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
[Castle ~ Third Floor (Grand Study)] (Oswald, Krajn)
Oswald, who was leaning against the short, sturdy side of the bookcase with book in hand, gave an amused "Hrmph!" of a laugh. "And if that translation software of yours were to stop functioning, would you understand a word that I'm saying? Or I you?" He raised up from the book that he was... examining more than reading, to glance—brow raised questioningly—at Krajn, then shrugged, returning his eyes to the book. "In any case, is it really that much of a surprise that your software doesn't recognize a language that is very likely not of your world? Or worlds, I suppose I should say. Not of your version of reality, that is. Just as the shining space rock out the window isn't the moon I saw this morning, and the light that it reflects is not from my sun."
He began thumbing rapidly through the pages, letting the contents of each vy for his attention as they flipped past. "Aye. A lonely lost soul couldn't ask for a lonelier estate." He looked up with a smile, "Perhaps it was a ghost who threw the party then. If this ghost can indeed possess the empty husk of a costume, then maybe it has other ways of managing these corporeal things. Or a live accomplice enlisted to carry out the plan."
Oswald was about to return his attention to his book when Krajn brought his attention to the other book. He glanced over to it, then back at Krajn, before answering rather matter-of-factly, "Nope. I've been standing here the whole time. Probably just the ghost."
They'll turn your world around[Third Floor - Grand Study (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn blinked at Oswald, actually genuinely startled. "That - it's just as simple as that, then, for you? Hrrrm." She shifted her posture to several ill-defined stances in discomfort; she'd known he was much more genuinely, wholly at ease (generally, at least) with the strange happenings of the night than she was - but it was still surprising to see how calmly he'd taken this latest manifestation.
For a moment, she wondered why that was. Oh, it was easy enough to understand why she'd always be a little startled and suspicious when it came to such occurrences; it was the pragmatic way to react, and Qvn Jxilkr training emphasized nothing if not pragmatism. But how was it Oswald managed to react at least some of the time with such utter blitheness? I should very much like to know how it is he does that.
But perhaps some other time. If the ghost wants us to see that page - and I suppose the theory that it's leading us on a tour is as good as any other we've come up with this evening - perhaps one of us should do just that.
She moved over towards the book, perhaps a bit cautiously, but certainly not letting it show. Her previous wary comments aside, Krajn had no intention of acting like she was spooked by a paper book of all things. She glanced down at the new open page and did her best to repress her reaction: though the text was still incomprehensible, something had left dark smudges of - she sniffed to check - dirt over it in the shape of a Classic Qrtxian glyph-set.
"'Spirit of mischief'," she read out loud. "...Suggestive."
And odd that it would choose my language. Unless... "Oswald, come have a look at this," she called, with an undertone of curiosity.
Last post until tomorrow, I think. Good night.
edited 20th Jan '15 1:35:05 AM by nrjxll
[Castle ~ Third Floor (Grand Study)] (Oswald, Krajn)
Oswald gave Krajn an odd look, one that almost matched her own confusion. "Pages aren't terribly difficult to turn, Krajn." he said, then held up his own book by the spine, letting the pages flip around as he tipped it this way and that. "See? All by themselves. Now, I'm sure there must be an explanation... hmmn..." He smiled and shook his head, then closed the book.
He walked back to the other side of the bookcase, to return his book to its resting place, though occasionally he tipped his head in the direction of Krajn, watching in quiet curiosity as she investigated the other, suddenly much more mysterious, book. Even as he browsed the shelves for another prop to toy with, his eyes seemed more focused on the happenings beneath the portrait.
When Krajn called to him, Oswald quickly halted his book hunting and eagerly headed over. "Spirit of mischief huh? I hope that's simply a nod to the holiday, and not our spectral friend identifying itself as a poltergeist. That sets a bit of a negative precedent, not that I mean to be..." he glanced over his shoulder, back at the rest of the large room, "...ah, judgmental."
