battlegrounds | OPEN POST

Hello, Mr. Morgan. I was wondering if you might have a moment to talk about the other evening?

[He'd just been trying to take the subway home. It never ran late enough for his liking, but while he was used to abandoned platforms at night, the warped colors and hanging chairs made him sure someone had poisoned his drink-- until the shadows showed that they were, indeed, very real.]

If you plan on giving a damn good explanation

[ Haru should have seen the abrasive tone coming from a mile away. It's not as if Arthur Morgan was like the other clueless adults the Thieves often found themselves dealing with.

That said, it's well deserved. They could have been more careful when entering the Metaverse.

Gosh darn it, Ryuji. ]

It's somewhat complicated to explain.
Firstly, you're not hurt are you?

I'm fine.

[The worst bruise is the one on his pride, to be saved by a bunch of children.]

I may be an idiot foreigner, miss, but try me.

[So he can stop avoiding rail travel, at least-- it's a very inconvenient paranoia.]

Edited 2025-03-05 00:34 (UTC)

[ If it's any comfort, this foreigner is far from idiotic in Haru's eyes. He's too sharp, too aware, which made the Thieves a bit anxious to begin with. The level of perception he has for a foreigner in Japan does surprise her as well, as so many Americans are easily entertained and distracted in Tokyo in particular.

But anyway, she takes her time with her next response. It needs to be clear that she's exercising caution. ]

Before I can do so, I would like consolation for my friends that this information will be kept private.

[While Tokyo certainly had its charms, Arthur held little love for most urban settings. They were too crowded, too noisy, and yet somehow choked of life. If he had his way, he'd be spending all his time here in the mountains, but publishers and clients don't like to get their feet dirty during meetings.

But if there's anything he disliked more than navigating a city, it was being an underhanded rat.]

Miss, you and your friends saved my neck. If I turned on you after that, you'd all be well in your rights to dump me back in that shithole.

We appreciate your discretion, Mr. Morgan. But you don't have to worry about something like that! We would never.

[ Even with those who truly deserved the worst, Haru and her friends are not cruel. ]

Like I said, it's kind of complicated... but you can think of that place as another plane of existence. Another world.

[There's a definite pause before his next response.]

Look, I know they come down hard on drugs over here, but you don't gotta talk around it like that

My apologies! This information can be overwhelming. At least, I found myself somewhat confused at first.

Simply put, we entered a world called the Metaverse.
Think of it as a placed formed through the public consciousness.

[As much as he would like to call bullshit, the scratches from the shadows grasping at him still sting, well after any high would have receded. Someone in more denial could say they were hallucinated in the place of rats or raccoons, maybe even a feral dog, but Arthur knows how to track animals-- and these marks are nothing he's ever seen.]

And how exactly does that happen on the last train to Shinjuku?

That was an accident.
My friends and I normally enter through a special app on our phones. We never do it in a place where there might be people. But this time we failed to check before entering, so it pulled you in.

[An........... app.]

This ain't some sorta crypto thing is it

[ Thank God Haru doesn't understand technology, therefore techbro stupidity. ]

What's a crypto?

Edited 2025-03-05 05:04 (UTC)

[Oh no]

Never mind.

[Seeing is believing, really, and he has a feeling all the questions swimming in his head aren't going to have any satisfactory answers. Not any that won't give him a headache, at least.]

So from what you already said-- it's like a big, shared dream?

[ Note to self: ask Makoto or Futaba what crypto is later. ]

Maybe not quite like a dream, but a shared cognition. Mementos is shared by the public.
But there are cases in which the cognitive distortion is much, much stronger because of an individual's greed or corruption. Those result in a different type of space.

[ It's nerve wracking to explain this, especially to an adult, but they can't turn back now. He's seen too much. It's better to convince him of what they are doing rather than continue to lie. ]

[Her explanation still sounds like a bunch of psychotherapy nonsense, but at the very least, the talk of greed and corruption was starting to sound familiar. Though off the grid whenever he was at work, he did keep up on news while he was in the city.]

This got something to do with those Ghost Thieves everyone is going on about?

