tabularasa_rp | [open] because i can only be me

(As if Akechi was the only one with an enormous smirk on his face. Ren's one is a little less psychopathic in nature, but a confident, smug smile of someone who would not take a loss as an possible outcome. Like that wasn't an option in the book.

Ren hasn't fought since he's been in this universe and it felt revitalizing, like it awakened something in him that has been buried under all the uncertainty. Or perhaps it was just because he was fighting Akechi. Not only was it entertaining, but there was a lot of tension that was just bubbling under the surface. Argument after argument - basically how they have been here. It certainly helped.

An spectator may have noticed Ren's taunting glares, passionate and skillful wielding and clever, quick dodges, perhaps a little over the top with the gymnastics training he had received. For now, however, it's over and Ren is trying to get the mop on his head dry. It's probably curlier now.

Also, no glasses! Ren is scanning the place with his eyes. He remembers to put it somewhere on the grass, but out of their improvised field so that neither step on it. Instead of them, he finds a Leo waving, to which he waves back... He needs the glasses.)

Hey, Leo... What do you mean?

(How could they even show beauty? Does Leo want to see Akechi's makeup bag...?)

Perhaps he simply means that with his presence, "beauty" has now arrived?

[Considering there's Akechi, the brains, Ren, the brawn, and now Leo... no, he knows that's not what Leo means, but in the aftermath of combat, the slightly-flirty comment rises to his lips more easily.

He snorts and shakes his head.]

Only joking, of course. While you have your hobbies, I suppose you could say that we have ours.

[ bahahahaha, what the heck. both ren and akechi are throwing him for loops here, with all these new, new sides they're displaying. not that they're bad things! they enjoyed themselves so thoroughly while trying to sTAB EACH OTHER and that's great!

ah, youth. ]

Wahaha! Don't just take it back that quickly! My heart skipped a beat, you know?

[ now he knows how ren felt when leo said he loved him the first time

except not really, he's just mckidding. speaking of ren, however, leo... hesitates on him for a moment, squinting. is there something different? ah, there is. excuse him as he also gets to looking around the area with no explanation, as the pieces settle into place and he realizes fluffy glasses coffee boy is simply fluffy coffee boy.

( surprisingly agile without glasses boy, too-- )

though that's not reason enough to stop speaking, and leo continues even as he carefully shuffles through the grass, scanning it: ]

Anyway, you guys are pretty good at that. [ there? maybe. shuffle on over to that spot on the grass and-- ] A little intense for just a hobby spar, I think, but that's not terrible!

[ he crouches down. when he stands back up, he sure has ren's glasses in his hands.

... and then he puts them on. ]

(He doesn't quite know what to comment, so he doesn't...? Almost uncapable of comprehending Akechi's flirting. 'Does Akechi think Leo thinks he's prettier than the both of them?' or something on those lines... Until Leo actually picked it up.

He frowns, which could easily be taken as a reaction to Leo's squinting and staring at him... And then Leo just leaves.

What gave them away on the intensity, was the fact Akechi was calling him Joker and giving his maniac laughs, or that Ren almost forgot that it was just sparring and was not concerned about being careful when landing hits?

Either way, Leo arrives back and he puts the spectacles on - pretty obvious the lack of corrective factors in the lenses. With a hand on his hip, Ren chuckles... And quietly hopes Leo returns it soon... Doesn't just forget and walk out with the accessory...)

Looks good.

Edited 2020-08-16 01:38 (UTC)

[Akechi laughs politely.]

My apologies.

[He doesn't sound apologetic at all, leaning against the wall of Heavenly Blanc and taking another sip of water as the other two root around in the grass. He remembers where Ren had set his glasses, but he's not going to bother pointing it out. It's Ren's responsibility to remember his own things, after all.]

Was it a little intense? [Yes.] I simply don't believe in doing things in half-measures.

Yeeep. But again, I said it wasn't bad, so don't bother explaining yourself. And don't bother apologizing when you're not actually sorry! That's a half-measure!

