PHASE I [ 6 00 ] You wake up, and you're in a camp ground. The graphics aren't bad here, not really, but they're definitely last gen -- not the type of quality expected out of ViViD. On top of that, every once in awhile, the scenery sort of... glitches before going right back to normal as if nothing ever happened. If you're particularly unlucky, your own body parts might glitch out for a moment too, appearing as nothing more than broken code and then back to normal. Pretty weird, right? Oh well, don't worry about it. Totally harmless.
Glitches or not, you're still in a camp ground along with everyone else. There's a fire, there's some tents, some trees. Maybe some s'mores? You got it all. You're also not wearing what you were before. No, now you're wearing some sexy shorts, or maybe you've got a whip at your side, or maybe you've got a really classy fedora. And if you're one of those lucky few who have all three at once? Good for you! Try not to blind everyone with all that sexy.
Or, you know, the game will glitch out again and you'll be stuck wearing something else. That's definitely not as sexy.
PHASE II [ 730 ] If you decide to finally go exploring that crazy jungle, you'll find that you have a wide range of exploring options. Seems ViViD's taking a crack at their very own open world game -- this one modeled after your run of the mill adventure game. There are rivers to swim through (complete with alligators)! There are cliffs to scale (complete with angry birds ready to peck at your face)! There are even ravines to swing across on vines (just like Tarzan)!
Actually, the game is made to allow you to do just that -- those vines are all conveniently lined up for everyone to use them to swing across. Go on, it'll be fun. If you miss, you'll just lose a life, right?
Of course, if you overshoot your goal, you might run into one of the other glitches; the white space that you'll stumble into implies that you flew right off the world map and are now in unprogrammed space. Don't worry, you'll dissolve eventually, slowly but surely, and will reappear on the cliff so you can try again. There's no other way around that ravine either. Still, it's only a little frightening watching your body disappear piece by piece, right?
PHASE III [ 900 ] If you manage to scale one of those cliffs or swing across that ravine or cross that river, you may find yourself a chest. It's a treasure chest, and you don't even need a key to open it! Open it right up, a cute little jingle will play, and… nothing will be there.
Or the item will be there, hovering in the air, something amazing, fantastic, incredible that you've always dreamed of having and wanting, and -- you can't touch it. No matter what you try, it hovers right out of reach, and you can't interact with it at all.
Oh, and the cute little jingle is going to follow you around now, on constant loop.
PHASE IV [ xxxx ] So you died.
No big deal. Perhaps you got eaten by a crocodile. Perhaps you fell off a cliff. Perhaps another player stabbed you (that's rude). Either way, you've only lost one life and you have two more so it's nothing. After all, this is just a video game, right? It's fine.
Except it's really not fine.
You'll find yourself in a graveyard, tombstones all around you (maybe one of them has your name on it -- hope the epitaph doesn't suck). It's nighttime, it's foggy, and you're with the other players who have also lost a life. For a while, nothing will happen. The cold and quiet of the night will start to seep into your bones -- and then a figure appears. It can't be killed, it is silent and grim, and it does not speak.
Instead, it approaches each person there, reaches out and touches them on the forehead. Even you. All you can see for a long moment is corpses around you, the dead faces of everyone who had been with you in the ViViD level, flesh rotting away and faces caught in expressions of horror --
And then you're all dropped back into the camp ground together again. It's sunny and cheery and everything is fine, and you're down to two lives. Just, you know... don't lose the rest, okay?
BONUS [ xxxx ] You have a butler now, congratulations! He's following you around everywhere. He's an NPC, and not a very well-made one; sometimes his face glitches out, and he doesn't so much walk behind you as just… appears right next to you. He's handy though because if you ask him to, he'll pull up the start menu. You can sort out your inventory there and exit the game if you wish (except no matter how many times you press the "quit" button, you... can't).
Sometimes, though, that doesn't work out so well. Not the start menu but the butler himself. He might appear next to you on a narrow cliff face, knocking you right off the edge, or appear right on top of a hornet's nest, making them angry enough to go after, well, you. Maybe he accidentally summons a bear when all you were trying to do was ask him where the next dungeon is. That's unfortunate.
You can't seem to get rid of him either, no matter what you do. How annoying. Hopefully he doesn't cause you too much trouble because that bear... well, that bear's pretty angry.
[ 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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UGH DONT TELL ME WHAT TO DOOOO
Then I'll just do this?
[ This is as benign as it'll get! ]
UGH DONT ACT LIKE A 5 Y/O THEN
Of course Kashuu is watching him as he wanders off! Of course!! And looking agitated because what the heck, he was in the middle of talking... But his expression quickly shifts from irritation to alarm when he realizes what Yamato's plan is, and he's immediately jetting over to snatch his outstretched hand up.]
