2026-07-10: The Arbiter of Their Fates
- Log: 2026-07-10 The Arbiter of Their Fates
- Cast: Ruin, Joker
- Where: Somewhere Strange
- OOC Date: July 11, 2026
- IC Date: Friday, December 07, 2012
- Summary: Immediately after the fight in Sumaru Bay, Joker and Ruin (also known as the One in the Black Mask) find themselves in a strange new cognitive space. Exploring Mizunagi for the way out, things are cold and fraught between them--until Joker takes it upon themself to try the last strategy available to them. It works far better than they could have imagined.
come on in, enjoy yourselves.
-==== Round 1: side::LUNA > Fool; Air > WELCOME TO THE MACHINE - Challenge Level 1 -
| Approach Options: Guts or Academics |
| Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1 and Scary - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC3kMo8nbc4 M.Y.K.N - "Angel In The
Dark")
After falling through several red gates stacked at irregular, physically
impossible angles, you find yourself in a vast, partially flooded stone
cavern. Behind you is a lone old red torii gate as if you had just passed
through it, with flaking red paint and hanging black ofuda.
Moonlight streams in through a cavern hole far above, highlighting the
faint glitter of distant wet cavern walls. The space feels and smells of an
underground river, ageless and deep. Somehow, you're able to stand on the
water's surface, smooth as dark worn glass. If you look under your feet, you
can make out something below. Threads? Hair? It's hard to tell.
Up ahead is an enormous, fantastic machine: a constantly moving sliding
puzzle of blocks. Each moving part looks like it could be from a variety of
different locale, like an ancient ship, an old Japanese manor, even
something more modern. Between each section you can see flashes of a complex
of gears and mechanisms, all following a schedule that ticks at a low thrum
beneath one's heartbeat. There are secrets are hidden within, but accessing
them would mean braving the inscrutable automata itself.
First, you'll need to get in. A sharp eye will find a pattern. Near the
bottom, a door revolves out to the front, then disappears, showing again
further up, then looping back. Time your approach, and you'll slip in. Rely
on luck, however, and you may be rewarded with something getting pinched by
a mechanism.
(OOC NOTE: Passages in red text will appear in some rooms. These represent
omnipresent thoughts or feelings that can be detected by those open to them
for any reason and at any time.)
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
A gun touches his chin. His lips move, his hand lashing out to grab Joker's wrist.
A curtain falls.
The two fall. Torii lining the sides at odd angles, tunnel like, as they're spirited away to a realm beyond.
And despite the situation, they're still clinging to each other. "FUCK- what the hell even happened!?" As his eyes go which way- contracting in puzzlement, bemused, "This isn't how it was supposed to go." He mutters, absently, before remembering he's holding Joker's wrist- and that the gun is still pointed at his chin. "Let me help you with that." The hand holding his wrist- as he repositions the gun not at his chin, but straight towards the center of his forehead.
Blood drips around them, red staining the moonlight. And he grins, like a devil of the underworld. "Right there. Isn't that better?"
As he presses the forehead of his beaked mask further against the nozzle.
"Come on. Dare you to try it."
He bets he can still dodge it, even point blank, but the exhilaration of the thought he might not fascinates him.
His eyes shift again, as blocks move, sliding, seeming to still not quite have his bearings, but is focusing in on Joker at the moment.
It seems Joker has time to put forth his argument here, to deescalate the situation- but perhaps, he's tempted not to- as well.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's almost intimate, the way Ruin grabs their wrist back, the two of them locked together in a deadly stance. Joker's breath is taken away as the two of them fall through countless non-Euclidian torii only to land in moonlight. It's truly bizarre, and even having an idea of what just happened, they have no idea why it happened like this, why the two of them ended up here. They turn their head sharply with widened eyes to stare at the cavern, the ancient red gate, the glassy river and the threads-or-hair, and...
Then Ruin shifts their wrist, and they snap a glare back at him, only for it to shift again when he presses the muzzle of their gun to his forehead and dares them to pull the trigger. He grins like a maniac, and while they're filled with a sick fascination at how sincerely he seems to be challenging them, they narrow their eyes before sighing in irritation.
Well, that's one way to call their bluff. Not like it was much of one, because--
"You know I'm not going to do that," they reply evenly, carefully keeping a stony calm. They open their gloved hand, and the silver PMF-84W vanishes, sent back to the cognitive hammerspace in which it maybe-exists. They rise to their feet just as carefully, keeping their grip on Ruin's wrist until both of them have risen. Then they tuck their hands in their pockets and look around too.
"And I know you're not as crazy as you like to act," they continue, beginning to walk towards the puzzle-blocks machine. "So let's figure this out."
They don't hate him any less, but they're keenly aware that they need to reset the tone of this interaction if they want to get out of here alive. They genuinely don't know if Ruin will want to cooperate with them, but they're alone together for the first time in a long time. It's their best shot at getting him to not try to kill them long enough for them to figure out where they've ended up and to escape.
Joker raises a red-gloved hand to the automata. It moves and whirs, segments trading out for segments, like something alive and breathing. Their sharp, observant eyes flick here and there, seeking out a pattern--
There. There's a door. At the bottom, vanishing, appearing higher up, vanishing, at the bottom... Joker glances over their shoulder at Ruin, checking to see if he's seen it too.
If they don't have to work with him, they sure as hell don't want to, and so if he hasn't, it might be the chance they need to slip away. But if he has...
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Academics toward side::LUNA > Fool; Air > WELCOME TO THE MACHINE! Base! MONAD: Ruin has acted with Guts toward side::LUNA > Fool; Air > WELCOME TO THE MACHINE! Base! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== side::LUNA > Fool; Air > WELCOME TO THE MACHINE - Round 1 =============- Ren Amamiya Academics Success Academics Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ruin Guts Success Guts Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Clumsy-2 and Scary-2 Final Conditions: Clumsy-1 and Scary-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 1/6 |= | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
"Heh."
