โจโพโจHappy Halloween! This Halloween event is called Lantern Lair and it is a mystery tale with a storybook format. You have been sent by Lord Death or Queen Reina to the Lantern Lair, a luminescent cave with two mystical entrances. One entrance is in the outskirts of Death City through a wooden alley door and the other is in the Wuthering Heights in Arcana. Lord Death and Queen Reina have informed you that this interdimensional cave may be the source of the madness that plagued the moon last week. Strangely, no matter what portal you entered through you always end up at the same starting point.
โจโพโจWhen you enter the cave, a town with pumpkins for buildings unravels before you. Jack-o-lanterns levitate and light the streets in this bizarre place. First, you must investigate the town of Lantern Lair to find out where the source of the madness is coming from. You have three paths that you can take:
The Soul Path If during your adventure you meet an old Fortuneteller named Clementia you may choose to follow her clues. She will show you obscure facts within her crystal ball. You will eventually see a vision that will lead you to an abandoned warehouse inside the town. The Mind Path If you meet Selderon, the vampire, he will lead you to a crypt just outside of town. Much like the others that you meet on your quest, you are unlikely to find him trustworthy but at least he is giving you a lead. The Body Path You meet an odd and arrogant ghost of a fallen gladiator named Brutus. The ghost seems lost and confused but mostly harmless. The spirit believes that he is still a champion. He has clues about the source of the madness and ultimately leads you to the ruins of a massive stadium called the Circus Maximus. It is mostly empty and in ruins but there are some secrets to find within.
The path that you choose will reward your character's soul, mind, or body by the end of the event. You can potentially meet all of these characters who will be played by moderators and decide for yourself who you will follow to piece together this mystery. Please reply to this thread and when a mod gives you permission to do so you may post in the next thread once you advance to the second act of the story. We realize that this is a unique event style so please let us know if you have any questions!
Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2021 12:25 am
"This is Halloween. This is Halloween. Pumpkins scream in the dead of night."
Practically every radio station in Death City had been playing Halloween songs indiscriminately, with this popular number being particularly prevalent. Holding her hat firmly down with both hands, she quietly mumbled the lyrics to this song stuck in her head. More exactly, she repeated the first few lines of the song over and over again.
"This is Halloween. This is Halloween. Pumpkins scream in the dead of night."
She and Eve may have long since left Death City, but the curse of the holiday tones stuck with Lily still. Occasionally, she would stop, free of the affliction, only for a random thought brought by some stray breeze or other to suddenly reignite the song in her head. In this case... It was... Well, all the pumpkins present. Jack-o-lanterns everywhere with their wide open toothy grins. It's not wonder Lily found herself pulled back into the vortex of the song.
"This is Halloween. This is Halloween. Pumpkins-"
This time, however, she stopped for something more important than a song stuck in her head. Turning her head, Lily looked up to Eve from beneath her hat. "Eve," of course, speaking to Eve was more important than any song, "Do you think I'll be allowed to eat one of the jack o' lanterns?" no matter how mundane the reason for speech may be.
โจโพโจ ๏ผฒ๏ผฏ๏ผง๏ผต๏ผฅ โฆโฝโฆ Level 2 | โ | Meister | Traditionalist | Explorer | 200/200 Spirit
โจโพโจRogue led chance through the mysterious door in Death City. The pair would walk through a cave that was illuminated with jack-o-lanterns. "Is it s'posed to be like this all year 'round?" Rogue chuckled at his own joke as he noted that the area was unusually festive. They stepped through the cave and into a Halloween town in another dimension. "Is this that Arcana place or somethin'?" The cowboy questioned as he had never been to the witch realm before. This place seemed to have a lot of magic to it too. Rogue walked up to a cotton candy stand that was in the town square. This place seemed far too fun to be somewhere for such official business, but here they were. There were swirls of orange cotton candy and he bought two. He gave one to Chance before biting into his own. "You ever had this before?" Rogue asked Chance as he looked around and tried to get a sense of his bearings.
