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

Euphemia li Britannia - Code Geass

[orderslove]

I

[Setup with a pumpkin in front of her, she seems to have a little difficulty getting the knife into the top of the orange gourd. A look of determination she starts to wiggle the knife up and down until it finally puncture the pumpkin. Euphie claps her hands together looking proud of her success, she has never done this alone before but the idea of having a cute little carved pumpkin is too good to pass up.

Once the knife is in she looks at the other tools and then scrolls through her phone at pumpkin carving ideas. Any one that looks at the images will see most of them are cats, since they always look the cutest to her. With some work cut out for her she wouldn't mind some help.]

Hmmm, so you have to scoop out the guts out first...right?

II

II-A

[Long hair tied up in a ponytail, she waits her table looking around before she jumps up when her named is called. All too happy the young woman takes her drink from the barista. She saw pecan coffee and thought it sounded pretty amazing, though what she does to coffee might make some cry. Drink in hand she takes it to the station to add sugar and other items. Opening the lid she starts to pour cream in, perhaps too much, then even more sugar until it taste more like a cavity creation than coffee.

Grabbing a stir stick she begins to stir the drink, the coffee?]

II-B

[Not much on haunted things, Euphemia stands outside of the funhouse a ticket firm in her hand. She seems to be talking herself into going inside. She is dressed in a maid outfit, it is that time of the year after all. Though she didn't participate in the costume contest, instead just buying a ticket.]

Stop being a chicken...you can go inside, Euphie.

[She mutters under her breath but then looks around to see if anyone else might be going inside, that she could maybe go with. Is this was how you make new friends? Doing scary things, right? Someone nearby she finally reaches out and taps their shoulder.]

Excuse me...are you going inside too?

IV

[The hayride started fun enough and Euphemia loved the chocobos, enough that she had been giving them some love before being herded into the carts. As the stories went on she chuckles at some of the tales until there was the beginning of whispers. Jumping a little she looks around when she heard a soft voice saying her name. No one on the cart knew her yet but she knew it was her name. Trying to calm herself down she moves close to the person next to her, her eyes now straining to see into the fog that was rolling in. It was so strange she thought there was someone there? That seemed silly though, when she notices she is nearly clinging to the person next to her she moves away a little and waves her hands.]

Oh! I'm very sorry, I think the stories are getting to me...

[She hears her name again and looks around a little more frantic.]


((This is probably going to be her AU But her full workshop link is here))

iv

[compendiem]

[ To be fair, Minato had barely noticed how close she was getting because he's already half asleep despite the bumpy ride. But he blinks the exhaustion away when he's spoken to, looking over at Euphemia to shake his head and let her know that it's alright, though he might as well not have bothered because she turns away from him and looks about her instead. Without moving, Minato glaces towards the side of the road as well, but without knowing what he's to look for, that little act of solidarity is a bit pointless. ]

...They're just stories.

[ Also not very helpful. But something to keep in mind, in case she's worried about ghosts or monster or other sorts of fantastical things that do not exist. ]

[orderslove]

[She does seem pretty on edge but for good reason, every time she looks into the fog it looks like something in moving. So when he looks with her and he doesn't seem to notice she feels more silly. Folding her hands onto her lap she laughs a little nervous.]

I know, it seems silly...I just, promise to not laugh?

[She pauses.] But I swore something said my name?

[compendiem]

[ He nods his promise, an easy one to make because very few things make him laugh out loud, or react more than a smile, if that. Somebody saying her name certainly isn't something he would laugh about, when he hears that admittance, so he looks back down the road, looking for faces this time instead of general nothingness. ]

Somebody you know? Did you recognize their voice?

[orderslove]

[If it was someone she knew it might be even worse because she couldn't see them here? Shaking her head in reply to him, she does another look to the fog.]

No, it was like a whisper...but no one was there?

[Something catches her eye and she notices the figure closer to the cart and she jumps closer to Minato.]

D-Did you see that?

II-B

[devilsadvocato]

[Foggy can hear her mumbling something to herself and he politely tunes it out by distracting himself with the ticket in his hand. He turns, giving her a confused glance when she taps him on her shoulder.]

Huh? [He spots the ticket in her hand and her words hit him. He smiles and nods at her.]

Yeah! First time! Just moved to the city at the end of summer so this is my first Halloween here and first time going into one of these haunted houses. What about you?

[orderslove]

[Nothing like a self pep talk to do something that might be scary, right? When she gets his attention she offers a nod and a smile.]

Oh, well welcome to the city! Where are you from? [Curiously, she always likes to learn more about new people but with her own question she nods.] I'm not new here but I've never been to a haunted house before, I have to admit.

[devilsadvocato]

Born and raised in New York City. And where do you hail from originally Miss?

I've been in a couple haunted houses but they weren't this fancy and it was a long time ago. My elementary school set up a haunted house where the teachers dressed up in costumes and tried to scare us. It was a loving attempt. The second one was set up by a neighbor in their front yard for Halloween night. While his wife handed out candy he'd sit still on a bench in a scarecrow costume pretending to be a prop and then he'd jump out of his seat just as the kids finally made it to the door. There I was twelve years old in a very cool superhero costume and I screamed louder than the six year old behind me. I couldn't look him in the eye after that night.

