songerein | [OPEN] Out of Kindness

Entry tags:

[OPEN] Out of Kindness

Who: You and people you've dearly missed.
Which: Antagonist Log (Open)
Where: All over Reverein, but mostly around a smiling man in white.
What: Dreams coming true, wrongs righted, and joyful reunions with lost loved ones.
Warnings: MASSIVE spoilers for Persona 5 Royal, mental manipulation including hallucination, memory loss and alteration, discussion of complete personality and history rewrites in extreme cases.

▶ GENTLE MADMAN

¤ A.The skies of Reverein are dark and stormy, but for some reason… not here. A newcomer to the world of dreams, dressed in white with a pair of glasses accenting a soft-featured, smiling face. He seems to have the best of luck, really- wherever he goes, there seems to be a lull in the storms, a brief spot of clear skies and sunshine- or shorter lines at the shops, or maybe an accidental extra bun in the box you grab at the bakery. For whatever reason, around the stranger things just… seem to go well.

And, should you approach him, you'll find him… easy, to talk to. His voice is soft, his expression friendly, and he always takes an interest. Easy to talk to, to open up to. Questions diverted with a joke or a laugh, an offering of food and a friendly ear making it damnably difficult to actually dislike him. Besides, he says he's a professional counselor, and that anything you say to him is, of course, in confidence and not to be shared.

What could it hurt? With all these nightmares running loose, no-one could deny that a little mental health care would be a good thing.

¤ B.When he's not around, however, things seem to be actively getting worse. Shadows are appearing in Reverein, already a problem in and of itself- but around budding Antagonists, they're worse somehow, their forms warping to match the Antagonists' desires, protecting them, following orders. They'll have to be dealt with.

Bizarrely, a small handful simply aren't being a problem. They dress like hospital orderlies, their demeanors almost helpful… unless, of course, you've interacted with the smiling man- and refused his help. Then their true nature comes through, and they become very nasty indeed.

▶ ROYAL DAYS

¤ A.As concerning as the influx of monstrosities and megalomaniacs is, in the moment you might find it hard to care, very much. Ever since meeting that smiling man, things have turned out for the best. A familiar face appears- perhaps a long-dead loved one, suddenly brought to the land of dreams. Or an estranged friend, maybe, hoping to reconcile. Stranger things have happened, right?

Or maybe you've started to remember a wholly different sequence of events. Choices you regretted, undone in an instant. Hurtful things you said, never spoken. A traumatic event never occurring, or the love of a parental figure, never withheld from you. Whatever the reason, how could you worry about the impending confrontation when your life is so… perfect?

¤ B.Or maybe… you're a little too suspicious, too willful, too well-adjusted already for that to work. Or perhaps you've spotted a contradiction too great to ignore, a remembered event that simply couldn't have happened, because you also remember something that would've made it impossible. In that moment of horrible realization, it all comes rushing back. Whatever figment of the ones you lost fades and dissipates, so much noctaere-black smoke in the wind. Forgotten details suddenly remembered, the skies just as clouded and thunderous as ever.
Maybe you're seeing the slightly glazed-over look in the eyes of the afflicted, the joyful smiles and lack of care. Maybe you've even connected it to the Smiling Man, the one who introduced himself as Doctor Maruki- or maybe you're still searching for the truth.

Whatever the case, the Orderlies- the Shadows, marching about in masked, twisted, humanoid forms- do not like you. At a moment's notice, they attack, hoping to capture, to subdue- to force you to meet with their 'glorious savior' for 'treatment'.

Or maybe you've had the chance to run into the good doctor again, in an environment where he seems so much less happy to see you.

▶ THROW AWAY YOUR MASK

¤ A.A special third prompt that will be posted in a few days' time. Those interested in joining the final confrontation should see the sign-up post below.

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Ren shrugged. "I guess I should count myself thankful none of the damage in the Metaverse ever carried over. But yeah, sorry about the intrusion. I asked around, people said this was where Akechi spends most of his time... I figured I should at least check the place out, right?" He climbed up the ladder as instructed, though. "Ren Amamiya. I'm a friend of Akechi's from..."

