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}
IV (abuses the fact that Armin looks like he's like twelve haha)
"Out of my way!"
So if he just so happens to knock the monster's hapless victim free while going in for the attack himself, that's surely just coincidence. The guy just happened to be in his way! Or that's what he'll claim if asked later, at least.
(darn his small frame and embarrassing baby face)
As for Armin, he lands on the ground with a pained grunt in a graceless heap. Something snaps, making him grimace even as he's staring up in equal parts concern and gratitude. This person must be a fighter to swoop in like that, right? He'd rather not see anyone eaten on his behalf... again.
As Armin gets gingerly to his feet he stands at a slight 163cm, and though he does in fact have a bit of lean muscle to his slender frame, he's not sure how he can help take on the monster without any gear. It's his mind that jumps into action, trying to formulate some kind of escape for himself and his mysterious savior.
In spite of the youthful appearance, Armin is an adult in his own home. Something new and in between here, from what he understands. But not a child, and he'd like to think not nearly as helpless as he used to be. He'd better do something, hadn't he?
"No, wait! I can run!"
well Mika kind of has a soft spot for kids so maybe that's a good thing for first impressions here??
Of course, being a vampire and having some of those enhanced abilities that goes with that probably helps--he's a LOT stronger than his own slight frame might suggest. In any cae though, he's focused on destroying this thing and not really paying attention to whatever other people might be up to (unless some idiot kid gets himself grabbed again...) so perhaps it's best to stay out of his way for now.
Or, you know, yell at him for his utter disregard for teamwork!
excellent! Tbh Armin is used to being rescued he's pretty embarrassing for a soldier
"There might be more! We should leave quickly!"
Large predators that have time to lay in wait that way are bad news, after all. Probably clever, to hunt that way. He doesn't want to find out.
yeah he's more strategist/tactician than soldier but that's still badass in its own way!
"Then I'll kill those too."
My, someone's certainly sure of himself, isn't he? Though, since he paused a moment to talk, one might notice his eyes are blood red. And if said observer is especially attentive, they might even notice when he speaks that he posseses a rather nice pair of fangs...
He's slowly starting to realize that!
Armin is beginning to realize very quickly that there are a lot of things he's never seen. Or rather, he'd known all along, but now it's impossible to think of much else. He feels small and strange and ill-prepared, but he squares his shoulders anyway. He can't stand up to it physically, but maybe this unsettling stranger can.
Beyond the row of horns (thorns?) up top, there's an unprotected part of the crown. It looks very much like an area that might house some organ of vital fiction. Why else would the thorns obscure it that way?
"At the top!" Armin calls up, undeterred by the previous exchange.
GOOD. Besides people like Eren and Mikasa need someone like him anyway....
Which means he might as well see about going for the kill. It's a bit tricky even for him (especially since this is all VR and so he can't rely on his sword to enhance his powers) but with some effort, he finally manages a solid blow to the spot in question.
Right? (*function not fiction sorry I'm a mobile tagged and autocorrect is rude)
It's strange to see an enemy fall but not disintegrate, but there isn't time to marvel over it. He turns instead to his curious rescuer. There are so many questions, but where to begin? With the obvious, he supposes.
"Thanks."
He seriously has the best-developed characterization in the series imo to be honest
"It's not like I did it for your sake."
They just happened to be fighting the same monster at the same time, that's all. Clearly.
yeah he's come a long way. writing his personality section was a workout!
The attitude itself doesn't seem to put him off very much, even if it does earn a curious glance. Armin has met others like that before. Though none with teeth and eyes like this man. What he wants to ask is if the stranger is human, but he settles instead for introducing himself. It's always harder to walk away from someone if you know their name, and Armin feels like he might benefit from staying close by to someone who can handle ongoing dangers.
"I'm Armin."
I can believe it! Characters with tons of layers like that are great though :)
"... Mika," he gives his own name, albeit perhaps a bit reluctantly. He doesn't bother to say more than that, though, instead turning his attention back to their surroundings. There had to be a way out SOMEHOW...
yeah he's worth the trouble!
Then again, that hardly explains the teeth. He blinks, forcing his eyes away. He's been staring for too long.
Totally!
"You haven't seen a vampire before, have you." It's more a statement than a question; he's not remotely surprised by the reaction, in any case.
no subject