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Akira's eyes fluttered open. He found himself staring at a familiar blue ceiling, one he had seen a dozen times. In truth, he wasn't surprised. How long had it been since he had last been summoned to the Velvet Room? If his memory was correct, it was the day before Akechi sold him and his team out...

Yet as he pushed himself up to his feet, he'd notice the lack of metal hitting metal or the stale smell that accompanied his usual prison cell. It... wasn't even a cell at all, not anymore. Though the layout of the Velvet Room was the same, there were no bars keeping him hostage. A single glance down allowed him to take in his altered attire; instead of being clad in rags suiting a prisoner, he had taken up the guise of his rebellious form. Perhaps this was due to the nature of his heart changing? Certainly Igor would explain. Looking up, Akira awaited an explanation, but the voice he heard from the long-nosed man was entirely foreign to him.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room..." Igor began, speaking as if this were their first meeting. Akira saw none of the familiarity he expected of Igor, nor did he spot Caroline or Justine, who had always accompanied him before. As he took a few steps out of his 'cell', Akira took in the sight of five doors behind Igor. One called out to him; it was familiar, but it had been a while since he had laid eyes on that particular door. The door to Leblanc...

The others he couldn't pin down. A door adjacent felt familiar, but in a nostalgic way. It reminded him of home.

"If you have any concerns about the world from which you have come..." Igor continued as Akira turned his attention back to his guide. So, this was another world entirely. He needed answers. Besides the doors, what caught his eye was a board far too haphazard to be Igor's doing. He could see writing pinned to it. If Akechi were here, certainly he'd be able to figure out what had happened in an instant. But for now, however, Akira found himself alone.

Option 1: Akira approached the Conspiracy Board, gaze trailing across the various notes. There had to be something of use here...

Option 2: The best course of action would be to reunite with Akechi. Hopefully, that would be his Akechi, but even another version of him from another world should have some inkling of what was going on. Approaching the door to Tokyo, he'd step inside, finding himself on Central Street, dressed in his usual summer attire.

Option 3: Akira's eyes couldn't leave the door beside his own. Despite the pull of information or the desire to reunite with his one ally, he wanted to ease the curiosity in his heart. Opening the door to Inaba, he only felt his nostalgia growing stronger as the smells and sounds from his childhood spilled out. With one more step, he was through, unknowingly in a new time. His outfit returned to normal, becoming his typical summer outfit. Now where would his curiosity lead him...?

willowandoak

( You're about to view content that the poster has marked as potentially inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

fogbornphantom

[A message pops up on the network from an unfamiliar username. Seems someone has obtained a phone of his own, though that's hardly a difficult task given the economy here.

It's fairly late when the message appears. No doubt Crow and Ren are both fast asleep. In fact, it's highly likely that they are, and that he knows, sharing a bed with them and all.]

Hello. This is Crow's Shadow, Persona, and everything in between, I suppose. Apologies for the late night message. I'm not even sure how many people will see it. I've been more or less summoned nonstop these past few weeks. I suppose that's given me more time to reflect. I've been told that I need a name of my own many times, by Crow and others. Funny how I always hesitate. When I became a Persona, I took on the form of Robin Hood, but the longer I've existed as a separate consciousness, the less that identity's truly fit. It's more like an alter ego, a mask and form I take that reflects us on a symbolic level, but it's not as though I'm going to go gallivanting about with merry men. I'm also decidedly not into women romantically or intimately. Ren thinks "Robin" will suffice. I've also had "Hiro" recommended, and "Kou." There are options. I just don't know what to choose. It's difficult enough to see myself as anything but a piece of him. Yet for years now, he's insisted that I'm me. He's tried so hard to include me in his family. He took great pains to learn how to summon me outside cognitive spaces and without need of an Evoker, just so I could have even a semblance of a life without having to take control of his body. He's done so much for me. Our condition means that we're bound together for the rest of our lives. It's an existence baked in compromise, because he refuses to simply use me in battle and leave it at that. I don't know how to describe my feelings regarding him, and that's equally troubling.

asaqueenshould

Masako... has a lot of questions.

Where is Alice? Where are Akira, Ann, Ryuji or Shiho, for that matter? How is she supposed to properly check in with herself in real time? Since when does the Velvet Room have music?

But the old man isn't particularly forthcoming with answers, other than 'you're not missing anything at home so make some friends,' so she figures she'll have to find them on her own. The bulletin board looks like a good place to start, though it does raise its own questions, one of which she actually mutters aloud. "What is so interesting about a minor celebrity that one place needs a baker's dozen of him?"

