Scene #3283: Halloween Event 2015: Halloween Town

Owner	Pose
Dr. Vahzilok	Halloween starts a week early in Salamanca. A lakeside resort town outside of Paragon City proper, it has transformed into a spooky and exciting autumn extravaganza. Stuffed jack-o-lanterns dangle from shop signs by their strings, real ones line the streets, and the many street lights have been given ghost-shaped bulbs, with orange, green, or purple strings of lights winding around the poles. People are throwing various Halloween parties in their homes or businesses, and seeing people in costume out on the street despite it not being the 31st yet is not at all unusual. There are more of them out later in the evening though. There's also quite a bit of fog, though it seems much thinner in town. Out on the lake, however, one would hardly know the lake itself is there if not for the sloshing sounds it makes. Some people have reported being accosted by strangers or spotting weird figures in the fog or hearing creepy sounds on their way from the farms and rural areas in New Connaught to Salamanca, where all the action is... But hey, it's October, and maybe it's just pranks. All in the spirit of the season! Hopefully. Some ladies in stereotypical witch's garb can be found on various street corners, handing out candied and caramel apples they're making right there, and using some sort of illusion magic on those who request such. Just off to the side of the monorail platform, where people arrive from Paragon City, there's another similarly dressed individual by the name of Annah. She identifies herself as part of the 'Ravenwing Cabal' if spoken to, and says that she has tasks for those heroes who are interested. Otherwise, all of Salamanca is ready to be explored, various games to be played, food to be eaten, and so on! It's presently much lighter out than it probably should be for this late in autumn, but the fog helps to darken things up for atmosphere even so.
Annie Sandberg	Annie hadn't entirely decided on a Halloween costume just yet. But just recently, she discovered something amazing that meant that she didn't need to. Alfheim Online, the virtual reality MMORPG, was not just a computer program as she'd assumed, but was in fact a world connected to the Multiverse like any other. And some of those who played could bring their characters out of that world and into the larger Multiverse. Annie was now one of these. Which meant that for Halloween, she was going to be her character, Silverbloom the Puca, a fairy of Alfheim. She'd heard of some interesting Halloween-related goings-on in this city, and thought it might be fun to check them out. She's wandering the streets, taking in the sights, but isn't quite sure where to go first... she hasn't been around here at all before, let alone during any previous Halloweens.
Shadowed Aesthetic	For once Shadowed Aesthetic isn't here to fight something. Right now he's just here to look around Salamenca, and to check out what this 'Halloween' is that he keeps hearing about. Right now he's seeing people dressing up and scaring each other. And candy. Lots of candy. Not that this hasn't worked out in his favor, mind. Being in the right place at the right time netted him a bit of candy at some point. This would be a luxury item in Autochthonia. Yet here it's handed out like... well, like candy! At the moment he's here in human guise so as not to draw too much attention to himself. So he just looks like a pale human being with dark blue hair and purple eyes. He hasn't done much research on the clothing that people wear-- it's been difficult to observ that lately, since everyone's dressed up. So he's just wearing his Autochthonian robes as usual.
Annie Sandberg	Spreading her fairy wings, Silverbloom takes off over the city to get a better view. Soon enough, she spots a familiar robe, and moves in to land close by. "Hello," she says, wondering if Sil would recognize her through her fairy avatar. Getting a closer look now, she realizes he looks different as well. Was that his costume- a human? She smiles a bit. If it is, it's a good one.
Shadowed Aesthetic	Hey! That's a familiar voice! Shadowed Aesthetic turns in the direction the voice came from-- probably up, which would weird weird enough-- and blinks. A winged person hailing him? Better, a winged little girl. A fairy, was that what they called them? Odd. He doesn't know of any young girls her age who would know him well enough to approach him. Oh but there was one person that fit the description that he could remember. One of the first people he met after leaving Autochthonia for the Multiverse. And this winged girl does look familiar. Could it be? He only met the girl once, but he's heard her voice on the radio several times. But he isn't quite sure, so he asks, "...Annie?" Just to confirm.
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom nods happily. "Yep! Well, right now, I'm Silverbloom. A Puca, from Alfheim!" She spins around to show off her outfit. "It's good to see you again, Sil. I notice you've changed too!"
Shadowed Aesthetic	Shadowed Aesthetic smiles happily when his suspicions are confirmed! "Ah, it's very good to see you again!" he greets her. "You're certainly looking well. Did you get a body upgrade?" Referring to her new state. Though the mention of Alfheim, he pauses. "Oh, that's right, you mentioned that, didn't you? The game?" A nod. "I've yet to look into that-- the situation with Woodvale has been rather taking up most of my time. I think it's mostly dealt with though. I think." As for him having changed? "That's right~! I'm using a Charm to look human," he confirms. "I don't expect to not be recognized, I just figured it would be easier to blend in unless someone is specifically looking for me."
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom giggles. "No, it's not an upgrade. Mr. Kirito showed me a gate that led out of the game. So I can be Silverbloom anywhere now," she explains. "Isn't it cool? Oh, but your Charm is cool too. I probably wouldn't have thought it was you... if it weren't Halloween!"
