In the middle of a shadowy and desolate forest, a lonely castle stands atop a crag. While its towering Gothic spires and bleak, dark walls present a foreboding appearance, tonight this castle will play host to a festive gathering involving characters of many strange and different natures from across many worlds.
But as the characters arrive for this party, they may find more than they might have been expecting. For the holiday is Halloween, and as the sun slowly sinks behind the trees and the shadows lengthen over the old castle, mysterious and spooky events will begin to occur, and the visitors will find themselves in for a Halloween night to remember...
Welcome to the latest installment of the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises give you the opportunity to develop your characters, practice writing, and have fun alongside your fellow writers, no signups, profiles, or GM approval necessary. Want to join? If the thread's gotten long, there's no need to fear Archive Panic- just head on over to our discussion thread and say so, and we'll give you a recap of what's going on and good spots for working your characters into the thread; how you choose to do this is up to you. A little communication in endeavors such as these can go a long way towards having fun, helping others, getting that kink in your character worked out, getting your characters out of their comfort zone, or whatever you're here for, so if you ever have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. We're all for helping each other out.
Character Halloween is a Halloween-themed casual thread. For those unfamiliar with the Character Development Threads, a casual thread is one primarily focused on character interaction; violence and physical conflict between characters are discouraged. Tonally, the thread is meant to be scary good fun: while it's Halloween-themed and spooky events are encouraged, they should be of a harmless nature rather than horror-based.
For more details, please see the trope page, which contains essential information about the thread. And feel free to stop by the CDT Discussion Thread.
I'd like to acknowledge the assistance of Crystal Glacia, Ryuhza, Night, Gault, Killer Clowns, Yomegami, Elfhunter, and Flowing Cotton, all of whom provided me with feedback during the planning of this thread.
- Current Time: 1:00 AM
- Current Weather: Dark and Clear
Thread maps:
Halloween has now ended.
edited 21st Feb '15 10:48:32 PM by nrjxll
[Third Floor - Staircase Hall (Oswald, Krajn)]
Another breeze sprang up, and again dust fell to the floor in the shape of the word Yes.
Krajn tilted her head as she considered the ball of light, which itself didn't seem to be moving in any way. I wonder how it's doing that. It doesn't seem to have any real substance - which would explain why it's not talking. But how then the laughter?
"Exciting? Yes, I suppose," she said to Oswald. "Though I was hoping answers would be a little easier than this." It was a relief to know that the 'ghost' didn't seem hostile, but she felt this would become inconvenient after a while. Though still...
She smiled more easily. They were communicating with a supernatural being! That was certainly not an experience she'd expected to have today, and surely deserved some excitement.
"Erm. So" - she hesitated - "so are you a ghost? The spiritual remnant of a once-living being?"
The light did not move. There was no breeze.
Now what does that mean, I wonder?
She tried another question. "If you were leading us here - were you - did you animate that bear costume... thing?"
The dust shifted. No.
Krajn tilted her head back the other direction, and glanced at Oswald. "Hrm. That is... slightly discomforting to hear."
Remember, Ryuhza, you can control the 'ghost' too.
Outside -> Entry Hall
A fox ran along the path leading to the castle. To be more specific, it was a Hokkaido red fox, though to anyone else "red fox" would suffice. In general appearance it was no different from other foxes of its kind. However, as it ran it observed the surrounding environment in such a manner that strongly suggested an intelligence greater than that of an ordinary fox.
It occasionally slowed down to take a closer look at one thing or the other, but it did not stop moving until it reached the front door of the castle. It sat down and tilted its head to one side briefly, before rearing up, putting its front paws on the door, and pushed it open with a surprising amount of strength considering its size.
It wasted no time in entering the castle afterwards. It again stopped briefly to take a glance around the entry hall, but upon finding out that no one was currently here, it started walking towards the back door.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
It's a bird.
[Ballroom]
A sudden spike of energy caught Moreena's attention, and she quickly turned to face it's point of origin. A soon as she did, Recon appeared in the room and... slid across the floor on one foot for some reason. Apparently he wasn't just fast, but knew how to take shortcuts as well. The blood was all gone, and he had put on a new set of clothes by the look of things.
