(Open) This is Halloween

[schoolingfish]

Who: Luca Paguro and Open
What: Catch all for the month
When: Throughout October
Where: The Black Parade, the Devil's Dive, the Disaster House, the beach

Content Warnings: A child drinking paint thinner (with no ill effects)


Black Parade (Open)
Luca knows by now, thanks to a certain network post, that if he wants to eat something without feeling that weird floaty feeling he'll have to eat poison. And he would, really he would, but who could possibly sit there eating whatever toxic thing they come across when there's so much delicious food here that he's never had before?

A lot of the food here seems to be seasonal, and Luca doesn't want to lose his chance to try them while they're still around. Besides, the loopy feeling wasn't that bad.

And that is why Luca is currently eating a candy apple, staggering around a bit because he definitely should not be eating said candy apple, while marveling at the puppetry and various festivities. At least it seems he's taking some precautions in this place. While he's made absolutely no effort to stay sober, Luca seems to have taken the local's advice to wear a costume to heart, as he's currently wearing a mask and costume. Or he might not have cared about the warnings of ghosts at all and just thought dressing up was fun. With how he's acting right now, it's really hard to tell how much Luca actually took in.

Devil's Dive (Open)
And once again it seems that Luca completely ignored the advice to not eat non-poisoned food. It's not really his fault, though. He'd never had nachos before, and ever since he came to this place, he'd discovered nachos were amazing. Is it his fault that nachos aren't poisonous?

That's how he justifies sitting there, getting progressively more impaired as he chows down on nachos.

"These are delicious! I don't know what the orange stuff is, but I love it!"

He might be seen in the same outfit he wore to the black parade, though he sometimes switches out the costume for the sailor suit he got when he first arrived, though he keeps the same mask on.

He continues to enjoy the nachos until eventually he leans back too far and ends up tumbling to the ground along with his chair.

"...ow. I'm all right."

And then staggers and stumbles as he both tries to get back up and tries to set his chair upright again. He's definitely fine, though. He'll insist on that fact if anyone asks.

Decorating the Disaster House (Open to anyone who has a reason to be outside the Disaster House)
Luca wants to do a good job, so he decides he's going to actually do what he's supposed to do. He won't eat or drink any real food or drink until he gets this done.

At first he just waits a few hours until the effects of his last meal wear off, then he gathers some supplies for a fairly easy Halloween decoration he wanted to try. A mirror, an old black and white picture, glue and some paint thinner.

He sets to work, disassembling the mirror and removing it from the frame, sitting down and working out where he wants to place the picture, and generally trying to carefully craft his 'haunted mirror' for the house. Then he notices he's starting to get thirsty. Again. And if he gets a drink of water, he'll just end up all weird again, and have to wait it out until his head's sorted out, and if he does that, it'll take forever before he can make anything.

He stares at the paint thinner. The guy on the Omni said vilebloods can only drink poison, right? He's a little nervous, picking up the bottle and staring at it for a moment. If he's wrong...this could be very, very bad, but...what reason would that guy have to lie? And he does need to figure out a way to eat and drink without going all loopy.

Unscrewing the lid, Luca brings it up to his face. Cod, that smells terrible. Well, here goes nothing.

Luca chugs the paint thinner.

It tastes...strangely tolerable, and as he downs it, he realizes he does feel refreshed. For the first time since the month began, he can drink without any ill effects. So he keeps drinking.

Fishing (Closed to Fern)]
Luca had been feeling lonely lately. Sure, he loves all the new friends he's making, but he misses his family, misses being in a world with others of his kind, but most of all, he misses Alberto. It had been so hard to leave him, but at the time he'd told himself that he'd write letters and call and that it would only be nine months. Now...he's totally cut off from Alberto, and he has no way of knowing if he, or anyone else from Luca's world, will ever wash up on shore.

