dropkicks him right into the velvet room

[pyrrhicjustice]

[The Velvet Room is now host and occupant to a Goro Akechi who is lying flat on his back. It certainly seems he arrived that way, and he shows no sign of moving yet. His school blazer seems to have been rained on, although in the blue lighting of the Velvet Room it only seems darker than usual.

Maybe once he's been encouraged to move into better lighting, it'll be noticeable that the rain was of a distinctly red nature, but that's for then, and this is now.

Oh, and there's also a blue butterfly flittering nervously at Igor, who seems sad at its presence.

Poke the (not exactly) sleeping Akechi?]

Comments

[pancakeboy]

[Yet another of him arriving in mysterious circumstances? Old hat, by now. No, it's the butterfly that grabs Akechi's attention, that makes him pause and think... wait, hasn't he seen it somewhere before?

Whatever. With a mental shrug and a bit of a scowl, he leans back against the wall between the Inaba door he came from and the Tokyo door, watching whatever the hell this version of him will turn out to be. The uniform's enough to support a few predictions.

The thoughtful look on his face, as he watches the other him, will likely support a few more.]

[pyrrhicjustice]

[It's not the Akechi that moves first, it's the butterfly. Akechi hasn't even really noticed where he is yet.

The butterfly, though - blue and sparkling - or is that fading? - flutters from Igor to the other Akechi, examining him curiously. She'd probably be heard saying something to someone other than the Akechi on the floor, but... she's too weak.]

[pancakeboy]

[His skin quivers as the thing heads over to explore him, blue and bright and glittering. Like a Persona, if a Persona was really, really small, and considerably less weird. And it feels... so familiar to him.

Almost, he reaches out a hand to it. Then, annoyed with himself, he scowls, and reaches in an angry blur of motion to bat it away.]

[pyrrhicjustice]

[The butterfly would have been all too willing to settle down on his hand after the energy spent trying to talk to Igor, and reaching eye level with him - and unfortunately doesn't have the energy needed to dodge the hand.

It's a hard drop to the ground, and her wings beat at first with all the strength she has left, then... weakly.]

[pancakeboy]

[For fuck's sake. Igor's attention is fixed on him too. He's stopped tapping his fingers, and now the fucker's shaking his head.

Akechi looks between the crumpled bug, oversized as it is, and his alternate unconscious on the floor. He has no idea what the connection between the two of them is.

With a petulant little hiss, he crouches, offering a gloved hand for the thing to crawl onto. Whoever that alternate is, he'd better appreciate this.]

[willowandoak]

[ Today is the day Ren finally tries the ominous demon door... or so he thinks. Actually what happens is, he gets into the Velvet Room and finds an Akechi crumpled on the floor and a weird butterfly that gives him an uneasy feeling bothering Igor. ]

...What the fuck?

[ The butterfly can keep bothering Igor, as far as he's concerned. Igor needs more bothering, and Ren can't dedicate all hours of the day to doing the job. He's more concerned about the Akechi. He crosses the room and crouches next to him.

His lips press together. Lying on the floor like this, Akechi really almost looks like he's... Nope, Ren's not going to think about that right now. ]

[pyrrhicjustice]

[The butterfly does not keep bothering Igor for long, and instead starts stumblingly making its way toward Ren himself, like it's investigating him, curious.

And then because Ren's right by Akechi, it starts to flitter between the two.]

[willowandoak]

[ Ren's eyes flick between the new Akechi and the butterfly. With no one but Igor and a cognitive butterfly to see him, his expression is flatter and more calculating than usual, as he tries to figure out what in the hell is going on.

He addresses the butterfly. ] You're not like... Akechi's soul or something, right? He wouldn't be a butterfly.

[ And how is the butterfly supposed to respond, he asks himself irritably. Obviously cognitive or not—and it also hasn't escaped him that the butterfly is bright blue and was fluttering around Igor, who rules a very blue room—it's still a fucking bug. ]

[pyrrhicjustice]

[The butterfly flutters dimly right in front of him. If a butterfly could be unamused, she could be, but instead she starts staring into his soul.

She may not be able to talk to him - which proves that he isn't her Trickster - but she does have her pride. And curiosity.]

[willowandoak]

[ Ren stares right back at the butterfly. He's not going to look away first from an insect.

