The New Salem Maul

[Peggy Springwell]

Peggy looked through a few racks and wandered over to a sporting goods store for a while before returning. She held up a harness.

"hey, do you think Rory would dig this? I was thinking of parachuting into the dance. I'm not sure this is his color though"

She laughed and showed the second harness. It had sparkles "this one is mine. Totally Ghoulish"  

[Rorrim Rory Bludworth]

Somewhere, deep within the recesses of Mirrorverse, the place-between-places that exists on the other side of all mirrors, Rory felt the hair standing up on the back of his neck.

"What the heck?!" He rubbed his neck. There must have been a chill going through the dimension.  

[Akito Fox]

Akitos tail flicks happily as his ears perk up and his smile curls into an almost cat-like grin. "you will??" He chirps, out of character. He always did well with the female crowd but never, not once had he any seriouez, one-on-one experience with a pretty ghoul. "Great! Err... Where should I pick you up?" He scratches behind his ears.

Estrella Espacio

 

[Estrella Espacio]

The boy's eyes almost popped out of his head. Ivy taught her that metaphor, she liked wordplay...wait what? This involved escorting her too? Uh oh...did Essi just agree to a date that wasn't the food? She couldn't let Akito enter her temporary home if he had those intentions or even just mentioned the "d' word.
A certain member of the clan of Geode would be quite...quite...
"Actually...perhaps we can meet at the embassy?" She wasn't having second thought's on it, just on the meeting location.
"I apologize if that's an inconvenience..." Nervous Essi face, you get the idea.
 

[Peggy Springwell]

Peggy happily paid for her dress and shoes, chattering on about her plans for the dance. "You know.. I really like Rory. I love seeing the looks of terror on his face when I suggest things. It's so... CUTE heart  

[Gryff N]

Gryff glared at the maul. Just in general. If there was one place Gryff hated, it was the maul. Of course, there was no such thing as just ONE thing Gryff hated, so the maul hovered at within the pile of things Gryff hated, ignored until he had to go there. THEN it became the thing Gryff hated the most.

But there was no helping it. Gryff was on a mission to get Chase an Acceptable Monster Starter Pack, which meant shopping for in-between conversion objects. There were a few places that could provide what he required, such as Urbone Outfitters, Scaremarican Apparel, Fjällräven. Maybe he could ironically purchase something from Tommy Normhama.

He looked around. The maul was a mess of bright, twee, over-priced, sweat-shop produced garbage full of monsters eager to hand over their allowance for the privilege of looking like everyone else. This place was ripe for Snickering. He could probably get four or five Grumblr posts out of this. He pulled out his phone, readied for an Instagrim...

Cassandra MH

She turned to go in the opposite direction of the manster but hit a potted plant it knocking over a manster causing a domino affect which ended in a ghoul holding an array of beverages. Knocking into Gryff spilling the liquid down the front of his shirt

Atomica Servo

On the other hand, she's clearly spilled a whole bunch of free samples of Toad Swill (the Energy Drink for Amphibians!) down Gryff's newest screen-printed, v-neck tee.

Atomica gasped.

*old-fashioned shutter click sound effect*

Time seemed to freeze. Or perhaps that was the frozen panic of the monsters immediately surrounding Gryff as his eyes blazed.

"What."

As he glared, his sneer turned into a snarl.

"WHAT."

Nearby monsters scrambled away across the floor.

"WHAT."

He grabbed the nearest one before he could get away, a lanky, slimy monster who almost managed to squirm out of Gryff's grasp.

"Uh," the monster croaked, his Toad Swill Sponsor t-shirt now bunched in Gryff's fist.

"It is bad enough I have to come here and experience the lowest common denominator of monster society, but then your flamboyant incompetence has..."

Gryff paused and sniffed the air.

"What is that?"

"Uh...it's, ribbit, Toad Swill Electric Tropics, Toad Swill Premium Supernova and our...ribbit...newest flavor, Toad Swill Diet Violet Explosion."

Gryff's eyes narrowed. He looked down at his shirt.

"It's on ME?

THIS WHAT'S ON ME?

I SMELL LIKE BRO!?"

Gryff dropped the monster, ripped off his shirt and flung it away, landing on a nearby potted tree. The once so artfully stenciled face of David Boney now seemed to mock him. The maul was spinning.

*ping*

Gryff looked down at his phone. 426 new likes. The photo had posted, and it had posted without a filter.  

[Cassandra MH]

Gryff N

"It's on ME?

THIS WHAT'S ON ME?

I SMELL LIKE BRO!?"

"It....ribbit,...wasn't...ribbit....my fault!...ribbit..I was pushed! ribbit,...She started it!" the creature pointed at Cassandra.

"I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry"

She whimpered standing and grabbing the shirt. The maul being dead silent calmed her a bit... but not to make any significant changes

"I-I can fix it.."

She hung her head, there was a chance that she could, but it was a small chance. She went to him there was guilt all over her face, so the frog creature was correct. It used the attention that was put on Cassie to try to escape.

Cassie was pushing another attack, or...she didn't get over the second one. Having an attack in front of Gryff, couldn't happen. Cassie refused to let it happen......


but it did.. It rushed over her again her inner voice screaming at her and making the attack worse.  

[Nero de Sphinx]

Nero had been wandering through the maul. SKRM always worked up an appetite for him and the best way to satiate his hunger on his meager budget was the food court. Where else but Werepanda Hexpress could a bro get 2 lbs of Firecracker Cockatrice with a side of Scream Cheese Won-tons for only $6.66?

He was just counting up the change in his pocket when he heard a commotion. Cassie, freshly healed from her recent injuries, seemed to be having some sort of relapse. He was just about to ask if she needed help when he spotted Gryff, sans shirt and perhaps slightly damp, standing stock still in the middle of the hall. Without a shirt.

