Gather 'round, otaku senshi, knights, villains, and civilians! You're all invited to participate in a trick-or-treat stroll in a strange and spooky ballroom.

It was a dark and stormy night, with the sharp breeze of an autumn wind, when your character received the following mysterious invitation in his or her name!


How peculiar! Who is hosting this mysterious party? How did your character wind up on the guest list? Well... your character thinks that he or she would love to go, isn't that right? So join us!


Activity Rule and Posting Etiquette
• Please post at least once every 48 hours. Characters who are not posting and have not notified me that they will be on LOA will be quietly moved so they do not interrupt the flow of the trick-or-treating.
• Please refrain from posting very frequently—be consider of other RPers. Give them a chance to catch up. This will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
• Be considerate of other RPers when you are posting, making sure that you pay attention to what others are doing to avoid disrupting their posts. Give other RPers time to reply to or interact with your character, particularly if you initiate the action.  This will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
• No bad guys vs. good guys fighting—mingle with each other and enjoy the party
• Keep an eye out for prompts from the event organizer, Aurae!
• Trick-or-treat requests (detailed information in the OOC thread) must be PMed, not posted here!


Important Trick-or-Treating Note
You can only collect candy from guests who have arrived. (That is, they posted that they are at the party and brought their candy.) The other guests must arrive before their candy is eligible for collection.

Current guests:
1. Pamina (Sailor Nocturnus)
2. Homura Higurashi (Sailor Chibi Uranus)
3. Enya (Sailor Enyalius)
4. Kyan
6. Hadley (Sailor Valdis)
8. Stephanie Sanders (Sailor Splash)
9. Ayano Sora (Sailor Aldae)

Map of ballroom:

Please keep OOC comments and questions in the appropriate thread, here: Trick-or-Treating Sign Up & OOC

The Gothic Revival-styled mansion sat alone on a distant hilltop. The weather raged outside—no rain, thankfully, but the harsh wind could chill even the most adequately-dressed right through to the bone. A long winding drive led to the front door, which stood ajar. Guests were, after all, expected tonight. The normally-empty halls bustled with activity; a full staff had been hired to ensure that the evening's festivities would go smoothly.

Inside, every surface that could be decorated had received such treatment. Autumn leaves, pumpkins and gourds, false spiderwebs (or, wait, were those real?), and other such spooky decor lay tastefully arranged. Delicious scents of cinnamon and other spices wafted from the kitchen. The inlaid floor of the entrance, leading directly to the grand staircase that opened up to the ballroom, gleamed with polish.

Upstairs, the ballroom was perfectly in order, although no organizer had been seen. The ballroom was massive, with practically no other rooms existing on that second floor. The vaulted ceiling stretched up, tall paned windows looked out to distant hills and setting sun, while chandeliers glimmered and twinkled above. The bar served mulled apple cider, warmed spiced wine, and many other options. A buffet offered savory appetizers and other hand-held food, as there were no plans for a seated dinner. A few chairs and benches could provide a place for a momentary pause. Instrumental music played softly in the background.

One of the first things that would be seen to someone entering the ballroom was a large table set up by the entrance. It was covered with a pumpkin-patterned table cloth and a cluster of leaves and decorative gourds. A small sign sat on top as well. "Please place your treats here." Apparently this was where the baskets specified on the invitations should be set down.

First Prompt wrote:

Your character has just arrived! Enter the ballroom, set down your candy basket on the table, and begin to mingle!
TRICK-OR-TREAT COLLECTION HAS NOT STARTED.
Try to complete this before EOD (end of day) on Friday, October 14!

Enya strode purposefully up the winding drive, her stride tense against the wind that pulled at her hair and armor, her grip tight on the handles of the paper bag of candy that threatened to be blown away. She liked the look of this place; despite Earth's differences to Enyalius, the "creepiness" factors were similar; she was almost excited to see what scares they had come up with. As she climbed the stoop and found the door ajar, she invited herself in, welcomed by the rich scents and warm, if derelict decor. The spider webs were a little strange - with everything done up so nicely with seasonal vegetables, she didn't understand why the staff had been neglectful with cleaning up after pests. 

