personavelvetroomdr | [EVENT] 'Tis the Spooky Season...

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[EVENT] 'Tis the Spooky Season...

Autumn is drawing on in the Velvet Room and its environs. The days are colder, the nights are crisper, leaves are a riot of colour ready to fall from the trees. And (besides all the pumpkin spice popping up for some reason) that means only one thing: Hallowe'en!

As the season approaches, you may undergo a mysterious transformation. Perhaps you wake up with wings, or hooves, or gills! Or perhaps your transformation will change more, go deeper... perhaps to your very soul. Who can tell? You might wake up as an animal, or a mythological creature. Or as anything at all.

Transformations will reverse on the morning of November 1st. ~~Probably.~~

In the meantime, Destinyland is celebrating the holiday. Cheerful Jack-o'-Lantern Shadows have set up on street corners, handing out flyers advertising the park's seasonal festivities. In the days leading up to the 31st, Destinyland will host all the usual fun: Hallowe'en games, Trick or Treat for the babies (and the not-so-babey), the Gorb fortune teller, Shadow-run food stalls serving spooky meals and treats, and, of course, the haunted house with its array of friendly, candy-giving Shadows. Or maybe they're not so friendly.

On the night of Hallowe'en itself, there will be a parade at the park and a grand party out in the main square with food, music, and plenty of space, though characters are not obliged to attend. However, if you wish to show off your new form, see what transformations have been wrought on your fellow guests, or simply take the chance to celebrate, it may be a good opportunity...

Who knows? Perhaps you'll even see some special guests.

[ooc: Welcome to our second Halloween event! This post will serve as a mingle for the duration of the event. Feel free to invite friends to play as guest characters, too! There will be a toplevel, and guest characters are simply whisked into the setting to engage in festivities, with a slight ghostly aura. For an example, see the thread here from last year!]

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And—there is a tall figure nearby. A softly glowing, golden, almost angelic figure, right down to the halo behind his... large, soft-looking fox ears. And the fan of nine oversized tails that spread out behind him.

"Are you okay?" says the figure. It has Goro's hair. And Goro's voice.

Edited 2024-10-26 10:52 (UTC)

Kou's eyes narrow at the glow instinctively, blinking until they adjust. Then, they widen, before he remembers-

... Right, this is just another fake. It's not- it's not him. It's not Goro.

He lets out a small sound that sounds almost like a growl. Or perhaps it's pained?

"Fine," he mutters, pushing himself upright, looking away from the glowing figure. His tail lashes. "As much as I can be, at least."

Goro peers at him, trying his best to keep those damned—tee-hee—tails in check. An ear twitches. He's quite a bit taller than usual, which is taking some getting used to.

"I didn't expect to see anyone appear out of thin air," he says. Maybe it's the horns and what all, but something is off about this guy. "How are you finding the tail?"

"Yeah, well," he grumbles, "I didn't exactly expect to be yanked out of bed and dropped here by magic either."

He miscalculates the weight of his wings, and sways a little too far. He barely managed to catch himself, straightening as he gets up, dusting himself off- and sneezing as some of his own fluff tickles his nose.

He looks back at the Goro, bitterly ignoring the ache in his heart. Yet another taunt, why'd they have to forcibly drop him here? At least his demeanor and body language is too off to be a convincing fake.

He glances at the twitching appendage behind him, and groans.

"Hard to control, for one," he says, trying to concentrate in order to make it stop moving. It does not, showing his discontent. "I didn't ask for any of this..." he gestures at himself, "...bullshit."

"I don't think any of us did." The sixth sense he's still not used to continues to guide him. "If you're heading back to the city, it might not let you leave, if it dropped you here. I could come with you, if you like. Two of us might"—he flicks a doubtful ear—"trick it somehow."

The horns are good, to be honest. Quite like Ren.

And that is... somehow perfect and all wrong.

