[He's leaning into the arm of the sofa and comfortably curled up, watching his cat charm Minato and hoping that he made the right choice in bringing him to help him feel better. It seems to be doing okay, at least.]
I figured. She's kinda intense. [They've spoken once and even he could see that.] Why'd you take over? [...he pauses to think on that. And then there's another wild stab in the dark.] Is it because you're like Yu?
[Bringing animals for Minato to fuss over is always the correct choice. Minato smiles fondly as he gives Mochi a belly rub, but he's definitely thinking fondly of his friends too when he looks up and replies.]
That's right. The enemies we fought had different weaknesses and resistances, so it was necessary to have someone who could fill in for the others. [And if at that Minato's merely being modest, never feeling as if he could take the credit when he wouldn't have accomplished anything alone.] It wasn't just that though- the building we were investigating changes every day, and Mitsuru was providing backup from the outside.
[Give him enough leeway and the cat will end up flopping over in Minato's lap. Purring intensifies!
And Hiro's mostly watching curiously, thinking on what Minato's saying.] What do you mean the building changed? Why? [He doesn't really know a lot about the Midnight Channel or the shadows, much less anything about Tartarus.]
[Man, Mochi is really the best cat flopping down and purring up a storm for a relative stranger. Minato glances back at Hiro, and he decides it's not that much of a problem if he finds out more about Tatarus since it's gone after all.]
The layout of Tartarus probably changes due to the Shadows inside...It's a building that appears only when Shadows come out, and since they can affect time and space I guess it depends on what they're feeling at the moment. [And oops, speaking of things appearing differently Minato's recalled that he wanted to ask Hiro something.] That's right, has anyone told you how the city looks like when you've died once?
[It helps that the relative stranger isn't trying to strap rocket boots on him to be fair.]
Tartarus. Never heard of it, but if the Shadows are like any of the other monsters that might exist across the worlds I guess that makes sense. [But Minato's asked a question of interest and he suddenly shakes his head.] Not really. I didn't exactly get a chance to ask the people who've died here. Why? It's that different?
[Explaining Shadows isn't something Minato's inclined to do when his mind is still more or less running on empty, and the look on his face is highly not telling of what he has to say being devoid of expression as always.]
It should be the same experience for everyone based on what I heard from a friend, but I did notice the buildings not appearing solid for a few days- all of you would show up as code every now and then, but I wonder if there's more to these implants than what we know.
Code like--what, like binary shaped like a human body? [Color him curious suddenly. He'll have to maybe ask Tadashi later. Y'know. When talking about death isn't awkward as hell.] Would it just happen at random or were you doing something and it'd glitch out?
It happened at random for me, and that's what things looked like for a few days. [Pause.] There's also the aliens...they come and leave like us, but have you ever seen any arriving to Cerealia?
Nope. It's possible that what we're seeing are all simulations of some kind, but... [Minato sighs wearily, prompting a look up and a questioning meow from Mochi.] That seems a bit too far-fetched, and I was wondering if you might have any theories.
I mean I have theories about everything in this place but...there's probably some stuff I should fill you in on first. [There's a pause and he's scratching behind Mochi's ears.] I ended up doing some more snooping when we got back to the jungle. Did I tell you about this yet?
Tadashi and I found a bunch of generators in one of the taller points of the tower. You know what generators do, don't you? [He's mostly curious if Minato will pick up on the answer on his own.]
They generate energy. [Minato's head dips then, expression unreadable as Mochi has to put up with not being rubbed for a bit in spite of his protesting meow.] I spoke to Katsura-san the other day about the symptoms we had in the jungle too...I feel that ViViD might have something to do with these generators you found, if energy's involved.
More like we have something to do with the generators involved. [There's a frustrated noise, an inquisitive chirp from the cat and Hiro ignores it.] Tadashi and I directly affected the energy levels the minute we walked in the generator room. There was a discrepancy in energy waves or something, the system kinda freaked out. It's a scary thought but...what if we're powering the planet somehow every time we play ViViD or anything?
That's what I thought too. [He pauses momentarily, giving Mochi a big belly rub before returning to the conversation.]
Do you remember how CERES was promoting ViViD right after we returned? I remember feeling a bit tired after leaving it, and it's strange how CERES let us repair the city ourselves...I think they used our disappearance as an opportunity to fix the city, and they must have expanded some of that stored energy.
[Mochi does an awkward roll on Minato's lap and meows before curling up, apparently having had enough rubs for the moment.] I think all of this is linked to ViViD somehow as Mosley's told me before that tournaments have been stopped here, and it's apparently the only one that's glitched as well.
