{ halloween }

[dreamposts]

HALLOWEEN

Another Halloween has arrived in Reverein, and the Nightmare Troupe returns from their mysterious origins to help transform the carnival grounds to fit the season. They've added a new feature attraction: The Labyrinth, where everyone just runs around to fight spooky baddies for candy, prizes, and flex one's combat abilities in dreamotion. It's all in good fun, of course!

More details on everything can be found here. As a reminder, events double as our TDMs and information can be found here. Any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in October and will remain in Songerein from the IC date of October 25th, just before the event ICly begins. TDM only characters can only thread within this log. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count October as their first time in the game without any disruption, so all content will carry over. Those who do not apply will disappear which should not seem too unusual, however players in game can choose to retcon and pretend a character was never there to begin with if it would be easier; or even think their presence was just a dream.

IMPORTANT! All outside characters MUST have "TDM" in their subject line, even if you might not app. This will help people differentiate those who are already in the game and those who are not.

TDM threads are required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any questions here. Reserves will open October 25th and Applications will open on November 1st. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle after won't be until January.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view)

Bokurano - Jun Ushiro
Cookie Run Kingdom - Black Raisin Cookie
Dead by Daylight - Zarina Kassir
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Edgin Darvis
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Xenk Yendar
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - Genesis Rhapsodos
Final Fantasy XIV - Emet-Selch
Final Fantasy XIV - Hermes
Final Fantasy XV - Somnus Lucis Caelum
Full Metal Alchemist - Alphonse Elric
Genshin Impact - Ei
Genshin Impact - Nahida
Great Ace Attorney, The - Iris Wilson
Hey Arnold! - Helga G. Pataki
Hi-Fi Rush - Chai
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Zelda
Noragami - Yato
Original - Astralin Turnont
Touhou - Maribel Hearn

We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during AC and TDM threads will count. For more information, refer to the Game Notes.

I. CARNIVAL

II. LABYRINTH

COMMENTS

I. CARNIVAL

While the carnival grounds still have the standard fare of attractions themed up for Halloween, there are a few new ones popping up thanks to the Nightmare Troupe. Some are similar to what appeared last year, but with a different look to them. Some, perhaps, more terrifying than before.

A. Personalized Costumes. All throughout Reverein boutiques and tailors are in full swing to create costumes for those who wish to wear, either by renting or buying. However, for those who are a bit adverse, the fairy godmothers are out and about ready to employ their fashion magic to grant anyone and everyone a special Halloween costume, just for them! There might be the slight side effect that the wearer may behave like the costume itself, but it's just a temporary phase.

B. Vampring Frights. The vamprings are still out and about, nibbling on nightmares. But now they are also appearing outside of dreams, deciding that a bit of fear could make as good of a snack or meal as any other. Only the ones that are truly hungry will appear, so a little purple blob will bounce and latch onto any part of their target's body they can reach (though they particularly like the top of the head). Those who are bitten in this manner won't try to bite others, fortunately. Instead, they will become something like a "Vampring minion" and try to invoke fear and scare others. (For more information and use the original version of the Vampring, read here.)

C. Monster Swaps. Small monsters will roam the carnival grounds and will swap bodies with random people to go around pulling pranks and tricks in the person's body. The person is now trapped in the monster's body, but has access to the monster's trickster, spooky abilities as well (ie, players can make this up). To return to normal, they must find their original body and bite it. Otherwise, they will have to wait for the monster to get bored and return to switch them back.

