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[isawallflower]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHEERYCHERRY. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 019.46.820.17 *** CHEERYCHERRY has joined 019.46.820.17 <CHEERYCHERRY> It's Riley! <CHEERYCHERRY> Please leave a message! <CHEERYCHERRY> Please be someone with their priorities sorted out properly!

main: CheeryCherry
anonymous: panthera, aed
retired: gflynn (anon)

Comments

<Player1> the week after parasite 2: kill your friends

[knifemonopoly]

I'm so sorry.
I couldn't stop it. I didn't want that to happen. But it wouldn't listen.
Yours is gone?

[He's not sure he's expecting a response! But he has to say something. He can't...he can't ignore it, can't ignore what happened.]

not here!

[isawallflower]

[ It would be the nice and considerate thing, to send a message back. To let him know yes, it's gone. Yes, the thing that he helped put inside her is gone.

But he knows. He figured it out—or that thing figured it out, but he still knows. Despite her sedated state, she knows everything hers made her do. So he knows.

If he knows, anyone could know. Anyone could have figured it out, just from looking at her fucking exhibit.

So Riley sees this and buries her face in her knees, and she tries very hard not to feel sick to her stomach.

He doesn't get a response. ]

<pop.pop>

[afewlicks]

[You know when you care about someone but you don't know them well enough to just...go find them and check on them even though you've heard some pretty major stuff flying around about them?

That's Beau, right now. She waffles about it and then decides that Riley probably needs some space, right now, but maybe she'll just drop her a quick note...

hey ri
just making sure youre ok
kinda worried about you but i know you can handle your shit
just uh...
i'm here if you want to talk, and i'm

[Also a murderer, like I've killed a bunch of people—]

used to that kinda stuff.

<CheeryCherry>

[isawallflower]

[ At first, when Riley checks her laptop, she doesn't know what to make of the message. She's more than a little out of it, weak from revival and too afraid to leave her apartment to hunt (to acknowledge the urge to hunt) for anything to help keep up her strength.

So, she takes a few moments, curled up with her emotional support cat, to parse that Beau's trying to talk to her about the


the murder. The thing, from earlier. The shitty way she started this awful shitty month.

It takes her awhile to even work up the urge to reply. She doesn't know why she even does it. ]

thanks.
but i don't really want to talk.
it's been a rough month.

Post "The Strain"

[hairday]

[ The moment the broodmother dies, Steve awakens on the opposite side of Bavan, behind a bar he's never seen before, his clothing beyond filthy, torn where a pair of bug-like limbs are in the process of falling off of him like scabs. The last thing he remembers with much clarity is Riley. How her face had looked before he was blinded by the headlights.

His "friend" had kept him pretty heavily sedated after that stunt of his. He knows that wasn't the end of that thing's joyride in his body, but his mind can't hold onto anything else, like the details of a fast fading dream—or in this case, a nightmare.

He's left with no sense of how much time has passed.

No one seems interested in giving him a ride, nor does he blame them. Even if the city hadn't just been attacked by body-snatching squids, he looks like he smells to high heavens. And does, probably. It takes him the better half of a day to stagger back to the apartment block, exhausted, yet still going with a singular purpose in mind.

When he gets to 808, he very nearly bangs on the door in his haste. Then, he remembers that's probably not a scare she needs right now.

A soft knock comes instead. ]

Riles, it's me-

[ He knows there's nothing he could say that won't sound suspicious. She might not even be in her apartment right now, but he just keeps talking, his tone practically begging for her to be there, safe. ]

It's really me, honest to god. I think it's over—all of that stuff that was growing out of me shriveled up.

[ To back up his claim, he starts stripping off his shirt in front of the peephole. He heavily favors his left arm as he does it, but following a short struggle, it comes off. Just like his face, his torso is a warzone of dark bruising, but there are no bulges, no thick, squirming veins that aren't veins, just russet speckles and patches of fur. ]

You don't have to open the door. Just talk to me, let me hear your voice. I need to know you're okay.

cw: car accident descriptions

[isawallflower]

[ Riley came back to life just before midnight the day before. For the whole of that following day, she sat on her couch where she'd woken up and not moved once. She just stayed there, quietly trying to breathe. Quietly trying to go over every single thing in her life, just in case.

