collectedlogs | ⏪ the other side of life

[Maybe he shouldn't be bothering with this. It's just fucking home decor, nothing immediately integral to their survival, but... well. Working lights honestly wouldn't be such a bad thing to help around here. Might make things a bit less dour for everyone else. Not Abbacchio though, he's dark and grim and likes the dark because you know goth life.

Anyway.

Abbacchio peers inside, scowling at all of the mirrors. It immediately makes him think of Illuso and his Stand, and that'd been an unpleasant time for several reasons. He grimaces looking at all of the mirrors. It'd be tedius to cover or break all of them, and... fuck, he knows, he's just being paranoid.

When he glances at his own reflection, it almost looks like it's... smirking at him?

He shakes his head. Ugh, whatever.]

Huh. [Look at who it is!] Fry Guy. [Well, his name is Akechi, but nobody can force Abbacchio to be nice. Never!!]

It's Akechi.

[ foremost!! anyway, akechi is edgy and can operate in the ~darkness~ just as well as the night, but practically speaking, a home decor shop opens up a lot of possibilities. and he's a practical guy -- he won't pass up the opportunity to go scavenging if it presents himself. and he's itching. he wants something to investigate. ]

[ abbacchio isn't the most annoying person around -- he's practical, so akechi doesn't mind working with him with this. ]

[ he has to wonder why there are so many mirrors around. don't people usually hate looking at themselves? ]

Found anything useful yet?

I know.

[Just to rub it in.

But anyway! Abbacchio jerks a thumb over his shoulder.]

Saw some lamps on this way. Was just headed over there, if you wanted to have a look. Wouldn't hurt to have another pair of hands anyway.

[Now that he feels more or less alone, Abbacchio knows he's long overdue to commit to more of his investigation. He's been taking notes for himself, which is mostly him commenting on how there are no maps, no indications as to where this mall is located in, or anything of the like that can specify where they are. Not even what country they're in. He's certain they're in America, but there's no real confirmation to that either. Whatever the deal is, he's pretty damned sure that they're alive, so there's that at least. This is probably not an afterlife, but it probably is some kind of alternate universe or world.

Which is... great. Sure. He has no idea how to process that yet, so he doesn't.

In a women's lingerie store, Abbacchio is standing, less inclined about what's inside and more focusing on one thing: there definitely would have been shoppers in here at some point, and he needs to calculate how far back Moody Blues needs to rewind.]

All right. Let's do this, Moody Blues.

[There's the distant sound of a dial-up tone as Abbacchio summons his Stand. Abbacchio folds his arms and leans against the checkout counter.]

Let's start with a year back.

[The timer on his Stand's brow starts rolling the numbers, but after a minute there's nothing.]

Huh. Guess that means nobody was here a year ago. All right, we'll go year by year until we run into something. Keep going.

[He doesn't have to talk to his Stand, but-- it helps. He doesn't have anyone to bounce this off of, and it's not like Moody Blues lacks his own opinions in his way. That, and maybe it helps keep him on his toes, make sure he isn't surprised again.

Abbacchio curls a fist against his own chest, a small tremor there.

Nothing activates until about six years back. Moody Blues' appearance shifts to that of a young woman, looking like a person save for the timer on the brow being a dead giveaway. Abbacchio takes note of the time. Six years. Does that mean shit hit the fan here six years ago?]

Play it back.

[Moody Blues proceeds to play out the scene: the girl is in a position that looks like she must have been holding a shopping basket, her head turned as if talking to someone else. It's so hot today! But it's almost like... things are getting worse.

Don't say that! It's another voice, but no one else is seen. Must be this girl's friend. Things will go back normal.

Do you really think so? The girl looks concerned as she walks up to the register.

It has to! Besides, you should be more worried about how your boyfriend's gonna like what you picked!

Abbacchio rolls his eyes, and the conversation steers off. Girls giggling, laughing about boys, teasing each other. But more importantly, it seems like things were going south regardless.

He works on his notes.]

[Zuko's only in the store out of curiosity--who wouldn't be interested in something labeled V*ctoria's S*cret? Not that he has any idea who that's supposed to be. Once he realizes what the store is actually for, he's about to beat feet in record speed out of embarrassment when he hears Abbacchio's voice.

