Character Meet and Greet: Boo to You~!

[smk_mods]

Rules | FAQ | Premise | Applications

i. Main Street USA: Daylight Hours
The citizens of Main Street greet the coming of fall in a big way! The entire main part of town is decorated in the colors of fall, carved pumpkins on every window ledge, balcony and stoop! Some are rather creative, ranging from The King himself to various spook-tacular versions. There are also plain pumpkins, squash and apples arranged in a rather decorative (and tasty) presentation outside the Opera House!

Enjoy yourselves as The Candy Palace begins to hand out small, caramel and spice covered apple slices. The smell of apple fritters, grilled apples and apple bacon float through the air. Enjoy the rather relaxed daylight hours...

ii.Main Street USA: After Dark

Because the moment the sun sets, and the lamps have been lit- the entire street takes on a strange and unsettling demeanor. The pumpkins glow a soft, red color and bats and black cats crawl around the shadowed corners. You might see several citizens wandering the streets-but look to hard and they will suddenly vanish before you can even greet them.

The stores are still open and the sweets and treats are still pouring; but! Beware of happy haunts~!

iii. Yo ho, yo ho a Pirates life for me!

Ah! Smell that salty, briny air! It gives life to all those who are from or love the sea!

Which would be wonderful and invigorating, if this was the bottom of the beautiful briny sea. It isn't. It's the open garden in front of the train station which is no being over run by some rather fishy, lv. 2 Corroded! Can you help sweep the proverbial beach clean without being washed away by water based attacks? The conductors would be most grateful if you could!

iv.Come out and Socialize!

No need to be number one thousand! Imagination is the real host here, so go on and use your to come up with your own adventure. Just remember to take loved ones by the hand, please, our ghosts are frightfully sensitive to too much mischief~

Comments

[blue_ice]

Thus far, Kaiba is rather unimpressed with his new home. It's no Kaibaland. And of course he despises the very concept of 'magic'. But the skeleton is an interesting sight.

He's far too thin to be a human in costume, and his facial movements are incredibly lifelike. It has to be some form of advanced robotics or puppetry, but the only way to find out is to investigate further. Kaiba tries to look impressive, but...well, it's rare that he encounters anyone taller than him, and looking up is strange.

"What are you supposed to be?"

Blunt as ever.

[scarygoodtime]

Jack had been examining one of the store-fronts, lost in his own thoughts and admiring the decoration. The bluntness was unexpected, as so far Jack had encountered hints of fear and uncertainty, but politeness nonetheless from the people here. Raising an eyebrow, he cocked his head to the side and turned to regard the other.

"I'm supposed to be here to help the wizard Merlin, and the God Hades, and this is to be my new home and base of operations. I'm given to understand there are others who've been so summoned to assist our two hosts as well. That the need is dire." All entirely matter-of-factedly, and as if it were obvious.

[blue_ice]

"...right. That's what they're claiming."

He frowns and folds his arms. "This 'magic' thing really doesn't work for me. I have a business to run, and I'm no soldier. But if they think they're going to frighten me into it, they're wrong."

He's not scared. Definitely not scared. Just rude.

[scarygoodtime]

Oh Jack is very familiar with fear and its manifestations. From the tone of voice, posture, and look the younger man is giving him, he can already tell that any fear is buried deep down. Under a sense of bravado and surety that they understand the world and how it works, along with a deep mistrust and cynicism of anything they don't understand.

Were this Halloween, or in his own domain, Jack might focus on trying to dredge that deeply-buried fear up nearer to the surface. Change the icy stare in the other's eyes from disdain to a chill from fear. Test that bravado a little, see what makes this human hide behind their shield of cynicism.

But this was not his own domain, even if Halloween was close, and he was here for a different purpose besides.

"I doubt very highly that if they did not believe the need were dire, then I would not have been summoned so close to Halloween." Jack modulates his voice so that it is less bragging--no ego in it--and more statement of fact. Their hosts surely knew that only a great urgency would draw Jack from Halloween Town now. "I've not seen evidence one way or another yet to convince me they are lying. They also appeared quite busy, so I will not deny that I have further questions I'd like to ask of them as well, concerning this whole situation."