Standing before the book on the desk, Oswald tipped his hood down at it, and tilted his head curiously. "Well, trick or treat, there it is. I suppose this book now has a new author. None too fond of the old material either." He glanced back over his shoulder again, eyes flitting around and taking in as much of the room as his hood permitted him to see. "Is that the only rewrite?"
They'll turn your world around[Hallway]
Moreena stood up. "And I assume 'old Fletcher' is gone now?" she said. "By the way, what does 'taking care of your own work' mean exactly?" She looked around at the rest of the group before turning her black eyes towards Recon's blood stained face. "Did you do something with that creature's soul?" she asked in a very serious tone, her teeth slowly growing sharper as she spoke.
She desperately hoped for a No. Gory violence was more of a bonus than anything, but if Recon turned out to be some kind of necromancer her plans for the night would be utterly ruined.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.Dining Room
The sound of the bells announcing the arrival of midnight was just as startling to Kaguya as it was to everyone else at the time. She found it a little difficult to concentrate on her mind-reading with that going on, and so she withdrew from the other girl's mind and waited patiently for it to stop.
Unfortunately, she didn't get the chance to try again before nearly everyone who was in the dining room left...including the person whose mind Kaguya was trying to read. She didn't even get the chance to find out what her name was. Well, so much for that. Actually, so much for the idea of asking someone else for help in general. Now she was short one option; given what Harry just said she doubted he was willing to come with her.
She sighed and glanced down at her plate, desperately trying to think of something.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!"Yeah, he's gone. As for what I do with the soul..."
He puffed his cheeks out, blowing air through his lips.
"T'be honest with you, I don't do anything. I dunno what happens to the "soul". All I know is that I've hung out with death gods in the past, and no matter how big a killing spree I go on, they never notice it. Their workload never increases, they never have any extra dead people coming in, nothing."
He looked at Priss, sticking his tongue out at her in response.
"The reason I didn't contradict you is 'cuz you're right."
edited 20th Jan '15 9:30:30 AM by gameknight102xx
[Hallway]
"That's rather... disturbing," Moreena said. While she was relieved to hear that Recon wasn't a necromancer or anything like that, she wasn't sure if what he had just said was really any better. She decided to investigate the matter later, and shortened her teeth and nails.
"Regardless... if the tower is empty now I guess we might as well return to the dining hall. Though we should probably clean up some of this mess first."
Moreena casually glanced at the remains scattered across the floor. As she began to turn around towards the nearest dark corner, they were all enveloped in purple flames, just like the ones she had used to light up the rooms earlier that night. The flames only burned the remains, not even slightly damaging the floor, and anyone who got close enough would notice that they were actually colder than the rest of the hallway, revealing their already quite obvious magical nature.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.[Third Floor - Grand Study (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn looked at Oswald, slightly confused. "You can - can you read it?"
She glanced back at the book while waiting for his answer. "I would have to read through the entire thing to be certain, but I assume it was opened to this page because this was the one where the, er, new author made its addition. Although I'm still curious why it chose this particular page." She let out a long sigh. "I wish I could read this language..."
Suddenly, the wind blowing through the shattered windowpane increased in intensity, rising to the point of giving off a howling noise. (At least, she assumed that noise was the wind). The candle flame flickered and went out. Krajn hugged her arms around herself again; even away from the window it was quite chilly. She glared angrily at the window. "Whatever 'spirit of mischief' is causing that, qrtxians do not like the cold! This is not funny or a charming bit of holiday excitement. It's not comfortable!"
...I'm shouting at a window. Trjql Qrl'k, this has been a strange night. At least Oswald wasn't likely to think too oddly of her for it.
[Dining Room]
Harry blinked at the mass exodus of people from the dining room - including, he couldn't help but notice, every single guest who had shown some ability to defend themselves if vampires or whatever did suddenly attack. He looked over at Kaguya. "Well, that was kind of abrupt."
The lights overhead flickered for a moment, and he looked up in annoyance. That's not so much scary as just majorly annoying. It's not like the moon's still doing that glowing through the roof thing. Of course, it could also just have been an ordinary malfunction. This place wasn't exactly an impressive display of modern lighting technology.
