just a couple of thieves

[actus]

Who: Akira (actus) & Haru (mapsio)
Where: Aimintas; park
When: Day 14
Open/Closed: partially closed (PM if you want to partake or simply stumble upon them!)

[ really, it's only been two weeks, but it feels like forever since he last slipped on his mask. the high frequency of the new world brings with it the ability to feel the strands of consciousness at the back of his mind. his persona. he can feel them again. it doesn't take akira that long to focus and try to shift frequencies, his clothes glittering and then morphing back into the cooler, well-fitting disguise of joker. the mask feels comfortable, like an old friend, and it's a sigh of relief when he looks down and sees the trendy (and bit ironic) red gloves on his hands.

naturally, he's dragged haru out to the park in the midst of the octagon of shops to try and summon their respective personas. it's only been two weeks, but he feels a bit tense, a bit rusty, and he rolls his shoulders some to work out the kinks. he's never tried calling forth a persona from his soul without first using the app on his phone, so this may be a bit tricky. still, he's managed to change clothes so far, so it just has to be a matter of practice. ]

Have you had any luck yet? [ he isn't sure if she tried calling forth milady on their travel to the city proper. he himself hasn't, if only because he didn't know how much energy it would take out of him, or if there would be any twists he was unprepared to deal with. ]

Comments

[mapsio]

[Haru felt much the same when she realized that her powers had returned to her. The familiar warmness that being connected to Milady. Haru was about as far as Akira, her clothes changing into the spunky disguise of Noir.

She's concentrating, trying to call her forth.]

Nothing yet, Joker.

[It felt natural to call him that.]

Maybe it's because we've never tried summoning them out of the metaverse.

[She wonders for a moment if Ann has tried yet.]

[actus]

[ he's so used to checking his phone, using the app, inputting the keywords, and then entering a palace. ]

Maybe we have to awaken them again in this world...

[ he murmurs, thoughtfully, but isn't entirely convinced of that. wouldn't he not feel their presence resonating in his soul, in his mind, if they had to be awakened?

... and besides. awakening was painful. it felt like tearing off a physical mask - confronting your fears, the pain of whatever you had been hiding from. it wasn't a great thing. ]

Why isn't Morgana here. He'd know.

[mapsio]

I don't think we would feel them there if we needed to reawaken them.

[She hums thoughtfully. Trying to gently call forth Milady again. Pulling off the mask to try and release her.


...it still doesn't work right away.]

Maybe we're thinking too much?

[actus]

I remember it hurting the first time. Not much else about it, though.

[ he flops down on the grass, folding his arms behind his head to use as a pillow. the "sky" looks so weird here. it's kind of like the metaverse - it makes sense, but just barely. ]

So maybe we are. Maybe we just need to focus on their voices.

[mapsio]

I remember the contract part, and it hurting. Though I only had a partial awakening at first.

[She's going to join Akira in laying on the grass.]

We just need to focus on their voices, and focus on how we normally do things. Maybe we should pretend we're in the metaverse.

[actus]

Right.

[ he laughs, eyes shutting. ]

We're just down a catbus. [ akira just please stop. regardless, he's going to try and focus in on a singular voice - maybe byakko's. think of its strength, its weaknesses, it's unique presence. think of its shape, of their words when they first made their contract. think of the person in his life tentatively associated with that link. ]

At least we don't have to shoot ourselves in the head.

[mapsio]

You really do miss Morgana, don't you?

[She misses him too, misses him and everyone else so much it kind of hurts. The rest of their team might be dealing with something without them?!

She's thinking about Milady too, thinking about how she might be feeding off of the uncertainly that she was holding. It was almost like the time she had only partially awakened her.

Her train of thought interrupted by whatever just left Akira's mouth....]

Shoot ourselves in the head? Who does that?

[actus]

[ growing up, he had never been allowed a pet. he didn't even think he was a cat person until he got used to the undeniable comfort that a warm ball of fur on your stomach brought you. ]

Arisato. [ he peeks open an eye and looks over at her. ]

He uses something called an Evoker. He didn't believe me that I could do it without one.

[mapsio]

Minato-kun uses a persona?

[Things that she probably didn't know at this point.]

So he uses a gun...or Evoker? Does he really think you can't do it?

[actus]

[ so you're on first name basis, huh. akira is jealous -- ]

He seems convinced.

[ a tiny grin but then he turns a bit more serious, hand reaching up to fiddle with a curl that's falling over his mask. ]

... He can do the same thing as me. Switch between Personas, I mean.

[mapsio]

[No she's just That Person. She really does get familiar with everyone pretty fast.]

What? Is that even possible...?

[It seems unlikely, but...maybe?]

[actus]

[ it's truly an admirable trait. ]

I didn't think it was, either. He showed me memories, though.

[ or at least, mental images that were eerily similar to his own velvet room. at least, the same person sitting behind the same desk with the same strange ambiance and glow of blue. ]

I think we can trust him, but... [ he's uneasy about it. the last time he found out someone could switch personas.... it didn't go so well. ]

[mapsio]

Are you apprehensive?

[She would be only because she didn't know there were more people other than their team who could use powers like this.] Does he also go to palaces? Does he fight shadows? Do you know if he would oppose us?

[actus]

[ too!! many!! questions!! ]

He knows about shadows, but he didn't understand what I mean about palaces or the metaverse. He kept calling them different things.

[ ah. one more thing. ]

He mentioned something about a God or something. Death? [ it didn't make too much sense. ]

[mapsio]

[SHE HAS TO UNDERSTAND.]

Minato-kun could be our ally, you know. He doesn't seem like a bad guy.

[Though she doesn't know how much more she can really say in his favor. They don't know him well enough yet.] We should at least give him a chance is what I'm saying.

[actus]

All right.

[ he had made a pact with igor, after all. how bad could he be? ]

... I haven't really explained it the others since it never came up, but there's ... this guy. In this room. I see him sometimes in my dream. He's the one that gave me this power. [ he closes his eyes. it's easier this way. ] He never mentioned Arisato. Or Akechi. He made it seem like I was the only one.

[mapsio]

That's...strange. So a man in a room gave you the power to wield more than one persona. But never mentioned anyone else.

[Speaking of....]

Akechi-kun can use multiple persona as well? That's news to me.

[actus]

You ... don't remember?

[ wait, what. he's sitting up, pulling his legs to his chest, arms hugging them close as he looks over to her. ]

[mapsio]

The last thing that happened before I came here was when you were arrested after leaving the casino.

[Is that....not right? She remembers it clearly.]

[actus]

[ ?????? ]

That's. [ he wrinkles his nose. ]

You don't remember the ship?

[mapsio]

[?????????????????]

What ship? I don't remember a ship?

[actus]

Masayoshi Shido's Palace.

[ bliiiiiiink. ]

[mapsio]

The politician?

[Oh boy, this was... a conflict? A problem? Were they taken from different times?] I didn't know he had a palace.

[actus]

He was the one that --

[ he immediately shuts up, his mouth tasting bitter, and he realizes he's been biting his tongue so hard that it's starting to bleed. he looks away, pinching the bridge of his nose. getting worked up about shido won't do them any good here. and besides, shido already confessed. it was over. ]

... I just assumed that you and Ann remembered everything. I didn't think to ask.

[mapsio]

It's easy to think that. WE are usually so in sync that we forget to ask if anything might be off.

[She's a little concerned now though. She was there for something that Akira remembers and she doesn't. Meaning it hadn't happened for her yet. It's kind of scary almost.]

[actus]

It's worrying me, but I'm glad we figured it out now.

[ so they can try and parse out any consequences. he can't imagine there would be, but still. it can't feel good. ]

...Did you want to know what happened?

[mapsio]

I want to know what happens.

[She needs to know what she has to expect. Would she even retain that information when they all got home?]

Is it bad...?

[actus]

[ how does he put this. uhm. ]

...The Plan works. According to the public, the Leader of the Phantom Thieves commits suicide in custody. [ his tone quiets considerably the longer he talks. ] We end up figuring out that Shido is behind all of it, so we infiltrate his Palace.

[ ah. ]

We end up changing his heart. But the public doesn't believe his confession. That he's the one ordering all of the mental breakdowns.

[ ordering, not causing. ]

[mapsio]

So what does that mean for us? What do we do when the public doesn't believe the confession?

[Because that sounds like it could be really bad. Does that mean they failed? Does it mean they're back to square one?]

Should I even ask what happens to...you know...

[Akechi. What happens to him?]

[actus]

[ he wasn't entirely sure she'd ask, was hoping she wouldn't. it doesn't feel like his place to mention all of the details. ]

He tried to stop us. ... Shido was his Dad.

[mapsio]

[It's fine, she figured it wouldn't be over with him. Akechi was smart. Wasn't it only a matter of time and keeping him distracted with thinking he'd completed his task?]

Oh, wow...

[She's reaching for the sky, still trying to call forth Milady. She's breathing calmly, thinking about their connection.... ridding herself of doubt.]

[actus]

Mm.

[ he isn't sure if he wants to follow that train of thought to its logical end, to explain that he died, that he finally saw things their way, that he killed haru's dad. it hurts too much to put into words.

so instead, he focuses on soft, white fur. he focuses on the power and gentleness of temperance. ]

Byakko. Come.

[ he says it lowly, hand splaying across his face, touching the edges of his mask. slowly, it begins to glow, and slowly, the spot over his chest glows a deep blue (just like the velvet room) and a lovely Byakko takes shape a few feet away from them. ]

[mapsio]

[Haru gets excited at that, a smile returning to her face. She's quick to try and follow. She sits up and with a small flourish of her arms...]

Milady!

[ Just like that, Milady finally comes forth. That's a much more encouraging sight. Both of their personas in front of them seemingly awaiting commands or just simply enjoying the day just like they are. Who knows really! It's just a relief.]

[actus]

[ akira lets out a sigh of relief, slumping back on the grass fully once more. ]

Thank god...

[ he mumbles it under his breath, staring up at the weird sky for a prolonged moment. ]

You did well, Haru.

[mapsio]

[Though she doesn't need the praise, she appreciates it. She's happy to have at least summoned Milady once. For her own peace of mind especially.]

You did well too, you know. Have you tried switching between them yet?

[For Akira would that not be the true test...?]

[actus]

[ THE TRUE TEST. ]

Not yet.

[ .... hm. let's see if he can pick out what he has on him, what strands there are -- ]

Byakko. Enough. ..... Horus.

[ and just like that, they switch out in a flash, the golden bird coming to life in a bright flash. ]

[mapsio]

[She grins.]

Looks like you came with more than one!

[She can relax now, everything is mostly normal.]

[actus]

Yeah.

[ he grins and reaches out to run his fingers through the golden, fluffy feathers. the bird chirps contently. ]

... It's weird calling them out without a battle, to be honest.

[mapsio]

It makes me a little more tired than normal. Maybe it's just because it's so strange.

[She stretches. Letting Milady float in front of her for a while, waving her fan about.]