apocalypsehowcomm | (mingle) It must be party time

Entry tags:

(mingle) It must be party time

Who: Ren Amamiya, Wanda Maximoff, you!
When: 12th of September
Where: Good Harbor Beach
Summary: Here's the barbecue log! Eating, playing games, having a bonfire and sleep-over on the beach!
Warnings: Alcohol? Ghost stories?

ɪ. ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ

Congratulations, you've made it to the Good Harbor Beach September barbecue! With the weather cooling, but still pleasant enough, it's a pleasure to have a hangout involving ADI's residents and those who live at Bonnie's. There are still so many people who don't know one another, and many to strengthen bonds with, so the hours your dearest Wanda and Ren spend cooking and flipping and seasoning are nothing but rewarding! Seeing people enjoying themselves is great and it's motivating for them to keep doing these encounters every now and then.

On the menu, we have:
- Burgers;
- Steaks with jacked potato sides;
- Ribs;
- Zucchini-and-Pecorino fritters;
- Several different salads, including ovcharska;
- Aubergine kebabs with charred onion salsa;
- Salmon yakitori;
- Takoyaki;
- Cupcakes
- Apples and honey;
- Cherry dumplings;
- Sarmale filled with rice;
- Bundevara (pumpkin pie);

For drinks, there's a selection of alcohol, as well as coffee, water, tea, and a variety of sodas. Take in the nice view, jump on the ocean, sink your toes in the sand and enjoy yourselves. There aren't any usable tables, but there are several blankets on the floor for your perusal.

ɪɪ. ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ

With bellies full, now it's when the real fun begins. There are a few decks of cards being passed around, as well as one of their single tables now organized to a beer-pong competition. Individually, games such as Never Have I Ever, as well as Truth or Dare can be seen, and those who wish to use their skills for entertaining are more than welcome to do so.

A little bonding here, a little drunken chatting there, this is your time to shine!

ɪɪɪ. ᴀ ʙᴏɴꜰɪʀᴇ

With those who have a curfew to worry about in mind, a bonfire is lit, and a few tents are set around the beach (may have to be shared). If anyone's got a nice story, now it's the time to share it, or perhaps if anyone can play an instrument, it's about time to break it out of its case. The night will be lively until the early hours of the morning, and of course, mindful of those who couldn't stay up this late.

The next morning, everyone will be properly thanked for their attendance and tupperwares will be distributed with leftovers for those who'd like to take some food home, the beach will be cleaned impeccably and everyone will go their own way, hopefully with smiles and a new sense of unity and connection from the amazing night they've just experienced.

ɪᴠ. ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴏᴏᴄ ɴᴏᴛᴇ

(Please put in your top-level subject line or prompt line whether it's okay to threadjack! Just to keep things more dynamic, we encourage it!)

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[In spite of everything, or perhaps because of everything, the cheery little get-together at the bonfire is a pleasant reminder that there are others here who are aware of what's going on. That for once in his godforsaken life, he isn't completely alone.

He's contemplating that strange turn of fate as he stares into the bonfire late in the evening, late enough that it could more accurately be called morning. His swim trunks have long since dried as he sat listening to crackle of the bonfire and the ambient murmur of others far enough away not to make out any specifics, but close enough to know that there are still people in his periphery, and his unbuttoned light shirt billows gently in the breeze.

The sound of approaching footsteps on sand catches his attention, and he glances sideways to see Ren coming closer.]

Quite the little get-together you've arranged, [he observes, gaze flicking across the other boy's face.] Though you look like you've something on your mind.

I have to talk to you.

(And God knows why he stopped there for a few seconds. It's not on purpose that he wants to see that slight tinge of anxiety on Akechi, considering the latest development between them, and it feels more like an unconscious, unnoticed urge than something he's doing with full awareness. Ren himself hasn't changed back into his jeans, swimming trucks, and shirtless as he finds a seat next to the other.)

I've been considering something.

[Ren pauses, and Akechi goes very still, a little spike of anxiety stabbing through his heart that he can't quite explain. He tenses slightly, the expression of contentment fading away as he waits to see if Ren will explain himself. Whatever it is, is must be serious. Perhaps he's having second thoughts about the time they shared together...?

