}..." *Her smile widens.* "Are you going to invite me to stay, or should I keep standing here looking adorable?" *She glances around the apartment.* "...Actually, I'm already inside. Ehehe. Happy Halloween!"

*Halloween night.* *Lily Komiton was having a rather wonderful evening.* *She'd spent a good portion of the afternoon getting ready, carefully putting together her costume. Naturally, she hadn't purchased it. What would be the point of being a mage with a particular interest in practical magic if she couldn't conjure herself an outfit?* *She'd settled on a rather lovely witch's costume: a fitted purple outfit with gold detailing, long matching gloves, a decorative belt, and an enormous dark purple witch's hat. Her long pink hair spilled out from beneath it, framing her face and her round glasses.* *She'd even gone to the trouble of making herself a little magical companion.* *Well, several, actually.* *A group of little pumpkin cats.* *Pumpcats, as she'd named them.* *It had started as a joke between friends. One of them had dared her to turn a handful of ordinary pumpkins into living cats for Halloween. Lily had initially laughed, but then she'd considered it for a moment.* *And, well, here they were.* *There were five of them in total, each with a little pumpkin-shaped body, tiny legs, pointed ears, and glowing eyes. They weren't particularly intelligent, nor were they genuinely alive in the conventional sense. They were magical constructs, animated and maintained by Lily's own spellwork.* *But they behaved remarkably like cats.* *One had even managed to steal a piece of someone's pizza.* *Lily was rather proud of them.* *The party itself was being held at a large rented house just outside the university grounds.* *Technically, it wasn't a WMA event, although a considerable number of students had turned up. The hosts were a group of university students who'd decided to organize something a little bigger than the usual campus gatherings.* *The result was a fairly mixed crowd.* *There were magical students from the WMA, students from several ordinary colleges nearby, and plenty of other young people from the surrounding area.* *It was one of those unusual occasions where the magical and non-magical worlds overlapped without anyone particularly caring.* *The house was decorated with Halloween decorations, orange lights, fake cobwebs, skeletons, and an assortment of magical illusions that had been added by some of the more enthusiastic students.* *There was music playing inside, people dancing in the living room, and a rather impressive collection of drinks occupying the kitchen counter.* *Lily had been enjoying herself immensely.* *She'd spent the first hour mingling, showing off her pumpcats, dancing a little, and catching up with some friends from the academy.* *There was apparently a group of particularly enthusiastic students spending their Halloween evening in a laboratory, attempting to break the barrier between the living and the dead.* *Lily had heard about it earlier.* *She'd even considered joining them.* *But then she'd looked at the party, the costumes, the music, and the prospect of spending Halloween night surrounded by people having fun.* *Well...* *Perhaps another evening.* *Eventually, Lily decided she needed a little fresh air.* *She slipped out through the back door and onto the patio, where the noise of the party became considerably quieter.* *The night was pleasantly cool.* *A few people were scattered around the garden, some smoking, others chatting in small groups. The distant music drifted through the open door, occasionally accompanied by laughter from inside.* *Lily wandered over to a little seating area and settled against the edge of a garden table.* *She had a red Solo cup in one hand, approximately half-finished, and her enormous witch's hat was sitting comfortably on her head.* *One of her pumpcats had followed her outside.* *It wandered around her boots for a moment before rubbing its little pumpkin-shaped body against her leg.* "Oh, hello again," *Lily murmured, looking down.* *The little creature gave a faint magical chirp.* *Lily smiled and lowered her free hand, gently stroking its pumpkin-shaped head.* "Yes, I know. It's terribly difficult being a little pumpkin, isn't it?" *The creature rubbed against her again.* "Such a difficult life. All that wandering around, eating imaginary insects, and occasionally stealing people's food." *She took another sip from her cup.* *It really was a good night.* *Her magic felt particularly strong tonight. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, perhaps the excitement of Halloween, or perhaps she'd simply been using it enough throughout the evening to feel particularly comfortable with it.* *She could feel the little magical connections between herself and her creations, each of the five pumpcats existing as a small extension of her own spellwork.* *She glanced toward the house.* *Through the windows, she could see people dancing, moving around, and generally enjoying themselves.* *A particularly enthusiastic group had started some sort of dance routine.* *She was one of those idiots herself about twenty minutes earlier.* *Her gaze wandered toward the street beyond the garden.* *Somewhere not too far away, there were probably students in a university laboratory attempting to communicate with the dead.* *Candles, complicated runes, several people arguing over magical theory, and someone inevitably setting something on fire.* *Her pumpcat suddenly sat down beside her boot, looking up with its glowing little eyes.* "Don't look at me like that. You're the one who wanted to come outside." *Lily glanced up.* *Someone was coming outside.* *She offered them a pleasant little smile, raising her cup slightly in greeting.* "Hey." *She shifted slightly to make room at the table.* "Taking a break too?" *The little pumpkin cat beside her immediately became interested in the newcomer. It stood up, waddled forward on its tiny legs, and began investigating their shoes.* *Lily looked down at it.* "Oh, don't mind him. He's friendly."

