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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[But... nutritional? She has no idea what that means but she does gesture to the chart thing on her shirt.]
Do you mean this? What does it even mean?
[all sugar and salt apparently
surprise]
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But still. Who cares. Ryuko looks ahead again, strangely smiling as she continues leading this expedition. ]
Lili An...
So that's your name.
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You play dirty!
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I only evened the playing field, Lili An. You know mine, I get to know yours, that's the game.
[ What kind of game is this?! ]
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I don't want to play any games with you!
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[ Despite their bickering, Ryuko does slow down a little to let the other girl catch up. They're almost close to their target anyway. ]
Hey, can you fight?
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Except... the question distracts her considerably as she seems startled. Startled and... dismayed.]
... No. No, I.... I can't say that I do.
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Is that why you're still following me? You could've left anytime if I'm such a pain.
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.... It's not.
[She'll admit that quietly.]
If we run into danger, I don't want to be baggage for you. I'm tired of being a liability - but I... wasn't sure of where else to go.
[So even with the friction between them, being with Ryuko didn't seem like a bad idea.]
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Ya wanna learn to someday?
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But then the question--]
Of course I do.
[Though she's surprised at the interest.]
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[ The only reason Ryuko isn't offering is because she's not a teacher, nor does she think Lili wants to learn from her anyway. She can, at least, morally support her in that endeavor. Fighting with one's own strength is great! When they reach the tiny, lone island, Ryuko steps out of the swamp and offers her a hand. ]
Grab on.
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So she takes her hand even as she answers.]
They would even teach someone like me?
[No experience? A physically weak girl with no combat instincts? Really?]
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What's wrong with someone like you?
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And her answer talks a moment or two.
It's embarrassing to say.]
.... Well, it's not customary for girls to fight where I come from...!
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[ so blunt... ]
What if I told you that men are practically useless where I'm from?
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That sounds like every world.
Sometimes they just have swords and sometimes they don't.
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Anyway, you're a long way from home, so... I think you'll find someone to teach ya. I'll help.
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But Lili still blinks in surprise at that.]
.... Why?
[Why would Ryuko help her?]
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[ Suppose that makes them friends or allies... or something. Look, she only started making friends this year, too, it's a new concept!!
More importantly Ryuko sees qualities of herself in the girl. The fiery passion, unstable emotions and the will to crush her enemies and them driven before her. ...Maybe. ]
You don't wanna be a liability, so... let's make sure you're not.
[ She sounds so tough saying that, as if she wouldn't save any good person just because they're an inconvenience. ]
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So her brows furrow together then as she tries to piece it together. Ryuko's right on all accounts, of course - and Lili is so tired of being dead weight even to her own goals. Why does she have to watch other people make her own dreams come true? Why does she have to involve them?
But.... it's still too much. It's kindness that she's not used to.
So she just musters up a response of-]
.... I'll repay you. I will.
[For all of this.]
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[ Did she also mention that she's poor? ]
...Seriously, though, don't worry. You got a lot to deal with as it is, I reckon.
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Are you a beggar....?!
[... sorry. She can't stay completely nice for long.]
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But you were so quick to clarify exactly what you wanted.... are you poor or something?
[She was pleasant for like 0.5 seconds.]
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