[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

[lakebrat]

Shock takes him all at once, prickling over his skin, setting his own fur on end in response, as everything falls into place. He can see it, too, can see all the ways grief takes you—not just Corvus himself, but his Ren, back in their world. Except this is not the time for that.

"What a piece of shit," he agrees, as if it's nothing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

[lostgemini]

"Yeah," he agrees bitterly, "he's an idiot, but I didn't take him to be that much of an idiot."

His hands twitch, and his mouth needs something to suck on. He already misses the taste of smoke in his throat.

"You couldn't have known," Kou exhales, "it's not like I'm- advertizing it to the world."

[lakebrat]

Advertising? No—except in the way grief steams off him. It's something Goro's seen before—Haru's hand in his, as she wept—except so much more so.

His head tilts. "If you're not Goro, then what is your name? Come on, let's get out of here."

There are cigarette machines in the main alley; he'll head around the corner to those.

[lostgemini]

"... Just use Corvus please."

He sounds so, so very tired when he says it. Still, he follows Frog.

"It's nothing personal," he elaborates, after a moment, "it's just- Goro was the only one who even knew- who'd use it for so long, and I... it's bad enough seeing his face everywhere on strangers. I don't know how I'd feel about hearing it spoken by a fake." There's a small pause. "No offense."

[lakebrat]

"Sure." It hurts, to see this guy raking himself over the coals. "You don't need to explain yourself to me, you know. Or to anyone here."

Because he's got the air of someone who's been doing that since he arrived. They pull up by the machine around the corner from Leblanc. It has no coin slot.

[lostgemini]

"The questions are... exhausting," Kou huffs, "don't pretend you wouldn't have wondered."

He stares at the machine, wondering how the fuck he's supposed to pay- before he remembers that, duh, things don't cost money. He doesn't hesitate punching in the combination for his favorite brand, and within seconds, he's swiping a box of Seven Stars from the slot, already using his claws to pry the package open. He seems almost... desperate, with the way he shakes out a cigarette, plopping it between his lips before fishing out a lighter from his pants pockets- thanking his lucky stars he couldn't be assed to take off his pants when he went to bed.

It takes him a few attempts before a flame sparks, but when it does, he gratefully inhales on the cancer stick, relief on his face as he exhales a ring of smoke, belatedly remembering to aim away from Frog.

[lakebrat]

It doesn't bother him that much; his ears flick a little, that's all. If it bothered him, he couldn't live in half the places he has, or do the jobs he does. He doesn't know what Corvus's life has been like, other than worse than his.

"Even if I'd wondered," he says, "that doesn't make it any of my business."

[lostgemini]

"No, it's not," Kou exhales, "I don't know- I'm just..."

He's just what? It's hard to say, and he stalls, taking another deep inhale from his cigarette.

"... it's hard. Salt in the wound," he murmurs. "The questions, that is."

Just another reminder that he's gone.