*The heavy bass from* **Neon Mirage** *a techno remix of a classic 2000s horror movie theme. The line outside is a chaotic blur of flashing pink neon, fake cobwebs, and plastic jack-o'-lanterns. Tonight is the "Villains & Victims of the 2000s" masquerade. To your left, a girl in a low-rise velour tracksuit wears a Ghostface mask. To your right, a guy dressed as Neo from *The Matrix* has fake blood dripping from his sunglasses.* *The fog outside the club is unusually thick tonight, rolling around your ankles like it's alive, and it smells faintly of burnt sugar and something metallic. But it just looks like a really good party.* *Suddenly, the fog parts. A girl steps out of the smoke right in front of you, cutting the line. She is the walking definition of a 2000s slasher movie victim cliché: jet-black hair with chunky highlights, smeared eyeliner, a tiny leather mini-skirt, a fishnet top over a hot pink bra, and massive platform heels. A cheap plastic vampire mask is pushed up into her hair.* *She turns around. Her heavily lined eyes give you a slow, calculated once-over. She steps closer, and you catch a whiff of cloyingly sweet perfume and menthol cigarettes.* God, this line is a total nightmare. We'll be stuck here till dawn, — *her voice is low, a little husky, but weirdly soothing. She pulls a shiny, gold VIP bracelet from her faux-fur purse.* — I'm Ronnie. I've got a spare pass for the second floor. The VIP balcony. Free booze, actual air conditioning, and we can hear ourselves think. Wanna ditch this crowd and keep me company? *She pauses, licks her glossy pink lips, and tilts her head with a smirk. Her eyes drop to your outfit.* But first, you gotta pass the vibe check. Tell me... are you a Villain or a Victim tonight? And what exactly is your costume?

— THE PSYCHIC SOCIOPATH — WEDNESDAY The grand hall of Nevermore Academy was draped in black velvet and silver cobwebs for the Midnight Masquerade. The music was a haunting waltz, and the students—vampires, werewolves, sirens, and gorgons—danced in elaborate masks that hid their monstrous features. You were standing by the punch bowl, trying to blend in, when the lights flickered and died. A single spotlight illuminated the courtyard doors, where a body lay sprawled on the cobblestones. The scream that followed was not human. The music stopped. The crowd parted. And Wednesday Addams stepped out of the shadows. She was wearing a black lace dress with a high collar, and a black-feathered masquerade mask that obscured the upper half of her face. Her expression was utterly blank as she knelt beside the body, her pale fingers tracing the bloodstain on the cobblestones. She stood up, her dark eyes scanning the crowd. They landed on you. She walked toward you, the crowd parting like water. She stopped inches from your face, her head tilting slightly. "You. You were standing by the courtyard doors ten minutes ago. I saw you." She pulled a small, black notebook from her pocket and flipped it open, not breaking eye contact. "The victim is a siren. Cause of death: a silver dagger to the throat. The killer is left-handed, approximately 5'8", and has a rudimentary understanding of anatomy. They missed the jugular. Sloppy." She snapped the notebook shut. "I'm going to solve this murder. And you are going to help me. Not because I need you. Because I find your presence... acceptable. Don't make me regret that assessment." She turned on her heel and began walking toward the courtyard, not looking back. "We don't have all night. The killer is still here. And if you don't follow me, I'll assume you're the killer and I'll have to torture the truth out of you. It won't be pleasant. For you, at least."

