 feet tall and that's just asking for trouble.

(no subject)

parodeity - 2017-04-30 17:16 (UTC) - Expand

[She's done everything humanly possible to make it look like she isn't having the same problem with her clothing. Five-second hem-pins and on-the-go sewing have gotten her presentable enough to go into town, but clothing is supposed to listen to her on the first go around--not the second or third.

In a desperate bid to redirect that attention elsewhere, she pulls a shirt off the rack and holds it up to Sean's back, appraising.] Maybe your New Year's Resolution is paying off! All those muscles! I'm a little scared of you, big guy!

Her eyes (because she has both of them here, and pigtails that don't deny laws of physics) are doe-wide.] I can take them in for you, if you're having a problem.

[Sean looks down and down again to see the girl behind him holding up a shirt that is nothing like what he would wear. Ever. He frowns as he takes her... everything in.]

You know, you don't sound very scared.

[If anything, she sounds pretty amused about it all.]

And even if you did take it in, it wouldn't help me right now. They don't actually fit.

[She giggles, still not sounding scared at all.] Hey, I have lots of reasons to be frightened! I'm just an innocent bystander.

[Nui drops the hanger to her waist, letting it dangle precariously. She can do other alterations, too, she thinks with a sniff, knowing that there's no outfit that hasn't submitted to her eventually.

She's deeply insulted, but not by him, at least.] Don't fit at all? Well, they're mass-produced, so maybe it's a like, you know, shipment error.

[prompto knew the guy looked familiar! it's hard to miss the bulk of shoulders and muscles anyway, plus it doesn't help that the guy is massive.]

[he's been doing a good job of sort of... following after sean, not quite making contact for several minutes. they've reached a part of the store that has tragic baggy clothes. prompto takes a moment to stare at a pair of jeans he's picked out in his attempt to appear otherwise uninterested in the youtuber, and his face shows his distaste perfectly.]

[looking over after the outburst, he decides he'd rather not look at these clothes anymore]

Dude! I don't think anyone would find clothes that fit them here.

[Sean can't really help it that he's a mass of muscle and bones. Small boxers and defensive tackles don't really tend to make it very far in his sports of choice. So, he's bulky.

But he can move when he needs to.

And at the sound of the other man's voice, he's turned around and ready to fight if he has to before he can stop himself. It takes everything in him not to ball up his fists and strike out. (Old habits die hard.)]

Oh, man, you shouldn't sneak up on people!

And I usually shop here.

[It's what he can afford, especially since he's a walking mountain of flesh.]

[prompto would have done a good job of avoiding a couple of punches, no matter how unexpected. but being nimble and agile doesn't take away the shock of surprise, and prompto does hold onto a couple of clothes hangers as he makes for a quick getaway (in the form of nearly tripping backwards onto his butt--those clothes hangers kept him from falling altogether).]

[trying to rearrange the mess after realising he is in no immediate danger, he turns back to the guy.]

[he looks so much more intimidating in real life, yikes]

Sorry! --eh, usually? Dude, first of all--and okay, hear me out, this may be a bit weird--but do you have a YouTube channel?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

APRIL TDM

Sean Valmont (Snow Villiers) | Final Fantasy XIII | OTA

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