The Shocking, Spine-Chilling, 2018 Spooktober Spectacular!

[Shadowcaller]

[Refreshment Table - Dragon-free]

The refreshment tables were really getting crowded. People really wanted Magtok's dirt-cheap food and drinks.
But speaking of the cyborg... had he just left his own party? Faith's eyes follow the cyborg as he suddenly strode off. Something had clearly effected him...

Wait, crap. How could have she been this blind?
Miss Libby, Libitina. A cat girl. She was Magtok's old girlfriend!
She had been so focused on her Sunder interview that she had completely missed that connection despite it staring her right in the eyes.

That certainly explained a few things, like why Magtok had suddenly turned around and left just now. Things could not have worked out well between them...

Yet she wasn't there to spread rumors about the cyborgs love affairs, she left that for the tabloids. It was something to keep in mind however, whatever Magtok's plans for the future were.
Looking back at Abruzzo she nods. "Nothing wrong with jazz, I've heard only the most intelligent of people can truly appreciate it however so I guess you should take that as a compliment. But what is your interests in journalists mister Abruzzo?" She made sure to pronounce it correctly this time. "Is there something I can help you with?"

[Rebonack]

[Reuniting Hippogriff]

"Definitely a backlash spell of some kind," Geneva mutters to herself as she watches her clothing slither away. "Blackthorn's Benign Backlash, maybe? That works best with spells that aren't strictly harmful."

She's trying to distract herself here. At least a little bit. Better to focus on the academic and theoretical than focus on the fact that she just touched Persimmon again. Hopefully he doesn't cause too much trouble before she can figure out how to break the enchantment on him. Not having a horn is really aggravating sometimes.

Necromancy really isn't her forte at all, so she just makes a non-committal noise at the speculation. "Or may be she didn't want to hurt you. Her personality is still loosely based on mine, for better or worse," she offers. The idea that even a fun-house mirror version of herself that's insane with power wouldn't want to hurt her friends makes her feel a little bit of comfort.

"I'm alright," Geneva says, her feathers poofing up a bit at the negative feelings. That's mostly true. She's mostly alright. "It was harmless, but it was a really mean thing to do. I think she might have done it so she could take you without me... without me remembering about you. Princesses... it worked, too. I totally forgot about you and I didn't try to rescue you. I'm sorry, I-"

She cuts herself off before she says 'I'm a terrible friend'.

She has to remember, not everything is on her. She can't control everything. She can do better, though. She can learn from mistakes.

"It's kind of funny that it was Persimmon who broke the spell," she comments, a smile tugging at the edge of her mouth. "He didn't mean to, I don't think, but he still did. Even a friendship like that has magic. I... I really should be nicer to him."

Geneva probably looks pretty weird over there, talking to a voice in her head.

[Recaiden]

Nadas rolls his eyes at the rotting dragon coming up to the table. Someone's getting too into their costume.
He considers the drinks.
No. Terrible idea.
Better just take a handful of gummy mags and retreat to the [Forboding Corner].
Probably he won't be bothered too much over there.

[bc56]

Jesting Jokers

"Not every night. Maybe you could stop by sometime, and I could show you around." Jason doesn't seem put off by Jack's bluntness. "I, personally? I find villains by watching the news, tracking crimes, those sorts of things."

[Deathkeeper]

[Refreshment Table (here be dragons)]

Sunder briefly stiffens at the sight of the massive undead dragon, her wings flaring slightly, but she quickly gets that Initiative! reflex under control. That's just an elaborate magical costume. Not an undead dragon spouting toxic smog everywhere. No violence allowed at the party. Not even a little bit.

She turns her attention back to Nick, doing her best to tune out the not-undead.

"It's relaxing. The opportunity to simply be myself and enjoy a few hours without obligations is a pleasant change of pace," Sunder admits. "Though I suspect you didn't come over here purely to talk about pleasantries. I've-"

Her eyes finally settle on Geneva.

She blinks.

"Huh. Small world."

Following her gaze shouldn't be hard for Nick.

