Don't forget the Joker!

A independent RP blog for Akira Kurusu from Persona 5 Royal/Strikers

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

For all you nerds using Tumblr mobile... I’m sorry you have to do that.

But here, have some links to my stuff!

Muse Info Verses Rules

[caramialunaestelle]

"Hmm? Oh, yeah I suppose so... Though I have been thinking about it more recently, and I would like to maybe look into... forensics. Crime scene investigation... detective work... That sort of thing. My father was supposed to be promoted to head detective when he passed on, so I was thinking of going that route."

"Y-You're right though," she stuttered, trying to hide her blush behind a mouthful of food. She waited until she'd finished swallowing before speaking again. "I really should focus on my studies and getting through school first before I start thinking about marriage or any of that sort of thing. I can't really be a good wife to someone if I get nowhere in life..."

She quickly backtracked again, a sigh leaving her. "I didn't mean it like that! I... I was just thinking aloud. My apologies. You're right we have time to figure out that stuff."

This had become so awkward. Maybe it was time to change subjects. "Are you enjoying your meal? I try to make healthier meals so I don't feel sluggish afterward. I can sometimes feel less than stellar when Ann and I get an abundance of junk food on our days out together."

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

"Isn't crime scene investigating and forensics done by different people with different roles rather than just the detectives? Like, the detectives might find some of the evidence but it'll be forensics and crime scene investigators who find and examine most of it? Although I suppose you would know the specifics better than I would." Akira had never been too interested in the inner workings of the police, and given all that had happened? He didn't really have much desire to learn more about it.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Makoto. There are plenty of people who didn't excel in school who still went a long way. Even people who you would have assumed would be straight A students, like Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton." He gave a small shrug. "I would also agree that school is too early to think about those sort of things... unless you've met someone who you think might be the right person for you."

He was hiding a smirk behind his hand with the chopsticks though, trying to act like his hand was just there by coincidence rather than anything else. He couldn't help teasing her just a little, but he was at least making an attempt not to push her too far.

"Well, as someone who is used to the same curry for two or three meals a day, it makes a nice change, and it being healthier AND delicious is definitely a plus. And I imagine you don't go too wild on the junk food... I could see Ann trying the Big Bang Challenge, but surely you have more sense than that." He wasn't going to admit to having done all of the Big Bang Challenges at this point.

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

Wait it's Sinday

uhh

iunno have this

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

I'm still kinda amazed by Morgana's plan because like

It was genius, and it tricked everyone (other than the people involved) that Joker was dead for a good long while. Akechi only suspected that he might be alive when Shido told him to kill everyone involved, he figured something was going on, but I don't even actually know if he suspected Joker was alive, he might have thought it was the other thieves working without him.

... I do wonder if they actually expected the rough 'interrogation' that Joker got... and I kinda doubt it because let's face it... Joker didn't escape that unscathed. He got beat and drugged to hell, that's definitely scarred and probably even traumatised him a bit. I don't think they expected the police to be THAT brutal with him.

Mainly because I don't think the Phantom Thieves would accept a plan that'd involve traumatising someone, especially considering they don't kill people, even people who you could make a VERY strong case for them deserving it.

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

Joker, out of all the places you've been to, where would you go for a vacation?

"You really need to ask?"

"Hawaii, of course~"

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

Bold your muses preferences (Food Edition)

cake or ice cream?

sweet or spicy?

potato chips or french fries ?

seasoned or bland ?

cookies or brownies?

salad or pizza?

turkey or chicken?

hamburger or cheeseburger?

sour or bitter?

homecooked or takeout?

hot or cold?

beef or pork?

chocolate or white chocolate?

fruit or vegetables?

soft or hard shell tacos?

tea or coffee?

stuffing or mashed potatoes?

cake or pie?

fresh ingredients or from the can?

Tagged by: Stolen from: @goddessofpathos

Tagging: DO IT, YOU WON'T

[fatherless-behavior-prompts]

Normalize sending good anons to blogs. Ask about headcanons. Throw little what if scenarios at them. Send them responses from characters in their canon they don't normally get to interact with!

[caramialunaestelle]

@dcntfcrgetthejcker || Continued from Here! (Makoto)

Keeping this a secret would be beneficial. Aside from her sister, the team dynamic might change completely if they knew. Makoto didn't think it was a very good idea. For now, this budding romance would be just between them.

