HALLOWEEN TIME LADS

[in_extremis]

HAUNTED ███████ MEME
haunt whatever you want man idk

The Haunted Building
1. Haunted House
2. Haunted Sanitarium
3. Haunted School
4. Haunted Mansion/Castle
5. Abandoned Island
6. Haunted Amusement Park
7. Choose your own haunted location!

The Haunting
A. Ghosts. Creepy, tragic, and possibly violent, they’ve got unfinished business in this world and you’re the unsuspecting victims who have just become the targets for their wrath.
B. Creatures. Unearthly monsters summoned from a hell-dimension or mutations created by a mad scientist, this is their house now, and they are fascinated and hungry.
C. The People in the Walls. Someone—or several someones—have been living in this house. They’re no longer human anymore, and their sanity has been frayed to the very edge. They’ve been surviving on mice and bats until now. But now you're here, and don't you look delicious?
D. The House Itself. Maybe it was built evil, or maybe it became evil after the horrible deeds that were committed in it. The very walls of the house are soaked with blood, and the house is angry, and hungry. It has you now, and it doesn’t plan to let you out.
E. The Cabin in the Woods Experiment. None of this is natural phenomena. You don’t know it yet, but you’re part of a larger experiment. You’re the rats in the maze, and the scientists are observing—and toying with—your every move.
F. Choose your own horror movie plot!

Comments

Tony!

[in_extremis]

((You know I'm down to clown, so you let me know where this thread is going to be on the scientific spooky-goofy-horny scale.

Also, Tony can be the haunt if you want! He can be an excellent mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein, or a rich old vampire swanning about in a castle.))

You know what! Let's put vampire!Tony into his castle because he would enjoy that

[beholding_archivist]

For an old abandoned castle this one is in remarkably good shape. Not only the castle itself, but even the entire furniture is surprisingly not only still present, but also intact. No broken windows, no signs of the usual vandalism, heck, there hardly even is a single speck of dust to be seen.

No wonder word has settled on the assumption this place is haunted.

Jon lets out a suffering groan as he pulls the file from his little bag and flips it open with a scowl, at least somewhat relieved that it hasn't taken any water damage from the rain outside. Still, the notes couldn't be any more vague: Reports of strange noises, flickering lights, the occasional disappearance... What exactly has he even been sent here to be looking for anyway? And isn't he already trespassing? Sure, the door hasn't been locked, but... But.

"...Jesus Christ." He growls to himself and closes the file again before putting it back into his bag which he then sets down on a nearby, oddly spotless table that may or may not be an antique. Maybe he's looking for a ghost that likes cleaning. That at least would be new. If ghosts were something that exists. Jon proceeds to pull a notepad and a pen from his bag and adjust his glasses with an almost palpable lack of enthusiasm while looking around for a place to start, muttering through clenched teeth after deciding that the nearest room may as well be the best choice. "...guess I'm going on a private tour."

ah so you have chosen maximum spooky, goofy AND horny

[in_extremis]

The kind of person that just walked in to private property, particularly the ominous fortress looming at the outskirts of the village, tended to be much younger and much rowdier, and easy to spook. This man that Tony watched curiously from the balcony above the entrance hall, blending into the shadows of the vaulted ceilings, looked more like he might have been some kind of land surveyor or real estate agent, not primed already to be scared away before he got too comfortable. This was going to be fun. He tipped his head to track the stranger letting himself into the library, then slowly rolled forward over the railing, plunging toward the ground.

The library was slightly less orderly than the hall, showing signs that someone must have been there. A chair at the long, oak table running down the centre was pulled askew, in front of an assortment of books piled and turned open. The fire at the far end smoked lowly, like it had recently burnt down to its last embers, filling the room with a haze that made the darkness from the heavily curtained windows feel thick. Closer to the door, a subtle movement of metal glinting in the low light was the only warning for the quiet and steady click as the machine that sat there completed a full rotation. Close examination would reveal what looked like an intricately detailed model of the galaxy, an incalculable number of distinct pieces sliding easily through each other in a delicate dance--another noise, a flap of paper and a hard thud as a book fell from a high stack only a few feet away.

