open!

[rollin]

Who: Yata rollin & you!
When: at various times between December 13 and 15
Where: various
What: Yata sucks at gardening, looks for people to play vivid with, has a tendency to run into people with meet cutes, etc.
Rating/Warning: PG because of language

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a; it sounds like a joke; "a thug walks into a flower shop..." (shopping district)

[ Someone like Yata into indoor gardening is a rare sight, so he is met with a few raised eyebrows as walks down the streets with a pot of forget-me-nots in his hands, wilting due to reasons one can already guess from appearances alone. He seems particularly worried about his current predicament though, and if you're close enough, you might hear him talk to himself. ]

Where the hell is the plant doctor? Do those even exist? Why are flowers so high maintenance, anyway? [ No, Yata, you're just wrong. He sighs. ] I'm so dead...

[ He's this close to just asking Totsuka.

OR! You can find him at an NPC-run flower shop, (but not the one Vietnam works at!) fidgeting awkwardly. ]

b; it feels like he waited nine long years (game center)

[ There's a holographic display advertising the new available scenarios in ViViD! One of them is called Last Legend XXV, in which up to four players can explore an open-world environment, fight monsters and complete quests as they go on a mission to seize their kingdom's crystal from the clutches of their enemies! New features include the ability to switch weapons during battle, vehicle travel... and camping...? Another is called Zokuzoku Remembrance, a new action/romance (!?) game that will get your heart pounding in more ways than one. It seems to be a straight up beat-'em-up game, but the ad also says you have to "fight for your love". What does that mean? Yata sure doesn't know. The last one is a more musical game called Star Show! in which you can sing, dance and fight aliens as an intergalactic super idol. While Yata has some reservations regarding the selection, he's just happy to see games he already knew about up there. ]

Hehe, I tested some of these! Man, the new Last Legend looks cooler now that it's finished...

[ OR! If you're alone, Yata might catch you looking at the display instead. Which ad is your character looking at? He'll definitely have something to say about it. ]

c; he'd punch them for you if he knew how to drive (anywhere)

[ Maybe you're busy on your Cerevice, texting your friends and browsing the network. Maybe you're way into this song on your music player, or need to get something that flew out of your grasp and onto the street. Maybe you're just a little out of it today. Whatever the reason, you're about to absentmindedly cross the road. However, a hand forcefully pulls you by the collar, the back of your shirt, or your wrist; and in the short instant it takes the traffic lights to change from red to green, a group of motorcycles zoom past you at an incredible speed. You're safe, but the voice behind you seems to be angrier than you should be. ]

Assholes... Hey, you okay?

[ Whether he looks frightening or genuinely concerned is a matter of perspective. (It's the latter.) ]

d; wildcard

[ Hit him up anywhere! He's most likely up and about, doing odd jobs, breakdancing for money, shopping for Christmas gifts, walking to the infirmary with injuries or skateboarding anxiously. Whatever, these are just a few ideas, GO CRAZY. ]

Comments

[rollin]

I won't leave you alone!?

[ What kind of friend do you take him for? Soon, they reach the machine. ...Does he let Athena in first or should he go in... He obviously wants to get in first from the way he excitedly runs to the door. ]

Here it is, um. [ VAGUE GESTURES ] You can go first and stuff.

[psycholawgy]

Aw, c'mon! Lead the way, Yatta!

[ She just laughs and pats him on the back. ]

You're my... what's that word again? Senpai?

[rollin]

[ He nearly shrinks away because of that pat on the back (get over it, Yata) but the word senpai gives him so much life. ]

Yeah! [ He jerks a thumb at himself. ] Leave it to me, Athena. After today, you'll be a ViViD pro!

[ And they enter! When he chooses the scenario, their surroundings dissolve and transform into an entirely different world. They seem to be in... an open plain? The plain is surrounded by scattered forests. There's a car and tent behind them and a bulletin board a few meters ahead. There seems to be a city in the dista—oh there's a wildebeest-like monster charging at them I guess. ]

[psycholawgy]

I'm counting on y— heads up!

[ But as the scenery changes, Athena becomes more alert. She hears that monster come at them, even though it's still a couple of meters away. Sorry, Yata, but she's going to rush to that monster and charge head on! ]

[rollin]

[ WOAH WAIT HE HASN'T EVEN GIVEN HER THE TUTORIAL YET

There are a few features in this particular scenario that he hasn't told her about yet which would make battling more convenient, but this can be her first hands-on experience with. When the monster is this close to trampling all over Athena, Yata immediately gets in between them and kicks it in the jaw, red streaks of light following his feet. Now that the monster's locked onto him, this will buy her some time. ]

Athena, call your weapon!

[psycholawgy]

[ I'M SORRY SHE'S SO RECKLESS. ]

My what?!

[ Okay, she is definitely 100% unaware of that feature. ]

[rollin]

Your weapon!

