aftr_stories | [MU] - DECEMBER STORYTELLING / MEMORY SHARE

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[MU] - DECEMBER STORYTELLING / MEMORY SHARE

Something is wrong.

This may not very well be obvious, at first. The Storyteller is not present to put forth yet another diatribe, informative or apologetic, and the backdrop of guttering flame and sandy campfire is as present as ever...albeit briefly.

Those who tell their stories will start to notice something...odd taking place. Indeed, no matter how they intend to begin their tale, the land of Mu will immediately start to warp to accommodate it, or something utterly unlike it, until storytellers and listeners alike may find themselves in an exact recreation of a seemingly random memory, in the most stark and painstaking of detail. There is no altering the memory, nor is there any preventing it once it's begun to play - you will simply have to witness memories that are not your own this go around.

Furthermore, stories that take place in worlds other than LifeAftr will be, frankly, inevitable. Those memories, too, will be recreated, to be relived by the teller and lived by the listener.

It is time, once more, for you to tell a story...with a slight twist! This is, in fact, our first player plot, as provided by Dragon! The initial setting will be familiar for oldcomers, and newcomers will recognize it from the introduction they received in their dreams.

Yet for this Storytelling only, people can imagine whatever stories they wish, from both their homes and their time on LifeAftr, as long as they don't mind the fact that others will be reliving those stories in the form of an impromptu memory share.

Even those who prefer not to voice their stories aloud are not safe this time around. If the memory is recalled in essence, Mu will shift to accommodate it in full.

There is, however, a benefit to this: those who venture memories to be relived will receive both a befuddled apology from the Storyteller, who will assert that this was most definitely not meant to happen (they're the Storyteller, not the Rememberer!), as well as a tired promise that the relived memories will be worth two offerings each, as if in compensation.

Not that it counts for much, probably.

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[ I couldn't have pulled off that plan alone though.

No, he couldn't have. They both know that. Since arriving in Tokyo, had Akira Kurusu truly been all alone? Tokyo's a big place, and yet... Kurusu had found people to call his teammates so quickly. Had gathered them easily, with that natural charisma and kindness of his. Sakamoto and Takamaki and that cat... then Sae's sister, Wakaba Isshiki's daughter, Okumura's sole heiress... How in the world had he managed that? How had someone with a criminal record gotten all of that?

...

Akechi knows. Kurusu had allowed himself to reach out to others. Had allowed himself, more than once, for no selfish gain, to be vulnerable. And that's the difference, isn't it? Kurusu is genuine. He faces each day, each person he speaks to, with no selfish intent, for the most part.

It burns in his throat and his chest.

If only I'd met you sooner...

It's that thought which overtakes the others, the dull roar in his head. Akechi crosses his arms. He wants to ask if Shido suffered. He wants to ask if they had driven the knife in as far as they could've and twisted it. But he knows that answer. It's a no, because what the Thieves wanted was not what Goro Akechi had wanted.

...

If he had survived somehow... would he have stood with them against Masayoshi Shido? ]

Again, I have no doubts about that. You've always worked so well together. So seamlessly. [ And Akira shouldn't have to listen too closely to hear the envy in Akechi's voice. ] If you hadn't fooled me so thoroughly, if even one thing had gone wrong, what would you have done? I've wondered that for a while.

[ Akira shrugs. ]

We were already risking everything as it was. The plan hinged on one element we couldn't predict, or even talk to before it all went down. If it had gone wrong...

[ Realistically, what would have happened? If he hadn't remembered, and had remained addled by the drugs. If Sae hadn't believed him, and hadn't listened to Alibaba's instructions?

... Realistically, there was only one outcome. ]

I'd probably be dead.

[ He almost wants to ask Akechi how that would feel, thinking about it now, without the hurt and bitterness and anger quite as fresh. But he does have something else to say, that the memories hadn't quite covered. ]

And then Shido probably would've gotten rid of you the way he got rid of the thieves. [ So, a hollow victory at best. ]

... Sae Niijima, you mean.

[ Sae. The wildcard in and of herself. Of course it would come down to her. Perhaps he had shot himself in the foot, suggesting they go steal Sae's heart. He thought he'd been stringing them along, when he couldn't have been more wrong. ]

It's a bold move, placing your lives in the hands of someone who, effectively, was your enemy.

[ He pauses again, letting Kurusu's words sink in. ]

... So no matter the outcome, I was destined to die. [ He laughs lightly, bitterly. ] Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

... yeah, Sae Niijima.

[ He doesn't need to be told just how "bold" a move that was. It'd been the wildcard part of their whole plan - what better move for a wildcard than to utilise a wildcard? ]

She's a Niijima. [ and that's enough of a reason. Makoto had trusted her sister could be persuaded to do the right thing, once she'd heard their circumstances. ] She could be trusted.

... Out of the two scenarios left at that point, it seems so. [ A scenario where Akechi had successfully killed the leader of the Phantom Thieves and outlived his usefulness, and the scenario where Akira had survived and Akechi had hunted them down in Shido's palace. ]

Edited 2017-12-25 21:41 (UTC)

... You know, I should have expected you all to team up. In hindsight, it was the only way things could have gone.

[ The Niijimas are, quite frankly, somewhat terrifying. And Kurusu when put together with all of his friends... Well. Shido's calling card is proof of just how incredibly... amazing the Phantom Thieves are, loathe as he is to admit it. ]

I wonder... was there a scenario in which my death was not inevitable?

[ It's a loaded question, and Akechi knows it just as well as he knows the answer. ]

She lost sight of herself, but thanks to you we were able to clear her heart just in time to use that drive for justice of hers to help us out.

[ Convenient, no?

Akira knew that he could always trust Makoto Niijima to do the right thing, and to have his back. As difficult as it might have been to believe a while ago, Sae had proven to be just as determined to help... and just as determined to watch his back as her sister. Especially when the fate of Japan's security had been at stake. ]

... Maybe. [ If he's honest. ] Maybe if I'd pushed harder when you let your guard down, you might've trusted me. Or maybe you would've tried to get rid of me sooner for your own protection. Who knows?

So lucky you had me along for the show, hmm?

[ He can't forget that time, because it was--as much as he doesn't want to admit it--the best time of his life. He'd felt like a part of something, not just an expendable tool. ]

Maybe, [ he echoes, quietly. His own words echo back at him once more. For the hundredth time. Not for the last time: If only I'd met you sooner. He couldn't have expected some delinquent to become such an important part of his life. Couldn't have expected Robin Hood to come of their meeting. ]

Either way, I suppose we'll never know, will we? It'll remain a mystery.

[ Keep talking like this, and Kurusu will believe him less and less. ]

I suppose so. You suggesting it was what made Makoto speak up about how she wanted to save her sister too.

[ If only I'd met you sooner, what a loaded thing. How much sooner would he have had to insert himself into Akechi's life to circumvent bitterness and anger that deep? A year ago? Two years ago?

When they were still children?

Maybe. Or maybe if he'd tried hard enough, cornered him more effectively, pressed him on those little cracks that with hindsight he can see may have come through unintentionally.

Maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe doesn't make changes though. ]

I guess not. [ and then he tilts his head. ] But right now, you're here, so maybe that counts for something.

Edited 2017-12-25 23:33 (UTC)

[ ... and just like that, just like so many times in the past, Akira Kurusu blindsides him. There aren't a lot of people who can genuinely turn Goro Akechi speechless, steal the words out of his mouth and scatter them into wind. But somehow, he's the one who can. Who does, frequently. ]

... Haha.

[ It feels nostalgic, in a way, if it can even be called that. He should hate Akechi. They all should hate Akechi. But in the end...

.... ]

You're still full of surprises. You'd think I'd be used to it by now.

[ He's not wrong. They should hate him - all of them should hate him, for everything he did to manipulate them. Using Makoto's sister and her palace to draw them in, playing off their urge to help in order to get rid of Akira and pick off the others as they dealt with the loss of their leader. Blackmail, manipulation, using them like tools.

...

... but there was he fact he was someone who had been failed by adults as well. It was a feeling any of them could have empathised with. If Akira had never met Ryuji that day, what would have happened? Kamoshida would have found a way to get rid of him eventually, and then what? No other school would have had him. His life would have truly been ruined, and he wouldn't have had the out of a shiny outer image to portray to the world like Akechi had.

How bitter would he have been? Would he have been in a position to be persuaded into crime, even if not in the same way Akechi had been...? ]

Surprises keep things interesting. I wouldn't want you to be bored.

Oh, quite the contrary. Since we met, my life's been the opposite of boring.

[ And strangely enough, he's sincere about it. Akechi wouldn't have gone to Leblanc had it not been for him. Sure, proposing they infiltrate Sae's palace had been for a selfish cause, but through it he had found...

Well. Someone who could have been called a friend. Morgana's words ring out in his head: You don't hate Joker, do you?

... ]

I hope you don't mind if I ask a question. It's slightly off-tangent and perhaps a bit morbid, but... it's something I've been wondering about for quite some time.

[ That's... oddly flattering. In a way. His own life had been the opposite of boring after the Phantom Thieves had been formed, and they'd started fighting to help people when no one else could.

A busy, and fulfilled life, surrounded by people who understood him and loved him regardless of his background.

...

... who had Akechi had, before them? And then, he'd never really had them. Not truly. When he thinks of it that way... it's depressing. And when he wonders, and thinks about how genuinely shocked Sae had been that Akechi was involved in the mental shutdown incidents... it's worse to think that Akechi may have had people other that him who would've supported him when he needed it, if he'd let them. ]

... I don't mind. But I'm reserving the right not to answer if it makes me uncomfortable.

[ It's difficult to think about. To acknowledge what's been done, what has happened--everything. Especially that which happened in Shido's palace. Akechi's avoided thinking about it for some time, because... well, wouldn't most people? He can't be sure, because he's never truly been able to connect.

More accurately... he never let himself.

Akechi's quiet for some time, his brow furrowed, hand at his chin. ]

What did they say happened to me, after-- [ He pauses again. ] After Shido's puppet took my life? More accurately... what did they say happened to me?

[ A well-known detective, simply vanishing with no word... well. People would talk, wouldn't they. ]

[ One thing they never did establish was... what happened to the body of someone physically present in the Metaverse if they were killed there. It's...

He frowns. All they had was Akechi's example. He hadn't even been present in the Velvet Room where he'd found the others. It had been like Goro Akechi had just been erased from the world - remembered, as much as the flittering minds of the general public would remember losing someone they thought of as attractive and princely.

... ]

As far as the police knew, you were "missing". Or, that's what Sae told us. No one knew what had happened to you. No body showed up outside of the Metaverse either.

Ah, I thought as much. I suppose it's comforting to know that I was right.

[ At his side, he curls his hand into a fist. It betrays what he's saying, and perhaps he realizes that, because he loosens it a moment later. ]

I suppose no one could tell the truth because it would sound insane, would it not?

[ "In the Metaverse, Goro Akechi was killed by the cognitive Goro Akechi inside his father's Palace." Yes, it's completely insane. No one would believe it--he can't deny that.

But it is so, so frustrating. That he built up this image of himself, only to fade into the public's memory... ]

It'd be a little difficult to explain without sounding like we were just making things up. Luckily, I'd already explained everything to Sae-san, so she understood, but...

[ It'd been hard enough explaining his side of things when it came to sending Shido to jail. Adding in "oh and Akechi was killed by his dad's warped view of him made into a physical being, in another 'verse tied directly to our own that I just got rid of by shooting a god in the head" might've broken the case down completely under questions about his own mental stability. ]

We remembered you though. So did Sae-san. It wasn't as if you vanished from memory.

It doesn't surprise me. She's always been such a sharp woman.

[ He wonders how she took it. How she reacted to the fact that the kid she'd been working with so closely ended up being... well. A political assassin. Akechi touches his left hand to his chin, briefly. He's too lose in thought, he's not sure anyth-- ]

Ah--

[ ... geez, of course they would. But Sae Niijima, though. Akechi can't hide his shock. ]

... Did she, now.

You worked with her for a while, didn't you?

[ Come to think of it, how long had Akechi known and worked with Sae? It's funny, when he thinks about it, how little they all knew about him. It makes sense, but for someone to leave such an impact, almost out of nowhere, the lack of knowledge they have of him is... well. Sad.

A lot of this is sad. ]

You shouldn't be so surprised.

... Well, I can't expect she took too well to the truth about me.

[ Because... he had played her, too, hadn't he. Akechi can only imagine how angry she was. Not hurt, because... well, it's Sae. Had she really truly known him, in the end?

No. Not really. ]

Is it really that shocking that I'm surprised?

[ For a moment he's tempted to talk about the cognitive Akechi in Sae's palace that Futaba had told him about - her version of him, versus the version of him that Shido had.

But that feels a little like twisting the knife. ]

A little. We're not that forgetful.

And I still remember people from my old school, when I'd rather not.

Oh, is this supposed to be some strange form of flattery?

[ He pauses, and for a moment, there was a touch of the same light banter they once had. Before... ]

I assure you, however, you won't get the satisfaction of seeing me so flustered.

[ He'd toed the line between letting things remain where they are and resolving them, and he'd stepped away from it. It's not particularly territory he'd like to traverse just yet... if at all. ]

[ oh.

oh Akechi.

that sounds like a challenge. And he wouldn't want to disappoint. So, Akira leans forwards, slowly and carefully so he's absolutely invading Akechi's personal bubble - not sudden enough to startle, but he's not relenting. ]

Oh?

What does a flustered Goro Akechi look like?

[ Image had been such a part of his whole... well. Everything.. They'd seen him fall apart at the end, and crack at the seams, but... never flustered as far as he knew. Not truly flustered, other than a carefully constructed sort for the cameras. ]

.... Oh, did I make you curious? You know what they say about the cat...

[ He absolutely believes Akira'll try for it, the troublemaker. Always pushing buttons, always seeing through someone... it's uncanny. ]

I'm sure you'd like to try and see, but you'd really be wasting your time.

That satisfaction brought it back?

[ He'd hate for you to misconstrue the meaning behind such a well known phrase, after all.

And it is tempting. Seeing these nature reactions is ... satisfying. Like a reminder there is someone under all those layers of betrayal and being betrayed, and manufactured personality for the sake of people who loved the paper-thin outer layer of a person and cared little for the bruises and scars underneath.

...

Akira tilts his head, just enough to speak into Akechi's ear. Close enough for his breath to tickle his ear, at least. Just to see if he can get an immediate reaction. ]

I'll be the judge of that.

[ ....

Akechi puts a hand on Akira's chest and nudges him back. ]

What a troublesome person you are, [ he says, but if Akira looks very closely, he'll see the faintest flush on Akechi's cheeks. And he's very aware of that; he hates it because Akira somehow knows just how to get under his skin. ]

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covertizer - 2017-12-27 23:38 (UTC) - Expand

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