Sweet Velvet [Velvet Room Visit - September 2012]

[stringmods]

Who: EVERYONE
Where: Velvet Room
Summary: The blue door appears and it's time for a little field trip.
Warnings: Orpheus is going.

After the message, those that wished to see the phenomenon in action would find themselves at the rendezvous point. There was a surprising amount of police force and WAND operatives watching close by.

"We have to protect the points in case anything happens," he explains. "Should someone try to blow up the place, we wouldn't want to find you all trapped in the realm of the human subconscious."

As they stepped in, they weren't given much information as to what exactly you were heading into. Unless you've been a guest before, this entire experience will be completely new...and even if you've been here, the experience is still new.



The Velvet Room is more of a Velvet Bar at this point. Music from an unidentified source begins to play. The place is oddly calming; as if all the troubles of the city have melted away and you're just drifting in the sea. A multitude of blue butterflies are flying on the ceiling overhead.

The music swells. A voice speaks up in the farthest corner. While there are many of you, his voice seems to almost come from everywhere, and even in a low tone, carries enough that you can understand everything.

"Ahhh, so it has finally, truly begun...welcome to the Velvet Room. My name is Igor... and this is Caroline, my assistant. There is another, William, but he is currently occupied. We all reside in this Velvet Room."

"Pleased to meet you."

"This place exists between mind and matter... A room for those who gave forged a contract... Yes... In awakening to the power of Persona granted to you by Philemon, you are now bound to a contract. From this moment forth, you are all our guests in the Velvet Room."

"I will give you all the key necessary to visit this room."

"You all have the ability to hold multiple Personas and wield their powers...a wildcard ability. However the rules of this world are rather...unique. Even if you were a wielder before, the bridge between this place and your old universe is currently...fragile at best. Those who have the ability to see the Strings will understand exactly what I mean."

"As you continue to live here longer and aid this ailing world, the connection and bonds you forge will reinforce your Destiny String and allow you to truly unlock your full potential."

"As stipulated by the contact, we will aid you to the best of our abilities."

"As your powers grow in this world, we will be able to grant you new skills. For now, please enjoy yourselves."

Caroline then goes behind the bar and awaits for those who might wish to talk with her.

[OOC : Welcome to the Velvet Room. There but a few instructions here:
▶ Currently, you cannot fuse personas. Your link to this world is too weak.
▶ Go to the [PERSONA UPDATE LIST] and fill out the information for your character.
▶ To get a new Persona, you go to [HERE] and then fill out a request [HERE]. Remember you cannot get persona thta belongs to someone else! You can request a Persona (or two if you are a previous Persona user) until the 22nd of September, or wait until next month.
▶ Requests to Caroline can be posted [HERE] and remember you only get one request per month. You can request a Quest until the 22nd of September or wait until next month.
▶ You can talk with Igor, Caroline, hang around, have a drink (what is in that drink anyway?) or just talk between yourselves.]

Comments

[otakuro]

"Whoa..."

Atsuro shuffles uncomfortably in place as he takes in the surprisingly posh atmosphere. A doorframe floating in midair that led to a snazzy jazz club. This made perfect sense, given that he was apparently living in an MMORPG of some sort.

There was quite a lot in the long-nosed man's speech he didn't completely understand, but one thing in particular caught his attention.

"Excuse me, sir... What, exactly, do you mean by contract? What are we agreeing to do here?"

[guidemethroughit]

As a resident of the Velvet Room, Elizabeth is no stranger to the violet and blue decor, nor to the haunting refrain of its music. The alcohol is new to her, as is the binding contract (although she knew of it -- she had never been bound by one before).

There's still something different - something special - about entering the room not as a resident of it but as a guest. She pauses not far from the doorway, listening to Igor's introduction (although she feels as if she could recite it herself, as if she should turn to the others and smile, extending a hand to the air and welcoming them to the Velvet Room -- but that can be done once her journey is at its end, and once she is back in her own little room).

"Bravo!" She exclaims, once Igor's done, and claps three short times. She might be mocking the whole thing, but she is grateful for something -- normal, at least in her mind. As much as she is born on whimsy, and as excited as she is to be out of the Velvet Room and on her own adventure, she still misses the timelessness of it.

Sort of.

