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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[Not that she was at home either. The other demon chieftains regarded her as a comrade but there was a measurable difference between comrade and close friend. For a moment she tries to picture handing over this tree to any of them and finds herself at a complete loss of how she would explain it to any of them.
One thing catches her about his words though. The way fruit is emphasized as he speaks makes her curious. It certainly doesn't look like fruit and she can understand by his inflection that he doesn't literally mean fruit but... what is it exactly?
By the time Yukina has balanced the pot in one hand and plucked off one of the little fruits, there's a flutter of wings. A fairly dignified white hawk arrives, landing with some gentleness on the woman's shoulder since her hands are full.
It's so small it fits well between her forefinger and thumb. And it's texture surprises her. She seems to be thinking as she tests and finally comes to a firm conclusion on the topic.]
If I find a proper owner I will be happy to give it to them. Until then I'll see to caring for it.
[She's awfully stubbornly serious over a plant...]
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But he has to be sure. ] It isn't a matter of closeness but of practicality. [ As if there was any practicality in this kind of case.
He pauses when the hawk arrives, settling on his shoulder. A beautiful bird, and it almost distracts him from what he's about to say, but course, he has to plunge forward. ] I would be fine with taking it.
[ Actually no.
But he could place it in a closet it and pretend it wasn't there. Maybe it would go away on his own.
He had to...be sure... ]
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She didn't mind giving the plant to him really. It seemed inconsiderate of her to not attempt to take good care of a gift no matter how... interesting it may be. If she didn't think of the fruits as what they obviously resembled, she had no problem handling them. Traveling down that road of thought too far though... well.
Did he like this sort of thing then? It's the only thing she can draw from his offer since he had mentioned giving it to someone like that mere moments before. That somehow didn't ring right though - if he had he would have simply asked for it to begin with, yes? So...]
Are you trying to be considerate?
[Forever blunt, that's Yukina. The idea seems to make her look at him with a bit of wonder though. Were humans so capable of consideration when it came to their fellow humans?]
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Did she see right through him.
...
It's not every day that happens.
However, he has no reason to lie. ] I am, yes. That tree is-- [ He gives it a pointed look. ] ...interesting. But not of my interests. I have no background in plants whatsoever; however I wanted to ask if you wanted to be rid of this tree because it hardly seems like you are greatly attached to it either--
[ Did he start rambling.
He did, didn't it.
Pause. Breathe. Restart. ] If you wish to keep it, that's none of my concern. [ ...that came off a little too coldly, didn't it. He hastens to explain himself. ] But if neither of us are fond of this tree, I would am find with assuming responsibility for it because it...seems...more appropriate.
[ Like who thought giving a girl this sort of thing was a good idea??? Saitou wants to know this very much. ]
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Demons naturally cared about one another. That's how demon society worked and how it prospered. She had always understood humans to be greedy for land and wealth, swallowing one another in war with little hesitation. And she had thus far spent time attempting to prepare herself for living among such harshness alone.
She swallows thickly before she looks back to the plant in her hand. And then she offers it out to the man with a thoroughly proper bow. If it would make the man feel better for her then she was more than happy to hand it to him.]
I am in your debt then and appreciate your consideration. Please take good care of this tree.
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There is no debt; I am not burdened by such a task.
[ Not quite a promise to take care of the tree, just in case this place wants to be iffy and do Strange Things as it is wont to. ]
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She straightens from her bow and nods then.]
I understand. I am still grateful however.
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With that, he turns his attention back to her hawk, because he hadn't had the chance before to comment. ] Your bird is marvelous.
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With her hands free now Yukina tries to brush some off the swamp muck that followed her. How could it when she's obviously in her normal clothing this time? She looks back up to the hawk on her shoulder rather fondly.]
This is Gin-o.
[Gin-o himself fluffs up a little at his name and it seems to prompt Yukina to carry on here.]
I'm Yukina.
[Thankfully she's somewhat learned her lesson about telling others her clan's name straight away. Humans in particular.]
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Still, there's not much chance of that happening here. ]
Have you had him for a long time? [ He wouldn't call himself someone fond of birds, but birds...birds are nice. ]
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[Elder Koto has insisted she needed some sort of friend. A bird was an unconventional choice perhaps but beyond the Princess there were few other children in Yase Village.
There's another issue brewing in her mind. Beyond the recent ViViD experience, beyond the presentation and video she had been shown before it. She's managed to find the housing list and card in her coat, among other things. And now she holds the card up, a little mystified.]
... This is a very different place from home.
[Very different.]
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