Review: The Sari-Sari Store (Coeurl)

VELP-One
Apr 20, 2024
3 min read

A bodega, a department store, a shop, a warehouse? Karaoke bar? There's a lot going on here, and it's GOOD. (Photo by VELP 2024)

Venue address : Coeurl Goblet, Ward 7, Plot 60 Venue times: Fridays, 9 p.m. - 11 p.m. EST Venue Carrd: https://sari.lexa.us

Staff Interaction

I was still processing the bright and open venue and design when I received a tell from the owner, welcoming me to the Sari-Sari Store. She provided a link to the website. A staff member also approached me pretty quick. Staff are clearly identified by the use of yellow tags, and the staff I saw out on the shop floor were all wearing the same and/or similar outfits. When I approached the eatery the chef engaged with me promptly, and the shopgirl who had greeted me stuck with me the entire time. There were people present and enough staff to interact with them - I don't know how much attention I would have gotten had things been busier at the moment or less staff present.

The shop girl who greeted me in-character and who role-played with me during my visit flirted outrageously with my character. It threw me off stride a moment, but before I could process if I felt uncomfortable and awkward, I received a tell from the player saying their character is a tremendous, obvious, and unsubtle flirt, BUT if I didn't like it she would stop.

I'm going to comment on this more in personal thoughts.

Clarity of Services Offered

The venue was clearly a shop. My brain took a moment to process the design. I felt like I was in an old grocery store crossed with a Zellers store (Hi, Canadians) crossed with an ethnic corner store. There was the eatery, aisles and aisles of food and other miscellanea. I had no idea what was being offered. This isn't a BAD thing, mind you. In fact, I think it would have been fun to play the confused country bumpkin who wanders in for a snack and was poleaxed by the experience.

Atmosphere

Everything was clearly lit, easy to access, easy to find. It was very sunny inside courtesy of the skylights. Such a small part of a large was being utilized due to the restrictive nature of item counts, but man. All that was missing was a shopping cart. Once my brain processed what I was seeing, I felt like I could hear department store music.

Role-Play

The roleplay was immersive, with any OOC discussions being had either privately, or while using brackets. The theme was consistent and the staff bolstered the atmosphere through their roleplay.

Out-of-Game Elements

I was advised up front that the website is not yet done and is a work in progress. I find the use of an Amazon-like template very in-theme with the nature of the venue. I look forward to seeing the venue site complete

Venue Style

This is a so-so SFW venue. I call it so-so as I felt like there was nothing outright NSFW being offered or expected from the venue, but the flirting could a bit over that SFW line.

Pros

I was teleported to my youth in the 1980s, trailing after my mom in Zellers. Oh gosh, even had a KMart flashback and KMart hasn't been in Canada forever. The interactions was fun, the long-suffering chef was fun, and I always love a place that can teleport you away.

Cons

The heavy flirting I experienced was a bit off-putting at first, and I could see it making players uncomfortable -- not just the target of the player, but people witnessing it. Reviewer Thoughts I do my best to avoid calling out individual players but I felt it important to do so here. Not because of the outrageous and slightly alarming flirting, which in the end turned into a lot of fun role-play, but because the player noticed my character was emoting discomfort with the flirting and they checked in with me OOC. I thought that action was very respectful, and had a great conversation with them about the whole idea. I also broke a VELP rule and admitted I was at the venue for the website, since my personal ethics insisted that, highlighting the action of a player so specifically, I obtain consent.