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

Sion Astal | Legend of Legendary Heroes

[sunderings]

( workshop post is here! hmu if you'd like to work out pre-existing cr!! )

I.

[ Several crates of pumpkins and a travel-bag of carving tools; a sizable stash of candy-bar winnings and a bin of discount Halloween costumes, beg but a single question: just what could their grand overseer—one, Sion Astal, self-proclaimed Lord of Allhallows—be up to? For the time being, he seems rather lost in thought, his chin at elegant rest upon the curl of his fingers as he considers the amassed supplies in quiet assessment and survey before...! The wind picks up, tousling the long fall of his hair, so too drawing his attention to an onlooker: ]

You there! [ —he greets with the flash of a smile; a wave of his hand. ] May I trouble you for your opinion?

[ And then he gives pause, if only to accommodate a grand, sweeping gesture toward his hoard of all things autumnal and festive. ]

Among these things, what might be missing? [ Humming in idle thought, Sion moves forward, then, to pick up one of the heavier crates of pumpkins, intent upon loading in into the trunk of a nearby vehicle. ] I do not wish to disappoint the children at the hospital. If they cannot attend the festivities, they should have the festivities brought to them.

[ And he should hate to have forgotten something..! ]


II.

[ You're falling.

You're falling in the wake of a narrow escape, the mirrored walls of the haunted house turned to vices before the very floor beneath you gave way. But where one door should close, another is always destined to open, and rather suddenly...!

You've stopped falling, and you now find yourself caught and held fast in someone's arms. The very same someone who'd fallen into the trapdoor alongside you. And ah, he's almost gallant, isn't he—he supports you with ease, one arm at your back, and the other beneath the bend of your knees, blinking down at you curiously with a flutter of outrageously long lashes.

With honeyed brown eyes and blond hair, this person is--... ]

Ah— Are you all right?

[ ...a university student (you might recognize him), a volunteer at the hospital (he's great with kids!), and a student-teacher at the high school (this guy is everywhere?!).

Notably, your rescuer is completely unruffled by the fall—as much is evident in the seamless way he (Sion) returns you to your feet. ]

...it seems we've unlocked a secret room in the haunted house. ☆

[ Oh... oh no.... he's enjoying this?! ]


IV.

[ It follows.

Looming behind him first as a shade, a shadow of a thought, then as something wholly manifest and tangible, it had followed him, no longer a novelty borne of a haunted hayride enjoyed with good friends and companions, but a danger which posed a threat not only to himself, but to others.

And so: Sion does not run as disembodied footsteps echo behind him upon the street; he does not startle when whispers of his name prompt him to. Instead--... ]

As though I would let you continue to do as you please! You frighten no one--

[ ...he turns sharply upon his heel, ready to combat whatever so happened to linger at an arm's reach behind him, but...

He stalls, the color draining from his face when he realizes it is no simple haunt, no specter which has followed him all this while. Rather, it is only a man, someone who so starkly resembles Sion himself that it is as though he's returned to the mirrored halls of the haunted house at the Tribunal Terrace. ]

...father?

[ There is no time for Sion to react as it—the creature which took the face of the person he feared most—shifts in form, becoming shadowed once more as it lurches forward, using its momentum to propel Sion back, into the siding of a corner-store business. There is an audible crack! when the back of Sion's head connects sharply with the wall behind him, then...!!

Alarmingly, there is nothing. No sound. No signs of struggle. Is Sion all right? Do you dare investigate the scene...? ]

iv

[compendiem]

[ It hasn't even been 24 hours since the tdm went up and already there's been a murder. Minato is the lucky employee who was sent out of the coffee shop to investigate what happened, pulling his sleeves down when he exits into the cold night air, and then pushing them back up when he sees a body lying there by the building.

He drops to his knees immediately, cpr training coming back to him, and shakes Sion's shoulder— rougher than he would usually, voice louder than it is usually. ]

Hey. Are you okay?

