[Game Opening, Part 2 - A Thousand Words or More]

[stringmods]

Who: (Everyone OPEN LOG)
Where: (City Hall)
Summary: (After arriving you got to mingle a bit but now it's time for explanations! Finally!)
Warnings: (Some guy LIKES TO TALK LIKE THIS!!)
Style: (The text is in prose, but feel free to write back in action tags if you feel more comfortable.)
Suitable Music: This.

When someone finally speaks up...he's rather hard to miss.

"WELCOME! To YOUR NEW LIIIIIFE!" If anything, this fellow demanded attention, what with the costume he was wearing. What a way to get introduced to this new world.



"My name...is DR. BYRON ORPHEUUUUS! But you can call me Orpheus...Dr. Orpheus if you're really insistent. REGARDLESS! It was BY THE FATES that you were all plucked from your lives and brought here to aid this city in its greatest time of need. Yes, all of you will become HEROES! With the power of your PERSONA you shall become the riotous fury of..."

"Is such enthusiasm really necessary, Orpheus?" The voice that interrupts Byron sounds slightly modulated, and comes from the large blue and grey metal man behind the others. His voice is loud enough that he doesn't require the microphone - one of the few perks that comes with being a giant robot in a world like this.

"I am Brainstorm, and I am responsible for a sizeable amount of the work that went into a lot of the tech you all have, or have experienced the beneficial effects of, unknowingly. Those of you with large objects from home have me to thank for that transport system. The Evokers used in the arena? Me again. As well as a fair amount of tweaking and perfecting your COMPs and watches you received. I do hope you manage some degree of appreciation, as crafting devices to fit such small beings was incredibly painstaking for someone like myself. Working on nanomachines at this size isn't easy. Now, I know you organics have short attention spans, but do try and keep up, because I hate to repeat myself..."

"I suppose it's an unfortunate eventuality that some number of you will somehow manage to break something. If that happens, you may contact me about repairs, but I am usually quite busy, and I'm not going to be happy about having to deal with the consequences of your carelessness. However, if it becomes necessary, my workshop is in the Cancer district."

"And with Brainstorm's explanation, I suppose it is my cue to go next. Permit me to introduce myself..."

"Now then, as it was explained, when the Seven of us arrived here, we found out we had been expected, just like you. Unlike you, however, while they knew we were coming...they had little to no where we'd come from. Let's just say it has been quite a learning experience for both sides and leave it at that." He gave them a small smile. Ahh the misunderstandings that had happened...even amongst themselves.

"We wandered around blindly during the first week. Not just to adjust from our worlds to this one, but, quite frankly, we had no idea what to do! Fortunately, a few weeks later, the Three Wise Men appeared and aided us to understand the nature of Persona. Each of them were knowledgeable in the subject. You'll be able to speak with one of them once he's done...with personal things involving family...but that isn't our concern, isn't it? Let's go on with what we've learned so far."

He moved his hand on his watch and a series of images flashed in front.

"Persona can be called forth in various ways. So far our knowledge extends into three methods; the first is a blast of energy from your soul that gives form to your inner Persona. That one will com naturally to you. The second, is made using this..."

His took something from the nearby podium and held it into the air.

"You might think this is a normal handgun, but it is actually an Evoker. It can also be used to bring out your Persona. By giving you a feeling of stress and danger, which can also bring out your Persona naturally, it jump starts your summoning. However, we tend to encourage using the normal summoning method. The device was perfected by Brainstorm, Hazama, the Wisemen and myself. We created it to aid the police force summon their Persona faster during riots but recently...it's even become popular during Persona Duels."



"...But I'm sure you'll find out about those in the city soon enough, what with their ridiculous popularity. We shalln't dwell on those." He put the gun down. "The final method uses arcana cards. You can summon more than your inner Persona, although I am sure this is completely new information to you. Do not worry, you'll learn it soon enough like we have. To do so...you'll need to gain more. I believe next week is when the Velvet room will appear again according to our calculations, Miss Mcgonagall?"

"That is correct."

