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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"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."

"I hadn't assumed it was my Crow, but good to know. It is his favorite of his names, though." If anything holds Crow back from changing his name, it'll be having to give that one up as well.

Akira doesn't think it'll actually stop him, though.

"Wonder how it became a theme."

"I can't speak for the others. For me, it's a matter of personal sentimentality." He digs into the pocket of his uniform, pulling out a knitted plush crow. "I received this gift when I was much younger, at a time where acts of kindness seemed like the subject of fantasy more than anything that could ever happen in my life. That night, a single person fundamentally altered the course of my life and allowed me to finally find a place of belonging."

"That's entirely fair. My Crow... it's a name his mother gave him. Not his true name, but his favorite, and one he's managed to keep away from the vulture." Not that it matters much when the vulture has the true one, but it's something, anyway.

"All this talk of true names is quite fascinating. I know that in the Metaverse, we utilize codenames to protect ourselves from potential ramifications from exploring worlds based on human cognition, but this sounds rather different." He's observing this Ren closely now, trying to get a feel for this world...

He mentioned a Realm. Fae Realm, perhaps? That would align with certain forms of fable and myth, but he shouldn't assume.

"Not dissimilar," Akira says, after thinking about it. "Just... more so."

"Hmm... So would you advise not introducing ourselves by our 'true' names? I could add a note to Raven's board, though I suppose it's somewhat moot when he's mentioned some names already..."

He'd rather not assume the worst out of this Ren, or Akira, or whichever name works best. He doesn't seem all that threatening, at least.

"I would absolutely advise that. I don't want a minion army. 'taba set up my phone to show the name I know, or someone's favorite if I know multiple, and text alone isn't enough anyway or the vulture wouldn't be such a fucking problem. I have to have it spoken directly to me by someone who knows the person." Otherwise, the human world's public figures would be in worlds of hurt.

"The power might be weird or diluted here since there are so many duplicates of people, but... better not to take the chance."

"Is there no way to control whether or not someone becomes your minion?" That's... troubling. Very, very troubling. If that's the case, then it's rather understandable to err on the side of caution. "I admit, such powers are outside my realm of expertise, but it'd be irresponsible for me to not put up a warning, especially with so many children about."

"Not one that I'm aware of." It's possible that something exists, but Akira's so old as to render that possibility very unlikely indeed. "I truly don't want to put anyone in an untenable position, but if someone else of the Realm arrives here, we have no guarantee they'd be so benevolent."

"That seems like quite a troubling power to wield." But yes, the possibility of others arriving does add a little snag, doesn't it? Definitely not something to take lightly. "I suppose the question is, how cautious should people be of giving their names out? I would hate to single you out, but if you think it's for the best, I'd understand."

Akira shrugs. "As careful as they choose to be. If people avoid their full names, it'll be fine."

But he's not aiming to tell anyone what to do, including not throwing caution to the wind if they so choose.

"Hmm, then perhaps what this needs is more than a mere note on the board, but its own designated sign..." He looks around, trying to find a good place to potentially put it. "Something like, 'Warning: Please be advised to be careful when giving your full name to the Akira or Ren who...'" He stops himself. "I wonder what the best descriptor would be. There are a lot of you, but I do feel like most of them are fairly recognizable in some way or form."

For a brief moment, Akira melts into the shadows of the Velvet Room. "I doubt many of them can do this."

And then he's back, because hiding that deliberately when talking to someone is just rude. "It also seems like no one's claimed Lotus yet, so I don't mind answering to that just to clarify things. They're both names I use somewhat regularly."

Oh. Well, that was unexpected. Give Crow a moment here. "...No, I can't say they can."

Very, very interesting. "Lotus works. Honestly, you'd be one of the first to actually claim a codename. Most of the Rens and Akiras just use their names, though I suppose it helps that there are only two Rens present."

"Easy enough solution, then. And if I notice anyone else of the Realm popping up, I'll make sure people are aware."

These people aren't used to having to work around it, and deserve a fighting chance.

"Would you say there's anything particularly distinct about them to a casual observer?" Shadow melting abilities aside, Lotus certainly could pass as a human at a glance.

"...Probably not to a human observer, no." If it were that simple, humans wouldn't back themselves into bad deals with the more openly predatory fae on the regular. "But I'll keep an eye out. This isn't our turf any more than it's yours, so it'd be rude to impose like that without saying anything."

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