[ A hand on Sion's wrist to check for a pulse, eyes on his chest to check for breathing. Hey, guy, are you alive? ]

[sunderings]

[ Sion Astal, met with some gruesome, ghastly end? No—he couldn't die, not here, not like this. Not when, once upon a time, his life had been tied to a greater fate; tethered to something far more important than himself. And in the here and now, it is no different: the person he fears (becoming) has yet to be stopped, and Sion cannot rest until he's achieved power enough to bury that awful man. Until that day should come to pass, what right has he to lay crumpled at the side of the building? Of what use is he, if he is not able to at least open his eyes in response to the jostling (a hand upon his shoulder) and the gentle brush of fingertips against the inside of his wrist?

Startling into wakefulness, he grows tense (that thing, is it still stalking after him?) before wincing (is that blood in his hair?), then relaxes as he focuses on the person before him: warm (and somehow distant) brown eyes and hair like the night surrounding them. ]

It is dangerous—

[ And here, there is a hand lifted to gently touch Minato's own shoulder in a gesture of reciprocation.

Of worry which seems misplaced, especially for someone who had been tossed headlong into a very solid, very unforgiving wall only a handful of moments ago. ]

You should not be out here.

[compendiem]

[ Oh boy, head injuries are the worst, and his hand on Sion's shoulder stops jostling him immediately to push him more firmly back against the wall so that he doesn't try to get up. Danger means something (someone?) happened to him, Minato thinks, half turning to look over his shoulder to see whether anybody is about to clock him over the head. If that's the case, neither of them should be out here, exchanging vague warnings. ]

My phone is in my locker in the break room. I can call an ambulance and the police.

[sunderings]

Ah--...

[ Blinking once, then twice, Sion stills beneath the push of Minato's hand—steady and sure—before he settles, having a better grasp of his bearings. An ambulance, not to mention the police, are both largely unnecessary: the 'danger' which Sion had foolishly mentioned without thinking better of it has no rational explanation, and the paramedics...

No, Sion hasn't the slightest wish of involving anyone else. Minato's is already one presence too many, appreciated though it is. ]

You've my thanks, but neither will be necessary. The only danger here is that of tripping and falling, as I did. The streetlights here are rather dim, aren't they? It's a bit hard to see, and I...

[ Ducking his head in a play at embarrassment, Sion smiles a bit sheepishly. ]

...I will be all right. [ But will Minato be convinced?] But you work at the coffee shop, don't you?

If it isn't too much of an imposition, I think I'd like to rest somewhere before returning home for the night.

[compendiem]

[ The lights outside are pretty dim, not helped at all by the thick fog that's been covering the city this month. Minato makes a mental note to ask his manager whether the store front can at least be lit up a little brighter, so that it can be seen and others can see and not trip and fall as Sion must have done, quick to believe as Minato is, when the explanation sounds reasonable. And it is, because Sion is also right that he shouldn't be out here, when he's needed back inside the coffee shop where there are customers to be attended to, his own over-reactive imagination about warnings of street thugs being just that: an overreaction.

Sighing, he offers a hand to help Sion up, a nod of his head in agreement that he thinks that's a good idea too. ]

If you need it, I keep painkillers in my locker too. ...Caffeine makes it stronger.

[ A subtle hint to buy a cheap cup of black coffee so the manager doesn't kick Sion out for loitering. ]

III

[putabowonit]

[guess who was screaming the entire way down? Yep, this girl. She tries to be composed in most areas of life, but she doesn't do well with sudden scares like this. All the breath flushes out of her as she's caught, and she looks with wide eyes at-]

S-Sion! [she blinks once, twice... aaaaaand then start blushing furiously]

Thank you, I... What just happened? How did you... [she stammers a bit, more and more embarrassed by this situation] I'm so sorry, I-I can stand.

[sunderings]

You never need apologize, not to me. [ With a gentle laugh and a carefree shake of his head, Sion gently lowers Charity to her feet, mindful of the plastic skeletons, rubber spiders, and other such fiendish curiosities which litter the ground beneath. ] Were I not here, I am certain that you would have found your bearings on your own.

