2025-09-29: A Cardboard Confessional
- Log: A Cardboard Confessional??
- Cast: Umie Akabane, So-young Park
- Where: Cardboard Dragon
- OOC Date: September 29, 2025
- IC Date: July 18, 2012
- Summary: Having been released from the hospital after the events of An Arsonist's Justice, Umie vents with So-young, who has some of her own to do as well concerning what happened some of the Cardboard Dragon's denizens.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
===LAST NIGHT===
You cannot heal yourself out of a concussion, but you can make it better. Maybe. That is what Umie is testing now, during the Dark Hour.
The sight of Badb's half-covered face hovering over Umie's hospital bed, with her coy red smile and delicate fingers splayed out towards Umie like the claws of an exotic bird should register as an omen of impending doom, and usually, it's supposed to be.
But nah, Badb's just here to heal Umie at a tiny, scant amount, while also ensuring Umie is the single most shrouded person in the hospital. Shrouded for daaaayyys.
She'll find out tomorrow if it did anything, most likely.
===EARLIER===
Umie has no goddamn idea if it really helped or not, but she's now in the Cardboard Dragon, after receiving strict orders on what to do and what not to do in order to ensure her recovery.
One of which is 'nothing too strenuous'. Light reading is fine.
Umie glances at the copy of 'the Collected Works of H. P. Lovecraft'.
It's translated. It'll be fine.
===NOW===
Lesson learned. Do not read H. P. Lovecraft when you're recovering from a concussion. Perhaps other people can, but today is not the day Umie is 'other people', because 'other people' do not try to strangle a serial killer with a paper bag on his head.
Her head lays on the table; the bottle of water she has been sipping off from sits next to her head.
_Today is not the day to read about Nyarlathotep_.
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young is kind of getting pretty charmed at how many people are in and out of the Cardboard Dragon these days. It's being used as a saferoom for at least... one? two? extra people, not to mention Myunghon themselves right now. Sometimes there's Tsubasa's dog Lance for So-young to wooble over, because So-young would never claim to be above a bit of woobling. (She has absolutely played violin for the dog, relishing every howl.)
Still, when she enters today, her steps are rather muted. For one, she's not trying to take the door off its hinges by exploding into the shop, but enters like a normal person might, her violin case hanging off one shoulder. It's been a rough few days, and while that wouldn't usually be something that fazes her, the knowledge that she's going to have to deliver an apology at some point does.
She says nothing at first as she glances around for any signs of anyone else, and then casually seats herself opposite from Umie. Her eyes slowly track towards the tome nearby, and she reaches over to hinge it carefully open as if it might bite. After a few moments to regard the small type, her eyebrows slowly go up and up. "Words usually make me feel that way too," she admits with a too-solemn nod.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
".... ngh...." Umie raises her head. "... Old Maid whacked the back his sword against my head, then threw me at someone."
It feels... so *good*, to just bluntly say it aloud, after being gaslighted by the hospital and those who came in to question her about the incident.
"And all the hospital could say was, 'oh no, Umie-chan, you're a stupid idiot who hallucinated the entire thing'. When you nearly become one of the Old Maid's victims, you fucking *remember* what that asshole looks like. And who tries to strangle a hallucination, huh? I _sure did_, and if it wasn't for that shitty persona of his I probably would have saved a whole bunch of people some trouble."
Sorry, So-young, you've caught Umie at a bad time. Or a great time, depending on how you see things. At least no one's near to overhear.
Umie looks towards the tome, holding her head with one hand. "He mentioned a name and so I'm going through a book to find info on it. But right now I think I'm going to wait until I've had another Dark Hour's worth of healing before I attempt again."
Wait. "... Is next week finals week? I didn't see many kids around today..." She groans into her arms. "It is, isn't it..." How is Takkun going to save the world or whatever when he's flunking out of school? And she was going to ask if Ren needed help too...
"... so." Umie's voice, muffled by her arms, finally turns to another topic. ".... You're not being your cheery self either."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young has a certain degree of news-blindness, especially when it comes to the supernatural, evident from the way she s-l-o-w-l-y nods her head towards Umie's tale of woe. Let's be fair to her, she is a good listener, still doing that thing where she shuts up for long enough for someone to get their drama out, and her nod is one of understanding - but the name 'Old Maid' doesn't register to her despite having heard about Aoba Park from the press.
"I hope you at least gave as good as you got. A concussion for a concussion, if we want to update the saying to the modern age." she notes as she folds her arms, covering the way she glances back at that book a second time. She's not quite as unread as she likes to make out, and the thought that Lovecraft's work might have been non-fiction of a sort is certainly... another in a long line of adjustments she's going to have to make.
Fortunately, she can put that aside for now given the lack of context, and smirks with some amount of teeth. "It certainly is. I've had to free up the concert schedule for the time being, because I'm suddenly down a half-dozen musicians. It's like clockwork."
"Yes, well. Things got rather heated here the other night. I _am_ capable of a modicum of self-reflection, and I supposed I should probably offer an apology, but--" So-young frowns awkwardly as she looks around, shrugging her shoulders at the lack of other people. "No luck on that front, I suppose. I'm not eager to put it off, but I'm not eager to do it either, so that balances out."
She hesitates. "... there is something else to mention as well. But I will require your word you won't spread it around, and especially that you won't claim anything like --it's okay if I get myself killed trying to do this one thing," she adds, pitching her voice an octave lower. Ah. She heard it from Shinjiro, then.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Pretty sure he's too far gone to let a silly little thing like a concussion keep him from killing again," Umie murmurs dryly, her voice filtered through the embrace of her arms around her head. "The police are probably going to do the same thing they've done with the last attacks, which is 'make up shit and, if possible, find someone to blame'. With Seki-san involved I bet they'll go after them--"
Oh crap. What is she doing here?! She should... Oh. "... And if I call them they'll take one look at my record and see a strange blurb on a 'noxious trash fire' on my record."
A weary, weak groan comes from between her arms. "... Sometimes I wonder if I should have just... that night when Merry-san was attacked by Officer Ishiba-san..." She can't even finish the sentence.
So-young finally sees Umie's blotchy, bruised face as she grabs her water bottle, drinking it down. Makeup seems to have done a majority of the magic in making sure Umie doesn't seem like a complete mess, but it's not actual magic.
"Okay, I'm done complaining for the moment," she says, after a sigh passes her lips. "That really sucks, though. Doesn't that screw up your schedule? As in, getting paid?"
Umie's tone treats So-young's problems with the same weight as her own in this moment; after all, Umie asked.
But there's something else. "... Oh," Umie says, frowning. "How about you tell me about it, then?" She rubs her neck, closing her eyes. "If it's about your and Merry's mom, Merry's told me a little about that. Or, well, they had to, since a trip through Mementos threw them all dazed into Shibuya. Something about your guys' mom 'summoning' Merry and--" She sighs.
"Anyway, yeah. Hit me." She pauses, her tone flat. "Not literally. I'd... like to make sure my brain gets better."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"I mean, if at first you don't succeed--" So-young starts to smirk in return, but the mention of the police makes her pause. "I did meet one police officer who Myunghon knows. Very straight and narrow, but kind of charming for it. Maybe it's just pleasant to finally meet one who seems fairly human. ... if that's the owner of the dog, I believe Myunghon is putting them up in a place to stay," she adds, before puffing out a breath. "How many hideouts do we even have here, anyway?"
She leans down as Umie lifts her head up, an appraising glance. "It's better than I thought, though I do regret to tell you that I don't see any cool scars in your future, at least this time around. This is not an encouragement," she adds immediately afterwards.
Settling back in her seat, So-young unclips her violin case to fish around inside of it. "Oh, that would hardly be a worry. I may be a guest conductor, but it is a salaried position. Besides, I do have my hand in a number of other projects, and I compose on the side. If anything, it means the morning practice for the next couple of weeks can be a much more casual affair." This a level beyond normie and into upper class...!
Her face falls at the way in which Umie mentions their mother, and she slowly leans back to put a hand on her forehead. Silent for a long moment, she finally mutters to herself: "I will do my best to remember that 'they had to', because I am still smarting a little at not being told myself. Yes, I understand that my mother dearest apparently enjoys attempting to kill her children. I had to learn about it from Shinjiro and Mio and then talk them down from doing something ridiculous."
"My intent was to let everyone know just so that we were ready to present a united, supportive front when we need to. Of course, then we got into a big argument about something completely unrelated, so good job on all fronts there," she grumbles, aggressively fidgeting with her violin bow.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"... Was his name Katsuya Suou, by chance?" Umie nods. "He's a real one, for sure." .... And he spent that entire fight in Aoba Park trying to support his little brother, who was trying to keep him away. Umie grimaces. Even *she* didn't acknowledge him, for all the help he's been to her, even if it was due to being focused solely on taking down Sudou. But so was Katsuya.
'Do you think I don't know who you are?' Katsuya said, to Sudou. The Suou brothers really are similar in how stubborn and dedicated they are to something, when it comes down to it.
If the worst interpretation of Akechi's words to Umie are correct about the time limit the Mark puts on people, Umie can't be fussing around waiting for these two to make up. She has to initiate it herself. If they come to blows, so be it. If they get mad at her, then, so be it.
'If that's the owner of the dog...' Umie blinks. Oh, right! Seki-san. "Oh, huh. I'll have to give the pupper a good head scratch if they're up for it. As for hideouts, no clue."
No cool scars, huh? ".... I'd like to keep my classic good looks for at least a little while longer, so that's a plus." Umie takes a moment to experimentally poke at a bruise, and winces.
"That's good. Guess I never thought about it that much... Never had an ear for that sort of thing." ... Says the girl with a Persona with a healthy pair of lungs, apparently, when it comes to tolling for the dead.
The expression on So-young's face says all: that Umie was right on the money, and that maybe, she may have made things a little worse. ".... I worked in the Triple 7 they wandered into," Umie says, sipping some more water. "And I bullied them into telling me what was going on. They didn't *say* your mom tried to kill them, but... being 'summoned' and her being 'displeased'... not to mention that Merry-san was escaping through Mementos? I'm not sure they could have said 'no' to me at that point." She sets her water down.
"I am a person with many faults, and I make many mistakes, but I am, above all things, persistent when a matter concerns me," she says softly, her hand still on the plastic bottle, feeling it through the cool touch on her hand. "I told them to go seek you for help after that. It wasn't a matter of them choosing, but me putting my nose into it."
Which is likely *why* Myunghon begged Umie not to investigate their mother. She makes a face, her eyes still on the water bottle.
"Aragaki-kun seems like he's older than he really is, and Mio-san... is Mio-san. It was bound to happen. Best to apologize. It'll open the way for them to, as well. Using silence and distance to solve your problems... never works."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young has to pause for a moment. It's entirely possible she doesn't know, or didn't pay that much attention. "... yes, I think that might have been it...?" she ventures after a moment, then bulls through with an absolute self confidence with nothing to back it. "I'm sure it must have been. I get the feeling there aren't that many police officers with human traits in this city."
That came out a little prim of her, and she coughs. Fortunately, Lance is here (well, not literally) to buoy her back up. "I think it might be impossible for that dog to not be up for a scratch. It is the quietest, soppiest thing I have ever encountered and a complete darling," So-young decides with another of those too-solemn nods.
She nearly breaks into a laugh afterwards, and settles into an easy hum. "That is the nature of working in music. Even when you're not actually working, it finds a way to sneak up on you. Inspiration, composition, aimless but endless practice - it's easy enough to fill the time with whatever you enjoy doing in the field." She punctuates that comment by drawing the bow across the strings of her violin, still in its case, and frowns thoughtfully. Just that one motion is enough to get her to think about tuning it.
"The 'displeased' part is apparently because Myunghon is a crime boss, but not as good at being one as my mother would like them to be," So-young adds in a perfectly flat voice, punctuating the sentence with a twist of one of her violin's knobs. She doesn't snap the string, but there is a note of tension in her voice before she quickly unwinds it. "This is at that level of ridiculous that makes it all the more believable."
"Suffice it to say, they have not come to me. All I got was an incredibly awkward dinner where my mother seemed to favour me in everything over them. I was furious at her. Well, I still am. I suspect that trying to isolate Myunghon with a greater show of power towards them compared to me was part of the plan. On the other hand, this is how mother has always been, so who can say?" So-young lets out a sigh. "Either way, she has vanished into her work again."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"There'd be more if it wasn't inconvenient for those in power," Umie says, red brown eyes neutral. "The fact that Katsuya-san has lasted this long speaks to his character, but I imagine it's only going to get bumpier from here on out."
Umie nods on the topic of music. "Huh... I guess I never thought about it that way... most of what I do's not exactly something I could turn into a job, you know?" She chuckles. "But it's better that way, for me. I don't have to be the best at something if no one expects me to be." She watches as So-young turns to tuning her violin, sipping from her water bottle.
Ah. That is a disharmonious note, if there ever was one.
