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[lakebrat]

Hello. You've reached Goro Akechi, known as Frog. Please leave a message.

[Beep.]

[[ooc: WARNING that threads with willowandoak may contain unmarked NSFW. Tread lightly. Blame Sunflowren.]]

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[lakebrat]

"No, you're good. He really was a piece of shit at times," he murmurs, running his hand into Ren's hair. "I thought there was a spark of something, back when he talked about his own time under Igor. Actually, not under Igor at all, but someone named Philemon. Igor's boss."

The patter of detail may be calming, or it may not. Goro tries to hold Ren's attention, as he speaks.

[willowandoak]

The last part does focus him a little. "Igor has a boss?" he mumbles. "What the fuck?"

[lakebrat]

"So he said." Goro leans in further, weaving a charm with his voice. "He said Igor operated the Velvet Room on behalf of this Philemon. That he was the source of Personas."

[willowandoak]

"Huh...?" Ren says, intelligently. His head still spins a bit with the aftermath of his rage, but he can actually think now, more or less.

That said, he's always been susceptible to Goro's voice, and words, and face, ever since they met. And it's only gotten worse with time. "They have a source? Which isn't us?"

[lakebrat]

"That's exactly what I said." He traces a hand through Ren's hair, leaning in to kiss him lightly on the nose. "In fact, it's exactly what the twins told me. Persona potential is inherent to everyone. It's just that only a few can access it. We could examine that further, of course."

Goro's mouth twists a little. "This Philemon, anyway, was Nyarlathotep's opposite number. They made a bet to determine humanity's true nature."

[willowandoak]

Ren's eyes sharpen with annoyance. "A fucking bet? This is a game?"

But, though he's pissed off about it, it's not the billowing fury of a moment ago. If anything, it's brought him back into the room.

[lakebrat]

"It's worse than that. Didn't I tell..." He sighs, looking down. "When I first got here, Crow told me about Yaldabaoth, right? He said he was playing a game of sorts, where he pitted a trickster"—he touches his chest—"against an agent of chaos." He indicates Ren, with a quiet gesture.

It hangs there. Even their experiences in this Velvet Room have had a lot of the flavour of a game.

[willowandoak]

Ren doesn't look as stricken as Goro might expect. "Yeah, I knew about that one already. Hadn't heard the agent of chaos part before, though." He reflects on that for a moment, brooding, before he brightens again for a moment. "That's me. An agent of chaos. But we're not against each other anymore, so he can get fucked.

"It's more. Igor himself. Not this asshole, the one back home. I thought he was an idiot, but... I don't know. I don't know why I'm even surprised."

[lakebrat]

"Aren't we?" With a grin, Goro slides behind Ren's back, pressing against him and pulling him close. But then he frowns.

"I haven't even met Igor back home, I suppose, not the real one. I can't speak to his motives, though there's no reason to think him benign. Crow did say that Yaldabaoth had to wrest control of the Velvet Room from Igor to begin the game, though—which would suggest he wasn't involved. But who knows."

He kisses Ren's neck. Overthinking always makes him feel better.

[willowandoak]

...But now that Goro seems less breakable, Ren has to bring up the next issue and ruin it again. He drops his head back onto Goro's shoulder and stares up at the attic's ceiling beams, and tries to figure out how to broach the topic.

[lakebrat]

Goro looks down at him, reading the room and the droop of his head. "Hm?"

[willowandoak]

Yeah, there's not really a good way to say this.

"Crow messaged me apologizing for Suou. He knows him, apparently. He'll be less of a dick in ten years, not that that helps us now. ...He wants Suou on the Amada team."

[lakebrat]

Yeah, that... that's not....

He presses his cheek against Ren's mop of hair, making a reluctant sound through gritted teeth. "Crow's judgement is good. Is Suou that strong?"

[willowandoak]

"He fought Nyarlathotep. So he must be."

He reaches up behind him to wind his fingers through Goro's hair. "I couldn't just... say no because I think he sucks. Amada is too strong." And he sounds as happy about that as Goro might expect. "But I don't know if it's a good idea. If Crow manages to talk him into being less of an asshole, I'm still gonna have to ask everyone if they could fight on the same team as him without it distracting them."

He turns his head a little, listening for Goro's answer to that question.

[lakebrat]

Again, he makes that discomfited sound, flexing his spine against Ren's back. "That doesn't necessarily make him stronger than any of the rest of us. You and I are as strong as Crow at this point. All of us who went through the Palace are. And we have the benefit of not being goddamned cops."

He almost spits that last. "But ... Ren, you know ultimately it's your call, right? You're the leader on this one."

[willowandoak]

"Yeah. And my call is we all need clear heads, so I..."

He makes a frustrated noise and turns for a moment to press his face against Goro's neck. "I can't turn away people just because I hate them." As much as he would like to. "But I can't just put him on the team if he's going to throw everyone off, either. I'll get everyone killed."

[lakebrat]

He brings an arm up to massage the crook of Ren's neck beneath his collar, with two fingers. "Why not give him a place on the training runs? Assess how he gets on in the team. Like when we brought you in." It's a weak joke, despite everything.

"Mind you, the stakes were a lot lower then. Niijima's Palace was nothing compared to the power Amada appears to have. And if we all die here ... at least we'll come back."

Goro has neglected to say how he feels about Suou joining the team.

[willowandoak]

"That's step four. Right now," he says meaningfully, "I'm on step two, which is ask the team their opinion."

[lakebrat]

"I'm the Trickster," he says, agonisingly lightly. "That means I don't get an opinion. You're right that we need everyone strong we can get. But, also... I don't know if strength is what will take down Amada. We need more. And you're working on that, too."

[willowandoak]

"Goro." Ren turns to face him. "Shut the fuck up about being the trickster. If I don't want to know what you think, I just won't ask."

1/2

[lakebrat]

Shit. Tension snaps through him like a broken wire.

2/2

[lakebrat]

The next moment it's gone, and he sighs. "What do you want me to say? I can't stand the guy. That doesn't mean we don't need him, or that I'm going to stamp my foot like a child and sacrifice the mission, at the cost of our lives."

[willowandoak]

...And Ren leans in and kisses him, just briefly.

"Thanks," he murmurs, more gently than before. "See? The world didn't end or anything.

"About Suou, if everyone else says that too and he can meet my requirements, we'll trial him. It's easy for us to say we can suck it up, but we might not actually be able to fight well with him on the team."

1/2

[lakebrat]

2/2

[lakebrat]

"And that's why we need the trial. Good decision. Commanding." He leans over in turn, pressing a longer kiss to Ren's lips.