Just in case.

It doesn't matter if, when Steve knocks, it's thundering or a gentle tap. It's some of the first noise Riley's heard and acknowledged in that whole day. She jumps, knocking her knee against the table in front of the soft.

At first, she doesn't process what he's saying, just that it's Steve—or, it sounds like Steve. He sounds so desperate. That was her weakness, how the hydra almost got her before. Riley doesn't say anything at first, just lets him talk. She doesn't move, either. In fact, it's Maple who trots over to the door, trying and failing to stick his paw under the door to say hello. Her poor cat had been accidentally shut in the closet, only wriggling his way out after everything had...calmed down. Therefore, he's desperate to play.

Riley doesn't want to respond. She doesn't want to do anything. But she remembers the sight of Steve's crumpled body in the rear view window. She hasn't been able to get it out of her head, actually. Just that and the repeated fear that she killed him.

Before she realizes it, she's the one in front of the door, moving Maple away with her foot. Though it would be smart, she doesn't look through the peephole. She just pulls it open to see his beaten form, knowing instantly two things:

1) He looks like this because of her, because she drove into him
2) His injuries aren't healed, like hers were, so he didn't die

For a moment she just stares at him, eyes wide. Riley looks, more or less, fine. Her feathers are disheveled and puffy, and her face is pale. But she doesn't look injured. The only real notable difference is how a scar runs around her neck, the plumage around it undergrown. Something that wasn't there before.

And then she stumbles forward and throws her arms around him, with unfortunately little regard for his injuries. ]

You're okay— [ She cries into his shoulder. ] You're okay, I thought— oh m-my god, I thought—

[ The only light around them comes from the hallway. Her apartment, despite the late hour, is absolutely and completely dark. ]

<4N631> (backdated May 23rd)

[girlcorrupted]

[ The castle has remained fortified for over a week now. Over a week since Jack barred all ways in or out, took away her only means of communication for "her safety." Something was happening out there, something bad and he wouldn't let it happen to her regardless of her protests, her please to at least let her check on her closest friends.

Finally, on the 23rd she finds her computer has been restored to its place in her (now torn apart in fits of frustrated anger) bedroom and she rushes to it, quickly turning it on and typing a frantic message to one of the two people she's worried about most. ]

Riley? Are you okay? Please answer ASAP.

<CheeryCherry>

[isawallflower]

[ Angel.

Oh, jeez.

Ohhh no.

It's been weeks since she's spoken to Angel. What does she do? What does she say? It's Riley's first and loudest instinct to say nothing. She told Angel to leave her alone, after all, she can't just go back on that. But...

...But... ]

i'm ok
i'm fine now.

[ She answers, for the record, a full three hours after she received the message. Most of that time she spent deliberating. ]

post- strain event <ranger>

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Hey, Riley? It's Cass.
I wanted to check in,. Maybe come by to see you.
It's been a few weeks, and those creatures attacked, so.
Let me know.

[She knows she gave Riley her space. She knows how important that is.

But you can't be alone forever. It doesn't end well.]

<CheeryCherry>

[isawallflower]

[ Riley doesn't know what to do. To answer or not? ]

Are you alright?
Did you get hurt?

[ Probably not the best thing to answer. But, still. ]

< r.gardner > late 6/10

[sweartoyou]

Miss Riley, would you like to see my new pet?

[.........]

It's alive.

<CheeryCherry>

[isawallflower]

[ hey rachel what the FUCK ]

Rachel!
I wasn't aware you had my contact information!!

Wow, where did you get a new pet from??

<harmonia>; backdated to shortly after the hydra event

[digiorno]

[Apropos of absolutely nothing:]

oh, by the way, i died a few days ago, but i'm back now. i realized you'd be upset if i didn't tell you, so, now you know.

[Hm.]

