[nope] - date 3, Tatsuya

[afailedmurder]

[The aquarium tunnel is a romantic spot for a date, though Akechi seems a little wary of the water overhead.]

Shall we take a seat?

Comments

[motorcycle_noises]

I wouldn't be surprised.

[ He hasn't even told you about Philemon. ]

[afailedmurder]

Of course. Of course. I suppose you're a Persona user as well.

[motorcycle_noises]

[ Yusuke didn't actually mention that Akechi was a Persona user... but all the same, Tatsuya supposes it's not really a surprise. ]

That power's been blocked by the chinchillas... But under ordinary circumstances, yes I am.

[afailedmurder]

What happened to your friends?

[motorcycle_noises]

They're all on the other side... and they don't remember anything, either. That's the price we were all supposed to pay— our memories of our friendship to save the world. Eikichi, Lisa... Jun... Maya...

[afailedmurder]

...I'm sorry.

We were cut off from the cognitive world.

[because that's the same]

[motorcycle_noises]

The cognitive world... Kurusu-san called it that, too. I think that's the place we called the Collective Unconsciousness. Or if not the same, then at least a similar concept.

[ He's quiet for a moment, thinking about that. ]

And you lost your way there?

[afailedmurder]

We used to have apps on our phones.

[pulling out and turning on his phone to show Tatsuya; how else are you going to explain smartphones to someone from the late 90s?]

[motorcycle_noises]

[ Tatsuya blinks at the phone. It's like the tablets they were given, but.... even smaller. ]

Cell phones got a lot nicer since I last checked.

[afailedmurder]

It's true. In the future, everyone has one of these.

[Pulls open a normal map app and shows him his offline map of Tokyo.]

Using this, you can search for different places in Tokyo; the version we had could search for different locations in the Metaverse.

[motorcycle_noises]

[ TECHNOLOGY IS AMAZING. ]

That's so cool.

[afailedmurder]

I don't mind if you want to play around with it for a bit. I don't have many games, but it should be more interesting than the tablets.

[Holds the phone out]

[motorcycle_noises]

[ Tatsuya's face lights up. ]

Really? Thanks!

[ He takes the phone, holding it as he starts flipping through and trying out various apps. ]

[afailedmurder]

[while Tatsuya is doing that, Akechi zones out and thinks about the existential horror of the universe]

[motorcycle_noises]

[ Tatsuya has no idea of what he's done to poor Akechi. Does this phone have solitaire? ]

[afailedmurder]

[Nope, but he has some puzzle and strategy games, maybe a gatcha you can't actually play due to lack of internet]

[motorcycle_noises]

[ Tatsuya is gonna pass on by the gacha game and go for one of the puzzle ones, playing it with some fascination. He's not bad, though probably not on Akechi's level.  ]

[afailedmurder]

[Watching the fish, thinking a whole lot about how much the apocalypse has been thwarted twice in the past two decades, these only being the apocalypses that we know of.]

[motorcycle_noises]

[ Just imagine how much fun he'd be having if there were other Personas around to talk about apocalypses. Apocali? What's the plural of apocalypse.

He looks up after he finishes a round— there's no way he's beating Akechi's top scores, but it's sure been fun trying. ]

Sorry... I'm probably not being a fun date right now.

[afailedmurder]

I don't mind. As long as you leave me some battery life left, anyway.

[motorcycle_noises]

How long does the battery usually last?

[ Even ask he's asking, he's shifting the phone around in his hand, trying to figure out where the battery even... is.... ]

[afailedmurder]

[distantly:]

There's an indicator on the top of the screen. It's in airplane mode, so the drain shouldn't be too bad.

[motorcycle_noises]

[ Tatsuya glances at the screen— there's still plenty of battery, then. Once he's done that, he lowers the phone to rest with his hands in his lap. ]

Hey, are you alright?

[afailedmurder]

I'm fine. Simply pondering the boundless cruelty of the universe.

[motorcycle_noises]

That doesn't sound fine to me.