D. Carnival Fare. Here are a few of the general games and attractions available for carnival goers to enjoy.

🔫 Zombie Shooter. Ride through a rickety car through a building and shoot the "zombies" that pop up with bright green paintball guns. While most are cardboard, there are a few volunteers that dress for the occasion. Don't mind their pain as they get hit, they're fine.
👻 Spooky Stories. Instead of a fire, there is a boiling cauldron set up where people can gather around and try to conjure up their spookiest story. The steam over the cauldron will change and twist to try and illustrate the story as it goes, and should it proof particularly scary, a manifestation of the terror will crawl out of it to terrorize everyone for a little bit before disappearing.
🍏 Poisoned Apples. Special caramel covered green apples are handed out throughout the carnival. One bite will inflict one or more of the following effects: floating, dizzy, sugar rush, creepy, frightful. (Players are free to be creative and come up with additional effects!)
🧹 Broom Carousel. The horses have been replaced with different styles of witch brooms, letting everyone have a safe experience of flying on a broom. Until the brooms suddenly fly out of the carousel and into the carnival. Hang on or stop that broom!
🎃 Pumpkin Carving Challenge. Pumpkins can be found all over the grounds, and there is a challenge to carve them with dreamotion and light a special candle in them. Doing so will bring the pumpkin to life and behave like whatever expression or drawing carved on them. Whether they behave nicely is a different matter. Blowing out the candle will stop the pumpkin.

E. House of Mirrors. The House of Mirrors will have new mirrors installed that have new special effects…many making everyone inside feel not quite themselves.

🎭 Jekyll and Hyde. A black framed mirror where the opposite version of the viewer appears to taunt them.
💅 Narcissism. A gold framed mirror where one will see the best version of themselves and will stand stuck in front of it admiring themselves. They will need to be forcibly dragged away…else they may get stuck on the mirror.
🛌 Dream or Nightmare? A silver framed mirror that will reflect either a good dream or a nightmare that's on the viewer's mind. It will be a strong image, so strong that the viewer may be tempted to dreamwalk into the mirror, either to be a part of it or to destroy it. Some help may be required to help them either accomplish their goal or pull them out.
🪞 Mirror Version. Sometimes, a "mirror version" of the viewer may reach out to switch places, trapping the original inside the mirror while the mirror version goes out to cause some chaos. The trapped person can only traverse through mirrors, and can only be freed if the mirrored version is shoved back into any mirror. One way to tell a mirror version apart is that they will randomly reflect things off their body.

F. Haunted Ryokan. A haunted Japanese styled inn is the theme for this year's "haunted house." On the outside, it looks invitingly eerie, with life-sized traditional Japanese dolls as their hosts and guides. They hope their new patrons will enjoy their stay…forever.

🏮 Peony Lantern. At first a beautiful woman will appear holding a lantern and take a person's hand to lead them through the narrow halls lit by floating lanterns. But whenever they pass under a lantern, the woman's form changes into a skeleton. Once they are noticed, they will screech and chase them through the hallways and rooms to the next location, but if left alone it will quietly lead them without issue.
🛁 Bathhouse. Somehow they get to the bathing area where the steam rises thick around them. Without warning a ghostly figure of a long-haired drowned woman will crawl out and chase with a bloody knife. Fish spirits will also fly out to impede them, but they could be used to smack the woman instead. Should someone slip in the water, they'll feel hands grab at them, trying to pull them under…
🪦 Graveyard. Past the courtyard is a graveyard where all manner of Japanese inspired ghosts and demons roam. A special paper talisman is available, and once powered with positive dreamotion it will create a shikigami that will help ward off and defend against the ghosts. But it must have constant dreamotion poured into it, so should it ever go out, the ghosts and demons will suddenly rush into chase.
🐕 Shiba Statues. Should anyone be having a truly terrible time, special little shiba inu statues will trot in to dispel the "evils" and give the visitor some much needed comfort and respite. They will even guide them to the exit if needed. Those who manage to pass through on their own will also meet the shiba inu statues and have a chance to play with them as if in congratulations.

II. LABYRINTH

A big structure now occupies the area just beyond the Fairgrounds. Towering stone walls hide complex pathways inside, and it turns out its express purpose is not to get people lost, but for a little bit of exploration. There is no entrance/exit, just a special circular teleportation pad that will take them inside and there is no end goal. It's not difficult to get out once inside, but the winding paths encourage visitors to check behind corners for treats because there's a lot of treats AND tricks!

A. Halloween Creatures. The labyrinth is populated with silly creatures held together by craft glue and duct tape both dreamotion and nightmare. These creatures will attack on sight, but subdue them and reap the rewards: candy and silly toys! It's all for fun, after all.

🦴 Skeletons. Their bones are made of rubber and most physical attacks will bounce off them. Have to get in close to blast with dreamotion!
🕷 Glow-In-The-Dark Plastic Spiders. Will shoot sticky licorice webbing that will trip up and trap any caught in it. Have to eat through it to get out, and the flavor could either be red or black.
🔺 Candy Corn Golems. Chuck giant pieces of candy corn that are delicious, but hurt! Golems will melt under intense heat.

B. Mysterious Doors. Sometimes, you may find a door at one of the dead ends. Knock, and most of the time a kindly old lady (where did she come from? Don't worry about it–) will present you with special trick-or-treat bags. The other times, a swarm of genuinely sinister nightmare creatures will come pouring out. Oops! Try again next time! Here are some of the items the old lady will give and their effects (they can be taken home after the event):

🧙 Witch's Hat. The hat will automatically fly on top of the person's head and will allow them to cast silly hexes of misfortune on their targets.
🧹 Witch's Broom. Can fly at fast speeds for a few minutes at a time. Only goes up to three feet in the air.
🤓 Plastic Fangs. These fangs will fit themselves in the person's mouth and will allow them to bite any candy corn golem or sticky spider licorice webbing with ease. And normal foods, too.
🕸 Spray Can of Licorice Webbing. Releases a spray of licorice webbing similar to the ones used by the plastic spiders.
🧻 Roll of Toilet Paper. Exactly as it says.
🍫 Nougat Center. A delicious treat that will temporarily boost one's stats dreamotion abilities.

C. Beware of Steve. If you're very unlucky, you may hear an ominous clatter in the distance... The low rumble of a revving chainsaw... Those who spend lots of time in the labyrinth will know soon enough–those are noises that mean you need to run. Because STEVE, THE 20-FOOT-TALL CHAINSAW-WIELDING SKELETON, takes no hostages, and he's out for blood!!! He will continue chasing people until fought, and anything goes with this foe. While dreamotion attacks will work, using the items given by the old lady in the doors will inflict greater damage. Anyone who is "killed" by Steve will be knocked out of the Labyrinth unharmed.


D. Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn. On the other end of giant "horrors" is a giant golem made of candy corn with a large top hat that may appear out of one of the doors. Its main attack, besides trying to punch and pummel, is spewing sticky candy goop that will trap anyone caught in it. It'll wear off, but until then, any caught in it will at first feel very energetic and attack more quickly before becoming sluggish and unable to do much, as if they suffered an extreme sugar crash.

I. CARNIVAL

II. LABYRINTH

COMMENTS

Comments

[queenofkur]

[ She remains silent for a little while. All he can hear from her position are deep breathes- She's been told breathing exercises help keeping the anxiety under control. And it works, slightly.

Ere long she rises from beneath the counter... And he will be able to see her dressed as Ishtar, and desperately trying to hide herself by crumpling her form in all possible ways. ]

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

[ That's it. He's going to laugh. He's going to mock her and then somehow praise Ishtar!! ]

[queenofkur]

[ Deep breathes, Ereshkigal. You can do it and not be bothered by his costume. She closes her eyes as she does her breathing exercises, and tries to speak as calmly and reasonably as she possibly can in this situation. ]

A-An evil spirit pulled me inside and trade place with me...!

[ Why does this always happen to her?! ]

It is now parading around wearing my face.

[ Which she can't allow, especially as she's wearing this absolutely shameful costume! ]

[queenofkur]

I-It may take time...

[ It's not that she doesn't want to, it's just that progress in the social anxiety department is exceedingly slow. Ritsuka may very well be the only person she feels fully comfortable with, and even then. She's likely to melt into a puddle of embarassment at the least wrong word.

