The Shocking, Spine-Chilling, 2018 Spooktober Spectacular!

[billtodamax]

Blanche and Nigel

Blanche will find a plague doctor looking nerd approach her, holding a little bird cane in one hand and a fresh glass of sangria in the other. Heya. I'm Nigel. He pushes up his mask and takes a sip of his Sangria, looking at her outfit. Are you like... Catwoman? Catwoman's a good guess Nigel. She doesn't have a mask but maybe it fell off in one of her patented Catwoman scuffles.

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

"The Lou'vre clan wasn't completely exterminated years ago? What a surprise." Magtok answers flatly. He's under no contractual obligation to treat Kramolagh's date with courtesy, and given his long and ugly history with the girl's robot patriarch, feels no great desire to do so. I mean, maybe if we met her under other circumstances we could give her the benefit of the doubt. We could believe she's nothing like her father, that she isn't some kind of putrid creature deserving nothing but scorn...but she's here with Executor Krampus. You can tell a lot about a person by the sort of person they choose to bring as a date to a costume party, and boy howdy, Aurelia has made a big mistake if she wants to be known as anything other than slimy, sleazy, criminal, and questionable.

"Welcome, welcome," he waves them in, resisting the urge to stick out a leg and trip whichever one happens to be standing closest to him. Nope, we are an excellent host, we would never dare do anything like that in front of all the other guests. You'll just have to save the violence for later, Magtok.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Refreshment Table]

What a coincidence, Sunder is also at the refreshments!
The cloaked figure is lurking nearby, slowly ramping up on the energy now that the moment with Magtok has temporarily passed.

Because he needs time to be a good host.

A glass of bright green... Something is gripped in a sleeve, while they drift notably closer to the socially awkward pony. Definitely not staring in a weird way.
A gleefully excited way.
That air of holiday joy that lead to spontaneously dancing into the MagCave is ever so slowly rising.

They don't actually say anything at all, though, which may or may not improve anything from Sunder's perspective.
Just... Stare.

And drink whatever alcoholic drink is apparently dyed green here, because why not.

[Rebonack]

[Refreshment Table]

Well would you look at that.

Location tags.

The shindiggery must have well and truly started now.

And Sunder is being...

Smiled at?

By someone. The same someone who seemed to unsettle Magtok? There might be a story behind that somewhere.

"Good evening," Sunder says, directing a nod at the cloaked figure and causing her rider-prop to mirror the gesture with a bit of carefully applied teek. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what your costume is supposed to be. Perhaps you would be willing to enlighten me?"

She idly sips at her glass of spiked punch while she waits for a reply. Sure is useful to be able to float stuff around with just magic and brain-power. Sunder still can't manage anything beyond the basic spellery. In spite of a slight mental boost courtesy of Inari herself, she still isn't a clever pony.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Refreshment Table]

The cloaked figure adjusts slightly very slightly, so the interior of their hood isn't faced anywhere near the door and Magtok. It's a subtle motion, but it's there and immediately precludes a twitch in the smile.
"I am hope. I am fear. I am love and I am pain."
She raises that peculiar green drink to her lips to her lips and the light seems to reflect just a little bit of green glow to her eyes.

They lean forward just a little, after completely draining the drink in one go and clutching it to their side.
"You. You are a ponyyyyyyyyyyyy."
Her voice starts modulating deeper, as the end of the word slithers from her mouth, eyes growing wider and very clearly brighter, glowing green.

There's the crackling sound of bones and the quietly tearing sound of flesh, as her smile and entire jaw seems to tear itself down her neck, to reveal a bloody chasm large enough for another head to fit in. In the depths, parts shift and crawl that should never exist, and the suspicious glimmer of pink-tinted eyes can almost be susses out from within.
"Food. Eh. Heh. Heh."

And then in a brief flicker of green, it's all gone.
There's a pleased, tittering laugh from inside the hood and she moves over to find herself another drink.
"Halloween is such a wonderful time of the year!"

