[ Typically, when Yusuke stumbles out of bed in the middle of the night, he doesn't bother to dress himself - it's very possible Akechi has gotten a look at his bare ass tiptoeing to the bathroom - but knowing that he's coming, the artist makes an effort to be presentable. Pajama pants and a wide-necked sweater that hangs off one shoulder, heavy eyelids and messy hair. He's standing right next to the stove, ready to snatch the kettle up right as it starts to whistle to avoid a harsh noise.]
You can't sleep, either?
[ He pulls a couple mugs from the cabinet, picking out the one Akechi requested of Ren's for him. ]
[Honestly he's half-expecting a lack of shirt at this point, bare ass or not, he at least suspects he won't be making tea in the nude. Only Ren managed to do that and he had an apron on him. Despite the time, it barely looks like Akechi bothered to change clothing - or he hasn't taken them off for the day just yet. In his hands, a book - local literature he snagged up back before Ren left. He appreciates the cup that Yusuke picked, but does not bother to say that to him.]
Not exactly...it's more that I tend not to sleep much by habit. Even if I can sleep in, I tend to go to bed late. I usually slept about three to five hours in Tokyo, in between all the studio appearances, working with Sae-san and...well...you're aware of the rest.
[Honestly it would explain a lot of his actions. He does at least look mellowed out and close to his own sleeping time. Enough not to be too snarky about the conversation which probably explains why he wasn't snapping at him on the text posts.]
[ Yusuke hums an acknowledgement, and keeps busy scooping loose leaf tea into tea balls and dropping them into the mugs. His own sleeping habits are horrible, too, the artist regularly up painting at all hours of the night. Having Ren's bed to crawl into helped, making him sleepy from sex or cuddling or just the soothing rhythm of his breath, but now his bed is empty and his inspiration has run dry. It's getting hard. ]
Is that any good? I haven't found much to read here besides smut.
[What is getting hard huh hurr hurr hurr I'm sorry.. Akechi runs a hand on his brow because it is true, there IS a lot of smut in this place and just finding books that aren't centred around it is a task in itself.]
It's a book centring around the dual philosophies of being a Dominant or being a Submissive. I'm reading it to understand more how these people think, since I don't agree with much of it. As they say, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
I'm surprised it's taking you so long to understand, even if you don't share their philosophy.
[ And there goes the kettle. Yusuke is quick as ever, despite the late hour, to avoid more than a second of the ringing, calmly distributing water into both mugs. ]
Many cultures are obsessed with sex. They just don't show it so overtly.
That's not the point. I want to understand what led them to this. Remember in the house party, when it was discovered that perhaps the creator might have been a Submissive? Why let an entire group rot below? There's a lot to think about. It's not just understanding the why, but the how, when and the who.
[He crosses his arms.]
Answers seem to be hard to come by, either by accident or purposefully. The sex matters little to me. [Not quite the truth.]
Do the natives usually stay there long? They seem more amenable to contracts, having grown up here.
[ It's an honest question, Yusuke signed his contract with Ren within a week, and hasn't spent much time in the Down since. It's not that he agrees with the way things are done here, but he's adapted more quickly than he thought he would. The idea that this designation actually suits him is one that he's resisted, but...
He's happy. At least, he was. He'd probably be happier if he could have found love at home, but he hasn't taken it for granted. ]
He must believe it is for their own good. That they can be happy in submission if they open themselves to it.
[His hands tighten around the cup, despite the heat. Or maybe because of it.]
Imagine being born in the Down and having to be a submissive because of it. You don't get a choice...not that WE had any either, but at least we didn't live our lives in that place.
It was perfectly clear back home who had power and who did not. It doesn't take a collar to know when you're on the bottom.
[ Yusuke's an orphan who would have been homeless if not for his scholarship. His connection to Madarame did nothing for him, in the end, but leave him stunted and traumatized. ]
Can you imagine? Tokyo, sexualized the way Duplicity is?