Why is socializing so complicated? ]

Though it is reassuring to know I am not the only goddess in this situation.

[ Even if that's a goddess from another world entirely. ]

[queenofkur]

[ Both goddesses look at her in shock and disbelief, and then with anger. Apologizing to each other? Never! Well, maybe it this was the real Ishtar and they had a big talk...

... But this isn't even close to being the real thing. ]

This is not my sister...! This is a vile spirit that is using her likeness.

Thank goodness, I can't imagine how unbearable being your true sister would be.

[ Ereshkigal gasps at this comment and turns to the girl. That spirit is as useless as Ishtar! She better negotiates with the one reasonable person here. ]

Look, she is mocking me...! [She closes.] If the real Ishtar shows up I promise to try and talk to her kindly [She said try, not succeed.] But I can't stand for a fake to pose as my sister...!

[whatsamada]

And if you stay here instead of the other you?

[Which he said before taking a small step back as he wondered how could he fight him. He could summon his Persona but that would probably do more damage than good.]

...Where is he?

[cawpatrol]

[ She's not exactly making a good case for herself... But... ugh. Those tears and pathetic sniffling... she can't help it. ]

... Hmph. My dough is getting too soft lately... very well. Tell me how to set you free.

[ The figure moves, leaving the shadows, revealing...

... A cookie. That's just a few inches tall. And a bunch of crows that are even smaller than she is. Doesn't that just fill Ereshgikal with confidence towards her rescuer? ]

[whatsamada]

"You make it sound like this place is a lot smarter than it seems."

Which he wasn't too sure based on the look he was giving. Between then nightmares and dealing with other things, this wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for.

[herewardbound]

One look, and he knew. Knew, immediately, that this was private, that he shouldn't be involved with this, it was too personal-

That there was a lot of pain, there. That he was looking at Blitzø's mother.

He turned, looking down at the imp with a helpless expression. "Blitz..."

[herewardbound]

He glanced down at himself. Reached for the... holster? At his waist, and produced a straight razor, examining it with a critical eye. "I have... no idea. Some sort of barber? The faeries put it on me, and I can't help but think it's a joke at my expense, because that's usually how shit works here."

[herewardbound]

He sighed. Some people just had no sense of taste. "I'm not much of a tea drinker, I'll confess; I prefer coffee. But I suppose I'm curious as to what a connoisseur would prefer the most. I know I've historically enjoyed masala chai more than anything else I've tried, but by all means."

[tactishun]

[ It's that sneer that triggers the memory. And the eyes. They don't quite match, not even in the portrait hung so ignominiously above his father's seat of office. Solus zos Galvus' face always looked down upon the proceedings in Doma Castle with contempt and ridicule, as if the whole world were beneath him. All the emperors were like that, apparently. He'd thought as much of Varis too, power-crazed lunatics, the lot of them, but...

After what Varis had revealed at the farce that they'd called a peaceful negotiation, he can see a bit more of the picture. ]

As do you. Or maybe not. I don't claim to know where Ascians hail from originally.

[ Hien folds his arms, elbow resting lightly on the hilt of his sword but with no intention of drawing. He knows how to choose his battles, even if the coil of anger in the pit of his stomach smokes like an angry dragon at standing before the man who'd enslaved his homeland and killed his parents. He is no Scion, and certainly no Warrior of Light. ]

So. What should I call you? I doubt Solus is your real name.

[scythedance]

[Man, that tone of voice... Sounds awfully like his wife. He's almost startled for a moment, but his eyes make contact with Aerith. His body does relax, and he turns his attention toward the woman coming closer to them. Although, the spirit lady seems to be just a tad bit scared of Aerith dressed up as a witch, and well. Astralin with his impressive height.]

I do not scare easily, but I must admit, they did a good job with this particular woman. She looks similar to the spirits that my people speak about to get little children to go to bed at night.

