LePouvantail

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Then it seems you'll just have to decide which of your exquisite plans are worth spending energy on, my dear."

Dr. Finklestein took a look at Carver's limbs to test the articulation.

"Ah, yes. Being unable to run or jump or climb...how could I possibly relate to that?"

He picked up a wrench to do some tweaks on Carver's arm.

"I can see if I can find some lighter materials with similar durability. It will take time to build and tweak the design, you understand. But if you can't climb, you can't get into as much trouble, can you?"

What character archetypes/characteristics do you gravitate towards?

I have a few oddly-specific flavors (note that these apply to both canon characters and personal OCs):

-Proud aromantic-asexual brunettes - often female, with some exceptions - with a tendency to utilize fear in one way or another, and often have a few select people in their social group they will do anything for, even if they don't outwardly show it. They can be monsters or humans, and they often have unpleasant aspects to their personality that make them feared, be it making someone else miserable, the ability to kill someone in under five minutes, literally causing fear by existing, or flat-out being unable to relate to other people, and treating them more like guinea pigs. (Canon example: Scarecrow from the Batman comics).

-Sweet, sensitive, creative souls who have a specific thing or two they're good at (wood-carving, bartending, playing music, etc.), and often have a disability of sorts, or something else uniquely different about them (blind musicians tend to be a favorite flavor under this particular umbrella). They tend to be friends with the aforementioned aro-ace brunettes. These creative souls often have thick skin and can hold their own, but fuck with them at your own risk if you don't want a literal fear demon on your ass on their behalf because you hurt them. (Canon example: the Disney version of Quasimodo. He even fits the "friend" criteria: While Esmeralda isn't aro-ace, she's a brunette, protective of him, and feared because of the assumption she's a witch).

-Men who are a decade or so older than the woman they're in a (platonic or romantic) relationship with, and actually are chivalrous, protective gentlemen. He could have married his young wife to get her away from her abusive family, and then let her do her own thing under the protection of their marriage, bent society's rules to marry her so they can hang out as friends without being questioned, be her mentor, etc. These are often sexless relationships, but in the rare time it goes there, he lets her initiate and follows her lead (Scarecrow, again, fits here. He has a tendency to find 20-something girls and legitimately platonicly assist/mentor them - though his help may not always be wanted. XP). A subset of this flavor (age gap optional) is men who are obsessed with their dead/otherwise incapacitated partners/friends, and may end up losing themselves in their quests on her behalf (some popular canon examples: Severus Snape, Mr. Freeze, Nathan Wallace/Repo Man).

-Polyamorous trios of mixed genders, but with two members of the same (or present as the same) gender. Often, one of the two of the same/presenting gender will be a switch, and have a deeper relationship with the other of the same/presented same gender, but all three will be good friends. For example, in a M/M/F, M1 will be bi/pan, M2 might be gay, and they'll be closer romantically. F will be friends with M2, but team up with him to lovingly troll M1 during sexy funtimes. And then after sexy funtimes, they'll all wreck each other in video games, or cook together, or go on an adventure, or otherwise hang out and act like a friend group.

-Trolls and tricksters who start shit just because it's funny/otherwise worth their efforts, but often have depth to them. They enjoy causing chaos, but aren't out to actually hurt anyone, just to have fun, fuck with them, and/or prove a point. They do whatever their whims lead them to do, but tend to know when they've gone too far. That said, they're still going to start another round of trouble. It's just what they do. (Canon examples: Lock, Shock, and Barrel, the Riddler - but specifically versions where he treats crime like a game to prove he's smarter than Batman, uses death traps as a lure, and isn't out to actually kill/hurt his pawns too much. He just knows it'll get Batman's attention [there's one comic where he threatens that "millions of lives are at stake" with a nerve gas, and it's technically correct: it was a roach spray. XD But it seemed threatening enough initially to get the game going]. Probably a given that I loathe the Arkham games version where he will outright murder someone to "prove" he's better).

