personavelvetroomdr | (no subject)

1. What's without

[To long time residents of this closet of a dimension, the figure leaning against the base of ~~Hachiko~~Buchiko's plinth is a familiar sight. The Goro Akechi, Age 21 who is there is dressed in mostly the same fashion as the last time anyone saw him - it's a different pair of black skinny jeans (these ones have a silver chain with skull charms hanging from the left hip to the knee, with just enough give to swing as he walks) and a different too-fancy shirt, but how many Akechis are there, even, who would even consider dressing like that? The only spot of color, aside from his hair and eyes (have they always been that red) is that the gloves he wears are bright red on the inside, palms and fingers. A memory he doesn't want to lose.

He's playing games on his phone with half-attention as he people-watches, which in this place is more an act of looking for people to watch. In the sea of cognitions, real people stick out like a sore thumb - and he's probably spotted you in the crowd before you even approach, with a faint smile or frown on his face, depending on who you are.

And if you're more than just a familiar face - someone who he actually met, the last time he was here - he'll actually stop leaning against the statue's base to give you a proper wave. It's been a while, Velvet Room Dimension, but your Reaper has returned.]

2. What's within

[And no trip through the old stoimping grounds is complete without a trip to Mementos, directly through Shibuya Station.

He doesn't wear a mask - indeed, even as a former Phantom Thief, his clothes don't change. But unlike on the normal, uncognitive side of the world, his wings are fully visible, moving like a natural extension of his body. And in place of the chain dangling from his jeans is a holstered pistol - neither the toy laser gun nor the real one he used as Shido's weapon, but at least at a glance, it seems real enough.

Akechi lurks for a while at the entrance of Mementos, sitting quite illegally on one of the turnstiles just because he can, perched like a particularly strange bird, one knee tented up against his torso and the other dangling as he watches in the direction of the depths. Eventually, he slides off his seat and deeper into the depths.

In Mementos proper, he spends a bit of time getting a work-out - that gun is in hand, though what it fires can only be loosely called bullets. Fireballs, lightning bolts, shards of ice, and of course laser beams once more - he uses all of these in various combinations, rather than summoning a Persona for combat. Combined with the fact that he's clearly much faster than most of the Shadows, it's usually a quick clean-up if anything tries to bother him.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Apparently mine is a cup that's using me in some weird game to enslave the world. Or maybe he's not a cup? I'm kinda unclear on that part. He still doesn't sound like a lot of fun, if I'm honest, cup or not.

...Huh. The Holy Grail?

[He's literally just throwing out the thought, but that's the only god of cups he can name off hand, and he used to do a decent amount of mythological research. Such things were helpful to know for the Metaverse, from time to time.]

That's, like. A western thing, right? Going on a hunt for the Holy Grail? It could be. The dude's name sounds western. Yaldabaoth.

[ He's pretty sure he got that right. ]

It is, yes, but it's managed to work its way into Japanese pop culture. Winning the Grail and having a wish granted by it is the central motivation for characters in the Destiny/ series that was popular a few years ago.

[Or at least a few years ago his time? It was probably more recent for Ren, given the chronological discrepancy.]

I can't say I recognize the name, though.

I don't know that much about it. Something something gamepiece opposing my Akechi, evil plot to take over the world something. It'll be Akechi's problem back home, I guess.

[ What Does That Mean, Ren. ]

Seeing as I never heard any such thing, perhaps your knowing will throw it off track. I'm sure you don't like being an ignorant game piece for someone else any more than I would.

Nah. [ He grins sharply. ] I'm gonna fuck up his little game. Knock over the board. Smug tin-can piece of shit.

Make a real mess. I'll be cheering you on.

[He really will be, too. He doesn't have advice for this Ren the way he would for another version of himself - they're too different and the circumstances don't map cleanly.]

On the note of making a mess, done any more experiments I should know about?