[He laughs, and he turns to Aerith again, quietly noting her costume, which seemed to look quite cute on her.]

That is a rather cute witch costume. It looks similar to an outfit that my daughter, Sophia would wear.

[It's said in a fatherly tone, with a smile to match.]

[lestray]

[She doesn't mind being associated with Robin Hood at least, even if her thieving days are behind her. She still likes to think they're cut from the same cloth!

Gina nods along with Barok's hopes. She's certainly hoping to focus on just solving something without something dangerous happening. But she also fears that it might already be cursed to proceed otherwise.

In any case, Gina looks inquisitive in response to his question. With a frown, she glances towards a wall.]

...No, I ain't noticed nuffin' special 'bout 'em. [Though now she looks a bit self-conscious. Is this a test? Did he pick up on something she missed? She reaches out to touch the nearest wall, as if trying to examine it for clues.]

I- I ain't missin' nuffin', am I?

[lestray]

[And so the green Robin Hood pursues the Red Riding Hood!

Soon, it suddenly becomes easier to catch up! And it quickly becomes evident why. There's some creature on her, struggling with her! That gets Gina to shift her actions. She might be cross with Pauline, but that doesn't mean she's going to let some monster attack her! So Gina rushes forward and makes her own attempt to grab at the cat, to pull it off of her!]

Oi!! Get off 'er now!

[lonelysmiles]

[Alastor's ears twitch merrily. He can't see her face but he can hear the affection in her tone when speaking with her birds.]

Are your little friends made of dough, too, or something else?

[Genuine curiosity. He hopes she dreams of her home sometime. He'd be fascinated to see an entire world made of sweets!]

Keep going or does this seem like a good stopping point to you? :3

[lonelysmiles]

Right this way, my dear!

[He leads them away from the skeleton, making sure to modulate his steps so she doesn't have to run to keep up with him. As if there wasn't a thoroughly pissed-off giant skeleton struggling to free itself while it gnashed its teeth at them.]

[lonelysmiles]

Alastor straightened back up. "I don't believe I've seen you about town. Though I suppose that shouldn't surprise me anymore: Reverein's grown significantly since I first arrived! However, I don't suppose you're new?"

[intertwinedfates]

[Perhaps one day he'll dial back the excessive amount of messages to a reasonable level and then she'll be regret-free for real. Once he knows for sure that she won't forget him.

Should he have thought "goddess", then? Though mistress does have a slightly different connotation, doesn't it...

Content with the sip he's had, Yato doesn't have any qualms about sharing one way or the other; he a mature, reasonable adult! .....yeah right. He's just not that childish. Thankfully he's not making a big deal out of indirectly kissing Hiyori, either. That likely would get him slapped.

Oblivious to the mess on his face, he pauses, staring at her with a curious expression.]

What? What's so amusing? [Absolutely baffled by her gesturing, it takes until she's leaning in to clean his face that it makes sense, leaving him with a flushed face. Whether it's from having had the mustache or Hiyori's close attentions remains to be seen.]

....oh. Uh, y-yeah, thanks...

[lonelysmiles]

All the better to eat with, my dear! Ha ha!

[He gave a laugh at his own joke as he folded his hands behind his back. (Don't ask how his hands disappear behind his stick waist. Best not to think too hard about that.)]

Why, thank you! Given my chosen profession, it'd be a shame if I simply blended into the crowd! An entertainer should stick out, don't you think?

[grandduchess_anya]

Not necessarily dangerous most of the time, but I think that the spirits and monsters inside are overdoing on the scare factor all the time. I don’t see that many noticeable dangers in that haunted house attraction when I first got inside.

[holdshisown]

"Been out exploring then, have you?" He manages a weak little laugh. "I... yes. If you wouldn't mind sharing one or two with me?"

