The thing about Cerealia is, there really isn't any nature to be found here. Sure, you can go outside the walls of the city and explore the land beyond but who wants to risk a terrible, horrible death just to sniff the flowers? Not you, that's who! CERES understands that, CERES sympathizes, and sometimes CERES decides to take action when such problems arise. As part of the company's current "Healthier and Happier YOU" initiative, they've decided to let everyone get back in touch with nature a little.
Via ViViD.
Of course, this being CERES, the nature they've sent everyone to is more of a swamp. The place is disgusting, a real marvel of ViViD ingenuity and it smells like the dead. There's strange rustling among the leaves from creatures that may or may not want to eat you, and random pits that open up right under your feet with the goal of sending you straight into the marsh. It's not really that fun. There's no welcome sign either, no nothing except for swamplands as far as the eye can see.
Welcome to ViViD!  This is Mosley. One of our programmers forgot to include a welcome greeting for the level this time. How incompetent can you get? He's been fired now, it's fine. Instead, I will greet you today. Lucky you! You've been invited today to participate in CERES's "Healthier and Happier YOU" level where we've combined both physical exercise and relaxing meditation into the ultimate ViViD experience. Isn't that fun? You can... go camping and stuff. Or whatever. I don't... know...
Honestly, I don't even care. Have fun.
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PHASE I [ 6 00 ] Welcome to your new healthy living training ground! What does a swamp have to do with healthy living, you may ask? Absolutely nothing! To make up for it, CERES has outfitted all players with the proper equipment for their new healthy living lifestyle. They also may or may not have let you keep your shoes based on how benevolent the ViViD gods were being at the time. (Not very.)
Oh, and all newcomers will have something additional on their fancy new yoga shirt. It will be displayed loudly and proudly all over the front and back of it. And if you're one of the few not wearing a shirt, it will be on the back of your pants. As in, your butt. It will be on your butt.
What’s ViViD trying to say, anyway?
Regardless, it probably doesn’t matter as much as finding your way through the swamp. Some sort of dry land would be really nice right now, wouldn't it? You'll have to watch out for the mud that will suck you right down under the marsh, and the creatures with lots of teeth that will never surface from the mud but won't hesitate to snap up an unwary foot or two.
CERES is sure you'll be fine. Totally and completely fine.
PHASE II [ 800 ] Eventually, if you try really, really hard, you’ll make it to a house. Actually, it’s more of a shack, really. If you clamber your way out of the mud and the gunk and the marsh into said shack, you will find it to be empty aside from a table. A table hosting a huge pile of... well, health drinks. See, there's totally a health theme in this level. CERES would never make a ViViD level that wasn't thematically appropriate. Never! Health drinks of all sorts and types and sizes can be found here and there’s even a sign too; it simply says:
Take one.
Well, that seems safe.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to leave said shack until you do take one. And drink it. The door will lock shut and cover itself in more swamp until you do. Yay. Depending on your luck, the drink may do the following to you: ➟ Cause your ViViD experience to glitch. This may involve phasing through walls, seeing everything in 8-bit, or hearing really annoying old video game music everywhere you go.
➟ Cause status effects. This can include suddenly moving incredibly slowly, being turned to stone for a period of time, suddenly being on fire, suddenly being poisoned, etc etc.
➟ Be healthier. Mmm, kale and hummus smoothie. Taste those veggies. If you try to take more than one, that’s fine too, nobody will stop you, but you probably won’t get lucky more than once.
PHASE III [ 900 ] And back you go, out into the swampy wilderness. Don’t give up! Keep going! Eventually, you’ll find the end of this level. Probably.
Eventually, though, you may stumble across something in the mud and the muck. It’s... a little doll?
In fact, it’s a little doll of one of your most important people (or, alternatively, of someone you absolutely hate). It might be someone in Cerealia currently, or someone who isn’t, but either way, the doll is there and it’s clearly them (covered in mud and all). Be careful, though. If you toss it aside, you’ll suddenly see that important person being tossed aside. If you cut the doll, you'll suddenly see that person bleeding. Even if they aren’t present in Cerealia, whatever happens to that doll, you'll see it happening to them. Is it a hallucination or are they actually there? That's a little more up in the air.
And if they are present in Cerealia, well... doing things to that doll might very well hurt them too -- for real, this time, though.
Be careful! Or don't. You do you, as CERES would say.
PHASE IV [ 1200 ] And then, eventually you reach a quiet, swampy area. Not that the rest of the swamp isn't swampy, this area is just extra swampy.