After she's taken in as much of that as she can handle for now, Masako sets out into the cognitive version of Tokyo. The shortened travel times are weird, but not cause for complaint; the cognitive people are weirder, uncomfortably so. The fact that she can choose anywhere she'd like to live without consequence is perhaps a bit daunting, but she'll figure that out later. For now, her usual apartment will do fine, but it might feel too empty without her dad there.

It's not long before her wanderings take her to an abandoned storefront in an older part of the city. Masako just stares at it for a while before doing anything, long enough that it's very plausible for someone to catch her there. (The Velvet Room she's used to is still there, just as she left it, if utterly empty. It feels damned weird without Victoria or M in it.)

***

[Later, on the network:]

So where can a girl get a fucking haircut around here?

I could have asked that myself, you know.

Suit yourself. [What appears to be a conversation between two distinct people on one account goes otherwise unexplained.]

The question stands. Are the cognitive people trustworthy with hair maintenance, or would I be tempted to yell at them for trying to enforce something I don't want? Is it just plain better to ask one of the more substantial people here to do it? What are the odds I can think it into self-maintenance once it's at my desired length?

willowandoak

((cw: hallucinations, panic, the general poor mental state of someone with a Palace))

( you made me climb then you shut the gate )

youngestdawn

૮ ˙Ⱉ˙ ა rawr!🦖

vessel_ken_amada

[OOC: This post will be edited depending on what you say your characters are voting.]

Hello everyone, I thought it would be useful to have a pulse on public opinion about the management of this place, so I am organizing a poll here. How would you rate Igor's management of this place? To clarify, what I am seeking is your overall opinion on how he is running the place. This includes how he shaped the cognitive areas, his policies on entry and exit, the rules he is imposing or not... He is basically the leader of this place, he should be subject to public scrutiny like any other political leader. ...Amazing: █ (1 vote) ......Good: ████ (4 votes) .....Mixed: █ (1 vote) ......Poor: █ (1 vote) .Atrocious: ████ (4 votes) No opinion: ██ (2 votes) Do not hesitate to expand your thoughts in the comments if you so wish.

[For now, Ken holds off voting on his own poll, to present it 'pristine' to others.]

looselystrung

She had thought the butterfly that she'd spotted on Elysion Boulevard merely belonged to Elizabeth. Or perhaps it had been one of those extra-dimensional ones, but they didn't tend to be blue. It lead her to a blue door, and now a blue room. A man with a long nose that she'd never seen before sits there. In fact, she doesn't recognize this scenery more than she recognizes the decrepit streets that Maruki keeps insisting was her home.

Kasumi notices there's a bulletin board. It doesn't seem as though there's anyone here to speak to, besides maybe asking her guide Morgana. "Morgana, do you recognize any of this?"

The lantern on her belt was silent. She wants to think it's because he doesn't but Morgana loves to joke at dire times. It's possible his consciousness didn't follow her here. Her hand drifts to her rapier in case there's something here that means her harm. The other puppets she's stumbled into have been rather hostile after all.

gorobo

[OOC: Locked to the users tagged in the post!]
Raven's message had been... curious, to say the least.

Falcon's still not sure what to make of it; he clearly hurt Raven quite a lot, and nearly killed him- a child- over bad-mouthing Shido. Not that he could help it, but still...

Perhaps he wants to pledge his eternal loyalty to Shido-san this time! We did show what a great man Shido-san was, after all!

... Right. Not likely.

Really now, he'd rather get this over with as quickle as possible. He doesn't even know why this couldn't have been done over text, but he's already agreed to meet up in Shibuya. Not that he could really refuse; no schedule means no excuse means no reason to politely decline. Any info he gains could be useful for Shido-san!

The trains here are strange, and before he knows it, he's arrived in Shibuya station, stepping out alongside a sea of cognitions, carefully avoiding bumping into one; a habit he's gotten quite good at, since he is a little... more sturdy than the average human. He allows himself to follow them as they go out to the streets, before he finds a quieter corner to himself. His scanners don't pick up sight of Raven quite yet- maybe the boy has yet to arrive.

With his ever-polite smile painted on his face, he leans against the outer wall of the station entrance. Raven probably won't be long- or maybe he set up Falcon, and is making him wait for nothing. Not undeserved, really- but that's a rather mean-spirited reading of the situation. He knows himself, he's not the type to do that, even if Raven is... a child. He doesn't think he'd do that, didn't seem the type either.

For now, all he can do is wait, so he does. He has nothing to lose from doing so, after all.