"Well, yes," Makoto replied. "Can I not be a police officer as well as a wife? I don't have to be a housewife, per se... But I can still make dinner every once in a while, right?"

Her face flushed pink again. "I... Are you suggesting you want to be a househusband?" She asked. "I can't see you doing that. I doubt you'd enjoy sitting around at home doing chores. I could see you working in a cafe, though. Perhaps that's because I'm so used to seeing you in LeBlanc. But you're friendly, so I think you'd work well with other people."

Her face suddenly felt even more red hot as she realized she'd implied that he was the househusband in question. "I mean... I... Er... W-well... Not that... Not that I think we'll be... I mean... It'd be nice to... but it's just so early and... Well, I mean..."

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

"Hmm, I suppose so. It depends on what sort of Chief you'd be, but I don't think you'd be satisfied just sitting behind a desk and ordering everyone around. I think you'd still want to be on the streets, patrol, get involved in drug busts and whatnot..."

Akira didn't have any faith in the police at this point. He'd lost some faith in them when he had ended up getting arrested... and hadn't really been given anything to restore that faith, just more things to erase it away. And with one of the things that had happened to him...

... he doubted he'd ever truly trust the police again.

But he trusted Makoto, at the very least. And knew that she wanted to change the police for the better.

He could trust people, if not the entire organisation.

"I mean, if I work at a cafe, depending on what times it'd be open, I'd still be able to be a house husband for a wife when she comes home from work. If the cafe is only open from, say, mid-morning until early evening, I'd still have enough time to do housework and cook for my partner.

"Haha, I think you might be thinking ahead a bit too much, Makoto." He couldn't stop a smile creeping back onto his face as Makoto got flustered. "I can definitely see worse futures for me than ending up being married to you, but let's enjoy the present before we start planning the future, shall we?" He said, taking another mouthful of their meal. "We practically have all the time in the world, after all... and we don't always need a plan."

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

psst yes i'm still alive and I'm gonna work on the draft I have here hopefully tomorrow x.x

[queenxfjustice]

Makoto couldn’t help the pink that flushed her cheeks as he mentioned her embarrassing foray into spying on him. She hadn’t noticed how she’d been holding the magazine at the time, but she remembered he’d caught her once and pointed it out to her. Makoto awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck and gave a rather nervous laugh, “I suppose I’m not cut out for espionage, huh?”

“I think it’s rather unfair that people, myself included, are so quick to judge you based on the rumours alone… You’re one of the kindest and genuinely sweetest people I’ve ever met. I know the kind of fight you have in you, and I highly doubt you would ever use your power for the wrong reasons. You’re not a bad person at all. You just… got a shitty hand dealt to you. I’m sorry people don’t see you for the person you truly are.”

She gave him a warm grin as he settled into his seat and she draped the cloth napkin across her lap. “Sae might get jealous… I’m the first to go on a date of the two of us,” she teased with a giggle. “So let’s promise to keep it secret.”

Makoto waited for him to start eating before bringing the first morsel to her lips. She watched for his reaction, satisfied when he didn’t outright wince or gag. “I do enjoy cooking… Maybe I really would make a good wife one day,” she joked.

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

"Oh, I wouldn't say you're not cut out for it. You just needed a little guidance. After all, you're a great Phantom Thief. Maybe you just needed the right motivation, the right reason to do it." He smiled.

His smile faded a little as he listened to her talk about people judging him and about him being one of the kindest and sweetest people she'd met. Now it was his turn to turn a little red.

"W-well, if that's the opinion you have of me, I guess I must be doing something right." He gave a chuckle, looking away for a moment. As for more people not seeing me for how I truly am..." He gave a small sigh, his eyes going back to Makoto. "...I'm used to it by now. It bothered me a bit at first, but I just had to learn to ignore what other people think of me. The only people whose opinion I care about now is those closest to me... like you, and the other Thieves." He gave a small smile, taking another mouthful of food.

"Ha, I'm fine with keeping a secret if you are." He didn't think it would cause trouble, but Haru had seemed quite cold for a moment before getting her composure back when he had turned her down. He hadn't noticed anything too much from Ann, but Futaba also seemed to be harbouring a big crush. He didn't want to lie to them, but also keeping it secret seemed to be a good way to avoid the chance of teamwork falling apart... and just because other people liked him didn't mean he couldn't date at all.

