it's halloween, lo-ween, everybody / open log

[sos_pilot]

🧙 WHO: Della Duck & You!
⚔️️ WHAT: Catch-All for October - Babies, Pumpkins, and Cheap Scares!
🕒 WHEN: All throughout October - Last prompt takes place only on the 31st!
🗺️ WHERE: Throughout Camelot.
⚠️ WARNINGS: N/A.



Babysitting Blues

[ As part of the recovery efforts, Della has offered to help babysit while parents find jobs/housing! Since she missed out on raising her boys at a certain age, she’s more than happy to take on the especially young kids, and find out how she would have been as a mom back then. Surely she would been the perfect mama with the perfect kids!

Turns out, the vision in her head and reality is… quite different. ]

I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry! What did I do?! Oh, honey, darling, sweetie, please, just… give me a minute! I’ll figure out what’s wrong, I swear!

[ Della had taken one of the babies she’s sitting out for a stroll, but now it’s screaming bloody murder, as babies tend to do. She’s taken it out of its stroller and rocks it back and forth, struggling not to panic. Well, not panic more. ]

Okay, ummm…! You’re not wet, let me see if I can find your bottle, I know I put in the stroller somewhere… Geez, how did Donald do this at three times the volume?!

Pumpkin Mayhem

[ Della had been among those who was delighted to find some Halloween-resembling activities! With a big smile and a bigger knife, she was carving the spookiest, scariest pumpkins she could imagine. Sharp fangs for vampires! Glaring eyes for witches! Deadly claws for werewolves! Just as she’s about to carve up another one, that’s when they spring to life!

Della blinks… then smiles, turning her knife upward. ]

Ahahaha, SWEET! This place really knows how to celebrate a good holiday! So, who wants to be pumpkin pie first?

[ It only then dawns on her that she’s TOTALLY SURROUNDED by her own creations. Her enthusiasm begins to wane a little. ]

… Prrrobably should have stopped after five…

Halloween Haunts

[ Given the death and destruction last month, people probably aren’t in a festive mood for spooky shenanigans. So, Della resolved not to throw a Halloween party… but, c’mon. She’s got to do SOMETHING Halloween-y on the big day, it’s her favorite holiday!

So on the 31st, at the house she lives in with Fenton and Drake, there’s a big bowl of candy on the porch. Above it, a sign reads FREE CANDY.

If anyone falls for the obvious trap, or just wants a closer look, be prepared… because Della has prepared unique scares and surprises! For now, she lays in wait for her prey… ]

Wildcard
[ Want to get into other shenanigans? Hit me up on plurk (melcat33) or discord (melcat33#1997) to plot! ]

Comments

Babysitting Blues

[phoenixwiz]

(Harry has been in a gloomy mood lately for some time after hearing about the tragic fate that Celliwig faced while he was busy with the Lestari rescue missions. A part of him feels guilty fir not being able to get to the city and help in saving it, although he has also come to recognize that not every life could be saved so easily, especially with what he has been through back home with Sirius, Mad-Eye Moony, Fred, Remus, and Tonks’ deaths among the people he had lost.

The network post from one otherworlder whose name escapes him resonates to him and it did at least reassure him about moving forward and learning from the mistakes of the past.

Now he is in the middle of a walk around Camelot on his day off from Helleste Cafe when he comes across Della trying to calm a crying baby down and find something in the stroller. Wondering if he can help, he walks up to the duck lady and checks in with her.)

Hey Della, do you need some help?

[sos_pilot]

[ Della looks at him, glad to see a familiar face... but still overly panicking because she can barely hear him over the baby wails. ]

YES. ALL THE HELP. I don't know what went wrong!

[phoenixwiz]

(Curious to see what the baby is crying about, he looks for verbal clues from the baby as he listens to their wailing cries. He is starting to realize what the baby is looking forward for after listening to the cries for a few minutes: the baby wants their bottle so badly right now.)

Hey um, is there a bottle of milk we can give to them in the stroller? Maybe we try to check out the diaper bag and see if there is one or maybe two packed inside.

[sos_pilot]

The bottle! Yes! I packed like three or four in there, just in case!

Listen, I can't put this little one down right now, can you help me look for it! I know it has to be in there somewhere!

[phoenixwiz]

Sure thing, Della. I can search for the bottle right away.

(Rose pokes her head out from his jacket pocket and squeaks up to him that she can try to help him out in finding the bottle for the hungry baby, though Harry did gently remind her that he can try to do it himself which tends to be a habit of his. He walks up to the diaper bag and begins to look for a bottle within its contents.

After a few minutes has passed, he is able to located one inside the main compartment and, with the help of Rose and kinetic magic, passes it to Della to bottle feed the baby.)

Hey Della, I found one!

[sos_pilot]

Thanks! Okay, I guess I don't have to say "open wide"...

