OCTOBER TDM

[recollecters]

TEST DRIVE

OCTOBER TEST DRIVE The city of Recollé... When the crypt doors creak, and the tombstones quake, spooks come out for a singing wake. Happy haunts materialize and begin to vocalize...grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize... Every year during the Halloween season, the city of Recollé comes to life with plenty of fall activities for everyone. There's something to do in every district if one were to take a look. What will you do today? I. Family fun seems to be the theme today over in Tribunal Terrace. Several tables are set up and in a semi-circle near Recollé Square with stacks of pumpkins, carving tools, paint and anything else you may need to create your own jack o'lantern. Other stations are set up for face-painting and games to win mini-sized candy bars including a ring toss, bowling, and bobbing for apples. Be careful with the apples though. They like to wiggle and jiggle with their happy little faces staring up out of the water. ...so maybe apple-bobbing is for the brave at heart. Are you the artsy type to carve a beautiful pumpkin? Are you helping to run the games (or even cheating to get more candy)? It's time to relax and let your creativity flow. II. Pumpkin-carving not your speed? Never fear, horror is here. Over in Tisse there's plenty to do for those looking for a little more adventure. Several coffee shops have harvest specials made with pumpkin, maple, and pecan flavors. Over at Flix a monster movie marathon and costume contest are taking place (with a prize of two free passes for the best monster costumes.) But the highlight of this district is the annual haunted funhouse. Anyone daring enough will find the usual spooks and scares in a haunted house, jump scares and fog machines galore. But...the house certainly didn't look so big from the outside. How did you possibly get shuffled straight to the center? No worries. This hall of mirrors will guide you out safely...if the walls closing in don't crush you first. It's a race against time as the halls narrow, and if you're one of the lucky ones you'll escape and exit through the main doors. For those not quite so lucky, the walls will stop just inches from crushing you completely before the floor drops open and you find yourself on a slide, falling through the dark and tumbling into an underground room filled with plastic skeletons, rubber spiders and more. There must be a way out, right? Hopefully you aren't alone and you can navigate the lair with a friend or two. III. Meanwhile, the rest of the city's usual hustle and bustle continues. The shopping districts are busy, students wander the sidewalks after class, and that oddly-shaped ghost appears right in the middle of the crowd. Wait, what? You could have sworn that ghost wasn't there before. Maybe you don't even believe in ghosts. You may blink a few times to clear your vision, but the faint outline of the ghost remains as a few more of them pop up around the city. They won't speak, but they will cause some trouble for anyone who gets too close whether it's by playing pranks on passerbys, stealing items and running away, sitting on a person and applying a gravitational force so they can't move or other crafty, sneaky tactics. Are the ghosts messing with you? Or are you going to find a way to mess with the ghosts? IV. As the sun begins to set, a strange sort of fog rolls in. Several citizens of the city may not even think it's unusual and others seem to capitalize on the weather. The Churchhill Downs Stables are hosting their annual haunted hayrides through Recollé Woods as soon as the sun sets. There are plenty of carts and chocobos saddled up and ready to go. Once passengers are seated the chocobos begin to trot forward into the woods as a pre-recorded ghost tour of the city takes place. The stories range from silly ones about two ghost children who like to play hide and seek in these woods to scarier ones about a jilted lover chasing her husband off a cliff at the edge of ocean. For the most part they're a bit cheesy and in good fun, but something about this haunted ride seems a bit...off. Peering into the fog you may see something strange that follows you, be it a monster or a shadow or an object. You may hear things whispering your name and you may see your greatest fear manifest right out of the fog and chase your cart through the woods. Even worse, it seems to follow you right out of the woods and back into the city. No matter where you run or where you hide, the fears from the fog will track you down and they change for every single person in the city. Will you run or will you fight? You may wish to be careful since the creatures will fight back. BONUS. With only a few short weeks left until the end of October, Retrospec's Halloween Mode is in full swing and popping up on new users' devices. Retrospec users will find their application decked out in cheerful Halloween colors, and their userpics in a randomized (work safe) costume. However, there's always a trick to each treat and this time the seasonal mode can't be turned off for new users. Notifications chime with zombie groans, a rousing game of Candy Crush must be played and beaten before you can use your device again, and the new Trick or Treat function has a few upgrades. When a user enables this function, they will be met with the phrase "Trick or Treat?" Users who select "treat" will get one virtual candy! Yay! The catch though is that they will also find themselves in a costume representing that specific candy. Should a user pick "trick", however, they will find all sorts of harmless but unpleasant things happening to them including but not limited to pranks, being splashed by vehicles driving through puddles of water, being unable to speak in anything but rhymes and other such things. None of these effects last over ten minutes, but the game will show up periodically over and over again and even giving you the option to play the game with others. 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! For current players, TDM threads will not count toward your Trick or Treat freebie! Additionally, please remember that TDM threads can only be used for bonus points, not regains. Please note: you will need a reserve to apply, and current characters must have full AC posted at the time of their reservation. Your October TDM directory is here, and your AU workshop is here! Our mod questions thread for this TDM is over here!

