The doctor's office is hardly the funnest place in the world to be. Children crying, adults bickering in hushed, stressed tones, the receptionist looking incredibly bored...
Wait. How did you get here? Weren't you watching a powerpoint a second ago (or enjoying your time in your cozy apartment in Cerealia)? Well, now you're in ViViD, and in an attempt to concentrate on healthy living, CERES has released a new level: Health and You: A New Way to be Healthy. Sure, you could log out at any time if you're a ViViD pro and used to this whole experience, but now that you're here, why not sit back and enjoy it? Indulge in some easy level grinding or something. Besides, it'll take a little while for the game to let you log out without calling you a spineless quitter, and who wants that added to their ViViD rep?
So instead, take a look around the tiled hospital. Visit the receptionist and say hello (she ignores you, go back to your seat). Pick up a snack at the vending machine (except every single one only has these gross things in stock). Maybe you should just test the truth of that old idiom, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", especially with that weird doctor over there. Is he staring at you? He might be staring at you.
Seriously, go find an apple before he comes over here.
 Well,
well,
well...
isn't it time for your c h e c k - u p?
|
PHASE I [ 08 00 ] If you're a new arrival to this fine city, you will find yourself waking up in a bed after suffering through that unfortunate powerpoint. The sun streams through the window, the bed is uncomfortable but not terrible, and everything is quiet and idyllic... wait. Where are your clothes? You'll suddenly find yourself dressed only in a medical gown (yes, complete with back open) and you seem to be... in a hospital? That's new.
If you take a look at the medical chart attached to the bed, you’ll even find your chart, name on it and everything. That can’t be right, can it? You're the picture of health! You're welcome to wait around for the doctor to dispute these claims but no one's showing up anytime soon (aside from the possible roommate you might have, in the same situation as you). There’s nothing stopping you from leaving the room or looking around at least (except for the lack of clothes), but it’s all hospital as far as the eye can see. Try and be careful what rooms you poke your head into; there are some strange aliens getting their check-ups in there. They don't seem like they want to be bothered.
If you’re not a newcomer, and go into ViViD searching for riches and grand prizes (or just stumble in there by happenstance), the receptionist will stop you and hand you a stethoscope, lab coat, and name tag. Congratulations, you’re a doctor now, and you have free reign over the hospital. Go nuts. Or don’t, because there are still those aliens waiting for their check-ups. Now it’s your turn to get dragged away by a frazzled nurse to administrate a tentacle massage to a patient, as she's now on break! Have fun and don't get the hospital sued.
PHASE II [ 1000 ] Just don’t end up in the basement.
If you end up in the basement by some weird twist of fate (or via trapdoor, which could happen because let's be honest, this is ViViD), you’ll find yourself in a long, empty, blindingly white hallway. The floors are white, the walls are white, the ceiling and the flickering lights are white, and you have the odd feeling you're being followed.
If you turn to see who it is, you’ll find that it’s your younger self. They’re not solid. They’re not real. You can stick a hand through them, and it will go right through. But they are you, whether age 4 or age 14 or anywhere in between, and they’re covered in blood and holding an equally bloody knife. Quietly, as they follow you, they'll mumble, over and over and over again, “It was you, you did it, you killed them, you’re the murderer.”
And they will follow you until you get out of that blindingly white hallway, and away from those blindingly white lights, and if you tried to touch them, there will be blood on your hands. The younger you won't respond to anything you say, just following behind you like the frightening apparition they are. At least nothing else is stopping you from returning to the main hospital, no matter how surreal this experience might be. Just find the stairs.
PHASE III [ 1200 ] As soon as you’ve managed to escape the clutches of that frazzled nurse who still refuses to come back from break, you’ll find that the atmosphere has turned very dark indeed. There’s rain pounding against the windows, and as lightning flashes and thunder booms (it’s all ambiance, you see), there’s the tell-tale Mwahahahaha of an evil, mad doctor at work. What a sinister guy.
Turning a corner will lead you right to his very, very evil doctor's office. He's repurposed one for his sinister deeds and some nurses are looking very put out about it. There's someone attached to the medical table who might need some help and of course, it could be one of your friends that he’s snagged. You might want to help them before that very evil mad doctor tries to add an extra limb or two to your poor friend. Honestly, who needs three elbows?
Or maybe it’s you who’s been grabbed by him and attached to the medical table by strong, metal restraints. Hopefully someone follows the “Mad Scientist: This Way” signs all over the hospital and saves you because really, three elbows?
PHASE IV [ 1400 ] Of course, while the ambiance is still dark, grim and creepy, and the rain still beats upon the glass of the windows, there is a murder...because why wouldn't there be?
The director of the hospital has been found murdered, slumped in a seat in his office, hand in hand with his secretary. Oh no! You’re welcome to investigate the crime scene if you want, but it’s not a very good one; there aren’t any clues, and the director and his secretary actually seem to be alive if you prod them hard enough. They're a bit put out by your interruptions and might ask you to "go solve this somewhere else" the more you bother them. How rude of you to muck up their death scene.
