
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.
|
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[If you wanted to get specific. She knew it had meant to be a rhetorical question, but it was difficult to resist when she actually knew the answer with all certainty.]
[High School meant from the age of...approximately 14 to 18. Give or take, accounting for birthdays. At 14, Dahlia had enlisted Iris' help in the incident with Terry Crews, only she'd chickened out at the last minute and had run back home to Eagle Mountain. Where she remained until she was 19 and volunteered to step in on behalf of her sister. Leading her to meet Feenie for the first time.]
But...I'm here now.
[For what that's worth.]
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You know, Iris... It may have been a long time for me. But I keep realizing that I've missed you even more than I thought. I... I guess because I've been so glad to have you here with me.
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[Though initially surprised, her expression quickly warmed into a fond smile.]
I'm glad. That you missed me that much. Even though I know that's selfish of me to say.
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[She spoke the words with a smile, though. As if finally able to accept the fact that there were some things in life she wanted just for herself...and that was okay. She didn't have to feel guilty for wanting to be happy.]
It feels...nice. To not be forgotten. To know... [She averted her eyes shly.] ...there...might still be a place for me in your life.
[No matter what that might be. Just so long as she could be a part of it]
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I- Iris. Just listen. There's always a place for you in my life, alright? It's not like... I ever wanted you to leave. If you're here, then- then that makes me happy!
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I...never wanted to leave.
[Another thing she had never told him. She never stopped to wonder if that's what he thought. She'd been the one to run, after all, and deliberately chose to hide herself away rather than risk confrontation.]
I've wondered...what might have happened if Dahlia hadn't killed your poor friend back then. If she gave up and left us alone and things were able to continue on the way they were. Or if I had gotten the necklace back from you after all, and she had no reason to bother.
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But he still listens and envisions that for a moment, responding with a soft smile.]
I don't think it's any mystery, Iris. I...
...I think that we would have kept on being together. [The words flow out softly in a lull between songs, while his face keeps fading a bashful red.] For- for as long as you wanted.
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[With one minor alteration, which is why she shook her head.]
No...for as long as we wanted.
If you would have still wanted me, after I told you everything.
[Because that was another thing she wondered. If she would have eventually told him; so many months later, it had been getting harder and harder to keep that secret from him.
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So... I doubt it wold have gone differently back then. So I guess that... we'd make it work..
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[He'd said the same thing to her at the end of her trial, which gave even further weight to his words. That, even after everything that Dahlia had done...seemingly destroying the image that he'd formed of her over those months...the time they'd spent together had been too genuine. Too precious to throw away completely.]
I wish I had told you.
[Now more than ever.]
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But we can't change the past, Iris. That's why I don't like to dwell too much on how differently things could have gone. [The hand holding hers gives it a gentle squeeze.]
It's... it's better to think about the possibilities of the present, and future. That's what can still be changed. [Where- where am I going for this?]
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[She stared up at him with a mix of awe and wonder. Here she was, dwelling on an impossible past, yet he was content to focus on the much more possible present. A very happy, content present. And...a future?]
What kind of future?
[Could they actually have a future?]
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But, if it's a future where you can be happy, well... I think that would do it.
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[In the meantime.]
This. Now. [She leaned forward, resting her head against his chest. Closing her eyes and listening to his heartbeat as they danced.] This makes me happy. More than anything.
[It was easier to admit when she wasn't looking directly into his eyes.]
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I-Iris...! [He's not sure how to respond to that.]
I'm... I'm happy, too. But... [He pales a bit as he tries to word his hesitations.] Are you sure that this doesn't feel... odd, or wrong, or anything? I... I'm so much older than you remember...
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Does it...bother you?
[Uncertainly suddenly weighed in her chest and stomach. Was that the reason why he'd been so kind to her until now? Out of pity...or, worse, because he figured she would reject him because of his age, sparing him the trouble of letting her down gently?]
Am I... [Was she wrong after all? Stepping back, she slipped her hand from his hold and placed it against her chest.] ...bothering you?
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He starts to wave his hands in denial.]
No, Iris. N-no, it... it doesn't bother me. I... I guess I got used to the difference, on my end.
[He frowns as he tries to find the words.]
What I want to know... is about you. It's not... weird at all? That I'm almost a decade older know. And a lot has happened that you don't know about yet. I just... before we talk about anything else, I need to make sure that you understand.
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[At least...until now.]
Then tell me. Please. [She peered up at him, still slightly hurt, though not as much now that he'd admitted the age difference didn't bother him either. Only...that wasn't the whole issue, was it?] I want to understand.
Five years ago...
[Or however long ago for you, she thought to amend, but decided not to.]
...a lot had happened since then as well. And you were able to understand. What could be harder than what I'd put you through?
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It's... it's not the same as that at all. But it's definitely not something that I'm proud of.
[He hesitates for a moment.]
Iris, are you sure that now is the time that you want to hear this?
[Way to ruin her first prom, Phoenix.]
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Yes. I'm sure.
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Alright.
Iris... The truth is that, just months after you last saw me...
I was disbarred for presenting forged evidence. And I spent seven years without my badge.
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[Presenting forged evidence. She barely registered the part about him being disbarred, or spending seven years without his badge...it was the reason why that left her in near shock. Phoenix Wright, one of the most honest, trustworthy people she had ever known in her life...had...lied? Tried to hide the truth in hopes of...what?]
[After a few second's worth of heavy silence, she swallowed once and found her voice.]
I...but that doesn't make sense, Feenie. You would never...
[Had it been anyone else who spoke those words, she would have refused to believe them.]
Why? What happened?
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It still stings just as badly, as he wonders what she'll end up thinking of him. He shakes his head softly.]
Well... for the most part, I was set up. Somehow arranged for me to be handed the supposed evidence. And I presented it in the courtroom without a second thought, like some kind of a fool. [He feels a foul taste in his own mouth as he looks back.]
The person who was commissioned to make the evidence was even paid to testify that I was the one who ordered it. And I was left... without any defense, and soon enough, without any badge. It took seven long years before I could clear my name.
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[...again, it was that one sentence that she focused the most on. Letting out a silent breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding until that moment. Granted, the responsibility of having used that evidence was still on him, but...at least things made a little more sense to her now.]
That's horrible.
Who would do such a thing to you?
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