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

Alexander von Cumore | Tales of Vesperia

[drydrown]

I.

[You know, Cumore generally isn't here for these types of festivities, but he can't say he's entirely opposed, either; it's more of a socialization thing than an actually...participating thing, as far as he goes. See what people are actually doing with themselves, content himself with the notion that he's not missing much, go back to spending a thrilling evening with his cat.

But the atmosphere is nice, it's leaving him feeling more energized than agitated, even if parts of this seem a little odd; he didn't do it by way of playing the game properly, but the fact of the matter is that for the time being he's got one of those apples that he's emancipated from the barrel, and it's got a face and it's dancing like nobody's watching, and he is just tossing it in the air and watching it vibrate its way up and holy shit, this thing looks so excited to be here?]

They're almost like particularly intense little dogs, aren't they.

[That is probably not something that you say right before zinging it into the air again so you can catch it, but you know what, it looks like it's enjoying that too, primarily because these things look like they enjoy everything.

...He's going to bite the thing eventually, giving absolutely no fucks about the fact that it has a face and is capable of looking at him while he does that, but clearly these apples were put on earth for our enjoyment and he's going to enjoy the hell out of this thing while it lasts.]


II.

[You know, he was expecting...not a lot from this haunted mansion thing, and in all likelihood he was dragged in here by one of his acquaintances and promptly lost them – though he supposes that's to be expected, in its own way? How the hell was anyone to predict this House of Leaves bullshit, there's no way this place is supposed to be this large-

Needless to say, he's not tolerating the jumpscares very well, and he's kind of in a state of hackles permanently up, he's going to give himself apoplexy at this rate.]

Well, hopefully you're proud of yourself, you have activated my basic human instinct to not like things suddenly being where they shouldn't.

[...Yes, let's just. talk at the fucking décor like that's going to accomplish anything, that will surely show it who's boss.]


WILDCARD/WE DO WHAT WE WANT

[Throw whatever at me and I will throw stuff back! I can also be reached at InstantEternity for plotting, and my AU workshop comment is here!]

ii

[maidofmistakes]

[And then there's this kid, shuddering and looking suspiciously at the curtain.]

It's definitely a realistic haunted house, at least more than the stuff you put together in elementary school...

[drydrown]

...It certainly seems so, doesn't it? For better or for worse.

[No, really, why this all the time.]

[maidofmistakes]

[Kara gulps and bites her lip.]

Uh, you don't look like the kind of person who ever gets scared, no offence.

[drydrown]

[Well! If she wants to stroke his ego that way, he's not going to correct her.]

How flattering - I do what I can and all.

[maidofmistakes]

I don't know, just... it kind of gave off that impression? But this place is creeping me out. How did they even do that blood-on-the-walls effect?

[drydrown]

Perhaps it's for the best that we don't consider it too long, wouldn't you agree?

[...do you ever try to be halfway comforting and manage to fuck it up so badly that you come right back around the other side

because damn, cumore, really?]

II

[scythegun]

[Speaking of acquaintances, hi Cumore. Don't mind Jaeger appearing from seemingly nowhere to comment from behind you.]

Isn't it spooky...? I've always loved haunted houses, they're so much fun!

[Halloween is his favorite holiday. Are you even remotely surprised.]

[drydrown]

[Oh, good, the insane German man with the curio shop is here. Clearly, things are looking up already. Why the fuck is his life like this.]

Somehow, I find myself completely unsurprised that you're here, and less so that you're enjoying yourself.

[this seems like your scene, one way or another. you know, kind of obnoxious and right the fuck out of nowhere.]

[scythegun]

[because your life is suffering, cumore.]

Am I really that predictable...? Oh well! Are you having fun?

[Judging from that reaction no, you absolutely are not, but hey, who knows!!]

[drydrown]

Surely we can just say that it's not my first choice in entertainment and move on from there.

[l i s t e n he is not normally here for this entire childish holiday and this whole thing is a little stupid and perhaps most importantly he's a fucking wuss and trying very hard not to act it, fuck you very much.]

[scythegun]

Oh come now, surely even you can lighten up a little bit and enjoy yourself, ja?

[But you know, now that he thinks about it...]

Why did you even come in here in the first place?

[You don't seem like the sort of guy who would ever willingly have fun (like this, at least) so...]

I

[blondferret]

[Derek doesn't work too far from this festive location, so of course he decides to check it out. He notices that there is an apple bobbing station going on and wonders how traumatized people will become after biting into a screaming apple. Thinking that it would be an amusing thing to witness he walks over. And this is where he sees his drinking buddy, Cumore tossing one of those creepy apples up in the air.]

Oh come on Cumore. Didn't you mother ever tell you not to play with your food? And besides, it looks to be enjoying itself. Food should never be that happy before it meets an untimely death.

[drydrown]

[Well, will you look who it is. Not altogether unwelcome, all things considered; he can think of far worse company to have, at any rate.]

Oh, I don't know - it's almost charmingly grotesque, in its own sort of way. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was being sarcastic with me.

[...]

Well, that and the fact that I'm not certain that fruit has the propensity for it. But the point stands.

[blondferret]

[Derek reaches grabs an apple from the tub of water and looks at it's smiling face for a second.]

Yeah, I can see what you mean. That's why, [Derek bites the apple's face off.] I just bite the face off and get it over with. I don't like my food staring at me when I eat it.

[drydrown]

Well, that's certainly one way of dealing with it, isn't it.

[That was almost refreshingly uncivilized, Derek, he approves.]

[blondferret]

[Derek swallows his bit of apple and smirks.]

It's efficient. So what brings you to this little fun fair tonight Cumore?

I.

[floret]

[ It's not like Jamie was trying to eavesdrop, but sometimes a particularly odd comment will break through into the consciousness of even the most spaced-out passerby (in this case, an undergrad on his way to do... something. For school, probably. ]

...Why dogs?

[ Surely this isn't how this fancy-looking gentleman treats little dogs?? ]

[drydrown]

[Don't worry, the fancy gentleman neither throws nor eats dogs, we're probably fine.]

I'm hard-pressed to think of anything else that tends to be this pointlessly excited over nothing.

[floret]

Toddlers!

...But they also get really upset over nothing sometimes, too. And apples and good dogs are almost always cheerful.

[ Also, please don't throw or eat toddlers. ]

[drydrown]

Oh, my point exactly. To a point that it's almost unfair, really.

[...But is it kosher to just kind of knock the toddlers over, is the important question here.]

[floret]

Really? What's unfair about it? ...or almost unfair.

[ It absolutely is not permitted, but it's pretty funny if it happens by accident. ]

ii

[yakan]

Alexander Cumore, revealing basic human instincts? We must be on the highway to the apocalypse.

[ And here Kiyoshi had actually been enjoying himself this far. Horror? Not a problem. Jumpscares? Same. Haunted houses? Can be pretty fun. Cumore? Not a fan. ]

[drydrown]

[Oh, it's you.]

Yes, yes - feel free to prepare for the horsemen and the end of days if it suits you.

[yakan]

Since you're clearly asking for them to come, it sure seems I might actually have to do that.