o how gentle the rain can arrive

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren follows Goro to the Dojima house, steps as sure and confident as he can make them with his heart pounding a bit louder than normal in his chest. Maybe he's nervous for this, so what? It's not every day you get to meet the alternate-reality-family your boyfriend found during his two-month timeskip that was only five hours or so to you. His head's still kind of reeling from the...everything, but he's rolling with the punches. Not like I expected things to be normal with us, he says to the part of himself that's maybe not-very-Joker-like and trying to shy away from everything.

Life comes at you fast, but Akechis come faster-- well. Hopefully not, and Ren's not thinking about that right now, nope throw curveballs at half the speed of light and expect you to catch 'em. And Ren isn't letting one slip by him yet! ...Even if this one might be aimed right between his eyes.

Ren squeezes his boyfriend's hand -- it's what boyfriends are there for, after all -- and readjusts his grip on the little...okay, large bag of gifts against his chest (hey, everything's free here, and he didn't wanna show up unprepared) as they come to a stop in front of the door.

He takes a moment, letting go of Goro's hand, for a once-over just to make sure he looks good, brushing invisible bits of dust from his jacket and readjusting his glasses. Then, with a nod to his boyfriend, Ren raises the hand carrying the pile of gifts to knock on the door.

It's showtime.

"Hey guys!" He calls out as his boyfriend opens the door, resisting the urge to run his fingers through his hair (for now). "We're here!"

> Say hello to Crow's boyfriend?

Comments

[rosemaudite]

"No, it suggests there are fewer than ten thousand worlds this place is drawing from, rather than a specific number of people." Which may not make a big difference in the grand scheme of things, but it is a difference.

"...I haven't thought that, but my 'real people' baseline has been broken for a while now. If anything, it's odd being around so many people who qualify."

[pancakeboy]

"Perhaps. But something tells me we won't see too many from each individual world. Not given the population distribution so far. I could encounter my neighbour's dog tomorrow with a phone attached to its collar, for instance, but I doubt it."

He glances to her, though, remembering what she said on the ship when they met. "Yes, only Persona-users were real, wasn't it?"

[rosemaudite]

"The human mind is far more malleable than any of us care to think about. Personas make it much more difficult to do that."

It's not foolproof, as the situation with Broken Goro shows - to say nothing of plain old manipulation tactics. But it's... difficult to remember that people without that sort of preventive measure are still people.