"Well then!" The man continued on. "We can explain that in due time. Now let's go into something really interesting. Did you notice how you have items from your homeworld with you? Consider yourselves lucky, we didn't have that luxury. It was only through our preparations that we were able to do this. You see, when a soul enters this world, they are still tied to their old world by a special strand. Normal users can't see it, but ahh!...Those like myself who Intel more than fight, well, our Persona allow us to see them. By combining our technology and magic, we devised a system which grabs those things which are near and dear to your heart. Just how we did this would require a few days of explanation, ergo I will spare you the details for now. Those that wish to know more can come to my office later. In any case...you're welcome."

The man shuffled his hands, and grinned. Obviously he had been waiting to explain to them the next part. It was brief and short.

"As for the strands, considering they are your passport to your old homeworld, so to speak, your anchor to your life...we've named them..."

"Destiny Strings."

"Don't worry, you will not be able to see them right away. It took me a week before I could grasp the strings to become visible. Of course there were only ten of us, so therein the challenge....

Not that there's that much to see here currently..." he sighed, exasperated in a way that only a man of his caliber could do (and yet it was so delightfully British) "Is this really what we'll have to be working with? We already have Orpheus who--"

"I BEG YOU PARDON?!"

"Oh you know exactly what I mean. Talking about in that exaggerated manner of yours--"

"Really, if you two are going to continue blathering and arguing like true imbeciles," McGonagall spoke in the middle, coldly, "let someone else speak up. At this rate, we'll be here all night and it is a full moon..."

The two men glared at each other for a second before Q finished, adjusting his tie.

" Yes, well....I do not think of myself as a fool, thank you very much, but there is truth in your words. Ciel, if you please?"

"Okay! I guess it's my turn then!"

The petite girl gave the assembly a small bow. Despite the amount of people before her, she didn't seem the least bit phased. A natural leader, if there was one.

"There is much to discuss." Her fingers moved over her watch and a 3D map of the city appeared before them, glowing green shapes with markings over each district. You might notice a few areas are still in the dark. "This is what we have of the city...so far. Unfortunately, many places still allude us. Hinoto-Ri is vast, and there are a number of areas in each distinct that are currently too dangerous to enter. Those restricted areas are protected by the police force to keep the population out. We hope to finish mapping them out as soon as we can...carefully."

"Regardless, let us look at what we have about each district, one by one."

"Now, are there any questions?"

[OOC - You can start your own threads, speak amongst yourself with the new information or just ask questions to the assembled cast]

Comments

Questions directed toward Brainstorm.

[universebeware]

Feel free to bombard Brainstorm with questions. He wishes you wouldn't, though. However, we don't really care how he feels in regards to this.

Re: Questions directed toward Brainstorm.

[zero_to_herooo]

Eiji raised his hand. "I have a question! So if these string things connect us back to wherever we came from, that means we can go back, right?"

No offense or anything, but he'd really rather be in his own world. He had a cranky bird monster to save.

Mingle | OTA

[singsforsouls]

[ > Perhaps you should press these people for more information.

> ...

> Nah, totally going to go snag more food. ]

[deathboss]

[Dude. What were you doing.]

Hey. You paying any attention to this?

[the_voluminous]

Volstagg thrusts his hand up in the air and waves it insistently. "GOOD FELLOWS! I have questions!" He bellows, then adjusts his helmet. "You have said we are to be heroes. Heroes for what? All you have done is give us information on what trinkets you have made, not our purpose!"

He pounds his chest with a fist. "If there are monsters to be slain, like yon giant, then the Lion of Asgard, Volstagg the Voluminous, is the man you seek! However, if you're here to tell us about mind demons and mortal telephones, then I'm afraid that I cannot help you." He shrugs, spreading his hands.

[universebeware]

Brainstorm affixes Volstagg with narrowed optics. "I am definitely larger than the majority of beings here, but I am no mere 'giant'. I am a Cybertronian."

[linefacingforever]

Yu considered asking some questions, if however briefly, but he was still trying to absorb all the utter and complete awesome that had been dropped in on them at once. They were in a city where having a Persona was not only a-okay, but perfectly acceptable to use.