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!]

willowandoak

content warnings: drug misuse, self-harm (both very mild/mentioned). (Also, Ren is going to develop a Palace in the no-longer-so-distant future so this is generally not a lighthearted post.)

So maybe Ren's had a few things going on lately. What about it? It's none of your business, and it's not a big deal. He's fine, actually. Back off.

( that last good man grace who has left me at last )

nyxavatarmakoto

After wandering Central Street and acquiring mangas he was planning on gifting to Ren, Makoto now realizes the issue arises in actually finding the guy. He didn't ever say much about himself, nor where he's staying at the moment. There are a few places that Makoto thinks to try.

A: The Velvet Room itself. You might find Makoto wandering in through the Tokyo door or sparing the couches and conspiracy board a glance

B: Iwatodai, Ren had briefly explored the Dark Hour with him, so you might find Makoto looking around the Gekkoukan High School gates.

and last but not least

C: Shinjuku. He thinks he read something on the board about Ren blowing it up once. It looks pretty good now all things considered.

fireandfaith

Ann knows this place.

This shade of blue, and the song...though its notes flow far more harmoniously than they had the last (and only) time she'd heard them, the melody itself is enough to make Ann's heartbeat kick up a notch. That song only plays in the Velvet Room--and the Velvet Room is not a place she wants to be. Lavenza had said it. Her gut had said it--and Elizabeth had confirmed it. The Velvet Room was in the control of Yaldabaoth, wearing the skin of Igor.

Ann had never met Igor, personally, but both Akira in the previous timeline and the Attendants she'd encountered had painted a vivid picture of him. Taking in her surroundings carefully (this Room matched neither the descriptions of a prison Akira had once given her, or the crumbling ruins Lavenza had pulled her into at the End of a World), Ann eyes the man she can only assume is Yaldabaoth. And, even if it is truly Igor...

She's never met the man, and she doesn't trust anything he has to say to her. She might not be garbed in her will of rebellion, currently, but Célestine is always with her, and steeling her spine with a little of her flame, Carmine stands tall and proud.

Ann takes in the doors. Makes a split second decision that she shouldn't just be rushing into making a decision; Lavenza, and Elizabeth, she trusts--and she's heard Elizabeth describe their siblings enough that she feels as though she can trust them too. She'll poke around in this unfamiliar Velvet Room for now, and see if she can't encounter one of them...or at least someone who can tell her what's going on.

[OOC: check out Ann's AU info and perms here!]

paysforall

1. What's without

[To long time residents of this closet of a dimension, the figure leaning against the base of ~~Hachiko~~Buchiko's plinth is a familiar sight. The Goro Akechi, Age 21 who is there is dressed in mostly the same fashion as the last time anyone saw him - it's a different pair of black skinny jeans (these ones have a silver chain with skull charms hanging from the left hip to the knee, with just enough give to swing as he walks) and a different too-fancy shirt, but how many Akechis are there, even, who would even consider dressing like that? The only spot of color, aside from his hair and eyes (have they always been that red) is that the gloves he wears are bright red on the inside, palms and fingers. A memory he doesn't want to lose.

He's playing games on his phone with half-attention as he people-watches, which in this place is more an act of looking for people to watch. In the sea of cognitions, real people stick out like a sore thumb - and he's probably spotted you in the crowd before you even approach, with a faint smile or frown on his face, depending on who you are.

And if you're more than just a familiar face - someone who he actually met, the last time he was here - he'll actually stop leaning against the statue's base to give you a proper wave. It's been a while, Velvet Room Dimension, but your Reaper has returned.]

2. What's within

[And no trip through the old stoimping grounds is complete without a trip to Mementos, directly through Shibuya Station.

He doesn't wear a mask - indeed, even as a former Phantom Thief, his clothes don't change. But unlike on the normal, uncognitive side of the world, his wings are fully visible, moving like a natural extension of his body. And in place of the chain dangling from his jeans is a holstered pistol - neither the toy laser gun nor the real one he used as Shido's weapon, but at least at a glance, it seems real enough.

Akechi lurks for a while at the entrance of Mementos, sitting quite illegally on one of the turnstiles just because he can, perched like a particularly strange bird, one knee tented up against his torso and the other dangling as he watches in the direction of the depths. Eventually, he slides off his seat and deeper into the depths.

In Mementos proper, he spends a bit of time getting a work-out - that gun is in hand, though what it fires can only be loosely called bullets. Fireballs, lightning bolts, shards of ice, and of course laser beams once more - he uses all of these in various combinations, rather than summoning a Persona for combat. Combined with the fact that he's clearly much faster than most of the Shadows, it's usually a quick clean-up if anything tries to bother him.]

herewardbound

The first thing that Goro heard was the music. It was the same, always the same- the 'poetry of the soul', as Igor had called it.

