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

[kabloom]

Oh dear.

[ she wonders if suggesting that he gets a new pumpkin may perhaps be offensive to him. it probably will be. hmmm. ]

Maybe you can do a horror theme pumpkin instead?

[ she doesn't mean it to come out as a drag, and yet, ]

[cardcaptured]

[IF LOOKS COULD KILL, HE COULD HAVE MURDERED YOU RIGHT NOW

but it's difficult to hold a glare with that much intensity for too long a time (Xiaolang can certainly hold a record for it though) and he plops his head against the tabletop, quietly fuming, trying to retain any dignity he had left whatever he did have, anyway

... it's going to be a moment (or three)]

[kabloom]

[ it's fine, she'll wait






pulls out her phone ]

[cardcaptured]

[YOU'RE THE ACTUAL WORSE


but after a moment of being a huge baby collecting himself, he sits up, clearly arriving at an epiphany, and leaves, heading to who knows where

after about a minute, he's back with two new pumpkins, both bigger than the last one, and lands them on the table with a loud THUMP

most importantly though

the gloves are off

both metaphorically and literally as HIS STUPID WOLF MITTS ARE FINALLY OFF

shit is about to get R E A L]

You, me, the pumpkins. Let's GO.

[XIAOLANG PLEASE]

[kabloom]

[ she looks at xiaolang

then down at the pumpkins

and then there's a pause. mimori just stares at the pumpkins a little longer, before clearing her throat. she looks a little apologetic? like she's about to tell him that no, she can't do this, they should do something friendlier instead.

but then she reaches over to grab one of the carving knives. ]

You're on.

[cardcaptured]

[He's already ahead of her, knife in hand, navigating it around the top of the pumpkin with surprising speed and deftness. Without the handicap, Xiaolang... actually pretty good at this? Chalk it up to all of the cooking he does at home, anyway. You can practically SEE the aura of pure salt coming off of him, though, and he hardly pauses as he addresses Mimori.]

First one to finish finds a third party to judge the results! And whoever wins...

[... actually, he wasn't quite what the winner would get. HM. Let him think on that one.]

[kabloom]

How about... the loser has to give the winner some candy? In the spirit of Halloween.

[ she just seems cheerful about all of this. she's not rushing, at least, mostly because she's typically a neat person and doesn't want the pumpkin goop flying all over the place. ]

[cardcaptured]

[He stops for a moment, scowls (he was still thinking about it, Mimori!!!!)... but then considers it.]

... okay, fine, that works.

[He continues to plow ahead, scooping out the inside goop and cleaning the interior, before pausing long enough to say:]

I like Cadbury chocolate, just so you know.

[kabloom]

I love botamochi! [ ... ] Although that's... not really candy, is it...

[ she just... loves sweets in general, and gets excited... ]

Well, I'll figure it out later after I win.

[ she's onto the scooping part. mimori smiles at him?? ]

[cardcaptured]

[HOW

HOW DARE???????????????

He's so mad, he can't even think of a good enough comeback?? GODDAMMIT MIMORI]

No you're NOT--!!

[He's going to be scraping the interior of his pumpkin more furiously now, the shavings getting every which way, not even caring about the mess he's making because HE IS GOING TO BEAT HER. HE IS GOING TO BEAT HER SO HARD.]

[kabloom]

[ holy shit this is hilarious

mimori is, honestly, very competitive as well. so this is funny? but she also does genuinely want to win. ]

Is it easier without the paws?

[cardcaptured]

[There's going to be a time in his life where he looks back on this whole debacle in shame

but now is not that time!!!]

Of course it is! Shut up and stop distracting me!

[SO YOU KNEW ALL ALONG, XIAOLANG......]

[kabloom]

Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distract you. It'll just seem more fun if it's a friendly competition, wouldn't it?

[ she's done with the scooping, and now mimori pauses as she... tries to figure out what to carve, her hand hovering over the knife.

hmmmm. ]

[cardcaptured]

[WHAT ABOUT HIS FACE RIGHT NOW MAKES YOU THINK THIS IS FRIENDLY]

I don't see how, because we're NOT FRIENDS.