[ And he does sound quite sure of that, doesn't he? Charity, to volunteer as she does, must always think quickly and act with haste—he rather admires that about her, in fact. ]

...though, I will admit, I am glad I was able to break your fall. [ Canting his head to the side, his smile turns into something playful, seeming not to belong within the basement of a haunted house...!

And then, he rocks back and forth precisely once upon his feet, tapping his chin in idle thought: ]

Is that selfish of me, I wonder?

IV

[faeblooded]

Where the hell did that guy get off to?

[Mattie grumbled to herself, searching the darkened streets for a flash of the long, pale hair she had come to recognize as one of the TAs in her school. Running a hand through her thick, flaxen hair, she turned with a huff and was ready to give up on her search when she heard the commotion--

--And, in a flash, she was in motion.

Rounding a corner, she spotted one (1) Sion Astal and rushed to his side.]

Hey! Hey you-- you're not dead, are you?

[Being the first at the scene of a murder; that was the last thing she needed attached to her name.]

[sunderings]

[ After the hayride, perhaps they should not have parted ways—Sion, at the time, had been determined to draw the attention of whatever it had been that had given pursuit to their cart, thoroughly unwilling for Mattie to share in the investigation. And now--... ]

Mattie?

[ Somehow yet, she's here all the same.

Glancing up at the younger student with bleary eyes, an unfocused gaze, he makes a play at enacting a sheepish smile, canting his head to the side as he touches his fingertips to his hairline, somehow unsurprised when they come away stained with red.

Ah... That's no good, he'd hit the wall rather hard, hadn't he? ]

Not yet, I'm afraid.

[ H'aaaaah, she'd find that funny, wouldn't she? A hand pressing to the wall behind him, he makes to use it as support to rise to his feet...!! ]

Though perhaps my own clumsiness will lead me to the grave, one day. Please take mercy upon your poor student-teacher and tell not a single soul about his embarrassment...!!

[ Or the creature which he'd thought to be worth confronting. ]

[faeblooded]

[Oh hell was this bad, Mattie thought when she saw those delicate fingers and that ash-pale hair stained dark red in the faint light of the streets. Small relief as it was that he wasn't dead yet, she knew in her gut that injuries of that sort were never a good thing.]

You know I can't make that promise, [she said gruffly, offering a hand to help him to his feet and a shoulder to support him as they trudged to somewhere a little safer... a little bit less off of the beaten path than they were.]

I've seen too many people get their head smacked hard and not get it looked at to know that it's bad news-- [she said, referencing the many fights and off color situations she had been in over the years.] I won't tell people what happened, but you're getting to a doctor.

[sunderings]

[ The reaction is slow, after Mattie extends her hand, but by virtue of some miracle—the familiarity and trust borne of one too many late afternoons spent with his junior, their time together growing farther away from tutoring and closer to companionship—Sion reaches back. Fingers clasping about her own, he finds his feet and follows where she leads, to a street which is banked by slats of light from lampposts overhead and the bustle of public transit. Here, the thing which he'd encountered seems more and more like fiction—had it truly been a shadow which had attacked him?

I won't tell people what happened, Mattie's said, and Sion cannot be certain that anyone would believe the tale. ]

Surprisingly... you're quite the stick in the mud.

[ Softly, he laughs, the sound naturally accompanied by a shake of his head—a gesture which Sion immediately regrets, for quite suddenly he finds himself swept up in about of vertigo. It's a blessing, he thinks, that the apparition from before has vanished.

Like this... he isn't sure he'd be of much help to Mattie, were it to appear again. ]

Isn't it the job of the senior to scold his junior? Instead of you telling me to see a doctor, I should say: 'Mattie, it's getting late, let's see you home before your mother worries'.

