Goro Akechi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
herewardbound) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
songerein2023-05-11 07:12 pm
herewardbound) wrote in songerein2023-05-11 07:12 pm
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
no subject
...But she wouldn't exist. G'raha wouldn't exist. Nobody in Etheirys would. Paradise would continue in perpetuity, and stagnate.
"Suppose you did achieve what you wished and everyone here gets what they want. I can't help but think of what comes after. Some folk may at some point simply be done, and wish to rest. Would they be granted that rest, or would that conflict with their loved ones who perhaps want them to continue living? Now they're unhappy."
She shook her head. "...Even the idea of paradise would cause some misery, in time. But... yes, we speak of the here and now."
Her fingers entwined with one another, tightened. Her eyes turned back to face him, smile bright.
"You stole my fucking moon, and I've been awfully polite up until now. I'd like my friend back, Story Eater. Would you kindly cease torturing him?"
no subject
And he seemed surprised. Surprised, and confused, and then- there was a flicker of something in the air behind him, burning eyes and tendrils of blue and noctaere-black, a twist of something as the realization was prevented- angry. "Torturing- is that what you think I'm doing? Why are you so opposed to this? I could help you. Isn't that- don't you understand? You're worried about the fine details that would make it work, but that's not how cognition works. When there's an inconsistency between what's real and what people believe, most people rationalize the inconsistency away. The little details don't have to matter, not when I'm working with entire populations. And for people like you, for whom the inconsistencies are enough to dig into, to ruin the magic… I can make it right, if you'd just let me try. Isn't… isn't everyone's happiness worth giving up your own personal freedom?"
He was standing now, looking down in faint surprise, at where he'd punched the table. "I just- you worked with the Scions. What I saw in your dreams… I thought you'd understand. Isn't that their entire philosophy? To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save…"