โจโพโจ๏ผช๏ผฏ๏ผก๏ผฎ โฆโฝโฆ Level 1 | One Star | Weapon | Dual Alterer | Ruler | 100/100 Stamina
โจโพโจJoan walked through the door which led to a cave system filled with pumpkins. She found it to be a strange journey but somehow the warm light made the cave feel cozy. She walked with her Meister through the cave system for a while. "First! We need to search this place top to bottom. Then we need to find out if anyone has seen the man in the moon. Maybe we can find someone to do a drawing of it? Anyway, we have to make sure that we keep a low profile here. In case the moon man has allies in madness." Joan gave a very serious-minded brief of their mission as they walked through. She was being rather bossy with Rhett again although not intentionally. Before she could sputter through some more statements, she saw the town unfold before them when they set foot through the portal. "Then we-" She was cut off mid-thought as she saw the Halloween town. "Huh, this looks...kind of fun." Actually, it looked very fun. Joan had a look of childlike wonderment as she was thrown off from her plan. She ran toward a Ferris wheel that was in the shape of a pumpkin. She grabbed Rhett's hand and dragged him along. "I know we have a job to do and all but...Halloween's only once a year." Joan felt guilty about slacking off but there was something about this place that was rather irresistibly entertaining and tempting.
๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒ โฏ Perk Name โฏ [ Description here. ] โฏ Perk Name โฏ [ Description here. ]
๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ต๐ค ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฒโโโโโ โฏ Perk Name โฏ [ Description here. ] โฏ Perk Name โฏ [ Description here. ]
Novasse
Ephemeral Ozymandias Captain
Obsessive Prophet
Offline
ghostfinch
Seeker
Offline
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2021 2:09 pm
Chance followed Rogue through the cave, oohing and ahhing at all the different jack-o-lanterns. His family never celebrated much of anything. At least, not with him. He liked the decorations and wished he had made a pumpkin of his own. "Dat one looks like yew," he said as he gestured to one that only had one eye cut out and illuminated from the inside; the other eye had simply not been cut at all. His was giddy at the cotton candy reward, biting into it as Rogue asked him a question. "Nmmf, no ah ne- oh?" He looked downward instinctively and brought a hand to his mouth as the candy started to dissolve in his mouth. "Izits'posedtahdodat?" He asked as the sweetness became a sugar puddle, mouth open for Rogue to see it on his tongue before he swallowed. He started shoving more into his face enthusiastically. "Dis is amazin'."
How long has it been since her family celebrated a holiday? Maybe once? Usually, her grandpa would take escort her often so, it's been slow even before Kasumi got assign to DWMA. Despite being on an important task, a star eyed wig-clad figure couldn't resist gazing upon several colorful lights strumming up along the walls through this strange corridor, armed with two cameral apples, now eyeing the two candy treats she brought in hands. โ Damn you.... DAMN YOU! Of all the time.... to consume... why now?! My workout... MY ABS! โ Tears form under her eyes, dropping to one knee. โ No... I must do it! For the spirit of Halloween! โ Kasumi triumphantly holding up one, slowly setting it just inches from her mouth. Hand shaking while lips quivered, quickly leaning forward to sink her teeth into the coating and fruit; taking time to savior this mixture of favor. โ It's tough yet smooth! After this, it's Operation Hallo-mission! โ
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Rhett would walk into the maddening house alongside Joan, who was more than thrilled about their little adventure to be had in this realm. The cave both of them had found themselves inside of was a bit strange, if not creepy and somewhat reeking of moss and burnt pumpkin. He'd listen to Joan talk a bit about a plan to see if anybody had seen the ethereal image of the man on the moon before. He took out a crude drawing of what he had seen before, done with a combination of pencils; graphite and colored stencils. For a rough rendition, it was pretty lifelike. "I did it back before we came. I wanted to make sure we did everything we could..." he stammered while she would lead the way out of the cave and into the twisting nether through the portal. Both of them had come out on the opposite side, only to find themselves in some Halloween themed paradise. Even Rhett, a boy who had very little experience with special events and holidays, would find himself eager to see what the season was all about. Rhett's hand was taken towards a large ferris wheel, with windows and pumpkin shaped capsules each person would find themselves inside of. Fitting for the town's decor.