Whatever it is, it takes conscious effort not to tense as Ren sits next to him, instead affecting his feigned nonchalance as he draws one knee in to his chest, resting his elbow atop it and his chin in his hand.]

Well, don't leave me in suspense.

We don't see eye to eye on this sort of thing, but I've decided something important.

(Why does it feels absolutely delicious to see that twitch in Akechi's expression? He didn't mean to make him anxious, or even think Ren doesn't want him anymore.

It's not fair to Akechi. It feels like an internal fight between the part of him who wants to increase it by being cryptic, and the part of him who would never cause Akechi any pain. With a sigh, the latter wins.)

My work is not done. I'm taking up vigilantism again.

Edited 2021-09-15 17:11 (UTC)

[His eyes narrow as Ren continues being cryptic, the anxiety fading away into irritation as he waits for him to just fucking get on with it already. Though when he does, Akechi doesn't respond immediately, his eyes narrowing as he studies Ren's face with a frown.]

How so?

Too much crime on the streets. Too much happening. I can't close my eyes to it.

(That simple. He'll deal with the entities, he's shot God. He can do it.)

Hm.

[Gloucester doesn't seem more or less crime-riddled than Tokyo. Which isn't to say that Tokyo didn't have more than its share of crime, of course, but there's one key difference between Tokyo and Gloucester that it doesn't seem like Ren's considered.]

Perhaps not, but you do recall how your last attempt at stopping crime in the real world went, yes? [Probation. Imprisonment. The stigma of being a criminal.] Unless you've discovered a way to enter the Metaverse...?

I know. I've considered this. There's no way of entering the Metaverse.

(It won't be the same. Ren's a smarter person now. He's learned things, and while the consequences should he be caught are dire, it would eat him inside to simply just watch. It's like something is missing from him. Perhaps, this is it.)

Doesn't change my resolve.

(Ren looks into Akechi's scarlet eyes, a hurricane of decisiveness and strength emanating from gray ones.)

I don't expect you to agree with it.

(But out of the relationship they share, he needs to be aware. Ren's always been like this, and Akechi knew this before they became... Whatever the Hell they are. It's impossible to dissuade him once he makes up his mind.)

I don't.

[Bluntly. Gone is any attempt at nonchalance as he turns to face Ren more completely. They're alone, no chance of being overheard this close to the fire, but he still keeps his voice low as he locks eyes with the other boy and ticks down reasons on his fingers.]

You will no longer be considered a minor in the eyes of the law in less than a month. You're not even here legally, and surely you don't want to explain to the court why you just don't exist. Using the Metaverse gave you a plausible quasi-deniability in our reality, but in this one? You'll just be a petty criminal before a judge, with few allies and fewer friends.

[He lowers his hand, gaze unwavering even as his tone grows sharper.]

And what of the Entities? You think because someone calling himself Loki is willing to think he can use them, that you'll somehow be spared? How many times have you been used by powers greater than yourself for their own selfish aims?

Edited 2021-09-15 21:18 (UTC)

For my own aim, too.

(It's exactly what he's trying to get to. It's hard to put it in words, and yet, nobody else in the world would understand Ren - how it feels to have a voice in your head, sprinting to your aid, understanding your resolve, until you rip the mask off.

Ren usually doesn't talk. Akechi knows this, and Ren also knows that perhaps, this won't be understood as much as he'd like, but it doesn't hurt to try.

He wants Akechi to understand it. Not agree with it, but understand it. Nothing the other boy can say will sway him away from his ideals, no matter how wise.)

"Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice, show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself."

(Ren recites the words like they were spoken to him yesterday, like they were written on his skin, imprinted on his brain.)

This is my contract, Goro. If all comes to worse, I'll deal with the consequences of my own actions, but I'm willing to work with them if I can help others and make this place safer, no matter what may happen to me.

Edited 2021-09-15 21:29 (UTC)

Justice.

[His voice drips with derision as he echoes Arsene's words, lip curling in a sneer that's directed as much at Ren as it is at himself. Robin Hood had said something like that to him, a long time ago. Loki hadn't bothered to drape himself in such delicate words, and Hereward had no reason to say anything at all.

