[WEEK 3, SUNDAY POST-EXECUTION: Akira]

[spinatalltale]

[it really is kind of weird that they keep stumbling across each other after trials and investigations, sometimes on purpose, and sometimes not. this time is definitely not on purpose on Magilou's part (the ball's up in the air on whether it was the last couple of instances, aha), as she can be found lounging in one of the chairs by the bonfire. she's got her feet buried in the sand, half a stick of sea-salt ice cream shoved in her mouth, her hat pulled over her eyes, and--]

[the knife she used in the execution earlier, all clean and shiny now, resting in her lap]

[SHE LOOKS COZY!! how can anyone look cozy after killing a man, I have no idea]

Comments

[spinatalltale]

. . .

That was really cheesy.

[I'M]

[I'M SORRY]

[but there's at least a curl to her mouth now, the slightest hints of her own smile]

But-- hey! If you really want to try picking up the broken edges of a shattered heart, then I who am I to stop you? Just don't blame me if you get cut along the way.

[. . . she still doesn't get it. she isn't sure she ever will. she's a certified mess and a half, and she knows it. but if anyone were to actually try?]

[she'd want it to be him]

[jokered]

[being called cheesy doesn't seem to bother him. he's been called worse; he knows his lines are kind of cheesy sometimes—

but they work, don't they?

somehow, he got her to keep from walking away. he got her to be more honest with him, and in her own way, she admitted that their feelings are suspiciously similar.]

You have my word. Not just as Akira Kurusu, but as Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

[...]

I do things like this because I want to. Call it... my way of telling those assholes to go fuck themselves, because I don't let their games decide where I should put my feelings.

[his own rebellion, even if he knows in some ways, with what's already happened and what they've experienced, he's played into their hands. but this bond, between them—between a broken-hearted witch and an outcast criminal phantom thief—that's one he decided to pursue for only himself.]

1/2

[spinatalltale]

-- your name is Joker??? Are you serious?

[YOU PUNK SHE SEES WHAT YOU DID THERE DURING THEIR CONVERSATION ABOUT CARD SUITS THE OTHER WEEK]

[spinatalltale]

[UGH OKAY NOT THE IMPORTANT PART]

[she reaches out suddenly and presses the knife flat against his chest, hand splayed across it. she's giving it to him, because if she keeps it, she's going to use it to go jungle diving. and. . . well. while she still wants to-- again, for her sake and for Lucina's-- she supposes that when you have someone who cares about you like this. . . you should probably be a little more careful with your own wellbeing?]

[she thinks that's how it works. that's what she's learned from Jaffar and Nino, anyway. she's never been the type to give up on what she wants to do for the sake of someone else. she isn't sure that this is a pattern she can continue, and she can't promise that she won't change her mind in the future. she's fickle like that, after all]

[but she'll give this. . . thing, this thing where one gives up something for the sake of someone else's happiness, a try]

That way of rebelling is a little unconventional. But I suppose "unconventional" has always been your style.

[jokered]

Unconventional is how it works when you're an outcast and a Phantom Thief.

[he says it with a smirk, keeping the tone somewhat light. this conversation got heavy, raw and honest in ways that he can't entirely say he was expecting to deal with.
but it's fine.

akira will take the knife and a step back; with it in hand, he twirls it around a bit idly. surprise, magilou! knives are his weapon of a choice and he is pretty absurdly comfortable with it in hand, even if it's just as clear that he's not planning to suddenly turn on her.

this is fine.

he's honestly just... relieved that she isn't going to run off into the jungle foolishly, at least not for now. but he might have to go talk to lucina or take bigger measures if she really starts leaning that way again.]

...Thanks, Magilou.

[spinatalltale]

[he steps back, and she does as well, linking her fingers together and resting them behind her back. she watches him toy with the knife, and despite his obvious proficiency with them-- a proficiency on par with Rokurou's to be honest-- she doesn't really regret giving him the weapon]

[she thinks, actually, that he's far more suited to holding onto it than she is]

Well. . .

[. . .]

[wait, what comes next. she doesn't actually know? she can still feel her heart beating madly in her chest-- can still feel her gut twist and ache with how raw and fresh this feels for the both of them. but she hasn't ever done this before, so the road ahead is uncharted territory??]

[maybe she'll just fall back on humor to fill in the silence, as she normally does]

I suppose I'll have to get my regularly scheduled adventure elsewhere. [FOR NOW; he's right to take extra precautions just in case she changes her mind and decides to go into the jungle anyway] Climbing banana trees or the sides of a volcano just don't have the same feel as a death jungle, you know?

[jokered]

[he still toy with the knife like it's nothing at all; with so much of what needed to be said now settled—

it's definitely a little easier to be lighthearted.]

Climbing the side of a volcano mostly sounds like a good way to get burned.

1/2

[spinatalltale]

Come oooon, it's not that hard. You just have to be careful not to trip into the lava flow, that's all.

[SAYS THE EXPERT AT CLIMBING VOLCANOES]

[she shifts a bit on her feet, moving her weight from one to the other, and crosses her arms. it's weirdly uncharacteristic nervous movement]

. . . oh, hey. About yesterday.

[???]

You were right. I would miss you if you died. Or something.

[oh]

[spinatalltale]

[she's been so good about sticking around and hearing him out and not bolting up until now, but that one last shred of honesty seems to be too much for her]

-- oh, hey! What's that sound? The dulcet tones of the man with a dog calling me! Magilou, Magilou, Magilou. . .

[MOONWALKING OUT, WITH FINGERGUNS]

Good heart-to-heart today, Trickster! I'd rate it a ten out of ten!

1/2

[jokered]

[oh.

somehow, he wasn't expecting her to admit that on top of everything else.

(maybe this time, it's his own heart racing in his chest; it's a little exciting to think that amidst all this chaos, there are a couple of good things here.)]

[jokered]

[but his expression settles into a softer smile after a moment.

they both probably need some time to process this, and akira should probably stow this knife away so nobody gets any ideas. he won't hold magilou back; they've already spilled plenty of feelings that he's sure her heart needs time to process.

so it's okay.]

I'll see you tomorrow, Magilou.

[with a nod, because of course he'll see her tomorrow.]

[spinatalltale]

[time to process and time to breathe, because it's all just too much!! right now! and she isn't really the blushing awkwardly and stammering type, so her attempting to flee while leaving a series of jokes and overdramatic declarations behind is about as close as she gets to it]

Or later today, if you're lucky.

[. . .]

[OKAY BYE]

[she's disappearing in the direction of the huts]