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

Mordred (AU: Mattie Camlann) | Fate/Apocrypha

[faeblooded]

II

This? Is beyond lame.

[She had seen carnival funhouses a billion times. Heck, she had even 'added' to the affairs on her own a few times by adding her own jumpscares on unsuspecting friends when she was bored. But this set up in Tisse took the cake that year for corniness.

....On first glance, anyway.

Mattie started having second thoughts about her quick judgement when she realized where she was not long after she stepped inside-- and, when those walls started closing in--]

Oh shit. They better not be fucking around with us here!

IV

[Mattie was quick to ignore the proper tour once she jumped on the back of the hayride, hidden among the bales of hay so her flaxen hair and dark coat blended in with the shadows and the scenery-- for the suspected Chocobo Thief wasn't exactly allowed near the stables.

At least, not without supervision.

Once the recorded voice started droning on, Mattie started making up her own tour in hushed tones, only for those in the back within hearing range.]

That cute bed and breakfast we're passing there? 'Bout fifty years ago it was put together by a cute out of town couple looking to put down roots. They were good people with big hearts, and sometimes they wouldn't charge for the night if they saw someone in trouble. One morning, the neighbors found it on fire....

Wildcard

[Don't see a prompt you like? Make up your own! Plotting comment is here and you can find me on plurk at starkxravingxmad with further questions and plotting.]

IV

[storytelleroftime]

"And it turns out that the old couple? They had been secretly sacrificing their customers in a ritual to their dark god the ENTIRE TIME!!!! And in vengeance, one of the dying men tried to burn the place to the ground. It didn't work, of course, but the couple still perished. They say their spirits still haunt that bed and breakfast to this very day."

[Just, let her sneak in with you and commentate Mattie. Nothing to see here.]

[faeblooded]

Way to steal the punchline there.

[She said, flatly. Of course there was always someone around who was going to try to one up her showmanship-- and she was just trying to make the ride more interesting for these poor saps who got suckered in!]

[storytelleroftime]

"Hey, I'm a writer. I can't help but jump into the storytelling game."

[She's looking mighty pleased with herself too, grinning her trademark smug grin.]

"And I, the great playwright Maggie Mayvin, have totally killed it."

[faeblooded]

Yeah.. you're so famous I've never even heard of you.

[/badum-tssh. She couldn't resist the verbal barb at the pomp and the ego, not when she had been one upped like that in the middle of her own game.

A wiser sneak would have just been laying low and enjoying the ride (and the chocobos, which were insanely adorable). But, this one couldn't be said to be 'wise.']

[storytelleroftime]

"...Fame has nothing to do with talent. But I digress. What are you doing in this straw, exactly?"

[Oh shit Mattie look out she's gonna catch you and... do nothing whatsoever about it.]

II

[thekingssnake]

Don't fret so much.

[Jafar's voice comes from behind, sounding almost exasperated. Then again, it's either he sees the closing walls or he just doesn't seem bothered by it.]

Keep walking.

[faeblooded]

What-- is your blood made of ice or something?

[She flashed Jafar a frazzled look over her shoulder, peturbed by how he was seemingly unbothered by how the walls were trying to eat them, but kept trudging forth like he was prodding her to do.]

Do you not see the obvious trap we're walking into here? This house is possessed, you know-- the soul of some axe murderer from a hundred years ago is living in these walls!

[thekingssnake]

I haven't pegged you as someone to be so paranoid.

[Just keep on walking, Mattie.]

Or to have such an imagination.

[faeblooded]

Are you blind???

[Spoken L o u d l y.

She stops and whirls around at this, green eyes blazing with frustration at Jafar's impeccable cool in the midst of this.]

You don't see the walls closing in on us at all, do you? You really don't think this place is trying to eat us?

[Her voice rose in pitch as she ranted, and she cast a sidelong glance at the wall that was still creeping closer. God, what did she do now?]

[promisedyou]

"I'm too young to die!!"

[ Spoken in a completely panicked voice as the walls close in for a moment before her lips curl into something a little wicked. ]

...that's the kind of reaction that they'd want us to have, right? But there's probably just some sort of trick to all of this to try and scare us. We should just calm down and keep moving! That'll show them. ☆

[faeblooded]

Forget dying man-- this thing's gonna eat us-- and I don't want that written on my headstone dammit.

[And, speaking in a voice that was solemn and full of gravitas:]

'Here lies Mattie Camlann, hellraiser and all around brat. T'was a rabid house that ended her reign over the streets of Recolle. May she rest in peace.'

--Like hell am I letting that be written on my grave!

[promisedyou]

Well, I'd rather not become breakfast, lunch, or dinner... besides, getting eaten means that my corpse is going to be full of--

[ She pauses for a moment, tapping her chin with a bit of thought before shrugging. ]

--you get what I mean. Anyway, less talking and more moving!

[faeblooded]

Okay, okay~

[With a huff she keeps moving, green eyes on alert for some sign of the exit to this place.]

...You didn't happen to get a map on your way in, did you? I feel like we should've left a path of breadcrumbs to find our way out.

IV.

[bitemefightme]

[Orion shoots a perturbed glare at Mattie. Someone remind him why he thought his hayride was even a decent idea.]

Could you not.

[Seriously, for his sanity. Please and thanks.]

[faeblooded]

--Not what, make this ride more interesting?

[She flashed the stranger a teasing grin. Oh, she had no intention of stopping without a better reason.]

[bitemefightme]

I don't care if you don't make it interesting. I just don't want any bullshit.

[Orion's a terrible liar, she can probably tell by the expression on his face. He's clearly uncomfortable. Look, he just doesn't want the scary shit.]

[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.]

IV

[creatability]

[It was definitely Mattie that had talked Mary into coming on this tour, and it's kind of boring already. The stupid robotic drone of the automation wasn't good enough to keep her interested, but her church friend's animated whispers caught her attention.

Sliding closer, she leaned forward.]

You know this story, Mattie?

[Oh sweet summer child...]

[faeblooded]

[Such a sweet summer child indeed.... she had no idea what secrets lurked behind Mattie's eager grin at the question.]

I've only been riding this thing every year since I was a kid, Mary. I know all about the axe murders that happened on this street!

[Spoken with a playful, if roguish wink.]

[creatability]

Seriously?

[Mary leans back a little, looking down the street and blinking owlishly. That's disconcerting. Extremely so, in fact.]

You mean that's not just an urban legend? How on earth...?

[faeblooded]

[It was an urban legend. Often legend had a grain of truth, but who could say for sure-- not that Mattie was going to come clean quite yet.

It was Halloween, after all.]

Yeah. It was so long ago that it doesn't come up often anymore, but talk to folks in the libraries and they'll tell you all about how that poor couple one time just welcomed the wrong person into town.

IV

[deservingoflife]

[ Noni had been a little out of proper hearing range at first, but after picking up a couple of words he crawls towards the back to actively listen to Mattie's version of the tour, having been a little bored of the actual one ]

Oo, a fire? Was it arson??

[faeblooded]

[Oh ho, a captive audience! Grinning, Mattie nods and leans back among the bales of hay to continue her tale in relative comfort.]

You got it in one. It was arson-- but, only to hide evidence of the terrible truth!

[deservingoflife]

[ in contrast, Noni leans in, a model example of a captive audience ]

Were the couples hiding a dark secret? Did someone set the place on fire in revenge for whatever the couple did??