[ Yata calls out to her as he runs to distract the monster. No one actually knows how ViViD works so let's just BS it all the way through. ]

Just... imagine it in your hand!

[ Oops, running's not working. Time to grab it by the skull! ]

[psycholawgy]

[ Well, okay!! Athena's at least very imaginative. She thinks of wanting to fight monsters, and her glove turns into a gauntlet, and its match appears on her other arm. They look like low-level gauntlets, but hey! A weapon's a weapon. ]

Alright!

[ Not there is much different from how she was earlier. It just looks like her other hand is gloved now, too. She runs towards Yata, ready to fight. ]

Let's beat this thing up!

[rollin]

Are you serious!?

[ He was hoping she'd pick something bigger, like a sword or a lance... Unfortunately for Yata, the monster breaks out of his hold. Unfortunately for Athena, it's charging right at her! ]

[psycholawgy]

[ Athena may not know how to play video games, but she sure knows how to pack a punch. She deals one in straight at the monster's face, and another, and another, and she kicks that thing and sends it to the ground. ]

Hey, look what I did!

[ DID YOU SEE THAT, SENPAI?! ]

1/2

[rollin]

Hehe, not bad, not bad!

[ He's smiling now, but when he gets close enough, he flicks Athena's forehead. ]

[rollin]

You idiot. Why'd you charge at it!? If that was a high-level monster, you'd be out in one hit!

[ Even if that's what he does. GOD. Is this what being Kusanagi feels like? ]

[psycholawgy]

[ YATA NO!! ]

Eek! I didn't mean to, I mean- it was already there!

[ This is probably how Kusanagi feels like. ]

[rollin]

You ran! Straight ahead! [ He drags a hand down his face. ] Nevermind... You got a feel of the battle system, yeah? How is it?

[psycholawgy]

Heheh, it's kind of like beating people. Though, this time, they're monsters.

[ WHAT A HELPFUL ANSWER... ]

[rollin]

[ ATHENA... ]

You sound like you're having fun... [ Which is all that matters aside from her safety, really. Her jerks his head toward the bulletin board nearby. ] Um, let's check the board. There's gotta be a mission up for us there.

[psycholawgy]

Wow! Do you think we'll get a mission where we'll have to commit breaking and entering?!

[ That'd be the best thing ever. She does follow him over to the bulletin board, though! ]

[rollin]

Why're you so excited about breaking the law? Are you really a lawyer?

[ This mission selection, though. There's one where they have to exterminate Bombs, another where they have to collect ingredients for a spell, and one where they have to find a frog. The frog prince fetches the highest price since it's from a noble family, exterminating Bombs for the city seem the funnest, but collecting items for this wizard looks the easiest.

Yata squints. ]

That much for a frog?

[ ONE MILLION GIL... ]

[psycholawgy]

[ YATA HOW DARE YOU QUESTION HER. She almost assaulted an officer and a prosecutor! ]

... What? Doesn't it seem fun to break a door down and roll on the ground?

[ Jeez, and you'd think a thug like Yata would enjoy something like this. Athena is secretly judging him. ]

Let's go with this Bomb thing. What do you think?

[ She's already done grocery runs for people before, and she's hunted down missing pets for people. The Wright Anything Agency makes you do all these weird things, except for exterminate pests. ]

[rollin]

Hehe, when you've done that tons of times, it just becomes another fact of life!

[ In other words, it's normal for him to break doors down. Ah. It doesn't make him any less excited for this quest, though. ]

Aight, let's do it! We just need new weapons. There should be a shop in the city... Let's go!

[ But he's heading the other direction. ]

[psycholawgy]

Sounds like you're an expert at hooliganism. You gotta teach me some time!

[ ATHENA NO...!!!!

But she does follow him. It's not like she knows any better! ]

[rollin]

It's not hooliganism! It's called being cool!

[ WHATEVER

But look, they're walking towards a sleek, black convertible, which Yata jump into, taking the driver's seat. ]

[psycholawgy]

[ Holy shit Yata ok you are really cool now. She traces a line on the passenger's seat door, amazed by what she sees. ]

This is yours?! How'd you get it, gambling?!

[ Okay, maybe not as cool in her book... yet. ]

[rollin]

Hey, no touching! [ SAID LIKE IT'S ACTUALLY HIS. Which it.. isn't. ] It's part of the scenario. We lose it later on.

[ A second later he makes a face that screams, "Oops, that was a spoiler." He jerks his thumb at the sudden NPC behind him. ]

See prince in the backseat? [ The young man waves hi. He might as well be part of a Korean boyband with his long hair and ridiculously stylish clothes. ] We're helping him get his kingdom's crystal back.

[psycholawgy]

[ Totally jumps when Yata yells at her. JESUS. DON'T SCARE HER LIKE THAT. But she joins him in the car, and looks at what- or who's behind. Then she looks back at Yata, only to loudly whisper: ]

He looks so cool! You should grow your hair or something, Yatta!