His soul is perhaps difficult to get a feel for. A searing fury and a deep, still ruthlessness; a shadow that unfurls behind him, holding all the crimes that he carries with him. And yet he does carry them, although they're a heavy burden, and he wants to help the Akechi on the floor. He reaches for something he can't name, something that wouldn't burn his skin or slice his palms if he tried to hold it.

He's not thinking about any of that, though, except for the floor Akechi. If he's not waking up, Ren should at least get him out of the Velvet Room and take him somewhere where Ren can take a look at him. He's done first aid on himself before. The butterfly has its own agenda, though, and Ren has no idea what it wants. ]

[fogboundcrow]

[That is an older Akechi lying on the ground. That may also be... some kinda moistness that does not seem like water.

This younger Akechi moves closer, looming, and asks one very important question.]

Are you dead?

[pyrrhicjustice]

[Goro Akechi is not online right now. If you're close enough, you'll probably be able to notice he's still breathing, at least.

The butterfly, however, flutters at and around the new Akechi, curious. So feel free to leave a message.]

[fogboundcrow]

...Well, hello. You certainly are an unusual butterfly.

[But he's seen an intelligent fox... and Teddie. This is hardly the weirdest thing. Zombies and vampires are real, after all.]

[pyrrhicjustice]

[The fluttering... maybe suggests some slight excitement. Or heightened interest. It's only too bad that said energy is drained sadly rather too fast for the butterfly's liking, and she starts to droop.]

[fogboundcrow]

Ah-

[Here, he'll hold out a hand in case she needs somewhere to land. That's... probably safe? If he's gentle.]

comes into the party late with boba

[paysforall]

[He'd come to this Velvet Room with the intention of investigating those other places he can go, now that he can go anywhere. Best to get the lay of the land while he can, just in case this does turn into a Game or some other form of disaster.

Instead, he's immediately sidetracked, because here is another him, with a butterfly that's barely more than Noise seemingly keeping watch. Also, wet, in a way that means Peter Gabriel's Red Rain is probably playing somewhere. Whatever. This Akechi has seen worse.

He doesn't immediately attempt to poke at his younger self. Instead, the Reaper - here in the Velvet Room, his wings are openly visible in a way they aren't in the 'real' world - takes a seat on the floor near his other self's head. One of his knees is tented up, and he rests an elbow on it before quietly addressing the butterfly - ]

I'll keep an eye on him, if you need to rest. Though once he wakes up, he's your problem again.

[pyrrhicjustice]

[The butterfly continues to hover around Igor for a only a moment longer, and then- makes her faltering way over to him, out of curiosity.

Still, she is so weak, and so tired, and she winds up settling on the unconscious Akechi's chest.]

[paysforall]

[For his part, the older Akechi keeping guard pulls out his phone and fiddles around with it for a minute or two before finally saying.]

I want it on the record that my last experience with a butterfly person went badly. But here I am, not bearing grudges against presumed-innocent insects.

[He sends a message out from his contacts. No signal. He sighs.]

[pyrrhicjustice]

[She takes offence at the idea of it, and attempts to come up to eye level in order to explain and defend herself - only to remember she can't be heard and start to get frustrated.

She ends up landing on her Akechi's nose instead, this time, in a huff.]

[paysforall]

[Well, that seems to confirm that the butterfly is listening, at least.]

If you heard the phrase 'sheeple of Shibuya' on a daily basis for three years, you'd bear a grudge too, I promise.

[youngestdawn]

There's a new person in the Velvet Room, and they look...not good...a bit worried, Aki-chan doesn't know what else to do but take a blanket out of his backpack and gently put it on the sleeping? visitor.

[pyrrhicjustice]

[The butterfly comes over to see what's happening, only to find a child, and one that's certainly too young to be her Trickster. But still as kind.

She's trying to keep watch, flittering around his head, when a wingbeat fails her and she winds up suddenly landed there instead.]

[youngestdawn]

When the small butterfly lands on his head, after tucking in the new Akechi-san, Aki-chan freezes and tries to look at it without moving, but the most he can see are the lower wings. "Bwoo..." he says, reverent. He's never seen a blue butterfly like this before.

[pyrrhicjustice]

[She stares - which isn't at much, from this perspective. It's a nice view of Akira's hair, though, which.. she has missed.

He's so small, but so familiar. If only she could stay here like this.]

[youngestdawn]

Trying not to startle Butterfly-san, Aki-chan slowly sits down on the floor of the Velvet Room, next to the sleeping(?) Akechi-san. Maybe they can all rest for a lil bit…