[ It is late, after all, and Sion is still the responsible party between the two. ]

[faeblooded]

[The reaction was too slow, and his gait was off just enough to be a cause for worry in Mattie's opinion-- perhaps to an inappropriate degree. Her heart raced at the sight, as it would have if she were witnessing one of her direct peers in similar straits even though a part of her still wanted to deny the deeper turn their relationship was taking with the extra time Sion spent helping her catch up with her studies. There were certain ethical boundaries between a teacher and student that shouldn't be broached, and she knew that the many hours they spent outside of the classroom was causing them both to walk the fine line of what was morally sound.]

Quit your complaining, or I'll give you a real reason to complain!

[She blustered, cheeks flushing in embarrassment at being caught like that as she braced his slender figure against her's. He really was too light for his height, she noted-- Rail thin and delicate-boned enough to look better in a skirt than she did.

With the way Sion wavered, Mattie wondered if it wouldn't be wiser to just carry him instead.]

Consider yourself off the clock, [she added, her voice taking on an oddly gentle tone.] Mom knows I can take care of myself by now. She won't like it, but when she hears why I'm late this time I'm sure she'll understand.

It's either I take you to a doctor, or I take you back to my house... and I think the doctor is the better idea.

[sunderings]

[ He wonders if he is not burdensome to her.

Mattie, for all her boisterous tendencies—how easily, he'd rankled her, her cheeks flushing in a way he hadn't the right to call endearing—cared tremendously for the people who surrounded her. For her classmates and for her mother; for her numerous attempts at securing a part-time job, and for her graduation in the following year. She brought her passion to everything she touched, and in the here and now--...

She acts the part of his brace, as though she were worried he just may blow away in the breeze.

(Foolish, stubborn girl.) ]

Better still, how about we take care of one another? [ With more gusto, now, he makes to match her step as they traverse down the street. Notably, though, instead of allowing for Mattie to lead, Sion careens them in a different direction entirely. ] If we venture back to my apartment instead, I will be able to assist you with the chemistry homework you've yet to complete.

[ Where her tone gentles, so too does his own, though it still rings resonant and sure— ]

And as for myself... you need only to ensure that I don't fall asleep for the next hour or so. ☆

[ Fair trade, right? ]

If I do need to pay a visit to the doctor, we'll know by the time your assignment is done.

[ ...because if his symptoms are going to worsen, they'll do so by then, but this he refrains from saying!!... ]

i.

[wantnotneed]

That's nice and all, but don't you think all that is a bit too much to bring to a hospital? Is that even allowed?

[ Manon squints, looking at this hoard of... everything. ]

--Hey, where's the confetti? If there's a festival for kids, you definitely need confetti!

[sunderings]

H'oh? Confetti? I hadn't thought of that!

[ And naturally, now that the suggestion has been voiced, Sion will not be able to return to the hospital without confetti—orange and black confetti, at that! But where to find it, amid the hustle and bustle of the terrace? ]

Could you be a professional in the festival business...? [ —he says lightly, with a considering hum, loading the first of the crates into the car. ]

Not all the children at the hospital will be well enough to participate in activities like pumpkin carving, of course, so I am looking to recruit another volunteer whose expertise lies in the reenactment of Halloween stories and spooky tales.

[ The invitation, here, goes unsaid. ]

[wantnotneed]

I'm not a professional, but from what I remember, kids always loved confetti that rained down on them. Probably reminds them of parades or birthday parties so they feel special.

[ She gives him a look of consideration, before shaking her head. ]

I got work after this, so I can't go. Why not just do a one-man puppet show?

ii

[thekingssnake]

[There you are, Sion.

Jason looks a bit put off when he's caught, just managing to give the student a very flat look.]

Why does it sound like you're enjoying this.

[sunderings]

Because we've just embarked upon an adventure, you and I.

[ —a breezy hum upon his lips after he's returned Jason to his feet, Sion fetches his cellphone from his side-satchel of books, deftly enabling the 'flashlight' feature. And all at once, the basement is illuminated: shadows are cast off from glowing green skeletons, rubber spiders, and other such novelties which Sion is somehow enchanted by and enamored with.

