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corviiids · 5 months ago

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fic writers director cut ask thingy!!! the palace fic pretty please I must know everything.

ofc if you have something else you've been dying to talk about this is also your opportunity! be free

THANK YOU 😭 i've been sitting on this ask for a few days because i wasn't sure which part to pick so i picked the speluncean explorers scene from chapter 7 (comparing it to the experience machine discussion in chapter 4).

under the cut for spoilers and to avoid spam 🫡 it is Long. this got Long. i originally was going to do a few scenes but then i wrote a fucking thesis about specifically just this one scene and also kind of akeshu as a whole.

“Let me tell you about the Speluncean Explorers,” said Akechi.

you can probably tell, but this is one of those scenes i just got super self-indulgent with lol because i LOVE the speluncean explorers. i will not subject you to more legal philosophy since the chapter already does that, but i really enjoyed using the narration of the story as a device to frame their dynamic with each other. as seen here:

Akechi's eyes sparkled. Ren realised with a start that he, too, had begun to lean in; there was now much less space between their faces than there had been at the start of their conversation. “Five men are caught in a landslide,” said Akechi. “These men are amateur spelunkers—cave explorers. After the cave-in, they’re trapped inside. A rescue operation commences, during which ten workmen are killed. Radio contact is established with the spelunkers. It is determined that the rescuers will not reach them before they starve.” There was something captivating about Akechi's voice. Ren was sure that if this were something that had come up in class, he would long have drifted off—but delivered in Akechi's charming lilt, a picture began to form in Ren's mind of the five men, desperate and alone; of the dark cave; of the crackling voice over the radio informing them that they were all about to die.

the scene kind of starts off as ren agreeing to hear the story just to hear akechi talk, more or less, but he starts to get invested around the time it becomes clear a serious injustice was done in the story. which as we all know is ren's weakness lol.

in the earlier chapters when akc starts waxing philosophical at ren, like when akechi explains the experience machine in chapter 4, ren doesn't quite get into the rhythm of the conversation. not because he isnt smart enough, but because he hasn't really settled into how to engage with akechi when he gets like this - he's sort of focused on keeping up with the philosophy as an academic exercise as opposed to treating it as a window into akechi's way of thinking.

Akechi’s eyes cleared. “Ah, I see. No, you’re missing the point of philosophy.” “Which is?” “Philosophy,” Akechi said. “Proving the point is its own point. It’s about thinking through questions we don’t fully understand so that we can come to a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Plus, don’t you think it’s interesting?”

in that scene, akechi closes off the discussion sort of dissatisfied, and ren can tell. akechi is talking at ren, and ren is trying to engage at akechi's level in the way he tends to do with his confidants, by trying to mirror their approach and say what he thinks they need to hear. but he can't do that here, because he's not well-read on philosophy and can't really engage in this academic way. and that's actually not really what akechi wants anyway. so it falls flat and ren figures he's picked the wrong dialogue options:

“I really am interested,” Ren insisted, but from Akechi’s indulgent smile and resigned dismissal from the bar thereafter, he sensed he might have chosen the wrong thing to say somewhere along the line.

however, by chapter 7, ren's stopped trying to mirror akechi or meet his needs, and is starting to engage as himself. ren hasn't read any legal philosophy, but it doesn't really matter. akechi doesn't need ren's Legal Take on the speluncean explorers, because he's a jerk and doesn't really care about other people's academic opinions anyway. he's telling ren this story in the hopes that ren will bring something uniquely ren to the table, and ren is finally able to meet him there.

Akechi's delighted smile widened. “I'll make a philosopher of you yet. You've spotted the problem.” “Anyone could spot the problem. They're executed?” “Sentenced to be executed,” said Akechi, “and as to the problem being obvious, I only wish that were so. The story continues... but surely you must be bored by now, so perhaps I ought to—” “Finish the story,” Ren demanded, which was worth it just to hear Akechi’s cackle.

...

Akechi’s smile is a little too knowing. “I’m quite confident I can predict your perspective on the matter, but do recall this is a legal puzzle and not a purely ethical one, will you? ..."

you can tell that this conversation is much more alive than the previous one. ren does not approach the problem from a legal or academic perspective, he brings himself to it the way akechi always wants him to. in canon, akechi is always saying that ren's pov is refreshing and catches him by surprise. some of that is definitely just him lying for ren's trust, but there's also definitely an element of truth in it, because akechi obviously appreciates talking with ren and enjoys hearing his views. in this scene akechi is able to predict the logical thread of ren's arguments: that it's a waste to sacrifice lives for save people who you then sentence to death, and that it's ethically reprehensible to sentence people to death who have struggled to survive. but he fails to predict the last prong of ren's argument, which is something borne of ren's unique rebellious spirit (and something akechi shares in private but doesn't publicise and for that reason doesn't consider a factor):