"Ye-Yeah..." Rhett nodded in agreement, that coloration on his cheeks coming back from before. "Plus, it could be a, uh, good place to...scout around from above." He had to make it sound like it fit into the mission somehow in case either of them were busted for wasting precious time. He stood in line with Joan, waiting until it was their turn to enter the ride and sitting down as the door was closed behind them. He sat down and would look to where his partner had sit. "This is my first ride ever, actually. We never really went to the faire. But I'm glad it's with you though."
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The time spent with Lily was an interesting one for sure. Evelyn hadn't gotten much experience with littling siblings with her being the youngest in her family. So this was more or less a first run of things acting has a more bossy and older sibling type role. She fell into it quickly, gently coaxing Lily from her dress as they entered the portal together and ended up in a Halloween Wonderful. Pumpkins everywhere, neverending madness, that sort of deal. She grew worried for the girl, seeing how she had gotten with the number of souls that had been fed to her from the previous outings and practices they had done together. Typically, Evelyn cheered her on and complimented her. Any mistake was corrected with patience and encouragement.
The weapon child would walk next to her, as Evelyn would busy munching a large shaped marshmallow pumpkin lollipop, its eyes painted a stark black color from its orange coated exterior. Lily would get into the spirit of things by singing a song that was the most commonly requested song from the radio. Although she only did repeat the first lyric. Was it because she never listened well? Was it her going mad? Maybe both at the same time? Evelyn would look down to her after a few times before singing along with her eventually. She didn't want her partner to feel too bad.
"This is Halloween. This is Halloween. Pumpkins scream in the dead of night."
One time, the girl looked up at Evelyn and would ask a question. "Eat?" she repeated, a bit confused at how she could think her teeny tiny little body could hold something like that. The student laughed to herself while putting her hand on Lily's shoulder. "I'm more worried about her bursting whole! You couldn't fit all of a pumpkin in one stomach, but I'm sure we can find some food for you. Right now, we have to start investigating around. Maybe somebody in this town knows something, so we gotta focus on that first."
Evelyn did think of finding another soul for the girl to eat. She did seemed to like them being a weapon. though even more so considering that the one soul she gave to her when she met would be eaten in mere seconds. It was more than an instinct, but a ravenous hunger. Still, that's what weapons were like, right? "Let me know if you get too hungry and I'll give you some of my snacks, okay?" She started by talking to all of the townspeople they could come across, in hopes of finding anything.
โจโพโจ ๏ผฒ๏ผฏ๏ผง๏ผต๏ผฅ โฆโฝโฆ Level 2 | โ | Meister | Traditionalist | Explorer | 200/200 Spirit
โจโพโจHe rubbed his forehead when Chance said that the pumpkin with one eye looked like him. However, Rogue was just glad that Chance did not say that a pumpkin looked like an old man and then said it was him. When they reached the Lantern Lair and Chance tried cotton candy Rogue winced at seeing Chance's tongue with the dissolving cotton candy. "Ugh, yeah, it does that." He responded before using his fingers to close Chance's mouth as the dissolving cotton candy was starting to gross him out. When Chance started taking big bites out of the cotton candy he chuckled. "Slow down, it'll hurt your belly if you eat too much." He extended his hand to indicate that Chance needed to take it easy on the cotton candy. He did tear off a chunk for himself and plop it into his smiling mouth.
โจโพโจ๏ผช๏ผฏ๏ผก๏ผฎ โฆโฝโฆ Level 1 | One Star | Weapon | Dual Alterer | Ruler | 100/100 Stamina
โจโพโจJoan was glad that Rhett thought ahead and made a drawing of the moon man. She noted that he was improving in his motivation to do missions. She was glad to know that she was having a positive influence on his development as a meister. She quietly made note of this to bring up later.