Well, maybe this fishing trip with Fern will help distract him a bit from his thoughts. Even though fishing still reminds him of Alberto, and how good Alberto was at helping Massimo out with the nets. Still...it'll be nice having some help catching some fish. Fish that will apparently get him drunk all month when he actually eats it, but still...

He trudges over to the dock, not even noticing the rotting corpse of Alberto as he goes to find Fern, hoping Fern's fun personality will help distract him from his train of thought.

Comments

Devil's Dive

[imaglyphwitch]

So the movie playing this day was the Blair Witch Project, laden with swear Luz was sure that Luca shouldn't be hearing, but it looked as if being attentive about the movie was the last thing on his mind. That was actually pretty concerning: she didn't want Luca making a scene that would get him kicked out.

Now naturally Luz wanted to be comfortable here, so Luca is now being faced down by a Luz in a leopard kigurumi.

"Luca? Are you OK? You seen more...wobblily than usual."

[schoolingfish]

"Um...yeah, I'm fine. I had nachos! They were good."

Which, considering what vilebloods are going through this month...explains everything.

[imaglyphwitch]

"Yeah, I know I saw! Uh...why were you all wobbly though?"

Just curious? No.

[schoolingfish]

He shrugs.

"That's just what eating food's like this month I guess."

[imaglyphwitch]

They had talked about this earlier, but had not gone into great detail. Luz was beginning to understand that this would have to change, or at the very least, she'd have to explain some things to Luca.

"I think what you're feeling is the same as when adults drink something alcoholic. Now, that's not your fault, but we sure don't want Jennifer to think you went and topped yourself off before coming here, so we need to counteract that."

Luz was feeling a little frayed at how she would go about this though, if Luca would be drunk with ANY kind of food.

Black Parade

[mactirebeag]

Mebh has also been enjoying the festivities. Even if she's not fond of being in a town, she's fascinated by the various spectacles, and of course there's plenty of food...which she's determined to swipe as much of as possible. She's only ever gotten by through hunting or stealing, and she doesn't yet realize that you have to offer some form of payment even if they don't use money here.

Which is why, at some point, a small red-headed girl in a wolf mask will likely bump into Luca as she's running while carrying some food she just stole. This causes her to drop one of the candy apples she was holding, which she's quick to notice.

"Hey! My tasty!"

[schoolingfish]

Luca, who isn't exactly steady on his feet this month anyway, is sent toppling to the ground, his own candy apple tumbling out of his hand.

"My tasty."

Sure, he was told what they were called, but his mind was too fuzzy from all the eating he'd been doing. At the moment, 'tasty' seemed like a good enough name for a candy apple as any. If it wasn't for his vileblood making him drunk whenever he ate food, Luca would probably have just given the candy apple up as lost. This month...however...

He crawls over to his candy apple, picking it up and flicking off the bits of grass and pebbles, and takes another bite.

"It's still fine."

If Mebh is willing to trust the opinion of strange boys with a fish-like scent who eat candy apples off the ground.

[mactirebeag]

Mebh has lived in the woods for much of her life and doesn't have the best manners, so she isn't really bothered by Luca eating the candy apple off the ground. Food is food, and you can't let it go to waste.

"It better be fine." She picks up the candy apple she drops, dusts it off, sniffs at it, and then takes a bite.

"Never had tasties like these before. How'd they make these apples taste sweeter?"

[schoolingfish]

"I've never had apples before." But apparently his first time having them, he got the super sweet ones. "I think they just covered the sweet stuff in more sweet stuff."

He takes another bite, enjoying the sweet stuff on top of sweet stuff. What was it called again?

"Caramel. They called the sweet stuff on top of the apple caramel. And then there's tiny..." He points at the nuts. "I don't know what those are."

[mactirebeag]

"You haven't? Apples are good. You can only get them in autumn, though."

It was also autumn back home before she found herself here, Mebh remembers. At least this place has apples, even if they're unusual ones.

"Hmm..." Mebh sniffs at the nuts and then tastes one. "Some kind of nut. I dunno which kind."