Her eyes led up the grand staircase and, trusting the party would be there, she strode up easily, stopping at the top to admire the expansive room with its tall ceilings, her eyes catching on the soft glittering light of sunset cast about by the crystalline chandeliers. Glancing about once, the bag in her hand remembered, she dropped the sack on the table and moved farther in, wondering when the people would pop out and try to scare her. With a cat-like grin, she kept on her toes, moving cautiously.

Spoiler:

She climbed out of the taxi and immediately started to wonder if she had made a bad decision. The invitation was just so peculiar, and she so rarely had opportunities to do much outside of her dormitory...so maybe she jumped on this chance without considering how strange and possibly not-so-good-of-an-idea it could really be. Pamina huddled in her owlet costume, the harsh wind the thing that finally propelled her through the doors, hands clutching the nest-looking basket of candy.

At least it was warmer and more welcoming inside. There were people actively working in here, and they didn't look like ghosts or spooks. They looked like totally normal real human people. And it smelled like delicious food, too. Maybe she would feel more hungry when her nervousness settled down. A young woman gestured towards the staircase, indicating that the party would be upstairs. Pamina hesitated for a moment, but the kind smile on the lady's face made her feel less ill at ease, and she headed up.

Wow, what a huge ballroom! She felt especially tiny as she stood there in the doorway, looking up at glittering light fixtures draped with crystal dangling down from high ceilings. Oh, that's where her candy should go! Pamina carefully set the basket down, noticing that hers was not alone. Her dark eyes scanned the room as she turned. Who else was here?

Ayano was teleported right in the front of the house where the party was being held .There were numerous people there but the atmosphere was pretty cool and nobody noticed that she is not from Earth .She entered the house with tiny steps studying everything she could see .

If outside was somehow cold in the house was pretty warm .The other people's costumes didn't scared Ayano and the food was just delicious .She found a chocolate pudding that she liked so much but an old woman spoke to her that the party was on the second floor .Ayano leaved the pudding and walked on the stairs not before examining  the spider decorations .

Upstairs she saw many more food ,decorations and weird dressed people but before putting on a table her candy basket she felt a negative presence .Who could be ?

She adjusted the bun atop her head for what was probably the hundredth time. It was a perfect replication, though it still felt so strange. She was more used to her own incredibly long hair, that having nothing trailing behind her left her feeling unbalanced.

The dress was pretty though. She'd always loved this dress on Grandma - it wasn't the most extravagant or fancy, but it reminded her of warm hugs and exciting stories and goodnight kisses.

Hadley was excited to be at this party. Candies were her favorite, always so small and cute with their pretty shiny wrappings. And this was a whole event dedicated to the collection of such candies! It was amazing what the people of Earth could come up with.

Glancing down at her basket, Hadley tried to resist the urge to reach down and sample one, again, but with her destination so close, she was able to hold herself back. This time.

It was so warm inside, and there were so many interesting smells - her stomach rumbled at the first whiff - but her attention was diverted to looking at all of the decorations. So many, and so cute. Hadley smiled, and felt even more at ease. The decision to go to this party had been one that she had debated back and forth several times. She didn't do well with crowds of people, but the lure of such a wonderful event kept her desire from faltering too much.

And now she was definitely glad she'd decided to come after all.

She noticed a table with several baskets laid upon it, and a sign with instructions. Hadley took a quick peek at the baskets, admiring the handiwork, before setting her own beside them.

Now it was time to enter the party proper.

She was unable to hide the small smile as the thrill of excitement bubbled within her.

Kyan would have been to the party much sooner but her ride, the ornery old man driving the taxi, got them lost for at least an hour in the city when he had misheard her request thinking that she wanted him to take her to a location with a picturesque view of the night sky. After Kyan had explained to him that no, she had specifically given him the address to a Gothic Revival-styled mansion somewhere out in the countryside, the man proceeded to drive around in circles claiming that his GPS had suddenly stopped working. The blue-haired woman scowled. Was her accent really that thick or was this man just senile?

“Let me drive, you idiot!” she barked impatiently as she leaned forward and reached for the steering wheel.

“Neh, I don't need help! I'm not lost!” the man retorted, pushing her gloved hand away. Kyan furrowed her brow in disgust and then sunk back into her seat. This was one of many reasons why she wished she had bothered learning a teleportation spell. When they had finally reached the mansion, the grumpy taxi driver, under the impression that he might get stuck in some mud on the drive up, decided to drop his equally-as-grumpy passenger off at the base of the hill instead of the front door.

