PHASE I [ ?? ?? ] This time, ViViD is a deathtrap.
There is random magma everywhere, monsters will spawn at random, and at some points, the game is entirely unplayable. It’s like the dev team totally disappeared mid-constructing the level.
Oh wait, that’s exactly what happened.
Monsters may spawn on top of you, you may suddenly be standing in a poisonous bog, you may suddenly lose your powers, or your senses, or so many different things --
It’s time to get out of here, ASAP.
Thankfully, the exit is obvious. Like. Blindingly obvious. It’s got a big sign over it that says EXIT
And just like that, you’ll be out of ViViD and --
PHASE II [ 0830 ] When you wake up (and it’s strange, because you were sure that you were logging out just a second ago), it’s in a pile of bodies.
They’re cold, but not in the same sense that a dead body would be cold. While they are lifeless and look incredibly real, they don’t feel real. They feel like dolls, mannequins, empty models and nothing more. Their code doesn’t seem to be functioning right.
And what some characters may realize upon looking at this pile of bodies is that they are all of the characters who were sacrifices before. Any character that was dropped who had a high magical or spiritual affinity is there in that pile of bodies, lifeless and eyes blank and vacant. Even you might be there, staring at your own dead body -- but it isn’t real It can be touched, but it’s really nothing more than a lifeless body.
You’ll have to crawl out of that pile of bodies to get anywhere, and then you’ll realize -- you’re in the Sanctuary, a building built by the characters as a safe place from CERES. And it’s looking pretty run-down at this point. The technology in it no longer functions, there is no security on it whatsoever…
Oh, and now there’s a pile of bodies. Great.
PHASE III [ 1000 ] There’s also a robot.
It’s wandering from place to place, though it’s impossible to follow. One second it’s there, the next it’s just gone.
Also, it’s wearing this. Weird.
But even with that on its face, the robot seems focused on one thing in particular. In fact, it has a sign, and it says:
Down with CERES. Up with Robots.
That’s a happy, cheerful message. If you try to go up to it to talk to it, it will look at you before...bonking you on the head with the sign and running off. That’s incredibly rude.
Alternatively, you may be safe and sound in your home, but then the doorbell rings, and there’s the robot again. The duck mask is gone, but now instead it has a pin on his fake lapel, and then he’s shoving a pamphlet at you.
He tips his hat, and then he’s gone. Weird.
(Also, if you hold onto the pamphlet, it will lead you directly to the person whose picture is on it, and you’ll feel like you’ve known them and have loved them for years.)
PHASE IV [ 1245 ] But not all is fun and games and shenanigans. There is something...well, strange happening, and the first real realization of that will be when it starts to rain. More than just the localized rain that a few unfortunates have dealt with -- no, it’s raining completely and totally, and that’s when it might hit you.
For the first time in Cerealia, there’s weather.
It’ll rain for a few hours, and then it’ll stop and become hot and sunny. It may get humid, considering it’s a jungle planet. At night, it’ll get rather cold.
Seems like whatever was keeping Cerealia’s atmosphere stable is now gone -- which also means that characters may start to occasionally experience headaches, nausea and dizziness if they go too close to the walls. It seems safer in the center of the city, and the Residential District is still okay, but… there’s no doubt that the planet’s atmosphere is starting to encroach on the city.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] But who cares about all of that? More importantly, you are here in this… totally not shoddy city to have fun, and it’s still being advertised as a pleasure colony. Or, well, it would be if, you know, CERES was still around.
But close enough.
And as a pleasure colony, it would figure that the first robots to really get fixed are...well, the Pleasure District robots. Unfortunately, the Pleasure District is still a nice big mess, so now they’re wandering the entire colony, looking for people they can hug, massage or...try to drag into more explicit activities.
Welcome to 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. ] |
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But as the feeling grows, it's a less nebulous familiarity and more certainty.
By the time he makes out the faint glow through the rain, he's already certain. That's all he needs to raise his voice, turn his step in that direction despite the dizziness that makes keeping a straight line a challenge. He's a gundam pilot. He's got this.] Naoki..?
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He remembers?]
--yeah! [He breaks into a grin. Dizziness and feeling unpleasant and all, he hurries up.] What do you think you're doing, winding up back here? [He sounds too happy about it, too glad and for the life of him he can't tamp it back.]
