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[fogoflies]

Have you ever wondered what's up with that gas station attendant who sometimes shows up in Inaba's shopping district on rainy days? He's as cheery and smiley as most cognitions. You might even be forgiven for mistaking him as one of them. After all, he only really shows up around the gas station.

But you see, "Izaya Sagiri" has gotten kind of bored of just doing his usual schtick. So, remarkably, he's decided to move.

First, he can be found in the Velvet Room, where he's engaging in a staring contest with Igor. Just standing there, a gas station attendant, smirking as he tries to out-stare Igor and Igor has no choice but to watch him. He howls with laughter. "Man! No wonder your eyes are so bloodshot. Do you ever blink?"

But that's not all. Just for a little added fun, he's elected to visit Iwatodai during the Dark Hour, where he can be found splashing in puddles of blood and chatting it up with the coffins. Yes, really. He's so happy and content despite the eerie green moon above.

Oh, and as for Tokyo... he's going on and off the subways. Multiple times, in fact, as he tries to see if anyone 'real' notices him.

What a weird guy.

Comments

Tokyo

[phantomlotus]

Izaya soon enough steps out from the subway, only to come face to face with a girl smack dab in the path, staring right at him.

"..."

She has an odd look on her face... Not so much confused as it is gauging.

"...Is there a reason you've been going in and out like that? You've been doing it for a while."

[fogoflies]

Ha! About time someone caught on. Izaya snickers. "I was startin' to think I was invisible." But now he's gotten attention, hoo boy. And this one is...

Hmm. Definitely looks like those other kids running around. Messy black hair. Glasses. But there's something different, too. Very interesting.

Not that Izaya's here to judge, considering Izaya's own relationship with gender is far from 'standard.' The fact that he's Izaya right now speaks volumes to that.

"Anyway, you caught me." He holds up his hands. "It was all just a way to get a reaction."

[phantomlotus]

She blinks.

That's it? No way, that can't be it. There's got to be more than that... Right?

"Sounds like you were really bored if you were fishing for a reaction... but you got one. Played right into your hands."

She chuckles slightly, seeming to take it in good humor.

"Ren. Who are you?"

[fogoflies]

"Yep. People are funny. Half the time they'll turn a blind eye to reality, but those special few will stare straight through the fog to find out what's really goin' on." He flashes a smirk, keeping it nice and laid back. "Anyway, I'm just your friendly neighborhood wage slave, but you can call me Izaya Sagiri."

[phantomlotus]

It's true, she has to admit. There are a lot of people out there that just deny the truth, or fall for lies so, so easily. She knows that too well from multiple different angles...

"You're right about that. I've seen a lot of people take rumors for fact, or just refuse to accept things that are true... but there's always that chance to see beyond it, to learn the truth."

People have changed before her very eyes, not giving into lies and falsehoods...

Akechi and that accursed night flash through her mind, but she shoves it down faster than she realized possible. Only the slightest shift in her expression shows that something crossed her mind at all.

She instead chooses to focus on the latter part of what Izaya said.

"Wage slave, huh? You have my deepest sympathies."

Another layer of humor in her tone, but there's a hint of empathy in there as well. She knows how it is, she's worked multiple jobs in Shibuya, and they all got pretty busy...

[fogoflies]

"It's funny. One might argue that the masses on the whole would sooner live in blissful ignorance, creating their own, more comfortable truths. But there are those who'd sooner fight against that collective will, even if it brings them pain..."

There's an eerie glint in his eyes. An almost unsettling calm.

Then he waves it off like it's no big deal, back to that laid back smile. "Lucky me, there's no upper management to worry about, but that sure leaves a guy with way too much free time. Funny how removing the need to work leaves people kinda aimless."

[phantomlotus]

Ren doesn't like the glint in Izaya's eyes or the subject at hand. Hits too close to home... but she can't just pretend it never happened. It... wouldn't be right of her, especially not in the face of this conversation.

"I've seen and fought it myself in my dimension. Wasn't easy, but I did it. I'd do it again."

'She'd do it again'. Of course she would, knowing what the opposite choice would do to everyone-- what it would do to Sumire and Akechi (...Akechi...). As painful as it is, she wouldn't be able to stomach the guilt if she turned them into something they're not. If she accepted the lies Maruki created.

...And yet... some part of her looks back and wonders...

There's a quiet second where she says nothing, letting the quiet and yet heavy weight of her words weigh on her shoulders before speaking again.

"...You seem pretty invested in the idea of the 'truth' though. What, are you studying philosophy on the side?"

[fogoflies]

"The thing about working in a small town is that you see a lot of the same people, and you start to pick up on patterns. The way people act, the way they react... It can tell ya a lot about the world. Especially how they behave during a crisis..."

Izaya snorts, setting a hand on his hip. He remains perfectly calm, even with Ren's admission. "We've had some crazy stuff going on in Inaba. Freaky broadcasts on rainy nights that only show up if your TV's turned off. People turning up dead in the fog, with no discernible cause of death. Kidnappings... Hoo boy. It got the whole town talking, that's for sure, but everyone just sees it as a spectacle."

[phantomlotus]

"Being from the country myself, that sounds realistic."

Small towns have a sense of community, but in exchange everyone knows about everything that happens to anybody, it feels like.

