Spooky Scary Skeletons!

[magpiemythos]

Loki had no idea if any other places were having Halloween bashes, but that wasn't gonna stop him from having his fun! Pub-crawls were a thing if that were the case! The Viper's Pit had been decked out in the spirit of the season, the drinks, boozy and non were themed for the holiday, and aside from the magically drugged glitter one could play with down in the club, there were all manner of edibles.

While the changes were mild inside the building itself, the field had undergone the most changes, from the disappearance of the arena and bathhouse to the forests normally vaguely in the middle distance having been drawn in much closer, ringing a large open field where several bonfires were crackling merrily, each stocked with comfortable places to sit, as well as marshmallows, skewers, and several options for meats to be grilled over an open flame. To the east of the clearing was an expansive-looking corn maze, and standing vigil over it from somewhere in the vague center was a large Victorian-looking house. Anyone who wanted to go snooping would find the maze and home both charmingly haunted by costumed staff looking forward to the chance to scare the pants off some unsuspecting partygoers.

Nothing about the place seems off, or strange. Bats fly about overhead, the moon is large and positioned quite perfectly to make the haunted house look charmingly spooky, and the woods that spread around the clearing are just begging for people to dare to creep down it's paths, jumping at the shrieks that echo from the maze, or just their own imaginations running away with them. Not that there seems to be anything scarier than some mild-mannered wild-life like the owls hooting in the trees- it seems the woods are more designed for a nice nighttime stroll for folks who might want a bit of quiet than anything.

Of course everyone wore costumes. They did right? It's a costume party after all! And if anyone didn't have one, the staff of the bar were quite happy to furnish some of the spares they had on hand, even if it might be something so simple as an animal headband, a pair of wings, or a sheriff's badge and toy gun.

No one was quite certain when things started becoming weirder. Not specifically, and no one was sure why it had happened, given the first sign of things going wrong? Was one of the poor unsuspecting waiters who'd been wearing a cute little bear headband? Was suddenly now a very large, and very confused grizzly bear in a darling little vest trying to balance the tray he'd been carrying on one paw, and attempting to sort out how to get all the drinks off without tipping them onto the customers, who were now a table of animals of varying sizes and shapes, as well as one very bewildered knight, whose plastic armor was suddenly much more realistic and cumbersome.

And from the yelps of surprise and alarm echoing quickly through the Pit and the yard, it was clear this was not an isolated incident.



((ooc: Costume bash! OOC info is here leave any questions in there! Feel free to tag either pre or post-costume realism! For toplevels please use the Trick Or Treat system! If you're just wanting cute fluff or maybe minor spooky stuff, just leave 'Treat' in your toplevel's subject line. If you're here for scary chases and angst, or being a monster to hunt folks for fun (keeping in mind the AVF is in effect!) just post 'Trick'! If you're open to both just put both in! Hopefully this'll make it easier to match up what folks are hoping to play with here even if you're going in otherwise blind. The costumes will revert come sunrise with no ill effects- happy hauntings!))

Comments

[knightgallant]

The golden eyes with their slitted pupils are a bit jarring, but still mostly on par for the kinds of odd things the knight sees around the Nexus daily. His own curious staring at Crowley's eyes is interrupted, however, as the demon starts directing what seems to Galahad to be an unusual amount of ire at his banana costume. The knight smiles reflexively in response, confused, and glances down at his outfit.

In all fairness, Crowley isn't the first person to raise questions about the bright and cheerful costume. The naysaying doesn't bother the knight, though, his expression turning a little self-effacing at the edges.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," he admits. "It is a little silly, aye, but it's pleasant and colorful, and does well at keeping out the chill of the evening." I mean, isn't that just practical??? A thoughtful beat. "It would have been a different tale if it'd turned me into a fruit, of course, but it seems I've been lucky in avoiding those magics tonight."

That having been said, the knight's brightens and offers Crowley a hand.

"I'm called Galahad, by the way. It's good to meet you."

[notasnake]

"...but you're a banana." He really can't get over it. Why in the world would someone choose such a costume? Does the man not know what a banana is, maybe? Crowley's not sure if he should explain if that's the truth, but it's really hard to resist.

"Crowley," he answers, giving Galahad's hand a shake. It's not his custom to greet others like this, but humans do love their rituals so he'll capitulate. He'll just also be looking that costume over again because really? "I, uh... I take it you came to see my partner's show tonight?"

Letting go of that banana thing is going to be very difficult.

[knightgallant]

"There were so many people over here that I wanted to see what all of the excitement was about. It was wonderful, though. You both work together well." It's also a nice break between all of the chaos and helping small children escape from the corn maze. (And it doesn't hurt that the non-corn maze parts of the grounds have plenty of candy around for anyone looking for opportunities to snag a few pieces.)

It's hard not to notice the demon's distraction. A few people have stumbled over Galahad's costume tonight, but this is the first person... being? that's seemed this stuck on it.