Fishing

[laminae]

Fishing is fun. Fishing is great! Fishing, despite being one of those things Fern isn't very good at, is a wonderful distraction from town - city, rather - horrors. Fern has always enjoyed fishing, since he was Finn even, and even though it holds some bittersweet memories it's still something he's happy to get out and do. He knows it'll be something Luca will have fun doing, and the two of them getting out on the boat and bonding for a little while seems like a great idea. They might even bring dinner home for the rest of the house! Nothing could go wrong!

Except Fern is staring at a creepy rotting kid following after Luca, as the boy reaches the pier where the rowboat he's commandeered is. He opens his mouth to say something, then stops, then thinks for a moment, then just blurts out, "Uhhhhhh, dude, did you bring a friend?"

Re: Fishing

[schoolingfish]

Luca looks completely confused by Fern's question. He glances around, not seeming to see the zombie following him, trying to figure out what Fern was talking about.

"No? Why?"

[laminae]

Fern is a little surprised to hear that answer. His first thought is that he's hallucinating, since that happened every so often in Deerington, so even though he continues looking concerned he gives Luca a small nod. "O... kay. Uh, don't worry about."

He turns and waves, before heading over to the boat he's acquired. "C'mon! Let's get out there and catch us some fish."

[schoolingfish]

He's a little concerned by Fern's continued look, but he decides not to press. After all, they're here to have fun, right? He'd even avoided eating or drinking anything too close to them doing this, so he'd only feel a little off so it wouldn't ruin the experience. And yet...something felt a little off, anyway. Like missing home was weighing him down. He pushes that aside and plasters on a smile, even though the expression seems to ring hollow.

"Yeah! It's going to be great having someone else I can catch fish with!"

He climbs into the boat. The corpse climbs in and sits next to him.

[laminae]

Fern doesn't want to be a hassle if this is just his brain playing tricks on him, if he keeps poking then he'll probably just ruin their outing before it even starts. It's fine, the creepy dead kid will probably go away eventually, nothing to worry about here!

Fern grins back, hopping into the boat. He's no sailor, but he can manage a rowboat just fine. Undoing the rope, he'll push them away from the dock and then take up the oars to start rowing. "Same. You got any idea where we should start, or should we just go with our guts?"

black parade

[sideeffect]

Sorry, Luca, it looks like you might be bumped into again. Riz is usually exceedingly careful not to jostle others, given his size and strength. He'll even do his best to walk apart from crowds if that's what it takes - but today's a little different, having gotten somewhat careless thanks to a combination of delicious food and vileblood.

"Oh!"

So he stops abruptly when he feels himself bump into someone, his gaze immediately drawing downward (it's something he presumes by now - that the other person should be smaller than a bear). His (nonalcoholic) cider drink splashes a bit. He does sound apologetic, at least, if a little breezy,

"Sorry 'bout that..."

Re: black parade

[schoolingfish]

Luca stumbles back as the bear bumps into him, and he feels a few drops of cider splash against his cheek. Small green scales raise up on his skin, and Luca frantically wipes his skin off so they'll disappear.

Of course, he realizes he probably didn't need to do that. He doesn't know what this guy is, but he's clearly not human. With a small, awkward laugh, Luca says, "It's okay. It's pretty crowded here, easy to bump into someone. I'm guessing you're a 'Sleeper' too?"

It's what he's been told they're called in this place, after all, and all the non-humans he's seen here are either Pthumarians or Sleepers. Well, the sapient non-humans, anyway.

[sideeffect]

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm a sleeper. That's what they called me, anyway."

He does show genuine relief that the human boy appears to be all right; large carnivores such as him can be prone to much worse in causing accidental (and purposeful...) injuries.

Thankfully, he hadn't noticed the change in the flash of colors where the droplets hit. While it looks like Luca already has it covered, Riz is still quick to fish out a folded handkerchief from his pocket to help dry anything off, and offer it his way.

"I just got here this month, actually. How 'bout you?"

[schoolingfish]

"Oh, thanks, but I think I got it all already."

