songerein | { halloween }

Entry tags:

{ halloween }

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He would've been shocked if it had been. This young lady clearly has seen action.]

You don't. I could tell you the absolute truth -- that I know nothing of this "Dark Enchantress Cookie" or the "Golden Cheese Kingdom" -- but I've no way of proving it to you. How do you prove a negative, after all?

[ ... Well.

Uh.

Shoot. That's a fair point, one she absolutely wasn't expecting. She's quiet as she tries to make sense of this, all of her crows sharing her befuddled expression. She was prepared for a fight, not for her brain to be cooked. ]

I... hm... ugh. Very well... What proof do you have then of what you spoke of? That this is a dream, and my village may be unharmed?

Unfortunately, I can't prove it with anything other than my word which you've no reason to trust to begin with. As I said before, I've been here for two years and never once returned back where I came from.

[He taps a clawed finger to his chin.]

Though I suppose you could ask Angel Dust about the time difference. Before arriving here, we'd only known one another a few hours at best. However, he arrived a year after I did. I hadn't disappeared from Hell for a year so he was rather shocked to hear me say that it had been that long for me.

[ Not Angel Dust Cookie? And is he expecting her to follow him to this person...? Maybe that's part of the trap! Trying to get her to an alone, secluded area where he can take her out in private! Her guard is back up! ]

Hold it! You say I can't trust you, but then expect me to come along to whatever ally you supposedly had... I won't be fooled! I've had to fight on my own countless times, and I'm ready to do it again!

[ This is it, where he reveals his true colors! She gets into battle ready position, hand on her knife... ]

[Alastor rolls his eyes.]

I said you could ask him about it. Presumably if you ever happen to meet him. You'd know him once you saw him. He's significantly taller than me. Rather spindly fellow. White fur with pink markings. Four arms most of the time. You really can't miss him.

Though frankly, my dear, if I really wanted to hurt you, I would've done so already. Why lead you off somewhere when you've already selected such an isolated spot for our meeting?

I selected nothing, you followed me here! I work best from the shadows... and alone.

[ Well, alone doesn't count all the crows. But still feeling threatened, she moves to escape...

And sees his shadow. WHAT THE FRIED DOUGH -

Properly startled, it's THAT which makes her start to fall off. ]

[Alastor's shadow easily catches the little piece of baked dough, swiftly carrying her back to Alastor who languidly holds out one hand to take her. He makes sure not to grip her with his claws, showing that she can run away any time she desires.]

Thank you, old boy, for the assist.

[He grins down at her.]

As I was saying, my dear, you decided to isolate yourself. You should've anticipated the opportunity someone might spy you and attempt to engage you away from potential allies. Not that I intend to engage you, mind. No no no no, you're a spicy little bit of baked dough that I find quite entertaining!

[ Though it's only been a handful of seconds, to her a lot has happened and she needs to process it. The crows made concerned caws, relived she's safe.

After a rough swallow, she finally speaks again. ]

... You could have just let me drop, but you didn't. It appears I... may have misjudged you. And for that, I sincerely apologize.

[ Judging by the fist to her chest and bowed head - and the crows bowing their heads in turn - the sincerity is genuine. ]

Don't worry, darling! You wouldn't be the first one to do so, and I certainly doubt you'll be the last! I am a demon, after all!

[He uses the tip of his pointer finger of his free hand to lift her chin.]

Smile, my dear! You're never fully dressed without one!

[ Hey hey hey, we're cool but not that cool! She flusters, still not entirely sure what to make of him... but at least he's not an enemy? ]

Erm...! I'm familiar with a Devil Cookie, but you don't appear to be be any manner of Cookie at all... no one here is. There's not a single crumb or hint of jam among any of you creatures.

Don't panic, darling, but I'm afraid you'd be more likely to find such things on a table with the intention of being eaten.

[He doesn't want to upset her, but the sooner she knows that she resembles something most people would find quite tasty, the better.]

... Eaten? What are you saying? What do you mean? If we're going to eat, jellies would be best... I usually carry raisin buns on me, but perhaps this being a dream world took that from me.

[ What kind of madness is he speaking of? ]

[Oh boy. For once, Alastor doesn't want to be a terror.]

[Ugh. He really hadn't missed the feeling of guilt. One of the downsides to Reverein.]