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"A little slowness is the trade-off for your increased durability," Finklestein said.

The lab door opened for them. Dr. Finklestein gestured for Carver to take a seat.

"I can take a look and see about increasing articulation," he continued, "but as for your vines...well, my dear, this may better teach you to have patience and to think over your actions before getting into trouble, then, hmm?"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Finklestein sneered at bring called, "Dad," but otherwise made no comment in it.

"What sort of inconveniences?" he asked, as he gestured for Carver to follow him up to the lab. "I see it's still in one piece after you've undoubtedly gotten into what you so generously refer to as 'tussles' with Boogie's boys. It seems the framework and reinforced rubber are doing their job."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Out with those hooligans again, no doubt," Dr. Finklestein said. "And what sort of trouble kept you away this time?"

He shifted his wheelchair as he spoke to meet Carver partway down the ramp.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Barrel swallowed another bite of his food and grumbled again. Lock sniggered.

"And it worked a bit too well this time, eh, Carver?"

He gave Carver a playful shove as he headed into the lair. Shock came back to retrieve her gloves, taking care to handle them by the sleeves so she could soak them in milk and be certain none of the adderpepper juice was left.

~~~

By the time the trio were ready to settle down for the night, dinner had pretty much been forgotten. Lock managed to get Barrel to practice for a little while, and even got a good drum set out of him. Shock got her gloves clean and hung them up to dry, then went to check in on the scorpions she quarantined. They all let Carver do what he wanted.

As Carver couldn't always stay with them, they said their goodbyes when the pumpkin creature needed to head back to the Finklesteins, with the requisite slugs and punches.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Shock's the only one who could have told!" Barrel cried.

"Nuh-uh," Shock said as she pulled off her gloves before the adderpepper juice could seep onto her skin. "Carver had a chance when he gave Lock his present."

Lock came back from the kitchen just as the argument was getting heated.

"Present?" he asked.

"The heads up about dinner," Shock said.

She carefully set her gloves on the table.

"Yeah," Lock said. "Carver said you said to tell me--"

"Ha!" Shock interrupted.

She grinned at Carver.

"I knew it!"

"Wait, you told?" Barrel asked.

He glared at Carver, then shoved him off his chair, before he went back to his dinner while grumbling under his breath. Lock and Shock both started laughing.

"Guess that solves that," Lock said. He grinned. "That was fun!"

Shock winced in pain from her stomach, then settled down. She got up to wash her hands to be certain any adderpepper juice hadn't touched her skin.

"Sure was. Wasn't it, Carver?"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Barrel came back with a new plate and took his seat. He glared at Shock, then started to eat his untainted dinner. Lock finished up what little was left of his, then took his dishes to dump in the sink. Maybe he'd make it up to Barrel and do them once his siblings finished.

Maybe.

Shock glared right back at Barrel, but didn't say another word. As neither of them won that fight, the issue was considered resolved. She glanced across the table to Carver and glowered. She then noticed Barrel's tainted plate and got a wicked idea.

"My message, hmm?" she asked.

She grabbed the two vines sticking out of Carver's mouth, grabbed one of the bigger firepeppers still on Barrel's tainted plate, then tied the vines around it.

"Hope you got this one loud and clear!"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Barrel ignored Carver as he settled back in. Shock took a sudden interest in Carver. She sensed misery - and a cover in case her laughter slipped before Barrel caught on.

"Having a little trouble there, Carver?"

She and Lock both got a few laughs in at his expense. Barrel joined in once Carver started his garbled swearing. It also gave him time to realize that his mouth felt warmer than he expected, even with eating the fire peppers. He ignored it for the moment, and happily took another two bites. Lock composed himself and watched his younger brother. His tail gently swayed from side to side, like a cat gearing up to pounce. Shock allowed herself some more laughter at Carver's expense before she went back to her own plate.

After a minute, Barrel started to realize that the heat wasn't just in his mouth - it spread to his chest, stomach, and even part of his intestines. He quickly looked across the table at Lock, who was calmly eating his own food with a knowing smirk. Lock stared him down as he took another bite.

In that moment, Barrel realized.

Lock knew.

And had switched their plates.

