+ Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright! | OPEN +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: EVERYONE (if they want to live)
Where: EVERYWHERE (inside the mansion, knocking on doors)
When: 6/24 - 6/27
Rating: PG-13?
Summary: The Summerween Trickster has made his decree - Trick or treat...or die! This is a mingle log for Trick-or-Treating!
The Story:



On the morning of the 24th, everyone will find that the mansion was inexplicably decorated for Halloween...sort of. The idea behind the decorations is mostly the same, except that every jack-o-lantern is made out of a watermelon instead of a pumpkin. No, this is SUMMERWEEN.

For the first day it will be harmless enough, just a change in décor and a little spooky summer fun. However, by the second day there will be sightings of the Summerween Trickster, a creepy fellow made entirely out of unpopular loser candy, and he is not happy. In the entrance hall, there will be a giant jack-o-melon container with a counter and a count-down clock ticking away to the end of the event.

Your job, Wonderland, is to trick-or-treat for your lives. You have until the end of the event to deliver one million pieces of candy to the jack-o-melon before the end of the event, to appease the Summerween Trickster.

What was that? You'll just sit this out and wait for the event to end? I wouldn't do that if I were you. You see, the Summerween Trickster could be lurking around any corner. If he catches someone not fully embracing the spirit of Summerween (refusing to trick or treat, not wearing a costume, etc), they will not survive the experience. The Trickster will kill them and swallow them whole, making them part of his horrible loser candy body.

More details about trick or treating can be found here. This is a mingle post for trick-or-treating, if you'd rather use this than make a post! [Brackets] or prose are both welcome.

Comments

[accelerate]

[ if an actual lightning bolt comes through the door this time, barry would prefer it hit him than anders. in actuality, he'd rather it didn't hit either of them at all. despite it being the reason he has his powers, it'd scared him. thunder and lightning still does. ]

[ his expression, of what anders can see, doesn't give anything away but cheer. he looks at him with a smile. in his hand is a candy, and he's already eating it. ] I've already collected them all. [ and he's in the process of eating half of it. never mind that, though. the flash likes to live on the wild side, so much so barry allen often follows. ]

[ with a wave of his hand, he gestures for anders to come over. ] I never thought the Cheshire Cat would be afraid of a door, much less opening one.

[circlejerked]

Last time I checked, the counter was still going.

<sub>[Clearly the Flash hasn't collected enough, but they seem to be at an impasse in terms of visual cues. Anders sees a smiling Flash, and the Flash sees... a smiling plastic head. But behind it Anders is definitely raising an eyebrow in Barry's direction. Can he feel the waves of silent judgement? Can he now?

... How about now?

At the wave, Anders pointedly plants a hand on his waist in token resistance to anything that puts him in danger of getting confetti'd before sighing audibly, the sound muffled by the heavy fur head of his costume.]</sub>

Fine, fine. Someone has to stick up for the feline race and prove they're not afraid of anything. All right, stand back. I've got this. _{[Anders plants himself in front of the door, knocks, and with the air of imperious authority of a door-to-door solicitor, he says:]} Trick or treat!

_{[The door swings open but he doesn't get a chance to see what comes flying out before he ducks. All he knows at first is that it's colorful, solid, and arrowing right for his head--self-preservation takes care of the rest.]}

What in the Maker's name was that!?

[accelerate]

[ barry's holding the donkey piñata in his hands, looking at it with the glee of a boy who's been given the one thing he's been asking all year round for. it's obvious the flash is smiling, all toothy and wide, and the way he's looking over the donkey with excitement almost sparks golden electricity around them. ]

[ he's careful, though. there's no fun to be had if he sets it alight. ]

[ he looks up at anders cheerfully. ] It's a piñata! [ he glances around, looking to the floor. ] Did it toss out sticks?

[circlejerked]

<sub>[Ember and Ash don't even look up at their master's brush with rainbow-colored death. Well, that's fine, Anders can handle one... one... er, one inanimate something or other. He straightens only once he's sure the door is closed and he's not about to be beaned in the head with anymore large 'tricks', bemusement clear in the way he angles his head.

"Pinata" sounds like it belongs to a tropical fruit, not whatever this meant to be.]</sub>

It looks like a toy donkey that fell in a vat of paint. _{[Says the man currently boasting eye-searingly bright stripes of his own.]} Let me guess, donkeys are your favorite animal.

_{[That's the only explanation Anders can see for why his new friend looks like he's holding the secret to eternal youth in his hands.]}

I don't see any... But why would there be sticks? Is this a metaphor for beating a dead horse? Because I have to say, I think this event is doing that well enough on its own.

[accelerate]

[ barry laughs, and there's a slight echo to it, given his manipulation of his vocal cords. ]

I don't like donkeys. [ he shakes his head, and turns the piñata over in his hands. there's nothing wrong with it that he can see. it looks like a proper piñata, and if he shakes it, it seems like it's filled with something exciting. ] But you hang them up at parties and hit them with sticks. When you break the plaster, stuff falls out. Usually candy.

[ he gives the donkey a shake, and stops, abruptly, when it's evident with how the donkey becomes blurred that he's shaking it too fast. superspeed is a gift in itself, letting barry avoid public transport and allowing him to sleep in until the last possible moment, but it sure as hell puts a damper on things at times. ]

Maybe the Trickster wants to have a party? Or thinks one of us is an ass?

