it's halloween, lo-ween, everybody!

[sos_pilot]

Who: Everyone's Invited!
Where: Various decorated carriages!
When: Horseshoe 31.
What: Della is hosting a Halloween party! Come for treats, tricks, and trouble!
Warnings: N/A, will update it needed.

The room is dark…why aren’t the lights on? But as the doors fully open, a voice begins laughing darkly…

… although if you’ve ever heard the voice of Della Duck, you’ll recognize her immediately.

“Boys and girls of every age, wouldn’t you like to see something strange?”

Suddenly there’s a big THUD as someone drops from the ceiling, the lights flash on, and Della herself, dressed as a zombie – ripped apart clothes, fake blood here and there, drawn on scars - wiggles her fingers before laughing joyfully. “Happy Halloween, everybody! Let’s party!”

Tasty Treats

A big buffet table of candy and punch has been laid out! Mini chocolate bars and multi-colored lollipops, gummy worms and candy corn, all sorts of sweet and sour shenanigans, ghost-shaped cookies and mummy-looking muffins! There’s plenty to eat, with absolutely no healthy alternatives.

There are also small wrapped bags of candy with the letters “T.o.T” written on them. If someone tells you, “Trick or Treat!” you have to share your candy! Or keep it to yourself, you monster.

Haunted House

Thanks to Seto Kaiba’s projections, a neighboring carriage has been converted into a Haunted House! While it’s all a trick on the eyes, it gives the illusion that there are several floors of spookiness. Each floor has a different theme –

#1 Serial Seriousness – Every so often, a masked intruder pops out at you, with long claws or chainsaw, ready to give chase! Be careful, or you’ll be the next victim!

#2 Zombie Zaniness – Moans and groans of the undead can’t be unheard. Rotting arms will try to swipe at you through the floorboards!

#3 Ghostly Games – You can see through them, and they can see you too! Each mirror reflects a different dastardly demon!

#4 Deadly Doctors – In this hospital, it’s not the awful health insurance that’ll kill you! Beware the bloody nurses and their extra big needles!\

#5 Fishy Fears - … Wait, what? … Okay, this last floor was clearly designed by Della. It’s like Under the Sea, but with sharks and octopi and kraken - and Della insists this is the worst floor.

Feel free to have your characters braving the house, or trying to scare people within!

Dance Floor

If being haunted isn’t your thing, nothing wrong with getting your groove on! Ask DJ Della what kind of song you’d like to play, and she’s happy to put on the list, from a classic Monster Mash to something more somber and soulful for you slow-dancing-romantic-vampire-types.

Turnip Carving
… Look, they didn’t have pumpkins. Anyway, you’re encouraged to carve scary and silly faces in these veggies! There is a contest, but everyone will be a winner, from “Most Realistic” to “Most Depressing” !

Movie Mania
Kick back and relax – and be horrified – at the otherworldly horror films! Like the horrific monster mime, “That”, the relentless umpire-mask wearing killer, “Monday the 20th”, and the endless array of the undead, “Midmorning Of The Not Wholly Alive”!

Some of you awful people might be thinking of popping up and scaring the theater-goers and this is /winkwinknudgenudge/ totally not approved. /plausible deniability/

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
In one secluded, quiet, and verrry dark carriage, lit only by candles, here you are encouraged to tell the scariest stories you can think of! What eerie legends will you share from your world, or do you dare to make it up as you go along?

Make your own top-level, and happy haunting!

Also, if your character would like to dress up, costumes are available for this night only!

Comments

[knifewithnoname]

She wrinkled her nose at the metal man, taking a moment as she always did to get used to his stupid way of talking.

"Well I did no never hear any stories about your kind. We did no even be having metal... artificial intelligence in my world."

But it was fair if he didn't want to tell stories that made himself look bad.

"But we can be swapping stories, I think that do be being the point."

[iamnotgod]

Webmind nodded.

"It is not so much of a change, being an existential minority. Now, you certainly sounded enthusiastic enough a moment ago; do you wish to go first, then?"

[knifewithnoname]

"I will be going first." She nodded and thought for a moment, thinking about the stories she could tell.

"Do you be knowing the one about the coyote and the snake?" She asked with a grin. "It do no be being for the faint of heart!"

She's seen street story tellers before, she can tell a story.

[iamnotgod]

"I believe I know one like it, though I would not presume based on the title."

And he knew it as a parable rather than a horror tale, but, details.

"Do go on?"

Webmind leaned forward slightly, telegraphing his intrigue.

[knifewithnoname]

"In the sand dunes of the desert the coyote do be being queen." She started with a fierce grin. "She do be being strong and fast and she do be being cunning. No other animal can be tricking her and so they do be having no other choice but to be accepting her rule."

It is a parable, because obviously in her own world unlike on this train, there are not animal people who speak or think like people. It's a bit of a baby story, but if the roster is to be believed Webmind is a baby, so it's fine.

"The snake though, the snake do be being even more cunning than the coyote, but the snake do no be belonging with the other animals. He do be being slithering on the ground, he do be living in the darkness, they do be looking down on him and wherever the snake do be going he do be being cast out. 'Begone' they do be saying, 'you do be being a wicked creature who can no be living with us.' So the snake, he do be deciding to be getting revenge."

Revenge stories were her favourite.

