recollecters: (Default)
Recollé Mods ([personal profile] recollecters) wrote in [community profile] repeter2018-10-17 05:34 pm
Entry tags:

OCTOBER TDM + EVENT PT 2

EVENT + TEST DRIVE
OCTOBER TEST DRIVE - EVENT EDITION
The city of Recollé... 

…is a mess. But that’s probably unsurprising to many of you who have been fighting back to cure the creatures of the night. The golden moon hangs high in the sky and casts its eerie glow over the city. Each day, more members of the Retrospec app fall victim to various strains of the monstrous viruses in the air. Though some of you have discovered temporary cures, they aren't working as well as you've hoped.

Even worse, on the evening of the 17th, the moon shifts and wavers in the sky, transitioning from its rich golden color to a deep blood red. The sky remains overcast, never quite dark but the sun refuses to appear.

Most importantly? The infection begins to spread further...better hurry.


I. - OTA

It starts with a rustle. A crinkle. A dry, crackling sort of noise and when you wake up on the morning of the 18th you'll find yourself surrounded by tall, towering cornstalks gently brushing against your window. While plenty of the stalks are healthy several others are dried out and intertwined.

The longer you stay in any sort of shelter the louder the rustling becomes and an increased sense of urgency grows, driving you outside and straight into the heart of a large cornmaze that's taken over the city. The stalks seem endless and stretch high into the sky, the tips seemingly touching the moon and providing very little in the way of direction. For those with the ability to fly, soaring up into the sky will lead to an aerial corn maze that's even harder to navigate. Digging your way under will lead you to mounds of roots, too tough to cut through no matter what you try.

You could use fire if you really wanted, but do keep in mind that dry stalks will ignite very easily and the flame will spread faster than expected. As for cutting the stalks down? When one's cut down, two more grow back. Work quickly and you can make some progress.

Wandering through the maze isn't as hopeless as it seems, at least. Sure, it's incredibly easy to get turned around and lost but as you keep walking you'll find buildings in their appropriate locations to act as landmarks. You might even run into a few friends as you're looking for an exit.

However, friends aren't the only creatures looming among the maze. Large, overgrown crows with beady red eyes caw as they linger above, attempting to peck you at every turn. The birds are prone to swarming in groups and will chase anyone who's out in the open for too long. Venturing further into the maze will cause the birds to grow suspicious though and as you walk away from the outer portions they'll stop following you just as something appears in your line of vision.

Another person? It may even look like someone you know, though they can't see you with their back toward you. As you approach them, the birds may caw a warning but it's too late. The figure turns around and you come across someone else. The same rustling noise as before becomes louder as the scarecrow advances on you, corn husks spilling from its hands to wrap around your limbs as other scarecrows come to join it.

Those who have been on the app for some time will find themselves dragged deep into the maze, disappearing between the stalks. As the scarecrows walk and pull you along, they bind you with their corn husk limbs and your muscles seem to relax against your will. The deeper into the maze you disappear, the less mobility you seem to have. Your clothes soon feel itchy and your hair feels brittle to the touch. A copy of your current outfit appears on the scarecrow that ambushed you as your own clothing fades away into well-worn flannel and patched denim. Hopefully you still have the strength to fight, or you may find yourself alone and abandoned.

Those who are brand new to the app, however, will find that the scarecrows have something different in mind. Rather than dragging you deep into the fields, they begin to march along the paths, gathering straw to stuff into your sleeves and the back of your shirt. Patches of mis-matched fabric are placed on your clothes and you find yourself hoisted six feet in the air, tied up onto a pole and looking out at the endless rows of corn.

Someone has to protect the crops from crows, don't they? Too bad the scarecrows will just leave you hanging.

II. - OTA

You would think that the problems would end there. It's bad enough with scarecrows and birds, but as the moon continues washing the city in a soft red glow the primal instincts of the infection take hold. Those who have been infected in the last few weeks will find that the monster side of your personality begin to take its toll. It becomes harder to fight off the instincts to infect and take control, humanity wearing thin even in the daylight hours.