[ Pop! In it goes! And there is instant silence. Della visibly relaxes, almost melting with relief. ]

Thank goodness... Yeesh, this kid's got a set of lungs...

Halloween Haunts

[doctorintern]

[ Despite being aware of the date and some of the spookier atmosphere around the city, Fenton didn't really think too much of it with everything else going on. And naturally, Della hadn't bothered to mention certain things she had in the works.

So it's a bit of a surprise to see the bowl of candy that's sitting on their front porch, as he's returning home that evening. And while it does take him a moment to remember exactly what day it is, he ends up stepping closer to the bowl, just to see if it might need a refill. ]

[sos_pilot]

[ As he approaches, the floorboards underneath the porch moan, wiggle, and then... a spooky voice echoes from within the house! ]

FEEEEEENTOOOOOON!

[ and at his feet, a pair of shadowy hands grab his ankles! ]

[doctorintern]

[ He jumps with a high-pitched squeal, but the shadowy hands grabbing his ankles cause him to fall back and hit the ground. ]

[sos_pilot]

[ The door bursts open, and out jumps Della, in fake zombie gear! ... that might have been her rent for the month. oops. ]

BIG, JUICY NERD BRAAAAAAAINS!

[doctorintern]

[ He gives another startled scream yell for all of about two seconds, before he starts to recognize Della underneath the costume. Then he relaxes and wheezes out another sound, somewhere between an indignant huff and embarrassed laugh. ]

Della!

pumpkin mayhem

[reloves]

[ Don't worry, Della.

Because Minako is an expert when it comes to these sorts of things. Peaceful everyday situations suddenly being interrupted by a monster of the week? Basically her life! She's been waiting for this!

And her practice with light magic is paying off too, which means that when one of the pumpkins jumps up to leap at Della, it's suddenly shot out of the air by what seems like a laserbeam of light. ]

Take that, you overeager vegetable!

[sos_pilot]

[ Della is surprised, but in a good way, with a laugh and a hoot. ]

Wow! That was amazing, Minako! What say you and I make a salad out of these root veggie ruffians?

[reloves]

Well, if the alternative is letting them run around and attack people, then the answer is obvious, isn't it?

[ There's no way Minako will ever let that happen on her watch! She looks like she's already preparing herself to fire off another light-laser attack. ]

Why did you make this many of them though?!

[sos_pilot]

Because one, I love Halloween, and two, I didn't realize they'd come to life! If I'd known they arise and attack me, I wouldn't have done it!

... Probably. Maybe. Kinda.

[ i mean. let's be real. odds are she not only would have still done it, but even been more encouraged for it. ]

[reloves]

[ Minako gasps.

The only reason she can treat this so lightly is that she found out these pumpkins definitely go splat upon contact with an attack, so it's not too serious of a threat. Not serious enough for her to go into full soldier mode.

Hence the melodramatics. ]

Why would you that?! Are you some sort of masochist?

[ Watch out though, Della, there's another pumpkin about to jump you..! ]

pumpkin mayhem;

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's never celebrated Halloween. He has no idea what any of this shit is. He's never even seen a pumpkin before. But the buzz around town, despite all the recent chaos, is contagious, and a pumpkin patch is a sight to see, for sure.

Unfortunately, he's found himself in a similar position as Della, sitting alone in a corner of the patch carving diligently, tongue thoughtfully pressed between his lips in full attention. He's gone a little overboard in his excitement to be carving his first pumpkins, too focused on his handiwork to notice his abandoned projects coming to life by the wayside. However, it is, uh, Alberto's first time, after all... So his first stabs at it were really stab-y... He's quite frustrated by this task, so every time he's made a mistake, he's just started over on a new one, and as such is becoming a bit over-eager now, determined to prove himself to... himself.

His final masterpiece is the most ambitious and the most terrifying, and the first one he notices has come to life, because it has, well, the most personality... As he tries to add a couple "finishing touches," the pumpkin blinks and then tries to bite his hand! Alberto screams, reeling back, clutching his knife to his chest uselessly, and instead just kicks the pumpkin. It bites down on his bare foot, so he just kicks it off with his other foot, flailing his leg wildly and flinging it across the patch.

It's then that he notices Della fighting off her own group of pumpkins in the same direction. He glances to his own approaching gang of deformed terrors, worry in his eyes, and jumps to his feet. He kicks another pumpkin, one of the mistakes full of holes, far out of the way, launching it in the other direction, where it breaks apart upon impact with the ground, then Alberto turns his attention back to Della. He can't remember her name. Or the word for what she is. So he takes his best stab at that, too. ]

Hey! You! Seagull-lady! Dack-lady! Watch out for that one!!