"Hey, bro!" Nero said, jogging up to Gryff, "Is this the new look? I know you're all up on the latest fads."

Gryff turned to stare at him. It was a pretty good stare, Gryff wasn't even blinking.

"What," he said.

"I get so caught up in the studio, I almost missed out on this. Man, this is so perfect."

"What!"

Nero pulled his shirt off, stretching as he did. Even though he shopped at the Big and Broad Manster shop, Nero found shirts confining. Letting his muscles ripple freely in the afternoon sunlight was where it was at. It's one reason he loved performing on stage. No one thought it was weird to suddenly not be wearing a shirt when all the lights were on you. In some places it helped pull in a bigger crowd.

"Wait, what are doing...?!"

Nero tucked his shirt into his belt.

"Hey man, you're the boss of cool. Thanks, this is one hip trend I can totally get behind."

Nero gave him a hearty slap on the back as Gryff sputtered. He still hadn't blinked.

"You might want to go a little easy on the cologne though."

Nero pulled out his phone and immediately texted his beast bro.

Quote:

Kai Merha

BRO! Today, shirts are OPTIONAL! Spread the word!

 

[Shadeaux D Gloom]

Shadeaux D Gloom

"If at first you don't succeed..." He said as he led Melody into the shadows in the closet...

The Krimson Dew Drop

A staple of the maul's more laid back crowd, who come for a spot of tea, some poetry slamming, live jazz music, and just generally fang out and relax in a subdued atmosphere. Subdued being the right way to describe it as it was almost completely devoid of -- well, anything... save for a few tables and chairs, a stage for the readings, and a bar counter when safe beverages and snacks could be served to the Dew's patrons.

Why, there wasn't even a neon sign over the door to let the maul patron's what this place was. Just a painted dew drop sign. All the hipster, trippy cool kids knew what the Dew Drop was, after all! No need for ads from the manster!

Then a shadow between the stage and the bar counter seemed to grow and elongate, until it popped open like a literal door and two figures tumbled out!

"Hey! Far out! We made it!" Shad was all sort of giddy as he assisted Melody up and smoothed out his beret. "And only on my second try!"

"Like, Shaaaad!" The proprietor of the Dew Drop, a werewolf named Igor Gutler, hissed through his fangs. "Long time!"

He then leaned on the bar counter on his elbow and slid his shades down for a better gaze at Melody. "And who, might I ask, is that groovy were-chick on your arm?"  

[Chase Q]

Nero de Sphinx

Gryff N

Cassandra MH

Suddenly a loud and piercing werewolf-whistle was heard from clear across the food court, one that rattled the very windows! Nero and Gryff N's heads turned to spot at a far away table, Glen da West -- applauding, and his boofriend, Chase Q, removing his pinkies from between his lips and waggling his eyebrows playfully to the two boos.  

[Atomica Servo]

Atomica was briefly overloaded by social media hits on her internet connection, which caused her to freeze up.

Gryff's Instragrim post (which was taken after he was spilled all over by MONSTERS WHO WERE NOT ATOMICA) was being liked, reblah-ged and shared so rapidly that his iCoffin was starting to smoke! And everywhere, all around the Maul, mansters were taking their shirts off.

Gryff had become the thing he hated - the father of a brand new bro-meme.

Up on the second level, Heath Burns flexed for Abbey Bominble, whose eyes were visibly rolling. Iris Clops wasn't, though, as Manny Taur peeled off his shirt and flexed and snorted. Iris nearly tripped over herself.

*beep!*

Atomica un-froze. Shirtlessness in Decembrrr was illogical for meat creatures, but half of what they did was sooo illogical anyways. Gryff was the master of this meme, and surely he could control how it spread. And even if he didn't, something in Atomica's processors made it much harder for her to be concerned about Gryff as long as he smelled like THAT and was walking around all 'Suns Out Guns Out.' Her anti-BROtocol, that Gryff had installed himself, was working against him.

"Cassie!" Atomica needed to take care of her SKRM sisters. "Snap out of it! Reboot!"

And then there was Nekki and now the troll ghoul...Tori? To deal with. Atomica decided to give Nekki the bad news as gently as she could.

"I am very sorry, Nekki, but today's test has determined that you are not quite ready for Skulltimate Roller Maze action. Until you can run the course without damaging your meat parts, ghostly or not, it would be irresponsible to put you out there. And I am just....the MOST responsible monster. You don't even know. I work so hard to make sure the meat creatures don't smash themselves all up.

Unless they get in my way." Atomica added, thoughtfully. "So don't feel bad, but I have already asked around for your replacement. And it's her!"

Atomica held up Tori Underbridge's arm.

"Tori the Terrible! She's not the skater that we need, but she's the skater we deserve."  

[Necrolin Rosin Ni Blue]

Dead puppy eyes happened. "Wh..." She murmurs, almost non-existent. "I can't skate...?" her heart turns upside-down. Her mommy was right! She's not fit for anything... Nekki bows her head, hair falling over her eyes. "... Oh..." She looks away from everyone. "it's fine... I can't play anyway. My mummy said not to because I wasn't fit for it... And..." She sniffs, holding her hands together. "I guess... She was right..."

The mermaid swims(?) away, heart broken.

Atomica Servo

 

[Chase Q]

"When in Rome...!"

And Chase promptly pulled his flannel shirt and sweater over his head, baring his own beefy, cut physique! -- And promptly causing Glen's eyes to grow wide and fall out of his chair!  

[Akito Fox]

AKITO SUDDENLY TAKES OFF HIS-

oh wait.

Hes always bare and beautiful.