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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It means more walking. The stores don't have perish... um, fresh food. It's all at the warehouses now.
[ Here I think she can't say anything else to point out how terrible things are, and then... IS THAT REALLY AN ICON OF HIM IN SITES ]
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Well, I'm in dry clothes now and the humidity's still killing me, so a watermelon sounds good – even if it means more walking. Let's go to this warehouse.
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You mean it?
[ talk about perking right on up. she switches direction, very familiar with exactly where they're going now. ]
Then we've got to head this way. Usually I use the tracks as a short-cut. You have to avoid the electric rail, but it's marked well, so it's pretty easy when you can see. But! I probably shouldn't do that today.
[ due to the rain. not that she said that. mostly it sounds like she decided not to take izumi traintrack walking. ]
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As he follows suit, Izumi blinks. He's a genius on the battlefield; however, the same can't be said for any critical thinking required outside of it. ]
Why not?
[ What if he wants to go traintrack walking!! ]
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[ That's so in character... she's too good
She looks up at him, canting her head to the side like she has to consider her question before asking. ]
Is it safe when there's this much water on the ground?
[ Why no, she doesn't actually understand how electrical conductivity precisely works, so... ]
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Everything's offline, right? It should be fine.
But if you're worried, we can take the detour.
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[ No one cleared the tracks from the derailed train, so the electric rail remains on. Which is where more of her caution comes... but she looks at Izumi and trusts that if he's not concerned, it'll be okay. ]
If you think it's okay, we can go that way. I don't mind. It is faster.
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Let's try it, then. It could be fun.
[ And hopefully they don't lose one of Chihiro's thousand lives. ]
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She breathes out in a soft snort at the "could be fun," since that's a silly thing to say in her mind. It's just walking, no matter how one looks at it, and she's walked those rails when they were dry. Also while she was blind, but that wasn't intentional. ]
All right! Let's go this way, then.
[ She near skips off in another direction, settling back into a fast walk with a small smile on her face. She's feeling pretty good! Watermelon is great, and that'll be so much nicer with the humidity... in a very faint way, it's almost homey. If... one felt that humid summer heat was a nice indication of home. She'll take what she can get.
The tracks themselves look fairly familiar to anyone used to modern rail travel, perhaps better maintained until recent weeks. Chihiro walks up onto the platform, jumping over the turnstyle like a pro at dodging paying for a ride that will never be there. (Whoops.) ]
We can get down to the tracks at the far end of this platform!
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While Chihiro is the picture of grace jumping over the turnstyle, Izumi is the picture of awkwardness as he all but climbs it with gangling legs. There's no Yuiga's aggravating presence to spur him into an impressive long jump, and he'd rather not slip on the puddles left behind by the downpour earlier (he just got new clothes).
Shielding his eyes with a raised hand, Izumi peers toward the edge of the platform. ]
Okay! Let's see how the tracks look.
[ He did say prior to coming that they'd "try it." On the way over, he picks up a pebble on the wayside. ]
no subject
Only it did run into the problem of inadequate city design, where the proper alleys for runoff and excess, unplanned water hadn't been kept in mind, including forgetting to put the track on a grade to encourage water not to stand in puddles between the rails. As it is, Chihiro slams her hands on the metal rail to the tiny door leading down to the tracks proper, leaning her weight against it to peer down and out at the tracks leading away from them in a gentle curve, following the form of the city. Lately, it's been more uncomfortable to be this far out, closer to the collapsing barrier, but today isn't so bad.
There are definitely puddles to be seen from here, some smaller, some thin, some breaching across both tracks and under the electric rail. Rolling up onto her tip toes, she squints out across the distance, up to the point where the tracks disappear around a mostly standing building. ]
What do you think?
no subject
Wow, that's low! There's more water than I thought there'd be . . .
[ If he were to throw this pebble, how deeply would it sink into one of the puddles? Maybe this isn't such a good idea. He thought the rail and tracks might be dotted with droplets of leftover rain, not swimming in puddles here and there. (Perhaps they will escape death yet.) ]
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[ Thankfully the water isn't deep so much as present; the worst is about a half inch of standing water. Chihiro twists around to look back at her companion. ]
What do you think?