On the other hand, at least your luck is better than those who aren't on the Retrospec app at all. In the previous days, your fellow citydwellers had hardly noticed that anything was amiss. Seeing truly is believing and while they could see the changes around them it was all in the Halloween spirit. Your physical changes and your abilities are smoke and mirrors, fun and games, and things they never quite took seriously.

Perhaps they should have though. Perhaps if they had, they would have been prepared for the changes brought on by the blood moon. Unlike those on the app, citizens around you will begin to shift and change without any signs of stopping. The monsters in them break through their skin and alter their physique, animal-like instincts immediately shutting down any signs of human life. Sprouting fur, teeth, claws and other tell-tale signs, the monsters around you are the final products of the infection. These are the end game, prime examples of what you can be.

And they want you to join them.

With their sights set on anyone who isn't like them, they'll be relentless in their attacks to try and change whoever they can reach. Vampires will drink blood, werewolves with bite, mummies will bind and merpeople will lure you in with their siren song. There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Everyone is at the risk of becoming infected should you get caught.

But you may be able to trick them into fighting their own kind. Monsters by nature want to control, and certain breeds of monsters will attempt to assert their dominance over one another. By leading them on and luring them out, you may be able to pit them against each other for a clean getaway. Traditional warding methods will have minimal success as well, but it's easy to become overwhelmed.

This sense of control will even reach those of you who have been infected in the last month. You may love your friends and your family, but if they're an opposing monster, tensions rise and tempers fly leading to fights you may regret if you aren't careful.

Don't be afraid to ask for back-up. You have to learn who to trust sometime.

III. - IN GAME CHARACTERS ONLY

The Retrospec mailbox sits proudly along the side of Wiffle-Waffle, completely untouched and surprisingly free of monsters and corn stalks. While several of you have approaches this place recently for assignments to help quell the infection, the mailbox seems to have a different idea today.

Plastered on the wall next to the mailbox is a chart divided into categories, and as you linger to read a small, wrapped bundle will vault itself out of the mailbox and straight into your arms (or, if you're not paying attention, your face.) While the item you have been gifted is randomized, it's easy to locate on this chart. The package begins to glow a soft blue, and in your head you'll hear a small, clear voice.

"Into the woods, it's time to go, I hate to leave, I have to, though. Into the woods, it's time, and so I must begin my journey…"

As you venture through the corn maze city and fight the night, the voice continues to repeat the phrase until you find your way out of the maze and into the line of trees. Untouched by the maze, the woods are dark but the path is clear. Following the wisps of light and the voice guiding you, it becomes hard to avoid stumbling upon a clearing with twelve stone pillars, each partially colored with a ring of light surrounding its base. For each pillar, there's also an emblem shaped like one of the varieties of monsters attached to the front. The red pillar is for harpy, red-violet is for vampire, purple for shade, blue-violet for werewolf, blue for ghost, blue-green for merpeople, green for slime, yellow-green for zombie, yellow for robot, yellow-orange for mummy, orange for golem and a red-orange for demon. The mouths of these twelve emblems hang open, small enough to fit something particular...like a vial.

Before you have time to wonder, a black wolf approaches from behind the trees. Some of you may recognize him as the wolf that's lingered around the cemetery this month, but to others he may be a stranger. As he looks at you, he woofs indignantly before he trots ahead toward the harpy, vampire, and golem pillars. The mouths of these emblems close, a sign that these vials have been found and must be returned to their rightful place. Though he cannot speak for himself, anyone in the woods will hear that same mysterious voice once again as the wolf begins to dig up nine empty vials to carry with him.

"Come what may, follow the path and never stray. Only you may draw out the power to light the pillars and drive out the darkness. Fight back."