<CheeryCherry>

[isawallflower]

sincerely and genuinely why did you think this was how you start a conversation

We Are The Bears

[gothicgambit]

[Celeste knows, as soon as she hears about the museum- she has to go. Just the idea that someone could visit an exhibit about her life makes her anxious enough to start tearing at the walls. But she holds it down and makes polite conversation, goes to the little birthday party across the hall, and early that morning leaves the apartment building.

She even flies, to save time and also because the bus system is disgusting. She doesn’t try to be coy about it either, breaking one of the skylights with the same bat she’d gotten from her arrival at the mall.

The place is quiet and dark. Falling through the skylight, she enters into a basement that’s very dimly lit with security lights. Celeste takes a moment to look around the display, and faintly wonders who it could belong t-

There’s a cheerleading uniform, hanging benignly in a flat, glass case.

---------

It’s been several days since Celeste discovered her own exhibit, and Riley’s as well. She had the opportunity to look around at her classmates but… had walked away instead. Somehow, she finds herself wanting to know less and less about the secrets they were keeping. Or maybe it’s because she knows it won’t… change anything. Will it?

Either way. Riley’s exhibit had been… enlightening, and had given her own suspicions some purchase. This was something she felt less willing to let go of, goodness knows why. So one day, when she’s fairly certain Riley is home, she sends her a message over the network:

|Private Message:|
< VersaillesWitch >

We still have your cookie tin, Williams-san. Would there be a time I could bring it over today?

[isawallflower]

[ To be honest, Riley had completely forgotten about the cookie tin. It's been an eventful month or so, and it slipped her mind entirely.

In a strange, horrible twist, Celestia may be the best one to send this message from apartment 807. Komaeda is too unpredictable for her to feel comfortable, and Riley doesn't know how she's going to begin to talk to Mukuro again, or if she even wants— no, no she wants to. It gnaws at her and she hates it.

That's neither here nor there. She doesn't have to think about it right now. Out of sight, out of mind.

Overall, she doesn't think anything of it, when she replies. ]

|Private Message:|


Whenever.
You can just leave it outside if you want to!

[ She kind of hopes Celestia will do that, which is why she suggested it; less chance for a conversation. ]

action, july 1.

[digiorno]

[In some ways, Bavan is even more lawless than Napoli was. Back home, one had to take certain measures to duck legal consequences of petty or not-so-petty crime (said measures mostly consisting of bribes, for which one needed money, for which one often needed the law to look the other way, and so on). Here, though, monsters are essentially exempt from legal proceedings. As Bakugo would say, the cops are fucking cowards. From another perspective, they simply don't want to give their lives for a snatched purse.]

[He doesn't take advantage of this state of affairs too much, in part because he's already taking up a lot of social and moral space by having to eat people and in part because it's just not his style. But . . . it's been a bad month. He hurts from his skin down to his marrow. He wants to lash out, to do harm, to wield his sharp tongue like a weapon and draw himself out of the kind embrace of those who care about him like lancing poison from a wound.]

[Because they're not right. Because they're not who he wants. Because even if he knows it's not true, it feels like the ones he wants have slipped through his fingers all over again. He failed, again.]

[He wakes up at any odd hour, pillow wet, expecting to see a shock of messy black hair, sleeping fitfully or roaming about the room or banging belongings together. At this point, he'd take a poltergeist. At least it would be loud company.]

[He doesn't reach out for help, because he doesn't want it. On the other hand, he doesn't lash out, either. What he plunges his hands and heart into are petty, harmless things, possessions grabbed from those who can afford the loss, from assholes, from people whose faces he doesn't like the look of. He cuts corners, gets sloppy, and still doesn't get caught. In small ways, he reminds himself that he's still alive, and that's something worth fighting for.]

[Today is sunny. In the center of Bavan, a specialty food shop (not that kind) has set out a table on the front awning of their storefront, offering free samples to passersby and tempting them inside. Giorno hasn't taken the bait, but the employee manning the table, a young man with messy dark hair and the look of someone who's taken this job without much enthusiasm at all, seems distracted. Because while Giorno hasn't entered the shop and clearly doesn't intend to, he has perched on the edge of the table and, over the passage of time, has leaned thoroughly into the young man's space, fingertips brushing his wrist on the way to pointing out the different samples on offer. He has a lot of questions that appear extremely genuine and well-informed. The samples guy is no longer paying attention to his samples even a little bit.]

