[Week 1, Wednesday: Max]

[purrtagonist]

[I hear the angry tiny is at the park now!!]

[it isn't hard for Akira to find him. and when he does, he approaches with a wave and a slightly slouched posture, one hand clutching a cardboard cup of. . . something?? hint: it's coffee]

Soooooo.

How goes our babysitting gig?

Comments

[purrtagonist]

[LISTEN]

Cheeky. Anyone besides you, Maya and the Composer?

[concertmaster]

Yeah, we also got idiot Reapers who ask dumb questions.

[he loves you, really?]

[purrtagonist]

[does he though]

And I'm going to keep asking dumb questions until I figure out which questions are less dumb.

Back-tracking a little bit-- why is the Composer so short-staffed? What happened to their usual pool of Reapers?

[concertmaster]

[...ehhhhhhhhh]

You'd have to ask the Composer. I don't know who the fuck their usual are.

[purrtagonist]

Cool. How do I set up an appointment with them?

[a little dry because he knows it ain't that easy]

[concertmaster]

Ask your Conductor and hope she doesn't just awkwardly laugh and hum as she tries to figure out if she'd get Erased again just for asking.

[sounds! fun!]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . sorry in advance Maya Fey. . .]

Does the Composer have a temper?

[concertmaster]

Eh. I wouldn't say they don't have one.

[purrtagonist]

[that's fair]

Noted.

[absolutely no promises made about not pissing them off, tho. Akira please]

Do you know what their ultimate goal is, in running a Game like this one? You said they believed it for the best of everyone involved, but. . .

[trails off]

[concertmaster]

To prove a point. That's about it.

[he seems honest about this, at least]

[purrtagonist]

[Sipp gagtagged me with this and now I'm sus]

. . .

To prove a point to whom? Us, or someone else?

[concertmaster]

[:3]

Both, I guess.

[purrtagonist]

. . .

[holy fuck]

You know I'm no stranger to being a pawn in some cosmic being's game, right?

[concertmaster]

Yeah. So? Welcome to the Game. It's pretty much always like that.

[purrtagonist]

[and suddenly, he grins, sharp and Joker-ish]

Is that so.

Another question: if it's "both," then who opposes the Composer?

[concertmaster]

Gee, I dunno. Jinkies, what a mystery! Is it... is it just not relevant to you? Holy shit. It isn't.

[purrtagonist]

Yep. That's about what I expected.

[he does not at all seem bothered by this]

[concertmaster]

Yeah, you probably saw that one coming. [there's a look there] You sure are obsessed with knowing what the Composer's up to. You gunning for a promotion?

[gunning, ha ha]

[purrtagonist]

[gunning. ha ha]

[completely level]

Maybe.

[concertmaster]

Huh.

[...huh.]

[purrtagonist]

[huh!!]

Don't misunderstand. I'm not gunning for the kind of promotion where you take out the guy above you to make room at the top. That isn't how I work.

[. . .]

[he thinks back to the Phantom Thieves, who had to reform society outside of the system, because the system was too corrupt to do it from within]

[but he also thinks of Yoshida, who worked so hard to spread his message, to get elected, to inspire change from within. he thinks of Sae, who chose to dedicate her life to defending those wronged by powers that be. he thinks of Makoto, who wishes to chase her own justice as a police commissioner. he thinks of himself, his wish to pursue politics to continue his attempts to revolutionize he world, even without the Metaverse]

But tomorrow night, I'm going to help a fellow Reaper Erase one of the Players, after I adamantly refused to do just that last week. It's going to compromise a piece of myself. It's going to compromise my personal sense of justice.

. . . I want to change that, so no one else has to compromise themselves for the sake of a second chance again. So Games can be what I think they should be-- challenges to inspire growth and development.

And sometimes, to change the rules, you have to be part of the rules themselves. Right?

[. . . ]

If getting promoted gives me the chance to convince the Composer that there are better ways to do this, then I sure as hell am going to try for one.

[anyway someone please stop his intensity before the Composer hears him and strikes him down for being. . . like this]

[concertmaster]

[Max listens to this all without interruption, and stays quiet for a bit after even, finishing up his coffee.]

... Do you know why entry fees are a thing?

[well. that seems out of nowhere.]

[purrtagonist]

[WELL]

[he'll go along with it]

No. . . I don't.

[concertmaster]

There's no need for a price tag for the Game. I mean, sure, it's a nice way to guarantee people are fucking serious about this, but it's not a huge loss if they aren't. And if we needed the fee, we wouldn't fucking give it back if you won. The actual reason the fee's taken and chosen that way is to make people think about why that's their most important thing. That kind of thing forces people to self-reflect and understand themselves better, which triggers growth.

[he deposits the cup besides himself and shoves his hands in his hoodie]

Here's the deal. The intention behind is it good. It helps out Players and makes them stronger candidates for that second shot. Does it make it any less cruel to the Players themselves?

[purrtagonist]

[folds his arms, head tilted back, letting out a thoughtful "hm"]

Not if you take it from them without even asking.

[. . .]