personavelvetroomdr | and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

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and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

...This is not Ann's beautiful balcony.

She was trying to go out there for an evening smoke - the cigarette's still in her hand and everything - and suddenly she's surrounded by blue and there's a weird old man trying to tell her everything is perfectly fine.

"I'd better not really be absent, or Akira's going to have concerns."

Form bonds? Well, that part's no weirder than the last few days have been.

Before going outside to continue with that smoke (she's not rude), she stops to examine the board. She... has no real idea what the Persona business is about, but it sounds like maybe a less direct kind of magic than what she got after she was visited? She also has no idea why anyone would want so many of that TV detective guy around.

Once Ann's taken in all she thinks she can there, she's off through the Tokyo door, lighting her cigarette as soon as there's open air for the smoke to dissipate into. (The keenly observant will note that she doesn't use or put away a lighter in that process.)

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"Damn... I already used my 'let me try one, I've never had a cigarette before' excuse," Hamuko chirped from near Ann.

If she caught anything subtle, Hamuko hadn't indicated it - instead she was standing there with a shopping bag swinging from a hand, looking amused. She'd just picked out the cutest orange cardigan that she was trying out now, but this other girl looked like she REALLY understood good fashion.

"Hi! My name's Hamuko. Did you come in through the Velvet Room?"

"I mean, if you really want one, I'd be a giant hypocrite to tell you no." Even if she really wouldn't advise it for most people.

"Ann, nice to meet you. And... yeah, I guess I did."

"Naaah, hehe, gave it a shot and they're pretty unpleasant. I'll find a new vice I'm sure," she joked, lightly. "Ann! That's a pretty name. Welcome to this strange little corner of reality!"

"Thanks. I'm still kinda trying to get my head around it."

It's not the weirdest thing to happen to Ann in the last few days, but it's sure up there.

"It's definitely strange! Have you encountered the Velvet Room before? I think the fact that I knew Igor from before all of this," she paused, gesturing to the city around them, "is what helped brace me for the strangeness of everything."

"No, never heard of it. How did you meet him?"

Hamuko made a 'magic' gesture, wiggly jazz hands and all, "In my dreams!"

After a beat and a laugh, she clarified. "At least, at first. Then he gave me a key to the Velvet Room... I could go through a door no one else could see to go see him and the attendant, Theo. It was very strange."

"Yeah, that sure sounds it. But no, I haven't seen anything like that."

Just a mechanical angel the size of a building.

"Well! Do you know where you're settling in, yet? Not paying rent means the world is our oyster for now!"

"I hadn't really gotten that far yet," Ann admits. "I was thinking about maybe scoping out my apartment, but who knows if that'd feel weird or not, you know?"

"No kidding!! Especially if you got used to knowing your neighbors, and suddenly they're strangers!"

"Less the neighbors and more... I kinda sorta just moved someone in? It's still pretty new, so it might feel normal without them, but it also might not."

She'd bet not. Akira has a presence, that's for damn sure. (Apparently a pretty popular one, if the board's to be believed.)

"Roommates! That sounds pretty fun. Staying at school dorms has been the closest I've gotten to it so far, hah."

Hamuko's unsure what to think of this girl... she seems quite cagey. Far from the first person around here like that, at least?

"They needed someplace to be, and it's not like my parents are around to care."

Ann's not even being cagey on purpose, just... guarded. It kept her safe. For a long time it's the only thing that's kept her safe.

"Well... I hear getting in here doesn't last forever, so hopefully you'll get to see them again soon," Hamuko assured. Parents, huh... "You'll have one hell of a wacky dream to tell them about!"

"Hopefully. Akira would get a kick out of it - 'so there's this weird blue room with like eight of you in it for some reason.'"

Ann definitely won't be telling her parents about it. She hasn't told her parents anything since she told them a teacher kept staring at her and they did nothing.

"Hah! No kidding - what is the obsession with him and Akechi, right? At least that means less versions of 'us' floating around to argue about nicknames with."