[He's also not paying attention to his back pocket, which is currently being unburdened of its wallet. For someone who hasn't seen him do it before, it might be shocking how effortless and natural the action seems, as easy to him as a wave. The wallet is concealed on his person before he finishes his sentence.]

[isawallflower]

[ Almost two weeks ago, Riley was ripped from a dream world with so many things to think about. So many revelations, so many...emotions. She should've had those two weeks to work them out, or at least to start walking through them, to navigate the aftermath.

But, almost two weeks ago, Riley returned shell-shocked to her apartment, laid down to rest, and did not wake up until this morning.

It hadn't taken her long to notice the time discrepancy. Her apartment's been moved through, Maple's been fed. The sweet cat won't stop grooming her once she's up and about, and she wants to spend time with him, but she's also acutely aware of everything being...so stale. So stifled. Sure, people (who? who of her friends— who might've seen what she was and still—) had entered and left, checked on her, but it hasn't been really lived in.

So Riley does what Riley does when she's anxious and upset nowadays—she takes to the sky. It's bright, it's beautiful. There's no sign of the rampaging treants that were out the last she was awake and aware, no sign even of the carnage. How long has it been? She's not cognizant of those two weeks, just desperate to find someone to ask.

Silly; she should've just gone next door, but—

But the thought of entering her neighbors' doors sends prickles over her skin and ruffles through her feathers. The dream world aside, in just the day before all of that, Celeste—

She needs something tactile. The sky helps so much, but sometimes it just gets her lost in her own thoughts more. Riley lands and meanders about the streets, idly looking for someone she recognizes. A flurry of thoughts may distract her mind, but her sharp eyesight picks out a familiar figure.

Weird, she can't help but think. Giorno's not usually one for the concrete jungle, so to speak. That alone gets her attention. He's also chatting someone up, more enthused than she's seen him about...what're they serving, is it pastries? Whatever it is, it doesn't keep her eye, Giorno does.

That's why she spies the flick of his hand across the worker's back pocket. Why she almost does a double-take upon realizing just what's happened. Her talons click on the concrete as she approaches the table. So quick was she to leave that her hair's down, a rare sight. She pushes a feathery strand back. ]

Giorno? What're you doing?

backdated to the 1st

[hairday]

[ This is a message that’s been left for Riley as opposed to one that was sent and intended to be acknowledged at that specific time. A contingency plan to dampen her surprise regarding some stuff whenever she wakes up. ]

so a few things have happened while you’ve been out

i’m a business owner
and also a mermaid

and doc skeletor running that school is still saying it’s up to us to pick a mascot
i’ve got an idea, but it involves the dance he’s putting on next week

miss you, riles

hope you get to read this soon

[ No one ever said it was a well-composed message. ]

[isawallflower]

[ Before bolting to get some fresh air and take a rejuvenating flight, Riley reads over Steve's message. Frankly, she should've sent something in response, but there's a lot to work through. To her, it'd just been yesterday when Atem and Aunamee of all people pulled her from the treant.

So, after a full day out, she sits back down and reads it all over again. ]

I'm up. Sorry for not messaging back sooner but I had to stretch my wings. Giorno got me a little more up to speed.

I'll hear out your idea but I am NOT attending any dances without a very good reason.

Sorry for crashing. I hope I didn't worry you too much.




But you seriously need to leave more detail if this ever happens again. A business owner?? A mermaid?! How?! Are these related?!!!

[ ...After everything she's still Riley. ]

Pinch couldnt this be a log - no, i am going DIRECTLY to rileys house | set whenever riley is ok-ish

[figlia_morbida]

[Hey, it's Hill House, the premier Giorno-centric establishment, for all a person's Giorno-based needs!