I was planning one with the kid Akechi. Seeing if we could change the effect of food in the Metaverse by changing how people thought of it out here. I think he mostly wanted an excuse to eat cake. But it would be interesting to see if cake heals you more if people think it's better for you.

[ He winces, remembering what happened after that. ] Later events kind of derailed it, but it'd be fun to get back to. Eating cake, doing science.

I think that particular cognition may be a high bar to clear. There's generations of overbearing mothers telling you it's bad for you to overcome, after all.

[Though, since the subject of food has been brought up... Akechi hums under his breath.]

Though now that you've put the thought in my head... How do you feel about ramen?

[This is not a non-sequitor, he promises!]

[ ...Ren eyes him. ]

I like it, I guess? Don't have it much. I just get the instant kind.

[ Because even when you fancy up instant ramen a little, it's much, much cheaper than eating out. ]

...Well, now we have to go.

[Back home is one thing but here? Come on Ren, the takeout is free.]

I want to see if I can make the ramen shop my Game mentor used to drag us to appear. Let's go.

[ Listen, Ren has habits, okay. He's used to instant ramen. But although he looks baffled, he doesn't protest. ]

Sure, I guess. Why wouldn't it be here? Is it not part of actual Tokyo?

The Tokyo I live in these days isn't the same as this one - the shops and companies aren't the same. Okumura Foods never existed, for one thing, as far as I can tell.

[He's going to start leading the way as he walks.]

But in a more mundane sense, the proprietor developed a gluten allergy a couple years ago and can no longer handle noodles. He took a health vacation in India for over a year and came back all fired up about authentic Indian curry, so it's 'Curry Don' in reality, now. 'Ramen Don' no longer exists.

So an inherently better Tokyo, is what you're saying.

[ Because fuck Okumura Foods. He can't wait to blow up that building. God. He follows Akechi, lost in that daydream for a second. It brings him something that's almost like joy. ]

Man, imagine if you became allergic to what you did for a living... I guess for you it would be, like. A death allergy.

I believe they just call that dying.

[The most morbid senses of humor in the DR, everyone.]

But yes, it was genuinely upsetting to see him in that state. It's not like there was really anything anyone could do.

The curry is also excellent, don't get me wrong. He blended in traditional ramen broth techniques to make his base, so it winds up having a very full flavor. But it's still lacking in that nostalgia factor.

[The cognitive travel speed is slowing down, along with Shrike's pace - he seems to be concentrating more, as they turn into Dogenzaka.]

[ He laughs. It doesn't even occur to him that it's a morbid joke. It's just funny. ]

So it's, like... ramen curry? [ Those things don't go together well in his head, but he keeps his questions to a minimum, since Akechi seems to be focused on summoning his ramen restaurant. ]

95% curry, just with... Well, nevermind, you haven't experienced fresh ramen yet.

[How can he compare the flavor of a full bone broth to someone who has never had it?

Fortunately - and despite his getting distracted by trying to explain the subtleties of flavor to a packet ramen man - RAMEN DON appears around the next corner they turn. Shrike practically jogs up to the door.]

Ah, that's the smell I remember...

[ He follows, bemused. It's not that the scent emanating from the restaurant is bad, or anything, but Akechi is so happy about it. ]

You're like Takamaki with sweets.

Well, if you got the chance to go back in time to experience something that was lost - even something as minor as a nostalgic food place - wouldn't you be pleased?

[Because in some ways that is what they're doing here - time travelling back to the ramen shop of his memories.

There's the vague shapes of customers, cognitions only, when Shrike opens the door. There were always customers, after all, even if just the few regulars. A booming voice calls out WELCOME, but that too is just a part of the cognitive reconstruction - the chef behind the ramen bar isn't a real person.

Still, the atmosphere seems more lively than most places filled with the unpeople of this Tokyo.]

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i couldn't resist the chance to make this joke and i'm sorry

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shows up two months later with... ramen apparently