2025-09-03: A Train of Terrible Ideas
- Log: A Train of Terrible Ideas
- Cast: Umie Akabane, So-young Park
- Where: Night Train to Shibuya
- OOC Date: September 03, 2025
- IC Date: July 05, 2012
- Summary: Set after Constants, Umie and So-young are surprised to find themselves heading to the same train station. As their train heads home to Shibuya, Umie, feeling guilt over her past mistakes, asks So-young to punch her for protecting Officer Ishiba. What follows is some genuine bonding, as well as more terrible ideas that no one will be prepared for.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It was a surprise to make her way to the subway station to see So-young making the same trip; Umie raises her eyebrows, but aside from a polite nod, she says nothing, getting onto a subway car that looks the most empty, with the quiet invitation for So-young to follow, if she wants.
The train leaves the station, and Umie sits on the seat, allowing So-young to sit (or stand) whereever she wants, in complete silence, save to the rhythmic sounds of the wheels passing over the tracks.
.....
".... So. Going to punch me in the face or what?" Umie finally says, in an understated, soft voice. "I could've saved a lot of people a lot of time and misery if I had tipped that coffin over. Officer Ishiba might have all the connections in the world, but if his body disappeared during a time that didn't exist, Aragaki-kun and Tsubasa-san--" She wishes she had last names so she didn't have to call someone she's only known in passing by their first name, "--would've been spared a trip to the police station. And Yeo-san might have felt a little better, wouldn't they? No cop stalking them around, making them have to hide in their home... It could be all a bad dream."
She's not worn a mask this entire day; the young woman's face just looks tired in the artificial overhead light.
"So, go on. Punch me. No one's here but us."
Like she's *goading* So-young to do it.
"... I mean, a talented violinist like you'd have a nice backhand, wouldn't you?"
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young clearly likes to stand out - she habitually seems to wear black evening dresses or other monochromatic but fashionable clothes, and they deliberately seem to contrast with her mass of white hair, which contrasts in turn with the black streaks running through it. It's obvious from the way she carries herself even in the most mundane of situations; even though she's simply waiting for a train back to Shibuya, she's subconsciously trying to look like she's on a catwalk.
That said, she also looks pretty tired for once. It's been a long few days and a particularly long night, and there's a slightly haggard look to her. She might not sleep well tonight, but the show must go on, and if there's one thing she's been doggedly persistent about it's managing to keep up both halves of her life as she integrates Sumaru into it. The smile of greeting doesn't quite meet her eyes, but it's pleasant enough, tinged with surprise as she follows Umie into the car and then slumps as elegantly as she can manage on a seat.
She's about to open her mouth to say something when Umie cuts her off. And it occurs to So-young, halfway through, that maybe she should cut Umie off in turn and correct the miscommunication immediately. That would be what someone sensible would do, but So-young is multi-talented - an actress, a performer, and also a bit of a drama-loving idiot. When someone's on a roll, it's practically her duty to hear their feelings out, right??
As Umie's last challenge rolls away, she holds up a hand in something like surrender. "Alright, hold on. For one, I have _just_ managed to get a moment to sit down, my legs are refusing to move now, and I don't have that kind of reach unless I throw my bow at you. You could have at least told me while I was still standing."
She pauses, and puffs her breath out, forcing her shoulders to relax. "For two, even I can tell that doing something like that would have only made things worse for everyone. I never claimed to make smart choices. For three--" There's an awkward pause before she slides her eyes to one side. "... you may be confusing me for someone who actually knows what happens if you kick a coffin."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie.... could stand out, if she wanted to. Her face has been defined as having a 'classic beauty', and she's used it to her advantage in turning a situation to her advantage. In situations like the ones they've been in together? There's little chance a cute smile or sweet words will do any better than throwing it all aside and resorting to violence and subterfuge, a Badb through and through.
The only weapon being used here, however, is her own guilt, like a hastily created shiv.
And it's easily deflected with So-young's response.
"Yeah, I'd prefer no bows," Umie says cheekily, raising her hands up, palms facing up. "I'm not feeling up to *that* kind of pain. I just figured you could come over and punch me. But yeah, it's not like my legs are any better, come to think of it."
