[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]

[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.

[purrtagonist]

[see there ARE backstory things he can share!!]

And it isn't your fault you were forced to grow up so fast.

Adults should be less shitty so kids have time to be kids.

[concertmaster]

[he makes a face]

Yeah, that sounds kinda condescending. People should be less shitty. They aren't. It's not an adult-only situation.

[purrtagonist]

I know. Believe me.

But it's the shitty adults I take the most issue with. [ah] . . . personal experience.

[some of it his own, but most of it via watching his friends being taken advantage of by teachers and mentors and parents alike]

[concertmaster]

Right. The whole... phantom thief thing. I remember.

[it came up in 3 files its hard to forget :/]

[purrtagonist]

[you got three out of eight you should feel lucky, Max]

Yeah. The whole Phantom Thief thing.

[a small shrug]

It was our little niche in the world. Still is. Still. . . will be, when we get out of here.

[refusing to entertain the idea that they won't]

[concertmaster]

Yikes. Someone's got high hopes.

[he lives to crush those]

[purrtagonist]

Yep. Sure do.

[FINGERGUNS. also, back to backstory]

Did you ever find a place like that while you were alive?

[he thinks. . . the answer to that is "no," but. doesn't hurt to ask]

[concertmaster]

Take a wild guess.

["camping accident"]

[purrtagonist]

What about now that you're dead?

[he also has a guess for that one, but again, never hurts to ask]

[concertmaster]

Alright, that's probably enough dumb shit questions for tonight.

[:/]

[purrtagonist]

[damn it he was getting somewhere]

Next time, then.

[he'll open with that one if he isn't DEAD]

[concertmaster]

[he really wasn't]

Seriously? God, you're needy. Fine.

[purrtagonist]

[let him feel like he was :(]

Don't be so hostile. What else do you have to do on nights like this one?

[concertmaster]

Be free. I don't get days off.

[purrtagonist]

I'm pretty sure that's illegal.

[in the living world]

[concertmaster]

This is a lawless land, Joker.

1/2

[purrtagonist]

Which means there's nothing stopping you from taking a vaca--

[purrtagonist]

Ooooh, except eternal Erasure.

[concertmaster]

You got it, champ!

[with two thumbs up

this is a believable cheer]

[purrtagonist]

[another soft snort, and he stands up, linking his hands together and stretching]

Well, I'll let you get back to your free time. I'd say "same time, same place" for next week, but we'll be somewhere new, so there's no point.