repeter | OCTOBER TDM

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OCTOBER TDM

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ oh, how helpful! right as he asked for help, nazuna got distracted--he's captured a wriggling two year old and is holding him tightly in his arms, wrapped tight around his chest as the kid giggles and squirms.

he smiles up at bruno. ] Are you good at painting? I just need to get the spiderman mask on him his mom paid for, but I can't get him to hold still--oof!--alone.

[ the kid starts chanting piderman, piderman! ]

[Bruno briefly smiles at the kid, before he pauses, because while he has plenty of strong suits?

Art is, uh, not one of them.]

I cannot say. I have not made many attempts at it before.

[ yeah...nazuna's not gonna let him go so easy, either.

he beams, and it's the innocent smile of "you're not getting away from me." ] I'm sure you'll be great at it! It's easy. All you have to do is paint half of his face red, and then put some blue stripes on it.

[ nazuna tilts his head down towards his little reference book, then turns that innocent smile up to eleven. ] You'd be a life saver.

[THAT SMILE SPELLS DOOM FOR HIM as Bruno increasingly gains the deer-in-headlights look.]

But—what if I fail to produce an adequate painting? Won't he be disappointed...!?

I don't think there's a way you could disappoint him, right? He's a member of nii-chan's Rabbit class, and weeeee're~ [ nazuna singsongs to the cute kid in his lap, who immediately perks up and chirps "the strongest and the cutest!!!!"

he turns that grin on bruno. ] See? [ and, just for the killing blow: ] You'd be a lifesaver if you helped. Mitsuruchin's always been... hard to handle, and I'll make sure he stays still.

[THE KILLING BLOW...]

... If you truly do not mind, then of course I am willing.

[Because he can't just abandon them??]

[ got 'im ]

[ nazuna lights up like the sun, immediately, and lets go of the little kid in his lap for a brief second to jostle his shoulders instead, playfully. ] See? Mr. Bruno's gonna take good care of you while niichan holds you tight, okay? Now stay still, we don't want you to get poked!!

[ the little kid claps delightedly and then squirms into a somewhat more still position, jutting his chin out. it makes nazuna smile, and he looks up at bruno completely and utterly grateful. ] Thank you so much.

I-It's nothing. I am glad to help.

[Even if he still looks incredibly uncertain, because art still seems like something of a bizarre other world to him.

He glances at the reference book, before picking up the brush.]

I simply follow this, correct? How much paint should I apply? What happens if I do accidentally poke him?

[Otherwise known as, "Bruno overthinks everything."]

[ as bruno picks up the brush, nazuna puts his chin on mitsuruchin's head, as if to hold him still. he makes a comical face and stage-whispers-- ]

Bruchin, he's a little kid, he's almost made of rubber! He'll bounce back. [ you've earned a nickname, congratulations--nazuna's already fond of this nerd.

he wiggles his eyebrows. go for it! ] Just do enough to cover the side of his face, that's all you need. There should be plenty!

B-Bruchin!?

[Does not compute nickname??? But right, the kid. Face painting. He should do that while Nazuna's got a hold on him.

Gently, as if the kid might spontaneously combust upon contact, Bruno applies red paint to his face. Once he confirms that no, he has not somehow accidentally harmed Mitsuruchin, he begins to paint a bit more confidently.]

Like this...?

Perfect! [ nazuna cooes, genuine in his praise as he looks down at the energetic bundle in his arms. mitsuru's holding his breath, now, like he could stay perfectly, totally still, and nazuna gives him a rub on the shoulder. ] You're doing great.

[ was that meant for bruno or for the kindergartener... who knows.... ] It's not so hard, right?

It does seem simple enough... ah! But as soon as I start thinking that way, I'll become sloppy and make a mistake, so I must stay vigilant...

[Bruno, it's just face painting—

Regardless, he's certainly staring with an intense look of concentration.]

[ this is so cute??? nazuna's pretty much immediately fond, and he's smiling up at bruno as he paints. mitsuru even seems to be pretty calm for now, though he occasionally whispers "spiderman!" at nazuna like nazuna doesn't know what's going on. ]

I'm sure Mitsuruchin appreciates your hard work, Bruchin. [ cooing, praising~ ] Maybe you can be my assistant!

[A part of Bruno dies over the nickname, though it's forgotten in favour of Nazuna's next comment.]

... Huh? [Bruno pauses, blinking.] I-I don't think I—

I think you'd be great at it. [ he's 100% genuine, too.

...right at the time, mitsuru jerks his head up to say something in response. i hope that your paintbrush wasn't on his face. ] Oh--careful!!

Ah—!

[Bruno yanks back the paintbrush, although not quite quickly enough to avoid an extra smear of red on Mitsuru's face.

...

Freezing up, he looks desperately at Nazuna, because Nazuna's the expert, so what does he dooooo.]

[ nazuna peers around at mitsuru. he's got red across his nose, but there's nothing in his eyeballs, so...

yeah, could be worse. mitsuru's utterly oblivious, and nazuna reaches around for a baby wipe, carefully adjusting the slightly squirmy child in his arms to dab at his nose like a mom.

luckily, the paint comes right off. crisis averted! nazuna cooes and fusses over mitsuru for just a minute longer until he smacks his hand away with a whiny niichan!!, and nazuna turns him back around, the red streak gone. ] Crisis averted.

[Bruno lets out a sigh of relief. He supposes that the solution was in fact rather simple, but in an unfamiliar situation such as this, it's easy to overthink things (... actually, he does that in every situation, but that's beside the point).

As he resumes painting:]

Thank you... I imagine this sort of thing happens frequently.

You should see my classroom on finger paint day.

[ it's true. glasses, clothing, tables, forget about it... it's everywhere. ]

Kids are messy, especially squirmy ones. [ nazuna sounds nothing if not fond, though, and he carefully nudges his finger under mitsuru's chin so he lifts it up to make bruno's job a little bit easier. ] It means my job's never boring, though.

[Having completed the red, he starts painting in the blue.]

It must be rewarding work.

Something like that. [ that gets him a very, very fond look, and nazuna props his chin comfortably on top of mitsuru's head, who whines nii-chan, but otherwise lets him stay. ]

You're pretty young, aren't you, Bruchin? What are you going to do with your life? [ a pause, and then he laughs. ] Besides be my face paint assistant ★

[He's not that young!!! He's sixteen!!! He's basically an adult!!!!!!!!

... Bruno's too polite to be openly indignant, but those thoughts were definitely reflected on his face for a second—before he looks more uncertain.]

I... I'm still considering my options.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OCTOBER TDM

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