PHASE I [ 8 00 ] You’ve arrived. You’ve received your powerpoint presentation, and your head is filled to the brim with the knowledge that your world is destroyed, and that everyone you once knew and loved is dead. You are ready to handle whatever is thrown your way --
Or maybe not. You end up in a giant game of Pacman, and from the yellow spandex jumpsuit you’re now stuck in (glow-in-the-dark, even, how snazzy), you’re Pacman. Everything is a maze, all towering dark walls and corridors, and everything seems just a little...well, off. First off, the balls you’d normally collect in pacman? They’re floating there, yellow and distinct, the only source of light in the maze, but if you pick them up and touch them, you’ll experience a memory.
It’ll be something warm, gentle and sweet, a memory of your home or the people you love that is something you truly treasure, a memory of a time that is so very important to you. And then the globe is gone and the world returns to its cold, stark state, and you are reminded: everyone is dead. Better go pick up another one!
And, of course, there are the ghosts. They’re a little horrifying (though they come in all sorts of fun colors!) and if they grab you, all of those positive memories turn horrible. A nice memory of a picnic? It’s now a memory of losing everyone important on that day, cut down by masked figures.
Of course, that’s only for the newcomers to ViViD. For anyone who enters ViViD as a veteran, well...you can watch. If you try to enter the game, there are some unfortunate consequences -- you’ll end up as one of the ghosts chasing down those poor innocents, unable to do a thing about it.
Be sure to admire the scoreboard hanging over the game for everyone to see, though.
PHASE II [ 1030 ] Just when you’ve gotten a handle on Pacman, now you’re stuck playing...Tetris?
Everyone (newcomer and old veteran) has been dumped in the game now, and those falling blocks don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. You'll be in an unfortunate tag-team; the person you're tossed into the game with may be a total stranger to you, but you're stuck with them now. After a few moments of dodging giant, falling blocks, it should become clear how you win this game: the blocks follow you (or your partner) in an attempt to squash you, so with some careful wrangling, you can guide those blocks into place and erase row after row of deadly blocks. Of course, if you can't work together, you're more likely to end up squished at the top of the screen, but if you should somehow manage to clear the screen, the door at the other end will open and you'll be free to go.
Let's hope you're stuck with someone easy to work with.
PHASE III [ 1145 ] Stumbling out of Tetris will bring you onto a rickety platform, a hangman’s noose gently wrapped around one of your very most important people. You can’t approach them, you can’t touch them, and they can’t speak, but they look at you with pleading eyes even as the talking tree they are to be hanged from tells you the rules. Guess letters, guess the word, and your friend will be freed. Guess wrong, and, well… the noose will tighten bit by bit.
Time to work together to get your friends down from there. Admittedly you might see someone different up there from the person next to you, but it’s all the same in the end, isn’t it? You’ve got to save them either way.
If you fail, that person will be hanged -- only to reveal that they were just a straw doll all along. Phew, what a relief!
If they succeed at guessing the word, a trap door will open up underneath that person and the rope will be released, dropping them down to never be seen again. Bye!
PHASE IV [ 1300 ] And then you’re dumped right out of ViViD and back into Cerealia. The city is still a little water-logged, though it is looking better than it was before; either way, you may be dumped anywhere. On a roof, in the middle of the park, on top of the scrap heap… anything could happen.
And it seems that things are still a little glitchy, or maybe the glitchy ViViD experience has infected your code in some way, because for a short period of time after, there may be a few...side effects. Fingers and faces might glitch out for a moment, or your hand might phase through a wall. You may also have your In Game Title hovering over your head for all to see. That’s not weird at all.
It’ll all fade away in an hour or two anyway, without any side effects to speak of. Or so it would seem.
PENALTY [ xxxx ] You may have ended up here after getting eaten by a pacman (or ghost), or you may have ended up here after jumping down the trapdoor to save your friend in Hangman. Perhaps you were squashed by a tetris block. Perhaps you just fell down onto your sword (why would you do that). Either way, here you are.
It’s an empty area, totally silent and void, aside from this one carnival game. Once you’re seated, you can’t stand up -- you have to win the game to leave, as the friendly game host will inform you without a single smile. You’ll be playing against the others who managed to end up here, but you’d better give it your best shot, or who knows how long you’ll end up staying here.
Time to play a carnival shooter game.
At least the targets are of a few familiar faces. Maybe that’ll make it more appealing?
And if you win you’ll be able to exit stage right, plus you’ll have a cute Mosley plushie as a prize. Hooray!
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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phase iv!
but it's an entirely different matter to encounter gou, socks and shoes stacked in a crumpled pile beside her, ostensibly staring down at her feet with great concentration. absentmindedly, he follows her gaze, only to be perturbed by the realization that yes, there is webbing between her toes, right up until the point it glitches out of existence.
at a loss for words, he appraises the game title display right above her head (can't actually swim, as if he hadn't known that already) while considering the mortifying possibility that his own designation was in plain sight. it remains just out of the periphery of his vision, but he could've sworn he caught a glimpse of it just a second ago.
however, it's not long until sheer impulse has kicked in, and then makoto clumsily grasps both of her shoulders, expression fractured in abstracting relief. ]
Gou! You're here? [ he doesn't even mind that his left hand is currently glitching out of existence, appearing as just a blurry composite instead of a real hand as he cranes in. ] I never thought I'd see you again.
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Any fight in Gou dies when she hears Makoto's voice. Gou would have fought, futile or not, because there's been enough threats and she doesn't relish the thought of some stranger trying to grab her, but this? This is overwhelming in an entirely different way. ]
Makoto-senpai!
[ Forget grasping his arm or touching his shoulder. After the morning Gou's had? She wants a hug, and there's no stopping Gou when she has her mind set on something. And she suspects that Makoto needs a hug, if his words and the expression on his face is any indication of his feelings. Gou shrugs his hands off, not even noticing the glitched hand, and throws her own arms around Makoto's neck, clinging tightly.
Crying isn't something Gou does often. It's also not something she tries to hide or bury deep down inside; she knows the dangers of that. But there are appropriate times and places to cry, so she manages to hold back most of her tears. A few escape though, as she mumbles. ]
They said everyone was dead, I thought I'd never get to see anyone. I'm so glad you're okay.
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her encircling arms translate into something deep and swallowing, and he's compromised, stricken still by the clumsy imbalance of shock and lucidity collapsing oddly in him. previously, back in their somnolent hometown of iwatobi, replete with an overlooking shrine and moisture-bitten docks to bear fishermen back onto its shores, she stood taller — not in stature, but singleminded intent, the very same conviction that kept them unified when they were all so liable to splinter. but she seems so irrevocably small when nestles against him, tresses of bright hair spilling like water (glaringly red, as sharp and lucent as her brother), slipping out of the constraints of her hairpin. all of her embodies an evening sun in construct and form (the span between light and dark), reverberating with losses he could neither refute nor disprove, not when she'd already been informed of their miserable state of affairs.
when she curls in in, he presses his palms, warm and consoling against her back in concentric motions, drawing her closer still. even before he'd seen her wet lashes, eyes blurring with tears, makoto knew she was crying. it echoed through her inflection in a messy jumble of emotion, dignified even in trembling volatility, familiar as ever. now less of a fever dream, she grew more substantial with every passing second: gou was tangible in a way he could no longer deny. ]
Gou-chan. It's alright. Rin's here. Haru and Rei, too. You're not alone.
[ makoto's voice barely approaches a murmur, completely vivisected by an ache he couldn't entirely identify. they hold like that for an indeterminable period of time until he breaks away from her at last. complexion painted by a long-suppressed hurt, he smooths over his expression with a tired, tired smile, carefully swiping at the margin beneath his right eye. ]
I ... I am a little sad you were dragged into something like this, but I'm glad I was able to find you. We need to stick together until we can find a way back home.
[ his hands come away damp, saturated with moisture, when he takes in her full frame: clothes stained wet, likely from her plummet when she was ungraciously ousted from vivid alongside the rest of tellus's general populace. ]
I can answer anything you might have questions about, but, ah ... you can't stay like that for too long or you'll definitely catch a cold. [ belatedly, he attempts to amend his prior ignorance with retracting his jacket, draping it over her shoulders before a chance for protests could come into fruition. ] ... Sorry. It probably smells funny from what I fell in earlier, but try to bear with it for now. In the meantime, we should get you settled on a place to stay.
[ eventually, he plies his cerevice from his pocket, holds it out like a compass for her to appraise. ]
You have one of these with you as well, right? Can you check your CereVice to see if Rin's sent you anything? I'm sure he caught on to your arrival long before I did.
[ features abstracting to something between thinly-veiled concern and seizing anxiety, makoto keeps his sights pinned on her features, watching for any perceptible change in demeanor. ]
What's the last thing you remember before all of this happened, Gou?
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The words echo in her mind and she can only stumble over her next words. Rin. Haru. Rei. ]
They're - Rin - all of them? They're here? You've seen them?
[ Gou's heart stutters to a stop and her lungs contract, holding onto the air currently there. Her body reacted before her brain, understanding those words deep down in a way that her mind just can't. It takes a minute for those words to process, synapses firing in her brain and not entirely connecting everything. For a moment, one that seems to stretch into eternity, Gou wonders if Makoto's lying, pulling some horrendous prank on her. But it's Makoto, honest and kind and steady as a rock. When she'd last seen him, he was preparing to be a swim coach. He's not one to pull pranks, especially nothing as cruel as lying about her brother of all people, or the people he considers close friends.
