entranceway | 001 💀 video

Entry tags:

001 💀 video

_{[A camera comes to life, framing a dark canopy of tree tops high above through which peep slivers of royal blue. It's the color of the late afternoon sky, the same view anyone would be able to see through their window, but this one is almost entirely blotted out by branches.]}

This thing recordin'--?

_{[The video tilts down, revealing the speaker. If you've happened to misplace a loudmouth punk today, here's one in all his young, disheveled glory. Ryuji rests in the thick shade of some trees, looking weary (and maybe, maybe a little uneasy if you squint).

There's nowhere else for him to sit or stand besides the thick shade, really. Trees are clustered in suffocating closeness all around. Someone's in the deep woods.]}

Uh, yeah, so. Who here's good with Boy Scout stuff? Anyone? I went to check out what's been goin' on outside and I think... I went too far into the forest. _{[Ugh, a painful admission. He sighs, chin almost on his chest.]} Everything just looks the same. Pretty sure I'm just goin' around in circles.

_{[Point blank: he's lost.]}

It's gonna be dark soon, so... Anyone know anything about orienteering?

_{[He's a man and he's asking for directions. Please help.]}

_{(OOC: Action replies are welcome! Long story short, Ryuji's fallen prey to the confusing nature of the forest and will be lost until someone finds him or leads him out. Curiosity killed the city boy. :'D Please also beware that comments within may contain Persona 5 spoilers!)}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ...... of course sakamoto got lost in the woods. of course he did. this is the least surprising news he's ever heard. so before he clicks on the video, he gets out the urge to deeply sigh in disbelief, face contorting in some sort of utter dismay at these imbeciles and then click -- all smiles! ]

Have you tried the moss trick?

_{[ --!?

Holy fuck fuckity fuck fuck, Ryuji isn't ready for this showdown, not yesterday, not today, and probably not tomorrow. He'd known Akechi was here in this world thanks to Akira--as if that wasn't already an insane thought--but actually seeing Akechi's (fake) smile on his screen is like getting a live wire shoved up his ass.

It's dim where he is, very little light filtering this far, making the whites of Ryuji's eyes that much more stark. There's such a long delay between Akechi's message and Ryuji doing anything that a person might think there was a video lag, but then there's a confused noise and a wheeze of a stifled breath as he comes unglued.]}

--Huh?

_{[Hindsight being 20/20, there are about a thousand other things he could or would or should say to Akechi in this situation, but that's all that comes out.]}

[ .... what a weird reaction.

Had the other Phantom Thieves not tested his patience about Code Names, he would have answered next with, "Are you feeling all right, Skull?" but given the success rate of that? He's just not in the mood to have the trite back and forth. It was boring. Annoying.

Still, this was a weird reaction, no matter the time and place. Perhaps Ryuji was just surprised other people were here? Maybe he was from a time before Akechi joined up with him. That could logically grant a reaction like this. ]

Moss. It tends to grow on the north side. While it's not a fool proof method, it's usually fairly accurate if you have nothing else to go off. That is, of course, if we're in the Northern Hemisphere. I suppose that adds a wrinkle to things.

[ ANYWAY ]

I believe I recognize where you are, generally speaking. If you need assistance, that is.

_{[Prompting Akechi to keep talking just sends a whole new wave of gut-clenching vertigo through him. That voice. Goddamn.

While worlds collide in Ryuji's mind, on the outside he still vaguely looks like he's recovering from a police tasering, blinking slowly. It feels as though if he just puts his foot out he'll be standing in two places at once: here, where Akechi is alive and well and putting on that bullshit Detective Prince act, and there, where he's watching the other boy's finger come home to rest on a trigger just as a bulkhead door slams down, erasing him from view.

Whatever Akechi's going on about falls to the wayside, little more than background noise for the memory.

It really is the son of a bitch in the flesh. And he's talking about... moss?]}

You-- _{[You asshole. You can't pretend with me anymore. You should have come with us. You died. So many ways to finish that sentence. Ryuji swallows, dry throat clicking, and his potential replies scrape the inside of it like razor blades coated in sandpaper.]} You--

_{[He's talking to Akechi, and there's so much about that simple reality to resent and be grateful for. Like Akechi himself, who's done so much and had so much done to him, Ryuji's visibly caught in a conflict.]}

You know where I am? Where are you?

