[ ic // demi voicetesting ]

[unfoggedlotus]

Man, whatever happened to a good night's sleep? Is the first thought that crosses Ren's mind. One moment he's tossing and turning in bed, trying to get to sleep, and the next he's staring up to the ceiling of the Velvet Room. He closes his eyes after he processes the bare minimum to get his location down. Can't a guy go a week without getting dream-DM'd by the fake-powers-that-be?

It's not entirely fair, he knows. He's just feeling blergh because Goro hasn't texted him back for a few hours and he was starting to get worried when Morgana batted the phone out of his hand and said he'd come home when he wanted to. But. Well. If he really had to do something in the realm of the subconscious involving chains tonight, he'd really rather be in Goro's dreams.

Maybe the chains would even be fun for once.

He lets himself stew for a few moments before shaking himself out of it. Might as well see what the "wardens" and "Igor" have in store for him this time. Ren grumbles to himself only a little bit as he opens his eyes again, and...

...What?

Ren blinks, taking in his surroundings with wide eyes. This is definitely the Velvet Room. There's the desk, the structure is vaguely similar, and he. Well. He just sort of knows it. The vibes are incredibly Velvet Room. 100% blue, 100% weird music, 100% cognitive prison.

Except.

There's no prison decor. He isn't even in a cell. There are a few doors scattered around. Peeling himself off the floor, he realizes he isn't in a prison uniform (he's in his daytime clothes) and there aren't shackles wrapped around him either. And the weird music isn't grating in his chest like the world's worst rendition of Prison Hallway Salsa silently beamed into his soul, it's just kinda...smooth. Jazzy. Soothing. A bop.

The Velvet Room actually feels...

...Nice?

...He doesn't buy it. (Something in him wants to, though.)

Ren turns around a few times, trying to find answers. What's going on here?

Comments

[fogbornphantom]

The thing about Ren is that sometimes it's so hard to tell when he's serious or messing around. He'll flash a smirk back at him, of course, so not to lose his cool. "Well, if you have, then you'll have to get me up to speed, then, won't you? Wow me with your abilities..."

[unfoggedlotus]

"Yep. Catch you up to speed with all two of the doujin I've read," he jokes. "I'm just teasing you. I haven't done anything either. No one back home was interested and you scooped me up pretty quickly when I moved."

[fogbornphantom]

"Ha. Well, I suppose we can figure it out as we go and have a good laugh along the way." Just as he says that, his phone vibrates, and... He takes it out, squints at the message and after shooting a reply, shows the silly little emojis. "Oh, speak of the devil. Here he is now, sending me unsolicited smileys. Methinks Raven informed him of us."

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren peers over at the contact info. "Another Ren, huh? I already like him, he's got good taste in names," he grins. Then, his own phone vibrates with a message. "What...?"

[fogbornphantom]

"...I have no idea how Akira got your number. Then again, Akira also found out about a very embarrassing euphemism I made, so nothing should surprise me anymore." The pun is probably the least surprising thing about all of this. "Oh. And he also offered advice of a more intimate nature, so don't be alarmed if that comes up."

[unfoggedlotus]

"...Huh," Ren blinks. "Color me intrigued."

Another message, and Ren reads it, then shows it to Goro. "Who's..." he squints, words swimming in front of his face for a moment. "Nightmare-chan?"

[fogbornphantom]

"That must be Akira-kun. He's rather fond of his older counterpart. Calls him Card-san, if memory serves." But, ah. He knew right away. Perhaps Arsene helped in that respect. How handy. "Well, it's good to hear that Akira-kun is in safe hands. That should potentially make your introduction go a bit smoother. And Magpie seems to have brought quite a bit of food over to boot."

[unfoggedlotus]

"Card-san...aww, that's cute. Does Akira-kun have a nickname for you?" And, as if on cue, Ren's stomach growls. He didn't manage to eat much food while worrying over his boyfriend...

[fogbornphantom]

"Rock-Akechi-san, sometimes. ...It's because we both found special rocks together, although I was still Raven at the time." Nonetheless, he'll pull out his pretty blue rock to show all the same. "Although if you're getting hungry, I suppose we should consider heading back to the house. Unless you'd rather stop somewhere along the way?"

Either is valid, of course. It's hard to say how adequately the others have prepared the children.

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren admires the rock. It's nice and blue. "Maybe you can get me a special rock one day. One for my finger," he laughs. "Hmm...I'm okay with stopping somewhere for a snack. Maybe one of the...other-us-es can tell us when they think it's good for us to head back?"

[fogbornphantom]

"One day." He takes Ren's hand, giving it a small kiss. "We do have a few options for food. The Junes food court has various options, and there's Aiya if you favor Chinese food. Souzai Daigaku for steak croquettes and skewers..."

