YOU'VE JUST CROSSED OVER INTO -

[nightaudits]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from HOTEL MULTIVERSE AT THE EDGE OF THE COSMOS BETWEEN CANONS™ Guests who find themselves partaking in the Hotel's amenities quickly find some tricks afoot. The decor is first, neon lights changing to autumnal oranges, garish greens, and ghoulish purples overnight. Those who peruse the shops will find them stocked with masks and costumes, and the ambient music which plays throughout the ship is punctured by blood-curdling sound effects such as screams and anxiety-inducing musical stingers. This is Halloween. Those who utilize the Hotel-provided devices will find an ad splashed across their screens. Similarly, TVs, phones connected to the network, and flyers posted will read: "FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF OUR GUESTS, HOTEL MULTIVERSE AT THE EDGE OF THE COSMOS BETWEEN CANONS™ IS HAPPY TO PROVIDE HALLOWEEN-THEMED ENTERTAINMENT." Staff members' uniforms change, with employees adding costume pieces to them as the weeks wear on. Guests are strongly encouraged to put together a costume with pieces from the shops, but those who opt out will instead find one of the standard options (listed at the bottom of this post) and chosen at random (by googling "rng 1-19") in their wardrobe. After dark (or, what would be dark), the ship transforms into a hotel of horrors, the following chaos breaking loose: TRICK-OR-TREATING Costumed guests are welcome to partake in trick-or-treating with the ship's staff, who can be found with carts of candy in common areas. Guests are also offered flags for their doorknobs to indicate that they have candy available in the rooms if they would like to partake as well. SCAREZONES Grab a map from the concierge or walk the halls at random, but don't be surprised if a staff member jumps at you from the shadows! HAUNTED HOUSE Guests using the hotel app will find numerous ads alerting them to a haunted house that's overtaken one of the hotel floors (and honestly, the ads are impressive, opening as an emergency alert to a runaway alien), and the hotel itself plasters the attraction across its screens and walls overnight as well. Obviously, a haunted house is a great thing to do after you've had a ton to drink, or a great way to meet fellow guests (whether or not you're reaching for their hand in fright). However, to ensure the safety of all team members and guests, do not make physical contact with any member of our cast. Remember: the actors' intention is to frighten you. HORROR MOVIE MARATHON Guests hoping to keep things a bit more low key might find what they're looking for in the hotel's movie theater and lounges, which offer 24/7 horror movie marathons ranging from the classic to the avant garde. A programming guide can be found outside of each respective screening or on the app. Film buffs will be delighted at the hotel's library, but don't be surprised if your niche fave is banished to a graveyard slot. MASQUERADE The hotel's ballrooms are open late for those guests interested in keeping the revelry going night after night. Just don't let the anonymity of your costumes take you too terribly far (or, I mean, do what you want, everyone has a room, after all). If you aren't able to purchase a costume or aren't feeling inspired, no problem! Our courteous staff have taken the liberty of providing you with a courtesy costume, free of charge, to allow you to participate in the event. You will receive one of the following at random: 01: Ghost 02: Alien 03: Devil 04: Superhero (Your Choice!) 05: Skeleton 06: Pumpkin 07: Zombie 08: Vampire 09: Clown 10: Mummy 11: Werewolf 12: Black Cat 13: Pirate 14: Frankenstein's Monster 15: Witch 16: Spider 17: Bunny 18: Bat 19: Angel

Comments

[ribbonbon]

[Pauline drops her candy into his pillowcase and in return, receives a small piece of wrapped bubblegum. She regards it for a second before experiencing a flash of recognition.]

Thanks! I used to totally love these! [She unwraps the gum, popping it into her mouth before looking at the wrapper.] Check it out, the wrapper has like, a joke on it. "What's a snake's favorite subject? Hisss-tory."

[She looks to him.]

Oh, I guess that is kinda funny, right?

[solitarynote]

[Omori became Happy again. Oh… that was a bad joke. It was so bad it was funny. Such a shame he didn’t have a Joke book on him to record it…]

[The child held out his hands, wanting the piece of paper. But wait - he couldn’t just take it. So, pale fingers digging in the pillowcase again, he found a second piece of gum, holding that out to her. Another trade.]

[This was fun.]

[ribbonbon]

Huh? ...Oh! If you want the wrapper, you can just have it. There's no way I could ask you trade me just for that.

[She hands him the wrapper and eyes the other piece of gum. She thinks for a moment and her smile grows just a little broader.]

Why don't you have that one and we can read the joke together? Like...trading a joke for a joke!