[He points up the line toward the haunted house entrance.] No guarantee that I won't shriek while we're in there. Just to be honest.

[orderslove]

New York? I've been there once with my parents for a visit. England, my parents moved here a little while ago, though one of them was from the states already.

Those sound like a lot of fun though! Truth be told I'm not very good with scary things, so I will probably scream with you.

[She laughs softly at herself, the idea of the two of them screaming.]

i!!

[pronounces]

[ nazuna's been flitting around the family festival since he first got here--once he was relieved of his duty at the face painting booth, he makes his way over to the pumpkins, spotting a familiar figure from class. ]

Hey, Euphichin! [ with a cheerful wave, he comes up right next to her, smiling at her handiwork. ] Do you need some help?

[orderslove]

[At this point she had the top of the pumpkin off but is looking at the scoop and the inside of it. There was a lot of guts inside...maybe she should have chosen a smaller pumpkin? The familiar voice causes her to turn and she sees Nazuna and smiles.]

Hello, Nazuna! Heh, is it that obvious I'm new at this?

[pronounces]

A little. [ nazuna's voice is playfully teasing as he rolls up the sleeves of his cardigan and reaches for an extra pumpkin guts scoop. ]

Don't worry, nii-chan has you covered~★ [ because it's niichan's duty, after all! he stands on his tippytoes and starts to help scoop some of the guts out of her pumpkin for her. ] Have you not carved a pumpkin before?

[orderslove]

[She playfully pouts before laughing it's hard to stay, even fake, angry at Nazuna. She holds her own scoop firmly and moves the pumpkin lid to the side.]

Thank you! [When he moves his hand she replaces it with her own, back and forth. The texture...lacks something to be desired.]

Perhaps when I was young? Mother and Father are usually pretty busy with work. My nanny and I would paint them sometimes but never carve.

iib

[alienates]

Uhhhh.

[ he looks at the funhouse, then back at euphemia. he, too, was debating on whether or not he should go inside, and karkat was heavily leaning towards the not option when she approached.

shit. he can't chicken out in front of someone. goddammit. ]

Obviously. It's why I'm standing in front of it.

[orderslove]

[The window for a double chicken out has come and passed for both of them, especially when he does respond to her. With a smile, trying to act brave she nods.]

Same then...perhaps we should go inside together?

[alienates]

[ shit. why did he have to say that? he gives the entrance a long look, thinking of all the ways this will probably bite him in the ass, considering how the rest of this month has been. ]

Yeah, sure. It'll be boring if you go alone anyway.

[ his fake aloofness is hiding the fact that he is a chickenshit. ]

[orderslove]

[The entrance looks a little corny but Euphemia knows all too well that looks can be deceiving.]

Yes, exactly.

[Her own tone echos someone trying to not be scared.]

Then we should go inside, right?

ii

[imaginex]

Yep, that's exactly right!

[Sakura herself isn't too far ahead in terms of steps, though compared to Euphie, it's clear she's gone through the motions of pumpkin carving. Not that Japan is as fanatic about Halloween as America, don't get her wrong. It's just that her parents gave her a loooot of freedom as a child.

Smiling at the other girl, Sakura points to a red scooper left by a previous patron]

Once you take off the top, you just scoop everything out... though, um, it's a bit slimy.

[orderslove]

Oh that's good to know. I've never gotten to do this.

[Euphie chuckles to herself as she places the now cut off top to the side and grabs her scoop. She looks inside, it was a sight for sure? It was more than a bit slimy. Though she is curious about something.]

Do you just throw it away?

[imaginex]

[Slimy and squishy and every mother's nightmare. Sakura loves it.]

Mm, you don't have to -- the seeds, I mean. [reaching inside her own pumpkin, she pulls one out for Euphie to see] I think they're delicious when you bake them with salt.

[A pause, and then with an almost apologetic smile] Though it does take time to sort them apart from the flesh, so... most people don't bother. I can't blame them.

[orderslove]

[It was pretty gross...]

Oh really? Then there are many uses in a way.

[Euphie seems to pout a little and sighs.]

That seems like such a waste? [Scooping out some guts she puts it onto a bag next to the pumpkin.]

II-a

[deservingoflife]

[ Noni had also been lightly shaking on some cinnamon on his pumpkin spice latte, when he notices the inordinate amount of sugar and cream the girl standing next to him was pouring in ]

Er... What... was that? [ maybe she had accidentally ordered a triple shot or something?? god he hopes so ]

[orderslove]

[Euphemia knows if this is tea she would have been yelled at by her mother. 'An adult doesn't use sugar in tea!' For now though she isn't here so she is making it the way she likes.]

Hm? Oh it's coffee, why?

[deservingoflife]

[ was that even coffee anymore??? ]

Coffee... Did you accidentally order it really bitter or something?

[orderslove]

I'm not a fan of most bitter things.

[It was...something?]