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Yes, it's interesting how our iterations of his Palace seemed to differ. Though, admittedly, the Palace we infiltrated was small. A fledgling, if anything.

[It at least made a good opportunity for Makoto to adjust to the Metaverse, but still...

Hmm.

Crow squints and scours the area. It truly is quiet.]

Edited 2024-01-06 19:46 (UTC)

[Magpie sees him looking around.]

They're hiding.

[Conveniently, the next corner they turn reveals the escalator down, the end goal of all this tedium.]

Edited 2024-01-06 19:49 (UTC)

Perhaps our power is too intimidating. I do have Ryuji's perk, after all...

[Being able to simply run over weaklings is delightful, after all. It served them well the last time they brought in the motorbikes.]

Really, Crow. Don't remind me of that idiot during our special time.

[Ryuji is, of course, on the long, long longlist of Magpie's least favourite people. He takes the escalator.]

Nosebleeds are so inconvenient in this suit.

Ha. I can think of a few things that would be inconvenient in this suit.

[Well, whatever the case, it's escalator time. Crow steps down and looks at all his excess belts. Honestly...]

Oh, I'm sure you can think of more than a few, after your recent exertions.

[But here they are, the railway tracks, where the trains run down and down... to where?]

I hope you can still jump. Should be easier, now you aren't tied up in the other thing. [The prince suit.]

Edited 2024-01-06 20:42 (UTC)

Oh, I've done many feats of athleticism in that outfit.

[Nonetheless, he gets into position. It is time to do some incredible, flashy stunts and hopefully get back into his preferred costume.]

[Heh. You can't fool him, Crow. He knows that voice; he's been that voice.]

So have I, trust me. And I felt like I was about to rip something every time.

[Waiting for the trains to time themselves so that there's a gap, between the ones screaming through at top speed and the one that stops, he launches himself into danger and over the dividing wall as if he's done it hundreds of times. Which, well... he has.]

[Crow leaps gracefully after Magpie, more or less mirroring his maneuvers. Despite being considerably newer to Mementos, he's done enough gallivanting around Palaces to get the feel for it all, plus his sheer belief that he can certainly doesn't hurt.]

[He vaults up onto the platform with the agility of a cat, perhaps illustrating why he finds the onesie more comfortable. It's remarkable to see Crow land behind him, in that same suit.]

See? It's all considerably more bendy. Symbolic of something, I'm sure. [And let's not talk about the belts.]

While I can't deny the flexibility, I do think there's something to be said about the style of the other outfit.

[It's just so dapper, okay? Heroic! It suits him well, Crow thinks. Still, he's relaxed a fair bit since he first came down here. That's a good sign.]

...Come to think of it, Ren's still yet to see this one.

[Clearly time to break out the tut of mockery.]

Hiding something from the eye candy? I'm appalled.

[He is not appalled. But here's the train, right on schedule. The shadows start filing in, and he intends to be behind them.]

Edited 2024-01-07 17:27 (UTC)

Technically, he's my fiance. ...In a sense.

[He uses that bright, almost musical voice to tease back, but... ah.

Time to board, then. He'll wait until Magpie moves forward, then file in behind him.

Though there's a little sound, almost sparkly, off to the side. If they look close enough, they may spot a familiar face, glowing like a Persona, but looking an awful lot like Crow without his mask in his preferred outfit.]

[And he's just about to bite back, when he sees the one face worth noticing in this whole crowd of shit. Just... older than it was, the same way Crow is older than Raven. His face falls.]

Well, today is just full of surprises, isn't it? Tell me you at least are a little less full of sunshine by now.

[Hi, Shadowkechi.]

[The Shadow chuckles, shaking his head in amusement.]

I'm not the one wearing barbs and black.

[Crow brings a clawed hand to his chin. There's something about this...]

I can still feel you. So you aren't separated, correct?

No. This form's just more approachable and appropriate to ride a train.

[The Shadow peers at some of the other faceless Shadows and cognitions aboard.]

I think the fact that you've defaulted to that outfit speaks volumes to your mental health, Goro.