Sometimes you have to go all out.

[beholding_archivist]

"Library." Jon comments, voice flat and masking the appreciating he has for such a place being part of this castle. He stops a few steps inside before his attention gets drawn to the model nearby, which he observes for a few moments, the pen in his hand tapping against his notepad idly for the duration. Jon then turns to said notepad to write something down, reading the words out as he writes them: "Potentially educated ghosts."

He finishes with a dismissive snort and looks back up, scanning the closest shelf for a moment before stepping towards it.

Thud.

The sudden noise makes Jon freeze in his step, just barely able to keep himself from outright jumping in surprise. Because he isn't scared. There is nothing to be scared of because nothing one should be scared of actually exists! He keeps telling himself that in vague hopes of one day actually believing it.

A grimace with an accusatory look lands on the pile of books on the table. "Just an old table in an old building. Lots of wood. Wood shifts. These things happen. N-nothing to worry about."

[in_extremis]

Nothing to worry about whatsoever; the room was deathly still, with nothing to respond to this intruder, as though waiting for a better conversation. It must have been more wood shifting a few moments later that caused a rattle of glass, shimmering faintly through a half opened and shadowy door next to that sighing remains of the fire, and maybe a draft that caused the temperature to steadily drop with an icy waft from this dark study.

Elsewhere in the castle, a cracking slam of a door came hard enough to send a shiver through the walls.

[beholding_archivist]

Jon stubbornly ignores the first few noises, muttering something to himself about old buildings and potential safety hazards how terribly the plumbing must be and every once in a while he scribbles some not necessarily important observations down onto his notepad. A notepad he hardly even pays attention to anymore while writing on it. Instead, his eyes dart around quickly as if hoping to catch the shifting of the wood in action while slowly drifting towards that half open door.

"I- I'm going over here." He informs no one in particular. Certainly not any potential ghosts.

But just as he reaches for the door to push it open, the sudden SLAM and the resulting tremors have Jon jump with a short shriek before bolting straight through the door and into the dark room on the other side.

[in_extremis]

This place must not have been as clean as it looked; somewhere in the dark, a squeaking chirp that sounded like a rat spiked then quickly muffled as the trespasser stumbled into the room. It wasn't as difficult to spook this one as Tony thought; whatever his intentions here, he must have been just as primed as kids daring each other into a murder house. He lounged in a very unnatural position for a bat on top of a sturdy shelf in the study where he could watch this stranger rationalize what was happening to him, if it would even occur to him that the chill in this room was just air conditioning that Tony used throughout the castle to keep servers and specimens cool.

On this shelf, the glass that he had rattled was an array of jars, carefully sealed, filled with pickling fragments of a whole range of animals that had accidentally, or not so accidentally, wandered onto the property. A cat tail in one was almost all bone, wound through with grey nerves. Most of a sheep's head in a larger jar at the bottom of the shelf looked like it had been melted along one side, exposing the cavity where its brain should have been, and the top of its waxy looking eye. If the trespasser stuck around after seeing any of this, Tony might have to amplify his terror to hurry this along, as funny as that shriek had been. If he hung around much longer, Tony would be smelling him for days. He was already hungry enough.

[beholding_archivist]

At least the noise of an actual animal means that there is something alive within these halls. Something that moves and makes noises and therefore can serve as an easy and plausible explanation for a lot of things. Jon looks in the general direction of the squeak, frowning a little at himself but not being too bothered by not actually seeing the rat itself.

"...right." Is what he says to himself before looking around further. A certain lack of light may be the most obvious thing he notices and in response produces a little flashlight to look for... Well. Maybe a light switch. What he finds instead does anything but produce light. With Jon it produces a single raised brow first and foremost, followed by a curious tilt of his head. He approaches the large jar with the sheep's head and moves his portable light source around it to get a closer look.