[Rebonack]

[Refreshment Table]

"That's very... poetic?" Sunder replies a bit uncertainly, knitting her brow in consternation. Was this some sort of reference she was missing? She's pretty sure more than a few costumes here are probably references to movies she hasn't seen and video games she hasn't played. Probably books, too.

And then creepy things happen.

As the... person... splits open Sunder unconsciously flares her wings slightly to make herself look bigger. When it becomes clear there isn't an attack forthcoming she relaxes, considering what she just saw.

Does she make the connection between the horrors that arrived with Down and this creaking, snapping abomination standing in front of her?

"My, that's an impressive costume," she says, ruffling her wings to get the feathers to lay down as she composes herself. "You must be using magic to make that face-mouth thing work. I've been wiggling around my prop-"

She makes her rider in white wave.

"-with a little teek. But nothing quite so impressive as that. It makes me wonder why more people don't use magic to enhance their costumes."

Of course she doesn't make the connection.

She is not a clever pony.

Then she offers her best matronly smile. "I'm Princess Sunder, sovereign of Team Nightmare. And I am, as you said, a pony. A very large one."

This is true!

She's about on par with a normal horse in terms of sheer size.

"Have you met any other equestrians before?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Front Door]

Enter one minorly important person. Nick Richards arrives, but in the most clever disguise of...himself.
Well properly speaking, he’s going as a Pokémon trainer, complete with a goofy red hat and jeans, with a belt full of colorful orbs, but he’s also going as his human self, which almost no one ever sees him as. It’s been quite convenient for him to avoid paparazzi while getting groceries.
He makes a note to talk to Sunder at some point, but first he has to see if his date for the night is behind him...

[Chaotic Bob]

[Refreshment Table]

There is brief consideration given towards trying another one of those green things she just drank...but then, variety is the spice of life.
So she instead opts for some peculiar orange stuff served in miniature plastic cauldrons.

Because Magtok is tacky. Or someone is trying to make him look tacky.
Same result.
"It is my most definite pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness."
There's a bit of a teasing tone to the title, that isn't quite mocking but definitely isn't affording the title its usual respect.
"But stuffy titles are no fun, are they? Do you mind if I just call you Sunder?"

The cloaked figure sniffs at the orange drink for a moment, before taking an experimental sip.
Immediately, she wrinkles her nose but takes a bigger quaff.
"But you're right! I've put quite a bit of effort into my costume here, but I think the end result has turned out beautifully! Yours makes quite the interesting statement, if I may say."
A Princess being used as the mount of another? How scandalous.

She bounces quite gleefully between the topics here, evidently too wrapped up in the festive atmosphere to worry about sane topic flow.
"Oh right, I'm Libby! I've known quite a few of your kind, over the years. Delightful little things, all of you."

[bc56]

Talking to people
Aren't location tags great?

Jason drops off a pair of wineskins at the table of drinks, and goes to mingle with the other guests. He sees the woman in the bird costume all by herself and approaches. "Nice costume. Murkrow, right?" It's been years since he played those games, but he still remembers a lot of it.

[Rebonack]

[Refreshment Table]

"Your Serene Highness, technically," Sunder replies with an eye-roll. "And please, just Sunder is fine. I'm at this party for a reprieve from courtly demands."

She loves her little ponies. She really does. But the weight of her responsibility drags her down, slowly but surely. Being able to shuck it off for an evening is quite the blessing.

"It's a unique costume, surely. I feel like I'm missing a reference with it, something right at the edge of my mind..."

Stranger danger?

Horrible mutated body-snatching monsters?

Sunder shrugs. "Ah well, I'm sure it will come to me." Then she glances back at the prop on her back. "Every now and again, someone or someones will show up in the Nexus claiming to be Riders of the Apocalypse. There was another sighting recently. War, I think? The idea amused me, so I ran with it. It would have been easier to go as the Rider of the Third Seal, Famine. Since that horse was black. But that felt a little too lazy to me."

