[ Makoto looks between the two of them. And perhaps Magilou seems lighthearted and cheerful enough, but she would like to think she knows Akira well enough by now to additionally know that nothing is ever as it seems.
She's going to need help understanding, but before that, as one of his teammates... ]
[. . . dang. this girl gets straight to the point, doesn't she? Magilou stands up a little straighter, gaze flickering towards Makoto, and folds her arms]
[she's a little impressed by that, if only because she knows what happened, and she knows support is the number one thing Akira needs right now]
Just... keep being yourself. Keep supporting the way you always have, Makoto.
[honestly, that's all he can ask for. in that regard, anyway—because he knows a lot of what he tells her today really could sway her from wanting to offer that support.
...]
And... hear out our story. [he's not surprised that makoto doesn't mince words; he's used to it, and he expects it.]
[he's fine with noting that casually; they really are polar opposites in all ways, and akira's a good balance between them.
he'll make a move to sit as well; casually, next to magilou seems best, since... well, between needing a bit of magilou's support and knowing he needs to face makoto directly, it seems like the best position for it.]
Now I guess is finding a good starting point.
[it's a long story, after all.
...he wonders if he should have just gathered all the phantom thieves and told them all at once, but it seems so daunting.]
The beginning. That's always the best place to start.
[well!! with that said, Magilou leans back in her seat, hands linked behind her head]
Hmmm. . . so! It all started on a deserted island, on which forty-two people awoke. As much as we all wanted it to be a vacation, that unfortunately wasn't the case.
All forty-two people were instead instructed to kill each other for the right to return home.
[magilou sure does get right to the point. and in this case... it might be for the better. the less they beat around the bush with makoto, the easier it'll be on them all.
especially when they're going to tell her a story that sounds completely absurd.]
...I know that sounds ridiculous and impossible. [he'll let magilou tell the basics, because she's eternally better at exposition.]
[ ... Well, yes. It definitely sounds ridiculous and impossible, but a year ago, so had the possibility of changing a person's heart by stealing their desires. And manifesting a Persona, and an outfit that still embarrassed her.
So Makoto can't really judge, not when she's seen the French-speaking furball. Instead, she frowns, resting her elbows on the table and lacing her fingers together. ]
So to win the chance to come home, they announced there had to be a victor, and the winning condition was to be the last one standing?
Mmm. They actually kept that part purposefully vague in the beginning. I don't think anyone really knew what the win condition was until. . . ooooh. Our fourth week?
[she says that so casually, but honestly, that lack of knowledge had sure irritated her during her stay on the island. it all seems so far away now, even though the dream only occurred a few short weeks ago]
It didn't end up being last man standing in the end, but...
[he draws in a quiet breath; there's never any easy way to talk about this. magilou manages far better than he does because she's better at detaching herself from situations, but akira?
akira struggles, for sure.]
The win conditions still sacrificed a lot of lives.
[he explains quietly; he glosses over the fact that everyone was safe and sound in the end, because.. being "safe and sound" didn't mean people were okay.
and maybe most had been okay, but for akira, that had never been the case.]
But it was like no time passed at all here, in our world. Like... a dream.
[she'd make a joke here-- something about Makoto not having to worry, because Magilou had taken good care of him while they were stuck on that island-- but perhaps the levity is badly timed]
[she's getting better at holding her tongue and not being humorous when the situation doesn't call for it]
Well. . . honestly, if he and I hadn't been able to meet again like this, we both probably would have gone on assuming that it had been nothing more than a dream.
[to that, akira nods his head in agreement with magilou.]
If Magilou hadn't shown up, I probably would have let myself believe it.
[which is probably saying a lot. akira isn't one to run from his problems; he always faces things in his own fierce way. but this...
he would have convinced himself it had been a dream if not for her; he'd already been well on his way to that when she first showed up in leblanc a bit back.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Anyway, of course it is. I'm a very pleasant person!
[PLEASE MAKE A BETTER FIRST IMPRESSION ON AKIRA'S FRIENDS, MAGILOU]
no subject
but hey, he likes her well enough. but of course... he kind of just has to offer a bit of a pleading look to makoto.]
