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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So you want me to find out what's in it? [that doesn't seem too bad, unless it's poisonous or something. but she wouldn't spring something like that one him knowingly, right? naturally, dymlos is much more skeptical, so he's forced to pause again, taking a very basic precaution only at his urging.]
Do you think there's something wrong with it?
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That's what I'm trying to decipher. I.... I wouldn't advise anyone to take anything more than the barest of sips - and I would do it myself, but--
[But she's weak. Bruised and scarred and at the end of her rope in terms of stamina. Working without food or water for days would do that.]
..... If you don't want to, I understand.
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so with a smile, he adds one more thing:]
I don't mind. "Always help those is need" is the Aileron family motto! [not to mention!] I don't think anything's too dangerous here anyway. I don't totally get how it works, but nothing in this place is actually real.
[so she doesn't have to worry about it killing them or something.]
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Now she's stepping in between him and the table before he can even try to take one and there's no denying the look of alarm and perplexion on her face. Yes, she's thirsty, she would love for him to drink one of these to test if she can have some but--]
Are you an idiot?!
[oh.
that's rude.]
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[he's giving her a perplexed look himself, tilting his head in absolute confusion. no, he's not even acknowledging the fact that she's being rude or calling him an idiot. that doesn't even faze him in the least.]
Didn't you ask if I would do it?
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She can't look him in the eye, even as heat rushes to her face and she focuses her gaze on the floor, her hands clenching into fists as she tries to find the words that would best convey her feelings.
(But she's really bad at that).]
I did.... I did!!
[SHE DEFINITELY DID THAT, BUT....]
..... but you can't just go and help everyone in need like that?! You could get hurt from it!
[not that she.... cares.....
ok no she really like heroic types like Stahn - which is why her conscience apparently won out this time over her own desperation for something to drink]
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[he doesn't even try to deny it. he gets where lili is coming from anyway; her attitude is the sort that he's pretty familiar with at this stage in his life—considering his best friend tends to act much the same way.
he can remember leon going through the same stages: calling him an idiot, calling his sincerity into question, the expressions, the outbursts. it's all familiar, and that's why he can steamroll over every last bit of it with a smile.]
Wouldn't it be worse not to try and help at all when someone needs it, though? I don't think I'd feel very good about that. [he's a bleeding heart in every way, and the worst feeling to him is being helpless when someone needs him most.]
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Living like that -- she's done that for too long already.]
Then.... Then I'm not someone in need anymore. Nevermind - I don't need your help!
[Is that going to solve it?]
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[he hums a sound of confusion, tilting his head and ruffling his hair.]
But didn't you just—? [...ask for his help? insist in it, even?
he's too simple for this, lili. just let him help!]
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I can change my mind.
[ . . . right? It's fine. That way he won't have to deal with her mess.
At least that's what she thinks until the door of the hut slams shut in the next second, surprising her enough to get her to jump a little bit with a surprised squeal.]
no subject
[now he still wants to help. not that it matters, because the door slams shut and while he doesn't jump, stahn whips his head around pretty quickly—hopefully, lili manages to avoid a face full of hair in the process.]
Ehh... it must be breezy out there, huh? [right? he hadn't felt a breeze while he was outside, but why else would the door slam shut so suddenly?]
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Hanging out with ladies with fabulous locks has apparently prepared her for Stahn's mullet whips.
If only her reflexes for everything else was good..... but she narrows her eyes at his response.]
.... Have you ever been told that you're too easygoing?
[Subtle.]
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Mm! People say that sometimes. [but more importantly, he's heading towards the door to check out the slam. and when he puts his hand on the doorknob... nothing happens.
at all.
he rattles it a few times and—]
...It's locked?
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But she's.... just amazed, really. He's even easygoing about being called easygoing. Bruh?
And then she's snapped out of it as she watches him try the door and blinks once. Twice.]
.... What? Are you certain?
[Honestly, she'll even rush over there and try to jostle it a bit herself - which of course accomplishes nothing because she's much smaller and delicate. Who knows what she was hoping for.]
no subject
[he'll let her try—maybe her more gentle touch will open it.
...or you know, maybe not.] Here, let me try again.
[and try he will, even putting some weight into it and slamming his shoulder into the door to give it an extra push. but no dice, it's totally stuck.]
Geeze, it's really stuck...
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So the slam of his shoulder actually manages to get her to jump a little bit again.]
.... What was your name again? [Lili you never asked.]
What do you do for a living? [Her bet is on Professional Ruffian.]
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Oh... I didn't say so already, did I? I'm Stahn, Stahn Aileron!
[he'll say that much with a smile. sure, they still have the door thing to figure out, but he can't be rude when introducing himself.]
For.. a living? Ah... I guess that part's kind of complicated. [he grew up a shepherd, is kind of playing the role of legendary hero back home, and is a dumb mascot here in cerealia. he's not even sure which one he's supposed to use.]
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Lili.
[ . . . . but then her suspicions of him being a Professional Ruffian only manage to increase.]
Do you use a lot of brute force and careless strength by any chance?
[Going for gold here.]
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[listen, he's a good kid. he may not be the brightest, and he may be a little hot-headed, but he still has his manners about him.]
I guess that... depends? If there are monsters, I don't really have a choice. But that's not usually a problem around here anyway. [he scratches his head, thinking about it a bit.] I don't really go looking for fights or anything, though.
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Moving on. (Stahn deserves better than this.)]
Oh.
.... You seem like you would be good at it.
[Brute force?
Is that a compliment?]
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[cue dymlos telling him not to let his successes go to his head, but stahn's mostly just shrugging. whether it's a compliment or not... he doesn't seem very bothered by it.]
...We should probably figure out how we're going to get this door open though. I'm not sure anyone else is close enough to hear us if we try to call for help. [he pauses, and then remembers something else he's been told.]
Unless there's... something we can do that'll make it open? This place is pretty weird sometimes.
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You can do something besides.... pulling a door to make it open?
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[his rpg protag game is too strong because that's not even a weird concept to him.] I don't know what we'd have to do, but maybe if we figure it out, the door will open!
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