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Post by Liou on Oct 31, 2015 9:04:40 GMT -5
In a hurry to put more distance between you and the last house you visited - for some reason -, you nearly walk head-first into a sign, or what looks like a sign from your height. Upon closer inspection, it does not appear to be supported by a pole or to be connected to the sidewalk in any way. Upon even closer inspection, you have to admit that this is not a sign, but a piece of paper floating in midair at your eye level, like a rude gesture in gravity's face.
It is black and silver-trimmed, embossed with a brilliant orange logo in the form of two ornate T's topping a pumpkin. Its shape and formatting make it look like a coupon. You consider moving along, because it is Halloween, just in case you had forgotten - oh you knew that, goody - and inexplicably floating objects sound like potentially bad news. However, this particular coupon has caught your eye with its message of "CONGRATULATIONS" in a flamboyant font, shortly followed by a rather flattering "YOU ARE A WINNER". "Redeem your delectable prize from our Lucky Halloween Draw at the main T.T.Unltd. offices," it continues in smaller print before fading into a spidery scrawl that spreads over the entire lower third of the paper.
Well, nothing threatening has appeared so far, and this coupon seems professionally printed. Floating on Halloween doesn't sound too good, but winning sounds good, does it not? It sure does. Not to be hooked so easily, you decide to read over the fine print before you do anything - even though it should, by definition, be fine. You reach for the coupon.
At the very instant your fingers close around one of its corners, a cloud of deep blue smoke engulfs you with an echoing honk. It smells like a curious mixture of ink, caramel, and sulfur. The smoke coalesces until it is nearly opaque, then clears abruptly, swimming away from you in the form of a large squid. The street you were in has been replaced with a stuffy, dimly lit hall. The raspy ticking of a tired grandfather clock fills the otherwise silent room.
Glancing behind you - a wise move -, you are startled to see a massive crowd. All of its members are perfectly still skeletons, neatly arranged along a roped queue line that seems to zigzag endlessly down the hall. You see no exit. The skeletons stand, sit and lie there in various positions, some of them on chairs, some still clutching numbered tickets.
Waiting.
You seem to be the very first in the line. In front of you is a dusty wooden counter, and seated behind it, a person, a live person so still that you had not noticed their presence. You take a hesitant step towards the counter, leaving clear footprints on the dusty grey marble floor. The green-skinned woman immediately looks up from the yellow pages of her dictionary-thick book, aiming a spectacular scowl at you between her crooked chin and nose. A large cobweb hangs between her pointed black hat and the ceiling.
"Now what do YOU want?" she croaks, then snatches the coupon right out of your hands without leaving you a second to reply. She frowns and grunts at it before shoving her clawlike hand back at you. "Hand in your completed copy of form AK-B48 to redeem your prize," she recites.
When you have no form to give her, she practically hurls the coupon back in your face. "How do you expect to claim your prize if you haven't even filled the form?" she vociferates, causing spiders to rain from the ceiling. "Form AK-B48-counter-4-left-hand-corridor-last-door-on-your-right," she adds before slamming her book on the counter - which gives an alarming creak - and opening it like a barrier between you.
* To your left is a door, indeed.
* There is also a door on your right, with faded paint spelling "STAIRS".
* At the far edge of the counter is a porcelain bowl brighter and cleaner than anything else in the hall, filled with "LEMON LEVITATING LOLLIPOPS," says its eye-wateringly bright label, "FLOAT IN A TANGY CITRUS FLAVOUR". Huh. I wonder what that could do.
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Post by Celestial on Oct 31, 2015 11:50:15 GMT -5
*an octopus looks up at the spiders* Now shouldn't you kids be in bed? Scram or I'll tell your grandma where you've been, she won't be pleased with her kids, not one bit! *turns back to the woman* Yeah, look, lady, I was promised prizes, not some form. Unless the form is the prize, in which case, dang, good one but bureacracy has never suited me. But I'll play along. Lessee...where to go, where to go...*detatches one of its tentacles and it turns into a three-sided dice that rolls on the floor.*
1-3
Oh, to be a rebel and go where I'm not allowed. *turns into a humanoid form for easy stair climbing, with extra long legs. In fact, the human is mostly legs.* Up, up and awaaaay!
