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. ] |
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no subject
If they wanted to.
Leon quirks an eyebrow at her, but is otherwise quiet for a long moment. "Isn't it obvious that being useless is the worst?" she asks, and Leon knows that that's true, because nothing had been worse than how useless he had been when Marian had needed him most.
He'd been useless to the end, then, no matter how much he'd trained. After an almost uncomfortably long pause, he just looks away with a huff.]
Hmph. If you are aware of it, do something about it. [A beat.] Remaining that way when you are aware of it is asking for nothing but [heartache] trouble.
no subject
If you think you can lecture me, at least look me in the eye when you do it.
[CALLED OUT -- but no, she's almost glaring. Her anger is mostly directed at herself, that's true. But now her hands stand clenched at her sides, she can feel the bruises of where the soldiers had stepped on her and the ache from when they'd pulled her hair. That was her act of strength and she knows that it wasn't much but--]
Don't presume to know me or my struggles...! Do you think I haven't tried? What kind of idiot do you take me for to know my own weakness and let it rule my life?!
[And she always does this - she always lets people know too much about what's on her mind but she refuses to be belittled immediately by someone who thinks she hasn't tried to fix herself.]
no subject
(It's similar, he thinks, to his own situation, in a lot of ways. The words she says echo a lot of the things he himself felt. So really, when he responds, it's almost like he's responding to himself.)]
And yet you were useless here. [Ouch.] Not only that, but you actively got in my way, and almost got yourself killed as well.
I won't presume to know your struggles, but I will observe what is troublesome in my path.
no subject
.... her head hurts. She's tired. She doesn't need this right now - or maybe she does? - and she wants to cry.
Instead she faces him head on. Eye to eye. Face to face. She won't run away.]
.... I didn't mean to get in your way. [As close to an apology as she's getting - she didn't want him to get hurt. She's not going to apologize for that. She won't even touch the notion of getting herself killed.]
I'm weak and I know it.
With the time I've been given, I plan to change that.
[For... whatever small difference it makes, even if it just means not getting in the way.]
no subject
She "plans to change that". How? How does she intend to find a way to do so all on her own?
Why does he care? No--he doesn't care. Shouldn't. It's unnecessary.]
Tch.
[He doesn't like the look on her face. It's too tired, and a little too close to despair. He turns away.]
Do what you want. It isn't as though it matters to me.
[...Right?]
no subject
Of course it doesn't. She turns away when he does, taking it as a concession to their small staring contest, and she narrows her eyes and smiles ruefully to herself. Truly, she's never managed to feel quite so alone as she does now. Without her attendants and without even her most important person - Yona doesn't even know who she is - it's scary.
Tears sting at her eyes for a half second before she wipes them away. She has the strength to cry, so she has the strength to do something else.
Instead, she asks, doing her best to keep her voice even--]
How did you get strong?
[He defeated a beast all by himself... how does she do that, so she doesn't have to watch someone else protect her?]
no subject
He... got as strong as he is because he had no other choice. From the time he was a child, that was all there was. Fighting. Training. Practicing. Studying. Rinse. Repeat. Learn everything he can, so that he can... what? Be Leon Magnus, knight of Seinegald. Be someone who was respectable, adult, and who could stand on his own, without any interference from his father.
... He threw all of it away, but nonetheless the fact remains that--
There's no way for her to reach his level.
But even so...]
... I worked for it. [Even so, for some reason, he doesn't want to tell her that. He thinks of Philia, who lifted a sword for the first time in her life, all for a cause she believed in, and who was a terror on the battlefield. He thinks of Stahn, who surpassed all expectations so quickly, beyond belief, as if that potential had always been in him, waiting to be tapped into.
...]
Every day. Without fail. I am not naturally gifted with brute strength. [He can concede that much--it's obvious just from looking at him.] And so I train, and I practice, until it not only does not hamper me, but that I am also reaching my own potential.
[... Or he was, anyway, but that's not something he intends to say either.]
no subject
Lili finds her gaze turning to the ground before she can help herself, her own fingers digging into her elbows as she crosses her own arms, though mostly trying to fight her own insecurity. Now she can remember how even when they were at the hot springs, Yona would practice, she would raise her sword and be careful about her swings - her form. She couldn't defeat a grown man but she could still stand against him even when Lili was collapsed.
... there's no easy answer to strength, she knows that. But she thought that her strength could be strictly in the political sphere - perhaps that would be enough.
