[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

[jokered]

[yeah, the feelings situation is just. not so good here, honestly. even this late—he's really just trying to figure out how to steel himself so he can get through the trial.

and you know, the rest of this hellish experience.]

...What.

[it's quiet. but yet still a bit legitimately icy—it's a start contrast to how he's been up until this point.]

[spinatalltale]

[she already doesn't like it]

[she leans against a nearby tree, crossing one foot in front of the other as she pops her book open and takes up her quill. a smile curls up the corners of her mouth, but it's empty]

You two were close.

[it's not a question. it's her stating the obvious]

. . . tell me about her.

[. . . ????]

[jokered]

[it's not an incorrect statement. but his gaze does actually shift, questioning in a quiet way.

of all people, magilou is asking him this?]

What do you want to know?

[and why? he's clearly a bit dubious about this situation here.]

1/2

[spinatalltale]

[look it is 100% legit to be dubious of anything Magilou does, so]

Everything! Her hopes, her dreams. . . her likes, her dislikes. How she took her tea in the mornings, what sort of pajamas she wore!

[a beat]

[spinatalltale]

-- okay, maybe not the stuff about tea and pajamas.

[oh okay]

But I can hardly write about her if I don't know what kind of person she was!

[jokered]

Maybe I should be asking why you even want to write about her.

[he's going to tell her, because it might help him a bit. but... he's dubious. he's always so dubious, especially now of all times.]

[spinatalltale]

[she doesn't look up from her book, where she's already jotting something down on the pages.]

So she'll be remembered.







[oh]

[jokered]

[oh.

it's pretty obvious that he really and sincerely wasn't expecting that.]

...You're really writing it all down. What happens here.

[spinatalltale]

[um]

Um, duh? I told you I was, remember?

[her new novel?? Tales of Beach Episode??]

[okay like to be fair she was really subtle and dumb about it]

[jokered]

It's not always easy to tell with you.

[honestly speaking.

but hey. at least she's being kind of a distraction for a second here, even if talking about haru might be cathartic for him.]

[spinatalltale]

[she does that on purpose]

Isn't that the fun part, though?

[finally looks up at him, twirling her quill between her fingers]

It keeps people on their toes.

[jokered]

[not really, magilou. not right now.]

I've been on my toes enough already.

[ah.

he really is pretty humorless right now, huh?]

[spinatalltale]

[. . .]

[ugh damn it why do people have feelings]

Hey.

[the book snaps shut as she pushes away from the tree to approach him, stepping right into his personal space. RUDE. . .]

Look at me for a second.

[jokered]

[because not everyone has been through what've been through, magilou??? duh??

but.

well.

he will comply, looking at her more directly with a somewhat unreadable expression. he's feeling a lot of things, but his expression is hard to parse because it's so much.

at least the personal space thing doesn't seem to bother him.]

[spinatalltale]

[everyone should just kill their feelings like she did smh!!]

[reaches up and pinches the bridge of his glasses, pulling them down on his nose so she can see his eyes more clearly. she's looking for that spark]

[jokered]

[the spark definitely still exists; it's probably more prevalent than it ever was during the rest of the week because now he has something so much more concrete to fight for.

but there are a lot of other things there that exist—sorry, magilou. he just isn't able to totally cull his feelings that way yet.]

...What are you doing?

[spinatalltale]

[well at least his spark + other emotions are a stark contrast to the way her gaze is completely and utterly devoid of anything]

[she winds up slipping his glasses off of his face entirely-- sorry, Akira-- and twirling them around her finger as she steps back]

I see why you wear these, now. [she says, a hum to her words, a curl to her smile] They say a persons's eyes are the window to the soul.

[THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER. . .]

[jokered]

[there she goes again, stealing his glasses.

even though she's not wrong.

but he's not going to confirm or deny that.]

Stop avoiding my question. [he's suffering, please don't complicate this more, magilou.]

[spinatalltale]

[VERITABLE GLASSES THIEF MAGILOU]

. . . in my experience, people tend to react one of three ways after an incident like this one. The first option is to break and shatter completely, and become nothing more than a former shell of a person.

[props a hand on her hip, head canted slightly]

The second is to avoid breaking by shutting down and sealing away one's heart. And the third. . .

[totally slips his glasses on top of her head like OKAY MAGILOU THOSE AREN'T EVEN YOURS]

Is to get angry. And one step better than that is to weaponize that anger. I wanted to see which option you were leaning towards.

[jokered]

[whatever. as long as she gives them back, it's fine. not that he really needs them, but he's not completely ready to drop his good schoolboy facade quite yet.

some of it has to give in order to be vigilant in finding haru's killer, but there's still so much more he needs to keep to himself.]

...And what am I leaning towards?

[it's.

probably pretty obvious, but he's trying to see how much of a read she's actually getting from his expression right now.]

[spinatalltale]

[she'll give them back, don't worry]

Hard to say. I did mention that you were one tough cookie to read, didn't I?

[but. . .]

But I suppose if I were a betting woman-- which I am, incidentally-- I'd place my wager on your breaking. 100 gald that you either die here or let the gravity of the situation extinguish your spark.

[well]

[ain't that rude]

[but it also isn't at all where she'd place her bets if she actually wanted to win. not that he needs to know that-- Velvet didn't, after all. but in Magilou's experience? spite is a powerful motivator]

[jokered]

[it's rude, but he'll likely play right into her hands, because that sure is the kind of thng that pisses him off.

he doesn't know how much a hundred gald is worth. 100 yen? 100 dollars?

what the fuck is a gald, magilou, it sounds fake.]

Don't make bets you know can't win. [there's definitely a muted glower to it, though. really? somehow, he doubts that she really looked at him and saw anything but his anger—

but it still kind of pisses him off a little more to see her bet against him so easily.]

[spinatalltale]

[YOUR YEN SOUNDS FAKE!!]

I don't.

[Magilou you lying liar who lies]

But hey! If you disagree, then I suppose you'll just have to prove me wrong.

[jokered]

Alright.

[casual agreement. sure? sure.

he's holding his hand out, though. glasses, please.]

[spinatalltale]

[UGH!! GET ANGRY!!! WHY AREN'T YOU GETTING ANGRY!!!]

[she plucks the glasses from her head and places them back in his palm]

I'd still like to know more about her.