_{[Ryuji, one thing at a time, maybe get yourself sorted first before you go demanding the locations of others.....]}

[ Naturally, Akechi is none the wiser to the inner conflict happening across the feed. Instead, he's merely watching with growing curiosity. All right, so it's definitely something, but apart from that, he has zero evidence. Which begs the question: what does Ryuji know, and how can he best go about plucking and prying it from him? ]

Outside the mansion at the moment.

[ It's said pleasantly, hiding the fact that this is very low on his list of things he'd like to be doing. Ever since the Mirror incident, well, he's been a bit more reclusive, trying to recalculate his plan and himself. This world was throwing him for a loop and he needed to keep himself in check before it all blew up in his face. ]

But I can be in your approximate location shortly if you stay put.

[ He can at least get brownie points for now. That's safe. ]

_{[Ryuji is well aware that an Akechi still acting like a saccharine sweet friend to all phantom thieves big and small is probably wishing he'd eat shit and die right at this moment, and he'd love to lob that grenade right back at the two-faced bastard and blast down the screen between them, figurative and otherwise...

But there's one glaring problem: he's still lost.

Having been lost long enough to start worrying over his chances of getting back before sundown, Ryuji's normal burning urge to fight has been played out to a low simmer. He needs to get the fuck out of here, that's priority number one. Akechi's a liar and he's dangerous, those are facts. But Akechi's also smart as hell, that's another fact. If anyone would have a clue how to find a way out of this damn haunted forest, it's the guy who paved the way through Sae's Palace by cheating the system.

Better angels prevail. He'll tell Akechi off later, once he's sure he's not going to be spending the night up a tree.]}

All right. _{[Begrudgingly:]} But only because I didn't get any of that about hemispheres.

_{[Did someone say brownies... That reminds him.

PS:]}

... Got anything to drink on you? My throat's dry as a bone. Ugh, and a snack!

_{[It's been a long day, sue him. If the Queen of Hearts gave him a sandwich, he'd probably eat it.]}

I'm afraid I left the mansion empty handed. Hopefully you won't starve in the meantime. It won't be too long of a walk.

[ It doesn't take him too long to head out into the woods and eventually find whereabouts Ryuji was. With the tiniest assistance of Loki, of course. Still, there's something unsettling about these woods that has even the Prince Detective on edge. Something dark. Something sinister. He can't put his finger on it, but it's there, coiled at his feet beneath the bramble.

Thankfully bouldering gives you a tolerance of the outdoors. It isn't his favorite by far, but it's not something he openly dislikes. After all, being a tv sweetheart requires you to be versatile and adaptable. Having dislikes is an easy way to lose the adoration of your fans.

Speaking of fans, he's about near Ryuji now, and he's a bit tired. The walk has been, well, long. He hadn't been planning on heading out here, but leaving a "teammate" in peril seemed rather uncouth.

So here he is. In his jerking glory, swatting at a few bugs that seem to be fascinated by the scent of his shampoo. ]

Ah, there you are. Hello, Skull. Are you all right?

[ Just kidding he's going with the code names. Like a masochist. ]

_{[Well, la dee da, still an asshole, he sees. Ryuji shoots him one of his patented glares that all but telegraphs his inner fantasy of introducing his fist to Akechi's face.

What do you know, coming back from the great beyond apparently doesn't do much for exorcising the condescending shitbag murderer out of someone.]}

If you're just doing this to dick me around and leave me here, believe me, we're gonna have words when I get out.

_{[Though it goes without saying they're due for words no matter what; Ryuji knew it the minute Akira insisted the other boy was haunting the joint. He has to remember this isn't the Akechi he remembers standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a cognitive version of himself and realizing--maybe for the first time--that he's off the rails. This is the Akechi who still thinks he's right.

And maybe that plays into why Ryuji, easily located by the sounds of angry muttering and the occasional sound of him swatting a tree branch, is dressed up as Skull in attire as well as name when Akechi finds him.

