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
Actually, he was about to say something, but he stopped because he's looking at Pascal. A lizard? No, it looks too big to be one. Something similar then. It's not everyday an animal sits on a person's head though, like it belonged there. ]
My apologies for being in your way. [ He was looking at his tree instead of around the corner for any possible people. ]
no subject
Why are you sorry? I'm the one who nearly crushed you and your... [ huh ] T...r...ee... pla...nt? [ ???? WHAT IS IT ]
no subject
[ He glances at the tree. ] A bonsai tree, I believe. But it bears fruit I have never seen before, and somehow I don't think it's edible. [ Saitou holds it forward. ] Perhaps you know what these are?
no subject
Where did you find it? Maybe... it's location will give us a clue! [ Somehow she fails to be wary or frightened of this person; he simply doesn't strike her as the manic blitzing type.
Rapunzel reaches to touch one. ] It looks like a tiny, upside-down basket! Or a cup.
no subject
[ A basket? A cup? ] Perhaps, it could be that. But what about that one? [ He points to one that looks like neither of things she suggested, because it's conical in shape. ]
no subject
[ How odd. ]
If it's fruit, shouldn't... it be edible? [ Given her disregard for most forms of personal space and lack of respect for other people's property, it's a miracle she doesn't pluck one off right now and run away to cook it. Instead she simply looks back at Saitou and sniffs once. ]
Ah. Did... you come from that swamp dream too? Er– Game, I mean. Swamp game. ViViD.
no subject
I wouldn't test it. Maybe it could be edible, but it might cause effects or taste terrible. [ If she had tried to cook it, he would be stopping her; someone getting sick from a belonging of his is something he can't have on his conscience. ]
I did, yes. ViViD brought me here and left me this tree.
no subject
What she settles for is: ] Does anything actually make sense here? [ Which is rhetorical. But this mystery is veering quickly into territory that's frustrating her. If she were anyone else she'd be able to figure this - and everything else - out with no problem. But because she's Rapunzel her experience lends absolutely no help.
Like someone who's just been very rudely woken up from sleep, Rapunzel backs away, angry with herself. ] Forget it. I don't know why I stopped. You could be a murderer and I'm - unhelpful. You were going somewhere, right? Sorry.
no subject
[ He shakes his head though. ] No, you were helpful. I was looking for someone who might know what these are, and for now I can assume they're unedible. My thanks for your input. [ He says nothing about the "murderer" part, because he does carry a sword and...well, murder is in his resume. ]
no subject
...Are... are you sure they're not edible, though? I mean, there's got to be a place for preparing food around here somewhere. OH! [ Her face lights up with a terrible idea. One she hopes will restore her honour and solve the mystery of the tiny tree in one fell swoop. Genius. ]
Listen. I'm... not the best at investigating things without context, but - I can cook. If you live around here, you should have a kitchen right? Let me try frying one up for you! [ it's really not necessary ] Just - for confirmation. [ n ope ] Just one. [ what happened to "you could be a murderer" ]
no subject
Very well. But I would suggest your place because my utensils are very basic. [ He hardly every fries anything, for one.
With a light yank, he pulls off one of the fruits and holds it out to her. ] You may have this.
no subject
Not that any of this is Saitou's fault, and Rapunzel immediately she feels bad for jerking him around all over the place with her emotions. Now she practically owes it to him to make something of this tree. Who knew social interaction could be so... complicated? ]
...Thank you. You're very kind when you don't have to be, sir, but I'm... sort of - new here? I don't know that I remember where I'm supposed to be living.
no subject
I am familiar enough with this place, and I am fine with helping you find where your room is located at. [ Pause. ] If that is all right with you.
[ This place was quite bewildering, even to old timers. He was here for long enough to remember most of it, thankfully. ]
no subject
[ Hey if he's a killer at least he's a courteous killer. ]
Thank you. A-Again! [ laughing a bit ]
no subject
[ He's still trying to figure out his sense of time in this place, after having been done for a while. Nothing really seems to have changed, except the people. ]
no subject
no subject
no subject