If Riley is perhaps dropping in, well, she's definitely aware that Giorno has guests all over. She's probably met all of them by now...or has she?!

Trish herself is finding out all the goddamn time that Giorno knows a lot of people, frankly more than she is able to keep track of at this point, so she just expects people to come up to her knowing everything about Giorno and Giorno accessories.

However, she doesn't expect them to show up at the house, because so far, other than her and Fugo and Mista as new or returning faces, no one has?

It's enough to lull anyone into a false sense of security. So Trish is fast asleep on the couch in the main room, a fashion magazine resting on her chest, her legs slightly bent and her arms draped across her stomach. She would literally never do this if she had any reason to think people would just visit whenever!

Riley can approach this anyway she would like if she's already invited herself in. There's the option of politely waking this lass in front of her. Oh, but there are so many other, more fun ways of making a more lasting impression.

What will it be, Riley?]

RIGHT TO RILEY'S PLACE | setting it august 07th bc it's funny if its before stevegate

[isawallflower]

[ Riley is, at all times, thinking about how other people could perceive her. What's the best action to take so she doesn't draw too much negative attention? How can she maximize a tiring social experience? Can a smile smooth everything over?

Somehow, along the course of the last several months, Giorno's become someone she can sort of...let that down around. He is, after all, the first friend she made on her own. Despite everything, despite her, he trusts her. He still likes her.

Last she saw him, everything was...bad. It was very bad. She'd just lost her first friend ever and he'd just been through one hell of a fight. The two of them hadn't been in a state to talk. She had barely been in a state to be conscious. So, now that things have...calmed down, that she's less of a husk of a person, depressed and barely even feeding herself... She thinks it's time for them to talk again. It's time for her to thank him for making sure she didn't die again.

That and her almost relaxed attitude around him mean when the soft, polite knock on the door goes unanswered, she slips into Hill House herself. This isn't too weird. It's fine. ]

Hello? ...Giorno? [ If he's here, he's probably in the garden. He likes the garden! That'd make sense. As usual, Riley's too busy in her own head trying to map out what to do to pay attention to everything around her, even though she knows some of his friends were here last month that she didn't really get to talk to, she knows her own friend returned at the start of the month, she knows one of the people she ran into at the ocean was looking for a pink-haired girl and oh my god Riley, think for a single second—

What all this leads to is Riley, who is having a bit of a hard time balancing herself with only one wing, determinedly cutting through the main room, stumbling a bit as she starts to list to the left, going to catch herself on the couch, and letting out a surprised shriek when there's already someone there. ]

Ohmygod— oh, I am so- so, sorry—!!

[ Riley faceplants into the couch. Because of course she does. ]

let's call this nebulously early sept, pre steve rez

[digiorno]

mista's gone.

[There is a pause, then another message.]

i don't want to see anyone or talk to anyone face to face. i just know if i don't talk to someone none of you will leave me alone. so i'm picking you.

o7

[isawallflower]

[ Oh.

Oh no. ]

I'm so sorry.

[ It's weird that that's her default. If he's not here, he could be free of all this, couldn't he? But, at the same time, she knows if it were Cairo— ]

You're sure he's gone? For real?

9/5, 5pm

[dead_eyed_wolf]

[After everything, there's a lull. Enough time for Mukuro to calm from the most recent nonsense and refocus on the important things. And after a moment's thought, one such thing is obvious.

She hasn't seen Riley around much.

Mukuro knows that she's not the best judge of what a healthy social life is supposed to be, and she knows Riley might just be busy - Cairo's here now, after all, they have catching up to do. But still. It makes her antsy, not seeing her friends for too long. Makes her worry something happened, and even if it didn't, she'd still want to check in.

So that's exactly what she does. When she wakes that evening, after the usual grooming and refueling, she slips across the hall to knock on Riley's door.]

cw: therapy malpractice throughout the thread

[isawallflower]

[ Riley's been pacing.

Steve's alive again, after almost a month. It's lifted a weight from her shoulders, but now she's even more aware of the other weights, dragging her down. In trying to figure out what to do about Danny, she's...well, she's started growing paranoid. It's not that she doesn't know who of her friends she can trust—it's that she doesn't know who else she wants to open up to this danger.

