[ a lot of things are fancy for zuriel, to be fair.
anyway they let akihiko speak, listening quietly and thinking through his answer. there are parts of it that they agree with, and parts they think could stand an elaboration, but it's not their idea of redemption that's being presented here. they asked for his. ]
They do say it's hard to break old habits. Personally, I think it's even harder when you know it's something you need to leave behind. Especially if it offers some sense of security, terrible or not. I don't think what you've said is wrong, but maybe it isn't as black and white either. Like maybe it's not just about leaving behind the things you're doing wrong, but it's learning what can and can't be changed, and learning how to work with those to be a better person.
But it sounds like you have some idea of what you want to leave behind anyway.
I do! It took me a long time to figure out, but I think I know what to aim for.
[Actually succeeding at this is the hard part, but hey, if he resurrects, maybe he'll have a lot of time to achieve it. Akihiko looks up to the fake sky. It's a nice blue sky, maybe because Akihiko is feeling pretty calm right now, despite the whole 'being dead' thing]
I already decided I'm not staying in heaven. Part of why is because I have to go back to overcoming my weaknesses as a person.
I don't think it's bad that it took a long time. It means you were really taking it into consideration instead of picking the first thing that sounded feasible.
[ but they turn that over around in their head, what weaknesses might mean. ]
Would you consider making it through these eight weeks a part of that? Overcoming a weakness by carrying on and exploring your options.
You need to focus, but yeah. Just think about it. Try to picture something in your mind. [He looks around, like saying goodbye to the roof of Gekkoukan] For this I remembered how it felt to stand in the actual roof. I guess that's how it turned out so...vivid.
Was this place important to you then? It's... a school, right? [ they can guess. but they do listen to that advice and take a moment to think, visualizing for a bit before the imagery around them begins to shift to what looks like the beginnings of a forest. ]
It's the rooftop of the school I go to. Gekkoukan High. I hardly can think of a place more significant than this one for me.
[...more because of the Tartarus tower that sprouts here every night, and less because the school is a place he likes. He doesn't hate it, it just isn't a huge deal.
But also the rooftop is a really cool place, he can admit that!]
Oh! A forest. [He glances at Zuriel's halo. He shouldn't be surprised, he thinks to himself] Of course...
You have your school, I have this, I think. [ the forest itself looks fairly ancient, but it's large and beautiful and surrounds them from all sides. ] It's important because of the people you're with, right? I can't think of many people that actually like high school.
That's pretty much it. This is where I have been with, with the people I care about. Together we have faced a lot of things here. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't care at all about this place.
[The power of friendship, yeah! Sometimes it's based on fighting supernatural things in some eldritch location that sprouts from your school on a nightly basis. Persona games, they really are something!
Akihiko slowly walks around, taking in the forest. Interesting...!]
If this forest is some important place to you, then you spend a lot of time here?
It's amazing what places mean to you when you have memories attached. They could be something so mundane and mean nothing to anyone else, but you knew how important it was. And that was all that mattered.
[ we may walk. it sounds like there are some whispers in the forest, and the lighting is dim and the forest itself is peaceful. ]
It was magical. We used to come here to try and solve some mysteries we were hoping to find answers to. And it would listen to us and protect us as long as we did the same for it. [ this is a very condensed version of events. ]
[A magic forest! What a thought. Akihiko, looking around, isn't very sure how one can tell if a forest is magical or not. It seems rather pleasant, but that's how forests in general tend to be, aren't they? If he had his Persona and he were standing in middle of a magical forest, would he sense that?
That's a mystery that won't ever be solved because Tatsumi Port Island and its vicinity is very lacking in mystical magic forests]
Can it talk?
[If a forest can listen to you and protect you, it probably can also speak! IS that how this works?]
In a sense, yes. [ they seem fairly comfortable wandering where they're going, easily assuming akihiko will keep up. ] But not everyone can hear it or understand it. Most people can't even find it, actually. It took us a little time the first time.
It sounds like one of those things that once you get it, you don't ever forget it.
[He tries to think of anything he knows that might be a bit equivalent to this, but nothing comes to mind. Everything unusual he knows is hostile, not...magically protective like this forest]
[ well. they did not say the forest was always protective. but it currently is, and that's what matters. ]
Something like that. Some of us were able to communicate with it better than the rest of us, but that was because they had a deeper connection with it. But I don't think any of us minded.
[Well that's something a lot of S.E.E.S will find relatable, he thinks. Akihiko is on the side of the equation where he was part of something before someone else arrived, but he's perceptive enough to know how all the later members of S.E.E.S might have felt joining an already established group of friends.
While walking and trying to overcome what seemed like roots, Akihiko's hand goes through one of the trees, which he had intended to brace himself to pass over that. Ah, right, this is all an illusion. Everything had looked so peaceful and real it had been easy to forget it was all made of clouds. Really impressive crafting on Zuriel's part]
I know nothing about how magic forests work, but I imagine it wouldn't have allowed anyone to find it if it didn't want to.
[Or at least he's pretty sure that's how it works in stories and the such. He can't say he knows even this much, not being someone to have as much leisure to explore fiction as others]
[ they're watching him, as if to make sure that he's alright and also that he isn't going to do anything disrespectful to the trees themselves. ]
It had its own defenses. And one of our own was its maker, and another acted as its hands and eyes. We did everything to stabilize it from the evil trying to use its magic. But we had to build a relationship with it for it to trust us.