[Refreshment Table]

At this point Nick is far too used to seeing dragonfolk. They come in constantly complaining about gold theft, or taxes.
Nick follows Sunder's gaze easily indeed.
"Oh, you know my wife? I wasn't aware she worked with you. Or is this old history?" he asks. Geneva doesn't talk all that much about the intricacies of her homeworld. A lot of nasty history, he's sure. And there was that one time when they first met, so he hasn't brought it up much...

[Morty]

Smiting Candy

"Dragons are scary. One came to my parent's farm once and ate all the sheep. Dad said it was only because of Bane that it didn't eat us, too." Which is a valid reason for fear, especially in a small child.

Cheasadh doesn't worship Bane any more; Sophie, amongst others, has convinced her of that. But religion was important enough to her parents- especially her father- that she doesn't have a memory of them that doesn't, in some way, link back to the God of Tyranny.

Tuskfang ponders this question as he munches on some candy. This doesn't seem to line up for him.

"Maybe it was a different kinda dragon. Jillian's just a girl with a dragon tail and horns. And Gwydion says Bastion has wings. But she couldn't eat so many sheep either. And I've never seen any other dragons."

[Arkhosia]

Alcoholics Corner

"I've got better than a shiv, trust me." Blanche promises, letting a hint of smugness creep into her expression. The catgirl didn't have much to be proud of, at least in her opinion, but she did take pride in her own habits of caution and preparation - both traits that had saved her skin plenty of times. She never went anywhere without something to defend herself should the need arise, and tonight was no exception.

Not that she had plans to use it of course.

As for the familiarity question... well, Blanche cedes the floor to her father on that one. He'd provide a much better explanation than she could anyways.

By the Laser Cannon

Cantata tilts her head briefly in thought before nodding. Really strong, too. Like, otherworldly strong. She adds. Her own thoughts are a little different on the matter than Malice's however. It couldn't just be for the purpose of a date to bring along, it was far too powerful and extensive for just that... right? I mean to be honest, dealing with the hypnotized and mind-controlled wasn't something the songstress had a lot of practice in, so her perception of relative power could be entirely an overestimation.

[Hattish Thing]

[Refreshment Table - Dragon-free]

With a small laugh, Marco shrugs and clasps his large hands together. "Oh, I don't know about that. You flatter me."

"With my curiosity, primarily. I'd love to hear more about your work."

[Shadowcaller]

[Refreshment Table - Dragon-free]

...and now miss Griffin was naked and it again looked like Persimmon was somehow responsible. Yet he hadn't made her naked for whatever reason, curious. Had the others interacted with him in some special way? No way to know for sure, but it was concerning to say at least. Better to stay way from Persimmon for now, just in case.

Now, Marco's question was extremely vague. Had he really just approached her since he wanted to know about her job? The simplest answer was this was just a social call, yet to what end? She couldn't speculate too much yet, but it seemed peculiar.

She smiles as he chuckles. "Curiosity, huh? Well, what in particular about my job are you curious about? There is a lot to it, I mostly do investigative work but I also write some articles. In the field a lot."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Refreshment Table]

Syl Vessak, huh? Hey, that kinda has a nice ring to it! Sure, Syl Vessak it is!

The dreadful death dragon surveys the snack table and hisses in delight. Sure, the performance was probably a little bit over the top, but it seems to have had the desired effect of leaving the snacks relatively exposed...which leaves him free to reach out with one claw and greedily take considerably more than his fair share.

Althooough, Syl Vessak seems to be one of the largest folks around, so maybe it is his fair share? He's bigger than them! He deserves more! That's totally how this works.

"Our bounty is claimed. Come, companion of mine, let us feast." With a strangely high-pitched growl, Syl Vessak stalks away from the table with his goodies, sickly yellow mist billowing around him as he goes, taking the time to let an extra little puff out at that cheeky photographer lady taking pictures of him. Once he's retreated a safe distance, he lays his prizes out on the ground and nods to his date to join him as he digs in with all the manners one might expect for a rotten dragon.