[ He points to his oncoming monster, which has decided to join forces with Della's creations. It's just going wild. Resilient. Diligent. Over-eager. Hmm... Just the way it was made. ]

[sos_pilot]

[ Wait a minute, she knows that voice! Isn't that - ]

Alberto!

[ A kid is in the danger zone! MAMA MODE, ACTIVATED.

She whips the knife around like an action star, and begins to zoom in on the closest one - Alberto's... unique creation, and begins to hack and slash like a serial killer, with pumpkin guts all over. Eat your hearts out, Freddy and Michael. There's a new Scream Queen in town. ]

Bring it on, you overgrown oranges! You're ugly, but my temper's uglier! BACK AWAY FROM THE KID!

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's eyes are wide with shock and awe, but his smile grows slowly to a wide, ear-to-ear grin, amused with what she's saying. He can't feel bad she's killing vegetables? He didn't even come here because of the quest, he just came because of the pumpkins; he has no idea anyone was even hired to come assist with this. He's just there, doing his own thing — somehow it always seems this way with him...! So he has little qualm watching this gore without even knowing there's some kind of bounty on this destruction. But he liked Della, and she looks cool fighting off these very uncool magic plants (though hers are much cooler than his, in the glimpses he catches as they move toward her)... so he trusts on instinct that destroying these things is the best course of action.

Knocking that strange sparkle from his eyes as one of his mishaps approaches, he tries to mimic her moves, taking a fantastic slash at the nearest oncoming pumpkin, slicing an X down its misshapen face and then punting it again, where it all but shatters upon landing. He throws his hands up in triumph, knife still brandished with a tight grip, but can't suppress his self-satisfaction even in this moment of dire need. ]

HAH! Take that! Stupido!

[sos_pilot]

[ Out of the corner of her eye, Della sees Alberto's moves... and gasps, then squees, then claps! It's like seeing a baby bird take flight! ]

Oh my gosh, Alberto, look at you go! Those are some sweet moves!

[ Clap clap clap BACKHANDED PUNCH TO ONE THAT TRIED TO SNEAK UP ON HER clap clap clap! ]

Make sure to keep your wrist low on the handle so you don't cut yourself on accident! But those X moves are sheer perfection, that'll make them much easer to punch and kick through!

[ As she's cheering and teaching, one pumpkin tries to wrap vines around her neck in an attempt to strangle her... so she gives it a hard STAB STAB STAB ]

HEY! RUDE! Don't interrupt me!

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's wide-eyed, grinning in shock, unused to having adults cheering for him. And yes, she's right, those were some sweet moves, weren't they? He is increasingly surprisingly weirdly okay with this situation??? Destroying these things is kind of stroking his ego... He's felt so useless ever since arriving here. Everything he's ever prided himself on, he's outshone by all these heroes and fighters and whatnot around here. Here, he's just been... some kid... Right now, he feels capable. Threatening. It's a nice sense of agency.

He's caught off guard, worried for her, when he sees the vines wrapping around her neck — but before he can even call out to her, she's got it under control. Heh. He whoops and cheers her on, too. ]

Yeah-haaah, whoohoooooo! Forza! Go, Signora, go!! Ha—...AH!

[ He's got to pay better attention, as he's cut off by a tickle around his ankle, one of his own pumpkins reaching its vines to grab him, too. He looks down in a flash and makes quick work to free himself, taking extra careful hold of his knife as she'd instructed him. But in his fervor, tries a new move, and it doesn't work out as well...

He tries to stab his knife straight through the top of the pumpkin and slice down its face, but the blade just gets stuck mid-slice. Alberto's triumph turns pretty quickly to panic, as he fumbles to wrench the blade unstuck from the gourd. ]

Uh-oh... Hhhh— ack! Oh, my— hurry up, you— diediediediedie die...!

[ He finally frees his knife, and is just violently stabbing at it all over now in a frenzy until it finally splits apart, muttering to himself as wild eyes search for more oncoming attackers. Okay, this is harder than it looks... ]

Pumpkin Mayhem

[crushtheskulls]

[And that's when a Horse comes trampling through, neighing loudly and knocking away at least one of the deadly pumpkins. She needs to work off some aggression after the failed dragon mission.]

Prepared to get crushed!!

[sos_pilot]

[ Whoa. That's an awesome horse! ... That just talked.

Della pauses for a moment, needing to make something clear. ]

Uh, thanks for the save, buuuut you're not a kelpie, right? Just wanna be clear.

[ Sure, any large body of water is miles away, but better safe than sorry. ]

[crushtheskulls]

Not a kelpie, just a horse. I'm not sure what a kelpie is.

Anymore pumpkins that need crushing? I got some stress to work out.

[sos_pilot]

Murderous water horse that tries to drown its riders.

[ You know. The usual. She then jerks a thumbs to the whoooole circus of fears she accidentally carved up. ]

Anyway, have at 'em! We can take 'em easily!