He started to say something, but his tongue was ablaze with pain. He reached for his glass and downed it, but the sewer water only made it worse. Shock, now free to shift her target of misery to Barrel, started laughing again. Lock joined in as Barrel practically dove from the table to run down the hall to the bathroom. Shock laughed even harder at Barrel's attempts to flee, to the point the young witch tumbled to the floor in throes of wicked cackles. Barrel heard his older siblings' hysterical laughter ring down through the hall, and even when he slammed the bathroom door. He cursed Lock the entire time he was in there.

By the time Barrel got back to the table, Shock barely managed to regain control of herself enough to stand, though she was still gripping the edge of the table to support herself as her residual laughter ran its course. Lock managed to stay in his chair, with one arm clutched around his stomach, and the other wiping away tears of laughter.

Barrel stormed over to Shock. She'd been alone with Lock not long before dinner, and it was just like her to manipulate a situation for maximum trouble. His sister didn't notice he'd returned until he grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her away from the table.

"Hey!" Shock cried.

"You r-ruined it!" Barrel said.

He punched Shock straight through the stomach and let go of her shirt so she'd tumble away from him. Shock hadn't been expecting the hit, and went down quickly. She tried to get back up, only to find Barrel tackling her down like an incoming train.

"I didn't--!" she managed.

But Barrel's weight pummeled her down, and kept her down. He so rarely started a fight that she almost forgot his true strength. Shock quickly switched to defense, and focused on getting Barrel to at least shift so she could better position herself to use his strength against him.

"Oh, come on," Lock said, with a flick of his tail. "I got your message loud and clear."

"Like--" Shock said, as she blocked a punch, "--Hell you di--!"

That only infuriated Barrel more. Shock barely managed to deflect a few more incoming blows, before she punched her youngest brother right in the jaw. Barrel growled, and the two of them tumbled on the floor, Barrel too enraged to speak, Shock too focused on keeping him back enough to get in a better position to comment. Lock calmly watched his siblings go at it as he bit onto a fire pepper with a grin. It wasn't often he got dinner and a show.

He let his siblings wear each other down as he ate, until he was almost done. The power shifted a few times, with Shock's pragmatism and the after-effects of the adderpepper juice countering Barrel's rage and raw power. Lock waited until a clear winner started to emerge - Shock - and decided that was the moment he'd join in the brawl. Shock was too focused on keeping Barrel back to pay him any mind, and Barrel tunnel-visioned like an enraged beast to keep his sights on Shock. Lock tripped his older sister with his tail to make Barrel think he was on his side, and as Shock started to regain her bearings, Lock slid under Barrel's legs to get behind him and tackled his little brother. The little devil ended up on Barrel's back, with his arms under Barrel's armpits and pulling the largest trickster's arms back to keep him from swinging, and his tail at his throat.

Shock got back to her feet and tackled Barrel straight in the stomach. Lock, having expected it, let go of Barrel, grabbed his hoodie, quickly climbed onto his little brother's shoulders, then jumped to pull the hood up and over Barrel's head. He bodyslammed Shock straight in her back on the way down. Barrel, in an attempt to keep his balance, ended up kneeing Shock in the stomach almost simultaneously. The witch went down from the double assault and collapsed to the floor. Barrel's initial punch to her stomach already took its toll.

Lock kept his hold on the hood as he shifted to his feet, then tripped Barrel. He sent the big oaf stumbling forward into their older sister. Barrel tried to get up. Lock jumped onto his back, ignored Shock's muffled cry of pain from under the both of them, and moved his tail around Barrel's neck again to keep the hood encased over his head. He then grabbed one of Barrel's legs and pulled it back until he nearly pulled it from its socket.

"Ow, ow, owwww!" Barrel whined.

But he didn't have much fight left in him. With his focus on Shock disrupted, he didn't have the adrenaline rage to counter the residual effects of the adderpepper juice. It only took another moment for him to give. Lock released his leg, then shifted to give his little brother a noogie.

"Thanks for dinner," he said cheerfully.

Barrel grumbled under his breath, then got up, his only consolation that at least Shock didn't win this one. He pushed himself up, kicked his older sister, then went to the kitchen. At least he always made extra, so he could have an unruined plate. Shock pushed herself up once freed. Her good mood from earlier was completely gone. Her legs shook from pain this time as she made her way back to the table. She took one glance at her plate, felt her stomach turn from pain, and decided she didn't want anymore right now. She glared at Lock as she took her seat anyway and shoved the plate away from her.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Agnes and Aggie happily assisted their niece with working out the hex, and making sure their tracks were covered.

They would also know when Shock made her attempt, as the activation charm would make the shop bell ring in a specific pattern.