“...Are you kidding me, hun? What kind of chauffeur are you?”

...Whatever, I don't have time for this!

Grumbling, the blue-haired woman carefully stepped out of the cab and dusted off her costume: a short, belted black witch dress with a flared skirt, tulle underlay, and princess sleeves; and a tall, pointed black hat which was tipped to the side of her head to accommodate for her massive bun of electric-blue hair. Then, using the reflection of the setting sun, Kyan took a moment to study herself in the side-view mirror. Although the outfit suited her figure quite well and was to her current tastes, she still couldn't help but find the concept behind it a bit too ridiculous for her to proudly wear. A true witch was a being of elegance: cunning and classy, not some broom-wielding paramour with pointed shoes and a pointed hat. She of all people would know.

The driver seemed to be growing impatient with her as she stood there primming herself in his mirror, but Kyan did not care a single bit. He had effectively wasted her time, so now she would waste his. When the ornery old man loudly cleared his throat and then pointed roughly to the taximeter on his dashboard, Kyan simply responded by sloooowly retrieving her woven basket—which was filled to the brim with an assortment of individually-wrapped candies: chocolate truffles, seafoam, a motley of colorful bonbon, and lollipops resembling orange slices. She may have have gone a bit overboard—and her broom, which was actually her staff cleverly disguised with a thick bundle of straw, before shooting him a final death glare.

“So sorry, hun, but I don't pay to be late.” And with that, she kicked the taxi door shut. The slam of her heeled shoe in combination with the strong breeze was enough to dent the side of the door and crack the window. Wide-eyed and dumbstruck, the old man sat there watching helplessly as his passenger stormed off up the hill without paying her fare. “Stupid taxi driver,” she muttered to herself as she braced the elements on her hike up the slope. The frigid temperature did not bother her so much as the constant gust of wind blasting harshly at her face. After all, it was quite difficult for her to walk across such uneven ground with elegance when the wind forced itself against her center of balance. And of course there was the sound of it howling past her strands of electric blue hair, which was beyond irritating to her sensitive ears.

When Kyan finally reached the top of the hill, she quickly to made her way through the heavy mansion doors, relieved to finally be out of that terrible wind. As she strolled through the mansion, she paid particular attention to the décor; and although she was slightly put off by the spider webs scattered across the surfaces throughout the room, she soon found herself gaping in awe as she continued her way up the grand staircase and laid her deep blue eyes upon the grand ballroom. She smirked. Now this was quite a fancy party. Kyan walked up to the table with the pumpkin-patterned cloth at the entrance of the ballroom and placed her basket of candy upon it, next to the sign and the other guests' baskets, before making her way in the general direction of the bar.

Annotations:

(Stephanie sanders banner soon i hope)

Stephanie arrived at the place of the part and stepped out of a car looking around at the outside. She was in her Dark Mercury costume and checked everything to make sure it was in place and begun her way in. She made her way to the ballroom looking at everyones outfit and admiring them as well and set her basket on the table after reading the note. She then walked in amazed at the setting of the place and how awesome it looked.

The guests (well, most of them) had finally arrived! Now that they were in the mansion, it was time for the party to truly begin!

With no warning, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the ballroom into darkness. Before there was much of an opportunity for anyone to react, the lights flared back on again.

What was this? The ballroom looked different, now...

The back of the room no longer had tall windows or a dance floor. Instead, the entire area now looked like a street in a residential neighborhood, although the proportions didn't seem to make sense. The "houses" looked flat... and too tall... and not quite wide enough... but they did have floor doors and tiny porches all decorated for the Halloween season. And several of them (although not all) were hung with signs that read "Trick or Treat!" Those such doors each had a small table beside them, topped with a basket of candy.

But wait! Weren't those the baskets of candy the current guests had brought to the party?

They WERE, indeed!

How strange!

Second Prompt wrote:

React to the change in the ballroom! Is your character immediately interested in collecting the candy, or is your character intimidated by the sudden and inexplicable change in scenery?
TRICK-OR-TREAT COLLECTION HAS STARTED.
Try to complete this before EOD (end of day) on Thursday, October 20!

OOC:

Soon as the lights turned off ,Ayano was afraid that something bad will happen but instead the lights flared back and she calmed herself .Although the "new" room made no sense to her ,she immediately was curious about what this "Trick-or-Treat" meant .With tiny steps she got approached a candy basket .

"I'm curios ,who left in this basket all of this candy ?Well then nobody will mind if I take a bit :only one !"Then she gently turned back ,hoping that nobody will observe her .

(Stephanie Sanders/Dark Mercury)

Stephanie had walked a few steps into the room when the light went out 'OOh spooky" she thought then when they came on she squealed inside with amazement. 'Wow a transforming house party..we don't have this back home..hey whats that person doing? looks like fun..' She then walked over to a different house stop and stood in front of the candy basket, "Hmm if this has a fake spider or something pop out at me that would be cool but she knocked at the door like normal...waiting for a possible answer..

The door that Stephanie Sanders knocks on emits a strange and inhuman groaning noise from deep within, but it does not open.

Pamina jumped when the lights turned off, resisting the urge to scream. This reminded her of too many moments in mazes and dungeons when fighting against creatures of evil. The child was still trying to regain her bearings and decide how to react when they flared back on, revealing that so far nothing seemed to be amiss.

Then her dark eyes noticed the ballroom had changed. The windows were gone now... replaced by a set-like reproduction of a quaint neighborhood street. The table with the baskets of candy... it was gone! Those same baskets were now arranged all around the room.

How could someone have managed this so quickly?

Pamina looked around, observing the others at the party. She saw one young woman, blonde with pale lilac skin, reach for some of the candy. Another didn't seem to be bothered by this at all! She not only walked right up to the door, she knocked on it! Pamina had been hoping that it would open, but it didn't. The noise that it made, however... it sent a shiver down her spine!

She wished she could work up the courage to talk to some of the others at the party. Maybe it would be less scary to investigate that candy if she wasn't walking up to the basket alone...

Homura took a deep breath, this was her first Halloween ever for her and was nervous. She took a week to even a choose a costume but found a cute Urban Vampire costume and immediately bought it. She also never had candy before so she was nervous about trying that too. Homura had been invited and immediately signed up for the whatever it was since it seemed fun. 

She had bought a sailor moon Halloween bag from a store despite it being expensive. She shook her head to rid of the nervousness. The Urban Vampire child took a deep breath before going inside to see many other people dressed up too, she noticed the lights turned off and jumped a little. The memories of being yelled at by Chaos crashing over her. She clinched her eyes tightly to rid of it and pinched the bridge of her nose. Now wasn't the time to have flashbacks. Now, it was time to have fun.

Homura walked over to an empty seat at a table and placed her bag on an empty seat and went to grab some food.

As soon as Homura Higurashi set down her basket, it flickered! Then, with a poof, it disappeared!

Almost immediately, it reappeared outside of Door 2! Door 2 is now added to the Trick-or-Treat list and map!

Stephanie stepped back not in horror but happiness. She liked the small jump scare and then tried what the other person did and she walked down and took a piece of candy. She then looked around at the other areas where their candy bowls they brought now sat. not sure what to do, she went over to some people to say hi. She saw the girl who jumped a little during the presentation earlier and walked over kindly to her, "Hello, My name is Stephanie..thats a great outfit you have..did you make it yourself?"

Oh! One of the other guests had approached her! Pamina readjusted the hat of her costume, the part that resembled the owl's head with large golden eyes, and timidly replied.

"Hello, Stephanie," she began. "Nice to meet you. I'm Pamina. Someone made my costume for me, actually... Yours is very pretty. Did you make it?"

Pamina always felt shy talking to strangers, but she had to make an effort. This was a party, after all! She couldn't just hide in a corner by herself the whole night. She glanced around the ballroom for a moment, looking at the decorations, thinking about how odd it was to be at this mysterious mansion so far from the city. The dark-haired little girl still had no idea where these peculiar invitations had come from.

"Do you know who invited us to this party?" she asked hesitantly, somewhat afraid that her question was not okay to mention. "It's a mystery to me."

Stephanie smiled at Pamina, "Thats a cute name. actually no I didn't make mine either..I just love this Sailor Moon character a bunch. I too think she is pretty. As for the invites..I really don't know who sent them.. but i would love to meet them..back where I live there are lots of parties like this around halloween..its fun.." She stood by Pamina.. looking around at the others.. "You wanna go meet the others? Looks like we have some great outfits tonight."

