I would've been fine, I have two Personas that block fire. Besides, I didn't even get close enough to be in danger. I used a Bufu skill to put the fire out.
[He wraps one arm around Akira, using the other to continue brushing the (purring) cat.]
[ He chuckles softly, letting his head gently rest on Goro's shoulder. ]
Fair enough... and...
[ Okay, he'll... do the honesty thing!!! ]
Not one hundred percent, since I still feel kind of worn down... but I'm taking it easy.
[ Briefly, he nuzzles the side of Goro's neck. There's a small smile that surfaces (unseen, of course) and then fades into something a little more serious as he says the next thing. ]
Since I feel well enough to move around, though... I wanted to finally talk to you about something.
[ He gently presses a kiss to Goro's cheek, his eyes closing a moment as he considers. ]
I... finally admitted things to myself, and some of it to Akana, about what I really felt... over Makoto and Ann. I guess I felt a little too guilty to admit how pissed off I was, since they're supposed to be my friends, right? I figured, all this time, it was something I'd done wrong. Maybe I could have reached out more. Maybe it was that I wasn't their real leader, all along - I was too different, too fucked up in comparison to their real--
[ ... let's not do that today. ]
... I've been wondering how you must have felt, living under the same roof as them.
[He squeezes Akira's waist as he starts to ramble, trying to offer some sort of reassurance. At the end, though, he glances down at the floor.]
I...didn't want to complain about them, but...it was uncomfortable. The versions I remember were quite spectacular at acting as if we weren't enemies. I even thought for a while that, if I didn't have to betray them, we could have been friends. Knowing that it was all a trick, so I would let my guard down enough to get what they wanted out of me...especially Niijima-san, being the strategist.
[He reaches up to rub at his eyes, before remembering the eyeshadow and pressing his hand to his hand to his forehead instead.]
I guess...finding out about the plan to trick me and Shido hurt more than I wanted to admit, even to myself.
Ann can't act to save her life. She's tried many times, and always wound up completely... [ sadness leaking into his tone for a moment ] ... Put simply, she's the type who usually says exactly what she feels. And her actions usually spoke way louder than her words...
[ With a soft sigh, he shakes his head. ]
Makoto's not much better, either. A lot of the lies were in what wasn't said. In fact, as far as I remember, we just... stuck to avoiding saying what was planned.
[ He's going to gently scratch Mao's head... ]
... In Shido's Palace, when we all learned about that Goro Akechi's past and what he'd been through, that was the moment we all saw just how much in common he had with a lot of us. Especially Ryuji... Yusuke... Haru, Futaba...
[ For just a moment, he holds a blink. ]
Even so, Ann was the first one to beg that Goro Akechi to not fight us, and she tried very hard to get through to him. What's more, she was the first one to ask him to join us, even after he tried killing us all. And she was the first one out of them to sympathize with his story and his life.
[ He's looking at Goro, again. He'll let him think on all of this, after adding: ]
I think that Ann genuinely wanted to try being friends. But, by that point, it was... too late; not long after that, he was sacrificing his life to save us all.
She decided to try to be friends after agreeing to trick me? After finding out I was her enemy? I can't...imagine that. None of them knew at that point that I resented what I was doing. They even missed the hints I was dropping the entire time.
And I don't believe for a second that she was naive enough to think that we could still be friends if I tried, and thought I'd succeeded at, killing the Akira of my timeline. From the moment I forced my way into the group, I knew I would never be able to speak to any of them again after that betrayal.
She was clearly interested before that. Ann is the same person who came...
[ He's almost touching the pad of his forefinger to his thumb now. ]
Thiiiis close to outright murdering Kamoshida's Shadow in cold blood. Wanna know why she didn't? [ tilting his head a bit to the side, studying Goro's face ] The same reason I was against it - because it would have been too merciful for him.
[ He holds a blink and releases a quiet breath. ]
But, her favorite character growing up? Was an outright villain. Ann's not... naive, she's just... the type of person to look beyond the actions, alone. After all, she knows what it's like to be treated as some outcast.
Well...Sakamato, at least, made his opinion of me quite clear from the outset. He established back in August that he hated me and had no intention of getting to know me.
I can't say I would be comfortable with him here, but at least I would be confident his behavior wasn't meant to be deceptive.
I... feel like he wanted to hate you more than he actually did, personally.
[ He sighs. Don't believe him, huh...? ]
Well, there's no way I can prove anything, without them here. But, Goro... they were each involved in the same plan each Akira Kurusu of a similar time period was.
...You risked your life to try to save mine, even after I'd admitted as much of the truth as I remembered to you. The Akira Kurusu of my timeline was desperately worried about me when I disappeared. I know both of you would have only reluctantly agreed to a plan that would have thrown me aside like garbage.
The others...only Futaba-chan, and perhaps Morgana, came close to really knowing me. You were the only ones who had much interaction with me at all outside of work, or my role as the Detective Prince. Sakamato outright refused an offer to talk more often, Niijima-san...I'm sure the strategist must have had plenty of creative input in the plan, and Takamaki-san...if she had wanted to reach out to me, why choose a point at which she knew any potential friendship was doomed to betrayal from both sides?
The intention of the plan wasn't to target Goro Akechi, specifically, you know...
[ He's letting his forehead rest on Goro's shoulder a bit heavily now, both arms sliding around his fiance. ]
Our end goal, all along, was to trick Shido... It just so happened that he was the one meant to pull the trigger. I honestly don't think that was their focus, at all, because everyone made it clear that they saw Shido as the true bad guy.
[ There's a quiet sigh. ]
Futaba was the one who came up with a lot of the bigger details, while Makoto focused on piecing everything together. Everyone had a hand in things, somewhere along the lines. And Morgana did just as much strategizing as Makoto and Futaba.
[ His point is, the focus shouldn't be on any one person as having been responsible. They all were. ]
... Ann was interested in being his friend before that point. But, if you ask me, it's not about reaching out when the times are good. What matters most, is who reaches out to a person in their darkest moments. And every single one of them reached out to him and made it clear they wanted him by our side against Shido's Shadow.
In fact... out of everyone, Ryuji was the one who beat on the door that was separating him from us, in the end. He wanted to save him... just like-...
Sa...kamato did? I would've thought...he'd be the last one to get upset, not...
[He pauses, eyes flickering down.]
But...they still saw him as dangerous, didn't they? Not that I can blame them, if he lost his mind as thoroughly as it sounds like, but...Niijima-san made it clear he expected a fight when he realized who I was.
[ And there's genuine hurt in his eyes as he looks at Goro, but he manages a deep breath. Right now, he needs to focus on reassuring his fiance - he'll go into things regarding his own feelings, later. ]
All I know is that the thieves I remember... were all pretty shaken up. And, while Ryuji probably would have beat that door down if he could have, he wasn't the only one. Makoto and Yusuke yelled after him, once we were separated... Haru, too. Ann begged Morgana to help us figure out how to get the door open ...And then Futaba was clearly upset when she had to announce that she couldn't sense him, anymore.
[ He's quiet for a couple of seconds. ]
Not to say Morgana didn't take it hard, too. I think... Morgana stayed quiet because he hated how helpless he felt. [ both hands curling into fists ] ... Which is something I can understand pretty damn well.
She said, while she didn't plan to forgive him, she... sympathized. More specifically, she said she could wholeheartedly understand wanting to get back at Shido.
I don't think resentment is what she felt for him, more than it was for what he did. Her hatred was clearly towards Shido, as she made... pretty clear when we confronted him.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2018-08-05 03:13 am (UTC)Goro gives a cheek kiss in return, with a smile that's...not quite as bright as it usually is, but still looks genuine.]
Fine, for me. I've been more worried about you, since you passed out last week.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-05 09:03 am (UTC)Hello to you, too...
[ It's said fondly to the cat before he gives a sheepish smile that's... well, it should be clear he feels awful about what happened. ]
Ah... I'm honestly just glad you didn't get hurt. And I'm really glad to be feeling better, now.
[ There's a brief pause as he scratches behind Mao's ear. ]
I guess the lack of sleep really didn't do well with whatever I wound up catching during the mission.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-05 07:20 pm (UTC)[He wraps one arm around Akira, using the other to continue brushing the (purring) cat.]
Are you fully recovered from it?
no subject
Date: 2018-08-05 09:53 pm (UTC)Fair enough... and...
[ Okay, he'll... do the honesty thing!!! ]
Not one hundred percent, since I still feel kind of worn down... but I'm taking it easy.
[ Briefly, he nuzzles the side of Goro's neck. There's a small smile that surfaces (unseen, of course) and then fades into something a little more serious as he says the next thing. ]
Since I feel well enough to move around, though... I wanted to finally talk to you about something.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-06 02:43 am (UTC)[He tilts his head to let Akira at his neck better, though the more serious tone has him turning to look at his fiance.]
What is it?
no subject
Date: 2018-08-06 08:39 am (UTC)... I want to talk to you about the other Phantom Thieves.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-06 11:54 am (UTC)[His face...falls a bit at that.]
I take it you mean...aside from Morgana and Futaba-chan.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-06 07:12 pm (UTC)[ He gently presses a kiss to Goro's cheek, his eyes closing a moment as he considers. ]
I... finally admitted things to myself, and some of it to Akana, about what I really felt... over Makoto and Ann. I guess I felt a little too guilty to admit how pissed off I was, since they're supposed to be my friends, right? I figured, all this time, it was something I'd done wrong. Maybe I could have reached out more. Maybe it was that I wasn't their real leader, all along - I was too different, too fucked up in comparison to their real--
[ ... let's not do that today. ]
... I've been wondering how you must have felt, living under the same roof as them.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-06 10:27 pm (UTC)I...didn't want to complain about them, but...it was uncomfortable. The versions I remember were quite spectacular at acting as if we weren't enemies. I even thought for a while that, if I didn't have to betray them, we could have been friends. Knowing that it was all a trick, so I would let my guard down enough to get what they wanted out of me...especially Niijima-san, being the strategist.
[He reaches up to rub at his eyes, before remembering the eyeshadow and pressing his hand to his hand to his forehead instead.]
I guess...finding out about the plan to trick me and Shido hurt more than I wanted to admit, even to myself.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-06 11:11 pm (UTC)For... starters, Goro...
[ The tone he's using is gentle. ]
Ann can't act to save her life. She's tried many times, and always wound up completely... [ sadness leaking into his tone for a moment ] ... Put simply, she's the type who usually says exactly what she feels. And her actions usually spoke way louder than her words...
[ With a soft sigh, he shakes his head. ]
Makoto's not much better, either. A lot of the lies were in what wasn't said. In fact, as far as I remember, we just... stuck to avoiding saying what was planned.
[ He's going to gently scratch Mao's head... ]
... In Shido's Palace, when we all learned about that Goro Akechi's past and what he'd been through, that was the moment we all saw just how much in common he had with a lot of us. Especially Ryuji... Yusuke... Haru, Futaba...
[ For just a moment, he holds a blink. ]
Even so, Ann was the first one to beg that Goro Akechi to not fight us, and she tried very hard to get through to him. What's more, she was the first one to ask him to join us, even after he tried killing us all. And she was the first one out of them to sympathize with his story and his life.
[ He's looking at Goro, again. He'll let him think on all of this, after adding: ]
I think that Ann genuinely wanted to try being friends. But, by that point, it was... too late; not long after that, he was sacrificing his life to save us all.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-07 12:48 am (UTC)And I don't believe for a second that she was naive enough to think that we could still be friends if I tried, and thought I'd succeeded at, killing the Akira of my timeline. From the moment I forced my way into the group, I knew I would never be able to speak to any of them again after that betrayal.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-07 02:32 am (UTC)[ He's almost touching the pad of his forefinger to his thumb now. ]
Thiiiis close to outright murdering Kamoshida's Shadow in cold blood. Wanna know why she didn't? [ tilting his head a bit to the side, studying Goro's face ] The same reason I was against it - because it would have been too merciful for him.
[ He holds a blink and releases a quiet breath. ]
But, her favorite character growing up? Was an outright villain. Ann's not... naive, she's just... the type of person to look beyond the actions, alone. After all, she knows what it's like to be treated as some outcast.
[ There's a tense sigh. ]
Both her and Ryuji...
no subject
Date: 2018-08-07 02:45 am (UTC)I can't say I would be comfortable with him here, but at least I would be confident his behavior wasn't meant to be deceptive.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 10:55 am (UTC)[ He sighs. Don't believe him, huh...? ]
Well, there's no way I can prove anything, without them here. But, Goro... they were each involved in the same plan each Akira Kurusu of a similar time period was.
And the final say was by me.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 11:42 am (UTC)The others...only Futaba-chan, and perhaps Morgana, came close to really knowing me. You were the only ones who had much interaction with me at all outside of work, or my role as the Detective Prince. Sakamato outright refused an offer to talk more often, Niijima-san...I'm sure the strategist must have had plenty of creative input in the plan, and Takamaki-san...if she had wanted to reach out to me, why choose a point at which she knew any potential friendship was doomed to betrayal from both sides?
no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 12:05 pm (UTC)[ He's letting his forehead rest on Goro's shoulder a bit heavily now, both arms sliding around his fiance. ]
Our end goal, all along, was to trick Shido... It just so happened that he was the one meant to pull the trigger. I honestly don't think that was their focus, at all, because everyone made it clear that they saw Shido as the true bad guy.
[ There's a quiet sigh. ]
Futaba was the one who came up with a lot of the bigger details, while Makoto focused on piecing everything together. Everyone had a hand in things, somewhere along the lines. And Morgana did just as much strategizing as Makoto and Futaba.
[ His point is, the focus shouldn't be on any one person as having been responsible. They all were. ]
... Ann was interested in being his friend before that point. But, if you ask me, it's not about reaching out when the times are good. What matters most, is who reaches out to a person in their darkest moments. And every single one of them reached out to him and made it clear they wanted him by our side against Shido's Shadow.
In fact... out of everyone, Ryuji was the one who beat on the door that was separating him from us, in the end. He wanted to save him... just like-...
[ He holds a blink, his jawline tightening. ]
Me.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 12:21 pm (UTC)[He pauses, eyes flickering down.]
But...they still saw him as dangerous, didn't they? Not that I can blame them, if he lost his mind as thoroughly as it sounds like, but...Niijima-san made it clear he expected a fight when he realized who I was.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-10 07:12 am (UTC)... I can't speak for that Makoto.
[ And there's genuine hurt in his eyes as he looks at Goro, but he manages a deep breath. Right now, he needs to focus on reassuring his fiance - he'll go into things regarding his own feelings, later. ]
All I know is that the thieves I remember... were all pretty shaken up. And, while Ryuji probably would have beat that door down if he could have, he wasn't the only one. Makoto and Yusuke yelled after him, once we were separated... Haru, too. Ann begged Morgana to help us figure out how to get the door open ...And then Futaba was clearly upset when she had to announce that she couldn't sense him, anymore.
[ He's quiet for a couple of seconds. ]
Not to say Morgana didn't take it hard, too. I think... Morgana stayed quiet because he hated how helpless he felt. [ both hands curling into fists ] ... Which is something I can understand pretty damn well.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-10 07:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-10 07:30 am (UTC)She said, while she didn't plan to forgive him, she... sympathized. More specifically, she said she could wholeheartedly understand wanting to get back at Shido.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-10 07:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-11 09:19 am (UTC)I don't think resentment is what she felt for him, more than it was for what he did. Her hatred was clearly towards Shido, as she made... pretty clear when we confronted him.