Since she's already has a black coat, you see. Comes with the territory of being a nightshade. They don't get much in the way of color variation.

"And I'm glad you've found our company agreeable," Sunder replies as she scoops up an array of now-floating candy corn. She's found that people love or hate the stuff. There's rarely any middle ground. "Equestrians are sweet, by and large. And pleasant company provided you aren't the sort that finds cheer grating. What do you do, if you don't mind me asking, Miss Libby?"


[Front Door]

And Nick is joined by none other than Geneva! She's currently wearing her hair long, with a neat little white hat nestled atop her head. A teal shirt, crimson skirt, and white shoes round out the outfit. And, of course, a belt of pokeballs. Looks like the pair have come to the party dressed as Red and Green.

Hopefully Blue doesn't crash the scene some time soon.

Most people find getting smelled by random folks weird, after all.

Geneva smiles, eyes wandering over the gathered guests. "Well! This looks like a lot of fun, I'm glad we came."

[Deathkeeper]

[Front Door]

”Indeed!” Nick says imperiously, and puts an arm around his wife’s shoulder.
”I should probably say hello to Princess Sunder sometime tonight. But that’s all I know here. So what do ya wanna try first?” he asks her, flashing a smile. Nick is determined to recruit those ponies for Intersection. So far they have preferred to keep their autonomy.

[Earl of Purple]

Joking Jesters

"Yep. There's a couple that roost on one of my windowsills. They're really cute birds." Jack turns to Jason and looks him up and down. "A hoplite, right? Or are you somebody in specific? I don't know my Theros culture well enough to recognise their heroes." 'Theros' was the setting of Magic: the Gathering's Ancient Greek-inspired sets.

"I'm Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiles, and looks him up and down- I'd like a more details of his appearance; build, age, hair & eye colour, etc. This close, it's pretty clear that the feathers growing from her arms are, in fact, growing from her arms and not simply stuck on. Likewise, her corvid feet aren't boots- her real feet are a bird's talons.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Refreshment Table]

Serene Highness? That's funny enough that Libby snorts a little bubble into her plastic cauldron mid-drink.
Leaves it at that, though. There are limits to teasing, after all!

She gives up on the drink after that, evidently deciding it's a little too gross, and just leaves it on the table.
A tiny trail of pink swirls around the edges of its contents.

"The Four Horseman seems like a much easier reference than my niche concept. I've dined with quite a few people rather familiar with them, which I think says something in this city."
So many different things flood the Nexus all the time. If a bunch of people know of something, it must be fairly well known as a whole.
"Your kind can be fairly...ah, aggressive when the situations call for it, I've noticed. I hear tell of quite the accomplished group here in the city who have embraced some less than friendly hobbies."
There's not much in the way of judgement in that, it seems to be almost quizzically amused.

Or maybe that tone is crawling in from her expression as she investigated a platter of fingers.
Which aren't actually fingers, of course, just cleverly designed little pretzel things, but still. Nibbling one turns the quizzical look into a briefly surprised look, and then an entertained look.

"These little things are wonderful! Oh yes, what I do. I liberate poor, suffering souls from the malignant torments of the mortal coil."
Libby says this very matter-of-factly, an effect ruined by the handful of "fingers" she stuffs into her hood-shrouded mouth and the ensuing giggling.
"I'm a reaper, of sorts."

[Arkhosia]

Blanche and Nigel

Blanche chuckles. "No, the ears and tail aren't part of the costume." She jokes, her tail waving slightly behind her as if to emphasize her statement. "It's... some video game character. It, uh, wasn't my idea." The sight of the drink in Nigel's hand provides a flash or revelation, and Blanche snags her own glass of sangria as a server walks by - well, she waves her down first, its not like she's some haughty snob who refuses to extend them some common courtesy, but still - before eyeing the man's own attire."Interesting choice." is all she comments before giving the beverage a taste. "Name's Blanche, by the way."