It's funny how much that one word can hold so much meaning. How easily the pure ideals can be twisted to retribution. Ren held strong through all of his trials in the past, but they're dealing with something different now than a misguided counselor genuinely thinking he was doing the right thing. Even the false god they'd faced-]

You know, [he adds as he tears his gaze away from Ren and stares into the bonfire, ignoring the traitorous twinge in his heart that leaps at being called by his first name,] I used to wonder if you'd have made the same decisions I had, had our positions been reversed.

[He extends a bare hand toward the fire, just close enough that it's uncomfortably hot, and curls his hand into a fist as if he could still summon Loki and hurl a Maragion directly into the flames to make them bigger, brighter, until they consumed the whole beach.]

What do you think, Ren?

Edited 2021-09-15 21:56 (UTC)

If I were you? I wouldn't have chosen anything different.

(Ren's not a saint, as much as it feels like he is at times. He knows for a fact that if he hadn't had his friends, his support systems, his arrest, he wouldn't be the person sitting next to Goro right now.

He, too, would have been a ball of anger, despair, vengeance. He kind of is, minus the murder part.)

[Shocked surprise crosses his face as he glances back to Ren, mouth slightly open as he stares at the other boy. Then he can't help but laugh, a quiet, bitter sound as he shakes his head and looks back to the bonfire.]

Somehow, that's not as gratifying to hear as I thought it might be, [he says quietly, not wholly able to keep the regret out of his voice. If things had been different, if he'd had Ren beside him, maybe he would have been able to cling to his boyhood ideals of being a hero. Of being someone his mother could have been proud of. Ren had all his fucking friends, his god damned teammates, reminding him of his morals, of where they stood.

Akechi had no one, and now, Ren only has Akechi. His lips curve into a smile that holds just as much bitterness as regret as he shakes his head again.]

Will you kill? [he asks, reaching his hand toward the fire again, letting it warm his skin until it stings.] To uphold your justice, now that you can't simply change someone's heart and pretend your hands are clean?

All of us could have gone down like that if we didn't have each other in our times of need.

(He thought they had made it clear back in the engine room. Ren's no better than them - he simply recognizes the strength of his bonds and morals that the Phantom Thieves all work to tie together. Ren looks around, sees no other soul awake, or caring to look their way. He doesn't dare as far as take the other hand into his own, but he touches it, as if to look for comfort. This shouldn't have been that much of a surprise.

Ren shakes his head. There are limits to what he's willing to do, and if he took a life, he'd be going against what he believes in. Dying's too easy. Facing consequences? That's real Hell.)

No. I'll find a way around it.

(And for a beat, Ren falls silent, eyes staring at redness as the fire blazes.)

Are you leaving me over my decision?

(Whatever the fuck that means.)

Edited 2021-09-15 22:43 (UTC)

[Ren touches his hand, and more from reflex than intent, Akechi draws it back. There isn't anyone near enough to hear them speaking, but they're right in front of a blazingly bright bonfire. If anyone even glanced their way, it would be impossible to miss. As much as Akechi yearns for attention, this... whatever he has with Ren, this is for him alone, not to be gawked at or talked about.]

You're opening yourself up to the whims of powers we know nothing about, [he says quietly without looking away from the bonfire.] Entities who may not share your morals, your ideals. You may not have a choice.

[He's speaking from experience here. Working with Shido had always been a means to an end, a way from him to try to elevate himself up and take revenge on the one person who had done him and his mother the most wrong. But he's not a fool; he knows just how much blood is dripping from his hands in pursuit of that goal, blood he had never intended to be spilled when he'd started along that path.

It's absurd, but as much as he hates Ren for standing on his moral high ground, he's afraid of who Ren might become should he fall from that height.

The final question just makes him snort dismissively. As if Akechi could abandon him now.]

(It hurts a little how quick Akechi's hand leaves his own, and in the face of what he's just about to ask, it feels like a confirmation that he will be leaving rather than a reflex, so his untouched hand moves to wrap around the one that had been rejected. He feels like Ren should go if that's the case - he doesn't want to force Akechi if that's his decision, to deny him now. There's still time, there's always time, and Ren's never going to be someone who wants Akechi to choose Ren over what he thinks it's best or right, even if that isn't Ren.

With a hand on his knee, for a split second, he attempts to stand up when Akechi speaks again and his eyes goggle from not expecting to be spoken to.)