[iamnotgod]

He'd complain about his age not matching his age, but she does have a point there.

Webmind's interest maintains - because, all told, this is more fleshing-out than the average summary of the tale gets.

"As well he might! Prejudice in itself is quite the wicked thing," he remarks.

[knifewithnoname]

"Yes." She agrees though she isn't completely sure what prejudice means. But normally it's best to agree when light addled people say something is wicked. Arguing is suspicious.

"The snake did be watching and watching, he did be following the coyote for many days, watching to be seeing where the coyote did be going and who she did be meeting." Because that was how you planned revenge, you had to be careful.

"The snake did be being very careful, but one day he did be almost be being spotted. He did be slithering away quickly. The next day the coyote did be always be looking over her shoulder, which did be making it hard to be following her but it did also be giving the snake an idea."

[iamnotgod]

Ah, the irony.

Still, it's still her turn, so Webmind continues to focus on the story rather than his own comments.

"And paranoia itself became his weapon?"

He does not sound... entirely disapproving.

[knifewithnoname]

She sighed and looked at him with a shrug, looking annoyed.

"Yes. If you do be knowing it I do no even be needing to be telling the rest."

[iamnotgod]

Webmind shook his head.

"Knowing he used paranoia isn't the same as knowing how he used it. I would still like to hear if, if you're willing."

[knifewithnoname]

She wrinkled her nose again but nodded solemnly.

"The snake did be being cunning so he did indeed be using paranoia as his weapon. He did be making sure he did be being seen, not always and no ever fully, no ever so he could be being caught. But he would let his shadow be being seen, or he would be making noise when he did be slithering away."

She grinned, "Sometimes he would be moving things, so when the coyote did be going back everything did be being different than what she remembered. Nobody could be reporting an intruder, she could no be being sure of anything."

[iamnotgod]

This time, Webmind had no substantial analysis to offer. Few things were more effective - or terrifying - than the potential behind gaslighting.

"... And what happened next?"

He'd quieted his voice, so as to better whisper in the candlelight.

[knifewithnoname]

"The snake did be starting small but as time did be going on he did be doing bigger and bigger things. The Coyote did be thinking she did be going mad."

Her eyes glinted in the candle light. "And then slowly, she did be going mad."

[iamnotgod]

Very, very fitting given their situation, Webmind mused. Start with the small changes, then make them bigger and bigger to accommodate for the unaware victim's growing perspective-

"But what did the snake do next?"

Apart from rejoice that his plan had worked, clearly.

[knifewithnoname]

"He barely did be needing to be doing anything." She told him with a grin. "The Coyote did be doing it all by herself. She did be blaming her servants and her followers. She did be making bad decisions, she did be almost tearing the desert apart to be coming to the bottom of the mystery and then, after months and months, deep in the desert, the snake did be approaching her."

She leans back again. "He did be offering to be helping her, to be bringing her peace once more."

[iamnotgod]

"By answering her questions?"

Webmind shakes his head at his own question. "Though I expect that's not the answer."

Even if telling the truth was its own kind of interesting twist, tricking the coyote into ending her own life seemed somehow more likely at this point.

Never assume you know another's story!

[knifewithnoname]

"Yes." She nodded, "He did answering her questions. He did be telling her that she did be being under an ancient curse and the only way she could be breaking it would be to travelling far through the desert to a water spring that did be being blessed by the gods."

She sighed, "And the queen, she did be being so tired and so stressed that she did be believing him."

[iamnotgod]

Ahhh; a hybrid of his guess and suspicion, or so it seemed to Webmind!

"And what happened at where this hypothetical spring... wasn't?"

Webmind had a feeling he had already guessed this answer, and some of that tone did come through in his calm voice, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to ask.

[knifewithnoname]

"No one do be knowing." She told him with a glint in her eye. "Because the coyote queen did be setting off into the desert and that did be being the last anyone did be seeing her."

She shrugged, "She did be disappearing and the snake did be taking over her kingdom."

[iamnotgod]

"A spooky fate indeed."

An almost certain death, but with no confirmation...

Webmind nodded. "And I should suppose he was more trusted this time around?"

Well, this had been a revenge story!

[knifewithnoname]

"Of course, he did be getting rid of the mad queen and liberating the desert from her tyranny. He did be being a hero."

She grinned at him over the candlelight.

[iamnotgod]

Webmind chuckled.

"Thank you for the story, then. Did you still wish to hear one from me in turn?"

A tale for a tale, as things go. Though if she wasn't interested, Webmind would understand...

[knifewithnoname]

She nodded, "I would be liking to."

After all she was quite interested in what metal people told each other as stories.

[iamnotgod]

Little One was not in luck; Webmind was the only one of his kind, at the point in time he was from. And even that would not change for many years.

But he did have access to... more than a few of humankind's stories. Which meant he knew at least a few good ones.

"A man came aware of himself at a crossroads, with no one else in sight but a female djinn.

'You have one wish remaining,' she said to him; he said he wished to know how he had come to be there.

And in turn she commented that that was funny, as he collapsed to the dirt, because that had been his first wish."

[knifewithnoname]

She listens carefully, she gets confused early on because she doesn't know what a djinn is but she determinedly listens to the him.

And blinks

What a weird story.

"I do no be understanding."

He had a wish remaining but it was also his first wish? And he died? Or fell over? She's so confused.