Front Door

Magtok's greeting may be stony and uninviting, but it doesn't mean that Aurelia has to respond to it in kind. Giving the cyborg a polite smile, she bows into a curtsy - an act which proves a little difficult considering the length of her gown and the way Kramolagh is holding onto her hand, but she still manages to pull it off. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Her saccharine voice answers. "You weren't mistaken; I would have been dead, were it not for our mutual association here." This part is punctuated with a gentle squeeze of Kramolagh's hand as Aurelia glances towards him adoringly. "I know our families have never gotten along, hopefully we can put all that sordid history behind us."

[bc56]

Joking Jesters

"I'm Jason, in costume and in name. Nice to meet you too." He's just under six feet tall, with short, unkempt brown hair and brown eyes. He's fairly thin and well muscled, indicating a fairly active lifestyle. He definitely notices Jack's unusual features, but doesn't mention it. There are all kinds of unusual people in the Nexus, and Jason's definitely seen stranger.

[Earl of Purple]

Joking Jesters- Jack & Jason

"So what do you do, Jason? And, uh, what are you? Human, or something other than human?" Jack knows that things that look human aren't always, and by asking first it lets Jason ask the question without being rude. She'll grab herself a glass of lemonade and a plate of snacks, as well. Since she's also at a party, and the food is free. Even if she did supply the lemonade.

[Devixer]

Front Door

"Wow, you guys sound like a barrel of laughs. Sure you're at the right place? Cause here I thought this was a party." Cassidy butts her way into the conversation between Magtok, Kramologh, and Aurelia, with all of the grace of a brick. "Blah blah blah clans, blah blah blah grudges, just go get drunk like normal people."

[billtodamax]

Blanche and Nigel

Blanche chuckles. "No, the ears and tail aren't part of the costume." She jokes, her tail waving slightly behind her as if to emphasize her statement. "It's... some video game character. It, uh, wasn't my idea." The sight of the drink in Nigel's hand provides a flash or revelation, and Blanche snags her own glass of sangria as a server walks by - well, she waves her down first, its not like she's some haughty snob who refuses to extend them some common courtesy, but still - before eyeing the man's own attire."Interesting choice." is all she comments before giving the beverage a taste. "Name's Blanche, by the way."

Blance and Nigel

Ah, oh, right, catperson. Nigel looks down at his costume, frowning beneath his mask, before looking back up. Is it dumb? I thought it might be dumb. He sounds worried. Nigel your costume is fine. So how do you know Magtok? I'll be honest I didn't think he had this many friends. There's a lot of people at this party and Magtok can be kinda... abrasive.

[Rebonack]

[Front Door]

Looks like Nick and Geneva will just stand here awkwardly until Magtok is doing being a terrible host and being hostile at people he doesn't like.

"I don't think there's anyone here I'm that familiar with, except for Magtok," Geneva admits. "He helped me establish my lab at the old watchtower base before demons exploded it."

She's still pretty sore about that. She didn't save all of her equipment, sadly. And that stuff can be difficult to replace, mostly because so much of it is custom assembled.

"But that just means we can make some new friends, then! Meeting new people is always a great way to make new friends," she adds brightly, eyes roving over those gathered. Getting to know new people almost always leads to becoming familiar with new bridges out of the Nexus. And the more practical examples she can study, the better her artificial equivalent becomes. "Maybe we can start with snacks? Work our way out?"

Speaking of, Geneva's carrying a platter of various berry pastries shaped like suitably spooky animals.


[Refreshment Table]

"We're not helpless, that's true," Sunder admits. "And the aims of Team Nightmare are very friendly. We break the bonds of people who have been enslaved by undeath. People who have been so twisted and corrupted that they can't experience friendship because they hate everything, themselves most of all. I know some people have spread vicious slander about us, that we're boogiemen that gobble up poor peaceful denizens of the Nexus without provocation. But I can assure you there's no truth to it. My advisors tell me that it's a misinformation campaign by Orcus. He's fared poorly against us in the Gloom, so instead he's turned his attention to trying to demonize us. No small irony, coming from a prince of demons."