As you look at the pillars, one of them lights up as someone in the city defeats a wayward creature. The ring inches upward, a sign of progress and an example of what you must do. With the collection of cure items on hand, you'll be able to combat anything that comes your way so long as you work together and create the right tools. Reach out to your friends and find those who have items to make yours stronger. Stun the creatures of the night, learn who you can trust, and work quickly to stop the infection from spreading even further.

IV. - TDM CHARACTERS ONLY

This may be old hat for everyone else by now, but this is very, very new to you, isn't it? Without pause, everything around you suddenly comes into clear focus. You’re not sure what you’ve missed or even what’s happening, but survival instinct kicks in the moment you set foot out of your home. With the city in a state of viral outbreak and several citizens succumbing to their disease, you'll find it hard to go very far without coming face to face with a creature of some kind. Just as this monster looms over you, ready to transform you into one of its own, a blinding white light wraps around you and you’ll find yourself in a brand new outfit. As the light fades, a magic wand materializes in your hand. With an "E" proudly embroidered in the hem of your skirt and a tiara on your head, the monsters begin to back away from you as they eye the wand nervously.

Adorning the top of the wand is a clear crystal radiating with power. As the wand meets the eye of a monster, the gem will change to the appropriate color and a powerful beam of light will begin to drive the darkness out in threads and waves. While these powerful wands seem to be the key to fully curing the outbreak, you can't work alone. It will take the combined efforts of residents with cure items from the mailbox and your magical skills to advance upon a creature and exorcise them.

As they're fought off with cure items and blinded by colorful hypnotizing light, creatures will begin to rapidly fade to their human selves. While those who are on the app will simply feel fatigued, the remaining citizens of Recollé will fall unconscious in a deep sleep. Nothing you do now can awaken them, but there's still an ample number of threats they face. It's…maybe a little suspicious to be found hovering over someone unconscious, isn't it?

A friend will help you move. But a true friend will help you move a body. Good luck, Retrospecters. You'll have to move them to safety, and fast.

BONUS. - OTA
As the days bleed into the nights and you fight to reverse the effects of infection, a few changes begin to take their toll. The corn stalks begin to dry and even rot as the month continues, the maze becoming easier to navigate toward the end of October. The scarecrows begin to back off, and the birds take a look at you and caw in panic as they fly away in the other direction. Nothing about your situation has changed, but the results begin to show.

On the 24th the corn maze begins to fall away in chunks. A winding golden path appears beneath your feet, outlining the roads of the city, and for the next week it becomes harder to walk smoothly. With each passing day, you sink into the ground inch by inch, never quite disappearing, but feeling yourself being pulled under until October 31st.

The sky lights up. A wolf howls as twelve beams of light rocket into the air and form one solid column, flooding the city with bright colors as the remaining monsters are quelled and the darkness fades away. As of this day, all monsters are reverted back to their human form. The nightmare seems to be over.

Creeping ever closer to Halloween night, you find yourself exhausted from the efforts put forth and as you glance down you notice your hands have begun to fade. Translucent and in some cases see-through, the process spreads slowly. Your body begins to fade away and transform, bursts of color appearing on your skin that light up the area around you including your semi-skeletal frame.

Weren't the monsters defeated? Why is this happening now? Asking around never hurts, but maybe a pair of gloves will help.

BONUS 2. - OTA

On the evening of Halloween, the moon changes to a soft blue and rises higher into the sky. Jack-o-lanterns and strings of light suddenly adorn every shopfront and the chill autumn air sends a breeze through the town. The first thing you think of this evening will materialize over your body becoming this year's Halloween costume. As you look around, piles of sweets, savory dishes, and drinks galore pop up on tables on the sidewalks seemingly out of thin air. Live music begins to play, and those who have fallen asleep rise again to partake.

