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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However, I don't think there's a need to apologise for feeling strongly about someone you care about. [ This isn't a problem of betrayal or even being cruel; whoever was important to this girl didn't mean it. That didn't take away the sadness, however.
If his vice commander had no memories of him, Saitou would feel like he lost half his purpose for living. No leader? No Shinsengumi? He didn't want to think about that. ] It does not mean you cannot treat them the same way you still do, or care about them less.
...and in some ways, I think the other person would respect and admire that kind of spirit, because your feelings for them are genuine. [ It all comes down to being genuine. He can tell the difference between fake and real crying. ] No one is going to tell you are worthless for that.
no subject
She shakes her head slowly.]
But... what if perhaps it'd be better if we'd never met? [It hurts her heart to say it - but if he's giving her an option to talk, she's already started. She won't go into details, but even then she can't shake this feeling.] I would never wish that I hadn't met her but....
She's gotten hurt so many times become of me - wouldn't it be better if she didn't have to go through that?
[She shakes her head, as if trying to tell herself that she can't let herself be close to Yona again so recklessly.]
Have you ever... met someone who is too kind? Who gives too much of themselves to people and often suffers because of it? Wouldn't you want that person to have the chance to live more happily - if they could?
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[ Maybe people wouldn't call Hijikata "kind", but he gave so much of himself to the Shinsengumi and to their cause, only to have things come falling down around him. They're back in Edo, and getting shifted around almost aimlessly, despite all of Hijikata's efforts. There's even hints that they wouldn't stay together, but Hijikata still tries. ] And I want them to succeed and fulfill their dreams. I want to be able to help them, to the best of my abilities. But even if they do not recall me, I would still support them because they have earned my trust in another time.
I think it's even more of a lost opportunity if I cannot to be close to them a second time. [ The side of his mouth twists a little. ] Even if I were viewed as troublesome, never have they called me undependable.
Therefore, I think, this person who is important to you, she does not sound like a person who could cast another away, either.
[ Still, placing faith in someone and being rebuffed...that holds a sting hard to recover from.
And then he thinks of Chizuru, who is nothing but kind while being in in strange, difficult circumstances. Her father is all but insane, and she looks so sad every time his being a rasetsu comes up... ]
I cannot imagine never meeting them though, because they brought change and their importance in my life is the cause of it.
[ Not that he has ever told Chizuru, but...he thinks about that. ]
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You and I are not the same person. [That much is obvious. He can handle it when someone's knocked into them - even is capable of assisting others without messing up. She has known him perhaps ten minutes and not only is she confiding him (which is embarrassing) but she can already feel the beginnings of trust.] I.... don't know if I have the strength to be by her side as I am.
[Which is frustrating. Her own weakness thwarts her again, as much as she'd love to always be with Yona. Yona always manages to make everything okay, even when things seem to be bleak.]
Perhaps... this distance would not be a bad thing for her and I. At least... until I get stronger.
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[ He leans against another tree, hands loosely at his side as he waits her answer.
...some to think of it, she offered her name earlier, hadn't she. ]
Saitou Hajime. [ Pause. ] Just Saitou is fine.
[ Nothing beats a sharing of feelings in a swamp. ]
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I need to be able to take care of myself so that others don't have to.
[She says that with certainty. How many times has she faced overwhelming odds by her own choice and then gotten other people involved in order to save her? Even with the beast that threw her at Saitou, she probably would've broken something if he hadn't been there to cushion her fall.]
I can't keep being a liability when things get dangerous.
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Distancing oneself would hardly help in that matter. If she means that much to you, she sounds as if she is part of the reason you wish to be stronger.
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[That's.... true. Yona motivates her in so many different ways. But she's still struggling to deal with the idea that maybe she isn't able to protect her in order to make up for the ways in which she puts her in trouble.]
.... she is. But I can't put her in danger when I'm still unable to protect her. She deserves better than that.
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Do you know how she views you? The version of her that remembers you, I mean.
I hope that's not too personal of a question. [ Maybe he's prying a little, but with good intentions, and just to confirm somethng. ]
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She doesn't know - or rather, she doesn't think that she does. It's true, Yona cares for her - but Yona cares for... everyone. Yona will always go out of her way to help Lili, despite Lili wanting to be the one to help Yona.... in the end, isn't she just a burden? But that's what makes Yona so amazing. She will help someone even as hopeless as Lili.
She shakes quietly before shaking her head without a word.
They're friends... but isn't Yona friends with everyone?]
no subject
If I were to offer a suggestion... [ of possibilities. ] your time here is a second chance, then. To know a person, perhaps in a different way, but like a blank slate, you're then able to cherish them once again, and maybe find out what she thinks of you, truly. If both of your feelings are true, then I think you should be able to understand each other.
[ At least, that's how he assumes. ] That hardly means your memories of her in your world are invalid, but if there is no way for them to be reciprocated, other chances must be found.
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But.... she isn't sure how much more of this she can handle talking about. Her emotions still exist in a whirlpool - there is no clear answer to her, and she's opting instead for wiping her eyes completely dry then and offering a small, weak inclination of her head that is probably a nod.]
I....
I'm not sure which path is the correct one yet.
But.... your words haven't been wasted. [She appreciates his consideration, she really does. Perhaps that's as close to a thank you as she gets. And more quietly, almost to herself:] I promise.
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He nods in return, and straightens up. ] We should keep moving; it's not good to stay too long in one place.
[ Monsters, sinkholes...short of the sky falling down on them...
But he hopes the best for her. It had been rather unexpected turn of conversations; he can't remember the last time he has spoken to someone like this.
He hopes he has been helpful. ]
[1/2]
In truth, she would like to think that one of these days, she would be able to find her correct path. Maybe then she'll be able to find her strength and stop being a liability and baggage for everyone that she cares about. Could her stay here be another new path? Does it give her a second chance at.... everything?
It's odd -- being able to talk about it with a stranger.
And that's when it begins to sink in.]
no subject
But he stood there and watched her cry. Tried to get her to stop crying, of course, but he saw her cry. He saw her cry and prompted her to talk to him and from there all of the feelings just came out like a torrent - despite her attempts to keep them sealed up for at least long enough until she could be by herself to have a good cry.
But no.
He saw it all.
And that manages to surprise her enough -- it hits her all at once -- that she actually loses her footing in the swamp and there's the surprised squeal--]
Eeek!
otomeing it up in the swamp yup yup
Are you all right?
[ Nearly went headfirst into the swamp, Lili. ]
otomeing rain or shine you know
But she's honestly just all the more embarrassed -- but at least now her blush can be played off by close! Proximity!! That's definitely it, not the residual shame from her weakness display earlier.]
F.... Fine! I'm fine!
[just perpetually ungraceful in awkward terrain]
Saitou's true occupation: love interest
He will pretend he sees nothing of her blush; there's no need to point it out, because she might trip again, and that's unprofitable. ]
no subject