If sense won't prevail, being tired as hell is likely going to help.
"I mean, I didn't say *you* should do it. In fact, I'd rather you didn't. I like your violin-playing, even if I'm not much of a classical music type." What are they talking about again? She's saying it so casually as she sinks into her comforting embrace of her rainjacket, which, thankfully, is just a normal jacket.
"And I mean, kicking a coffin isn't necessarily going to lead to a bad thing happening. They'd have to be somewhat durable, hopefully as much as the real thing, right? ... It's likely something to do with the person's psyche acting as a defense against the supernatural green hocus pocus spooky time, yaddayadda, somethingsomething." She waves a hand languidly, her tone monotone. "It's the risk. And few people do, Park-san. There's not a whole lot of people running around tipping them over, or ripping them open to see what's inside. Only a piece of shit would do something like _that_." The venom's back with that last word.
"They die. Horribly. That's what happens, Park-san. Maybe there's a chance they won't, but I doubt it."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"Strictly speaking, I'm a conductor rather than a violinist, but that just means I carve people up with a baton and incisive music commentary instead," So-young replies immediately in that tone of voice that suggests she's pretty beat and not about to even try to move any time soon. Give her a few stations-worth. But she does sag in her seat. "... I'm not interested in an eye for an eye or anything like that. At least, not to you," she adds rather plainly.
She kind of wishes she'd remembered to pick up her bag of convenience store goodies before heading home, her brain supplies for her automatically. She could really do with a burst of sugar right now. Actually, oops, did she remember to give the Cardboard Dragon keys back? A few experimental pats of her purse suggest that she did. Well, that's good.
Stifling the yawn, she does at least haul herself up to sitting, because she can register that Umie is rambling about something more important, another piece of the Dark Side of Sumaru that she's yet to learn. Her eyes sharpen at the thought, and a grim frown draws across her face as the paragraph goes on. "... there is really something to be said about the idea of people's defences against the supernatural being to hide in a coffin, I'm sure," she grouses, but So-young is ultimately Understanding 2. She's not going to be the one to make it.
After it all, she ruffles herself like a bit of a grumpy cat, folding her arms as she glances back off to one side. "Well. There you are. I do not have any real desire to be a piece of shit." This is an abject lie - she will regularly take relish in being a little shit at people, but winding up the staid old orchestra director who doesn't believe young people exists is a whole different ball game to assassinating someone in the Dark Hour. "I honestly was not aware, so thank you for telling me. I had really just wanted to put the boot in once for good measure."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Welcome to the supernatural, Park-san," Umie says to So-young with a sardonic grin. "But what, isn't it similar enough? Taking a bunch of dots and symbols on a page and making it turn into sounds a human ear can appreciate? It's a coffin in the same way allegro means 'fast'."
No, that likely doesn't mean anything either. An analogy needs to make sense! "Okay, so... something in the Dark Hour elicits a response. We have personas. Other people need something else; a shield that separates them from a time that shouldn't exist. It's a coffin, like a subway and bus stations link you to Mementos; they're a shorthand for something we can't otherwise wrap our brains around. How do you translate 'play it this way'? Things like 'allegro'."
.... Says the person who is a konbini clerk, theorizing on a question _no one asked_.
"... Sorry," she says, a moment later. "Usually it's just me, thinking these thoughts, after something big like this." She used to talk about them with Mai-chan, before she realized it made it easier for Mai-chan to wrap these thoughts around her neck like a noose, when she wanted to.
"Good. You didn't strike me as being one."
'I honestly was not aware, so thank you for telling me.'
"It's why I do it," Umie says, a touch more quietly. "... It's not all bad, all of this. But no one gives you a manual; everyone's scrambling for some kind of meaning. People like Yeo-san, especially. And I say that as someone who only knows her so well."
Her eyelids lower, as she lets the silence move on.
"... They told me you Awakened back in the first push to explore Kaneshiro's Palace. That took a lot of guts, pulling yourself into a situation like that. And to Awaken... I take it you..."
