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 wrinkles his nose, trying to picture the spindly, weirdly-proportioned being with gigantic muscles.

But then... ] That might be good to know, though. Whether our cognition can affect him.

Edited 2023-09-02 21:39 (UTC)

Hmmm... We could try to envision all manner of unusual Igors. See if he duplicates.

[This is going to be incredibly silly. Does he mind? Not at all.]

Even... Morgana Igor.

If that's what it takes to avert buff Morgana, I'll do it. Morgana Igor. Morganigor, if you will.

[ He's grinning. This conversation has gone so far off the rails, for like the third time. ]

...We could make this extra cursed. Akigor. Ryujigor. Sojigor...

[All of these are things that should never be uttered aloud. They are playing with dangerous toys. Very dangerous toys.]

Akechigor.

...I suppose I walked into that one, didn't I?

[Cue one HUGE, grumbly sigh.]

Still, I do wonder how our 'generous' host would even feel about such an experiment.

If he doesn't want us to experiment, he should answer a question now and then.

[ Every day Ren daydreams about stabbing Igor... ]

...Adachigor.

[He pauses.]

Actually, as funny as that is, I'm not sure I'd want to enable a murderous cognitive Igor into existence.

[ Shigor... Speaking of people you wouldn't want to fuse with Igor. He would look more like he acts, at least. ]

I've been thinking of experimenting, actually. Not with Igor. [ That's a lie. There are the stabbing thoughts. ] Just in general. Like, what happens if you really piss off the cognitions? Can you piss them off? What happens if we try to break through the boundaries of this world? And so on.

Haha. Have you seen what happened to the Good Morning Japan set? The cognitions didn't even care.

[His smirk coupled with the mischievous glint in his eye... Oh, that's a sign. A sign that he welcomes such shenanigans.]

Or maybe we just haven't pissed them off enough. We don't know.

[ He has a glint in his own eye... uh-oh. ]

I was actually thinking of vandalizing the diet building with a beautiful mural mocking Masayoshi Shido.

[Ah, to spite his biological father... What joy that would bring him.]

[ Ren is a hundred percent on board, nodding along—until Akechi says That name. He doesn't flinch, or gasp, or look visibly frightened, or any of that, but he does go very still, as every hint of expression bleeds out of his face. He doesn't even breathe.

After only a short moment, his thoughts come back online, first among them You're acting really fucking weird, my guy. He blinks, and tries to remember what his face looked like before Akechi mentioned that guy. Why does Akechi hate Shido specifically? Ren was sure this Akechi wasn't involved with him... ]

...Is everything all right?

[It's such a strange, concerning response. What does this mean? He doesn't want to assume, but the mention of Shido's name clearly got some kinda reaction.]

Yeah, sorry. Just got distracted for a sec. [ He gives Akechi an apologetic little smile. It would be pretty convincing, actually, if not for the fact that he turned into a blank little doll a second ago. ] What have you got against Masayoshi Shido?

Edited 2023-09-03 04:54 (UTC)

That demon in human flesh is the reason I was born.

[Gone is the smirk. Gone is the joviality to his voice. The words come out cold and razor sharp.]

[ He's caught off-guard again, for the second time in less than a minute. But this time, you can see it in his face as that hits home, and as a little bit of the light behind his eyes goes out. He swallows. ] ...Sorry to hear that.

[ For more reasons than you can imagine, Akechi. He's not only going to kill the Akechi he knows at home, he's going to do it on his dad's orders. Cool. Good to know.

Seriously, it is. If Ren's going to murder Goro Akechi, he at least wants to be aware of the full weight of what he's doing. But still... Shido is his father? ]

...It is what it is.

[A heavy sigh follows, and he once again droops over the table.]

I plan to destroy that man, on my own terms. ...But he's not my father. Not where it counts. At best, he's a glorified sperm donor.

What're you going to do? Change his heart?

[ I plan to destroy that man might have given Ren hope, if he didn't know better than to hope.

His mask is back on, in any case: serious, sympathetic, in no way thinking about an upcoming murder. ]

If that is what it takes to end his crimes. Obviously, the ethical implications of a change of heart are not lost to me, but if Shido is the potential benefactor of our brainwashing culprit, then he is a most pertinent target even outside of my personal grievances.

[Heh. Of course, he knows it won't be that easy.]

I already know his palace keywords. The only reason we haven't gone yet is that I'm not sure the Phantom Thieves are ready to take on such a palace. They're stronger now, and I do have allies in the Shadow Operatives, but such a target would require careful planning.

[There are many factors to consider. Shido is a very dangerous man, in the end.]

[ That's what Ren thought. Even if Shido is Akechi's dad, even if he wronged Akechi that much, it's just a change of heart for him. His own Akechi would be the same way. There'll be no help coming from the Phantom Thieves, even if he asks for it.

At least this Akechi is onto Shido being behind all the brainwashing stuff. ]

He has a tough Palace?

[ He sure does. Ren knows that firsthand. ]

Just from a cursory investigation, it would seem to be the case. At the very least, letters of recommendation are required for any meaningful progress, and given what I know about palaces, that means doubtlessly enduring difficult challenges along the way.

[He has the connections to obtain said letters. Mitsuru herself is a veteran Persona user and a woman of status. He could simply recruit the Shadow Operatives and get it done with...

But this is more than just his fight.]

While I have allies who could help, it would be unfair to my Ren, when Shido is to blame for his probation.

...He's on probation? [ Ren is grateful for the distraction. ] What'd he even do? [ In particular, what did he do to Shido? ]

He protected a woman from being raped and the man tripped, hit his head on a car, and threw a fuss. Apparently the "police are his bitches..."

[He breathes in deeply, then growls out a sigh.]

So, obviously, it was Shido.

[ ...Yeah, that has Shido written all over it. Couldn't be more obvious if he spelled it out in skywriting. The police are my bitches. Fuck. What's Ren even killing all these people for, if Shido's going around saying that stuff? How's he going to rise to power like that?

Not that Ren can say any of that, or even admit to that much familiarity with Shido. ] I guess you'd know, if you've been in his Palace. But isn't he, like... trying to say he's a man of the people? Seems stupid to go around saying that stuff to random teenagers.