There’s very little happening here in this swampy place; even the birds are no longer squawking. And for a long moment, everything will remain quiet and peaceful, a place of reprieve... until the swamp begins to bubble. Then suddenly, a new friend will burst out of the swamp, showering mud and gunk everywhere.
Without warning, that creature is going to try to grab for the nearest person (it might be you!) and let out a mighty roar when they have them. Then, they'll hold them up to... read the nutrition facts on their shirt? What?
Of course, it will try to gobble you or whoever else it grabs if it finds, say, the salt content to be acceptable (the monster is watching their carbs). If it's not, then they'll just fling you away and move onto the next snack. For those without a handy nutrition facts label on your shirt, well, it might just take a gamble and try to eat you anyway.
Great. A health-conscious monster. That's just what this level needed.
BONUS [ xxxx ] Finally, you’re free of the game. Without warning, you’re dumped into Cerealia properly and you’re able to scrub the mud and gunk from your clothing (wait why did that come back with you and where are your normal clothes?). You're able to then make your way to your new place of residence (or old) and...
There is a tiny tree there waiting for you. Isn’t it cute? And if you take care of this tiny tree, it will eventually bear fruit! Tiny fruit. Itty bitty fruit.
Depending on which tiny tree you get, it will be one of the following: a tiny dildo tree, a tiny bacon tree, a tiny kazoo tree, a tiny carolina reaper tree, or a (dumb) tiny hats tree.
Everything will, naturally, be tiny. Enjoy your new healthy CERES gift!
[ 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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ota
[Hikari blinked once at the setting around her. Twice. Then she looked down.]
[Admittedly, the yellow top and pink pants weren't too different from her usual outfit. The shirt had weird sleeve, but it was still pretty comfortable. Although she couldn't remember having changed clothes and was curious as to why there was a strange design all over the front.]
[She glanced down at her digimon partner, who...was also wearing a shirt...for...some reason. No strange design on her shirt, though.]
Tailmon...do you know what's going on?
[Tailmon used her claws to pick at the shirt for a moment, eyes squinting in suspicion. She shook her head and looked out into the muddy area before them. Then made a face, not thrilled at the idea of getting herself that dirty. Maybe she should consider asking Hikari to pick her up....]
PHASE III
[Hikari's eyes widened when she first saw the doll. It was covered in mud, yes, but that hair would have been unmistakable to anybody who knew the boy.]
Oniichan!
[Her lips formed a small 'o' of surprise, and she slowly approached it, pulling it out of the mud and taking care to clean it as best as she could on the bottom of her shirt; she was already dirty from their travels and the strange creatures that had tried to attack her--Tailmon was still sulking to one side about getting all that mud in her fur while protecting her partner--so she didn't particularly care about a little extra mud.]
[Still, her lips twisted into a small frown of concern as she held the little doll up.]
Oniichan didn't get turned into a doll again, did he? But we already defeated Pinocchimon! ...right?
[Off in her sulking corner, Tailmon glanced up just long enough to give the doll a good, long look, before shrugging.]
He had other dolls, remember? The ones that made you and the other children disappear and reappear. That might be one of his extra toys.
I see... [She held the doll close, with a sheepish smile on her lips.] Then I'll have to be sure to take care of it. Just in case. I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt oniichan.
BONUS
...Hikari! Look!
[At the sound of Tailmon's voice, Hikari looked.]
[The tiny tree she had been watering had started to sprout. Only...it wasn't fruit or flowers or even more leaves growing from its branches. In fact, as she watched them slowly grow and mature, she realized they were--]
They look like tiny hats! How cute!
[Strange, but definitely cute!]
III
While he could make Patamon evolve into Angemon, that didn't stop his worries. He was going to have to warn everyone about him wasn't he?
Although, in the middle of that search though?]
...H-Hikari-chan...?
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Takeru-kun?
[She turned to face him fully. Yup, it was definitely him; he even had Patamon. Offering a small smile in relief, she motioned to the doll, holding it up so that he could get a better view.]
I found this.
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What else could he do anyway? But either way, when the boy caught a glance at the doll, that's when he showed her the doll he found as well]
I found this too but does that mean Pinocchimon is here? You don't think he's here is he?
[Because if he is? They were in some serious trouble]
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Phase I
This is how she comes across Hikari and Tailmon, causing her to stop and stare for a moment. It's troublesome to see a child here, especially one almost the same age as Nanako. Was she really alone? And why was she with a weird cat standing on two legs? It doesn't seem like it's out to hurt her though, so that's a relief. It's for that reason Rise approaches, a light smile on her face.]
You guys must be lost too, aren't you?
