SKELLINGTON HOUSE 2: NO BONES ABOUT IT

[quickattackjack]

Who: Anyone in Goldenrod
Where: Goldenrod City, Jack's House
When: October - 25 + Halloween
Summary: Jack has teamed up with Joker to create his best haunted house yet! There are clowns.
Rating: PG
Log:





Characters may either walk or make their way from the circus on a pitch black buggy pulled by two real flaming night mares.

[HAUNTED HOUSE]
It towers over the street with all its crooked windows lit in ghoulish green. The siding has all been painted black. Pumpkins and Pumpkaboo overflow from every available ledge and smile grimly out at passers by. Walk by the wrong one and you're in for a scare! What seems to be a localized thunderstorm (rain dance + thunderbolt) boils overhead but has not yet released its downpour. Carnival music wails from somewhere. Noibat, TWENTY OF THEM, swoop down at the guests waiting in line. On the front lawn, Jack stands behind a rickety ticket booth dressed head to toe as a carnival barker in bold green and orange, his face painted in a grim echo of his true self. He waves his straw hat to the gathering customers and laughs darkly to himself as screams reverberate from the house behind him.

Guests are herded in as groups as small as one and as large as six and are spaced out fifteen minutes apart so that one can always hear the others' terror.

The house takes a good twenty to thirty minutes to go through at a brisk walk and that's if you don't get lost or distracted with the mirrors and puzzles. The tail-end of the maze will land guests in the foyer where they began with the entire ghoulish cast of Pokemon hot on their heels, seeing them all the way to the exit. Any guests wanting to go through a second time will find a completely different experience. The walls seem to have...to have moved!

Price of admission is 1500P.

[HAUNTED MAZE]
This year the attraction has grown! Behind the house sprawls a hedge maze filled with fog and spooks. The maze is complex, draped in spiderwebs, lined with pumpkins, and has an enormous foggy fountain in the center. Anyone who reaches this fountain will retrieve a voucher for a free Rare Candy from Jack himself. It wouldn't be Halloween without candy! The hedges move thanks to some mischievous Skiddo and a Carnivine. Cast members from the house may also be found in the maze.

Anyone who tries to cheat by climbing the hedges or using a flying Pokemon will find themselves scolded by the hoard of Noibat circling above.

The maze is not part of the house walk-through and is a separate attraction. Price of admission is 800P.

[SAFETY]
Those whose who need a less rattling path for any reason only need to tell Jack and he will inform the house to be sure to guide them on the correct walk-through. Gentle as it is, it still has all the TLC put into it that one would expect from the Pumpkin King.

Anyone who wants to leave the house or maze early for any reason need only call out "ROTTEN PUMPKINS" and Eric the Yamask will appear to escort them out.

SPOOKY HOUSE SPECS:
Within the house, any great number of things can befall the guests! Once upon a time, the house was a normal mansion. There are three floors plus the basement and attic to explore and the walls have been arranged into a maze with branching paths. The halls are strewn with cobwebs, bones (where did they come from???) questionable splatters and splashes of colorful clownish paint.

- hidden alcohol stashes left behind by Rangiku from years ago that Jack STILL hasn't found
- rotating wall panels to split up groups
- fake drop-away floors that reveal illusions of pits, fire, enormous snapping mouths and the like
- floors that turn into slides
- hall of mirrors
- hidden passages revealed by the turn of a candle stick or pressed key on a piano etc...

CREEPY CAST:
These ghouls are trained scare-actors. The team is made up of both Pokemon and people. They will pop out at your characters from every angle and will be using their attacks to alter their surroundings and make noise. This year, courtesy of Envy, everyone has had their face painted into both twisted and funny visages. Several scare-actors are clowns. Horrible, horrible clowns in honor of Joker and his wonderful circus.

POKEMON
20 Noibat
1 Skunktank
1 Arbok
2 Murkrow
1 Houndoom
1 Driftloon
5 Hastly
1 Haunter
2 Zoroark
1 Carnivite
2 Skiddo

HUMANS
Envy
Jimmy
Heather

Thread all month long till your heart's content! Human cast members may drop in on threads at random to deliver a scare. If you would not like threadjacking just say so in your subjectline!

Comments

JACK'S WELCOME THREAD

[quickattackjack]

WELCOME! WELCOME, EVERYONE! DON'T PUSH, THE GHOSTS AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE!

<sub>[Jack stands at his ticket booth with a huge grin on his skull-painted face. His costume is far more colorful than last year--a bold orange and green striped getup. And if the yelling isn't a clue, he also seems to be a little...hard of hearing for some reason.]