Did he like... die and go to heaven or something?

Okay, sure, he thought it had been weird at first, but once he got used to jumping into TVs and fighting Shadows, he just wanted to tell someone, like his uncle. Now he was surrounded by other Persona users.

THIS WAS PERFECT.

Don't mind him, but he really can't help but smile right now.

[otakuro]

"...Looks like we've got answers."

It was a lot to take in. Atsuro still wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he'd heard two definitive things, at the very least. One: they needed heroes. Two: the streets were crawling with monsters.

Peaceful days are over. Let's survive.

New Objective: Peaceful days are over. Let's summon an incarnation of your soul and smash 'em good where the sun don't shine.

A similar smile comes across his face, though his is tempered somewhat by the knowledge that his friends were still potentially in danger.

"...This could be fun."

[hetried]

Nope he has no idea what half of them are talking about


Screw it.

i had to

[viditlibertas]

And there is someone hovering just behind him, likewise silent but for a completely different reason.

No, he completely understood, and was silent in agreement.

Clearly.

[nofairy]

[... He's still very confused. All of the talk with the things with the flashy lights were interesting but still very confusing.]

[He's gonna focus on the one word he kept hearing repeated, though.]

So... um... what is a Persona?

[handshakegreeting]

A Persona is like a facade of determination taken form.

[...Says the strangely-dressed man(?) in the corner.]

I believe many from my world thought of it as a sort of "mask" to help them face the trials they need to overcome.

[sky_child]

So they dragged him

all the way here

to be a hero







Yep the Hero of Kawaii's linefacing right now.

[awww_yeeeeeaaaah]

Man, tell him about it.

...Not that Kaito minds helping people out but come on.

He killed something that was arguably God and had his friend (who is also essentially godlike) take over and make a new world like.

How do you top that, come on.

[blitzkriegzwei]

So they'd learned about the gadgets they were given, but not much else. Naturally, this meant that Ludwig was left with some questions. "I have some questions," he announced, his eyes scanning the group in front of him. "One. How do we perform that 'blast from our souls' to summon our Persona? Two. Are you asking us to help you map out those darkened portions of the city? Three. What is the Velvet Room? Four. When will we be released to our apartments?" He asked his questions in a typical drill sergeant matter, as if he were interrogating the people in front of him. And in a sense, he was. On the inside, he demanded more information about this place.

[therooms]

Unfortunately (?) the person who answered that was Orpheus.

"It is not a BLAST FROM YOUR SOUL! It is a CALLING OF YOUR INNER SELF! Summoning will come as EASY AS PUTTING ON A PAIR OF SHORTS! Once you arrive in THE HEAT OF BATTLE your SOUL will KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

...he was really into this, before looking at Ciel for a minute. She gave him a nod at the second question.

"That will happen later. You guys should get settled in first. Once we're done talking, we'll be handing out apartment numbers."

"Yes you can ENJOY THE SIGHTS OF THE CITY! Although not too much tonight considering the full moon...anyway...THE VELVET ROOM is where you will meet....


IIIIIGOR!!!

MEANWHILE... [Closed to Mitsuru]

[stringmods]

As she was being led away from the gathering, Mitsuru passed a few corridors, some with the pictures of the previous mayors and police officers of town hall, until they arrived to a small conference room. Quietly, she was ushered in, only to see the polished mahogany table that stood dead center, with a number of computers and holographic displays. A quick look revealed that they were cameras to different districts, and they kept changing once in a while.

At the man's hand movements, the two police officers on guard stood up and walked out, giving her a small nod as they passed by.

"Wait here." He told her, before walking off.

[empressive]

Were they just nodding at her...? She's barely been here a full day, and while she's gotten hit on already, they were almost acting as if they knew her. But there was no way that could be possible.

Glancing around the room, she sighs, taking an interest in the monitor displays. This looked more like a security facility than a conference room, and her guess was that these computers were for watching different districts, with the screens flickering to new locations.

