personavelvetroomdr | Cherry Blossom Evening Party

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Cherry Blossom Evening Party

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Throughout the week, Hamuko has messaged the vast majority of people she's met so far - and eagerly invited them to come meet at Inokashira Park starting at 5pm.

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You're invited to an evening sushi-party-turned-hanami-picnic-party! I've organized a bunch of cognitive chefs and performers to come to that park on the listed date/time. I've sent this to you because you were part of one of the three teams that helped with fighting Fatalis or rescuing Falcon and Wolf (or are Falcon and Wolf themselves!!) - we've all busted our butts a lot lately, so I think we deserve to have something nice together too! Of course, the party is open if you have any +1s or more. But before spring turns into summer, let's celebrate what we've all accomplished together!

.🌸˚𑁍.ೃ࿔*:･

The Venue...

Inokashira Park has a lovely river and trail and a phenomenal collection of cherry blossom trees. They're in the tail end of their season, filling the air with petals like snowfall.

In a large open area, Hamuko's arranged a ton of picnic blankets for people to claim and sit down on, though each blanket is HUGE to accommodate people sitting with as many people as they can handle! There are cozy pillows for sitting on too, stacked neatly to be borrowed.

There's a truly humongous row of tables laid out with an impressive amount of sushi presented. With a few trucks nearby, it seems there's a few sushi chefs making fresh platters of it to lay out through the night.

Similarly, there are food carts along the trails if you're not in the mood for sushi and would rather have some more traditional fare like dango, taiyaki, matcha, takoyaki... it's got the place lively and smelling fantastic! There's sake for the adults, and some cherry-blossomed themed mocktails for minors.

🌸𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖🎐

Activities

There's a few set out activities besides just chowing down and socializing or walking along the lantern-lit trails under the cherry blossoms! Inoshikara Park has always had cute little swan pedal boats or regular rowboats for 'rental' (not that money matters here).

The area is SO pretty, perfect for taking pictures to have as keepsakes. There's even a booth to claim a yukata and privately change into it, if you want to go the extra mile!

Finally, in lieu of a traditional band or modern concert, Hamuko has picked out a large set of speakers connected to a small karaoke stage and screen - menace the party with your sing-along! Get a little boost to your Guts!!

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He glanced up to meet the eyes of the girl who'd... come after him.

Why? She didn't know him.

"Kind of," he managed, after a moment. "Not really." There'd been a lot on his mind that had kept him from finding rest.

"Still mulling over everything that happened?"

Hamuko sat down at the table with him, settling in to chat.

He poked a slice of fish absently with his chopsticks. "Something like that."

After a moment, he added- "Sorry. For... trying to kill you." It sounded so hollow. But... what could he even say?

"That sounds... so stupid when I say it out loud."

Even so, Hamuko just has a good-natured giggle at that. "I'm used to it! And I'm a tough lady."

She had to be. Pretty much everyone here understood that feeling, she's sure of it.

"It was pretty intimidating, but I got to see how digimon are, a little more. I learned a lot."

"It's not- they're not like that," he mumbled, quietly. He felt, somehow, compelled to try to defend them.

"It's quite alright, Goro," Rookmon replied, placing a hand on his arm. "We have... something of a symbiotic nature with humans. We are shaped by their thoughts and emotions... Both good, and bad. I would venture that, given the nature of what was done to you, the... digicore that was placed inside you was overwhelmed, in that moment, by self-destructive emotion. I've not seen it myself, but one does hear stories. You can't be blamed for what you did in such a state."

This did not, actually, seem to improve Wolf's mood much. "I don't... want to do that again. Ever. I can't-" he shook his head. "Felt like. I was drowning. And burning alive at the same time. All I could think about was- was how much it hurt. And how much I wanted everything in that room to die. Including me, I think. Loogarmon's uncontrollable at the best of times but that was-"

"It's alright. I should think by now everyone's made it clear they don't hate you, Goro These people will support you, I think. It won't happen again, but even if it does... you are not alone."

"That's exactly right. We helped once, and we can always do it again. It's the right thing to do - and I'm sorry that so many people in your life before didn't do it for you."

She hadn't meant that the fiery loogarmon was disturbing in particular or that she thought it reflected on digimon, but... that didn't feel important to clarify, exactly.

"A lot of us know, to a degree, what that's like. Not everyone has it remotely comparable, but most of the people here feel very strongly about doing right by people that've been taken advantage of. I like to think of those commonalities as... ways to connect and not feel so alone, with the worst experiences someone might have."

"... I don't know what to do," he found himself saying-

and there it was. Everything had seemed simple and clear when he was planning to simply kill Shido and then flee to the Digital World forever, but now...

Now, he had no plan. He could see no avenue forward, no handhold on the cliff above that could pull him up.

He had no idea what the future held, now, and that was, somehow, more terrifying than the prospect of what he'd already committed to.

"Oh, I know that feeling really well," Hamuko admitted, leaning against the table on her elbows. "Feeling helpless is really one of the worst things to try and push through - it is a lot harder when you feel alone for sure."

She didn't have a full picture of Wolf's current situation, where he's from, only his past...

"Do you have friends back where you're from that you've worked with before? Relied on?"

"... No. Just Rookmon."

There'd been Wakaba, of course.

But Hamuko knew, now, how that had ended.