[ says leo simply, sounding much more amused than actually upset. it's all in good fun, after all. just like fiddling with ren's glasses is in good fun too... maybe he won't get them back...

just kidding. fortunately for the fluffy boy, leo's moving towards him to hand those back. as useless as he knows they are now, they're still... ren's... and he's not really the glasses type.

he would've kept them a little while longer if they were amusing beyond checking if they were actually useful. that's definitely a thing that would've happened, because leo is terrible. ]

Here ya go, Ren. Payback for saying something nice!

It's a good hobby. It's important to have one here.

(Ren points at Leo as to make his words his. Don't apologize when you're not sorry is very much in Ren's book of values.

The glasses are back to him and he holds them up towards the light, an eye closed and the other squinting, just to check if there wasn't any dirt from the tree or whatever. It seemed ok to wear, so they're back to his face like they never left and Ren chuckles wholeheartedly at the comment.)

Edited 2020-08-16 04:10 (UTC)

Yes... it isn't as though there's much else to do here.

[Akechi watches the glasses tradeoff, unimpressed and refusing to acknowledge the insincere apology. Instead, he just moves back over to start unwrapping the protective cloth around his blade now that their spar is apparently over with Leo's arrival.]

We seem to have come to a standstill with our investigation, after all. I don't suppose you've learned anything new of value, Tsukinaga-kun?

[ pppft. thanks for agreeing, ren. leo can't help but grin a little at that.

but with the glasses returned, leo turns his attention to akechi and akechi's question, his eyes settling on the sword.

hmm. odd-looking-- ]

I'd have told you guys already if I did.

[ he's capable of that much. ]

It's weird how things settled down into some kinda quiet, huh? Like, what the heck! I didn't think we'd have the luxury of almost being bored in a place we got spirited away to, but here we are!

I know. I surely expected to have some answer as of now.

(Alas, there is none! Ren can wait, it's not like it took him months to finally understand what was going back home either way... But at least there he wasn't completely in the dark, which is the case here.

Bothers him senseless.)

How are you spending your time?

It could be the lack of entertainment is an attempt to see how long we'll all be content to work together. A social experiment, of sorts.

[Akechi mentions it carelessly, just a casual thought he's not expecting the others to listen to or take seriously. There's no evidence one way or another after all, and it's one of the more outlandish theories. Just something to think about.

He finishes tugging the cloth off the blade and looks over it carefully, removing threads by hand that had been caught on its jagged edges and inspecting it for damage.]

I'm spending my time wondering how much time has passed! [ ha. ha. but that's not entirely false, actually-- ] And getting to know some new, interesting people, composing a piece here and there...

[ because it's not like they're productive in the finding answers kind of way, as has been discussed already... and while the new world aspect of it all is nice, there's something about the days melting together and him missing home that's like, The Worst.

moving on from that one. ]

... Still not thinking about not working together, so that twisted kind of God'll have to wait a while, I think...! Or, well, whatever brought us here? Wahaha, that'd be pretty morbid if it was true! Some weirdo watching us slowly sink into boredom and discontentment until we start to turn our nifty, jagged blades [ sorry he just has to call out akechi's ??? sword here ] on each other? Though... I guess in a way, that's what God does in the first place?

[ this went from 0 to 100 so fast but what're you gonna do. akechi sure was wrong about leo not considering this shit, because that sure is leo.

he says this all cheerily anyway. again, he's leo, and he's already gone through the whole song and dance of stabbing your comrades metaphorically already. wonderful. ]

(... Yeah, sort of. He wasn't expecting the whole God talk and the whole philosophy about what God does on a daily basis coming from Leo, specially here... Pre-Leo-Showing-He's-Smarter-Than-He-Looks. From experience, God is very much a weird Social Experiment Guy.

After the bomb he dropped, his tone doesn't even change! What a person...)

There surely should be other more thrilling things for God to do to us, no?

