Lightning flashes. Thunder booms and rain patters on the roof. It’s all about ambience here in ViViD, of course. You gotta set the mood!
Welcome to the Pleasurable Super Youthful Caring Hospital Stage, PSYCHward for short. It works, shut up. It’s a stage created for your well-being, health and happiness. Be careful, though. The first step you take in the dilapidated asylum carries you right into a puddle.
Look down, and the puddle is red.
Ah.
Of course it’s blood.
It’s only going to get even more fun from here.
 Good Day. I Am The New Introducer For ViViD Levels. Mosley? Who's That?
Anyway, Please Have Fun And Remember To Be Safe. Safety Is Our First Priority At CERES.
Thank you. Enjoy.
|
PHASE I [ 4 00 ] The first room any people familiar with the ViViD song and dance routine will find is one that is...wonderfully full of body bags. Body bags everywhere -- on the floor, on the shelves, uncomfortably tossed over the back of a chair...and each body bag has a helpful tag.
Handy.
Of course, within each bag is a newcomer; they won’t be able to escape the body bags until someone else unzips them. They’re dressed in little more than hospital gowns, toe tags still attached to bare feet.
Welcome to ViViD! Enjoy your stay.
Of course, there has to be an element of surprise to it. Some body bags contain living, breathing newcomers, yes. But the others?
These contain corpses. The toe tag on them indicates a loved one or someone important to you -- or someone you hate beyond all else. You open the bag, and there is their face, achingly familiar and frozen in death...but blink and suddenly they’re the corpse of a nondescript stranger.
PHASE II [ 600 ] Step out of that room and now it’s the asylum proper. Lights flicker. It’s dark, but it’s still more than clear to anyone with ears -- something’s stalking everyone in this place.
The shadow flickers on the wall, the lights go out -- you turn a corner and there it is, jumping out at you with an unearthly cackle --
A puppet.
It hangs there limply, utterly harmless.
All around the facility, these harmless puppets lurk. In lockers, behind doors, in dark halls…
But they’re all literally inanimate and harmless. Whose dumb idea was that?
PHASE III [ 1000 ] But slowly, the atmosphere changes. Go in deeper, and the sounds around deaden until there’s nothing left but the dark all around and the sound of your own breathing. And yet, irrevocably you know, whether as an aspect of the level or something else entirely --
Something is actually hunting you now.
It makes no noise. It can’t be seen. But it’s stalking, and it’s on the hunt.
To make matters worse, now the asylum seems to have become a proper maze, with dead ends everywhere, and practically no light to see them by.
And the only other souls you’ll see are the other people stuck in the maze -- but there’s something not quite right about them either. You can see...bits of their code, lurking under the surface of their skin, and as you watch, it’s being corrupted, bit by bit, the longer they’re in the dark.
If you look down, it’s happening to you too.
Better hurry.
There’s only one way out.
PHASE IV [ 1400 ] And then you step through a doorway into light.
You escaped the maze, but this is an asylum, and you’re about to see why. There are rows upon rows of cages of aliens. They cry out and reach out through the bars with webbed or clawed hands or tentacles, begging for release.
Let them out, or don’t -- the exit to Cerealia proper is right there at the end of this room, inviting and safe.
But if you do elect to let them out, the entire room suddenly goes silent.
And there, in that cage you opened, there is no longer an alien, but instead a doll. And it’s watching you. Stay any longer, and the doll with start to move, reaching -- and if it touched you, suddenly you’re the one locked away behind bars.
On the plus side, when you take the exit to Cerealia, it’ll deposit you in the Pleasure District, where massagebots will reach for you to try to drag you in for a sensual massage.
Welcome!
PENALTY [ ???? ] You were caught in the maze.
It’s hard to say even now what it was that caught you, but now you’re strapped down to an operating table, and there’s a flat-faced doctor standing above you.
The restraints can’t be broken.
There’s a prick of a needle, and you fall unconscious -- and that’s probably a mercy. When you wake up, you’ll be back in the asylum somewhere, but missing a sense -- the one from your character’s application will be gone. A character who is sight will have been blinded, for instance, and a character who is touch will feel nothing. This will last until they log out of ViViD and get into Cerealia.
[ 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. ] |
Welcome to Cerealia's July intro log! For your convenience, we have compiled the characters' arrival experience here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you! |
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no subject
I don't know how much of this courtesy I truly deserve, sir, but if you insist, I will accept it with open arms. I promise not to let you down.
[He actually cracks a smile before returning to a more serious expression, touching his hand to a wall and lowering his gaze in focus.]
I can sense some vibrations, but not enough to find a clear path without exploring. I don't suppose you have any experience with mazes?
no subject
Well, for starters, drop the 'sir' stuff, okay? It feels weird coming from a guy older than I am.
[His eyes travel to Jonathan's hand on the wall, mildly curious. Judging by his words, he probably wasn't any sharper than he was, sixth sense-wise, but it seemed he at least knew how to use it. Jonathan's question earns a small snort from Yusuke, however-- boy, did he EVER.]
But yeah, unfortunately I do. In fact, I'm kind of getting sick of them at this point. Last couple of times I was with someone who could sense the right way out and had cool path markers, but-- looks like we're kind of screwed on that end. Maybe we can try following those vibrations of yours until something clicks, I guess.
no subject
[Jonathan listens keenly and nods at the suggestion, seeming in brighter spirits than he was a few moments ago. It's strange, but he's starting to find this dialect charming.]
I'll lead the way, then. Stay close if you can.
