[Week 2, Monday: Max]

[purrtagonist]

[just like last week, Akira approaches with his specially brewed coffee made out of stolen beans from Wildkat in hand! for the record, he made this ~super stealthily~ in the McDonald's bathroom so no one would see him at work and question his entry fee. just saying]

[he holds the drink out to Max and starts things off with a simple question]

Want to go see a movie?

Comments

[purrtagonist]

[. . . THIS DOES NOT COUNT AS HIS BACKSTORY FOR THE WEEK???]

Ah. Hm.

Well, let's not do that.

At all.

[concertmaster]

I didn't stab the guy. Calm down. I did learn a valuable lesson though. Sometimes you just gotta hit a kid.

[hm.]

Hey, get some of that free overpriced popcorn.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . uuuuuh]

No. That's not a valuable lesson at all. Don't hit any kids.

[but he's obliging and grabbing some of that free overpriced popcorn, along with some free overpriced milk duds. no sodas, tho. they have coffee]

[concertmaster]

It worked, though. Totally changed that kid's entire attitude. [...] Okay, mildly changed it, but that was a fucking improvement. [Max stands on his tippy-toes to try to look over the counter at all the things] Oh, sweet. Remind me to loot this place when we're out.

[purrtagonist]

. . . obviously, the kid shouldn't have been stabbing anyone. But defaulting to violence as a means to solve problems is bad.

[handing him the box of milk duds]

Sure, but only if you steal some Sour Patch Kids for me when you do.

[concertmaster]

Yeah, that's what David kept trying to say too, but he's the one who slapped some sense into the kid. Hitting children totally worked where everything else failed. Lesson learned!

[he shoves the milk duds in his hoodie, because Of Course]

Can't you steal them yourself? Phantom Thief and all that.

[purrtagonist]

[suddenly unsure if David is the good friendly influence he thought Max needed?? heading to the Admission Impossible theater, though!![

Of course, but not after we move locations.

[a beat]

Unless you meant you wanted to raid the concession stand when the movie was over.

[I mean, in that case, Akira's totally gonna help]

[concertmaster]

[#hecouldbeworse]

Yeah, after the movie. I'm not going to wait two weeks to get the candy I want now. I am just a kid after all.

[he uses that to justify a lot of things, doesn't he.]

[purrtagonist]

You sure do use that as an excuse to justify things, don't you?

[empty theater means perfect seats, NOT TOO CLOSE AND NOT TOO FAR AWAY]

[concertmaster]

I'm permanently a kid and I already had to point that shit out to people back when I wasn't. It's shorter than saying "I'm world-weary, but inexperienced."

[another good thing from empty theaters is with no one in front of him max won't need a booster seat :/]

[purrtagonist]

[for some reason, that answer gets a weary smile from Akira. because hasn't he pegged Max as the kind of kid who was forced to grow up too quickly? and they have a few minutes until the feature starts, they're still watching advertisements and previews right now, so. . .]

When you put it like that, it's a fair excuse.

[. . .]

[shovels some popcorn into his mouth]

I was 16 when my parents shipped me off to Tokyo by myself. [ah] Older than you, but I was gone for nearly a year.

They never called.

[concertmaster]

[talking about shitty parents is max's real weakness, why would do this to him. he slouches a bit in his seat, shoving himself further in his hoodie.]

... Yeah. It sucks.

[he actually sounds like he's trying to be comforting when he next adds:]

But you had all those Phantom Thieves and that, uh, coffee guy, right? So. That's something.

[purrtagonist]

Yeah.

[it sucks. no doubt. even now, even after finding a place that actually felt like home for the first time in sixteen years, thinking back on it stings a bit. idly, he tilts the popcorn bowl towards Max in case he wants some]

So I understand "world-weary but inexperienced."

[even if Akira isn't naive and is more experienced in general, he's still a kid, too]

I was pretty lucky to fall into the Phantom Thieves. Lucky that Boss eventually warmed up to me enough to call me family. Without them, I don't know where I'd be.

[miserable and lonely, probably]

. . . I know you said you never had anything like that when you were alive. But you never told me if you found it after death.

[concertmaster]

[Max grabs some popcorn, but only play with it idly instead of eating it.]

... Not really.

[he starts tearing off bits off of one kernel without looking at Akira]

I dunno. Maybe-- maybe camp could've been that for me. It was a shitty place run by a megalomaniac that only ever cared about making money and not being caught by the feds, but. Some of the other kids weren't bad. [he chucks off the pieces into the empty seats in front of them.] David and Gwen were okay sometimes too. The counselors. [he's mentioned david before, but not gwen, so.]

After-- After... [he trails off] Well, anyway, at some point, David even spouted out bullshit like how I deserved to be happy, and he hoped I could be at camp someday. Can you believe that?

[he shrugs it off]

But then I died. So.

[purrtagonist]

[the broken pieces of popcorn bounce off the seats and onto the ground. Akira watches them, heart twisting against his ribs]

David was right. You deserve to be happy. Back then, and right now.

[mmmmm]

But if you actually thought camp could have been they place for you. . . then why did you really not take your second chance after your first Reaper's Game?

[Makoto mentioned something about Max making a mistake in his last game. this is what Akira is prodding at, because he isn't sure he buys Max's given reasons for declining it]

[concertmaster]

[his face shuts down and he shrugs]

It's fucking summer camp. It wasn't gonna last.

[but it might not be the full story, considering how quick he is to change the subject:]

Are you the kind of asshole who talks the whole movie? 'Cause we could've done that outside.

[purrtagonist]

Camp doesn't last. But the people you meet there, do.

[what are you not telling him, Max?]

[but Akira sinks a little into his seat as the lights dim and the previews turn into the actual, feature-length film]

Nope. For the next two hours, my lips are sealed.

[except to eat popcorn and milk duds]

[concertmaster]

Nothing lasts.

[but that's all he says on that until the end of the movie. except riveting commentary like WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHOOT HIM?]

[purrtagonist]

[every time Max yells at the movie screen Akira has to cover his mouth with his hand to avoid cracking up in the middle of the theater. not that his laughter would drown out all of these AWESOME, HIGH-BUDGET, MICHAEL BAY-LIKE EXPLOSIONS]

[it's a good way to alleviate the tension brought upon by the heavy topic they were discussing before it all started, at least?]

[and, as promised, no questions. just two hours of relaxation and cool spies doing cool spy things]

[concertmaster]

[after a lot of sarcastic and judgmental commentary, max's complaint about akira being an asshole who talks during movies might seem a tad hypocritical,

but also, was he wrong. about any of it.]

They never just shoot the guy.

[purrtagonist]

[HE WAS NOT]

[and as the credits roll, Akira stands up, tossing the now-empty bowl of popcorn from hand to hand]

Of course they don't. Because that would solve everyone's problems within the first five minutes.

[then you wouldn't even need a movie]

[concertmaster]

[throws his arms up in the air]

Then come up with a plot without such an easy solution, jesus fucking christ! Writers are just lazy assholes.

[@ my own character: hey. hey. rude,]

[purrtagonist]

Hollywood writers aren't lazy, they just like making money. The formula works.

[depositing his trash in the receptacle as they pass, like a good citizen]

[concertmaster]

I'd go with "barely functions", but that's most of society as we know it. It's passable and mindless at best.

[so does max because he is against global warming. i wish i was joking]

[purrtagonist]

[MAX PLEASE, GLOBAL WARMING IS A SCIENTIFIC FACT]

If you think I'm going to disagree with that, you've read my file. [shooting a god in the face. freeing humanity from the chains of sloth. that sort of thing] But the other side of that coin is the fact that society can be reformed.