Hey there! Did you know that yearly check-ups are the best preventative medicine you can give to your darling CYbuddy? Their health is of the utmost importance and from the Pomeranian to the Velociraptor, it's so very necessary to give your CYbuddy what he or she needs to be as happy and healthy as can be. After all, CYbuddies are the first and last defense in the war against loneliness, so you must do your best to protect the ones you have! You wouldn't want to be a friendless CYbuddy-less loser, would you? Through thick and thin, rain or shine, your CYbuddy will love you forever. And ever. And ever. Do not disappoint your CYbuddy.
You blink and suddenly find yourself in what looks like a doctor's waiting room, completely alone aside from the robot receptionist. Posters line the walls in various degrees of friendliness. Actually, is this the vet? It kind of looks like the vet. In fact, when you look down towards your lap, there will be a creature snoozing comfortably on you. Really, how did you not notice? The creature's collar names him Fluffy. (That's a dumb name, why did you name your pet Fluffy? Be more creative!) If you decide to call out to the receptionist, they will ignore you, but soon after you will hear clacking of sharp nails on the floor as someone -- or something -- comes out of the back room.
No worries, it's just the doctor.
 Greetings! My name is Thelonious T-Bone the Third and I will be Fluffy's doctor today. I will take good care of your dear Fluffy and be right back to you with him or her in a jiffy. You can, of course, completely trust me for I am the best in the business! No other Velociraptor can treat and heal pets as well as I, most certainly. But there is one tiny little thing, you see. My nurse is out sick today and my hands are too small and dangerous to work well without accidentally killing your poor pet. So, to make up for this, I will need you to be my nurse today. Do you think you can handle that?
|
PHASE I [ 09 00 ] Welcome to ViViD's state of the art pet care simulator. It looks like everyone is ready and willing to get started -- maybe a little too eager to get started. There seems to have been a minor misunderstanding actually and Dr. T-Bone seems to think that... well, that you're the pet. Didn't he see Fluffy's collar? (Still, such a dumb name!)
If you don't think fast, you're likely to be shoved into a kennel or forced into getting really uncomfortable shots (to prevent rabies, you see; side effects include dizziness, nausea, sprouting animal ears for a few hours and the increased desire to bite people). At least you'll have company since it looks like this mistake is happening to everyone. Might as well get cozy and get to know the people stuck in the kennels next to you while you're here.
PHASE II [ 1200 ] It's time to actually be the nurse! And time to treat one of Dr. T-Bone's most prominent clients. You will be led to, well, a dinosaur -- a T-Rex to be exact. And you will be told that your job is to take care of its teeth.
That's right. Someone has to clean all of those teeth. And it looks like you're the lucky sap who got the job. Don't worry, the Tyrannosaurus Rex's name tag proclaims it to be vegan (and to go by the name of Sir Gadzooks) so it should be perfectly safe to reach into that gaping maw and start cleaning those teeth.
Alternatively, you could make your dental assistant do it; looks like you weren't the only one to get dragged into this farce. The question is, which one is handling the sharp pointy objects, and which one is sticking their hand into that mouth?
Also, it's not really a vegan dinosaur, that was a great big lie. And it's very, very hungry -- now might be a good time to run.
PHASE III [ 1300 ] Hope you weren't doing anything important (like sticking your hand into the mouth of a dinosaur), because someone is now throwing a blindfold over your eyes and hustling you right into the basement. A couple of twists and turns later, and you're being shoved into what appears to be an underground... peacock fighting ring? With a jaunty peacock headband on and none of your weapons on you, it seems as though you've been mistaken for a particularly ugly peacock and have been tossed into the ring.
Look out though. Those peacocks look mean. They'll go straight for the eyes if they get the chance, and will peck away merrily at your head. Of course, the walls aren't that high all things considered (they're peacocks), so it probably wouldn't be that hard to escape the ring.
(Or, if you manage to find your way down there yourself, you can always join in on the ludicrously outlandish betting pool. It might be a good way to get some cash -- if you bet on the right peacock.
Actually, is that Mr. T-Bone in the crowd too? Someone get the quack out of here!)
PHASE IV [ 1600 ] There's someone whispering.
