Once Upon a Dream (Canon Update, April Catchall)

[herewardbound]

▶ THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT
It's been a blast, been a slice, been a Hell of a ride

---

The morning of March 26th dawned as many spring days in Tokyo did, sunny and cold.

What did not rise with the sun, were the figures that had, just the night before, occupied Sojiro Sakura's house.

Phoenix and Renée were both missing. Their numbers, for those who had their contact info, were still reachable- though only by text, now.

But unfortunately, the simple fact was that they had disappeared, gone home- and there was no telling when they'd return.

▶ BUT IT'S NOT GOODBYE FOREVER
Cause we're all down here together

---

March 27th, on the other hand, was considerably milder, and for reasons neither could fully place-

They had both awoken, nearly simultaneously, within the familiar confines of the Velvet Room. Not, as it turned out, the gently-rocking deck of a ship at sea under full sail- but one they hadn't seen for months.

A circular room, with a familiar board, and five doorways leading off.

"March... 27th. It's only been a day, here. Convenient, but also I'm getting really sick of this dream realm bullshit making time all fucky."

▶ A HAPPY DAY IN HELL
A realm so appealing, it beats anywhere

---

Phoenix hadn't returned empty-handed. Something in the intervening months had passed between the pair of them- and now they were more frequently seen together. Not always- but frequently enough, whether it was taking advantage of Leblanc's quiet atmosphere to pore over one of the tomes they'd managed to bring back with them, or perhaps trawling Mementos or one of the Palaces together, even taking time to explore Tartarus or the TV world.

Apart, however, they could often be found either around the Sakura residence, with Phoenix's morning run usually taking him through Inaba, or his Attendant loitering around the myriad bookshops and libraries of the realm, consuming as much literature as she possibly could.

(Intro) A New Arrival

[violetwing]

When Sumire first opens her eyes, she's taken off guard by her new surroundings. After all, she had just been in her room, still processing the state of her world.

"I... All right, thank you! I'll do my best!"

She says that to Igor with a smile, not really getting what's going on, but she doesn't want to be rude and ask countless questions. Honestly, she's not really sure what the Velvet Room is, either, but that'll probably open a huge can of worms, and... well! It'd probably be better to just figure it out for herself.

It's pretty easy to get that she's somewhere else though... but... wait, is it under Maruki's surveillance, too? Oh, she hopes not, but maybe it's OK...

She looks around, and...

Option 1: She goes and checks the conspiracy board first thing, seeing it out of the corner of her eye. Wow, there's a lot here... Various versions of Akechi? Ren VS. Akira? Vampires and the fae?! What on Earth has she walked into?!

Option 2: She decides to step through the door to Tokyo. After all, it's familiar, and from the way it sounds, it's more like the real Tokyo than the one her world has become. She's trying not to think about that too hard as she walks through the streets, finding herself at the usual spot in Odaiba. It's... not as pleasant to be here now though, considering Maruki's Palace can be found there...

Option 3: She decides to take a leap of faith, heading for one of the subways in Tokyo. She holds her phone in her hand, staring at it intently. The Meta-Nav seems to be here, so that must mean Mementos is easily accessible... It's weird, having access to it again. She's about three seconds away from pushing the button.