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
[as in, he has no idea how long or what happened that quatre would have missed the goings-on, but he at least picks up that he's not new to all this.]
Don't know how long you weren't here for, but with the way things have been, you probably didn't have to be gone long to miss it.
no subject
[What was the starting event of this? Something big had to happen, right?]
I'm not sure either. A couple months, from what I've pieced together. It's really got me feeling a little dizzy, to know I just disappeared and don't remember being gone at all.
no subject
[it wouldn't be the first time he's heard something like that, after all.]
Things've been haywire. Our CERES friends went MIA, the robots—you see what's up with them. Pretty sure some other stuff's been going on, but the weird crap never stops around here so I haven't had much time to look into the rest of it yet.
[like what's up with the ocular implants and whatnot.]
no subject
[Quatre shakes his head, almost to himself. This is all got him pretty thrown off at the moment. He needs to find his footing.]
If this is all going on though, it's probably a good idea to prepare. Supplies, weapons. [Quatre frowns. Hmm.]
no subject
You're not wrong there. The better prepared we are now, the more of a shot we've got at actually fending for ourselves when shit really starts to hit the fan.
[which feels inevitable to him at this point.]
no subject
[Don't mind the small blond teenager talking like the hardened battlefield veteran that he is. He's quite talented at the tactical side of things.
But this battlefield here is different than any he's ever seen. And most aren't soldiers. It worries him.]
no subject
he's not so good at tactics himself, but yuri's no stranger to actually hearing them.]
Fighting on the defensive's not my style anyway. We're running out time to bide at this rate.
no subject
[Quatre sighs. He feels so tired all of a sudden. He looks over at Yuri now. Curious by that statement.]
So you're used to fighting? I mean, you took care of that robot really well.
no subject
I've been in a fight or two. Been a while since I got a good one in without using a sword, though.
[which he'll draw attention to, holding up the sheathed blade for him. "a fight or two" is absolutely the understatement of the century, despite his nonchalant response.]
no subject
Mm. For my part, I'm more used to combat with mobile suits. But there's nothing for me to pilot here.
[A glance to the sword.] It's good that you're prepared, and that you know how to use it.
no subject
[there's not much to say about his preparedness with a sword; he's needed to be able to defend himself, he was a soldier, he's fighting to save his own world in his strange and roundabout way. that's just the way it is.
but "mobile suits" totally lose him immediately.]
no subject
[Technically his gundam is here with him. But it's miniature. Not helpful. Like a remote controlled toy.]