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 [ 730 ] 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 [ 900 ] 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 [ 1000 ] 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.
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estoria2016-01-04 07:52 pm
BONUS
Still, she stuck it out for a majority of the night with little to speak of. The maze itself seemed an adequate distraction an opportunity to see how well she can navigate in the game world as well. Too bad things are never quite that simple.
Of course, she never anticipated the maze to fight back. She can hear the scuffle through the tall brush and, perhaps due to the nature of the game rather than the real world, Artemisia is able to guide her around a few twists and turns in order to reach the scene. ]
Arte--!
[ She calls out to her Persona--just in time to get more than she bargained for. There's an audible oof as she's knocked off her feet and subsequently into the brush with her new friend.
Fancy meeting you here. ]
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but while it's important to get out, his priority is making sure whoever's with him is safe. that's always been the most important thing with him. ]
Are you alright?
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Yes...
[ Don't mind if her cheeks start matching her hair. She struggles a bit, but the grip of the vines don't loosen that easily.]
W-what is the meaning of this?!
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It's those vines! They're- [ oh no, oh no. he ends up looking at mitsuru again, but he quickly averts his gaze. ] We gotta fight them!
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Y-yes--of course...
But...there's a problem. She can't really move her hands. ]
My Evoker-- [ It's still in it's holster, hanging by her left thigh. She nods down towards what appears to be a gun. ] --can you reach it?
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tadashi does manage to stretch enough and grab hold of the evoker, so he pulls it from the holster. ]
Okay, I got it! [ god bless his long limbs. slowly, so that the gun doesn't fall, he moves his arm back up and over to where mitsuru's hand is. ] Here.
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Thank you.
[ Of course, there's nothing at all weird about how she leans down and pulls her arm up as much as she can in order to place the nose of the Evoker to her temple.
No time to explain. ]
Artemisia!
[ If he wants to try and stop her, there isn't much time. She does recoil slightly, but the click of the trigger is damped by the sound of something almost delicate breaking, like shattering glass in the air as her Persona floats above her head--and promptly waves her sword, casting a spell and encasing part of the vines in ice. The ice sits for a moment, a dull cracking, before it bursts apart, tearing off some of the vines and brush with it, but not all. Not enough, it seems. ]
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yeah, tadashi's going to be astonished for a while. but the good thing about him is that his senses are sharp, and he immediately wakes up from his stunned state.
though before he can react further, there are more vines that start wrapping themselves around their two new favourite victims. uh-oh. looks like your ice stuff didn't work, mitsuru. ]
Oh no.
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Mitsuru doesn't often lose her composure, but it's hard to ignore the fact that she hasn't made a dent in their current opponent--and...are there more vines than before? This is ridiculous. ]
--It's like a hydra. Cutting off one limb will only sprout more. [ Yes, focus on the facts of the situation. That's the easiest way to get through this. ] We need a new tactic...
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[ with his gauntlets, he means. and looks pretty bummed about the fact. he'd really prefer get out of this situation asap, considering how inconvenient this is for mitsuru. it's cool if it's just him (okay, it's not, but it's better that way), but to have another person involved in trouble- ah... it's just not right.
the "good" thing is that the vines have stopped slithering around them. for now, anyway. ]
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The enemy seems to have paused in it's "assault". Now would be the time to strike. ]
I have no specific weaknesses to electricity. You may proceed.
[ Mitsuru, no. ]
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Riiight. [ he bites his lip and stretches his arm to reach farther from them. sparks appear from his gauntlets, and grabs onto some vines on the side in an attempt to burn the vines with his electricity. some smoke comes out of the vines, and it looks like they're successful! ]
Awesome! Okay, try wiggling out of i— [ are the vines regenerating?!
yes. yes they are.
meanwhile, music from nowhere begins to play. ]
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--...well, until it's very much the same.
There's definitely a sigh of frustration on her part. ]
It's not weak to electricity or ice, but every enemy has something to exploit. Give me a moment and I'll see if I--
[ ...
............... ]
...Do you hear that?