I didn't play right after we got back because I was busy with some things...but it is weird. And the other thing is that it ties right into something the Bridge told me when Korra and I broke her out of the CERES tower. [Even with the cat peacefully zenning out in Minato's lap, he's reaching forward to grab one of his feet to shake his paw.] She told us she couldn't be too close to us because what was inside us could not be sustained near her. Or something like that. If we really are energy then it would make sense that the spiritual energy conflicts with our existence.
Hey- [Minato can only blink in slight surprise when Hiro grabs one of Mochi's paws to shake it, and this is returned with an annoyed meow and a fierce glare in Hiro's direction, as fierce as a fat Japanese Bobtail cat can be at any rate.]
I've been wondering why she's called the Bridge and why all of the other spirits want her back. If what's inside us can't be sustained near her, does that mean she has something to do with the natural cycle of this world? [It makes sense to him at least, considering that the elements made up the entire world.]
What else he's told me...I'm not sure if this is of any interest to you, but he's mentioned that their creative department comes up with monthly themes and they're used for ViviD tournaments. Those tournaments can't be done here though, so the backlog of scripts gets used as the welcoming game instead.
[Is he...hissing at his cat? Just a little bit. So he forgot to scratch him under the chin before grabbing his paw, whatever. The cat's very mellow even if sometimes Hiro pushes his buttons too far. Apparently Minato doesn't approve either, but he's more focused on the topic at hand.]
I've always assumed she connected the spirits to the natives, maybe. She was out in the jungle with us, that makes the most sense based on what we already know. From what I gathered from listening to people, she's like their queen. It doesn't surprise me that they would want her back.
Why wouldn't that be interesting to me? [He's genuinely curious.] This is the first time I'm hearing anything about tournaments. And what about the backlog? Where's it stored? Does that mean that Mosley knows exactly what's coming for us long before we even have time to prepare ourselves? How come we can't choose our own game?
[Minato watches the two going at it quietly, only stroking Mochi's fur gently once they're done.]
It seems that her capture wasn't part of the deal either, which makes me wonder if they've found a replacement for whatever she did for them. [His brows furrow, thinking about that. What could it mean if he's right, and what sort of impact could they expect?]
As for that, I thought you might already have known. He didn't say anything further about ViViD so you might have to ask him about the rest- I did suggest a possible level though, and I wonder if he passed it on to the creative deparment.
[Typical of a cat, Mochi swipes at Hiro once (claws retracted, thankfully) before settling into a cat loaf on Minato's lap and purring up a storm.]
I don't even know if she was serving a purpose for CERES or if they were just using her as leverage. She definitely doesn't like them, and I don't know how to get in contact with her again to ask her more questions. And anyway it wouldn't surprise me if they were the kind to change their contract as they go. You heard what Occidi's people told us in the jungle the second time.
[He wrinkles his nose in thought.] Not really. [And if he did he promptly ignored it in favor of the bigger picture. Sometimes he does that.] What kind of level did you suggest?
That they built something the natives didn't agree? Yeah, I remember that...it makes me wonder what did they see in the original contract. [Minato looks thoughtful and serious thinking about that, but the effect is spoiled by how he's petting Mochi all the time as they speak.]
As for that level, I suggested something based on Takeshi's Castle. It was a popular TV game show from Japan, and it seemed like the kind of thing that would become a ViviD level. [What he neglects to mention here is that only nine people have won the prize. Oops? Minato seems to be aware of this, because he's frowning.]
If they saw the original contract at all. Not everybody would need prove. We don't know that they some of them didn't just trust CERES and take their word on it. [Hm.] Yang once told me there was like this interactive diary inside the tower that a bunch of them got to look at when they were on the tour of the place. I wonder if that would maybe have some clues.
Takeshi's Castle? [He's never heard of it, no, but he's afraid to ask what the objective is.] What do people have to do in the castle?
That might be a good place to start, depending on who created it. [He doesn't think it's likely that they'd find out more about the contract itself, but a neutral observer would be very helpful in this case.]
That...the contestants have to make their way to Count Takeshi, and there were challenges like putting puzzles together and running up the hill while avoiding foam boulders. [Huh. Minato pauses to think about that briefly.] It kind of sounds like what we do in ViViD.
I'll start looking into it and see what I can find. I've got enough connections now, I think, to make some headway.
[He doesn't look too happy about the idea of their ViViD games being like a game show though.] It wouldn't surprise me if ViViD's designed after stuff from our worlds. Supposedly they have all of the data and stuff from home. It's possible. [He shakes his head, looking back at his cat before giving Minato a small grin.]
...let's not worry about it right now, okay? I think we could all use a small break after our ghost adventures.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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I figured. She's kinda intense. [They've spoken once and even he could see that.] Why'd you take over? [...he pauses to think on that. And then there's another wild stab in the dark.] Is it because you're like Yu?
