[EVENT] 'Tis the Spooky Season...

[vrdr_mods]

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!]

Comments

[gorobo]

"Ack-!"

He's startled when a rather large, cat-shaped creature jumps on the bench, practically on top of him. He hadn't realized he was being watched, least of all by-

"Raven?" he asks, looking closer at the... catboy? His systems were ready to go over to combat mode, but suddenly he's glad he didn't. "What happened to you? Wait- I know," he groans. "Igor did this, didn't he?"

He doesn't look very impressed by the thought.

[fogboundcrow]

"He did." He pouts, ears folding back. With his soft, fluffy cheeks, cute, pink nose, and flicking tail, he probably comes across as more cutesy than intimidating. "Most people in the house have transformed, except for Joker and Magpie, for some reason."

[gorobo]

Falcon sighs, annoyed. "Goddamn Igor- well, I don't know what I expected. Good for them, at least." He lifts up his own hand, and wiggles it around. "Seems I've been left alone too, thankfully."

Yeah, he's not exactly keen on a sudden modification to his body. He looks Raven up and down, taking note of all the differences.

... He's kinda cute, isn't he? Wait, no-

"He shouldn't do that shit," Falcon grumbles. "It's so- well. You know how I feel about it."

[fogboundcrow]

His eyes dilate a bit when Falcon lifts and wiggles his hand. He even lifts his own paw-hand and... bats at it.

Oops.

His ears fold back again, and he huffs. "...You have every reason to feel that way. Perhaps Igor decided to spare you out of courtesy, but it's hard to tell with this Igor."

[gorobo]

And perhaps he should reply to that, but-

He snorts.

"Did you just... bat at my hand?"

[fogboundcrow]

...Huff. His tail thumps. "Not intentionally."

[gorobo]

This, too, is adorable. Falcon clears his throat.

"Heh. No, no, of course not," he says, still somewhat amused, although... he sobers somewhat, frowning. "Screw Igor for messing with you like this, though."

[fogboundcrow]

"At least I can jump high. That does provide some interesting utility." Hmm... Falcon is a robot. Robots are machines.

Machines are warm. Hmm...

He scoots a tiny bit closer.

[gorobo]

Falcon sighs, thinking of how he needed to rescue Futaba from the roof a little while ago. "It is useful to have that ability, but still."

He notices Raven scooting closer, and lifts an eyebrow. For now, he does not call it out though.

[fogboundcrow]

Robot lap. Warm lap? Hmm...

Right. Conversation. "It is also convenient to have weapons at my fingertips." He raises one hand, making his claws pop out, then retracting them again.

[gorobo]

... Is... Raven slowly... crawling into his lap?

Huh?

"I can't deny that." Considering his own finger-guns. "But... Raven?"

No really, he's practically sitting on Falcon now. What?

[fogboundcrow]

"Oh." He is sitting on Falcon. However, he also doesn't particularly want to move. "...I blame Igor."

[gorobo]

He has a lapful of catboy teenager.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

"... Right," Falcon awkwardly stares into Raven's slit-pupiled eyes, his systems humming underneath his mesh and metal body. "... Are you going to move...? I can't imagine I'm very comfortable."

[fogboundcrow]

"You're warm." Blink, blink. Very warm. Toasty. Warm lap... special lap.

[gorobo]

"... What does that have to do with-"

Raven is a cat. Cats love heat.

Ah.

"You're seeking out heat," he says, vaguely amused.

[fogboundcrow]

...Damn it. Cat instincts are so weird. He pouts again.

"I am never going to live this down..."

[gorobo]

"I'll remind you until the end of time," he hums, "and then some."

Surprisingly, he's not too upset with this arrangement.

The contact is... well, he's still not fully comfortable with it, but it's just Raven. And Raven is a cat now. Sort of. It's... fine. Raven won't do anything to him. Just like Futaba-chan, he's... okay. There's no need for the instinctual want for distance.

It's just Raven, and Falcon feels... somewhat relaxed, actually. Without thinking, he reaches over to scratch behind Raven's ears- just barely pausing before he actually does so. His hand hovers, but it's probably not the best idea. Raven's still human at his core, after all.

[fogboundcrow]

Raven's ears flick up. His eyes follow the movement of that hand. On one hand, petting would be... embarrassing. On the other hand, petting. Scritches...

"Um." Well, this is awkward. "Go ahead...?"

[gorobo]

Oh.

Well. Then...

"If you're sure you don't mind," Falcon says, making sure all his limiters are firmly in place. He waits one more moment to give Raven a chance to change his mind...

But then he lowers his hand, and gives a gentle scratch behind Raven's ear. It's... nice. He doesn't get much out of it sensationwise, his body not exactly made for this, but... his sensors detect the beating if Raven's heart. The warmth radiating off him. While he probably can't understand just how soft it is in reality, even with his limited senses, Raven's fur is pleasant to the touch.

He finds himself relaxing a little more.

[fogboundcrow]

Oh. That's... different. But the touch is also... nice? He leans into it, relaxing in turn and... purring?

"...I have no idea how I'm doing this."

[gorobo]

"Ordinarily, cats produce a purr by dilating and constricting the glottix," Falcon rambles off, mindlessly sharing the knowledge as he continues to pet behind Raven's ear. "It causes air to vibrate, and-"

... But it was probably a rethorical question.

"... That said, who knows when it comes to Igor's bullshit."

[fogboundcrow]

"Well, that is interesting." Mm, it feels so nice. He even closes his eyes, enjoying the sensation.

[gorobo]

"Isn't it?"

Raven is really enjoying this, isn't he?

Falcon can't deny it's... relaxing, if nothing else. There's a small smile on his face as he continues to pet behind Raven's furry ears, fascinated with the way they occasionally twitch. Even without a proper sensation of touch, he can tell they're extremely soft. Kitten fur.

[fogboundcrow]

Mmm. Comfortable. He's not entirely sure why, but he has the strong urge to just... curl up and get cozy.

"Honestly, I should consider myself lucky. My balance hasn't been thrown off as much by the tail as Hiro's has by his new wings, and Joker outfitted Crow with heels to try and offset his now digitigrade legs. Hiro's horns also have caused him to get caught in the doorway a few times."

Humorous as it is, it's hardly convenient.

[gorobo]

Falcon heaves out a sigh at that, feeling his frustration rise once more. Seriously?

"What a pain," he says, "I can't believe you're all just... okay with that. Igor changes you all on a whim, and you still consider him benevolent?"

... Though he can't deny that it's nice to pet behind Raven's ear. He scritches juuuust below it, before smoothing the hair out, and repeating the process. It's very... calming. The purr is such a nice sound, too, resonating with his systems in a very soothing way.

"Well, at least you seem to be enjoying it," he hums.