For Caroline

[reelsyouin]

Urataros made his way over to the bar and took a seat. "Caroline, was it? I'd like to know more about the 'bonds' we're supposed to forge while we're here."

He wondered if they could order drinks at the bar. Maybe there was a menu here somewhere.

[delinquentkun]

One thing bugged Shinagawa more than anything about this place. It wasn't the cramped apartment he'd been given, or the weird people from other worlds, and it definitely wasn't the lack of prep school. Naw. What bothers him most has something to do with his soul, apparently.

Since this old dude seemed to know his way around a Persona, Shinagawa leans in, all casual like. He doesn't exactly want this conversation to be overheard.

"Hey Gramps, I've got a Persona problem. Think you can help me out?"

For Igor and Caroline

[linefacingforever]

Wow, Igor... when you go all out, you really go all out. Yu's expression doesn't change when he enters the Velvet Room of course, but he has to say he is impressed at how massive it is. Then again, he is more accustomed to the limo; with so many people that could use Personae and were capable of Wild Card, he should have been able to guess that the Velvet Room would be massive in return.

He waited until the others began mingling before approaching Igor and his new assistant, more to say hello and introduce himself to Caroline.

[velvet_nose]

"You agreed to aid this world as best your abilities would allow you, young man," he explains. "By remembering your name when Master Philemon called for you, it proved your strong will...and a subconscious desire to be here."

[sweetquests]

Caroline, for her part, seems somewhat devastated by Elizabeth's actions, and was whispering to herself. Well, as whispering as someone in the Velvet room could do, which is to say, she did not quite understand that action in full.

"Oh no...did I mess up in one part? I'd been practicing so hard...maybe I said 'world' too many times..."

[jundere]

Jun considered asking the obvious question - that being 'what the hell was up with Igor's snout?' - but even she decided that might be a bit rude to ask when he was right there.

She made a mental note to ask people later, though. I mean seriously; what would he do if he needed to blow his nose?

Anyway, since that would be too rude, she decided chatting to the other visitors would be much safer. That's why she's leaning over in your direction!

"It's not only me who doesn't remember signing a contract, is it?"

[sweetquests]

"Yes, of course!" As if she could hear his thoughts, she pushed a drink at him. It was a faintly glowing blue color.

"You all now carry the power of Persona within you. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli. It protects you from hardships." She stopped for a minute, as if remembering something, and disappeared behind the counter. A second later her head peeked up again, with a tiny little blue umbrella in her right hand, as she dumped it into his drink.

She hadn't opened it, and predictably, it sank. Caroline didn't seem to think this was wrong and continued on.

"When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The emotional ties you have to those around you...your Social Links, cause an evolution within your soul. The more they grow, the more powerful your Persona Ability and Destiny String become, and the more aid we can provide."

[greyerrant]

"Explain the nature of our bounds to our homes, and how they are tentative?"

He stares cooly at Igor from behind his helm.

[reelsyouin]

Of course it was blue. Of course it was. Urataros reached into the cup, opened the umbrella, and replaced it, sipping from the glass as he listened to her speak.

"So the more people I get to know, the stronger it will be? How interesting." WELP. "But what if I don't want to strengthen my ties here? What if it interferes when I want to go back home?"

Urataros didn't really care to get himself stuck here. In fact, when it came to alternate worlds, he was pretty much 'love 'em and leave 'em'.

[electricyousei]

[Ruri peers around the room uncomfortably, especially at the mention of the word contract. Sitting down by the bar she looks at the various bottles and shakes her head]

"I don't suppose we can get a copy of this contract? Or something of that nature?"

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"So, multiple personas, huh?" He grins. All right! Maybe he can find something to use instead of this stupid chicken. "Okay, lemme see what you got!"

[guidemethroughit]

Ah, yes. The newest resident. Elizabeth studies her from afar, then heads on over. She had heard something of her from Theodore - that is, just that there was another resident in the Velvet Room - and she was

excited to meet her? Maybe?

Well, regardless of her feelings, she certainly had a few things to discuss with her.

"Whispering is done under one's breath, if that is what you were trying for, Caroline." Look, she even used your name.

[velvet_nose]

If Igor was bothered by his way of speaking, he certainly wasn't showing it. In fact, he let out a small chuckle.

"Really? How may I help you?"