[ trusting him to be the actual adult here ]
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I know what I said earlier, but this isn't what I was expecting. Maybe we should take that detour, after all.
[ He could use his Trion body to cheat his way around, but that'd be abusing his Trigger. Even if there's no Border here, rules are rules.
Too bad . . . They'll just have to take the electric rail route next time. And not die. ]
no subject
Mm, better safe than resurrected.
[ She shivers as she says the word, already having dedicated herself to the new (old) plan, turning and walking away without a backward glance. For someone who gladly walked and would have walked submerged tracks in another world, the difference between magic or steam transportation and more modern styles that went fast, but carried their own dangers, it's a little amusing. Having to be aware of those differences and how a repeat here could kill her, when in another place, the same action was about saving someone else entirely. ]
It won't be much longer! As long as none of the robots get weird again.
no subject
[ It seems like something this small isn't enough to disappoint Chihiro. Izumi follows, though he gives the gate a second glance over his shoulder, wondering how different the scene would be if public transport were still functional.
If any robot acts weird, he'll throw the pebble at it. Would that piss it off more? ]
The chances of that happening are low, aren't they?
no subject
[ She glances his way once they're off the platform and back on the streets. She weighs what she's seen lately against what she could say. It's not comforting, and she almost wants to sigh, because so little of what she's had to say is helpful. ]
They've been coming back online. Some of the robots have, at least, in the Pleasure District. I don't think they're acting right? But I've always been moving through there pretty fast. The bath bomb place is there, and so is one of the shrines.
[ She frowns, looking vaguely troubled. ]
I mean... I don't think the way it's supposed to be there is the way it is, anymore. Everyone's too insistent, and they really don't care about your age, you know?
[ Ten year olds get super freaking good at dodging robots is what she's saying without saying that. ]
It's not getting arrested or having robots try to murder us like before, but it's still really uncomfortable.
[ aka throw the pebble, have the robot ask if Izumi needs help getting his rocks off. /stares into the distance ]
no subject
You mean . . . insistent in that way?
[ So his mind doesn't usually drift in that direction, but when it's pushed there, he can't help it. Izumi doesn't like the mental image, anyway, when it's Chihiro explaining the situation. ]
That does sound troublesome. Let's move quickly enough so that they don't notice us if we run into any.
Why's there a shrine in a place like that, anyway?
no subject
I dunno. I think the Elemental Spirit Gods might be territorial.
[ Not stating there's one shrine per district... but motioning for them to cross the street at a broken intersection, perking up again. ]
Mostly the robots don't come out of that district, though! They have today, but it's just a few of them, not all of them. We don't have to pass through there. We're dealing with the other parts of the shopping district instead.
no subject
As he follows, he thinks about the various districts he's heard about so far. ]
Does that mean there are shrines in every district?
no subject
Yeah! One in each of the four major districts. Water's in the Pleasure District. That's Maris-sama. He's grumpy. Caeli-sama is wind, and they're in the Entertainment District. Occidi-sama is earth over in the Residential district. Since we're heading to another part of the Shopping district, we're where Ardeo-sama's shrine can be found. He's fire. And a fox.
[ Which makes perfect sense to her, all things considered. Kitsune fire and fox fire. Why not? ]
The research district is in the middle. Um... I think that's where the Bridge was held for a while.
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The Bridge? What, like to the spirit world or something?
[ A literal bridge? ]
no subject
I guess she is? From what I understand, she's the Bridge between the different Gods. So she kind of bridges the people here to their spirit world, only their spirits are part of this world, like ours might have been in really ancient Japan.
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Oh, the Bridge is a person! So she's really important, huh. If she was being held "for a while," does that mean she's not around anymore?
[ Did everyone just pack up and leave? That's not very nice. ]
no subject
No, CERES is who went into hiding. The Bridge was um... she's not nice. She was sacrificing people like us for power. I'm not sure why. I thought she was powerful on her own, but she wants more. Like CERES wants more.
[ The world's most haphazard tutorial continues onward, guided by a ten year old with a biased perspective on events she wasn't even around for. ]
I don't know what happened after she was freed from the Research Tower. I think she was held there at least? Kashuu might know. He's been her a long time.
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