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It's a relief to see you. Everything seems... [he cuts off before looking up at Naoki, frowning.] Back here. Then, I was gone after all? How long?
[This just makes the dizziness worse somehow, thinking about it.]
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Around three months.
[His hold tightens minutely, as if he's just recalling that mind-chilling realisation one of his closest friends was gone, just like that.]
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[The blond echoes it in disbelief with a shake of his head.] It feels like I never left. Like I just closed my eyes, and then when I opened them everything was--
[Another shake of his head to try to clear it.] What happened here?
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[The weather. Speaking of. Naoki tugs at Quatre's shoulders, urging him to move while gesturing to Yurlungur. The demon grumbles something, but it does flit above their heads, providing a makeshift cover from the rain. Naoki starts to lead him away from the wall, back toward where he thinks the residential district is.
He's following the sense of people.]
I'll catch you up on the rest once we're somewhere safe and dry.
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[The weather. Give him the desert any day. Sigh. But he glances up as Naoki's demon helps them out, offering up a thank you for the cover.
And then he's following Naoki, bit by bit, feeling better as they make their way away from the wall.]
All right. Dry sounds great, actually.
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[He makes his way with confidence back the way he came, exhaling a quiet sigh of relief the further he gets from the wall. Eventually his steps slow, though they're still in the rain, because he can't really believe it.]
...I didn't think I'd get to see you again. It probably feels weird hearing that when you don't remember being gone, huh?
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Not that weird... [He sets a hand to his own chest. He understands the feeling because well, he feels the feeling.]
And I'm glad, to see you again, Naoki. Even if for me it doesn't feel like very long.
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You'll just have to deal with me being extra glad to see you. [Since he was, well. A little destroyed when he left, but by no fault of his own.]
Though I'll tell you, this place has gotten to be more and more of a mess in the time you were gone...
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[He teases gently, but there's a smile on his face. Naoki is a dear friend, and Quatre feels bad or having worried him.]
It looks that way. ViViD was barely functioning. And then I wound up in this... [Nope you know what he'll just not talk about that.]
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Still, there's a lot of crazy stuff going on right now, and that is rather demanding of attention. He frowns as Quatre trails off, wondering if he really even wants to know. Well, he certainly doesn't want to force him to elaborate on something unpleasant.]
...Something bad?
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[He frowns, brow furrowing. They were eerie somehow.]
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They're people who were here...?
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[Quatre glances over at Naoki, his own expression still quite serious.]
It was unsettling.
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[He reaches over, giving Quatre's shoulder a squeeze-- half to reassure him, half to reassure himself that his friend is honestly here and solid and real.]
You okay?
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Of course. I'm fine. Better now that I've started finding important friends again.
[Really. Naoki's presence alone is reassuring.]
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I'll look out for you. [Better than that one time-- better than then for sure.]
But this place is really falling apart now, I think. [More than just physically. Naoki leads them forward, attentive, body tight in case he needs to be ready.]
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[That is the only way he'll accept it, Naoki! Got it?]
It looks like it is. What's happened? How did it get like this?
[Everything feels off. Feels weird. Feels like it's still crumbling.]
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That, well...
Honestly, I'm not sure. CERES has been MIA, though. There was something about Mosley being fired or something and then... [He waves a hand.] It's just gone downhill from there, with the technology going haywire and the robots and androids going after whoever.
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[Quatre frowns, shaking his head.] But somehow people are still being brought to this place. I wasn't the only one.
[So it wasn't just him, and he was brought back. Though where he'd been in this time, he doesn't know.]
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Dragged back here. If Quatre was in the code somewhere, hrm.] We're still always looking for answers. That hasn't changed in the time you were gone.
[They're getting close to the residential district, at least, and Naoki steers them toward awnings they can duck under on the way to apartments-- he doesn't know about Quatre's, so he's just bringing him to his.]
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Mm. You aren't the type to give up. Most people here don't seem to be.
[Oh! Speaking of that.] How is Yang? Is she doing all right? [Is she still here? This is when Quatre realizes he'll have to check in on all his friends from before sooner rather than later.]
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She's doing good. A lot's happened... I'm gonna have to introduce you to her this time, finally.
[No more vanishing!!]
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[Quatre informs him, cheerfully enough. It'll be fun, Naoki. You'll enjoy it. He's sure of it.]
But I'm glad to hear she's doing well.
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