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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no subject
If anything, I would think you are experiencing more burden than I am right now.
[Arles isn't as uncertain or nervous or anything like that...] But you needn't worry about myself or Guillan, at the very least.
no subject
With any luck, this will be the beginning of a more lasting partnership. For now, he'll just be happy he's not on the menu. ]
Then I will not. [ as much. ] ... I would offer you shelter, but I'm afraid mine was recently destroyed. They should have provided you with a home in the apartments, however. Have you found it?
no subject
[He'd do fine even if he and Guillan had to be outside... but it would be better to have four walls around them and a roof in a new place. ONE NEVER KNOWS.]
I don't know how to feel about their provided housing, but I suppose I will make use of it for now.
no subject
[ this is why he hates introducing the place to newcomers - he never has anything good to say. Being the bringer of bad news is unpleasant, and even more so when you have to do it for the Wolf King. ]
They're not safe, to say the least. For now, it seems all right, but strange things happen here regularly.
no subject
[Arles's mouth twists and it's a muted expression of annoyance. He doesn't like being toyed with. Who does?]
Are there any measures we can take to prepare? [He's starting to walk, pausing as though he expects Zara to come with.]
no subject
None that I can think of, unfortunately... It's a trite saying, but "expect the unexpected" is the best advice I can give. And, perhaps, learn the layout of the city as well as you can, in the case that you're unable to return home.
[ or there's another city-wide blackout. you know, whichever. ]
no subject
[It's much different from the forest surrounding Zanan-- he can't afford not to know as much of its layout as he can. Even though he would much rather return home, realistically considering how many people are still here, he has to consider all of the options.]
no subject
... There's something else that you should know, too. Have you got one of these?
[ reaching into one of his pockets, Zara retrieves his cerevice, holding it out demonstratively towards the wolf. ]
no subject
[He nods, brushing one of his hands over one of his pockets to indicate. He didn't just throw it out or anything.]
no subject
It's a sort of... [ his face pinches as he tries to think of a way to describe the cell phone. ] It's a machine that allows you to speak with anyone remotely. It sounds preposterous, but it's the truth... It's very useful here.
no subject
[His dry voice seems to say that he doesn't think much of it...] What do you use it for, mostly?
[Probably not private conversations... Arles doesn't know.]
no subject
[ even if it's just somebody screaming about santa robots or whatever - it counts. ]
no subject
[That gets more of his interest, an eyebrow cocking lightly upward.
IT'S EASIER THAN SENDING GUILLAN TO GET INFORMATION via torture.]
no subject
Mm. Of course, plenty of people use it for casual conversation, as well... Still, I've found it a useful source of information once I've picked past those posts.
no subject
[There's a tinge of appreciation in his voice and he nods to Zara.] I'll make proper use of it, then.