It's good! Really good, actually. Who knew this place made a decent cup of coffee? I should go there sometime... well, I think I took a nap there one day, early on. It's all a blur.
My tastes tend to be picky in this area, but it's not bad for such a small town.
[He hates it, actually. It's shit compared to LeBlanc and its only purpose is as a shot of caffeine.]
Take care to avoid that in the future. Aubrey and I happened to be there while a rather volatile argument was looping. We were almost hit with a stray knife. Who knows when that might happen again.
It's a detective's duty to use every viable resource available. People are eager and comfortable providing information on it, so it seems prudent to take advantage.
Even personal accounts tend to be very interesting. The variety of worlds and realities represented is vast. Sometimes I can hardly believe what I'm reading - it's almost like a fantasy novel.
Duly noted! I will make all of my messages private.
Just kidding (￣▽￣*)ゞ
Ah... yes, it's presenting some unique challenges for me. Just because the emotional wounds that need to be dealt with are the same across realities doesn't mean that I take it in stride when the set dressing to those wounds involves fairies, Norse gods, cyborgs, aether, etc.
Who says I wasn't trained in decryption techniques? Feel free to private all your back woes. It changes nothing.
[The altruist counselor persona again - what a tedious ordeal to go through. It's Maruki's business though, ridiculous as it is to continue in a temporary world.]
You really plan to start counseling here? I know you spoke of it in a previous conversation, but I wasn't sure of your final decision.
I have to say it's noble of you take on such a task with our limited time here.
[ Brief interlude to check to see if he's posted anything incriminating or embarrassing. Not really, pathetic excuse for flirtation aside. Lotta confidential patient stuff though! Fucking oops!!! Should he add a "Don't message me over Oracle" clause to the contracts that no one will want to sign anyway? god dammit ]
Oh, yes. I already forked over the shards for the business license, so it's in progress. I guess even magical crystals have to go through the red tape of paperwork.
My reasoning remains the same. It's all I know how to do. If I can help while I'm here, it's my duty to do so. And it's how I gather information, so ultimately, it serves our larger goal.
[ Kinda like how specifically seeking out Akira to counsel was done both out of true altruism and an ulterior motive to learn about the cognitive world? Yep! It Can Be Both. ]
If I can admit something to you, though... it's shocking how eager people are. At Shujin it was like pulling teeth. It's strange.
[Because the people at Shujin knew better than to trust one more 'well meaning' adult in their lives after being exploited over and over.]
I'm sure you're aware of the phenomenon where people find it easier to speak to a stranger than someone they know.
Everyone here is aware you won't be in their world after this situation is resolved. I imagine it must feel comforting to speak your mind to someone you know will never be able to relay the secrets you tell them.
Those in Tokyo don't have such protections. Well meaning and kind as you are, those barriers can be difficult to cross.
[A conversation shared with Eren again and again - it's the only way their volatile first meeting became allyship. A promise to fight so everyone could choose.
Akechi doesn't give a shit whether they live their life placated by false gods or die in their rotten worlds.
But they talk - Maruki and Eren. Justice and an image are more important than his true thoughts. It doesn't matter. He just needs to get back with minimal issue, minimal problems.]
I'm sympathetic to their plight. When given the opportunity to live an easier life, most would accept it in a heartbeat. I can't fault anyone for that decision - who would willingly choose to live in hell over purgatory? I think very few.
I have no interest in trying to change the minds of others. My sole goal is to find the truth of this world and return to our true reality. The decisions made by others are their own.
However, in saying that -
I will not accept anything less than returning to Tokyo. Should the goals of others get in the way of that, it will be necessary to reassess and negotiate with them as needed.
All good points. Generally I agree with you, but I guess I think about it with a slightly different framework because of my background.
People can be convinced of anything when they're vulnerable. If the goal is to keep dreamers here as a means to whatever end, it makes sense to prey upon people who have little to return to.
There's power in collective thought. If that sense of complacency grows, it could easily affect this reality. Every time something changes, I think about it in terms of how the cognitions of the masses might be swaying things.
I could be chasing after nothing, of course. It's just a thought I've had.
Anyhow, we have the same goal! I can't tell you how much of a relief that is.
[That new perspective into the situation is troubling - a reminder that hypotheticals to Maruki, are reality to him. Mementos shifts with the collective thought. Walls raise and fall, graves and distortions appear, shadows warp and twist and-
That isn't good. A problem. Complacency in the the mindless morons who blithely accept whatever is handed to them is an issue he didn't care about in the slightest.
Eren's desire to stay - many others who feel the same. A cognitive shift that traps them in labyrinths and shitty fucking towns and-
All at once, he's livid.
It's a good theory - a great one. If Mementos has warped due to the collective thoughts of the majority - if there's a cabal exploiting that in the background, then there's a big goddamn problem in the making.
