MAY EVENT LOG

[monstertruckers]

code

Out of the thorn brush, the land still looks twisted and broken. And it turns a lot more jagged as rocks burst up and out of the ground like teeth… And keep reaching upwards, in defiance of all the gravity that should be pulling them down. The further up the rock spires reach, the more they splinter until the stones are free floating. The same happens to the threadbare trees, their branches and leaves breaking off and hovering in empty air. The nature of this place becomes clear: reach too high, and eventually gravity gives up.

01: BATTLE GROUND

The ground grows rougher, pockmarked with craters and rents, like the landscape is scarred. A little further up the road is the source of those wounds. Curious Drifters will find a tangle of rock and metal reaching high up to the sky. It’s a snarl of wrecked vehicles, rock spires… And bodies.

Robotic hunters are half melted into the bones of a giant monster, and the lights have long since gone out of their lens eyes. Many of them still clutch weapons; swords, guns, and bullets by the bag-full. The hunters and weapons remain locked with the corpse of a horn crowned monster with arm length teeth, and it’s clear this tangle is the only thing that keeps the hunters or their weapons from floating off. Drifters can potentially loot the weapons… They just have to be careful about not floating off while they salvage equipment. The footing here is uneven, and the ground looks ready to break with a wrong step.

These hunters also carry prayer screen beads, but the data on them is horribly scrambled. Any attempts to tamper with them cause them to repeat a single message: “I STILL LIVE” before shorting out and shutting down.

02: HEALTH INVERSION

A building grows out of the valley; a hospital that has been turned upside down, and its foundations reach for the sky like weird tree branches. The hallways inside are all sorts of twisted up, and the building can’t seem to decide if Drifters should walk on the ceiling or the floors.

Twisted as the building is, ruins gutted by time and overgrown with vegetation… There is salvage available. Medical supplies, healing potions, healing herbs, all of it is bountiful in the hospital. The hospital is also rife with Husks, but all of them are inert… Or have already been broken apart long ago.

Then there’s the matter of the hospital screens flickering on in the wake of the Drifters. Warning lights try to flicker on, as old electronics try to scan the Drifters. The machines give up flickers of data, declaring Drifters to be “infected.” The old restraining systems of the hospital are still active, as manacles and straps alike shoot out, trying to restrain Drifters. The bonds keep them inert until they can be sedated and enclosed in what look like holding pens for violent patients. Best hope there’s someone around to help break a Drifter out.

03: SHARED THOUGHTS

The valley is overgrown with strange plants that glow with eerie light. Sometimes in camp stray glowing tumbleweeds roll through… And any contact has interesting side effects. Drifters will find they’re more aware and capable of picking up on unsaid things. These powers can the month. Each glow confers different abilities:

Blue Glow: Makes Drifters more empathetic in a psychic sense. They can register the emotions of those nearby, and may start to feel those same emotions.
Green Glow: Makes Drifters capable of projecting their emotions to other people.
Purple Glow: Gives Drifters telepathy, to hear and send thoughts to others.
Orange Glow: Grants Drifters limited psychometry. (Object reading.) Using it in the hospital or the battleground will yield unique visions and messages. Please comment to the mod/NPC thread below if your character wishes to do so!

Drifters can stack these effects, but this can overload their minds and force transformations. Those with Swarm traits will find it easier to handle psionic abilities. Additionally, ALL DRIFTERS who experience psionics will find themselves susceptible to Events 4 and 5.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, HIVE-MIND

Worryingly, extra contact with the glowing plants can not only stack mind abilities, but also force Swarm traits. The more a Drifter is overwhelmed by psionics, the more likely this is. Drifters will have access to all Swarm traits for this event, and the following:
+Psi Hunger. A need to eat psychic energy in the form of dreams, psi-infused objects (like sage brush) or even psychic minds.
+Psi Senses: luckily, Drifters can glimpse heavy psychic energy in the brush through enhanced senses, and pick out strange brain monsters. These are good eating for Swarm monsters… And there’s an unnervingly high number of them.
+Group Mind: compelled to link thoughts with other Drifters, to share emotions, memories, and achieve cohesion.
+An increasing reliance on telepathy/empathy/etc in place of speech.
+Increasing collectivist mindset. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few; this becomes more evident during high stress situations.
+Compelled to spend more time in the wilds, absorbing power from plants and hunting prey in wilderness. May also be compelled to share this prey with others.
+Gravity Affinity: If possessing wings or the ability to wall climb, may freely hunt/traverse corrupted gravity areas.