[Wait, wait, wait, he hates that. Shitty mental health is not what his gear represents. At least, he hopes not.]

You're saying he showed up in black because of the pressure of work?

[Actually...] That would explain a lot, wouldn't it.

[The Shadow smiles in that cheery, pleasant way that's not unlike the Detective Prince.]

Congratulations, Detective. You solved the case.

[Crow places a palm over... well, not his forehead. The mask's in the way, but damn it...]

Joy. So that conversation with the other Ren resigned me to stripes and belts.

[Magpie is glaring at them both, just a touch through the red of his mask. The train is chuntering down into the depths, somehow, as it does.]

I'm standing right here, you know. I like the stripes and belts. [Weird symbolism or not.]

Let me guess, though. In order to fix it, he needs to stop feeling like he attacked that guy.

[That Ren, that is. It's possibly a little revealing, but hey, it's just them.]

It's fine with you. I just...

[He trails off, because he's really not sure where he's going with this.

His Shadow shakes his head.]

More comfortable to play the part of the righteous Detective Prince's protege? The noble leader and mentor to the Phantom Thieves... Now, obviously, considering these are all feelings I embody, I'm not going to say this is wrong.

However, these more negative feelings are still a part of you, and I doubt you want a second Shadow spawning as a result of emotional neglect.

[Magpie squints. A second Shadow?]

That can happen?

I'm spinning hypotheticals here. Technically, I'm still Crow's Persona, and my sense of self allows me to appear in this form because this aspect of my identity is what defined me. I existed for several weeks before he finally accepted me, and it would seem that this gave me a slight partition. A division between him and myself.

[The Shadow gazes down at his hands, chuckling softly.]

As if I wasn't 'divided' enough. But the point still stands that I was made manifest when Goro rejected his more open, positive, and vulnerable emotions and embraced the dark feelings that shielded him from pain. What should have been one split into two. I became the Shadow, and Loki... well, I believe Loki is trying to make a point.

[The mischievous cackling in Crow's head makes him groan. Of course Loki is trying to make a point. Of course.]

Goddamned trickster deities. If Izanami gets involved, then I'll know I'm screwed.

[He doesn't have the feeling his own Loki is cackling. Rather, as he sometimes does, he's analysing every detail of the conversation, as if he's resting his suspiciously human-looking hands on Magpie's shoulders. One of Magpie's own hands comes to rest below his chin, in its clawed gauntlet, with one finger resting on the underside of his beak.]

I can't say it doesn't make sense, Crow. [After all, it's almost exactly what happened to him, give or take a few small details.]

If you want to know, I've always associated this suit with action. And you know the sorts of action I tend to take. The other is... [Ugh, he doesn't like to think about this—] more passive, I suppose. Like when I was younger.

[More afraid. More convinced others control his life, that he can't fight back; more convinced of the truth of the ways others see him. The train rattles to a halt, a couple of dozen levels down.]

... this is too high.

Then shall we wait for a deeper level? I assume you want something more challenging.

[Crow's Shadow shakes his head, a faint smile across his lips.]

Speaking personally, I wouldn't call myself passive. You've seen how he gets. Taking on countless tasks and challenges. Always striving to be the shining example of success. A beacon of hope to his teammates and peers... He's built quite the pedestal.

[Crow doesn't mean to scowl at his Shadow, but... ugh. When it's laid out like that, it's troubling.]

[He would rather like something deeper, if it's all the same. He gets so tired of dragging his feet up here, after pissant little targets. And he also doesn't.]

In other words, he's done exactly what I did, just differently. Made a perfect image on the outside while neglecting what happens within.

[He offers Crow a glance.]

Would you say that's accurate?

Extremely.

[The Shadow smiles wryly.]

I wouldn't say the irony is lost on me. The tables turned. The script flipped. Now I am the well worn glove, and those feelings he once used as a shield are left to rust.

[Damn those metaphors... but then again, it is Crow's Shadow. He really shouldn't be surprised at the poeticism of it all.

Crow would run a hand through his hair, but this damn helmet is in the way.]

I suppose that interaction with the other Ren was more upsetting than I cared to let on.

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