Oh, is it irritating when someone doesn't present their whole self in an easily digestible manner? I had no idea.
[ Mild. Joking. If he had a crossword book, he'd whap Akechi upside the head with it.
And that question–
Doesn't have a true answer. Not one that isn't a question itself, anyway. And not one that Maruki is willing to ask now, or even any time soon.
Besides, what would it reveal? A common connection that he's all but certain of. A student he sought out for his own motives but grew attached to, a Phantom Thief he put all his faith in to deliver him to where he needed to be. He died, but he didn't. A guiding light. They were going to catch up after the new year.
Irrelevant. Maybe one day, but not today.
Off the dirt path, into the perpetually damp soft grass that surrounds the lake. Hands back in his pockets. ]
Well... Sometimes I climb trees to rescue cats.
[ And a grin breaks out over his face immediately. ]
I'm just kidding, of course. About that being a sordid confession! Not about doing it. I really do.
[ If he's naturally gravitating toward the area he chose as his stakeout spot night after night in the Forest of Dreams, well, that's his business. ]
But no, Akechi. At this point, you know more about me than anyone does. In either reality.
[Akechi ignores the first pointed comment - his personality was incredibly digestible, actually. It was manufactured to be that way. Maruki not accepting that and prodding means everything that happens beyond that picture perfect image is his problem. It's easy to swallow - he just spit it back up.
The cat comment - all Akechi can do is stare directly at his back while they both move towards the lake. Tension gone. Secrets revealed. The reason for Maruki's bad back the final sordid reveal after brainwashing a past lover.
Incredible. There's a half exhale, half snort at the reveal.]
You really are a fool. I bet you're the perfect target for scammers.
[Imagine Akechi betraying him in the worst way possible - by revealing his cat climbing story to the whole network. The scandal.]
Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you about my third persona.
[A beat - a kick of his shoes against the ground. He lets the moment sink in with a placid, neutral expression that covers up the bullshit he's spewing.]
[ Oh, he's hilarious. Maruki comes to a stop at that familiar spot at the shore and looks over at Akechi, equally placid, evaluating. A curled hand comes up to rest beneath his chin – it's a very Venat-like gesture. ]
Robin Hood, Loki, and... Sherlock Holmes?
[ You know, the guy from Sleepr!
He laughs at his own stupid joke, turns back out to face the water. ]
Unless there's something you'd like to get off your chest, don't force it. Despite everything that's happened, I don't mind learning about you in the ways that I usually do.
[ It's probably irritatingly sincere, coming from a guy who tends to get a murder attempt free with his New Akechi Information these days.
Maruki feels scrubbed raw, unsure of how to proceed when someone here knows all the worst secrets he's kept hidden for so long. Having this conversation in the castle would have felt too confined; having it outdoors means that now there's nothing to contain him at all. Out here under the open sky, he's a sitting duck. A vulnerable speck in a vast world, though their access to it remains minuscule. A town too small, a universe too huge – everything shifts, vacillates, leaves him feeling unmoored.
He wishes Akechi was still anchoring him with an unkind hand on his shoulder. ]
But it isn't normal, is it? For us to be able to do what we can with our personas.
[ It can't be normal. He can't imagine every Phantom Thief has the power to change a cognition in some way like they do. ]
Who's to say what's truly normal? Warping a cognition isn't exclusive to us. Change a heart, cause a mental shutdown - all are done without specific powers. I may have neglected to mention this since it's the one thing you seem to lack, but ailments in the Metaverse work on a short term scale at a similar degree to both our abilities - brainwash, forget, rage, and a handful of others. It's all innate to that world, for obvious reason.
[Thank god MARUKI DOESN'T HAVE THAT, says local man who doesn't remember being confused over konbini store items.
Akechi hovers a few feet from shore, a few steps from Maruki and a few thoughts away from 'I don't mind learning about you in the ways that I usually do.'
It's best he stuck to himself for an interminable amount of time, rotting away in an apartment instead of being destroyed by the world around him. That attitude would have gotten him killed long before a mysterious voice appeared to save him.]
Powers can be honed too. Changed to the suit the need of the user, to an extent.
[
The looming shadow of a megalomaniac consuming him while a sunset captures an entire city.