Fuck knows how this'll play out. He's glad Akechi's alive, but he trusts him the same way he trusts a viper to strike the first chance it gets.

And vipers aren't twice as dangerous, or play half as innocent.

The wait is spent wondering if Akechi really has the skill to track him as much as it's spent prepping himself for the possibility that he does, and when footfalls eventually alert him to the presence of another, he reluctantly has to give Akechi credit where credit's due. The douche actually is a Boy Scout. Crazy as a bag of pissed off cats, but still.]}

Shit, wasn't sure you'd actually show. _{[Akechi's greeted by a dirt-streaked face, expression flat with more than just tiredness. A grave Ryuji is a rare sight.]} You don't have to do that, you know. Pretend.

[ ... Pretend?

He had been about to make some sort of dramatic showing about the weather, the forest, or the bugs. He had been about to launch into trivia, mindless facts about one of the trees or the forest in general that he had learned from a book one time, during a particularly long train-ride. All of it dies in his throat when he hears pretend.

What does Ryuji know? He could be like the cat, could be from the same time as him, but that begs the question: does the cat know more, too? And why hasn't the cat said something? And what do they know? If it's possible - and it very much is - that he's from a time later than the rest of the team, then it's possible that Ryuji is further along than him. It's bone-chilling and Akechi can't help the way his fingers twitch at his sides, very much missing the familiarity of cold, heavy metal. ]

I don't know what you mean. [ He says it calmly, hand lifting to wipe away his slightly sweat-stained bangs. They're getting annoying right now. Maybe he needs a haircut after all? ]

I'm not a large fan of the outdoors for extended periods of time, but I don't hate it.

[ Sure, he'll go with that. That's safe.... ]

_{[Pretend. As in practically everything Akechi's said and done these last few years, an admission that had only been reluctantly balled up and spat out at them after they'd beat his ass to the point of exhaustion. Ryuji shakes his head. Whatever you say, man.

It's little wonder Akechi's still trying to play him. What a goddamn stubborn guy. He'd admire that coming from anyone else--and ain't that just a kick in the nuts.]}

Thanks. For finding me. _{[A short, gruff admission, balled up and spat out just the same. Regardless of why Akechi's gone and responded to his SOS, he has, and Ryuji owes him that much gratitude.]} ... Kind of pisses me off you made it look so easy, actually.

_{[If Akechi's hoping his griping is a sign Ryuji's dropped the subject, he's got another thing coming, though. He stalks forward, starting to close the distance with a nod indicating Akechi's appearance.]}

Looks like you left the mansion without your black mask, too.

_{[Yeah, all right, he might have spent the wait coming up with that one. Let him have this.]}

[ ..... well then. so that's how it was. ]

[ There's a chill that races down his spine, settling in his gut. His hands and feet, equally cold all of a sudden, remain still as his eyes sweep over the bratty blonde in front of him. How did he know? How did he figure it out? Of all the people, this blathering idiot would have been his last guess to put the pieces together. And yet there's no denying what just came out of his mouth.

His lips curl into a thin smile, on the verge of cracking into something a bit more real, darker. ]

Black Mask? Have you gone color blind, Skull?

[ He needs more context, more clues, before he says anything damning. Perhaps this was just a misunderstanding.

He remains firmly rooted to the spot. ]

_{[Not even a blink. Jesus, if he didn't know any better, he'd think this guy was rubber and the rest of the world glue.

But the truth is pretty much the opposite, isn't it?

Ryuji stops a few feet shy of pulling even with the other boy, in a state of sweaty dishevelment that Akechi never quite seemed to allow himself even after their most brutal battles, but no less deterred for it. He'd never liked the guy and now after everything he finally thinks he can pinpoint why--it's that smile. The bogus, fool's gold smile hiding the real value beneath.

Ironically, the Akechi he'd liked best had been the one at the end of the line: dirty, defeated, red-handed, and honest. He wants to talk to that Akechi.]}

Nah, I'm seein' clearly and I'm sayin' you can cut the shit. The others... they haven't seen your other Persona yet. The other you. But I have.

_{[The good, the bad, the ugly. The real Akechi, or at least a more real version than this, the one that's glue while his birth father is the rubber casting away a mother and son.]}

[ There's no denying it. Not after that. Even if he had guessed he's the Black Mask, the mere mention of Loki is too close to home.