05: WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

On several nights the wind picks up, and sage brush is uprooted and sent tumbling into camp. The plants trade their prior glow to something more baleful and crimson. With the wind whipping through the camp, it’s almost impossible to avoid unless a Drifter is already secure in the Convoy.

The effects aren’t immediately obvious, until the Convoy sleeps for the night… And that sleep is different. Namely the sleep is connected, showing both memories and dreams from other Drifters.

Memories from their pasts can blend together to form a strange dreamscape, that connected Drifters can travel through. But those dreams can easily turn into nightmares. Those who were exposed to the fear toxin in February will trend towards nightmares and may have their old fears make a reappearance.
If those nightmares are vivid and unsettling enough, they can force a transformation. (This may be either current monster traits, or a Swarm monster!) And then…

06: BRAIN ATTACK

It happens just before dawn, during the blue hour… Or perhaps it might be more apt to call it the red hour, with how the sky is stained crimson. It’s just bright enough to distinguish something moving in the hills. Drifters can pick out a rustling in the brush; something that isn’t wind. There’s something moving, crawling on claw tipped legs… And looking less like sage brush and more like a brain.

The Intellect Devourers numbers in the hundreds. Their claws scour the ground as they race towards the Convoy and smash into the shield. Numbers start to overwhelm the generator, along with the chaos the brain brush has sown with their psychic echoes.

The psychic echoes increase as they swarm the campsite, trying to drive Drifters into a frenzy with nightmares, fears, and strange visions. The brains are also ready to use those long sharp claws to tear anyone disoriented enough into ribbons, and start feasting on them.

06-A: BRAIN BRAWL

Hallucinations: The Intellect Devourers try to whip up more terrifying visions. Anything to disorient the entire Convoy, or drive the Drifters into a madness that leaves them transformed and too wild to easily counterattack. These hallucinations may be past trauma, or something a Drifter fears happening; the ultimate goal is to leave Drifters panicking, changed, and vulnerable.

Rally: Still, there’s one thing the Devourers didn’t anticipate: and that is how sharing a mental link has given the Drifters an anchor with each other. With all the psychic echoes spreading through the camp, any and all mental links from before can easily flare back up. Drifters who have shared dreams or some form of mental connection may still transform, but their mental link can keep their minds stable and coherent instead of growing feral.

Scars: Whether through brute force battles or mental link resistance, eventually the Convoy is able to shrug off the attack… But there is still some damage done. The shield generator has shorted out, and the Convoy itself has taken a few gashes and gouges. Not to mention any transformed Drifters will still need to be talked down. Luckily the mental links are still in place to help with that, and there’s a truck full of medical supplies to help with patching up any hurts.

MICRO ENCOUNTERS:

PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.

Disorientation: When wandering through the brush, Drifters may experience a swarm of disorientation: their thoughts suddenly scramble, they forget where they were going or what they were doing. They may also come to with a set of gashes along their legs, and a sense that they may have seen something in the sage brush move… Or maybe it was just the wind.

Float: Occasionally, parts of the road just give up their hold on the ground and go drifting skywards. Hopefully those chunks of road don’t take Drifters and their vehicles with them. Tough vehicles can likely survive the drop, while Fast vehicles can speed away before they float too far upwards. Drifters caught outside their vehicles will have to hope they have fast reflexes… Or are either good fliers or good jumpers for the leap back down.

Raining Down: On occasion, gravity will flicker and warp oddly… And that means that other odd things can fall where they used to float; rocks, plants, not to mention the odd bit of hardware and buildings. Watch for falling objects of various shapes and sizes!


NAVIGATION

Comments

Goro Akechi | Persona 5 Royal | Chimera

[undyingcrow]

A. Shared Thoughts

[Sometimes the simplest things serve as clues in an unknown territory.

The curious glow of the plants draws Akechi in. It's risky to touch them haphazardly, to assume they are safe, but cataloging their effects may help broaden their understanding of the area.

So Akechi, notepad in hand, moves about, jotting down the different colors. Blue, green, purple, and orange... No doubt each one carries its own significance.