_please don't let this be a repeat of every other time Umie's asked this, PLEASE_
".... played the Philemon game?" Pause. "Or is it the Persona game? I keep getting it mixed up..."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young's mouth falls open in mock-shock, though at least when she delivers her protest it's with the bright grin of someone who appreciates the joke. "Excuse _me_! For a conductor, reading notes on the page is only half of the job, maybe even less! Aligning the different parts of the orchestra into a cohesive whole, putting my own spin on the music they play, communicating that spin to both the musicians and the audience, it's--" she's already humming a snatch of music under her breath, one hand signalling the beats. Whatever conducting might be to her, it's clearly deeply in her blood.
She breaks off suddenly, and narrows her eyes. "--someone once called conductors the 'middle managers of the orchestra' in front of me and I nearly strangled them," she adds darkly to no-one in particular.
Still, So-young can understand enough of the example to lean back in her seat, a hand at her chin. "So you are suggesting that they are coffins because that's the closest thing we can compare them to." She rolls that thought around in her head for a while, but it's not like she has a particular opinion on that. Her thoughts are rooted much more in the practical and faintly ridiculous - imagining what it must be like to turn into a coffin mid-step. What if the Dark Hour hits while you're jumping?? And so on.
Maybe it's best she doesn't voice those. Instead she folds her arms with a glum look. "So far, it certainly feels like everyone else has a manual except me. Myunghon especially." So-young relents quickly - now of all days is not the time to be grumpy towards her sibling. "Though, don't get me wrong. I'm overjoyed to be part of it. Even after everything this week, I would much rather know about this world than not, even before you get into what's capable through it."
That is, perhaps, a dangerous line of thought for someone as impulsive as she is. But she seems adamant on sticking to it.
"Oh-- yes, that's familiar. When was it... I think it was my first year in university, actually. I was a little drunk on the feeling of being a 'responsible adult living on my own' and _very_ drunk on the new feeling of shitty student cocktails. It seemed like a great plan at the time." ... ... ... that's it???
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie turns her head as she manages to summon So-young's _hot-blooded conducting spirit_.
Her look of open curiosity is no different from when she sees someone summon a persona up close, or something similarly mysterious and unknown to her.
..... _until she shuts that expression down_ and seals it away, leaving a polite, if neutral gesture of a nod.
'Someone once called conductors the 'middle managers of the orchestra' in front of me and I nearly strangled them'.
... Then So-young says that. There's a shocked cough, quickly stifled by Umie's hand to ensure no mirthful laughter escapes at the expense of that someone. "... r-really, ha."
"I'm guessing it's the case, based on years of expertise." Umie shrugs, one eye closing in a lazy wink. "You can count on every conclusion I come up with to be either true or completely full of bullshit. Take your pick."
Don't worry. Umie's thought a lot about those things and her answers are likely 'I have no goddamn clue'.
"Yeo-san's in a thick of a lot of things," Umie says. "What they need is people around them to center them. Not saying this needs to be your job; I doubt they'd like me coming in and telling people how to behave. It's easy to seem like you have all the answers when all you have is just a lot more unanswered questions."
Still, Umie seems satisfied with So-young's answer. "That's a good way of going into it. It can be freeing, exhilarating, even. Just don't let yourself go too fast or you'll end up a mystery yourself. In the bad way."
_FINALLY_. See, it's perfectly normal to play these games!! EVEN IN UNI.
"In... university? Huh." No, no, don't ruin this. Don't ask what they saw; they can't know *you* don't know, and then--
"Cool." She gives a thumbs up that falls way too flat. ".... So, yeah. If you managed to get this far without a proper way of knowing who I am? I'm Umie Akabane. Konbini clerk. Normal, boring person. Summons a screaming manifestation of chaos in field of battle, yaddayadda." She throws up a peace sign, her expression still flat. "We'll likely see each other around a lot. Pleased to meet you officially."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"Yes, yes, laugh it up," So-young huffs as she folds her arms with a distinctly put-upon pout that is so picture perfect it's like she practiced it in the mirror. (She did.) "People can say what they like, but the audience remembers the sight of the person standing at the head of the orchestra much more than they remember some third french horn player with an ego." She completely glosses over her own ego - after all, she's the conductor. She's allowed, right??
