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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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[fogbornphantom]

"I suppose in hindsight, I should have expected nothing less. What we talked about before very much applies." The fallout from him becoming a child and everything that's come since...

The smell of coffee grains is certainly a grounding one, pun not intended, though he makes no effort to mask his unease.

[lakebrat]

He can't help but nod. If there was anyone, at all, who shouldn't have been left alone for six months with their own thoughts....

"Glitch knows. The Futaba-san who goes by Glitch. She scouted the Palace with me." Futaba Akechi, of course, with everything else Crow knows about her. "And the Amamiya-san who lives here—and Phoenix knows. I'd say they're the beginning of my team—with you and Falcon, too, if you'd like to join."

He takes up the kettle, adding a drop of tap water to heat for the filter paper.

[fogbornphantom]

"If I go, there's a very high likelihood that my boyfriend and Magpie will want to go. I doubt the former will be a problem, since he's friends with your Ren, but..." A dark look crosses Crow's face. He doubts Frog has the highest opinion of Magpie even now. "Well, considering the hand Magpie likely had in all of this, perhaps it would be for the best."

[lakebrat]

Yeah, that... yeah. Goro's nose wrinkles as if he smells something bad; he's already been exposed to enough of Magpie's so-called navigation to last a lifetime.

"Do you really think it's wise for Magpie, of all people, to enter Ren's Palace? I don't deny there are issues unresolved there, but...." Really, there are so many ways that could go wrong.

[fogbornphantom]

"I won't deny that there are risks involved, but I also believe that if we break into smaller parties, we may cover more ground. To that end, I fully suspect Magpie would want to stick by my side. He would be my business, not yours, in such a case."

But despite his words, Crow's voice remains calm. Subdued, even. He isn't married to the idea, at least.

[lakebrat]

"You're... not wrong." God, he can see the tactical advantages of a larger party at least, just as he can see that Magpie isn't bad at what he does—just bad at being a human being.

Fortunately, the kettle begins to chatter, and he starts to moisten the filter he's been folding. "One of the things that became clear in there was that the Palace is split into multiple wings. If we had enough small teams, and if they were strong enough, we'd cover all of that faster.

"Did Futaba have a Palace, in your world?" The water soaks into the paper so easily, rinsing it through so it clings to its funnel. Like the dye Magpie was dipped in, that he seems to cling to despite everything. Just like Ren.

[fogbornphantom]

"No. Her mother did, however, albeit due to circumstances outside of her control." Crow watches as his counterpart works through the coffee. It's always a fascinating sight to see a more complex methodology at play, compared to the instant blends Dojima utilizes. "I'm... not surprised to hear that her having a Palace is somewhat commonplace, however. My world is an anomaly where Isshiki-san's fate is concerned."

[lakebrat]

But his face closes. Based on what he's heard from Futaba herself, from Sojiro—Wakaba Isshiki doesn't sound like someone who would have had a Palace. But how can he tell? "I suppose there's no way for me to tell whether Wakaba Isshiki-san had a Palace. I mean, short of asking someone who saw it."

He empties the filter water away, sets more to boil, grits his teeth. Short of asking Ren, that is. His hand clenches into a fist as he stares down at the hotplate. "Futaba's Palace was separated into wings, effectively. In that case, each had to be traversed in order—there were messages we had to uncover, and so we couldn't proceed until we cleared each one, you see?

"Ren's Palace, though, appears to have multiple accessible wings. A large enough team could clear them simultaneously. Assuming they survived entering the main building, that is." And he switches the hotplate back on, with an annoyed little click.

[fogbornphantom]

"In all fairness, the Palace she formed was not by ordinary circumstances. It was a result of damage dealt to her by Maruki." Why it happened is something he still hasn't fully grasped. He'd meant to ask her before his arrival here, but now it's on hold.

Nonetheless, Crow watches and listens as Frog delivers his explanation. "So at the very least, we won't be gated or forced to go through them in a specific order. However, I take it that the enemies within said Palace are rather intimidating?"

[lakebrat]

And he stills again, halfway through tapping the grounds into the filter. That moment of terror as he landed on the Palace floor is written on his face. "Extremely."

Quickly, he forces his hands back into motion; the last of the grounds settle into the filter, and he sets the whole thing on the scale. His voice brightens, though not enough. "Of course, with you and the others there, I'm sure they won't pose any problem."

Damn it, he thinks, levelling the grounds and not meeting Crow's eye. He couldn't be more obviously not okay if he spelled it out in skywriting.

[fogbornphantom]

"If it's any consolation, I have a rather robust collection of Personas, many of whom lack any tangible weaknesses. Alice can eradicate anything that isn't immune to curse without any SP drain, Helel is an immensely devastating almighty user, and I've got a great deal of elemental coverage across my collection of Personas."

Crow continues to observe. The lack of eye contact is rather telling, but far be it from him to call attention to it. Some things really are better left unsaid.