[There's a decided quirk of his lips toward Ren at his comment. Surely he of all people knows that gods play patient games.]

Perhaps it simply hasn't found the interesting things yet. Or it's waiting for us to pass its first test.

[He didn't miss the call-out about his sword! But it doesn't bother him. It's a statement of fact, not an insult. And like, even if it is meant as an insult, it's not wrong. He's just grateful the sword didn't come with the condition of being stuck in his Metaverse outfit. While he likes fighting in it, it's not something that's great for everyday wear. The clawed hands and feet might put people off.

But he returns his attention to Leo to speak.]

You do make a good point about the passage of time, though. Without a way to measure it, or even our normal circadian rhythms to rely on... who's to say how long we've actually been here?

[ the comment on akechi's sword certainly wasn't an insult... just a curious observation, hidden underneath the unintelligible words that frequently come out of leo's mouth.

just like the rest of this is. he offers ren a curious smile. ]

Kids take after their parents sometimes, right? There's people out there who find slowly playing with their toys fun, so... What makes ya think that's something beyond God? Then again, who the heck are we to say what's thrilling or not in this case? Humans are great, but to 'em, we're probably "just humans"! Even if it feels a little less like it without sleep and eating and stuff.

[ weird, weird, that he's starting to kind of miss those things that were minor inconveniences before.

hm. a glance at akechi, and then: ]

... Actually... Since you mentioned it like that, maybe they're not so messed up. Not knowing how long you've been here seems almost like mercy, you know? Oooor would you consider that kinda thing a curse?

[ the most outlandish theory and here leo is, considering it with some mild amusement. ]

A curse.

(Seen that, you know. There are things happening at home, that he has no idea how they are, doesn't know how his friends are...

The lack of hunger, which would soon be fixed to everyone's surprise and dismay, along with the lack of sleep is also a huge problem for Ren. Sleep is fundamental to rest a thinking brain, so. His mind hasn't stopped racing since he got here.)

Undoubtedly a curse, [Akechi agrees. He'd guess he and Ren are thinking about similar things, even if Ren doesn't fully know the importance of the passage of time right now.

He rotates his wrist, flicks his sword as if testing that it still slices through the air without bits of cloth trailing behind it.]

Not to mention places and items from home are reappearing as if in an attempt to mollify us. In a famous experiment, rats in a cage given an enriching environment were shown to live happier, healthier lives than their companions locked in solitary confinement with nothing to occupy themselves. So it could be that to whomever saw fit to bring us here, we are their experimental group in an enriched environment.

If it can bring in a person, why not a sword? Why not a gun?

[He flourishes the sword again as if that helps make his point.]

Edited 2020-08-29 18:56 (UTC)

... I don't like being compared to a rat, so I wandered a little halfway into that heavy metaphor! All I really got was that you guys sure are lined up as always.

[ just stab him now

despite that, though, he maybe got the basic outline of akechi's words? the reality of it may be a bit... eh, but there's no denying that they're akin to something like rats in a cage... that he can agree with. it's just how it is.

not knowing the passage of time being a curse? maybe not so much. his gaze focuses on the swinging of akechi's sword, expression thoughtful, curious, and just a hint of frustrated now. ]

If that's how it is, then... [ looking up at the. the sky? upwards, whatever it is: ] How come I didn't get anything? C'mon, God, I'm not feeling like an enriched test subject right now! I thought I was your favorite! Or, um... You're a different one then the one I'm used to, so I can't say that, can I?

[ just kidding he's fully capable of enrichment on his own but like

thinking about it in grim terms like that just makes him want to make fun of it, so. ]

(And that's not going to help Leo one bit, Akechi. His frown can easily indicate the concern he is feeling towards Leo - he knows it's tough being here, specially when this is one's first encounter with something less than ordinary.

Unfortunately, he has to agree with Akechi, so he gives a confirmation in a hum.)

I don't think being God's favorite is a good thing, anyways.

(Considering that, well. He is.)

[open] because i can only be me

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all manga icons yesssssssss

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