[Thanks, Joker. Thanks for giving an old man 20 supersonic bats to train.]</sub>

[pipers_son]

[What approaches the ticket booth isn't a trainer, but instead a Gardevoir and Gallade pair. They're done up in some elegant black clothing with fake fangs in their mouth that are dripping a worrying amount of what looks like blood. The Gardevoir gives a sweeping curtsy while the Gallade just side eyes Jack.]

[He's watching you, old man]

Mister Jack? [The feminine voice echoes softly in his head. Psychic types, right?]

[quickattackjack]

_{[Jack is all smiles as the two pokemon approach. What fantastic costumes! Why, if he didn't know better, he'd think there was a new ghost type on the prowl!]}

WELCOME, WELCOME TO--

_{[His eyes widen as a sudden voice bounces around inside his skull. One of the first voices at an understandable volume he's heard in a while.]}

Yes, can I...help you?

[pipers_son]

[Mira the Gardevoir just gives a polite smile while her companion finally seems to calm down. No yelling, yes, thank you.]

Oh no. The Ringleader simply sent us with his regards. [She makes a small gesture, psychic power bringing over a basket with various sweets and things from the circus food stalls.] We know you're very busy and don't have time to visit us yourself, after all.

Lust and Al

[a_sin_for_him]

Lust was finding herself looking forward to spending some time with Alphonse. Despite the problems between him and Envy, Lust liked the young man. And they hadn't actually seen each other since he arrived. She was looking forward to that, too. Seeing him in the flesh, now that there was flesh to see at all. She wondered idly what he'd think of here, here and now.

On her way to meet him, she stopped off to prepare for an afternoon and night of holiday festivities. She hadn't thought ahead to bother with a costume, but it was easy enough to get her hands on a couple of accessories. Cat-like ear headbands - two, since it would look foolish if only one of them had bothered. And anyway, she and Kirikou had discussed looking for costume-costumes at the circus. It wasn't as though either were going anywhere, if Lust liked the attractions she'd be going back.

She showed up with Guttle at her heels, also decked out for the occasion. She'd drawn spiderwebs around his eyes with eyeliner and painted fangs over his mouth, much to his delight. She had no idea what to expect from the Haunted House, but she was looking forward to it. And the circus later. The house could be seen from here, not far off at all, and her eyes strayed to it over the rooftops as she came to a stop.

Hands clasped behind her back, she stood beside the cafe patio fence to watch the clouds around the top of the haunted house and waited for Alphonse.

[armoredsoul]

Al jogged down the street, his Eevee keeping pace with him as they hurried to meet Lust. Al still wasn't entirely sure what his feelings towards her were--while a very large part of him wanted to set their past behind them and treat this as the fresh start Lust really deserved, it was hard to let go of certain things that had happened back home. Certainly Liore still hung heavy in his mind. Still, he was unreservedly looking forward to this outing.

He didn't keep her waiting long, thankfully, and waved as he got close. "Hi there!" He grinned upon seeing Guttle--the little Spheal was quite amusing with his interest in being made up, and apparently Lust had gotten into the spirit of the season today. "Wow, Guttle looks great today! And you do, too," he adds with a shy smile.

[a_sin_for_him]

And there he was. Lust lifted her hand to wave in return.

"Thank you."

Guttle rolled over on his back, flippers flapping excitedly at the prospect of new friends.

"You're looking well. I was talking to a friend before I came out, and he was telling me about Halloween. Apparently costumes are traditional. Since there wasn't time for all that, I thought these would do." She reached into her bag and pulled out the ear headbands she'd bought on the way, holding the brown one out for Al.

"Here."

[armoredsoul]

Beryl bounds forward to pounce on Guttle's belly playfully, mewing and more than eager to make a new friend as well.

Al nods, and then beams when Lust holds out the cat headband for him to wear. "Oh wow, really? Thanks so much, Lust!" He takes it and quickly puts it on, grinning. "Rowr, hehe! Do you think they'll have costume stuff at the circus, too? Dressing up would be really fun!"

[codeforhope]

[Chihiro had been thoroughly enjoying himself at the circus so far, though that was unsurprising since he always seemed to have a good time at them. Just as well, he seemed to leave every single time wanting to adopt one of the Pokemon he saw in the show...it was growing increasingly difficult to restrain that urge, even though he's got so many already.

After seeing much of everything there is to see for the time being at the circus, he decided to take the buggy ride to the haunted house. The ride itself was rather nice, and there were other people with him who seemed excited...

...but actually getting there made him wonder if maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. ...the carriage ride was so much fun, maybe he'll just...ride it aaaaall the way right back to the circus. That's a totally valid thing to do, right?

And so, there Chihiro stands some distance away from the house itself, trying to decide what on earth he should do. He couldn't just turn around and leave, people would surely have something to say about that...but he wasn't eager to go in on his own, either. Standing with him are a Riolu and a Tyrogue, the Riolu holding Chihiro's hand while the Tyrogue tugs at his skirt, trying to get him to move.]