If she slips up, if Danny or Aunamee catch wind, if she tries to defend herself but can't prove...

So. She's been pacing. Nervous. When there's a knock on the door, she jumps, but only for a moment. Then her body relaxes, and her shoulders slump. She sits instead of going to answer the door, looking over her open laptop, at her correspondence with Danny. ]

Door's open, Cai! [ She assumes as she rubs at her temples, not looking up. ] What'd you even forget...?

Early September before Riley talks to Mukuro <doctorize>

[doctorize]

You've missed another appointment recently.

Is something wrong?

<CheeryCherry> | cw: therapy malpractice throughout thread

[isawallflower]

[ Riley meant to address this before. She meant to do a lot of things, but she's been so...caught up, lately. So, she freezes in surprise. Rachel told her he would know. She has to be smart, she has to be careful...but she doesn't know what to say.

A full hour almost passes before Riley works up the nerve to response. ]

Did I? I'm sorry, I must've lost track of time. That whole business with that dollhouse. You must understand, right?

action, late night 9/15

[gitanes]

[Lila has been waiting. Watching. Seething. Silent and angry and alone, for not very long at all except in the ways that it's felt like an eternity. Her anger is too big. It feels as though she's going to explode. Every day of her life there's been anger in her, but not like this, not like this. But she can handle it. She can. No matter how upset she is, she can control it.]

[Until the post goes up.]

[She watches it for a while. Goes and eats someone, then comes back and watches it for a while longer. Mukuro is there, but so are many other people coming to Riley's defense. And every ugly thing she's thought over the last few days rises up in her throat all over again.]

[Frankly, it's a miracle she's waited this long. There's been a reprieve, something she's not known to give — but not for Riley. For Steve, for Mukuro, for the sense of common decency that she's trying very hard to become acquainted with. But her ears have been ringing with rage for so long that she can't hear her own reason, and more than that, she's lost all will to care.]

[When she rises from the floor into Riley's room, she doesn't look like the cheerful gray shape that mimicked the bonfire at the beach. She looks like a hole in the world, eyes narrowed to slits, mouth a thin line, gash in her throat widening like a second maw, hungry for the world. Everything that is her body shivers and flickers, bits and pieces flashing out of existence like dead pixels; the air tastes like metal all around her.]

Hi, Riley. We need to talk.

[isawallflower]

[ Riley's not sleeping, when Lila phases through the floor. It's quiet, so for a moment, she doesn't realize she's not alone. She simply sits on her bed in the dark, dressed in a nightgown but clearly having given up on sleep. She rests her chin on her knees. She stares ahead at nothing—

Until her eyes catch Lila's, moments before she verbally makes her presence known.

Her eyes widen and she jerks lightly back. ]

Lila?! What... What're you...doing here?

<CANDYCURSE420>

[deadbydawn]

There once was a boy who was a Halloween fanatic. He loved dressing up for Halloween, he loved pulling pranks and watching horror movies, and above everything else... he loved candy. One fateful year, while he went trick-or-treating, he visited a house. This house was creepy as hell! It was big, it was old, it smelled like a grandmother and it was owned by a happy, old rich couple. The boy came here thinking that he would be handed out big chocolate bars, because it was a rich person's house but when he knocked on their door... he was handed a bag of that shitty candy that nobody likes! Tootsie rolls, shitty flavoured dum-dums, those weird... peanut things... needless to say, the boy was heartbroken. He was so heartbroken that he died, right there on their porch and now, every Halloween he goes out and finds people to curse. He wants everyone to suffer the same way he did!

Everybody is already suffering from his curse!! Send this to ten people to break the curse, or to avoid getting cursed, or you'll be stuck looking freakier than usual for the rest of your life!!!!!!!!!!

<CheeryCherry>

[isawallflower]

[ When Riley receives this message, she's out in the goddamn woods. She's been out in the goddamn woods for nearly a week, having to cohabitate with people she loves (and a giant badger!) in one of the most uncomfortable experiences of her life.

She is, as they say, At Her Fucking Limit. ]

What in the world do you think you're doing? Here? Really? Are you really this immature? Even in another world, something as stupid and pointless as chain letters still exist?

There are so many other things you could be doing with your time. Practicing a hobby, engaging in bettering yourself. Maybe getting a job! Even hunting! That would be a better use of an afternoon than using it to send unfunny messages to random people on the internet. You can't just tack a 420 on the end of your username and expect it to be a good joke, for the record.

And another thing! "He was so heartbroken he died" THAT is your big climactic moment? He didn't get the candy he wanted, so he died??? Wow!! Terrifying! That could only scare a five-year-old, and even then that's a stretch!! You should be ashamed of yourself. This is the least scary story I have ever read. And it has NOTHING to do with the "curse" you're trying to insist exists. It's not scary AND it's poorly constructed to a ridiculous degree.

< r.gardner >

[sweartoyou]

What are you most afraid of?

[...She probably doesn't realize that this can come off a little threatening when sent out of nowhere.]

<CheeryCherry>

[isawallflower]

[ ........... ]

Good afternoon to you too, Rachel.
Why???

<Harrington> no less than five minutes after she received the last chainmail

[hairday]

There once was a boy who was a Halloween fanatic. He loved dressing up for Halloween, he loved pulling pranks and watching horror movies, and above everything else... he loved candy. One fateful year, while he went trick-or-treating, he visited a house. This house was creepy as hell! It was big, it was old, it smelled like a grandmother and it was owned by a happy, old rich couple. The boy came here thinking that he would be handed out big chocolate bars, because it was a rich person's house but when he knocked on their door... he was handed a bag of that shitty candy that nobody likes! Tootsie rolls, shitty flavoured dum-dums, those weird... peanut things... needless to say, the boy was heartbroken. He was so heartbroken that he died, right there on their porch and now, every Halloween he goes out and finds people to curse. He wants everyone to suffer the same way he did!

Everybody is already suffering from his curse!! Send this to ten people to break the curse, or to avoid getting cursed, or you'll be stuck looking freakier than usual for the rest of your life!!!!!!!!!!

okay i think our other thread is far enough along for me to like start this at least -> action

[isawallflower]

[ Riley slowly, slowly looks up at Steve from across the campsite. She just finished unsuccessfully chewing out Mr. CandyCurse420 and now this?

Witheringly: ] Steve.

<marco> (waves hands) before the event

[peccatore]

Riley, I owe you an apology.

<CheeryCherry>

[isawallflower]

[ ...Oh. This can only mean... ]

Mr. Evangelisti, hello. What made you change your mind? Are you okay?

[ Did he hurt you? ]

Early December

[missleadingquestions]

[Despite all they'd resolved in their last meeting, reconnecting afterward is... awkward. And for a few days, Maya's attempts to reconnect don't even reach anyone, in her lack of awareness that Riley's even died. But eventually Riley will be able to see a few messages from Maya, mostly along the lines of

Hey!!
Hope you're doing ok. Let me know if you want to talk alright???
It's Maya btw!!! Check in whenever. I'll be here

And various iterations thereof, repeatedly urging... no pressure, y'know?]

[isawallflower]

[ It would be nice to say that when Riley first revived, she saw Maya's messages and replied immediately. It would be nice to say that she made that her first priority, after Maya sat with her and stayed with her all that time.

But what's nice isn't always so.

What happens is she's so caught up in everything that she can't even begin to think of crafting a reply. Last time she died, it had been for but twenty-four hours, and now... She missed a whole two weeks? Two weeks that she left Cairo alone like that? Two weeks away from the children she'd sworn would be her life now? Two weeks— and two weeks prior of clean-up, of all the ways she screwed up that she has to fix.

So, what happens is she sees Maya's multiple messages before going to bed the night of the 4th, freezes up, and tells herself she'll come back to it later.