It meant he was in the Velvet Room, which was not, in and of itself, surprising. He had, at least, wanted very badly to sleep for at least a week straight, after the whole Alastor clusterfuck, but apparently, it wasn't to be.

He stood, albeit shakily, and that was when his eyes and ears supplied him with the additional information that beneath his feet was not worn wood, swaying gently on the waves below, but rather stone, smooth and (as ever) blue.

Also, the only pair of eyes staring at him were the bulbous, bloodshot orbs of the Velvet Room's enigmatic master.

"Oh dear," the man said softly. "Welcome to the Velvet Room, young man- though I daresay it isn't the one you're most familiar with."

He stiffened, crossing his arms and fixing the man with a glare. For all the good it did- Igor's smile twitched not so much as a fraction of a millimeter. "This had better have an explanation. You know the New Year's coming. I have too much shit to do- where's Renée? Why is the Room different, it's usually a ship." He glanced around, taking in the sights before him. Doors, leading off in different directions. A... conspiracy board? What.

"You are aware, I think, of the nature of this room. My dear Renée is so fond of calling you 'Detective'- why not furnish me with a deduction? You are a Guest, after all, and this room and all its amenities are open to you. By all means- observe, and hypothesize."

The crow narrowed his eyes. But, point taken. The doors were an object of consideration first, and so he opened them, checking to see what lay beyond. Cities he didn't recognize. An alley behind a shopping mall. The main street of a small town. And- Shibuya. Curious. A sign advising visitors not to enter unarmed, and another warning not to visit the tower that appeared after midnight. Curiouser.

And then there was the Board. Red string and pins connecting a bunch of theories written in tidy, practiced handwriting. In fact... he reached up to take one of the notes, examining it more closely.

Akechi Codenames-

"What the shit..."

After a moment's reading, Goro Akechi ars Goetia whirld around, stalking towards the desk at the center of the room. Both hands slammed down on the table, anger burning in crimson eyes. "If this is another place like Reverein- if you've sent me back- I was done! I was out, I had a fucking future-"

And Igor simply smiled. "I have sent you nowhere, my boy. In fact... it's possible it is your connection to Reverein itself which draws you to such a place. Similar, yet not. But worry not- you shall return when you wake... and, of course, we are not in the business of tampering with our Guests' memories. You shall retain all knowledge of this place upon your waking, and you may well find yourself returning... should you wish to. Perhaps it would be best to think of this as... a vacation."

"A vacation?! Are you high- The Purge. My team-"

"All awaiting your return, and none the wiser. You may find the stakes, here, much lower, this shared dream filled with familiar faces- some you may even have missed. Your presence here may be unexpected, as ever it has been... but it is nevertheless enjoyed. Take your time... and do remember to visit, now and then; the Velvet Room is ever quiet, and I so enjoy our little chats."

It was hard to stay angry with the man, not when he always spoke in that grandfatherly tone, the one that suggested he always had time for whomever he was speaking to, was delighted to have a chance to talk- even if he so rarely revealed anything beyond cryptic hints and metaphors.

Goro straightened, swearing under his breath and kicking a wall- mistake, as it turned out. He was Dreamwalking again, something he hadn't done since leaving Reverein, and with no apparent way to exit willingly, which was just fucking great. A mental checklist, at least, produced useful knowledge. The Arcana weren't severed, not like they had been when he'd left Reverein, so presumably he could just... go back. The connections were still there. His Personas were still there. He could even fuse, presumably, since Igor was here- though Renée would have had the Compendium. Could he still use it without it being physically present?

The physical checklist was simpler. Wallet, keys, phone- which curiously was not working, which. Fucking great. Metaverse Navigator was still there. Ankusham was strapped to his waist still, the talwar's familiar presence reassuring- not that he'd expected it not to follow him. Something about a sword forged from his own Persona seemed like it ought to follow into such a place. More surprising were the clothes he hadn't been wearing when he'd gone to sleep, the soft weight of his pistol beneath the jacket, the duffel bag he'd always carried on Metaverse excursions, tucked not-quite-out-of-sight beneath the desk, with its inventory entirely intact.

So here he was, having been thrust, for a third time, across some kind of boundary between worlds- how the fuck did that happen, anyway- but with no apparent strings attached.

Multiple 'Goro Akechis'. Not something new, not based on his fucking history, but so many? Vampires? Time travel. Some kind of Quantum Dream Magic Bullshit was going on, and he was going to figure out exactly what.