But there’s a new quest for you, and it says this: Pursue Justice or Pursue the Truth?
If you choose to pursue Justice, you will find yourself dropped into a new ViViD level, this one a straight hospital hallway with no doors and alternate routes. Some posters line the hallway but most of the detail is lost in the dim light. Not far ahead of you, The Suspect can be seen running away. (Naturally, you can tell that they are The Suspect by their poorly scribbled out face and black silhouette.) If you should follow them all the way to the end of the hallway (and it is a long, long, long hallway), you can grab The Suspect. Of course, that's if you make it there without falling through any of the trapdoors, tripping over medical supplies or stumbling into less fortunate player characters. If you're successful, you’ll hear a jaunty tune and you’ll receive a bonus of 50,000 ViViD points. Congratulations! You may now log out and continue with your daily life.
If you choose to pursue the Truth, you will find yourself dropped into another ViViD level. This level is a maze; there are filing cabinets stuffed full of papers making up the walls (though the papers are all blank) and they seem oddly impossible to move. You will need to find your way through the maze while avoiding more trapdoors, more scattered medical supplies, the occasional angry cthulhu patient and the occasional player character who has been grabbed by the occasional angry cthulhu patient. Eventually you will be able to find the end of the maze and there you will find a scrap of paper with a clue on it, signed Bellona Recreare. You may now log out and continue with your daily life.
Strangely enough, you can’t seem to access that quest again once you’ve completed it once. Oh well.
BONUS [ xxxx ] There are plenty of sexy nurses wandering the hospital (yes, everywhere) and they know your shots aren’t up to date. Should they manage to catch you and jab you with one of their needles, you’ll have some of the following side effects:
➟ Unstoppable urge to hug the nearest person
➟ Unstoppable urge to kiss the nearest person
➟ Unstoppable urge to dance with the nearest person
➟ Hiccups that last for 20 minutes
➟ Uncontrollable laughter that lasts for 20 minutes
➟ Hallucinations that everyone around you is dead, which also lasts for 20 minutes
You may pick and choose which effects happen at which times or if there is a combination of them. Have fun!
[ 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. ] |
Welcome to Cerealia's July intro log! For your convenience, we have compiled the characters' arrival experience here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here.
Regarding phase IV, should your characters tackle the alternate ViViD levels and make it all the way through, please PM the mod account to let us know if they picked Justice or the Truth, as that will have an overall impact on the game! You will also receive your plot clue at that time, should your character have gone down the Truth path. Please PM the mod account by July 29th with the decision your character has made; the thread does not have to be completed, that just will allow us to tally up the choices for August's event.
Thank you! |
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Right. [Somehow, Tadashi's here. Okay. Logically speaking he shouldn't be and so that gives some weight to the whole "you're code" theory, but...code doesn't feel like this. Code doesn't feel familiar and warm and fill in the gaps that were missing. It's a lot to think about. He'll puzzle it out later when his head's less scrambled. He hasn't let go of Tadashi's wrist yet though. He looks around Tadashi then, staring blankly for a moment.]
You don't hear it, do you?
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No. What's up?
[ DID THEY DO ANYTHING TO HIS BROTHER goddamn it CERES you always do weird shit!!!! ]
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You don't see it at all...?
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I don't, but we can talk about it later, alright? We need to get out of here.
[ Before anything else like that happens. Hallucinations, apparitions... no, Hiro doesn't need to experience any more of that. A Tadashi's enough. ]
jfc I just noticed your name field.
He nods though and as soon as Tadashi's up he starts walking forward, keeping Tadashi's hat pulled over his face and dragging him along, hyper-aware that he's still being followed.]
I've been stuck down here for a while. No game-map or anything. [He frowns again, less out of worry and more out of thought.] Pretty sure there's only one exit but I don't know if they're stairs or a door or what. Makes things pretty complicated.
[They walk in silence for a bit, Hiro occasionally gripping Tadashi's hand to make sure he's still there.] ...how'd you find me?
as if yours is any better
Got a tracker, but it's not as good as the ones at home.
[ You know, because they've likely built trackers at home... Hiro doesn't have to know about the GPS ones Tadashi's made and sewed into Hiro's clothes. . .
Anyway, he starts walking to a random direction. The app he has open has no map either, but it at least shows that there's a place nearby that's a different colour compared to the hospital floors. It's the log out portal. ]
This thing tells me when there are new people, and when people disappear.
...well they're both true so I guess that's fair
You've been here a while, haven't you. [It's not a question. It's more of a statement he's looking for confirmation on. This isn't the kind of work Tadashi could accomplish in a day or two. He wouldn't need to track who comes and goes in this place if he's only been here a day or two. It's just a question of how long it's been.]
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[ .hack? Sword Art? Whatever. Hiro should know what he's talking about. Anyway, ]
I've been here for about two months now. It's alright, but it gets bad at sometimes.
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[He'll change his mind in a few days, probably. He'll be too curious to ignore the vivid system completely. At the announcement of how long Tadashi's been on the planet though, he jerks his head up to stare at him.] Whoa, what? Two months?
[The immediate conclusion is that Tadashi was sent here immediately after his death. Great. So they're both dead. Great.]
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ViViD's actually pretty fun when it's not sucking people in unwillingly.
[ He pushes a door open, and they're now at the lobby of the hospital. Almost there...! ]
And two months is a pretty short time compared to some others. I heard some have been here for half a year now.
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[He doesn't look or sound like he believes vivid can be fun, but the moment they're out of the hallway and back into the lobby he practically sinks into his stupid hospital gown in relief. The sounds of his child-self are gone. A quick glance behind them shows they're alone again.]
We're not gonna be like those people. We'll figure out another way and get off of this planet. [Both of them. If they're really just code, they can figure out how to recreate the world can't they? Recreate Tadashi, maybe...? If the corrupted data existed and CERES could pull them out, they could pull out other pieces, too. He's quiet again as they walk through the lobby, and it's only when they're much closer to the log out portal that Hiro speaks up again.]
...hey, Tadashi? What happens if you don't finish playing through ViViD? What if somebody never played ever again?
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As much as he wants to with HIro again, this could perhaps be their last hurrah, and Tadashi will say a proper goodbye. At least, this is what he wants. But Hiro... Hiro is giving him hope, and this is the last thing he needs right now. But... maybe he shouldn't talk about it for now. His brother just arrived and he's more than fazed and confused. He's distraught over seeing his brother alive and well again, amongst other emotions. Tadashi fully understands that. The two of them shouldn't be fighting just yet.
So he just addresses the ViViD thing. . . thankfully, he knows what the answer is. ]
You don't have to touch the game again if you really want to. It's just that sometimes, this ViViD sucks up people unwillingly, just like right now.
If you don't finish playing through the stage, then you're stuck here. That's how it goes.
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An involuntary shiver runs up his spine partially from still just wearing the hospital gown and partially out of the idea of being stuck somewhere. He's...already had enough experience almost being stuck in places he shouldn't be, thank you.]
Sooo it's actually a sentient video game, too. That's great. [What else could be wrong with this place?] Whatever. We'll finish playing through the stage and then...what? What else is actually out there?
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There's a city, [ which Hiro would probably love once he's... gathered his bearings. ] I'll definitely show you around, but you need to take a bath first.
... and there's probably a lot to talk about.
[ And they continue down the hallway, only to be led to a set of stairs which say "EXIT" with an up arrow. May as well. It's where they can log out, anyway. ]
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Probably? [No. No there's definitely a lot to talk about but the problem is that he's not sure he wants to yet. There are a lot of things that happened after Tadashi's death that Hiro knows Tadashi's not going to like very much and Hiro's not sure what to expect. He does perk up slightly at the idea of a city. Once he's out of the ViViD and in his own, comfortable clothes and has had time to process just what the hell's going on he'll be fine. He looks down at the blood on his hand though, making a face briefly. Part of him wants to make a snide remark about how he's fourteen, not four, and can decide when he wants to take a bath without Tadashi dictating it. But part of him feels disgusting even by Hiro's standards so he shuts up.
Once they approach the stairs he stops walking, still holding the sweater in one hand, Tadashi's hand still gripped in the other. Once they log out, it'll be fine. It's what he has to remind himself.]
Can't get much clearer than that. [He's glancing away from the exit sign and back up at Tadashi's face.] Guess I'll meet you outside? [He has goals. His goals are to log out of the ViViD, find some decent clothes and then find Tadashi. Simple goals, but attainable ones. It'll take five minutes, tops.]
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[ Jeez, but that's his bad for his word choice. He was just trying to act cool and all, so... ]
But, yeah, I'll meet you outside. [ Should probably give Hiro a rundown of the entertainment district's ViViD building before anything else-- ] You'll find yourself in a white room once you've logged out. Just leave the building - it's a pretty straightforward one, and I'll meet you by the entrance.
[ He pats Hiro on the head once and shakes him a bit to boost the guy's confidence. They'll see each other again. ]
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Okay. Sounds good. [And with that he lets go of Tadashi's hand and disappears up the stairs assuming Tadashi's behind him. But, you know, sometimes things don't go as planned and as soon as Hiro leaves the stairs and opens the door he finds himself being pulled from this level to the next and separated from Tadashi all over again.
Unbelievable. Whatever. Guess he'll just have to keep playing through the levels until he hits the final phase. At least now he has a driving motivation to keep going at least. He'll just have to catch up with Tadashi later.]
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