maskormenace | 7th Trick

I always liked the fall. Nice scenery, good food, cool nights and mild days. Holidays right around the corner. Things always feel a little cozy in the fall. I died in the fall, too, so I guess I've got a special attachment to it.

I think people are getting a little out of control with the pumpkin spice thing, though. Was it really that good?

[That's your Manipulator: your occasionally poetic villain who occasionally makes thoroughly pointless network posts because he's eternally bored.]

I was a big fan of Halloween too. Nothing more fun than dressing up in costume and eating candy until you puke. Of course, that was a long time before I knew that ghosts were real.

By the way, you should probably keep that in mind before you cut holes in sheets and start running around making oooooo-noises, jerks.

In any case, I had a conversation the other day that got me thinking. Do ghosts exist where you come from? And if they do, what are they like?

If there's not ghosts, maybe there are monsters or something kind of like that. Whatever kind of spooky-type creatures you might have in your own dimensions. I'd kind of like to hear about what they're like in other places.

[You know, just in case someone has an idea he hasn't thought of yet.]

In before "ghosts don't exist anywhere." You're going to have a hard time convincing me of that.

((All replies to this message will come from "The Manipulator," and will only be in text or audio format.))]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I can explain it for you if you want.

Yeah, that's what I'm hoping.

not liek i dont have the time

Oh?

Halloween is a holiday in the fall, at the end of this month. People make costumes and dress up. The night of, kids dress up and go from door-to-door and ring the doorbells, and people at home give them candy. Adults drink.

dressgn up huh souds liek something we cold uuse then. any reason for the ghosts and monsters?

Yeah, lots of bars like to have costume parties or contests to celebrate.

[The next part courtesy of Yomiel being a big dork:]

A long time ago, people believed that Halloween was the night when evil spirits could come to earth. They thought that dressing up as some kind of monster would either scare the evil spirits off, or make them think you were one of them.

People don't believe in evil spirits anymore, and now the costumes don't always have to be scary. But people like dressing up as something they're not.

[As Yomiel talks, there's a flicker on Greed's send. A slight ping of static before the feed switches from text to audio.] So - nothing about it exists then? Just a story?

[Which, hey. It's something different at least. The homunculus blindly scratches at the back of his neck. Where ever he is, his voice echoes just at the edge of the feed.] Either way, doesn't sound like it would be bad for business.

[But on the subject of monsters - ] You were asking about monsters before. Most tend to think whatever isn't normal is just that, but I've never seen the point. [For a while, there's a pause. Clack-a-clack-clack go his heels and the noise bounces back on the receiving end.]

Chimera - [The smile is obvious, even without video accompaniment.] - they were something the military made. Most weren't so lucky, but some could pass for human.

Well, most people don't believe in evil spirits anymore. They don't believe they need protection from them. Now Halloween is just for fun.

[A pause.] At one point, I would have told you that all the scary Halloween-type stuff was just pretend, but that was before I became a ghost.

It'd be a good idea to throw some kind of costume party at the bar, though. People like to go to those.

[Chimeras, huh...?]

The military made them? So they were like... people that got turned into something else?

Like I told you before - there's no such thing as no such thing, friend. [Using his real name is a bit risky, so he'll skip it. Instead, Greed merely hums on his side. As if the receiver is just a bit too close for comfort.] But you already knew that.

Apparently - [His words trail off and his wristbands jingle. As he moves on the other side of the line, his actions are practically drawn out for him.] - wouldn't really know all about that, but I'm not one to say no.

[On that other subject though, the homunculus goes silent a moment. Then:] That's right. Something they decided to keep a secret for a while. Alchemy - [Again, Greed sounds distant and he picks up a pace again. Clackin' down somewhere and the sound echoes sharply back.] - transmuting people with animals. But not all of 'em were so lucky.

[But a few - Greed almost sounds appreciative. Almost as admiring.] A few could pass, though. You probably would have liked them. [If there is a distance in his tone, he hardly realizes it.] Eh-

So what? You dress up for this holiday as a monster or something? [Switching the gears and there's a shrill sound on Greed's side of the line. Like a metal gate scraping on concrete. Forced open, but still fighting back.]

[The military created people-animal combinations... sounds like something a sketchy government would get up to.]

Were they friends of yours?

[It sounds like he was acquainted with them, anyway.

To his other question he hums.]

Yeah. You make a costume of some type. Scary costumes like monsters are popular, but it's not limited to just those. You can really dress up as anything you want.

["Were they friends of yours?" For a brief moment, Greed's too quiet. Until that smile of his comes rearing back, audible over the feed.] You could say that.

[And if it's a forced smile, he's not about to elaborate.]

[Instead, there's a moment of static on his end. As he adjusts the phone to pin it between his ear and shoulder. A few claps against the palm of his hand follow and when the Sin speaks again, there's a slight muffle to his tone. As if he has something wedged between his teeth.] Ah-? Anything, huh?

[That's Kanaya's forte, not his.]

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