[Earl of Purple]

Jesting Jokers

"I'd love to, but I can't. You won't tell me where to find your warehouse base. I see, so that helps you find where the villains are, but how do you know the villains when you've found them? How do you know they aren't heroes like you, in the area looking for villains? How can they tell you aren't a villain? Is there a secret handshake or something?" Basically, group of costumed men beating on a bloke in an alleyway. Are they villains mugging the bloke, or heroes beating up a mugger?

Smiting Candy

"If they're not big flying lizards they shouldn't call themselves what they aren't. And they don't sound like dragons to me." So, in Cheasadh's head, that's settled. Probably not to anyone else, though.

[5a Violista]

[By the Wall]

Kuriko's reply to Leah is located in post 231; this message is here to make it easier to keep track of

[Refreshment Table - Snack Section]

Lady Harley Zorro mishears "scafs" as scarfs initially, so she checks her neck. "I didn't think I..." She fails to find a scarf, and realizes she must've misheard it.

She realizes that Mia was looking at her face, so Harley reaches up and touches under her own mask. "Oh! Oh."

"No," she relies. "It's just my face."

"I didn't want to base my costume off of a certain operatic phantom, but I couldn't think of a good costume that would cover it up." She takes another bite from the apple.

Still tastes pretty good.

[Hattish Thing]

[Refreshment Table]

Noticing the woman's own warm smile, Marco directs an encouraging grin towards her and nods, casually resting a large hand within one of the pockets of his pin-striped dress pants. His response is immediate, his smile and general demeanor charming, though not too forward. "Investigative? Intriguing. It sounds like dangerous work. I imagine there are some who prefer to go undetected by individuals like you."

"Your work sounds exciting, moreso than mine, to say the least."

[Morty]

[Smiting Candy]

Tuskfang's wolven ears twitch.

"I think their dad was a dragon. At least that's what Gwydion says. A red dragon, so they've got red tails too. Like my dad is a Wolfen and my mom is a goblin."

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Phantom Mingling]

"Try try try...can't escape your heart."
It's an interesting thought, someone trying to avoid the pull of emotions. Someone's taking things for granted, hm?

There's a message in here somewhere, but no one is trying very hard to make it obvious.
Instead, Libby just quirks her smile a bit more and holds her hand out.
"I've tasted as many of the snacks here as I can. Might as well try one more."

[Phantom Mingling]

Ivaz will hand the flask over. The scotch inside is fairly good. Might not be the best Libby's had. But still good.

Ivaz shrugs a bit.

Oh, sure, everybody's got emotions. Part of being human. Hard part is picking which ones to listen to. Ivaz leans in close to Libby. I like listening to the fun ones.

[Devixer]

Foyer

"Hey, I'm not gonna tell." Cassidy makes a show out of zipping her lips shut. Her eye shoots whide open when Brinika mentions Iknika's boyfriend. Truth be told, she couldn't care less about this person having a boyfriend, but it was pretty clear that Brinika did, and Cassidy wasn't about to dismiss that. "Ooh, sounds juicy. Is he nice?"

[Lord Magtok]

By the Laser Cannon

Spoiler

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By the Laser Cannon

Cantata tilts her head briefly in thought before nodding. Really strong, too. Like, otherworldly strong. She adds. Her own thoughts are a little different on the matter than Malice's however. It couldn't just be for the purpose of a date to bring along, it was far too powerful and extensive for just that... right? I mean to be honest, dealing with the hypnotized and mind-controlled wasn't something the songstress had a lot of practice in, so her perception of relative power could be entirely an overestimation.

Malice is vaguely reminded of his good ol' buddy, Draken Frosthand...but he went away years ago, right? That big ol' eldritch cryohydra...thing, he's gone now, right? Draken wasn't one for subtlety, Malice would definitely know if Frosty was still around in this day and age. A bunch of high level adventurers must've finally caught up with him, or he tried to end the world and got stomped by everyone at once, or perhaps he saw the writing on the wall and got out while he was still a big fish in a small pond, who knows.

