[Mingle!] Haunted House!

[doubled_speed]

Who: Everyone!
What: Haunted House!
When: 7-10 PM for the House, Open until Midnight for post Haunting Refreshments, October 15th through 31st
Where: Haunted House in the Abandoned Domes
Notes: Mingle Log, so everyone have fun! Don't forget to not injure your haunted house staff. And leave tips. Speedy the ticket Sloth is a growing baby so just leaves, let's not spoil him.

It's an event that has been almost a month in the planning. What started as only talk on the network and mumbles in work groups comes to fruition with announcements starting early on the thirteenth and continuing on from there.

Do you consider yourself BRAVE?
Are you strong of HEART?
Can you handle the terrors of HELL?


The Approach

Hell is promised, and when you arrive at the entrance to the dome your fellow residents have slaved in for a month, it's Hell they delivered. A version of it, at least. The outside is done up a lot like your normal 'Halloween Obsessed Neighbor Going Overboard With Spooky Decorations' kitsch. They're trying to set an atmosphere here, but the real hell is a line that has formed because, as the teen working the front table points out, to go through the 'Horrors of Hell' you have to be in a group of at least two and at most five people. Also, please don't injure any of the workers, the teen insists, as they're all just volunteering their time for the love of the event. And if you enjoyed you experience, be sure to take some of the leaves from the bowl of the table and offer them to the nice little baby sloth that the teen is watching over, hanging from a PVC and rope creation that is Speedy's baby-sitting rig.

Once you're settled up with your group you can enter and move through at your own pace, and really, hope you're big on choices because there is one right away. A big, hand-scrawled sign. But don't worry, you can reenter later or even another day to experience both paths.

<----- HELL! -or- HOUSE! ----->



Paved With Good Intentions - Hell Path

Those who go left are treated to something a bit less seen for the traditional Haunted House. Then again, the traditional Haunted House doesn't tend to play up the whole human cliches of hell. Through some really fancy illusion work once people walk through the door it's all fire and brimstone and tortured spirits. Massive, fiery, winged demons swoop through the air, whips and lashes and pitchforks in hand to take a jab at anyone around and always, always missing at the last possible second. The creatures dart and dive at you, herding you along the paths through a tour of all hell has to offer. You know, molten rivers, suffering people tied to painful spires of pointy rock and overseen by their own personal demons.

The further in a group goes the greater the horrors. How brave are you when you're faced with a massive magma demon rising up out of the lava, a massive metal mask and horns standing out from its head, roaring as it makes a grab at you? Do you scream? Do you faint? Do you cling to the person going through the experience with you? What are you going to do when one of the creatures grabs at a trailing piece of clothing you're wearing, and they prove to be solid?

Try not to stray from the path the demons are guiding you down, taking you on your own personal tour, because moving too far from the well worn path means that the rattling you can just barely hear will get louder, and skeletons will start to approach. Only some of those are illusions. Others are absolutely real, though they tend to be the ones that have no arms and far further back, so they're not a threat.

The path seems to lead down, and as you go you pass through a dark corridor and things get a little more Dante's Divine Comedy, because somebody has clearly been reading. Here you pick up your tour-guide for the rest of your trip, a tired and worn looking person, features hollow and pale, who will explain that you've reached the place where souls are punished for the sins of their lives. What started as impersonal torments above comes to punishments poetically fitting the crime. The stranger leads you first through lust, a smaller area than before, filled with scantily clad demons of various styles, howling and dancing in the throws of a massive storm. The winds threaten to haul you off of the narrow cliff you walk along, and while they never quite do it, the stone under you may occassionally crack and seem ready to dump you into the malestrom. Down and down the path winds until you come to the next level.

Here you get a lovely two-for, Dante's third and fourth circles of Inferno combined into one. Massive, rotting forms of people guilty of gluttony wear shackles at their wrists and ankles, linked up by chains to other souls, those guilty off greed. The latter struggle to drag themselves up the steep incline of the cliff, trying to win themselves free, and weighed down by their slothful companions. Through it all the storm continues, hail pelting the sets of illusory sinners, sharp rocks cutting at skin as people crawl and drag each other around. For a moment it seems like someone might win themselves up to you and your guide, a hand reaching for your ankle before the weight drags them back down. Oh well.