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Post by Liou on Oct 31, 2015 13:12:43 GMT -5
Oh, to be a rebel and go where I'm not allowed. *turns into a humanoid form for easy stair climbing, with extra long legs. In fact, the human is mostly legs.* Up, up and awaaaay! Up you go! And up there is... a ceiling! A very solid, flat, quadrangular, dark, dank, cobwebbed, not quite clean ceiling. A ceiling indeed. If your intention was to take the stairs, you might want to start climbing down. For there are stairs behind this door, but the stairs are only going down, and then downer, in a wide spiral, lit by a dim, reddish-orange light from an unseen source. A faded arrow on the wall points down, next to a number 6. The door leading out of the first floor landing (or the Floor -1 landing) is open and leads out into a corridor, with lurid maroon walls and an offensively bright orange carpet. It smells of pumpkin. Directly in front of you is another bowl of candy to sample, with a large sign proudly announcing "PUMPKIN PIE CANDY". I wonder what kind of candy that might be. There's also an odd rattling sound coming from somewhere. Maybe one of those doors. |
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Post by Shinko on Oct 31, 2015 13:35:01 GMT -5
A young woman with cat ears in a mickey mouse costume- which is sending little globs of ink into the air, like yet another rude gesture in gravity's face- smiles serenely at the woman at the counter. "Hm. Well that's no fun. But I was promised a prize and a prize I will get. Lessee..."
She turns towards the left door where the forms are stated to be, and gently turns the knob.
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Post by Liou on Oct 31, 2015 14:28:29 GMT -5
A young woman with cat ears in a mickey mouse costume- which is sending little globs of ink into the air, like yet another rude gesture in gravity's face- smiles serenely at the woman at the counter. "Hm. Well that's no fun. But I was promised a prize and a prize I will get. Lessee..." She turns towards the left door where the forms are stated to be, and gently turns the knob. Behind the left-hand door is a corridor just as stuffy and grey as the main hall, though better lit thanks to a few grimy windows at the far end, very close to the ceiling. The receptionist mentioned the last door on your right, so that's what you start looking for. On the left side of the corridor are various doors with faded signs, some of them completely illegible, and some saying things like "Internal Communications Department" or "Do Not Disturb Meeting". There's an average-looking closet door from which a faint clunking sound can be heard. On the right side of the corridor, however, there is not a single visible door. Where to go. On the wall at the very end is a sample dispenser full of "ESPRESSO ELEVATOR ECLAIRS". Wonder what they could do. |
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Post by Shinko on Oct 31, 2015 14:33:17 GMT -5
A young woman with cat ears in a mickey mouse costume- which is sending little globs of ink into the air, like yet another rude gesture in gravity's face- smiles serenely at the woman at the counter. "Hm. Well that's no fun. But I was promised a prize and a prize I will get. Lessee..." She turns towards the left door where the forms are stated to be, and gently turns the knob. Behind the left-hand door is a corridor just as stuffy and grey as the main hall, though better lit thanks to a few grimy windows at the far end, very close to the ceiling. The receptionist mentioned the last door on your right, so that's what you start looking for. On the left side of the corridor are various doors with faded signs, some of them completely illegible, and some saying things like "Internal Communications Department" or "Do Not Disturb Meeting". There's an average-looking closet door from which a faint clunking sound can be heard. On the right side of the corridor, however, there is not a single visible door. Where to go. On the wall at the very end is a sample dispenser full of "ESPRESSO ELEVATOR ECLAIRS". Wonder what they could do. "You know, I'm starting to think this whole thing has been an 'ilarious jape," the woman remarked, pitching her voice slightly to sound more raspy on the last three words. Perhaps quoting something? But she lets her voice return to normal the next moment and shrugs. "Well if I'm not getting a prize I may as well get a treat; it is Halloween after all." She reaches into the sample dispenser for one of the eclairs. "Nothing ventured~" |
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Post by Celestial on Oct 31, 2015 14:58:49 GMT -5
Oh, to be a rebel and go where I'm not allowed. *turns into a humanoid form for easy stair climbing, with extra long legs. In fact, the human is mostly legs.* Up, up and awaaaay! Up you go! And up there is... a ceiling! A very solid, flat, quadrangular, dark, dank, cobwebbed, not quite clean ceiling. A ceiling indeed. If your intention was to take the stairs, you might want to start climbing down. For there are stairs behind this door, but the stairs are only going down, and then downer, in a wide spiral, lit by a dim, reddish-orange light from an unseen source. A faded arrow on the wall points down, next to a number 6. The door leading out of the first floor landing (or the Floor -1 landing) is open and leads out into a corridor, with lurid maroon walls and an offensively bright orange carpet. It smells of pumpkin. Directly in front of you is another bowl of candy to sample, with a large sign proudly announcing "PUMPKIN PIE CANDY". I wonder what kind of candy that might be. There's also an odd rattling sound coming from somewhere. Maybe one of those doors. Really? There were no stairs up there? You could have told me, I'd have made some. I mean, yes, it would have been cheating, but you know I can edit reality, right? (At least your posts anyway) But I'll play along, it's more fun that way, and besides, I love offensively bright orange things. They fill me up with an inexplicable glee (and yes, that does include the ginger doofus's hair. It's so fluffy and eye-burning!) But hmmm, what to do...do I take the candy or shall I open one of the doors? *pulls out the quarter again, which has now turned into an Albanian lek.