Everything felt so overwhelming, Hadley didn't even know where to begin. She couldn't keep herself from looking from one place to the other, taking in the surroundings with all of the interesting decorations, and the people with all of their cute costumes.

She adjusted her own costume, and held herself up a little straighter. She was her grandmother, after all, and so she would have to try and be more confident! Though, she noticed, that despite this new found revelation, she still had yet to go up and talk to someone.

The very idea set her heart racing.

Instead, she turned her attention onto the many doors. Choosing one, she walked up and knocked, wondering what kind of treats could be given from it. This was such a charming idea, she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

The loud noise of rattling chains can be heard from behind the door that Hadley knocked on. But it doesn't open!

Instead, the basket of candy just outside that door begins to glimmer, inviting her to take a piece!

"Oh! Um, okay!"

She was somewhat surprised that the other girl had offered that they go try to meet the others... but maybe it would be less scary with someone else. Pamina nodded, her fingers fiddling with the fabric feathers of her owl costume. Her dark eyes looked around the room, hoping that Stephanie would lead if they were going to ask others about their costumes. She didn't quite feel brave enough to be the first one to talk to someone else just yet. But she'd gladly follow along.

The moment Kyan stopped in front of the bar and started to reach for a glass of champagne, the lights suddenly went out leaving the room in complete darkness. Alarmed, the blue-haired woman immediately retracted her arm and clutched tightly onto her broom with both hands, prepared to fight whoever or whatever was causing the blackout if it became necessary. But before she could fully assess the situation, the lights flashed back revealing not the ballroom but an outdoor scene complete with strange-looking houses in what appeared to be a residential area. Oh, and she was now standing on a porch next to a small table with one of the other guest's candy bowls.

“What?” Kyan furrowed her brow as she took in the new scenery with skepticism. Was this some sort of illusion? She took a few cautious steps forward and then stuck her hand in the bowl of candy (3), but not without first taking notice of the sign above it: Trick or Treat.

What does [that] mean? she asked herself. Trick? Kyan briefly glanced over her shoulder before removing one of the candies from the bowl and unwrapping it. When the blue-haired witch was convinced that nothing terrible was going to happen to her, she brought the pale-colored confectionery treat closer to her ear. Well, the candy felt real and sounded real, she thought to herself squishing it between her fingers—In fact, nothing in her immediate surroundings really sounded out of the ordinary or threatening to her, so perhaps the sudden change of scenery was all part of the event?—Kyan then popped the piece of candy into her mouth. And it sure tasted real.

“Disappointing,” she remarked, discarding the wrapper to the side of the table. A glass of champagne would have been much better. Why did the buffet and the bar have to disappear? Kyan grumbled a little in annoyance. Well at the very least, the party's new setting wasn't windy.

Hadley blinked, the sound of chains giving her pause. What could be creating such a sound? Was someone trapped back there? She was beginning to worry when the basket outside the door glimmered, taking her attention away from the curious - and concerning - sounds.

The basket was so cute and looked so inviting. The pieces of candy had been wrapped in shiny wrappers that caught the light of the glimmering basket, making them look like jewels.

Of course! This was part of the whole thing, this Halloween and the trick-or-treat. The sounds shouldn't be worrisome, they were part of the decor and atmosphere. She liked the baskets with their pretty candies, and she was more than happy to reach down and take one for herself.

She looked at it, a smile on her face as she twisted it one way and the other, making it catch the different lights around her.

This was so fun! Like a hunting for treasure. Hadley glanced around at the others at the party, wondering what it would be like to do this with other people, but her heart raced at the very thought.

She adjusted her wig, and smoothed out any wrinkles on her dress. All of her intent was to walk up to someone - anyone - and start a conversation. But she didn't move, and the longer she wasn't moving, the more she was getting nervous and anxious.

Hadley found herself looking instead to the doors. Well, she'd focus on getting some more treasure first. That was okay, right? The thought of collecting all of the little candies made her smile again, so she focused on that instead.

Deciding to go in order, she started to make her way to the next door. She had to get more of these little treasures!

Stephanie then looked around for someone to go talk to with Pamina and saw a girl with blue hair in a witch costume and said, "Come on Pamina..lets go over here..this person has a cool witch costume.." She then started off towards the girl stopping to make sure her new friend was with her. After this Stephanie wanted to get another piece of candy.

