auroraexpress | (no subject)

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Who: All heroes
When: Day 45, Morning
Where: The clearing

[ In the morning, all heroes can wake up to see a new trial is being held! Following the door that appears in the clearing will lead to a Very Scary, faux-abandoned house. There are all the markings of terrible Halloween decorations, for those that are familiar with it. There are fake spiderwebs all around, fake bats, skeletons, and even spider skeletons.

There are several different tables spread across the room - one has a pile of small, sticky spiders in it, then there's one where people can get refreshments, if they so wish, and all others have tons and tons of pumpkins sitting there. None of those are carved - though there are several carved, lit pumpkins spread across the room - just sitting on the floor.

Notably there is a runway, and behind that, a room in which people may grab costumes, or pieces of costume. Make up is also provided.

Finn can be seen at the end of the Runway, aptly wearing his Spider-Man costume, before he begins to explain ]

So! I've recently found out I fight crazy people for a, huh, possibly living. Whether I get paid or not is still under debate. And who would have thought, there's a costumed guy for every occasion. There's no better way to drive off the mental image of a guy fighting with a flaming pumpkin on his head than make better memories, so I'm imposing Halloween on you all.

For those of you who are not in the known, what with us being all from different worlds and stuff, Halloween is, huh ... probably an actual serious holiday somewhere, somehow, but in practice it's all about the money, baby! And scary stuff. And sharing scary stories and getting candy.

So there you have it. A game to get some actual fun Halloween action that does not involve people barely avoiding getting brutally murdered and blown up. Not speaking of anyone in particular here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Time to hear up water because going for what's easiest right now.]

So just need to wait a few minutes. Think it's better to grind up the peppers or just have it in like a cinnamon stick?

If they're dried peppers, I think sticking it in might work...? Is there any paprika we would just use?

Is paprika spicy?

It's a more mild spice.

....I think we may want to try the peppers. I know peppers and chocolate work. A powdered spice might not work as well just stirred in.

Cinnamon doesn't dissolve either, but sure, we can do the peppers.

Stewing a stick of it works better for cinnamon too.

Are we going to stew the peppers?

Not like...cooking. Just having it in the hot chocolate. Like tea. Seeping?

Steeping! Infused.

That's the word. Steeping it with peppers.

It sounds very culinary!

Spicy and chocolate usually works. [And making it now.]

[It's....very mild spice. She was trying to make make it overpowering.]

It smells really good.

Hopefully it tastes good.

[Offering it to her though and sipping some herself.]

....could have used more pepper, but not bad. But chocolate is always good.

[Pause, considering.] With how horses are in your world....fun fact about ponies of mine. We can actually bake.

Edited 2019-11-05 05:28 (UTC)

I like it! It's very warming.

[sipping on her own]

I'm not sure but... I think chocolate is actually toxic to horses in my world? They definitely don't bake. That would be super dangerous even trying to fit a horse into a kitchen at all.

Why wouldn't a horse fit? I mean, sitting would be awkward, but... [Doesn't quite parse pony flexibility helps a lot for fitting into things.]

Not sure how toxic chocolate is, but we certainly have it. And we do a lot of baking, makes up a lot of our food.

Which can be risky. Baked goods are the only way we can eat some things without getting sick. Like eggs.

Rumors say you can do it with other stuff though.

Like once there was this mad caterer. Super friendly and upbeat. Always ready to provide helps with parties at any time. They were so well loved no one even looked their way when ponies started to disappear.

Not until it was far too late. See, all their baked goods were all oddly salty. Just a bit too chewy.

Until one day, someone had walked into their backroom by mistake. And found the remains of all the missing ponies and a horrible dress made of pony's Cutie Marks and Pegasus wings, and unicorn horns.

They're not really built for horses... Oh wow! A dress??

...kitchens don't seem that different.... [HM]

[Nodnod.] A dress. Stitched together in a multicolor monstrosity.

[Also have some spicy candy and another pepper because so many purples.]

[Also grabbing another spider.]

There's actually a lot of horror stories that use Cutie Marks and them being stolen as part of the terror. Like it's one thing to die. It's another thing to have the thing that's uniquely you stolen from your body. [More pony fun facts.] Even more important than horns and wings.

[actually. considers her need to change her costume... puts on an apron]

What's a cutie mark?

[And she needs to do a pumpkin. So back to the pumpkins.]

[It's....it's going to go poorly. How to knife. It's less of a face as a massacre.]

Cutie Marks are things ponies get when they grow up. As a pony ages, they eventually figure out their special talent. That thing that makes them unique. Sometimes it's obvious, like someone whose good at baking has a cupcake. Sometimes it's vague, like a lightning bolt for speed. When they realize this talent, their Cutie Mark appears on their flank.

But what if someone isn't really that great at any particular thing?

Well....

[Stabbing this pumpkin a lot.]

There are tales of such things. One filly thought that once. She worried she'd never find her special talent, never earn her Cutie Mark. It would plague her, the older she got. What if I have nothing?

Then one day, when shew as walking in the woods, she met a mare. A mare without a cutie mark.

The filly asked so many questions then. Why didn't she have one, where did she come from, on and on. The mare was amused, and friendly. Said there was a whole village of blank flanks.

The mare led the filly to the village and at first, things seems fun. Everyone was nice and welcoming, but then things were...off.

The food just a little too bland, the homes just a little too shabby, the plant life a little too wild.

The little filly grew unnerved. There were so many ponies here, why was it so rough. She said she was going to go home, even though it was nice to meet them.

But then they said she couldn't leave. She was a blank flank. She belonged here. She would always belong here.

And the little filly was never seen by her family again.

[See, lots of Cutie Mark horrors.]

But in reality, everyone has something they're good at. It might be a weird thing, or a vague thing that isn't a direct application, but special talents can be jobs, it can be skills, it can even be emotional aptitudes. Like have you ever met someone who really had nothing they were good at?

Um...

[kind of weird that a town of friendly but lackluster people is a horror story]

Sort of, yes? Even immediately close to me, I love my brother and I can tell you a bunch of things he's good at, but I can't tell you anything he's so exceptional at that he would be tattooed with it at puberty. I think he would kind of hate to be defined by anything like that, actually?

[It is for ponies.]

It's not like the talent means you're the best at it ever. Like there's plenty of unicorns who have some variation of 'talented at magic' for their Cutie Mark.

And the thing about Cutie Marks is they can't be something you hate to be defined by. It's not just about you doing the thing the one time, first time, and then it pops up. In fact, that might even be less than half the time.

There's plenty of ponies who earn Cutie Marks for things they've done for years. Families will often have similar Cutie Marks because of nature and nurture meaning they're good at the thing, and they want it to be part of their life.

What it means to not have a Cutie Mark for a pony is that there is nothing they're passionate about or do better than they do other things. Everything would be mediocre, including their reactions to everything they do.

Cutie Marks are about discovering what you're good at, but to get the mark, you also have to realize that this is the thing you want to always be part of your life, how you'll be fulfilled. Cutie Marks tell you that if you lose this thing, you...can't be you.

It's why what can be a special talent is so broad. It's not about just a job, it's just about the thing that truly defines you as a person.

Edited 2019-11-05 06:19 (UTC)