personavelvetroomdr | [open | intro] I wonder, was that the wrong pill to take?

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[open | intro] I wonder, was that the wrong pill to take?

[When she wakes up, it's like peeling herself off of a puddle of glue. Or what she imagines cracking out of an egg must be like for a baby bird. Slow, frustrating, and kind of crunchy.]

[She actually didn't expect to wake up again, at all. And especially not here, opening her eyes to the deep blue and constant aria of the Velvet Room. With a yawn, she sits upright and rubs her eyes. There's a cot underneath her, not unlike what someone might find in the nurse's office at a school, but her school bag is nowhere to be found. All she has is the uniform she is wearing. Thankfully, she does appear to still have her shoes, which she tenderly rests on the floor, as if she doesn't quite expect it to be solid.]

[A glance around tells her that someone has redecorated. The Velvet Room is much bigger than she remembers, for one thing, and it's got several doors that did not used to be there, for another. Once she lays eyes on Igor, it seems to give him permission to speak. She listens with a slight frown, as if she's thinking very hard.]

Yes, I know who you are and what this place is. But... why? And... are you sure that it's okay for me to be here?

[Whatever his answer is, she is deeply uncomfortable with the idea of stepping outside this liminal space back into Iwatodai, which she knows is behind the familiar door. Or any of the other doors. Something about it makes her feel as thought it will make it real that she is no longer acting as the seal keeping Erebus back and Nyx away. It just isn't worth the risk. So, she sets about exploring what exists within the Velvet Room.]

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I'm not sure why it wouldn't be.

[So says a tween from over by a conspiracy board. He's got his arms crossed and is trying to look cool and mysterious.

Is it working? That's up for debate. He'd like to think he exudes a sophisticated aura.]

Igor-san has been known to bring just about anyone he feels would warrant building 'bonds,' regardless of history.

[A middle schooler with a conspiracy board in the VR... sure, why not. The only thing that makes remotely any sense is the "coffins at midnight" part, but it makes her stomach go a little cold to see it, not that it shows on her face at all. She breaks into a friendly smile and approaches.]

Is that so?

[OK actually on second glance, the stuff about demons and vampires also kind of tracks.]

Are you a persona user too?

Not just a Persona user, but a Wild Card.

[There's an impish grin as he says this, clearly pleased with himself. It is apparently a very rare privilege.]

Though I suppose that would make you a Persona user as well, if you're familiar with the Velvet Room.

[How interesting! Then again, most people here are Persona users, or they grow up to be them.]

[She covers a smile with her hand.]

That's right. I used to come here very often. Or, well, to the Velvet Room. I am not used to it looking like this, though. I'm also not familiar with any of the names on your board. Is there trouble?

[Are shadows kidnapping people into Tartarus again or something? No, that doesn't quite make sense.]

Well, certainly trouble in our respective worlds and times. For instance, I'm from the year 2011, during which the sleepy town of Inaba has been thrust into a supernatural serial murder case involving a parallel cognitive world within TV screens and a strange broadcast called the Midnight Channel that only airs on rainy nights.

[At midnight, but that goes without saying, he should think.]

It's certainly different from whatever happens in Iwatodai here, what with all the coffins and the strange tower.

[He eyes the Iwatodai door contemplatively.]

Inaba?? Of all places.

[Her death was supposed to ensure things stayed okay! But now the boondocks have weird midnight shit and serial murders! And the Dark Hour is back????]

[That tears it. She should not leave this Velvet Room.]

Are you working with a group? Persona-users are at our best in a team.

I had a sort of... tentative alliance with some other Persona users. A work in progress of sorts. Then I ended up here.

[He very briefly averts his eyes.]

Ah, but I should clarify- the Iwatodai I speak of is a cognitive projection accessible through one of the doors. I don't believe Iwatodai has any strange phenomena going on in 2011, or it would have surely made headlines the way the murder case has.

It's a what?

Are you Igor's new assistant or something?

[But he isn't wearing the uniform...]

[She finally starts to catch up]

Okay, okay, so those doors don't actually lead back out into Japan?

Edited 2023-12-28 10:41 (UTC)

I'm not his new assistant. I simply find it beneficial to be aware of the nature of a world such as this so that I may adapt accordingly and enable others to do the same.

[He also likes to talk like he's much older than a tween. Very sorry about that, Kotone.]

And no, the doors are more like replications. The Inaba door, for instance, is a convincing enough facsimile, if you ignore the compressed distances between key locations, the lack of any real need for currency, and how few real people exist there.

You speak in overly complicated crypticisms like he does, it's a reasonable mistake. Though you aren't in the snappy blue suit or anything.