[solitarynote]

[Her kindness confused him a bit but… he wasn’t going to refuse.]

[Omori took the wrapper, placing it in a pocket in his shorts, and unwrapped the other piece of gum. The child places the candy in his mouth, chews… and swallows. No reaction whatsoever on his face.]

[Until he looked at the joke that was written. A small smile, the signs of amusement, returned to his face as he turned the wrapper towards Pauline so she could see too.:

How to you make an egg roll?

You push it.

A small whoosh of air, like an exhalation of soundless laughter came from him. He whispered, still testing his voice.]

It’s bad. But funny.

[ribbonbon]

[Pauline tries really hard not to react, but as he reads the joke she can't help but stare for a moment. Did he just swallow that gum? Does he know he's not supposed to just eat it? Has he ever had gum before? Isn't swallowing gum supposed to be bad for kids?!

She snaps out of her momentary panic when he shows her the wrapper. She actually has to think about it for a moment and reads over it a few times, idly blowing a bubble with her gum, before letting out a quiet "Oh!" as the punchline hits her.]

Ohhh, I get it. Eggroll but like an egg roll. Yeah that is like, sorta bad-funny. I guessing you like those kinds of jokes, huh?

[solitarynote]

[If the gum would bother Omori’s stomach, he didn’t show it. Gum was candy, right? So you ate it to get the benefits. He’d seen a talking hamster practically inhale a block of cheese at least ten times its size. He could at least swallow a piece of gum.

Her question had him tilting his head. Sort of? Some jokes were way too cheesy for him to say out loud… so thank goodness he didn’t have to. Hero wasn’t here to read them for him.

Fishing out another piece of gum and handing it to her, he rocked back and forth a bit. The child was enjoying this game.]

[ribbonbon]

[He seems alright, so Pauline figures she shouldn't worry about it...for now. She takes the piece of gum and unwraps it. She reads the joke to herself and furrows her brow before reading it out loud.]

"What's a ballerina's favorite number? 22."

...Twenty two...? I don't know about that one. What do you think?

[solitarynote]

[Omori crawls a bit closer so he can peer at the paper - forgetting for a moment that he liked physical boundaries for a reason. He was much closer to her than he normally would allow but… deciphering the joke too precedence.

Dark eyes burrowed into the wrapper, deep in thought, before he had an idea. The child raised two fingers in a V—shape on each of his hands… which looked, admittedly, quite amusingly like he was giving peace signs. Coupled with his deadpan expression, he held it for a few moments.

When that still didn’t get the message across…]

…two…two…

[He whispered, pointing at the numbers on the wrapper again.]

[ribbonbon]

Two...two...?

[She watched him for a moment before turning back to the wrapper; were she thinking any harder, smoke might have started coming from her ears. Two...two? Twotwo? After a moment, it hits her like a lightning bolt.]

Oh! Twotwo! Like a tutu! Oh, that joke was like, really good, actually! Hey, you're a pretty smart kid, you know?

[solitarynote]

[Omori waited patiently as she thought it through. Dark gaze on her, watching, waiting for that lightbulb of thought to blink on in her own eyes.

Ah. There it is.

It was fascinating to watch - the way the cogs of her brain had moved, her face scrunched together in thought, and then… realization. A connection, a spark… a lightbulb.

Omori might be smart, he might be able to think through puzzles, but he lacked that. The lightbulb going off in his own gaze.

Her praise made him happy, but that lack… the child grabbed another piece of gum, handing it to her absentmindedly before he could think too far down that hole.]

[ribbonbon]

[Pauline, meanwhile, blows another bubble, unaware that he's thinking so deeply about it. She has to admit, this is kind of fun. She starts to unwrap the piece of gum, but stops.]

You know, I know some pretty good jokes, too. Like...why couldn't the pony talk? ...Because it had a sore throat!

[She smile for just a moment before realizing that something isn't quite right.]

...Huh. Wait, is how that one is supposed to go...?

[solitarynote]

[Omori simply tilts his head a bit - she’s deviating from the routine of their little game, but that’s alright. Or it is… until her joke falls a little flat.

She knew half the joke at least. Thankfully, he had heard this one before and, to some degree, he felt it was a bit relevant.]

A little… hoarse.

[He whispers, expression still deadpan but eyes lighting up again. He really enjoyed this with her. Could things just keep continuing like this?]

[ribbonbon]

A little...? Oh, I mean, I guess a pony is a little...Oh. Oh!

[She lets out a light laugh as she smiles sheepishly.]

You really know your jokes, huh? You've gotta have some good ones, right?