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That looked...like something she might expect Mimi to wear. In a few years' time.][Both Hikari and Tailmon looked noticeably surprised at the new presence. They shared a glance...and Tailmon immediately dropped back onto all fours, initiating her ruse as a "normal" cat. Until that moment, the assumption had been they had gotten lost somewhere in the Digital World. But...this person didn't look like a digimon. And there shouldn't have been any other humans in the World.]
Yes.
[A straightforward, simple answer. Hesitant--wary at an unfamiliar face in a confusing setting--but also with an aura of politeness to it.]
Do you know where we are?
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Someone told me this is a game called ViViD. It's like a video game that we have to play before we can go out into the city. [There's something else concerning here, too.] Did you see the powerpoint, too?
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i
Hey, you okay?
[Like her, Naruto's got the same nutritional fact printed on his shirt even if some of the details are different. Maybe it was a sign that they were both new here.]
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[...how...was he doing that?]
[Hikari looked up at the strange boy approaching her. She didn't recognize him, but her first thought was that his hair was very bright. Like Yamato and Takeru's, only shorter and spikier. ]
I'm fine. [She certainly wasn't panicking, or looked anywhere close to tears. Her eyes fell to the words and numbers on his shirt, noting that it looked kind of similar to what was on her shirt, and her curiosity grew. She pointed to herself as she looked up at him in question.] Do you know what this means, mister?
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In all honesty, Naruto doesn't really give off a dangerous vibe. It's more like he's a giant kid with way too much energy. Especially since he's grinning and jogging all while waving until he pulls up short in front of her.]
That's good. [This was certainly one brave little girl. Dropped somewhere in a swamp with potentially dangerous creatures and not a tear in sight.
When she brings his attention to her shirt, Naruto looks over it.] It means that you're probably pretty tasty to the creatures out here.
[Don't listen to him, Hikari.]
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i.
...Oh, right, young girl alone-ish in the dangerous swamp. Not that Dipper is much in the way of supervision, but he's not just gonna leave her alone now that he's come across her.
Plus, he's got to ask about the cat. ]
Uhh...I take it you're new here, huh?
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I think so.
Although...I'm still not sure I know where here is...exactly....
[Now that she knew that Power Point hadn't been some strange fever dream, she was mostly convinced this was no longer the Digital World. But it definitely wasn't home, either.]
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Here is Cerealia. Oooor - technically VIVID, I guess. But VIVID is inside of Cerealia, and you're stuck here now. It's not always a murky swamp, at least.
We should probably get moving so we can find our way out of the level, actually.
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III
All he knows for sure is that he's not going to just ignore someone that young.]
The people who brought you here like to remind you about the important people in your life.
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[Tailmon must have been thinking something similar, because she didn't drop down to all four paws, staring up with a fairly neutral--if habitually suspicious--expression.]
Why?
[A single word, but a powerful question. Why would they give her a doll that looked like Taichi? Was it to make her feel better? Or mock her?]
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They know we miss them. They think that'll make us do things they want.
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III
You should get out of here before you run into something that'll make you for lunch.
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I want to, but I don't know which way to go. We've been wandering since we first got here.
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.....
[Zero looks over at the girl and nods.]
It's this way.
[He points to the east, the direction he'd been heading in.]
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III
... Did that cat just talked?]
Are you okay?
[Sayo himself is a small, young looking boy. The swamp have already made him and his sheathed short sword pretty dirty with mud and dirt.]
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Me? [Checking to make sure he was talking to her.] I'm...
[Okay didn't quite cover it. She wasn't hurt physically, but her heart did ache.]
...I'm okay.
[Enough.]
Who are you?
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iii
...]
Again? It's happened before?
[That's just kind of weird to him -- even though he's seen some weird stuff.]
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[Hikari looked up in slight surprise at the new presence. Neither afraid nor worried that she'd been overheard, although...]
Umm... [How to explain it to somebody who hadn't been there at the time.] ...actually, it was Piemon who turned him into a doll that one time, but Pinocchimon was the one who used dolls like this to make us do strange things.
[Yeah, there really was no way of not making it all sound bizarre.]
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III
The doll is a trick from the game, don't worry too much.
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[It wasn't the first time she had seen hair like that, of course. Hikari was from Tokyo, where teenaged boys and girls were known to dye their hair all sorts of colors. Although they usually went for the bleach blonde, not completely snowy-white.]
A...trick?
[She blinked twice from that angle before readjusting herself, lowering her head and turning around as she stood up fully. She still had to crank her neck to meet his gaze, but at least he was rightside-up now.]
What kind of trick?
[Hopefully not like a Clown Trick. She'd had enough of those after Piemon.]
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