As Joker calls his. He had considered whether shooting that Ryouhara ninja whose name he doesn't even know, and trying to kill Umie- perhaps he succeeded, he's not even certain- might have changed things.
"You sure? Golden opportunity passing you by."
However, he causes it to vanish, and Ruin of course, lets go of his wrist. "Another time then."
"'Let's'?" He smirks, at the implication they work together in this unfamiliar place.
"Pfft-hahaha, funniest joke I've heard all day. I'm the monster who put a hole in that man's forehead- maybe even one of your friends too, if I'm lucky." He says, with a grin, "And all it takes is a change of scenery for it to be 'together'- alright. We're going in the 'same direction' for now..."
Joker cants his head up towards the pattern of blocks, and Ruin catches the motion. "...but I'll make sure you regret this later, Joker."
Thesis and Antithesis.
Rather than seeming to carefully mark any pattern- Ruin simply bounds from one piece of machinery to another, his clawed hands briefly hanging off of them despite the injuries he's taken tonight.
Before he kicks his way towards the door, corkscrewing with preternatural grace through the door with a speed that defies the consequences of him not taking the time to memorize the timing.
There may even be a moment when he passes Joker by, facing backwards so as to grin at him as he surges on ahead.
Goddamn he's going to be insufferable throughout this whole ordeal.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has drawn a new Challenge! (|================ Monad - The Inscrutable Region: Mizunagi ================|)
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
-==== Round 2: side::LUNA > The Hierophant; Taurus > BARRIER - Challenge Level 3 -
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Academics |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, |
| Educational - Academics Up L1, Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, and Scary |
| - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
(BGM: https://youtu.be/puLnIQ-plR8 Toshio Masuda - "Shinen")
The corridor is plain: dark wood flooring and steeple ceiling contrasting
with white plaster walls. It's lit with natural indirect light, cast in from
narrow openings between the wall and roofing. The air feels crisp and chill,
like late fall.
A red thread spools on ahead of you towards a far off exit, but the moment
you step on the horizontally-laid floor boards, you hear an oddly melodic
creak. A wooden door suddenly slams down, sealed with a simple lock. Simple,
right?
A lock is just a barrier with a cheat called a key.
Alas, when the door is opened, there's another door a few meters away,
made of thicker wood and a more complex lock. After that, there will be a
metal door, with similarly tougher lock.
The pattern will continue to escalate, with one added complication: fall
has turned to winter, and the air is now frigid with the touch of snow. As
fingers become numb and exhaustion threatens to set in, you'll hear a young,
bell-like giggle, as if someone finds your effort hilarious. Nonethless, you
must persevere to get to the end, no matter what.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"We're definitely not together. But I know I can't get rid of you that easily," Joker replies coldly. They're well aware of what Ruin has done tonight, and their hatred of him sharpens a little at the word luckily--but they're pragmatic enough to understand this is no situation for quarrels.
He promises to make them regret this 'later.' "No need. I already regret your existence," they reply, just as cold and even as before.
Who wouldn't regret the existence of such a cursed, unwanted child?
When they sneak a glance back at him, though, they're surprised to see him outright grapple the automata, clamboring up to the door rather than waiting for it to return to reach. He grins at them, sharp-toothed, as he passes by, and Joker can practically feel a vein bulge in their forehead.
Absolutely fucking insufferable.
The door reaches them; they quickly pass through. On the other side is a corridor dark and light, high and long, enclosed and fresh-aired. They breathe it in, then look down at the red thread. Their mouth pulls to one side as they consider the implications of this; then they reassert a neutral expression and step forward.
~creak o/~
SLAM.
A wooden door slams down. It's locked.
A lock is just a barrier with a cheat called a key.
"Hm," Joker murmurs, eyebrows furrowing at the words that seem to well up from the ether. This much shouldn't be difficult for a phantom thief--especially for one who's made a reusable lock pick before. They stride forward, and unlock the lock.
There's a door beyond that. And beyond, and beyond, and beyond, each lock more fiendish than the last, as the air chills and a giggle rings through the air...
Joker stoically continues to unlock locks, even as the frigid air begins to numb even their gloved fingers. Ruin is going to be--already is--bad enough. They'll just have to outright ignore the laughter.
They don't offer Ruin any conversation as they go. If he wants to fill the air with something other than that tinkling laughter, he'll have to do so himself.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Thief Talk toward side::LUNA > The Hierophant; Taurus > BARRIER! Diligence and Smarts!
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
'No need. I already regret your existence,'
You and everybody else.
It's painful to hear it even from them, but it's a validating sort of pain. It confirms what he already thought he knew.
He does enjoy the look on their face though.
He saunters into the room, hands behind his head, easy as he pleases, even as it slams behind them.
A lock is just a barrier with a cheat called a key.
Joker picks the first lock, and he doesn't say anything, as they move on. The second lock, dead silent as a tomb, his breath fogging.
The third, as the creature gives off that bell-like giggle again?
"Are you really going to keep playing this thing's game?"
As he steps forward, and his clawed hands simply stab through the entire metallic mechanism of the lock, and tries to rip it out so hard the frame it was locked into is likely to shatter as well.
Assuming Joker didn't remove the lockpick in time before he approached.
He gets his lockpick back all the same, when Ruin hands him the whole goddamn lock, as if Joker were his assistant and he was saying, 'Here hold this'.
"Wasn't that funny?" He calls to whatever entity is watching them, "Keep laughing and I'll be handing him your jaw next- with your goddamn bell jangling off of it."
Yes, 'him'. After all, he realizes that The One in the Black Mask had never learned that Joker was X-Gender.
