estoria | [ closed ] Taking, pretending, you're nothing but giving

Entry tags:

merlin,
yu narukami

[ closed ] Taking, pretending, you're nothing but giving

Who: Two dumb boys aka

covenantal
When: IC ( 6/16 ) OOC ( 4/3 ) [forward dated]
Where: ViViD
What: Just your average ViViD adventure. aka Trust Exercises and Getting To Know You: The Level
Rating/Warning: content warning for mild sexual questions (ty ViViD stop being thirsty), and ...a sort of drug use.

[ Considering he and Yu have chatted a bit lately, not to mention the other's brief disappearance (which he still hasn't really brought up -- but neither has Yu so whatever), he figured it might be time to do some catching up but in... a different way. The text conversation had been short and more about the meeting place and time, and considering work etc it's ended up being later in the day when this arrangement is made for.

He's dressed pretty casually, considering they're going to need to run most likely, though his shoes are still boots rather than anything versatile for running for a long time.

By the time Yu makes it to the area where ViViD is held in the Entertainment District he'll find Merlin leaning against a wall, holding a piece of paper in front of himself with words scribbled on. They're all spells he's trying to learn but still can't work out the pronunciation for, can't quite get right.

Most of them might be healing spells, honestly.

When he finally takes note that he's not alone anymore though, he stuffs the list into a pocket. ]

Ready to go?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Yu is dressed in clothing similar to what he'd wear if he were going to the boxing studio. He feels a little strange - he feels like he ought to be wearing his Yasogami High uniform, but he hadn't been wearing it when he got pulled here, and hasn't had it ever since. But this isn't a bad secondary option, anyway... it's good exercise clothing, anyway.

He shows up carrying a sword, since he always brings a weapon into ViViD these days. Merlin gets a small wave and a nod. ]

Yeah. You too?

[ He's curious about the list, his eyes following Merlin's hand, but he doesn't outright ask. ]

[ The only sword he owns is locked away in his room, with only one other person who knows of its existence here--just in case. He could wield it himself, but it feels like overkill, especially as he learns more and more spells, expands his own abilities. ]

Of course, wouldn't want to keep you waiting.

[ The list also has a couple of things he might try in here if the situation arises, though there's also a pretty big chance nothing will happen until he gets it right anyway. ]

We just need to decide on an option we're both comfortable with, right? [ Last time he left it all to Lee when he was in here with someone else, he's learned from that mistake after getting locked in some weird DDR game. ]

[ Yu nods. ]

To be honest, I've never done this before. We'll just have to choose whichever we like best.

[ ... and whichever sounds least bananas. Which is always going to be hit or miss, with ViViD, probably. Yu will be the one to step forward and pull up their list of options, being the more familiar of the two with technology. These titles are all... questionable.

Trust Zone

Street Fights R Us

Exotic Love Love ! !

SUPER DEMOLITION

Well then.

Yu's expression doesn't betray much. ]

Thoughts?

You haven't at all? I know you said you didn't really use it, but... [ So despite being the less familiar with the technology, maybe he does at least know how to load it up better? Maybe. ] I use this to practice most of the time.

[ No one wants to see the effect of the more dangerous spells in his grimoire before he can control them, after all.

Though when the list is on the screen he pauses and ...

stares. ]

Only one of those sounds normal. Trust zone?

[ Why is ViViD so horny and violent anyway???????? ]

Not outside of the introductory levels.

[ Yu really, really doesn't like ViViD.

FOR

OBVIOUS

REASONS?????????????????

Yu sighs through his nose. He looks unfazed, but really, deep down, he feels the same. ]

Trust Zone it is. After the dating simulators we all went through recently, I don't want to try my luck with Exotic Love Love.

[ So he'll select Trust Zone, and ViViD loads the level without a hitch. All they have to do is step in. ]

[ Calm down?! Look, it's just better than him causing an earthquake or lightning storm one day?! Not like he's gotten that far yet, but he can create lightning if he wants to--with enough anger in his heart, anyway. ]

I feel exactly the same.

[ Once they've gone through the steps to enter ViViD, they find themselves in a small room. Yu, at least, will recognise the room as one that belongs to an old ship. It has multiple bunk beds, a small cabinet for luggage. There's a bathroom, and a wardrobe for clothes. The wardrobe's door is a mirror, full length so you can view an entire outfit in there.

There are two suitcases in the open cupboard, one red and one blue (red pill, blue pill anyone) along with another cupboard and a vase. There's a few pictures scattered around the room too, and the door looks as though it has a key to open it.

The question is, where is it? ]

...Do you have any idea what we need to do?

[ What does this have to do with trust?? Though maybe he should have kept his mouth shut as when he turns towards a window at the side--the glass cracks and water starts pouring inside.

They're off to a good start. ]

[ For all his relative experience with ViViD, Yu is about to learn his own actual inexperience. Because the room they end up in isn't one he's expecting at all. It's small, not at all the usual expansive environment he's come to expect from ViViD, and there's nothing to fight.