It doesn't take Zuko long to find him--the store isn't that big. But he's quiet enough not to alert Abbacchio until he's done with--whatever it is he's doing, which is apparently talking to himself? What he's saying makes no sense whatsoever to Zuko, but he at least waits until Abbacchio seems to be finished before he awkwardly clears his throat.]

Leone. [Did he remember that right?] Who are you talking to?

[When Abbacchio looks at him, Zuko's arms are crossed and his eyes are narrowed with something that's more wary than suspicious. He's at least abandoned his awful hoodie in favor for some drape cardigan that he may or may not have found in the women's section at N*rdstrom and tied with a mismatched sash. Look, the guy's 5'4", options are limited.]

[Ugh. He thought he was alone. Most of the people so far in this mall were men, so the chances of being caught were statistically pretty low. But then again, Zuko has probably never seen a lingerie store before.

Poor kid.]

Hey, Zuko.

[Great. He overheard. Abbacchio shrugs and finishes off his notes.]

Myself. [That's not really a lie.]

Uh-huh. [He doesn't push the subject, but he isn't convinced, either, and apparently doesn't care if Abbacchio knows it.]

So what are you doing in here then?

[Zuko sends a pointed look around the store, clearly indicating the, uh, merchandise.]

I'm investigating. Not the merchandise, but the state of the mall.

[There's a beat as he considers. How much should he share? He likes Zuko okay, but he isn't sure how to explain his Stand or what he's investigating. It's a vulnerable thing to him.]

So you didn't see what happened. Did you?

[Which does imply something did happen, but he wants to make it clear. Moody Blues' appearance reverts, and he summons his Stand back to himself.]

Obviously not.

[He only gets sassy when he's impatient, okay.]

And obviously something did, or you wouldn't have said anything.

[Then Zuko's face softens. Gets a little hurt, even.]

You can trust me. [He was kind of hoping Abbacchio already did, even. Hoping that maybe getting someone's trust so easily was a sign his change of heart had some palpable effect on the impression he made on people.]

[Hey, fuck you, don't look so soft what the hell. Abbacchio huffs and looks away for a moment, then he motions for Zuko to follow him out of the store because they should probably not talk about this among panties and bras.]

Where I'm from, a few people have an ability. It's not common, but it's enough that I've seen some weird shit happen. People can have something we've called a "Stand". A friend of mine described it as like... the embodiment of your fighting spirit. The thing is, only people who have a Stand can see another one, so I'm not surprised you couldn't see mine.

But mine's only good for one thing, which is helping me with my investigations. He can playback the past, and that was exactly what I was just doing now.

[Zuko's mood lifts with almost embarrassing speed when Abbacchio relents. Seriously, shove him in a locker. It's trampled a bit when he realizes he has absolutely no idea what Abbacchio is talking about. Something about... being able to manifest his spirit so he can see the past?

Zuko's silent for the explanation and then for a few moments afterward, letting it process. It fails to do so.]

So it's like... time-bending?

[...Nailed it(?).]

Uh. ...Close? [Okay, he has to think about how to simplify this. Why are things so weird where he's from. Ugh.]

Look, I basically have a ghost living inside of me. That ghost... timebends so I can see moments into the past. He can also pick things up and fight with me if I need him to.

Does that make more sense?

Not really.

[But he doesn't seem too bothered by it. Really, he doesn't need to know how it works to trust that it does. And he does, because he has no reason to believe Abbacchio would lie to him.

Not that he's ever been good at telling that kind of thing. The point is: may as well accept it at face value.]

So what'd you find out?

[He shrugs. Well, he'd tried.]

Found out that I think nobody's been in this mall much for about six years. I kept checking the years until about six years ago, and then I ended up playing back a couple of girls shopping here like normal.

But they did mention that it'd been getting hotter. Weather changes. Not surprising, considering how fucked the sun is. Or maybe it's the atmosphere. Hard to say. So I'm gonna get there was an even that occurred six years ago. What that event was, I don't know.

Couldn't get anything yet to tell us where we are.

⏪ men in the mirror | AKECHI

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⏪ isn't life strange | OPEN

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⏪ lovely to see you | OPEN

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