[He beckons Yusuke to follow him forward. He's primarily focused on the walls, his breathing intensifying as he tries to feel the layout of the maze with Hamon. After all, he isn't a complete stranger to this himself - he's gone toe to toe with a zombified Jack the Ripper in a labyrinth like this - but ViViD is far more crafty about things of this manner.
He has a hunch about this corner, but before turning it, he looks back at Yusuke curiously.]
What should I call you?
no subject
Gotcha.
[And so, he trails after Jonathan, keeping as close to him as he can without distracting him from whatever he was doing. It wasn't too difficult to keep an eye on the other man, though-- his aura was bold and bright, growing more vibrant as he took in air. Was it connected, somehow? His breathing was kind of funny, like he was trying to inhale everything at once, but... maybe that was due to his size? Who knew? He'd ask, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was connected to how he was getting them out or not.
Yusuke nearly walks into Jonathan when he pauses at the corner, backpedaling quickly so he doesn't slam himself into his massive body. A frown forms on his face, ready to complain, but it quickly falls away in surprise at his question.]
Uh... just Yusuke's fine, I guess.
Come to think of it, I don't think I got your name either. I'd stick with 'giant detective guy', but that doesn't really roll off the tongue that easily.
no subject
Jonathan Joestar! But you can call me Jojo, if you'd like. Or..."giant detective guy." [He chuckles again, clearly relaxed and confident.] Whatever works.
[He considers extending his hand for Yusuke to shake, but his companion doesn't seem to be all that fond of formalities, and the amount of Hamon in his body might prove harmful if he isn't careful. Besides, he's going to need a fair amount of Hamon for the the immediate future, so he decides against it.]
I wish we could have met in better circumstances, Yusuke, but I really am glad to make your acquaintance. Come! This maze isn't going to escape itself.
[Jonathan actually rounds the corner this time, placing his hand back on the wall and returning to his breathing. If he sticks to this wall, he knows they'll eventually find a way out - the problem is trying not to run into whatever's following them. It seems to be completely silent, but Jonathan can feel its presence, and he doesn't think it wants to chat.]
no subject
I think I'm just gonna go with Jojo, if that's cool with you. Much easier to say.
[That grin grows wry at the other man's comment, however, and he merely shrugs a shoulder.]
Most of my life has been made up of crappy circumstances, so I've learned to roll with what I got. I will say it's gonna be one hell of a story to tell people some day.
[He continues to trail after the larger man, observing the walls around them. The urge to help out in some way is strong, since Yusuke was no slouch when it came to these things-- but he wasn't entirely sure what to DO. His sixth sense wasn't at Kuwabara's levels, so he couldn't 'feel' his way out, and whatever's been stalking them has been pretty good at masking it's presence. Not to mention something was 'off' about his body too...
Maybe he needed a distraction after all.]
So... you doing okay over there? You sound like you kinda need an inhaler.
no subject
Well, at least that train of thought is interrupted swiftly enough. He doesn't stop this time, but he does look back at Yusuke while he keeps up a steady pace.]
Hm? An..."inhaler?"
[Funny thing - those aren't going to be invented for another 70 or so years, but the etymology of the word is simple enough that Jonathan manages to figure out what Yusuke means.]
Oh! No, I'm quite alright. I'm used to breathing in this specific way, but I didn't mean to catch you off guard. It is admittedly a little complicated, but...it helps produce the energy you see around me.
[He gestures around his entire body with his free hand, emphasizing his aura.]
no subject
His eyebrows raise at Jonathan's initial confusion about the question-- he did know what those were, right?-- but as the larger man explains what was going on, Yusuke's face drops a little in surprise. So he was aware of his aura after all.]
No, no, it's fine, I mean-- it was a little weird, and I wasn't sure if the game did anything funky to you, but...
That's producing your spirit energy? Really? I didn't think breathing techniques kicked it into overdrive-- er, aside from the whole 'keeping you alive' thing, that is.
no subject
Spirit energy? I suppose you could call it that, but...well, it's a little different.
[Not that he has any context for what Yusuke's talking about. What does catch his attention is the way Yusuke speaks like spirit energy is something familiar to him. He might ask about that later, but he's inclined to explain himself fully beforehand.]
The energy you see around me is called Hamon. By breathing in a certain way, I create ripples of it in my body. From there, I can project it from my limbs, but if I create enough of that energy...it manifests in the air around me, like you can see now.
[To emphasize his point, Jonathan inhales a particularly sharp gasp of air and the glow around him brightens.]
no subject
Yusuke stares at the glowing aura for another moment or two, curious and kind of impressed. He hadn't expected this guy to have an ability quite like this (though maybe he was this big because of training? that would definitely make sense), but it was interesting seeing what sort of powers other people had here.
There was one particular detail that stuck in his mind, and while this wasn't the best place to pry into questions, he couldn't help but ask.]
Wait... you said you project it from your limbs? Like... in a bullet, or a wave, or...?
[IF THIS GUY HAD A FANCY GLOWING SPIRIT GUN, HE WASN'T SURE WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO]
no subject
Not exactly. Typically, you pass Hamon through an object, as a conduit, or into another living thing, but you need to establish physical contact to do that. The closest thing I can think of...my mentor could spit Hamon-charged wine from his mouth and turn it into solid projectiles, but somehow I doubt that's what you had in mind.
[And for just a split-second, his smile turns wistful.]
If I struck this wall with my elbow, for example, the Hamon would pass through the wall and onto the other side. But if I hit another person, the energy would remain in them for some time before dissipating.
[SO NO HAMON SPIRIT GUN, UNFORTUNATELY.]
no subject