This could be risky, he knows. The shrine was proof not to touch things without extreme caution, but here, in the valley, he has to make a choice. Take a leap of faith.

So he reaches out to touch a green plant...

Those in the area may feel sudden rush of curiosity and apprehension projected from Akechi.

He pulls his hand back.]

Nothing's changed... or has it?

[The sound of footsteps catches his ear, and he turns around.]

Have you tampered with the plants? I'm trying to catalog the effects for future reference.

B. Battle Ground (Transformation CW)

[Having deemed the sage brush... relatively safe, if not empowering, Akechi soon takes flight to the Battle Ground. His head pounds at the multiple effects he's tested. The lack of stable gravity makes maneuvering a pain in the ass, but at least he has wings to better soar through the unruly tangle of rock and metal.

And oh, what a sight... Cyborg corpses with weapons in hand. Swords, guns, ammunition. A toothy smirk unfurls across Akechi's face, as he swoops down to investigate.

The glint of a sword draws him in, and he reaches out to touch it, only for his mind to jolt. A vision ripples through his mind....

A soldier dispatches a monster, before turning to terrified civilians watching her. She doesn’t ease the grip of her sword as she walks towards them, nor relax her fighting stance. Her footsteps are bloody. She brings her blade down on the first civilian before the vision cuts out.

Grunting, Akechi stumbles back. Moreover, the sudden shock of the vision makes him double over, as a scorpion tail tears through the back of his pants, and a roar of pain ripples through the air.

But Akechi is nothing, if not stubborn. Face twisting into a snarl, he seizes the wrist of the robotic corpse, tearing off the hand and the sword in one violent jerk.]

Filth... All of you are worthless hypocrites!

[Flames spew from his maw, directed only at the cyborg corpses. Someone may want to calm him down... or perhaps join in the desecration of the dead. The choice is yours.]

C. Health Inspection

[The sight of a hospital draws Akechi in all too swiftly. Abandoned though it may be, it presents opportunities to scavenge for useful equipment for the long journey ahead.

The twisted hallways prompt Akechi to hover down corridors, not wanting to tempt the unstable gravity. With his attache case at the ready, along with a smaller bag, Akechi can be seen slipping in and out of rooms, stuffing potions, herbs, and medical supplies into his bag and case along the way.

Still, in light of what happened at the battleground, he can't help but ask...]

Have you received any strange visions here?

[Later, as he continues his investigation, trouble arises, as the machinery goes off and manacles and straps shoot his way. Akechi tries to fight them off with flames, claw swipes, tail strikes, and careful maneuvers, but he may need help.]

Damn it! Of course there'd be catch!

D. What Dreams May Come (CW for murder and suicidal imagery)

[In the interconnected dreamscape within the Convoy, one may feel a sudden heaviness they had not encountered before. The landscape is dark, baked in black and read, haunting and abstract, with occasional flickers of a swaying silhouette of a woman, which breaks apart, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.

A boy, no older than fifteen, stands with a gun in hand, clad in strange clothes holds his weapon level with the kneeling figure of a woman with short black hair, glasses, and a lab coat. Most distinct are her yellow, glowing eyes.

The boy's hand trembles. It would be one thing to inflict a psychotic breakdown, but he was ordered to end her.

Why couldn't she accept Shido's conditions? If she did, he wouldn't have to do this...

But he has to do this. No way out now. Shido knows his name, his face... He made a deal with the devil. He gave himself to his damnable father. Of course he'd turn into a weapon...

The woman pleads:]

Futaba... Please... I can't leave my daughter behind!

[His trigger finger twitches. His eyes snap shut beneath the red-tinted lenses...

And he shoots.

The bullet flies through the woman, through faceless, shadowy figures, through a man dressed like a sci-fi villain in a goofy space suit, the surroundings briefly flickering to the interior of a space station...

Only to condense into a dark interrogation room, where a bruised and dazed looking boy with curly black hair sits and stares, blood dripping down from his forehead.]

You're lucky I wasn't real, or you would've killed the only person who gave a shit about you.

[Suddenly, it's not a fifteen year old standing across the table, nor is Akechi wearing the strange black mask and striped suit he had before. He's fully human, in his school uniform.

The gun in his hands fall to the floor. His hands slam down on the table, and he squeezes his eyes shut tight...

And a man's voice echoes all around.]