Immediately curious, Yu sets his sword on one of the bunk beds and starts to look around. The door turns out to be locked, and the pictures aren't of anything or anyone he recognizes. He's looking at one when the glass of the window cracks, and his head snaps up. ]

... escape.

[ It hits him all at once. They're supposed to figure out how to get out of here. On a time limit, too. Before they drown. ]

We need the key for the door. Start searching everything you can think of.

[ Yu, for his part, goes back to the cupboard, to the two suitcases, which he pulls out and opens. In one, he finds a screwdriver. The other suitcase is locked with a 4-digit number pad. ]

Edited (messes up this tag six hundred ways from sunday sorry about me) 2016-04-02 00:05 (UTC)

[ Oh, there isn't. He, personally, had to deal with falling bricks and a robot and dance mats the last time he was here, so really the water is still a little better than that--but nothing is a surprise anymore. ]

Right. [ It comes out a little dry as he starts running towards the wardrobe to look in the mirror. There's some writing on it in lipstick, If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I? and his head tilts as he tries to understand it. What is that even supposed to mean? ]

If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I?

[ His first thought is going to be a little difficult to manage, but he tries to pry the mirror from its hold, when that doesn't work, he looks inside the wardrobe to find a puzzle on the back of the door. While there isn't a 4 digit code to insert, it does look like there's some kind of pin to type in. Probably the answer to that riddle, with the looks of things. He pulls it back, noting that there are 6 letters or spaces on the keypad. There's a mini safe underneath, where there's probably another clue.

The water, already mostly covering his boots is already starting to be a worry, so he starts repeating the riddle to himself. ]

If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I? If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I?

[ Not that drowning, even in ViViD, where they'd probably just get kicked out of the level or end up in some weird, awful "bonus" level, would be a fun experience.

Yu lifts his head to look at Merlin when he first asks the question, and his gaze flicks to the mirror. He mouths the question himself as he glances over the locked suitcase one more time and then leaves it, keeping the screwdriver in hand as he moves back to the desk.

The picture he was looking at... there are screws on the back of it. These he starts unscrewing as fast as he can. ]

Why hide everything like this? It's like the room itself is a puzzle. If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me...

[ Once he gets the screws all off, he pulls the back off the picture, taped to the inside of it is a piece of paper with two numbers: 2 7 ]

[ The awful "bonus" level wouldn't be a surprise anymore with how ViViD works but that's just how it is. Thankfully he's definitely thinking the riddle over, hoping that it won't be about some weird technology he doesn't know about yet. Usually it isn't though. He glances back to see Yu using the screwdriver on the picture but--

--thinking about it, aren't they trying to find the secrets hidden in this room? If you have me you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me.

Could it be? ] Wait-- [ He starts typing in the keys, letting out a sigh of relief when S E C R E T opens the safe to another slip of paper inside. ]

1 5 What does that mean?

Two seven... one five. [ As Merlin's figured out what the secret was, it hits Yu in a flash what the numbers must be for. ] It's the combination to the suitcase.

[ Yu hauls the suitcase up from the rising water and onto one of the beds. 2715 doesn't work, but 1527 does, and the lock pops open. Nestled between two sweaters are a flashlight and a key. Frowning, Yu will hand the flashlight off to Merlin while he heads for the door and tries the key. ]

No luck. There must be something else in the room we can unlock.

[ He pulls away from the mirror and the safe inside it to glance at what Yu is doing, sloshing through the water. He takes the flashlight, switching it on. Using it as a better light source now the water is almost knee deep, he starts to move it around the room. ]

We need to start pulling things apart, maybe? I can't see anything else that can be opened.

[ Yu keeps both the key and the screwdriver tucked into one hand, glancing around the room. It's true; there's nothing else to open or explore that they haven't already, seemingly.

Except for... ]

What about the beds? They're the only place left that we haven't looked thoroughly. If you take the top, I can take the bottom ones.

[ Right now, that means dunking himself into the water to try and look under the beds as well, but that's a small price to pay if it means getting out of here. ]

[ Yet, Merlin shakes his head. ]

Even for you it's going to be difficult to do that by yourself now. It's already under the water. If you can hold it up-- [ Because Merlin isn't ashamed to admit Yu is stronger than him physically, okay. ] --I can look underneath.

How does that sound?

[ Yu considers this, and then nods. He takes a moment to tuck the screwdriver into a pocket, in case they still need it, and then holds the key out to Merlin. ]

Let's do it. But take the key, in case you find whatever it is we need to unlock.

[ Once Merlin's done that, Yu makes note of where his sword is on the bed - once the water rises, he'll need to grab it quickly, possibly blindly - and then readies himself, hooking fingers under the bed frame. He won't be able to hold it up for long, considering he has to hold up a bunk bed. Yu blows out a breath. ]

Whenever you're ready.

[ He takes a deep breath and looks towards where the bed is. It's getting deeper as the seconds tick by, so once he has the key in a firm grip he nods. ]

On three? Three... Two... One...