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That's right. The enemies we fought had different weaknesses and resistances, so it was necessary to have someone who could fill in for the others. [And if at that Minato's merely being modest, never feeling as if he could take the credit when he wouldn't have accomplished anything alone.] It wasn't just that though- the building we were investigating changes every day, and Mitsuru was providing backup from the outside.
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And Hiro's mostly watching curiously, thinking on what Minato's saying.] What do you mean the building changed? Why? [He doesn't really know a lot about the Midnight Channel or the shadows, much less anything about Tartarus.]
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The layout of Tartarus probably changes due to the Shadows inside...It's a building that appears only when Shadows come out, and since they can affect time and space I guess it depends on what they're feeling at the moment. [And oops, speaking of things appearing differently Minato's recalled that he wanted to ask Hiro something.] That's right, has anyone told you how the city looks like when you've died once?
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Tartarus. Never heard of it, but if the Shadows are like any of the other monsters that might exist across the worlds I guess that makes sense. [But Minato's asked a question of interest and he suddenly shakes his head.] Not really. I didn't exactly get a chance to ask the people who've died here. Why? It's that different?
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It should be the same experience for everyone based on what I heard from a friend, but I did notice the buildings not appearing solid for a few days- all of you would show up as code every now and then, but I wonder if there's more to these implants than what we know.
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Do you remember how CERES was promoting ViViD right after we returned? I remember feeling a bit tired after leaving it, and it's strange how CERES let us repair the city ourselves...I think they used our disappearance as an opportunity to fix the city, and they must have expanded some of that stored energy.
[Mochi does an awkward roll on Minato's lap and meows before curling up, apparently having had enough rubs for the moment.] I think all of this is linked to ViViD somehow as Mosley's told me before that tournaments have been stopped here, and it's apparently the only one that's glitched as well.
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What else has Mosley told you?
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I've been wondering why she's called the Bridge and why all of the other spirits want her back. If what's inside us can't be sustained near her, does that mean she has something to do with the natural cycle of this world? [It makes sense to him at least, considering that the elements made up the entire world.]
What else he's told me...I'm not sure if this is of any interest to you, but he's mentioned that their creative department comes up with monthly themes and they're used for ViviD tournaments. Those tournaments can't be done here though, so the backlog of scripts gets used as the welcoming game instead.
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I've always assumed she connected the spirits to the natives, maybe. She was out in the jungle with us, that makes the most sense based on what we already know. From what I gathered from listening to people, she's like their queen. It doesn't surprise me that they would want her back.
Why wouldn't that be interesting to me? [He's genuinely curious.] This is the first time I'm hearing anything about tournaments. And what about the backlog? Where's it stored? Does that mean that Mosley knows exactly what's coming for us long before we even have time to prepare ourselves? How come we can't choose our own game?
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It seems that her capture wasn't part of the deal either, which makes me wonder if they've found a replacement for whatever she did for them. [His brows furrow, thinking about that. What could it mean if he's right, and what sort of impact could they expect?]
As for that, I thought you might already have known. He didn't say anything further about ViViD so you might have to ask him about the rest- I did suggest a possible level though, and I wonder if he passed it on to the creative deparment.
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I don't even know if she was serving a purpose for CERES or if they were just using her as leverage. She definitely doesn't like them, and I don't know how to get in contact with her again to ask her more questions. And anyway it wouldn't surprise me if they were the kind to change their contract as they go. You heard what Occidi's people told us in the jungle the second time.
[He wrinkles his nose in thought.] Not really. [And if he did he promptly ignored it in favor of the bigger picture. Sometimes he does that.] What kind of level did you suggest?
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As for that level, I suggested something based on Takeshi's Castle. It was a popular TV game show from Japan, and it seemed like the kind of thing that would become a ViviD level. [What he neglects to mention here is that only nine people have won the prize. Oops? Minato seems to be aware of this, because he's frowning.]
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Takeshi's Castle? [He's never heard of it, no, but he's afraid to ask what the objective is.] What do people have to do in the castle?
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That...the contestants have to make their way to Count Takeshi, and there were challenges like putting puzzles together and running up the hill while avoiding foam boulders. [Huh. Minato pauses to think about that briefly.] It kind of sounds like what we do in ViViD.
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[He doesn't look too happy about the idea of their ViViD games being like a game show though.] It wouldn't surprise me if ViViD's designed after stuff from our worlds. Supposedly they have all of the data and stuff from home. It's possible. [He shakes his head, looking back at his cat before giving Minato a small grin.]
...let's not worry about it right now, okay? I think we could all use a small break after our ghost adventures.
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