"Strange, but..." Jon says, then trails off while picking the head-filled jar up and carrying it over to the desk in the middle of the room to set it down there. This is just science. Science is fine and not spooky at all. But science interests Jon and he does circle the desk with the jar a little ruefully for not being allowed to bring any samples to study further once he returns. He stops and gives the glass a little tap as he sighs. "You're lucky I can't take you with me. Tim would hate you, you know?"

[in_extremis]

The sheep's exposed eye stared impassively back, grey and dull without much of an opinion on where it ended up. Back on the shelf, Tony had shrunk back in surprise at the flashlight, not expecting this invader to have come so prepared to snoop, then climbed curiously further down the shelf as the man wandered away, to linger among the jars between a tightly curled human finger and most of a flayed lizard. It was almost like this man knew what he was looking for, on edge but prepared, making the bat on the shelf frown, as much as a bat could, and sniff curiously at the air now that he was that much closer. He certainly didn't smell right. It wouldn't be the first time someone very ill and very desperate had made the pilgrimage to Tony's doorstep. Tony was going to need more information to find out what trail he had to devour now to stop any further visits; rattling around on shelves only solved a very immediate problem. The bat slipped from the shelf and darted across the room.

Peeling seamlessly out of the shadows, the man seated at the desk leaned slowly forward to fold his hands under his chin, head tilted watchfully at Jon. If that wasn't strange enough, the man at the desk certainly looked strange; in an impeccably fitted suit, primly pressed and finished, but sunglasses for sitting in this dark room that couldn't quite distract from how the fingers he curled together appeared unsettlingly elongated, delicate like they had been pulled by the tips to stretch. The fanged smile he easily offered was definitely the worst, though. "You couldn't afford her," he replied coolly.

[beholding_archivist]

Preoccupied with inspecting the head-filled jar, Jon doesn't quite notice the bat swooping in from the side, it's fluid transition into a person-shaped body as well as that resulting person assuming a pose while leaning forward.

Ultimately, it's the sudden voice sounding from the other side of the specimen jar that tells Jon someone is there and he jumps back a little as a result, flashlight coming up and pointing directly into the face of the supposed owner of said voice. "Wha- Who-- WHO is there?!"

[in_extremis]

That didn't do much for Tony's composure, rending him less imposingly cool as he flinched back from the light shining directly in his eyes, squinting behind his glasses and hands up defensively as he pressed back into his seat. "Jesus, okay, no need for the heavy artillery," he complained. Head still turned away with one hand up to block the light, he tried to squint around his fingers to see exactly what his trespasser was doing as he pointed out, "I believe that's the kind of question I should be asking, darling."

[beholding_archivist]

Does Jon keep the flashlight trained on the stranger? Yes, he does. But not out of cruel intent or anything similar, he's simply baffled by the man's sudden appearance. He could have sworn no one has been occupying that chair when he put the specimen jar on the table. He hasn't even yet noticed the unusual features of the man, even though the light only emphasizes them.

And it takes an additional moment or three for Jon to realize that he is effectively blinding the man - The potential owner(?) of this place, even? Christ, that's embarrassing... Or. It should be embarrassing. Normally. Jon's reaction is more one of indignation.

"You startled me!" He exclaims in his defense, face settling into a practiced scowl as he lowers the light. "Who are you? Do you live here?"

Jon

[beholding_archivist]

[[ ...because this meme suits his canon way too well. Let's investigate those ghosts that everyone knows don't actually exist. ]]

Cayde-6

[deal_me_in]

((IDK I'M HERE Let's party or something))

I rolled 4D and I'm out here doing my best

[in_extremis]

Cayde may have permanently had his hood up like a teenager working through some stuff, but Tony had not come out here in any way prepared for rain, let alone the tsunami that the island abruptly unleashed on them. Outside of the unnatural storms, Temba hadn't been much for extreme weather events for Tony to be able to anticipate this one, and the sky had looked, to him, as neutral as ever to pick today to head out and finally explore the fancy vacation island off of the coast.

