phantasmalrift | The Ketchupening, Part 1: Fellowship of the Tomato [closed]

The Ketchupening, Part 1: Fellowship of the Tomato [closed]

Who: Morgana, Robin, possibly Kurama and/or Goro
What: Akira has been avoiding his loved ones for a bit. Turns out they're not too happy about that! And how better to address this grievance by conspiring in a prank to pin him down and force some healthy discussion about Feels and Issues? Morgana is taking a metaphorical fire hose to Akira's closet.
When: June 13th
Warnings: Conspiracy and pranking?

A ~~foil packet~~ pact is formed
I can't believe I still have to do this.....

[Siiiiiiiigh. Why is the library apparently such a popular and inappropriate napping place that he still feels the need to patrol and chase people off to their real beds? At least you aren't making him chase you out of there anymore, Robin. Some people are capable of learning!]

The red rain of terror
[Knock knock knock! Hey, Kurama and/or Goro, mascot form Morgana is at the door to your room wanting to be let in. Robin may or may not be with him, but either way, he's holding two of those big plastic squeeze bottles full of ketchup in his paws.]

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[Well, he does pride himself on being a fast learner.]

Doing your nightly rounds, Morgana?

Edited 2018-07-01 06:26 (UTC)

Mmhmm. What're you doing at this hour?

[Good boy~ He'd give you a treat, but humans have way too many kinds of treats to be able to just pick one without knowing someone's tastes.]

Looking for Akira, originally, but I decided to settle in to do some light reading.

[He looks a little sheepish at the second admission, but he frowns.]

Speaking of which, though... Akira's really been making himself scarce lately. Did something happen?

Not that I know of.

[Morgana's ears flatten against his head in obvious displeasure; he even forgets to ask what Robin is reading, as he hops up onto the table to talk.]

I've hardly caught a glimpse of him for days, either.

[After a few moments of hesitation, he reaches over to let his hand rest on Morgana's head as an attempted gesture of comfort.]

That's... hm. That's concerning. I figured if anyone would know, it'd be you. He's been answering messages just fine, but...

You'd think so, wouldn't you?

[Have Morgana nuzzling into your hand, clearly huffy; someone used to being carried around and spending a lot of time with his friend, suddenly not seeing him essentially at all for days at a time? He's not sure what's the matter, but he doesn't like it.]

Even I'm in the dark, though. Have you tried asking Kurama or Goro? If even they don't know, then something's really wrong.

[The nuzzles encourage Robin to actually pet Morgana, though he's still frowning.]

Something's definitely really wrong, then. I asked both of them and Goro was clueless. Kurama had an idea about it, at the very least, but nothing he could prove...

Edited 2018-07-01 07:09 (UTC)

A theory, huh..... what would that be?

Well, apparently Akira's developed some new ability from a Fissure that broadcasts his emotions and that's probably got something to do with it.

Which explains why he's only been responding to messages.

Uncontrollable expression of your emotions, huh.....

[So it's..... almost like giving your other self a voice that everyone can hear, Shadow or Persona alike? Morgana's tail flicks sharply behind him in agitation, but even so, a wry smile crosses his face.]

.....Heh. Maybe even the Fissures are sick and tired of him trying to hide everything, huh? I know I am.

[He at least tries to be respectful and understanding of Akira's privacy and comfort zone. He tries to honor the fact that he's been so badly traumatized, and not open wounds by prying too much, but..... Well.....]

I suppose there's something to be said for how well these Fissures respond to the subconscious of the people going in and out of them...

[Robin frowns.]

But... it's not really going to work that well if he goes full hermit on everyone.

It's really not. And given just how well the Fissures respond to people's subconscious thoughts..... I'd say the odds are pretty good that he won't be able to get that ability under control until he starts voicing those feelings with his own mouth, so his heart doesn't have to keep doing it for him.

The problem is getting him to actually start doing that, when he's working so hard to dodge everyone.....

Short of setting a trap of some kind and ambushing him, I'm not sure I have a lot of ideas.

Well, why not? Well-timed ambushes are the Phantom Thieves' bread and butter! The trick is just being able to find him to spring it, or at least figure out where he'll be; he's doing a good job staying out of sight.

[Needless to say, being excellent at sneaking around is the Phantom Thieves' other bread and butter. Or maybe the stealth is the bread, and the ambushes are the butter?]

Then I suppose we'll just have to find a way to direct him where we want him.

Right..... Definitely somewhere private enough to talk, and with no other easy escape routes. A room with just one door should work--I don't think he'd try a vent once it was clear we'd caught him.

... One of the laundry rooms, perhaps? Directing him there would be as simple as... I don't know, drenching all his clothing in ketchup or something.

[It's very clear from his tone that the last part isn't entirely serious--because really, ketchup?]

Ahahahahaha! That's perfect!

[It may not be serious on Robin's end, but if Morgana's delighted laughter is any indication, he's seized on the idea.]

As long as we make sure to get every outfit, he'd have to do laundry within the day. Probably as soon as possible, if he doesn't want stains. We'd be able to pin him down and straighten things out in a matter of hours.

[... Well, if it works, it works, he supposes. Even if it was a joke, Robin doesn't have the heart to point that out.]

And really, the sooner we can work things out, the better. I'm worried about Goro and Kurama.

[Even if Robin pointed out it was a joke, Morgana wouldn't even begin to care. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? And as strategies go, this is a pretty harmless one.]

Yeah, I'm worried about them, too. You don't think we'd need to stake out the other laundry room too, do you? If he's trying not to be accessible, then he probably wants to minimize the time he spends walking around.....

[Yup, this is solid strategic planning, right here.]

Plus, if he's carrying clothes drenched in ketchup, he probably wants to get those off his hands as soon as possible.

Right. So we have our target point with near certainty, and we have how we're going to get him there. At least one of us will need to cut off his escape route from behind once he's inside.

That should just leave how to divide things up, and how to handle the aftermath; we'll definitely need to get him back to Kurama and Goro afterwards. Should one of us execute the plan, and the other get ready for the ambush?

[One battlefield tactician, and one ~master thief~ used to planning heists. They've got this shit nailed down.]

We should probably let Kurama and-slash-or Goro in on the plan, I think--I'm sure they're about as sick of this as we are, if not more so. We probably don't need to split up just yet.

I'm probably the better choice between the two of us to cut off the escape route--I'm pretty confident in my ability to block a door.

They're probably even more upset about this than we are; I'm sure they'll help us. And whichever one we catch at home, I'm sure they'll let the other know to be prepared.

You've definitely got the height to handle the door, though..... So I guess that means I'll handle the clothes.

So... should we put this plan into action now?

The boys probably won't be settling down to sleep just yet..... if we want to take care of it today, we should probably do it soon.

Then let's get to work.

[Kurama opens the door, already opening his mouth to greet Morgana. (Who else would be knocking that low?) Then his mouth shuts at the sight of him with the ketchup bottles. He tilts his head slightly, just looking at Morgana for a second.

One eyebrow goes up slowly.]

Dare I ask?

[Morgana just grins conspiratorially at Kurama; he's clearly both expecting and enjoying the boy's dubious confusion.]

I'm here to bring your boyfriend back for you.

[Robin, hovering just behind Morgana, simply waves.]

You two seem to be making a habit of that lately.

[Robin gets a nod of greeting and a small wave in return as Kurama steps back from the door to let Morgana in. The faint smile the cat gets is sharp as a knife; he's none too pleased that it's come to this, honestly.

So...]

Do you need a hand with anything?

If he was better about coming home by himself, we wouldn't need to make a habit out of it.

[Morgana's smile turns wry as he follows Kurama inside.]

You can get the closet door for me while my hands are full? The plan is simple: If we make him need to do laundry immediately, then we can ambush him in the laundry room before he has a chance to escape again. If we can pin him down there long enough that he has to talk to us, then there's no way we're letting him squirm his way out of addressing things with you two.

That's where your role as the cavalry comes in; we're mostly just setting the stage for you. Since we're being the bad guys here and blowing everything out into the open, it's up to you and Goro to really tidy up that emotional mess and soothe away any bitterness about being dragged out of his hole. Got it?

[Robin just stays near the door, crossing his arms.]

I'm just hoping this works...

Well, he is still changing his clothes regularly, so it might.

[There's a fairly telling lack of hesitation to the way Kurama moves to the closet door and holds it open.]

It may take a little time to clean everything up, unfortunately. As rewarding as it might be in the short term to play good cop and smooth those ruffled feathers... We can't really afford to let this pass without addressing how his choices have affected us.

[For a second, Kurama just flat out looks and sounds tired, in more than just the physical way that leads to naps in the library.]

I know..... That's why it has to be you to clean up after us, instead of spearheading the charge yourselves. You two are the only ones who can do this right and really get through to him. You do what you have to do; we'll just make sure you're able to.

[Morgana sets one bottle on the floor and sticks the other into his mouth, jumping up and snagging a pair of pants so he can climb up onto the rail holding the hangers. From there, he gets to work, carefully parting the hangers one by one to spray each piece of Akira's clothing with generous squirts of ketchup. At least he's thoughtful about it; none of Kurama or Goro's clothes are getting touched.]

[Robin leaves his spot by the doorway to walk over and lightly place his hand on Kurama's shoulder.]

Mm... You're a good friend, Morgana. Both of you, really.

[Morgana's careful application of mess would be funny if he was feeling better. Unfortunately, he can't quite drag himself out of it, despite his appreciation of their help and Robin's show of support.

If there's anything he knows how to do, though, it's fake it. So the soft smile he offers them is probably actually pretty convincing.]

We'll take care of it.

I do my best.

[Given he's too busy to be looking at Kurama or Robin right now, it'll be up to Robin to offer in depth support.]

[Convincing as it is, in a situation like this, Robin can't bring himself to entirely believe that smile. He squeezes Kurama's shoulder gently with a concerned frown.

He'd say something about it, but... he's not sure it's really his place.]

As do I...

It's appreciated.

[Kurama settles his hand briefly over Robin's, attempting to reassure him. He's managing. He's got this, really. That's his story and he's sticking to it.]

I'm genuinely concerned about Goro, he's...rather upset by all of this. I can't blame him, of course, but I'm very much hoping he'll feel better once we get a chance to talk to Akira properly.

[Yeah, that attempt at reassurance is just met with a Look. Seriously, dude?]

I'm aware how upset he is, I've talked to him. I have to say though, right now I'm concerned about you.

[The Look has turned into a Pointed Look.]

[Kurama has endured many a Pointed Look without concern in his time. But... Robin is his friend, and it's a little hypocritical of him to close in on himself while upset over Akira doing the same.

He takes a slow, deliberate breath. The next smile is a little sad, but determined.]

I'm not happy. I think I understand what Akira is doing and why better than Goro does, but I'm still... I don't like how he's chosen to go about it.

I'll be alright, though.

[The honesty does seem to put Robin slightly more at ease, and his expression softens as he nods.]

I'm fairly certain none of us like it... [He'll just... rub Kurama's shoulder a little bit, closing his eyes.]

Alright. I just wanted to make sure.

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The Ketchupening, Part 1: Fellowship of the Tomato [closed]

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