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!
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no subject
Perhaps that's the explanation for the sleek, robotic leg he's got but seems to have no problem walking with now. Not like he'd tell his horrific story to somebody her age anyway.
Zura, by no means, is a father and will hopefully (not) reproduce in the future.. but he's got a nurturing instinct from being the "squad mom" when he was a child. Not to mention, he was coddled by his grandmother until her death since he hardly knew his parents... and you know how grandmothers can be.
Chihiro's (Sen's?) sudden turn back into the fragile building makes Zura's heart leap into his throat that he doesn't even have to think to grab her by the wrist and pull her out of the building, a bit too paranoid from falling ceilings here ever since.
Katsura is incredibly fast, earning him the name Runaway Kotarou, but running isn't what it used to be thanks to his new appendage. ]
Never go back for anything, unless it's a pack of instant ramen..!
[ Not sure where that came from in his scatterbrained mind as he runs with the child, further away from the complex and to safety.
Spoiler alert: it's actually just a slogan for a commercial he saw once back in Edo. ]
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Except right now, Zura is being the Actual Grown Adult that Chihiro's preoccupation with her backpack has her forgetting to be. Despite his statement making no sense: ]
What? I don't have instant ramen, though —
[ She tries to answer while she's being dragged along, pushing herself to keep up in her socks. It's not so hard once she's able to lean forward, letting her backpack bounce against her shoulder and her shoes bang against her chest and side. She couldn't leave her first aid kit, and all the most important things she owns and carries with her behind. It even has her notebook, but... the first aid kit is more important.
Speaking is difficult at a run, so she doesn't manage anything else as she focuses on keeping up with a man who, perhaps slower for the addition of an artificial limb, still has a far longer stride than her own. Yet if she could keep up with Haku and actual flying, she can keep up with Katsura and his mad dash out of building inspection warden hell.
... Potentially right outside, which is a different, colony-level sized building warden's hell. The humidity hits like the summers in parts of Japan, the air carrying a promise of rainfall that's already been delivered one times too many, brand fresh and new. On the bright side, it was helping clean streets that have been neglected for weeks. Over a month? On the down side... everything was getting hotter all of a sudden. The outside coming in isn't precisely livable from what she's been told.
Mostly, she just doesn't think about it. ]
no subject
Speaking of, it nearly gives out from under him and that is what causes him to release Chihiro's arm finally.
Jeeze. It really is hot. It causes Katsura to actually try and catch his breath. ]
Never be late to school after making an instant cup of ramen.
[ oh.. it's still the commercial.
Now that we're out here, though, .. Zura will slowly keep his hand on the hilt of his sword.. just in case.
For whatever reason, he doesn't think it to be necessary to try and start a normal conversation with her, but she's welcome to try. ]
no subject
But the hand on his sword draws her attention, and that... makes her think of the sword spirits, of magic swords, and also hope somewhere in the back of her mind that there is no such thing as a ramen sword.
Think how brittle it'd be, or else... how noodlie... She ultimately breaks into conversation based on concern, between the strange introduction, the fact her ceiling caved in, their run out here, and then the abrupt stop and further ramen education. ]
Are you okay?
[ What if he had memory loss or was confused or injured? Or was a really odd sword spirit? Maybe she should call Kashuu... ]
no subject
[ Though, it's alright to be completely confused. It's a pretty normal reaction to first meeting Zura. Then you get used to his Zura-isms, and.. well.. the rest is history. One thing she needs to know that he hasn't actually said is he's on her side. Anybody who was brought here— he's on their side. It's these opposing parties he fought to diligently against last time he arrived here that he's against.
He knows Tellus isn't safe. Nothing here can be trusted. Not even the most innocent people. Was he keeping his hand on his sword before he was nervous around Chihiro and found her to be a threat? Possibly. Not her exactly, but if she was an illusion— a trick— a glitch in the system like before.
He had seen too many of those. ]
You don't have to worry. I am a patriot who stands for the good people— like you.
Ah, and I have been here before... I have been here a long time.
[ He's a loyal guy, he really is, just a little screwy in the head. ]
no subject
It's nice to meet you, Katsura-san?
[ Her tone communicates some of her uncertainty with the state of his name. She feels no such uncertainty with his declaration of priorities. Chihiro takes people at face value until there's a reason she needs to do otherwise, or unless she knows they aren't very honest in the first place. What grabs at her attention is what he says about having been here before.
It's just a handful of people she's run into like this, but it's enough to still feel startling. Also... uplifted. People who leave don't have to leave forever. ]
Um... welcome back. [ For that, she can offer a smile. Not because Cerealia is all that welcoming right now, in fact it's less so than ever, but because it's still nice, right? To be someplace and be recognised in some sense. ] Everyone says things look a lot more run down than before. I'm not sure how much I can help answer questions for you, but I'll try, if you've got any you want to ask.
no subject
It's merely a "stand-by" as I tend to go through. But don't worry, I am accustomed to not having enough screen time and have built up a resistance to it. I am hoping the animation staff will soon provide for me my own spin-off series to make up for my loss.
[ okay enough of that.
He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear and does take a better look at the place around him, beginning to tread carefully now. ]
That's right. The decor here is unflattering, carpet colors have changed [ and the random destruction he guesses, but priorities ] so a lot has changed. You also were not here when I left, but..
[ He glances down at her, the edges of his lips tweaking upwards slightly. ]
Those who are the youngest here have the biggest fighting spirit I've noticed.
