puppycrush2 | week one

[ Lightning and punching powers... kewl.... and he's a pirate!

The last asshole he had to deal with that had electricity powers was annoying as shit, but insanely powerful. Ryuji must be pretty tough too, is his main takeaway. He blinks, very clearly invested. ]

So, do you use it to fight other... "Persona" users, then? Sounds painful.

[ If he doesn't have a power like Josuke's that can be used in day to day life, it must only be for fighting other people who have the same power, right? That's the only explanation his head cooks up. ]

[ There's a shake of his head here but then he pauses because he doesn't know how to explain it. ]

Well, we did fight other Persona users once in a while, me and my friends, but mostly we fought... monsters?

[ He grimaces, because he doesn't know how to explain what shadows are without explaining the metaverse without explaining everything else. ]

Uh, just. There's a type of monster attracted to Persona users and that's who we fought, most of the time! It's all specific to my world so it's hard to explain.

[ Okay... that makes sense. He nods, catching on quickly. ]

It's fine man, I get it. [ More importantly... ] So it's for fighting monsters... not normal people or anything like that.

[ That's the most important thing to clear up. Akechi made it sound like the other people with these powers were terrorizing the innocent, or something... assuming Ryuji's even involved. ]

There are other Stand users like me, but some of 'em are real assholes. They'll use their powers to take advantage of normal people, or hurt them... that's why I asked about other Persona users.

[ That — of course — makes him think of Akechi. Of Black Mask, of the assassinations and the mental shutdowns. He grimaces and it's clear on his face that he's thinking of someone in particular when Josuke says that.

He tries to explain, delicately, but Ryuji's not great at being delicate. ]

There's Persona users like that in my world too. There's one guy who is... really well known of using his powers for bad reasons. My friends and I stopped him and I thought we got him to come around on us, to be on our side instead, but now...

[ Now, Akechi's going around pretending they don't even known each other. It hurts, like a slice to his palm or something like that. He thought they were teammates, he thought they knew each other, he thought that maybe showing up here together meant he could help Akechi find his second chance. But all of that seems to be bullshit. ]

I dunno. I guess it doesn't matter.

[ His expression turns a bit more grave, nodding in understanding. It's clear something happened... maybe he turned on them again, or became a threat they couldn't ignore. Josuke feels lucky that he was able to beat most of the bad Stand users in Morioh into line. ]

I hear you. Me and my friends just stopped a guy exactly like that. Only, he was a serial killer who'd been offing women with his powers for fifteen years. [ They were never on the same side; he was a truly heinous person that was better put behind bars or down entirely. He tries to think of what he might feel like if one of the Stand users he's reconciled with turned out to be a traitor, and he doesn't like it. ] It figures that when power like this exists, people abuse it.

[ Which he says with disdain. Josuke folds his arms, looking thoughtful. ]

You did the right thing trying to put a stop to it. It's not easy, especially when you've gotta do it alone.

[ The rest of the world must not know about these powers, either, so he can only assume it's a burden Ryuji and his pals had to shoulder in silence. ]

[ Ryuji looks a bit alarmed at the description of that Stand user. He wonders briefly how it compares to Akechi and, well, he supposes he can't say that Akechi hasn't done some heinous shit as well but it was also Shido's fault, really, wasn't it?

Ryuji doesn't really know how to reconcile Akechi's actions sometimes. It makes his stomach hurt. ]

Yeah... when the wrong kind of people get power like this, it's not good for anyone involved. No matter what their motivations are.

[ He rubs at his face for a moment and sighs. ]

I'm sorry you had to fight a guy like that. I think... I think we might be pretty similar in the shit we've had to deal with 'cuz of our powers. And I know how hard it is. I hope you're not still fightin' when you go home, dude.

[ Josuke smiles lopsidedly, folding his arms close to his body. ]

No need to worry there. We resolved everything — just a few weeks ago, actually.

[ He's grateful that talking about Stand business is basically unbelievable gibberish to anyone in the crowd that might be watching; there is quite literally no way to prove or even look into what he's talking about. Besides, there's always the ol' Kamen Rider trick if they need it. ]

Now I'm just focusing on my recovery. [ He's the only one with lasting injuries, after all, since he healed everyone else up... 😔 ] It's why I feel okay coming here for a breather — I'd be too nervous to leave home with a dickwad like that running around. I'm sure you'd feel the same way.

[ If Ryuji's like him and came for a vacation, then the height of his supernatural troubles must be over now, right? He hopes so. ]

week one | overflow

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