ic inbox [ota]

[pancakeboy]

[Text him! Or do whatever, I'm not the police, and neither is he, thank God. Just specify if you want the more-fun-but-less-stable pre-11/20 guy or the grumpy third semester/postcanon guy. Pancake only for VRDR guys please, he's not third semester yet]

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[pancakeboy]

Rebelling a moment longer, eventually he slides his phone into his pocket, stepping back. "Don't let me stop you."

[fogboundcrow]

"Thank you." Raven steps in with a little smile, pleased at his progress. He glances around the room, unsure of whether to take a seat at the edge of the bed or not. "So... What did Crow have to say?"

[pancakeboy]

"The plot thickens," he observes, leaning back unsmiling with his eyes on Raven. "You came to investigate."

[fogboundcrow]

"You're the one who mentioned Crow, not me." Cautious, he takes a seat at the edge of the bed, folding his hands in his lap. "I was going to check on you regardless."

[pancakeboy]

"I suppose I did, at that." He doesn't really mind Raven sticking his nose in. It's what they're for, at the end of the day.

"How much do you even know? About where Crow and Joker went, I mean."

[fogboundcrow]

"Annoyingly little. They've been rather secretive about the whole affair."

He pouts a little at that fact. It's not fair. He's perfectly equipped to handle it!

[pancakeboy]

Haha, yes. He wrinkles his nose. "You mean to tell me you haven't found out? I found out."

[fogboundcrow]

"Drake has a Palace, but I only found out because I confronted Glitch about what happened with Crow. But I'm not to join them, and they refuse to mention anything beyond that it exists."

Which... fine, he can concede that the Falcon operation went poorly, but still! Tell him more, damn it. "I suppose it's also due to Ren's inexperience. No doubt he'd want to get involved for the sake of living out a heroic fantasy..."

[pancakeboy]

"That's Rens for you." And some day, he needs to find out how Ren—the real one—even awakened, even became a Phantom Thief. Besides having a magic cat. And a pack of hangers-on.

Another of those little weights lightens, though; he pulls out a box of fancy konpeito and tosses it onto the bed, next to Raven. "I knew they wouldn't be able to hide it from you. Nice work."

[fogboundcrow]

"Heh. Thank you." He accepts the box, pouring a small amount into his hand. "I'm sure I would have deduced it at some point even without her, but she made my work a lot easier, and she..."

Hm.

"Well, it seems you were a real point of contention between her and Crow, but I suspect you already heard it from him."

[pancakeboy]

Rather than argue the point, he watches Raven. "What do you make of her, anyway?"

[fogboundcrow]

"We're friends, but I still don't like how she thinks of you." Frowning, he pops some of the konpeito into his mouth. "Whatever her reasons are, I know you well enough to know that she's only seen one side of you."

[pancakeboy]

"She didn't tell you what she means to do to her enemies, then." Which had been enough to put Glitch onto his definitely to be kept an eye on list, where she remains.

[fogboundcrow]

"Well, no..." And he's not sure he wants to push the matter, so another konpeito pops in. "But back to Crow, what exactly did he say?"

[pancakeboy]

Again, he doesn't answer, just watches Raven eat his konpeito. "What about, uh, younger me? Did he ever get a nickname? You still text him, right?"

[fogboundcrow]

"He used your nickname, but I suppose we could always workshop another at some point." Heh... Something to think about, if he ever makes his way back, at least. "We text regularly, and he's doing better now. He's finally found a stable living situation and has made a few friends as well."

[pancakeboy]

Friends. There's a thought and a half. When he was what, thirteen, he'd still been living with.... "Anyone I'd recognise?"

[fogboundcrow]

"Ken and... Haru-san." He hesitates a little. Even if Raven doesn't have the full picture, he has enough of a reason to suspect things got a bit... unpleasant between Magpie and his world's Haru. "Oh! And Koromaru-kun as well."

[pancakeboy]

Oh, what the fuck? At least, that's what the look he gives Raven says. "You're joking."

But he thinks about it. Did they say..? "But he—I—talked about Okumura-san a lot, is that right? He was very taken with Rose." That is, I was very taken with her.

[fogboundcrow]

"I do think Rose was a factor, but I'm glad it's worked out for him. And I believe Crow was the one who directed him to Ken, so..." There it is. The connections and experiences here gave tangible proof of success.

But Raven sobers a little, thinking on it.

"I know it's really not my place to speak on these matters, but I've noticed you and Drake went back to the old status quo. Crow's been rather awkward about the subject as well."

Something's missing here.

[pancakeboy]

"That was what I wanted to ask. Does he still talk about him?" That's to say, does younger-Magpie still talk about younger-Drake? Are they in contact?

[fogboundcrow]

"We all still have contact with each other. I try to check on both of them periodically, but your younger self and I end up having longer conversations by virtue of... well, I suppose we just enjoy it." Raven shrugs, taking another bite. "It's comforting, I think. Even if distance divides us, we're still a part of each other's lives."

[pancakeboy]

"Sounds like you can't get enough of me." Something twists inside him, and he looks away.

[fogboundcrow]

"I'm allowed to like you both." Though he smiles, there is a firmness to his words. "...Do you want to sit down?"

[pancakeboy]

"No," he says, more crisply, staying securely against his wall. Raven is thirteen. Magpie isn't going to dig up more than he can help, and yet....

"Do you know why I hate him? Drake, I mean."