"Sounds like someone else's problem for sure," Malice nods, fully aware of his limits and that he is nowhere near qualified to rescue some fancy-pants noblewoman from a space tentacle monster oozing all over her brain. Heck, even if he was, he's a villain. That's not his issue unless it endangers the whole world, and even then, the most he's really obligated to do is pass along the information to any superheroes he knows, and work on setting up his own big, spectacular crimes while they're all distracted.

"So how strong is that empathy power, anyway? Does my having a cyborg brain screw it up?" It shouldn't. All of Malice's emotions happen in the right side of his brain, which is squishy and organic and subject to the same rules as anyone else's right hemisphere. "If I were to suddenly turn hostile, to drop this whole conversation, grab some random party-goer and run out the door with them, how much prior warning would you have, how much time to act?" Malice, this question is stupid. She has all the prior warning in the world, you've been doing nothing but talk about kidnapping people for like the three posts, up until she distracted you with talk of Aurelia's weird brain condition.

[Arkhosia]

By the Laser Cannon

Oh, it's not very strong. I've not really tried to experiment with it, mostly I can just sense what someone is feeling and pull a couple of weak tricks on people. She shakes her head at the question. Afraid not, I can get a sense of general emotion from you still. Its not as if I read people's minds, however; if I focused on you specifically, I'd probably detect a surge of action but not whatever your intent was. It's psychic stuff, yes, but it's very weak psychic stuff. And frankly, Cantata doubts she could even develop mind-reading if she tried.

[Rebonack]

[Refreshment Table]

"Old history," Sunder confirms. "I made an unintentional foray into the Wasteland in my adventuring days. Made a few friends. Geneva included."

She gives a little hum, rolling the topic over in her mind.

"I almost wonder if that connection is what pulled the rest of them here."

Well, if so?

Awesome.

Because the Nexus, even as weird as it is, beats the Wasteland by miles.

That place was awful.

Just the worst.

"I'm glad to see she's well. That place wasn't kind."

[Shadowcaller]

[Refreshment Table]

Faith smiles back, keeping her tone neutral. "I'm not a cop, I don't infiltrate places or shadow people. A lot of people recognize me at this point anyway, I do have a fairly distinct appearance." Faith remarks. "All the places I go to can be found with some internet research so its not like they're trying that badly to stay hidden. Its celebrities, public officials, businesses..." She makes a circular motion with her hand. "Most of it is writing really, so perhaps not as exciting as you might imagine it. But what do you work with then? I had tagged you as a businessman of some sort."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Reuniting Hippogriff]

Blackthorn's Benign Backlash does seem within the realm of the Die's powers, as a means of low-effort high-output effects. We could probably replicate the precise effect ourselves, with a bit of observation.
This is a genuine consideration, rather than the distracting sort Geneva was going for.

If my experiences with Discord are any indication of pattern, Fortuna seems to be embracing racial personality trends. This makes it...difficult to blame her for certain displays of lacking empathy. I'm beginning to suspect that draconequus' are physically incapable of putting themselves in the hoofprints of others. I suspect the 'primal forces of chaos' control them as much as they control the forces.
I certainly don't blame you for what she did, either, Geneva. Good friends do what they can to understand and, when necessary, forgive.
Even, um...for ponies? like Persimmon.

[Phantom Mingling]

"Oh yes, the fun ones are the best ones to follow. With that I most certainly agree."
Libby gives a cheerful little wink as she proceeds to down probably more of the whiskey than Ivaz was looking to share.

"What fun ones should we be looking for today?"

[Rebonack]

[Reuniting Hippogriff]

"It would be easier if that crystal matrix horn helmet hadn't been left behind," Geneva signs. "I was afraid it might interact unexpectedly with that broken teleportation platform. Turns out that just looking at it funny was enough for it to toss me elsewhere."

And off onto a wonderful adventure! A wonderful adventure where you can eat the grass without it poisoning you.

"Array magic would work. But the equestrian gems to make the ink are hard to come by," Geneva says with a frown. She had used the few that were in her inventory to get her a hoof-hold in the Nexus. Apparently the only time magical gemstones show up in the Nexus is when a pony happens to have one on their person when they get dumped here. Part of the reason why Geneva thinks a stable bridge back to the Wasteland would be so valuable. The relatively common gems are a sought after prize for spellwork. "Figuring out the spell matrix would make a good academic exercise, but I'm uneasy about the ethical ramifications of encouraging people to cast spells on Persimmon just to make observations."