[ he's gonna turn you into a samurai if you're not careful. ]
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... So to speak. What he's saying is confusing. She understands the words, but it's like he's... convinced he's on a show. ]
Katsura-san, do you think you're on a reality television show right now? [ Wait, animation staff? She furrows her brow. ] Or in an anime?
[ That's... a whole different level of dedication to fandom. She's not so into those things, but to each their own. She's distracted enough when he shifts demeanour, quietly hoping he's okay. It must be startling, to be back here. That might account for some of the odd turns in speech.
It doesn't account for what else he says; she blinks, ducking her head for a moment, unsure of what to say. ]
Maybe we don't understand what giving up means yet.
[ She'll never know what to say, so she simply speaks with a simple sincerity, glancing back up toward his face. She doesn't quite smile. There's an implication of what she might look like, should she smile then, but she's serious in this. Seriousness and smiles are uncomfortable partners for her yet. ]
I think mostly we get called impatient.
[ Fighting in whatever ways she can because she wants to be back home, with her family. She wants a home and family to return to — not because she loves her friends here any less. It's just not where she can accept being. Not like this. Not yet. ]
You were fighting for a long time before I got here before you were returned to code, Katsura-san? I'd like to help. Um... to keep helping. Mostly I've been talking with people.
[ Like the elemental spirit-gods, and the Flamines. Casual conversation partners... ]
CERES has been hiding for a while now. They've been ignoring the Flamines, and um... that's not going over well.
no subject
He knew it. He knew more people would want to join his rebellion in due time. ]
Haaaaa—
[ He exhales an airy sound, thin brows pinning together. ]
They ran away because they couldn't continue their evil duties, eh? Even they are afraid now?
[ A pause. ]
Have the Flamines shown their faces? Their actual ones?
no subject
I think their masks are what they feel are their real faces. They don't like contact breakers... and they don't consider is at all. Or this world, I don't think.
no subject
[ Zura never had that opportunity— only spoken with them over video screens. ]
no subject
No. They're not here yet. I called them from CERES Tower, on one of their machines. They said they're coming, but um. There's a lot about this world they didn't know.
[ Or care about. Thaaaat was really obvious. ]
no subject
Ah. They must be coming here to destroy this world next. Is that what you think, also?
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Regardless, Katsura earns himself a glance upward, then a solemn nod. ]
They are.
[ There's no doubt in her mind that the Flamines are coming to destroy the world unless something ponies up on the contract, or they're pulled into a new contract. After all, from what she understands, this is an apathy to anything outside of what they consider good business: their contracts being followed on both ends. ]
no subject
Ah so there it is..! My suspicions from the very start have become true!
[ he never suspected this until now, actually. ]
We have no other choice than to fight against them, then— and form an alliance against the locals who are here. Surely then we can defeat them, don't you think?
no subject
[ She answers honestly, because Chihiro is more inclined to telling the truth when asked. It's too important to say otherwise. ]
But I think between us, and maybe the people here on Tellus, if... if they'll work with us, we can find a way. If they've been bound by contracts once, there's got to be a way to at least use those to fight them, right? Battles aren't only fought with swords and guns and bombs.
no subject
In fact, he's somebody that Zura thinks would have been very helpful right about now.
He wants to raise his breath and argue with Chihiro but.. he finds there is no reason to. ]
I.. suppose that is true.
[ he's used to war with swords— he's used to violence with explosives and has been shown in the past that isn't always the correct way. It's hard for him to say that about now.. especially after so much evil that the Flamines have done. ]
no subject
Still, with his agreeing, she breathes out in a sigh betraying more of her relief than even the slight sag of her shoulders. ]
It doesn't make it easy though... I'm sorry. I know it'd be more direct if we could solve this the way you seem to want to solve it. You're not the only one who feels that way.
[ But... that's the problem that's always sitting on the near horizon. ]
Katsura-san, are you hungry?
[ She'd been ready to make a meal before her apartment sort of... crashed down... so the question is in earnest. ]
1.2
2.2
[ a pause. ]
You don't suppose.. we could convince them to destroy an alien planet instead..?
[ Zura, your hatred towards the Amanto themselves changed long ago.. why are you bringing this up now? ]
no subject
... Instead, she bites back a small smile, not so successfully. Ah... Katsura is kind of silly, huh? It just... fades into a more solemn expression at his question. ]
Katsura-san, I don't think that we should harm others like we've been harmed. I don't believe you want to be thought of like CERES or the Flamines.
[ Not if he believes in revolution. Those are about causing new things, bringing down the old things, something like that. Right? They're not restful, that's for certain. She uh. Holds her hand out just in case he wants to take it again and walk instead of run; it's a mixed bag on what people are comfortable with around here. ]
You were talking about ramen earlier. Did you want to go get noodles? The ones with meat and vegetables?
[ #pretendinghealthy ]
1.2
So, he takes it, honestly thrilled to bits over this development. It feels safer anyway. ]
Ah. Yes. Meat and vegetables.. and..
2.2
[ please find your chill. ]
no subject
I'm not sure if anyone's serving justice today, but we can ask, Katsura-san.
[ In the meantime, she keeps her hold on his hand and definitely will end up leading them toward one of the places she knows is still running, even with the city growing more and more desolate. Funny how thousands of people could just up and go.
(Suffice to say she feels a little safer holding his hand as well.) ]