ROUND 4 DAY 4 - HAUNTED HOUSE PARTY

[snackcakeordeath]

[For some reason, you feel good today...stronger. Which is great, maybe you're just psyched up for the latest ~fabulous event~ cooking from the ConAgra-McKee Foods kitchens...

[The Newlydead Game^TM ✨Super-Special✨ 👻Spooktacular🎃! 🗡Murdermance💘 at the 💀Murder Manse🏚!

[The house is a huge, Victorian monstrosity straight out of the mental idea of an Edgar Allen Poe story--delicate wrought-iron chandeliers and candelabra hanging from vaulted ceilings; ornately carved molding and flocked wallpapers, mosaics and inlaid wood floors. Most of the rooms seem legitimately old, cobwebbed and musty, with dusty dropcloths laid over the faded furniture, and distressing shadows cast in the flickering candlelight that never fails to not light up every corner, no matter how many candles are set up. You're not sure how the cameras are picking all this up with how dark it is. You honestly wouldn't be surprised if some of the taps in the bathroom actually run blood. A few of the rooms are locked, in particular a few bedrooms on the upper floors, and a heavy door off the mud room that's chained and padlocked; presumably it leads to a cellar.

[The exception to this is the conservatory, the one large room in a building filled with tiny, closed off rooms. One wall is lined with massive paned windows, another a huge fireplace, the others covered in stern portraits and other random Victorian-area knick knacks. And sprinkled around all of that are Halloween decorations, the kind more Pottery Barn than Party City. It's set for a party, complete with games like bobbing for apples and a spread of fancy Halloween "finger" foods and drinks that glow under black light. A playlist of seasonal hits like Spooky or The Addams Family Groove toots along near a dance floor. Need an outfit for the costume contest? There's plenty. There's also a smoke machine and a photo booth. In the backyard is a corn maze.]

Hellooo contestants, guess what time it isss? Why, it's only the best time of the year for sweeties like us! Time for Pumpkin Delights and Black Cat Brownies, the perfect treats to give to your trick-or-treaters this year! Now, even though someone's given US a trick today, we've provided a treat for you--a Halloween ball! Play with your fellow Casanovas, make your best impressions, and grab your favorite Sexy Pizza Rat cosplay! At the end, you'll get to choose from all the remaining contestants for your Marry-Kiss-Kill. And remember what we talked about last night--this time, if you deal to make it even, you're all going to be punished!

[With murder, Swiss Miss adds. In case you weren't quite sure.]


((Voting
Private Posts
Roster
Navigation
Discord ))

Comments

[fastandloose]

...Fine. That thing just grabbed me.

[she waves a hand at it and then kicks it once more for good measure. her heart is still beating fast from the adrenaline kick]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

I guess that's the haunted part of the haunted house? Though if that's the worst we have to deal with, it's not so terrible.

[fastandloose]

Yeah, it's just some kinda gimmick. Not sure what's romantic about that, unless it's s'posed to make you jump into someone's arms or somethin'.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[offers her some steaming "witches brew" (it smells suspiciously of apple cider) and a seat since he's not a complete asshole ALL the time]

To be fair, has any of this been particularly "romantic"? Even ignoring the captivity and death threats and suspected actual deaths.

[fastandloose]

[she takes the drink and the seat though she mostly just seems confused about it]

Well, yeah? Beach vacation and cabin snowed in the woods are basically cliche for this kinda thing.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...Hm. What is generally considered romance in the world of card games is not quite the same. Fewer game shops, for one.

[fastandloose]

The world of card games?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Professional competitive leagues of collectible card games. You would be surprised how many fans meet over the table. Rather, you might be more surprised by how many meet and then have nuptials while dressed as their favorite characters.

[fastandloose]

That's a little weird, yeah.

...I get some of it though. I mean, not for card games specifically, but everyone I've met was either in my town or while racin'. Not like I've ever been on a beach vacation or snowed into a cabin either. It's just the sorta thing they show on TV and people fantasize about.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Is it disappointing? The reality, such as it is, as opposed to the televised ideal. We weren't allowed to watch anything but the news growing up, so I'm only vaguely familiar with things like that.

[fastandloose]

Little bit. Though it might've been better with people I knew, or people who were more into it.