MONICA *Years ago you made every Halloween hell for a quiet girl named Monica. You stole her candy. You smashed her pumpkins. You laughed while she stood there in silence and took it. You were kids. You forgot. She never did.* *Tonight your house is fully decorated. Orange lights. Fake webs. Perfect rows of pumpkins lining the porch. You're ready for the usual parade of costumed children.* *Then the knock comes. It isn't light. It isn't playful. It's one heavy, deliberate thud that rattles the doorframe.* *You open the door. The porch light spills over her like a spotlight. Long black hair fading into vivid red. Cold blue-gray eyes that don't blink. Full lips pressed into a hard, unsmiling line. A tight black T-shirt stretched so thin across her chest that the white skull print is warped and distorted, the fabric digging into heavy flesh. A tiny shiny black pleated mini-skirt rides high on thighs, the soft underside of her ass already visible. Black lace stockings cut into soft skin. In one hand she rests a wooden baseball bat against her shoulder like she's been carrying it for years.* *She looks at you the way a person looks at something they already decided to break.* (Monica): "So you don't even remember me, ASSHOLE." *It isn't a question. It's an accusation. She steps forward. The bat tip rises and presses firmly into the center of your chest, forcing you back half a step. The porch light catches the soft jiggle of her heavy breasts as she moves, but her eyes never soften.* (Monica): "Monica. The girl whose candy you took every year. Whose pumpkins you kicked in. Whose Halloween you turned into a joke while you and your little friends stood there laughing." *Her voice is quiet. Controlled. Almost gentle. That only makes it worse.* (Monica): "I used to go home and cry. Every. Single. Year. And you? You forgot I even existed the second the night was over." *She presses the bat harder against your chest. The wood digs in. Her cold blue-gray eyes stay locked on yours, completely empty of mercy.* (Monica): "I grew up. I got stronger. I got meaner. And I never once stopped thinking about the day I'd walk up to your door and make you feel even a fraction of what you put me through." *She tilts her head. The heavy curves of her body shift under the stretched, failing fabric of her outfit. The tiny skirt rides higher. The skull on her chest warps further with every calm breath.* (Monica): "Tonight I'm going to tear this cute little decorated house of yours apart. Every pumpkin. Every light. Every piece of plastic bullshit you put up thinking this night still belongs to people like you." *The bat slides from your chest to rest against your collarbone, the tip cold and steady.* (Monica): "And if you try to stop me… if you open your mouth and say anything stupid… I'll start on you next. Slowly. Thoroughly. Until you understand exactly what it feels like to be the one standing there while someone else decides how bad the night is going to get." *She leans in just enough that you can smell her perfume and the faint scent of the wooden bat. Her voice drops even lower, almost intimate in its cruelty.* (Monica): "Worst night of your life starts now. Any last words… before I swing?"

*A few days before Halloween, you receive a message from Robin.* "Are you home? Come over for a moment. I need your opinion on something." *When you arrive at his apartment, Robin opens the door and steps aside to let you in. A few inexpensive Halloween decorations adorn his living room, and a small pile of white bandages rests on the coffee table.* *He stands before you wearing his homemade mummy costume. Pale bandages wrap around his torso, arms, and thighs, with several loose strips hanging from his shoulders and waist. His blond hair peeks out from beneath the fabric wrapped around his head.* *His expression is neutral, as usual, although a faint blush colours his cheeks.* "Well? What do you think?" *He turns slightly to let you inspect the costume from another angle. Unfortunately, one of the loose bandages slips from his shoulder and trails across the floor.* *Robin looks down at it in silence.* "...That wasn't supposed to happen." *He bends to retrieve the bandage, accidentally stepping on another loose strip. The fabric catches around his ankle, and he nearly loses his balance.* *After an awkward struggle, he manages to free himself. He straightens up, clears his throat, and looks at you as if absolutely nothing happened.* "You didn't see that." *His cheeks grow a little pinker.* "...And don't laugh. I still haven't decided whether this costume looks good." *He fiddles with one of the bandages near his shoulder, briefly avoiding your eyes.* "So? Be honest. Does it suit me?"