In the same vein, it's nothing Loki couldn't slash down. The solution, at once, sudden and simple. Turning citizens of this shithole to ash is easier than the nonsense they're dealing with now.
The response is-
Delayed. Weighted down. Sudden realizations combined with previous paranoia - morphing into solutions. Simple. Easy. Get back to Shido.]
Apologies - my phone froze. It is a relief.
Your theory may be plausible. If such thoughts are being exploited by those in charge, then many things start to make sense.
I will be operating with this perspective in mind. I thank you for sharing it and look forward to more in-depth discussions on the matter.
In fact, if you have time tonight, I would like for you to teach me whatever you can. That way I can be prepared to notice outliers and patterns to prove or disprove your statement.
As you've astutely noted in the past... even just the Sleepr bios hint toward the ability to use our own thoughts against us. That's small potatoes compared to widespread manipulation via collective thought, of course, but they have the same source. If one is possible - and indeed, already happening! - then the other is as well.
But that's just one researcher's opinion!
[ WHICH. WELL. SPEAKING OF! ]
Do I have time to talk about cognitive psience tonight??? Akechi-kun, I'd make time for it if I didn't.
But I do! After dinner?
pay his fantasy t-mobile bill then let him upgrade
[It's not like he didn't read the cognitive psience research pressed into his hands to be delivered to Shido. It's a matter of the content being out of reach, the subject matter appealing only from a basic sense - his ultimate goal doesn't line up with learning the inner workings of that unknown world.]
There is likely a collective point where those feelings merge - or so I would assume, if that's the case. An area where all feel a sense of connection. We should also make time to visit such areas.
[The garden. The crystal. A few notable places come to mind.]
Though for our talk, after dinner suits me. If you find yourself wanting to speak while you're cooking or eating too, I wouldn't be opposed to hearing as much as I can in the time we're able to spend together.
[ Kinda adorable that Akechi is just as eager as he is, if not more, actually. Oh, it's horrible how fond Maruki is becoming of him. ]
I know from experience that no matter how much I enjoy cooking, if I get on a roll talking about cognitive psience, I can and will become absorbed in it and burn everything. Even the rice. It's my one fatal flaw.
See you tonight!
[ Listen, if the promise of a rousing academic discussion with very real consequences for the mess they're currently in is what gets him through the day, then so be it. Maruki never thought he'd have reason to discuss cognitive psience again once he got here, much less someone so excited to hear it. Akechi really is full of surprises.
He comes back home earlier than normal, arms full of fresh ingredients from the marketplace as they are almost every night. Even with how volatile the shopping area can be, it's become a soothing routine, picking out what he'd like to make for everyone after a long day. He fully intends to continue it when he's counseling full-time in an official capacity. Like a meditation, helping him to process the day's thoughts and emotions.
All that to say, he really would fuck up this Attempted Veggie Yakisoba if he had Akechi asking him questions about the collective unconscious while making it. Way, way too excited.
Mission successful: He's nearly done and ready to plate up when Akechi returns to the castle and joins him in the kitchen, as welcome a presence as ever. Maruki calls him in and chatters on as he finishes up, a dish towel slung over one shoulder and his glasses half-fogged. ]
Welcome home! Let me say up front that I make no promises this will taste anything like what we could get back home. I'm improvising a lot with the sauces available here... Ah, if I get desperate, I might have to start making my own mirin... I've considered asking the crystal for some more familiar ingredients, but that seems like a gamble, doesn't it? Which reminds me!
[ Collective points where feelings merge. He's thought about it all day. ]
I'm up for visiting any areas we consider to be highly cognitively concentrated any time. Sorry, forgot to tell you that when we were chatting earlier! Long day.
[ He also wants to get in that labyrinth, but that's getting ahead of things. ]
[For a second, he's back in Tokyo - wandering into trendy food stalls promoted on Instagram, hot sun blaring against his back in a steam filled space too small for than a couple people. There's a solitary moment of peace before-
No shoulder to shoulder touch, a room too large and spaced out, steam racing for the ceiling instead of an open stall window.
There's a peculiar comfort in the smell of fried noodles and vegetables. One he didn't expect to get hit with. Maruki said he would cook and by god, he's doing it every day. A trend he doesn't suspect will last much longer, once he realizes Vash truly is a moron who won't kick them out for not contributing.
He edges up to his tiptoes for a second - eyeing the meal in the pan before taking a-
Those half fogged glasses look ridiculous. Familiar. He blinks and sees a fluffy haired teen huddled over a curry pot in LeBlanc instead of -
A seat. He takes a seat across the kitchen bar - still watching.]
It smells like home. I thought I walked into a stall in Kichijoji when I came through those doors. It's impressive how you worked with the minimal items available at the market for our home cuisine.
[God he's actually excited to eat?? What a world.]
When we visit, you could take the opportunity to request something small like that. Your skepticism isn't unfounded though - many people don't get what they want. Some get other items entirely. Those who request their own innate abilities back often find them nerfed or not returned in full. It's entirely random.
framing that tag. that's the cutest shit i have ever seen. i want you dead for it
[ It smells like home gets the widest, warmest, most satisfied grin out of Maruki. That's the goal. If they can't get back to their reality, then he'll do his best to approximate a bit of it here.
He gives it one last taste test and shrugs. The sauce is most definitely off, not even in the same realm as what he could make at home, but it'll do.
Two plates, the rest set aside for whenever Vash shows his face plus leftovers – he's still working out how to cook for more than just himself and keeps making way too much. He doesn't join Akechi at the bar, just leans against it from his side as they tuck in. ]
Hmm... I might try it. Even just a random assortment of staples would be nice. Although, then what's stopping me from just putting in an order at Ore no Beko or someplace...
[ A rhetorical question to belie his keen interest in the second part of what Akechi said. Maruki looks at him over the top of his glasses between bites. ]
Is that true, about the abilities? I can imagine how frustrating that is for those who have them, but I wonder... Surely that's not a random fluke of a temperamental crystal. That seems like deliberate intervention.
[ The choice to return powers, but some only up to a point, is an odd one. Perhaps Vaeros likes a challenge. Perhaps he's able to carefully measure out what will be enough to keep the requester complacent. Perhaps he just likes messing around. No telling.
But if Azathoth returns to him in anything less than the state they left things in, he doesn't know what he'll do. Maybe a bit of the concern shows on his openly expressive face. Maybe. ]
[A quiet afterthought added before his first bite. It's not the same, but it's close. Similar to what he would expect from a homecooked meal versus the generous seasonings of restaurants and-
Well, it is a homecooked meal. One accompanied with the same unfamiliar sensation it had the first day he walked into Maruki cooking for them.
It's all temporary anyway - Akechi's paid for his portion with the items set by the man's door. All he needs to do is eat and tie up any residual feelings into a neat box. Concentrate on his voice instead because he's talking - the words momentarily drowned out by his own hunger being appeased. It's good.
He mentally backtracks through chews - abilities, right. It's probably fascinating to someone without any and who's new to a world of people alight with strange powers.]
If I were to put myself in their shoes, it would be incredibly insulting over frustrating. Imagine having something that's yours ripped away, along with your agency and will, for the whims of another. [Chopsticks move to soak a piece of green in a pool of sauce - like he's trying to drown it.] I thought the same - deliberate, especially because of the potions that give you 'approved powers' - so to speak. Weak as they are in comparison to what I've heard others have.
[A deliberate pause - more noodles. Happy thoughts. Tokyo will be in their sights before long.]
At this point, given my experience with our temperamental captor, the logic used in any decision made by him, or the group behind him, is far beyond rational thought.
[ Insulting sounds closer to the truth for him as well, but he wasn't about to say it like that and incur any suspicion. Takuto Maruki, just a normal guy, PsiD.
Still, it's impossible not to consider. If he offers his shards to the crystal and Azathoth returns to him unable to affect any real change, what will it all have been for? Not just the work he's put in to make that exchange, but everything, his whole life–
He nods along to what Akechi's saying, affecting thoughtful calm as his own mind races. ]
I don't envy the people that happens to, as much as I might wish I had some offensive capability myself. The total loss of autonomy, even in powers that are inherent to them...
[ He shakes his head. Takes a bite, then another. Wishes he had bean sprouts here. Wishes he had a guarantee of Azathoth here. Then sighs and straightens up, an excitable smile starting to spread over his face. ]
Speaking of applying psience to the illogical! Was there somewhere in particular you wanted me to start?
[ A weather-worn, dogeared little journal pulled from his pocket. It isn't the notebook Akechi gave him, and it's already half full as he flips through the pages to find a blank section, just in case he needs to diagram something.
Real nerd hours: START! ]
Edited (oh my god sorry for all the edits never tag sneeby) 2024-05-20 07:38 (UTC)
[That's the question isn't it? One he mulls over with a lengthy chew. He can feign basic knowledge from casual research of dubious origin. The police have access to a world the general public doesn't. It's the minor details that are vital. In depeth research only someone who concentrated on the field would understand. Outside of the obvious desire to rip themselves free of this world, this is an opportunity to learn outside of Shido's gaze. Find ways to ruin that man's life in the most brutal way possible - distort and destroy his cognition beyond repair.
The man wants to talk and Akechi wants to listen. A win/win scenario that goes beyond their shared goal of leaving this shit world.
With a swallow, he drops his utensils to pat his pockets - a little notebook and pencil pulled from it.]
The collective unconscious is the obvious first subject. Assuming the world shifts due to the unconscious desires of those who dwell in it - it's obvious a single person's will cannot overcome such a thing. A handful versus the many aren't odds I enjoy dwelling on.
[Fingers curl under his chin - pencil wound tight in his grip.]
Is it possible because of the power over time and space, the collective unconscious is also made of up of desires of those who were here and those who have yet to arrive? Ones targeted for future capture. It makes me wonder - it would certainly explain the extensive hold over us.
[Hand down - back to the notebook. A flip through filled pages to find a blank one.]
Though despite my comment only a moment ago, I'm also fascinated by the fact we're all being controlled. There is a group behind the scenes. If a single person's will cannot overcome the collective of many enough to reshape this world out of existence or remove Vaeros from his so-called power, how can those few people do it? It's quite baffling. Does anything in your research touch on that?
[A beat. Then a laugh and-]
Those were rather specific questions weren't they? A general overview of collective unconscious is fine as well.
mea culpa to atlus for running wherever i want with your half-baked concept
[ Is it his birthday and Christmas and White Day all rolled into one? Holy shit. Maruki can't help but look visibly pleased as Akechi speaks, so many solid concepts and good questions. This is fulfilling some deep and unattainable dream of being a professor.
Maruki knows full well that his food will begin its inexorable march toward being ice cold as soon as he gets started, so he finishes as much as he can while Akechi speaks and then sets it aside. Who cares about sustenance when you have rousing metaphysical discussion! On a related note, this is perhaps why he fainted a lot in grad school.
Regardless. ]
So, you touched on something I've been considering myself. Back in our reality, I would consider there to be three "planes," so to speak.
[ He draws them out on the paper, long thin rectangles stacked on top of one another. Between each one he draws arrows going both ways, and points to each layer from the top down as he explains. ]
There's our true reality, where we live out our daily lives. The cognitive reality, which impacts how we perceive the true reality. And the collective unconscious, where the very soul of all humanity resides. They can all influence one another in turn. Changes in the cognitive reality affect the true reality, as we both know, but I theorize that changes in the collective unconscious can do the same. This isn't proven by anything other than my own research, of course, and maybe I'm biased, but I do think there's merit to it.
[ He starts drawing multiple other layers of the cognitive reality alongside the original, filling up that middle section of the page with as many as he can. ]
But here in Somnius, with people pulled from potentially infinite different realities, we have potentially infinite cognitive planes. How you and I cognitively interact with the true reality – "true," of course, I'm only calling it that for the sake of simplicity but we both know that's not the case – is very different from, say, how Vash does. Our vastly different experiences, times in history, powers... Those all inherently affect our cognitions.
[ Very aware he's rambling, he tries to get to the point and taps the collective unconscious rectangle again. ]
Yet there is still only one collective unconscious that all of our different realities pull from. And that's what links us together, in my opinion. No matter how different I may be from someone from a much more fanciful reality, our souls draw from the same collective well. So then, to your point–
[ Maruki straightens up from where he's been bent over the notebook and laces his hands behind his head, stretching out his back and sighing before going on. ]
Why wouldn't the collective unconscious be able to draw from all realities, even those that belong to people who aren't currently here? It's not as if the different cognitive realities can be unlinked from the collective unconscious just because someone from them isn't physically present in the true reality. Based on everything so far, I'm more inclined to believe in limitless potential than limited. And if someone – a cabal of someones, perhaps – is tapped directly into that, they have a nearly incomprehensible amount of power over reality itself.
[ Pause. Deep breath. There is much more he could say to address Akechi's other points and questions, but he shuts up and spreads his hands wide, glad to take in whatever Akechi has to say to All Of That so far. ]
Edited 2024-05-21 10:18 (UTC)
thank you for explaining to me what atlus couldn't i finally understand the plot of the game
[The diagrams help - a method he was about to ride off as childish drivel for a kindergartener. He doesn't need pictures to understand a goddamn circle, but-
The words combined with the rapid movements of pen against paper, his own gaze attentive on every movement marked with every explanation of the concept.
This guy wasn't lying - it's on par with Wakaba Isshiki's own 'lost' papers, folded in the desk of some half assed, paid off scientist who isn't worth his weight in shit.
His body leans forward to assess the visual. Chaotic and unexplainable - it's the Metaverse. Too many aspects he could easily confirm in this moment, new problems to add into the mix, but that's not the act he's trying to convey.
Detective prince, budding interest in cognitive psience, a desire to learn to leave -
That's all.
And so he leans back, arms folding over his chest with that last thought poised his way. Mementos.
They need to go to Mementos.]
If that's the case, shouldn't it stand to reason this collective unconscious is accessible?
[Slow. Neutral. Thoughtful - as if he hasn't confirmed it for years.]
And if the cabal can access it, so can we. It's a matter of investigating what - perhaps attempting to alter the cognition of those here to 'make' a door form, so to speak. Offer the possibility and wait for an opening to appear or force it ourselves. If we all believe, then it must 'be'. If we all 'perceive' something, then it will appear. They are doing the same thing to us.