MONAD: Ruin has acted with Proficiency toward side::LUNA > The Hierophant; Taurus > BARRIER! Base! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== side::LUNA > The Hierophant; Taurus > BARRIER - Round 2 ===============- Ren Amamiya Proficiency Success Thief Talk Diligence and Smarts Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ruin Proficiency Success Proficiency Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Clumsy-1, Educational-2, Ineptitude-2, and Scary-1 Final Conditions: Annoying-1, Educational-1, and Ineptitude-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
That look of cold disdain, that says they'd be sooner rid of him if only they could?
Ruin really does love pain. What a masochist.
Joker does undo a good number of those locks. They ignore his initial question, content to move forward--but rather than taking the hint, Ruin takes advantage of their numbed, slowed fingers to stab the lock out of the last door and hand it to them wholesale.
"....."
Well. At least they did get their lockpick back. The permanent ones are hard to make.
They retrieve it and tuck it back in their sleeve, then side-eye Ruin as he jovially threatens the voice giggling at them. They don't care that he calls them 'him'; it's true some of the time, and it really doesn't bother them. If anything bothers them, it's how likely Ruin actually would maul someone and hand their jaw to them. To which they say:
"Pass." They drop the lock unceremoniously on the floor and stride past him through the now-open door. Maybe Ruin's threats worked, because no further doors bar their way... for now.
MONAD: Ruin has drawn a new Challenge! (|================ Monad - The Inscrutable Region: Mizunagi ================|)
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
-==== Round 3: side.SOL .. track VIII .. LIBRA RECORD: "Samurai" - Challenge Level 2 -
| Approach Options: Charm or Academics |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Annoying - Charm Down L2, |
| Educational - Academics Up L1, Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, Shuffle - |
| Draw 1 Minor Arcana., Stony - Understanding Down L2, and Sublime - |
| Proficiency Up L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
(BGM: https://youtu.be/PaRxSyz719A - SNK Sound Team, "Aftermath")
Broken guns and heaps of ravaged machines lay scattered all over the damp
ground. It's not the impersonal touch of the steel deck below that meets you
you but the giving softness of a dark soil just after a hard rain.
The bulkhead door broke open not into a chamber or a tight, confined
passage crawl, but a vast, open battlefield, at high noon with a grey, wet
sky. The air is scented harshly, sharp and acrid with the distant curls of
smoke from powder arms and cannon fire, whose gutted steel corpses and
broken barrels lay strewn like felled trees beneath the drizzling heavens.
Swords are planted in the earth, some crossed over one another, others
alone, others bearing the helmets, standards, or jinbaori of their owners.
There are no bodies here, and only dragonflies skirt over the battlefield,
searching for pools of water from the rain, and the nearby streams and
rivers. Then he is seen.
A blade is stuck in the ground, its hilt broken, revealing the tang and the
signature inscribed on it: 'SHIRO.'
The machine champion holds a grim countenance, his face hidden behind the
fearsome visage of an oni mask, only revealing bright yellow eyes in the
darkness beneath the helmet. Looking out over the felled machines, he
polishes a katana. The sword is massive, but in his hand it seems almost
normal. With a harsh sound, the warrior grunts at your arrival, a heavy
machine groan churning from inside his full armor and vast cloak.
He stares evenly at you, clearly not intending to fight, despite the cannon
slung over his shoulder and at least one more sword tucked into the chains
at his waist. Instead, the polished curve of his daito flashes in the grey
light as he gestures across the battlefield around you. Following his sword,
the dragonflies begin to glow. Many alight on the pommels and guards of the
swords scattered about in the field. Some of these dragonflies are red, some
blue, some are gold and some are violet.
He is silent. The machine bids you choose the blade that carries the will
and soul of battle into the new world beyond this space. Read the souls of
the dragonflies and the make of the weapons to choose well, and he will
allow you to pass. Choose poorly, and he will cut the earth from under your
feet.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
'Pass' "Did I say that was an option?" Ruin replies with half a snarl.
A door opens. There is no laughter again. Light spills out, from overhead behind a shroud. Before them is a metallic deck of a ship.
It's also a battlefield that has grown silent and still, with all the signs of battle, save for the bones.
The crows and vultures must have had their fill, but even then there would be bones, right?
Broken guns- machinery- armor. It's everywhere. Dragonflies skirt from the drip drip drip of rainwater creating puddles.
A blade stands upright in the ground. Another sign of battle.
A machine creature comes out of the mist of grey, with grinning tusked oni mask. It bears a cannon, and an enormous sword. "That's more like it." Ruin pronounces, as his saw-toothed blade snaps in his hand.
"Come on then! Show me what you've got!"
But the Champion does not. Instead he gestures with his blade- at the field, at the dragonflies that light up and scatter, landing upon swords here and there.
"Hnn." Ruin grunts, as if disappointed he didn't get to fight a thing with a cannon. Instead, his sword vanishes, and he looks upon the field of battle, as if silently searching for patterns-
-more than anything, a link to that blade in the center.
S H I R O
Now he doesn't say anything himself, seeming more irritated that a puzzle prevented his bloodlust being sated.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
As tempted as Joker is to ignore Ruin's snarled question, they know that'll just make him angrier. Attention-starved drama kings hate to be ignored.
"I'm not your servant," they thus reply, as cold and stony as ever.
This is how Ren treats you when they don't like you. Is it still a little better than that time they froze you out, Akechi? Is even this still a victory for you?
Joker comes to a stop on the damp soil and looks up and around at the battlefield and the broken weaponry. It's a recent battle, from the smell of it, despite the lack of bodies. Their eyes track a passing dragonfly; then the machine champion emerges, and they tense and instinctively call their knife too.
It galls them that they might be about to fight alongside Ruin, so eager for blood (or perhaps oil) that he challenges the champion too, and Joker glares at him.
