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

[Well, aren't you lucky, Biffy, here comes someone who has long arms and legs, and simply reaches over your head from behind to grab said jacket from the ghosts... who apparently are surprised enough and didn't see this coming.

Kenta quickly checks the coat before holding it out to the owner.]

I think it's fine. Here.

[Oh. Well this is a surprise. Biffy blinks as a long arm (that is impressive stitching on that sleeve!) obtains his coat. Turning he finds himself facing a man who is very tall and who knows enough to check his coat for damage before handing it back.

Beaming he takes the coat and...pauses.

His eyes go wide.]

Is that from Hirata fashion?

[HE KNOWS THAT STITCHING.]

[That... was definitely not what Kenta was expecting as a follow-up to this. In fact the disconnect is enough that for a second he just freezes. Then he looks at his jacket and he as to actually make a conscious effort to try and remember if this is one of the many things Jirou's mom made for him.]

I... think so? Why?

[He can't be bothered with the ghosts (which probably won't do him any favors soon) because this is...amazing!]

This isn't even available in stores!

[Please don't mind this young man from Spain. He's a fan.]

How did you get your hands on an original? I never see originals out there!

Hirata-san made it for me.

[He says, as if it's just a normal thing to have the head designer and owner of a high-class fashion brand just make things for you.

Which it is for Kenta. to him, Hirata-can has always been first and foremost Jirou's mom]

[Give him a moment. The owner of Hirata Fashion made this for him. Just made it for him. Herself.]

You know her?

[He's in shock. And jealous. And might be wondering how to befriend this man so he can see what other designers are in his closet.]

[Kenta isn't sure where the shock comes from. Even people like Hirata-san have friends and family, after all, right?]

I've known her since I was six years old. She's given me a lot of stuff over the years.

[Sometimes, she'll try out designs on him before incorporating them in new things. She likes having someone like Kenta around, even though to her despair he's always refused any official modeling gigs.]

She has one of the most unique styles in the industry right now! I have been hoping to get one of her works for several years!

[Well the ghosts are bored and getting ready to dump water on the two of them at this point. Which Biffy notices and actually pulls a small tube out of his bag (yes he has one) and he pushes a button to get an umbrella that he now holds up over both their heads. Yes this handsome stranger too.

The water falls around them as he keeps talking, not even missing a beat.]

I truly admire the work she does in the industry.

[That man is just so happy to talk about fashion, he's both outright ignoring the ghosts while warding them off at the same time. Impressive.]

I... don't think we should stay out there.

Can I buy you a coffee?

[Because let him keep hanging out with this man who has friends in an industry Biffy has a lot of interest in!]

I... guess? I mean you don't have to pay, but we really should not stay outside.

[On a normal day, Kenta would probably refuse coffee with a stranger, but Recolle has this way of pushing random people together... and it's not like he has any pressing matters to attend to. He can definitely spend some time having good coffee with some company until he has to go home.

Maybe he can just call a car to go home. And maybe drive the guy home. Sounds like a good idea if the fog doesn't let up.]

This way then!

[He is gladly walking with the man like some sort of well trained butler. He's really nothing of the sort but heaven forbid those ghosts try to dump water on such a splendid coat!]

There's a place I like right over here.

[Kenta doesn't really seem to notice. He's a little to used to people taking care of him without him having to ask really so it just feels really natural.

Once they reach this place that was mentioned, Kenta takes off his jacket to drape it over the back of his chair.]

What's good here? I don't know this place.

[He relaxes when they're inside. Thank goodness for indoor settings.]

I've only come a couple of times but the teas have never failed me so far. Especially if you add a touch of honey to them.

[Kenta makes a visible grimace at the mention of honey in tea. He's never understood why people insist on adding stuff to tea. At least until he tested the quality of tea in Recolle and vowed to stick to the teas he had that are imported from Japan.]

.... I think I'll stick to coffee.

[he orders that black too.]

Coffee it is.

[He orders himself a lovely Earl Grey and even asks for some milk and honey to go with it. Of course he's told he'll have that and then he promptly pays for them both. Because even if he doesn't have to pay he's a gentleman who said he would so he intends to follow through with that.

With that, he leads the way to a table they can sit at until their drinks are brought to them.]

So, tell me about yourself. Are you from Recolle? Do you go to school here?

[Kenta is tall but he can't be much older than him. He imagines he must be going to the university and he's already making a note to look him up the next time he has classes.]

[Milk. Ugh. Kenta is too polite to say anything but the look on his face says it all. How can someone do this to a cup of tea and still call it tea?

He raises an eyebrow as they sit down and the questions stat rolling.]

Is this a job interview?

[The small smile says he doesn't really mind, though. Besides, by now he's used to just how much is safe for him to reveal.]

I'm not from here, no, but I've been living here since I was about six years old, so I grew up here. And yes, I'm a student at Recolle University, although I should be graduating by next June.]

A friendship interview maybe.

[He laughs but he's just playing up the situation for the fun of it. Mainly because he can tell that obviously Kenta doesn't mind too much. He's not getting any of those vibes off of him.]

Not from here... From Japan then? Also it looks like we both go to the University then.

Japan, yes. However did you guess?

[I mean, the only way Kenta could look more like a samurai would be for him to actually wear a kimono and hakama and have a sword with him, which... he'd rather not go there for now. But he does look as Japanese as one can.]

Are you majoring in fashion? I have a friend who's doing that. He wants to be a designer himself.

Your use of honorifics earlier. Though the head of Hirata Fashion was born in Japan, she's made it clear in interviews that she wishes to be seen as American since she moved to Recolle.

[Someone is a fan.]

And actually I am studying music. I have a full ride scholarship for it. By the way, I'm Biffy. What is your name?

[Clearly a fan, yes. Jirou's mom has never rebuked Kenta for calling her Hirata-san, and she even speaks Japanese with him on occasion, but it's true she's totally adapted to her new environment.]

I know she made herself a home there, but using those were too ingrained in me by the time I met her, especially since she was an adult and I a child.

I'm Kenta. And you must be good if you have a full scholarship.

I am.

[It seemed more statement of fact than bragging though, even if he did appear to have the personality for boasting.]

If you stop by the music hall sometime you could come and listen to me play the piano.

It's not really near my neck of the woods on campus, but I can try and stop by after class some day.

[To be honest Kenta isn't even sure of where the music students are on campus.]

I sometimes finish pretty late, though.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OCTOBER TDM

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