[Unleashing hell in his own turf, his own area of expertise - he can't wait to rip their captor's throat from their body.]
Although in asking this - the collective unconscious sounds equal and just, in the sense all are represented inside. The group controlling us included and all the puppets they've deemed enough to sate us.
[He flips the pages of his small notebook to a blank one - notes taken while Maruki was talking, his own thoughts hemming along the borders in small, clipped print.]
If we could find a true captor then the whole ordeal could be as simple as showing them we 'exist' where we shouldn't. A door opens that should be locked. A world opens that should be lost. My, it may be enough that we just 'appear' in front of them, when they thought they could stay hidden forever.
[Another note, smaller print - he avoids the word Mementos like a plague.]
I thought the dolls were useless, but it may be our simplest route to the true ruler of this place, if we can distort their cognition in our favor or break the world in an unexpected way.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
an akiren JOLTS AWAKE SOMEWHERE
It would be a shame for all their hard work to end in nothing because of an ailment they can't control.
you snooze you lose trickster
It's good! Really good, actually. Who knew this place made a decent cup of coffee? I should go there sometime... well, I think I took a nap there one day, early on. It's all a blur.
no subject
[He hates it, actually. It's shit compared to LeBlanc and its only purpose is as a shot of caffeine.]
Take care to avoid that in the future. Aubrey and I happened to be there while a rather volatile argument was looping. We were almost hit with a stray knife. Who knows when that might happen again.
no subject
Oh! Wow. I'm glad I missed that. I don't think it will happen again, I'm having fewer inconvenient bouts of sleep than I was then.
You know Aubrey-san?
no subject
[Stalking the network is a vibe - even if 50% of the information shared is useless, petty drivel.
The next text is delayed - a pause as his fingers refuse to hit send, and-]
However, she's a friend of mine. We tend to talk often.
no subject
I can see that for you two! Knife dodging and all.
Ah, you read the network like the morning paper, don't you.
no subject
It's a detective's duty to use every viable resource available. People are eager and comfortable providing information on it, so it seems prudent to take advantage.
Even personal accounts tend to be very interesting. The variety of worlds and realities represented is vast. Sometimes I can hardly believe what I'm reading - it's almost like a fantasy novel.
no subject
Just kidding (￣▽￣*)ゞ
Ah... yes, it's presenting some unique challenges for me. Just because the emotional wounds that need to be dealt with are the same across realities doesn't mean that I take it in stride when the set dressing to those wounds involves fairies, Norse gods, cyborgs, aether, etc.
I suppose it's never dull!
no subject
[The altruist counselor persona again - what a tedious ordeal to go through. It's Maruki's business though, ridiculous as it is to continue in a temporary world.]
You really plan to start counseling here? I know you spoke of it in a previous conversation, but I wasn't sure of your final decision.
I have to say it's noble of you take on such a task with our limited time here.
no subject
Oh, yes. I already forked over the shards for the business license, so it's in progress. I guess even magical crystals have to go through the red tape of paperwork.
My reasoning remains the same. It's all I know how to do. If I can help while I'm here, it's my duty to do so. And it's how I gather information, so ultimately, it serves our larger goal.
[ Kinda like how specifically seeking out Akira to counsel was done both out of true altruism and an ulterior motive to learn about the cognitive world? Yep! It Can Be Both. ]
If I can admit something to you, though... it's shocking how eager people are. At Shujin it was like pulling teeth. It's strange.
no subject
I'm sure you're aware of the phenomenon where people find it easier to speak to a stranger than someone they know.
Everyone here is aware you won't be in their world after this situation is resolved. I imagine it must feel comforting to speak your mind to someone you know will never be able to relay the secrets you tell them.
Those in Tokyo don't have such protections. Well meaning and kind as you are, those barriers can be difficult to cross.
no subject
Not that I'm complaining. It's great that people want to pursue their own healing so badly! Better that than the opposite.
Although... that does bring me to a topic I've been encountering and wanted your thoughts on.
What do you make of the dreamers who genuinely believe their lives are better here and have no interest in returning to their realities?
no subject
Akechi doesn't give a shit whether they live their life placated by false gods or die in their rotten worlds.
But they talk - Maruki and Eren. Justice and an image are more important than his true thoughts. It doesn't matter. He just needs to get back with minimal issue, minimal problems.]
I'm sympathetic to their plight. When given the opportunity to live an easier life, most would accept it in a heartbeat. I can't fault anyone for that decision - who would willingly choose to live in hell over purgatory? I think very few.
I have no interest in trying to change the minds of others. My sole goal is to find the truth of this world and return to our true reality. The decisions made by others are their own.
However, in saying that -
I will not accept anything less than returning to Tokyo. Should the goals of others get in the way of that, it will be necessary to reassess and negotiate with them as needed.
lol and lmao. hey i hate this actually
People can be convinced of anything when they're vulnerable. If the goal is to keep dreamers here as a means to whatever end, it makes sense to prey upon people who have little to return to.