"Can you relate to anything without violence?" they snap, losing themself for a moment.
However, the oni-masked champion itself stymies the two of them by gesturing at the field, at the blade thrust into the ground marked SHIRO. The dragonflies glow and alight on various weapons, red and blue and gold and violet...
"..."
Joker leaves Ruin behind to inspect the insects and their chosen weapons. They're not entirely sure of the champion's intent, but they do get they are being asked to choose. 'Shiro'...
They still remember the study session they had with Kurou not too long ago. If they remember what he taught them, then perhaps the correct choice is...
They reach for a weapon and attempt to pull it from the earth with care--but also with decisiveness.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Academics toward side.SOL .. track VIII .. LIBRA RECORD: "Samurai"! Base! MONAD: Ruin has acted with Academics toward side.SOL .. track VIII .. LIBRA RECORD: "Samurai"! Base! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== side.SOL .. track VIII .. LIBRA RECORD: "Samurai" - Round 3 ===========- Ren Amamiya Academics Failure Academics Base Fatigue: 1 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ruin Academics Failure Academics Base Fatigue: 1 Morale: 2 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Annoying-1, Annoying-2, Educational-1, Ineptitude-1, Shuffle: Sword-0, Stony-2, and Sublime-2 Final Conditions: Annoying-1, Stony-1, and Sublime-1 -================================================= Party Result: Failure ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
"Why would I even want to?" Ruin grouses at Joker's question, of course, he can relate to things in other ways. It's just- when he brings this side of himself out, it's the only time that he gets to indulge in this side of himself.
Sometimes leading a double life can be exhausting, having to restrain yourself, to put on a show.
Joker pulls the weapon out and-
The Champion says nothing- as the sword rusts in their hand and dissolves.
Now one must look to Ruin. Has he discovered the answer?
"Hnnn. Well, I could play 'Holy Grail'- that one over there looks like it has promise." As he references a popular film, he cants his head towards another blade, decided by the number of fireflies.
The Champion looks at Ruin stoically. Has he passed the trial? Has he chosen correctly? All he has to do is pull out the blade and-
"But where's the fun in that?"
Suddenly a blade snaps into Ruin's hand, and he takes off like a shot, carving into the Champion's carapace, who roars and begins slamming that terrible blade thunderously into the ground. "HahaHAHAHA! Fuck that bullshit! I didn't come here to solve your stupid PUZZLES!"
What a day for Joker, who gets to learn if they can dodge Cannon Balls, when the thing unslings the cannon one handed and begins to show that their true passion is playing an overture with the two of them.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has drawn a new Challenge! (|================ Monad - The Inscrutable Region: Mizunagi ================|)
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
-==== Round 4: side::LUNA > The Devil; Capricorn > SHADOW PLAY - Challenge Level 3 -
| Approach Options: Charm or Understanding |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Fairy - Subtract 1 Fatigue on |
| success., Hard - Understanding Down L1, Smooth - Charm Up L1, Stony - |
| Understanding Down L2, Stupor - Academics Down L1, and Sublime - |
| Proficiency Up L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
(https://youtu.be/CPrEsdLyBEI Yasuharu Takanashi - "Oboroge")
The dim hallway is narrow, barely wide enough for two average-sized people
standing side by side. The door you entered is closed tight, though you can
see a red thread running from underneath it to another locked door at the
other end of the hallway.
It's a hidden passage, lit only by a flickering golden light passing
through painted walls, producing a shadow puppet play of what exists on the
other side: graceful silhouettes of women, with the audible swish-swish of
silk uchikake overcoats overlaid with soft giggles and whispered gossip. You
may hear something enticing only you can hear, like an opinion of you, a
secret, or gossip.
This soft space is separated from the world of direct word and action, so
force will not work here. Playing into the game of whispers, however, will
bear actual fruit. Charm your way into their attentions; make your side the
more alluring one. Tell them sweet lies, honeyed truths, entertain. Be the
mystery, and they the listening audience. Only then will the door at the end
of the corridor unlock..
Alternatively, you can simply wait until the gears outside these walls
turn again. You may be trapped temporarily, but it's not an entirely
unpleasant experience. However, it's a lonely one. You can try to listen, or
draw their attention, but it'll never be an exchange between equals.
/It's not like they'll ever really listen. They never do./
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Why indeed," Joker mutters, and lets the matter drop. This conversation is a dead end, anyway. All conversations with Ruin are, it feels like.
Later, Joker draws the weapon. It reduces to rust and vanishes.
"..."
They tuck their hand in their pocket and studiously do not look at Ruin. Maybe that's why, when he opts to shove off the intended solution and attack the champion anyway, they're caught off-guard. "?!"
And naturally, they're lumped in with him anyway, even though they didn't attack, because they chose poorly. Dammit!!
They managed to avoid the cannonballs. Barely. Even glancing hits are devastating at that weight and speed, and it's just good for them they've got Principality on their side to heal their wounds. Ruin, unlike Akechi, is not offered any healing. Fuck that guy.
Really. FUCK that guy, and not in the sexy way. By the time the fight is over and the two are moving on, Joker strides with stiff, icy fury to the other side of the battlefield and back into the depths of the automata via a narrow hallway. This time, they are silent. They remain silent even when he addresses them. They don't even look at him, not even to glare, even if they're walking shoulder-to-shoulder--for which the two barely have enough space. Certainly not to acknowledge if he remarks on the door closing tight behind them.
That's right. Joker is finally icing him out. It probably won't last, but it is most certainly happening.
They might get some vindictive pleasure when the two of them reach the strange boudoir where feminine silhouettes flicker on the wall against a golden lamplight, womanly whispers trading secrets and gossip. Joker slows and stops to listen in. Eavesdropping has always been a bad habit of theirs.
