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.
|
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. ] |
![[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}
phase i; ota
He purses his lips, tries not to give in to the urge to panic. It's too easy, especially because he really has no idea what to do, and if it wasn't for the convenient log he can latch onto he'd have sunk completely by now. What do you do in a situation like this?]
Hello? Anyone?
[He can see people, maybe he even sees you. Either way, he's waving one arm while trying not to sink as he latches on with the other. His wheelchair? Almost completely submerged now.]
Can you help me, please?
[And if someone wants to mix this with the rest of the phases, it works out. His nutritional info suggests a lot of protein after all.]
bonus
[He doubts the mud and gunk would be off anytime soon, but he tries anyway as he scrubs it down. Next to him, on a table, is a tiny hats tree for his efforts.]
Well, that was interesting.
[He sighs, then offers a smile to the next person he meets, tired.]
Hi, I don't suppose I could bother you for a few minutes, could I?
bonus
Still, he doesn't turn away from the stranger. Hak's never seen him before--maybe he's new and needs some help? ]
What is it?
no subject
This guy looks a bit intimidating, but that's never stopped Nao before.]
I don't suppose you know where a guy could take a shower around here, would you?
omg i'm so sorry i totally missed this
phase i;
This wasn't the kindest place to drop you!
no subject
[Well, at least his chair is secured. He's... just going to stick to that log for a while, until it's out. If anything, it's easier to drag himself back to proper land as long as someone else was handling the equipment, so it eases some tension off his shoulders.]
Though I think this place in general seems... inappropriate.
no subject
[ And as she hauls the wheelchair out completely-- ] Would you like a hand?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Phase I
[A voice calls out from the sky. Is it some kind of superhero? A flying man? It... it...!
...It is a bushy-browed young man in a yoga clothes, and it looks like he has been hopping from tree to tree. But now he's stopped atop one dead tree and is scanning the area to try to find the source of that call.]
no subject
...
You know what, he can take this. Admittedly, he's not sure how he got up there, or what it is he's wearing, but-- he needs help and this guy might know what's going on more than he does.]
Down here. [He says, loud enough to be heard, hoping that he can pinpoint to him. His wheelchair is starting to sink further and that's really not a good sign for him.]
no subject
Rock Lee quickly leaps right down. Normally, this would seem to be the worst decision ever and the shortest rescue attempt on record. But it seems that Lee has manage to actually put thought into this; his feet end up inches above the mud without actually touching it. So he 'runs' atop the mud towards Nao, ready to pull him on it.]
Please do not worry, sir! I am here for you!!
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
phase i
Hold on for a moment!
[ sorry nao, give him a moment to very quickly grab a convenient, sturdy branch from a few feet away. he's pretty sure he can't pull a person out of that sludge without toppling in himself, so the best he can do is to extend that branch towards where nao's struggling. ]
Here, grab this! I'll -- try to pull you out!
[ emphasis on 'try'. ]
no subject
It's clear which was the better answer, but...]
I-- My wheelchair. [He clarifies, gesturing to the seat that was mostly submerged now.] Could-- could you help me look for a long rope first? Or anything similar.
[He hates burdening him even further, especially since he was being kind but... How else would he move around?]
no subject
lop bites hard at his lip as he thinks, his ears flicking back from the tension, then squints off into the surrounding woods. nao probably can't see anything from where they are, but after a moment lop gives an uneasy nod. ]
Please wait a moment.
[ lop bounds off into the woods at an impressive sprint, and returns with a big armful of vines. they're not exactly 'rope', but it's the closest he could find. ]
-- are you okay?! [ he'll never be able to forgive himself if the stranger drowned in the time it too him to fetch those vines. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
bonus.
she tilts her head at the question, before slowly realising that this person could possibly be new. and then she smiles. ]
Sure can. What can I help you with?
no subject
I'm a bit at a loss as to what I should be doing now after... that strenuous exercise. I was hoping to find some sort of tour guide.
no subject
Um. You don't want that. But, um, I made something that might help— [ she pulls out her cerevice from her pocket. ] Do you have yours? I'll send you a file.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
because you told me to
[ What you do in this situation is pick a god and pray—I mean—you hope for the best and quite honestly remain still and try not to move too much. And yet even though Genos is completely made from various metallic parts, he somehow is going to be able to move around with much more ease and marginal less worry about sinking in than Nao here.
Don't mind the tiny doll of a bald eggman tied around his neck as Genos wordlessly goes to lift/pull Nao out free from the sinking swamp without much trouble. (Wheelchair and all??)
Is he sinking a bit himself as he walks Nao to a safer area? Who knows. Mysteryghost.gif ]
Are you alright?
wow don't make it sound forced, i'm sad now
Maybe it's all the robot parts.
At the very least, he manages to keep a tight grip on the armrests, using that to pull himself down and remain seated even as mud and water keeps the experience far from pleasant. Still, it's better than getting stuck.]
I am now, thank you. [He can't help but stare, especially as they start moving.]
Erm... you seem to be sinking. [Since, well, Genos is acting like this is normal.]
wasn't it though?
Which is also why he isn't too bothered by how Nao is staring at him as he continues unfazed by the fact that each step takes a bit more effort for him and that he sinks in a little bit deeper as they reach what looks to be a place where he could put down Nao safely. ]
It's nothing; you were asking for help and I couldn't walk by and do nothing. [ Genos wasn't a "Hero" here but it didn't mean he would ever stop helping others out. ]
And don't worry about that, I'll be fine—all of my parts have been waterproofed so it doesn't matter how much of me has been submerged.
[ Don't...think that was what he was worried about, but okay. ]
you're the one who is dubconning me!!
stop making me look bad?????
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
bonus!!!
Yes? [Vietnam moves over when he calls out and asks his question.] What do you need me for?
no subject
Maybe.This could work.]I was hoping to know if anyone here has been around much longer. I wanted to ask about the history of this place.
[Knowing it's history might... help accept what's going on, because although there's been a slideshow presentation, it highlighted things he wasn't sure he wanted to believe. If anything, he's in shock, and he needs the distraction. If nothing contradicts it, then he knows what he's going to do tonight at least.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
I
They're really not playing around this time. [If he sounds annoyed, chances are it's because he is. With a quick glance, he spots a group of vines not too far away and he looks down at Nao with what he hopes is a reassuring grin.] Hold on, we'll get you out of here! Baymax, head for the vines.
[The robot flies off to collect one of the sturdiest vines, bringing it back so Hiro can throw it down to the other boy.] Think you can wrap that around yourself? We can pull you out and then Baymax can grab your chair.
no subject
Still, someone helping out is always welcomed, even if he has to blink and stare for a bit when he sees a giant white... robot? And some person in an armor. Smaller than him, and sounds younger too. Well, he can ask about those things later, in particular what he meant by 'playing around this time' because that's enough to worry him.]
Ah, yeah. Hold on, let me just... [He nods though, grabbing the vine. One thing about hanging around sporty types and half-coaching them is he really has to make sure he himself stays fit to catch up, and exercising involving ropes were easy enough for him to deal with. Well, some difficulty, since he had to wrap it around his torso, but he manages well enough.]
All right, I think this should work?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
bonus
While the fox on his shoulder does the actual talking.]
Yes? Is there something you need help with?
no subject
He has no idea what he was expecting but this was probably going to be normal, wasn't it? Nao blinks, not quite... certain what he should make of that, and wonders if it's like ventriloquism. Maybe he'll go with that.]
Ah, I was hoping you could help me with looking for my room...? I can't move so much like this.
[Like this, of course, pertaining to mud and more mud caking his wheels.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
the random icon button is fun...
(no subject)
(no subject)