Open Post - Persona 4 AU!Akechi

[fogboundcrow]

A. A Boy Jumps Out of a TV, When...

[For reasons you're not too sure about, you are in the Junes Department Store's electronics department.

Maybe you live in Inaba. Maybe you just walked through a door and ended up there. Regardless, there is a twelve year old boy climbing out of one of the TVs, with the screen rippling black and white, and it's probably all very unsettling.

He did not expect to have company, and so when he drops to the floor, he stops and stares.

He wanted recognition, but not like this.

He straightens his stance, removing his thin, brown-framed glasses, and blurts out a snappy-]

Don't mind what you just saw! It's all an elaborate magic trick.

[...That's a terrible excuse. More likely, he's going to have to explain.

Lovely.]

B. Damn it, Teddie! Where the hell are we?!

[Akechi meant to go into the TV to try and bribe Teddie with more snacks and perhaps, maybe, finally get a better feel for the TV world.

One problem: He did not end up in the TV world. He ended up where your character is, and now there's a very puzzled tween glancing around with thin, brown-framed glasses and a middle school uniform.

But he lifts the glasses. There's no fog. Everything's clear.]

What the hell is going on here?!

[Did he go in the wrong screen? But that makes no sense. He knows which screen to use!]

C. Wildcard

[Got another idea? Have at it!]

[ooc: This Akechi is from my currently ongoing fic. More info on his profile!]

Comments

[liedol]

[ ANOTHER SPLUTTER. She half lunges for him like she can scruff him like a kitten before he goes in, but her swipe goes wild and she has no choice but to hover anxiously until he pops back out. If this is just a prank show, their production values are being wasted in a sleepy little place like Inaba.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, her expression is even more troubled than before when he pops back out. ]

I can see that. [ For the first time, she actually sounds a little irritated – though the irritation seems directed inwards rather that at him. ] But you can understand why this is pretty unbelievable, right?

[ She's extremely cautiously patting at the TV screen like she's expecting it to bite her hand off. ]

[fogboundcrow]

More unbelievable than two women turning up dead on power lines and antennas with no discernible signs of death? Or how about the Midnight Channel?

[Surely she's heard the rumors. It's all the gossiping teens of this town seem to talk about half the time, when they aren't getting irritatingly excited about the murder case.

When she taps the screen, it should be normal. When Akechi taps it... boop. Ripples.]

It only really works if you have the same power that I do. Otherwise it's a normal TV.

[liedol]

... I guess in a little place like this, two murders like that are pretty unusual.

[ Whether she's willing to hinge her understanding of this whole situation on that abnormality is another question altogether. But her sceptical expression is starting to make progress towards thoughtful - she's willing to entertain the idea even if she hasn't completely bought into it just yet.

Her hand hovers over the screen but she doesn't touch it again. Yet. ]

What'd happen if we both touched it at the same time?

[fogboundcrow]

Well, you'd most likely fall into the TV world, where you'd be woefully unprepared for the fog, the dangers, and... Teddie.

[Right, that... probably warrants an explanation, too. He makes a little sound like a sigh crossed with a growl.]

...There's a strange bear creature inside the TV. He's... a lot, let's just say.

[liedol]

[ A pause as she takes this in and... yep, up go her eyebrows again. ]

What, he's worse than whatever's in there that's actually dangerous? It's just, you really kind of singled him out there. Is he really that bad?

[ meanwhile, somewhere, back side of the TV is interrupted by Teddie sneezing. ]

[fogboundcrow]

Not worse so much as weird.

[He cringes, because where does he even begin?]

He makes insufferable bear puns. He's... very, very excitable. Also rather dense.

[Not malicious. Certainly not unpleasant, but god. He sure is a handful.]

[liedol]

[ Strange bear guy... talks in puns... kind of dumb... is literally named after the thing he is...

She visibly rolls that information around in her head for a few seconds before looking back at him with that befuddled expression right back in place. ]

... Not to rag on him when he's not even here to defend himself, but... do you guys kind of have a mascot character or something?

[fogboundcrow]

He basically is a mascot character. He even has a zipper around his head, but there's nothing inside.

[It's very strange and a bit of a source of insecurity for Teddie, so he opts not to say "empty" as a courtesy, plus Teddie could be listening for all he knows.]

Rather a strange creature, but a useful guide to the TV world. It's just not a place I'd casually take someone, seeing how one's innermost feelings tend to manifest as their own beings.

[liedol]

Innermost feelings?

[ Ai blinks at him. And then like a lightswitch flipping, something clicks. Even when she'd pivoted to talking him more seriously, there'd been a flippant, teasing sort of tone to her words that's all but vanished now. Even her expression, though she hasn't stopped smiling, suddenly looks... a little off. ]

So... when people are in there, you can tell how they really feel about things?

[fogboundcrow]

Essentially, yes. Your most repressed feelings can manifest in labyrinthine dungeons that reflect those feelings, while a being made of those emotions may attack you and demand acceptance.

[He sighs, eying his own reflection on the TV screen.]

The victims in the murder case were trapped in that world and didn't escape in time, nor did they have the support required to accept their Shadow selves.

1/2

[liedol]

[ For a long moment, Ai doesn't say anything at all.

It really sounds too good to be true. A world hiding just outside of plain view where all the things that are inside you get ripped out and put on display. For anyone else that might sound terrifying and it's not like the thought doesn't make her feel a little uneasy as well but...

Could it really be that easy? Could there really a be a way to chisel some truth out of her heart after all this time? ]

... Right. I get it now.

[liedol]

[ And then quick as a wink, she's lit all the way back up. ]

It's decided, then! I want to go over there too!

[fogboundcrow]

[He stares, incredulous, for several long seconds before responding.]

You did hear what I said about the murders, correct? Or how you could end up attacked by a being made of your repressed emotions? Never mind the monsters that lurk in the TV world.

[liedol]

Of course I did. But you can't expect someone to hear all about a crazy world like that and not want to see it with their own eyes, right?

[ said with a smile that's just a little too perfectly blithe and clueless for that to be the actual reason she's suddenly jumping on this idea ].

[fogboundcrow]

I mean, true. I certainly did, but I hope you realize that I'm just one person. I can fight, but without a full party, it'll probably be highly dangerous even with my almighty skills.

[Damn it. Is this how Yu felt?

...It's absolutely how Yu felt, isn't it? Only this time it's a more casual interest.]

[liedol]

[ Almighty skills... a full party... she wonders just for a moment if she really has just stumbled onto a kid playacting his favourite video games but her curiosity's too piqued for her to back out now. ]

You have that mascot friend of yours over there, right? So that's technically two!

[ How useful he'll actually be is, of course, another question altogether but.........

Her aggressively cheery smile at last eases into something a little more somber. ]

Is it really that dangerous?

[fogboundcrow]

Teddie-san doesn't really fight. He'd be a decent distraction, I suppose? And it's not as though I'm weak, but...

[How to put this... He crosses his arms, humming in contemplation.]

The TV world has a dense fog that is exhausting if you are not prepared to deal with it. There are specialized glasses that Teddie-san makes that can help, but the dungeons themselves are winding labyrinths full of monsters called Shadows. They don't really attack ordinary people, but there's still the risk of your own Shadow appearing and being difficult to accept.

[It'd also be an escort mission...]

[liedol]

That's fine. [ She flashes him another smile. It's dimmer, somehow – not anywhere close to that infuriatingly hapless grin from a moment before. But it's more... honest, maybe. ] Even if it was ugly, I could accept it. Just finding out what it was for sure would be enough for me.

[ Even if it's ugly – if it's hateful, bitter, the most miserably ugly existence she'd ever been faced with, she'd make herself accept it.

Because it would mean finally knowing there was anything in there at all. ]

Tonight is probably too short notice, right? If we just disappear, people'll notice.

[fogboundcrow]

...I'll grab a Goho-M if you're really adamant about doing this.

{Sigh. There's no way out, is there? True, he could just say no. She wouldn't get the power, anyway, but... ugh.]

But yes, I think tonight is cutting it rather close. My family will get suspicious if I'm gone for too long. After school and Sundays are more ideal...

[liedol]

We've both got curfews then, huh?

[ Said with the slightly knowing smile of a person telling a joke for themselves and nobody else. ]

How about we meet back here on Sunday? It gives us both plenty of time to have second thoughts about this whole thing.

[ Not that Ai suspects she will. ]

[fogboundcrow]

If you are serious about this, I highly recommend picking up some odds and ends from the Shiroku Store and Daidara Metalworks. While Shadows probably won't attack you, it always pays to arm oneself for the worst case scenario.

[He brings a hand over his face, though, when a realization hits.]

...I have no idea how the others are going to react to this. Considering we're trying to thwart someone who is throwing people into the TV, they might not be thrilled at the prospect of me bringing in a random civilian.

[liedol]

[ Cheerily: ] I'll figure something out. Worst case scenario, I can just say I'll follow you guys in anyway so you might as well make sure I'm supervised!

[ Unbelievable....
......

She digs around in her hoodie for a moment before pulling out a phone - a sleek little flip phone that's nevertheless a good few years out of date. ]

Here, why don't you take my number or something? If there's stuff I need to prep, you can text it to me. Chances are pretty good I'll totally forget otherwise!

[fogboundcrow]

I'd just like to point out so it's on the record that only people who have a certain ability can actually enter the TV world.

[Hmm... On one hand, letting her forget means not having to worry about this. The others may have grievances with him bringing this girl inside. It may be for the best.

On the other hand, that's kind of not okay. He'd been lied to and condescended to many times throughout his life. Why do the same now?

Suppressing a sigh, he pulls out his own flip phone, a bit more recent.]

But very well. I imagine coordination will be key here.

[liedol]

No worries. I might not look like it but I'm pretty good at working with a team when I need to.

[ Hah.

She rattles off her number from the screen – absolutely in no way does she have it memorized – before flipping her own phone shut. ]

You can just save it as 'Ai'. And if you text me, I'll save yours as...

[ ... ]

Oh, we didn't give each other our names, huh?

NECROMANCY...

[fogboundcrow]

[Nodding along, he saves the number in his contacts, and...]

Goro Akechi. 'Akechi' is preferable.

[He won't explain why. It's a long story, steeped in personal baggage he doesn't need to burden her with.]