"Oh, there you are," said Moreena. "We were just about to liven the place up with some music. Of the mundane, not so spooky kind that is."
As if in response, the strange music slightly increased in both volume and speed, almost like if the unseen musician wanted to prove a point.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Ballroom]
Harry successfully managed to avoid any sort of exaggerated reaction to Recon's latest sudden appearance, though he did glance at Kaguya to see how she was taking it. It probably helped that the blood was gone now.
He looked over at Moreena. "Is it.. is it getting annoyed with us trying to outdo it? The music, that is." His tone had initially been amused, but the idea was actually a bit worrying. The music itself was gnarly enough, but provoking a ghost - or whatever it really was - in general seemed like a bogus idea just waiting to backfire.
Which means I probably shouldn't mention my thought about deliberately insulting it and seeing what it does.
Instead, he looked at Priss. "Can we, though? I mean, put on music of our own? If the sound system can't actually play anything?"
Who brings a sound system to an interdimensional party that can't interface with anything? That'd never be cool in the sims.
Ballroom
Kaguya also wasn't bothered by Recon's reappearance, although she did watch him as he...slided, for lack of a better word, up to the rest of the group. While she still possessed her previous dislike of him, he at least did take the time to get rid of the blood and change into some less-intimidating clothing before showing up again. As long as he left her alone, she wouldn't mind his presence.
She looked back out into the ballroom again, before sighing. Well, she wasn't sitting around anymore, but what she was doing now wasn't any more useful in her quest to get out of here than what she was doing previously. She was still incredibly reluctant to ask anyone else for help, particularly considering they seemed to want to know more about the ghostly music and she didn't want to distract them from that with her own problems.
"Kaguya!" a familiar voice suddenly called out to her. As luck would have it, however, she didn't need to worry about it for much longer.
Her face lightened up a little as she turned towards the source of the voice, that indeed turned out to be a very familiar red fox running towards her. "Hayate-sama!"
The fox, presumably Hayate, stopped upon reaching her feet before looking up at her. "I am very grateful that you are all right! I have been searching for hours looking for you, and getting incredibly worried in the process." He then took a look around the area, the first real look he'd taken since arriving. "I do question the safety of the place you've found yourself in, however."
Kaguya raised an eyebrow. "Wait...so this wasn't planned out after all?"
"Say what you will about my mentorship, Kaguya," Hayate replied, voice somewhere between sincere and somewhat annoyed at what Kaguya apparently had been assuming, "But I would never abandon you, at least not without ensuring your safety first. It was by sheer luck that you found yourself here when we were separated."
He then finally noticed everyone else who happened to be present. "Although I do hope you took the opportunity to learn a few things regardless."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Recon jumped like someone had stung him. Then he turned around and looked at the fox dead in the face with an expression like he had just dropped from the moon.
"Kaguya? Like...Princess Kaguya? From that old fairy-tale?" he blurted out, apparently forgetting about the ghostly music.
edited 27th Jan '15 6:12:16 PM by gameknight102xx
It's a bird.
[Ballroom]
Moreena looked up towards the ceiling. "If the entity in question wants to tell us how it feels, it's entirely free to do so," she said, her voice slightly louder than before. This time however, nothing happened with the music.
Her attention was quickly drawn towards the talking red fox, who was apparently a friend of the red eyed girl.
"Most likely, the name is just a coincidence," Moreena said to Recon. "But who knows. Everything exists after all."
edited 28th Jan '15 9:47:25 AM by Corvidae
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Ballroom
Just like that, Kaguya was suddenly at the center of attention again. At least this time Hayate was around to take some of the pressure off.
"I'm not actually her...or at least, I don't think I am. It's not a complete coincidence, though; my adoptive family named me after her," she explained, before frowning and staring at the ground for a moment. "Though my life right about now is looking a little too much like hers, though...."
"She is also indeed a princess," Hayate stated, "The current Princess of Youkai, as a matter of fact. I do hope you have been respectful towards her up until this point."
He shook his head. "But I am getting ahead of myself here." He bowed. "I am Hayate Tsukino, advisor of the Youkai Court. It is a pleasure to meet you all."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
"Yeah, now that I think about it...although coincidences like that don't happen too often where I come from," Recon said back to Moreena.
He looked back to the fox. "Err,"
"How am I supposed to introduce myself to a fox spirit?" he pondered for a split seceond before making his choice.
"Recon, descendant of the wind god Fūjin," he said, doing a short bow himself.
"That is the first and last time I am introducing myself like that," he thought to himself.
edited 28th Jan '15 5:19:23 PM by gameknight102xx
It's a bird.
[Ballroom]
Moreena smiled, surprised at Recon's choice of words. "Moreena, goddess of Death," she said to the fox. The word 'youkai' sounded familiar. Some kind of spirit race from Earth? Or some versions of Earth at least. She hadn't visited any of them for quite some time.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Castle ~ Third Floor (Staircase Hall)] (Oswald, Krajn)
Oswald frowned and nodded, "A bit, yes. Although, if that odd bear thing really does have nothing to do with our phantasmal tour guide, then it's difficult for us to say for certain what it was up to. Or where it came from." He rubbed his chin and sighed, "I suppose that expecting to solve all the mysteries of one Halloween's night is a rather tall order. Nevertheless..."
His eyes flickered back to the glowing ball of light. "You'll have to forgive me if this is beginning to feel like an interrogation, but we've seen a large number of peculiarities throughout the night and it's hard not to seize at an opportunity to find a few answers. Now, that being said, would it be at all possible for you to expand your, ah... rather binary method of communication? Or were you short-changed on your English and Qrtxian... mm- lexicon?"
He waited patiently, watching with enthusiastic eyes as the breeze stirred up the dust again, only to set it back down in what appeared to be a random, unintelligible mess that resembled neither English, nor Qrtxian glyphs, nor even the unidentifiable language found in the castles books. Oswald glanced down at the dust-mottled floor, then back up at the glowing ball, his face a frowning mixture of confusion and expectation.
When the gust began again, and again left the dust in a similarly indistinct spattering, Oswald glanced towards the door to the grand Study and said, "You know, I loved your work on the book back in the room with the large window, any chance of-"
He was cut off when a third gust of wind—stronger and more vehement than the first two—finally managed to land the dust in a recognizable word.
Slow
Oswald glanced at the message, then up at the glowing ball of light, then at Krajn. "Oh."
Edited by Ryuhza on Jul 22nd 2021 at 3:41:45 AM
this place needs me here
[Third Floor - Staircase Hall (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn stared at the latest glyph with confusion, and no small measure of annoyance. "Slow? Slow what? Is it asking us to slow down, or saying that it can only communicate at slow speeds?"
She paused, and thought for a moment. In context, it seemed likely to be the latter; if the entity could only communicate through manipulating wind to shape dust - or date - then obviously lengthy messages would take a long time. The question was, was time a limited quantity here? She checked her backup's timekeeping system: by the local time it had settled on, it was now nearly 00:45. Halloween was technically already over, and even the midnight hour would pass soon. Which probably meant the spirit would soon depart...
She turned to Oswald. "I'm not certain we'll have much more time to speak with it. Is there... is there anything you truly need to ask it?" She hissed. "That has potential one-word answers, anyway? I need to take a moment to think about this."
After all, this is not an opportunity that will come again anytime soon. If ever.
The future of warfare in UC.
[Ballroom]
Priss peered back at the dining room; then sighed and scrolled through a small menu she'd gotten up somehow. "Well, I didn't bring any of my own, like I said, but somebody left a flash drive plugged in..." She only recognized a few of the song titles. Probably not surprising. Madonna? Oh no, no no. Why they hell would they have Fighter on here? Not party music. Hmm...that looked good.
She fiddled with the volume and a moment later directly challenged the creepy music with something a little more suited to her tastes.
[Ballroom]
Perhaps surprisingly, the eerie waltz did not attempt to retaliate by raising its volume even higher. In fact, as much as it was identifiable over the sound of Priss's music, it seemed to be getting quieter.