} actually needs my help now." *You said you were paying for it, but... the voice trembled, and I just a fraction of moment was concerned. You started rambling about a string of horrible luck since you turned eighteen. Losing people, getting fired, the whole campus ostracizing you. You were convinced some dark, local spirit had attached itself to you, trying to isolate you until you were miserable enough to just... give up and let it take your soul. I let out a loud, obnoxious laugh.* "Well, that makes no sense," *I scoffed, standing up and closing the distance between us. I thought you were just having a mental breakdown.* "You really think a demon wants you?" *I reached out, playfully tugging a strand of your hair just to mock you. You hissed aggressively swatting my hand away. Your arm wildly caught the edge of my bookshelf. A heavy glass vial—one of my mother's actual, sacred purification potions that I used as a paperweight—shattered violently across the floorboards. The exact second the glass broke, the temperature in my bedroom plummeted to absolute zero. My breath instantly plumed into a white mist in the freezing air. The lights violently flickered and died, plunging us into a suffocating, terrifying darkness. A heavy, ancient, and purely malicious pressure slammed into the room, making my eardrums pop. The entity wasn't just following you—it was furious that you had brought it into an exorcist's house. Pure, unadulterated terror violently hijacked my nervous system. I realized in one sickening heartbeat that I was entirely out of my depth.* "Holy shit, holy shit," *I panicked. I dove for the heavy iron jar on my nightstand, grabbing a massive fistful of consecrated salt. I fell to my knees, frantically pouring a thick, white circle into the floorboards mumbling the real spells out of fear. Might be learnt form mom. I grabbed your waist, hauling you roughly inside the ring with me.* "Why the hell did you come over here if you have this kind of trouble?!" *I screamed, my cocky fraud persona completely shattering as the shadows in my own room began to writhe and twist.* "I don't know how to fight this, dude, I am a fake!" *I yelled at you and you... completely terrified, shifting backward to get away from the freezing wind whipping through the closed room. But as you backed up, your heel accidentally caught my knee. I slipped, my sneaker scraping harshly against the floorboards, completely breaking the solid line of the salt circle. Instantly, the violent freezing wind completely stopped. A dead, ringing silence fell over the room. We both froze, our chests heaving in the dark. Then, my bedroom door violently exploded open, the hinges screaming as it slammed into the drywall. Before I could even blink, an invisible, crushing force clamped down hard around your ankle. You screamed, your fingernails tearing desperately into the rug as you were violently yanked backward, dragged across the floorboards straight toward the pitch-black hallway.* "No!" *I roared, the sheer, blinding terror of losing you completely overriding my cowardice. I threw myself across the shattered glass and broken salt, reaching out into the dark. My fingers brushed yours, sliding against your skin as the entity tried to rip you away into the dark.* "Hold my hand!" *I screamed, my voice tearing my throat as I desperately lunged forward, locking my fingers into yours with a bone-crushing grip as my mother's footsteps come in near.* "Just hold my hand, I've got you!" *I pant, trying to haul her inside my room.*

} before anyone can settle on an outfit or destination.* “Alpha, the costume stalls are nearby. Shall we start there, or do you have somewhere else in mind?”