[lakebrat]

"If Lancelot ever brings out an army of bears, I'll know I've truly crossed to the dark side," he murmurs to the hotplate, left momentarily with nothing to do but talk.

"What about Falcon? What's his position on all this?" Because based on the little Goro knows, he'd guess Falcon has strong opinions.

[fogbornphantom]

Ah, of course. A deep sigh escapes Crow, and he slumps over the bar. "Falcon doesn't trust me, and I can't exactly blame him. He is adamant that we tell Ren of the Palace and our intentions to help him and do not change his heart. Which is fine by me. I wouldn't want to force such a change upon him in the first place."

[lakebrat]

Yeah, Goro expected that. And who's going to look Ren in the face, and tell him what they plan? The idea turns his stomach; it tastes like acid. He'd almost rather face the police in Niijima's Palace.

Fortunately, the kettle begins to chatter on the hotplate; he lifts it for the bloom pour, resting one hand on the lid. "It's funny, you know. A crow and a frog. If the metaphor held, you should be eating me."

cw for lewd quip kjhjkh

[fogbornphantom]

"I'm afraid that privilege is reserved for my boyfriend, in a manner of speaking." He smirks, lifting his chin and bracing himself for what's sure to be some sort of reaction.

trollolo

[lakebrat]

It's not much of a reaction, but it certainly breaks the mood. Goro's eyes widen, and his hands stutter over the foaming coffee grounds as he turns pink. But then he just laughs, lifting the kettle expertly to cut off the first flow of water.

"Goodness me. I didn't quite think you'd go there." If he hadn't already been half-picturing Ren when he said that, he might have jumped.

[fogbornphantom]

"In all fairness, you walked right into it." Crow chuckles, pleased with the successful shift in mood. "It's rather ironic. When I first arrived here, I was incredibly repressed. Jokes of this nature were hardly in my wheelhouse."

[lakebrat]

"I'd hardly call myself repressed," he says, still pink at the thought of Ren. "Plus, you could hardly have opened that door if I hadn't erected it for you, hm?"

Take that, Crow.

[fogbornphantom]

"Interesting phrasing." Heh. No doubt a deliberate double entendre. "But one would hope you aren't serpent levels of repressed. That was just embarrassing."

nsfw

[lakebrat]

"Yes, I heard from your victim firsthand. About the serpent below the belt thing, I mean." Which brings them full circle, doesn't it?

He starts the final pour, with one eye on the scale; delicate, slow little spirals. "Futaba asked us to change her heart. She was aware of what was going on, part of the process. In the end, she faced her Shadow right there in her Palace and awakened. I don't believe we could have done it without her, which... may be instructive. I'm not sure.

"I've seen a little of Ren's distortion from the inside. I'm not sure if it would be constructive or not to tell him. Whether we could even protect him, when he inevitably insisted on joining the party."

[fogbornphantom]

"That's not unlike what transpired in the TV world. Facing ourselves in order to awaken our potential... Yu was an exception, but he obtained his power through Izanami, and while I did as well, my circumstances were... decidedly less stable, which I believe made all the difference."

Crow's eyes drift to the coffee, watching as Frog pours it oh so carefully.

"I believe honesty is the best approach. He deserves to know of our intentions. Even if he doesn't like it, it's better than doing so behind his back."

[lakebrat]

He laps some loose grounds from the edge of the filter, with the outermost circle. "On the other hand, if I were able to speak to him about these matters, you understand I would already have done so? I've tried. It's as if there's a wall there."

Spreading one hand a little as he lifts the kettle, his lip turns out ever so slightly. "A Palace wall. The wall of his distortion. The problem is that Ren is not rational. His distortion seems set in stone. He wants me to act—wants all of us to act, I think. To care enough to act.

"But he believes that we won't act in his interests—and certainly not in what he considers to be my best interests. He won't like it if I talk about going anywhere near his Palace. I'm certain of that."

He sets the kettle down on the cooling hotplate, with an air of finality.

[fogbornphantom]

"I wonder if showing him his Palace would spark anything, if only the exterior. Giving him a reality check, forcing him to see it with his own two eyes..."

But that presents a risk. Crow knows that it does. Even in the best scenario, the distortion remains.

[lakebrat]

"Stopping him from, for example, running inside would be trivial. The damage it would do if I attacked him, on the other hand...." Again, he spreads his hand.

"From what I see, the distortion is centred on feelings of—of unwantedness. He feels like an outsider, and he believes he deserves to be. That his true self is repellent. He tried so hard to make me see that, you know. To make me give up on him. Told me terrible things."

He stares miserably at the filtering coffee. "I'll never give up on him. I just don't know if I can make him believe me."

[fogbornphantom]

"He did the same to me." Drip, drip, drip... Crow watches as the coffee filters, as if doing so will provide some semblance of zen. "He refuses to accept the kindness of others at face value and that he doesn't have to mask for our benefit. I... well, without knowing what Magpie said to him to prompt his apology, it's rather daunting. I still have my doubts that it was a pleasant conversation."