Another tunnel and you enter the final circle, because hey, some are just a lot harder to portray, even with illusions and creative minds. Here the sounds are overwhelming, the cacophany of pained voices and metal on metal of war itself. Violence is here, and here the guide stands back. Here you must venture alone. If you can brave the battle and win to the other side, freedom from this horror awaits you. But beware, none have ever done so. Don't worry, it's just flavor. Take up whatever fallen bit of rubber armor and weapon you wish, and try to win your way past enemies, illusion, skeleton, and actors alike. You're not in any real risk of course, but it's definitely a heart-pounding experience whether you try and fight and thus get your own, specially prepared 'demon' to try and hold you back for a minute or two, or if you try and duck and dodge and weave. Either way you'll eventually make your escape. If you're not great at winning it yourself, at times the tide of the battle will shift for you, seeming almost to make a path to help you get out safely. And when you make it through the glowing arch at the far side...

Please proceed to Post Spook Meal Time



But The Rent Is Good - House Path

For those in for the more traditional experience, the path to the right goes from zero to ghosts with a bone to pick in no time. This is a far shorter experience, only about four rooms compared to a massive expanse, but it's still spooky. The tour starts in an entrance hall filled with things that move without any discernible method, creepy gusts, and sudden bursts of wind. Of course as some of those things that move are suits of armor and creepy statues that get closer when you aren't looking at them, it might be best to move on quickly.

Further on is a dining room, and it's set for a ghastly feast. Within moments of entering the room things start to fly. Not even metaphorically. No, it's a red mist moving through the room, chairs and tables and decorations all hovering and whirling around in mad patterns, never touching anyone of course. And with it all a horrifying wailing noise overlaid with whispered threats are just at the edge of hearing. The longer the room is lingered in, the more likely it is that 'sharp' instruments will make swooping passes at people, but don't worry, they're rubber.

Flee the dining room and there is still the kitchen, which is the designated actor room for the event. Remember, don't attack your Haunted House volunteers. Within moments of entering there's rattling in a door that no doubt leads to the pantry, and it soon creaks open in a properly spooky manner. A man, or woman, will stagger out, looking half dead and covered with blood, and wielding a butcher's cleaver. Given the pot on the stove that's bubbling and has what looks like an arm sticking out of it, you probably want to flee the shuffling footsteps and maniacal laughter. But hey, at least you know what the source of the ghosts probably is.

And in the final room there's time to cool down a bit. Literally. It's something like a walk in freezer that you've been herded into, meaning there are hunks of meat hanging all around you from chains. What starts as pigs and cows soon gives way to hanging and dismembered human torsos. Which is definitely a problem because, soon enough, the creepy cook will be after you again. Best to just try and hide behind these grisly sides of meat and make for the brightly lit and open doors at the far end and you'll find...



Post Spook Time Meal! - After Either Route

Freedom from either path means reaching a final area where someone has managed to get a local restaurant to help donate time with a bit of a mixer. Swap stories about your experiences as you enjoy volunteers moving around in overdone demon and spooky ghost costumes, all carrying snacks and drinks. Enjoy eyeball-frosting cupcakes, jello brains, and 'steaming' goblets of green liquid that turn out to be warm drinks of one style or another the gray 'stone' goblets turn out to be slightly alcoholic, and the white 'bone' ones are all non-alcoholic. Anything you can imagine to take normal foods and make them spooky can be seen here, and even some tables with kids spooky party cliches like 'boiled eye' peeled grapes, or a bowl of crushed oreos with gummy worms in them.

Once the hauntings shut down at ten also make sure to give your performance volunteers and organizers applause. After all, Loki worked SERIOUSLY hard on the illusions for hell, and Tommy had to move around REALLY heavy statues and suits of armor super fast, and Wanda did really great at making things move and fly around in the haunted dining room, just as some examples.

Costumes are of course welcome, and if you didn't wear any coming to the haunted house, there is a whole rack of simple costumes and costume ideas to enjoy, everything from a combination strap on angel wings and halo to a fake axe to the head headband to the spookiest costume of all: a name tag that says 'IRS Auditor'. Enjoy yourself, mingle, and share your stories of spooky encounters!

Oh, and after ten, be sure to come over to the quiet little booth in the back to take pictures with Speedy the Baby Sloth no flash photography please. A sign will helpfully inform you that all spooky noises for demons and ghosts were made using natural sloth noises that had been messed around with in audio mixing software to make a plethora of scary noises. He's a very talented little voice actor.

Comments

Questions? Assistance Needed?