* 1-2Or I can do both? Yeah. *grabs candy and goes to investigate the rattling sound* I hope it's a snake playing macaras, now that would be fun. We could start up a mariachi band. *turns into a mariachi player* |
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Post by Liou on Oct 31, 2015 15:18:11 GMT -5
She reaches into the sample dispenser for one of the eclairs. "Nothing ventured~" As you grab one of the eclairs, a bit of sweet goo that had been left inside the bowl sticks to your hand. Your hair immediately floats up and you feel irresistibly drawn towards the ceiling, but you do not have time to fly up or fall, as the patch of floor directly beneath your feet flips over like a pancake. You find yourself standing upside-down on the brown stone ceiling of the vast torchlit room underneath, your gravity reversed. Below, two people are sitting at a table, staring intently at you and scribbling notes, with a skeleton on the chair between them. Then the magic wears off and you fall back to the floor, landing softly on a perfectly positioned waterbed. The person taking notes on the left side of the table frowns, then raises a sign with the number 4 on it. The person on the right glances at them, then raises the same number. Between them, the skeleton sits with a number 0 propped up somehow. Somewhere behind them, a fuzzy applause track plays for a few seconds. The person on the left, clad in a very professional-looking black suit patterned with candy corn, stands up and hurries to your side, checking their wristwatch, which happens to be a large gumball on a candy string bracelet. "You are very very late," they thunder before slamming a pile of papers in front of you. "These must be delivered to the third floor down, corridor H, counter 16, or Diem will have our hides." The people remain in their seats and shuffle their notes. There are more doors with faded signs around you, with another Department of Internal Communications, and a Council Room. In a corner, a staircase leads down with an arrow and a number 3 carved into the rock wall. *grabs candy and goes to investigate the rattling sound* I hope it's a snake playing macaras, now that would be fun. We could start up a mariachi band. *turns into a mariachi player* The moment you grab the pumpkin pie candy, a squadron of around a dozen objects begins to materialise in the air behind you: pumpkin pies indeed. They hurtle in your direction like cannonballs and land in various places with a series of -SPLAT-s. The rattling sound turns to be coming from behind the door of a broom closet. As soon as the door is opened, the brooms float out, along with some of their cousins, the mops. (How could you expect brooms not to fly?) The brooms seem to have spotted the remains of the pumpkin pies. The brooms do not seem particularly happy about that, as far as brooms go. There is now a massive swarm of brooms flying up and down the corridor, a neverending flow of them coming out of the closet as if it was some sort of portal. The brooms begin to attack the pie stains, and attempt to sweep you too. By the way, there are more doors along the corridor, and darker stairs still going down. |
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Post by Celestial on Oct 31, 2015 16:43:29 GMT -5
*grabs candy and goes to investigate the rattling sound* I hope it's a snake playing macaras, now that would be fun. We could start up a mariachi band. *turns into a mariachi player* The moment you grab the pumpkin pie candy, a squadron of around a dozen objects begins to materialise in the air behind you: pumpkin pies indeed. They hurtle in your direction like cannonballs and land in various places with a series of -SPLAT-s. The rattling sound turns to be coming from behind the door of a broom closet. As soon as the door is opened, the brooms float out, along with some of their cousins, the mops. (How could you expect brooms not to fly?) The brooms seem to have spotted the remains of the pumpkin pies. The brooms do not seem particularly happy about that, as far as brooms go. There is now a massive swarm of brooms flying up and down the corridor, a neverending flow of them coming out of the closet as if it was some sort of portal. The brooms begin to attack the pie stains, and attempt to sweep you too. By the way, there are more doors along the corridor, and darker stairs still going down. Oh, how very rude, and what a waste of good pumpkin pie too. *turns into a dog and licks them up* Mmm, they are definitely good pumpkin pies. Thank you, mysterious pie launcher! What the- hey, those brooms are trying to steal my pie just as they usually steal people's attentions and the show! Accursed brooms, they always ruin everything...or at least, for their writers anyway. I love brooms, heck, I used to be one myself. *shifts into a broom with eyes and hands* Now, where to go, where to go...where is my coin that I keep on my person? *pulls a $100 bill out of his twigs.* I can't flip that. *turns into a rupee* Much, much better. *flips* 1-2Looks like I'm heading down those stairs! Geronimo! *dives down the stairs, still as a broom* |