Was it? [He raises an eye in interest at that.] Perhaps at first glance. I suppose I dealt with a lot more...shadiness directly than you did. Sometimes power was well hidden, or another shown before, a puppet for another.
[Like himself, for example. He can't help but laugh bitterly at that as well.]
[His voice is a little more angry now. He gets what Yusuke means to say. But he's seen things that they never got into as well.]
There was much more than just Tokyo.
[Anyway.]
That would be troublesome wouldn't it. Saddled by him. Granted I supposed Shido would have had to be saddled with me as well once my mother....well. [He finally takes a sip before he blurts out more.] Would the rules have worked correctly there, I wonder.
[God what a messed up thought to have.]
Or maybe it might have changed things. Who says you wouldn't have been a dominant? The you who was previously here was, I believe.
[ He isn't suited to it. He can barely take care of himself, if left on his own, much less having to protect and provide for another person. ]
It's taken me months to build up enough work to have a portfolio, here.
[ he tacks on money as an excuse, since he's probably said too much. It's a sign of weakness, he knows, to imply that he's more or less comfortable with his position, but it's true. As long as he isn't forced to go back to the Down... Yusuke would go home if given the choice, but it's not like his life here has been bad. Of course, he has Ren to thank for that, and he isn't here.
[Akechi is more of a stone wall of emotion. Mostly because he's a little annoyed at the other for thinking himself that low. Also because he is salty (but that is a given).]
You would have better resources and no blockage if it came to doing things.
[He puts the cup down and briefly rolls his eyes before leaving without a word...and returning a few minutes later with his suitcase in tow. He quickly sits back and opens it before pulling out a list of papers with highlighted names.]
City records.
[He points to the first one; Ryuji Sakamoto with the name Hitagi Senjougahara, then Ann Tamaki with the 'name' 9S next to her. Finally, Akira Kurusu, pointing back to a someone called Munehisa Iwai.
Those are the first ones. I'm not sure who Iwai is, but Akira Kurusu was the name the other Joker went as.
[He waits for Yusuke's reaction before showing the next page. He doesn't like the next page, truth be told.]
[ Yusuke gathers closer, setting his tea back on the counter to investigate the papers. He peeks over Akechi's shoulder and all his highlights and notes...more organized in his work than he could ever hope to be, he realizes, with a quick glance at the stack of paintbrushes dangerously close to rolling off a side table in the living room. ]
Iwai...from the model gun shop? [ Something squirms in the bottom of his stomach. Jealousy? That's ridiculous. ] I didn't realize he was interested in men that much...older. [ A pause. ] Akira Kurusu...
[ The name feels strangely comfortable on his lips, albeit unfamiliar. ]
[Welcome to the jealousy club Yusuke. Akechi clicks the top of his mouth with his tongue as if a puzzle piece suddenly fell in place.]
I had suspected there had to be a location where you had all managed to get your weapons, but to think it was a model shop...Ren...Akira...they both seem to have easily made accomplices. How old are we talking about? I could probably go look at other records later to confirm if anything happened. This is simply a list of all the submissive and dominants not...quotas.
[Forty, huh. Maybe he'd need to ask Ren regardless for his own curiosity. Either way, something to file for later, as Akechi tends to do so. But now on to the second page, the one that he does not like at all. In silence he changes it, and points to a few more names.
Makoto Niijima, Haru Okumura. Both dominants as well, no listed names next to them. Goro Akechi. Submissive. Not what he had expected, at the time and partly why he hadn't shown either of them the list.
Finally, highlighted in yellow near the end. Yusuke Kitagawa. Dominant. Listed next to his name. Akira Kurusu. Submissive.]
...It looks like he left while Kurusu was around anyway.
[ It's a nice surprise. He never doubted it, but it feels good to have the confirmation that they would be together no matter the circumstances. Akechi's question the other day, what if he does come back and doesn't remember, is clearly nothing to be worried about. It will work out the way it should, no matter what. ]
I hope I was a good dominant to him.
[ Smiling doesn't count as rubbing it in, does it? ]
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...
Tea would be nice tho.]
What type?
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....do you want some?
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If you're offering.
[He'll make his way out of the door a few minutes later.]
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You can't sleep, either?
[ He pulls a couple mugs from the cabinet, picking out the one Akechi requested of Ren's for him. ]
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Only Ren managed to do that and he had an apron on him.Despite the time, it barely looks like Akechi bothered to change clothing - or he hasn't taken them off for the day just yet. In his hands, a book - local literature he snagged up back before Ren left. He appreciates the cup that Yusuke picked, but does not bother to say that to him.]Not exactly...it's more that I tend not to sleep much by habit. Even if I can sleep in, I tend to go to bed late. I usually slept about three to five hours in Tokyo, in between all the studio appearances, working with Sae-san and...well...you're aware of the rest.
[Honestly it would explain a lot of his actions. He does at least look mellowed out and close to his own sleeping time. Enough not to be too snarky about the conversation which probably explains why he wasn't snapping at him on the text posts.]
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[ Yusuke hums an acknowledgement, and keeps busy scooping loose leaf tea into tea balls and dropping them into the mugs. His own sleeping habits are horrible, too, the artist regularly up painting at all hours of the night. Having Ren's bed to crawl into helped, making him sleepy from sex or cuddling or just the soothing rhythm of his breath, but now his bed is empty and his inspiration has run dry. It's getting hard. ]
Is that any good? I haven't found much to read here besides smut.
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What is getting hard huh hurr hurr hurr I'm sorry.. Akechi runs a hand on his brow because it is true, there IS a lot of smut in this place and just finding books that aren't centred around it is a task in itself.]It's a book centring around the dual philosophies of being a Dominant or being a Submissive. I'm reading it to understand more how these people think, since I don't agree with much of it. As they say, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
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[ And there goes the kettle. Yusuke is quick as ever, despite the late hour, to avoid more than a second of the ringing, calmly distributing water into both mugs. ]
Many cultures are obsessed with sex. They just don't show it so overtly.
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That's not the point. I want to understand what led them to this. Remember in the house party, when it was discovered that perhaps the creator might have been a Submissive? Why let an entire group rot below? There's a lot to think about. It's not just understanding the why, but the how, when and the who.
[He crosses his arms.]
Answers seem to be hard to come by, either by accident or purposefully. The sex matters little to me. [Not quite the truth.]
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[ It's an honest question, Yusuke signed his contract with Ren within a week, and hasn't spent much time in the Down since. It's not that he agrees with the way things are done here, but he's adapted more quickly than he thought he would. The idea that this designation actually suits him is one that he's resisted, but...
He's happy. At least, he was. He'd probably be happier if he could have found love at home, but he hasn't taken it for granted. ]
He must believe it is for their own good. That they can be happy in submission if they open themselves to it.
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[His hands tighten around the cup, despite the heat. Or maybe because of it.]
Imagine being born in the Down and having to be a submissive because of it. You don't get a choice...not that WE had any either, but at least we didn't live our lives in that place.
[It sounds oddly personal.]
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[ Yusuke blows on the surface of his tea before bringing it to his lips for a tiny sip. Still a little hotter than he would like. ]
I don't mean to imply that it's just, but there were classes of downtrodden back home, too. It wasn't written into law, but it may as well have been.
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[The poison drips from his voice, his gloved hands still holding on to the tea and looking into it.]
The divide was never as clear as here, or this sexualized.
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[ Yusuke's an orphan who would have been homeless if not for his scholarship. His connection to Madarame did nothing for him, in the end, but leave him stunted and traumatized. ]
Can you imagine? Tokyo, sexualized the way Duplicity is?
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[Like himself, for example. He can't help but laugh bitterly at that as well.]
Maybe it would have made my life easier.