Three days pass before later arrives. ]

Hello, Maya
I'm sorry for the lateness of my reply, I was indisposed and then a little bit busy

I'm okay.
I mean I'm more okay that I was.
You don't have to worry okay?
Thank you for your concern

[ ...Yeah. This was always going to be awkward. Uncomfortable. But she doesn't know what more to say. How to say it. ]

action, December, around the end of the first fog!

[knifemonopoly]

[Atem gives it a few days. A few days to come back, a few days to heal, to catch her breath. After all, he himself was a mess the first two fog days...not in any state to visit anybody.

But, now that he is...there'll be a knock on Riley's door.]

[isawallflower]

[ When the door opens, it's slow and without any preamble. Riley opens the door, looking tired, but not quite as tired as week-straight-murder-spree or slowly-dying-to-cursed-object. Just a normal kind of exhaustion, or as normal as it can get, when you're coming back to life.

The fact that Riley decided to fly around her second day back? Definitely contributing to that. ]

Who- Atem? [ She squints in confusion. He...was a nephilim last she saw him. Now— ] ...Demon?

<KrisKringle>

[getmeoutofthedraft]

Ho ho ho! Merry freaking Christmas!

Your Secret Santa recipient this year is Alex Drake ("drake" on the network). Please buy, make, or otherwise procure her a nice gift before December 26! You can give this directly, or label it clearly and drop it off at Crowe Clinic C/O Hawkeye Pierce. (Or drop it off at Crowe Clinic C/O Alex Drake, I mean... she's a doctor too)

Remember: Saint Nick is watching, and he knows where you live!

Happy Holidays, etcetera, and so forth,
Santa Claus

<CheeryCherry> shoots this back rq im sorry

[isawallflower]

[ Riley stares at the message and just— ]

I think there's been a mistake! I signed up my friend for this, not myself!!

[hairday]

[ Steve has plans to spend Nattensfest Eve at Hill House so he can be there in the morning to drink-in reactions. The day before, though, he's sure to knock on Riley's door to pass along her present.

The box is fairly small.

Inside, underneath a layer of tissue paper is nail polish from Viper Cosmetics in a slew of saturated colors. Last time he gave her a colorful gift she seemed to like it, so it would appear he's gone that route again. In actuality, the nail polish is just there to give the box some weight.

Underneath of that is a bunch of mismatched slips of paper held together by a paper clip. The first one is a handwritten note:

"If you don't go with Cairo, or Mukuro, or SOMEONE
I'm taking you myself :)"

Everything else in the stack is, essentially, pre-paid admittance to an attraction somewhere on the peninsula for up to two people: free skate rental at the same rink that was offering monster-friendly equipment last year, coupons for a few rounds of bowling at a local alley, day passes to Amusement Mile. The only one that doesn't involve some kind of physical activity—and perhaps the most interesting thing here—is a meal for two at something describing itself as a Mystery Dinner Theatre. ]

[soundsurfing]

On the 26th Riley will receive at her nest, carefully wrapped and anchored so it doesn't go anywhere, a small box along with a letter. Inside the box is a polished stone phoenix wall/tree ornament. The letter is more neatly penned than his others, Beat actually trying to make things legible.

"Hey Riley, hope this month saw you in a better place than the last two. Really hope you got to work things out for yourself and just have some down time cause wow you needed it. Member if you ever need to talk Im here, I might of forgotten a lot of stuff but I haven't forgotten that.

And member if you ever forget: I'm proud of you.

Dont think i forgot about the boarding either cause I havent we are so going

Catch you round Rigirl

-- Beat"

december 21.

[devilsproof]

[Everyone is free to return to their homes on the morning of the 21st.]

[Riley Williams's apartment is ding-dong-ditched within minutes of her arrival. If she chooses to investigate, she'll find a large straw basket. There's no name on it, but the ostentatiously large orange bow is close enough to a tag.]

[Within, she'll find a boxed mini chocolate stout cake in the shape of a forest, with creme anglaise; a single tapered orange candle in a gold stand; and a necklace resembling fire borne of burnt wood. at the black end of the necklace is an inscription in tiny letters:]

Be strong, & wait for spring.