Almost, it's like he'd never enjoyed such frivolity when growing up.

(Jason should know that he hadn't.) ]

How would you have us proceed?

[ It would be a shame not to have fun while they are able, Sion thinks. ]

[thekingssnake]

I'm not sure if being trapped in a basement with novelty items can count as an adventure.

[But he sounds nearly exasperated, barely held back at Sion's own attitude. It's almost as if he's completely used to this (and in some way, he is) but at the same time, Jason has learned not to really ask so much questions.

Even though he knows better than most what kind of life Sion has grown up with.]

You're free to choose. It seems like you've been down here for quite a while already.

[sunderings]

[ Quite awhile, is it? ]

I've done no more and no less than my due diligence. [ With no small measure of grace, Sion drops into an effortless crouch, fetching one of the items upon the floor—the most handsome, fetching, and a d o r a b l e plastic mouse—before turning it once over in his hand. ] It was only natural to assume that others might unwittingly find themselves here as well, so I've remained in the hope of ensuring their safety.

[ If one so happened to land in the wrong manner or fashion, would their voice be heard if they cried out for help? ]

So... I think I'll remain here for a little while longer.

[ Rising to his feet, he extends the toy mouse to Jason, his fingers curling about the plastic to elicit the most annoying classically charming squeak-squeak-squeak of a children's toy. ]

Would you care for a souvenir?

[ That discontented look... it really is no good. Perhaps the cheerful token would help...? ]

[thekingssnake]

Ever the knight, aren't you.

[His tone is rather deadpan. While Jason has gotten rather used to Sion's antics, he would admit that it does get exasperating at times to have to deal with the student.

He arches an eyebrow at the toy.

No, thank you. But even if you do remain here for much longer, are you aware of how to get out?

ii

[yakan]

[ Oh...! Well this is surprising. Much more surprising than the floor giving out under his feet just moments ago.

Kiyoshi plays along though, a (very fake) expression of a fair maiden who has just been rescued from certain doom on his face. (Nobody ever said he was a good actor, but he's doing the act poorly on purpose, because it's funnier that way). ]

Oh my, [ he says as he waves a hand to cool pretend-flustered cheeks ] it does seem that way. But I'm stuck with a gallant knight, so I'm sure I will be perfectly safe.

[sunderings]

Indeed, it is so! [ —breezy and light, Sion's voice echoes with a laugh, the sound reverberating through the vastness of the haunted house's underground. And it is an easy thing, to meet and match Kiyoshi's theatrics when Sion so happens to be at play himself: something like this, silly though it seems... it means the world to him.

Before he'd moved to Recolle, transferring universities, commonplace actives like attending a festival in the city's public terrace would have never been a possibility.

But now, he's the chance to live the experience, his head bowing ever-so-slightly as he rests the palm of his hand on his chest, just above the heart (and isn't that the most valiant sight?): ] This noble champion of yours will see to it that no harm befalls you, so long as you remain in his steadfast care.

What's more... it is fortunate, perhaps, that our enemies seem to be decorations and children's toys. [ Shaking his head, the fringe of his hair bounces lightly with the motion. ] I wonder if we should not gather some to bring back to the terrace?

[yakan]

[ It is so fun to do something like this once in a while. Kiyoshi might be a single father who is past forty already, and who once was part of the yakuza, but he always have and always will enjoy some dramatical and light-hearted theatrics. Recollé really is a good place to be, and he’s so happy to have ended up in this city by pure chance because of all these opportunities his new life has given him.

Indeed, it is a most valiant sight, and Kiyoshi makes an expression like he just might swoon. ] Such noble words, Sir Knight. I will entrust myself in your fearless care.

That is incredibly lucky, they seem as if they would be unable to match your prowess. [ He looks down at the carpet of toys and decorations, which all look perfectly harmless and easily defeated. Really, they already look utterly defeated as they are. ] Oh? Should we bring some back to share the spoils?