Promises whispered about utilization, using skills properly accompanied with offers of fame and fortune.
Praise uttered in an office that felt more valuable than all of it combined. Shido painted over his monstrous rot with a coat of fool's gold. Needed. Valued. Wanted.
Akechi can remember the moment with vivid clarity. The memories before and after too far away to muddle through.]
Even I had to be taught to use my abilities effectively in the beginning. The fact you're able to operate with such efficiency on your own puts you at a level above most. Who knows what your power may become someday and who knows what rival will set their eyes on you in the future. Nothing is 'normal' in that world.
[ It's on the tip of his tongue. Swallowed back. Focus.
Akechi is– odd, in the way he talks about these things. It isn't unfettered, untainted praise because he understands better than anyone the rotten core of this power. Operating with such efficiency untaught isn't necessarily a good thing. Being at a level above most endangers as much as it impresses. There are barbs along the edge of every word that might be considered kind.
It's no less than what he deserves. He just isn't sure how to respond to it.
Luckily, there's something else he can focus on. ]
Backing up, though... Those ailments that you mentioned. You said that one makes you forgetful? What's that like?
[ A beat, and then he huffs a sigh that might one day evolve into a laugh. ]
No, I won't ask a leading question like that. I'll be direct. One of Azathoth's attacks – that weak one, the one that I was using for target practice a few weeks ago... I'm now pretty certain it has that effect.
[ A tiny, pinched in smile. Ask him how he knows! ]
Reflecting back to their recent training sessions - there are no gaps in his memory or a foggy recollection that would imply he was hit with the ability. Loki and Robin Hood certainly don't have that at their disposal.
He must have gotten into a fight with someone else. Akechi's curious.]
[Oh. This conversation is heading a direction he hates.
He tries to reflect on the day - attacking Aubrey, being restrained, Azathoth doing an ability he can't recall with the enthrallment fraying his mind.]
Seeing Azathoth, I suppose. My assumption is I was attacked and knocked out after. I had gotten into a fair number of battles before confronting Aubrey, so I wasn't surprised at that outcome.
[ Credit to Maruki, he isn't taking any pleasure in recounting this. It was more than a little unsettling, actually. Now that he has an explanation for it, it makes sense, but at the time... ]
It didn't knock you out of your enthrallment, but you did turn... ah, docile...
[ An awkward scratch to the stubble along his jawline. ]
And rather forgetful.
[ Well. ]
Entirely forgetful, actually. You kept mumbling to me about Triple Seven and your homework... Various attack names, too...
[ Well! ]
And even after I dunked your head in the lake, you didn't snap out of that. You don't even remember me putting you to bed...?
Makes sense. Made sense even without this additional information. Makes more sense given how he woke up, with Aubrey a few feet away from him, tightly wrapped with blankets on the couch.
Forget in the Metaverse is short lived - brief. Akechi can still attack if there's a target.
Oh, he can't think about it. The embarrassment is unreal, but it's not the first time he's been afflicted near someone. It's par the course of traversing the cognitive world.
He looks so goddamn annoyed - briefly tries to slot nothing into place because he can't remember homework or triple seven.]
No, nothing. Robin Hood and Loki both have an ability to help me avoid affliction, but this reality is seems to not care about such things.
[And Maruki has ailment inducing abilities! Woah, what a shock! Wonder what Brand New Thing he'll gain next.]
Often, if you can grasp some kind of awareness, you can override almost any ailment with pain. I suppose that was beyond my capabilities at the time. How irritating.
Forget is a minor, if irritating, ailment. There are far worse you'll have to deal with that will do more than 'unsettle' , but yes - for whatever reason, it can be knocked out of a person.
[God he cannot wait for the day Maruki is inflicted with whatever this bullshit world's version of Despair is. Oh, how he'll love to beat the shit out of him.]
I'm sure you won't have any issue hitting me as hard you as can. I look forward to doing the same for you someday. I'll do my best to avoid your glasses.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ƎpNOW Ǝ˥ YOURSELF YOU RAT BASTARD
[ Mild. Joking. If he had a crossword book, he'd whap Akechi upside the head with it.