Mitsuru looks up, takes one more cautious look around the room, and settles herself in front of one of the computers. She wasn't touching it, but just observing. Whatever they brought her in for, she had time to spare, and at the very least she can try to find out the state of the city here while she waits.

[serpent_ruin]

Nanami raised a gloved hand, looking all kinds of curious and amused.

"You speak of becoming 'heroes,'" she said, and the word in relation to her wasn't something that sat entirely right and even she was well aware of it, but she continued on. "For ... doing what, might I ask? I do believe the giant robot cut the good Doctor off."

[therooms]

"Indeed he did," Orpheus said, nodding in acknowledgement. "But to answer that question...why...it is a BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL!"

Lightning cracked and thunder sounded somewhere. We aren't sure how that was possible. "Or at least we assume. There are demons in the city and TERRIBLE NIGHT CREATURES THAT TERRORIZE THE POOR CIVILIANS. Basically...we just bump back."

Question for Ciel

[aboyandhiscat]

Raidou listened to the Seven and others asking. "Miss Ciel - what kind of danger are you referring to when you mentioned the blocked off areas?"

[therooms]

She pushed a few buttons on her watch, and a model view of the city appeared, a few things flashing in turn.

"Numerous demonic activity in the unpopulated areas. Certain areas need to be cleared out first, the dark energy present has warped the animals and local flora..."

From the sound of her voice, she didn't like that at all.

"This isn't something that can be done overnight. At best, the police can block off most of the areas, but we're hoping once more Guests continue to arrive that we'll be able to gradually purify the areas one by one."

[oathofdevotion]

[Lizzie listens to the best of her ability, and now that she's allowed to ask questions, she raises her hand immediately.]

Sirs and Madams, I've been wondering this ever since I came here and discovered how differently everyone else dresses compared to me.

[She wrings her hands in her lap, betraying the calm voice she is speaking with.]

Do...do any of you know how in the world I was taken from Queen Victoria's time into the future? There must have been a terrible mistake in bringing me here. I am no hero, nor do I want to be one. I only want to be with my family again.

[hetried]

Haha, you too, huh?

[He's kind of worn out by all of this, but she seems nice enough and...actually, she seems kind of freaked out too? Nothing wrong with extending a proverbial hand, then.]

I know I'm definitely not cut out to be any kind of hero. You'd think they were just drawing names out of a hat when they were picking people to bring!

[otakuro]

Some time after pestering the giant robot, Atsuro can be found in a corner of the room playing with his new toys. The nanochips have formed into the glasses and he's busily waving his fingers away, looking like a complete idiot.

From the expression on his face, though, he seems to be having the time of his life. For the moment, the lockdown and Babel have been forgotten. Like the moments after tearing a new game out of its packing or like a raid performed in a multiplayer game, Atsuro is completely and fully immersed.

"Death clock said I'd be dying today, huh? Guess I'm OK with a heart attack from joy."

[jundere]

[Tap tap tap on the shoulder. Jun has been standing beside you for a while, Atsuro.]

So what's a death clock?

[jundere]

[Jun waits until the initial chatter has died down before looking around a little. After a few minutes she taps the nearest person on the shoulder and asks;]

So... can we go to our new place now? Is this induction thing finished yet?

[a_little_unwell]

What? Y-You mean you don't even want to go home?

[Ryou looks aghast.]

[endears]

[So... he heard all of that and understood absolutely none of it, wonderful.

Well, except the part about being a 'hero', which leads him to seriously question Philemon's sanity for a moment.

But yes, small child raising his hand here.]

... Could I get all of that in writing, please?

at your own risk: you may be tagged by elizabeth also--

[canteachyoumore]

[Being a former Velvet Room Resident has its perks, but the technology escapes him. There's plenty of time to figure that out though. Thankfully they'd explained everything in such a nice and orderly fashion and he'd soaked up the information.

-- But hearing of the sights in the city is pretty awesome!! They have night clubs here (though it's not the Club Escapade he'd heard so much about back in Iwatodai) and an arcade which meant that crane game and so much more! Plus all these fountains.

