repeter | OCTOBER TDM

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! tdm

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

I. Peer Pressure Challenge: Have a Good Time (Pumpkin Carving)

[Charity drums her fingers absent-mindedly agianst the exterior of a small pumpking, ticking off mental check boxes in an insatiable to-do-list. Things seemed to be... actually pretty quiet right now. They helped that little girl get the pumpking off her head (her brother was so rude), supplies were well stocked (thank god they found some last mintue scooping implements), and people were having a good time. The voulenteers had spread out among the families carving their pumpkins, and there was actually... a quiet moment?

She smiles and gives a sigh of relief. Now what to do? As her eyes scan the crowd, they settle upon your character. They could be watching the pumpkin-carving proceedings with interest, or just standing around looking bored. Either way, she picks up a pumpkin and set of tools from the supply table, and makes her way over to you.]

Can I interest you in carving a pumpkin? It'll be fun [she pauses, unsure if you're taking the bait. So she also throws in] And it's for a good cause? [she holds up the pumpkin so that it's directly in your line of sight. So... will you take her up on the offer? :3]

II. Thriiiiiilaaaaaaaaah (Haunted House)

[All you hear is embarrassing shrieking. You probably dropped into this pit just a second ago yourself, but above you, you hear the distinctive sound of a young woman screeeeeeaaaaaaaming her head off as she plummets through the chute. She falls in a graceless heap into the pile of pastic skeletons, and then immediately attempts to scramble as if she's worried she'll drown.

Eventually she sits up properly, and it seems to dawn on her that she's deffinitely not dying. As she looks around the room her eyes eventually settle on you. She reaches up and makes a vague hand motion as if she's about to tidy up her hair, but instead she leans forward and starts to crawl towards you (as if she doesn't quite trust her own legs)]

A-Are you okay? What the heck just happened? Are you hurt? [the questions tumble out like a stream of conciousness, if you don't stop her she might nervously babble for the rest of eternity]

III. So very spooky.... (Ghosts In The Street)

[A very sleepy looking Charity comes ambling out of the hospital. She covers her mouth as she yawns, and stretches a bit as she pulls out her phone. She moves to the side of the sidewalk out of everyone's way as she fires off a few text messages. Shivering, she puts her phone in her pocket and tightens her scarf for better coverage.

However, as she looks up and gets ready to walk forward.... She's faced with Sir Ghostlington, grinning eerily inches from her face. Yelping audibally, she jumps to the side-- right into your character! Still in panic-mode she grabs onto your characters arm and stammers]

W-What is that? [but as she asks the question, the ghost fades away. Of course, this prompts her to look around... but the ghost is no where to be seen. Looking over at your character, mouth agape. Oh yeah, and she's still holding onto your character's arm. Yes, she doesn't realize that she's doing that, and yes she's going to be super embarrassed when she collects her wits about her]

Char...ity...? [Blinkblinkblink. Oh, she's certainly holding onto his arm after a bout of slight screaming. Before he even further acknowledges her, he turns his attention to their surroundings. It wasn't the most unusual thing to happen. In fact, it wasn't unusual at all. The only thing unusual about it was who it happened to. There's... no way, right?]

Are you...okay? [He pokes his finger into her shoulder with the arm she's not latched onto.]

T-Terra? [it's almost like watching a person who just woke up realized where they are. Fright fades away into confusion... And then as he pokes her, her cheeks flush red with embarrassment. Her grip on him releases in an instant, and she instead clasps her hands in front of her]

Sorry! I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to... [she trails off and sighs a little, there's no good way to not look like a total idiot in this situation] I just jumped without thinking. What on earth... did you see that-- [don't say ghost, it couldn't be a ghost. Prank? Trick?] thing?

[Terra just laughs it off. Charity is nothing if not a dork, sometimes. Still, her can't blame her. He remembers how freaked out he was when he started realizing the kind of stuff that was going on...Huh, it's been a while hasn't it? Who knew he was an expert all of a sudden?]

Don't worry about it. Having the instinct to grab me when you're in danger is a decent choice, honestly. [Another laugh.]

So, you really saw it, huh? Yeah, those things have been around all month...It's...some kind of ghost? [Yeah, he said ghost.] They're pretty harmless so far, at least.

Although...

You're probably going to want an explanation for me confirming the existence of ghosts, now, aren't you?

[She awkwardly forces a laugh as he mentions how her decision was smart. Still seems more embarrassing to her, but she apriciates that he's being nice aboug it. But his next question... the half-smale turns into a puzzled look as she considers what he's saying.

All month? No way, she can confirm that she's never seen anything like what just happened. She raises an eyebrow as she brings up her hand to tap on her chin. If this was anyone else, she would be concerned that they were having a mental breakdown. But this was Terra! He... He obviously wasn't lying, but what on earth was he trying to say?]

I mean... yes I'd like an explanation. Are you feeling alright? [she nibbles on her lower lip for a second] You're really saying that was a... a ghost?

[Shit, he's never had to actually do this in person before? It's usually over the network with a ton of supplementary information being thrown around for people to piece together in the safety of their own bed.

Now, he's all she has. And even worse, she's someone he actually cares about. Yikes.]

Not the ghost of someone who was alive, or anything like that, I don't think. It's just...a weird being? [Gods, this is difficult.] Here, to make it easier, I'm going to use my clairvoyance.

Take out your cell phone. There's an app that wasn't there before. It's called Retrospec. If you try to delete it, you won't be able to.

[He's... being serious. She watches him closely as he talks. No dialiation in the eyes, he wasn't sweating, nothing about him seemed feverish, or twitchy, or out of sorts. Just... Terra. Talking to her like he would on any other day. A million more questions buzz in her mind like bees, but she clamps her mouth shut. She's putting all of her efffort into forcing herself to shut up and pay attention. He wouldn't joke so seriously like this, and the least she can do is... well, take him seriouslly]

Clairvoyance-- [she lilts the end of the word as if it was a question, but she doesn't follow it up with more words, and instead pulls out her phone as instructed. She's not great with technology, and her older phone is a bit sluggish, but after a second of searching, she sees it. As promised... Retrospec.] I see it. Um, I'll open it? [her eyes flick up at Terra as she waits for the app to load]

Where did it come from?

Cheria Barnes (Charity Barnes) | Tales of Graces

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