personavelvetroomdr | (no subject)

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There's a new presence in the shadows of the Velvet Room tonight.

For a while, there's no obvious sign of this... presumably a person, just the feeling that something is watching from the darkness, listening to whatever cryptic platitudes Igor's spouting about the place tonight. Eventually, though, the presence announces itself as... an Akira, looking at the conspiracy board.

Or maybe he's a Ren? (He's both. He's neither. He's pretty sure Igor is the closest to a familiar entity here. Making connections? That's not going to be a problem at all.)

"...I have no idea what most of this means," he's forced to conclude after several minutes. "Cool."

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"Oh? How interesting." But this Ren isn't a Phantom Thief at all, and certainly isn't familiar with the cognitive world. "It's honestly something I stumbled into. I was already an old hand when it comes to Personas, but the Metaverse and changing hearts were wholly new experiences. The previous cognitive worlds I'd grown accustomed to required Persona users to pass through TV screens or, in one case, get dragged in by watching a 'cursed' music video."

"I thought most people couldn't get into TVs."

You know. People who aren't Futaba.

"Most people still can't. It's only those with Personas who can, or those who push ordinary people inside... which unfortunately was the cause of death for two innocent women and nearly caused the deaths of others, had they not been rescued and awakened Personas of their own." There's a slightly bitter edge to his words, but he ultimately shrugs it off. "But that was five years ago now."

"Something can be lifetimes ago and still hurt." Akira's certainly lived enough of them to know. "Was someone you knew hurt by it?"

"The second victim, Saki Konishi. Though we weren't especially close, I had tried to assure her that her own pain from finding the first victim's corpse would subside and, well..." He trails off. The silence ought to speak for itself. "Others close to me were wrapped up in one way or another. We formed quite the motley crew, pursuing the truth behind the murders and kidnappings and trying our best to thwart the culprit every step of the way. Things got... messy, and it almost cost me my little sister, but in the end, the truth prevailed."

That's the important part.

"Good. That sounds like the sort of thing that shouldn't be left hanging loose."

"Indeed, and it culminated with a battle against the goddess Izanami. In fact, we've come into contact with multiple gods and deities since..." He grumbles a little at that fact. "My current team and I have a false god to contend with, assuming the form of Igor." He gestures to Igor. "But that's at home. Other than my boyfriend and Yoshizawa-san, as well as my younger self, no one else from our world is here."

Akira nods. "I think it's safe to say I'm the first from mine."

"Don't be surprised if you get interrogated by my younger self at some point. He's still adamant to uncover what determines whether or not someone is a Ren or Akira, and he is the one who maintains this board." And now there's a version of him from a world without Personas who isn't a little kid who may just not have awakened his. Funny how that works out.

Akira just laughs. "I'll answer to either, so I doubt I'll be of much help on that front."

But the kid's welcome to try.

"No, but you see, you'll be marked down as an anomaly. Then he'll likely try to prod you for answers about why you use both names. The significance..."

Heh. Raven is nothing if not inquisitive and ridiculously nosy. "He can be insanely persistent."

"As long as he's polite about it, I doubt it'll be a problem."

"He's generally polite, unless he's in a particularly bad mood, or you say or do something to piss him off." Which isn't difficult, but generally shouldn't be an issue. Still... hm. Crow returns his attention to the board. "Was there anything else you'd like clarification on?"

"Romantic connection? How many odd looks can I expect for saying mine isn't that?"

It's still a very strong connection, so the theory that there's some kind of intrinsic meat to it is still very much on the table, but... Crow's his brother.

"The multiverse is vast, I suppose, but with that said..." He lifts his left hand, looking at the ring on his gloved finger. "I certainly can't imagine myself with anyone but my Ren. It certainly seems common that some form of romantic connection forms, but that doesn't mean it's ironclad across all realities."

Akira shrugs. "Crow's my brother. Not by birth, and it was like pulling teeth to get him to agree to the blood oath in the first place, but... he's my brother. We're too alike to be otherwise."

"Huh. I admit, the idea of viewing him in that sort of light is likely about as disorienting to me as our more romantic feelings are to you." Then again, the multiverse is vast. Different circumstances can radically alter the course of one's life.

He cups his chin in hand, pondering this. "Then again, I'm rather an outlier myself, given that I was saved from a tragic future by way of forming meaningful connections at a young age rather than being ground into the earth by society's wickedness. There's likely room for all manner of possibilities out there, even those where I was born female or an entirely different species outright."

"Only had to save his life three separate times before he accepted I wasn't going anywhere any time soon. He's a stubborn little shit, but so am I." At least that much of the story rhymes, or this would just be unaccountably weird all around.

Akira just smiles. "Oh, we have the 'different species' part covered. It's so weird that all of you are human."

"Oh, I know the feeling. I just had that stubbornness challenged at a young enough age that I came into my teenage years somewhat well-adjusted." Somewhat, because he still had a long way to go. Still does in some respects. "It's funny, though. For a time, we actually had some vampires, though it seems both have left. There is a version of me that's a ghost, however, so it's not as though nonhumans have completely gone by the wayside."

His smile falters at the mention of the ghost, though. It's... troubling, really.

"Yeah, I think I met the ghost." He was grumpy, but Akira's used that, when it comes to Crow.

"It seems he's from one of the timelines that results in our death. His revenge plan against Shido likely did him in." Crow deflates a little at the prospect. It's far from pleasant. "It's dangerous work, getting involved with him. I've tried to aid one of my other counterparts into breaking free from such a path, though it's taken a great deal of time to get there."

"No one should be stuck dealing with the vulture alone."

"I agree. It's just that sunk cost is a nightmare to deal with for people like us. I was young enough and forced to confront my repressed feelings in the form of a Shadow that I was able to eventually accept that I wanted connections with others. But other versions of us languished in an unjust society until desperation won out."

He won't betray Magpie's trust by outing his actions and crimes, but the sentiment, at least, should speak volumes.

"As I understand it, the vulture stuck around long enough to get what he wanted, and then broke the agreement he'd made. Crow's stuck in a twisted oath, and I will get him out of it, and then we can figure out what his vengeance looks like."

That there will be some goes without saying, and it's entirely deserved.

"Ah... so when you speak of blood oaths and the like, you mean it in a truly literal sense." Hmm... That certainly paints an intriguing picture of this Ren's world, to say the least. "I suppose I should probably mention now, for the sake of clarity- the Crow mentioned on the board is me. As I understand it, it's a fairly frequent codename across various realities."