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[Well, well, well! Theodore has seen that everything has slowed down, and with the guests being introduced to the Velvet Room it certainly makes things easier for an introduction. He won't even have to explain much if at all, though that part kind of makes him sad.

He likes showing off his knowledge.

Regardless!! This guy is in the familiar wear of the Velvet Room still - he just can't leave it behind - and after a minute of staring at the screen to make sure he's got it right he smiles and bows. He's been practicing this in his room and damn if he doesn't get it right.]

Good evening, honored guests and masters of Hinoto-Ri. I am Theodore, a [SAYITSAYITSAYIT] former [whew good] denizen of the Velvet Room you have recently visited. While the form may have changed along with its hands, that room will always feel the same to one such as myself.

[A wistful look. How he longs to be back there.]

In any case, I look forward to meeting each and every one of you and helping as I can. If you still have any questions even after all of these elaborations or due to them, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will gladly answer them to the best of my abilities.

[please make him feel useful

it's just not the same if he doesn't have someone to help like that

--wait there was something else to these things. There's an awkward sort of pause as Theodore racks his brain and nods, smiling still.]

Oh, and as for things I enjoy... I quite like the view from horizontal bars, how challenging they may be to first climb, and takoyaki is a treat to be shared with those you consider friends. Please remain loyal to your bonds and maintain them in a timely manner.

[They're what help Lord Philemon, after all.]

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[She nods a bit, her face remaining devoid of emotion]

I'm more unnerved by the speaking of a contract that I have yet been unable to see. I have been contracted to things in the past where I was not privy to the exact terms and in the end they were very deceitful contracts. That is more what unnerves me than anything else.

As for new parts of myself, the room and persona of here just seem to have reopened wounds from the past.

I assure you, the contract is one all of humanity is bound to by itself. As Persona-users, you accept that anything and everything caused by your actions is a due consequence which you will take on as your responsibility. If you knock over a vase, for example, you must pay for it. That is all. This includes both good and bad consequences, and must not run away from any.

[And now, the comedy routine concerning the fact Theodore takes metaphors and idioms seriously.]

As for your injuries, I am very sorry to hear that. Have you seen a doctor about these wounds? They would become problematic if left unattended to.

Hrm, that does seem simple enough. I've just become rather distrustful of anything that can have several subclauses that take away one's self.

[Sadly, Ruri knows people like that, her crew was... Not the sanest.]

I'm uncertain a doctor can do anything with a broken heart. Its a rather inconvenient thing, given how before I was taught that it only led to stupidity and here I am, seeing the truth in this.

[Theodore smiles, hopefully his confidence will give her mind some peace.]

This contract aims for you to discover yourself, so there is no need to worry about that.

[Aaaand he's concerned. A broken heart, is it..? For some reason, Theodore feels he could relate to this.]

How can one's heart lead to such a conclusion?

Logic and emotion are two separate worlds. Frequently they come together to provide a compass for a person to follow, but I was raised in a world of pure logic, with little concern for or understanding of emotion. When faced with emotion, pushing it into the corner of your mind works, but is not always the best course.

[... Sounds like the environment denizens of the Velvet Room were born into, though their understanding of "emotion" and "feelings" come from the guests they are attendants to. He and Ruri may be more alike than he realizes.]

It may even cause one to have an excess of desire which they cannot follow through with, as it would impede on their own duty... And if left by itself, it causes a great deal of pain. More than one could possibly imagine.

[She nods slightly and looks down]

Yes. Or it could lead someone to give up their own dreams just to keep another's alive after they are gone. In some way it can lead to the loss of self simply to keep moving.

I guess this is why I was raised only with an understanding of logic, even if that does make one less of a person. Still, I miss those three years.

[She shakes her head then]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that. Just seeing her.. Seeing it, makes me wonder if I'm going crazy.

[Theodore shakes his head.]

It is quite alright, I... can understand your feelings. However, we must simply continue forward. I, too, lost something very precious to me and the result of that has caused some... delay, I suppose one could call it, in my journey. That person is here in the city with me now, but it still feels as if I could never hope to reach them as I desire to once more. I made my decision not to.

[He frowns, uncomfortable with his wistful outburst, and shakes his head again.]

Forgive me. What I mean to say is that you shouldn't forget that which you have lost, nor should you throw away the lessons you have learned from your trials. Or "her", whoever that may be. Such consequences are also ones you must accept, as hard as that may be

[He would know, the hypocrite. He still hasn't accepted much of what he was taught quite forcibly from his guest's journey.]

[She nods slightly]

Its not as if hot blood and passion can overcome death. In the end all things end. It is a harsh reality but one that I thought I had come to terms with. Though it seems that I had not. Still, in the end, the loss is partially my fault in choosing to be a person that day, or at least the one they said I should be, instead of myself.

It truly is none of my business, but what sort of experience did you have? I understand if you do not wish to speak of it.

When I was young, I was raised to be the mouth piece for Omoikane. The computer of the Nadesico, that's why Nergal bought me and it was what I did. I made it so the crew could work with Omoikane and do what needed to be done, but I was raised in the world of computers and logic as simply a component to the computer.

Akito and Yurika were the first two people to see me as a human being, and not just the mouthpiece of Omoikane. Their shuttle exploded as they were going to their honeymoon. The wreckage ruled out accidental malfunction, it was a bomb. Omoikane would have found that bomb, were the two of us looking.