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren giggles when Goro presses a kiss to his hand. "Such a gentleman thief, stealing my heart -- metaphorically," he grins, rubbing his cheek against Goro's. "I'm not feeling too picky right now, so I'll take your recommendation. You know the area better."

[fogbornphantom]

"Junes might be more efficient. It has just about everything, so if anything else tickles your fancy, we can grab that on the way home." Ah, a part of him just wants to stay here a little longer, but he very reluctantly rises to his feet. "Under other circumstances, I'd try to prepare a nice dinner for you, but I suspect Magpie would growl at me if I so much as tried."

[unfoggedlotus]

"Magpie's territorial about the kitchen, huh? You wouldn't be cooking tonight, anyway," Ren flicks the side of his head. "After I meet everyone we're going right to sleep and you're not waking up before noon tomorrow."

[fogbornphantom]

"Magpie is territorial, period. He's a lot like a feral cat." Well, at least it's a pleasant day as they stroll down the hill. The compressed distances should make Junes creep in relatively fast as well. Still, he frowns a little at that remark. "And if I sleep that long, I won't be able to make breakfast. Or ensure that the kids are behaving themselves."

[unfoggedlotus]

Hmm. "Winning him over won't be as easy as shying away in Leblanc's doorway, huh?" Ren hums, half-jokingly. This Magpie might be a tough customer...he's never really dealt with a prickly Akechi before, but the basics should still apply. "Sounds like he means a lot to you."

He'll have to consider a plan for Optimal Alternate-Universe Akechi Terrorizing Bonding in the future...he smirks a bit to himself as a few options cross his mind. "And isn't it good that you've got a boyfriend who can make breakfast and look after the kids, now? You get the option," they both know it's not an option, "to sleep in and I'll handle things."

[fogbornphantom]

"He means a lot to me, but contrary to what Raven will tell you, we are not married. My heart has already long been stolen by a certain Joker right here." He gives Ren's hand a little squeeze, followed by an exaggerated sigh. "Not that I don't trust your judgment, but four children are a lot to take on immediately. Your negotiation skills may work with Shadows, but little kids are an entirely different beast."

Well, at least Junes is starting to come into view now. That's a promising sign.

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren-- okay, Ren has to laugh at that one. "Two Ake-chi Go-ros, sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g," he singsongs with a smirk. "The thought of someone else taking you from me didn't even cross my mind." Okay, maybe it did once or twice, but...yeah, his boyfriend wouldn't be this touchstarved if he'd been getting dates from anyone else.

"You're just making me more and more curious about Magpie, y'know," Ren comments as they walk into the mall. Gay chicken, acting like a married couple... "Has Yu found competition for your best man?"

[fogbornphantom]

"...Now there's a thought. A one on one cage match between Yu Narukami and another me for the right to be my best man. Though I can see Kanji being a third contender, followed swiftly by Ryuji, and soon we'd be seeing an all out brawl."

They reach the doors and step inside. There's an elevator to their left that'll lead to the food court, so he'll go ahead and move toward the-

"What the fuck?"

On the community board to the right of the second elevator, a movie poster hangs. It displays a blushing, gasping Akechi on the top half, divided by the movie title. Beneath the title? A snake sticking out of the zipper of a pair of pants.

The title is: Serpent Below the Belt.

"...I am going to have a serious word with Igor about this."

1/2

[unfoggedlotus]

...He may have found his boyfriend, but the realm of the subconscious is definitely on that "throw him as many firsts as possible" kick.

2/2

[unfoggedlotus]

After a moment, he glances over to his boyfriend's crotch area. "I've heard of having a snake in your boot, but this is ridiculous."

[fogbornphantom]

"...I made an overly pretentious euphemism one time, and this world decides to taunt me." Despite the tight smile, he sounds just a teensy bit peeved, though thankfully not at Ren. "I was trying not to be too crass, so I said 'when the serpent below the belt rears its head.' Now, I suppose, it'll haunt me for eternity."

[unfoggedlotus]

"Yeah, I'm gonna say you deserve that one," Ren snorts. "Serpent below the belt...good thing you have a snake charmer here now, though, right?" He grins.

[fogbornphantom]

S—Snake charmer... Fuck's sake.

So he might be blushing a little, but he'll not be so easily outdone! Watch him smirk and try to keep his cool, even raising an eyebrow and leaning in to poke Ren's chest. "Hmm... You'll have to give me a demonstration sometime."

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren chuckles and nudges Goro forwards, away from the poster. "Not with the kids around," he advises. "And how do you think your not-husband will take it?"