“The rules never apply the same way to the ones making them,” said Ren. Akechi whistled. “It always comes back to rebellion with you,” he said affectionately.

this is what akechi wants from ren: his wildcard ability to step outside of a paradigm everyone takes for granted and shatter it. akechi is used to curating himself into what's expected, and he's used to talking to people who operate solely within the status quo, either because they're trying to survive it or because they aren't interesting enough to do otherwise. even the phantom thieves' take on rebellion is fairly pedestrian. but ren has a unique perspective on things and akechi is hungry for it. (im sure im not the first to raise this angle on the speluncean explorers btw although i haven't seen it lol. it's one of the most well known texts in jurisprudence so surely it's been said. but it's not an angle taken in the text itself.)

on the flipside, akechi is the only person who is actually looking for ren and not just what ren can do for him. that's what ren's getting out of this. makoto talks about this in chapter 6:

“I think sometimes we even fail to see you as a complete person,” [Makoto] says, sounding a little horrified at herself. “Even when I spend time with you, it feels like I do all the talking. Like you just reflect back what I need to hear, to help myself. And I—I’ll owe you forever for everything you’ve done for me, but I’m just now realising how little I actually know about you, Ren, because I didn’t make the effort. “But Akechi did, didn’t he? Akechi never spent time with you because he needed your help. Every time he talked about you, even if it was to say he hated you... it was like he was endlessly fascinated by you. Like he really, really wanted to know you.” Makoto smiles. “You two had such a unique relationship. No wonder he mattered so much to you.”

to me this is at the heart of what makes ren and akechi's relationship so compelling and it's sort of metatextual given ren's role as the player character. there are precious few occasions where ren really voices any kind of individual desire or drive because he's meant to be a conduit for the player, and that takes on sort of an interesting twist when you consider that the player is minmaxing social relationships. i did a whole meta write up about this in 2018 on twitter which i need to clean up (i wont link it here because it's a mess + my twitter is locked right now but remind me to post it again) about how ren being the player character means that in-universe he's doing exactly what akechi is doing, i.e. saying what people want to hear from him, except on an interpersonal rather than performative level. in that sense they're both wearing heavier masks than everyone around them and beneath the mask is very much about both of them.

this fic was started before royal, but i have pulled from it a lot because it's in alignment with what im doing >:) royal highlights that akechi is the only character in the game that ren isn't doing that around. it's important that he's the only confidant in the game (barring your teammates) that you don't approach because you're trying to make some kind of deal, and even including your teammates, he's the only one who isn't seeking your help for something. akechi's confidant is just him getting to know ren, partly for infiltration reasons, but partly just because he likes spending time with him. and ren caring about akechi is one of the only choices ren really gets to make with no player input. no matter what you do, ren will lie in bed thinking about akechi's sacrifice. ren will always be reluctant to sacrifice akechi on 2/2 even if he ultimately agrees to do it. he will always indicate that he's upset when lavenza 'confirms' that akechi is gone. and if you go to the jazz club on your last day in tokyo, ren will take out the glove and affirm that he believes akechi is alive, even if the player doesn't give a shit.

anyway, one final note on this scene since i've kind of gone off topic.

The waiter arrives with their drinks. Akechi smiles at him like no one’s ever done anything quite so kind, and the waiter leaves with a slightly dizzy grin. “I think you blinded him,” said Ren. “Hush, you,” said Akechi.

...

[Ren:] “No, it’s not. Am I wrong?” The way Akechi looked at him—it made Ren feel like Akechi wouldn’t have minded sitting there with him forever. He was, in this way, no different from the waiter, whom Akechi had never met before in his life—no better at resisting that sweet look in Akechi’s eyes, like Ren was the most special person in the world, that he was lying to everyone else. “You’re right,” said Akechi.

im just pleased with this part lol. it's a technique i like using. ren's asking if he's wrong about his prediction of akechi's perspective, but then he has some internal narration thinking about how akechi feels about him. akechi confirms his prediction, but it sort of looks like akechi's confirming ren's musings as well that ren is special to him. is that the case? up to you.

#thank you soooooo much for asking 🥰#so much thought has gone into every element of this fic and i am very soft and worm when people wanna know about it #asks #rookfic #long post #god i hope that readmore works. i am so sorry if this clogs anyone's feed. this is so long #do i need... like.. a meta tag...#rookthots #crawling all over him like weevils #p5 #AYLI

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