He goes quiet again, eyes only slightly narrowing. There's many ways he can go from here. The simplest? Deny it all, walk away, and ignore Ryuji's existence. Another option would be to let the rage coiling in his stomach out, lash out at him, teach him a lesson. But where would that get him? Absolutely nowhere and back on the bedside of the Thieves. That wouldn't do. He could also threaten Ryuji but - with what, exactly? His powers were dampened here, that much was fairly obvious, and he wasn't sure just how much he trusted a plan that involved attacking any of them.

So... he'd go with the last resort. His lips twist into something a bit less fake, almost sardonically amused. ]

Well then.

[Aren't you the smart one after all. Wonderful start, buddy. ]

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back, so I must ask... how do you know that?

_{[Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back. It's right on the nose and Ryuji can't help but grimace. For a second, he wonders if Akechi knows what happened on Shido's ship, really knows and is just playing another sick game of cat and mouse--

But what would he get out of pretending if he knew any more than what they'd get from shedding light on those events if he didn't?

It doesn't make any sense. Ryuji can't believe--or more like he doesn't want to believe--that Akechi could be aware of the magnitude of the second chance he's been given and choose to piss on it that completely. That just brings him back to an Akechi who's in the dark.

Which isn't much better. This is some shit, boy.]}

You've been here longer, you probably got it figured out better. Timelines, right? You're gonna tell me and the other phantom thieves everythin' with your own mouth. About Shido, about what you think you're accomplishin' doin' his dirty work.

_{[He squares off, stance set, absorbing that caustic smile of Akechi's in order to hold tight to his composure and speak as clearly and calmly as he's able.

Time to think has brought him here. As far as he parses it, they're facing much the same dilemma as Akechi--ignore a volatile criminal while they worry about this Wonderland mess, or deal with him somehow. Forcibly changing his heart isn't an option. Vengeance isn't an option.

But on the ship... at the end... If they could just appeal to that Akechi...

Good thing an idiot's wishful thinking is Ryuji's specialty. It allows him to throw up a hand before Akechi has time to respond, to barrel on like a verbal siege weapon hellbent on taking the keep. And there isn't any getting away from him out here in the woods. Welcome to his parlor of brutal honesty, fly.]}

And you're gonna listen before you jump down my throat, 'cause I've been waitin' my ass off out here to tell you this. That plan o' yours to take him down after you take us down ain't gonna work. I was there. Cards on the table, it don't go the way you want it to.

Edited (i edited for a single out of place apostrophe and i feel no shame) 2017-05-25 09:07 (UTC)

[ what the fuck?

That's really the only thought that goes through Akechi's mind after that spiel. First, what audacity it takes for Skull, alone, to say that to him. Further, what idiot would think to approach him alone with something like that? Lastly, what the hell did he mean that the plan doesn't work?

He'd call bullshit, he'd call it loudly and cruelly, but Ryuji mentions Shido. Mentions a ship and details he should have no clue about. There's a shiver. ]

Are you done yet, or should I keep listening?

[ It's on the very edge of polite, like he's a hair trigger away from snapping.

He doesn't like people knowing things he doesn't.

He's purposely collected evidence, figured things out, done all of this work to come out ahead of these morons. And for Ryuji to throw that in his face, to threaten it... ]

_{[The question throws him a little. Huh? Well... Uh. Operation Confront Akechi is going smoothly so far as psyching himself up for a confrontation goes. Here they are. Face-to-face. Confrontational.

Mission accomplished... Now what? Ryuji lifts a gloved hand to rub at the back of his head.]}

Uh-- k-keep listening, definitely!

_{[Letting the other come to him in a secluded area to shine a spotlight down on Shido's shitty family business had seemed like a solid start to evening the odds. But that's... about as far as Ryuji had planned. To be perfectly honest, he'd summoned his thief outfit expecting the guy to go nuclear and have to go a few rounds with Loki once the psychotic black cat was out of the bag.

