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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Nico Minoru | Marvel Comics | OTA
[ Someone is not happy to be here again. Again? She feels like she just went to sleep and woke up...here, in ViViD. Again. Ugh. It's bad enough Nico isn't the type to go running for the fun of it but this place is just making her feel gross. The game isn't doing a great job of making her feel welcomed, either. ]
Yeah, yeah, skinny chick in the kitchen and whatever people like. You can bite me, CERES.
[ And she really, really doesn't care how that comes out.
She's grabbed a drink, too, drowning it down so she can get out and keep moving. The quicker she can get out, the better. But then she starts hearing the beeping of heroic, MIDI music, and she sighs loudly to no one in particular. ]
Come on, give me a break! I just got back-- Can you lay off for ten seconds, you garbage game?
phase iii + iv;
[ Finding a monster at the end of the craziness isn't the most expected thing there is. She's used to this schtick. But it's definitely trying to eat her, 0 calories and all. A slick, disgusting tentacle wraps around her leg and tosses her into the air, hoping to catch her in its mouth.
Except, now she's floating. And did she always have that weird staff in her hand? ]
ICEE Freeze
[ The creature's tongue suddenly freezes over into a weird, mushy blue color. It shrieks, tentacles flailing everywhere, smacking at her and whomever's nearby. Nico grunts as she drops out of the air and lands in a pile of mud. She winces, less out of pain and more out of some concern for the doll she has with her, tied to one of the sides of her pants. ]
Oh, geez, sorry, Kar--
[ And the monster is coming back. Nico drags herself out of the mud, staff in hand. She lifts herself back into the air and tries more spells. She looks out to anyone around and gives them a plaintive look. ]
I'm not the type to ask for help but this is really bad, if you don't mind?
bonus;
[ All of them successfully free of ViViD, Nico starts to pull some of the mud out of her hair and clothes, making a face as she walks. ]
This is so gross. Why can't CERES have a party or something better to welcome people?
[ She sighs, brushing off her clothes as best as she can, then producing her staff once more. ]
Mr. Clean!!
[ And while the spell is...mostly successful, anyone nearby is also caught up in it, and now everyone smells lemon-fresh! ...Like a bathroom. Gross. Nico makes a face, looking over her shoulder and giving an awkward look. ]
Yeah, uh. Just go with it. At least you don't feel like a garbage heap now, right?
wildcard;
[ Hit me with whatever!! ]
ii.
[ sharp as a throat clearing, a girl hovers in the doorway, all bright eyes and fixed smiles, fingers still alight on the filthy knob. ]
I didn't realise anyone. . . would live here. [ a beat, a doubtful look around. who would choose a hovel in this swamp, and why?? ] I'm sorry?
[ before nico can really answer, the girl steps out. the door snicks shut behind her.
through the wood, there comes a dutiful knocking, three raps in repetition.
look, manners are important. ]
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Is she knocking. Is she seriously knocking. ]
Are you serious right now?
[ They are in a game that is determined to make them have the worst time possible and she's knocking on some creepy fake video door... Honestly. ]
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[ if there's a script to this scene, it's wooden as hell. ]
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I'm not keeping you out, you know. You can come right in!
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1/2
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ii
Probably not.
[And then she actually notices who's talking]
Nico?
[She really hopes this isn't a stupid VIViD trick. Because she really wants it to be Nico]
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Molly?
[ Oh, she really hopes it's her. She doesn't draw her staff, too afraid that if it is Molly... She's been tricked by CERES before. This time, she only hopes it's her. ]
Stars, Molly. Is that really you?
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[They've taunted her with her friends from home before. She doesn't expect NIco to know about that, but it happens a lot.]
It's... really you, then?
[Since the tricks never did this]
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IV
But his searching leads Nico to come across another Nico, who looks like she's able to do some sort of odd magic with her staff, then asks for some help with a big monster that Cerberus could probably take if the creature hadn't wandered off.
Okay, inward grumbling about needing a better leash or training for his dog later, helping now. Since he's swordless, and raising some skeletons in this swamp would take some time even if he was lucky enough to sense some bones lying around, he decides to go for the quickest route out of here.
He holds out a hand to her.] Take my hand, trust me.
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With some honest hesitation, she takes his hand. ]
If you know what you're doing, go for it.
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For a moment, there's nothing but cold darkness and the feeling of moving extremely fast, then a second later, they're popping out in another area of the swamp, hopefully far enough away that that monster isn't anywhere even remotely nearby.
Nico lets go of her hand and gives her a quick once over.] You okay?
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bonus
I'll take your advice. [He chuckles, breathy and kind of exhausted, not nearly as cheerfully as he liked. He's... just not going to ask. Not when he's not in the state of mind to process all this.]
You have no idea how much that really helped, miss... um...?
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Nico glances back at one of them, a young man who seems to be...sort of holding it together. She thinks. With a sympathetic frown, she shrugs, as if her answer doesn't really matter. ]
Nico. And it's-- It's nothing special but it beats mucking through the streets and feeling like you've been dragged through a mudhole. CERES has terrible taste when it comes to welcoming new people, as you've seen.
[ She leans against her staff a little bit, not out of any injury of hers. It's like a comfort crutch, a safety blanket, the only thing familiar in a sea of uncertainty. ]
You okay?
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I have to agree. I'm surprised at how realistic it was, if... it was even meant to be virtual. [Don't think don't panic, you can do this. There's always time to break down later.]
I'm fine. [He starts, then pauses.] is this kind of thing normal here?
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ii
[ Motioning with her thumb, Nonon points over at the house that the other girl seems to have just exited. Nonon's smart enough not to go running into there without some forethought.
And something about the way Nico looks makes Nonon weary. Then again, she knows these types of ViViD games to know that everything is broken and terrible and nothing is as it seems. ]
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Just some drinks. Won't let you out until you sip one. Unless you're dying of thirst, I'd suggest skipping it.
[ The ViViD loves its games, doesn't it. ]
It's empty otherwise. Nothing special.
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However, she's pretty surprised to get a clear answer out of the other girl, though she can't help but be a LITTLE suspicious. ]
...What kind of drinks exactly? There's always a stupid catch when it comes to ViViD.
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bonus
True enough. Definitely preferable to all the gunk. What did you say just now? "Mr ... Clean"?
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[ No, it most certainly is a spell, but it's easier to act like it's nothing for the moment. ]
Better than 'abra cadabra'.
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[ Even if he smells like Junes-brand cleaning fluid. Yu props a hand on his hip and smiles at her. ]
Thanks for that, by the way. I wasn't looking forward to tracking that muck all over my apartment.
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Still smells better than my apartment.
[Nice.]
Having a welcoming party would be a lot of effort, you know.
[He's implying that CERES just really doesn't care.]
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Then maybe it could do nothing and let us find our way on our own. This sort of prank? It sucks.
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Bonus
That sure was a young girl casting a spell named after a bald cleaning mascot. He was coming up from behind, so she probably could not notice that he wasn't carrying a garbage heap on him, but rather the only thing on him that was cleaned as a persistent ketchup stain on his suit.
He can't help but laugh a little in wonder and scratches at his head as she speaks.]
I like to think I hadn't gotten to that level, but hey... [He adds on even more jokingly:] Do you do bathrooms too?
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