After stepping away from the porch, Kyan noticed the other guests wandering toward the other mysterious doors and wondered if there were more candies at the rest of the houses in the neighborhood, and if they were any more palatable than the first piece she tried. Perhaps the champagne had also been relocated, possibly to the other side of the ballroom—er, moonlit neighborhood—like some of the baskets, bags, and bowls of candy.

Convinced that she may be able to find the bar in a new location, Kyan took a few more paces to the west side of the neighborhood until she found herself in front of another house. As the blue-haired woman approached the mysterious door (2), she cautiously dipped her hand into the bowl of candy. But instead of taking one piece like last time, she decided to take a greedy handful. She did not take immediate notice of the two girls heading in her general direction.

Kyan's attempt to take an entire fistful of candy seemed to trigger something! There was a loud hollow moan from behind the door, which rattled for a moment!

More strange noises issued from behind the doors, and suddenly they all burst open, releasing... ghosts!

Fitting the stereotypical look of Halloween decor, these ghosts were shifting blobs of semi-transparent whiteness, with black holes for their mouths and eyes. They flew about the room emitting loud "OOoooOoOOoOOooooOooOoOOOooo!" noises and groans. They passed right through anything they interacted with.

Third Prompt wrote:

Oh no! Ghosts! Are they evil? Are they mischievous? Are they scary? It's hard to tell! They're flying all over the place!

React to the ghosts! What does your character try to do? Are they scared? Do they want to fight? Oh no, ghooOOOoooOooOOOooOooOOooosts!

Try to complete this before EOD (end of day) on Tuesday, November 1!

She nodded at Stephanie's suggestion and dutifully followed along towards the blue-haired woman in the witch costume. She seemed to be trying to take a lot of candy...

And that did something!

Pamina yelped and backed up slightly behind Stephanie when ghosts poured out of the doors! They were everywhere! They were loud, and they were moving so fast! She barely knew what to do! As just an owl, she felt utterly unprepared for phantasms like these!

Stephanie watched as the ghosts appeared and she grinned, "Who ya gonna call? Pamina are you ok? I will try to keep you safe. I am not sure they will harm us..none of them are slimy or green." She then stared at the girl who took more then she should...

When the door rattled and the strange translucent figures burst through the door, Kyan immediately dropped the handful of candy and launched herself off the porch backwards, landing several meters from the house. She whipped out the broom, her concealed staff, in front her and aimed it at the door, prepared to defend herself against the onslaught of ghosts. The ghosts however passed right through her and spiraled around the room each emitting the same oscillating “OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo” sound, which grew louder as even more ghosts poured out from the remaining doors.

...What the hell? Kyan clenched her teeth at the irritating sound. Had taking more than one piece of candy triggered this annoyance? Her body twisted and turned as she spun around in place, trying to keep up with the fast-moving ghosts. She couldn't even focus on a single target, let alone identify any sort of threat! There was just too much noise and it was all out of phase! Kyan couldn't take it anymore. This trickery or whatever it was had to stop now. The blue-haired witch slammed the butt end of her broom against the sidewalk, unleashing a continual wave of pulsating compressional energy. Her arguably-as-annoying sound waves were for some reason or another severely dampened by the room, but that did not deter Kyan from experimenting with the amplitude and frequency of her attack. Perhaps those troublesome ghosts would implode if she could match their pitch at a higher octave.

Hadley had been at yet another door, intent on the little basket sitting outside, when the strange groans and sounds caught her attention. She had never seen such odd look creatures! But the transparency of their bodies reminded her of the soft gauzy silks that her grandmother often added to the pretty dresses she sewed.

She smiled at them - they were kind of cute! Though pretty loud too. She wondered how they were able to simply pass straight through everything in their way. What was the purpose of that? What if they wanted to pick up something?

Hadley shook herself out of the line of thought, and went over to the main part of the group. It was always better to stay as a group when in potential danger - her grandmother always said so.

"Um, hi," she said in greeting, trying her best to ignore the way her heart began to beat faster at initiating conversation, before putting her attention back to the ghosts. They didn't look too terrible. And she wasn't certain they were to be feared. In fact, she kind of liked them. "Do you guys think they're hostile?"