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
He spots a booth in a corner and slides into one side of it, grabbing a tablet on the table that serves as a menu and beginning to flick through it.]
They have drinks I've never even heard of in here.
[Because the drink menu is clearly what he should be focusing on right now.]
no subject
Are you going to try something new, then? Maybe one of those flaming ones.
no subject
He taps out a selection and slides the tablet at Akane.]
How could I pass up trying something like that?
no subject
You won't mind if I take a video of you drinking it, will you?
no subject
Why? In case I don't blow it out properly and set my eyebrows on fire or something?
no subject
Why else would I record it?
no subject
[He only manages to look half serious as he talks, pleased that he's been able to put Akane more at ease.]
no subject
[ It's... really nice to be talking with him like this again, but her smile quickly turns into a frown as she remembers the bullshit Sibyl made him go through. ]
no subject
[The shift into a frown doesn't go unnoticed, and Kagari grits his teeth together for a moment while he places an elbow on the table to rest his head on.]
So, what's going on in that head of yours?
no subject
Iā I just didn't think I'd see you again. [ It's the most direct way to address the situation. Not that Akane's one to sugarcoat things, in the first place. ] People were saying you ran away, but... I know the truth.
no subject
Ran away? I'd never-- [Kagari catches himself, flatting his hand against the table instead and exhaling slowly. It wasn't Akane's fault that anyone had thought that; it was a reasonable line of thought for a suddenly missing Enforcer.]
The truth, huh? That I managed to go and get killed?
no subject
Kasei.
[ That's all she says, her lips still sticking to the can, while her eyes focused on Kagari's. ]
no subject
He can't tear his eyes away from Akane's. She knew. If she knew about Kasei then she had to have known about the rest of Sibyl too. She knew and yet... had she avoided meeting the same type of end that he had? Just the very thought that that could be true was enough to bring up the creeping resentment he always felt about one thing or another; he died while she got to keep her life. One more thing other people could have and he couldn't.
But really, wasn't that to be expected? If it had been a game, then somebody was bound to lose big sooner or later. It had almost been funny there right at the end, for a second.
He opens his mouth to say something, but looks away instead. Just enough to reach over to snatch a coaster and then he's nearly slamming it onto his shotglass to extinguish the flames. At least taking the shot gives him something to do besides look back at Akane for a moment.]
no subject
But she won't apologise for that. It would just upset Kagari, and hurt his pride. She says nothing, as well, but her eyes are focused on the man before her. She's just watching his every move. ]
It's not over yet, [ is what she manages to say. ] Sibyl isn't over yet, but it will be soon enough.
[ These aren't words to placate the emotions Kagari must be feeling, but these are thoughts that come purely from Akane's heart. ]
no subject
But then he barks a laugh, fingers curling tight around the shotglass before he flexes them and slides it away, nearly sending it off the edge of the table.]
You know what? It is over. Sibyl, the entire world, all of it. And I'm not sorry that it's gone.
[That's not entirely true; the absence others he actually cared about that didn't survive, if that's what being here was, stung. As for the rest of the world, well, that was just too bad.]
no subject
By this time, she's playing with the sticker paper on her beer bottle, digging her nails into it to remove parts of it. And little scraps of paper have made its way on the table. ]
You're given so many choices now, [ she says, finally looking at him. ] What's the first thing on your list?
[ She wants to say that this is all probably just a simulation: a thought that she shares deeply with Kogami. But she doesn't want to break this Enforcers heart, when it's the first time he's been actually free since he was a child. ]
no subject
I really don't know. It's not like I ever even had the chance to experience stuff that normal people do in the first place. Whatever pops into my head is what I'll try, I guess. Getting food, shopping, finding an arcade, just... walking around, I'm gonna do everything.
Anayway, [He points at the growing mess of tiny paper scraps on the table.]
What's that about? You can talk too, you know.
no subject
[ She fumbles and almost spills the beer, but immediately catches the bottle before anything spills. ]
Oh! [ And whatever awkwardness there is, she tries to cover up with laughter. ] It's just. . .
I wasn't done yet...
[ WIth Sibyl. WIth the world. With finding her purpose. She'd try to put it into more eloquent words, but it's really impossible at the moment. ]
no subject
Shit. Look, I shouldn't have been saying that sort of stuff to you.
[He shakes his head at himself, and drums his fingers on the table, trying to think of a better way to apologize.]
no subject
It's really okay! I mean, I understand where you're coming from.
[ Her understanding may not be perfect, but she's spent enough time with Enforcers to know how they think. ]
no subject
[He makes flippant gestures as he talks, but they see more half-hearted than anything.]
And even if I'm not really interested in fixing things or putting the world back together like they say we're supposed to but I'm not... It's not like I'm going to blow off trying to help if that's what you want.
no subject
It's all right. We're not bound by Sibyl here, so... Enforcers or Inspectors, there's none of that here.
[ She gets what he's trying to say - that he'll help out as a friend, and not as a co-worker. Which is cool. No big deal. ]
But if you really want to, I won't stop you. I can't here, after all. [ It's a joke, but she doesn't look like she's joking at all. ]
no subject
[He does smile now, though it isn't a very amused look he gives her.]
I mean, you'd probably have to actually shoot me to stop me. Let's avoid that if we can, though.
[Enforcer humor is the best humor.]
no subject
Let's avoid that. I wouldn't want to do it, even as a last resort.
no subject
Great, glad we're in agreement on that.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)