Persimmon wouldn't mind much, knowing Persimmon.

"They're selfish," Geneva says, definitively. "Even when a draconequus does something good, they're still acting selfishly at the root. Fortuna's pranks are tempered, at least. I don't think she really wants to hurt anyone."

She's read histories. Some of Discord's pranks most certainly hurt people.

"I don't think she deserves anything like Tartarus or getting sealed in stone. And... I'm hopeful that maybe friendship will create bonds that she doesn't want to break. A friend is still her friend. And maybe her jealousy over a friendship will be enough to prevent her from doing something ugly that would end it," Geneva muses. "I'm honestly not sure how she feels about me. But I know she has a bond with Nick and Jace."

Geneva's wandering gaze eventually falls on the Worst Party Balloon EVER. She takes a deep breath, stores the little purple statue in her inventory spell, spreads her wings, and then takes off toward the floating menace. "Hey, Persimmon?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Refreshement Table]

Nick shakes his head.
”I assume you mean hers, not mine. No, none of them are pleasant. I’m glad she had some friends to get her through there. So thanks, whatever you helped her with. It’s good to see us all healing, once freed from that place.”
Geneva’s home wasn’t any nicer than his, even if the people were a bit more colorful.

———

Spako giggles as the two of them dig in.
”I hope you plan on flying tomorrow. Can’t have all this ruining your figure.”
His manners are only a little better.

[Hattish Thing]

[Refreshment Table]

Marco shrugs before responding with a casual shrug. "Guilty as charged, I'm afraid."

"It's waste management, actually. I'm one of the owners of a small company which runs out of Skyside."

"It's all very corporate. To each their own, I suppose?"

[Mee]

After pouring herself a drink and obtaining a few chocolates, Fel scans the room for new or existing friends.

Then she sees a box, moving around all on its own, dragging around a whole buncha glowy colorful tail.

She approaches the box cautiously.

Hello, box.

How are you?

Uh oh.
Cover might be blown.
Quick, what is the only option?!

"How are you?" Comes a voice from the box, obviously feminine, obviously with a heavy British accent, but also obviously trying its best to be as gruff and deep as possible.
"Nuhhhh. Fine. Boxes are fiiine. Nothing weird here. Just, ngg, boxes. Doing box things."

Fooled 'em. Flawless impersonation of a box.

[Felandria]

Uh oh.
Cover might be blown.
Quick, what is the only option?!

"How are you?" Comes a voice from the box, obviously feminine, obviously with a heavy British accent, but also obviously trying its best to be as gruff and deep as possible.
"Nuhhhh. Fine. Boxes are fiiine. Nothing weird here. Just, ngg, boxes. Doing box things."

Fooled 'em. Flawless impersonation of a box.

Felandria is intrigued.

Ooh, kewl.

What kinds of things are box things?

[Morty]

[Foyer]

"Hey, I'm not gonna tell." Cassidy makes a show out of zipping her lips shut. Her eye shoots whide open when Brinika mentions Iknika's boyfriend. Truth be told, she couldn't care less about this person having a boyfriend, but it was pretty clear that Brinika did, and Cassidy wasn't about to dismiss that. "Ooh, sounds juicy. Is he nice?"

Brinika looks around consiprationally.

"He seems nice. Bit of a bookworm, and skinny. But I think Iknika likes them that way. He's a human, too. I don't think her family's going to like that. He can do magic, too. But that's not as big of a problem with them."

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Phantom Mingling]

"Oh yes, the fun ones are the best ones to follow. With that I most certainly agree."
Libby gives a cheerful little wink as she proceeds to down probably more of the whiskey than Ivaz was looking to share.

"What fun ones should we be looking for today?"

[Phantom Mingling]

Ivaz doesn't mind the stealing of her alcohol too much right now. It's a party! And getting the catgirl more drunk was sure to work in Ivaz's favor. Also, she had way more stashed back home, so it wasn't any kind of loss. She didn't even bring the good stuff.

