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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no subject
What he doesn't expect is her bravado to pick up any bottle and start talking about how lucky they might be. He didn't say how he survived, and it really wasn't out of luck more like Arthur's stubbornness. It's why he reaches out. ]
Wait! You don't have to do this! [ Ah... She took the lid off. ] I won't let you risk your life for this. I'll... [ Merlin what are you talking about... your Destiny is too great for this, but he's also. Merlin. So. ] I'll drink it.
no subject
But Merlin offers to drink, and it reminds her of Elena. Selfless, brave Elena, always risking herself on behalf of others, even when it doesn't make sense. ]
[ softer. ] That's really brave, but I've got a [ she swallows, trying to find the best way to word this without yelling I'M A VAMPIRE ] condition. [ ah... that sounds more like a disease than an ability, oops... ] This stuff probably won't hurt me, so it makes more sense for me to drink it.
[ so... convincing... ]
no subject
Probably isn't a invulnerability though. [ He gives her a smile, even if he doesn't quite get what she's doing here--he's not the only one being kind in a way. Poisons don't do too much damage to him either, especially as he can sleep some of it off (probably). ]
no subject
Kind of. Maybe. It's a secret. [ NAILED IT. ] Do you, um, know a lot about that stuff? Invulnerabilities?
[ ah yes a slight topic change smooth af. invulnerabilities are totally normal!!]
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He knows secrets. ]
Well I know those. Secrets, I mean. [ They're both doing so well here. ] But invulnerabilities? Everyone can die, it's just... Things are different for different people, right?
no subject
[ Instead, she keeps dancing around the topic. ] Right, and sometimes people are different in ways you can't even imagine. [ She looks down, fiddling with the bottle. ] Would you believe me if I told you I don't die easily?
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Sometimes he even wants to say I'm special because that's the way his mother taught him to see his magic. ]
What if I told you I don't go down that easily either. I mean after some of the things I've been through...
[ ...Now he's just trying to look cool though honestly. ]
no subject
I believe you. I mean, maybe we're the same. A little bit. [ but still... ] Have you ever been poisoned before?
[ since she can't just admit what she is or let him fall on his sword (not if it doesn't seem like he'll pull it out, afterwards). ]
no subject
He pauses then, growing a little quieter. ] Once, yes. [ His eyes flicker back towards her eyes, jumping between the bottle and there. ]
But there was only one flower that could cure it. It wasn't the same as most regular potions. [ Is this saying too much? He doesn't know.
The important thing is that even if he had help, he didn't die. ]
no subject
He looks at her with that quiet intensity, saying things that seem true, and she decides that she can't keep half-fighting him on this. Explaining herself is too much, even when they're trapped. Is that selfish? Is it smart?
He doesn't appear like he'll step down, regardless, which isn't a bad thing. ]
Okay, I'll let you play hero. [ She moves closer, placing the bottle back in its original formation. Then, her gaze shifts to him, pointed, and she lifts her chin, challenging. ] But if you start dying or whatever, you have to let me help you. No matter how weird the help seems.
[ aka vampire blood has healing powers, so if his symptoms are severe, she'll shove it down his throat (ง︡'-'︠)ง
but, hey, at least you only become a vampire if you die with it in your system okok ]
no subject
He looks relieved when she puts hers back, and even though he disagrees after, it isn't true is it? He's trying to take her place. ] Well I wouldn't say... playing a hero but. [ A laugh follows, awkward because he has no idea how she thinks she'll help when he starts choking. ]
Alright. I guess I can't say no to that.
[ He reaches out then for the one she took. She said it was her favourite colour, right? She seemed more confident when she opened it so...
Maybe he'll be okay. ] Here we go. [ He gives her a wide smile then, knocking it back in one go. Bravery or stupidity? Take your pick.