A genuine frown flickers across So-young's face at the thought of being a centering force for Myunghon. "I do not intend to throw away the family I only just found out I have," is what she says first, careful as she picks out her words. "... but I do not have a lot of experience at being a soothing and sympathetic force, to put it mildly. It's simply not who I am. I'd rather be a flurry of action. Besides-- the last few days have made it clear that I seem to lead rather a charmed life," she mutters in mild dissatisfaction. "I can't just roll up and go 'I understand'."
She's still running that thought over in her head when she can't distract herself from it. She doesn't have an answer for it; she might never do. Years and years of an entirely different life and family, of not being Zainichi but simply a Korean in Korea - and then a Korean in Japan, with a job where much fewer people will question her and a cop is not likely to break into her workplace with a truncheon to try to beat her. And most of all, it's complicated to realize that she wouldn't change herself for the world - she's deeply proud and invested of who she is and what she does.
A shake of her head knocks the thought loose, to maybe be examined later or else quietly buried in the light and noise of a late-night arcade trip. Instead she grins, a bright light coming to her eyes. "So-young Park. Tokyo Philharmonic. Terror of Shibuya. Still working through the _exact_ implications of being able to summon a being named Icarus," she adds far too flippantly. "And, let me turn the question back on you. How did you get involved with all of this?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie's giggling manages to escape their fleshy prison (of a hand) at So-young's comment and expression.
"... I don't mean-- er." Umie straightens, realizing what she implied. "Gh... Let's see. Uh." She waves a hand. "'Be your-self'?" she then says, touching the air with each syllable like they were physically in front of her. "I think we'd drive Yeo-san up a wall if we were all soothing, sympathetic types. Can you imagine?" No, at least *one person* needs to commit breaking and entering on Myunghon's place.
"Yeo-san probably appreciates the perspective you bring. A 'charmed' life doesn't mean it was easy," Umie murmurs. "I'm sure if I wanted it, I could be living one right now myself, but, alas," she says, with a wry smile, "I'm a selfish person who wants everything to be her way: a terrible crime that could only be enabled by spite and ignorance. I'm afraid it's far too late for me."
.... how did she get involved?
"Played the Persona game and awakened after heart surgery." She's practiced this lie many, many times. Technically, it isn't one! She just did these things in a different order. "Having an extra hour to goof off with any random demons that pop up on your street means you grow up with a twisted sense of humor. Oh, the Jack Frost is feeling cranky that night? Oh no, he's going to kill you. Pixie thinks you look pretty with makeup on? She'll get her friends involved and you might lose an eye because one of them shoved a mascara pen into it. Oni thinks you're cute? He'll think you're cuter once your arm's broken because he forced you into an arm wrestling match. He'll call it 'moe', because you did try to meet him on his level...." She's ticking off the incidents on her red painted fingernails. "Oh, nekomatas? Cats. Just.... cats, but they're human-sized, and have thumbs. Think about it. Let's see..."
None of this is answering So-young's question, but Umie's rattling it off like it was spring-loaded and ready to go. Was she really that ready to talk about all the times she's gotten injured or nearly died due to demons?
".... To be fair... I usually escaped each time, but not always."
She's said a lot of words, none of which still don't answer the question.
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young pauses to think about the idea of Myunghon getting constantly and annoyingly smothered, and a slow frown spreads across her face as she pictures it in her mind. "... it _would_ drive them them the wall," she slowly confirms. She's not certain, but it seems likely. "We should absolutely arrange it sometime." Ah. She is the elder sister, after all, and some impulses are universal.
There's a wordless puff of air. It's not exactly an answer or an acceptance of Umie's take on her worries, but it is a recognition. She almost leaves it at that, but instead a mischievous light comes to her eyes. "No, no, the idea is absolutely to be spiteful to other people. You just have to pick the right people, and overstep just enough, and ignore them as you bull your way through their stupid objections. ... well," she adds with a snort. "That is in my case, at least."
