[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]

"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.