"What's wrong with being a banana?" He's genuinely a little curious, but his pressing mostly comes from the realization that Crowley doesn't seem able to let his costume go. "From what I've been told, people can be anything they want for 'Halloween'." That's part of the appeal, right?

[notasnake]

Crowley stares for a moment that's a little too long to be comfortable before he manages an answer.

"There's nothing wrong with eating a banana, but being a banana is another thing entirely." Aside from it being far from fashionable, it's weird. Humans do strange things, but dressing as fruit for Halloween? That will never make sense. "Were there no other costumes at the shop you were at? Surely there were... other options...?"

He is seriously going to be stuck on this all night at this rate. He really just... doesn't get it when there are millions of other options available to someone in the Nexus.

[knightgallant]

"I didn't want to be something frightening," Galahad explains. He's a wholesome Christian boy with a demon fiancé, Crowley! But mostly the idea of scaring people, either through a fearsome reputation or appearance, doesn't appeal to him. "I thought about being an angel," the knight admits, as he pulls a few saltwater taffy candies from... somewhere. He wordlessly offers the handful to the demon before him first. If Crowley refuses, he'll go ahead and start unwrapping an orange taffy for himself because om nom. "But I know a lot of real angels now and I didn't know if seeing what humans thought they looked like might offend them." Because admittedly, some of the depictions he saw weren't exactly accurate.

But god yes, taffy. The knight takes a few moments of chewing and enjoying his treat, before he smiles at Crowley again, surveying the other man's costume briefly. "Why did you choose what you're dressed as?"

[notasnake]

Crowley takes one of the offered candies while he listens. He'll spend more time fiddling with and opening it than actually eating it, but the tactile sensation of opening sweets is rather nice. "Humans have very strange ideas about what angels really look like," he agrees. The idea has grown and changed a lot over the last few thousand years, too. "But I'd think you could find something inoffensive that was less... gaudy." Or ridiculous.

The last question gets another squinted stare. "Really? You didn't see me playing the part of 'lovely assistant' for Aziraphale?" Didn't Galahad say he watched the show?? Crowley is honestly confused. "The look is pretty standard for magic shows for the last hundred years or so."

[knightgallant]

Magicians and lovely assistants are some thousands of years off for the knight, unfortunately. He's more familiar with witches ('magicians') being women who end up getting driven out of towns or otherwise treated with about as much suspicion as someone with an obviously communicable disease. So, when Crowley levels his incredulous question at Galahad, the knight shrugs his shoulders loosely.

"The Earth I'm from is in what people here call the 'Pre-Dark Ages'." Which is a little insulting in the knight's opinion, especially given Arthur's golden rule and his court's splendor in general, but he can understand it in light of how much it seems like technology has advanced in the last few thousands of years on the other Earths. "But aye. Every time Beelzebub's told me about his true appearance, it's always sounded more like a ball of light and fire and nothing like a radiant man or woman with wings." Talking of which.

"Is it the same way on your world, too?" Is Crowley also a secret, terrifying ball of lava and light capable of driving men to madness.

[notasnake]

"Ah, that explains a lot." The depictions of angels especially. Though considering he himself sometimes broke his wings out from the astral plane on occasion back then... well. He can hardly blame a human for assuming that's what all angels looked like. "Suppose that means your world's all about knights and castles and kings, aye? Traveling everywhere on horseback and never straying far from where you grew up?" That was pretty common in the era, unless one was an angel or a demon, of course.

His own true form? Crowley's pretty so-so on it, but Aziraphale's... If he were inspired to write, the demon could write an entire anthology of poems and songs about it. It really is quite lovely, when you're used to that sort of thing. It's not that angels or demons look at one another's true forms and think 'wow you're beautiful', but in his case he most definitely has. How could he not? The angel is wonderful in every way, his form perfect no matter what state it's in...

Fuck. Right, he's supposed to answer the question. He'll get to that now in a... slightly distracted tone. Totally.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, definitely like that. True forms are all lots of eyes and blinding light that celestial beings can look at without any fear of going mad. Not that we share them with just anyone, of course. Doing so is usually against some rule or another, and very inconvenient unless you plan for it." Corporations are a bitch to recover if you lose one. He shrugs, adjusting his boa. "It's easier to just smite someone and move on, honestly."

totally not a super late tag shhh

[knightgallant]

"Aye, that's correct. I grew up in northernmost Albion, but when not in the Nexus, I serve under King Arthur in Camelot. It's a prosperous land, mostly thanks to the king's efforts. There's no real reason to leave, unless a man is tasked with a mission by king or God to another kingdom." And yet Galahad's here. Granted, his fiancé and friends are big reasons for that these days.

What Crowley tells him about angels and demons sharing their true forms with each other tracks with things Beelzebub's told him before. He's nodding along with the demon's words, smiling pleasantly-- and then he hesitates when Crowley throws in his one-off about smiting.

"Smiting?" He frowns slightly, not quite ready to jump fully to conclusions, but certainly confused. "Is that... something you do often?"