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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[ 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.

I never said he was a good therapist. Dr. Maruki seems to suffer from being a bleeding heart, who seems strikingly conflict averse. All this talk of erasing pain. It's a cute thought on paper, but laughable in practice.

[He scoffs at the thought. Pain is a part of living. It's helped mold him into who he is. Without it, who would he be?]

As for Yoshizawa-san, all I really did was question how she got the impression that Morgana didn't like being called a cat. She's... not very good at subtlety regardless.

She accidentally dragged Kitagawa-kun into a palace and then clumsily dropped him off with us, for instance.

Edited 2023-08-24 23:52 (UTC)

Is her Metaverse mask black, by any chance?

[ He can say this, because the Thieves have talked about the Black Mask to him. ]

...Yes. I suspect that's why she coined the name "Midnight" for herself. A black mask. Black attire. Kitagawa-kun was enchanted by her movements, even if she did drop him outside a safe room for us to babysit in the end.

[There's a small eye roll there. That girl truly is something else. Ditzy, cheerful, and... a Metaverse spy? What even?]

We haven't confronted her about it, but I'm not sure if I'd consider her an enemy just yet. There have been times, however fleeting, where sudden bursts of Bless magic would aid us from afar. Nonetheless, there is something strange about her aptitude for the Metaverse that begs the question of why and how. I'm cautious, but waiting to see what her objective is.

Edited 2023-08-25 00:38 (UTC)

[ Unbelievable, that that's his equivalent in another universe. Or at least one of his equivalents? Unless she's also doing all the brainwashing, which... she might be. Ren doesn't know.

But he does know himself. Casual, friendly Ren. Sure, he's kind of a low-grade criminal, but he wouldn't do anything really bad. Sure, he blackmailed his way onto the team, but his motives aren't evil. That's what people think. ]

...I haven't been in that situation with you, so I don't know anything. But I just wanna say, don't forget what happened last time someone acted like an idiot and you didn't take them seriously.

...I know. Ever since Adachi, I try not to completely lower my guard. But... hm.

[Thump, thump. His fingers rap at the table again. It's a delicate balance, reading and predicting others.]

I think we can eliminate her as the source behind the anomalies, especially if she herself is a victim. And...

[Hey, wait a second.]

I think her father is the director of Good Morning Japan.

[Hm. So does that make her prolific enough?]

[ Hm! ]

...I don't know. If I was your brainwasher, I'd just brainwash her dad to run useful programs. Unless it's some kind of weird revenge scheme. The daytime TV show offended someone powerful.