โจโพโจShe giggled excitedly when Rhett agreed to get on the Ferris wheel with her. For once she felt like she could let her hair down and just indulge in a little bit of fun before starting the mission. She grabbed his arm and hopped into the pod with him. They were seated in the pumpkin-shaped pod in no time as the door shut and they were locked in. Joan sat close to Rhett as the ferris wheel started to move. When it got to the top they could see the entirety of the Lantern Lair. It was nighttime and the whole area was lit up in golden jack-o-lantern light with an almost-purple sky. "This is so cool..." She mumbled enough for him to hear it although she did sound restrained. It was difficult for her to retain her composure and be professional at this time. Once their pod reached the peak and they could see the whole town, suddenly the lights shut off on the Ferris wheel. They were no longer moving and Joan sighed. Suddenly, a voice came over the intercom. "Sorry folks! We're having a power issue and we'll get the Ferris wheel back on in a jiff!" It was clear that it was the voice of a carnie.
โจโพโจJoan turned to look at Rhett with uncertainty now that they were stuck on the Ferris wheel. She only looked around when she noticed that more pumpkin lanterns were floating in the air around them. The beauty of it was inspiring despite the inconvenience. "Oh well, hopefully it doesn't take too long to fix." Joan noted as she looked at Rhett's rosy cheeks. She waited a few moments before trying o fill the time with some conversation. "Hey Red, good thinking on the drawing. You've been doing so well on our missions and thinking ahead. I'm proud of you." Joan offered her encouragement from her mental note from earlier and smiled.
Sarahโs body shivered as she and Enmei walked through the Lantern Lair. She held her hand up to her mouth, nervously chewing at her nails. The young Meister didnโt handle jump scares very well, and the whole area put her on edge. โOf course Lord Death sent us to the scariest place in the freakinโ world.โ She chattered. As she took a step, a stone pressed into the street. Doing this resulted in a nearby box, laying on the street, burst open. An automated skeleton sprung from itโs cardboard confines, playing an automated laugh track as it bobbed on its spring. Sarah screeched, jumping nearly the height of a building in fear before landing in Enmeiโs arms.
โI hate it here!!โ She cried, kicking her legs. โCanโt we just find whatever it is weโre here for and leave???โ
โฏ Passivity โฏ [ The Meister's perception detects souls passively around them. At this point in their development, the Meister can determine what type of soul is around them (human (M/W), witch, demon, reaper) within ten feet. ] โฉ
โฏ Echolocation I โฏ [ This enables the Meister to receive environmental information. At this level, it does not reveal things like trap doors, false walls, or any other details like that. Yet, it can still reveal the twists and turns of a labyrinth or how large something is. This can determine environmental information within a topic. ] โฉ โฏ Blood Hound โฏ [ Vague blood-related information is granted. This allows the Meister to determine who is biologically related, but also reveals if someone is under the effects of something unusual (no specifics). Blood type and if someone is losing a lot of blood is also gained from the Meister's perception. ] โฉ โฏ Of the Tide โฏ [ A repeated cast of a wavelength technique shoots out for no cost or action once every five posts, at one level lower than the base technique. ] โฉ โฏ Riptide โฏ [ The Meister can inflict their wavelength attack through contact with a weapon - their own or an opponent's. If used on an opponent's weapon, it shocks the weapon and anyone else in contact with the weapon (i.e., its wielder) without dividing the strength of the attack between the opponents. ] โฉ โฏ Passivity II โฏ [ The Meister's perception detects souls passively around them. At this point in their development, the meister can determine what type of soul is around them (human (M/W), witch, demon, reaper) within fifty feet. Requires "Passivity" ] โฉ โฏ Echolocation II โฏ [ This enables the Meister to receive environmental information. It reveals things like trap doors, false walls, and any other details like that. No environmental details evade the Meister unless specifically stated. This can determine environmental information within a topic. Requires "Echolocation I"] ] โฉ โฏ Of the Tide โฏ [ A repeated cast of a wavelength technique shoots out for no cost or action once every five posts, at one level lower than the base technique. ] โฉ โฏ Wavelength Waves โฏ [ The Meister is able to inflict their wavelength ten feet outward from their palms in a half-circle shape five feet wide. ] โฉ โฏ Shell Shocked โฏ [ The Meister expels their soul wavelength throughout their body evenly, creating a thin coating of wavelength that inflicts damage on contact with an opponent or their weapon. This can be used to defend against techniques. ] โฉ โฏ Wavelength Construction โฏ [ The Meister is capable of carefully crafting their wavelength so specifically that they can shoot it outwards and generate a shape with it and then direct it to attack. Visually, the shape appears to be tied to the Meister's fingers like puppet strings. The shape can be anything between the size of a small dog to the size of a one-building. This construction requires the Meister to use both hands to direct it. ] First Action:
Second Action:
Third Action:
Brooy
Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2021 10:45 pm
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Rhett and Joan found themselves in the pumpkin shaped carriage, sitting side-by-side while the ride would soon start up with the two of them together. The ferris wheel would begin to move as they would slowly ascend over the carnival below them. Rhett side eyed Joan while the blue haired weapon marveled at the many sights that were below them. It was truly a wonderous moment in both their careers here at the DWMA. Rhett himself wanted to know what kind of things that the place would hold in time for the season, his sweet tooth hungering to sample the many wares of the vendors here. Their pod would reach the highest it could go before then coming to a halt, with the two of them dangling at the top. His eyes shot towards the speak as one of the carnies would report a short electrical outage. Rhett would be a little on edge, gently toying with his mane of crimson hair as the two of them would be left to their own devices. He blushed a little at feeling the warmth coming from Joan, eyes carrying over to the floating pumpkins by them as Joan would speak up. "Y-Yeah...." he stuttered.
But what made him a little less on edge was that compliment paid to him by Joan. Rhett smiled a little, needing to hear it lately. He had been so worried about not pulling his weight around with his partner that he was doing his best to match her enthusiasm. "Th-Thanks, but I did it because of you. You're the only one who seems to put up with me, and I wanted to make you happy. I like that smile...on your face. It suits somebody like you." he laughed nervously while fussing about again, silence raging on through the pod as he tried his hand again. "So, um, thanks, Joan. You really m-mean a lot to me. So let's keep up the good work, okay?...Blue?"
โจโพโจ๏ผช๏ผฏ๏ผก๏ผฎ โฆโฝโฆ Level 1 | One Star | Weapon | Dual Alterer | Ruler | 100/100 Stamina
โจโพโจJoan was deeply affected by Rhett's confession. His compliment of her smile was flattering if not awkward but she liked it. She was not bothered by her own awkwardness as much when she was around Rhett. She was kind of surprised that he thought so highly of her considering how bossy and domineering she tended to be over him. Her heart was racing intensely as he expressed how much she meant to him. "You mean a lot to me too." Joan confessed in genuinely heartfelt reciprocity. She felt that there was no other way to say it. And then, suddenly, more came pouring out of her. "You've helped me feel more comfortable with myself. No one's ever done that for me before." This was perhaps the most significant aspect of their partnership for her on a personal level. For her entire life, she was made to feel awkward for her lack of femininity and pushiness but with Rhett, she could finally accept herself.
โจโพโจShe had to laugh when he called her Blue though. "That doesn't rhyme with my name at all!" Joan shouted through a chuckle as they remained stuck in the pumpkin carriage. This cut some of the awkward tension in the air as Rhett twirled his hair. When she finished laughing she stared at his loosened tie. Just to keep her hands occupied, she slowly adjusted his tie for him. The fabric was straightened out and lifted upward before stopping just right on the collar. He cares about me so much. Joan recited this in her head that was awhirl in gratitude and other feelings that she could not understand. After adjusting his tie, she could not explain why, but she did not retract her hands. They came to rest on his chest as she looked into his eyes. She felt so nervous at this point, what if he was uncomfortable with this? What if the ferris wheel turned back on right now? There were so many doubts.
