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}
no subject
Ooh, there's a nice spa in one of the districts that I can show you to! You just have to be careful when you visit that place 'cause there are a lot of seedy spas and stuff in the same area. The nice one is totally worth it though, I swear!
[Just gonna casually talk about pleasure district spas as he starts to pick his way through the muck. He'll stick close to Lili just in case, but not close enough to be uncomfortable.]
no subject
Baby steps.]
A spa...? Does it have hot springs?
no subject
Mmhm! You can go there to soak or get this weird massage that they do with hot rocks, and I think they even have people who do acupuncture stuff there, too. Oh! And they do manicures!
[Clearly the most important part.]
no subject
And there will be food? Clean water...?
[We sure went from Luxuries to Basic Needs real fast.]
no subject
Yeah, there will be. I mean, it's like any other modern city... There's plumbing and fresh water, tons of shops sell things you can buy to make your own meals, you can go out to eat wherever and whenever. There's like, things to snack on at the spas too. Fruit trays and crackers - light stuff like that.
no subject
Making my own meals.... or snacks?
[oh no.
oh no she's realizing she's gotten in quite a bit over her head]
.... Might there be a maid service available?
[you from the slums or the capitol, Lili, make up your mind]
no subject
Eh? Uh... Like, in your apartment, you mean? I'm not really sure. I've never heard of anyone around here having one, anyway... You could probably get a robot to do that stuff for you but I don't think you should, since technology can go totally haywire at random here. It could end up being dangerous. [But at the same time, he kind of knows this struggle considering he's a dumb sword and blew up a microwave, so--]
If you need help learning how to cook stuff, I can give you a hand. My master taught me how to use some of the things in the kitchen and I know how to bake some stuff.
[He knows how to bake a cake, in specific. Yuri was a gift in his time of need...]
no subject
Well cooking isn't the only problem.... [She starts to list them off on her hands, which probably doesn't help her case:] What about the cleaning? Drawing the bath? Purchasing additional robes for banquets? Maintenance of the estate? I don't stay at home much, mind you, but someone must look after it.
[Lili, where are you expecting to live.]
no subject
WHAT IS THIS, THOUGH. His brow furrows even further and this time, he can't help but blurt out:]
How come you're worried about fresh water if you think you gotta worry about all of those things, too? [LORD. A little huffy sigh follows, and then:] Apartments are way too small to need any of that! You're talking like you're gonna be living in some manor or something, but these places don't even have gardens or yards. They're biiig buildings like this- [Making a vague shape about the height and width of an apartment complex?!] -and everyone lives in 'em together. You only get one apartment for yourself - that's one room inside the building, basically - so cleaning's really no problem. Neither is drawing a bath, since you just have to turn on the tap for that.
no subject
But honestly, she doesn't wince at the question. Worried about fresh water -- and yet still preoccupied with her standard of living. Yeah, that sounds about right. Regardless she smooths out her expression when he explains and just answers, a bit more quietly:]
.... Shut up.
You don't know anything about me and my situation.
[Which probably comes off as meaner than she intends -- really he's been nothing but nice and she does want to repay him -- but it's... hard to just come right out and explain, ok.]
no subject
But to Kashuu's credit, he doesn't seem particularly fussed by that retort even if it is a little sharp.]
No, but I know you're totally expecting to live somewhere that doesn't actually exist out there. You gotta know the territory before you head out, right? First rule of battle!
[IT'S NOT A BATTLE... Well, it sometimes is, considering what CERES gets up to but still.]
no subject
And then now she's just going to be even more confused as she fusses back-]
I've never been to battle?! [directly.
she might've tried to boss around an army once.]
no subject
[Ah, Kashuu logic... He steps delicately around a fallen log, and makes a wide sweeping gesture out in the direction of the rest of the muck.]
It'll do you good no matter where you are, 'cause you'll be able to prepare for things a little better. Like here! Keep an eye above and below - enemies are most likely to come from those directions rather than from the sides, since they'd be way exposed there.
no subject
She needs to get stronger. She knows she does. Right now there have been too many times that he's had to explain things to her or make sure that she doesn't hurt herself - and that's just shameful, isn't it? How is she going to repay him at this rate?
So after listening to his explanation, she pipes up rather suddenly-]
--Can you teach me?
no subject
What do you wanna be taught?
[Rules of battle are one thing, but if she needs to learn how microwaves work, she's out of luck...]
no subject
But Lili is just pausing where she stands, stopping their walk for a second as she brings up her hand to hold onto her arm a little nervously. What does she want to be taught? Yeah well.... everything, it sounds like. She's really and truly alone here. But to start?]
.... You're a sword, right? [Even if she's still yet to completely wrap her head around that.] So you know a lot about battles and fighting and... protecting what's important to you, right?
[Right? But she looks elsewhere for a moment, her shoulders hunching a bit.]
.... I just don't want to be a liability anymore. I know that I can't ask you to work miracles and I can't promise that you won't be wasting your time [what if she's truly hopeless?] but....
[But... she really doesn't have a lot of reasoning as to why he should help her. So instead she can only end her request with a quiet:]
Please?
no subject
Oh.
It's not the first time he's heard something like that and he knows it won't be the last, but it leaves him feeling endeared every time it happens. Humans wanting to strive forward and reach their full potential, to better themselves and protect what they love and fight for what they believe in... It's one of the best things about them, isn't it?]
It's never a waste of time to teach someone who seriously wants to improve. [First and foremost! But he'll clap his hands together after that, expression bright again, and bounces to his toes.]
O-kay! I teach kendo and hand-to-hand combat at the dojo that my comrades run, and I'll accept you as a student. You just gotta promise you'll always give it your all, got it? No slacking! We'll start with the basics as soon as you get settled in the city.
no subject
R-Really?
[And then she might've asked this question earlier but even now, she's confused:] You'd do that for me?
[Even though she snapped at him maybe like 5 minutes ago and doesn't have much to offer in return?]
no subject
[Which he says breezily and without any intention to linger on it. But it's true, as he knows it, so--]
So if I can help, I'll do my best, too. [Helping others is what he was made for, after all.] But! Let's focus on getting out of this place first, okay?
no subject
When she looks to him again, she looks a bit less hopeless.]
Okay...!
[Words that she doesn't know how to say yet: Thank you.
But one day she will.]