Just judging by the fact he didn't feel any scales on his face, which he knows there would be if he was still wet.

"I got here a month ago, so I'm still pretty new, but I've been here long enough to learn some stuff."

So if he has any questions...Luca might be able to answer them.

[sideeffect]

Riz tucks the handkerchief away again. At the boy's question, he pauses to consider everything about this place and what he's learned thus far - allegedly, anyway; with a telling sip, he might be a bit distracted by the tastiness of his cider.

"Hmm... I think I'm at that point where I have so many questions, I don't know where to start."

That's true, anyway. His mouth quirks into a half smile.

"What's your name? If I think of something, I can let you know."

Decorating the Disaster House

[droptheious]

While Varian doesn't really have Halloween season back home, he's experienced one in Deerington already. Admittedly, it was an awful month and he lost his leg in it, but being able to decorate the house and have fun in October is kind of...pleasant after last year. It means they can take a breath.

His skin still has a grey-ish tinge to it, but Maul's help in knocking him out is slowly starting to ease the worst of the corruption out of him. He's using his glow-paint to paint some spooky looking ghosts on some boards to stick around the lawn of the Disaster House.

"Hmmm, do you think this guy needs to look a little moH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!"

He was having such a nice time and now Luca's here drinking paint thinner. He drops his paintbrush running over- oh god, oh he knows nothing about sea monster anatomy but he's pretty sure drinking paint thinner is bad for anyone.

"Put the paint thinner dooooown."

[schoolingfish]

Luca puts the paint thinner down immediately, mostly to calm Varian down.

Then he launches into an explanation.

"It's fine! You don't have to worry about it. So...you know how I've been loopy and weird all month? Well, that's been happening whenever I eat food, but this guy on the omni, he's a vileblood, too, and he said poison was the only thing he could eat without feeling bad. So...I figured...paint thinner's poison, so I should try it and see what happens."

A pause where he just sits and thinks about everything he just said.

"It works."

Then, looking at Varian's face, he realizes how...grey Varian looks.

"Uh...you're not looking too great, though. Are you okay?"

[droptheious]

He does at least seem to take the panic down a couple of notches once the paint thinner is away from the kid's hands. The explanation does seem to help ease his worried mind a little more, too.

"Okay, I... I guess that makes sense. But how about you uh- tell us first? I have plenty of chemicals in my lab for that and I have the means to counteract them in case things go south."

Because he does not want their resident fishboy getting himself poisoned to death. Nosir. At Luca's worry, Varian offers a terse smile.

"It's... I'm working on it. I think it's some...blood thing, I haven't been sleeping well for the past month. Maul's been knocking me out though and I think that's doing...something."

[schoolingfish]

"Oh, I didn't think about that."

It hadn't even occurred to him that someone else in the house would have a safer solution. He'd just figured he had to take the risk and find the answer by drinking poison, and he hadn't even thought of trying to have an antidote at the ready.

"Maybe we should still try it. Just so we have more options in case I want to eat without dealing with all the side effects."

Looking at Varian's greyish skin, Luca feels kind of bad that he's only just now noticing how bad off he is...and he's apparently better off than he was before.

"And I didn't even notice how bad it got..." Granted, that's not entirely true. Luca likely reacted to Varian being at his worst when he was tipsy before, but it was probably nothing more helpful than a declaration of being hallucination buddies. "At least you're getting better, though. I'm glad."

[droptheious]

Sometimes, Varian feels very tired. This is one of those times. He exhales softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. Of course, Luca didn't think about that, of course, he didn't.

"I think that's smarter. Then at least if something does go wrong, we're better prepared. Trust me, I'd rather you not die here- even if it's not permanent."

No one in this house is dying on his watch!!!

"I think that's easy, I mean..." he gestures at himself- he's got pretty bad over the last two months and being hallucination buddies had seemed the least weird thing of the month. "I am, thanks- Maul helped a lot, being able to sleep has done wonders."