Gou releases her breath in a gasp and draws in another deep breath and another. She doesn't even register Makoto's next words at first, because her heart's beating a rapid staccato in her ear drums.
Everything about the day has changed.
She's still upset about her friends, her mother, Sousuke and Nagisa. But. Rin's here, alive and - maybe not okay, she'll have to see later, but alive counts. And Makoto and Haru and Rei. She's got friends here. More importantly, the people she cares for aren't all dead and gone, destroyed in some tragic event.
It's such a stunning revelation that she just stands there, lets Makoto wrap her in a jacket with little protest. Later on, she'll wash it for him and apologize for the momentary lapse.
Finally, finally, she shakes her head and attempts to gather her thoughts and beams up at him with a smile. Makoto's made her day, more than she can express. ]
I'm so glad you found me. I'm not sad to be here at all, if so many other people are here.
[ Gou digs out her own CereVice, given to her earlier in the day, from her pocket. It hadn't been damaged in the fall or in the water, and yes, there's a message from Rin. Three in fact. ]
He says he'll find me soon.
[ While she believed Makoto, having that proof is an undeniable relief, a soft sound escaping her. She quickly messages him back and looks back to Makoto. She doesn't miss his look of concern and anxiety and she wants to hug him again, this time more in reassurance than the relief of earlier. She settles instead for smiling, as brightly as possible, in hopes it's reassuring.
This place might be stressful and the world outside full of monsters that want to kill everything, but as far as Gou's concerned, nothing can be that terrible, if they're together. ]
Last thing I remember from home? Rer-kun, Nagisa-kun, and I were bringing the new swim club members up to speed and passing out schedules.
[ It had been fairly bittersweet, Haru and Makoto gone. But the club had been thriving, people interested in a team that showed so well at Nationals.
Gou draws in another deep breath, deep enough to catch the scent of the jacket, and scrunches her nose. ]
What did you fall in earlier? What is this place, Makoto-senpai?
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[ for all of his misgivings since arriving in tellus, his doubts grow translucent, dissipate in her broached smile, grateful and ceding, for a moment that could've been an eternity already relegated to some point in the past. his concerns are like paradoxes, hypocritical in and of themselves — worry for others even while he disparages himself, but gou's been there for the team, for all of them, without ever once losing her composure.
he can't give her back her parents — her friends — the life she'd been stripped away from, a future he couldn't comprehend yet, but he can be there for her, and that has to be enough. that has to count when he's staring into the open wound of her eyes, the gleaming drops of water sluicing off her form, shivering around her in ebbing profusion. he doesn't define her as rin's sister but as his friend: someone irreplaceable, indelibly dear, and that's enough to throw him through a loop, trying to fulfill the role he once had back when their lives were part of a mundane routine fit around training regimens and careful diets.
makoto lifts the laments from his expression, smoothing out his features, coaxing them back into unraveling calm. ]
You were put through the presentation as well, right? It's called Tellus. A ... colony of sorts, I guess you could say.
[ after a moment of contemplation, makoto readjusts the jacket so it hangs more solidly on her; he'd been well-aware of their height disparity, but it's highlighted in severity when the sleeves go past her wrists and well down her back, stopping just short of her knees. the imminent threat of catching a cold still exists the longer they remain outside, so he gently wraps an arm around her thin form, coaxing her along to one of the nearby park benches. ]
You should get in touch with the others as soon as you can. You and Rei are new here, so we need to find you someplace to stay. I'd offer my own place, but it was kind of, um — ... demolished, recently. But it's okay! When Rin gets here, you two can figure things out from there.
[ it's only after he's gotten gou situated beside him that he takes a seat beside her, hands tangled together in his lap, already scanning the periphery for any sight of rin.
upon initially encountering her, he'd planned on helping gou get situated, finding her apartment and helping her become familiarized with each district, but it'd be better if rin was there, not only as her brother, but her only family member left, if what CERES told them could be taken at face-value. ]
In the meantime, why don't we wait for Rin together? He'd never forgive me if I left you out here all by yourself.
[ he retrieves his cerevice from the pocket he momentarily stowed it away in, fiddling with it just for the sake of distraction. again, it's strange — just like reencountering rin after all those months, he's devoid of memories they've had, recollections that are apparently lost to him. it isn't to say he's particularly saddened by it; if anything, he's relieved that the iwatobi swim club hadn't ended with his generation, left to stagnate and become little more than a passing footnote in their academic timeline. but it's disheartening, knowing that this is the third time he'd found himself at a loss for words.
haru might have understood, but haru —
... promptly shoving that thought on the backburner, makoto examines her closely from the periphery of his vision, watching for any discernible change in expression. ]
You'll have to excuse me, Gou. I don't remember anything past regionals in my last year of high school. It's all a blank.
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