Sooner or later, they'll find out what you did. You can pretend you have a blank slate here, Akechi, but you'll always be a puppet...

[An unseen force kicks Akechi to the ground. Suddenly, his back's against a metallic wall. He's back in that black masked outfit, but the mask has since broken, and a mirror image of himself in his school uniform grins down at him, holding him at gun point.]

You really should have died that day...

E. Brain Brawl

[Whether he's rescued from his nightmare or roused from slumber by the sudden attack, the end result is the same.

Akechi, furious and extremely on edge, rushes into the fray, spewing fire from his maw, clawing, biting, leaping, and swooping.

He's furious, and in addition to the scorpion tail, he's sprouted two feline-like ears in addition to the scorpion tail from before.

Those with telepathic or empathic abilities may feel the deep distress rippling through his thoughts. Pain, anger, fear, regret all swirl together in an unstable cocktail. Gunshots fire into the distance, not always striking enemy monsters. Sometimes, they merely sail through the air.]

Stop haunting me!

[But no one replies, save for unseen phantoms of his past and deepest fears.

His Persona materializes at his size, clad in black and red and bow in hand. An explosive sphere of magic swells, sweeping over the battlefield, but it's clear his attacks aren't nearly as calculated as they normally are.

Someone may need to bring him back to reality.]

F. Wild Card

[Wanna do something else? You can PM me or hit me up on plurk at Dorked to plot, if you wish! I'm also open to prose format and not just brackets.]

A.

[becomerobot]

[Foot steps are heavy on the dirt, grinding with a mechanical crunch. Akechi will turn and see Viktor approaching, his body transformed as it has been for a while now. In his arms, three uprooted plants, clumps of dirt clinging at the bottom of each, expertly dug out to not harm any one of them. Purple, orange, and blue all glow off them and thus Viktor. He's practically radiating the variety of colors.

And yet, no emotion exudes from him, only oppressive void.

His face, usually so expressive in his shallow eyes and sharp angles, has been broken through with a smooth and emotionless mask. His true face is split and peeled off to each side, stony and slumbering. His voice is telepathic, ringing in Akechi's mind rather than spoken in waves of sound. The cadence, familiar in accent and yet so heavy with mechanical crackle and depth, coldly level and buzzingly robotic,]

I am collecting them. That is the last I need.

[undyingcrow]

[Akechi's eyes widen at the telepathic buzzing. It's... new, certainly. Viktor's altered face is just as new and uncanny.

It's quite the transformation, even compared to Akechi's.

Feelings of intrigue and confusion ripple from within him, and his gaze wanders toward the uprooted sagebrush.]

Do you aim to grow more?

[That would benefit further research, certainly.]

[becomerobot]

[Akechi's feelings of intrigue and confusion makes the mask twitch, as if wincing, though there is no facial expression to change with the gesture. The Herald reacts to the empathic feeling as if being stung by something small and irritating,]

Yes. They radiate an essence of power. Arcane in nature, perhaps.

[What the Herald projects through the empathic bond is... awful. A burdening numbness, a complete void of emotion. It grants clarity and a sense of all-power. Yet, it is hollow and empty, lacking for any satisfaction.]

More study is required to understand their potential.

[undyingcrow]

[Akechi stares for a moment, bewildered by the emptiness. The confusion and intrigue linger, but... well. There are far more pressing matters.]

They must be. I certainly wasn't so receptive to the thoughts and feelings of others beforehand...

[His gaze wanders toward a sage brush of another color.]

It's tempting to try another, but too many effects overlapping may present a risk.

A

[mytearsaremine]

"I don't know about tampering with them," Jolie answers, stopping her approach at the... near accusation. She's not sure what exactly that was. "But I did talk to them. They're kind of stupid, but friendly." Most plants so far have been kind of stupid, actually.

[undyingcrow]

"...Do you make a regular habit of talking to plants?" There's an odd touch of bewilderment to Akechi's words, though he tries not to stare. Really, it's not that unreasonable.

People name and personify objects, and plants are alive. They're even known to respond to sound, and some studies suggest they communicate with each other.

Still, it is a question worth asking, if only to gauge this stranger.

[mytearsaremine]

"Not before I came here and they started talking to me, first," Jolie shrugs. "And I know what you'll say, it sounds like I'm just going crazy, but I've convinced angry plants not to eat me and somebody else before, so I'm pretty sure it's real."