He opened his mouth to speak again, but paused as a sound caught his attention, and turned his head towards the door leading to the ballroom. "Is that... okay, is that music coming from in there?" Indeed, there seemed to be the sounds of a faint, vaguely classical waltz coming from under the closed door.
[Castle ~ Third Floor (Grand Study)] (Oswald, Krajn)
Oswald frowned indignantly. "Yes I can read it. Whatever you may think of me, Krajn, I'm not illiterate. The only reason I can't read what's in the rest of these books is because it's not in a language that I understand. Hell, your translator didn't pick it up either now did it?" He paused, the frown in his mouth softening slightly while his brow furrowed in some confusion of his own. "That said," he turned his eyes back to the book, "it is a fair bit strange that the message would be written in plain English."
He narrowed his eyes for a brief moment, before shrugging, "Or not. After all, they did send out invitations, presumably to all manner of places in all manner of languages. If I were a ghost with all the time in the world, I suppose learning other languages wouldn't hurt."
At the sudden gust of wind, and Krajn's subsequent outburst, Oswald—head turned towards her, eyes directed away, and voice dripping with thinly disguised suggestion—said, "My my, if only there were some sort of handy dandy garment that you could drape around your shoulders to block out those cold gusts of wind, making you a warmer and generally happier qrtxian. Mmm, if only if only."
They'll turn your world around[Third Floor - Grand Study (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn tipped her head to an annoyed position as she looked at Oswald. "Why would you think I think you're illiterate? Oswald, I can't read English - and certainly not the kind of English you can. When I look at that book, I see a Classic Qrtxian glyph. That's why I wanted you to look at it - I was curious whether the 'ghost' had written specifically in my language for some reason, or whether the writing would appear differently to different people." She tilted her head. "I understand that happens in these stories, after all."
She paused to glare again at the window. "As for the cloak, I don't need - "
Now you're just being stupid, a voice that sounded a bit like Ghiln said in her head. (Metaphorically, of course, though at this point it wouldn't have surprised her very much to start literally hearing voices). She sighed, and looked back at Oswald. "Oh, never mind. I'll take it. Though I wish we could either shut the window or convince whatever's making that wind to stop. If there is something."
As she moved closer to take Oswald's cloak, she looked at the book again. "Odd, though, that the writing can shift so easily between two very different writing systems. I wonder what would happen if we both tried to trace it with our fingers."
Dining Room
"Just goes to show how everyone's here for the party, I guess...." Kaguya commented on everyone's departure, "At least it's less crowded in here now...?"
She looked up briefly when the light flickered, and noticed that the moon had gone away. She was about to breathe a small sigh of relief at the creepiness apparently starting to tone down, but it sounded a lot more forlorn when it was replaced by faint music that didn't have an obvious source.
"...I'm not sure if I want to know where that's coming from," she said, casting a wary glance at the ballroom door.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian![Dining Room (Harry, Kaguya)]
Harry looked over at the door, doing his best to conceal how he was spooked. "Obviously, it's coming from in there," he said. "The real question is what's making it."
He paused, then crumpled his empty soda can in irritation (and with a bit of effort). "You know, all I really wanted out of this night was the party. I didn't ask for lots of weird, random creepy occurrences, Halloween or not. Just once this year I'd like to have a normal day. Is that so much to ask for?"
He sighed. "So, want to go check it out?"
Recon appeared beside Kaguya this time, the only sound being a quiet whiff, like dry cloth being slapped across the stone floor.
"Hello again. Hey, what's that music? Kinda classy. Maybe they're having a ball in there?" Apparently Recon had either forgotten or just didn't care that his head was still covered in blood, with another stream of dried red down his left cheek. At least he had taken off the armor.
edited 21st Jan '15 7:04:51 PM by gameknight102xx
Dining Room
"That's what I meant to say, I just...um...." Kaguya started, before shaking her head. "...Never mind."
Though she sympathized with Harry's frustrations, knowing full well what he meant, she chose not to comment on them. At this point, she'd be repeating herself about her situation, and Harry really didn't need to know how much worse she had it. It was probably for the best that she just focused on the situation at hand.