"So that's why Merry-san was so insistent on me not investigating their mom," Umie grumbles. "I was so focused on their dad that I completely overlooked it all. Their dad's a member of the NWO, so... that complicates things on that end. But really, a crime boss?" She smirks. "So stealing someone's 'twisted desire' wasn't enough, eh? Though, all we did was just *help*, but still. What, is Merry-san supposed to be robbing banks, complete with pillow cases? Please. An information broker's far better these days." She shakes her head. "Seriously."
Yet, Myunghon didn't. "Damn it... I figured they'd go to you. What is this, some sort of bid to protect you? I swear... if this is what having siblings is like maybe I *did* luck out, being an only child..." Drinking the last of her water down, she wipes her mouth and places it on the table. "Who vanished into work, your mom, or Merry-san?"
Maybe it was okay if your parents were the distant type, if this is what it meant when they were involved, eh.
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"... isn't the usual route to become a hardboiled private investigator?" So-young wonders to themselves. Alright, so she took that completely and utterly from a film somewhere and is not shy about that fact, but as of late her life has certainly felt like one, so perhaps she can be forgiven on that front. "He did already have the glasses for it."
"Why not simply be the best at something anyway?" is the conductor's whiplash-fast answer, a bright smile over the top of her open violin case. It comes out as naturally as can be, and of course it does, because it speaks fully to So-young's particular brand of confidence. "If there's something you like, pursue it. Life's much too short, and it honestly feels like it's getting shorter every day."
She glosses straight over the matter of Myunghon's father - So-young has absolutely no point of reference there outside of the rumourmonger's warnings to stay well away from him, and it's not like he's her father as well. He might as well be a stranger to her for all she cares. Instead, she frowns as she tunes another note, soft twangs slowly pitching upwards until she's satisfied. "It is somewhat difficult for me to imagine them doing anything-- untoward. At least, to anyone but themselves," she notes in a careful and rather sarcastic deadpan.
Is it a bid to protect her?
Slowly, So-young lets out a breath, drumming her fingers in an errant melody on the table. "After a good night's sleep and a bit of thought, I'm sure that is part of it - but I'm also sure it is only part of it. I do have to bear in mind that I came into their life all of a sudden a month ago, and that we come from very different worlds. Perhaps it is unfair to demand full access to someone's thoughts - and it is not as if I haven't been informed as to what's going on in Sumaru. Palace trips, Atelier trips-- there's effort there to try to involve me."
"Hm?" She looks up. "--oh, I meant mother. She is not someone you call, you see. You leave a message and then she will call you when she's good and ready. She's exceptionally good at controlling her space, I suppose you would say."
A beat.
"But, well, I did watch Myunghon escape a tricky argument by lunging into the bathroom and into Mementos."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Katsuya... a hardboiled private investigator? Umie laughs. "I'd *really* hate to see that happen. It's the nicer parts of him that makes him who he is." An overwhelming brother complex? Being kind of good at baking? A strong sense of wrong and right, even in situations where most would bend their rules just a little?
"There's being the best at something, and there's being expected to be the best at something," Umie shoots right back. "Making bracelets and painting masks is fun when I know none of it really matters in the cognitive world." She waves a hand. "But if I tried to display them, in some alternate scenario where I'm not depending on them to be some kind of armor against nasty people figuring out who I am, being 'good enough' will no longer cut it. I'd have to be perfect. And then... it's no longer fun." She looks down, softly muttering, "Dealt with that enough, growing up."
It was never good enough, if it was expected.
"... Maybe. If I place myself in Merry-san's shoes, I could see myself doing the same thing." Umie touches a hand to her chin. Her right chin, covered by that covering despite the season. She's not immune to the parallel here. "... Corruption," she says, softly. "Or, maybe, because they'd have to understand things about themselves as well. You may be different from Merry-san, but you could also be a mirror towards a life they might've had." All those times Umie had thought about the Mark appearing on someone else, and it being due to her involvement in their lives... could it be the same here? "If you fell from grace like your Persona's namesake, they'd blame themselves."
And then, there's Mommy dearest, in the middle of all this. "... And here I thought my mom was a headache..." Umie sighs, her eyelids wearily squeezing shut as she massages her temples. "Sounds like she's great about trying to control you two too."
..... waht
"..... How did they...?" Umie squints as her brain goes into overdrive. Bathroom=Water... transport... boats, travel, lake, mirror, weigh, makeup, sink, toilet _how does any of this work, she would have never thought of a bathroom-- oh. Right. Station bathroom. So does that mean all bathrooms are connected to Mementos now? (Why is this such an alarming thought?)
