[MOD POST] Network Unlocked!

[vrdr_mods]

It's in the wee hours of the morning that all residents of the Velvet Room receive a message on their phones.

Good morning.

In the interest of strengthening community bonds and preventing further vandalism on what was intended as a community board, I have elected to expand the capabilities of your communications within this realm.

Every device with network capabilities may now access a specialized social network designed for your convenience.

I have been told there is a similar application in reality, but for our purposes, you may call it Flutter.

Fortunately, it is closer to what you may consider a forum or a blogging apparatus. A limited character count would undoubtedly provoke misunderstandings. Someone could state that they enjoy pancakes, and others may assume they despise waffles.

Please do enjoy, and best of luck on your endeavors,

Igor

P.S. While vandalism is not strictly illegal within this realm, it is important to remember that there are children present. Use your abilities wisely.

[Any attempts to respond to this post will be redirected to a Flutter post. Feel free to threadjack and gossip amongst one another. Perhaps you'll even get a reply if you're lucky...]

[ooc: Congratulations! You have unlocked a network. Its functions are about on par with most networks in DWRP. You can do text posts, audio posts, insert videos if the device has a camera (e.g. phones or a computer with a webcam).

The difference between network posts and IC inboxes is primarily that network posts are accessible to any character. When posting, you can clarify a post is network via post prompt or in the post title. Posts can include action and network prompts as well!]

Comments

[vrdr_mods]

Yes, I do believe it would be polite to warn others before pulling the trigger, but that would completely destroy the element of surprise.

It's a kind gesture, but incredibly impractical!

Still, I'm obligated to mention that we in the Velvet Room do not condone guest on guest violence. One death was already more than my master had hoped for, but I suppose it's fortuitous that it took so long for it to happen.

[pheasantboy]

[...]

I don't want to be rude, but I think you might be even more out of the loop than I am.

May I suggest that if you didn't want anyone to die, you should perhaps have intervened?

[vrdr_mods]

We had hoped that Crow's intervention would be enough. Sometimes even we get caught off guard, and it wasn't as though we knew with certainty how that particular guest would react.

A pity we can't simply scoop him out as he presently exists, but there are certain steps required for that to happen, and many of them fall upon your shoulders.

[pheasantboy]

What do you mean?

[He still doesn't know the identity of Ren's killer.]

[vrdr_mods]

Hmm... Well, I suppose to put it in a way I hope you can perceive, the one who did it is connected to you. Think of it like a thread of fate. Neither of you can live without the other.

Now, if you were to somehow bypass your unfortunate tendency to forget after certain provocations, I believe it could be possible for you to develop a greater independence from him.

You'd need only find those with abilities tailored to assist you, which isn't entirely impossible.

[pheasantboy]

I'm *connected* to the one who killed Ren? What are you talking about?

[Careful, Sparrow. Careful, Elizabeth, for that matter.]

[vrdr_mods]

[Quite the conundrum this is. One wrong word, and she may render this conversation dead in the water. So hm... How to put this.]

Think of it like this.

Everyone is multifaceted, and everyone has a hidden side of themselves.

Not necessarily opposites, but in some cases, it's an applicable description. Fire and ice, protons and electrons, a glass half empty versus a glass half full, even if the latter is functionally the same thing viewed through different lenses.

You didn't cause this, but the one who did bears a deep connection to you.

[pheasantboy]

And *you want me* to disconnect myself from this - person. To liberate him, by the sound of it.

[He's skimmed over the part about "a hidden side" of himself.]

You'll forgive me if I say I'd rather cut off my arm?

[vrdr_mods]

To liberate yourself as well.

As things presently stand, your connection is difficult to reconcile. Were it not for a certain someone, he may have claimed your life in Tartarus.

You can't be happy living this way, where you can't even follow the ones you hold dear into such precarious predicaments. I believe you stand a fairly good chance of gaining clarity, but you'll need to speak to someone with the ability to reach into your mind and eliminate those pesky roadblocks.

[pheasantboy]

Do I also need to carry a magic ring?

[vrdr_mods]

That depends. Are you engaged?

If not, then you probably just need to speak to someone with psychic powers.

I could give away the answer, but in the interest of encouraging bonding exercises, perhaps it would be more pertinent to speak to Crow or that Yoshizawa girl.

[pheasantboy]

You don't have much of a sense of humour, do you. And that's me, saying that.

[After all, he's been on the wrong end of jokes he doesn't understand often enough, since he came here.]

May I ask you something else?

[vrdr_mods]

On the contrary, I was attempting banter.

But since I'm already here, I don't see why not.

[pheasantboy]

Why did you bring me here? Things were good, at home. I was happy there. If I'm to believe it was for someone else's sake—[he means Ren]—then I'd say that has failed comprehensively.

I suppose I'm to believe that if I jump through your hoops, that will improve?

[vrdr_mods]

You were happy, but what about him? Can you truly say that he was happy there?

I understand that you've found this world troubling. Isolating, even.

However, if you can find a way to see through the fog that clouds you from the truth, then I believe it'll be much easier for you to find common ground with those around you without necessarily sacrificing who you are in the present.

To try and force you into a mold you no longer fit would be terribly cruel, but there is much you can't perceive that you deserve to know.

[pheasantboy]

I think we could have helped him, given time.

[And he isn't sure that's at all true now, no matter if he remembers or not.]

I'll think about what you've said.

[vrdr_mods]

Of course. In the end, it's up to you to pursue your own path.

We're simply here to guide our guests on their journeys.

If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask.