PC: ACE 💀

[resumed]

Comments

[resumed]

[ he raises an eyebrow because he wants to know more about that, no, wait, go back. ]

I guess it's fun? I've never really done the trick-or-treating part of it or anything. I think last Halloween Will and I just carved pumpkins and ate a bowl of M&Ms by color while watching a lot of old horror movies. [ and he probably raised an army of the undead to reenact thriller for his own amusement. ace does not need to know this. ]

Anyway yes, this store is likely going to have costumes and decorations and candy and everything else you could want for Halloween. Or just the vibe.

[selfimmolation]

[ no there will be no explanation of obon here. also ace understood ... half... of that... one day he'll finally understand what a movie is. he just nods along like he gets it anyway ]

Well, it still sounds like you guys had fun, which is what matters! [ but also head tilt ] The vibe?

[resumed]

[ ace can you please watch a movie.

he's about to say something like "yeah everything i do with him is usually fun" but a.) that's too telling and b.) there are definitely things they've done that are not fun. so instead. ]

Yeah. The vibe, like...the feeling?

[selfimmolation]

[ gay ]

The feeling of Halloween?

[ he's laughing. i mean he's learning slang but also he's laughing ]

[resumed]

[ literally was about to go "you're gay" and went "wait." ]

Why's that funny? [ STOP LAUGHING. ]

[selfimmolation]

What's the feeling of Halloween?

[ hehehe. also yea we are both gay babe. thanks. ]

[resumed]

The feeling of Halloween is like wanting to be a little scared and do things a little out of the ordinary. It's all about the things that are a little creepy and weird and off-balance, and that little edge of tension that doesn't ever quite drop and inviting darker things to come out of the shadows.

[ ...hm. ]

Like being unsettled in a fun way.

[selfimmolation]

[ <= a person who has never been scared of regular things in his life probably but he nods along ]

So it's like a thrill kind of thing. You get scared, but you know it's not actually anything really scary or dangerous?

[resumed]

Yeah, it's more of a mortal holiday than anything so...things like scary movies or haunted houses or ghost stories are really popular around that time of year.

[selfimmolation]

Maybe we should be doing something like that, then. Tell each other ghost stories. [ scary movies are something else he doesn't know jack about movies forever ] They might open up the store earlier if we get in the spirit of things.

[ not how it works ]

[resumed]

Like a summoning ritual? [ funny. ] Even if it didn't work it could be fun. I am kind of curious what sort of ghosts exist in everyone else's worlds anyway.

[ this is solely because nico di angelo is a fucking weird kid who needs better hobbies. ]

[selfimmolation]

They've got to be pretty different, right? We've got plenty of ghost stories, but I've never seen one. Meanwhile Danny's outright fighting some!

[ unfortunately ace also thinks that could be cool ]

[resumed]

[ hate this man. but nico sort of blinks at that. ]

I guess he's good at what he does. [ he's had some pretty extensive conversations about it and he is mildly impressed and fascinated. ] Ghost stories don't mean much to me at home when I can always go to the source if I wanted to. But I don't mind listening to them.

[selfimmolation]

[ ????? ]

What do you mean, go to the source?

[resumed]

I mean the ghosts themselves. [ he apparently has decided ace is safe enough that he can mention this. ]

[selfimmolation]

[

:o ]

Seriously? You can talk to ghosts?

[resumed]

Yeah. Sometimes they approach me first, whether I want them to or not. [ haha. ] I can also summon them when I want to speak to them myself.

[selfimmolation]

I don't think I've heard of anyone back home who can talk to the dead. [ huuuuuuuh. ] That's kind of impressive! And completely different than what you've got here.

[resumed]

Most people back home can't either. It's sort of a specialty. [ lightly said. but he frowns. ] Now you understand why I'm not exactly thrilled with my ability? It's different than anything else I have.

[selfimmolation]

No kidding. I'm annoyed mine's weaker than usual, but I'd have been furious if I'd ended up with something else entirely. I don't know if I'd have even known how to use it.

[ imagines himself stuck with luffy's rubber powers. horrid ]

[resumed]

[ he's glancing back at the halloween store with a frown. ]

Saturday was the first time I used my power on purpose. It's...not one I want and I still don't feel comfortable using it. But with our current situation it almost feels like we have to figure out how to.

[selfimmolation]

Well... you did really well for your first time use. I had no idea! I'm glad we can count on you.

[ nico will hate it but he can't help it hair ruffles ]

[resumed]

[ he wasn't expecting the rufflies so ace is successful even if nico swats at his hand half a second later. hey. hey!! ]

...don't count on much, Ace. I don't know how often I'll resort to using them yet. But thank you.

[selfimmolation]

[ hehe. ]

It's not like you need to be the best at them or anything. I'm just happy you were able to use them when we needed it.

[ even if it like. didn't work out overall. ]

[resumed]

[ he considers this again. ]

As long as it's of use and it's something I can control, then yeah. I can use it when we need to. [ ... ] Phoenix offered to help me train and I may still ask for their help so I'm not so scared of using them.

[ which is. the crux of the issue. ace can know that too. ]