It's...a party? It's a party. A Halloween party takes place on this evening to brighten the spirits of everyone. As everyone around you begins to mingle, you'll find that your phone beeps to notify you that the Retrospec app has entered Halloween Mode. Now decked out in cheerful Halloween colors, with userpics in a randomized (work safe) costume, Halloween Mode comes with a Trick or Treat function. When texting others over the app, users who are asked "Trick or treat?" will have the option to give a treat. If they do, a virtual candy will be gifted to the other user. If they do not, the user who asked the question will have the option to play a "trick" ranging from vandalizing someone's userpic with snap chat filters, choosing a new Halloween scheme for the other person's app, sending the other user into a round of a cutesy Halloween maze game or other light-hearted tricks only lasting up to 10 minutes. Go ahead, give it a try! Post a message and see what happens.

It's easier than thinking about how strange this whole month has been, or how it's even stranger that framed photographs of you begin to appear on some of the refreshment tables as well, surrounded by your favorite treats and objects.

Oh well. That sounds like tomorrow's problem. If there's ever a time for a celebration, today's the day.

Welcome to [community profile] recolle's October event pt 2 and our TDM! Please read these notes carefully.

-All characters who are TDMing 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!

-While only current players may post top-levels using prompt three and TDM players may top-level with prompt four, all players may respond to others who post with these prompts!

-If you are TDMing this round, please indicate this by including TDM in your subject line! This will help the playerbase know who is who.

-As a reminder for current players, you may still claim multiple freebies! These include:
-One freebie for infecting (or being infected by) at least three different characters (this can be on the mod-posted log or in your own logs/inboxes.)
-One freebie for exploring with a partner or a group and finding items to begin creating protective gear to ward off the infection.
-One freebie for threading with a character that is test-driving.
All of these threads must have at least five comments from you to be eligible. To submit for your freebie memories, please link us the appropriate thread with the trigger explanation of "freebie."

-As a special note, we will also allow current players to use a thread from this event/TDM for their AC proofs! As this ties into a game-event, we are making an exception. However, your other proof(s) (at least ten comments) must come from sources outside of this log. Likewise, as this is an event log instead of just a standard TDM, you may use this log to trigger regains as normal.

-Please note: you will need a reserve to apply, and current characters must have full AC posted at the time of their reservation. This means for players reserving second characters you must link us your full October AC, and players reserving second and third characters must link us to your September and October AC!

Finally, you can visit October's AU workshop here! Any questions you have regarding this event/TDM may be directed to the mod comment here. Be sure to review the mods' question thread on the plotting post for important information as well!
invocate: (« worried »)

alhpa#07011227

[personal profile] invocate 2018-10-18 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[okay, for all her rough encounters with james... she can't just LEAVE HIM THERE]

james, it's li-na
i'm coming
i can get you out
oniipeach: (Default)

[personal profile] oniipeach 2018-10-18 04:24 pm (UTC)(link)
It does, thank you! Chemistry student would know how to burn things without actual fire...

[personal profile] promisedyou 2018-10-18 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Inside... where, exactly?

[ She's just going to gesture at the area around them because there are plenty of buildings about. And it's not like she can go home or anything like that. She doesn't really have a home to go back to.

Not right now, anyway. ]


And you should at least use a different word besides 'accomplice', you know.
usurpers: (Default)

[personal profile] usurpers 2018-10-18 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it MEANS . . . your message hasn’t been read. and won’t be read.

soon enough, the floor shivers quietly, and so do the walls, until the quakes get stronger. the entire earth is shaking to a loud stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp—

is that a giant jogging????? that is a giant jogging and cars sounding their alarms after jumbling against each other in the street. ]
frostythehitman: (to find myself again)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-10-18 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
did you not read what i said
i'm in PRISON
i can't leave
invocate: (« annoyed »)

[personal profile] invocate 2018-10-18 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
omg you are in a prison overrun by monsters
i think we can make an exception this time

[personal profile] promisedyou 2018-10-18 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, because heroes are clearly the types to say "you'll die soon enough".