The rain had chased them with surprising swiftness to higher ground, up a verdant hill to a sprawling villa overlooking the rapidly drowning beach. The front gate had already been twisted and collapsed, the thick vines choking the whole boundary of the property slowing their progress more than any fencing, and the door that Tony stumbled into, half blind by the whipping rain, swung easily open as though someone had been just behind it waiting for them. He left it open to allow in what little light made it through the thick, dark clouds, squinting and shivering with his shoulders hunched and arms hugged around himself, but the wind seemed to suddenly haul away from them, leaving the threshold dry despite the fat raindrops that had battered them all the way up here.

A flash of lightning, peaking through that open doorway and the cracks in the long decayed boards meant to block the windows, revealed a strange serenity inside, untouched by the ravages that had led to whole towers collapsing within the city, or the choke of growth as new life sprung up in the absence of civilization.

<33

[deal_me_in]

No sooner had they found shelter from the sudden downpour did Cayde seek to wring out the tattered ends of his cloak, already leaving a growing puddle of rainwater on the floor beneath his feet. He shook out his arms and then one leg, followed by the other, finally turning his almost actinic blue gaze to inspect the place they'd come across.

"Uh..." came the Exo's opening statement, admittedly not a very intelligent thing, but he was still processing what he was seeing. "Did we step into some other dimension or something when we weren't looking?" Everything looked weirdly out of place, at least when taking into consideration how everything else that they'd ever explored had looked. What was left of the furnishings were faintly reminiscent of some of the ruins of the EDZ back home.

Turning, he stepped away from his puddle to add to Tony's as he rested an arm across the man's shoulder while continuing to look about. Well, they'd expected fancy and certainly gotten it. The stillness of the interior was at odds with what was going on outside, although it still seemed like the storm were so much more distant despite what glimpses they could catch through the doorway and the boarded up windows.

Re: <33

[in_extremis]

While Tony knew he didn't make a much more dignified sight, shivering and drenched, he snorted at Caye shaking himself out methodically and was still grinning as they turned together to assess their situation. Which didn't seem so bad, in fact more welcoming than most places on this planet had been, and all the sweeter for the storm forcing them up here. "Wouldn't be the worst thing that happened," Tony replied as he slinked further into a sunken lounge area, the furniture coated with a layer of dust but otherwise intact and arranged cozily around a fireplace at the centre of the room. "How wet's your gun, Hot Stuff?," he invited, gesturing to the stove first with his chin, arms still hugged around himself, to invite Cayde to try his best with the hammer to warm this place up a bit. There was still a few logs in the bracket, cobwebbed and cracking, but useful nonetheless once Tony was willing to free his arms to start nudging them out of their dusty mummification. Behind him, the door that had swung open so easily noiselessly slid closed, the latch giving the gentlest click.

[deal_me_in]

Cayde had to agree. "Definitely beats getting stuck in a teleportational loop," he grinned. He trailed after Tony at a casual pace, as though they were prospective buyers inspecting a place rather than seeking temporary shelter. He was probably working out what sorts of things might be hidden in the other rooms, potential treasures. ...then again, he decided it was probably better not to get his hopes up in regards to treasure.

Sauntering over towards the fireplace, the Exo tugged his gun out of its holster, giving it a shake of whatever moisture clung to it before flicking the chamber out so he wouldn't accidentally shoot anyone as he set the hammer to give a few test clicks. It was as he paused, satisfied that it would still produce a spark that the subtle sound behind them carried, and Cayde turned to look, frowning a bit.

"You left that open, right?" he asked, not particularly concerned- was probably a draft or something.

[in_extremis]

If Cayde hadn't mentioned the door, Tony likely wouldn't have noticed, only then glancing that way curiously and pausing as he knelt by the fireplace to arrange the kindling for Cayde. "Maybe?" he replied, not sure, and much more interested in following up, "You have experience with a teleportational loop." It wasn't like the door needed to be open; it seemed like they were going to be settling in at least until the rain let up.

[deal_me_in]

"Accidentally, yeah. Vex tech is touchy stuff. Actually, you might like messing with stuff like that. Hivemind machine-cyborg things, something-something time travel..." Cayde shrugged, watching as Tony fixed the firewood. "I kinda sorta got myself stuck in a loop trying to get my hands on one of their teleporters. -do not do that, by the way."

