kinship

@"Poptart"

The school, that was exciting- the whole island was. But the strip.

When Basil's eyes fell upon it, in all its neon glory, just lighting up, his head went blank. He stumbled, and felt fuzzy inside. Then, the first clear thought to pop into his mind caught and held him, keeping him up. Home.

He shook himself out of his daze, or, tried to at least. A sharp grin settled onto his face, and he clasped his hands together, ignoring a few looks he got. This time, he thought, it was more for his actions than just him. People cleared out of his way in other areas, and some still did, but those present here felt more... like him. Not that most were really like him, but it was more. And Basil always wanted more. The young horror burst into light, pleasant laughter. What was this, a dream? Truly, this was beginning to feel far too good to be true. Well, he still had to make sure to behave, as he was being monitored. And there was no way in hell he was leaving this island, or more specifically, those neon lights. This was his element.

Speaking of hell. The reason he wandered here in the first place, above all else, was for something that seemed almost like a lovely little hell on earth. He controlled his urge to snicker again at that thought, since as cheesy as it sounded, Gomorrah... it really did seem worth the praise and the rumors alike. Reds and purples. Those were his colors. There was so much intensity around, sensory overloads, something that Basil rather reveled in. He didn't have a plan for what he was going to do here, he didn't need one, that kept being proven. As soon as he was in the place, his whole body and stance relaxed, while his eyes lit up even more. And god, the intrigue was buzzing- this was the place to be. This was exactly the place to be when you fed on this stuff. His smile twitched at it.

Basil settled himself against a wall, unwilling to sit anywhere just yet. He had to observe first. The energy really was at the brim. While his gaze drifted, he pondered briefly on something he'd been greeted with. It was normal for people to give him looks, but what happened here was a bit new. When some of the heads had turned, there was something very strange in their expressions. Basil had thought he was wrong at first, but when turning it over again, he came to the same conclusion. Familiarity. There had been some kind of familiarity, expectancy, that was in the air- before they actually saw him. Once they saw him, it quickly went away, briefly turning to confusion before fading completely. Basil's curiosity was going to burst from him at this rate. Oh, he was hungry. And so very fascinated.

...Those were practically the same feelings, in Basil's case.

Just from looking, there was so much to take in. Basil was going to be very smiley for the rest of the evening, he could tell.

RE: Kinship (Gomorrah) (Poptart)

Basil had gone still for a minute, when he felt that other, similar presence radiating out. It took him more time than it should've to pick up on it, and he was vaguely disappointed with himself. He pushed that away, though. There had been so much else going on to take in, he couldn't beat himself up over something like that. He delicately felt at it. Different, but the same. Odd. Basil perked back up. He loved oddities, yes he did. Another mystery to eat. Er, unravel, that is, but also eat. Basil relaxed again, although he wasn't blinking. Extra eyes were pushing, under his skin and clothes, and he mentally told them to calm the hell down. Every part of him wanted to see all, all at once, at all times. Calm down. His skin had a static to it, but he was otherwise mild.

He felt a stare on him, and didn't yet meet it, deciding easily to play casual. He always played casual.

When he was spoken to, and finally got to properly acknowledge the other presence, he warmed- in body, aura, and expression.

First, he raised his eyebrows. Then, he fluttered his eyelashes, in a dramatic and joking, but not mocking fashion. Lastly, he broke into another fit of light laughter, eyes closed and cheeks dimpled. He settled himself down and easily regained composure, very smiley, as he'd predicted for the evening. "That's very flattering! Sorry, sorry. I apologize, it's just been a while since anyone came up to me saying something like that. Almost a shock, very amusing, not at all on you. I was also thinking about saying something in return, like... 'Oh, yes, and he's just appeared', and I was laughing at myself. I couldn't have it not sound silly if I tried. But on you, it works. Really does. I'm jealous."

Basil grinned, hands clasped loosely around his back, leaning forward. Sometimes, with his heavy, hanging existence, it seemed like he should fall over when doing things like that. But somehow, his body remained airy. "So, I'm going to assume you didn't just come over here to make that comment? Not that it isn't appreciated, but this energy is just as attention grabbing if not more. Are you...?" he trailed off, voice becoming hesitant for less than a second before picking back up again, a bit lower in volume. "Sorry if I'm being bold, but this is all very distracting. Are you... are we the same sort of being?"

Basil blinked a lot. "I haven't even introduced myself, and I'm asking all sorts of personal questions, talkin' up a storm." He offered a sheepish grin, and brought one of his hands up in a wave. If a small eye appeared on his palm, well, it is what it is. "'Ello. Name's Basil, Basil Velius."

