tabularasa_rp | (open) can't hold on or life won't change

(Nothing is the same, too many people know too much and he can't help but to feel uncomfortable. While nobody has the full picture of who he is, what he does and all the dynamics of his life back home, the Void's newfound knowledge makes it much harder to hide behind the mask. There's nothing he can do about it and to say he's still not fuming over the quantity of people who witnessed the abuse he had suffered would be a lie - just him was enough.

He's not behind the bar as of now, instead you will find Ren in a table outside, spinning a pen around his fingers as he reads the memories he had written throughout the year in his probation notebook, as to make sure everything is in place and there is nothing aside from trivial missing. There's a bottle of coffee on the table and he sips on a cup before scribbling a note or two.

Feel free to poke him.)

(After Ann appeared, Ren's recon missions became more frequent and thorough. Newcomers are a thing of concern, they could simply materialize anywhere at anytime as it seemed, and then again, not have the greatest luck as her to just pop in front of LeBlanc. Messiah is not one of the places he tends to go prior to his decision, simply because while he can, the fact that he knows no other way than to swim in open ocean makes it harder to reach.

Maybe this time, you catch him emerging, shaking his head to relief the hair from excess water and tapping on it to remove some from his ears. Maybe, you find in at the Galleria del Funghi, laughing like a ten year old at Michelangelo's David new design, or maybe you find him gently cutting a rose or two from the bushes with a dagger.)

Edited 2020-10-04 18:49 (UTC)

(Of course he didn't have to swim, he realizes much belatedly. It's on his way back that he finds the train routes, all eerily familiar and if it is indeed Shibuya's, it still feels like a maze to him. His feet resist the pull from the water as he trailed back, eventually getting lost and finding himself in the building.

Ah. It certainly is it. He admires the large windows, forearms resting on the railway as he checks the view below. One of the first hideouts of the Phantom Thieves, Ren allows himself to get lost in nostalgia, a large smile tugging at his lips. He's in such trance that perhaps he barely notices, or cares, that someone is approaching from behind.)

(Breaktime.

Ren strips the apron, leaving it at the designated spot before he picks the cup of coffee he'd just instructed Akechi on making. Time of truth, Ren gestures with his head to one of the booths, sitting with a hand supporting his jaw and elbow on the table. The smile on his lip is fond, eyes never leaving Akechi and just when finally he was about to take the cup to his lips and...

Is that Blue?)

Oh! I didn't know you were here already!

[Blue grins brightly as he pushes through the door, giving an energetic wave to Ren and.... oh, Akechi is here, too!?]

[Perfect.]

Hehehe, it's kinda rare to see you both here... [Those eyes... he's looking between them very meaningfully.] Am I interrupting something~?

[With everything Akechi's been through in his life, one wouldn't think that something as simple as making a cup of coffee would make him nervous. And he certainly doesn't look nervous, even as he pulls off his own apron and folds it neatly to set aside. But he is unduly concerned about whether or not Ren will like his first attempt at brewing something that isn't just mixing some instant coffee into boiling water.

He's just sat down with his own cup of coffee when Blue enters, and his lips curve down into a frown. Yes, actually, he is interrupting.]

If we said "yes," would it make a difference?

[Congrats, Blue. You've leveled up closer into getting the real Akechi.]

(Ah. He knows those eyes, Blue. He knows what you're planning, so he narrows his own at the comment.

But then Akechi speaks, and he isn't expecting the bluntness when it's not towards him. What the hell went down between these two, he doesn't know, but he sort of wants to laugh before he shakes his head, taking a sip of the coffee. It's good, perhaps just a tad watery, but nevertheless, it's good and he smiles to let the other know.

Look. Ren doesn't like talking much and it's kind of a habit now to just have Akechi be the talkative one between the two with a third party.)

Edited 2020-10-05 00:37 (UTC)

Well, not really, since I work here,

[Blue shrugs the pointedness off casually; Ren can wonder all he likes, glancing between the two of them. Blue clearly doesn't take it personally, if his utterly undampened grin is anything to judge by.]

[Blue slips himself behind the counter to do his daily(?) bottle-count, like he always does when he comes into the bar after a break, and continues his own conversation like there wasn't already one in place before he entered.]

Gonna start helping out around here, huh, Akechi-kun?