[solitarynote]

[Her curiosity delights him. Omori popped another piece of gum in his mouth, swallowing as he takes out his knife. Writing into the floor beneath them (because that was easier)]

WANT TO HEAR A JOKE ABOUT CONSTRUCTION?

[ribbonbon]

[Pauline lets out a sort of aghast wheeze when she sees him carving into the floor. She looks around anxiously, looking to see if there are any staffers around to catch him doing this. Also, is that a knife? Why does he have a knife?? Where did he get a knife??? And he's eating the gum again! Should she say something about that?!

She does her best to smile, though she tenses a bit.]

Uh, yeah! That sounds really good! M-maybe we can find like, a better way of communicating that, though? Um, uh...Oh!

[For a moment, she fishes around in the pockets of her costume before pulling out her cellphone. It hadn't been of much use here, but she still carried it around. Just in case. She fiddles with it for a second before handing it to him.]

Why don't you try typing on this?? It might be a little easier than...

[She briefly glances again at the words he's carved into the floor.]

...You know.

I love how stressed somehow she is from this XD oops

[solitarynote]

[If Omori seemed to pick up on her nervousness, he didn’t let on. The child simply tilted his head curiously.

Sure, they could communicate otherwise… but what was she holding? It was such a tiny device with a small screen… Sunny came from a time with wall phones, so Omori has no clue what this is

As he became transfixed on figuring out how it worked, the joke he had scratched into the floor faded. Don’t worry, Pauline - none of his writing is apparently permanent. Was it the space around them repairing itself or the child’s existence being impermanent?]

Stressing out is her go to lmao

[ribbonbon]

[Pauline's from 2010 so this gen 1 smartphone is cutting edge to her

She leans over a little and points to the keyboard that pops up on screen.]

All you have to do is type whatever you wanna say and then you can just show it to me! It's pretty easy!

[Nervously she looks to the floor again...only to find his message gone. She raises her eyebrows, perplexed. She leans down and touches the floor. There definitely was something there before! Okay, sure, they're on some kind of interdimensional space cruise ship, but that's still weird, right?]

Perfect XD

[solitarynote]

[That actually sounded pretty easy…

Omori took a few moments to figure out how the keyboard worked, eyes widening somewhat like a child discovering a new toy his favorite was still his knife.

As for the etchings in the ground fading… Omori had seen some pretty strange stuff. He lived in Headspace, after all, where the limit was another teen’s imagination. He didn’t question much. Except for phones, apparently.

The joke was typed out successfully, in all caps, as he turned the phone towards her:]

WANT TO HEAR A JOKE ABOUT CONSTRUCTION?

[ribbonbon]

[She watches a bit curiously as he types; he seems to be picking it up easily. Having already seen his set up via the now absent carvings on the floors, she waits until he shows her, ready to answer him.]

A joke about construction...Sure! Lay it on me!

[solitarynote]

[Omori could be considered a quick learner - he had to be, for all of the fights he had been in. Even, if they failed in a fight and he could just revive everyone with some jam, having to repeat the boss fights were a pain.]

[Once he got permission, his fingers typed again, taking a moment. Then, he turned the screen towards Pauline with a deadpan expression.]

I’M STILL WORKING ON IT.

[ribbonbon]

[She still has to read over it a few times, but she catches on much quicker than before.]

Oh, that one's fun! You're really good at this! [She furrows her brow for a moment, as she tries to think of another joke.] Okay! I've got one. What did the magician say to the fisherman? Pick a fish, any f...wait. That's not funny at all, that can't be right. Tuna...? Salmon, maybe...?

[Pauline may appreciate a good joke, but she's not very good at actually telling them, it seems.]

[solitarynote]

[She might have been bad at jokes, but at least Pauline was fun to be around. Not being bored and having Candy? This was a very ideal situation.

Omori popped another piece of gum in his mouth and swallowed, silent. Giving her another chance if she wanted.]

[ribbonbon]

[She knows this is some kind of fish joke! But...which one is it?]

Pick a...bass? Pick a mackerel? An eel? An eel, is a fish, right? Maybe I should think about the magic part of the joke?

He’s trying to be helpful XD

[solitarynote]

[Fish joke? He knew one of those! Maybe it would jog her memory too on… whatever one she was trying to recall.

Omori typed into the phone again - even though he preferred the easy with which is knife could write:]

WHAT DO YOU CALL A FISH WITHOUT AN EYE?

lmao she needs all the help she can get

[ribbonbon]

[She's sort of relieved when he starts with another joke. Trying to remember the punchline of her own is starting to get to her.]

A fish without an eye...? Hmmm. What is it?