[He manages to carefully sit down crosslegged on the rooftop without putting her down. He cupped her in both hands.]

My dear, I'm afraid there's no gentle way to say this so I only hope you don't flee right away:

Cookies in this world and many others are food. While I'm not overly fond of such sweets, there are plenty of people who are and might initially mistake you for a treat if they aren't made aware that you're a living creature.

[ Whatever she'd been expecting him to say, it hadn't been that. She stares, eyes so wide they almost pop, her jaw dropped. She staggers backwards, legs losing strength, and even her crows drop to her side to keep her steady. ]

You... you... you can't be serious! People here... eat cookies?! How can you say such a monstrous thing?! It can't be true! It can't!

[ As cruel as it would be, she desperately hopes he's making some sort of joke or prank. Otherwise... it means she's stuck in a world full of inhumane creatures that... want to eat her?! Even Dark Enchantress Cookie has never done something so wicked! ]

Most places don't have sapient cookies, darling. Your world seems rather unique in that aspect.

[Honestly he kind of wants to visit it in one of her dreams the next time he goes -- FOCUS, ALASTOR.]

I would love to tell you that what I'm saying is a joke, but I'm afraid it isn't.

[ And there goes the strength in her legs. Done. Gone. She falls to her knees, her crows making sad "caw" noises as they hold her. ]

What kind of... nightmare world... am I in? I was ready to defend myself against any kind of threat here, but... to be seen as food...

Don't despair, my dear! [Alastor's smile turns as reassuring as he can make it.] The people here will quickly spread the word that you're a friend, not food once they get to know you're here to begin with!

[Though it will make going into a bakery rather awkward for her...oof.]

I assure you that the majority of them are good people.

... That's far easier to hear than to believe... You saved my life, so I can trust you, but a whole world full of people who would actually want to consume me... my only solace is that none of my companions appear to be here as well.

[ She'd defend them with her life, of course, but even she couldn't fight off an entire population. ]

Then allow me to suggest a way to keep you safe!

[Alastor easily rolls to his feet, not needing to use his hands to get up. He then lifts her up towards the top of his head.]

Up there you'll be able to observe and meet everyone around us with little fear of being picked up as a snack! There's only two people in Reverein who surpass my height much less be able to reach the top of my head!

Just don't scratch the bases of my ears or antlers.

Wh-whoa!

[ She hadn't expected the lift! She hesitates, but then hops onto his head. The crows come with her, happily snuggling into the nice warm fur/hair. Such nice nest material! ]

... It seems my debt of gratitude is now twofold, Alastor... sir.

[ It had taken everything in her not to call him Alastor Cookie. ]

No need for the "sir"! Simply "Alastor" will do! Besides, I'm sure at some point I'll need help as well.

[She can probably feel his ambient static happily humming as bits of upbeat jazz weave through it. He walks to the edge of the roof where his shadow swoops around and transforms into its stag form.]

[A little bit of magic, and they're flying on its back smoothly to the ground. Like one of Santa's reindeer coming in for a landing.]

Thank you, old boy!

[He slides easily off the shadow stags back before it drives into the ground and becomes an ordinary shadow.]

The good thing about these big ears of mine is I should hear you just fine even in the noisier areas. There's a festival going on, after all!

[ Yikes! ... Sheesh, he is NEVER going to warn her when he does things, is he??? He must be some type of wizard, that's all she can conclude. The crows try to keep her steady, since she doesn't want to hold onto his ears or horn as he asked. ]

A festival... normally I would probably enjoy such a thing myself, but I don't think I could handle seeing my kind served as a platter would put me in a celebrating mood...

How about we avoid the bakery tables then?

[He rolls his eyes upward to look vaguely in her direction before he starts to walk.]

There's still plenty to see and do about town!

[He should probably introduce her to Madhuri away from the good lady's bakery lest things get awkward.]

I'll let you handle all the "doing"... my size is a detriment here.

[ She doubts being a few inches tall in a world of giant allows her to do much of anything... Plus, she's not exactly a party person herself. ]

Perhaps but I'm certain we'll find something that catches both our interest somewhere. This world is varied like that.

[He walks smoothly, keeping her perfectly balanced on his head even when dodging kids dashing about the grounds.]

If you don't mind me asking, Miss Black Raisin Cookie, how long have you known those knife skills? You handle your blade like an expert!

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