[ You can practically hear the dry sarcasm dripping off of her, plain to see. She's not even daring to hide it. ]

Not to mention that I-- unlike everyone else here-- haven't done anything wrong. [ This time, anyway. Let's just keep everything else she's done off the record. ] So if you're going to punish me because of something so petty, I should honestly take that title of yours away from you.
frostythehitman: (is neverending)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-10-18 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)
no way
it's just gonna be seen as an escape attempt
and for all i know you're gonna try and keep me from going back in here anyway
we need help that DOESN'T involve a jail break
frostythehitman: (THE DARKEST SIDE OF ME)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-10-18 05:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ well, the room he's in right now doesn't have any windows actually so he can't see what's causing the weird rhythmic mini-earthquakes. Instead, he clings onto the heavy, cube-like monitor from 1997 that makes the hairs (and scales, somehow) on his arm stand on end to try to keep the machinery from falling. All he can do from here is wonder what manner of fresh hell is descending upon him. ]
standalonehuman: (TogusaTalk2)

[personal profile] standalonehuman 2018-10-18 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
We kept getting sent on quests these last two weeks. Some of what we got might help. And we finally got a list of the monsters that are out there.

It's dangerous, but somebody has to get some of these cures in there.
yakan: (399)

[personal profile] yakan 2018-10-18 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I.
[ Well. WELL. This is strange. SHOULD be strange. He's too calm about being dragged around, tbh. Kiyoshi's vines aren't too helpful, anyway. He wishes he had some sharp parts to use against the scarecrows but.. Alright then. At least he can hang around and catch some z's for a bit. Except he notices that his clothes appear on the scarecrow and he looks down on himself and he puts a hand to his vine-covered head and- ]

I could forgive you for putting these boring clothes on me but gimme back my strawhat right this moment, young man! Right now or I'll feed you to Dakki-sama!

[ Kiyoshi is a bit loud. It's probably easy to pinpoint his location despite the tall cornstalks. That is his hat! Nobody can have it! Nobody! ]

II. infections: golem, ghost, slime
[ Kiyoshi has not been too successful in infecting people. Some random unimportant ones with a lack of Retrospec access, maybe. But not other Retrospeccers.

And he's even more cold than he was before.

So when he accidentally phases through a wall and falls out in front of or on some person, he attaches himself. He wouldn't, normally. He knows it's important with boundaries- he has his own too. Normally. Normally, yes.

Which means that since things are not like they're supposed to, right now, he eventually starts phasing through walls on purpose, to fall into some person passing by just near, and catch himself against them.

In any case, he's a bit see-through, not completely solid, and his skin is sticky. He's more visible during the night, more dry during the day. None of it goes entirely away. ]


Oh, sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to do that, let me collect myself a couple moments.

BONUS.
[ This is all just so... tiresome... So Kiyoshi just.. decides he's done. He plops down on a bed of cornstalks, ignores that his body seems to be fading even more than it did over this past moth, and just stares at the sky. Pressed his strawhat over his face. Groans. ]

BONUS 2.
[ To be honest, Kiyoshi doesn't really feel up for a party. Or sampling all the food. This past moth has just been that exhausting. In his traditional garb he sits to the side on a bench just watching for once, he taps his closed fan against the parasol in his lap as he smokes cigarette after cigarette as if that's going to make the exhaustion go away. (And the fact that he had to apologize to people over this- particularly over that date he probably really messed up thanks to being one of the very first infected. Fuck.)
invocate: (Default)

[personal profile] invocate 2018-10-18 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)

[okay. he has a point. but M O N S T E R S]

i just don't want you to end up infected!

[toooooooooo late]

if i can help keep the monsters away from you, will that suffice? i have some things that will help with werewolves and ghosts.

frostythehitman: (these wounds they will not heal)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-10-18 06:01 pm (UTC)(link)
i'm pretty sure I'M the one who infected everyone in here in the first place
i've been a full on fish guy for like two weeks already
but yeah
i think we do have some werewolves in here and maybe ghosts
frostythehitman: (SO WHAT IF YOU CAN SEE)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-10-18 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)
what

[ god, he knows he doesn't get a lot of info from in here, but it's astounding how he's so out of the loop! ]

yeah okay we need cures
give us cures
but don't get infected unless you can use the cures on yourself
littlemperor: (12 my dancing's shining)

[personal profile] littlemperor 2018-10-18 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
I-- I already do! It's just, uh, super secret and ultra powerful and mere mortals would shake to their bones if they heard what it's called!