But as memories of soldiers and the abuse of slaves flashes through her mind, she knows that it's not enough.]
.... I see.
[And she lets out a breath - quietly, but a heavy one nonetheless - and she moves to wipe at her eyes again. What gross emotion she's showing, nearly crying in front of a stranger. Her voice is quieter as she reflects:]
That's always been the answer, hasn't it? [and then she gently clears her throat, wincing a bit as she does because it's still far too raw. how long ago was it that he offered her water? was that even real?] It paid off....
[A pause and then a decision.]
I don't plan on making you rescue me again.
no subject
Quietly, he responds, and simply:]
Then next time, I won't.
[Ice cold....... but if she's that determined to do this, then he's not going to argue it. He'll just provide her exactly what she wishes for--and it suits him just fine too. It's not like he cares about some random girl who... who is too weak to protect herself and the people she cares about.
It's not like he'd know anything about that.
... It's too close for comfort, and with a faint huff, he carries on, striding through the muck without hesitation now.]
no subject
So for a second, she's paralyzed. Should she keep walking forward? Should she follow him? Should she try to find her own path? There will be no protection with him anymore--
But Lili all too frequently moves forward without a promise of protection and she supposes that it's a risk she will take. At least now there's a guarantee that next time, he wouldn't end up hurt because of her. For some reason... that manages to settle her even further.
Pardon her, Leon, there's definitely the sounds of her stepping through the muck to follow after him. She tries to think back to their previous conversation - it's muddled between many other memories now - and she tries to find some footing.]
You said there would be an exit, didn't you? This.... still isn't the city, I hope?
no subject
... ... ....]
No.
This is not Cerealia. This is yet another level in ViViD. [Sigh.] I suspect that we've accomplished the majority of the tasks now, so--
[Oh look.
Log Out, hanging out there beautifully and shinily.]
Now, you can leave. [Leon doesn't intend to, though. He can't exactly ditch the level without Stahn.]
no subject
But before she goes, she's turning back to him.]
You aren't yet?
[The struggle between her only being a nuisance to him and yet also not wanting to leave him behind is a bit of a struggle.]
no subject
[That answer comes immediately enough, at least. He crosses his arms.]
I have to find someone.
[...]
An idiot who managed to get himself lost in here... [A shake of his head. UNIMPORTANT.] Honestly, what is he thinking? [Or Leon was the one who got lost. WAY MORE LIKELY.]
no subject
The exit is glowing and waiting for her but....
ok sure, she'll chat. and because she has no filter-]
But you'll still wait for him - even go out of your way to look for him?
[Lili wouldn't do that for a lot of idiots.]
no subject
It isn't as though I care about him, or anything like that, so don't get the wrong idea!
He simply has an important role to play back in our world, and so I won't see his fool self killed before I get him back there.
[THAT'S!! ALL!!!
(no stahn is his best friend.)]
no subject
Lili covers her mouth immediately - she can feel the corners of her lips threatening to smile - and she... recognizes it, which is funny. That's how she felt, talking about Yona, denying that they were even friends.
It makes her heart ache fondly -- Yona doesn't know her like that, but it's... a nice feeling to see again, even if it is manifesting in someone else.
So instead she nods.]
You should go look for him. He sounds like trouble.
no subject
But thankfully for the both of them, Leon is oblivious to her thoughts. He just waves her off with a huff.]
Don't tell me what to do. I know what I am doing.
[She was being friendly, Leon... but at least he doesn't sound all too snappish himself.
A beat, in which he considers her for a long moment.
And then he shakes his head, turning away.]
Hurry it up. Those log outs may not remain forever.
[Just go already, sheesh.]
no subject
Shut up. I was agreeing with you.
[But... she doesn't mean it meanly..... god, what do you do with two tsuns who don't know how to talk to people. Regardless, she doesn't look too irritated.
Instead, she does take this as a solid end to their conversation and she glances over at the log out sign before parroting back-]
"Don't tell me what to do."
[Because two can play at that game.
She takes a step forward before she... pauses.... because there's something stuck in her throat and it sounds like-]
Don't get stuck in here -- and don't get hurt while looking for him, okay?
[THE LAST ONE TO GIVE COMMANDS WINS.
Though she turns - her face isn't red, her face isn't red - and then proceeds to resume her walk back over to the log out sign then. With purpose.
kbye]