[She's only patronizing him the teeniest tiniest amount. He makes it too easy. She does very visibly relax at the last part, though.]

Are there very few real people in Iwatodai as well, then?

...That's just how I talk.

[Is he pouting a lil? No. No, of course not! He's thirteen now. Thriteen year olds don't pout.

...Okay, maybe he's pouting a little. Shh. It's more of a distinguished little scowl!]

I know Haru-san lives in a hotel in Iwatodai, but I believe most of the people here live in Inaba or Tokyo. ...And most of the people living with Inaba live with me because somehow, my older self and his boyfriend became the designated guardians of all the wayward children here despite only being teenagers.

Oh I see. My mistake.

[that's what she says... but the indulgent smile on her face gives away her lack of complete sincerity. The pouting is not helping your case here, kiddo.]

Well, grown-ups can often be really useless.

[Simple, matter of fact. Just a reality of life.]

I assume Haru-chan is also a persona-user? [read "assume" as "hope"]

[He sees that smile, Kotone. He sees it...

But it's fine. He is a very mature young man. He can handle this.

Hands together, a soft inhale and exhale. Okay.]

I believe most people here are Persona users, barring two small children who are living with me, my future self, and his... boyfriend.

[It's not that he dislikes Ren! It's just... ever looming fact that his future self is locking lips with someone.]

Honestly, most of the people here are variations of me or a boy who either goes by the name Akira Kurusu or Ren Amamiya, and I still can't wrap my head around why it differs between realities.

[She at least takes his information seriously, clearly rolling these tidbits over in her mind. She lifts both her hands, each with the pointer finger upward, and slowly slides them away from each other.]

OK, two different things I'm trying to hook my brain on, here. One: Two Akechi-kuns, both from the same world, at different times. The other... Multiple different boys, and definitely the same boy, but with different names.

[ODDLY FAMILIAR, THAT. MM.]

[Akechi folds his arms, sighing.]

Yes, my literal future self is here, and every waking moment, my experiences here are transferred to his brain in real time. It's rather disorienting, and I try not to think about it too much.

[Because it's eerie to think that at any moment, Crow will know what he's doing.]

But yes, there are multiple versions of the same boy. Curly black hair, may or may not wear glasses, and with one of two names. Apparently my roommate also goes by a different name in some worlds: Souji Seta instead of Yu Narukami.

[Her guileless brown eyes blink widely.]

Yeah, that sounds really confusing, I don't blame you.

[She actually really hates the idea of someone else knowing what she was thinking! Even if that someone else was also her!]

But it's only the two different ones? Hmm. I see why you're so intrigued.

...Is there a reason it'd be more than two?

[Congratulations, Kotone. You have earned the 'honor' of this precocious boy raising his eyebrow and tapping his chin like an anime character.]

[Adorable.]

Is there a reason it would be only two?

[...Damn. That's a fair point. Hmm.]

My only points of reference are the Akira-Ren discrepancy, as well as the Souji-Yu one. In these cases, it's a clean division between two names. I suppose an exception could always occur that breaks the 'pattern.'

At one point, I thought glasses were the deciding difference between Akiras and Rens, but then I was proven wrong. Even the 'dumbass energy' my older self proposed was challenged by an Akira who appeared briefly during Halloween and proved he had that same dumbassery.

Is there a scientific measurement for "dumbassery"?

[please, tell her there is]

There are many factors that determine one's dumbassery levels.

[He grins. Oh, let him tell you, Kotone. Let him share his wisdom.]

The Yu Narukami brand of dumbassery involves going from an almost hammy monotone to being over the top and weird. But there are other factors. Yosuke Hanamura's form of dumbassery often comes in the form of being utterly daft, far too quick to project his insecurities onto others, and quite possibly being deep into the closet and making it everyone else's problem.

The Ren I've spent the most time with isn't stupid, but he's incredibly ridiculous, has a propensity for bad puns, and is most certainly a menace.

[Now this is the hot goss she's dying for at all times.]

But how do you quantify the dumbass to compare from one RenAkira to another?

[She is challenging him on purpose, and her little smirk gives her away.]

The first Akira I met was incredibly cool and mysterious. He had a playful sense of humor, I suppose, but his form of teasing was less... goofy, I suppose? He just had this aura of someone who had his shit together.

[Though, hmm... His brow furrows as he tries to articulate this more.]

Of course, one of the Akiras is just a little kid, but he's not a dumbass. He is a precious gift who deserves all the love in the world. He has an advanced reading level and a strong interest in dinosaurs.

[Nothing dumbass about that!]

I would say 'dumbass energy' doesn't necessarily mean stupid so much as... the demeanor. How goofy a given Ren or Akira is.

Edited 2024-01-20 16:15 (UTC)

I see.

[She covers another indulgent smile with her fingers. Yeah, she doesn’t actually get it. Those are great descriptors but they don’t really clarify the ‘dumbass’ definition for her.]

[He squints, leaning forward a little.]

Do you, though? Or are you simply saying that to appease me?

[He's onto you, Kotone! Beware...]

[Akechi, for his part, is barely used to functioning as a near-adult again; he keeps banging his head on things. So he's in a bad mood by now. It doesn't help that, when he stomps crossly into the Velvet Room with a glossy bag of sushi, headed for Inaba, he glances up in passing and oh shitting hell that's someone new.

At first he thinks it's Yoshizawa, but no; it's a stranger. A stranger and a girl. Fast as you like, he smooths out his face, aware as he's rarely been of Igor smirking in the background like he doesn't have the strings of Akechi's fate in his hand.]

Goodness, a new face. That's not something you see every day. Can I help?

[But it's just a little... colourless, somehow. As if he's going through the motions; as if he's reaching for something not quite there.]

Edited 2023-12-28 09:47 (UTC)

[Well if anyone knows what a performance on top of burnout looks like, it would be this one. Her attention is pretty well arrested by that bag of sushi, though.]

[Keep it together, Shiomi. The nice boy is talking to you.]

Well, I don't know if I count as a new face here, but this is definitely a new Velvet Room. Or maybe Igor just did some development.

[Well, she thinks she's funny.]

You looked like you were in a hurry. Don't let me stop you.

Ha ha. [And there's the smile, which has always been one of his most effective masks. What a nice boy, eh? But, believe it or not, offering to let him run and hide under his bed thaws him a little; just the tiniest bit.]

I was heading somewhere, yes. But you're definitely new. I'm not sure I could sleep at night if I left you to puzzle this out alone. Well, mostly alone. [Raven's conspiracy board, of course. If Akechi had had the opportunity to build something like that at thirteen, he might have taken over the country himself.]

I'm Goro Akechi. [Introducing himself.]

[It is a very handsome smile! It doesn't put her at ease as much as it does for most, but she at least seems to warm up under it's light.]

I'm sure he would only give me more puzzles.

[She puffs her cheeks at Igor.]

I'm Kotone Shiomi.

[At least, that was her most recent name.]

Edited 2023-12-28 10:36 (UTC)

A pleasure to meet you, Shiomi-san. [It's almost relaxing, to find someone the smile still works on. Maybe it helps that she doesn't recognise him at all. But he follows her gaze to Igor, laughing at her joke in that yes, we are both fucked, aren't we? sort of way.

Oh, Akechi, how little you know. But he becomes a little more confiding.]

Sometimes I think I'm the only one who didn't recognise this place when I arrived, you know— [Igor grunts out a chuckle, and Akechi's out-of-practice pleasantry becomes a little more fixed.] I take it you are a Persona-user? You'll be in good company during your stay, at least. Practically everyone here is one. Would you like to, uh–?

[He gestures at a door, the Tokyo door he just emerged from. At least when Igor's not there, Akechi doesn't have to hear him giggle.]

[Sometimes it can be very freeing, to be around someone who doesn't know you in the slightest. Kotone can respect that. She sighs in return, that long-suffering sigh of someone who is about to go do an arduous task. Which she absolutely isn't. At least not now.]

Yes, that's correct.

[Pay no especial attention to the white leather gun holster on her hip.]

Ah... Well. [Her perfectly cute and friendly face falters just a bit, and she fidgets with the hem of her skirt.] I was under the impression that the cities that exist outside those doors are not... the real thing. Is this true?

[Oh, he's noticed it. He has something similar secured against the small of his back, quite out of sight beneath the green jacket he's wearing; one of his alternates is too generous for his own good. But he turns back, giving her a look; she could have learned that from the board, but...]

That's correct. In many ways the cities are convincing, but in others—such as the passage of time, and I'm afraid the people—they're clearly simulations. They can be disconcerting at first, but I've never known one of us to come to harm.

I can't say the same for the cognitions who inhabit the place, of course. What with the various experiments, and the time someone blew up Shinjuku. [His eyes harden, despite himself; he covers it with a smile, like he does. He is not on good terms with the Ren who blew up Shinjuku.]

But you don't strike me as the sort to be afraid of a few fractures in reality. [It's true. Based on his limited knowledge, he doesn't think someone who jumped at Shadows would survive their awakening.]

Hmm.

[She has the look of someone doing complex calculations in her head for a moment before she seems to come to a decision. Then she catches up with the rest of what Akechi said.]