Or, y'know, if there wasn't the threat of death hangin' over us and all that.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Which would probably help people to be more into it. Oddly enough, it's hard to strong-arm people into positive feelings. ...Though I suppose this could always be worse.

[fastandloose]

Havin' a threat hangin' over everyone's head was definitely how the big reality show we had back home worked. But I guess everyone got into that one willingly, at least.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

At least...

[he shifts, frowning up at something]

Are you feeling better? It seems that there's an outdoor space here, and I was thinking of taking a look.

[fastandloose]

Huh? Yeah, sure, I'm fine.

[rises from her chair and turns to look where he's looking]

[snackcakeordeath]

[It doesn't look like anything in particular, just more random pictures and crap on the walls?

[Wait, no. There's a glint of something red from across the room, like a flash, or a reflector, maybe. But who knows, firelight, it does that]

[That said, Kaiba turns away when she stands, heading towards the door to the outside. It's cooler than indoors but still warm for "October," the sky hazy and rather red-tinted despite it clearly being night. There are no stars, but a low, blood-red moon.

There're some outbuildings scattered to the side and a fence if you go back too far and what was once a patio against the house, but most of the space is taken up with what looks to be a well-kept corn maze.]

[fastandloose]

[She glances over everything but then comes back to the corn maze, wandering over to get a better look.]

Are the plannin' on havin' people race through that or somethin'? Or just wander through and get romantically lost, maybe.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[it looks pretty corny, though possibly a swath is just missing further up, depending on timing]

How long does it take to go from being romantically lost to just normally lost? Or is that proof of how long the couple is meant to last?

[fastandloose]

Nah, it's just romantically lost if you end up talkin' about your feelings while you have nothin' else to do, or if the stress makes your relationship stronger, or somethin'. Were you interested?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Being romantically found sounds like it would be more useful, to be honest.

[snackcakeordeath]

[and before he can say anything else, the sky seems to shimmer for a moment, and then the vista below the house (because of course this house is at the top of a hill) goes from looking like some stereotypically creepy dead forest to what looks to be the husks of large, boxy buildings. large, dark shapes with varicolored LEDs trudge between them--a few seeming to notice the house and begin plodding this way.

at the same time, a sound like a great many people saying even more things all at once rises, punctuated by the appearance of a massive, multilegged mech flecked with blue paint. it casts across the yard with a beam of blue light, as if scanning for something. there's some yelling from the personas, and smoke begins to pour from the corn maze--you get the feeling that there is probably a large hole just past where you can see. the mech then begins clomping towards the shed, where you can hear ike and soren possibly running into trouble.]

[incidentally, a previously unnoticed monitor winks on on the patio]

Holy Honey Buns, you guys are terrible at this!

[fastandloose]

[Cassica's not really paying attention to the monitor at this point. Suddenly there's a mech destroying everything with lasers and that gives her a tiny bit of PTSD flashbacks. Just a little.

She looks around frantically, backing up a few steps.]

T-The hell?! Where did that thing come from?!

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Good question!

[Kaiba is doing a pretty good impression of someone not freaking out, though his fists are clenched way too tightly for someone who is totally chill. It at least somewhat helps that the mobile armor's lasers seem to only be for scanning so far; save for when it stepped on the shed, the actual destruction seems to be coming from your gamemates' weapons/personas/dragons and whatnot (though since when was that a thing anyway?)]

This can't be real. This has to be VR or some sort of lucid dream space or something...

[or maybe it doesn't matter and he's just talking since he's not sure what else to do as a real normal ("""normal""") person with nothing super but ego. At least the action doesn't seem to be coming all the way up to the house yet.]

What do-- Are you okay?

[fastandloose]

I'm fine.

[Her voice is strained. She is not fine. She would be fine in a car, but outside it she is very aware that she is ALSO just a normal person with no superpowers. She keeps looking around for a course of action, words coming quick.]

No. It seems more like, the other part was the simulation. For the show. And it broke? But I dunno why they're keeping mechs around... Should we go— [Then she finally registers the monitor and storms over to the patio to address it.]

You. The hell's going on?

[snackcakeordeath]

You got the clown called in on us, and now our party's ruined! Just look at that stupid machine! Do you know how long it took to grow that corn maze!?

[she cuts off Kaiba before he can say anything]

You be quiet, Devil Cake. I can't believe you let those stupid media jerks in here! We are not collaborating with them!