Tyyyyy!!

Come on, it'll be fun! It's not all that scary!

[Chihiro winces a little, shaking his head.]

I-...I don't know...

[sincereheart]

Fujisaki-san! Fujisaki-saaaan!

[ Oh, look who else has decided to check out the haunted house while she's in town! It's everyone's favorite Mimi! ]

Fujisaki-san, I'm so glad to finally meet you! I was worried we wouldn't run into each other, so I'm really...

[ Slowly, she takes in the look on Chihiro's face and the way his Pokémon are trying to convince him. ]

...Are you scared to go in, Fujisaki-san?

[codeforhope]

[To no fault of Mimi's, Chihiro jumps a little when he suddenly hears his voice being called, causing both of his Pokemon to blink and look over to see what the matter is.

He relaxes a bit when he sees it is a familiar face, though, and opens his mouth to respond...until she asks that, anyway.]

Oh, well...

[He sighs, glancing back up toward the house. He can already hear screams issuing from the inside.]

A...a little.

[sincereheart]

[ Truthfully? Mimi's scared too. Until this moment, she wasn't sure whether or not she'd even be able to get up the courage to go in. But seeing Fujisaki-san like this... Mimi has to put her own fears aside. It's responsible big sister time! ]

It's okay, Fujisaki-san! Why don't we go in together? That way if either of us gets scared, the other one will be right there! [ She extends a hand to him. ] How about that?

open!

[islandshore]

[Riku's never had the chance to swing by the haunted house. In previous years, he's just been to busy with his business, with nightmares... Point is, his plate's been rather full. Thankfully, this year is different. A lot's changed. He's a year older, he's in a... still kinda surprising relationship, and two of his closest friends are finally back.

So, naturally, this calls for a celebration. He already had plans to swing by the circus, so why not hit the other big attraction in town?

It's been a while since Riku's dressed up, but he comes clad in a tattered cloak and skeletal gloves. Behind him, there's a grumbling Charizard, a cackling Haunter, and a snickering Honedge.

As he draws near, he lets out a whistle of approval. The surprise Noibats actually make him flinch, and a grin starts to crawl along his face.]

This is going to be awesome.

IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE | OPEN

[lieutenantantichrist]

[If there's one thing Blake has learned since he's been here, it's that when Steve gets it in her head to do something, it saves a hell of a lot of time to just do it. Stubborn as a damn bulldog.

When your Snubbull wants to go to the haunted house, you go to the damn haunted house.

As soon as he walked in, he knew it was a bad idea. A bunch of fake shit, but all the fire and mirrors and weird noises woke some uneasy memory in the back of his mind that'd been lingering there since the season turned. Creatures in the dark with familiar faces. Bad dreams.

Stupid bullshit.

Then the first damn thing that happens is a wall flips around, and with a yelp, his dog's gone.

So what Blake has been doing is wandering the place, kicking things and trying to find the damn way out, when a table he kicks goes clunk.

He lifts the tablecloth, and it turns out the table has a drawer. Turns out the drawer has a bottle that's almost full. He unscrews the cap and gives it a smell, and hell, that's the best news he's had all day.

So that's why the haunted house now features Blake sitting in a corner, swigging gin and growling back at the sound effects.]

[thecrooks]

[It's shortly after Blake's really had a chance to thoroughly enjoy his gin that something strange (or, well, stranger than the customary strange, anyway) happens in the haunted house; there's the sound of one of the walls flipping around again, and now a little distance away is a faint yellow glow that looks almost like candlelight.

It's not, however — and what it is soon reveals itself as, with the rustle-thump-rustle-thump of bipedal reptilian footsteps, a dejected little Charmeleon comes shuffling around the corner into the room Blake's in proper. His tail (the tip of which is of course on fire) has been pulled around in front of him, and he's hanging onto it with both clawed hands, which is either because it's lighting his way or because he's watching it to make sure it doesn't go out; it's hard to tell.

Either way, he looks pretty upset, and stops when he sees Blake drinking in the corner. On one hand: a stranger! That's scary.

On the other hand, he's lost, and that's scarier.]

Maaaaaaaaaa.

[He whimpers, plaintively.]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[When Blake looks up, there's a glow that wasn't there before. Faint, dancing on the walls, drawing closer, silent under the scrapes and distant shrieks that fill the place. Blake pull himself up, ready to face--

...a sad-looking lizard.

He settles back, exhaling. Then he eyes the thing and waves the bottle at it.]

Yeah? Whadda you want?