Whispers about them. Whispers about him. The mysterious leader of the Phantom Thieves, and the fearsome gun of the New World Order... Some of what they say is accurate. Some of it is anything but. They could try to charm their way into those shadows' attentions--they've learned a thing or two about the oratory arts from Yoshida-san--but...
It's not like they'll ever really listen. They never do.
Their eyes lid. Their head bows. That thought wasn't theirs, and yet--yes. They know that circumstance well. Even before their arrest, they're the "son" of the long-time mayor of a small country town. They were ignoring gossip and rumors and refusing to open up to those who didn't seem to care about their truth long before their exile to Tokyo.
Which means there's only one solution for them: ignore it. They square their shoulders, neutrality reasserting over their features, and stride away to a nearby wall. There they lean, arms folded over their chest as they wait for the automata to rotate again. Is it lonely? No lonelier than trying to beg for respect from people who will never respect you. If there can be no exchange between equals, then they'll stand alone.
At least they keep an eye on Ruin. They predict it's going to infuriate him to be barred from direct action or conflict, and maybe that'll be a nice shot of schadenfreude for them, and maybe it'll be a Situation that they have to resolve with honeyed words after all.
Fuck this guy.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Diplomacy toward side::LUNA > The Devil; Capricorn > SHADOW PLAY! Empathy and Patra!
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
It's a dead end for a reason after all. He either snaps at him, performs some form of violence- or it's simply a secret he can't, or won't give up.
Might makes Right, that is what he apparently must believe, and if that's the case- Joker can never be right, when compared to him.
It's infuriating.
Ruin does not look that much more injured after fighting the Guardian, as opposed to Joker. Joker doesn't offer healing- and Ruin doesn't appear to need anything.
Because Joker will see a moment when he simply puts something up to his mouth, and swallows it. And as he does so, all the wounds he'd suffered so far are just, gone.
Not just healed up enough to be manageable- gone. Are even his supplies better than the Phantom Thieves!? He is backed by an incredibly poweful organization after all.
Joker tries to remain silent, as Ruin strides forward at a sedate pace that now uninjured is still enough to keep Joker behind him at all times.
The space within, he hears the whispers about him. The gossip.
Accursed Child
Bane of his Mother's existence
His Father's Lapdog
He doesn't panic at this, because it's obvious that Joker isn't hearing the same thing he's hearing by the way he plays the silent game. That this place will not relay his secrets to everyone else.
Still, it gets under his skin gradually, one comment after another.
A mad dog that ought to be put-
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
As he pulls out a firearm and tries to systematically put holes in the whisperers through the walls, one by one by one.
The wall isn't even dented- there's no sign that he's even shot a gun, and he growls.
"One of these." He remarks, giving Joker the moment that they wanted. It's only a few minutes into the wait that he starts pacing- "God-damnit!"
MONAD: Ruin has acted with Charm toward side::LUNA > The Devil; Capricorn > SHADOW PLAY! Base!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== side::LUNA > The Devil; Capricorn > SHADOW PLAY - Round 4 =============- Ren Amamiya Understanding Failure Diplomacy Empathy and Patra Fatigue: 2 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ruin Charm Failure Charm Base Fatigue: 2 Morale: 2 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Annoying-1, Fairy-0, Hard-2, Smooth-2, Stony-1, Stupor-2, and Sublime-1 Final Conditions: Hard-1 and Smooth-1 -================================================= Party Result: Failure ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It is infuriating.
That's why Joker has finally decided not to play. It's bad enough that the Wild Hunt is all superior-than-thou; at least they have some good intentions in there somewhere. Everything about Ruin's entire existence is deeply frustrating to Joker--up to and including whatever he swallows that gives him an instant full heal. They manage to keep up their stony lack of expression, but their gloves creak the tiniest bit from how they clench their fists.
Further within, they indeed don't hear the same whispers. However, they can see him getting bothered by it more and more, little by little, until--
'SHUT THE FUCK UP!'
--he outright fires an unrelenting torrent of bullets at the shadows on the wall.
Naturally, this does absolutely nothing. Joker is tense afterwards anyway, watching him warily. The schadenfreude really wasn't as sweet as they were hoping. Maybe they're just not suited to taking pleasure in others' pain. Regardless, Ruin seems... well, not content to wait after that, but at least begrudgingly willing to wait too.
One minute passes.
Two.
Three--
'God dammit!'
Joker's jaw sets as they resist the urge to roll their eyes at Ruin's sudden pacing. If he gets agitated this easily, who knows what he'll pull next. He might not be as crazy as he likes to act, but he sure as hell likes to act crazy. It probably wasn't his intent, but they're going to need to do something about him after all.
God dammit indeed. And indeed, fuck this guy--
...hm.
As that thought crosses Joker's mind, they remember two things: one, how Akechi had complimented them recently on how good they've gotten at the seduction technique; and two, how Ruin froze up when they caressed him that one time. It hadn't worked as a segue into an attack, and they don't plan on trying that much, but as a well to get him off his bullshit before he starts all over again...
Their lips thin as they consider Ruin and how much they really don't want to touch him like that again. Akechi would probably hate it too. But... he'd probably also understand. Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do to make sure you survive. Akechi would hate them dying and disappearing in some cognitive space even more--not even because they lost a fight, but because this bloodthirsty maniac went berserk from lack of stimulation for five fucking minutes.
They sigh. So would they.
And so they stride forward towards the pacing Ruin. Maybe he turns to face them and maybe not, but when they're close enough, they reach for his midsection--front or back, whichever they're able to reach by the time they're in range.