Comments

[activatingcombatmode]

[That- Makes Zack very quickly toss the apple into the nearby trash bin. He makes a face and wipes his hands on his pants.]

I think I'll pass on the apple pie for a while...!

[faeblooded]

I dunnno. Are you really up for hearing the juicy details of this tale?

[She's bullshitting now-- not that anyone knows any different.]

iii

[livens]

Ooooh? Are you sure you want to get rid of your ghost friend, though~?

[ hinata, while he has noticed the ghosts now being a thing, is...

apparently just fine with it. WHATEVER. there are ghosts, they mostly seem to be harmless pranksters, he can roll with it. ]

Gerome, you're going to make him cry, you know!

[moneyfight]

[ His shoulders give a shrug that says "tomato, toh-mah-to". ]

If you say so. I don't like disrupting the creative process. [ A frown that the tie is now loosened but he lets that go. ]

What is stopping you? Common sense. You do not look like you are a fool, Howard. So I know you will make something good.

[unenvied]

[With complete seriousness—]

I will guard this book most valiantly to ensure that they can never take it again.

[unenvied]

My brain hurts from this infuriating game...

[activatingcombatmode]

[Damn it, kid- Don't call him out so much?! Zack quickly wraps an arm around Yuu's head into a headlock and scruffs his hair up with his knuckles roughly.]

I'd like to see you get out of here without screaming once, I bet you can't, Squirt!

[He's grinning and laughing, though. If only to get some of his dignity back.]

[faeblooded]

Let's just say we both do and find a way outta here.

[She blustered, embarrassed now by that grin. She wasn't playing here, Jason.]

[unenvied]

[..............]

Why the devil would they continue bobbing apples after someone died doing it!?

[sketchythief]

Tying a belt around it to your bag sounds too much of a hassle... I think?

[ He's just musing to himself and then looks at Bruno while he's still sitting on the ground.

...

He doesn't look like the type to do that.

Probably. ]

[unenvied]

[UGGGGGGGH.]

... Very well. I suppose I can accompany you, if you wish.

other

[evidentiary]

I think I need to know where this "best damn ramen place" is located. I know several hungry college students who would appreciate that sort of information.

[faeblooded]

We stick together.

[Spoken quickly-- as if she were trying to hide her own nervousness about this stupid little game.]

Otherwise, I dunno-- pick one!

ii

[evidentiary]

I'll assist by throwing in a stern glare.

[ the voice comes from the shadows, as kyouko comes into view walking along the wall with one hand. she's checking over every inch of the walls, looking for any hint of a secret passage or way out - so far, nothing, but it's kind of hard to tell what the exit options are when she's only had two minutes or so to investigate.

that is, however, enough time to be seriously annoyed with the city in general. ]

...Really, someone could break a leg or something.

