+ 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

[sciencelizard]

Well, there's not a l-lot of animals to be spoken of? Other than f-fish and stuff that would live, uhm, u-underground. Sometimes we g-get birds.

[They are oft very confused and have to be chased out, mostly by Asgore as they go careening through the barrier.]

But, uhm, we have a lot of books about them, and lots of a-animal based monsters. Like, uhm, I knew cat m-monsters, and, uh... well, all kinds! Goats, rabbits, bears, dogs, fish, mice, a-all sorts of things. So it's not, uhm, that strange.

[assembles]

[ So instead of having animals like the sort that Steve's used to, the Underground houses monsters that look like animals. Steve's curious to know where the shift happened there, if one species branched off of the other or if it's just some weird coincidence, but he doesn't want to ask any questions that might be seen as rude. ]

Okay, that makes sense. [ Sort of. As much as anything can make sense around here.

After another knock on a door and another successful gathering of candy, Steve looks back to Alphys. ]

Do you guys know where monsters came from? Or, you know, how they came to be?

[sciencelizard]

Not... really, honestly.

[She's been asked this once or twice and she always wishes she had a better answer. But... there's just not many records at all from before the war. Maybe they lost their records when everyone was sealed Underground. Maybe even Asgore doesn't remember that far back. It's just always been that way, to the beginnings of their legends- once upon a time, there were humans, and monsters.]

We don't, uhm, really have records t-that far back. I would guess, uhm, t-the same was humans came to be, in a sense. Byproducts of e-evolution and time, plus s-some genetics and luck. We're just, uh, m-magic instead of physical. Our world works l-like that. Even some humans, uh, h-have magic. Or they're supposed to.

[assembles]

[ It's a surprisingly normal answer, actually. Not that Steve thought there would be some strange myth behind it, but it gives him a sense of how there are parts of Alphys' world that are still ground in reality and science, even if magic also plays a part. He'd been hoping that concept would be the key to cracking Wonderland, but no luck there thus far. ]

It's actually not so different in my world. We have some ideas of how human life evolved from other life forms, but there's a lot of blanks we still haven't filled since it all happened so long ago.

[ Another door, another set of candy. Steve thinks they're making pretty good progress, honestly. ]

[sciencelizard]

I've read scientific books and o-other pieces that say about the same for my world. We know p-plenty about humans, as long as it's been published, t-though I'd bet the texts we used in my Ph.D program were a f-few editions back. Seeing as we couldn't, uhm, just go g-get new ones. Computers made everything s-so much easier so even a book that was falling apart or severely, uhm, waterlogged could be scanned and preserved.

[They... made due with what they had.]

I'm no biologist b-but a lot of them suspect monsters might have b-been made from similar routes as humans. To f-fill an evolutionary gap of some sort. But it's still pretty, uh, vague.

[assembles]

[ So there are computers in the Underworld too? Steve wouldn't have guessed at that, probably because he assumes that most of what makes the internet function are satellites and that kind of thing. But he isn't going to get into the intricacies of how computers work where Alphys comes from. ]

It's always interesting figuring out what's different and what's the same between worlds. I know there's probably no rhyme or reason to it, but you kinda have to wonder...

[ This is Wonderland, after all.

When they get to the next door, they're assaulted with a trick instead of a treat, in the form of multi-colored silly string spraying all over them. Steve isn't ready for it, so he stands there for a few seconds in shock before he starts laughing. It's all just so ridiculous. ]

[sciencelizard]

[She nods vigorously.]

Yeah! It seems l-like a lot of, uhm, technology is about the same, at least among timeli--

[Aaaand here comes the silly string. Alphys sputters, partially because she wasn't expecting it, and partially because she was mid-word and therefore a bunch of it got in her mouth, so she ends up fervently wiping it off her tongue and making weird tongue-farting noises while she does, because it tastes awful. She looks to him, expecting to have to apologize, but he's laughing, and she blushes, sort of assuming he's laughing at what she just did. Still, it's hard not to laugh when he does.]

Well that... h-happened!

[assembles]

[ Well, at least Steve didn't get any in his mouth. It could be worse, and he glances over at Alphys in sympathy as she tries to get rid of the taste, which he can only assume is terrible. It's all chemicals and dye and who knows what else.

He takes a few moments to pick some of the strands of silly string off of his chest and abs and out of his hair, shaking his head to himself. ]

I guess it was only a matter of time.

[ Steve doesn't look too bothered, though. He's pretty sure they're both still having a good time. ]

Maybe try to have some more of your candy, get the bad taste out of your mouth?

[sciencelizard]

[He doesn't need to tell her twice, she's already cramming some chocolate in there. But she's still giggling.]

This, is, uhm... this is n-nice. I mean, despite the pranks and stuff. Thanks for, uhm, g-going with me for a while.

[assembles]

[ As far as Steve sees it, there's no reason for Alphys to thank him, but he nods all the same. He isn't going to call her on it, as that would probably only make her more nervous. ]

Yeah, no problem. Thanks for answering all of my questions.

[ He sometimes has foot-in-mouth syndrome, so he's glad he didn't end up offending her with anything he asked. ]

Are you going to go meet up with your friends now?

[sciencelizard]

It's n-no problem for me, either! I'm, uh, I mean, I don't mind t-talking about this sort of thing. I'd rather people ask than just assume things.

[She jumps a bit at his second suggestion though, fishing her communicator out from a purse pocket and checking it for messages.]

Oh! I had, uhm, c-completely forgotten, actually, but you're probably, uhm, r-right. Sorry, I didn't mean to, uhm, overstay my w-welcome or anything!

[Not that she thinks he actually implies that. He's too nice for it. But you never know if he's just being polite.]

[assembles]

[ It's true that asking is better than assuming, and that's something that Steve will keep in mind going forward, as he knows there will be other instances where he's faced with a Wonderland resident who looks nothing like what he's seen before.

There are times when he's put his foot in his mouth, but most people are pretty understanding about it.

Steve quickly shakes his head to wave off Alphys' concerns. ] No, that's not it, I just didn't want you to miss out on meeting up with them. Hopefully we can both enjoy the rest of the event.

[ And nothing goes horribly wrong, as it's wont to do here in Wonderland. ]

[sciencelizard]

Of c-course! You're, uhm, welcome to come join us, even if you're in, uhm, a d-different costume. If you uh, don't want to b-be alone, that is.

[She also knows Mettaton would probably appreciate her bringing a shirtless Steve Rogers to any meeting with him, ngl.]

[assembles]

That's all right, there are some people I should probably check in on too. [ It's sweet of Alphys to offer, but Steve doesn't know if he wants to contend with meeting a whole group of strangers right now. ]

Have a good time, though. I'll see you around. [ Steve nods and waves. ]

[sciencelizard]

Okay! As long as you, uh, a-aren't all by yourself.

[She gathers up her things, starting in a half-jog down the hall, waving behind her as she goes.]

See you s-soon!