
You've seen the flyer. Or maybe you haven't. Whatever your reasons may be, you've decided to log onto ViViD today at around 6 PM. At first, all seems normal as the game loads, and you prepare to start on what should be an average adventure. Maybe you'll do a little fighting, or some exploring, or even a little platforming. Either way, there shouldn't be anything unusual about this.
Right?
You couldn't have been more wrong. The moment you log in, something goes strange. The game glitches around you, whatever world that started to load seizing up and freezing with static, warping with strange colors. And then a different setting loads smoothly like nothing ever happened. The first thing you notice is that it's sprawling and beautiful, if not a little ostentatious. Should your curiosity draw you from the courtyard you've arrived in through the great double doors, you'll arrive in...
... a ballroom. Welcome to prom. |
PHASE I [ 6 00 ] There are tables scattered around the periphery of the room, and a DJ, somewhat out of place in this beautiful setting, is stationed at the back, spinning out tunes to help you get settled into the start of the night. On the scattered tables are... punch bowls? They look tantalizing, and they come in quite a rainbow of colors. Should you be brave enough to take a sip, you'll find interesting things will happen. Drink the red punch, and you'll end up in rococo fashion. Drink the pale champagne-colored punch, and you'll find yourself sporting elegant regency attire. How about that cool blue punch? You'll step right into the roaring 20's. What about that dayglo orange punch over there? How about some far out 80's, man? That futuristic purple punch will suit you up in Tron style. And then there's one last punch bowl on a lonely table in the corner. No one can quite identify that color. Is that ... brown? Brave this punch bowl and you'll be, uh ... richly rewarded with modern-day fashions. Will you step up and test these refreshments, for science? Or will you be the first onto the dance floor, or to make an insane request of the DJ?
Last but not least, certain Cerealians who glitch into the level may find they have a specific corsage attached that they cannot remove! If they stick around long enough, they'll find one other lucky soul with a matching corsage. This is your ViViD assigned date! No one is going to force you two to dance... but you might find that the longer you put off dancing, the tighter that corsage gets around your wrist, or the more it begins to prick your chest, depending on its location. Might want to rethink your position...
Dates: - Shijima Kurookano & Himeko Inaba
- Trucy Wright & Enomoto "Ene" Takane
- Adelina & Rock Lee
- Byakuya Togami & Lailah
- Archer & Touka Kirishima
- Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane & Maya Fey
- Leon Kuwata & Alisha Diphda
PHASE II [ 7 30 ] So you're here. Whether out of curiosity or you've resigned yourself to the strange festivities, you're in. Maybe you've been wallflowering it up for a while, even with the cool kickin music playing. Whatever the case may be, the DJ announces themselves (DJ Slim Shaydee, not to be confused with that knock off from Earth). You're welcomed in an enthusiastic manner. Also hey, if you're near a table, see those cute placards? Yeah the ones in the center pieces mixed in with the bowl of candy and flowers. You'll notice they have a neatly typed out list— DJ Slim Shaydee says whoever fulfills the criteria on the list will be crowned Prom Royalty. Who doesn't want that???
- Successfully complete a slow dance
- Do the cha cha slide OR do the electric slide without messing up the turn
- Make out in the rose garden out back
- Have a dramatic fight with a close friend and storm out (you may come back after)
- Comfort a crying friend in the bathroom
- If you're a minor, accidentally get drunk
- Successfully spike every punch bowl within a 20 minute time limit
- Confess romantic feelings to the object of your affections
To truly kick it off or maybe give those ambitious types a head start, DJ Slim is gonna play you (yes all of you) a group dance! Hope you know the moves to the Cha Cha Slide. If not, don't worry, the song will tell you every step.
Oh and one more thing — anyone who fulfills an item on the list will get a confetti surprise. What does this mean? It means a golden, multi-faceted little ball will spontaneously appear over your head out of nowhere soon after you fulfill a condition, hovering for a moment before it explodes into a shower of confetti. Enjoy!
PHASE III [ 9 00 ] Whew. All these fast paced songs sure have you tired out, right? Maybe take a sip from the many punch bowls around the room if you haven't tested them out yet. Or try your hand at fulfilling another portion of that list from earlier—by spiking the punch. Better work fast though, the bowls themselves refresh fairly quickly once they sense contamination. See how many you can get in one go! Or if you're not a dirty prankster, see how many people you can catch spiking those dang bowls.
While you're doing that, the DJ seems to want to wind down the energy in the room. That means, you guessed it: time for that coveted slow dance. As the first chords of the song play, the doors to the garden veranda and hedge maze open. How romantic.
PHASE IV [ 10 00 ] It's the end of the night, and maybe you've been trying your best to satisfy all those win conditions. Or maybe you haven't! Either way, it's clear from the mood in the air that the time is drawing near for the announcement of the Prom Royalty. The DJ brings the lights low, and spotlights hit his stand. He brings a mic to his mouth, and announces grimly that there will be no Prom Royalty. Apparently, no one satisfied enough of the win conditions! How can that be? Surely someone tried! Well, whatever happened, the DJ isn't happy, and the lights in the room will come back up. The DJ will mess with some of the equipment at his station, and all across the room, small panels will open up near the ceiling. Pouring out will come ... balloons? And not just any balloons - they're water balloons, and not only are they somehow floating, they're coming straight for you. How are they flying? We just don't know. If they come in contact with you, they'll frizz your perfect prom hair. Worse, if you apply even the mildest force to them, they'll immediately pop and drench you in freezing cold water, leaving you drenched.
The ballroom quickly fills with these angry little balloons, threatening to flood the room completely if too many of them pop. Will you flee and save yourself? Try to save your friends? Try to reason with the DJ and stop the balloon menace? No matter what you do, you'd better work fast. The floor is already getting dangerously wet...
BONUS [ hour ??? ] Remember that garden maze? From a certain point of the evening on, prom guests have been free to wander through as they please. They're beautiful, a rose maze by day that looks even more breathtaking at night with fairy lights glittering and winking in between all the flowers and leaves. Maybe you wandered out there to get away from the craziness in the party. Perhaps you want to be a true wallflower. But should you explore this maze with another at your side, you'll find it a pleasant enough trip, and if you manage to make it all the way to the center of the maze, you'll discover a secluded little gazebo that seems like it was placed there just for you.
Go in alone, though, and the maze seems like a completely different place. The fairy lights will be dimmer, less pleasant. You'll hear a rustling too loud to just be the wind. What was that sound? Turn around, and nothing is there. Too late you'll realize that the maze itself is alive, and has been watching you this entire time. It doesn't like lone wanderers. Better run fast or find a way to get out of the plant's clutches before you really become veggie.
However, if you get caught, you'll be trapped by the sentient vines that shoot out from the walls and bound to the side of the maze until another lone explorer finds you. At this point the vines will reach out and snap up that unlucky soul, too, wrapping you both up in a not-so-tender embrace. You'll both be stuck there until you can do whatever it is the maze wants that will convince it to set you free. What is that? Well, it does seem to be fond of lovers... and public displays of affection.
|
no subject
She gives a slightly less awkward smile to Hiro when he approaches her. That is a human. She knows how to handle those. Mostly.]
Usually people watch from the other side of the room. [She giggles.]
But yes, I'm not so sure I'm cut out for human dances.
no subject
Between you and me? I'm not even sure some humans are cut out for human dances either. [Like him. He's totally not cut out for this.] Some people say it's not even really about the dancing but the atmosphere of everything instead. I haven't decided if that's true or not. Are you having fun at least?
[Some people want to be in the middle of all the action. Some people are totally content just to watch from the sidelines. He'd be stupid to assume either way.]
no subject
[Except her. She just can't move well enough on land to keep up with the music. She's afraid she'd just get in the way.]
It's been fun so far. I love seeing everyone in silly outfits and having a good time. Things have been so stressful lately that I think everyone needed this.
no subject
Things are always stressful in Cerealia, but I think you're right. At least we get a night to take a break. [He tilts his head, considering something for a moment.] …this is going to sound really weird--[And by weird he means rude]-- but how did you get here?
no subject
[She's not sure she understands the question.]
no subject
I am really sorry about him.]I mean…yeah, I know that part but…[He settles for gesturing at her tail. He's not trying to be offensive, he's genuinely just trying to figure out logistics here. If he can figure out how she moved, maybe he can help her join the rest of the people on the dance floor. If she wants.
Sometimes Hiro's ideas get away from him faster than they can formulate.]
no subject
Oh! Right, my tail.
[She reaches into her backpack, which has inexplicably transformed into a tiny black purse, to retrieve a small pink piece of coral. When she pushes the button on the back of the coral, a large bubble oozes out of the hole on the other side.]
I use Bubbly Coral to get around. They're just... kinda big for a dance.
no subject
[…wait, bubbles? And a fish tail?] Wait, are you Keimi?
no subject
Yes, I am. Do I know you?
[She totally knows you, doesn't she? She knows you and she forgot you. Oh crap, she feels bad. She is so sorry. This is awful. She's the worst person ever. Oh gosh, oh gosh.]
no subject
no subject
[Oh thank god. Keimi was about to break into an apology-fit. Danger averted!]
She made my weapon for me! It's really made using my bubbles a lot easier, even when I'm not fighting.
[Which isn't very often, admittedly.]
no subject
She told me she was going to construct one for you but I didn't know what she came up with. Is it true? The bubbles are actually pretty indestructible?
no subject
I don't know if I would call them "indestructible", but they won't pop unless it's pierced in multiple places. That's why human people can use them as helmets to breathe underwater.
[Did she mention that you can breathe underwater with them? Because you can breathe underwater with them.]
no subject
[There's a small grin.] Ruby's really good at what she does. She gave me some ideas for one of my weapons, too.
no subject
Ruby-chin is the greatest. I never would be able to think the way she does about building things.
no subject
She's been doing it for a while, but she's got a method to it. [He almost sounds proud, too.] If you don't build things, what do you do?
no subject
I'm, um, also a model.
no subject
['I'm gonna guess she's not modeling pants anytime soon.'] Are you modeling your own clothes or somebody else's?
no subject
[After the initial horror of the whole world being able to see her in a bikini, she's slowly starting to accept her budding career. Still a little awkward, though.]
no subject
no subject
no subject