[Or, at least, not that he's aware of, anyway?? He's still new to this friendship thing, and 'frenemies' isn't a word that exists in his vocabulary yet, sobs

With his own scooping and cleaning done, though, Xiaolang doesn't waste time sketching out the design onto the pumpkin, choosing something a touch more complicated than the last one. At least he'll have the thumbs to pull this off this time around!]

[kabloom]

Hm? Well, I guess so.

[ she won't comment further on that, instead finally deciding on a design. she's sticking with her nature theme, although opting for a tree instead of a flower. ]

Do you think we'll become friends?

[cardcaptured]

[... shoot, her new design looks pretty cool, but!! This just means he needs to buckle down extra hard to make his even better!

Her question throws him for a loop, though, enough so that it makes him pause at the tail-end of his sketching. Was she trying to psyche him out?]

... I doubt it.

[And at that, he continues his work, finally starting to dig in the holes of his design with a small army knife he had kept stashed in his pocket (he likes being prepared??), but the question still stuck in his mind. Why would he want to be friends with someone who beat him all the time?]

[kabloom]

That's a shame then. [ she means it, but her tone is still pleasant, and she's still smiling.

once she's done with her design, mimori will begin to carve as well. she's quiet for a few minutes, mostly since now that they are dealing with the trickiest part of this she doesn't want them to accidentally cut themselves. ]

It seems like it would be really interesting to be your friend.

[cardcaptured]

[Good. The quiet is good. It helps him concentrate on drilling in each of the tiny holes, a task that would be extremely tedious for anyone who lacks the kind of focus Xiaolang possesses. And it was better this way-- he didn't want to engage in any small talk with Mimori, he just wanted to get this done and regain his pride by beating her, which is OBVIOUSLY what he was going to do!

... which is why her next question, seemingly out of nowhere, surprises him so much. A fierce blush heats up his face, and the army knife fumbles out his hand, almost embedding itself in his leg by accident (he does manage to catch it last second though, thankfully)]

W-What's that supposed to mean?

[kabloom]

[ xiaolang, please don't impale yourself.

she doesn't reply right away, instead focusing on making sure she's cutting evenly along her design. when he drops his knife, mimori stops entirely just to see if she'll need to help him or not. ]

You just seem like the kind of person who would make days fun.

[cardcaptured]

[HE'LL TRY NOT TO???? Honestly, the knife is the last thing on his mind right now, as he's... genuinely puzzled over what she was trying to say. 'Make days fun'? Xiaolang was blind to a lot of his faults, but even he wouldn't be the first to say he was someone people went to when they were looking for fun. Someone reliable, maybe, or responsible, but never THAT.

His brow furrows, and his frown gets less angry, and more contemplative, as he brings the knife back to the pumpkin and resumes his work. Just what exactly did she mean by that?]

... you're not doing this on purpose, are you?

[kabloom]

Doing what?

[ it's a genuine question.

it's actually a little funny, since they're similar in a lot of ways. mimori, at her core, wouldn't be considered someone "fun," but she tries to be because she wants friends. ]

Do not you agree with me?

[cardcaptured]

THIS. Asking weird questions to distract me from my work.

[He chances a glance at her, to see if she was joking in any capacity, but no-- she was actually serious about it.

Huh.]

I don't agree with you, actually. I'm not sure who you're thinking of, but I don't exactly fit the model of a person who can provide 'fun'.

[kabloom]

I think that your definition of it doesn't seem to be broad enough.

[ she returns to working on her pumpkin, humming lightly. ]

I think competition can be fun.

[cardcaptured]

[His frown deepens, miffed at her suggestion-- what other kinds of fun COULD there be?-- but it's her last statement that frustrates him the most. With an angry huff, he pulls his attention away from his pumpkin (good thing too, because he may have stabbed it again in a fit of rage), outrage clear across his face.]

Wait-- you mean you're not even taking this seriously?!

[Because... pumpkin carving is totally a thing to take seriously? Xiaolang PLEASE.]