[doubled_speed]

[OOC: Do you need an NPC to interact with in this? Do you want more flavor for your specific circumstance? Need someone messing with you in particular in the form of a demon or a ghost in either path? Message me here and I'll be happy to provide what you need. And have safe fun here. Anyone who injures a volunteer for the house will QUICKLY find themselves ejected IMMEDIATELY by Tommy, a super strong speedster who will pick you up and carry you out of the event immediately before you can react, because injuring Haunted House workers is super not okay.]

Tommy Shepherd | OTA

[doubled_speed]

Victory Lap

Within a minute of the last brave souls escaping from the House path, there's another person bursting out and taking a rather showy bow before the other volunteers can come out. What, Tommy feels like, as one of the masterminds of this, he deserves his bow. Every. Single. Night.

Instead of his normal vibrant colors, Tommy's dressed in dark grays and brows, things that had helped him blend in to the setting of the entrance hall, where he was undoubtedly the origin of the all the moving statues and armor that was haunting people in particular.

"Now now, I don't need applause. Only tons of cupcakes. Also, when all our spook staff get out here, you all BETTER applaud. They've been working SUPER hard!"

Oh, wait, is that a tray of cupcakes going by? Tommy's definitely distracted moving after that. Food time.


Sloth Man

After he's had some food and had a chance to mingle, Tommy makes his way over to the sloth booth with a bowl of carefully selected leaves and flowers. He takes a seat, looking just the tiniest bit tired, and takes the sloth down from his pipe and rope climbing rig to let the little guy cling to him and enjoy some feeding.

"You know, this was the hardest part, working so much for this. Getting all the noises we needed to make the spooky sound effects. And Speedy being so new and not knowing why his daddy wasn't around."

Clearly the speedster has become insanely fond of his pet. He's rarely this gentle with other people around to see him like this.

Bring on the Sloth!

[ferrokinetically]

He'd told her he had a sloth. Wasn't like she didn't believe him but it'd still seemed weird. Weird made up 90% of her life, especially since she got here, but somehow the sloth thing was the weirdest of it all. Why was this place randomly giving out sloths? How did a sloth get underwater? Why exactly was Tommy so happy about this sloth? Did he have a secret sloth dad dream? All of these were valuable questions with no answers.

But hey, now she finally got to meet the sloth himself. She had a smirk on her face as she approached the two of them.

"So this is the illustrious Speedy?" She put her hands in her pockets as she looked from Tommy to the sloth. "Honored to finally get to meet him."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, meet his best little buddy. The creature, as it is, is clinging to his arm, and Tommy doesn't protest it. The little guy needs his dad right now.

"Yeah, this is him. He's the cutest, right? He... makes it easier to slow down, you know? Like, very zen."

[ferrokinetically]

"He's...something." She leans in a bit to look at him closer and her eyes linger at his clinging arms. The last thing she wants to do is freak the little guy out so she doesn't reach out for him. "Seems to love you though." That statement comes with a smirk and a very light chuckle. It's hard to not be at least somewhat amused by this boy standing there with a sloth clinging to him.

"Mediation sloth. You might start a whole new trend."

Victory Lap

[blindpuppet]

Enis rolled her eyes at Tommy's bravo but if that tiny smile was any indication, she was enjoying herself. It'd been a fun night and while she'd been worried about the software in her head activating, nothing had triggered it.

She swipes a cupcake as they pass by her and throw it at Tommy's face.

That was what he meant by giving him cupcakes... right?

[doubled_speed]

There is a lot of stuff going on, but not enough that Tommy doesn't notice the cupcake coming. And he catches it in a blur of motion, left grinning at Enis. And in a blink he's at her side, grinning.

"You went through then? Everything cool?"

[blindpuppet]

She chuckled softly and shook her head.

Of course he caught it. She had expected as much but she was a little disappointed that he didn't have a face full of cupcake right now. "It was fine." She turned to look at him, her palms resting on her hips.

"I'm surprised but nothing reached out to grab me." Which was the biggest trigger. Enis had just been lucky. "You looked like you were having fun."

Charis | OTA

[wasinnocent]

Paved with Good Intentions - Hell Path

At some point Charis had actually forgotten that she'd ended up volunteered to help with this Haunted House thing. Luckily-or unluckily- for her she ended up roped into the entire thing anyway. There was a certain amount of fun in seeing the entire thing being set up. The kid was really going all out on this entire thing. He'd even given her an assignment in the last room of the Hell Path.