"Well...I feel I've been scared enough tonight...." she said on the subject of the music, "...but at the same time just sitting here isn't going to help me accomplish anything. It's not like I have anything better to do-EEK!"
For what seemed like the millionth time that night, something startled her to the point of jumping. This time, it was the sound of a voice that most definitely wasn't Harry's coming from right next to her. She turned to see who it was...and then jumped again before slowly pushing herself away from the newcomer. Her gaze was fixated on the blood that covered his head.
It took her a few more moments to notice that he looked familiar, and a moment after that to recognize him as one of the people who were in the dining room earlier (albeit someone she hadn't been paying much attention to). Given all the blood, she was almost certain that this was a ghost. He certainly looked the part.
She loosened up a little, but didn't return her chair to its original position. Soon afterwards, her third eye was open and looking through the newcomer's surface thoughts just to make sure that he wasn't going to attempt to harm either Harry or herself. She remained silent; from what she'd seen of Harry so far he would probably be better at actually talking to the newcomer than she would.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!Recon smiled what probably would've been a friendly smile, but in his current state it looked slightly demented.
"Nice to meet you Eek. The name's Recon. There was a situation near the bell tower, but we managed to take care of it."
Scanning Recon's surface thoughts would provide her with Recon's point of view, looking directly at her.
Then, after a few more seconds, she would "hear" the clear, distinct words: "She's adorable!" followed by an image of him enthusiastically bear-hugging her.
edited 21st Jan '15 7:45:23 PM by gameknight102xx
[Castle ~ Third Floor (Grand Study)] (Oswald, Krajn)
"Ah, that must be it then." Oswald said, as he quickly undid the loose knot fastening the neck of his cloak together. "For a moment, I thought that your surprise arose from witnessing me read three simple words in my own native tongue."
He shook his head, huffing a quiet "hrmph" of a laugh, then pulled back his hood and carefully removed his cloak from around his shoulders. The large study was nowhere near as dusty as the other rooms, but one could still see thinly visible clouds whenever a breeze swept into the room, and a gust from Oswald's cloak would be no different. Laying it over one arm, he handed the cloak to Krajn, perhaps deciding that the more grandiose gesture of laying it upon her shoulders himself would not be very welcome. Even so, he still added a sly, "No need to thank me." as he passed the cloak off.
With Krajn's suggestion in mind, he looked back at the book, offering a half-shrug. "I suppose you would see my finger trace the path of the letters that I see, and just the same, I would see you trace the path that you see. And the dirt... that's a little harder to say. Perhaps it is all in the mind, and there's no dirt on this page at all."
He frowned thoughtfully, his teeth grinding very softly, very slowly as he stared down at the open page. "Spirit of mischief." he murmured, "Spirit of mischief. It's not much of a message, is it? Although, I will attest that desecrating a book with dirt is plenty mischievous. Not all that amusing though; not like a typical prank. With all the giggling, I thought that phantom would pull something a little funnier."
They'll turn your world around[Dining Room]
The lights flickered for a second time, signaling Moreena's arrival. She stood in one of the corners and looked out across the room. The man with the goggles was still there, as well as a girl with red eyes who she hadn't really noticed before. The girl was staring at Recon, who had apparently startled her. Probably not that surprising, given that his face was still covered in blood.
After a while, Moreena noticed the music. She started walking towards the ballroom, passing Recon and the girl on the way.
"Hello there," she said to the girl. "You look like you've just seen a blood splattered demigod or something."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.[Third Floor - Grand Study (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn took the cloak from Oswald and wrapped it around herself, for what felt like the fifth time this evening. I really should have made this costume out of smartcloth.
"I will thank you anyway," she said out loud. "I... I know sometimes I can be too aggressive about trying to preserve my dignity, even when it's silly to do so. I... appreciate that that doesn't bother you. Thank you."
She stood up straighter and, keeping the cloak wrapped around herself, moved towards the book again. As she did, something occurred to her, and she asked her translation software to inspect it.