"I thought you wanted to become Chief of Police someday?" Akira said, with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not going to say that you shouldn't become 'just a wife' if that's what you decide you want, but I did think you had set your goals elsewhere." He gave a soft hum. "Maybe you'll get a guy who wants to be a house-husband anyway? Someone who's happy to keep the house and cook for you~" He gave a small smirk. He didn't necessarily mean himself... but he hadn't quite decided what he wanted to do yet, or if he was even going to go to college. He was interested in learning about psychology, after all the things he had seen, but he wasn't sure on anything yet.

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

Headcanon: Trauma

I would have thought I'd already made a headcanon about this, but probably not. So, here goes!

Most of Akira's current trauma comes from the interrogation he was subjected to. All the phsyical abuse and drugs really took a toll on him, as you would expect. It was part of the plan for him to get captured, that's what their plan basically hinged upon, after all. Akira's main job during said plan was to draw attention and make sure everyone else got away safely.

They did not know how harsh the interrogation would be, that it would essentially be physical torture and would involve drugging him heavily to try and get him to talk. Especially since he refused to talk to anyone other than Sae, he had a very rough time of it.

He still has a few aches and pains, even a while after it, although there is nothing physically wrong, and he has extremely vivid nightmares about it, which do generally result in him waking up covered in sweat and sometimes screaming.

He generally tries not to go into detail about precisely what happened for the sake of the other Thieves. They know that there was physical abuse and that he was drugged but they do not know to what extreme he was, since the only people who really got to see him straight afterwards was Sae, when she was interrogating him, Akechi, who, obviously, didn't give a shit, and Sojiro, when Sae brought Akira to him. Sojiro didn't really trust the police in the first place, given all the stuff that happened with Wakaba, but after seeing how badly Joker was beaten up, and the fact that he was drugged almost senseless, that definitely made him lose what little trust he had in the police.

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

Akira looked at her for a few moments, as if trying to judge what to say.

“…I’m not going to say I didn’t trust you at first when you got your Persona, but…” He bit his lip. “…I didn’t know whether to trust you. You had been known to do completely reckless things shortly before then, which landed all us in serious trouble, and before then you had basically been blackmailing us. I was willing to listen to you on strategical matters, as long as your suggestions made sense… which they always did.” He stood up a little, placing a hand on Makoto’s shoulder. “…I’m telling you this because I do trust you now. I trust you not to take offense, that you’ll be able to recognise that I had reason not to trust you. I didn’t distrust you, at least, it’s more like… I was on the fence about trusting you.”

“Now that I do trust you, maybe I will ask you to help more with organising, but I’ve been doing it all so long… might be a little hard for me to let the control go. We can talk about it more later, though, if you really want.” He gave she a small smile.

He took another sip of his coffee before striding over to the table as she set the finishing touches. He was about to take his own seat before he paused, moving around closer to Makoto and pulling out her chair for her.

“Don’t tell Sojiro that I almost sat down before pulling out your chair.” He joked a little. “He’d never let me live it down, he sometimes talks about how to be a gentleman, after all.”

[queenxfjustice]

“That makes sense,” Makoto replied. “I couldn’t really trust you fully at first either. After all, the rumours surrounding you and the others were rather unsavoury. But I know better now and I trust you too. I’m glad we see eye to eye now. And I don’t mind if you don’t want me to help more often, but I’m always available to help if the need be.”

Makoto watched as she quickly corrected his mistake by pulling out her chair for her, eyes wide with surprise before she let out a small giggle. “He really is a rather good father figure for you,” she commented. “I promise I won’t tell him if you promise not to tell my sister about this date… Not that you’d get the chance to. But I’m sure she’d be disappointed to know I’m starting to date instead of solely focusing on my studies.”

She took her seat and laid out the cloth napkin across her lap, before gesturing for him to sit as well. “I’m definitely not the best at cooking, but I’m not terrible at it. I think it’s important to be able to feed yourself, especially when I eventually live on my own.”

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

"I mean, I kinda gathered that you couldn't trust me by the fact that you were following me around... if you're gonna try to hide behind a book while you're stalking someone, you might wanna try holding the book the right way up, even if you're not reading it." He teased, playfully.

"But I mean, it's not like the main rumour about me was untrue, I did commit a crime, and I did assault someone, and I was arrested for it. But a lot of the details didn't come across. Heck, I don't even know if Kamoshida knew all the details... In fact, he probably didn't care. Not that he would have known anyway, given who I had assaulted and what happened after that."