Don't do that! You're gonna burn yourself and then Haruji'll have even more to worry about! Geez, it's like you're trying to make life hard for everyone.
UGH WHY AREYOU BULLYING ME!!!
I was just checking something.. [ He's not a kid, he's an adult and knows how to take care of himself sometimes. ] ... Life? I don't think this is life at all, I have no idea where I am or why my arm is doing what it's doing.. If this is real, Kiyomitsu.. I'm tired and I want to go home so will you allow me at least that.. If I'm making things so hard as you say.
you have the look of someone easy to bully...
If going home was that easy, we'd have gone back ages ago. [Ages and ages!! Or like, a few months at least, since that's how long he's been stuck.]
But if you're not gonna listen to me, whatever! Just go off and lose all your lives and end up in glitch jail. [See if he cares, punk!!]
WHAT IN THE FK I JUST LAUGHED i hate this
Is this where you've been the entire time? [ Or something, he doesn't really get it at all. Why he's here? Why Kashuu decided to stay here? He gets it sometimes, that he was supposed to be left behind or something but he blinks at the fire and shakes his head. ] Why can't you go back home?
[ He pauses just for a moment as he decides to do with his life. Apparently he can lose all his lives? Isn't it just once for a sword and that's it? ] How many lives do I have? [ He's taking this just a bit seriously. ]
THIS IS JUST HOW THINGS ARE GOING TO BE I GUESS
For a while, yeah. [His answer is clipped, almost impatient.] And we can't go back 'cause that's just how things are. I dunno if I buy the whole "everything's been destroyed" thing or whatever, but facts are facts. Even if the world's still out there, we can't leave.
[PRISONERS ON AN ALIEN PLANET-- except they're usually treated pretty well, so he can't really complain... As for the STUPID LIVES QUESTION, of course Kashuu isn't going to be helpful! That might just encourage Yamato!]
I dunno.
UGH STOP!! IMMA PUMBLE U 2 THE GROUND!
Huh? What do you mean our world is destroyed? [ He's a little shocked to hear that, a shake of his head like it can't be true and he glances down to the ground. He wants to think that's a joke, THAT THIS IS A JOKE.. but Kashuu wouldn't play about something like that. ] I'm sure I was just there, so I'm pretty sure it can't be destroyed.. unless.. that was the dream.. [ And he's woken up to this terrible reality. ]
Either way, we need to really go back home. We can't stay here. Who is keeping us here? [ Ugh, he needs to have a talk with them or kill them — one. ]
Huh? Isn't that something you should find out? [ Ugh, is Kashuu lying to him. ] I don't think you're being honest. [ UGH!! YOU'RE HIS MIRROR, HE CAN TELL SOMETHING IS OFF. ]
DONT BE MEAN
Did they not do the powerpoint thing with you? [Or did Yamato just not pay attention... He's banking on the latter.]
They explained everything in that presentation, y'know. Flamines, worlds being destroyed, blah blah. [Waves his hand dismissively!!]
Sooo, we can't go home. CERES is keeping us here 'cause they say our planet's gone. Get it? [Yamato's struggle has only just begun...
He also 100% refuses to answer that last remark because Yamato is right, his ass is lying.]
WHEN WAS I MEAN WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!!!
Honestly, Yamato didn't pay attention to the whole powerpoint thing, he doesn't even know what that is so he stares at Kashuu a little bit confused. He remembers something but he's pretty sure that he didn't pay it any mind and dismissed it like he does everything that isn't OKita-kun or important people in his life. ]
What's that?
[ What is a .. what? ] Flamingo? What's that.. What weird words.. Huh? Our world can't be destroyed? I don't think I'm able to believe something like that? [ Thinking just a bit. ] So this entire time, was I dead.. if I wasn't here? Since if you've been here for awhile and I wasn't, do you think my life was contemplated? Huh.. I wonder why they just didn't let me.. [ Ooh, dodge a bullet Yamato and not finish that sentence near Kashuu. ] What are we supposed to do here, will they give me my arm back? [ Ugh, his arm, gib back. ]
CERES... [ He trails the name off his lips so that he can grow accustomed to it. ] I don't like it.
ugh like what WHAT AM I LIKE. im an innocent flower
Close shave though, wow!! Kashuu's stare sharpens a little as he waits for the end of that sentence to come, but since it doesn't, all's well for now...]
Yeah, I know - that's why I dunno if I trust what they say about the Flamines. [He puts a little more emphasis on the word this time so Yamato remembers it!! NOT FLAMINGO.]
No point in wondering about that other stuff, either. A-ny-way! Your arm's just glitching 'cause this level's messed up. It'll go back to normal once we leave.