[ A strange but catchy cool island tune? Not the type of music Mitsuru listens to normally, to be sure, but...she's definitely hearing something. ]
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Y- Yeah... what the heck is that?
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What it's singing so innocently to the catchy tune becomes clear soon enough.
Excuse her as she sputters in a less than dignified matter for a moment. ]
W-what is it saying!?
[ She knows exactly what it's saying. She's just hoping he's hearing something different. ]
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he looks at mitsuru, his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. SOMEONE SAVE HIM FROM IMPENDING EXECUTIONS. though the moment they make eye contact, he looks away. ]
I— I don't know. I can't hear it well.
[ playing dumb is playing it safe!!! ]
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W-Well, I'm sure it's nothing.
[ Ahem. ]
As I was saying...I'll just need a moment to scan the enemy. I haven't tried to in this world, but it might work. Then, perhaps, we know what our next step can be.
[ It couldn't possibly be the instruction of the song that's growing steadily louder, could it? ]
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Alright, go ahea— [ yeah, okay. the music is definitely so hard to ignore now. ] Just— What is that?!
[ tadashi seems to know what it is, just. you know. he has to ask an expository question for the sake of asking it.
he looks at mitsuru, eyebrows crunched in disbelief. ]
You think...? [ no. he can't finish the question. ]
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If it couldn't get any worse, she's fairly certain there might be some manner of small creature that's opted to sing along. The fact that this is, in fact, a video game should ebb some of the shock of that impossibility, but it's still very, very strange. Animals don't sing, to set the mood or otherwise.
On the upside, she's torn between guffawing at the ridiculousness and being irreversibly embarrassed, that it helps the latter a bit. ]
I--
[ Does she think--that...
If Tadashi wanted to see Mitsuru's face start to turn the color of her hair, then he's in luck! ]
--C-Certainly not! This must be s-some sort of trick to dissuade us...!
[ BECAUSE EVERYTHING ELSE HAS WORKED GREAT. ]
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Y- Yeah! You're right! [ so unsure. ]
Think you can scan it now?
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...Yes. Please give me a moment.
[ It's very hard to concentrate, however. There's a sound of static that seems to generate--strange, but perhaps attested to ViViD's reaction to her abilities--despite the background music. They have to listen to a full chorus before Mitsuru opens her eyes. ]
That's...that's impossible.
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What'd you find?
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[ Goodness, she doesn't want to say. Mitsuru wants to believe this is an elaborate hoax, but there's no reason for her Persona to be lying to her. Reading false information, perhaps? That could be a possibility, but for all intents and purposes, Artemesia thinks the scan is complete. ]
...It's impervious to all elemental and physical attacks. [ It's clear that she's hesitating.
MUSIC REALLY ISN'T HELPING. ]
...I-I've never seen this before, but...if I'm correct--which I may not be--
[ Get it out, Mitsuru. ]
Th-then...it's supposed weakness is...
[ Did the music just...go silent for a moment? The air is tense. It's as if it's waiting for her to say it. This is awful. ]
...
[ ... ]
...love.
[ Oh dear god and there goes a new round of the chorus. What is with this place? Can she quit? Is that an option? ]
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oh my god
okay, tadashi has gotten a very clear idea of what the vines want from them, now. they're going to be released if they follow the music, so thank you, weird song for helping them figure it out! and thanks to mitsuru for scanning the vines, too...
of course, while that's a lot of help, these two are going to need more help than they can get if they want to get out of here. ]
R- Right... That's apparently a thing now.
[ a beat. ]
Sorry you got stuck with me.
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...It...it's difficult to believe otherwise....
[ Despite her desire to do so. This is such an odd...twisted situation to be in. What sort of enemy tries to arrange this? What will it gain from their--from her dignity? There are many questions left unanswered, but...she's more flustered than anything else.
Wait, what is he saying? ]
I--
[ With him? Is he implying that he's a poor choice for such an endeavour? He's not...unattractive. Actually, he--wait? No. No. She will not be entertaining those kinds of thoughts! Please ignore the increase in redness at her cheeks. ]
--Th-that is not the issue. The entirety of this situation is puzzling...b-but I suppose that we should, um...
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