It's a quiet, throaty whisper, and no matter where you are in the ViViD level, you can hear it. Sometimes, it's clearer than others. Sometimes, it can barely be heard at all. But it's always there, whispering, "Come closer. Come closer. Come closer."
If you should gather up your courage and follow those whispers, they will lead you to a... bird. Upon seeing you, the bird will begin to speak again in that throaty whisper, this time detailing the destruction of your world, down to the tiniest of details, such as the look on your best friend's face as they died, or the last words of your most important person. It's almost hypnotic, so much so that you can't pull away --
And just like that, the bird squawks, and it's over. What was that about? Hopefully nobody else heard all of that.
BONUS [ xxxx ] You go to speak with the vet, whether to complain about your treatment at the hands of the others, the fact that you had to play dino dentistry or to let him know that there's an illegal peacock fighting ring below his practice, and before you know it there's talk of "just to be safe" and "you never know what someone with an attitude like that will do" -- which, what? All of a sudden Dr. T-Bone and his receptionist are shoving you into a cone of shame. How embarrassing! And no matter what you do, it just won't come off.
In fact, if nothing else, it seems magnetically attracted to the walls and anyone else wearing one. If one of those poor fools happen to be within a ten foot radius of you, prepare yourselves for a massive collision. What a pain, right? It seems like the cones won't come off until you (and your magnetic partner) get out of this confounded level. If only you could find the exit (and Fluffy too -- where'd he get off to?)
[ 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 meme! ] |
![[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
Roxas. I'm Roxas. [sot "kiddo" or "ven" or "sora." he draws in a quiet breath, head tilting. there's a quizzical look in his eyes, because there just feels like there's something different about this mixup than the previous accusations.] Do I really look that much like him? This... Ven person.
[it can't be connected to him, can it? it's hard to say, when he doesn't have memories from before he was a nobody, aside from those of sora's, but he's not ready to accept that as truth yet.]
no subject
[What had Master Xehanort said about Ven? That Vanitas had been created from his darkness? What if... But no, this Roxas can't be that same boy in the mask. If he focuses, he can sense light from this one, just like Ven. That wouldn't be possible with Vanitas.
He gets to his feet and steps back.]
Does this ring any bells?
[Terra outstretches his hand, and his Keyblade, Ends of the Earth, appears in it.]
no subject
...well, until terra summons his keyblade, and that's certainly enough for roxas to snap to full attention. his eyes widen; he doesn't exactly have a lot of experience with meeting other keyblade wielders, after all.]
A Keyblade... [it gives him enough pause to wonder if there really is a connection after all. is there any way to even know for sure? regardless, he holds it own hand out, and that flash of light summons one of his own keyblades—oathkeeper, in his right hand.]
Yeah, it rings a couple of bells. [he doesn't bother with oblivion just yet; he'll save that for if it becomes necessary.]
no subject
Where did you get that?
[He stares at Oathkeeper, then back at Roxas. Actually, that keychain looks very familiar, too...]
no subject
[considering that's one of the things he's so desperately trying to understand himself—why the keyblade chose him at all; why he could wield it and why it was so important. maybe that's why there's a certain air of bitterness to his tone as he follows suit, dismissing oathkeeper.]
How does anybody get a Keyblade? [he follows it up with that, though it's somewhat rhetorical. he really just doesn't know how one gets that ability in general.]
no subject
Are you saying you've never heard of any of that?
no subject
[at the very least, he's sounding less salty about things and a little more inquisitive. this guy seems to know a lot more about the keyblade than anyone else he's ever met.
everyone else just acted as if it was a tool for a purpose, that he was a tool for a purpose. but terra knows more, so maybe things are turning out this way for a reason. in response, he shakes his head, gaze averting. he's not sure what this feeling is... embarrassment, maybe. like it's something he's supposed to know, but doesn't.]
I've just always had it. I don't know why, or how... that's what I've been trying to find out. [kind of weird to share it with a stranger this way, maybe. but what else can he do? maybe terra can help him figure out what made him so worthy of this ability that he never asked for.]
no subject
[Terra looks deep in thought. If anyone could think of an explanation, it would've been Eraqus... But he's gone, just like Aqua and Ven.