Those gloved fingertips trace up the diagonal lines of Ruin's cognitive costume, then caress back down to the belt around his waist. Ruin will learn (be reminded) that Joker's fingers are remarkably deft--particularly when they hook into that belt and yank him forward until they're chest to chest, Joker's lips on the side of his helm.
"Control yourself," they murmur, voice low and smoky. They splay their fingers up his stomach as they ease back and meet his eyes, their half-lidded stare just as smoky.
Then their lip curls as they utter a low tch, and they turn and abruptly walk away, just in time for the automata to rotate the two away once more.
MONAD: Ruin has drawn a new Challenge! (|================ Monad - The Inscrutable Region: Mizunagi ================|)
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
-==== Round 5: side::LUNA > The Moon; Pisces > MOON GAZING - Challenge Level 3 -
| Approach Options: Charm or Guts |
| Conditions: Bless - +1 to Group Roll (Per Character), Hard - Understanding |
| Down L1, Mindnumbing - Academics Down L2, Reaper - Add 1 Fatigue., Smooth |
| - Charm Up L1, and Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
You enter into a square engawa (or veranda) surrounding a tsubo-niwa: a
small enclosed Japanese garden. A small pond, outlined in stone, is situated
next to a Japanese maple with delicate red five-pointed leaves. Curated
patterns are drawn into the gravel, adding order between limestone rocks
covered in moss. Past the roof's overhang, you can see a brilliant view of a
bright jade moon, coating the meticulously tailored space in a familiar
verdant glow.
It's always there for you, every night: a still, beautiful world with no
stars.
(BGM: https://youtu.be/-7e-MKch5ZY Yasuharu Takanashi - "Osoroshige")
As leaves shiver in a laughing wind, a leaf falls onto the pond's surface.
Soft, echoing footsteps run past the edge of your vision. You may hear
purred whispers, letting you know that no one knows you better, that no one
else could possibly understand what it's like. All except her. She's always
been there for you.
There is an absence in the corner of your vision: a crawling shadow where
you expect something to be. It has your hair, your face, your eyes, your
body. No one else can see it.
It is a creature of contradiction. It is not you.
Remain firm in your sense of self. Support those in your party who falter.
This night will end, just like the others, and you will be able to continue
on.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
Obviously he can control himself, his temper. He's not this impulsive in truth. And Joker knows that.
Logically, anyone who can wait in position for the right moment to strike can. It's just- it seems, that he doesn't want to do so when he's this powerful. He just wants to lash out at anything that even annoys him.
He still has his gun out, when Joker touches his side, and he seems strangely skittish at first- like he's expecting the dagger to follow with the way he reflexively jerks.
Then he sees the look in Joker's eyes, the deft hand he uses as he yanks him towards him, and he doesn't resist the tug. He looks briefly incredulous, until they say, 'Control yourself,' And the look in their eyes changes beneath the crimson lenses, as Joker's lip curls- and they turn away.
"Don't patronize me." He whispers back, and it doesn't carry that tone as if his anger were building, him losing his temper into some other display of violence.
Without a word, he follows, now silent himself- but he'd claim it was just in the same direction.
And where they enter, is a Japanese Garden, beautiful, with a view of the moon, reflecting in the pond...
... but the sky where it sits is starless...
Ruin stops, looks at the view, then tears his eyes away, uninterested- but perhaps watches Joker for their reaction. Sensations enter his perception- soft echoing footsteps, he turns rapidly, his gun already drawn.
Nothing- nothing but whispers, echoes of a memory, impressions of a person.
A reflection of a starless sky.
There is a crawling shadow- not 'Shadow' its him. Not as the One in the Black Mask, but Goro Akechi.
Joker can't see that though.
It is not him.
Because I'm Ruin.
He's not Goro Akechi. Not when he has this mask on himself. He can only be the real him, when he has a mask on.
Otherwise I'd never be accepted by anyone.
"More stupid tricks." He says, as he places a hand to his mask, and his Persona rises out from him. Yet rather than an act of extreme violence.
A sickening pulse radiates outwards from its invisible form, towards the location of the false Goro Akechi that only he sees. What Joker feels is- difficult to quantify, merely a sensation of ill foreboding.
That's more like it.
If they want to hold up a mirror to himself, they should at least get it right.
MONAD: Ruin has acted with Psychotic Breakdown toward side::LUNA > The Moon; Pisces > MOON GAZING! Specialty! <Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Not so strange. For someone who could control himself but chooses not to--who prefers to engage the world with violence--of course he'd be nervous about a sudden touch. Especially when this last maneuver was followed up by an attack. Especially when the one doing it looks at him in hatred and revulsion.
Yet, despite all that...
Don't patronize me, he whispers.
It works.
Damn it. It works. It fully disrupts Ruin's energy, draining him of that anger and leaving him subdued and silent.
Joker hates that most of all, because this is the only fucking thing that has worked.
What was it Akechi had said back when he first pulled this on them, that one chess game? There's no way out, save one. First... you must consider the board carefully... And then, you realize... the only move left to you... is to seduce your opponent. Use it with care, Amamiya-kun.
This is awful.
They're still in a foul mood when the two of them make it to the Japanese garden. The moon on the pond might be a symbol of beauty and enlightenment, but when Joker looks up... all they can see is that there are no stars.
They have no reason to think Ruin would care, so they pay him no mind in that moment. Because of that, he might see the way their eyes soften with a certain loneliness behind the mask.
The two of them hear the footsteps at the same time, and whirl on it in the same instant, Joker's silver pistol likewise in hand. There's nothing there, though. Nothing but an impression of loneliness, that no one understands them, no one will ever understand them... except for 'her.'
Their eyes narrow. They glance to one side at Ruin, who mutters about stupid tricks, then focus back in.
There's a shadow there. It has their face. Their, Ren Amamiya's face. Their heart leaps in their throat... but it's not them. Literally, it's not them. Merely an echo of their self.