And that question–
Doesn't have a true answer. Not one that isn't a question itself, anyway. And not one that Maruki is willing to ask now, or even any time soon.
Besides, what would it reveal? A common connection that he's all but certain of. A student he sought out for his own motives but grew attached to, a Phantom Thief he put all his faith in to deliver him to where he needed to be. He died, but he didn't. A guiding light. They were going to catch up after the new year.
Irrelevant. Maybe one day, but not today.
Off the dirt path, into the perpetually damp soft grass that surrounds the lake. Hands back in his pockets. ]
Well... Sometimes I climb trees to rescue cats.
[ And a grin breaks out over his face immediately. ]
I'm just kidding, of course. About that being a sordid confession! Not about doing it. I really do.
[ If he's naturally gravitating toward the area he chose as his stakeout spot night after night in the Forest of Dreams, well, that's his business. ]
But no, Akechi. At this point, you know more about me than anyone does. In either reality.
no 💗
The cat comment - all Akechi can do is stare directly at his back while they both move towards the lake. Tension gone. Secrets revealed. The reason for Maruki's bad back the final sordid reveal after brainwashing a past lover.
Incredible. There's a half exhale, half snort at the reveal.]
You really are a fool. I bet you're the perfect target for scammers.
[Imagine Akechi betraying him in the worst way possible - by revealing his cat climbing story to the whole network. The scandal.]
Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you about my third persona.
[A beat - a kick of his shoes against the ground. He lets the moment sink in with a placid, neutral expression that covers up the bullshit he's spewing.]
I'm joking, of course.
[Isn't he so funny?]
no subject
Robin Hood, Loki, and... Sherlock Holmes?
[ You know, the guy from Sleepr!
He laughs at his own stupid joke, turns back out to face the water. ]
Unless there's something you'd like to get off your chest, don't force it. Despite everything that's happened, I don't mind learning about you in the ways that I usually do.
[ It's probably irritatingly sincere, coming from a guy who tends to get a murder attempt free with his New Akechi Information these days.
Maruki feels scrubbed raw, unsure of how to proceed when someone here knows all the worst secrets he's kept hidden for so long. Having this conversation in the castle would have felt too confined; having it outdoors means that now there's nothing to contain him at all. Out here under the open sky, he's a sitting duck. A vulnerable speck in a vast world, though their access to it remains minuscule. A town too small, a universe too huge – everything shifts, vacillates, leaves him feeling unmoored.
He wishes Akechi was still anchoring him with an unkind hand on his shoulder. ]
But it isn't normal, is it? For us to be able to do what we can with our personas.
[ It can't be normal. He can't imagine every Phantom Thief has the power to change a cognition in some way like they do. ]
no subject
[Thank god MARUKI DOESN'T HAVE THAT, says local man who doesn't remember being confused over konbini store items.
Akechi hovers a few feet from shore, a few steps from Maruki and a few thoughts away from 'I don't mind learning about you in the ways that I usually do.'
It's best he stuck to himself for an interminable amount of time, rotting away in an apartment instead of being destroyed by the world around him. That attitude would have gotten him killed long before a mysterious voice appeared to save him.]
Powers can be honed too. Changed to the suit the need of the user, to an extent.
[
The looming shadow of a megalomaniac consuming him while a sunset captures an entire city.
Akechi can remember the moment with vivid clarity. The memories before and after too far away to muddle through.]Promises whispered about utilization, using skills properly accompanied with offers of fame and fortune.
Praise uttered in an office that felt more valuable than all of it combined. Shido painted over his monstrous rot with a coat of fool's gold. Needed. Valued. Wanted.
Even I had to be taught to use my abilities effectively in the beginning. The fact you're able to operate with such efficiency on your own puts you at a level above most. Who knows what your power may become someday and who knows what rival will set their eyes on you in the future. Nothing is 'normal' in that world.
no subject
[ It's on the tip of his tongue. Swallowed back. Focus.
Akechi is– odd, in the way he talks about these things. It isn't unfettered, untainted praise because he understands better than anyone the rotten core of this power. Operating with such efficiency untaught isn't necessarily a good thing. Being at a level above most endangers as much as it impresses. There are barbs along the edge of every word that might be considered kind.