"I suppose the laughter could have just been a way of luring us onward," she said to Oswald, then shifted her posture to a discomforted one. "Er. I don't mean that in as sinister a sense as it sounded - I think the, the phantom might have just been laughing to get our attention. It's occurred to me that - "
A glyph flashed in the corner of her vision, alerting her that the software was finished looking up what she'd asked. "As I thought. 'Spirit of mischief' is a pun, of sorts, in both our languages - it could be interpreted as meaning either a literal spirit" - she shivered again at another cold gust of air - "or as meaning an emotion or feeling of mischief. Both of which are appropriate to this holiday."
She tilted her head. "I'm not sure what conclusions to reach from that, of course, but it's interesting."
[Dining Room]
Harry almost literally jumped in surprise at Recon's latest Mr. R-style stealth teleportation; his crumpled-up soda did go flying. The blood covering him really, really did not help.
"What the f - what it - what is wrong with you, man?" he exploded. "That's - that's totally creepy even when you're not looking like some escapee from a horror movie!" He paused and took several deep breaths, suspecting that hysterics would just make the situation worse. "I - look, can you try not to do that? At least not when looking like a crazed maniac?"
For a moment he worried about whether the dude was actually a crazed maniac. But he didn't give that vibe, and while Harry hadn't met enough crazed maniacs to be sure of that, he figured Recon was probably more likely another military type.
He managed to at least avoiding jumping when the other one - Moreena - materialized out of the shadows, because of course she would. "So, is that what he is?" he asked her.
Dining Room
The good news was that this Recon person didn't seem to want to hurt either of them. The bad news was that he appeared to be leaning too far in the other direction. In fact, Kaguya was almost certain he knew she was reading his mind and was messing with her; he definitely wasn't all-loving if the blood was anything to go by.
She shut her third eye and withdrew; that one look was enough as far as she was concerned. Her expression now had become an annoyed glare, although whatever effect it might have had was offset by the fact that she appeared to be blushing.
Thankfully, Harry did indeed have something to say to him, and he summed up her thoughts far better than she herself could. She did, however, have one thing of her own to say to him....
"....Don't touch me!" She knew that this was about where she'd reveal her ability to Harry, but it was either that or get hugged by some creepy blood-covered maniac from out of nowhere.
At that point, yet another person decided to jump in. This time Kaguya was a little more aware of her surroundings and managed to keep herself from getting scared again. However, she just gave this newcomer a brief look. She wasn't sure if she liked suddenly being the center of attention.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian![Dining Room > Ballroom]
"It's an educated guess," Moreena answered, before throwing a glance at Recon with a smirk on her face. "Though I certainly wouldn't mind hearing the true story at some point."
Moreena continued towards the source of the music, but stopped for a moment as the girl spoke. "Yes, that seems reasonable, given the blood and all," she said before entering the ballroom. The armored girl from earlier was already there, by the look of things.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Third Floor - Grand Study (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn stared at Oswald. "The... night before Christmas? I don't... oh, never mind."
She turned back to look at the bookshelves and bobbed her head in a human-style nod. "Yes, it does seem a sad thing, that we'll never know what's in those books because of some silly linguistic conflict. I suspect it actually bothers me more than you, really - you at least live in a world where most people can't understand other languages without training anyway. But I don't usually find things that my translation software doesn't recognize."
She blinked thoughtfully. "Though most of the time when that happens - well, not to me, but as a general rule - it's a rather twilit matter whether the knowledge... er, should be known. You keep joking about mindkind sacrifice, but I seriously do wonder if we're better off without learning what's really in those books." She shivered at a sudden - and suspiciously apropos - gust of cold wind through the shattered pane.
I should probably move away from it, then, yes?
She walked over to the opposite wall from the window, taking care not to appear at all hurried or concerned as she did so, and turned her head back towards Oswald. "I can certainly understand why a specter living here - sss, or should that be ''existing here - would get lonely. This isn't a very nice place to spend if you're alone, I should think."
Something caught her eye, and she tilted her head slowly. "Oswald - did you flip to a different page in that book?" It was now opened to somewhere considerably closer to the back.
Do please say yes.