Akechi snorted. "From the Phantom Thieves. It's fine, it's not as if we need to hide anything here." He also pointedly avoided Blitzø's eyes. "Closest I ever had to a friend, for a while."

"I'm touched. What's the exact date, by the way? Didn't get a chance to look."

"May... twentieth? Twenty-first? The exact day might have been concussed out of me."

Ren looked thoughtful, for a moment. And then his smile turned somewhere south of impish and just a hair north of Faustian. "Plenty of time, then. I was worried, I mean, a jug of coffee's a pretty crappy birthday present."

And there he froze again. "I don't- how in the hell- Futaba."

"Futaba."

"God dammit."

"I gotta get to know this Futaba kid, she seems like she's got her finger on all the hot goss," Blitzø said, as if he wasn't proposing the most mortifying thing possible.

"Birthday, though, huh? Gonna take a boyfriend out on a date for your birthday, Akechi-boh-betchy? I'll make sure my gift to you for your birthday is a super cute outfit for that date."

"Oh, Futaba? Met her briefly once; she helped Loona charge her phone while she was here." An extra note to throw in, one that Blitz may appreciate as well.

With the mention of Akechi's birthday, however, brings a smirk to Dante's face. Ooooh, things are getting spicy now. "I'll clear out the office and let you two have your place to hang out after the date. Could loan you my bike, if either of you know how to drive."

Somehow, the comments just made the black-haired boy seem even more smug, silently mouthing the words 'bo-betchy?'.

Akechi pinched the bridge of his nose. "One, it's not like that. Two: I am going to throttle. All three of you! Why the fuck are you like this."

"If I had to guess… it's because I think you're genuinely happiest when you're trading barbs with someone. Not even fighting, just little pointless arguments over trivial stuff nobody really cares about. Like… Featherman. Or Music. Or, reaching for more recent history, whether or not 'fried chicken on Christmas' should count as a Japanese tradition." Task accomplished, Ren hopped down. "I get it. It's like having a family, right? Only… better. Because everyone actually cares, and you actually care about everyone else."

And there was that familiar sense of being thrown off-balance, that sudden gear shift from joking and friendly to cutting right through him, exposing the core of everything about him with a single question. Emotion flickered across his face- and he set the mugs down on the desk, not having a response immediately. "... Why don't you, ah. Coffee. You made it, right?"

"Of course." An effortless, practiced motion. Four mugs, one black, one with two sugars, without even being asked. "Leblanc's house blend, accept no substitutes. Blitz and… Dante, right? How do you take your coffee?"

The explanation, the comment about trading barbs and family, had Blitzø's eyebrow quirking. That sentiment... it was pretty insightful, huh? So that's the kind of guy that Akechi likes? Someone that was insightful and could read people?

He's a little distracted for a second, thinking about it, not even sure why that struck him as notable in the first place. Huh. Coffee? "Oh. I like iced coffee. That can be kinda a pain in the ass in this place so anything sugar boogar-y I'll take," he scoffed, smiling to himself thinking about how annoyed that'd probably have made Moxxie.

"You wouldn't want iced coffee from hot anyway, but hey, next time I swing by I'll have some cold brew ready to go. How about it?" Ren lacked the ideal setup for anything fancy… but a café au lait wasn't exactly hard to make. Simple syrup, coffee, steamed milk from the thermos, all with practiced ease- and then a pair of mugs were slid across, before his gaze turned to the man in red. "What about you? I'm… getting a vibe that you're a lots-of-sugar kinda guy too, am I right?"

"You'd be correct. I'm not sure how old Dante is, but I'm pretty sure it's somewhere around thirty-five, going on seven."

"Yeah? Well, probably he'd fit right in, then. Any complaints?"

Akechi took the cup, inhaled. Took a drink. "Mm. None whatsoever. They just can't get it right here, somehow. I missed this."

Another smirk, another stare that bored straight through him. "Yeah, I figured you'd have missed… the coffee."

Dante sighs wistfully. "I remember when I was thirty five..." He ages really well, at least, but man, he's definitely the old man of the group. The grandpa. Oh god, he doesn't wanna keep thinking about it--oh right, the coffee.