[His tone is still polite at least! Just his word choices, less so.

His back stiffens as he leans back in the booth, gaze flicking to Ren for a moment with an unreadable expression. For a moment, it looks like he's almost about to ask permission to work there from Ren, which is stupid. So he looks to Blue instead.

Unlike the last time Blue saw him, there's a fresh stiffness to Akechi's left shoulder, though the bandages and gauze are hidden beneath his clothes. It would be hard to tell he's injured at all without a closer look.]

"Help," might be a strong word for my current skill level, but with your permission, I'll do what I can.

[He's not Ren "have five part-time jobs just because like, why not" Amamiya. He's not blessed with that kind of skillset.]

( ? Ren blinks a few times, unable to grasp what the eyes want to tell him. He's happy to take another sip, a finger curling the tips of his hair while he watches the interactions unfold.)

You'll do fine. (He's a perfectionist, after all.)

[Idiot. That's what Blue determined, looking between the two when Ren just blinks at Akechi's meaningful look, but he turns back to his bottles, determined to mind his business........... for this exact moment, anyway.]

Heheh, well, I can't let you help out with the booze-- Tifa-chan'd kick my ass! But feel free to help out with the kitchen and café upkeep.

If Ren-chan doesn't get all territorial about it.... [Blue shoots a teasing look over his shoulder. He's only shitstirring a little.]

Considering this was his idea, I doubt it.

[Akechi takes a sip from his coffee cup and frowns. It's not as good as Ren's, not even close. Which step did he go wrong? Did he pour the boiling water too fast? Maybe the blend isn't quite right? Ren's right about one thing, he's nothing short of a perfectionist.]

Now, Blue-san, I have to admit, I am curious. What, exactly, is the legal drinking age where you're from? In Japan it's twenty years old, of course, but in many other countries across the world, it's eighteen, or even as young as sixteen.

[He rests his chin in his right hand, elbow on the table, the corner of his lip quirking into a smirk.]

Why should anyone be bound to the laws of a place that they aren't in? While one could also make the argument for extraterritoriality, where one is only bound by the laws of their home nation, and not the one in which they're currently residing, such laws are generally only used when one has already broken the law of a host nation. And I think one could safely say that there aren't much in the way of "laws" here, when it comes to the nation. Even those we would normally consider to be scientific laws seem more than malleable here.

[What is he getting at... he doesn't even like drinking. He's just being a shit.]

Edited 2020-10-05 06:10 (UTC)

Huh?

(Ren hasn't stopped to think about it. Would he get territorial over the coffee? Perhaps a little, if it were someone other than Akechi or Ann, who have spent time in the real LeBlanc. The place itself means too much to Ren, it being the home of the man who took him in, the safe space of one of his favorite people, and even his literal home. The least he can do is to keep Sojiro's legacy going with excellence and try to meet his standards.

The eyes flick to the attic for a second, before returning to the two men when Akechi speaks. He smiles, because of course it was. Akechi is injured and it's not only a great distraction for him, a way too keep him out of trouble, but also Ren gets to keep an eye on him while he recovers, making sure he stays put at least for a while. Win-win!

... But then Akechi starts speaking again, and Ren's head tilts, a hand trying to hide the smile and hopefully he can contain the laugh. How was it that he once put it? He can't stop himself from starting an argument, or something of the sort? What's funny is... Blue is chill about the whole drinking thing, when it's not here, seen that Ren has drunk with him before. Wrong person to bring this to, maybe?)

She would.

(He agrees, nodding to Blue's words.)

Enough out of you. (He says to Akechi, tone much more playful than stern.) You know you have a point.

(Mix of expectations and cultures make it much harder to check on what is acceptable and what isn't.)

The question you should be asking is about ethics and morality. (Who is he to talk when he has gotten drunk a few times already? Maybe he just likes arguing against Akechi, who knows.)

Edited 2020-10-05 10:02 (UTC)

Ummmm......

[Akechi’s long-winded morality argument is met with the same exhausted disdain as the juicier parts of his memories. Bound by? Extraterritorial???]

Look, man, drink if you want. I just don’t want Tifa-Chan beating me up about it, [Blue shrugs tiredly, turning the bottles label-forward properly as he checks them.] Kanto is 20. Hmmm, my first drink, though... That was when I started studying abroad, in Kalos. Their age is lower than ours, but it’s not exactly like anyone waited... I think it was 18.