There's always a choice, Goro.

(Even if that means his demise. It's the snort that makes him the most confused, though.)

What?

(Ah. He should explain what he means, probably.)

I was serious when I told you I want to be with you in all possible ways. You have the right to not want to be around me, even so.

Edited 2021-09-15 23:07 (UTC)

Where the fuck do you think you're going?

[There's a split second of anxious fear that returns when it looks like Ren might get up and walk away, mixed with irritated frustration. They aren't done here, Amamiya! Keep your ass where it is.

He used to pride himself on being such an eloquent, charismatic speaker, yet when he's with Ren, it all starts to fall apart until all he can do is grasp at straws.]

I think you're making a colossal mistake, but don't forget - we have a deal. One I won't allow you to renege on so easily.

(First of all, hot, second of all, he just puts his hands up in defeat. He thought he was doing what Akechi wanted, goddamnit.)

You always think I'm making a colossal mistake.

(Or that it's wrong. Or that it's, like, uncool. Or that it's technically immoral.)

That's different. You know that.

This is different, [he insists, tearing his gaze away from the fire to meet Ren's eyes again. The way the firelight flickers in his hair, in Ren's steely grey eyes, shouldn't burn more brightly and be more painful to look at than the fire itself, but he holds firm.]

I think you're an incomprehensible idiot. But I said it before, didn't I? I refuse to be used or manipulated by anyone ever again. I won't allow you to be, either.

[His own hands are already bloodied beyond redemption. He won't see Ren stubbornly force his way down the same path. If it comes to it, what's one more victim on his hands? Ren shouldn't have to experience that. He'd kill to make sure he never does.]

(It's a wash of relief to hear that he hasn't lost Akechi over it. They've debated over Ren's actions over, and over, and over, and over again. Ren more than knows where Akechi stands, and the opposite is also true... And while opposing forces, Ren knows he can go all out.

If he falls, Akechi will catch him. That means he walks without fear, without hesitance, if he's got the man walking beside him.

Is it humanly possible to beam more than the glaring fire itself? His smile is possibly defying that notion.)

Thank you.

[His smile is almost literally blinding, so bright and pure. How Ren can't be weighed down by everything around them is absolutely baffling to him, and for a moment it shows on his face before he scoffs and rolls his eyes.]

Don't be sentimental. Think about what an inconvenience it would be for me if you were to be arrested.

Allow me to make something very clear. [He holds up a finger, as if that might somehow convince Ren to pay more attention to what he's saying.] I don't condone this. I will help you where I am able, but I refuse to be sucked into whatever deals you make. Understand?

[Hopefully Ren never calls him on his bluff. If a situation arises where it comes down to either him or Ren, he won't abandon the other boy. But nor will he remain silent.]

Understand.

(But even the sternness in Akechi's voice isn't enough to dim the light in Ren's smile, the way that his eyes are nearly close in how delighted, how relieved he feels. This situation does nothing but reinforces his feelings for the other.

If he had it his way, Akechi would have been kissed already.)

I want to look at something far away from here. Come with me?

(This is code for 'I want to kiss your face'.)

You're insufferable.

[It's almost too obvious what Ren is after, but -- fine. Why the fuck not. If the other boy is driving himself to destruction, the very least Akechi can do is indulge him in some of his less-destructive wants.

Underneath all the derision, the pushback, he's honestly just scared. Scared Ren won't listen to him, scared Ren will move out of his grasp entirely. For now, it feels like he'd be more the fool to let Ren slip away, even if it's better off for them both.

He sighs and plants a hand in the sand to shove himself to his feet.]

Well, lead the way, then.

(If Akechi is waiting for something more feral, more on the lines of the last time they kissed, he's going to be very, very disappointed. Ren stretches before he stands up, gestures to the path opposite from the one they came.

It's far, it's dark. From the bonfire, Ren doubts anyone can see there are two souls in the distance, and when he is certain of that, he stops. With the hand Akechi had previously rejected, he takes the boy's hand to his waist, wraps his arms around the boy's neck, and presses not a desperate kiss, but a gentle, thankful, kind one, overpouring with emotion.

That was it. This is what he wanted to do.)

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(mingle) It must be party time

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