Where's Makoto when you need a good strategy for taking care of baddies? Makoto and a bottle of water--two things he could really use right now, damn it.]}

Beats the eff out of me what's goin' on with time in this place-- _{[Or how Akechi's still standing after that last ringing gunshot.]} --but if I'm from the future, then you outta know there's no point tryin' to screw the Phantom Thieves in the present.

_{[He locks eyes with Akechi, militant in his matter-of-factness, but not hostile. Subdued, almost. Reined in. He's concerned about a fight, but this had never been about starting one the Thieves' end. There are innocent people in this world and back in theirs who'd suffer for it.]}

We're... not enemies.

_{[... Anymore. Are they now? Were they ever? It takes two to tango, and they'd only acted to get out of the way of Akechi's runaway crazy train before they were flattened by it.]}

[ from the future.

he wouldn't have believed that load of hot-headed crap had he not witnessed firsthand the effects of time here. after all, the rest of the thieves didn't even remember their time together. they didn't remember the casino. so for ryuji to be even further ahead of them? it was plausible. and it was grating. because that meant someone knew, and someone knowing was bad. especially a loudmouth.

akechi does quirk a brow at the last remark. for now that'll capture his whole, undivided attention. ]

What do you mean? I was fighting alongside you and the others before coming here.

[ he says it cooly, though he's fairly sure that ryuji won't believe it. he stares back at him, not quite afraid of the eye-contact. ]

I would never have labeled us enemies.

_{[Is this how it's going to be? Akechi's just going to keep acting the role of good detective and good teammate? Can't say he's surprised by the careful wall of neutrality--Akechi had always been a tricksy bastard from day one, playing his cards close to his chest.

Long before that, even. Akechi had awoken to his powers long before Akira had, after all. He's the grand master at keeping secrets.]}

No?

_{[Ryuji crosses his arms, leaning his weight back on his good leg, bad one bent at the knee. It looks like a relaxed downshifting of gears, but so often when he's butting heads with someone or something there's an obstinacy to his casualness, just as there is now.]}

So you betray your friends?

_{[Maybe Ryuji had been wrong to use the term "enemies"--it implies importance, a certain respect between equals. For Akechi to have set them up just to watch them fall, they'd been more like bowling pins standing between Akechi and his perfect score.]}

[ friends?

that's laughable. akechi's lips draw into a thin line, pursing, but he doesn't say anything for a few moments. he just watches, gaze washing over ryuji's expression, studying it in a sense. he isn't sure why the vulgar boy is so obstinate about this. didn't they all dislike him? parade around pretending to care? because that's what it was, right? those few weeks? all a stupid act to save their own asses? pathetic. ]

Is that what I was to you all?

[ it's a calm, casual question, his hands going back into his pocket. he's purposely answering the question on his end. it's too close to the chest.

so instead, he tips his head back over his shoulder, into the bramble of darkness, twining branches and croaking frogs. ]

We should start heading back before it gets dark. I don't trust my sense of direction enough to traverse these woods without the sun as guidance.

_{[Ryuji's features pinch. That there, folks, is the smell of bullshit, and boy, it reeks.]}

Don't gimme that. You can't have it both ways, Crow. We both know all you cared about was stringin' us up for your crimes--you gotta give a little to get a little if you wanna have teammates who trust you.

_{[But experience has taught him you can get blood from a stone if the stone takes a good, hard look in the mirror. Although this is the same guy who claimed friends are trash and committed unforgivable acts for selfish reasons stacked on someone else's even more selfish reasons, there's still hope to throw him off his one-man wrecking ball line of thinking.

There has to be. To change his fate, at the very least.]}

Hey-- Nobody wants to get back more than me, but don't go changin' the subject. Does that mean you're gonna work with us?

_{[Akechi hadn't walked out of the trees carrying a loaded gun, so Ryuji supposes that's a start.]}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

001 💀 video

video.

video;

video;

no subject

no subject

1/2

... 2/2 and i'm not even sorry...

WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS 1/2

2/2

BECAUSE I'M HUNGRY

eAT THIS

NEEDS MORE SALT

WOW. WHO ORDERED THE SALTINE CRACKERS?

they were all Akechi packed in his purse

i'm not ready for this

i'll hold your hand if you hold mine

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject