[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

[concertmaster]

Even if you ask, they don't get a choice. They lose what's most important or they die. That's not in my definition of a fucking good time.

[he shrugs]

That's the true nature of the Game. There's some good things at the end of it, sure. For some people. But the vast majority is messed up shit meant to challenge people to see who's actually worthy.

[purrtagonist]

[clicks his tongue and frowns, dissatisfied with that response]

Are you telling me I need to accept that fact?

[concertmaster]

If you can't accept that a Game like this is always gonna be fucked up, you won't make it a day as Officer rank, never mind anything above that. Anyone Reaper class is directly responsible for who lives and who doesn't. Even if it's just by blocking a path.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . hm]

[a deep breath in and out, eyes slipping shut, as he lets those words sink in. that isn't wrong. as helpful as support class Reaper NPCs were in his game, as nicer as the setup was compared to. . . this, they still created the deadly puzzles and Noise that killed some of its Players]

Is that why you were surprised when I answered your question with "maybe?"

[concertmaster]

Pretty much. You don't strike me as the type to want what comes with promotion.

[purrtagonist]

[snort]

Then what's the type you do peg me for?

[concertmaster]

The type who gets Erased by an overenthusiastic Player because he signed up for some shit he shouldn't have.

[... yaaay]

[purrtagonist]

[ALL THIS FAITH]

[but you know, he just laughs]

Back home, I wanted to be a politician. Funny, isn't it? My life was almost destroyed by one, and I still wanted to dip my toes into that world.

[concertmaster]

So it's that you're a masochist, got it.

[purrtagonist]

[EXCUSE YOU]

Nope. That isn't it.

[pushes his glasses further up his nose]

One of my Confidants was a politician, too. He wasn't very popular, but he fought long and hard against the grain to spread his message. Even though he was never elected, even though people frequently gathered at his speeches to heckle him, he refused to stand down and be silent.

I learned a lot from him. [how to give speeches. to negotiate. to brainwash and mug shadows] But most importantly, I learned that sometimes, the pursuit of your goals is worth gritting your teeth against the things you hate.

[. . .]

So you're right. I probably wouldn't like, or necessarily want, what comes with a promotion. And maybe I won't be able to change the fact that there will always be something fucked up about these Games.

But if I can put myself into a position to at least try, or to at least inspire someone who comes after me to try, then it'll be worth it.

[concertmaster]

[the look on his face translates very easily to "I didn't fucking ask", but hey, at least he doesn't say it! progress!!!!!]

Honestly, I admire your spirit of rebellion in the face of authoritarian bullshit, Joker. I really do. When I was younger, that's definitely the kind of thing I liked to see. I wasn't gonna surround myself with sheep. [HE'S TEN???] But the whole working through the system to change it is way too fucking passive, even for a younger me. I was way more into bringing the whole system down.

[STILL TEN]

[purrtagonist]

[YOU'RE FUCKING TEN, MAX]

[not that age matters to Akira]

Believe me, it's way too passive for me, too. I'd rather tear the whole thing down myself, piece by piece.

[but when your options are between "change it from within" or "get yourself killed butting your head against a brick wall because you aren't powerful enough to win a fight against The Man" or "just sit around and take it without trying to do anything," you obviously choose the option that has the most likely chance of success??]

[also. . .]

Actually, has anyone asked your opinion on this whole system? If you could change how the Game works, in any way, how would you do it?

[concertmaster]

That's a great question.

[... is he going to answer it, or...?]

I'm not supposed to influence shit in this Game, though, so come back to me when it's done.

[cop-out!!!!!!]

[purrtagonist]

That's a cop-out response.

I'm not asking you to influence the Game. My mind is already made up.

[he's starting to understand where he needs to go from here, thanks to his chats with Max and Maya. they're good NPCs]

I'm asking for your opinion.

[concertmaster]

[a long, drawn-out sigh]

My opinion is what I've been telling you guys from that start. I don't give a shit. Anything I would change is stuff to make shit easier for me when I have to deal with... everything that comes with the Game, I guess. The whole rebelling against the system shit was fun when I was alive. That's about when it stopped too.

[purrtagonist]

. . .

Why did it stop?

[will he ever stop asking questions]

[concertmaster]

Will you ever stop asking questions.

[you knew this was coming]

[purrtagonist]

[listen, he doesn't know when or where he'll hit roadblocks until he tries!!]

Probably not. But I won't press the ones that you won't or can't answer.

[concertmaster]

[rolls his eyes but FINE he'll ANSWER THIS you get ONE BACKSTORY per pc!!!!]

I wasn't rebelling because I believed in anything. I was rebelling because I was a kid, I had a shitty life, I wanted to make everyone around me feel shitty, and then I died. Happy?

[purrtagonist]

[one backstory per pc just means i gotta have like one pc per week with you zia]

[quietly]

. . . no.

Not really.

[concertmaster]

[im ok w/ this]

[he deflates from his anger a bit and just kicks at the ground, not looking at Akira]

Yeah, well... Neither was I. Fucking shocker there.

[purrtagonist]

[. . .]

[he finally, finally slides onto the bench so he's more on Max's level, instead of towering over him like the monolith-built motherfucker he is]

What about your parents? And friends?

[concertmaster]

[i said one backstory, Akira, you're pushing it mister]

My parents didn't care.

[he doesn't talk about friends]

[purrtagonist]

[THIS IS RELATED]

[his gaze flickers to the side, but his reply comes pretty quickly]

Neither did mine.

[ah]

But did your friends?

[since he dodged that part of the question]

[concertmaster]

[....... god damn his one weakness for people with shitty parents, it's not like akira's file goes into his parentage!!! because persona god!! ]

You know a lot of kids with a vast understanding of that kind of stuff? It didn't really come up at camp. It's not like I hid it, but they don't-- they didn't get it. [a beat, and then:] I don't think they got half the stuff I ever said, but that's not their fault I was born world-weary and they had a lot to learn.