personavelvetroomdr | (no subject)

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[It's a perfectly ordinary day in Tokyo, if you ignore the fact that Akechi just got done enduring a horrific, white palace with crumbling architecture, creepy tentacles everywhere, and scraps of memory locked away and scattered like puzzle pieces, culminating in battling a tentacled abomination to free Wakaba Isshiki's Shadow from the prison of her mind, and... well. A mother-daughter reunion is always nice, he supposes.

He's on the phone when he stumbles in, deep in the midst of a conversation.]

Isshiki-san's condition is stable, but we'll have to relocate her before he notices anything amiss. ...Yes, Dad, I'm all right. Not that I don't appreciate the concern, but-

[The signal cuts out, and... ah. The Velvet Room. And not the Velvet Room of his childhood, but... this one.

At first he bristles, eyes narrowed into a razor-sharp glare. He has half a mind to complain to Igor about locking him out, but all signs point to Ren's "Igor" being impostor, and... no. Wait.

Recollection flashes before him. With that recollection, he grimaces.]

...Of course I'd end up back here.

[He shuts his eyes, brings a hand to his face, and breathes in deeply. He was such a stupid tween, and if people connect him to said tween... Who even knows how much time has passed here?]

[ooc: Older version of

fogboundcrow for the funny. Some info on his profile. Yes, he's wearing a Shujin uniform.]

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[ Ren's not really satisfied. He didn't have support either, but try telling that to the families of his victims. No one actually cares. He doesn't want to argue about it, though, so he's about to say something like, I guess. But then Akechi says that. ]

...Wait, was that the motive? Behind the killings?

Edited 2023-08-23 21:16 (UTC)

Yes. He forced himself on Mayumi Yamano, believing that her appearance on the Midnight Channel was a sign that she was "meant" for him. The news of her scandal with Taro Namatame left him feeling "betrayed," and when she refused to humor his delusions, he shoved her into the television.

[He growls, pausing to take another bite. Calm, deep breaths follow. it's fine.]

Then, Saki Konishi... She was only seventeen, and he tried to force her into a kiss at the police station. I imagine it would have escalated to assault, if he hadn't forced her into the TV.

[ ... Ren's face slowly crumples into an expression of extreme distaste. That's some Masayoshi Shido shit, he does not say. Imagine if Shido had direct access to the cognitive world. A nightmare Ren has thought about many times.

Like, Ren doesn't have a whole lot of moral high ground to stand on here, but at least he's never killed anyone because he couldn't get his dick wet. ]

[The wordless response says all, really. Akechi understands the sentiment, even if the specificity is lost to him.]

As for the other victims, the most heinous thing is that he used a proxy. Taro Namatame, the same Taro Namatame who was involved in the Mayumi Yamano scandal, called with concerns regarding those who appeared on the Midnight Channel. Adachi goaded him on, telling him to take those who appear somewhere safe.

It was all for his own sick amusement, and so our efforts to stop the murders only added to his entertainment...

Edited 2023-08-23 21:36 (UTC)

Yeah, I've met people like that. [ He's been in plenty of their Palaces, too. Sometimes lately he's wondered what someone like that would even be like if the Phantom Thieves changed their heart. What would be left? ]

This Namatame dude, was he okay? [ It's just, if Ren were Adachi, god forbid, he would've seen a guy like that as an obvious scapegoating candidate. Knows a little too much, has already been in a scandal. Like the Thieves, back home, and look what happened to them. ]

He almost wasn't.

[Blunt, but true. Akechi's gaze goes distant, and for a moment, he peers out into the restaurant, watching the smiling cognitions mill about.]

It was... Damn it. So, eventually, Adachi got a bit pissy that Naoto-san and I were so on top of things. Imagine, a grown man being so infuriated by a group of teenagers. He'd already goaded Naoto-san into getting kidnapped to confirm the culprit, as our stakeout with Kanji at least confirmed that he used a large vehicle to carry out his crimes and thus ruled out the high schooler who performed a copycat killing.

After Naoto's rescue, however, the truth was nearly in reach, or so we thought. Adachi seemed... less than enthused about that, and I suspect he's the reason I was accosted by a news crew and became the next "victim."

[He raises a finger, chuckling.]

But I already had a Persona, so I anticipated the kidnapping and used it to my advantage. When Midnight came around, I proclaimed my victory over the perpetrator, exposed his methodology, and... well, escape was simple enough.

But it seemed Adachi gave Namatame-san a little nudge. He "introduced" him to a police detective whom he could demonstrate his methods of "saving" people to.

[He pauses.]

And so Namatame pushed Dojima-san into the TV. That was where it all went to hell, to put it lightly.

Edited 2023-08-23 23:19 (UTC)

[ This whole saga is bizarre and fascinating, and Ren is genuinely riveted. But Akechi doesn't seem as comfortable. The pauses, the little Damn it... Ren frowns at him across the table. ]

You know, if you don't want to talk about it, you can just tell me to get fucked.

[...Ren, your phrasing. He snickers. This is so stupid, but it's a good way to diffuse some of the tension.]

But we haven't even finished eating! Although I suppose some people may brazenly pursue such vices in a place like this, where the cognitions would hardly care...

[That is terrible. So terrible, but hey! It looks like some of the discomfort's eased up because of that stupid remark. His tone of voice is just as playful as his last little quip, really. He's even smirking again.

Why is it so easy to make jokes like this, but so hard to just be genuine with his Ren sometimes?]

[ Ren snorts. ] You never let up. It's like talking to me as a twelve-year-old.

[...Pfffsnrk. Ren. Ren. You keep doing it.

And he just knows. He knows Yu would just keep poking the proverbial bear. And, screw it, he's just unearthed some harsh memories.]

Are you saying you're impressed with my...

[Oh god. This is awful. This is cursed.]

My-

[God, this is so juvenile. He can just imagine his twelve year old self seething.]

My stamina?

[THERE. He said it. Now he's going to eat some more goddamn sushi.]

[ It's weird that Ren kind of misses how his own Akechi responds to innuendo with impatience or obliviousness, because this is objectively more fun. He leans back in his booth seat and raises his eyebrows. ]

I don't know, Akechi. Are you saying you think you could impress me?

Edited 2023-08-24 00:53 (UTC)

Well, I am a Wildcard.

[He punctuates that with a wink, folding his hands on the table and smiling innocently. He even tilts his head every so slightly, and...

Is that a slight tremble? He is trying so hard to stay composed. He really is! But this is the most... frankly, teenage thing he's done in a while.]

[ Ren squints at Akechi, who obviously intends some clever double meaning by saying that. ] What the hell does that mean? [ He laughs, half because the conversation as a whole has veered off in such a funny direction and half because Akechi looks so pleased with himself for his nonsense innuendo. ] A Wildcard?

[...Damn it. His attempt at witticism failed. His smirk wanes, but only briefly. He'll not be deterred!

Instead, he gives an idle handwave.]

In short, we're Persona users who wield multiple Personas and generally end up saving the world with the "power of friendship."

[Heh. It's not even a lie, really. That was literally the crux of the last two disasters he faced.]

To put it another way, I'm... flexible.

[ ... That answers one question and raises so many more. But Ren just smirks. ]

I bet you are. I've been watching my Akechi in the Metaverse.

[ A series of lightning-fast calculations is running through his head, concealed behind the funny flirtation. ]

Oh? And from what distance?

[Was he lurking after him? A soft snicker follows.]

Hopefully you have at least more poise than "Midnight."

[ From a large distance, actually, for a while, but he's not going to just come out and say that. Having sorted out what Wildcard-related facts he wants to reveal, he lets his smirk soften into a wry, though slightly bemused grin. ]

He's had me at the front, so a few meters, usually, unless he's showing off. Who's Midnight?

Kitagawa-kun would say, and I quote, "A fair maiden, bathed in black, whose poise and grace left me breathless! Oh, how I wish I had asked her to model for me!"

[Yes, he did indeed just do his best Yusuke impression, complete with flamboyant gestures.

Then it's back to his calm, everyday Akechi.]

...It's most certainly one Sumire Yoshizawa, or as she would put it, Kasumi Yoshizawa, because she's adamant that she is, in fact, her deceased sister.

Edited 2023-08-24 03:09 (UTC)

[ Ren snickers at the Kitagawa impression, but the next revelation brings him up short yet again. ]

—Wait, Akechi's friend Kasumi Yoshizawa? He said something about a dead sister. So Kasumi herself is the sister who died in your world?

[ It doesn't immediately occur to him that it could be true in his world as well, after everything Akechi's been saying about bizarre changes in cognition in the world he comes from. ]

...That depends.

[Akechi rests his elbows on the table, hands folded and expression cold.]

You see, when I met Yoshizawa-san, she introduced herself as Kasumi. However, I later learned from Futaba-chan that this is a delusion. When I checked the student records, I received confirmation that Yoshizawa-san was not Kasumi at all, yet her perception, her cognition makes her believe that she is.

This left Futaba-chan convinced that Yoshizawa-san was one of the victims of the 'lovely' brainwashing I told you about.

[ It gives Ren the creeps. Like, forget the weirdo Akechi. If you want real nightmare fuel, listen to this other Akechi talk about what's going on in his clusterfuck of a world. Imagine going around introducing yourself to people as your dead sister. ]

Do you not agree with her?

I think it's possible. My concern is... what's the motive? Every other target, as far as we can tell, has been high profile in some way or form or, at minimum, has benefited high profile people, whether it be juggernauts of the fast food industry like Kunikazu Okumura, or certain political parties.

[There is a certain pattern. Every high profile target carries an air of "importance" or "significance" to the wider public.]

So why target a grieving teenage girl who had just lost her sister in an accident? It makes no sense.

Maybe it does benefit someone high-profile. Like... it sounds fucked up. So maybe it's to upset her family or something? Seems like a pretty convoluted way to get to your enemies, though.

[ This is a lot like what he did a few days ago. Talking to this same Akechi about his bizarre cognitive world happenings. Thoughtfully, he eats some sushi. ]

Our school therapist thinks it's all an elaborate trauma response. When questioned about it, he proposed that perhaps her survivor's guilt may have led her to live for her sister a bit too vicariously, and he didn't have the heart to intervene, since a counselor's job is to listen and help his clients heal at their own pace.

[But too many things feel... odd, and a rather somber look soon claims Akechi's face.]

What's odd is... she had access to the Metaverse independently from all of us. She was able to understand Morgana and didn't think to consider how strange that was until I brought it to her attention. Only then did she feign ignorance.

[ Ren gives Akechi a skeptical frown. ]

Firstly, what a shitty excuse for a therapist. He doesn't have the heart to intervene? Then what is he for? That's his job. Secondly—dude, you can't just tell people when they've fucked up like that. That's giving away a big advantage.