Ren-chan, fix your face. [He grins toothily, shaking a mostly-empty bottle of rum at him.]

[Poke.

No, that was literal. Someone just lightly jabbed him in the ribs. That someone was pretty good at being sneaky when they wanted to be. She was attended by a furry thing with a paint brush that was black for a tail. It looked like it was just lazily lying around, waiting for her to tell it to paint something new. Flopping down in the other seat across from him, she put her chin on her hands.]

You've been melancholy lately.

(He may not have noticed her approaching, but as soon as she was close enough, he could see from the corners of his eye the finger coming into his ribs. He simply leans towards the opposite side, making so the finger never hits it, or if it does, not with the same momentum as she expected.

Ren gracefully puts the pen down, cracking his stiff fingers from the repeated, looping motion.)

Have not. (Ren sends a smile towards the creature, gently petting its head.) How are you?

Sometimes I wonder if you enjoy getting into 'have not, have to' arguments with me a little. [She snickered as she watched him pet the creature on its head.]

I'm... ok? Yeah, ok. Kind of ... trying to figure out how I feel about people disappearing these days a little. Coping for now. But not sure exactly. I'm a selfish girl. We know that.

What're you up to?

(The people missing... He surely has been looking for them in recon. At her words, he laughs a bit. She's not wrong, bickering with her was pretty fun.)

Trying to compress the whole memory thing into a few pages. (He taps the notebook, he's been trying to save space.)

Have you tried journaling?

Edited 2020-10-05 17:35 (UTC)

[At first Zack Fair thought he was maybe walking into some sort of version of the Midgar train stations. All muddled up and confusing and if you take one wrong turn or take the wrong train you're in some other random section of the city entirely... Full of nonsensical advertisements and junk. But this place? It's like walking through some sort of abstract painting. But the train station is interesting to explore even with all the water up to his ankles.

Eventually, he wanders enough that he spots some kid making eyes out a window and he can't help but call out.]

Yo! Kind of a cool place to hang out, isn't it? Except it feels like if you make one wrong turn you might get lost.

[Noct isn't really an art fan, but he had gone to check out the new additions to the place. He's standing in front of the statue, head tilted as he stares up at it, confused, trying to figure out if it's supposed to look like that when he hears Ren's laugh.]

[He looks over - and then grins a little, too.]

Okay, I thought it might just be me.

[New areas seem to be cropping up just as often as those pesky mushrooms are, and the only thing weirder than those is a museum full of them, with supposed paintings made up of them that she considers taking down and removing a handful to take back to the food stands with her... but all of that is pushed aside when she hears laughter coming from further into the gallery.

She spots the back of Ren's head, and slides up next to him to see what all the fuss is about.]

What's so— [But the moment she looks up, she finds her answer, face flushing beet red at the giant stalk she sees protruding from...] Oh. That’s, uh... new.

[And kind of embarrassing!]

Who did this...?

Actually no. I'm really not sure how to compress one memory in the slightest. well, actually I know exactly how to compress it. I just don't have the software to do it, and my hardware isn't compat...

...

Pretend I did not just say that. [She frowned and squinted.] Trying to compress ones and zeros in my head that I can understand is a headache. I try not to think about that one too much.

(Mhm?

It's not a familiar voice that comes from behind him and that's the main reason why he straightens his back and turns around to meet the newcomer. The smile he has on is a tiny one, it doesn't cease from the interruption at all.

Instead, he jerks his head towards it, as if inviting the other to join and check the view himself.)

Not so different from the real thing in that aspect. (Tokyo is complicated!)

(Ren didn't mean to ruin your trance, Noct, but God, that's hilarious. For once, he can't hold the laughter, his deep voice echoing in the gallery in chuckles and he has to turn around for a second, catch his breath, turn around and--

Nope. Still laughing.)

The original is definitely not like that. (He manages to get out after he sucks in a breath and shakes his head, finally back to composure.)

Edited 2020-10-06 18:34 (UTC)

(open) can't hold on or life won't change

📝 @ heavenly blanc

💧 @ messiah

🚆 @ train station. cw: i am putting them bears here at some point, so possible injury

closed top levels go here!

blue&ren&akechi

disaster the second

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