There's power in collective thought. If that sense of complacency grows, it could easily affect this reality. Every time something changes, I think about it in terms of how the cognitions of the masses might be swaying things.
I could be chasing after nothing, of course. It's just a thought I've had.
Anyhow, we have the same goal! I can't tell you how much of a relief that is.
`hahaha`hahah`hahah`
That isn't good. A problem. Complacency in the the mindless morons who blithely accept whatever is handed to them is an issue he didn't care about in the slightest.
Eren's desire to stay - many others who feel the same. A cognitive shift that traps them in labyrinths and shitty fucking towns and-
All at once, he's livid.
It's a good theory - a great one. If Mementos has warped due to the collective thoughts of the majority - if there's a cabal exploiting that in the background, then there's a big goddamn problem in the making.
In the same vein, it's nothing Loki couldn't slash down. The solution, at once, sudden and simple. Turning citizens of this shithole to ash is easier than the nonsense they're dealing with now.
The response is-
Delayed. Weighted down. Sudden realizations combined with previous paranoia - morphing into solutions. Simple. Easy. Get back to Shido.]
Apologies - my phone froze. It is a relief.
Your theory may be plausible. If such thoughts are being exploited by those in charge, then many things start to make sense.
I will be operating with this perspective in mind. I thank you for sharing it and look forward to more in-depth discussions on the matter.
In fact, if you have time tonight, I would like for you to teach me whatever you can. That way I can be prepared to notice outliers and patterns to prove or disprove your statement.
it's cos you're always on that damn frozen phone
But that's just one researcher's opinion!
[ WHICH. WELL. SPEAKING OF! ]
Do I have time to talk about cognitive psience tonight??? Akechi-kun, I'd make time for it if I didn't.
But I do! After dinner?
pay his fantasy t-mobile bill then let him upgrade
There is likely a collective point where those feelings merge - or so I would assume, if that's the case. An area where all feel a sense of connection. We should also make time to visit such areas.
[The garden. The crystal. A few notable places come to mind.]
Though for our talk, after dinner suits me. If you find yourself wanting to speak while you're cooking or eating too, I wouldn't be opposed to hearing as much as I can in the time we're able to spend together.
> action this is hell this is hell
I know from experience that no matter how much I enjoy cooking, if I get on a roll talking about cognitive psience, I can and will become absorbed in it and burn everything. Even the rice. It's my one fatal flaw.
See you tonight!
[ Listen, if the promise of a rousing academic discussion with very real consequences for the mess they're currently in is what gets him through the day, then so be it. Maruki never thought he'd have reason to discuss cognitive psience again once he got here, much less someone so excited to hear it. Akechi really is full of surprises.
He comes back home earlier than normal, arms full of fresh ingredients from the marketplace as they are almost every night. Even with how volatile the shopping area can be, it's become a soothing routine, picking out what he'd like to make for everyone after a long day. He fully intends to continue it when he's counseling full-time in an official capacity. Like a meditation, helping him to process the day's thoughts and emotions.
All that to say, he really would fuck up this Attempted Veggie Yakisoba if he had Akechi asking him questions about the collective unconscious while making it. Way, way too excited.
Mission successful: He's nearly done and ready to plate up when Akechi returns to the castle and joins him in the kitchen, as welcome a presence as ever. Maruki calls him in and chatters on as he finishes up,
a dish towel slung over one shoulder and his glasses half-fogged. ]
Welcome home! Let me say up front that I make no promises this will taste anything like what we could get back home. I'm improvising a lot with the sauces available here... Ah, if I get desperate, I might have to start making my own mirin... I've considered asking the crystal for some more familiar ingredients, but that seems like a gamble, doesn't it? Which reminds me!
[ Collective points where feelings merge. He's thought about it all day. ]
I'm up for visiting any areas we consider to be highly cognitively concentrated any time. Sorry, forgot to tell you that when we were chatting earlier! Long day.
[ He also wants to get in that labyrinth, but that's getting ahead of things. ]
its fine just 💤💤💤💤💤💤
No shoulder to shoulder touch, a room too large and spaced out, steam racing for the ceiling instead of an open stall window.
There's a peculiar comfort in the smell of fried noodles and vegetables. One he didn't expect to get hit with. Maruki said he would cook and by god, he's doing it every day. A trend he doesn't suspect will last much longer, once he realizes Vash truly is a moron who won't kick them out for not contributing.
He edges up to his tiptoes for a second - eyeing the meal in the pan before taking a-
Those half fogged glasses look ridiculous. Familiar. He blinks and sees a fluffy haired teen huddled over a curry pot in LeBlanc instead of -
A seat. He takes a seat across the kitchen bar - still watching.]
It smells like home. I thought I walked into a stall in Kichijoji when I came through those doors. It's impressive how you worked with the minimal items available at the market for our home cuisine.