It's...a little hard to understand what that's like. I can't think of anything even remotely similar to your protective forest friend.
[Having to stabilizer a forest, gain its trust, protect it from evil who probably have their own magic and what not...Akihiko's life Akihiko's life is anything but mundane, yet right now he's feeling as puzzled as anyone average hearing about his adventures would feel.
But he's enjoying himself, that's for sure. This little glimpse of a faraway place is rather fascinating, and he's enjoying listening to Zuriel talk about it]
Probably because there isn't anything like it. The forest was the shape it took, but it was a little different. It was... a concept that shaped itself around us, and we shaped ourselves around it. But it's gone now.
[ so that's a little depressing, but it also means something. ]
It served the purpose it needed at the time and it showed us how powerful it really was. I don't think I'll ever experience anything else quite like it. But this is a close second.
[ that part is a little bit of a joke because, well, not comparable. ]
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anyway they let akihiko speak, listening quietly and thinking through his answer. there are parts of it that they agree with, and parts they think could stand an elaboration, but it's not their idea of redemption that's being presented here. they asked for his. ]
They do say it's hard to break old habits. Personally, I think it's even harder when you know it's something you need to leave behind. Especially if it offers some sense of security, terrible or not. I don't think what you've said is wrong, but maybe it isn't as black and white either. Like maybe it's not just about leaving behind the things you're doing wrong, but it's learning what can and can't be changed, and learning how to work with those to be a better person.
But it sounds like you have some idea of what you want to leave behind anyway.
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[Actually succeeding at this is the hard part, but hey, if he resurrects, maybe he'll have a lot of time to achieve it. Akihiko looks up to the fake sky. It's a nice blue sky, maybe because Akihiko is feeling pretty calm right now, despite the whole 'being dead' thing]
I already decided I'm not staying in heaven. Part of why is because I have to go back to overcoming my weaknesses as a person.
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[ but they turn that over around in their head, what weaknesses might mean. ]
Would you consider making it through these eight weeks a part of that? Overcoming a weakness by carrying on and exploring your options.
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[Hell yeah! I feel bad for writing that knowing I plan to have Akihiko murder, but whatever, hell yeah!
Akihiko turns his head towards Zuriel]
Want to make a place?
[You're hereby invited to use the cave's clouds if you want, green angel]
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Me? [ they seem surprised by that. ] I guess I could try. It's just... thinking it? That's how it changes?
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[...more because of the Tartarus tower that sprouts here every night, and less because the school is a place he likes. He doesn't hate it, it just isn't a huge deal.
But also the rooftop is a really cool place, he can admit that!]
Oh! A forest. [He glances at Zuriel's halo. He shouldn't be surprised, he thinks to himself] Of course...
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[The power of friendship, yeah! Sometimes it's based on fighting supernatural things in some eldritch location that sprouts from your school on a nightly basis. Persona games, they really are something!
Akihiko slowly walks around, taking in the forest. Interesting...!]
If this forest is some important place to you, then you spend a lot of time here?
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[ we may walk. it sounds like there are some whispers in the forest, and the lighting is dim and the forest itself is peaceful. ]
It was magical. We used to come here to try and solve some mysteries we were hoping to find answers to. And it would listen to us and protect us as long as we did the same for it. [ this is a very condensed version of events. ]
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That's a mystery that won't ever be solved because Tatsumi Port Island and its vicinity is very lacking in mystical magic forests]
Can it talk?
[If a forest can listen to you and protect you, it probably can also speak! IS that how this works?]
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It sounds like one of those things that once you get it, you don't ever forget it.
[He tries to think of anything he knows that might be a bit equivalent to this, but nothing comes to mind. Everything unusual he knows is hostile, not...magically protective like this forest]
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Something like that. Some of us were able to communicate with it better than the rest of us, but that was because they had a deeper connection with it. But I don't think any of us minded.
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[Or teammates, or partners, or classmates, or park rangers...something! Everyone attuned to the magical forest, giving and taking protection to it]
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[ it was theirs and it was theirs to protect, and be protected in turn. ]
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While walking and trying to overcome what seemed like roots, Akihiko's hand goes through one of the trees, which he had intended to brace himself to pass over that. Ah, right, this is all an illusion. Everything had looked so peaceful and real it had been easy to forget it was all made of clouds. Really impressive crafting on Zuriel's part]
I know nothing about how magic forests work, but I imagine it wouldn't have allowed anyone to find it if it didn't want to.
[Or at least he's pretty sure that's how it works in stories and the such. He can't say he knows even this much, not being someone to have as much leisure to explore fiction as others]
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It had its own defenses. And one of our own was its maker, and another acted as its hands and eyes. We did everything to stabilize it from the evil trying to use its magic. But we had to build a relationship with it for it to trust us.
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[Having to stabilizer a forest, gain its trust, protect it from evil who probably have their own magic and what not...Akihiko's life Akihiko's life is anything but mundane, yet right now he's feeling as puzzled as anyone average hearing about his adventures would feel.
But he's enjoying himself, that's for sure. This little glimpse of a faraway place is rather fascinating, and he's enjoying listening to Zuriel talk about it]
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[ so that's a little depressing, but it also means something. ]
It served the purpose it needed at the time and it showed us how powerful it really was. I don't think I'll ever experience anything else quite like it. But this is a close second.
[ that part is a little bit of a joke because, well, not comparable. ]