"True. Hopefully no one's claimed all the good fire-related ones yet."

It does help that whatever's going on with this Akechi guy, he apparently has a strong bird theme. But Ann would fight someone for a properly firebug code name if she had to.

That was odd. No lighter, pure magic.

Ergo, it's up to Raven to investigate. This could be an intriguing new resident.

So, suffice it to say, there is now a curious fourteen year old making his approach. "Interesting. Are you a pyromancer, perchance?"

"...I... guess I'm not not, at this point?" She hadn't really thought about it that hard - but to be fair, it's been about a day.

"Oh?" His lips perk into a smile. You have his full attention now. "Fascinating. The vast majority of us draw power from our Personas..."

"Yeah, and I've never heard of those. Before reading the board, anyway." That was... a hell of a lot to take in, honestly.

Still not the weirdest thing to happen to Ann lately, though.

"You wouldn't be the first, to be fair." He shrugs, setting a hand on his hip. "We have a a handful of others from worlds without the Metaverse or any trace of the supernatural. The most interesting by far is the pirate, of course."

"Pirate, huh? That's a first. But I guess we are on the water." Flex timelines a little bit, and she can see it.

"An island nation isn't unfitting, at any rate." He pauses. "Though, I am admittedly curious how your powers work by comparison..."

"I'm still figuring that out myself, honestly. This is... a pretty new development."

"So it's not a power you've always had? I suppose that does align with the majority..." Albeit under different circumstances.

The plot thickens...

"Nope. I'd probably be an even worse firebug than I already am."

She's always been fascinated by fire, but zero-effort starting them? Just as well that's a new thing, really.

"Well, now I have to know... How exactly did you obtain your powers?"

There's a mystery here. He really can't help himself.

"Well--"

After a moment, Ann sighs. "Now I see why Akira was so hesitant to talk about it. It's a really weird story, maybe even by local standards, and... it doesn't start well."

"Well, it's your choice whether you elaborate or not, but for what it's worth, I don't think anyone here is a stranger to tragedy." He wilts a little, looking down.

His own circumstances speak for themselves.

They sure would if Ann knew anything about them, but she doesn't.

"...Maybe another time. It's. It's still pretty fresh. The short version is, I was offered a chance to take control of my life back, and I took it."

"That's all right." He offers a little smile. Raven at least has the decency not to push too hard. "But I am glad you regained control. I've certainly been there myself."

"Believe me, so am I." Control, and the chance to make the responsible party suffer.

"I'd say you're too young to know from experience, but it's not like the world cares how old someone is before they suffer."

"Regrettably, nearly every 'Goro Akechi' you'll find here has suffered hardship from the day they were born. Some of us simply escaped that hardship before it was too late."

And others... well, he'll let that go unsaid. She can probably read between the lines, anyway.

"Soooo if one of you pops up at home, expect him to be a total mess. Got it."

"I would be astonished if he wasn't. In fact, yours might even be stuck conducting assassinations for a corrupt politician."

Yes, that's right. He says it with surprising composure, too.

"Well, we'll just have to help him get out of that, then."

She's pretty unbothered by the idea, but honestly, it tallies with her life experience so far. Adults use children, or don't care that other adults are using children. If someone's going to be killing people, they should at least have the luxury of choosing their own target.

Aw. She doesn't even know him, and she's already willing? A smile tugs at his lips. "He may be difficult to convince. If he's anything like Magpie, he'll be proud and refuse to admit he needs help, let alone acknowledge his victimhood."

"I'm sure we could figure something out."

"It'll likely help if you all are patient. He may assume ulterior motives or claw and bite at the prospect of allies, but it's not impossible." He certainly had his own trust issues, after all. It comes with being Goro Akechi.

Ann nods. "I have patience. For other victims."

For the people hurting them... not so much.

"Good. I think he'll come to appreciate it in the long run, especially if he's as lonely as the majority of us."

Just one person... It's so important. Raven's seen the impact it can have.

"But it'll be pulling teeth to get him to admit it?"

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and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

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