Keep on going

[senorita_perfecta]

(While Steve is still enraged at them, teeth gnashing at their direction, Isabela joins Alastor in escaping the maze back to the outside world. She really doesn’t want to find out what other dangers could be hiding behind the walls of this labyrinth and she is starting to feel very tired herself from all that licorice web spraying.

At this point, she would have a nice break from it and maybe some snacks to eat too.)

[holdshisown]

"A little bit of a warning would probably have been prudent of them to give," he grumbles. Now that he's starting to feel better he is a bit annoyed that the ones handing out the apples hadn't seen fit to warn him about what kind of effects they might have on him. "Well... now at least I know not to eat anymore of them."

[lonelysmiles]

Not precisely though the mirror is based upon the core principle of the good doctor's experiment. A work of fiction, yes, but who knows? Perhaps in some world, it actually happened and this mirror evolved out of it somehow.

[He conjures some flame over the palm of one clawed hand, shaping it into a human. A distinguished older gentleman.]

Dr. Henry Jekyll was a fine, upstanding member of the community. However, despite his rigid morals, he had darker, more twisted desires which he forced himself not to submit to. He felt as if he were constantly doing battle with two sides within himself: one good, one evil. Being a man of science, he decided to develop a serum to separate the two parts.

[The flame man shifts, shrinking and twisting to the point of being unrecognizeable. Every feature of the now-younger man radiated malintent.]

The serum transformed him into a completely different person whom he named Edward Hyde, a man ruled by his dark desires. And because it was a complete physical transformation that rendered Hyde unrecognizeable from Jekyll, no one would ever realize the two men were one and the same. So Jekyll would drink the serum to indulge those desires and simply revert back to himself once it wore off with the police hunting a man who technically didn't even exist.

Unfortunately, the situation changed which he realized after he transformed in his sleep into Hyde without partaking of the serum and required doing so to become Jekyll again. He stopped using it for a bit before giving into temptation. Then he started transforming while he was awake, requiring more and more of the serum to become Jekyll because Hyde had grown more and more powerful with each dose the doctor had taken to the point where he didn't need the serum to manifest.

[He pauses to look at the mirror. He's standing on the very edge with only the smallest bits of himself visible yet hints of a literally and figuratively darker version of himself lurks in even that small sliver of his reflection, dressed in his usual outfit only in black with black ears with red tips.]

Tragically, Jekyll ran low of one of the serum's ingredients: a particular chemical salt. It was easily-obtained yet every subsequent batch of the serum made with fresh supplies failed to work regardless of which chemist he had an assistant purchase more from. He theorized that there'd been some foreign contaminant in the batch he'd originally used in the serum which was missing from the fresh batches. In the end, he disappeared into Hyde, effectively dead.

[The flame in his hand goes out as he reaches out to trap the mirror with one claw, its reflection mirroring it perfectly.]

This mirror takes Jekyll's serum one step forward, actually creating a physical representation of that other half.

[sagesurvivor]

[Sheik blinks, once, twice, like the man next to him just said something completely incomprehensible.]

Oh... is that what this is.

[Except the idea is running up hard against his own experiences with the aforementioned ancient temple slash torture facility and the graveyard placed adjacent to it, which are the closest points of reference he has for the concept. People make fake versions of those sorts of things? For fun? Wild.]

And would one's interest be satisfied by such a facsimile?

[van Zieks seems... unimpressed, generally, with it all if that is the case, though Sheik still has his doubts. But he'll step back, if it's so desired, lowering his "weapon" but continuing to keep a watchful eye on the rest of the graveyard.

(And a watchful eye on van Zieks himself, as the back of his mind continues to itch with scattered points of recognition.)

Meanwhile, a thin trail of smoke wafts from the formerly flickering lantern, the warding flame within snuffed out. As it does, the ghoul on ice manages to break one foot free and begins quickened work on the other, now with three limbs to claw and pound against its shackle, and another turns towards the commotion as though noticing it for the first time and begins crossing the distance, crawling over gravestones on oddly bent and twisted limbs. So the "show" goes on.]