purrtagonist | [Week 1, Monday: TOP TEN ANIME BETRAYALS]

If you hadn't just said "kind of cute" and not "extremely cute", I would have thought I have a clone or something.

[putting those phantom thief reflexes to work huh akira]

That's good, though! There's another Conductor out there with the right idea.

[SURE ARE]

I bet you two would've gotten along.

[sitting up now, at least. . .!]

Maya, you've met the Composer of this game directly, haven't you?

[she's tired herself out a little by now so she flops down beside him, sitting too]

I have. Buuuut, I don't know if I can answer too many questions -- I've got really strict orders like Max does.

[so if he's hoping for more info he may be disappointed]

[he's already questioned Max to death about the Composer, so that doesn't surprise him]

I figured. It isn't really information I want, anyway.

[less information, more her opinion. Max shared his, so he hopes Maya can, too]

First. . . what can you tell me about them?

Oh? And here I thought you wanted to grill me like a steak!

[she's a little surprised, but]

They really like to be smug and mysterious, that's for sure! I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm really grateful that I lived to Maya another day -- sort of. [she's still dead, w/e, but she wasn't erased thanks to what maya will assume is kindness, because she's maya] But we sure did go in circles a lot.

You know, that's what Max said about them, too.

[smugsmiley Composer. . . WHOMST COULD IT BE]

What were you talking about that made you go in circles?

I was trying to figure out why they saved me and what was going on, basically. It gave me a headache! And this coming from someone who watched Nick cross-examine some real characters, lemme tell you.

I bet he's never cross-examined a monkey.

[PRIDE AND JOY]

Does this mean you haven't been a Reaper for long?

He's cross-examined a parrot, actually! [and that's only what she knows of. phoenix wright has a problem] That's where I got the idea, actually.

..... Nope. I still don't know why the Composer picked me for this. Actually asking them got me nowhere, too. ... Maybe it's just my natural charm.

[clearly]

Say, Akira, what were your other Games like?

[didn't he cross examine something else stupid in spirit of justice]

I'd vote on your natural charm.

[hm. . . he flops backwards again, hands folded behind his head]

Nothing like this.

[staring at the ceiling as he answers]

They were more like. . . your standard JRPG, you know? You crawl through dungeons, fight Noise, solve puzzles. . . that sort of thing. Reapers were like support NPCs who provided you with items and hints to help you through.

People were Erased, but not like this. Usually it was because they lost against some Noise, or failed a dungeon puzzle.

[. . .]

The Reapers I remember, when I was just a Player, were integral in helping me win my Game.

Edited 2018-03-14 03:28 (UTC)

[he's always cross-examining something stupid lbr]

Awww, what a charmer you are! Well, it's nice to be appreciated.

[maya takes this in thoughtfully]

That's more along the lines of how Games should be, in my opinion. Reapers there to actually like, help out, or challenge them, not... get all stabby with it.

[but she's not in charge, alas]

[. . .]

[this is a good segue into something that has been bothering him since they chose their victim for this week]

I know you're as new as I am. [practically, anyway. how did she skip the ranks???] But how do you feel-- personally-- about our job?

[the. killing part, he means. he knows he doesn't like it, and he hasn't yet come to terms with it being a part of the Reaper deal. help him Maya-senpai]

Well, honestly --- I don't like it one bit. I don't like any of it. But... I'm a little glad, too.

[that probably sounds bad, so she quickly amends] --- Not about the Erasures, I mean! But that I can be around to help you guys. I don't think any one of you -- even Junko -- is really 100% okay with what you have to do to survive. [especially him, she's noticed from even this one meeting] So, at least I can support you, even just a little, like this. Because I think you guys have it the worst.

[MAYA. . .!]

. . .

Thanks.

[that's sincere, even if his smile is a bit lopsided]

[. . .]

You know, it isn't exactly like me to just go along with a set of rules that I think are stupid or unjust.

[PHANTOM THIEF OF HEART, SHOOTER OF GOD IN THE FACE, THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BLASPHEMER, ETC ETC]

[She gives him a smile, too, it's softer than her usual grins]

Yeah, you do have a bit of a rebellious air about you, huh? It'd be nice if we could be all SCREW THE POLICE!!! and throw coffee at the the rulebooks and Ikea pillows at the Composer.

[the composer wouldn't get metaphorical coffee to the face because they saved maya, obviously!! also: she's not godot]

... But we're stuck.

