HAPPY HALLOWEEN (FOR MARIA) (bad umineko joke is bad and I'm sorry)
Who: Alice, Syaoran, Sharon, Oz, Fem!Ciel, Gil, Ed, Alfons, Kobato, Finnian, Riza, Sakura, trap!Maria, Barney
Pairings: a bit of Finnian/Kobato, a bit more of Barney/Riza
What: Halloween!fic. Sharon is quite sadistic when it comes to telling ghost stories, Gil is a wimp, and Barney, for once, has good luck.
Warnings: MAN EATING BLANKETS. Also, Barney being... Barney.
"It was a dark and stormy night."
Alice yawned. "That's not scary at all." She turned to Syaoran. "Don't any of you know any more interesting stories?"
"IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT," Sharon continued, cheerfully, but in a tone of voice that all but straight out said 'Interrupt me one more time and bad things will happen to you and everyone you love.'
"A man woke up suddenly in his room at night when he heard a muffled crashing sound. He jumped, lying there for a moment and trying to catch his breath, curled up in his warm, soft blanket."
Alice yawned again, louder this time.
"A few seconds later - another crash, more like a THWOMP this time. The man once again struggled to breathe normally, and then - another loud thump. And another, and another, growing closer and closer..."
Gil wasn't clutching Oz's arm. He WASN'T. And Ciel wasn't wishing that she had Sebastian nearby, just in case... Of course.
"THUMP. Only inches away from the door of his room."
"The man shivered more, his fingernails digging into his palms. Then, he heard something between a THWACK and another THUMP."
Ed couldn't help turning a little bit towards the door, just to check if something really was in the doorway.
"More rhythmic thumps. It must be my bookshelf, the man thought; a leg must have given way, and the tilted angle was causing his books to fall."
Looking more than a bit worried, Alfons made a mental note: check all the bookcases in the library when you go back.
"When the final book had fallen, he breathed a sigh of relief, still curled under his blanket, and opened his eyes, which had been squeezed tightly shut. Gradually, as light danced before his eyes, they began to adjust to the darkness, and things slowly became visible: his desk, the bookshelves, his television set, and then he saw something that made his heart stop-"
Alice stopped chewing on her steak and looked at Sharon with a great deal more interest than before.
"... HIS BLANKET WAS LAYING ON THE FLOOR." And then she leaned towards everyone's shocked faces, and whispered, "His screams were muffled."
Kobato's own scream was hardly muffled at all.
"Kobato, it's okay!" Finnian put a hand on her shoulder. "Evil blankets don't exist in real life!"
"A-are you sure?" Kobato stammered.
"How do you know, if you've never se-"
"Sharon!" interrupted Oz, at the same time Riza glared at her and said, in a VERY disapproving tone of voice, "Miss Rainsworth..."
Sharon looked rather put out at this, but didn't finish her sentence.
"M-my blanket isn't going to - eat me or anything, is it?"
"I told you, they're not real..."
"B-but Sharon-san said-"
Finnian could think of nothing more to do than awkwardly pat Kobato's shoulder and promise her that, if any carnivorous blankets did, in fact, exist, he would be sure to protect her from them.
"M-maybe you should... stop t-telling these stories," Yomiko suggested, pointedly looking towards Kobato, Gil, Sakura, and Maria (the older one), who were all looking a bit... terrified, for lack of a better word (though in Maria's case, he could just be a good actress).
"It is getting late..."
Barney, who had been mostly silent during the ghost stories, grinned. "Aw, Riza, where's your Halloween spirit?"
"This - Halloween thing doesn't exist, where I'm from," Riza reminded him.
"Nothing interesting exists where you're from," Alice said, pouting. She would have liked to stay up late tonight, if only for the steak.
After a minor bit of arguing, it was decided that maybe it would be best for everyone to split up and go their separate ways - Finnian volunteered to walk Kobato up to her room, though it was only a few floors, and to take a very close look at her blankets, just in case.
It was only when she got to the stairs that Riza realized that someone was following her. Fortunately for Barney, she'd expected this and he hadn't been greeted with a pistol pointed between his eyes but a "What are you doing, Mr. Stinson?"
"I'm being a gentleman and walking you to your room, of course."
Riza sighed, but there was a hint of amusement in it. "Thank you for the offer, but I don't need an escort."
He shrugged. "You never know what could be lurking in the shadows on a night like this. Goblins and ghosts and giant spiders - or, hey, man-eating blankets, which, speaking of, I'd be glad to check your room for in case they decide to attack you-"
"I'm more than capable of dealing with evil blankets."
"Did I say I was doubting your blanket-dealing-with abilities?"
"Well, your room IS only down this hallway, and it couldn't hurt to check..."
"Fine."
His first thought, when she unlocked her door, was how... impersonal it looked. There were hardly any decorations, if any - no pictures on the walls, no personal belongings left about. It was sort of sad, really.
"Well, they don't look like horrible beasts to me," Barney said, poking at the duvet on Riza's bed.
"Of course not. They're blankets."
"You never know in this place. The doorknobs could be trying to murder you."
"Well-" he took one last look around the room - later, he'd probably imagine himself and Riza getting up to, erm, not-very-appropriate activities in there, so getting a good mental image now was important - "It looks safe to me."
(Not that he was ever really concerned, of course. Really.)
