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Recollé Mods ([personal profile] recollecters) wrote in [community profile] repeter2017-10-17 08:38 pm
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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 [community profile] 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!

[personal profile] promisedyou 2017-10-20 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
[ She sure did. Of course, she can always chalk it up to wanting to be a little braver in front of a friend, but in reality... Mio's just not as scared as she'd like some people to believe. Even if she could keep up the crybaby act - as she knows how her sister used to be - it just isn't fun for more than a few moments.

But it's definitely relieving that she isn't just seeing things, at least. So she'll do as she's told as she hops behind Soleil, only peering from over her shoulder. ]


Don't worry, I don't know how to punch a ghost, either! [ Mio laughs, but it's a hollow thing. ] I mean, they're supposed be incorporeal, so wouldn't your hand just like... go through it?
sunnymerc: (134)

[personal profile] sunnymerc 2017-10-20 12:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ So much for her opportunity to play the role of big, cool hero. These supernatural shenanigans are messing with her self image.

...Not that it matters here, seeing that these ghost-things aren't trying to eat anyone. They don't seem to be trying to actually hurt anyone at all. They may be freaky looking, but they're just being little shits.
]

Uh. Hmm. I guess it won't matter. They don't seem to be doing anything...real bad. They're kind of cute in a creepy sort of way.

[ Soleil spins on her heel to face 'Kotone', flashing her a grin and giving her the double pistols with her fingers. ]

They may be spooky, but you've got nothing to fear with me around. They're not hurting anyone and I'll take care of you so that big sister of yours won't need to worry.

[personal profile] promisedyou 2017-10-20 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, not for now, but...

[ What about later? It's a bit troublesome to have ghosts around and not be absolutely certain if they're going to screw her over or not. It's not fun. But she finds herself sighing, even though she's aware of what people say about that in particular. ]

Okay. [ Although she is the big sister... ] I'm sure if sis was around, she'd thank you for protecting me.
sunnymerc: (102)

[personal profile] sunnymerc 2017-10-20 02:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Heehee. Be sure to put in a good word about me with your big sis. It'll make it more fun when I finally get to meet her.

[ She is very curious to see just how different they turn out to be. Based on what Kotone has said before, Soleil wouldn't be surprised if there aren't any similarities at all. She probably wouldn't realize they're related without being told, she thinks. ]

Now, um. What should we do about this...? I don't want you to get involved with these things, but troublemakers need to be stopped...

[personal profile] promisedyou 2017-10-21 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I definitely will!

[ It's kind of ironic that Soleil's talking to said big sister right now without even knowing that's who she's talking to. To be honest, it almost makes her giggle. ]

Well... do you think we can search something up on our phones? Like how to exorcise ghosts, or something like that.
sunnymerc: (141)

[personal profile] sunnymerc 2017-10-22 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
Do you really think we'll be able to find whatever they recommend around here? I know scary movies mention using salt, but I doubt we'll find, say, holy water...

[ But she goes along with it and after doing a search... ]

"What is a ghost's favorite exercise? ...Dead lifts." I don't think this is going to work.

[ THAT'S BECAUSE YOU SPELLED 'EXORCISE' WRONG, NUMBNUTS. ]

[personal profile] promisedyou 2017-10-22 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
Salt's pretty easy to find, isn't it? We might be able to use that for this since it's convenient.

[ She says this so matter-of-factly before hearing that bad... joke. ]

... yeah, maybe we should go with the salt.
sunnymerc: (100)

[personal profile] sunnymerc 2017-10-23 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ That is what she gets for googling 'how to exercise ghosts' (sic). ]

I'm not a salty person by nature, so are you suggesting we buy a bunch of salt in throw it everywhere?

[personal profile] promisedyou 2017-10-23 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
Essentially, yes. I mean, if it doesn't work, at least we'll have salt. It won't be a complete waste.
sunnymerc: (191)

[personal profile] sunnymerc 2017-10-23 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh! Right. That's...good?

[ Look, she is all for looking on the bright side of things, but she doesn't have the slightest idea what she'll do with a bunch of salt. ]

You should watch your sodium intake.

[personal profile] promisedyou 2017-10-24 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't worry, I won't use it all at once!

[ She waves her hands a little frantically in reassurance. It's fine. She'll be fine. ]
sunnymerc: (161)

[personal profile] sunnymerc 2017-10-29 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She doesn't have a clue what a young girl would do with a crapton of salt, all at once or otherwise. Baking, maybe? ]

...Well, okay. You can have whatever I have leftover. I wouldn't have any need for it, especially if it doesn't end up doing any good against these...things.

[personal profile] promisedyou 2017-10-30 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I really appreciate it.

[ She grins rather cheerfully, though. ] But hopefully it works.