fridgeninja | PRISMATICA INBOX

The third eye?

No... I have glasses, but that means it's either two or four.

That's not what I meant...

[He really throw his cards down for that, but Joker keeps a straight face.]

But it means you weren't given that power.

[He can breathe a little more easily since it means Souji won't be able to figure out who he right away,]

If I use it to look at you...your Arcana hovers above your head. It's exactly like mine.

... No, it's not like that for me. If I have a Persona equipped, and I'm close to someone of that Arcana, I get a feeling we could become closer... but I don't see it.

[He deserves that. He'll pick up his cards.]

I get that feeling too...maybe it's a power of the wildcard. The Fake Igor told me to nurture my Confidant links but I guess he never realized that helping me would be his own downfall instead of mine.

It's pretty incredible what having the right friends can do.

[That wins a wide, genuine smile from him, the most expressive his face has been so far.]

[Smiles are pretty contagious. Being who he is, he'll tease him anyway.]

So you can smile. Maybe I should take a picture for blackmailing purposes later.

[The smile takes on just the slightest edge.]

I don't mind anyone knowing a smile. So, you'll have to try harder than that.

[He can tease back, too.]

[Oh now this he likes. It's like having another rival, but this one probably doesn't want to kill him.]

I wasn't even trying. Besides, I don't blackmail, I steal hearts.

Good luck. I don't keep mine locked up.

[It's teasing, but the most earnest-faced teasing imaginable.]

It's true. You're quite open in those matters from what I've seen so far.

[See, he'll give you that, at least. Maybe they should move on to more serious things.]

When Izanami caused problems...you said she picked three people. Do you think...they would have done the things they did without being given a power? Or if you had met them earlier?

[TOTALLY NOT SPECIFIC.]

[That's... deep. He sits back, and sighs heavily, thinking seriously about it. The silence while he considers might be long enough to become uncomfortable, but he's clearly taking this question as absolutely serious as it was.]

For Namatame-san... it's hard to say. He wouldn't have started behaving that way if nothing had gone wrong... but if something else as bad had happened, and Personas weren't involved... he might have cracked anyway. I don't think I know.

[His lips twitch, and slowly a frown steals over his features - a look not so much of disapproval as deep discomfort.]

For the killer... if he'd made better friends, earlier, he might have changed. He was... a lot like me.

[It's clear from the way the muscles in his neck and haw tighten that he hates to admit that... but he won't lie about it.]

But by the time I knew him... before he did something like that, it was only a matter of time. When he killed Yamano-san, I don't think he knew he had this power. He was just doing whatever he wanted.

[A lot like him. Somehow the story seems to repeat. Maybe that's why the gods picked them...the ability to pit two people that were the same and whose situation could have been reversed. What if he had accepted Yaldabaoth's offer?]

My rival and I. We were the same age. He had...worked countless years towards a goal of revenge. The powers he was given allowed him to kill people, and he used that to get close to his target - intending to bring him to his dreams before shattering them.

[It's not a pretty story.]

We defeated him, but it took all of us against him...he was that powerful. He had the ability of the wildcard like me, and could shut down someone's heart to make shadows go berserk, but because he was alone and kept his heart shut, he only had two Personas...

...in the end he sacrificed himself to save us. He told me...if we had met earlier maybe we could have been proper rivals and friends. But he was already drowned in darkness, there was nothing we could do to save him.

I understand.

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I understand.

<small.{He says it quietly, and stays silent, thoughtful. That's a hard situation. And... it's different than Adachi, but not so different he doesn't see the parallels. What can he really say about it? What does he know, that he's sure is the truth?]</small>

Since I didn't know him, it's hard to be sure. But it sounds like, the way things ended... you made a difference to him. It might not feel like enough, but it was enough for him to save you.

The killer I knew never found even a second Persona.

His first Persona and outfit was a ruse, nothing but fakes hiding his real identity from us. But despite all he did, we all understood partly why he had acted in this way. I might not be able to forgive him, but I understand.

Giving someone who had so much pain in his heart that much power...I'm more angry at Yaldabaoth for presenting him with that opportunity. Of course he'd take it.

[His frustration edges with each word.]

When it was all done, when we stole Mementos' treasure...no one else seemed to care or remember him.

I'm really tired of gods making wagers or games with humans on the line.

[His tone is perfectly mild, even light, but there's a stubborn set to his jaw as he says it.]

But you care.

[He pauses a moment, then raises an eyebrow.]

You won't stop caring. That's why... you're worthy of the power you have.

Well at least it appears that each time a group of us will rise to defeat them. At least I think that's why the Velvet Room still exists.

[He's thankful for that too...before he looks away briefly.]

...I suppose so. It's true that even now, I still think about him. Of all the friends and people I know, I hope he somehow ends up here, so he can start over.

[Then again, was it selfish to hope a dead friend comes back to life?]

A second chance...

[He doesn't know what he thinks about that. Of course, this isn't someone he knew, but if he could give Adachi a second chance... wouldn't it be better to give it to Yamano-san or Konishi-san instead? But if it had been him, or been Yosuke, who had snapped and started killing... how would he feel?

He truly doesn't know, and because he doesn't, he doesn't judge. Just stays silent and thoughtful, considering the problem.]

If he does, I'd like to meet him.

[He can say that much.]

Well, if he's not trying to kill me, then I'll introduce him to you.

[For all Ren knows, what with how Souji's friends have been, he might come right before they started fighting or even earlier. The knowledge Ren has could provide dangerous. Still the want to see him couldn't be denied.

Idly he sighed even as he briefly removed his mask.]

Good thing this place has air conditioning...did I tell you the time we were in a dessert with these outfits?

No, not yet. I'd like to hear.

[He hesitates, before he lets Ren change the subject.]

If he is trying to kill you, I'd still like to meet him. Just under different circumstances.

[If he took all of your friends together to beat once, please permit your new friends to help beat his ass again.]

Let's hope it doesn't have to come to that but...thank you.

[He gives him a brief smile before going on about their desert trip.]

It was the palace of someone that was Egyptian themed...complete with the hot desert.

[He wasn't going to say for who. That was Futaba's story to tell.]

Good thing we had Mona to help us along--did I even tell you that he could also turn into a bus?

[He's not used to telling others things so openly so his mind is still struggling if he told him or not.]

Our costumes only show up when the owner of a palace acknowledges us as a threat so for the entire time we were just in our normal clothing. Once we got close the pyramid we changed but the weather was still very bad...

I wouldn't equip anyone vulnerable to fire, under those conditions.

[There's just a hint of a tease in his voice.]

So, if you convince someone you're not a threat... the outfit disappears?

They withstood it pretty well. Thankfully the pyramid wasn't as hot as outside.

[Ahh yes, that sounds completely legitimate. Of course there's a pyramid if there's an Egyptian theme.]

I don't think that's ever happened. When we steal their treasure and defeat their shadows, the palace crumbles and we have to run out of it.

That makes sense. Once someone sees you as dangerous, it's hard to convince them you're not...

I was just thinking how inconvenient it would be to have the outfit disappear on you.

That would be a terrible clothing malfunction...thankfully when we aren't in our Phantom Thieve clothing, we turn back to whatever we were wearing before...in a way you could almost charm the pants ON someone if you really wanted to.

[It's funnier in his mind, okay.]

PRISMATICA INBOX

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Since the other thread happens now I can do stuff like this

I'd honestly forgotten which thread started first

Haha it's fine I wasn't sure too

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RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE