[open/intro]

[fireandfaith]

Ann knows this place.

This shade of blue, and the song...though its notes flow far more harmoniously than they had the last (and only) time she'd heard them, the melody itself is enough to make Ann's heartbeat kick up a notch. That song only plays in the Velvet Room--and the Velvet Room is not a place she wants to be. Lavenza had said it. Her gut had said it--and Elizabeth had confirmed it. The Velvet Room was in the control of Yaldabaoth, wearing the skin of Igor.

Ann had never met Igor, personally, but both Akira in the previous timeline and the Attendants she'd encountered had painted a vivid picture of him. Taking in her surroundings carefully (this Room matched neither the descriptions of a prison Akira had once given her, or the crumbling ruins Lavenza had pulled her into at the End of a World), Ann eyes the man she can only assume is Yaldabaoth. And, even if it is truly Igor...

She's never met the man, and she doesn't trust anything he has to say to her. She might not be garbed in her will of rebellion, currently, but Célestine is always with her, and steeling her spine with a little of her flame, Carmine stands tall and proud.

Ann takes in the doors. Makes a split second decision that she shouldn't just be rushing into making a decision; Lavenza, and Elizabeth, she trusts--and she's heard Elizabeth describe their siblings enough that she feels as though she can trust them too. She'll poke around in this unfamiliar Velvet Room for now, and see if she can't encounter one of them...or at least someone who can tell her what's going on.

[OOC: check out Ann's AU info and perms here!]

Comments

[fireandfaith]

"Maybe not happy," Ann says, nodding (and chuckling a little internally at him saying he's found peace). "Maybe more like...it's good to see you less angry, I think. You do seem a lot more settled." She supposes that could have come with age, but when you consider how long Goro Akechi had chafed but nevertheless waited under Shido's heel, she can't imagine that an extra few years would have accomplished anything without outside encouragement.

She frowns at the second mention he's made of this 'Game;' she doesn't know what it entails, but the questions pierce through her like knives.

What does she value most?

Her friends.

Are they worth as much to her as her life?

More than.

Who is she without them?

Nothing.

She tries to smile again, but it feels a little hollow. "I see," Ann says. "I guess, if you're still here...you found those answers, then."

[paysforall]

"I did," he agrees. "Though I can't say I enjoyed the process very much." Who would? the Game was a meat grinder at the best of times, and almost the whole of his experience of it, on both sides, hasn't been the best of times.

"Still, I suppose the outcome was worth it in the end," he says. "Now I spend my time in this place attempting to nudge various younger versions of myself onto a better path, as much as they'll let me." Everyone needs a hobby.

[fireandfaith]

Looking in a mirror can be tough for anyone. Given what Goro Akechi was like when Ann knew him, and said mirror being some sort of afterlife game...yeah. It was probably really tough for him, huh?

"Everyone needs a hobby!" Ann says brightly. "And god knows Goro Akechi needs some guidance. A lot of guidance." She gets to say that, because she also falls in the club of 'needs someone to poke me every now and then,' even if she's sure she falls into it less than Goro Akechi does.

[paysforall]

"True enough. Though most people don't consider interfering in the lives of others an acceptable hobby." Meddling, as so many people say derisively about the cliche old lady down the street. "Though I've also grown fond of people-watching, it's a bit more difficult here."

[fireandfaith]

Ann, who has traveled back in time exclusively to interfere in the lives of others (for a cause!), can only shrug helplessly at his statement. She doesn't have much time for anything else; it basically is her hobby at this point.

"Yeah, I suppose the lack of actual people would make it pretty hard..." She looks at him curiously. "And how does a reaper people watch?" Is it to keep an eye on souls ready to be snatched up for this 'Game?'

[paysforall]

"The plane of the afterlife we reside on is closer to the 'real world' than the Metaverse is," he explains. "People in the living world are visible from it, they just pass through us as though we weren't there."

So people watching is not only entirely possible, but in some ways easier, if you're the kind of nosy bastard who would lean over a guy's shoulder to see what's on his phone, for example.

[fireandfaith]

"Creepy!" Ann says, cheerfully. "Sounds useful, though. I spend half my time wishing Lavenza had given me invisibility against more than just Yaldabaoth's gaze; to be a fly on the wall in so many places would make my life so much easier." She squints at him. "Do you think reapers exist in my world, too?" If she could find a way to get into contact with one, maybe...

[paysforall]

"It's unlikely," he tells her, rather than, you probably don't want to get involved with them. "Technically speaking, I'm no longer a resident of our world. The Composer pulled a number of people from other worlds to help repair the Game after a certain incident - I was incredibly lucky to be from any form of Japan."

He flips through his phone for a moment, not ignoring her but clearly looking for something. It's not long before he finds it, and turns the phone around to show her a photo of the Shibuya 109 building - except the numbers on it are 104. "Here. Photographic evidence."

[fireandfaith]

"That's a fucked up building," Ann says, blankly. "Of all the things to change between worlds..." And then she squints up at him. "Do you still slip sometimes and call it the 109 building, or...?" Because she would. She absolutely would. She knows this about herself, and she accepts it.

[paysforall]

"Not often these days, after being there for three years. But in the beginning? Constantly." Especially given the whole forced-truth aspect of his Entry Fee. "They also call Buchiko 'Hachiko' there, but the statue looks the same so there's no point taking a photo. And the Big Bang Burger on the street corner is called Justice Burger instead."

That one, in particular, has always made him a little sick with the irony.

[fireandfaith]

"Hachiko...aw, that's cute though." And then she laughs, because sorry Akechi, but that's really funny. "Justice Burger? Are you for real?" Talk about a Dramatic Irony Burger.

[paysforall]

"I speak sincerely and from the depths of my heart." (Asch always gets a weird look on his face when he says things in that tone of voice. He's never asked.) "Their fries are better, honestly."

He pauses, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if I could manipulate the cognitive space here to make it appear instead of the Big Bang," he says. "Up for a little experiment, Takamaki-san?"

[fireandfaith]

...You know what, sure! Ann's curious to see what this Justice Burger looks like, and (sorry Haru!) she's never been the biggest fan of Big Bang in the first place. "Lead the way," she says, "I'm interested in trying these fries, now."

[paysforall]

"They're still nothing to write home about, honestly." He was a food critic once upon a time, you can't entirely remove that from him. "But they're a bit thicker than Galaxy Fries - " How is there still space in his head for the stupid branding? " - so they don't get limp as quickly as they get cold."

As he walks, Akechi starts heading off in the direction of Shibuya's Scramble Crossing. Let's commit science!

(about to be really australian) oh so like the difference between maccas and hjs

[fireandfaith]

"You know," Ann says, conversationally, "I am suddenly reminded that you used to run a food blog."

i'm sorry you know what i read hjs as right

[paysforall]

"I still keep notes," he says. "Unfortunately a condition of my afterlife is that I can't leave Shibuya, so my options have been rather more limited than they used to be, at least before getting here."

If Ann is paying attention, she might notice that time passes a little too quickly on their way to the burger joint. Shrike, however, isn't doing anything to it - he's too busy reconstructing Justice Burger in his mind, trying to force the impression of it over the Big Bang Burger on that street corner.

What happens is... Not quite what he was hoping for. There are too many people with the cognition of 'there's a Big Bang Burger here' for him to overcome by himself; it's possible that bringing Ann along didn't help. He makes a note to try by himself sometime.

For now, they arrive in front of Justice Banger, which just prompts Akechi to stand there with his arms folded, staring at the sign.

(american flag emoji)

[fireandfaith]

"I can't imagine being stuck in Shibuya forever," Ann says, a little horrified. Like, Shibuya's not bad, but nowhere else?? Forever?? "Do you not get stir crazy?" Ann gets itchy if she has to spend a singular day in her HOUSE without leaving.

At their arrival, Ann squints at the so called Justice Banger. It doesn't quite look as unstable as say, a safe room, where the lines between realspace and metaspace overlap...but apparently the lines between two alternate burger chains merging doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, either, because Ann looks to Shrike and says a tentative: "After you?"

HANDJOB IS NOT AN AMERICAN-EXCLUSIVE TERM

[paysforall]

"Why do you think I've taken up people-watching and hanging around on random street corners?" he asks in return. "At least I can fairly say that I know Shibuya better than most of the people living in it."

Yes, that was a pun.

He rolls his shoulders, and says, "Well, it is my cognitive chimera, so it's only fair." He opens the door, which brings with it a wave of fast food burger smell, and goes inside. At least so far, it looks normal.