[God he's actually excited to eat?? What a world.]
When we visit, you could take the opportunity to request something small like that. Your skepticism isn't unfounded though - many people don't get what they want. Some get other items entirely. Those who request their own innate abilities back often find them nerfed or not returned in full. It's entirely random.
framing that tag. that's the cutest shit i have ever seen. i want you dead for it
He gives it one last taste test and shrugs. The sauce is most definitely off, not even in the same realm as what he could make at home, but it'll do.
Two plates, the rest set aside for whenever Vash shows his face plus leftovers – he's still working out how to cook for more than just himself and keeps making way too much. He doesn't join Akechi at the bar, just leans against it from his side as they tuck in. ]
Hmm... I might try it. Even just a random assortment of staples would be nice. Although, then what's stopping me from just putting in an order at Ore no Beko or someplace...
[ A rhetorical question to belie his keen interest in the second part of what Akechi said. Maruki looks at him over the top of his glasses between bites. ]
Is that true, about the abilities? I can imagine how frustrating that is for those who have them, but I wonder... Surely that's not a random fluke of a temperamental crystal. That seems like deliberate intervention.
[ The choice to return powers, but some only up to a point, is an odd one. Perhaps Vaeros likes a challenge. Perhaps he's able to carefully measure out what will be enough to keep the requester complacent. Perhaps he just likes messing around. No telling.
But if Azathoth returns to him in anything less than the state they left things in, he doesn't know what he'll do. Maybe a bit of the concern shows on his openly expressive face. Maybe. ]
please kill me and end the akechi goro brainrot
[A quiet afterthought added before his first bite. It's not the same, but it's close. Similar to what he would expect from a homecooked meal versus the generous seasonings of restaurants and-
Well, it is a homecooked meal. One accompanied with the same unfamiliar sensation it had the first day he walked into Maruki cooking for them.
It's all temporary anyway - Akechi's paid for his portion with the items set by the man's door. All he needs to do is eat and tie up any residual feelings into a neat box. Concentrate on his voice instead because he's talking - the words momentarily drowned out by his own hunger being appeased. It's good.
He mentally backtracks through chews - abilities, right. It's probably fascinating to someone without any and who's new to a world of people alight with strange powers.]
If I were to put myself in their shoes, it would be incredibly insulting over frustrating. Imagine having something that's yours ripped away, along with your agency and will, for the whims of another. [Chopsticks move to soak a piece of green in a pool of sauce - like he's trying to drown it.] I thought the same - deliberate, especially because of the potions that give you 'approved powers' - so to speak. Weak as they are in comparison to what I've heard others have.
[A deliberate pause - more noodles. Happy thoughts. Tokyo will be in their sights before long.]
At this point, given my experience with our temperamental captor, the logic used in any decision made by him, or the group behind him, is far beyond rational thought.
no subject
Still, it's impossible not to consider. If he offers his shards to the crystal and Azathoth returns to him unable to affect any real change, what will it all have been for? Not just the work he's put in to make that exchange, but everything, his whole life–
He nods along to what Akechi's saying, affecting thoughtful calm as his own mind races. ]
I don't envy the people that happens to, as much as I might wish I had some offensive capability myself. The total loss of autonomy, even in powers that are inherent to them...
[ He shakes his head. Takes a bite, then another. Wishes he had bean sprouts here. Wishes he had a guarantee of Azathoth here. Then sighs and straightens up, an excitable smile starting to spread over his face. ]
Speaking of applying psience to the illogical! Was there somewhere in particular you wanted me to start?
[ A weather-worn, dogeared little journal pulled from his pocket. It isn't the notebook Akechi gave him, and it's already half full as he flips through the pages to find a blank section, just in case he needs to diagram something.
Real nerd hours: START! ]
no subject
The man wants to talk and Akechi wants to listen. A win/win scenario that goes beyond their shared goal of leaving this shit world.
With a swallow, he drops his utensils to pat his pockets - a little notebook and pencil pulled from it.]
The collective unconscious is the obvious first subject. Assuming the world shifts due to the unconscious desires of those who dwell in it - it's obvious a single person's will cannot overcome such a thing. A handful versus the many aren't odds I enjoy dwelling on.
[Fingers curl under his chin - pencil wound tight in his grip.]
Is it possible because of the power over time and space, the collective unconscious is also made of up of desires of those who were here and those who have yet to arrive? Ones targeted for future capture. It makes me wonder - it would certainly explain the extensive hold over us.
[Hand down - back to the notebook. A flip through filled pages to find a blank one.]
Though despite my comment only a moment ago, I'm also fascinated by the fact we're all being controlled. There is a group behind the scenes. If a single person's will cannot overcome the collective of many enough to reshape this world out of existence or remove Vaeros from his so-called power, how can those few people do it? It's quite baffling. Does anything in your research touch on that?