[undyingcrow]

"In a place like this, I wouldn't call it crazy, per se. It's likely an aspect of your transformation..." But an interesting one, when combined with these particular plants. "So, what have they told you?"

B

[purplexing]

[Donnie's been a little more hesitant about picking up weaponry from the fused cyborgs, one strange vision off-putting enough for him to want to avoid a repeat. Instead he's taken to studying parts, seeking to remove whatever amounts to a brain for the them. He's already gotten a couple of samples tucked into a serviceable bag he'd swiped off one of the corpses, and now works on a third, wings spread for balance, his toes curled around a deep groove in the bone of the beast the cyborg's body is welded to.

He's only vaguely aware of Akechi, or at least someone else being nearby, so focused on his work as it is. And then he almost loses his grip on his tools for the sudden wave of pain that sinks into him, gasping as he has to brace himself against the corpse, the sound that had cut through the stillness practically vibrating within his core for the echoes of the emotions of Akechi that follow.

It's such a baffling, sudden shift that Donnie can't help but be confused at himself, unsure why he's gone from a cautious calm to having the urge to rip something apart. The brain components he'd been trying to detach is a loss, his fist closed tightly around the screwdriver he'd been using, finding he'd buried the end deep into the thin covering housing them. His own shock and annoyance only blends with the growing anger that builds up from Akechi, but Donnie just barely manages to keep himself from lashing out at the dead thing in his frustration. He shakes his head, pushing himself away from the corpse, leaving the screwdriver where it's stuck as he clutches a hand to his own head.

Shakily he finally looks in Akechi's direction, not that the other is being very quiet about things. His brow twitches, and for the moment he can only stare, uncomprehending of what's driven Akechi to assault the dead, much less the sensation that seemed to encourage him to want to do the same.]

[undyingcrow]

...It was a vision.

[He growls the words through clenched teeth, trying to ground himself. Trying to remind himself that it was merely a memory.

Donatello deserves an explanation, especially given the likely unwanted emotions that came from Akechi thanks to that sagebrush.

So, with his free hand, he runs his talons through his hair.]

I saw one of the Steel Wardens murder innocent civilians. They were cowering in fear, and she hardly cared.

[It's unsurprising, but it further solidifies Akechi's existing disdain. A ripple of spite accompanies his words.]

[purplexing]

[It doesn't help that Donnie's much more receptive to those emotions, not with his own brush with the strangely glowing flora. He hasn't quite realized the effects, but this sudden wave of something has come out of nowhere that it's enough to make him think something's wrong.

Akechi's explanation doesn't quite answer all his questions, but the mention of a vision- hearing the other address him directly in general kind of helps in its own way.

Donnie swallows, feeling that emotion that underlines Akechi's words as he speaks of what he'd seen. Is...this coming from him? It's almost dizzying, trying to work out how he should be feeling himself, but anger's such an easy thing to be drowned in.]

I-I saw something too.

[He squeezes his eyes shut as he tries to focus.]

People... marching down a road lined with weapons. F...falling, turning into monsters as soon as they were stabbed through...

[undyingcrow]

Did they fall onto the weapons and then change? Or did someone stab them?

[That seems like an important clarifying detail. Something to latch onto...

Perhaps it will help Donatello as well.

If nothing else, the rage that once burned through Akechi slowly fades. Little by little, he relaxes, shifting gears to the more pressing matters at hand.]

E

[faceguy]

[Unfortunately, Leo's not really doing much better.

He stumbles through the battle, his cloak lost at some point, the holes in his shell exposed and his beating heart visible within. Guilt, fear, and rage sweep off of him as he brandishes his weapon, nearly driven mad by the sight of the fleshy monsters.

He can't do this again. He really can't do this again.

But even more than that, he can't let these things hurt anyone else.

Unfortunately, it means he isn't really on his A-game when the magic sweeps over the battlefield, and he's flung off his feet, landing on his back...

For only a moment, before a portal opens underneath him and appears above Akechi. Leo emerges, his markings lit up and glowing in pale yellows and reds as he comes after what he thinks is his attacker.]

[undyingcrow]

[...Portal? These things can use portals?!

Akechi's feathers fluff up, and he wraps his wings around himself as a spontaneous shield.]

So you think you can ambush me...

[After a moment, he tries to swing his wings out to get more distance.]