[also: waste of good coffee]

Just a little.

[he says with a light laugh. not the first time, either. even now, Lavenza's words echo through his head-- this is truly an unjust game.]

[what can he do about it now, with little information and no obvious avenues to fight back? for the first time since he moved to Tokyo, he feels small enough to be crushed underneath a bigger, stronger heel]

[maybe it's time to return to his old roots. keep his head down. swallow his pride and play along, until he can rise up to fight yet again]

Regardless of how I feel about the others. . . [and his feelings are mixed. he isn't sure he can trust them all-- Junko, especially-- but some of them like Undine and Ranpo have caught his attention in a good way] . . . I do think the last thing they need is someone making their lives more difficult.

[someone ruining everything for them, when they're so obviously at a disadvantage. that would just be shitty]

Just slightly.

[she can sympathize -- fellow protagonist and all. funny, in japanifornia, the death penalty is a given, and while she feels bad about the sentencing of the real killers -- she wouldn't have tried to overturn it. but now, on the other side of this, with the reapers -- it's not exactly comparable, but it's definitely shifted her perspective a little. they're kind of being forced, though, aren't they? like this whole game]

You gotta think about yourself, too. I don't want you you to go through what I did --- especially since I doubt the Composer would cut a deal with you if you went against 'em. [but yeah, the stabbing did mess her up, even though she was revived afterwards --- she has to actively try to block it from her memory. she doesn't want any of the reapers to go through that, least of all someone like akira who really does want to try to save people, like her. fellow protag :(] I mean, I'm not gonna tell you to run around stabbing everyone right left and center, but.... you know. I want you to make it.

[. . .]

I want everyone to make it.

[LOFTY GOALS. . .! he knows it's naive. he knows that's not how the Reaper's Game works]

But I'll survive, as best as I can. Not for my sake-- [because his own wellbeing is so far down on the list of priorities] -- but for the sake of the people counting on me.

[. . .]

Maya-- do you trust the Composer?

So do I.

[ hey, she isn't going to knock on him for being naive. even if it can't happen, want the same thing, just as she said to him before. ]

Include me in that, won't you? I know you're busy worrying about everyone else, so I'll worry extra for you.

[ she pauses at the question. ]

They did save me, sooooo, I guess, I mostly do? It's hard to think of them as a bad guy, even with the whole.... y'know.

[ moidah. ]

[that part about her worrying extra for him? that earns a smile from Akira, fond and grateful]

. . . thank you, Maya.

[it feels great to have someone like her in their corner. truthfully]

And I understand. I guess that makes sense. I'm just trying to figure out. . . [shrugs, a little helplessly] Why they would design a game like this one.

Someone's gotta with a helpless lunk like you!

[ she sounds fond when she says it so maybe it doesn't count as an insult. nah, it's an insult. ]

I dunno. I think.... maybe they're trying to prove something.

[ it's been really hard for her to get a straight answer out of the composer, though. ]

[it's okay, it's a fond insult, so he'll take it. also hilariously, that is what Max says in a PC dated after this one]

The inherent goodness of humanity? That you should trust people when you can, no matter what?

[or, the opposite end of the spectrum]

That someone will always be there to stab you in the back? That life is tough, and to win, you need to be willing to get your hands dirty?

Edited 2018-03-19 05:06 (UTC)

[ listen teasing means she likes you. also: tmw both max and maya think their boss is a pretentious hipster. ]

..... Maybe something in between. I feel like you gotta be awfully jaded and morally grey to try to pull off a Game, let alone one this messed up.

[ she pauses to really think, because it's hard for her to put herself in this frame of mind, being a shounen weenie. ] I guess, it's like.... when your life is on the line, the person you really are comes out? Bla bla bla, shady experiments. Or..... maybe it's beyond us insignificant Players n' Reapers and we're all just chess pieces on a checkers board.

[ maya learn the difference between checkers and chess ]

[this must mean their boss is a pretentious hipster]

. . . yeah.

[honestly? he was thinking of it in those terms, too. it's only in the most dire of circumstances, where the fight is literally for life or death, that someone's true nature is released]

[but the park about chess pieces on a checkers board gets him to let out a soft snort]

I've been a pawn in a god's game once before. I never really wanted to do it again, if I'm going to be honest.

Edited 2018-03-20 01:13 (UTC)

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