He'd already lost interest in the door, his handcannon clicking as he set and reset the hammer, toying with the trigger. With the door closed it really did seem like an entirely different world, even with the intermittent flashes of light through the window slats as though the storm were trying vainly to remind them of its presence.

[in_extremis]

That brief overview was enough to get Tony to brighten curiously, just as Cayde suspected--any one part of that would have been intriguing. As Tony scooted back from the fireplace to give Cayde room to work, he asked the most important question, though, "How did you get out?" The floor was cold enough that Tony was willing to brave the dust coating on the nearest lounge, covering his hands with his soaked sleeves to try to pat the worst of it away before dropping down onto the seat with a sooty scattering into the air. It swirled in the current that Tony had created, then slowly began to settle again before being abruptly whisked upward, spreading across the shadowed ceiling.

[deal_me_in]

His turn to bat. Cayde stepped forward, holding his handcannon closer towards the stacked wood to set off some sparks to hopefully get that fire going.

"Had some outside assistance. Otherwise I'd still be stuck. Met the AI of a crashed ship, her network was still up and running, although I think the crash really messed up her personality matrix because she'd switch back and forth between being super chipper and pessimistically dry. Helpful though, kinda feel sorry for her, being stuck there all these years but anyway- she got a distress signal out and one of our Guardians caught wind of what happened, managed to bust through some Vex hordes and break me out of the loop."

There was a slight break in the story as nothing but the metallic sound of his handcannon-turned-oversized-lighter filled the room, Cayde focusing on getting some decent sparks. He had half the mind to Golden Gun it but that would probably just get them nothing but a gaping hole in what used to be the fireplace, and nowhere near as warm.

"Hah!" he finally exclaimed as something seemed to finally catch. If he'd been paying attention to Tony and all that displaced dust he would have been thankful that he didn't have to worry about breathing it all in. He might've also wondered about a draft in the room, but he was too busy watching the wood intently as though he could will it to catch fire the rest of the way.

[in_extremis]

"She sounds like a good time," Tony said, slouching back in relief as the fire took, arms back around himself in the meantime. "D'you get her number?"

Any other questions Tony might have had about time travelling cyborgs were going to have to wait, because as the aged dry logs caught the flame and the fire swelled, the grate below it dropped down. Tony gave a start as the arrangement of sticks collapsed and threw out sparks, but froze to watch as flames seemed to shoot away under the floor in several directions, along a network of piping set into the stonework that he hadn't noticed in the dark. He only turned as a new brightness to one side, then the next caught his attention, making him twist in his seat to watch as the fire ignited a whole web of lighting that he could see flickering to life down cavernous halls and beyond the gaping boards in the windows. "Cool," he breathed.

[deal_me_in]

"I'd hook you up but I don't think the Agrii paid their long-distance bill," Cayde replied with a shrug. "Think you two'd hit it off great."

He was about to holster his gun when the fire and the wood within began to shift. For a moment he tensed, looking about a heartbeat away from moving to take aim at the fireplace as though expecting some kind of creature to pop out. He stayed his hand as he watched with equal fascination as the flames spread and the atmosphere quickly brightened around them.

"Ooh..." he marveled right along with Tony. Fancy techkery was...fancy and all, but you had to appreciate things like this. "Now that's a neat trick."

[in_extremis]

Incredibly neat, the kind of theatrics Tony could appreciate and would be remembering for a future build, but he did have to leave the appreciation on hold to observe, "No fire, though." At least, not the kind he could stave of pneumonia with. He rolled up out of the couch to shuffle over to where the fire had been, hands tucked up under his arms again to try to bring some feeling back into his fingers, and toed at the grate, hoping it still felt warm. No dice.

On the bright side, literally, they could see a bit of what they were working with now; an expansive, open concept looking space, with decorative archways leading off into hallways that curved around and out of sight, all warm toned and incredibly welcoming. Tony was already moving when he asked, "You staying here?," because there had to be something down one of these halls to dry off with.