Sunder goes after some peeled grapes next.

Totally slimey eyeballs!

What else would they be?

"Oh, so you're a... what's the word... I know there's a word for a person who herds the dead..."

[Hattish Thing]

[Front Door]

Kramolagh nods curtly towards Aurelia as she speaks, clearly in approval. "Ah, so vhell-spoken, aren't you, my dear." He glances over towards Magtok after a moment, noticing a distinct lack of a partner. "Vhe appreciate zhe vharm vhelcome. I cannot help but notice, h-however, zhat you seem to be attending your own party vithout a companion?"

"Curious... Vhell, vhe vhill catch up later, I'm sure you've important business to attend t-to, as host."

--

He merely nods in acknowledgement towards Cassidy before proceeding, smiling warmly.

[Blanche/Nigel]

At this point, Kramolagh will guide Aurelia over towards Nigel.

"Ah, Mr. Ruzherford. How lovely t-to see you here."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Refreshment Table]

More guests are filtering in, drawing Libby's attention for a moment as she looks long enough to grab some sort of mental acknowledgement for every face.
One or two of them acquire a bit of extra attention, only a moment or so, but enough to remember better.

And then it's back to Her Serene Highness Not-An-Apocalypse-Pony.
Who seems to be quite defense of her little Team Nightmare. Though, a good ruler should be, shouldn't they?
Her hood bobs here and there in sympathetic agreement to the minor rant (and to conceal the disappearance of a jack-o-lantern cookie).
"I don't doubt the valor of your interestingly-named team. Doesn't really matter what the rest of the world thinks, if their cause is just, hm? I know something of the problem. In a place like this, though, I'm not sure you should worry too much about a little propaganda."

For some reason, whenever people think of or are confronted by Death, they tend to get rather upset! Even when it's for their own good, or just the way the world works.
"There's plenty of words for what you're thinking! Psychopomp, maybe? That seems to be popular these days."

[Deathkeeper]

[Front Door-> Refreshment table?]

Nick nods with a grin.
"Snacks it is. Find something you like, and we can drop off yours." he tells her.
He's not entirely sure he trusts Magtok's cooking. Oh who are we kidding, he definitely bought them from somewhere else.

[Rebonack]

[Snack Table!]

The refreshment table is where Sunder and Definitely Not Someone Wearing Libby's Face Like a Mask are at right now.

"Sounds like a plan," Geneva replies with a nod. She places the tray of pastries on the table and begins giving it a look-over. "Oooh. Little cheese filled skulls, these are good."

Like spooky hot pockets!

Just have to make sure they aren't TOO hot, otherwise molten filling will come gushing out of their eye sockets and burn your tongue. She loads a few onto a plate along with utterly mundane carrots and dip. Carrots are pretty standard relish for any party, but they don't get dressed up for Halloween so well. Spying some equestrian-made confections, she grabs those, too. Anything from Carousel Court tends to be amazing.

No doubt Khannie and Nick Jr. are raiding the shops there at this very moment along with gaggles of other excited children.

[Refreshment Table]

Of course Sunder has to rant in favor of her little ponies.

What else is she supposed to do?

Sunder sighs. "No, I suppose I shouldn't. We've been a force for growth in the city and that should be enough. Most of our efforts are directed at repairs and beautification. Repairing rundown parts of the city. Making parks safe for people to enjoy. Planting flowers and building hiking trails. Mostly mundane, simple things. Things people can appreciate. I like to think we're making a difference for the better."

Then a bit of a snerk. "And for the record, I didn't pick the name. We responded to an incursion of wights in a tenement house early on in the groups life. The work of someone trying to attract the attention of Atropos. An attempted atrocity. Our work ensured that many of the tenants there were unharmed. Those that were slain by the wights we unshackled. It was one of those early newcomers who came up with the name. A pegasus artist by the name of Airbrush."