RE: Kinship (Gomorrah) (Poptart)

Basil took in the slight reactions- or lack of reactions- he received to certain things, and inwardly adjusted his behavior a bit. He'd let himself get a little too forward, and how could he not have? He'd never felt something as closely matching, it caught him terribly off guard and ridiculously enthusiastic. But now that he thought about it, this might not be that earth shattering to others. Maybe there were a bunch of people around that were like that, no matter if some group wanted to specially monitor him. Basil was painfully uninformed on such things, and had yet to catch up. He'd catch up quickly, he knew he would, but it didn't change the present. Such things were irritating, but it meant he needed to stop making so many assumptions. That could be outright self sabotage. At least he was learning. So, he couldn't assume what the status of his species was truly like here, nor could he assume how this very attractive gentleman felt about any of it.

As soon as he'd settled and righted all of that in his headspace, gears spinning away at a constant, he followed. Of course he did, while replying to an earlier comment. "Hm, I don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with that creeping edge of corruption that comes out of me in waves. But maybe I'm just being modest." It was made in good spirits, he really wasn't all that bitter over such things, nor was he modest.

Basil wasted no time in moving to lounge on the bar in a fluid motion. Draping himself over stuff was something he was known for, something he was hardly going to stop doing anytime soon. You could also call him lazy. That worked too, but it was only half accurate. Basil had always prefered showing confidence by being comfortable rather than stiff. He tilted his head at the question. "Well, I think it would be a mistake not to ask what you'd recommend, Gabriel. Gabriel, hm, that's a nice sounding name, very pleasantly rolls off the tongue." Basil gave the other a contemplative look, not saying anything, but not really hiding it. The man was certainly a character- not that Basil wasn't the same. He looked like the type that could play with a lot of people, and have them be happy about it.

Basil's expression was endlessly sunny. It really felt rather natural to be in the presence of a man like this. He didn't mind being toyed with if he got the chance to observe and receive attention. He loved neon city lights and questionable company, and always wanted more, more, more.

But Basil was very good at wanting quietly and mildly. Some contradictions settled into him all too easily, and at times like these, he didn't mind.

If Gabriel wants to lead, he can go right ahead and lead. Being both content and empty were Basil's specialties.

RE: Kinship (Gomorrah) (Poptart)

Basil laughed along with that. Adventurous. He didn't need much pushing there, but accepted the drink, taking sips and allowing the liquid to slip down his throat at a leisurely pace. Buttery and pleasant. He could certainly handle more. Always more.

Basil was very much enjoying the attention, and although he'd be just fine spending a bit of idle time in this man's presence, not to mention this place, he was happily surprised by getting back to the topic he'd brought up. He hadn't been sure if his previous behavior was going to receive any proper acknowledgement, but he'd take it. He hummed thoughtfully. "Not enough, that covers most of it," he huffed in amusement. "but in all honesty? I'm working on it, but it's not like I've been around here long, with access to the proper materials. If I had... I'm sure I'd know everything I could. That's not the case, though. Only just had the existence of anything considered different, besides myself, uncovered a few months ago- caused a bit of an incident because of that, haha! Fun story, really. Point I'm trying to make with my rambling is, got discovered by some concerned folks, they started throwing around the term 'Eldritch Abomination'."

Basil took a larger gulp of his drink. "Some abilities got an official name slapped on 'em, there were lots of lectures and warnings, got sent here for a test run. That's the short version of it." He beamed. Boxing in or no, that was all more than he'd had before. Before, his knowledge was just... pathetic. A disappointment.

He wondered if the fact that he'd popped into existence as a baby was relevant. Maybe. He felt like he was blabbing too much, though, and would probably feel a bit disappointed if oh so charming Gabriel wandered away from him. So he'd keep that to himself unless asked, for now.

RE: Kinship (Gomorrah) (Poptart)

There was an added spark of interest from the other man now, and Basil basked in it. He wanted to take advantage of whatever he was offered, unsure of how long it would last or not. Basil lived in the moment, and went with the flow, as it was difficult to predict how the world would move around his flickering presence.

Basil nodded along slowly to these statements. "I might agree with that, but I can see why they'd feel the way they do, for the most part. Walking time bombs make people nervous, just as a survival instinct, and a lack of knowledge can be a very large disadvantage," he admitted the last bit with a hint of ironic self-observation, smirking. "Seems logical in that regard, that one would want to show a little extra caution, and keep the mystery around to poke at it. It isn't as though I don't have personal feelings and plans in the matter, but I can see the other side's reasoning- that sort of thing can never be too useful, after all."

All information had its use, that is. That was more than doubled in Basil's case.

Basil let his gaze settle on arm curled around him for a moment, before leaning and softening into it. It wasn't that Basil was truly inexperienced in being close to others- over the years, he'd often attract the affections of many danger-seeking individuals, since while he wasn't bad in the looks department or socializing, his aura would always be the same. But after being snatched up and isolated, with only stiffs and people that feared him nearby, it was a very relieving sensation to be touched. He hummed again, giving his skin a pleasant buzz.

"...I'm pleased you feel the same," he practically purred. For a supposed being of unknowable horrors, he sure was cuddly. What a sucker.