[A beat. Then a laugh and-]
Those were rather specific questions weren't they? A general overview of collective unconscious is fine as well.
mea culpa to atlus for running wherever i want with your half-baked concept
Maruki knows full well that his food will begin its inexorable march toward being ice cold as soon as he gets started, so he finishes as much as he can while Akechi speaks and then sets it aside. Who cares about sustenance when you have rousing metaphysical discussion! On a related note, this is perhaps why he fainted a lot in grad school.
Regardless. ]
So, you touched on something I've been considering myself. Back in our reality, I would consider there to be three "planes," so to speak.
[ He draws them out on the paper, long thin rectangles stacked on top of one another. Between each one he draws arrows going both ways, and points to each layer from the top down as he explains. ]
There's our true reality, where we live out our daily lives. The cognitive reality, which impacts how we perceive the true reality. And the collective unconscious, where the very soul of all humanity resides. They can all influence one another in turn. Changes in the cognitive reality affect the true reality, as we both know, but I theorize that changes in the collective unconscious can do the same. This isn't proven by anything other than my own research, of course, and maybe I'm biased, but I do think there's merit to it.
[ He starts drawing multiple other layers of the cognitive reality alongside the original, filling up that middle section of the page with as many as he can. ]
But here in Somnius, with people pulled from potentially infinite different realities, we have potentially infinite cognitive planes. How you and I cognitively interact with the true reality – "true," of course, I'm only calling it that for the sake of simplicity but we both know that's not the case – is very different from, say, how Vash does. Our vastly different experiences, times in history, powers... Those all inherently affect our cognitions.
[ Very aware he's rambling, he tries to get to the point and taps the collective unconscious rectangle again. ]
Yet there is still only one collective unconscious that all of our different realities pull from. And that's what links us together, in my opinion. No matter how different I may be from someone from a much more fanciful reality, our souls draw from the same collective well. So then, to your point–
[ Maruki straightens up from where he's been bent over the notebook and laces his hands behind his head, stretching out his back and sighing before going on. ]
Why wouldn't the collective unconscious be able to draw from all realities, even those that belong to people who aren't currently here? It's not as if the different cognitive realities can be unlinked from the collective unconscious just because someone from them isn't physically present in the true reality. Based on everything so far, I'm more inclined to believe in limitless potential than limited. And if someone – a cabal of someones, perhaps – is tapped directly into that, they have a nearly incomprehensible amount of power over reality itself.
[ Pause. Deep breath. There is much more he could say to address Akechi's other points and questions, but he shuts up and spreads his hands wide, glad to take in whatever Akechi has to say to All Of That so far. ]
thank you for explaining to me what atlus couldn't i finally understand the plot of the game
The words combined with the rapid movements of pen against paper, his own gaze attentive on every movement marked with every explanation of the concept.
This guy wasn't lying - it's on par with Wakaba Isshiki's own 'lost' papers, folded in the desk of some half assed, paid off scientist who isn't worth his weight in shit.
His body leans forward to assess the visual. Chaotic and unexplainable - it's the Metaverse. Too many aspects he could easily confirm in this moment, new problems to add into the mix, but that's not the act he's trying to convey.
Detective prince, budding interest in cognitive psience, a desire to learn to leave -
That's all.
And so he leans back, arms folding over his chest with that last thought poised his way. Mementos.
They need to go to Mementos.]
If that's the case, shouldn't it stand to reason this collective unconscious is accessible?
[Slow. Neutral. Thoughtful - as if he hasn't confirmed it for years.]
And if the cabal can access it, so can we. It's a matter of investigating what - perhaps attempting to alter the cognition of those here to 'make' a door form, so to speak. Offer the possibility and wait for an opening to appear or force it ourselves. If we all believe, then it must 'be'. If we all 'perceive' something, then it will appear. They are doing the same thing to us.
[Unleashing hell in his own turf, his own area of expertise - he can't wait to rip their captor's throat from their body.]
Although in asking this - the collective unconscious sounds equal and just, in the sense all are represented inside. The group controlling us included and all the puppets they've deemed enough to sate us.
[He flips the pages of his small notebook to a blank one - notes taken while Maruki was talking, his own thoughts hemming along the borders in small, clipped print.]
If we could find a true captor then the whole ordeal could be as simple as showing them we 'exist' where we shouldn't. A door opens that should be locked. A world opens that should be lost. My, it may be enough that we just 'appear' in front of them, when they thought they could stay hidden forever.
[Another note, smaller print - he avoids the word Mementos like a plague.]
I thought the dolls were useless, but it may be our simplest route to the true ruler of this place, if we can distort their cognition in our favor or break the world in an unexpected way.
frankly they should be paying us
yo what if i posted the whole tag
frothing so hard i'm a cappuccino
`uh oh uh oh uh oh uh oh`& sighs cw: violent thoughts
good god akechi. WRAP ??