"Rookmon is a fantastic start," Hamuko smiled fondly, glancing at the digimon, "and the reason a lot of us knew to come look for you. His bond with you is important, and it's helping make more connections to others too."

Digimon are symbiotic with humans, Rookmon said... that'd probably make them good as conduits for connecting to others, too, right?

"Just speaking practically, I don't think I could've survived anything that happened when I was fighting if I didn't have people working with me. Easier said than done, though, I can get that - it's hard to know who to trust sometimes."

"Not like I can talk to anybody I know here, either. Anyone who'd be relevant would either be a child or probably a cop or something, and even if they weren't- it's not like they'd have digimon. Ubukata's notes mentioned something Kirijo was doing but it's not like I can trust them, since they started the fucking biohybrid research to begin with."

He sighed. "I don't know. If I go against Shido, I lose everything. If I go with him, I lose... me. I don't see a third path anymore."

If it weren't a dire situation, Wolf wouldn't feel cornered. Hamuko hesitated, putting a hand over her mouth in thought.

Their worlds were undeniably different, but...

...

After a moment of quiet deliberation, Hamuko lowered her hand again. "This is a little bit of a long shot..." she started, drumming her fingers briefly before continuing.

"In my world, the Kirijo Group was responsible for heinous things before my time. Experimentation on shadows... and on human subjects. The fact that there is a parallel, though, maybe... you should look for Mitsuru Kirijo. In my world, Mitsuru and her father were working to undo the wrongs that her grandfather had done to doom the world. I don't know if she exists in your world, or if she's on that attempted redemptive path, but it might be a lead?"

"... Maybe. Worth investigating, at least. Not gonna keep my hopes up, though."

"Prepare for the worst but hope for the best, right?"

It can be so hard to give hope a chance after it's been torn from you, huh?

"Mitsuru... at least, my Mitsuru, is incredible. She seems cold, but she's sharp - sharp as a tack, very strategic and insightful. Mitsuru was there fighting by my side when we went to fight Nyx... she may have kept things close to the chest, but she always wanted to do what was right. To make amends for what her family's legacy was, to make the world safer... I trust Mitsuru a lot. So I'll hope enough for the both of you! I hope your world has a Mitsuru Kirijo like mine."

When you went to fight Nyx.

If they were Persona users in other timelines... in his, did they have Digimon, as well?

"I'm not going to pin my hopes on a maybe. I'll look into it. But in my experience, nothing good ever happens just because."

"Life can be painful. Whether it's fate, or happenstance, I don't know... but there's so much meaning to be found in your connection to other people. None of us is meant to go through these things alone."

It felt a little unfair, that she knew so much about his past and he didn't know anything about her. But would rambling about herself do any good? Hrm.

"What's the digital world like?"

"... Depends where you go. Some places are wild, and there's usually some kind of... otherness to it, that makes it different. Trees growing out of telephone poles, abandoned infrastructure that makes no sense. Supposedly there's other layers to it, but I haven't seen them."

He considered. "There's cities, too, I guess. Few and far between, though. I tried to stay away from them. But I guess the biggest difference is how everything's shaped by... willpower, mostly. Belief. You don't get hungry if you aren't moving around a lot, not unless you remember you're supposed to be. You could breathe water if you made yourself believe you wouldn't drown."

"Shaped by willpower... is it similar to how the description of the metaverse works? The Dark Hour wasn't exactly the same - that's what I'm most familiar with," Hamuko explained.

"Plus, the Dark Hour definitely is mostly creepy, no real upsides, hah."

He made a face. "It doesn't stink like blood. I don't like going down there, it feels... I don't know. Alive."

"Ugh, yeah, the blood is so gross! By 'down there', do you mean the digital world or the metaverse?"

He snorted. "Metaverse, definitely. Digital World isn't so bad if you can pick up wilderness survival skills and fend off the occasional giant monster. Most of them are as smart as humans and you can talk them down. The dumb ones are usually violent, but at least they're predictable. They're more... honest. Than humans are."

A little like shadows, in a way. There really were a lot of parallels. "All things considered, it seems kind of nice. Well, as nice as nature itself can be."

But... she nodded, in regards to the comment about humans and honesty.

"People can be really complicated. For better and for worse. But most people have decent hearts, I think... most people want to live their lives."

He didn't meet her eyes. "I can't bring myself to agree. I think most people, when the chips are down, would eat each other given half a chance. Digimon are the same way, but they don't pretend to be nice to each other first."

They certainly hadn't hesitated to pounce on his mother, when they'd sensed weakness. Ripped her to shreds and watched her bleed to death the instant they'd felt they could get away with it, all while patting themselves on the back for being 'good people'.

Edited 2025-04-15 00:47 (UTC)

"I can see why you'd see it that way, for sure," Hamuko nodded at him, not dismissive in the slightest even at his pessimism. "They don't make good choices when forced into a corner. Still... there's a warmth that comes from having bonds with others. Something that can give you the will to try and be better and do what's right, I think."

She gave him a light laugh.

"I don't mean to sound like I'm lecturing or anything. Or preaching. I just want to share more of me, and my thoughts, since you didn't have a choice in me seeing yours."

Once again, his eyes fell on the little emblem now engraved into the back of his Digivice.

That seemed to be what people, including himself, now, kept trying to tell him. But...

"Kind of feel like 'doing what's right' is a moot point, now."

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