So many spirits to tend to, so little time.

Regardless, the strangely-clothed man will be especially looking out for those still confused by the new idea of "Persona", how to control and summon them, and any and all questions about the Velvet Room. Which means if your character looks confused, chances are he will approach them with a small bow. He could be one of the guest speakers, he looks so confident!]

I am Theodore. If you still have any questions concerning Persona, their use, and how to summon them from the vast sea that is your soul, please do not hesitate to ask. I'm quite the... expert on the matter.

pardon me while my icons get set up~

[chainofmemories]

Ah--

[Naminé hadn't really expected someone to come approach her, with how she'd been hanging back away from the crowd. Her eyes also can't help but travel upwards to peer at the small string coming from him, connecting with several others in the room-- goodness, she didn't feel like she'd be used to this any time soon.]

When they spoke of the strings, they used the phrase 'Intel' in regards to our Persona, correct? Does that mean my Persona is an Intel Persona as well? And what exactly does that entail?

[That may be a lot of questions, but her voice is rather soft, almost fragile, as she asks.]

[misery_hates_company]

Fascinating. You all have divulged all of this random information for us and have yet to provide me with any insight as to why I am either obligated to serve you, or are required to care. Do please enlighten me on this. I am simply ALL EARS.

[isnottheworst]

Yoshino raised her hand, and tried to get someone's attention.

"Excuse me," she said. "You said something about fighting the creatures here... I'm experienced with working as part of an organization... I'd like to volunteer, if that's at all possible..."

warning COULD BE A WILD THEODORE RUNNING AROUND THESE PARTS you could get tagged

[guidemethroughit]

Is this where my journey is to begin? Truly?

[...Well. She couldn't have picked a better place, to be honest. So many new faces -- so little time. Despite the fact she doesn't seem to care about all the thoughtfulness put into this little explanation - going so far as to shrug halfway through and start to look around at the rest of the people drawn here, instead of at the helpful people who have been here much longer than her - she is listening, and will be happy to display what she's picked up should she be quizzed on the material.

...Otherwise, she'll be grasping the hands of various people around her. Because that's how you begin social links, correct? By being friendly.]

I am Elizabeth, and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance.

you're both beautiful people

[cantgive100percent]

..Hello, Elizabeth.

_{[may he have his hands back]}

[foamylover]

Guess who's less than thrilled about all of this.

Yeah, save the world. Like that's never been done before. Having just saved the world a few hours ago, Lisa is two steps from throwing a full-blown tantrum. And she's ranting at everyone in earshot.

"Kehhei! If I don't start getting some real answers soon, I'm gonna kick somebody's ass!"

[awww_yeeeeeaaaah]

Guess who's also less than thrilled but is being kinda chill about it anyway.

"Well, we got some answers. You can get a lot of things from what's implied in those."

He's with Kotetsu, but feel free to jump in!

[baniichan]

After hearing so much information, one would think he would have had all his questions answered. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Persona? Barnaby had never heard of a NEXT ability like that, and yet they'd all been granted such a power. Well, possibly. If they were telling the truth, anyway.

He certainly wasn't going to take their word for it by shooting himself in the head anytime soon.

With Wild Tiger close by, Barnaby had already started slowly making his rounds throughout the room. Rather than throwing out whatever question came to mind, he made a point of listening in on other people's conversations. This served two purposes. First, he could glean a variety of information without directly engaging with a stranger and possibly wasting precious time. Second, Barnaby could also take the opportunity to get a feel for who else had been pulled into this strange city with him and Kotetsu. He made sure to commit their faces to memory.

Unfortunately, he and Kotetsu still stuck out like sore thumbs. His Hero Suit was practically designed to draw attention to itself, and that held true here. At least it meant they would have some extra protection in case they ran into trouble.

"Just what kind of technology did they use to do this, anyway?" Barnaby huffed to Kotetsu, not particularly expecting an answer. "And 'magic'? Please."

Even after seeing the incredible gadgets that would normally grab his attention, Barnaby didn't look all that happy about being dragged here to fight someone else's war.