[ Oh, so even foreigners pay attention to the local news. She can't help the swell of pride in her chest, knowing he's aware of the Phantom Thieves. ]

Phantom Thieves.
But you would be correct. We are able to enter cognitive worlds and fight Shadows. Those monsters you saw.

Right [Japanese is hard...]

I don't think the news mentioned those parts. I figured you were just a bunch of blackmailers.

We would never do such a thing!

I ain't judging. Seems like they deserved whatever you all did.

[Still, they're kids-- Now it almost makes sense for something supernatural to be involved. How the hell else could they be this high profile?]

So what, the shadows are possessing people?

[Because they just seemed like they wanted to eat him.]

[ That helps ease her concerns at least. They've already drawn enough attention, the last thing they need is someone accusing them of something they haven't done. ]

No, they exist down in Mementos. We usually have to fight them so we can explore deeper into it as its pathways run deep underground. I'm not sure how deep.
They can be violent and dangerous if one is not careful.

[ Seems like the Shadows were more agitated the other night. ]

Sometimes the weather has an affect on the Shadows down there since Mementos is the public's Palace. I guess all this rain has made more enemies appear lately.

I'm sure you know this sounds crazy, miss.

[But again, he isn't one to deny hard physical evidence.]

So I guess the better question is what do you want me to do about it?

You don't need to do anything about it.
Rather... we ask that you not share what you saw.
If people found out, it could mean a lot of trouble for my friends.

That's it? I'm supposed to just go back about my business.

You saw what those Shadows are capable of. There are some that are far worse.
I'm sorry, but you would not be able to fight them with regular weapons.

[Arthur had noticed his hunting knife did nothing to them, but the embarrassment of being caught out helpless has just evolved into a guilt of shirked responsibility.]

But a bunch of kids can. Whose brilliant idea was that?

I'm not sure how it was decided, honestly.

At the very least, I'm not sure how many others could awaken to that power.
Our powers came to us when our will to rebel awakened.

Well ain't that arbitrary. Look, I appreciate what you all did for me, but it's gonna be rather difficult to pretend I didn't see any of[What even to call it?]that. Especially if you're the only ones fighting, and you can't even hold your guns proper

Where in the hell are you getting guns, anyway?

We simply cannot allow innocent people to be dragged into our battles.

[ Maybe they should have knocked him out when they had the chance. It might have spared them all the headache. ]

We have... a contact. We can't reveal much.

[ Never mind Iwai's store sits in Shibuya and doesn't do the best job hiding its shady business. ]

[He snorts when he sees the word "innocent."]

Well, you haven't started.

[He considers his next words carefully, puts down the phone several times, then curses and picks it back up again.]

Look. Whatever you all are doing, you at least ought to be prepared. Let me help you.

[ ... this is an unexpected turn of events. ]

Help us how?

Spray and pray might work when you outnumber those things, but if they corner you like they did me, the lot of you need to learn how to shoot.

What's wrong with the way we shoot?
Joker and Queen are quite skilled at it!

Sure, you can hit a target, but you waste a lot of bullets. The quicker you can put a target down, the less danger you're in, and the more ammo you have for the next one.

I've never thought about that before.
So we have to aim straight for the head or heart?

[ So casual about it. It's okay, they're just Shadows. ]

[He didn't expect her to take it in stride like that, but the fewer questions the better.]

Depends on what you're shooting. Those things got specific weak spots?

They have different affinities and weaknesses. Some are weak to fire, some are resistant, as an example.
Some also are resistant to bullets or can block them entirely.

So you all get a manual for dealing with this, or what?

Mona-chan taught us a lot about the Metaverse.

[ The cat... the fucking cat. ]

[......]

Please don't say you're talking about the goddamn cat

He actually says he's not a cat, though I am not sure what he is.
But he knows a lot about these Shadows! And then Oracle and Queen are able to help navigate us and analyze their weaknesses.

OPEN POST

@ cervid | what if... he found out about the thieves?? i am going with assumed info.

he's done some thievin' in his time...

okay but phantom thief arthur would be... amazing

plenty of outlaws in the sea of consciousness out there, tru

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the no adults allowed only wacky jrpg kids club

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