Shadowed Aesthetic	"You can make your game real? That's fascinating," Shadowed Aesthetic replies. "Is there a special trick to it, or is it a natural progression for all players?" He doesn't seem to be considering Elite vs. non-Elite for this question, or he might realize it.
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom looks thoughtful for a moment. "I think you have to be really... 'attached' to your character," she says. "Like I've been trying hard to start a performing troupe. It's like... Silverbloom's another part of me." She nods. "I think it's possible to do it the other way and go into the game from outside, but... I haven't tried it yet. I don't want to cause too much trouble and confusion for people who are just trying to play a game."
Shadowed Aesthetic	Shadowed Aesthetic listens to Annie's explanation of the process, and nods thoughtfully. "Ah, I see. That makes sense, actually," he agrees. At the mention of entering normally, he chuckles. "I imagine that would cause a stir, yes," he laughs. "Everyone minding their own business, playing their game, and suddenly someone strolls by looking /completely normal/. The /irony/."
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom laughs. "Yeah! That'd be something. Though I hear it actually ended up helping out a lot. People from outside can do stuff that's not possible in the game. So when people really need to do something, people from outside can make it easier." It's basically cheating, yeah, but from what she heard it was mostly done when actual lives were at stake.
Shadowed Aesthetic	Shadowed Aesthetic nods. "I bet it can come in handy, though I wouldn't use it just anytime," he notes. "just to fix things that are wrong with the game. Or-- oh, that's right, it's digital, isn't it? So someone can fix it at a computer most of the time, I take it?"
Annie Sandberg	"Yeah," Silverbloom says. "It's still a game, with patches and stuff. And the people living there are still NPCs that are run by AI. It's just also a physical place." She looks around for a bit. "So where were you heading, Sil? I heard they were doing stuff for Halloween around here."
Shadowed Aesthetic	"Actually that's what I came to find out," Shadowed Aesthetic respond. "You see, we don't have this holiday in Autochthonia, where I'm from. So it's a very odd concept to me. Do you know anything about it?"
Annie Sandberg	Annie grins. "It's one of my favorite holidays. People dress up in costumes and go around asking people for candy. And sometimes people watch scary movies or do other scary-type stuff. ...There's a lot more to it than that, but I can't really look it up right now."
Shadowed Aesthetic	"Ah, I see." Shadowed Aesthetic puts a hand to his chin in thought. "These are celebratory events to commemorate something, I bet. I'll hav eto research this some more. That will be later, though~. For now, what do people usually do on Halloween? I've seen a few parties, and you've mentioned asking people for candy."
Annie Sandberg	"That's pretty much it," Silverbloom says. "I guess some people pull pranks. But that's not very nice!" She wags a finger.
Shadowed Aesthetic	"No, not at all," Shadowed Aesthetic agrees. "Though I can see the humor in a harmless prank. I assume these pranks aren't of the harmless variety, though. Hence the 'trick' of that phrase I keep hearing said around, that 'trick or treat'." Pause, and he thinks. "That's not a threat, is it? As in 'give me candy or I'll pull a prank on you'?"
Annie Sandberg	Annie shrugs. "That's probably where it came from. But, most people are nicer than that nowadays and don't really mean it like that."
Shadowed Aesthetic	"Oh, that's likely," the Mirrorblade muses. "Just sort of became a custom after a while, I suppose. One gets the feeling if someone intended to pull a prank on someone, they very likely wouldn't announce it. That would be rather silly. The culprit would instantly be known. But get /everyone/ to say it, and one can disguise himself amongst a crowd~."
Annie Sandberg	"...yeah. I hope you're not getting any ideas, Sil," Silverbloom says with a grin. "We should go find something to do." She starts looking about again.
Shadowed Aesthetic	Shadowed Aesthetic chuckles. "Oh goodness no, I'd never do a thing like that. I'm supposed to be a representative of Gulak, and of Autochthonia, when I'm out in the Multiverse. What does it say about my home if it breeds people who'd do things like that?" He has a point! But yes. Something to do! "Well, let's see... I've seen younger people asking people for candy with adults present. Do you want to do that? And do you have a bag?" He's seen the kids walking around with the bags, and he assumes thats what they're for.
Annie Sandberg	"...I have an inventory menu," Silverbloom says. "I guess that works as a bag. But yeah, that would be great!" Would she be able to put the candy in her inventory? She wasn't sure how the interaction worked, really.
Shadowed Aesthetic	"Oh, I forgot... is it virtual?" Shadowed Aesthetic inquires. "I'd hate for you to lose the candy switching from virtual space to real space. I bet we can find a bag somewhere. If there are lots of children doing that, there will probably be bags for sale somewhere."
Annie Sandberg	"Good idea," Silverbloom suggests. "It's more traditional that way anyway!" Traditional, says the android playing the role of a fairy in a virtual reality game. "We should get one that looks like a jack-o-lantern."
Shadowed Aesthetic	Shadowed Aesthetic nods, and starts walking, looking for a store that might likely sell the item in question. "I've seen those, yes They're not bags, but they have handles. More like a bucket. Is that what you mean?" He's careful not to outwalk Annie, though. Even if she can fly, it'd be kind of rude for him to leave her behind.
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom nods. "Yep, that kind. That's what I'm looking for."