They wonder what Ruin sees.
As Ruin summons his Persona and looses waves of a distinctly discomfiting sensation, rather than any sort of direct violence, Joker aims their PMF-84W at the illusion of themself. If he can control himself here after all, they won't lose to their fear <him> either. They stand tall, their regard glacial.
"Begone," they intone, just before firing a single warning shot.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Warning Shot toward side::LUNA > The Moon; Pisces > MOON GAZING! Specialty! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== side::LUNA > The Moon; Pisces > MOON GAZING - Round 5 =================- Ren Amamiya Guts Failure Warning Shot Specialty Fatigue: 4 Morale: 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ruin Guts Failure Psychotic Breakdown Specialty Fatigue: 4 Morale: 3 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Bless-0, Hard-1, Mindnumbing-2, Reaper-0, Smooth-1, and Terrifying-2 Final Conditions: Mindnumbing-1 and Terrifying-1 -================================================= Party Result: Failure ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) (|================ Monad - The Inscrutable Region: Mizunagi ================|)
"Begone," they intone, just before firing a single warning shot.
-==== Round 6: side.NULL - World: ??? - ERROR - Challenge Level 1 ===========-
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear. and Withdraw - Complication |
| ensues. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
And then, there is this.
Perhaps it was a detail you missed. Or you didn't, couldn't move fast
enough. That's when one of the machines comes through a wall that doesn't
exist to claim you, and drag you to a space that never was. The
machine-wrought bushi are fierce and brutal in their dealings with people
who tread too far and too close to "her" domain, and once they have claimed
a monster, their fates are all the same.
The bite of a leather glove is nigh inescapable. You are carried bodily
away to the starlit forge, a white-hot blasted space deep in the core of the
ship, where statues of shinobi semicircle around a massive machine kami,
whose titanic blow strikes a forged blade at the anvil. Here is there star
silhouette weapons are made, and pure 'ideation' is the raw material used.
You are taken before a great crucible, the vastness, light and heat
bleaching everything to molten white, as the machine chants in a foreign
tongue, as it passes between two more statues. As it passes between the
others, eight hands knit together in carefully practiced somatic ritual,
blessing your passage into steel.
They have done this many times before, dealing with every interloper,
making monsters into proven blades.
But just before the machine pitches you in, something speaks on your
behalf. Maybe it's a friend, maybe it's an enemy. Maybe it's one of the tiny
origami fireflies taking a liking to the scent of you. Maybe even it's the
strength of your own actions -- you know yourself that you are not a
monster. The machines only dispose of monsters.
The titanic machine loses interest in dealing with you, turning away from
the forge and dropping you roughly to the ground. The way forward is closed
to you with every door locked, but the space breathes as if relaxing,
revealing black passages that didn't exist before. Now, there are a hundred
ways out.
The spaces between the core and the shrine are countless, black vacuous
things devoid of all light save for the glint of moonlight off some distant
jewel, or the omnipresent artificial fireflies to light the path. It's here
you may find a friend new or old, wandering helplessly in the black pool.
Eventually, you'll find your way to the torii gate that leads out of this
starlit space.
((OOC Note: You may find a person lost in the ship wandering somewhere
here. If they're not a supernaturally aware person, they will develop
amnesia shortly after being rescued.)})]
{(OOC: Send a @mail to Shiryuu if you need help deciding what random loot
you get!)}
Final Loot: 1 Item and 1 Pieces of Gear!
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
This is awful.
Having his emotions played with like he's a goddamn child. What's worse, it works.
And he lets it work.
Ruin can't see what Joker is seeing, but he imagines it's Ren Amamiya, in some form. Or if not them, then their Father.
He's not going to ask, that would imply he cares. But some part of him wants to know, it really wants to know what they see.
The world does not seem to appreciate their resistance. And suddenly, the machines are there- no, everywhere, they slides out of the walls and the floor and the ceiling even when there is none.
The machine-wrought automatons grab the both of them every which way. And when he tries to resist with a pulse of that same energy from his Persona, "Let- GO OF ME!"
They act as machines would, not Shadows, not Cognitive beings.
There are hands, so many hands, hands for seizing, hands for carrying, hands for disposing. The two are carried off, to the forge- white hot things and star silhouettes, crucibles for making them into blades.
"You fucking BASTARDS! You think you can treat us like TRASH!?"
As he gathers himself to try one last desperate attempt to break free, red energy suffusing himself...
There is a presence. A whisper. Neither of them can understand it, or recognize it.
I will not allow this.
You are wrought of human will. Which means you cannot defy my control.
The coming ruin will serve as the arbiter of their fates.
And the machines simply- drop them both, suddenly apathetic to both of their presences. "The actual FUCK-! You think you can just-?!"
They are just gone, and a door is before them. The unholy energy fades from him, as he furrows his brow looking, strangely towards the paths.
"The way out. Why though?" He muses aloud, in a way that's been unlike him this entire trip, "What intervened?"
He doesn't say anything more, just remaining silent for many long seconds, before walking onwards, down the myriad hallways, the splits- and there is suddenly a man in a suit from the New World Order in here, one of those that had come on the helicopter, walking in an erratic daze.
He doesn't even slow down his walk. There's just, total apathy in regards to their presence, in regards to silencing them- or rescuing them.
Little does Joker now, it's a calculated decision. Joker can't exactly change his heart in this state. Nor can they hold them in the outside world long enough for the effect of the supernatural to wear off from them without risking their identity being revealed.
It literally does not matter- there's no point trying to hold them to interrogate them for Joker, and there's even less of a point in rescuing them for Ruin.
"Come on. Leave them."
But he doesn't seem so apathetic towards Joker, given that he bothered to address him at all.