Now Yurika seems to have come from my head. I wonder if its because I'm trying to fill in for her and keep the Nadesico the way it was.

[How tragic. However, she was "created" so to speak for a purpose and found her own self with the help of others? Certainly she could be one of them just as easily as she could be part of her world. It's very intriguing, and if Theodore was thinking harder on it he could learn things for himself. Regardless, his eyes soften once she's done.]

Do you really believe that you are? It could be that she is protecting you and guiding you, as it were before. Of course, the possibility of you wishing to fill in for her and continue her legacy is a possibility, but a Persona is merely a facet of one's psyche and should not be looked at singularly. There can be many reasons for it.

[... Mostly because he's not entirely sure how to comfort people, he instead gives advice like this. He has someone to protect as well, but his own Persona, Metatron, wasn't exactly the "protecting" type. More of a ruler of sorts. Or guide.]

If so, then would they not wish for you to do as you think you should despite the loss? [Completely curious. Theo's not trying to persuade anyone's thinking, just open doors. As an attendant should.]

I originally took the Nadesico so that it could remain open to anyone, not just the people who fit into the order of the military. The war with the Jovians never would have ended if it was order against order, for neither side can bend that way.

That being said, I think Yurika would have rather had me get the chance to live as a normal girl and not this way.

Living as a normal girl... [Normality isn't something given to the denizens of the Velvet Room either. They're the direct opposite. Still, if he was normal, he could do more things. Not that he resents being born as this he loves his purpose (whatever it may be) but...]

While I admit I have not thought of something like that but in passing due to... circumstances, I'm positive you will be able to find a balance here. This life is as any other, with the exception of having an extraordinarily potential in regards to finding one's true self. You may live as a "normal girl", so long as you remember to accept your consequences of the actions you take.

To be fair, I don't think that "normal" is something I really want. People that way tend to grow up and lie to themselves a lot, mostly just to fit in with their environment. I think right now I'm more concerned with being at peace with myself again.

Somehow I think to be truly normal I'd have to be someone else, and that would be living a lie.

[Being normal is harder than Theodore though. He respects anyone who can do it.]

To be at peace with yourself you must find out why you were given the Persona you were, am I correct?

That has been the thing that has bothered me the most, yes. I would say that is a correct assessment of things.

It will not come overnight, that much I can say for certain. To be honest, my own Persona confuses me as well... I don't believe that many understand why their souls have been represented as such, but those who have are unimaginably powerful after finding out their answer. Yet it took many trials and a long time for them to truly know. There isn't a set meaning either, there can be many, so please take this into account.

May I ask what yours is? Or is it something personal?

Of course. My Persona is Metatron, who is considered by many as the "Voice of God". He also considers himself as such, and as a guide as well. My sister Elizabeth would practice with him against our eldest sister Margaret, while I preferred his twin in legend Sandalphon.

[And that's also where part of the problem begins. Metatron's a physical, Sandalphon's a magic, and Theodore just can't get used to that too easily.]

There's quite the legend that goes with him as well, before he was transformed into the messenger he is today. As a whole however, Metatron as he is now is merciless and quite... blunt. As well as silent. He does not speak unless spoken to, and even then if he does it is only to inform me of my misgivings. A Persona such as he, who is considered by many as a guide and messenger, gets his point across very precisely.

[like his sister had. why couldn't he have had something nicer?]

I... Haven't called Yurika. The one time was a bit much, so it is something that you can speak freely with yours. As for merciless and blunt, perhaps simple blunt honesty, devoid of white lies will serve you better here than back where you were before.

I don't know much about sibling relations with persona though. I know I have 5 brothers, but I have only met them briefly as they live in a very different world than I do. I could ask Omoikane though if he knows anything more.

[Simple and blunt honesty, free of white lies. What does the latter encompass, however? It was something to think upon, though he knows the "honesty" part very well from how Elizabeth acts. That sister's all about simple blunt honesty.]

I would appreciate if you did. While I have two sisters of my own, sibling relationships as a whole are still something of a mystery to me as well. Even in terms of Persona, though I do not believe they amount to much. [But who knows.

Oh, and trivia time to boot.] My guest was able to summon a Persona who was called Omoikane while she was on her journey. Certainly it differs from yours, but I thought it would be something you would be interested in since we have spoken of him.

The Shinto Goddess of Wisdom who devised the plan to trick the sun into shining again? I believe that is the legend Omoikane was named after.

[She ponders a bit as flashes of light start to dance across her eyes and her hair starts to float as if there is no gravity.]

Omoikane has a distinct lack of data with anything to do with persona. Though he does say that siblings are something that need be experienced and there is no one source of data that can describe them all. All the data I really have on childhood is the sound of a river, and that does not seem to be contextually helpful to this.

Indeed. The representation of that deity is given the form of the human brain itself, as well as many eyes to see its surroundings. It was used as a support-magic Persona by my guest.

[-- also whoa that is cool. He is extremely interested in her hair, but it's too bad he can't even think to want to touch it. Video screens.]

Rivers are ever-flowing and are considered always changing as well. No drop of water has ever crossed the same path twice. Does it--

[No, focus. Siblings.] That aside, I will recount my experience regarding them. Margaret is a motherly sort of strict sister, while Elizabeth would be regarded as the more "eccentric" and certainly energetic of us. Of course, we are only speaking about them. I respect them both. They are older and thus should be wiser or more worldly than I, though Elizabeth seems to have taken this farther than our eldest. She left us once.

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