โจโพโจThe orange lights of the jack-o-lanterns illuminated his face perfectly in the dark carriage that pointed toward the sky. Her face was close to Rhett's as she adjusted her posture because they were so close in height with Rhett being slightly taller. Joan's cheeks became rosy as nervousness filled her gut but she bravely continued looking at him. "Red..." This was all she could say as her fists began to grip his velvet vest but she felt paralyzed otherwise as her heart continued to race.
๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒ โฏ Perk Name โฏ [ Description here. ] โฏ Perk Name โฏ [ Description here. ]
๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ต๐ค ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฒโโโโโ โฏ Perk Name โฏ [ Description here. ] โฏ Perk Name โฏ [ Description here. ]
Novasse
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 9:52 pm
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"I wanted to try it anyway." Rhett fussed, giving Joan that pout he always gave when it came time for him to embarrass himself. A common occurrence actually. The boy did find her laughs just as cute as when she would let him see that perfect smile of hers. He'd look away, unaware of his not straightened tie. He had been in such a hurry to meet with the girl and get on with their mission that he had simple just thrown it on without so much as a second thought. At feeling her get close to his body, the boy swung his head down to watch as Joan fixed his tie for him. "She looks so beautiful in this lighting." It was the closest she had ever been to him, Rhett's cheeks a rosy color now while he'd try his best to not appear to weakened by her presence. It didn't take long for her to finish but she didn't move away. The two's eyes locked with one another while she held onto his vest, hands pressing against his well built chest. He blushed harder but continued as the dimly lit sky would only continue the moods and thoughts in his head. "Should I do this? What if she hates me?" With the pumpkin carriage facing the night sky, Rhett couldn't help himself any longer. His body gave into its inhibitions. He scooted closer to Joan, his arms fall upon her her shoulders as he felt her dark blue curtains underneath. His face was mere centimeters from hers, feeling her breath on his cheeks, when it happened.
His lips graced hers such Rhett kissed the woman he so cherished lovingly.
โจโพโจ๏ผช๏ผฏ๏ผก๏ผฎ โฆโฝโฆ Level 1 | One Star | Weapon | Dual Alterer | Ruler | 100/100 Stamina
โจโพโจWhen Rhett began closing the distance between their faces more, Joan closed her eyes. Her heartbeat was out of control as she felt him rest his lips on hers. His soft and sweet kiss made her feel light-headed as she returned his affection. She never thought that any man would care for her this much. Time and again she watched boys go for the more petite girls and she was constantly left out. As her excitement overwhelmed her, she pulled on the lapels of his vest to pull him even closer to her. She gripped his shirt so tightly that she would not let him go. When Rhett's kiss ended she smiled and giggled before immediately kissing him back. She was less nervous and gave him several seconds of passion before finally letting him go.
โจโพโจShe moved her hands to hold onto his arm before resting her head on his shoulder. She looked up at the sky and just enjoyed the stars as the lights in the carriage turned back on. The ferris wheel began spinning again as Joan stayed close to the first man she had never cherished. Joan could not stop smiling as she looked at Rhett and back up, allowing herself to completely rest on Rhett. "I'm so happy." Joan said with a pleasantly exasperated tone. However, it was not long before the guilt began to set in. I'm so happy but should I really be doing this? He's my partner. It was my job to get him back on track. Will this distract us? What if it doesn't work out? Her head immediately filled with doubts as a worried look overwhelmed her joyous smile. She waited for a few minutes as the ferris wheel kept spinning. "Can we really do this? We...we shouldn't be doing this!" Joan began to feel upset as she let go of Rhett and immediately regretted her own feelings. "We're partners! What would the DWMA say? We need to stop." Joan erupted with frustration as she allowed herself to get swept up in her feelings. She felt guilty for dragging Rhett into this. She looked up to him and winced. "But I...I don't want to stop." Joan meekly expressed the tension between what her heart wanted and what her duty was.