He pushed her chair in after she was seated, before taking a seat himself, giving a soft chuckle. "Well if your sister ever asks me about it, I promise I'll deny it. I'll even say that I offered but you said that you had to study, if you want." He said, a small grin on his lips.

"Considering you've talked about how long you and your sister have been living together, and that chances are you've been making most of the dinners, due to how demanding her job is? I'm sure you're an excellent cook, with all the practice you've gotten." He smiled reassuringly at her, before he picked up his utensils and started to eat.

[queenxfjustice]

“I did suggest helping you out on the whole organizing everyone situation,” Makoto suggested. She always wanted to be of more help to the group and while she did make a good tactician, she really felt like she could do more. She did owe the group for saving her from a life of utter hell, after all.

“You can rely on us to do more than just help you fight, y'know,” she added.

She had to pause for a moment when he called her dear, a tiny blush warming her cheeks as the thoughts of a more domestic (and admittedly, romantic) situation filled her thoughts. Makoto quickly shook the lingering wedding bells in the back of her head away and gently swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t push it,” she warned, rushing off to the kitchen before he could catch how flustered he’d made her.

She busied herself with the finishing touches on the food before calling him to the table. She’d managed to make a rather impressive meal, considering the small amount of ingredients she’d bought at the store.

“It’s not much, but it’s something,” she sighed. “Come eat. You must be hungry by now.”

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

Akira looked at her for a few moments, as if trying to judge what to say.

"...I'm not going to say I didn't trust you at first when you got your Persona, but..." He bit his lip. "...I didn't know whether to trust you. You had been known to do completely reckless things shortly before then, which landed all us in serious trouble, and before then you had basically been blackmailing us. I was willing to listen to you on strategical matters, as long as your suggestions made sense... which they always did." He stood up a little, placing a hand on Makoto's shoulder. "...I'm telling you this because I do trust you now. I trust you not to take offense, that you'll be able to recognise that I had reason not to trust you. I didn't distrust you, at least, it's more like... I was on the fence about trusting you."

"Now that I do trust you, maybe I will ask you to help more with organising, but I've been doing it all so long... might be a little hard for me to let the control go. We can talk about it more later, though, if you really want." He gave she a small smile.

He took another sip of his coffee before striding over to the table as she set the finishing touches. He was about to take his own seat before he paused, moving around closer to Makoto and pulling out her chair for her.

"Don't tell Sojiro that I almost sat down before pulling out your chair." He joked a little. "He'd never let me live it down, he sometimes talks about how to be a gentleman, after all."

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

“Re… lax? What is this ‘relax’ you talk of?” Akira joked, as he reclined back a little. While he was joking, it was quite a while since he had relaxed. Morgana usually pushed him to make use of his time, whether it was talking and spending time with friends, working out, making phantom thief tools, taking the group to Mementos… and he was always part of the main group infiltrating palaces or Mementos. It had been quite a while since he’d had a chance to just relax.

It certainly felt a little odd, to relax after so long. He wondered if this was how Makoto felt, especially before joining the Phantom Thieves. She’d always seemed a bit uptight and stressed.

It turned out he probably needed that moment of relaxation more than he would have guessed. By the time Makoto had come over to him to ask if he wanted a drink, he’d almost dozed off, having not been paying too much attention to the TV, just having it on as background noise along with the sounds of Makoto making dinner.

“Mmm… whuh?” He jerked awake rubbing his eyes a little. “…Oh, drink. Uh… have you got any coffee? If not a soda or water will be fine, I’m not too picky…” He said, not paying too much attention to what he was saying, his cheeks flushed from having been caught in such a state.

[queenxfjustice]

Makoto smirked at his little quip, shaking her head slowly as she prepped their meal. As she worked, the occasional glance into the living room revealed Akira really did need some time to relax. Makoto noticed he had drifted off to sleep as she quietly sliced vegetables and seasoned the fish. She smiled softly to herself, knowing he probably needed it.

She had reached out gently to wake him to ask if he wanted anything to drink, pursing her lips so as not to giggle at his reaction. “We have a coffee machine, yes. I can put on a pot,” she replied. “Sorry for waking you. You looked like you needed the rest. But dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes, okay?”

“You can keep napping for the time being if you want. I’ll make that coffee.” She moved back to the kitchen and set up the coffee machine. It certainly wouldn’t be as delicious and well-brewed as the coffee from LeBlanc but it was caffeinated and would wake him up.