Eventually they'll hit that Torii gate- and it's the Alaya Shrine they find themselves at, still masked and garbed, with nobody about, only a pervasive silence. "What a goddamn mess of an evening." As he then looks sideways at Joker, as if waiting for them to say something.
They both can feel it, like this effect will only perhaps, last so long, but not so long that they must leave immediately or risk everything.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Machines cascade in and seize both Joker and Ruin with a speed and efficiency that takes them by surprise. In that moment in which they're caught off guard, Joker is seized and carried off along with Ruin. They too struggle, though they don't make demands, only grunt with effort. Is a machine really going to do as it's told by someone it's obviously here to capture?
There's just too many of them, though. If Ruin can't fight them off on his own, Joker certainly can't. Before long, the forge comes into view, and fear rises like bile in Joker's throat as they understand implicitly what's about to happen. Akechi had asked them a while back why they like the stars so much, and they hadn't been able to give him a proper answer at the time. Since then they've thought about it, and the answer will be very ironic if they end up forged with stardust.
They're not letting that happen. They're not abandoning their friends and allies. They're not leaving behind the one they love. They redouble their efforts to struggle, hellbent on escape.
But then--
Joker turns a sharp look Ruin's way.
Us, he had said.
Did... it really work that well?
In the moment in which they're stunned by this, a presence whispers something they can't make out. However, they can tell that the machines respond to it. All of a sudden, both of them are released, and the machines simply... go about their business as if nothing had ever happened. Joker lands on their feet, catlike, as Ruin snarls at the machines--but then they're gone. The way before them is barred; countless doors open to the way back.
Joker looks again at Ruin as that roiling crimson energy fades from his body. As that violent energy recedes, Ruin takes on an odd thoughtfulness, pondering on what just saved the two of them. He falls silent, and Joker remains silent--but they watch him the entire while.
When Ruin finally moves to leave, Joker walks with him.
Eventually, the two of them come across one of the NWO's stooges. Joker doesn't know that the erratic, dazed way in which he walks is an act. They only see an unpowered man who may be part of an evil conspiracy, but who is wandering helpless and confused in a dangerous cognitive space.
Ruin tells them to leave him. Joker glances at him. He'd probably approve of them more if they did that, and maybe this man might well be getting what he deserves, but...
"I can't," Joker replies quietly, and takes the man's arm around their shoulders. "I'm not going to abandon someone helpless in a place like this."
They at least understand they can't take him all the way out--not without risking their true identity. They're not willing to go that far. But once they're all within sight of the exit, they set him down at the base of the torii and leave him be. If the man's wise enough to put on an act, hopefully he'll be wise enough to stay put for now--and leave once the two Persona Users have had enough of a head start.
On the other side is the Alaya Shrine. Joker breathes in the cold night air and releases it in clouds of white vapor. Ruin sums up the evening's events, and Joker chuffs in something that's not quite a laugh and not quite not a laugh.
They look sideways back at him.
The atmosphere is different now.
It really did work that well.
Joker hates that--but they aren't in a position to be choosy. If this is the only real means they have of even somewhat neutralizing the immense threat that is Ruin... so be it.
No one else has to know.
They reach out, fingertips brushing the side of Ruin's neck. There is no attack. Their expression is kept carefully neutral as they keep their gaze locked on his. They simply, softly caress him for a short moment, before trailing their touch down his chest and away.
"You didn't hate it that much, Ruin," they murmur.
Ruin might then abruptly remember how Ren had talked about understanding the fantasy of changing a diabolical man through sheer force of charm.
Then they turn and loose their grappling wire into the branch of a nearby tall tree. They vault upwards and leap away into the night.
<Pose Tracker> Ruin has posed.
One might think Ruin would respond badly to Joker defying him in this moment, but instead, he just keeps walking, "Suit yourself."
Once outside, though, he's waiting for Joker to act, placing his fingertips to the side of his neck. Even completely sealed in his armor, he can certainly feel the soft touch.
Joker will see him again look surprised, then he takes a breath.
Closes his eyes.
Then, as he turns and makes ready to leap away...
"Neither did you." He replies and Joker might think that they have him fooled, until, "...Even given how much you despise me." Ruin says, because even with those actions, he remembers that while Joker has that fantasy...
... the first time he did that, it was to try and put a dagger through his mask.
If Joker tries to look and see him again after he says that, there's nobody there.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Suit yourself, is all Ruin says.
"..."
Joker almost can't trust it. He's so much more demure now. Is this really all it takes? Is he trying to mess with them--lure them into a false sense of security?
But no. When they touch him again later, he still looks surprised, but he also... shuts his eyes.
It doesn't make sense for someone who acts the way he does. Except it does, because wasn't Joker's first and still prevalent impression that he's an attention-starved drama king? If he's starved for attention, wouldn't it follow that he's also starved for a kind touch?
Wouldn't it follow that if violence is normally the only touch he can get, he'll take it?
More and more, Joker hates that it's luring them back in, too, because they can't forget the wet thud of that ninja's body either, let alone the bullet he'd aimed at Umie's heart. Let alone how he'd come for Futaba's Shadow.
Let alone literally everything else.
Neither did you, he says, and Joker doesn't acknowledge this outwardly--
--even given how much you despise me.
"....."
They don't look back. Not until they've vaulted over the roof of the Alaya Shrine and gotten a safer distance away. By then, it only makes sense that Ruin would already be gone, too.
So he's self-aware enough to comprehend that Joker hates him, but he still accepted their caress...?
It's a paradox. A mystery--much like Akechi.
And didn't they start out hating Akechi too...?
They stare up at the now starry skies for a while, long after the supernatural space fades and their cognitive costume vanishes.
Then, as Ren Amamiya, they make their way back to Narumi Ward to rendezvous with Morgana, who must be going out of his mind with worry by now.