For some reason, though, Roxas gives him hope that maybe his friends are still out there. Maybe he can get some answers after all, ones that won't just drive him further into the darkness. And even though this might not be Ven, the way he looks so lost and confused reminds Terra of how Ven used to be.]
I didn't give you my name, huh? I'm Terra. How about we work together to get to the bottom of this?
no subject
[well, talk about things that absolutely sting like hell. probably on more levels than it should, but given what happened with her, and the way he lashed out at axel before up and leaving... well, it's a mess. all roxas wants is to have his own best friends back, but hearing that someone who looks just the same as him is this guy's best friend.. ouch.
still, it can't be a coincidence, right? he'd told axel he'd find the person who could help him, who would really know about his past. and he's definitely not ready to believe riku's words to him yet. so maybe... maybe terra can be that person. it's not trust, not yet, but it's definitely a willingness he wouldn't show to other people.]
Terra... mm, yeah. [roxas repeats the name back before looking up at him once again. there's a little more conviction in his expression; even if terra doesn't know what roxas really is, this may be a good lead.] I think it's a good idea. I don't really know anyone else who wields a Keyblade, so maybe, somehow things will start to make sense. About my Keyblade... and about your friend, too.
no subject
I've never met anyone who didn't know how they got a Keyblade before. I mean... It's impossible. You'd have to carry out the Inheritance Ceremony, and the Keyblade has to choose you, too. It doesn't just happen at random.
[Unless...]
Hey, do you have a lot of other memories missing? Ven was like that, when I first met him.
no subject
even though they all seemed to have memories of their past lives, none of them ever talked about anything but how valuable roxas was to them because he was the keyblade's chosen one. so really, it's all new to him. not that it matters much, since the thought process stops as soon as terra mentions ven's memories.]
Why... why does he sound so much like me? [does that answer terra's question? he doesn't remember anything from when he was whole, after all. it's probably pretty clear that he's trying to make sense of the similarities. looking and sounding alike, being keyblade wielders, lost memories—can it really be a coincidence?]
no subject
Me and my friend Aqua met Ven after his heart was damaged. So he didn't remember a lot about his life before that, and if I asked too many questions, he'd get overwhelmed and pass out.
...He got better, but now... I don't even know if he's still alive.
[He takes his Wayfinder from his pocket, looking down at it with a faroff expression.] It's a lot to ask of a stranger, but you're my best hope of finding him, Roxas.
no subject
His heart... was damaged. [there's something about that statement that makes roxas feel strange; he doesn't even know what it is, though it reminds him of the now fading memories of xion that he's been fighting to hold on to. he resist a muted urge to clutch his chest, but considers those words thoughtfully.
he doesn't know what it means, not entirely. what happens when a heart gets damaged? could his other's heart have been damaged too? maybe these were things that were connected to his own memories and purpose. he wants to hold on to the belief that he's only himself, but that's not easy to do.] I want to find him too. I'm not sure why, but I feel like if I met him... maybe I'd learn something about myself, too.
[if only roxas knew how much more complicated the situation actually was...] I'll help.
no subject
[He looks down at his Wayfinder, before pocketing the charm again. Please wait for me, Ven.]
Let's forget what that bird said and find answers we can rely on. I have a feeling it was put there to trick us...
[As so often tends to be the case, whenever Terra arrives on a new world. At least he had a friend -- or someone resembling one -- to snap him out of it, this time.]
no subject
Yeah, I don't think counting on that's going to help much at all. But I wonder where we should start. There has to be something around here. [or else they probably wouldn't be there at all.]
no subject
[All brought here from their destroyed home worlds. And that dinosaur quack doctor definitely isn't someone Terra wants to deal with again.]
I guess we'll have to do a search of our own. Do you have one of these, in case we get separated? [He produces his Cerevice from the pocket of his hakama, showing it to Roxas.]
no subject
[he pauses, considering it. really, roxas wouldn't know, because he doesn't have the experience with doing recon that way. he was always told to avoid talking to the locals, even if it inevitably happened... a lot...
so he thinks on this until terra speaks again.] Oh— [and from his coat and its mysterious ways, roxas procures a cerevice of his own.] I don't know much about how to use it, but... I guess it's a start.