Wait, what? Someone blew up fake-Shinjuku? [She covers a wry smile with her fingertips.] Oh, no. That sort of thing doesn't worry me. I just got a bit lost in thought, remembering everything... My return to Iwatodai was kind of the beginning of a lot of chaos, is all. Don't want to tempt fate all over again.

[But Tokyo should be fine, right? Especially since it isn't actually Tokyo.]

Ah, you're from Iwatodai? [Interesting; so there's something she's afraid of, if she leaves the Velvet Room? His eyes sharpen and glean, before he turns away to nod at the third of the doors, the centre door.]

That would be that door there. So what year is it for you, if I can ask? There are a few distortions of time, as you'd expect.

[Tell him more about that chaos, too, Kotone; it's just his thing. Or it used to be.]

[Hmmm, he's a little more astute than the average, isn't he? At least, the sharp look in his eyes seems to suggest so. Kotone folds her hands behind her back and puts on her most innocent expression.]

Most recently, yes.

[She manges to avoid flinching at the question, but it's a near thing.] 2010, for me. What year is it for you?

2016. Goodness, this is a little unusual, isn't it? I've run into people from far in the past, but usually they're small children. Variants of myself or others I know. [And again, he laughs; the gleam in his eye is more innocent, the joy of a connection made or a theory confirmed.

Again, he indicates the Iwatodai door.] That one leads to, I suppose, "your" Iwatodai, in 2009. And that one—[he indicates the Tokyo door, the one he nearly took them through before she balked]—leads to Tokyo as I remember it, in the year 2016. Well, more or less.

[He gives her another, closer look. Those carefully wide eyes are a little telling; Kotone Shiomi-san would be far from the first here not to be all she seems.] So you'd be familiar with the green moon, the Dark Hour, things of that nature? Sorry, I don't mean to pry, it's just something of a professional hazard.

[The thought of running into herself as a child is deeply unsettling, but it seems to delight this young man. His expression takes on a new lightness that she’s very glad to see. She immediately wants more of it. She keeps her guileless expression, rocking on her feet and tilting her head to the side, making her hair sway behind her.]

2016 huh… oh, yes. Very much so… [She suddenly frowns] Is…. There still a dark hour, in 2016?

Makoto peeks his head into the Velvet Room door before stepping into it. It was a little bit cold for him to stick around in Iwatodai and he wanted to go to the cognitive Tokyo that resided elsewere.

What he wasn't expecting to see was a girl in a Gekkoukan uniform. She had a red armband like Ryoji's other friends but Makoto didn't recognize her. She was arguing with Igor so she must be new here from another timeline.

He approaches her carefully. "Did you just get here?" He asks her.

Unfortunately for Makoto's attempt at sleuthing, she doesn't recognize him either, though her eyes do light up at the sight of a face who isn't Igor. If he's also in his uniform, she will light up even more.

"Hello! I suppose I did. This isn't my first time in a Velvet Room, but I'm not used to it looking like this. I suppose you're a bit more familiar?"

Please explain what the fuck.

"Oh. I hadn't seen a Velvet Room before I got here," Makoto tells her. "This is a place between several intersecting realities, so there are duplicates of some people." He's not one of them and she isn't either. Maybe there's just a preference this place has for people from 2016 for some odd reason. "I'm sorry if that isn't very explanatory but it seems like the people that have been here longer aren't quite sure about why there are multiple realities here either."

She blinks at him. Then blinks again. "Welllll I guess the normal Velvet Room is in between realities anyway. Maybe it sorta slipped and got lodged between a few others, or something."

Honestly after having to wrap her head around the Nyx stuff, she'll believe just about anything.

"Sounds like a headache. I'm Kotone Shiomi."

"Kind of, but you get used to it. Makoto Yuki." He doesn't offer a hand for Shiomi to shake but figures that she'll want somewhere to stay.

"There's a door here that leads to a version of Iwatodai, if you wanted to stay in a dorm," he points out her armband, assuming that she had stayed in the dorm with Ryoji's friends if she was a Persona user in her own reality.

“I guess. You can get used to just about anything…” she hums thoughtfully.

It’s fine if he isn’t a touch person, she just gives him a warm look and a nod. “Nice to meet you, Makoto-kun.” She glances at the door and seems to hesitate, rocking on her feet. “Are you a Gekkokan student too?”

"Mhm. I transferred there pretty early in November." He's not sure what else to tell her, given that she seems to know what a Velvet Room is, so it's possible she won't take kindly to him if she thinks he's dangerous. And chances were she was more powerful than Aigis so that could definitely get ugly. "I haven't met a Kotone in my reality though." May as well clarify that their realities seem to be different.

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[open | intro] I wonder, was that the wrong pill to take?

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1/?

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done

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pretend im not super late

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