It's not terribly clear if So-young really realizes, or even cares, that Umie isn't directly answering her question and deflecting with a bit of a scripted answer. That's ultimately not what really matters to her - what matters is the story that Umie wishes to tell, and the manner in which she tells it. More than specific words, So-young appreciates the evoking of an image and the pull and sway of emotions behind it, and it's clear on her face that she can be a devoted audience member the way she grins and grimaces along with the ups and downs of the tale.
"It really _is_ a shame that they can be so fickle," she says with genuine feeling behind it. "A few times now I've tried to do a little busking during the Dark Hour, but I can't say it went particularly well. Not particularly badly either, just... well, it's hard to tell if your audience really appreciates you or if they're the sort to think smashing a violin is an exciting and fun idea."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
So-young's mischievous streak definitely wins points in Umie's book; Umie gives her an open mouthed grin.
Oh, there's the gremlin.
"Let me know when you do. I want to watch at the very least."
.... As does what So-young says next. "Well, looks like Yeo-san lucked out. You'll do just fine in their world. Probably be a lot more interesting for the two of you as well."
And, when it comes to secrets? The fun way can be the journey led around them, avoiding them completely; at least, in Umie's case.
"It can be both. That's why I use trinkets." Umie reaches into her jacket and searches around, taking out a small origami star. "I have to take night shift a lot of times. Have to stay awake somehow."
If some of the paper used are things like scrapped receipts and misprints, the demons seem to find it a novelty rather than a drawback, most times.
..... The other times it leads to Umie having to run away for her life, but there's a chance of that happening no matter what.
"Be careful with the ones in Mementos. I can't figure out how, but they're different from the ones that appear in Sumaru City. I can't put my finger on it."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"More like you'll be recruited," So-young immediately puffs, before settling back in her sleep. "... but... they've earned a reprieve for the time being, I suppose. Just as I've earned a lie-in. It would probably be inconsiderate of me to cancel morning practice, I suppose." Despite the whimsy in her voice, the look in her eyes suggests she'd never do that even in the worst possible scenario. The show truly most go on, and if So-young's not involved in music then what is she even doing?
"I intend to stay out of Mementos as much as possible. Or rather, I intend to think as little about it as possible for at least a week or two," the musician decides instantly, her face brooking no argument. "It is too oppressive and I dislike it. Stifling," she adds, snapping on the word. "Which I'm sure means there is something important down there, but Shibuya Station is annoying enough to navigate without demons on top."
A slow thought that has been building in the back of her mind is becoming clearer on her face. Umie passes out little handmade trinkets to amuse demons with. Something that's precious, but something that's simple to understand and fairly disposable. Her grin is becoming dangerous as she raises her hands and says to the almost deserted subway car:
"I'm going to buy a whole box of shitty little kazoos from Donki."
It's the triumphant declaration of a true final boss.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Oh, so I get to be a part of a terrible idea? I'll have to keep in touch for when the reprieve is over."
Umie considers, as So-young mentions morning practice. "I hate to say it, but normalcy sometimes is a better balm than any ointment you can buy. Keeping your brain too long in this world... it does things to you." That should be the sentence where Umie dramatically looks away with a far off gaze, surrendering to her own tormented mind.
(No, she's winking. It's fine.)
"Mementos isn't going anywhere, so I don't see why you need to force yourself to go into the creepy giant flesh maze of cognitive bullshit." Oh no, Umie's fully embraced her gremlin era and calling things by names that completely disregard how dangerous they are. She even has her hands behind her head.
"Me, though, I need more experience, and Mementos is open 24/7 like Benny's, unlike the Dark Hour." Umie *would* say that, being overconfident in her ability to navigate things.
If only she was overconfident in the *right* things.
__Speaking of terrible ideas__
That is a terrible, terrible idea.
Too bad, Umie's already made her decision.
'Do it.'
"Do it."
It's never a good sign when Mai-chan and Umie are speaking in sync. For better or worse, no one has to know it's happened.
The only evidence will be the epic disaster that shall await everyone.