Ivaz grins and goes to wrap an arm around Libby's shoulders.

Glad you asked! I'm thinking of a few options. We could try to start some kind of riot among the guests. Always a classic. Could also round people up for an orgy. I know a good place. Could start going through the place, stealing anything that isn't nailed down. Bound to be some stuff I actually want in here.

[Shadowcaller]

[Refreshment Table]

Marco shrugs before responding with a casual shrug. "Guilty as charged, I'm afraid."

"It's waste management, actually. I'm one of the owners of a small company which runs out of Skyside."

"It's all very corporate. To each their own, I suppose?"

[Refreshment Table]

"Waste management? Just general waste or do you specialize in something? I know that there is a huge magical dump in outside that no one has bothered to manage." Faith asks, not sure what sort of minor businessman that would show up at a Magtok party. The cyborg attracted the attention of unusual people and Marco seemed too normal to fit in with the rest of the crowd. With a naked griffin seemingly talking to herself, a gaggle of goblins, several obviously magically enchanted humanoids and a animated pony skin, he was standing out like a sore thumb.

[UncleWolf]

Giant Wallflower


The skull twists back and forth, a shake of the head to answer Glavvy's confusion. Shame his thoughts weren't clearer. They would have liked to ask about Her. Anyone else who can talk this way is a person of interest. Of course, a giant long-tailed murder lizard is also a person of interest, so it's no great loss.
Same. This skull used to belong to an intruder in our hive; he never saw me coming.
Didn't eat the guy, though. Fed him to the dogs cleaning angels, and then ate those.

What brings someone like you to someplace like this?

Giant Wallflower

Glavvy understood some of what was being asked at least. He understood what it was like to kill and eat an intruder, but as for the question...

Well, he was there to learn and observe and watch, but it rose another question. Why was he here? She had suggested that he goes out to observe...but what was the reason? He'd done things purely by instinct before, understanding cause and effect to a degree, but actively searching out something to learn...

It was starting to make him question his existence and to wonder just how long he'd been like this. The being scanning his mind might realize he's starting to get agitated as he faces something of an existential crisis.

A New Host

Renee had entered the party to watch and catch up on things as she wandered around nibbling food and drinking some of the non-alcoholic choices, but sensing one of her fathers rush away certainly gave her some things to consider. Sure, she could let things probably be picked up by Malice as time went on, but...

Nah, every party needed excitement and this was her home after all.

She sets a small plate of food aside, heads on up to the karaoke stage and takes a moment to look at the crowd before pulling her shotgun from her hip and firing it into the ceiling.

THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

...sawn-off shotguns don't typically let loose beams of plasma, do they?

Once she's garnered everyone's attention, Renee takes a moment to reload her shotgun over her chain-saw hand, casting the shells aside. "Alright! So! I don't suspect that any of you rightly know who I am, and while that's normally the line I give before saying I don't care I really do at this time and juncture. Hello y'all, I'm Renee, Pat and Magtok's daughter, and I'm going to be your host for tonight." She declares with a smirk as she shoves the shotgun back into the holster on her hip.

"I'm sorry to be interrupting your night of revelry, but it seems that someone's going to have to take the reins for a bit lest this thing turn into true Bacchanalian depravity. So, here's a couple of rules. First, there are kids present. Kids searching for heretics to purge, but kids regardless so keep it all in your pants. Second, the first person who so much as considers looting this place is going to be tossed into the deepest darkest depths of this place where my mother ruled supreme during her stay here. Some of you may have heard the entirely unsubstantiated rumors of her tendency to eat people. I am saying those are true and I don't think any of us want to find out if some of the monstrosities she's made are still down there."

"And finally, just pick up your garbage. The helpers are here to be help. They're not here to be treated like garbage. Got it? Good! Now, welcome to the Spooktacular and I hope you all have a good time!" She says, entirely sincere before clapping her hands four and a half times and causing some appropriate music to play. "And someone fetch me a shot of whiskey!"