I'm sure you've got a lot of questions. [or conclusions she's already drawing; this is makoto, after all.]
no subject
[ VERY NEUTRALLY. ]
Which I'm certain you'll both be able to answer before I ask them, if my first question is "What exactly happened here"?
no subject
I couldn't just let him get away with it!
[that is probably not what Makoto meant, but okay]
no subject
[since magilou is pretty useless.
in any case:]
There are a lot of things that happened, so. [...] I guess ask what you really want to know first.
no subject
She's going to need help understanding, but before that, as one of his teammates... ]
What can I do to support you now?
no subject
[she's a little impressed by that, if only because she knows what happened, and she knows support is the number one thing Akira needs right now]
[for now, she says nothing]
no subject
[honestly, that's all he can ask for. in that regard, anyway—because he knows a lot of what he tells her today really could sway her from wanting to offer that support.
...]
And... hear out our story. [he's not surprised that makoto doesn't mince words; he's used to it, and he expects it.]
no subject
[ But she nods, glancing between the two of them before she settles down in one of the booths. ]
But I'm ready to listen when you're ready to start.
no subject
You really are a no-nonsense kind of person, hm. . .
no subject
[he's fine with noting that casually; they really are polar opposites in all ways, and akira's a good balance between them.
he'll make a move to sit as well; casually, next to magilou seems best, since... well, between needing a bit of magilou's support and knowing he needs to face makoto directly, it seems like the best position for it.]
Now I guess is finding a good starting point.
[it's a long story, after all.
...he wonders if he should have just gathered all the phantom thieves and told them all at once, but it seems so daunting.]
no subject
[ which is to say that she didn't expect this, but she's learned how to adjust to changes very quickly at this point. ]
no subject
[well!! with that said, Magilou leans back in her seat, hands linked behind her head]
Hmmm. . . so! It all started on a deserted island, on which forty-two people awoke. As much as we all wanted it to be a vacation, that unfortunately wasn't the case.
All forty-two people were instead instructed to kill each other for the right to return home.
no subject
especially when they're going to tell her a story that sounds completely absurd.]
...I know that sounds ridiculous and impossible. [he'll let magilou tell the basics, because she's eternally better at exposition.]
But what Magilou is saying... just hear her out.
no subject
So Makoto can't really judge, not when she's seen the French-speaking furball. Instead, she frowns, resting her elbows on the table and lacing her fingers together. ]
So to win the chance to come home, they announced there had to be a victor, and the winning condition was to be the last one standing?
no subject
[she says that so casually, but honestly, that lack of knowledge had sure irritated her during her stay on the island. it all seems so far away now, even though the dream only occurred a few short weeks ago]
no subject
[he draws in a quiet breath; there's never any easy way to talk about this. magilou manages far better than he does because she's better at detaching herself from situations, but akira?
akira struggles, for sure.]
The win conditions still sacrificed a lot of lives.
no subject
[ ... well, time is a baffling thing as is. Maybe it's got something to do with cognition. ]
Then, your lives--
no subject
[which doesn't make it any better, but. you know]
The game started and ended with forty-two people alive. It was a rough journey, but a victory was achieved nevertheless.
no subject
[he explains quietly; he glosses over the fact that everyone was safe and sound in the end, because.. being "safe and sound" didn't mean people were okay.
and maybe most had been okay, but for akira, that had never been the case.]
But it was like no time passed at all here, in our world. Like... a dream.
no subject
[ Ah. ] That would explain why we didn't notice your absence.
[ She sounds like she's taking it rather well. Her mind is probably screaming a little, though. ]
no subject
[she's getting better at holding her tongue and not being humorous when the situation doesn't call for it]
Well. . . honestly, if he and I hadn't been able to meet again like this, we both probably would have gone on assuming that it had been nothing more than a dream.
no subject
If Magilou hadn't shown up, I probably would have let myself believe it.
[which is probably saying a lot. akira isn't one to run from his problems; he always faces things in his own fierce way. but this...
he would have convinced himself it had been a dream if not for her; he'd already been well on his way to that when she first showed up in leblanc a bit back.]