daybreakacademy | Who Am I?

Who: Goro Akechi and Maverick Taylor
What: An attempt at correcting Akechi's paranoid cognition...
When: Between the 15th and the 22nd
Where: A version of the Tokyo police station in a cognitive area within the Outlands
Warnings: Possible reference of suicide, child abuse/neglect, gaslighting, murder, blackmail, and assorted other painful topics

[It's easy for Akechi to figure out his own navigation keywords, knowing both how Palaces work and how his own mind works. They're straightforward, put potentially troubling: “Police station, Masquerade”. His Palace, it seems, is a very literal one. As reality ripples and vanishes in favor of the cognitive world, the simple police station transforms into a grand mansion. The officers outside are replaced by well dressed party goers, each with a beautiful mask covering exactly half of their face. But despite the fanciful outfits and glitzy masks, there's a tension in the air. The eyes of the men at the door are cold behind their masks, as though the beauty of the accessories is to cover for an ugliness beneath them.

The moment they enter the cognitive world, Akechi is engulfed by blue flames and left standing in his princely outfit. He takes a breath, already feeling nervous about this whole thing.]

Well, here's your proof you've made your way into my heart.

[It's a corny joke, he knows, but...jokes are easier than admitting just how hard this really is for him.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[good lord...he's dating a trashcan.]

You're such a fucking moron...

[Despite this, and his expression remaining stony as he does a final equipment check on his weird battlesuit courtesy of Rex, there is a faint flush visible around the rim of his visor. Stupid, stupid boy, charming him in a place like this... He doesn't much like police stations, but he likes creepy supernatural shit even less and he's almost wishing for the bland walls back. Still, it was important to check this off their list if they were going to get said stupid boy out from under his daddy's evil mobster thumb.]

The audacity anyone had to ever not know you're queer, I fucking swear. It's about as subtle as this fucking castle of yours, Princess.

You'd be amazed what people can brush off as just joking. Besides, there aren't any men here I was interested in flirting with.

[He checks over his own equipment, a laser sword and raygun...but also a real pistol and sheathed longsword. He hopes they won't have to fight, but he knows his own fear might make things difficult.]

Ready?

[That's besides the point, maybe, probably, shut up, you don't know either.]

What, don't I look ready? Just don't got a fucking clue where to go in a fucking place like this. Your inner-heart-mind or whatever the fuck is ridiculous. A castle. Seriously.

It's a masquerade, a place where people hide their true faces. Palaces are very symbolic...Shido's is a luxury cruise liner, carrying the people he considers worthwhile through a flooded Japan.

[He shakes his head.]

Anyway, since this was my own idea, we should be able to walk in the front door.

[The noise Mav makes is some kind of disgusted scoff. What a fucking asshole of unbelievable proportions, except he could absolutely believe it because people fucking suck.

At the supposition, he gives an exaggerated shrug before strolling on up. Let's go then, let's just throw this door open.]

What the fuck will we be looking for, again?

Either an indistinct, floating mass, or a carefully guarded object. I'm not sure how my knowledge of how this works will affect things...but either way, it should be in the deepest part of the Palace.

[The front door is unlocked, and as they step into a red carpeted marble hallway, they're greeted by a figure in a uniform, face completely covered by a metallic looking mask.]

You must be the special guests we were told to expect. Come this way, the prince will meet you in the ballroom.

[Ugh. Creepy. Maverick shifts his head so he can glance at Akechi like "really??" while still keeping the figure in his peripherals -- at a wider range than normal, actually, thanks to the visor piece Rex had designed.]

Oh boy. Can't fucking wait to see this.

[Akechi...doesn't seem too bothered by the masked figure. He lets out a nervous chuckle and shrugs before following.]

Don't mind the Shadows. They're harmless as long as they don't classify you as an intruder, just...sometimes a little uncanny. Think of them like security guards, or staff members that double as bouncers.

[This is still stupid...? Akechi...]

Sure, whatever. More meant I'm looking forward to meeting this prince of theirs. Hey, if you see each other, do you fight to the fucking death? Some doppelgänger bullshit? Or do you got someone else flaunting a fucking crown in your deepest desires?

[...like he isn't going to find out anyway, with how he's making his way over to THE FUCKING BALLROOM, HE SUPPOSES???]

[The Shadow is going to lead them between a pair of grand staircases, into a large lounge room. There are masked guests sitting on plush chairs, gossiping and laughing about stories that sound suspiciously like criminal investigations. There are other Shadows around, but they aren't paying the visitors any mind.]

Their prince is probably my personal Shadow, the Palace ruler. Though...I admit, I'm not entirely sure what to expect. Most Palaces only have one Shadow, but I have two Personas born from my inner self.

Either way, though, we aren't likely to fight each other. My Shadows can't exist without me, and they won't be anything I don't already know about myself.

[Ugh. He doesn't fit in at all here, and it makes his skin crawl to hear people murmuring and laughing. Even if he listens in and determines that, no, he isn't the subject of gossip, he still doesn't like the feeling at all. It makes him come off as extra distracted in his answering.]

Mm. So you're gonna make out?

Highly doubtful. Ideally, since I want to change my perceptions, we'll talk to my Shadow and he'll tell us where we need to go.

[The guard leads them out of the lounge, and across a hall to a set of double doors. It pushes them open onto a grand ballroom, filled with masked guests dancing and mingling. A few other guard Shadows are wandering about, along with Shadows dressed as waitstaff and carrying platters of food and drinks.]

Bummer.

[Not...really, because he wants to get out of here as quickly as possible, but if he doesn't make sarcastic comments on the regular, he's going to go crazy. This would also be why he's reaching out to point at some of those platters.]

Hey. This isn't some pomegranates in Hades shit, right? What happens if I get a drink here? He even gonna be serving alcohol?

Who Am I?

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