[ He ducks under the water right away, holding out the flashlight to see what he's doing. When Yu manages to pull the bed up enough, he can see a chest buried into the frame. It's difficult to wiggle the key into the lock even, especially as his breath is quickly running out. It takes a few wiggles before it clicks open, to the point where it's probably been fifteen to twenty long seconds before he comes splashing up with another key in his hand.

There... probably isn't much time before the water is rising above Yu's chin either so... ]

Got-- [ mpdsskjdg ] --it!

[ Then once Yu has lowered the bed comes the mad rush of trying to swim towards the door with the new key in hand. ]

[ Yu nods again, but doesn't speak this time. He lowers his body and swallows, his jaw flexing. As soon as Merlin says one and ducks, he lifts, grunting with the strain. It's so much more weight than he could have even prepared himself for, and his whole body trembles. But somehow, fired by adrenaline, he manages to get the bed just a few inches off the ground. Leaning over this far keeps him dangerously close to the rising water, too...

Those fifteen to twenty seconds are torture. Torture punctuated by sincere gratitude for all the physically brutal training he's ever been put through over the last year and three months. Boxing, too, has done him a lot of favors. As soon as Merlin's up he drops the bed with a gasp, and there's a resounding clatter as the entire frame crashes back into place.

Breathing heavily with exertion, Yu reaches out to grab his sword and follows Merlin to the door. It's an ungainly thing, with the water at the awkward height it's at, high enough to swim in but low enough to walk through still if they want. Swimming is faster, though, even with his sword in hand, and they make it eventually. Once the door is open, the rushing water pulls them out--

And then disappears. They'll both be left soaking wet and stumbling onto... it's hard to tell. Some type of platform? It's nearly pitch dark. ]

... where are we?

[ Just as Yu is debating calling Saturnus for a lantern, blinding lights switch on, and he throws up an arm to shield his eyes. With the rising lights comes the roar ... of a crowd? ]

What on Earth...

[ Once their eyes adjust, it will become clear they're not on a platform. They're on a stage, ringed round with small bulbs. Behind them is a massive video screen that's showing them in close-up. Spotlights shine down on them from all directions, and before them stretches away what looks like a massive auditorium full of screaming fans, undulating in a low light. No matter how hard they look, they won't be able to pick out a single individual face, even though the fans come right up to the edge of the stage.

Speechless, Yu lays down his sword once again and takes a few steps forward, to a cry of approval from the crowd. ]

WELCOME TO ... THE QUIZ GAME!

[ The voice is sourceless and everywhere. The crowd shrieks. ]

OUR TWO CONTESTANTS TODAY ARE... YU NARUKAMI AND MERLIN! IF THE BOTH OF YOU COULD JUST STEP FORWARD... I'LL EXPLAIN THE RULES.

[ Two new spotlights shine down, illuminating two perfect circles on the stage. Clearly spots that Yu and Merlin are meant to stand in. ]

YOU'LL BE ASKED A SERIES OF QUESTIONS! ANSWER TRUTHFULLY AND YOU'LL BE AWARDED POINTS. GAIN ENOUGH, AND YOU CAN ADVANCE! LIE, AND, WELL... WHAT WOULD THE FUN IN THAT BE, ANYWAY?

[ The crowd boos and jeers, making its disapproval clear. There's something of a threat lacing the booming, slick announcer voice, too. Not only will lying fail to advance them to the next room, but ... what? The stage gives a shudder, and then goes still again. ]

ARE YOU READY?

[ Wordlessly, Yu glances at Merlin.

Then he steps forward into one of the circles of light. ]

[ Relief is the only thing he can feel at first, when the water crashes through the door like a mini tsunami, disappearing into thin air as the room makes way for darkness. The flashlight in his hand seems to have rolled away somewhere, truly leaving them in darkness save for dim lighting that barely shows them past their own hands.

Merlin heaves out air from his lungs as he tries to remember to breathe, coughing a few times. That is, of course, when the announcement begins and the lights flash on. He's just as blinded by it all, covering his eyes with his hand as he tries to squint and see what's going on. ]

Oh you have got to be kidding--

[ Does he even know what a quiz show even is? Probably not.

It's also clear it isn't kidding, as the two spotlights shine down at two spots on the stage behind two separate tables. It isn't clear if they're facing the level or each other anymore, but Merlin hopes it isn't each other after actually getting somewhere with each other now. Not only that, but Yu also has had all his life to learn the past 1000 years' history. He's had maybe 7 weeks? It's an unfair advantage. ]

Why do I even bother coming back here? [ It's a mumble to himself rather than anyone else though, and soon enough Merlin steps into the spotlight after Yu. ]

So is this like truth or dare do you think? Only without the dare and with really harsh penalties if we refuse to answer or lie?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ closed ] Taking, pretending, you're nothing but giving

no subject

no subject

no subject

i'm crying

I COULDN'T RESIST

they truly do not need more of that vivid level jfc

dating sims 6ever

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

i can't stop laughing