Trick it. He and Goro used to trick plenty of people, thanks to their status as twins. How often did they swindle people out of money, or steal stuff, solidifying their own alibies by pretending to be the other...? It's- was second nature, to work together as one-

But that doesn't have anything to do with this Goro, who is too tall and- off. Right in some ways, but all too off in all the wrong ones. Kou's face has soured, his wings pulled tighter against himself, and he longs. If the other notices... he's not trying to be obvious about it, but if it were his Goro, he'd have known minutes ago.

Though if it were his Goro, he likely wouldn't be like this.

He's also not a fan of being stuck here, potentially, but the ache in his heart makes it feel like background noise.

"... Just great," he mutters, searching his pockets for his cigarettes, and- coming up empty. He finished the last one in his packet, and the fresh packet is still on his bedside table. For fucks sake. As if this shit couldn't get any worse. He huffs out an agitated sigh, sad and angry and craving a goddamn cigarette. "Fuck it, might as well give it a shot."

Yeah. He doesn't need a sixth sense to know something about him is upsetting this guy. Something about the way he withdraws, and cringes; something about him generally is off. And he hasn't seen any new names on the board.

"Come on, then," he says, heading for the gates—which he happens to have entered voluntarily, though not without trepidation. "You're—what, a dragon?"

"Something like that, I think," Kou replies shortly, trying to get a handle on his too-wild emotions, though he does follow the fake. "Can't say I'm a fan."

He blows some hair out of his face.

"And you- I take it you're not usually a kitsune, then."

"Oh, yes, in fact," he counters, with subdued brightness. "Born and hope to die."

They proceed for a deadpan moment in the embarrassing light of his body and halo, seriously, who has a halo—before he laughs under his breath. "No, not really. I'm Frog. I'm from one of the worlds with the Phantom Thieves."

Were it his own Goro, he would've been amused. He would've laughed. It would have been funny.

As it stands, it just makes him tired. So, so tired.

"Frog," he deadpans (or tries to, at least). Well... at least there's a face to the name on the board, now. Though what he says... Kou's eyes narrow.

"The Phantom Thieves existed back home too," he huffs, looking away. "Not so much without the Metaverse anymore, though."

Yeah, that joke falls about as flat as Goro's known a joke to fall. There's a deep, dark cloud around this one, and he doesn't need any sexy fox powers to tell it. He watches the new guy from the corner of one slitted brown eye.

"You lost the Metaverse?" he asks. "That must have been a kick in the teeth."

Plus, Frog is a fine name. But he doesn't protest as he might more usually do.

"It collapsed in on itself when we beat Maruki."

Which, sure, that was a kick in the teeth. Having been such an integral part of Kou and Goro's lives, losing it was... hard. Suddenly he wasn't special anymore, not in any way; he was just some teenage murderer who lost his brother under mysterious circumstances.

... Hah. Haha.

Fuck.

He swallows down the grief that attempts to take over his body, his heart pounding in his throat, chest tight. Losing the Metaverse was hard, yes, but having to lose Goro twice was even harder.

Having to look at these fakes, knowing they have no clue?

His wings curl in on himself without conscious input- almost like he's hugging himself. He doesn't even notice, trying to push out the hurt.

And it's all so familiar; far too familiar, even if he doesn't know the cause. The Metaverse going away—he can think about that later. The prospect doesn't do this to him.

"Hey," he murmurs, drawing to a halt—quiet, conciliatory, every inch the listener his life has made him. "Do you want to sit down? Get a coffee, perhaps? I'm sure it's dreadful, but."

In other words, does he want to talk? And Goro will listen. "What's your codename, anyway?"

Does he want to sit down? He doesn't know. He cracking under the grief again and he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't even realize the other has come to a halt until he nearly bumps into him- and it takes far too much effort to keep his face from crumbling completely.

He doesn't want coffee. He wants his brother back.

"... I don't know," he murmurs, before registering the last question. He swallows once, twice, three times until he feels like his voice won't crack anymore.

"It's Corvus. Sorry for not... offering it sooner."