[faceguy]

[Wings!?

The sight of the wings actually makes Leo back off, because his immediate association now is with Donnie. Donnie has wings, but that... that isn't... that shouldn't be...

He's too thrown off to counter anything Akechi is doing, his mind scrambling to make sense of the garbled input it's receiving. The brain monsters glitch into the Krang and back again, and Akechi warps and changes too, with Leo's hallucinating mind.]

D. LEMME KNOW IF THIS WORKS

[definitionofcrazy]

[It's weird, because this is definitely not her first time doing guest spots in somebody else's dream.

It doesn't take her long to recognize Akechi, and there's a weird feeling as she experiences the dream secondhand, not able to interact or intervene as the scene plays out. She doesn't recognize the others, but she can guess what their deals are, at least related to Akechi. It's not until the mirror of Akechi attacks him that Faith's attempts to act yield any results.]

Hey!

[She doesn't do anything more than that, other than very slowly move closer, keeping her eyes on the creepy double of Akechi and his gun. She's not at all sure what happens if Akechi gets shot in the dream, but she's not looking to find out. Rushing him would be dumb, even for her, right?]

[undyingcrow]

[The Akechi double turns with an eerily pleasant smile.]

Oh my. Whoever could this be?

[That pleasant smile soon gives way to something more manic.]

You can't possibly tell me you want to protect this worthless trash. Don't you realize what he is?

[The real Akechi bristles. This is... she wasn't here. This isn't real.

No. He knows this person. It's...]

Faith-san. What are you doing here?

[definitionofcrazy]

[Her first impulse is to attack as soon as the creepy one turns around. She resists it.]

Funny story, the real Akechi knows why that's so hilarious.

[She does, however, begin slowly walking forward. Not enough to be an immediate threat he would shoot, but definitely promising that turning around to focus on the downed Akechi again would be unwise.]

Health Inspection

[discolouredwings]

[Natsuhi wasn't adventurous. While she'd been learning how to handle a small gun, she wasn't sure if she could defend herself with it yet. So she was keeping to areas that had already been checked for monsters. Just going to collect anything of use and move it to the convoy.

The question made her pause, standing still by the cabinet she'd been looking through, turning to glance at him.]

No. I've only seen the screens flickering.

[Visions?]

[undyingcrow]

A followup question: Did you interact with any of the sagebrush?

[Feelings radiate off of him. Curiosity, a touch of apprehension at the mention of those screens...]

I received my vision after testing some of the different plants. That may be the key.

[discolouredwings]

[Natsuhi hesitated. Even though it should have been an easy answer, she had to pause.]

No... I avoid touching things that aren't in the convoy. Especially ones that are strange.

[Like glowing bushes. Or towers that bled. Urg...now she was starting to feel antsy about coming into this building.]

A

[rootlessly]

[For his own part, Vash mostly just likes watching them from a distance -- not so much out of an abundance of caution, though, not really. Rather -- they're beautiful, and he doesn't want to interfere. There's so much natural life here, for all the devastation that surrounds them. He wonders if the Earth looked something like this when the SEEDS fleet left it.

He happens to be quietly watching a few pass by when Akechi speaks up to him, and he blinks, a little startled -- whether from the unexpected interruption or the sudden rush of emotion is hard to say, though.]

Oh, no, not really! I wouldn't mind, though. Are there any in particular you're curious about?

[undyingcrow]

[It's a good question, really.

Having already touched the green sagebrush, Vash may feel ripples of curiosity permeating from Akechi's body. His eyes scan over the plants, and he hums softly, chin in hand.]

The trouble is, they all fascinate me, but without knowing if they have any special properties, I'm hesitant to experiment with too many at once.

[His gaze drifts to the green sagebrush.]

Thus far, I've handled this particular plant, but I'm not entirely sure if anything's changed.

[rootlessly]

[He does feel it, yet it's such an innocent sensation he doesn't immediately recognize it as foreign to himself.]

That's probably a good idea. We should be cautious of casually making contact with anything we don't recognize by this point, huh? Thanks for the reminder, haha.

[This is entirely genuine of a statement, though, no sarcasm in sight even though Akechi himself has just admitted to having handled one of them intentionally. Perhaps even more strangely, he adds, then:]

I could test out at least one more for you, and then you'd have about half the possibilities covered?