[get_bent]

Not another bar he had enough of these to last a lifetime but...at least this one had butterflies on the ceiling and seemed a lot more calm that Nyx's. Kanji looked completely lost, unlike Yu.

"Woah." But he was pretty impressed.

[linefacingforever]

Yu cracked a smile at Kanji's reaction, remembering his own response to the limo when he first arrived. He had thought it was just a dream at first... Kanji should have been claiming he was dreaming now instead of when they arrived.

"It's pretty cool, isn't it?"

[blitzkriegzwei]

Ludwig made a beeline for the bar. It was kind of a habit of his to at least sample the alcohol at a given place and compare it to his own. Nothing beat good old German beer, but perhaps some could come close. Did they even serve beer here? Well, there were more pressing matters to attend to. He could get a drink later. Multiple Personas sounded like a strategically sound proposal. Ludwig was a fan of anything that could give him a varied strategy just in case. "Multiple Personas? How do we go about getting those?" he asked.

[canteachyoumore]

Theodore has prepared for this event.

That is, he has gotten his list of questions together in his mind as well as a cookie for Caroline, who he heard from Master Ideo had quite a sweet tooth. And resisted the urge to welcome the guest himself. So first thing's first! After that rousing beginning from the two, that is, and Theodore's quiet applause. He knew how it felt to do it for the first time and in front of so many people at once?

Theodore is quite proud of her. She deserves this pastry. He hesitates a moment, but figures there are more people wanting to see Master Igor than Caroline and goes on ahead to greet her with a small bow, hand held out in courtesy. The hand, incidentally, with the bag that has a cookie in it.

"Hello. I am Theodore, a..." A resident of the Velvet Room, he wishes to say, but he knows that he's not anymore. An outsider now. "A former denizen of the Velvet Room. You have quite a number of guests. I have heard you had a sweet tooth as well, so I brought a... room-warming gift, I believe it's called."

He honestly feels a little pity for her too, having to deal with all of these people.

[greatseal]

Minako is slightly surprised to see the abrupt decor change when she steps into the Room, but then again... the elevator had stopped, the last she'd seen. ...And it would have been really difficult to fit this many people into one elevator.

After the crowd around him has thinned a little, she makes her way across to the man with the longest nose. "Hello again, Igor-san... I like what you've done with the place."

Even if she hadn't been expecting to step foot in here again.

She doesn't leave once her conversation with him is over, though; she finds a seat on one of the barstools and... doesn't drink, she's not old enough for that. But she does people-watch.

[fools_journey]

Minato is... impressed by the changes the Velvet Room has undergone. The elevator was already spacious, but this place seems so much larger. He watches the butterflies on the ceiling for a few moments before watching Igor and his new assistants for a moment. It is both familiar and a little jarring to be back in this place when he thought he had been here for the last time when he had formed The Universe.

But now is not the time to dwell on such things, for he has questions for Igor and Caroline. He waits until any initial rush has subsided, lingering near the edge and perhaps even mingling a little. But then, when there is a free moment, he approaches the pair.

He smiles faintly at Igor, though of course Caroline is just as able to answer questions, he's sure. But he knows Igor... "It's a little strange to be back here... but I was wondering if you could tell me why our personas changed upon coming here. And if... can we still draw upon the power of bonds we already had upon coming here?"

[fools_journey]

While waiting for Igor and Caroline to be free, Minato catches sight of Yu, recognizing him from the encounter the other day. Eventually he makes his way over to linger with him.

"... was it a bar for you before? Or something else?"

He's curious how often this place changes...

[velvet_nose]

Igor didn't even seem bothered, and chuckled good-naturedly.

"As you wish. The Destiny String is a connection from your world to this one...and the reason why you are able to return to it at all. The power required for you to be here is immense...and not without its predicaments. However, as your stay in this world continues and you form bonds with others, this link gradually returns to you, becoming reinforced. The connection will then allow you to awaken your stronger powers."

[sweetquests]

[That's alright, Caroline will make you an alcohol friendly blue-themed drink. It's got a lot of sugar, forgive her.]

"The Contract is your Will"

[That sounded vague enough, really, but she smiles.]

[velvet_nose]

Igor quietly opened the book in front of him with a wave of his hand. Your move Guybrush.