unfoggedlotus | IC Inbox

Joker lands smoothly, hitting the floor of Mementos with an exaggerated swoop. He adjusts his gloves and lifts up his mask, placing it on his head with a grin, a little bit of that Joker confidence shining through. "Showtime."

So it is.

Crow braces himself, hesitant. The bright, regal costume is more comfortable. Like a warm hug, like a guiding light. It's the image he's upheld with the Thieves for so long. A righteous, virtuous Detective Prince...

But that's not the point of this exercise. They're a couple. They're engaged. It's best if he show it on his own terms than let things fester.

So he takes a deep breath, then slowly releases it, trying to will the darker feelings up from the pit of his stomach. It takes a moment, but soon the white, pristine colors flake away, giving way to something darker. Tattered sleeves, stripes, belts all around, clawed gauntlets, a sharp, black mask more like an ominous helmet.

It's different.

Yeah...different it certainly is.

Ren...needs a moment to process it. Each time he looks at it, it somehow gets. Edgier.

Edited 2024-02-06 04:37 (UTC)

Eventually, Ren shakes himself from his stupor and immediately his hand goes to where the two parts of the suit's pants meet. "You got shorts under here?"

Edited 2024-02-06 04:42 (UTC)

He raises a finger, then drops it. Though the mask obscures most of his face, if Ren looks closely, he will see a very perplexed, almost dumbfounded look on his boyfriend's face.

"To be frank, I haven't spent enough time in this outfit to properly assess how it works." But of course Ren's hand is there. Thank god the black mask hides the blush that's overtaken Goro's cheeks. "It may be akin to a leotard with leggings."

"Huh..." Ren runs his hand over the seam between...pant and pant. "Well. It is different. Very spiky. Very...goth." His other hand goes to Crow's helmet, and he pouts. "Wait...how am I supposed to kiss you like this?" Both hands move to part his boyfriend's beaky mask, and the top part slides up out of his way. "Much better." Kiss to his boyfriend's cheek.

The kiss earns a week chuckle. "Rather impractical, isn't it? At least with the other costume, all you need to do is remove the mask. With this, you might as well remove the entire headpiece." It's less pointy that way, for starters. Less clunky, too.

"And leave you without a persona here? Nah." One more kiss, then he lowers the helmet over his boyfriend's head again. You could probably make some sort of metaphor about letting people close with that. "Besides. I think the whole helmet deal is pretty cool, actually. Is the entire thing your mask, or just the top half?"

"Just the top part." He grabs the front of it and tears it off for emphasis, albeit without calling for a Persona. "Seems it attaches and detaches fairly easily."

He looks down at the rest of this ridiculous outfit. "Honestly, this whole getup seems so cumbersome. Certainly impractical."

"Yeah..." Ren can't deny it's the most restraining outfit he's seen. "Almost like you're being restrained by it, more than it freeing you."

Hmm...a hand goes to one of the belts, and Ren's smile crooks up into a smirk. "Or maybe it frees you in a different way, hmm?"

"I wouldn't exactly call belts liberating." Though Goro stares at Ren's hand, and damn it, that smirk. He's way too good at this.

Goro needs to up his flirting game.

"You'd have quite a time getting me out of this."

"It doesn't look so impenetrable to me," Ren chuckles. With a shhing, his dagger materializes in his off hand.

"My... already eager to tear it apart, are we?" He sets a hand on his hip, shaking his head. "I suppose I'll need to address the other elephant in the room..."

Loki, that is. God, that's a whole other can of worms.

"Oh, yeah. Loki." Ren steps back a bit, giving his boyfriend room to summon. "Can't wait to meet him."

Edited 2024-02-06 05:38 (UTC)

"Right here, right now?" No Shadows in sight to occupy him. Just the top level? Hmm... "I could. I just want to be sure."

"Yeah," Ren reaches out, rubbing Goro's non-spiky arm in comfort. "You can show me everything. I'll love you, still. I promise."

"All right." Okay. Fine. This is fine. Perfectly fine. He trusts Ren, obviously. Ren wouldn't lie. It's just...

So many painful memories. Rage burning, bubbling with in him. Anguished screams of murderous intent. His friends, his family seeing him, and...

He reaches for his mask again, trying to steady his breathing, trying to keep a cool head.

It's okay. It's gonna be okay. He just needs to rip off the bandage. Get it over with.

And so he rips the mask off. "Persona!"

There's a flash of red. A howl of laughter. The often overlooked Persona descends, striped and grinning with razor sharp teeth and slivers of gold eyes and braids swishing, and those sure are gold hooves, and that sure is a huge sword.

Oh.

Ooooh.

Ren whistles.

So this is Loki.

The mask is gone, and there's laughter from an eyeless grin. And delicious bloodlust radiating from them both. The braids and golden hooves and razor-sharp teeth and...ooh.

Ren can't help himself -- he's looking Crow and Loki both up and down, very respectfully, eyes going to some very interesting places while his brain reboots. "Hey there, handsome," he says, to both Loki and his boyfriend, very intelligently. "Come here often?"

Wait. Is Ren... flirting with Loki? What?

Goro stares, trying to process this while the Persona behind him once again howls with laughter. That already toothy grin only grows.

This one's much too afraid to unchain himself... One of Loki's hands rests on Goro's shoulder. He tries so hard to be a good little boy. A pristine prince, a righteous hero, but you've seen what it's done to him...

Suddenly, this is all rather uncomfortable. Goro tries to pull himself free, but Loki does not let go.

Edited 2024-02-06 18:05 (UTC)

Ren can only grin. "You're telling me," he says to Loki, walking up to his boyfriend with a little sway in his hips. "We'll just have to change that, won't we?" Ren's left hand goes to Goro's free shoulder, ring glinting in the light. "His chains are safe with me."

Loki snickers at the prospect. He's had too much safety. Chains are meant to be broken. He tries much too hard to be Mr. Perfect, even when there's nothing to prove...

Goro grumbles at his Persona, because having it all laid out like that in front of Ren is embarrassing. Very, very embarrassing.

"He's having too much fun with this."

Ren takes his grumpy boyfriend's cheeks between his hands. "Loki has a point," he says, squishing his puffed-out cheeks and putting a kiss on his forehead. "You've kept yourself caged for too long. I'm here to take off your chains and coax you out of the safe little hole you've kept yourself in. No matter what you show me. I'll be here. I promised."

Oh dear. More snickers. Someone saying he has a point! Oh, Loki is going to savor this moment, tipping his chin up like a kid who just got a gold star in school.

Goro at least relaxes at his boyfriend's touch. "Of course. I suppose the question is... what now?" They're in Mementos. He's shown the outfit and his often repressed Persona... but what comes after?

"What now?" Ren mimics him. He shares a glance with Loki. "Well...it's showtime."

Hup, up goes the boyfriend for Ren to carry him...and if he takes a moment to feel Goro's ass, well, that's between them. "It's about time you showed me what you're capable of when you don't hold yourself back." Time to head deeper into Mementos to find some Shadows to wreck!

Well, okay. This might as well be happening. Ren might as well be carrying him bridal style while he wears this tight, belt-coated, spiky mess of an outfit. "I suppose it is."

Loki, however, keeps cackling. Just as loyal as Sigyn. You care not what 'poison' has burned his very being.

Yes. This seems like a good start, so Loki takes a bow and then vanishes for now. The pointy mask returns to Goro.

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