And a nod at the word. "Ah, psychopomp. That's the word. The idea always struck me as odd. But I suppose reaching the afterlife is a bit more of a journey in some places."

[KerfuffleMach2]

[By the Bar]

Critical success! Kuriko successfully picked her notebook back up!

Kuriko laughs and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Mom." Seems like Ivaz's attitude towards writing reminds Kuriko of something she's heard growing up.

Given how much Ivaz associates drinking with partying, the ex-goomba expects to be back to writing within the hour. "If I can't hold a pen in my hands, I could just do it with my mouth." Then, under her breath and as she raises her drink to her mouth, she says, "Wouldn't be the first time."

Meanwhile, Kuriko decides she's okay with how pumpkin punch tastes. I mean, it's not the best, but it's not terrible. Sure, some of the other drinks probably taste better, but the pumpkin punch is okay.

Ivaz gives a snort of laughter.

Man, I would be a terrible mom.

She finishes her drink and grabs another.

Alright, lets go mingle now. She'll go to lead Kuriko into the crowd a bit.

So, don't party often then, huh? Any social life at all?

[UncleWolf]

Arriving

In a scene far too reminiscent of Jurassic Park, ground trembles with every heavy step of a bipedal monster upon its approach. Glasses of punch ripple and distant goats try to flee from the ominous presence upon the world...

Entering into the light, his own body glowing dull red beneath the ancient bones he wore, the Glavenus made his approach to search for whatever doorman there was. He was in costume, if one considered the skeletal remains of a triceratops a costume, and he even brought a several hundred pound wheel of cheese to share as payment for his entrance.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Refreshment Table]

"Oh my, that is quite the...difference you've described, for your little ponies. From one breath to the other, bringing light to the world, and in the next slaying monsters hiding in the dark."
Libby is a touch pensive on that one, which looks a bit weird with a cookie poking out of her hood and another two or three being waved around by one sleeve.
"At least there is a sense of unity to most of them, a beautiful thing that seems sorely lacking in this city by and large. That 'magic of harmony', yes?"

She starts to converse on that psychopomp topic, but pauses, with an odd tilt to her head like she heard something funny.
"What is that...?"

[The Entrance]

"Aw, why in Tartarus are we here? I don't like parties, I don't do parties, I don't know what to do at parties..."
Somewhere outside the entrance, someone is pacing back and forth in the sky, ranting out loud to herself.
"How the heck did I let you talk me into this? ...hey, why are you being so quiet? Persimmon? Hey, Pers-oh crap, where did he go.

...is that a dinosaur?"

[The Snack Table]

"Duuuuuh nuh. Duuuuuuuh nuh. Duuuuuuh nuh. Duuuh nuh. Duuuh nuh. Duhnuhduhnuhduhnuh..."
A slithering form moves across the ceiling, dodging from shadow to shadow with the horrible grace of a practiced predator.
A practiced predator quietly reciting the ominous theme music of a popular shark movie.

Quietly reciting its way to the space directly above Geneva.
Quietly reciting its way into a coiled up position, like a wound up spring.

Loudly reciting its way into a leaping charge toward's the back of Geneva's head.
"DUHNUHDUHNUHDUHNUH!"

[Arkhosia]

Blance and Nigel

The catgirl chortles briefly, a smirk forming on her lips. "Please, you look fine. It's better than my getup at least, much more... in the spirit of things?" ...Blanche, was that a pun? Come on, surely you could have done better than that! That wasn't even clever! No. Stop it. That did not earn you the right to give Nigel a smug look over the rim of your glass. Maybe Reinholdt was right, she really does need to socialize more.

"I don't, not personally, but my parents know him very well. It's... a little complicated." She pauses, trying to think about the best way to phrase it all. "So, Reinholdt's my dad, and mom was apparently a good friend of his back in the day?" Friend, reticent admirer, unaware subject of spiteful manipulation, it's all the same, right? Not that Blanche knows the full story, of course - mom never talked about the Nexus, so most of her knowledge really just boils down to what her dad told her.