Current Location: The Velvet Room

reluctantprince

Goro sipped his coffee, thank everything that he no longer had to pay to feed his addiction. There was far more troubling things. He needed to explore a bit, he could probably do that without too much effort. He needed to see what all this space had to offer and what he could use to his advantage.

A) He stopped by a shop to see what they had, he gladly stocked up on metaverse supplies as well, there seemed to be no end to it. That must be like what happened with the money. He stashed what he had into his briefcase. "Excellent," he hummed. He passed to go to another store and see what they had to offer. That was until something caught his eye, something that wasn't just another cognition. "Well, hello there."

B)He was staring at the bulletin board of information, mentally taking notes. He wasn't wild about the name differences, but he'd have to keep from assuming. He did chuckle at the note about Crow being "madly" in love. What else would he call himself though. The notes about Ren and other Ren and other Ren... were a bit over his head. His eyes froze on the notion of his mother. He forced himself to push that feeling far down where it belonged, not being felt. He ran down the list of code names, making a face seeing Owl's note. Great just great. His foot tapped showing a little of his disgust. Avoid Futaba will all costs. "Raven deserves some kind of metal for putting this all together." Even if he was just 13.

nyxavatarmakoto

CW: Body Horror and Suicidal Thoughts

Makoto wasn't really sure where to go after he left Kasumi and Haru at the bottom of Tartarus, but he couldn't stay there. He couldn't stay in the Velvet Room with all its watching eyes and he couldn't go to Inaba because it was too small to be there. He'd get caught right away. Really the best thing for him to do would be die, but there wasn't anyone he knew that could do that.

So how do you kill something unkillable?

He figures that the best thing to do is just. Leave. Eichiro Takeba had tried ripping him into 13 pieces and that didn't work, so maybe he just needs to go somewhere that nobody will find him, like solitary confinement. He rules out Iwatodai given it was pretty obvious that he was there. Inaba was too small, someone would find him pretty fast.

So he settles on Tokyo. That was wide enough that it'd be hard to find him. He walks through the door and takes a random train. He thinks it was heading to Odaiba.

There is one person that does weigh on his mind enough to let him know where he went. He decides to text Ren.

Makoto: Hey

Makoto: I just wanted to let you know that you probably won't see me much anymore.

Makoto: Not cuz I'm dead or actually left here, I'm just....

Makoto: Looking for somewhere I won't be a bother or a danger

Makoto: So it's mostly a thanks for putting up with me. And a goodbye

Makoto: That's all. Don't feel pressure to respond

He puts his phone on silent and his headphones on, just...letting the train take him where it may. Little does he know that he's going to end up in his worst nightmare in Odaiba.

nyxavatarmakoto

Makoto finds himself with quite a bit of downtime in the Velvet Room, and staying around Iwatodai is beginning to grow awfully dull. Even though he prefers to travel around any of the cognitive cities with others where he really wants to go is to Akihabara. There's gotta be some pretty awesome sound systems in the future and he'd like one for his dorm room.

One will be able to find him going in and out of stores, wondering what some of the new symbols such as 'bluetooth' mean about the systems that would make the bass rattle the whole dorm room. Or randomly turning up knobs on test speakers to blast whatever they were playing in the stores themselves. He was pretty curious how loud some of the future subwoofers could get after all.

constellationist

There's a new presence in the shadows of the Velvet Room tonight.

For a while, there's no obvious sign of this... presumably a person, just the feeling that something is watching from the darkness, listening to whatever cryptic platitudes Igor's spouting about the place tonight. Eventually, though, the presence announces itself as... an Akira, looking at the conspiracy board.

Or maybe he's a Ren? (He's both. He's neither. He's pretty sure Igor is the closest to a familiar entity here. Making connections? That's not going to be a problem at all.)

"...I have no idea what most of this means," he's forced to conclude after several minutes. "Cool."

nomore_whatifs

[Today, in the Velvet Room, is -- A stray glove?

A number of residents might recognize it as a standard Akechi glove, though there's only one and it's left all alone on the floor of the Velvet Room. Odd, that is.

Maybe you investigate it. Maybe you don't. Maybe you notice that, while you were distracted, a new Akechi has appeared silently. He's leaning against one of the walls, just watching anyone who goes by. He doesn't look happy, but that's not that surprising.

If you look closely enough, you might even see his form flicker.

He uncrosses his arms and glares at anyone passing by -- especially if they're an Akiren.]

Well? Are you going to pick it up?