Harry grinned. Now that's more like it! He didn't recognize the song at all - though the sound definitely sounded right for something pre- mid-21st century - but it was a whole lot gnarlier, especially for the party he'd expected, than a bunch of ghosts trying to creep out everyone with a waltz. Or whatever. He yawned; it was starting to feel a little later than it had before.
Looking around, he spotted the fox Kaguya was speaking with, and (to his self-credit) barely raised his eyebrows. Moving over, he initially held out a hand, then realized that was stupid and bowed instead.
"Hi, I'm Harry. You must be the... fox-spirit friend Kaguya mentioned earlier."
Wait, did he say Princess?
edited 29th Jan '15 1:20:32 PM by nrjxll
[Castle ~ Third Floor (Staircase Hall)] (Oswald, Krajn)
"Hmm..." Oswald hmmed, eyes closed and one hand pressed thoughtfully against his mouth. "Hmm hmm hmmn."
He opened his eyes just a sliver, glancing at Krajn, then at the glowing ball of light. He clicked his teeth quietly, then turned his eyes towards the floor, where the apparition's last message still lingered. He glanced again at the strange being hovering before them.
"Yes, well..." he murmured, folding his arms across his chest. A second or so later, he began to tap his foot, and stare idly at the other doors in the room, slowly moving his gaze from one to the other. When his eyes met the glowing ball of light yet again, he let out a sigh, shrugged, and spoke.
"So then, uh... are you a fan of Halloween?"
The breeze blew in, leaving the dust with two short words.
Yes
No
Osawld's brow wrinkled slightly. He frowned at the message for a few long moments, then looked back up and said, "Ah. Yes in some ways and no in others? I see, I see." He glanced in Krajn's direction, frowning uneasily.
edited 29th Jan '15 5:36:55 PM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
Ballroom
Hayate grinned widely, which might have been a bit unusual to see on a fox. "Ah, this is most exciting! Given what the nature of this location appears to be, I would expect the inhabitants to be interesting to say the least. But I am quite honored to meet the descendant of a god," he glanced at Recon, "And for that matter a proper god, or goddess I should say." He looked at Moreena.
He would have continued, but at that point Harry introduced himself and diverted Hayate's attention. "That I am. I am mildly surprised that Kaguya would speak of me in my absence." He cast a small, knowing glance at Kaguya before turning his attention back to Harry. "'Friend' is a slightly informal way of putting our relationship, as a matter of fact. I am more her mentor and guide; it is my current task to lead her to the Youkai Capital and teach her the basics of our culture. Living among humans...seems to have taught her a few bad habits. And to be exact, I am a bake-gitsune."
Kaguya, for her part, remained completely silent and was content to have Hayate speak for her. She did cast a glance at Priss when she changed the music; she wasn't sure if she liked what was playing now, but at least it wasn't as creepy as the ghost music.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
"A kitsune, huh," Recon said with a little surprise.
"Could've sworn he was a Millennial Fox. And here I was worrying about potential collateral damage if things got violent," he thought to himself, remembering the various fox spirits he'd met. Out of all of them, the thousand-year foxes were by far the most dangerous.
Coming off from that train of thought, he continued.
"Anyway, yeah, if you were worried about her Royal Shynes-I mean Highness's safety, there was really no need," he said, returning the smile. "There was a little situation a bit west from here involving a dog...thing, but that was taken care of pretty quick by her and me." He gestured to Moreena.
While gesturing, he covertly leaned over to the Death Goddess. "What'so funny?" he whispered.
edited 29th Jan '15 7:05:56 PM by gameknight102xx
[Third Floor - Staircase Hall (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn followed Oswald's glances around the room with her own gaze, blinking heavily on occasion. Perhaps it had been seeing the time that did it, or perhaps it was the heavy warmth of the cloak around her now that they were away from any breezes save those the spirit was using to communicate, but whichever it was she'd suddenly begun feeling more tired than before. Maybe that was why she couldn't quite figure out what it was Oswald was looking for.
Though he could just be feeling evasive - I know that's how humans show it sometimes. It wouldn't be the first time, after all. She could certainly understand feeling uneasy about speaking... er, communicating with the ghost, and it was probably worse for someone who'd never tried speaking across a near-solid perceptual barrier. At least she'd done that.
She herself wasn't sure what to make of the ghost's latest answer, but she at least felt fairly certain about her own question. "Um. So if you've been leading us through the castle, you must have seen much of us. If that's true, would you tell me whether you think I'd be happier knowing the explanation for all of the strange events tonight, or not?"
Another chill breeze sprang up.
No
She sighed, then paused. "Wait. Do you mean no, I wouldn't be happy, or no, you wouldn't tell?"
It was undeniably just anthropomorphism that made the light's glow seem amused in that moment. She glared at it, then blinked in surprise as the light began to fade.
"Oh, now that is just typical," she muttered in Oswald's direction.
[Ballroom]
Harry wasn't quite sure what a baka-gitsune was himself; he'd really only had the most passing familiarity with Japanese mythology. But he assumed from context it was some sort of fox youkai. (The term 'Millennium Fox', on the other hand, he hadn't heard of at all).
Still, talking to one - especially with party music playing - did not feel nearly as surreal as he'd have expected. If anything, he mostly felt a bit puzzled by Hayate's comment. "I haven't noticed Kaguya having any real bad habits," he told the fox. "She's a bit jittery" - that was putting it mildly; he'd had to contain a laugh at Recon's 'Her Royal Shyness' remark despite how uneasy the... demigod... still made him - "but I don't really blame her on a night like this. Though I don't know how much Halloween means to a person like you."
At least he doesn't seem really bothered by it.
edited 30th Jan '15 1:28:34 PM by nrjxll
It's a bird.
[Ballroom]
Hayate's reaction to the 'goddess of Death' thing was unexpected but welcomed. "It's also quite the honor to meet a princess and an advisor of the Youkai," she said, before glancing over at Recon.
"Oh, nothing really. Just the general absurdity of this whole situation," she whispered back. It was technically true. "Two deities, two Youkai, a knight in mechanical armor, and what looks like an alchemist or artificer. If we count the invisible musician it's basically a retelling of The Seven Pilgrims."
edited 30th Jan '15 7:23:16 AM by Corvidae
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Castle ~ Third Floor (Staircase Hall)] (Oswald, Krajn)
Oswald, who seemed to be distracted by some internal matter, glanced idly over at Krajn, then at the ghost. His eyes widened suddenly once he realized what was happening.
"Wait wait!" he called, holding out his hand in a stop-right-there gesture and quickly stepping closer to the glowing being. "Spirit- I- I... I've got a question," his mouth remained open for a second, then a few seconds, but nothing resembling a question came out. He frowned in annoyance, lightly banging the palm of his hand against the side of his head, "Ghh... Oh it's in here somewhere; I know it."
He shut his eyes tightly, murmuring a series of mostly indistinct half-words to himself. The ghost's fading became only more pronounced while Oswald made very little effective use of the very little time he had left with the strange being. By the time he opened his eyes back up, the ghost had vanished to the point that Oswald had to do a bit of a double take just to realize that it hadn't moved, and that he was still staring at it.
"Wait- here, here: Ah, does this castle have a balcony or a window of some sort that overlooks the hillside?"
The ghost was gone from sight. Oswald waited silently for a few seconds. Slowly, his gaze turned towards Krajn, but just as he met her eyes, another light gust of wind began to stir up the dust...
It subsequently set it all down in a random speckled blanket across the floor. Oswald stepped over to where the ghost had been and looked down, sighing at what he saw. "I suppose that phantom of ours didn't just move into another part of the castle, did it?" He glanced at Krajn, then back at the mess of dust. "And I wasn't even able to ask the question that I most wanted to ask. Hrm."
this place needs me here
Ballroom
"Halloween?" Hayate asked Harry with a tilt of his head, "I have never heard of such a thing. I take it that it is something humans do?"
He shook his head. "By 'bad habit,' I was more referring to the fact that she tends to abuse her abilities. Kaguya is a satori, or in other words she is capable of reading minds. The problem is that she tends to rely on that a little too much, most likely because she was raised as a human and not as a youkai."