"Uhh, yeah. I got me a sweet tooth. Helps me take to this place a little bit, even if the pizza's hard to come by."

This kid knows his stuff. Someone who can trade wits with Akechi all the time, from the looks of it. That kinda deep understanding from someone who just gets you, and occasionally presses your buttons for it. It's just like with Lady and Trish...

"There's just some things you don't outgrow, you know? Pizza, having good fights, the sundaes...giving your friends shit now and then. Know a few ladies back home who'd do exactly that. Wouldn't trade 'em for anything."

"I give Moxxie shit all the time and he just bitches at me! At least you all have a sense of humor," Blitzø scoffs. Then, after sipping coffee, points right at Akechi. "Actually yeah we kinda first talked by making fun of each other. You called me illiterate and I said I'd fuck your mom. Then we talked about daddy issues and you were like 'oh my god stop' and spilled tea or whatever all over your book."

Akechi rubbed his face. "It's really hard to explain without sounding crazy."

Which just prompted another knowing grin, as Dante was handed his coffee. "Honestly... it's nice to hear about you opening up to people other than me. You deserve people who care for and support you. Aaand hopefully sometimes who can cook. Seriously, is everything in your pantry still either canned or instant?"

"I'm not answering that."

"Which means I'm right."

"Which means I am invoking my constitutional right to not testify against myself without a lawyer present fuck off."

Despite not usually drinking coffee, he's enjoying the one served to him. Pretty good stuff. Appeases his sweet tooth, too.

"Can't give him too much shit for it; I'm learning slowly to cook, myself. Friend who isn't here anymore showed me this great curry I can't do yet, but I remember how it tastes and that's enough for dreamotion. Madhuri and Octavia are the real cooks, so with our powers combined, the instant stuff's a sometimes."

"Don't worry, I break into Akechi's house all the time and leave bread and shit for sandwiches," Blitzø admitted completely frankly. "And my leftovers too so he gets some actual veggies in him."

The belt of laughter that slipped out certainly didn't help Akechi's mood. "I'm not a child. I eat a very balanced diet of food that absolutely requires nothing more complicated than being heated up, on account of having burned water."

"Well, then. Maybe I'll just have to cook for you more often, so we can all be sure. But... that just seems like a lot of back and forth. Maybe I should just move in? You practically lived at Leblanc for a while, if I remember."

And like that, he was pulling back, glancing furtively at both Blitz and Dante, confusion crossing his face. What? "Amamiya, I had a concussion earlier today, I'm really not up for this kind of joking around right now."

There it was again. Another stare that lanced right through him, and he felt tightness in his chest, a rising panic that threatened, for a moment, to drown out everything as confusion gave way to denial-

And then Akechi's expression faltered, his brow furrowed, his breath calmed, his expression smoothing over. "You're- being serious."

"Yeah. Sorry to put you on the spot in front of your..." Ren quirked an eyebrow at the other two. "Weird demon and half-demon adopted uncles? Is that the vibe you're going for, here? But you know, I kind of put off the asking for months, and then I woke up. So."

"HAH! I fucking called it!" Blitzø burst out, just as loud and annoying as ever. He DEFINITELY caught the vibe the second he saw Akechi's expression when he opened the door.

Sorry, Ren, Akechi - immediately bouncing out of the boisterous laugh, Blitzø stepped up to Ren and pinched his cheeks with either hand. "Now you listen here. That right there is my baby, got it? I might've just picked this baby boy up, but he's mine. And if you break my baby boy's heart, I will fuck you up."

"I'm the uncle. Blitzø is the dad." Dante points out with an amused expression. He's gonna pick up the imp and rescue Ren's face from further pinching like lifting a cat off the table. "He can and will bite, but don't worry; invading your personal space means he likes you."

Ren's got the sass and sense of timing to fit in. It's no wonder Akechi took a liking to him. Ren's probably used to the threats as well because of him.

"As for me, let's just say if you need a hand being a little irresponsible, I'm your man."

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[OPEN] Out of Kindness

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