[WEEK 1, FRIDAY POST-INVESTIGATION: Akira]

[spinatalltale]

[it isn't until sometime late evening that Magilou finally seeks him out, having wanted to give him a little space to. . . uh. have his feelings. she's no good with those, and she knows it. and even if she was a dramatic shitposter until the end of time, she wasn't in the business of rubbing salt on wounds or breaking people's hearts]

[. . . much, anyway]

[she finds him on the jungle paths, a hop to her step as she approaches, expression as lazy and languid as ever. she has her journal tucked under one arm, the quill poking out from the yellowed pages]

Baaaaby Trickster. ☆

I need a favor from you.

[OKAY MAGILOU. . .]

Comments

[spinatalltale]

["in front of all of our eyes," don't think she missed that phrasing buddy]

Was it you?

[like]

[okay]

[at least she isn't subtle about it]

[jokered]

Sort of.

[akira, what.]

They did arrest me on that charge.[...] They didn't care whether or not I really did it, though.

[obviously, he did not actually do it.]

It happened on TV. Live. For the whole country to see. That was how we saw it too. [like he mentioned before, tv's kind of a big deal. but that just gives more context to the fact that even though they saw him die, he didn't actually kill someone?]

[spinatalltale]

Sort of.

[how is his answer "sort of" when he was arrested on that charge??? smh Akira]

[at any rate, she believes him when he says he didn't do it. not because she doesn't think he's capable of killing (jury is still out on that one) but because she doubts he'd murder the father of someone so precious to him]

It sounds like your true killer was trying to make an example of him.

[jokered]

No, they were trying to make an example of someone else. But they were trying to make an example, alright.

[but akira doesn't seem to be willing to expand on that yet. who they wanted to make an example of, or why.]

The point is... it feels deliberate. [obviously, he doesn't know the context of the murder. but haru dying in a grotesque way—

that, he's sure, is intentional.]

[spinatalltale]

[she can make her own assumptions on who the unfortunate "example" was, just based on what Akira has said so far. he and several others watched Haru's father die on television. Akira himself was "sort of" framed for that death. he was then later arrested on that charge, and the men who took him in cared little about his actual guilt]

[whoever killed that man was trying to make an example out of Akira then, right? Akira. . . and maybe the group of people he so very subtly referred to earlier]

[the gears in her mind creak and turn, but again, she doesn't ask]

You think they're attempting to target you specifically by having your friend killed in a similar way to her father.

[god the implications of that are gross in so many ways]

[jokered]

[nobody ever said he was actually good at being subtle. maybe this is why he's a silent protagonist... because as soon as they let him speak too much, he gives away his angle.

at least here, it's slightly more purposeful and less risky in some ways. even if magilou could use this against him. well.

it would be par for the course. for how his life works, at least.

but he doesn't confirm what magilou says, glossing it over to make another point.]

Maybe they think it's humorous. [though akira doesn't really believe that.

or. well, he does, but he thinks the chiefs are trying to provoke him. trying to make him (and everyone else) play the game by making an example of haru for everyone to see.]

[spinatalltale]

That does seem about par for the course for them.

["humor," fear and intentional provocation were the only reason she could think of that the killer would have disposed of Haru's body that way]

But no one says there can't be multiple reasons behind one action. Humor, causing fear, intentionally provoking the pieces into playing their game, exerting their control over our group. . .

[she delivers each possibility in an even tone, like she's reciting the lunch menu or something]

[jokered]

[he doesn't disagree, though obviously...

being intentionally provoked doesn't sit well with him. he bristles a bit, shaking off the thought before nodding.]

It doesn't matter what the reason is.

[haru's still dead. someone still killed haru and did that to her, and akira has no doubt that the methodology was intentional.]

[spinatalltale]

It's still pretty tacky.

["tacky" is kind of an understatement, Magilou, don't you think. she taps her quill against her chin]

It's that last reason that irritates me the most, I suppose.

[jokered]

[it's understandable, magilou.]

They're all pretty good reasons. [he sighs, quiet. it's a shitty situation, no matter the reason.]

[spinatalltale]

[hmphs]

[there's a pause--]

Hey.

You know you're not really as subtle as you think you are, right?

[??? Where'd that come from??]

[jokered]

[indeed. where did that come from?]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[spinatalltale]

The first rule of magic is to master the art of misdirection.

[is she giving him a magic lesson]

Simply pretending your hand is empty isn't enough.

[or maybe she likes speaking in metaphors]

[jokered]

I don't follow.

[he's playing dumb both because she's speaking in metaphors and because he doesn't want to actually confirm or deny anything.

he's too emotionally spent for bullshit today.]

[spinatalltale]

No? I think you do.

[she shuts her journal, once again pushing away from the tree she was leaning on, although this time she turns on her heel to face the direction of the huts again]

Well, I suppose that's a conversation for another time. That man with the dog just so happens to be waiting for me again.

[why is this. always how she ends things]

[jokered]

[if that's the way she wants to end that conversation, it's fine.

whether or not he's subtle or obvious—it doesn't matter to him today. he gave her plenty more than he normally would; a vulnerability that he normally wouldn't have let show because today? he is vulnerable.

it's rare. it's rare, but it happens.

so that conversation can be for another time. if she want to leave it, she can—he's got plenty else to think about.]

Right, right. Wouldn't want to keep you from that.

[spinatalltale]

[vulnerability does happen]

[and as someone who wouldn't want anyone poking at her during her own vulnerable moments, she can respect his. besides, she considers the little nuggets he dropped to be payment for the ones she gave him the other day. bit by bit, the masks are chipped away. . . for both him and her]

[gross]

You'd better rest up before tomorrow. We'll need you at your best.

[jokered]

[a little at a time, they'll find out what's beneath their masks—]

Your concern for my well-being is touching.

[go on, git. he knows she's mostly full of shit, and he could probably use the time to deal with his feelings more anyway.]

[spinatalltale]

[I'm a shapeshifter--]

I can be a benevolent soul when I wish to be.

[and with that? she's gone]