(no subject)

[pummelgranite]

WHO: Punk and Hip Hop fans, goths, malcontents, the faithful, skeptics, kids, anyone
WHERE: "Devil's Dance Floor" ballroom in Maurtia Falls
WHEN: Forward dated to evening of October 8th
WHAT: another concert! I'll be putting up a couple of toplevels but feel free to toss in your own
WARNINGS: Less than her last show, but topics of trauma survival, depression, grief, irresponsible substance use likely to come up

Comments

[alreadyhuman]

[ Vivi has wandered in solely because he happened to hear music, honestly. The sound of it isn't like anything he's used to, but it's kind of nice, in its own way. Loud, but it makes people happy. So it's okay.

He sees Persephone at her table and wanders over because it looks like the least crowded place to be. Also, she looks kind of lonely to him. People don't come up to talk to her much. ]

Um. Hello! Is it okay if I sit here...? [ He peers up at her hopefully with as much puppy-eyeing as he can muster and also amazed at how colourful she is. Wow. ]

[pummelgranite]

[ Wow this... who the hell is this kid? But sure there's an empty seat, and she's in a good mood. ]


Sure, come on up.

[alreadyhuman]

[ He hops up onto the seat (boy he's small) and makes himself comfortable, looking out at the crowds and attempting to make sense of the music. His hat is crammed low onto his head to hide his face; he just looks like he's dressing weirdly and has a hat too big for him, rather than being obviously inhuman.

Nobody seems to blink at his clothing, and that's pretty much how he likes it.

After a while, he says something that's been niggling at him for a bit - it was part of the reason he'd come over in the first place. ]

You're really colourful! It's nice. Are you always like that?

[pummelgranite]

[ As she sees him waddle up into the seat and speak does she realize just how young he must be. But the first thing he says is so forward, she's taken a bit aback. How to be a badass death goddess and also talk to a small child? ]


Uh-huh. Usually.

[alreadyhuman]

Oh! That's cool. [ Cool is a relatively new word, but he's picked it up fast, in the manner of small children everywhere, and he says it with a bit of starry-eyed awe. It's hard not to think someone as colourful as Persephone is cool. She reminds him of Amarant, who also didn't talk much.

He leans forward on the bench, hands folded on his lap politely, trying to get a better look at the opening act. There's a slight glow of yellow light from under the hat, in the small space visible there.

Strange. ]

It must be fun, listening to music like this, right? Since everyone's dancing and being happy.

[ He kicks his feet a little, his next words coming out a bit wistful. ] I don't think I get it.

[ The music isn't to his tastes, is what he means. But he wishes it was, just so he could fit in a bit more. ]

[pummelgranite]

[ She looks over him again. What's under that hat? Just how young is this kid? ]


You picked something kind of advanced if this is your first concert. Do you know what kind of show this is?

[alreadyhuman]

Um...not really. [ He sounds subdued - well, it's more that he sounds a bit timid, like he expects punishment for a wrong answer, or being here in the first place. ] People looked like they were having fun, and they didn't tell me to leave, so...

[ He swings his legs a little, looking out at the lights and the crowd. It reminds him of the theater, in a strange way. ] Um, I just wanted to.

[pummelgranite]

[ She's . . . very unsure how to explain this to a kid. Let alone a kid who probably doesn't have the same frame of rock n roll reference that anyone would, even at his age. ]


It's uh- shit. It's music for people who are mad. You might not have fun with it.

[alreadyhuman]

If I just need to be mad...

[ Kuja. The other black mages, desperately seeking a life they couldn't have, being cast off the airship to protect him. Freya struggling to stand. Cleyra's destruction. The devastation of a city he'd seen just hours before. Eiko suffering. Zidane stumbling away from him. A hat, dancing on the airship's prow-

His heart clenches at the flood of memories that provides. It feels like he's back on the airship again, fire bursting out of him, pulling itself through his entire body.

But he isn't, and he won't set things on fire when it's not necessary. Instead, he just clenches his hands into fists, then unclenches them again. Trying to relax, tense now.

His voice is tight and small. ]

I can be mad.

But it's not fun, and it makes me hurt a lot. So I shouldn't.

[pummelgranite]

[ That's . . . what was that? Part of her wants to dismiss it as some kind of weird kid thing. But the way he walks himself straight up to that edge, then turns around- that wasn't some cheap imitation of an observed emotion, and she is the queen of that abyss he approached, after all.


But he was also a kid. A young kid. A kid who seemed like he was keeping his shit together. What would he hear in her song? Would he hear about he strength to climb back out of that pit, the promise of spring after winter? Or would it just remind him of the way the abyss clings even after you escape, the knowledge that winter will surely come again?

She's watched him, appraisingly for the last few moments. Her expression itself is unreadable, her voice flat: ]


Might not be the right show for you, then.

[alreadyhuman]

[ He's accepted that it's something he can't escape. His life, his fate, what remains...all he can do is live with the time he has left, and that's all.

Though, does it apply here? He doesn't know. He knows he hadn't had much time. ]

...I didn't really get to talk about my feelings that much... [ He sounds thoughtful. They were too busy saving the world, and after that...well, what was after that? He was happy for all of them, settling down, trying to repair the damage. He'd helped, too. But with one thing and another, he'd never really gotten around to saying much. ]

I guess it'll be okay. I don't set things on fire when I get angry...I'm more grown-up than that. [ His emotional control is surprisingly strong, and his tendency for magical flareups is part of that. ]

...Even if it hurts, I still have to deal with it. Right? [ He turns his head a little, to look at her, hoping she won't say anything at the sight of that darkness under the hat, his glowing eyes the only thing visible. ]

1/2

[pummelgranite]

[ There's a sharp inhale of breath. Whatever's under that hat, it's not a human kid. Or if it is, it's like nothing she's ever seen. But she has seen a lot- she's traveled as starlight, she's danced with the sun for a full day and night, one of her best friends is a woman who is also three women. Shit's weird sometimes. ]

[pummelgranite]

[ But what's more important are his words, "even if it hurts, I still have to deal with it." Ain't that the truth? (That him starting fires is even a possibility is almost an afterthought. Sure, dangerous magic, whatever. Who cares what power he has, if he's hurting?)

So the inhale comes slow, and she doesn't look away from the darkness where his face should be. ]


Yeah, you do. The pain won't go away just by being ignored. But you can make it worse, too, if you force yourself.

[abandon_hope]

[ Here's a gangly teen with a serious skull motif going on. He's close to Persephone, but brightens to see someone else show up. ]

Who are you?

[alreadyhuman]

Oh! I'm Vivi. What's your name? [ He kicks his feet a little, looking over at the person who'd just spoken to him. He seems to have absorbed some of the energy of the crowd, in a strange way; he doesn't seem quite as nervous.

(Or maybe it's because he thinks that in a place like this, nobody will care as much about what he is or how he looks. Always self-conscious; it's a defense mechanism.) ]

...Wow. You must really like skulls!

[ That is some serious skull aesthetic going on there...Vivi's not judging, though. It's not to his tastes, but it's definitely self expression! ]

[abandon_hope]

[ Aww. This little guy's kind of cute. Nico can't help but smile faintly down at him. ]

I'm Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades. Hence the skulls.

[alreadyhuman]

[ Smiling is good! He'd smile back if he had a visible mouth, but he doesn't. ]

Oh!

...Um, I don't know who Hades is... [ What's a mythology. ] But I hope he's nice!

[ he's had Enough of shitty parents lately, and also forever? ]