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"No, no, you don't understand. The key is to have him become a hardboiled private investigator but _also_ keep all the nice and fluffy parts. It's important to have a little gap moe when it comes to a good story." So-young manages to say this with an utterly straight face, and So-young is someone who wears their heart openly on their sleeve. This is apparently a fervent belief.
"Oh, of course. Don't bow to anyone's expectations," the conductor immediately nods, that answer delivered just as quickly and easily as she gossips about Katsuya or her mother. "But if there is an artform you enjoy pursuing, then pursue that artform. No-one ever got better without practice, and no-one has come up with a style that will please everyone. Unless your goal is to commidify your art so that it pleases everyone - but I would just as quickly say that anyone doing that is not practicing 'art'. And anyone delivering a simple 'not good enough' should simply be ridiculed."
Impassioned speech delivered, So-young tilts her head to allow Umie's point. "Given the way my mother seemed to deliberately set our expectations against each other, that may be part of it. I don't know without us both sitting down and talking it through, but - I am the older sister, after all, and capable of making my own choices. If I fall from grace, I am old enough and wise enough for it to have been entirely my fault and my actions. ... besides, I wouldn't call us mirrors of each other. Different families, different upbringings, different countries - it's hard to think of a point that could be a divergence."
So-young blinks with the easy confusion of someone who has not put a lick of thought into the finer details of Dark Side navigation. She has a plane, she points the plane in a direction, she hangs onto the plane for dear life. That's been many of her evenings since Awakening, and it has yet to get old in any way.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Gap moe. Umie's head tilts at So-young. ".... Gap... moe-ey?"
oh no, so-young, do not let Umie learn of this awesome power, she will use it for evil
"Usually I'm the one giving this kind of advice," Umie murmurs wryly, shaking her head. "I'll take it, but you're going to have to tell cute little Umie the same thing, and since we can't do time travel, we'll just have to work with the present."
It's a little hard to explain it, really, how contradictory her childhood was, in many ways. But it is why Umie escaped to Shibuya, eventally.
So-young's the older sister? For some reason, this surprises Umie; she coughs into her hand. "... Oh, uh, I guess I'm used to the younger one being the rebellious one. But I guess you're both rebels in your own way. As for the rest..." She shrugs. "I don't see it either, but I can't tell what's going on in Merry-san's mind. It's not a literal mirror, but a symbolic one, I'd say.
As for Mementos and the art of 'Dark Side' level navigation? It's best to not think too deeply.
"... But yeah. I'd say bite the bullet, apologize, and make up." She shifts back in her chair, crossing her legs. "We're not meant to have a tight-knit group like the Phantom Thieves. Before, we had a singular goal to unite everyone, but now, the lights are on and we're having to realize what it means to be in a group together. Going to have conflicts like this, especially from those of us who aren't used to having people see these parts of ourselves. I'm certainly not."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"Don't underestimate my ability to be supportive! I am wise and all-knowing, after all," So-young says without a hint of irony or sarcasm in her voice - though there is a slight mischief in her gaze. Having actress training in your past does help a lot at times like these. She manages to soften into a quiet smile. "More seriously, I have spoken to plenty of young artists and musicians who have found themselves running into a creative wall. Not everyone has the raw self-confidence to take a hammer to it, but I do at least see it as my duty to encourage the arts."
She lets that hang in the air - and then So-young's face falls in an almost comical fashion. "Why does everyone seem to assume that I would be the younger of the two of us? I have a professional job! With business cards! And an apartment in Tokyo! The only reason I don't own a car is that Shibuya parking prices are insane! So what if I like riding local trains rather than the Shinkansen every day?" she motormouths as she folds her arms.
With a sigh, the musician takes her violin out of its case fully, tucking it under her chin to play a quick snatch of something quick to test the strings as an ensemble. "You're right, but that still leaves the question of what to do about our mother. And how to approach Myunghon about it without giving away that someone technically betrayed their confidence and without sending them into a panic."
So-young would never, ever offer anyone an awesome power that could be used for ev--
"Alright, so--" she slides forwards in her chair, untucking her violin and lowering her voice. "You know when you have a character and you're pretty certain they're a sterotype, but then they have this one aspect that makes then stand out? Like a big tough guy in a manga who does the knitting, or when the comedy relief gets all serious and solemn, and you go 'damn. that's cute'? That's it." Or a police officer who bakes, perhaps.