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[ Yusuke leans back against the kitchen counter, grasping his mug between both hands. ]
That's why the Phantom Thieves did what we did. Once your eyes are open to it, it becomes intolerable.
[ He breathes out a puff of air, and takes another sip. ]
Just what I would have needed. Madarame's dominance over me, written into law.
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[His voice is a little more angry now. He gets what Yusuke means to say. But he's seen things that they never got into as well.]
There was much more than just Tokyo.
[Anyway.]
That would be troublesome wouldn't it. Saddled by him. Granted I supposed Shido would have had to be saddled with me as well once my mother....well. [He finally takes a sip before he blurts out more.] Would the rules have worked correctly there, I wonder.
[God what a messed up thought to have.]
Or maybe it might have changed things. Who says you wouldn't have been a dominant? The you who was previously here was, I believe.
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[ Yusuke's eyebrows wrinkles closer together, betraying his disbelief despite himself. ]
I don't think I would have made a very good one.
[ He isn't suited to it. He can barely take care of himself, if left on his own, much less having to protect and provide for another person. ]
It's taken me months to build up enough work to have a portfolio, here.
[ he tacks on money as an excuse, since he's probably said too much. It's a sign of weakness, he knows, to imply that he's more or less comfortable with his position, but it's true. As long as he isn't forced to go back to the Down... Yusuke would go home if given the choice, but it's not like his life here has been bad. Of course, he has Ren to thank for that, and he isn't here.
Yusuke sighs. ]
How do you even know that?
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[Akechi is more of a stone wall of emotion. Mostly because he's a little annoyed at the other for thinking himself that low. Also because he is salty (but that is a given).]
You would have better resources and no blockage if it came to doing things.
[He puts the cup down and briefly rolls his eyes before leaving without a word...and returning a few minutes later with his suitcase in tow. He quickly sits back and opens it before pulling out a list of papers with highlighted names.]
City records.
[He points to the first one; Ryuji Sakamoto with the name Hitagi Senjougahara, then Ann Tamaki with the 'name' 9S next to her. Finally, Akira Kurusu, pointing back to a someone called Munehisa Iwai.
Those are the first ones. I'm not sure who Iwai is, but Akira Kurusu was the name the other Joker went as.
[He waits for Yusuke's reaction before showing the next page. He doesn't like the next page, truth be told.]
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Iwai...from the model gun shop? [ Something squirms in the bottom of his stomach. Jealousy? That's ridiculous. ] I didn't realize he was interested in men that much...older. [ A pause. ] Akira Kurusu...
[ The name feels strangely comfortable on his lips, albeit unfamiliar. ]
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I had suspected there had to be a location where you had all managed to get your weapons, but to think it was a model shop...Ren...Akira...they both seem to have easily made accomplices. How old are we talking about? I could probably go look at other records later to confirm if anything happened. This is simply a list of all the submissive and dominants not...quotas.
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[ He backs off, staring back at Akechi with a disapproving look. ]
I don't need to know anything like that. Our Ren would have no recollection, anyway.
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[Forty, huh. Maybe he'd need to ask Ren regardless for his own curiosity. Either way, something to file for later, as Akechi tends to do so. But now on to the second page, the one that he does not like at all. In silence he changes it, and points to a few more names.
Makoto Niijima, Haru Okumura. Both dominants as well, no listed names next to them. Goro Akechi. Submissive. Not what he had expected, at the time and partly why he hadn't shown either of them the list.
Finally, highlighted in yellow near the end. Yusuke Kitagawa. Dominant. Listed next to his name. Akira Kurusu. Submissive.]
...It looks like he left while Kurusu was around anyway.
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I hope I was a good dominant to him.
[ Smiling doesn't count as rubbing it in, does it? ]
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[He takes a sip of the tea again so he doesn't have to overthink it or get angry.]
Everyone seems to have been gone by the time Ren shows up a month before myself. This only leaves Sakura and Yoshizawa who have never shown up here.
[And technically Morgana, but he would rather not think about that.]
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