By the time the coffee was done brewing, dinner was ready and served. She laid out the spread on the dining table before pouring the cup of coffee and bringing it over to Akira. “Dinner’s ready,” she said with a smile.

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

"Mmh, maybe a little... Morgana does try to make sure I get to bed at a good time, but, amazingly enough, a cat telling you that you can't go out or that you should just go to sleep isn't exactly the greatest motivator, especially when you're one of those terrible 'rebels of society'." He gave a soft chuckle as he continued rubbing his eyes, his cheeks a little flushed as he noticed Makoto holding back her giggling.

"It is exhausting having to try to organise a bunch of kids... and a school council president." He teased, although Makoto had done a lot of the work to get them a bit more organized when she had joined.

He stretched out. "If dinner is nearly ready, I should probably make sure I'm awake for it..."

He did at least manage to stay awake for the next quarter of an hour, although it did look like he momentarily dropped off a bit. Sometimes it just looked more like those moments where he was just standing there motionless, when he was, unbeknownst to the rest of the Phantom Thieves, in the Velvet Room.

"Ah, yes..." He took the cup, before realizing how domestic this whole situation seemed, a small little smile coming to his lips. "Thank you, dear... it is always nice to be able to come home to a nice warm dinner~" He teased, playfully, taking a sip of the coffee. As Makoto had guessed, it was not as good as LeBlanc's, but it was good enough.

[queenxfjustice]

Makoto was already tightening the tie on her apron before she set about washing and prepping the vegetables. She waved him off, smiling at him from behind the counter and shaking her head. “You do enough for me already,” She stated simply. “And besides, you’re my guest, you deserve to relax for a little while. It won’t take very long. I make this meal all the time.”

She worked quickly and efficiently, chopping up the vegetables, seasoning the fish, and washing the rice before setting it up in the cooker. Once everything was cooking and she had some time to relax, she came around and sat down beside him.

“It shouldn’t be much longer. Would you like something to drink?”

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

"Re... lax? What is this 'relax' you talk of?" Akira joked, as he reclined back a little. While he was joking, it was quite a while since he had relaxed. Morgana usually pushed him to make use of his time, whether it was talking and spending time with friends, working out, making phantom thief tools, taking the group to Mementos... and he was always part of the main group infiltrating palaces or Mementos. It had been quite a while since he'd had a chance to just relax.

It certainly felt a little odd, to relax after so long. He wondered if this was how Makoto felt, especially before joining the Phantom Thieves. She'd always seemed a bit uptight and stressed.

It turned out he probably needed that moment of relaxation more than he would have guessed. By the time Makoto had come over to him to ask if he wanted a drink, he'd almost dozed off, having not been paying too much attention to the TV, just having it on as background noise along with the sounds of Makoto making dinner.

"Mmm... whuh?" He jerked awake rubbing his eyes a little. "...Oh, drink. Uh... have you got any coffee? If not a soda or water will be fine, I'm not too picky..." He said, not paying too much attention to what he was saying, his cheeks flushed from having been caught in such a state.

[queenxfjustice]

Makoto slowly shut the door behind her, the electronic lock letting out a small beep to let her know the door was now locked again. She set her bags down for a moment to take off her shoes, placing them neatly in the shoe closet before stepping into a pair of Buchimaru-themed house slippers and carrying the grocery bags to the kitchen.

“Make yourself at home!” she called out. “The toilet is the first door on the right as you come in. The kitchen, dining and living room are here in the main room, that door over there is Sae’s bedroom, and that over there is my room. Though I’m sure you could probably already tell,” she explained, pointing to the door with her nameplate on it (adorned with a small panda of course).

“I’ll get started on dinner. In the meantime feel free to wander around or watch TV or something.” Makoto was already slipping on an apron and pulling out the ingredients for dinner from the shopping bag.

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

"Oh?" He had followed after her as she had walked further in, but he did make sure to note where she was saying the rooms where. Although he definitely wasn't going to go into Sae's room, and would only go into Makoto's room if he was invited, of course. He took of his jacket, placing it over the back of a chair when he entered the kitchen.

"Don't be afraid to ask me for a hand if you want, I don't mind helping to make dinner." He said, before taking a seat in front of the TV and switching it on. He wasn't sure what was on, since the TV at LeBlanc was often on the same channel all day, but it didn't matter that much anyway, his attention would mostly be on Makoto, even as she prepared and cooked.

[dcntfcrgetthejcker]

Playing Tactica is like being reunited with old friends for me~ ^^