And then, Kramolagh and Aurelia enter the conversation! Blanche raises her eyebrow at the ostentatious sight before her - she didn't know a simple vampire costume could be so... flamboyant. She had to admit, it was very well-executed, though. The catgirl doesn't speak her mind her though, only stepping back a little and giving the pair an acknowledging nod. She wasn't who they wanted to talk to, after all.

Aurelia, meanwhile, flashes a friendly little smile the doctor's way, performing yet another simple curtsy with gentle grace. The woman's demure behavior forms an interesting contrast with the rather convincing pair of fangs her expression reveals, though there doesn't really seem to be much of a sinister air about her in the first place. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nigel. Dear Kramolagh sings your praises."

[Felandria]

[Front Door]

Hero Selected!

Felandria has arrived for the party, but she looks a little different, like she’s been working out.

A lot.

Spoiler

Show

Together, we are strong, especially with Fel around, dressed as Zarya!

She has brought with her an automated drinks cart loaded with various imbibements from the Olympian’s stock.

She addresses the cart in a Russian accent.

I am to be keeping an eye on you, omnic.

She points the cart towards where the rest of the refreshments are and makes her way into the party.

[Rebonack]

[Snack Table!]

"They don't have much fruit..." Geneva mutters as she examines the peeled grapes and some nearby 'poison apples', which are actually just caramel covered apples that have been colored a lurid shade of green. That's what happens when you mix caramel brown with green food coloring. She glances over at Nick, flashing a smile. She's honestly enjoying herself, here! She's been so cooped up with her research of late, it seems like it has been nearly a year since she showed her face in public. "You know what would be really fun? Orange persimmons hollowed out like tiny little jack-o-lanturns. Neat and festive! It's a weird craving, but I could really go for a persimmon right about now..."

FWAP!

Something that looks almost, but not quite, utterly unlike a three piece suit in onesie form suddenly flops over the back of Geneva's head, knocking her hat askew. She gives a little "Eep!" of surprise, nearly flipping the offending object into a tray of marshmallow ghosts as she yanks it off herself in a frantic bid to figure out what just landed on her. For a few awkward seconds, she just stands there. Staring at the object. What is, was, and was supposed to be grinds against the 'prank' that was set on her some time ago, the fragile facade of lies wearing away in the face of reality.

Her face twitches, little slate grey feathers pricking through her skin here and there.

And then with a sound like rending metal and grinding ice, Geneva staggers back several steps on her hooves, suddenly having quite a bit of trouble standing upright. She grinds her beak a bit, ears folding back, trying to make sense of all this, only to have the full weight of what she's holding in her talons come crashing down on her like an avalanche. "AH! Eeww eeww eeww eeww!"

The hippogriff in a Green cosplay nearly topples over backwards, so furious is her panicked bid to get the gross thing away from herself. The sack of skin likely finds himself flopping across the floor, staring up at Geneva floofing out her head-feathers in consternation. "Persimmon!" she hisses. "That is SO GROSS! Don't jump on me like that!" She takes a few tentative steps forward, adjusting the little white pokemon hat from its jaunty angle hanging off one of her ears. "What are you even doing here?"

Suddenly feeling rather self-conscious, she flashes an adorkable smile over at Nick. "Umm... Nick? This is Persimmon. He's a friend-" she glares at the skin sack. "-from the Wasteland. Who's now here. For a really good reason I'm not aware of. Persimmon, this is my husband Nick. Please don't be too weird?" she concludes, a hint of pleading in her tone.

"Teehehehe... took her long enough..."


[Refreshment Table]

Sunder, for her part, finds whatever she was about to say completely lost when a sort of animated three-piece-suit hurls itself down from the ceiling onto one of the other guests.

...who's now a hippogriff for some reason?

"...is dat Jack?" Sunder mutters, her 'proper' accent totally dropped.