He sighed. "Most humans lack attunement to the...spiritual side of things, for lack of a better word, and as such lack resistance to such things and usually will not even notice their mind is being read. The youkai, meanwhile, can sense such a thing, and in our society it is considered very rude for a satori to read another's mind without good reason. I have been trying to teach her that to the best of my ability, but old habits are tenacious things."
He glanced towards Kaguya, who by now had turned away from everyone else and was staring down at the floor. "And by the looks of things, I can say with certainty that this was the case here."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
At the last remark, Recon smile turned a tad bit rueful.
"Maybe you should teach her it's rude in human society as well," he said. "To be fair, she's good at hiding it. Except then she got mad at me because apparently I was thinking something she didn't like." His voice took on a slight hint of annoyance at the second sentence.
Recon shrugged and ran his hand through his damp hair. "But honestly, she's young, so don't give her too hard of a time for it. It's one of those things that I don't think can really be taught, just learned. One of these days she's gonna be able to find out for her own that's a bad idea when she tries it on the wrong youkai or whatever."
edited 31st Jan '15 12:05:33 PM by gameknight102xx
The future of warfare in UC.
[Ballroom]
Priss looked up sharply at the description of herself as a knight. "I'm not real clear on why you'd suggest that," she observed. "I have armor, but I'm hardly fitting any version of a knightly code, eastern or western."
Nous restons ici.
[Third Floor - Staircase Hall (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn hissed. She knew it might not come off well, but she couldn't help it; between Oswald's odd fixation on the balcony and how utterly typical the spirit's - presumably final - disappearing act had been of what she'd come to expect from this castle, it was hard not find a certain cosmic humor to it all. She cut herself off quickly, however, and turned to give Oswald a more sympathetic look.
"I don't think our luminescent friend is coming back," she said. "Erm. If I may ask, why are you so fixated on finding a window that overlooks the hillside? It's not as though you'd be able to see much; even with that moon, it's so dark out there."
Sorry for the short post for Krajn; I have a longer one planned but I needed her immediate reaction first.
[Ballroom]
"Yeah," Harry said in response to Hayate's first question. "Halloween's a thing humans do. It's..." he faltered, not sure how or even whether he wanted to try and explain all this. At least Krajn had had all of human media to absorb; he wasn't even sure what kind of media the humans in Kaguya and Hayate's world had. Was it medieval-equivalent, or were they from a more modern reality that just happened to have mythological spirits coexisting with humans?
"Basically, it's this holiday where people dress up in costume and pretend to be scared by kitschy spooky stuff. Except the latter's been a little more real tonight." Or had been, anyway; he noticed that the ghostly waltz appeared to have vanished entirely underneath Priss's 2030s party music. "I think it kind of made your girl nervous."
That had sounded a bit insensitive, so he hurried onward. "But the mind-reading thing - no, that hasn't really been a problem at all. I wouldn't have even noticed it until a, uh, certain point, so I assume she wasn't doing it most of the time. Anyway, it's not like I thought anything I would really have minded being known out loud." That was actually quite untrue; his reflections on the fit of Priss's armor suit - or the way she scared him - came to mind. To say nothing of Moreena and Recon. But he didn't want to get Kaguya into trouble, assuming she wasn't already.
"...Anyway," he said for lack of anything else to say, and took a sip of his soda.
[Castle ~ Third Floor (Staircase Hall)] (Oswald, Krajn)
Oswald's flicked his tail and gave an indignant snort, then crossed his arms, murmuring something about "flattery" and "open admiration", but said nothing else.
He watched quietly—the enthusiastic light slowly reseating itself in his eyes—as Krajn attempted once again to communicate. He stiffened up slightly at the unexpected breeze of cool air, and it took him a second to notice the new patterns in the dust below. He glanced past the sign once, then did a double take.
"Ah... so it- ahem, so you can understand us; wonderful, wonderful." Oswald paused for a second, then gave a slight bow, and said, "I would like you to know that, though my dear friend here might find my words for you unusually florid, they are, at their root, sincere." He rose again, positively beaming, "I'm so very pleased that we can finally share words. Isn't this exciting, Krajn?" he glanced in her direction, then back at the ball of light, "I suppose you're the one who has been leading us through the castle?"
this place needs me here