[thecrooks]

[His tiny reptilian shoulders drooping somewhat, the little Charmeleon musters up all his courage; as it turns out, Blake has happened to ask him the one question he actually stands a chance of answering without the use of gratuitous charades: ]

Maa. Maaaaaaaaa.

[Mr. Police Officer Lieutenant Sir, he has lost his mommy. :c ]

[codpieces]

[ gamzee obviously doesn't really, fully understand the concept of a haunted house. it looked fun. it looked entertaining! seriously, anything that was kind of creepy or really creepy didn't really hit him in spooky bits— he was a visual walking creepshow to start with his creepy clown outfit!!

he's watching, though— spacing out just near the entrance with a bicycle horn in hand— . . .

and now it just got creepy and he didn't even mean to.

if things weren't a bit more spooky, his shadow keeps moving around and such, splitting into two and looking a bit eerie, attempting to stretch to those nearby and do some things to their shadows when they aren't looking . . .

or when they are looking. on purpose. ]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica, despite her many years of witnessing horrors no person should probably see, was still nervous as she stepped into the haunted house. Of the many things she'd seen when she first arrived in Goldenrod, this was one of the most crowded areas.

And peer pressure is a bitch, so here she was, joining in on the fun.

Honestly, she was a bodyguard, and a Frankenstein. She could handle a kiddy thing like a haunted house.

...Which was why she was making her way through the entrance slowly. Just being cautious. Yup. And having Ronin the floating sword Pokémon within a few feet just in case.]

[codpieces]

[ so maybe it takes a while, given that gamzee's enjoying the depths of his soundless, weird little mind, before he spots someone right by him, going into the haunted house as well

. . . yooo, it's stitchsis!

his shadow(s) squirm and stir, two pairs of eyes squinting and each giving a visible, shadowy grin when they also notice ( one is a lot more sly and scheming, the other one is a rather jolly, content smile ). it's that girl-human!

they won't do anything for now, not with 2shade around to give her brother a glare if he even thinks about trying something terrifying on her again, so what's left is for gamzee to meet up with her on his own accord!

you know how loud bicycle horns are, veronica? how about when it's right behind you . . .

HONK HONK ]

Honk!

[ :o) ]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[There was a second or so before Gamzee honked his horn that Veronica sensed that something was about to happen; call it a feeling in her bones. Unfortunately, the feeling came true.

Ako, the Murkrow on her shoulder, flipped out. She took off into the air, squawking loud enough to alert what other Pokémon around her. Namely, Ronin, who was looking as surprised as a floating sword could look. Veronica, meanwhile, had shot around as fast as she could, almost prepared to punch whoever did that in the face.

And oh.

Oh.

It's you.

Her expression softened a little, but not a lot.

........Sup.]

[hotty]

[ haunted houses? blah! horror? danger? skull is the type to say I LAUGH IN THE FACE OF DANGER!!!

and then proceed to shiver in his boots

ducati, his yanma, circles the signs and the entrance with curiosity, head quickly tilting when he picks up sounds from inside, zipping up and down, backwards, then back to his trainer expectantly. what was going on in there? was this another ride? the infant, on the other hand, watches on in silence. he's hesitating, and under his helmet he's sweating— the dragonfly gives a questioning yimmmmmm-?, and it's enough for skull to blurt of nervously: ]

A-are you trying to say something?!

[ was he trying to say "r u a torchic???" when he really just politely asked "what do you think?"— the yanma flinches a bit, looking worried, before the tiny human sharply retorts!! ]

This— This is nothing! H-hah! I'll prove it! The great Skull isn't afraid of a stupid haunted house!!

[ for someone UNAFRAID and COURAGEOUS, he's certainly okay with staying in place instead if going forward. the yanma shrills happily and perches on his helmet— did someone just scream in there-?! ]

Er—

[ajustcaws]

[unfortunately, Cynthia has arrived to make things a bit... more awkward for this guy... by being incredibly enthusiastic!]

Hah, that's the spirit I like to hear! Besides, if your name's Skull then it's practically like you're going home!

[hotty]

[ oh gosh no— he liked women, sure. mostly because, you know, they have many beautiful things . . . aesthetically speaking! but—

gosh do some not help. at all. he looks up, way up— luckily his expression isn't so visible, but he is a bit silent! he was almost going to back out and give himself a reason not to go in— like, he needed to use the bathroom! or something! ]

Going— Y-yeah! This is a walk through the park for me!!

[ but he's certainly not . . . moving that much . . .

but ding! idea! ]

—It's so dull, I'm losing interest!

[ yes perfect ]

[ajustcaws]

Oh! Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be that fun if you were really used to it, then.

[...SHE CAN'T READ A SITUATION FOR SHIT...]

Oh well! More for me! ...I dunno if it'll be that scary, but that's what adventure is all about!