Who knows what’s right? The lines keep getting thinner

[makejapangreat]

Who: Shido Masayoshi and whatever unfortunate soul decides to approach him (Open)
What: Shido is working himself to the bone via self-inflicted punishment
When: Early May (like 5/1 ~ 5/12 or thereabouts)
Where: Various
Warnings: Lots of badbrain stuff going on with Shido rn, including self-deprecation, possible thoughts of suicide


[Library]
[Off in the corner sits a man, pouring over a manner of books. The more the days go by, the more that energy and health is sapped from him. The bags under his eyes have been persistent since day one of arriving here, but the noticeable changes are that he does seem to be losing some weight, and perhaps becoming a bit pallid... Yet a fire burns behind his eyes as he reads at the library like clockwork, occasionally extending a hand, fingers tensing, trying to press themselves down on some invisible object. Very occasionally, if one just happens to be around at the right time of day, they might hear a singular "pop" of air in his direction. It's also possible, at times, to find him completely slumped over on the table he's at, asleep, often grunting and twitching in his sleep— it's clearly not very restful...

On a brighter now, later on in the week you might see a henohenomoheji drawn on the back of Shido's head? He doesn't seem to be aware of this...]

[Library - 5/7 (Closed to Izunia)]
[There's more than just a pop today. Today? There's an outright crackle and snap of electricity.

Followed by an agonized yell and the clatter of a chair.

Shido lays on the floor, breathing heavily, one arm desperately clutching at the other that spasms from the surge of electricity that had torn through it. And then something peculiar happens.

Shido laughs. An unsteady sort of laugh, but nevertheless.

Maybe he electrocuted himself so badly he fried his brain...]

[Outside]
[If you get extra lucky, you might catch Shido outside. Particularly, the spot he chooses to go is north, to the top of the Skyclimb Cliffs, where he looks out to the ocean. It seems, well... somewhat of a precarious place for someone to be, really. He seems to be awfully close to the edge at times, no sign of fear or wariness in his body. You might catch him looking down, as if considering something, but for the most part? His gaze remains on the endless blue.

And then, after about thirty minutes of this, he'll quietly turn and head back.]

Comments

[makejapangreat]

[He knows it's a mistake the moment he says it. It doesn't make him take it back. Instead, he reluctantly walks over and attempts to take the fish...

And, predictably, the fish wiggles with an impressive amount of strength that Shido can't hope to combat. His eyes widen as he tries to find purchase on the slippery thing, but ends up slapping him in the face with its tail and he loses his grip and falls into the water as a result.

He quickly surfaces with a gasp and a coughing fit... and a curious lack of sunglasses.

Graceful.]

[foolishjustice]

[If nothing else, this display gives him a chance to hear something new from Goro: laughter. He's snorting as Shido surfaces, trying to keep his laughter under control enough to re-collect the fish...unfortunately, he's not having much luck in doing anything other than keeping it from flopping back into the water. Doing this while laughing is hard!]

. . .

[beguiledcard]

[ Annnnnd it's around this time Akira is passing by and noting the situation. Oh, wow, that sure is his phone coming out...





Click. ]

[makejapangreat]

[He blinks, looking a little stunned at the moment at Goro's expression and... his laughter. He's heard his canned TV laughter before, sure, but this was... actually genuine.

He looks back at the fish and grits his teeth, then leaps forward and manages to get a secure hold on it. He grunts, holding it securely as he slowly gets to a stand. He's also absolutely soaked, top-to-bottom.]

What do you even plan on doing with this thing?

[foolishjustice]

Strange-san should know if it's edible, and Kurama should know how to clean and gut it if it is. This should provide a nice dinner for me and my boyfriends.

[Oh look, Shido actually managed to get a good grip on the fish! He gives a wave at one of said boyfriends, then wanders over to where he's left his loot bag and picks it up. It seems to be empty...]

You can put it in here.

[makejapangreat]

[Ah. There it is again. That dreaded word.

Boyfriends.

He blinks a few times, but manages to deposit the fish without getting too side-tracked.

.. he does seem genuinely happy. No matter how much it goes against his culture, their culture... somehow, against all odds, Akechi seems better off for it.

Certainly much better than he ever was under him.]

I see...

[He blinks belatedly, then his hand comes up to grab for his glasses. They're not there, of course, and when he looks to the waters, he sees nothing.

Typical... and yet he can't say he regrets doing what he did.]

[foolishjustice]

[As soon as the fish hits what should be the bottom of the bag, it disappears. Goro doesn't seem to consider this odd, though, and just folds the bag back up.]

Lost something? Well, I'm sure some sort of marine life is enjoying its new accessory.

[makejapangreat]

So I supposed it is...

[Wait a minute.]

What happened to the fish? [WHERE DID IT.. GO....]

[foolishjustice]

I put it into my inventory. It's something you'd know about if you ever took any interest in my work in the Metaverse beyond how successful I was.

[Apparently his amusement at Shido's poor life choice isn't enough to stop all the verbal barbs.]

[makejapangreat]

... I'm willing to listen now.

[He expects he'll get turned down, but surely at least trying means something...?]

[foolishjustice]

...You read all of Wakaba Isshiki's research notes, right? Tell me the details you didn't think would be useful in following your orders, and I'll explain some of the things only a Persona user would know about.

[Sorry, even his love of gushing about Metaverse stuff doesn't get you this for free.]

[makejapangreat]

[He blinks, then brings a hand up to his chin in thought. Something he hadn't told Akechi...]

One's Palace can be intentionally manipulated, if one trains themselves to. Based on what I've heard... it sounds like I was successful.

[But not successful enough to keep his heart from getting changed.]

[foolishjustice]

[His eyebrows pinch at the sight of that posture. Don't tell him he got that from Shido...his hand starts to come up to his chin in a matching pose, but he deliberately crosses his arms instead.]

So that's why certain Cognitives in your Palace seemed different after you got your hands on that research. It seemed as if something fundamental changed about them...I take it you did something to make the more important ones more dangerous?

[makejapangreat]

[....... ah. Shido notices that. He represses a sigh and drops his arms, folding them behind his back instead. Better, Akechi?]

Indeed. I deliberately made myself believe in distorted thoughts to better protect myself.

[foolishjustice]

Then it doesn't matter if you consciously know what you're thinking is false, even focusing on thought you want to believe rather than the truth can influence a Palace?

[Here comes another first: a hint of genuine, enthusiastic excitement in his voice. Even his eyes are lit up with interest...seems you've found one of his passions?]

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, it's not really that different on a theoretical level from how things like my inventory work. As long as it's a common idea in the public consciousness, it's possible while I'm in the Metaverse...I just have to be able to think to try it, with enough confidence to convince either myself or whatever I'm acting on to believe it should work.

[makejapangreat]

[Oh... look at that... the way his eyes light up... he looks so. Alive. It's... actually amazing, how different he looks now from compared to when Shido last saw him back in their world.

—last saw... another him, anyway. Akechi may be here, but he still mourns the one he lost.

...also, even he can admit that cognitive stuff is. kind of fascinating?]

... and how is that a common idea, exactly?

[foolishjustice]

I guess someone your age wouldn't know, even if you weren't more allergic to wastes of time than Sae-san.

There's a common mechanic in video games where the player character can carry much more than the character model would indicate is possible. I think it's also common in the more gag-oriented cartoons, but I don't really watch many of those. Anyway, they introduced the concept of a disproportionately large carrying capacity into the public consciousness on enough of a scale to affect the Metaverse.

[makejapangreat]

I see...

[He does recall something like that from those cartoons? Hm. Hm!!!]

There is one more thing. [Since he seems to enjoy this sort of information so much...] I had some scientists come up with a pill that made it possible to collapse one's palace... and effectively destroy anyone inside it at the time. It did this by inducing a temporary state of death.

... even with that last-ditch effort, however, the Phantom Thieves were still successful in changing my heart.

[foolishjustice]

I see...I'd known that destroying the Shadow caused the Palace to collapse. I guess it stands to reason that stopping the heart would have a similar effect...I wonder if that would be another reason I'm incapable of having a Palace, or if the important part is having a presence in the RG? Given the Metaverse is based in the consciousness of the people who exist in the physical world, it doesn't seem unreasonable to think that the important part is having your mind present on that layer of reality...

[makejapangreat]

The "RG"?

[foolishjustice]

That's the term ghosts use to refer to the physical world, short for Realground. The afterlife is the Underground, between the RG and the Metaverse. Most people can only have their awareness on one layer at a time.

[makejapangreat]

... ah. [ah... his demeanor shifts a little.] So, then, how is it you're able to be here, even though...

[foolishjustice]

I became a Composer...a judge of the dead for a local area.

[...You know what? Why not. A flash of white light surrounds him, just enough to temporarily blind. When Shido's vision clears, he'll see that Goro's body and clothes have turned pure white, faintly glowing so that only the suggestion of facial features are visible. A pair of large, feathery wings, each as large as his body, spreads from his back. Without knowing better, one might be forgiven for mistaking him for an angel.]

[makejapangreat]

[It's a brilliant sight to behold. Shido is absolutely floored by the sight before him. Akechi looks... divine.

He breathes out.]

Incredible...

[foolishjustice]

[It's a little hard to tell with the glowing, but he smirks. His wings fold against his back, the glossy, white feathers seeming a little brighter than the rest of him.]

I can move at will between the UG, RG, and any levels of the Metaverse I've located with the Nav. I can even exist on both the UG and the RG at once if I feel like it...so being alive or dead only matters in that I don't have a heartbeat or a need to breathe.