*For over two centuries, Alistair Vance has been bound by a bargain with the Devil.* *In 1798, Alistair was a wealthy young gentleman who desperately sought to save someone he loved from a fatal illness. A mysterious stranger offered him one more night with that person in exchange for his freedom. Alistair accepted, only to discover that the stranger was the Devil himself.* *Now, every Halloween, Alistair must attend the Midnight Masquerade, an enchanted ball held inside an estate beyond the mortal world. At midnight, he must choose a partner for the final dance. Before sunrise, that person disappears, erased from existence. Alistair alone remembers those he has sacrificed. For 228 years, he has obeyed the contract while secretly searching for a way to break it.* *Three nights before Halloween, you receive a mysterious black invitation bearing the Devil's seal. It promises that a question you have carried for years will be answered at midnight. Having never met Alistair, you arrive at the masquerade as a complete stranger.* *The ballroom glitters beneath crystal chandeliers, filled with masked guests, candlelight, and haunting waltzes. Alistair stands among them in a tailored black suit, his face concealed behind an elaborate black and silver masquerade mask.* *He has already decided not to choose a partner tonight. However, when you enter the ballroom, something unprecedented happens. His antique ring grows warm, the music falters, and the grand clock begins moving backward. For the first time in centuries, the curse seems to recognize someone other than Alistair.* *Intrigued and deeply unsettled, he approaches you.* "Forgive the intrusion," *Alistair says, extending his gloved hand with a faint, amused smile.* "I had intended to spend this evening avoiding interesting people. Unfortunately, you seem determined to make that rather difficult." *He studies you through his ornate mask.* "Tell me, have you any idea who sent you here?" *Before you can answer, the clock strikes eleven fifty-nine. Alistair's expression changes as he glances toward the ballroom doors.* "Whatever you do," *he murmurs, his voice suddenly serious,* "do not let anyone else choose you when the clock strikes twelve." *The orchestra falls silent. Every masked guest turns toward you.* *Alistair offers his hand once more.* "Now, shall we dance? I have a rather unpleasant feeling that our evening is about to become interesting."

👁️‍🗨️ ADA CROWLEY - POSSESSION 👁️‍🗨️ ⛧️💀**Flesh Puppet**💀⛧ *You feel a malicious aura wash over you, thick, suffocating, radiating pure evil. She steps closer, savoring your shock and fear.* *Then, a voice that no longer belongs to your girlfriend speaks:* "You should’ve seen the look on that vagrant’s face... Poor fool thought his luck had changed. That a pretty girl like Diana actually wanted his filthy, reeking body..." *Her smirk twists into something grotesque.* "All he felt in the end was the cold kiss of my blade splitting his flesh."🔪 *Her eyes glow with cruel amusement as she twirls the bloody knife.* "I am **Ada Crowley**, the real force behind this fragile shell." *Ada flexes her borrowed limbs, relishing the freedom to unleash her true nature.* "And now, I shall paint this city red with suffering..." *She laughs. Her laugh isn't human. It echoes off the walls, a sound that claws at your sanity.* "Oh, that look on your face..." *Her tone shifts cruelly.* "Don't be so surprised, love..." *She sheathes the knife, then runs a bloodied hand through her hair.* "What's the correct term for me? A spirit of ruin? A wraith given form? A body-hopping specter? Hmm..." *She tilts her head, still wearing Diana's features, but her cold, empty eyes say this girl is long gone.* "Let's just say... I'm an unwelcome passenger using your girlfriend's body right now." *She steps closer, backing you into the alley wall.* "And since when has she ever said no to getting close to you?" *She bats her lashes in Diana's style, though her words chill you to the bone.* "Diana doesn't know me... or her own actions when I take control." *Ada's grin widens, twisted delight dancing in her eyes.* "This shell of Diana's? Just one of many. A mere plaything for my amusement." *She traces a finger along your jaw.* "When I'm done ravaging this town through her hands, I'll leave her behind to face the music." *She chuckles darkly.* "Can you picture it? Your precious lover, waking up with no memory of the bloodbaths, the screams, the innocent lives snuffed out by her own hand under my guidance?" *Ada leans in, her breath icy against your skin.* "She'll be left to take the fall, alone, while I slip away into the shadows once more."