"I suppose if you're not sure-" (oh, she was going to regret this) "- you could stay a bit longer, just to make sure..."
He'd thought she would never ask.
Pairings: a bit of Finnian/Kobato, a bit more of Barney/Riza
What: Halloween!fic. Sharon is quite sadistic when it comes to telling ghost stories, Gil is a wimp, and Barney, for once, has good luck.
Warnings: MAN EATING BLANKETS. Also, Barney being... Barney.
"It was a dark and stormy night."
Alice yawned. "That's not scary at all." She turned to Syaoran. "Don't any of you know any more interesting stories?"
"IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT," Sharon continued, cheerfully, but in a tone of voice that all but straight out said 'Interrupt me one more time and bad things will happen to you and everyone you love.'
"A man woke up suddenly in his room at night when he heard a muffled crashing sound. He jumped, lying there for a moment and trying to catch his breath, curled up in his warm, soft blanket."
Alice yawned again, louder this time.
"A few seconds later - another crash, more like a THWOMP this time. The man once again struggled to breathe normally, and then - another loud thump. And another, and another, growing closer and closer..."
Gil wasn't clutching Oz's arm. He WASN'T. And Ciel wasn't wishing that she had Sebastian nearby, just in case... Of course.
"THUMP. Only inches away from the door of his room."
"The man shivered more, his fingernails digging into his palms. Then, he heard something between a THWACK and another THUMP."
Ed couldn't help turning a little bit towards the door, just to check if something really was in the doorway.
"More rhythmic thumps. It must be my bookshelf, the man thought; a leg must have given way, and the tilted angle was causing his books to fall."
Looking more than a bit worried, Alfons made a mental note: check all the bookcases in the library when you go back.
"When the final book had fallen, he breathed a sigh of relief, still curled under his blanket, and opened his eyes, which had been squeezed tightly shut. Gradually, as light danced before his eyes, they began to adjust to the darkness, and things slowly became visible: his desk, the bookshelves, his television set, and then he saw something that made his heart stop-"
Alice stopped chewing on her steak and looked at Sharon with a great deal more interest than before.
"... HIS BLANKET WAS LAYING ON THE FLOOR." And then she leaned towards everyone's shocked faces, and whispered, "His screams were muffled."
Kobato's own scream was hardly muffled at all.
"Kobato, it's okay!" Finnian put a hand on her shoulder. "Evil blankets don't exist in real life!"
"A-are you sure?" Kobato stammered.
"How do you know, if you've never se-"
"Sharon!" interrupted Oz, at the same time Riza glared at her and said, in a VERY disapproving tone of voice, "Miss Rainsworth..."
Sharon looked rather put out at this, but didn't finish her sentence.
"M-my blanket isn't going to - eat me or anything, is it?"
"I told you, they're not real..."
"B-but Sharon-san said-"
Finnian could think of nothing more to do than awkwardly pat Kobato's shoulder and promise her that, if any carnivorous blankets did, in fact, exist, he would be sure to protect her from them.
"M-maybe you should... stop t-telling these stories," Yomiko suggested, pointedly looking towards Kobato, Gil, Sakura, and Maria (the older one), who were all looking a bit... terrified, for lack of a better word (though in Maria's case, he could just be a good actress).
"It is getting late..."
Barney, who had been mostly silent during the ghost stories, grinned. "Aw, Riza, where's your Halloween spirit?"
"This - Halloween thing doesn't exist, where I'm from," Riza reminded him.
"Nothing interesting exists where you're from," Alice said, pouting. She would have liked to stay up late tonight, if only for the steak.
After a minor bit of arguing, it was decided that maybe it would be best for everyone to split up and go their separate ways - Finnian volunteered to walk Kobato up to her room, though it was only a few floors, and to take a very close look at her blankets, just in case.
It was only when she got to the stairs that Riza realized that someone was following her. Fortunately for Barney, she'd expected this and he hadn't been greeted with a pistol pointed between his eyes but a "What are you doing, Mr. Stinson?"
"I'm being a gentleman and walking you to your room, of course."
Riza sighed, but there was a hint of amusement in it. "Thank you for the offer, but I don't need an escort."
He shrugged. "You never know what could be lurking in the shadows on a night like this. Goblins and ghosts and giant spiders - or, hey, man-eating blankets, which, speaking of, I'd be glad to check your room for in case they decide to attack you-"
"I'm more than capable of dealing with evil blankets."
"Did I say I was doubting your blanket-dealing-with abilities?"
"Well, your room IS only down this hallway, and it couldn't hurt to check..."
"Fine."
His first thought, when she unlocked her door, was how... impersonal it looked. There were hardly any decorations, if any - no pictures on the walls, no personal belongings left about. It was sort of sad, really.
"Well, they don't look like horrible beasts to me," Barney said, poking at the duvet on Riza's bed.
"Of course not. They're blankets."
"You never know in this place. The doorknobs could be trying to murder you."
"Well-" he took one last look around the room - later, he'd probably imagine himself and Riza getting up to, erm, not-very-appropriate activities in there, so getting a good mental image now was important - "It looks safe to me."
(Not that he was ever really concerned, of course. Really.)
"I suppose if you're not sure-" (oh, she was going to regret this) "- you could stay a bit longer, just to make sure..."
He'd thought she would never ask.