
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 [ 8 00 ] 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 [ 9 00 ] 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 [ 12 00 ] 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 [ xx xx ] 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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I do, but... things you'd need other supplies for. [He's woefully unprepared. No bombs, no chemistry kit-- really, what is he good for right now?]
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Right... Useful things that we don't have here. [ He looks at the bottles again. ] So we'll have to guess then?
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Looks like it... We're not getting out of here, not with that door shut like it is. Unless you have some special abilities that could get us out?
[With a slightly hopeful tone.]
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Nothing. No. [ A pretty convincing lie, at least. ] What about you? Any tricks up your sleeve?
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I mean, if I had some of my other weapons, maybe I could do something, but. [He spreads his hands apart. HE'S LACKING. He has his knife but he's not going to be chopping them a way out.
(And his Aura is absolutely useless in this situation!!!)]
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So it looks like these are our way out then. [ As worrying as that might be, they really don't have too much of a choice right now. ]
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...Which one do you want?
[With a heavy, resigned tone of voice.]
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You can go first, if you'd like. [ While Hinata might sound resigned, he'll manage to turn it all into something sarcastic, don't worry. In fact: ] I'm sure they're all delicious.
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Since you're convinced, [not missing out on the sarcasm but he's rising to it,] you should go first. You can give me a recommendation after you have yours.
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At least Hinata can appreciate the "humour" in this. ]
Oh of course. That's exactly what I'll do. [ He might be dead, Hinata... then what will you do?!
Still, with a resigned sigh he reaches for a yellow coloured one. It's clear, at least and doesn't look like it could be too harmless. He counts down from three in his head, opening and downing the bottle soon after.
Sadly, while the mixture certainly isn't dangerous, it does leave him with a slightly manic grin plastered on his face that won't go away. Even when he speaks. ]
Well it could be worse. [ He isn't the one who has to look at his own face though is he?!?! ]
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[Hinata looks at him uncertainly. That manic grin is unnerving, though, especially when he's just talking through it??]
Do you... do you mostly feel normal...?
[Just to check, in case Merlin's started getting serial killer urges.]
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It aches a little but I feel fine. Honestly.
[ Thankfully there are no serial killer urges. ]
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Okay. Here we go, then.
[Deep breath out. He'll pick up one of these bottles, stare at it as though mentally telling it don't kill me, bro before taking a swig. And then he jumps, nearly dropping the drink and looks around him rapidly before squinting at Merlin.]
...I-- is that still you? [what an odd question]
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Who else would I be?
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[You're 8bit, Merlin. Completely 8bit. He can still see that grin too, creepily enough. It's worse when he's made up of visible pixels...] This room looks weird, too...
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I'm still the same. The room hasn't changed either. [ He doesn't know what the problem is, so he pulls his hand away from his own mouth to wave it in front of Hinata's face. ]
Can you not see clearly?
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I can see clearly, just... the look of everything's changed.
[How to explain it...] It's like suddenly going from looking at something in real life to some scribbles in a children's book.
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That... [ Well that is pretty weird... especially since children's books were handwritten in his time anyway. Complicated, much? ] I can guide you, if that's what you need? I don't suppose it's a good idea to stay here after this, after all?
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[He pauses to squint toward it. He can't tell. A pixel door looks the same no matter if it's locked or unlocked here, apparently. This ain't one of your fancy RPGs.]
...and, er... if you could guide me along until I get used to it, I'd appreciate it.
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...ends up hovering his hands awkwardly. ]
Uh should I...? Or you?
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...Like this should be fine, right?
[Whoa boy it's weird to go to grab onto Merlin's arm with his hand and feel someone human and solid when all he can see is pixels. Pixels for days.]
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Let's go. [ He leads them outside, checking Hinata doesn't walk into the doorframe, and considers which way to go. He takes the route that at least looks the least muddy but you never know with this place. ]
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Ah... [He sinks a little too much with one foot into the mud, but pulls it out just in time.] Thanks. I'm Hinata, by the way.
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Merlin. [ There's a sigh of relief when they finally make it to land that at least feels more solid. ] We should have probably done that sooner, sorry.