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Post by Shinko on Oct 31, 2015 17:32:21 GMT -5
She reaches into the sample dispenser for one of the eclairs. "Nothing ventured~" As you grab one of the eclairs, a bit of sweet goo that had been left inside the bowl sticks to your hand. Your hair immediately floats up and you feel irresistibly drawn towards the ceiling, but you do not have time to fly up or fall, as the patch of floor directly beneath your feet flips over like a pancake. You find yourself standing upside-down on the brown stone ceiling of the vast torchlit room underneath, your gravity reversed. Below, two people are sitting at a table, staring intently at you and scribbling notes, with a skeleton on the chair between them. Then the magic wears off and you fall back to the floor, landing softly on a perfectly positioned waterbed. The person taking notes on the left side of the table frowns, then raises a sign with the number 4 on it. The person on the right glances at them, then raises the same number. Between them, the skeleton sits with a number 0 propped up somehow. Somewhere behind them, a fuzzy applause track plays for a few seconds. The person on the left, clad in a very professional-looking black suit patterned with candy corn, stands up and hurries to your side, checking their wristwatch, which happens to be a large gumball on a candy string bracelet. "You are very very late," they thunder before slamming a pile of papers in front of you. "These must be delivered to the third floor down, corridor H, counter 16, or Diem will have our hides." The people remain in their seats and shuffle their notes. There are more doors with faded signs around you, with another Department of Internal Communications, and a Council Room. In a corner, a staircase leads down with an arrow and a number 3 carved into the rock wall. "Aww, but the bed is cozy," the woman complains. "Oh well. Can I still eat the eclair first?" She hops off the bed, looking around. "Alright, lessee..." She picks up the pile of papers and casually crumples them, stuffing them in her trick or treat bag. Then she flounces towards the Council Room. "That sounds like it will be some sort of someone in charge," she remarks. "Maybe they'll have my prize. Or at least someone I can talk to about their inefficient bureaucracy." |
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Post by Liou on Oct 31, 2015 18:13:37 GMT -5
Looks like I'm heading down those stairs! Geronimo! *dives down the stairs, still as a broom* The second landing opens right onto a wide, dark space, where a rhythmic clunk, clunk rings with the regularity of a metronome, occasionally punctuated by a muttered curse word. When you barge in, a particularly loud curse word is heard, followed by a thunk and the rolling of an object on the stone floor. It sounds strangely like bone, and indeed, you see a skull rolling to your feet. Its jaw moves and mutters another curse word. "Ah, very clever! Now it's lost track of our score!" another voice complains. It seems to be coming from the direction of what appears to be a tennis racket made of bone and hovering in midair with no visible carrier. "I know I was three points ahead," answers another voice coming from a second floating bone racket. "Most definitely not!" The first racket floats closer to you and wags sternly in midair. "You're the one who barged in, you ought to have been paying attention! Now, you heard the skull. Tell us who was winning." "Aww, but the bed is cozy," the woman complains. "Oh well. Can I still eat the eclair first?" She hops off the bed, looking around. "Alright, lessee..." She picks up the pile of papers and casually crumples them, stuffing them in her trick or treat bag. Then she flounces towards the Council Room. "That sounds like it will be some sort of someone in charge," she remarks. "Maybe they'll have my prize. Or at least someone I can talk to about their inefficient bureaucracy." A faint shredding sound comes from beyond the door, which is newer and cleaner than anything you've seen in this building so far. On the other side is a room, also modern and clean, with bright rows of electric lights on the ceiling, clean fitted carpet with a pattern of lollipops, a video projector, and many plush chairs arranged a long polished wood table. At each chair is seated a cat. They all seem well-groomed and silky-furred, and they're wearing little cat-sized neckties. Some of them are clawing at their chairs while others are sitting on the table, on top of their papers. Off to the side, at a smaller desk, a cat is dutifully shredding a much larger stack of papers into tiny shreds. That must be their secretary. The video projector is projecting a display of fish in an aquarium on one wall. There are cat trees and bags of treats in a corner. When you enter, the cats' ears swivel round and some of them look at you with a polite look of mild bewilderment. Hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room is a badly lacerated and dishevelled person. Their haggard eyes widen upon seeing you. "Run," they whisper hoarsely, "run!" |
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Post by Pixie on Oct 31, 2015 18:49:20 GMT -5
A small girl wearing a long brown wig staggers onto the scene. Her sweater is gaudy and bright, her smile is wide and studded, and her skirt is held perfectly in place by the laws of animation. She also appears to be carrying a pig. It may or may not be an actual pig. It may actually be a pug dressed in a pig costume.