[circlejerked]

They have candy?

<sub>[You don't say? Well, that changes things. He'd been ready to file the mansion away in his internal Pain in Ass bin, but if the pinata is hiding candy, that's a different story.

His tone brightens.]</sub>

Never mind then, I guess it's a treat, after all. _{[Although it might not matter if Flash pulverizes the toy donkey with his vigorous shaking.]} Easy, tiger. I understand not liking them, but no need to leave bits of him in the ceiling. Ass or not, I'll take what I can get. Can't you use your speedy powers to just... rip it open?

_{[He doesn't know what these masked superheroes get up to. For all he knows, Barry could be hiding super strength in those beanpole muscles.]}

[accelerate]

But that's not fun.

[ it'd be the best way to cheat, wouldn't it? barry would've killed to have been a kid flash. able to outrun his bullies, save others who were tormented like him — cheat at games like tag and hide and seek and dodgeball … his dreams would've been made, and his opportunities to stretch his legs endless, but busting open a piñata with his abilities isn't one of them. ]

[ he glances around the floor. ] We need sticks. And string to hoist it up. You can't have your first piñata experience be me shaking the donkey apart.

[circlejerked]

Beating something in the likeness of an animal is more fun? I don't know that I'd have the heart for it if it were the face of a tabby cat staring back at me as I bashed it to bits.

<sub>[Slow your sociopathic roll, Barry. Who invented this game, the same sadistic person who came up with Summerween? What did the rainbow donkeys ever do?

... Just kidding. Mostly.]</sub>

And here I am without my staff. I picked the wrong day to disarm. Can't we just stick it in the candy bin like that?

_{[It'll be hard, but somehow he'll live with delaying his first pinata experience.]}

[accelerate]

[ he looks down at the donkey and turns it over in his hands. he could violently shake it and see if it'll fall to pieces, but then he wonders if he leaves it as is, whether or not that'll distract the trickster when barry allen eventually does something dangerous … ]

[ he shouldn't be testing the trickster. barry knows his luck will eventually run out. how many times has it already? he doesn't know much about the monster, but he supposes he's been trying to determine what really makes the beast tick. ]

[ and if he happens to die, at least he'll have four lives left? ]

[ he shrugs his shoulder, and sounds uncertain, ] I guess we could try? I can take us all really far real quick if the Trickster doesn't like it. I'm better than an Uber.

[circlejerked]

<sub>[Uber...? Half of the Flash's obscure references send his imagination running wild, but he gets the gist of this one as he had before. First this guy's feeding his cats, now he's offering to carry them out of harm's way?

Barry, you are an absolute sweetheart underneath that appalling color palette.]</sub>

My heart just went pitter pat in my chest. I've never had someone so concerned for the health and well-being of felines that they'd rush my cats and I to safety at literal super speed. Are we really precious cargo? I'm touched.

_{[But really, in all seriousness--]}

I'm not as useless in a fight as that earlier encounter with the Trickster might suggest. I can watch our backs with magic should it come to that. But the way I figure it, we can save ourselves the trouble drop that pinata off as is or... I guess check there's actually candy inside? It wouldn't be the first time the mansion's pulled a fast one. Uh, no pun intended.

[accelerate]

It was a good pun.

[ barry can appreciate a good pun at his own expense. there's no point in giving yourself a name that could also equate to streaking in public and not being able to take a joke at your own expense. ]

[ he mulls over anders' question, though. do they break the donkey and risk the ire of the trickster? or do they risk the donkey being filled with anything but candy? it's the type of risk barry would take for himself, but now that he has "precious cargo" joining him along for this ride, he likes to look at every possible action and its consequences. ]

[ or the top three actions and screw the rest. it's not like being particularly smart and patient like that is something barry does. ]

[ he looks down at the donkey, then lifts his gaze to anders' cats. ] What do they think, guys? Break the donkey or give the Trickster something to distract itself with?

[circlejerked]

<sub>[The fish are looking thoroughly-gnawed on by this point, while the cats look sated as only cats who've stuffed their faces can. Ember meows back, mostly because Ash can't with a hunk of fish still hanging from his teeth.

Ugh, Anders can almost smell their fish breath from here. Happy cats make for smelly cats.]</sub>

In cat-speak I believe they're saying... to take option number three: break time. _{[He bends to up the plates, stacking one on top of the other.]} While I dump these out, I vote we drop off our donkey friend as is and reconvene. Give you a chance to clean that confetti off.

[accelerate]

[ barry looks down at himself, and brushes his fingers against his shoulders. some of the confetti easily glides to the floor. ] I don't know. [ he's smiling, his voice warm and teasing. ] I think it suits me.

[ he looks down at the cats, and tries to flick some confetti that's stuck to his gloves toward one. due to the quickness of his own flick, the piece of confetti never quite makes it. it bursts into flame. ]

I'll take Eeyore to the Trickster and hope for the best. If you don't hear from me, tell the world I love kittens?

[ he doesn't quite give anders much time to respond. he tips his head toward the cats, and is gone in striking gold and a gust of wind. confetti falls in his wake. ]