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}
III
It isn't a trap. Not in the traditional sense. It's not likely to explode or hurt you, anyway. I don't feel anything particularly funny coming from them.
[She holds up a doll of her own, of a girl with two long pigtails and two meatball shaped buns on the top of it's head.]
I found one too.
no subject
Her explanation offers more peace than she probably realises. ]
You can sense things like that?
[ He turns back then, stepping towards her rather than away, cringing as at certain points it feels as though he's going to sink right through. (He should have thought that through much better than he did.) ]
no subject
I can. I'm a bit of a seer, and there's no danger to you from your doll. Or...whoever that is, in reality.
[Carefully, she stows her twintailed toy in a sack she'd rescued from the swamp.]
But it's not just a doll, if you were wondering. There's definitely a connection between it and you. There always is.
no subject
...So you have magic? [ It's a bit different in his world, something that would probably be easy to tell with how his voice cracks there. It's not something people would be open about. ]
You seem to know more about this place... Have you been here before?
no subject
[Though he doesn't seem like the sort of man who's familiar with Japanese faith magic, or likely even Japan, she'll at least put that out there as a reassurance. Or an attempt at one.]
And as for that...[She sweeps her gaze over the ruined village.] Never this particular place, but I know ViViD. I've been here in Cerealia long enough to have caught onto the usual tricks it plays.
no subject
And you're open about it? Just like that?
[ That's suspicious enough on its own. He won't make any movement to run away, but there's just something now that stops him from trusting too much, too. It's something. ]
Is it this place that lets you?
no subject
I...yes? Why shouldn't I be. The religion I practice is just about helping people. My talents are mostly towards banishing ghosts and dark spirits.
[Since he's seeming so nervous about it, she's going to take a step back, trying to be somewhat placating.]
I'm not sure what your home is like, but I swore a vow to never harm a human being save in self defense, or in the defense of others. You've nothing to fear from me.
no subject
You use magic to help people? [ He doesn't really wait long enough for her to answer completely. Then: ] Not everyone does that. It's good though. When they do.
[ How to awkwardly backpedal: 101. ]
no subject
[But all this does tell her a few things about this person. That he's either some sort of authority figure, someone who's been wronged by a magician, or one himself.]
Do you use magic, then?
no subject
She helps calm some of his fears but he can't say it, eyes darting away as his hands twitch at his sides. He wants to laugh, because it would be nice to just say yes. Instead, he says: ] No. I couldn't. Wouldn't.
no subject
Seeing no reason to cultivate that, she bows her head.]
Alright. Of course. [She favors him with a very small, but very genuine smile.] My name is Rei. [And she holds up the doll.] And this is Usagi. Or rather, it looks like her.
What's your name?
no subject
In a way he can tell she doesn't believe him though. He doesn't know how, because usually people just glance over it, don't notice. Instead she tries to be... nice about it. ]
Merlin. [ The smile he gives her is only small, if a little solemn. He lifts the doll in his hand up a little, then continues. ] This is... Looks like Arthur.
[ Casually leaving out that he's Prince Arthur, but it's enough information anyway. ]
no subject
and...okay, you can be cool Rei. You can use words...]
Merlin? And Arthur? Of Camelot?
no subject
You've heard of...? [ Me. Him. It. It's hard to know which to focus on there. ] How?
[ Sadly it only turns up suspicion at this point. ]
no subject
In my time...[She emphasizes the word very pointedly.] Merlin and Arthur and Camelot are heroes in legends and stories. The King of Knights, and his friend and adviser. Known for wisdom and chivalry, they were...important figures in a nation far from my home.
Honestly, when I'm from? I don't know if there are many people who don't know those names.
no subject
I-I don't know what to say. [ His hand moves to rub his temple, looking absolutely bewildered.
What else are you supposed to do at a time like this??? ]
no subject