The mysterious lollipops call to her. Sugar, delicious, invigorating sugar. She runs over and takes one from the bin, and cautiously starts on the mysterious treat.
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Post by Liou on Oct 31, 2015 19:18:15 GMT -5
A small girl wearing a long brown wig staggers onto the scene. Her sweater is gaudy and bright, her smile is wide and studded, and her skirt is held perfectly in place by the laws of animation. She also appears to be carrying a pig. It may or may not be an actual pig. It may actually be a pug dressed in a pig costume. The mysterious lollipops call to her. Sugar, delicious, invigorating sugar. She runs over and takes one from the bin, and cautiously starts on the mysterious treat. A marvelously fresh taste of lemon fills your mouth, followed by a pleasant balance of sweetness and sourness. At the same time, a lemon-scented breeze swirls around you, making your hair flutter lazily. Your feet lift off the floor inch by inch. You feel lighter and lighter. A sound like butterfly wings rustles in your ears, coming from behind you. The sound of a waltz plays from somewhere, quiet and crystal-clear. (Below, the receptionist grumbles and puts on a set of earmuffs.) As you float around the place, one of your shoes knocks into the receptionist's enormous book, causing it to tumble sideways on the counter. A stack of forms falls out. |
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Post by Celestial on Oct 31, 2015 19:23:16 GMT -5
Looks like I'm heading down those stairs! Geronimo! *dives down the stairs, still as a broom* The second landing opens right onto a wide, dark space, where a rhythmic clunk, clunk rings with the regularity of a metronome, occasionally punctuated by a muttered curse word. When you barge in, a particularly loud curse word is heard, followed by a thunk and the rolling of an object on the stone floor. It sounds strangely like bone, and indeed, you see a skull rolling to your feet. Its jaw moves and mutters another curse word. "Ah, very clever! Now it's lost track of our score!" another voice complains. It seems to be coming from the direction of what appears to be a tennis racket made of bone and hovering in midair with no visible carrier. "I know I was three points ahead," answers another voice coming from a second floating bone racket. "Most definitely not!" The first racket floats closer to you and wags sternly in midair. "You're the one who barged in, you ought to have been paying attention! Now, you heard the skull. Tell us who was winning." Ooh...hey, I can take on that form too! *turns into a gap-toothed floating skull with intact eyeballs, one blue, one brown.* See, now we're all alike! What were you guys doing over here anyway? Tennis? What a dull game. You really should try cheese rolling instead, or head bowling. Much easier to keep track of scores too. *stage whisper* Don't try head cheese bowling or rolling though, that's pretty gross. Anyway, you wanted to know who won? Well, perfect! *turns into a referee and holds out his arms* I happen to be the god of numbers, as well as luck and chaos but pay no attention to that. So...*produces dice in his fingers and throws it up* Lets see who won! 1-2It was you, Boney #1! And you won by...*freezes all the dice from falling except one* 1-6One point, dang, so close. *pats him on the skullcap* Still, a win is a win. And don't try to dispute those numbers, Dem Bones, I am a god, I know my stuff. |
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Post by Shinko on Oct 31, 2015 20:25:56 GMT -5
A faint shredding sound comes from beyond the door, which is newer and cleaner than anything you've seen in this building so far. On the other side is a room, also modern and clean, with bright rows of electric lights on the ceiling, clean fitted carpet with a pattern of lollipops, a video projector, and many plush chairs arranged a long polished wood table. At each chair is seated a cat. They all seem well-groomed and silky-furred, and they're wearing little cat-sized neckties. Some of them are clawing at their chairs while others are sitting on the table, on top of their papers. Off to the side, at a smaller desk, a cat is dutifully shredding a much larger stack of papers into tiny shreds. That must be their secretary. The video projector is projecting a display of fish in an aquarium on one wall. There are cat trees and bags of treats in a corner. When you enter, the cats' ears swivel round and some of them look at you with a polite look of mild bewilderment. Hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room is a badly lacerated and dishevelled person. Their haggard eyes widen upon seeing you. "Run," they whisper hoarsely, "run!" "Ohmygosh, KITTIES!" The woman squeals, jumping into the room. "I love kitties!" She smiles, ignoring the man dangling from the ceiling and skipping further into the room. |
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