It's no less than what he deserves. He just isn't sure how to respond to it.
Luckily, there's something else he can focus on. ]
Backing up, though... Those ailments that you mentioned. You said that one makes you forgetful? What's that like?
[ A beat, and then he huffs a sigh that might one day evolve into a laugh. ]
No, I won't ask a leading question like that. I'll be direct. One of Azathoth's attacks – that weak one, the one that I was using for target practice a few weeks ago... I'm now pretty certain it has that effect.
[ A tiny, pinched in smile. Ask him how he knows! ]
no subject
[That's a new one.
Reflecting back to their recent training sessions - there are no gaps in his memory or a foggy recollection that would imply he was hit with the ability. Loki and Robin Hood certainly don't have that at their disposal.
He must have gotten into a fight with someone else. Akechi's curious.]
no subject
Still, though– it's unnerving. ]
That fight you had with Aubrey in the forest. What's the last thing that you remember before you woke up the next day?
no subject
He tries to reflect on the day - attacking Aubrey, being restrained, Azathoth doing an ability he can't recall with the enthrallment fraying his mind.]
Seeing Azathoth, I suppose. My assumption is I was attacked and knocked out after. I had gotten into a fair number of battles before confronting Aubrey, so I wasn't surprised at that outcome.
[AKA he wasn't shocked he was knocked out.
Keyword - knocked out.
Knocked out.]
no subject
[ Credit to Maruki, he isn't taking any pleasure in recounting this. It was more than a little unsettling, actually. Now that he has an explanation for it, it makes sense, but at the time... ]
It didn't knock you out of your enthrallment, but you did turn... ah, docile...
[ An awkward scratch to the stubble along his jawline. ]
And rather forgetful.
[ Well. ]
Entirely forgetful, actually. You kept mumbling to me about Triple Seven and your homework... Various attack names, too...
[ Well! ]
And even after I dunked your head in the lake, you didn't snap out of that. You don't even remember me putting you to bed...?
no subject
The gap-
Makes sense. Made sense even without this additional information. Makes more sense given how he woke up, with Aubrey a few feet away from him, tightly wrapped with blankets on the couch.
Forget in the Metaverse is short lived - brief. Akechi can still attack if there's a target.
Oh, he can't think about it. The embarrassment is unreal, but it's not the first time he's been afflicted near someone. It's par the course of traversing the cognitive world.
He looks so goddamn annoyed - briefly tries to slot nothing into place because he can't remember homework or triple seven.]
No, nothing. Robin Hood and Loki both have an ability to help me avoid affliction, but this reality is seems to not care about such things.
[And Maruki has ailment inducing abilities! Woah, what a shock! Wonder what Brand New Thing he'll gain next.]
Often, if you can grasp some kind of awareness, you can override almost any ailment with pain. I suppose that was beyond my capabilities at the time. How irritating.
no subject
[ Forcefeeding him some soup before bed... ]
I have to admit, it was unsettling. So next time it happens to you, all I have to do is hit you?
[ Because there will be a next time! Inevitably! ]
no subject
[God he cannot wait for the day Maruki is inflicted with whatever this bullshit world's version of Despair is. Oh, how he'll love to beat the shit out of him.]
I'm sure you won't have any issue hitting me as hard you as can. I look forward to doing the same for you someday. I'll do my best to avoid your glasses.
no subject
[ From above both their heads:
Chance to cure status ailments inflicted upon party members
Maruki blinks up at it. ]
Huh. Alright.
1/2
no subject
This particular brand of shit.
And the fact none of this gets him any closer to killing Shido.
Anyway, he's fine.
Then he isn't!
Loki makes a sudden appearance with a riot gun aimed for both achievements.
Duck! ♥]
no subject
Duck he will.
And roll away.
Right
down
the
bank
and
into
the
water. ]
No–!!
[ HE'S WET ]
God dammit, Akechi–
[ But he's laughing.
Absolute foolish insanity. He bared the absolute worst part of his soul not but half an hour ago, and Akechi has him laughing.
Maruki staggers up to his feet, clothes soaked through, Azathoth nagging at the back of his mind to come out and play too, laughing.
This fucking place (affectionate.) ]