All the jumpings!

[oyaji]

"Hey, hey--!" he called out to his partner standing beside him, happy to alleviate the man's doubts with his own clever deduction. "It's dream magic, so it can do whatever it wants." Seriously, that was the best conclusion he could come up with and it still incorporated all this bizarre and big-worded information that was being forcible injected in them well.

Frankly, Tiger eventually had to sit down because he was just so overwhelmed to the point he was starting to get bored. He couldn't feasibly hold anymore extra tidbits in; they were leaking out from every orifice in his suit. And man, these suits were not designed for sitting in a city council chair for any duration of time! His back was starting to hurt and he had no problems voicing his distress as an elder who should be getting better treatment than a crappy chair.

[risetocaesar]

Akihiko remained quietly focused throughout the presentation, filing each bit of information away for future use as he stood there looking on with his arms firmly crossed over his chest. Once people began to disperse and ask questions, he sighed. Here he had been looking forward to what he felt was a well-deserved break, after all that had happened over the past year, and yet here he was.

Well. If he was being fair, he probably wouldn't have known what to do with himself without having a cause to fight for, he'd been at it for so long. At least here, use of his Persona wouldn't have to be kept under wraps -- everyone here was in the same boat. If nothing else, he would be glad to help make those dangerous areas Ciel mentioned a little bit safer. After all, what was the point of having a Persona if you weren't going to use it? Though he still wanted to reserve judgment until he knew more about this place and the details of their purpose here, for now, he would stick to his usual philosophy regarding these particular abilities.

Minako will hop in this, too. c:

[fools_journey]

After having decided to go find Akihiko to properly explain the things he might have been confused about, Minato and Minako have been searching. Of course, it has been a little difficult to find a certain red-vested senpai in the crowd, but eventually they are successful, and Minato spots him. He tugs Minako's hand back, heading over.

They don't strictly speaking need to keep holding onto each other's hands, now that they've successfully navigated the crowd, but Minato can't say he's inclined to let her go just yet. So he doesn't, even as he speaks up.

"Senpai -- we've got something to talk to you about."

locked to Minako

[fools_journey]

With whatever answers Orpheus provided (or didn't provide, as the case may be), Minato has some things to think about - not only about this world but the idea of being called upon to aid this world after everything else... There's just a lot of food for thought here, so he winds up standing a bit off to the side, not paying too much attention to those around him as he ponders...

[greatseal]

That may come back to haunt him soon. Another person had spotted him during his discussion - he may be quiet, but it's was hard not to notice the other party's answers. And... ever since Akihiko, she'd been searching for him anyway.

She manages to hold herself back just long enough for the conversation to end. Then she takes a deep breath, two bold steps forward, and calls out to the blue-haired figure slouching on the sidelines with hands in pockets.

"Minato!"

No honorific given. Who could this be?

[robinsegg]

The entire conversation during this meeting flew over Sig's head. He didn't even get anyone's name except someone's name was Kyuu? Even with that he wasn't completely sure.

And yet Sig raised his hand.

"Where is butterfly mask."

He didn't even know if someone else already asked the question, either.

[canteachyoumore]

Butterfly mask--

How dare you, sir! Calling that entity simply as "butterfly mask", Theodore is quite astonished. Allow him to go straight at you to correct you.

"That's Lord Philemon, if you would. And I believe he has much bigger plans in the background. You could think of these as his representatives, much like myself and my master."

That'll show him. Don't mess with the Philemon Fan Club!

[greyerrant]

The armored figure who had previously been hanging back booms in a voice that fills the hall much as Brainstorm's did, though his seems to be more a natural outgrowth of speaking as a leader of men, rather than as emanating from an enormous machine, though the Grey Angel himself is 8 feet tall and incredibly stout in his war-plate, which he has yet to remove.

"I have overhead you all speaking of Demons. These are of personal concern to me. Tell me all there is to know about them, and direct me towards them as soon as possible."

That he might slay them all, as some small recompense for the loss of his beloved brothers. Loken always was a direct sort of man, though.