Which was where she could be found for most of this experience. Once people break away from the guide they might run into her. She's dressed in tattered black robes with blood splatters here and there. She even tried to add some extra flare by putting caked up blood in her hair. Is it real blood? Who knows. Might be better not to ask. She's got a sword in one hand waiting to attack people on their way to exit. Don't worry, she's been told not to actually hurt anyone.

Post Spook Time Meal!

By the end of the night her white facepaint was a bit smeared and mixed with her blood red lipstick. Actually, the entire smeared look created a much more terrifying look than the original makeup. Clearly she should have considered doing this smeared makeup look to begin with. At least it looked spooky now when people could see her better. Small favors.

She can be found wandering around with a huge tray of the goblets of liquid. When she approaches someone she dips the tray down.

"Need a drink?" She knew she did.

Post Spook

[doubled_speed]

Tommy comes to a brief stop by Charis and smirks.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Yanno, I've been listening to people that were on your side of the event. Lots of people lamenting how owned they were by that 'badass demon lady'. Pretty sure they meant you."

[wasinnocent]

"Take your pick," she makes a grand gesture to the tray and smirks at him.

"You have no idea how hard it was to not injure anyone. Your rules really killed the fun," there's a smile on her face though, so maybe she's just teasing him. "You put a lot into this entire thing. I'm going to be real disappointed if you reveal that this isn't your favorite human holiday."

[doubled_speed]

Alcoholic all the way, mostly because why not, it tastes better.

"Maybe it killed your fun, but everyone else had tons of it I bet. That's the point, though. The joy, the fun of it. And that side was MOSTLY Loki, so you gotta applaud his efforts."

But he smiles and takes a swig of his drink before shrugging.

"It's tied. I like it because there's also parties and candy. I tend to go to ALL the haunted houses. But I also like thanksgiving because TONS of food."

meal!

[itsnothingpersonal]

Loki had taken the opportunity to look every bit the prince he was, in full hunter green and gold regalia, complete with his horned helmet, he does take the offered drink when she arrives, but raises and eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling up in a smirk.

"I never would have made you a servant, but it does somehow compliment you."

[wasinnocent]

"You always say the sweetest things." There was an edge of annoyance in her tone at his comment. Sometimes it seemed like Loki's true talent was finding the one thing to say that would piss someone off the most. "The way to a lady's heart is definitely telling her being a servant compliments her." This is why he never got the girl.

"Nice helmet. Compensating for anything?" It had to be asked.

[itsnothingpersonal]

He shook his head, rolling his eyes but smiling all the while. "You really should learn to take a joke. Is Tommy at least paying you?"

You know, since he's made you a servant at our event and all. "They're purely ceremonial, and you're welcome to verify that if you'd like." There are a lot of reasons Loki never gets the girl. A lot.

Sayori / OTA

[dont_notice_me]

House Path aka You Are Part of Sayori's Group!

Sayori considers she's probably not mentally ready for the Hell path, as the memories of her ordeals are still pretty fresh in her mind, so Haunted House it is! She decides it's better for her to go with a group than with only one person, in case... anything happens.

OK, maybe she isn't really as ready for spooks as she thought, even if she's aware that these ones can't hurt her.

She's looking pretty nervous once she enters the house, darting glances around nervously and trying not too think too hard about the "guts" she sees in one of the corners of the room. She keeps telling herself they are fake, but it's still pretty nerve wrecking.

Is there a panic button she can press? Or a hand that she can hold at least? She probably needs someone to hold her hand even if only to keep her moving, because at the moment she's just standing there in the entrance hall and is clearly not going anywhere...


Post Spook Time Meal! aka She Lived!

She's out. She doesn't know how, but she managed to go through all rooms in the house. It feels like her heart is about to leap out of her mouth, but she's alive and didn't even cry! That's a win in her book.

At least she's glad to get a reward after her hard work: food! Of course that, before she moves on to stuff her face, she decides to borrow a set of angel wings and a halo from the racks of accessories. After all, she doesn't want to be that one person without a costume!

Then, she waltzes around the party, pretty much stuffing her face with sweets only. Someone better tell her to eat some more substantial food though, before she gets sick.

House!

[winebending]

This sort of entertainment wasn't something Mera found interesting - or, she wouldn't if they had anything like this in Atlantis. She supposed that small children frightened one another all the time, she'd just never been one of them. Perhaps that was why she had found herself watching the small girl standing in fear as the rest of the group moved forward inside.

After a few moments, she kneels slightly, tilting her head a bit to the girl in curiousness. "You're scared." It's not a question, just an observation. "Why force yourself to go?"

