
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?
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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 [ 10 00 ] 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 [ 12 00 ] 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 [ 14 00 ] 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 [ xx xx ] 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! |
Peridot | First prompt closed; Phase three is OTA
[If she understood the concept of "dreaming," Peridot would be certain that's what she was doing right now. That is, if she had a frame of reference of what a human hospital looked like. She doesn't.
So as far as she knows, this is completely typical of a real human hospital. White everywhere, nurses with bandages over their faces, giant tentacle monsters sitting behind the counter- she has absolutely nothing and no one to tell her this isn't normal. So she's taking this as it comes, by ignoring absolutely everything that happens, and running away from anything that seems dangerous. The one thing she is consistently doing though is scanning the area, in between hiding in various broom closets, for other Gems.
She's not sure what's worse; the fact there doesn't seem to be any other Gems here... or if there were other Gems here. A lack of Gems would subscribe to what she had been thinking earlier: that the explanation she had been given about her world being "destroyed" was, in fact, a lie as she thought it was, and she had somehow wound up brought here alone. But if she were to encounter any other Gems... Well. Would it take Gems from Earth, the same place she had been stuck on for a while now? (And have to deal with any of the following: an angry team of Crystal Clods, a likely unrelentingly angry Jasper, or potentially extremely spiteful Lapis?) Or would it bring Homeworld Gems here as well, favoring the probably-not-true idea that Homeworld had truly been destroyed.
Peridot sighs as she finally leaves the broom closet to look for a real exist, returning her fingers back to being a hand instead of keeping them in interface form.]
This is all stupid...
PHASE 3
[ Oh no! Someone attached to a medical table? Horrible experiments about to be conducted on them to add additional body parts??
Peridot looks into the room with an air of apathy. She is pretty intent on leaving this place as soon as possible, but...]
No, no no, you're doing that all wrong.
[Perhaps she's going to save this individual strapped to the table! But the further she steps into the room and places a hand on her chin, it seems determination to see horrible body-horror science done RIGHT has caught her attention enough for her to stay.]
A third arm there isn't going to do anything for additional maneuverability. You humans can't even fuse properly, so this is how you gain more power? I get it that your subject isn't always willing, but throwing on more limbs like this isn't going to do anything to make you less pitiful.
[She holds out a hand to the supposed "evil, mad" doctor, who might not appreciate his spotlight being taken away-]
The best way to do it is to use an existing joint but rerouted. Tell me you at least have electrical saws.
[ -And the doctor seems okay with this result instead. Maybe someone should... stop her? ]
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[ It's the most important question on Nonon's mind as she sees the green looking... girl? person? stepping up to lecture the doctor. She's just been standing in the back, not really doing much except holding a clipboard while dressed as a doctor herself complete with her own badge that reads "Nonon Jakuzure, M.D." She's figured out a cheap way to gain experience just idling here while other people do the work, so she's been not really paying attention until she starts to see Peridot taking front and center.
She's certainly not going to stop her though, that just means more experience points which means more money, which means she can get her idiot girlfriend Ryuko out of jail faster. ]
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But then Jakuzure speaks up and Peridot whips around to look at her. Of course, she should have been able to tell that one was different.]
That's none if your business, human. Do you know where the saws are or not?
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Oh good, another obnoxious alien. [ She waves her hand around dismissively, obviously not taking well to being talked down to. ]
Maybe you're just not leveled up enough to use one. [ Nonon simply opens a menu, and poof there's a saw in her hands. But this is ViViD, so rules for one player might not even work for everyone. ]
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...Where there other Gems around after all? Had she just not yet encountered them?
Nevermind that for now.]
"Leveled up"? Explain this to me.
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Nonon looks down at those fingers for the moment, then back up at her with a clear scowl on her face. ]
It's a stupid video game. Don't you know anything?
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maybe i should put a warning on this thread for gore?? whoops.
lol i guess??
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i could make us an overflow thread...
NO how dare you. jk you can
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phase 3
Instead he just gives Peridot a very flat look when she approaches, not even seeming that fazed by her appearance. ]
Hey, don't touch me. [ Even his tone is sort of flat, as if he's more half-annoyed, half-bored than anything else here. ]
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Peridot powers the saw on, and yeah, seems to be completely ignoring Shuu as if he hasn't said anything. Sorry bro.]
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(Like you have any right of thinking that, Shuu..)
But at least he's lucky enough that he won't have to suffer this abuse. If he was a normal human, maybe, but thankfully he's a little more than that. Out of nowhere he summons something that looks an awful lot like a paper crane into his hand. ]
I wouldn't do that if I were you, you know..! [ It's hard to tell whether he's talking to Peridot or just the doctors in general here. Maybe both. ] Look how nice I'm being, still giving you a warning.
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Your attempt at warning me has been noted. Your lack of presenting a visible threat has also been noted.
[She then looks to the screen.]
This is Peridot, documenting a study of human biology. Are humans capable of having additional limbs? Possibly, if their internal wiring is directed through the corrected routes. Beginning removal of original left arm to start the process. Subject, please contain your screaming, it will make the recording difficult.
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Listen...
[ He suddenly tugs on the restraints. At first it doesn't seem too bad, but then they give way and eventually just snap from his apparent force, despite the fact that he doesn't seem that strong at all. The doctors apparently don't like it as much though and come over to try and restrain him again, but he throws the paper crane at them - it explodes, and although it doesn't hit any of the doctors, the sound and force is apparently still enough to scare them off as they run out of the room.
Shuu doesn't even bat an eyelash at it, instead swinging his legs over the side of the operation table to sit there and stare at Peridot. ]
If you think I'm human just because I look more like one than you do, you're having a huuuge misunderstanding.
1/2
2/2 do you want to move this into overflow?
yes please!! i'm so sorry for how late this is btw ;;
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When the small alien kicked his way into the room, he immediately broke out into a dashing pose. ]
Galactic Patrol! Give up your valuable points before you die, criminal!
[ Wait who was this? He paused, staring at Peridot then at the mad doctor. ]
What.
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No, wait, that's stupid, there's no such thing as Galactic Patrol.]
... What. What do you want?
[Said, like absolutely nothing is wrong. Like she totally isn't holding up an electrical saw over a person strapped to a table.]
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Credits? And items! What are you?
[ He jumped up onto the table of medical instruments to gain some height. ]
Are you an NPC? A criminal?!
[ The patroller brought his hand down to his holster menacingly. ]
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[Maybe she has credits? If she remembers right, she has some since she's new here?? Which doesn't make any sense. But whatever. She doesn't plan on using them.]
I'm a Gem, and you're annoying. Go away.
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[ Jaco hopped off the medical cabinet and jumped up onto the operating table itself, avoiding stepping on the actual 'patient'. The small patroller had to get a better look at this stranger. ]
Apologize to me! I only thought you were part of this simulation round because of your weird alien appearance.
[ Because calling someone a weird alien was far less rude than saying they were annoying. ]
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...what a odd looking person?
Still they were talking and it was getting more and more confusing.]
Get me off of here!
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Ah. You're still conscious. Try not to scream while this is happening.
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I'll kill you, you goblin!
[Goblins in stories have green skin...alright!]
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STARTS UP THE ELECTRIC SAW. It sounds somewhat similar to a chainsaw, even, to add another terror aspect to this.]
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NO STOP THAT! That's enough she's summoning her chain, screw this weirdo! Though it isn't like the saw will kill her....but it will hurt like hell!]
Bandersnatch!
[In a wisp of black smoke, fangs bared the weird dog-like creature jumps over from the opposite side of the table coming for Peridot.]
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STEVEN PROMPT
His happy march through the hallways is halted when Peridot comes out of the closet
even though that's not the first time a Gem has done that in front of him. He'd only had Lion as a familiar face the last few weeks. He wasn't expecting another one, especially one that wasn't exactly friendly.]Waaahhh-!
[His gut reaction was to run and tell the other Gems that he'd finally found her after her escape from the ship, but then he remembers that he's the only one he's seen here. So he just...stands there. Awkwardly.]
Uhhh, h-hey there?
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...No. No, no no, not you! Not again!
[She's so done with dealing with the Crystal Gems! Why didn't her scanner pick up on Steven being here?! Why does he completely nullify anything related to Gem technology?? So many questions she wants to ask him, but instead she just slaps her "hand" over her face and sighs.]
Alright. Where are they. Where are the Clods in triplicate?
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She did ask him a question, though, he should probably be polite and answer. Please ignore the fact that he clearly still sounds nervous.]
Iunno. The computer thingy hasn't pulled them out yet. I think.
[Yes, Steven, tell her you're basically alone, that's a fantastic plan...]
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... It hasn't?
[Right, the computer thing that's supposed to have everyone's "data" within. So so far with herself and only Steven present, it confirms that Earth has definitely been taken, but it doesn't confirm if her Homeworld has had anything happen to it. Which it probably hasn't. It's still totally safe. Definitely.]
So you're here without them.
[She stares back down at him, narrowing her eyes. Not sure if she trusts that.]
Alone.
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