PHASE I [ ?? ?? ] It's impossible to tell time in this place, and everything looks the same, but it won't be long before you're probably sick of the tower. Time to get down -- unless you have magical powers or can fly or something, it'll probably be pretty tough, too. You could try to climb down, but the walls look pretty slick, and -- oh god, your arm just went through the wall, what the hell.
Whatever you do, don't fall.
If you fall, you'll be stuck falling forever. And ever. And ever. Looks like they didn't put a failsafe into ViViD for falling, so now you're stuck. You might see some other people stuck in the same glitch, falling forever a la Alice in Wonderland, but honestly? You're stuck that way until your game resets itself.
PHASE II [ ???? ] Either way, you've made it to the ground (somehow). The ground looks like... a half-finished city, really. There are streets, and houses... but some of the houses are unfinished, just four walls and no roof, or only three walls, or nothing inside, and a lot of the NPCs are completely faceless, or only have one line they repeat over and over again.
It's honestly pretty unnerving, especially since there's no soundtrack at all. You can just traverse this creepy hellscape in complete and utter silence.
And then the cars start to fly away.
That's definitely normal (is there anything about this game that isn't faulty?).
PHASE III [ ???? ] It's not safe.
You could be anywhere in this level, wandering, searching -- and then suddenly, it's there. As it appears, a battle theme starts, but it's distorted, eerie and off-pitch. There's something very wrong about this enemy, that's for sure. It can't be defeated, either. Attacks can harm it, and it can be tossed aside or fought, but it just gets right back up, bloodied and beaten, as if unstopped by anything it's feeling.
Over and over and over again.
Just don't let it touch you.
Because it will start to absorb you, code bit by code bit, until there's nothing left of you. It's a cannibalistic distorted monster, wonderful.
PHASE IV [ ???? ] If it wasn't apparent already, physics is a little weird here. One second you're walking along, and the next there's basically no gravity; you could jump wherever you want, clearing buildings in a single bound like the superman you were always meant to be. One second you're your normal amount of strength, and the next you could life cars (if you so chose), for no apparent good reason.
Sometimes the world just tilts, making the ceiling the floor very suddenly, and sometimes the floor drops out from under you entirely.
Anything that could go wrong with the physics here does go wrong.
Just try not to get caught halfway through a now-solid floor. That sounds really, really uncomfortable.
BONUS [ ???? ] Of course, it wouldn't be glitch central without something weird happening to you. And it could be anything -- one second you're fine, and the next your arm is twice as long as it should be, and totally noodly. Suddenly you have a mermaid tail or animal ears, or your head has rotated upside down (how is that even happening?). You're suddenly able to walk through walls, or drag objects to you by pointing at them.
If this was a video game (it is), it would be the faultiest game to ever exist, that's for sure.
(Still, teleporting from one side of the world to the other by jumping on a single spot on a flowerbed is kind of entertaining, if nothing else.)
[ 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. ] |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Oh, right— [RIGHT, right, the whole "gotta explain things from the ground up" caveat. He's happy Ichigo is back (more or less - the city isn't exactly safe now and never has been for spirits like them), but explaining things is always a headache.]
It's like... basically what we're made of here? It's hard to explain and I don't really get it since it's all about technology and stuff, but basically we've been recreated from code or something and that code can get messed up sometimes.
no subject
Recreated from code...? [Is that some fancy way of saying reforged? He hopes it isn’t! He wouldn't be able to deal with having to go through that twice... Though surely he would remember... No, who is he kidding, he probably wouldn't, not with how fragmented his memory is now. But this code thing sounds a bit different...? More importantly!] Why have we been recreated from code?
no subject
Um... [ABOUT THAT.] Maybe I should explain later. Like, when we're not trying to avoid getting eaten by a freaky video game boss.
[Because HOO BOY, the story of "our worlds were incinerated by contract killers and now the company that hired the hits has ditched us in their colony and the gods whose land we're on are probably Angry" is a long and complex one. Kashuu can't even explain it well...]
no subject
Ah, yes, that's right. [Where to go though? That creature is most persistent! Then he spots... a flashing 'exit' sign? That's a curious sight. But it might also be a trap? Still he draws Kashuu's attention to it as a possible solution to their current predicament.] Kashuu-dono, look over there. Should we risk it?
[And Ichigo will need somewhere to sit down when he hears the news that he's probably lost everything... again... This time his entire large family. Also try not to use the word 'incinerated', Kashuu. That's a sensitive and quite triggery word to him!]
no subject
In return he'll totally not mention the whole incineration thing. Fire trauma swords have a hard time of it, truly.]
—Yeah! Just let me go first, okay?
[See, there he goes, FLYING HEADFIRST INTO DANGER. He doesn't even wait for a go-ahead, he just takes the lead, relying on his speed to give him a slight edge... He's just been here far, far longer than poor Ichigo, so he figures that if anything horrific is waiting on the other side, it's probably better off falling on him considering he knows that ViViD deaths aren't really real.]
no subject
Kashuu-dono!! Wait! Don't just run into it!!! [Because the proper way should be to cautiously approach and look through it, not dash recklessly in!]
no subject
It's fine, I know what I'm doing—!
[When does he ever really know what he's doing, though...?!
But miraculously, he doesn't face a grisly end as soon as he barrels through the exit sign! Granted, it doesn't actually lead to an exit either, but "still alive and in one piece" is as good a victory as any. It's just spat him out into another part of the glitchy city, leaving him baffled and staring around.]
Uh...
no subject
Ichigo runs in after him. His worry for the other’s safety overriding his concern for his own safety.
If Ichigo gets killed, it's all your fault, Kashuu!!]Kashuu-dono! What do you think you are doing?? You could have got killed!
[And now you've activated his lecturing big brother mode! Fortunately for Kashuu, Ichigo notices the baffled look on his face and falls silent for a moment as he quickly scans their surroundings for danger. Then he realizes that the ‘exit’ door they've just gone thru can be closed, so he walks over to do just that and locks it for good measure!]
no subject
But look, they're both alive and well! Even if Kashuu is immediately put on the defense by sudden Lecture Mode, just out of reflex.]
Look, I know how to handle things here, okay? So you don't have to worry about me.
[Unless he does die, in which case that'll probably be an issue. BUT THEY'RE FINE, this is fine!! He steps over toward the exit after Ichigo shuts it again, nose wrinkling.]
What a pain, though... It looks like it's gonna take a little work to get outta this level.
no subject
Still, you should be more careful, Kashuu-dono!
[Because what if you add up needing to be reforged? He does not wish that on anyone!
Ichigo looks around. This place looks no different from the place they were in before, but at least the glitch boss no longer seems to be after them?]
Well, we should continue looking for the real exit then.
no subject
...I'll be more careful next time, okay?
[He says VERY PETULANTLY, like he's still miffed he's being scolded at all... But at least Ichigo's got some agreement out of him, for what little good it's worth in the end. His call to danger is just Too Strong sometimes.]
Aaanyway, the real exit'll probably be some sort of portal-looking thing. Most of the time it's a door, but sometimes they put it in weird places.
no subject
Yes, you're definitely acting like a younger brother. The petulance reminds him a bit of Yagen really. Anyway, some agreement is good enough for him. Have a soft brotherly smile and affectionate hair ruffling, Kashuu!]
Good.
[Then, he realizes what he's doing a moment later and, oops! This isn't one of his brothers! Sudden embarrassment! He quickly withdraws his hand and bows in apology.] Ah! I'm so sorry, Kashuu-dono! That- I shouldn't have done that! I'm sorry! For a moment I thought-
no subject
That said, he's a little surprised by the sudden hair ruffle! But fortunately(???) he's also pretty much always game for being spoiled by anyone who'll spare the time to do so, even if it riles his tsuntsun streak a little sometimes.]
—It's fine, you don't need to apologize. [A LITTLE HUFF. He smooths his hair back out again so it's presentable (for approximately no one, since this place is a desolate wasteland of broken NPCs), but doesn't actually seem irritated. He appreciates the concern and kindness! Even if he doesn't say "thank you" directly, there's a softness to his expression in turn.]
I'm just used to this place, is all. I've been here for a while so I'm good at handling the stuff these guys throw at us.
no subject
Anyway, Ichi-nii is still feeling quite embarrassed but he's relieved that Kashuu did not take offence to his sudden hair-ruffling.]
Well, let's look for that portal then.
no subject
Just tell me if you see any doors that stand out. Like... ones with a weird glow around 'em or different colors or something.
[SO SPECIFIC.]
no subject
Ichigo nods and starts leading the way, and finally time for small talk.] How long exactly have you been here, Kashuu-dono?
no subject
He'll keep an eye out as they walk, but since he is so used to this song and dance, he can keep up a conversation just fine simultaneously.]
Mmm... I think it's been over a year by now. Kousetsu and Souza were here before me, but only Kousetsu's still around. A lot of the others came and went... [Ichigo included, though his stay was particularly brief. Kashuu hazards a sideways glance.] There are only ten of us here now.
no subject
An year? How is that possible? I just saw you both yesterday... And 10 of you couldn't have gone missing unnoticed.
no subject
But he makes a face in response to that, because even if they're used to Time Travel Shenanigans™, this is definitely another level entirely.]
I can't really explain that, but that's how it is. People come and go from this place all the time or show up from different time periods, too.
no subject
I see... Do you know why we've been summoned here then?
no subject
A pretty hefty pause follows that, though...]
I think so, yeah. It's taken us a while to figure things out and we still don't have a definite answer, but I'm pretty sure those guys weren't kidding when they talked about our worlds being destroyed.
[SURPRISE, welcome to Cerealia!!]
no subject
Des... Des-Destroyed??
no subject
Yeah. Like, by alien mercenaries.
[Weirder things have happened.]
We're doing what we can here to figure out the truth and how to reverse that.
no subject
[He reaches out to place a hand against a nearby wall to steady himself. Then he looks back over sharply at what Kashuu says next, sounding a bit hopeful at first...]
Can it really be reversed? But...
[... before he realizes...]
... wouldn't that be changing history? Wouldn't that make us the same as our enemies back home...? We can't...
no subject
But he shakes his head eventually, even if the determination behind his words is meant to reassure himself too.]
—It's different. These guys have wiped out hundreds of worlds, you know? Even alternate versions of the same world! It's way beyond the scope of the stuff we're dealing with back home.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)