"Corvus," he repeats quietly. "That's a damned good name, you know. Almost sorry I didn't think of it myself. Come on, let's find somewhere to sit."

It's Destinyland; there are benches everywhere. He'll head for the nearest one, if Corvus will follow.

Kou mindlessly follows Frog, caught between wanting- needing to keep composure, and his raw, cutting grief. He doesn't even really register the compliment- not until he's already sitting down next to the other, staring ahead of himself with blank eyes.

He doesn't really know what to say about it in response anyway, so he doesn't.

On the way, he's picked up two coffees; he hands one to Corvus, and cradles the other in his own makeshift paws. The glow of him surrounds them both, the fox and the dragon—or rather, the other dragon.

Goro considers his options for a moment or two, as they sit in silence. Then he murmurs, "You know, you aren't the only dragon I've encountered. My world's Ren, Drake, is one as well. Perhaps to be expected, considering his name."

He doesn't ask if there's anyone from Corvus's world here. If there were, he rather thinks there would be less grief on show.

Kou wordlessly accepts the coffee, but he doesn't move to drink. His gut is churning, and his tongue feels heavy; he's not sure he could stomach the drink right now. He's so fucking tired, and sad, and he hates it but he can't make it stop. This Goro being so... caring, too, is-

It's-

He doesn't know. He doesn't know.

"Mm," is the only noise he makes in reply. Must be nice, having someone from your own world here- though Kou doesn't know if he'd even like having someone from his own world around. His tail has wound around his own legs. His wings, already awkwardly squished against the back of the bench, droop against himself. Like a fucked up little cocoon for his own grief, illuminated by the other's light.

"And as for the tails," he continues, "they're a pain in several ways, as I'm sure you know from experience." He's drawn his knees up on the bench to sit sideways, with his own broad fan of fox tails behind him, spread out like a peacock's tail; already the posture has the air of being highly practiced.

He doesn't touch his coffee either, has it only for appearances. "It would be difficult, I think, to be alone here. Even if things were difficult between us, at least he knows how things are."

Kou can't even appreciate the effortless grace of the movement; all he can think of is how like Goro that is. Goro's always been the more effortlessly graceful, poised between the two of them. Kou knows he's always been more sloppy, and he didn't mind, not when he could so easily pretend he wasn't, and he had his own qualities where Goro fell short, but- but-

He swallows again, his face working overtime not to crumple with grief, not to give in, not to be weak in front of this fake. Being alone here is difficult? Hah. Haha.

"Nobody understands," he says, breath hitching. "Even if- if they were. Here."

His voice is far too brittle, and the stutter gives his roiling emotions away, but he can't stop.

And Goro doesn't elaborate, just tilts his fox head a little, brown hair pooling in golden light, willing to listen. "No?" he asks.

It's down to Corvus; he can elaborate, if he likes. Or he won't.

Kou shakes his head. His horns are heavy on his head, and make the motion a little awkward. He swallows, closing his eyes.

"No."

He doesn't elaborate.

That's fair enough. They can just sit here. Goro offers him a little smile, instead, which isn't all it could be what with the fox nose and teeth, but still manages to be kind. He's good at kind. Plus, he's involved now.

"I'm guessing you don't work at Leblanc. Or live there. That seems to be more the domain of the Rens and Akiras, as a rule." Small talk, gentle and undemanding.

"I... huh?"

Work or live at Leblanc? That's... yeah, that's Ren's thing. Kou doesn't even show his face there anymore, not when he and Goro killed the mother of the owner's daughter.

It's hard to even remember which one of them landed the killing blow. It didn't even matter, considering they were one soul, two bodies-

Were. Were. Were.

His voice cracks a little as he tried to answer the question.

"No, I- no. I don't go there."

No, perhaps not. The picture resolves itself a little more, though still not nearly clearly enough. "No," he agrees, looking down. "I never saw myself working in a café, either. It turns out I had quite the knack for it."

It's not just making coffee, after all. It's listening. At least, if you're good at it.

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