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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phase iii!!!!
[ To be honest, it's not like Souji meant to stumble upon Saitou just to ruin his day!! He's just lost in ViViD like everyone else, except without any handy-dandy nutritional info tags sewn into the back of his gym clothes. And being lost means just wandering around in the swamp which also means finally coming across his bff. He's met all sorts of people and avoided others, but he hadn't expected to actually see anyone he recognized. Surprise flickers across Souji's face for a moment, then followed soon by wariness because he wouldn't put it past ViViD to give him straight-up hallucinations of the Shinsengumi. It's happened before after all. ]
[ Even if weirdly dressed and unarmed, there's no mistaking Saitou for anyone else... ]
Oh? If it isn't Hajime-kun. [ slowly approaching, then coming to a stop a few feet away. The absence of his swords at his waist is both uncomfortable and aggravating. What if this is just a hallucination? What if it attacks him?!?! UGH ] You sure look strange in that get-up.
[ like Souji doesn't as well ]
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...Souji.
[ He, ah, shoves the doll into his clothes, only to remember he's not wearing his usual attire and there's no way of doing it without being awkward. There's now a lump underneath his shirt, which he defensively cradles by holding his arms and straightening up.
This is unexpected, but not too surprising. Cerealia seems fond of the Shinsengumi for some reason, and there wasn't any reason for him to not be there.
Even so... ] You hardly look any better. [ Barefoot, swordless, and in yoga pants. How they both have fallen. ]
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[ ....COMING CLOSER. He squints at the protective lump. ]
What are you hiding?
[ Souji's eagle-eyed gaze that only activates when he senses mischief is now activated. ]
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Something unimportant that does not concern you. [ He curses in his mind, and turns away, apologising in his mind for calling Hijikata "unimportant."
He knows that's not going to pacify Souji, so now he's going to try his best to direct the conversation away from what he's holding. ] I didn't expect to see you in this place again.
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Again? [ He was told that Harada and Shinpachi had been here before, but Saitou... Why does no one tell him about prior Shinsengumi peeps!!! ] Oh. About that, I don't remember anything from the last time I was here. So meeting you here is a first for me.
[ He Shrugs. Losing his Cerealia memories isn't alarming at all, right?? He tilts his head ]
But if you remember this place... Maybe that means you've changed? The Hajime-kun I know would never hide something unimportant.
[ He can totally imagine Saitou shoving blocks of tofu or kittens in his clothes because those are all important things to him, okay ]
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Since when do I reveal everything to you? [ He would start inching away, but retreat isn't something he does on a familiar basis. ] If it were of an urgent matter, I would be telling you, but since it isn't, I am telling you to let it be.
[ No way is he going to let Souji get his hands on this because it would mean terrible consequences (suddenly, he's very glad Souji has no weapons on him). So he's going to go back to other, safer topics. ] Have you been here long? I was here before, yes, but I have no idea how much time has passed since then and now.
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Does that really matter? [ It probably does, because just the fact that Saitou disappeared from Cerealia is alarming, but Souji's mood is already taking a turn to PETULANT CHILD. ] I don't really feel like answering questions when you're keeping secrets from me.
[ it's only one secret??? it's just a lump Saitou's hiding?? why is souji like this ]
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I'm not keeping any secrets. I can tell you, at length, about my time here, and how you disappeared, as did Shinpachi and Sano-san, and there are other versions of the Shinsengumi here, all of which are more interesting then whatever you are trying to ask of me.
[ Why must soujis make his life hard. Why Petulant Child Mode. Why him. ]
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I already heard about Sano-san and Shinpachi-san. [ Well, not in any real detail... ] And I've met the other Okitas and Hijikata-san already.
[ Souji says, not knowing that Saitou hasn't met the other Hijikata yet. ]
And none of that is more interesting than what you're trying to hide from me.
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[ One Souji, two Souji...that's manageable. But three? Four? How does Hijikata feel about this. Suddenly, he wants to be out of this swamp and somewhere else in order to go looking for his vice commander--
Of course, Souji won't let it be, will he. ] If you knew, you would simply mock me. Therefore, there is no nee for you to know. [ He wonders if he would be able to keep this doll after ViViD, or if it would simply vanish. ]
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...It was three the last time I checked. [ He doesn’t check. He doesn’t want to check!! UGH. At least there aren’t multiple Hijikatas ]
Mock you? If it’s something I’d make fun of you about, then... [ He cocks his head to the side. ] So it's like a shameful, forbidden sort of secret?
[ What could it be!! Now he's doubly interested as he expresses his very genuine shock. ] No way, Hajime-kun... What would Hijikata-san say if he knew you were that sort of person...?
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But suffice to say, he catches Souji's undertone, and decides he'll find his answers from someone else (Kashuu, probably), and take this elsewhere.
Elsewhere being, alas, what he's hiding under his shirt. ] Souji, do you think I'm the sort of person who indulges in forbidden things. [ As for shameful-- ] Hijikata-san is not here, therefore he cannot say anything about the fact that currently in my custody I have...
...
I have something of his.
[ Close enough to the truth. ]
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If you were clear about that from the beginning, then I wouldn’t have jumped to that conclusion. [ basically, it’s Saitou’s fault that Souji suspects him of having forbidden secrets, right??? Souji comes closer, still interested. ]
Hmmm… If it’s Hijikata-san’s… That’s too small to be his haiku book. And it doesn’t look like Ishida Sanyaku. Rather, neither of those two things is something you’d hide, so…
[ 1. It’s Hijikata-san’s. 2. Souji would make fun of Saitou if he knew what it was. That could be anything. ]
You might as well tell me what it is. [ He wants to know!! ]
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He frowns. ] You would've jumped to some conclusion about Hijikata-san, or told me something outrageous and untrue about him. I was merely avoiding such a situation.
[ Even so, the longer he hides this, the more ridiculous it feels. If he kept it up, it was more a matter of pride than it was...protection. So with a sigh, he takes the doll out of his shirt and holds it up. ] No touching.
[ Because he knows you. ]
1/2
[ Saitou knows him so well... Souji shuffles closer to look at the doll. ]
[ because what the fuck saitou ]
That's...
2/3 i lied
[ ah ]
[ . . . . . . ]
[ pft ]
3/3
Hey, Hajime-kun, where did you even find this? It can't be — did you make it? [ the image of Saitou diligently sewing a doll of Hijikata sets Souji off again ] It looks just like him! The scowl, the same unlikable face...
[ Souji reaches his hands out, all grabby. Better dodge, Saitou. ]
Does Hijikata-san know that you have a doll of him? Or maybe — did he make it? It seems just like the kind of embarrassing hobby he'd have!
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