The other clearly disbelieved--now why. Was it simply that so-sure-cynicism, or something more?

[blue_ice]

"You have a big appointment on Halloween. Why am I not surprised?"

Kaiba likes this place less and less the more he hears of it.

"My city's full of bright-eyed dorks who would fall all over themselves for the chance to play hero and use 'magic', so I can't imagine why I'd be picked over any of them. And now they say there's no going back, which is just incredibly convenient."

He takes a deep breath. "It's making me seriously doubt their intentions, to say the least."

[scarygoodtime]

Jack resists the urge to chuckle as it occurs to him, despite the other's attempts to appear older how young the other man must be. No wonder he's hiding even more in his cynicism and sense of knowing. As it is, he lets a sly smile come to his bony face.

"Oh I can think of one reason that you're demonstrating quite well, why you would be asked." There is a tease in his voice, and a calculated hint of condescension designed to draw the other out further. They haven't even been properly introduced yet, but Jack figures fair is fair, given how he was addressed earlier.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba's irritation grows by the minute. His fingernails dig into his sleeves as he stares up, wondering what this skeleton could possibly be playing at.

"What? Is this a rendition of a Dickensian Christmas Carol, and I'm the Mr. Scrooge who needs to learn the true meaning of the holidays? I've heard it before," he admits, though he doesn't sound quite as certain as he did before.

[scarygoodtime]

"If it is, then I'm as unaware as you are." Jack confided, as he remembered reading that book too. "Although it is quite an illuminating story, it wasn't the most helpful with determining just what the 'Christmas spirit' was, for my studying. I found it more to be Mr. Scrooge's fear of death motivating him, which is a common theme among mortals and humans. Especially their fear of having a bad one, as opposed to a good one. So his desire to suddenly enjoy the holiday and make it merry for others seemed rooted in a need to have a 'good' death eventually, rather than to honestly celebrate the season and regain his lost sense of wonder."

Don't mind Jack, he's not meaning to lecture. "I found "The Gift of the Magi" only slightly more helpful, though when trying to reproduce the results via testing on the presents themselves, the results were inconclusive."

Studying? He'd been studying Christmas? And experimenting on it, testing it, subjecting it all to science in an attempt to understand.

[blue_ice]

"Hah. Looks like you understand humans perfectly." Kaiba snorts. He finds himself impressed with the amount of thought Jack put into this, but the rest of his speech makes him wonder.

"...wait. So you've been trying to figure out what Christmas is? I can tell you that for free. It's a commercialized circus intentionally fueled by toy to sell their wares, and that merriness demands that people see their families. Which in turn fuels the travel industry, and gifts are given to fuel everyone's egos. It's essential to strategize around it for business, but overrated if you ask me."

Though the discussion of 'family time' brings his thoughts back to Mokuba, wondering when he'll get to see his brother again. His gaze drifts to a girl passing by with her younger sister, and it's a second before he tears his gaze away and looks back up.

"Any other questions?"

[scarygoodtime]

Jack listens patiently to Kaiba's explanation with a thoughtful expression. Crossing his arms loosely, he tilts his head as he regards Kaiba once more. "Several, but I doubt you'd be inclined to answer them. There is also neither time nor a need to poke at you about them either." The latter statement isn't said unkindly, although it's probably not reassuring.

"As for that delightful holiday, I doubt I'll ever fully understand the Christmas spirit itself. Even after meeting Santa Claus himself, although I still think his name is misleading since he lacks claws and isn't made of sand." With a more jovial tone and a smile coming to his face.

There is another pause before Jack speaks again. "You, dear boy, are likely here because of your skepticism and disbelief." Rather confident in that. "We mustn't lose sight of how amazing Wonder and Imagination are, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't also seek answers and test things. Wed science and magic, and find out what we can."

[blue_ice]

Kaiba thinks about that puzzling statement for a moment.

"...Sandy Claws?"

Whatever. He snorts, entirely unsurprised to hear that. "I'll agree to test and poke holes in whatever they throw at us, but the world's an ugly place. Any wonders in this world are ones we need to make for ourselves, Mr...."

That he's even asking for a name is a sign of grudging respect. At least he didn't call him Mr. Skeleton.