[dont_notice_me]

Sayori almost jumps back when she's spoken too, eyes wide and mouth open ready to let out a scream, but she's able to keep quiet and not embarrass herself even more.

"S-Sorry... I just... I thought I could go through this better... but's it's bringing up a lot of nasty memories..." She thought that by knowing the scary things inside the house couldn't hurt her, she would be fine with it, but she clearly underestimated the amount of trauma she went through.

"Hah... I planned this really poorly, didn't I?" She laughs nervously to try and disguise her fear, but it's clear she's nervous by how her knees are shaking.

Loki | OTA

[itsnothingpersonal]

Afterwards;

Running a haunted house had seemed a daunting task at first, but after he'd seen a few horror movies and read a few things, he'd gotten the hang of it. Astral projection has its uses as well, as he's able to split his attention between officiating tours through Hell and spending time in the area reserved for "survivors". He actually is physically in the receiving area, dressed to the nines in full regalia: hunter green and leathers with shining silver buckles, brilliant gold and green cape, his helmet with its huge, bending horns completing the ensemble.

He hasn't quite grasped the concept of "costumes" for Halloween just yet, alright?

Once everyone was gathered in the receiving room, he moved to the center of the room and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. Grinning, he spread his arms wide before taking a sweeping bow.

"I do hope you all enjoyed your journey into the depths of Hell or through the harrows of haunted homelife. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed being your host this evening." He made a motion around as servers were carrying about trays of refreshments. "After such daring forays into the depths of horror, you're sure to need some refreshment. Please, enjoy yourselves. The night is young, after all."

After his speech, he snatches a flute of champagne from a passing tray and moves about the crowd, though he's...pretty easy to track with those horns if you want to talk to him.

[doubled_speed]

Arrogant asshole, but not much Tommy can do about that. But he smiles as he approaches with a cupcake in hand and rolls his eyes at Loki.

"See, when you put it like that, it sounds like this whole thing was your idea alone. But yeah, host, right."

[itsnothingpersonal]

He graciously, and a little over-dramatically, accept the cupcake, and there's a glint of playfulness in his eye as he smiles.

"But Tommy, it was you who suggested this holiday should be held in my honor."

[doubled_speed]

Woah, wait, that cupcake was supposed to be for Tommy. He even looks at it and frowns briefly. His cupcake. And in the space of a blink he's gone and back with another cupcake for himself.

"I'm saying IF we had a god for it these days, it would be you. But we don't."

Wanda Maximoff [Open]

[minus1twin]

After the haunted house

Wanda was happy to help Tommy and had a surprising amount of fun doing it. She got to use her ability to levitate multiple objects while discretely watching the groups heading through her room to individualize the surprises she had in store for them. She listened to the chatter, the bravo of those pretending not to be scared and maybe teased those people just a little bit more.

She let her red mist fill the room at times, creating a murky atmosphere that might lead the people walking into the dining room that there was something lurking under the table or behind the drapes, watching them.

It was fun and the first time that Wanda had gotten to do something like this.

When the haunted house was closing up she exited with the others. She was dressed in nearly all black to blend into the shadows with her long red hair pulled up and into a pony tail. Now that her part was over she pulled her hair free and let the silky strains fall over her shoulders. She was tired from using her powers for so long but it was a good tired. It'd been awhile since she felt this good.

"So, what was your favorite part? I hope I didn't get too carried away." She had really gotten into it.

Baby Speedy!

Wanda had found a black witches hat and had put it on her head to form the worlds simplest costume. It wasn't original but it worked with her black dress, stockings and boots.

She hadn't intended to get a picture with Speedy but she had offered to watch him for a time so that Tommy could run around and say hi to everyone. The sloth was hanging nearby while Wanda held a little brown stuffed bear in front of it.

"This is for you. Try not to lose it okay." She smiled at the little sloth as it reached for the bear.

Baby Speedy

[doubled_speed]

The little creature squeaks over the stuffed animal, reaching out to wrap around the bear, just a bit. It's clearly appreciated.

And they aren't alone long. Instead there's Tommy, grinning at them.

"You really did it. You really found a bare. He seems to like it."

Baby Speedy

[minus1twin]

Wanda laughed softly as Speedy happily took the stuffed bear.

"Of course I did. I actually got something for you too but I don't know if I should give it to you here." Was it embarrassing getting gifts from your mother in public?

"This is like the bear my mom had given me though with a lot less stitches."