[smooth,]
littlemperor: (12 my dancing's shining)

[personal profile] littlemperor 2018-10-18 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Grrrrr--!

[hmph. she's right and he's petty, but being called out like that makes him frustrated. he eyes her gun warily and clutches his wand tighter.]

I don't need to explain myself to the likes of you, you know~. Any-- Anyway, is... that thing real?
boppin: (SPARKLE ☆ shimmer shine)

[personal profile] boppin 2018-10-18 07:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow! Tell me tell me tell me tell me -

[ tori. TORI. she can go on like this for aGES. you've hyped it up too much?? now you have to MAN UP. ]
littlemperor: (10 don't expect help peasant!)

[personal profile] littlemperor 2018-10-18 07:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[THIIIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT HE WANTED, UH, UM.]

You're a mere mortal, I can't tell you!!

[help]
boppin: (SAD ☆ let me see)

[personal profile] boppin 2018-10-18 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I am noooooot! I'm a magical girl! Tell me tell me tell me!

[ there is no help ]
parodeity: (WHOA 🎧 hold up)

[personal profile] parodeity 2018-10-18 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
wouldnt it be safer at this point to just have everyone be monsters
invocate: (Default)

[personal profile] invocate 2018-10-18 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)

how did YOU get infected?!

fine. i'll bring them over. where are you located?

fabrefactions: (6)

[1] hollow laughter

[personal profile] fabrefactions 2018-10-18 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Thus far Yusuke has managed to avoid getting infected, but not able to avoid that urgency to enter the maze and explore. Like an itch under his skin that can only be satiated through exploration. But the unease of the whole situation remains, moreso when he sees strange human like shadows stalking through the maze, and following him through turns and twists.

In a way, hearing someone else yell is ... relieving. He isn't alone in here.

But he is cautious, and unwilling to put himself into a situation that could be dangerous to his un-infected self. Also those scarecrows are still around. And he doesn't fancy getting into their line of sight. ]


...

[ Hm. How to go about this?

Summoning Goemon is tricky, but doable, and it doesn't take long for him to send a creeping frost across the ground and up into the scarecrow's limbs. Fire won't work, but no one said that ice couldn't be used to help out.

Only when he's sure he's frozen the scarecrows enough that they won't switch their attention to him easily, does Yusuke stick his head around the corner of the maze and make himself known. ]


Hello?
frostythehitman: (these wounds they will not heal)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-10-18 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
no because now the monsters are fighting each other
it's like vampires vs loch ness monsters in here
with a couple werewolves and other things i don't know too
frostythehitman: (NO ONE WILL CHANGE THIS)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2018-10-18 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
in prison. duh.

[ yeah that's right, he bust out the punctuation JUST to emphasize how dumb a question that was. ]

idk how i got infected, no one in here had it and they're the only people i've seen all month
except for the people who visited me





oh crap
cherylmason: (Really)

III: Test driving

[personal profile] cherylmason 2018-10-18 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Heather Mason has been looking for two things: someone else who is not a monster, and maybe some answers. She'll settle for number one. A fellow high-schooler, she recognizes Li-Na by sight from school, but can't remember her name.

Heather takes a very cautious step forwards, but almost pulls back into the shadows when she remembers what she's wearing. She doesn't even know yet what she's even doing in the getup. Desire for answers overcomes her embarrassment, and her voice cracks when she speaks up.]


H-hey! It's Heather. Uh, Mason.

[A very weak wave. ...hi? She awkwardly scratches the back of her head with the hand that is also holding on to a magic wand.]

Look, you're the first other normal person I've seen. What in the world is going on?

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