He wasn't kidding though, even as the liquid spreads and his pupils dilate. It's like he's cold as ice, breath coming out as vapour. His skin even seems to be slowly lining with frost making it difficult to move. Still, he shivers, fingers finally dropping the bottle from freezing up. ]
Guess that wasn't the right one. [ He can still move, he thinks, but it's difficult. At least he can laugh about it??? ]
no subject
Dimly, she considers the fact that it's good thing she wasn't the one to down it, given everyone she has to save back home — but that's a selfish thought, one she shouldn't, no, can't dwell on. ]
Okay. Sit down. [ which is as much of an order as it sounds like, with her not-so-carefully pushing him to the ground. ] Energy is heat, right? Save energy. [ In a second, she crouches on the floor in front of him. Perhaps Merlin notices everything happening too fast, or he's losing focus enough to miss the speed. She places her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them lightly, in the hopes of reassuring and steadying him. ] Don't freak out.
[ because the worst that could happen is that it doesn't work, and he dies, anyway, and becomes a vampire... wait, that's actually pretty bad... OH WELL. Her eyes turn liquid black as the veins on her face darken in spiderwebs under eyes. Without hesitation, she releases his shoulders, brings her right wrist to her mouth and tears it open with her teeth enough to bleed significantly. Her face returns to normal as quickly as it shifted, and she holds out her hand. ] If you drink this, you'll heal.
[ probably maybe no promises. ]
no subject
The ground feels hard and somehow colder though that's probably from actually being solid compared to the sludge outside. His mouth opens to protest, to say that he'll be alright with rest but she's still speaking and moving so quickly he isn't sure if it's her or him doing it.
The rest doesn't happen quickly enough.
He's seen griffons, he's seen the questing beast, trolls and a number of other creatures that would do someone harm. He's seen and stopped a lot of strange things in his world through the use of his magic, but nothing about this feels like it's aimed to hurt him. She really is trying to help.
It doesn't mean he isn't scared of it though. Maybe not as much as many others would be, but-- ]
How did you do that? [ It isn't what are you, though maybe it should have been -- but he knows a name probably won't help him. Not when his eyes are starting to unfocus from the cold. ]
no subject
She swallows, leaning closer, equally ernest and hesitant. ]
It's old magic. [ and it is, at its core, though her answer dodges the unfavorable reputation of vampires, substituting it for the mixed standing of witches. The Original Witch chose to unbalance nature, to sacrifice the world to give her children eternal life. In doing so, she created a new bloodline capable of withstanding all human time and ails. And they transmitted their gift, spawning hordes of vampires over a thousand years, shattering across the world like cracks in glass.
Reaching Caroline Forbes only recently. ] Please let me help you.
no subject
It might not work. [ He laughs under his breath because if it's old magic then his own blood, his own body might cancel it out. He doesn't know. ] I told you I'm... I'm not normal either.
no subject
No, you're exceptionally stubborn. [ She shoves her wrist uncomfortably close to Merlin's mouth. ] It can't hurt to try, so. [ SO THERE. An impenetrable argument. ]
no subject
It's like being he can't help himself, doesn't want to say no. He can't really move all that well, so when his hand lightly presses against the back of her wrist (all the while his face is starting to freeze into a rather resigned expression) he pulls her that last centimeter or so forward.
This is so gross.
It's strange though when the blood actually enters his system how quickly he seems to recover. He wants to gag at the taste, at the thought of what is happening but he endures simply because he can already feel it helping. The only problem is that it reacts too. Any hope he'd had of keeping his own secret goes out the window when his mouth pulls away, eyes flashing gold when he looks towards the door with the thought they should check if it opened. The door suddenly starts banging open and shut, the bottles go flying off the table when he forces his gaze away from there to the table instead.
Here's hoping she doesn't get easily spooked. He's doing enough of that on his own. ]
no subject
What she assumes is magic startles her with its suddenness, prompting a rapid jump. ]
Oh. My. God. [ So her instinctive sense that he was like Bonnie proves she has some intuition (or that she's more clever than your average vampire barbie). This is some full on witchy business. As the wound on her wrist heals as quickly as it appeared, she grasps his shoulder. If this is coming from him (and it totally is), then she should try to stay in the eye of the magic storm, right? Without thinking, she speaks more to herself than him. ] You're totally a witch.
[ which sounds almost...excited? Hey, she successfully helped him and learned that he's like Bonnie. All good news!!]
no subject
The room slows to a stop as he shuts his eyes again, trying to calm down because none of that was normal. ]
Witches are women. [ Is the only thing he mutters back for a moment, though the corners of his mouth do twitch up a little. ] That was... What was that?