[griper]

[Call him a grouchy jerk, whatever. He'll huff and puff about whatever he pleases; he'll act inconvenienced to stupidly save face. But this kid, quiet, spacey, is out in the damn street, ready to dig around in the damn gutter, and Yukimi's blood pressure sky rockets. He thinks, I'm gonna have a heart attack. He thinks, I'm gonna have a fuckin' aneurysm. He thinks, Brats are gonna be the death of me.

He moves like a cat catching a bird out of the air: a neat little slip, and his hand has grabbed onto the back of this boy's shirt. He yanks like the very jaws of life, trying to heft him back onto the sidewalk.]

The street is not for going into! [His voice is pinched. Minato may as well be in preschool.] You don't just go out there! We have the sidewalk for a reason! Jesus, do you know how dirty that crap down there is? You wanna get splattered all in there, too? [The frazzle, by the way, has led to him dropping his envelopes. They've landed scattered, just around his feet. He doesn't pick them up yet; he's not done.] Ahhhh, geeze, you wanna die before you're twenty? You gotta pay attention! To everything!

[His hand is fluttering around Minato's person, meanwhile. Since dragging him up onto the sidewalk, Yukimi hasn't quite laid his hand back on him, but he'll still hover around his shoulders, or near his hair, as if checking for injuries that couldn't have possibly happened that quickly.]

You dumbass. You okay?

[faeblooded]

Dude. This is all bullshit.

[Spoken by the biggest bullshitter on board the hayride.

But, she'll relent at seeing the uncomfortable expression on his face. She wasn't going to just go and torment people for the fun of it, after all.]

[headpatmenace]

[He kind of folds his arms and exhales.

It's one of those exhales where you holds it in for a second.]

...And here I thought they were just halloween fruits.

[unenvied]

L-Lifesaver seems a bit of an exaggeration...

[As he walks, wary for anything that might jump out at them, one question crosses his mind.]

... Pardon me for asking, but why did you enter this facility to begin with?

ii

[evidentiary]

They may have sensors, or it may be something else...

[ she's not willing to assume it isn't bullshit magic at this point in her retrospec life. ghosts are real, and people are sharing nightmares. however, with no non-weird way to verify if sanji is on the network or off, kyouko settles for that vague statement before frowning at the walls. ]

...but I wouldn't assume this is all there is to the trick so early, you know. This city gets a little too into the holidays. It's best to remain prepared.

[ ftr her hair and eyes are purple now. why this. ]

[unenvied]

[He manages a smile, a tad sheepish.]

I do appreciate it, but I would not feel right reaping the rewards of your effort.

[fiddlestick]

Haha...

Better pass on anything with lemons, limes and oranges too. They got the same problem.

I'm a little surprised you've noticed though.

three

[evidentiary]

[ ah...the ghosts. she doesn't particularly like them because she's not a huge fan of pranks...

also, they make no damn logical sense. still, the honest answer has to be: ]

...No, I see it. But giving them too much attention only encourages them, you know.

[griper]

Right? The shop deserves the business; the college kids deserve a nice time. Hell, if I could have had some boiled egg and good stock for that price when I was in college, I'd be a lot more charming now.

[He posts a number and a street name, linking to an e-map, and even gives the names of two landmarks and a nearby intersection.]

Business like this are fighting the good fight.

i games

[livens]

[ THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO WIN A LOYAL FOLLOWER FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE or at least the rest of her game time. hinata happily accepts the sweet, unwraps it, and pops it in his mouth.

and then proceeds to trail along after her like a puppy. hasn't tsuyu ever heard she shouldn't feed wild animals? ]

Wo-ow, I'm blessed~! You're pretty good at these games, aren't you? I'm blessed and impressed! Hey, how many have you won so far?

ii

[livens]

[ at sixteen, hinata probably qualifies as a kid. if not, the sparkly pink hairclips holding his red hair back and the lollipop he's got in his mouth probably help. he's not the most mature sixteen-year-old, but he beams over at charlotte, equally at ease with the jump scares. ]

It is~! You know, they could make it even more fun if they added some scary legends, don't you think? The kind of thing that you tell people beforehand, and then they get to see them come to life?