Ren can imagine it. The way people probably whispered and chattered about it, the police being clueless at best, and the victims who are expected to just accept it.

"...But there was someone challenging it. Someone that saw it all for what it was, and tried to find the truth."

That's not a question or a guess. It's just what she knows... because she knows that just as people lie and pretend, there are those that seek the truth and rebel against injustice.

Iwatodai

[constellationist]

Akira's not put off by the moon, either. Not as such. It's a bit itchy, knowing there's something powerful behind it, but that just is what it is sometimes. Feels more like the Realm than most of the city areas do.

Clearly he's not the only one. "Having fun?"

[fogoflies]

Oh, another one. This one... probably a guy? But something's different about this one. Maybe it's just a hunch, but there's something mysterious about him.

Enough to draw Izaya closer. "More like keeping busy. It's way too easy to get bored in a place that's so... complacent."

[constellationist]

Akira's certainly something, all right.

"I think the problem's less 'complacent' and more 'mostly not substantial.'"

[fogoflies]

"Ha! Ain't that the truth?" Izaya laughs. It's definitely not as substantial as reality. "But y'know, those things they call 'cognition' are about as vapid and brainless as most humans. Just carrying out their days in blissful ignorance. Some might argue that humanity would be better off just living their days with empty heads and emptier smiles."

[constellationist]

Akira tips his head like he's thinking about it.

"Nah. It's more fun when they can poke back."

[fogoflies]

"True. It's always fun to make 'em squirm... or push them to their limits. Watching them scramble around like ants is a real riot." Sploosh. Just kicking the blood around sure is wild, but what if he bends down and splashes a hand in it?

So wet.

[constellationist]

"I guess it can be. Just as much fun to watch them pick their way around traps that should've caught them." And those are his favorite humans, the ones clever enough to keep up.

[fogoflies]

"Like rats in a maze. Sometimes it's a mystery. Sometimes it's a 'greater cause.' There's always some kinda nudge to push 'em forward." These things come in cycles. It's what makes it all so fascinating.

[seekerofjustice]

As Izaya steps out of the subway, there's a young man with a polite smile walking towards the subway. This young man... one Goro Akechi.

"Pardon the intrusion, but you've been walking in and out of there for quite some time. Is everything all right?"

Oh, he's sure it is... but he figures he should at least make sure.

[fogoflies]

"Just passin' the time." He watches the subway as it prepares to take off. "Gotta keep myself busy somehow, and my 'real' job sure isn't paying the bills out here."

[seekerofjustice]

So everything is fine then. That's at least a bit relieving... Sort of.

"I suppose I understand that. There are plenty of careers that are handled with ease by the very nature of this place, let alone the fact you don't need currency."

[fogoflies]

"Plus the fact that there ain't much need for gas stations here. Most people just walk around. Distances are so compact, you could probably get most places on foot."

Such a tiny little enclosure, in the grand scheme of things. That there's still some semblance of stability is honestly surprising.

[seekerofjustice]

"Ah, yes, that's also a factor... The way this place functions, you can cross what seem to be long distances in such a short time even when its real counterpart would take much, much longer."

It's really quite fascinating how well it all works... But in reality it's quite a small place, isn't it?

"I suppose it has to do with the nature of the Velvet Room and the mind."

[fogoflies]

"Ha. Kinda funny how our host just expects us to play around in his pretty little dollhouse and make nice. Get the feeling a lotta the people here aren't so clean. It's a wonder we've only had one explosion so far..."

Or so he's heard. Perhaps there's more juicy gossip he's missed out on. Either way, he's rather nonplussed about the whole situation.

[seekerofjustice]

Dove can't help but raise a brow.

"You act as though it's a bad thing there hasn't been more trouble. Why would anyone want more danger?"

The way Izaya describes the way Igor brought them here does ring true somewhere in the back of his mind though. 'Pretty little dollhouse'... Something in him stirs at that description, and he finds himself... annoyed? After all, is that how Igor views them? Just dolls filling a dollhouse? Puppets?

He catches himself, and shakes his head slightly. He has to snap out of the bitter mindset. Igor has shown no such ill will, and if anything the one in his dimension has his back against the wall. It wouldn't behoove him to just yank Dove's chain. There's surely a good, logical explanation behind his desire for the people here to craft bonds, though he doesn't know what it may be.

"Surely the reality of our circumstances isn't quite so cynical. We were brought here to create bonds, correct? Perhaps those that have less pleasant history are simply happier here, or have changed as a result."

He says that, but it doesn't change the doubt that Izaya managed to plant in his mind for a second, intentionally or otherwise.

In fact, there's a very good chance he's saying this more for assuring himself than Izaya.

[fogoflies]

"Oh, sure, that's the goal, but people are fickle. People get bored. Sometimes even an ordinary guy will break under the pressure, decide he's gonna have some 'fun,' and kickstart a chain of events that cause two casualties and lead a bunch of plucky teens on a wild goose chase while they try to prevent any more murders."

Despite the heavy words, he plays it off with a shrug, much too nonchalant about the whole ordeal.

"All I'm saying is that it just takes one person to break. One person to decide they're gonna shake things up, and soon this whole place'll go up in smoke. Doesn't matter if there are no permanent consequences. Hell, it might even give further incentive."