[Lord Magtok]

[Front Door]

Looks like Nick and Geneva will just stand here awkwardly until Magtok is doing being a terrible host and being hostile at people he doesn't like.

What? No, don't wait around for Magtok, that's crazy! Just...just go inside! Unless Geneva is a vampire and lets someone know that she physically cannot enter without an express invitation, she should just walk right in. These days, Magtok is only one person, and if he had to stop and say hello to every single intro post in this thread, he'd never get to do anything! Unlike that crazy fae ball, this whole shindig has been put together by only one person, and he isn't anywhere near as mannerly or interested in keeping up appearances.

Spoiler: Other Front Door Posts Full of Sass and Attitude

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Front Door

"Wow, you guys sound like a barrel of laughs. Sure you're at the right place? Cause here I thought this was a party." Cassidy butts her way into the conversation between Magtok, Kramologh, and Aurelia, with all of the grace of a brick. "Blah blah blah clans, blah blah blah grudges, just go get drunk like normal people."

Front Door

Magtok's greeting may be stony and uninviting, but it doesn't mean that Aurelia has to respond to it in kind. Giving the cyborg a polite smile, she bows into a curtsy - an act which proves a little difficult considering the length of her gown and the way Kramolagh is holding onto her hand, but she still manages to pull it off. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Her saccharine voice answers. "You weren't mistaken; I would have been dead, were it not for our mutual association here." This part is punctuated with a gentle squeeze of Kramolagh's hand as Aurelia glances towards him adoringly. "I know our families have never gotten along, hopefully we can put all that sordid history behind us."

[Front Door]

Kramolagh nods curtly towards Aurelia as she speaks, clearly in approval. "Ah, so vhell-spoken, aren't you, my dear." He glances over towards Magtok after a moment, noticing a distinct lack of a partner. "Vhe appreciate zhe vharm vhelcome. I cannot help but notice, h-however, zhat you seem to be attending your own party vithout a companion?"

"Curious... Vhell, vhe vhill catch up later, I'm sure you've important business to attend t-to, as host."

--

He merely nods in acknowledgement towards Cassidy before proceeding, smiling warmly.

"You're right, Majima. Sorry Kramples, it's a costume party, not a haughty noblewoman's million dollar masquerade ball. You want to play the veiled insults game, we'll have to set something up later, somewhere a little more highbrow. You can bring the Lou'vre heir and I'll wear my dark suit, just in case someone else's head explodes all over everyone in the room," Magtok reaches into his costume and pulls out a small flask, which he takes a quick swig from. What's wrong, Mags? Don't trust your own alcohol? Worried someone's slipped something into the punch only a few minutes into the festivities?

Whatever the case might be, he quickly excuses himself, gesturing for a couple of the NPCs in skeleton costumes to deal with that giant dragon monster's huge cheese wheel. He tries his absolute hardest to keep calm and act like a giant Monster Hunter lizard showing up at the party is totally normal, but inside, he's panicking. He's freaking out, he's already lost all control over everything. A fake Libitina is taunting him, Kram is here and trying to get punched in the face, Lou'vre's daughter exists now, apparently just to irritate him, and-

"Brother! It's been too long!"

Oh no. Oh come on, no, that's not even fair. There's supposed to be rules against MagClones interacting with other MagClones like this! Malice can't just waltz right inside in that ridiculous redcoat British military uniform as if they were the dearest of siblings! Just because this party is supposed to welcome anyone and everyone doesn't mean he's allowed to attend! I mean...yes, technically it does mean he's allowed to attend, but he should still know better than to actually show up!

"You're in shock, I can tell. Don't worry, though. I can see you've got a full plate as is. I'll be on my bestest behavior," the MagClone with brass instead of chrome promises with a devilish grin, patting our Magtok on the shoulder before he strides past the host in search of food and drink. Whether Malice actually intends to keep that promise, or is setting up some diabolical Halloween heist that will get him beaten to a pulp by every single party-goer at once...well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?