~~~

Lillith certainly utilized the leash for as long as she could as she attached it to the tree. As soon as his hands were free, Lock flexed his fingers. More than that, his tail rapidly flicked and twitched with pent up energy. Her torment only riled him up more, and the second he was free, Lillith would have a hard time getting back up after he tackled her to the ground.

Sore, aching, tired, but certainly satisfied, Lock headed home in the best mood he'd been in since Halloween. As he got closer to the lair, he picked up the smell of roasted fire peppers, rice, and some sort of dead and rotting carcass. Lock ran his tongue over his teeth, excited, but also remembered Carver's warning.

Swap his plate with Barrel's.

Shock was in an elated mood when he got in. She was up on the slide, sitting near the ceiling as she made some tweaks and tightened some bolts.

"So who'd you trick today?" Lock asked.

"Oh, I haven't done it," Shock said. She forcefully torqued the wrench to keep the bolt in place. "Yet."

Lock flicked his tail as he glanced up at her.

"The thing you're gonna do to Jack?"

Shock finished her tweaks, then carefully slid down over the top of the pipe to get down.

"I'll let you know," she said sweetly.

Lock decided not to question further. He went to the dining room to get the pepper shaker, then carefully slipped it into the kitchen where Barrel wouldn't notice it immediately, but would find it quickly. He then went back to the main lair and picked up his guitar to practice for a bit until Barrel came to let him know dinner was ready. Shock went to put the tools away in the meantime.

Dinner went as it usually did: Barrel brought their plates to the table, though Lock noticed he brought his own out last this time, when he usually brought it with his or Shock's, then got the third sibling's on the trip back. He'd already planned for this. Lock bit into one of the peppers, but made sure not to swallow it. He carefully slid the piece into his cheek, then reached for the pepper shaker.

"Hey! Did you take the pepper again, Barrel?" he asked accusingly.

"No," Barrel said. "I have my own for cooking!"

"Then where's the pepper?"

Shock rolled her eyes and swallowed a bite of her own food.

"Just go look, Barrel," she said.

"But--!"

Both of his older siblings looked at him.

"Do it!" they ordered together.

"Okay, okay, fine," Barrel said.

He threw his fork down and got up. The second the kitchen door shut, Lock picked up his plate, spit out the piece he bit into and arranged it under the rest, then switched it with Barrel's. He even messed with some of the food pieces and placed Barrel's fork exactly as he left it before taking his seat again. Shock nearly choked with laughter when she realized that Lock knew what was up.

That must have been Carver's gift to him.

Both of the older siblings barely managed to retain proper decorum as Barrel came back with the pepper shaker.

"Huh," he said. "I definitely didn't cook with it."

He set the pepper shaker down. Lock immediately snatched it to use. Barrel stuck out his tongue, then sat down to eat.

"Maybe I refilled it and forgot to put it back," he said.

He started to eat quickly. Shock had to turn her head to hide her growing smile. Lock just calmly took a bite of "his" food after seasoning it to his taste.