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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akane
Nice to meet you. Sorry it had to be under these circumstances.
[you know...the mud, the stench, the general unsettling atmosphere. really not motivating people for making new friends.]
no subject
It's all right. It's nice to meet you, too.
[ a beat. ]
We'd have likely met in a similar situation, given this place's sense of humour.
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[he says that politely enough, but he means it. the lack of shoes was the most insulting part.]
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[ oh, right. this guy doesn't know a thing about the implants yet. ]
Especially when they're able to monitor our every move.
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[that's a given, isn't it? why wouldn't you be able to monitor your players in your game?]
We've got some sort of tracker, don't we?
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We have ocular implants.
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fushimi
[just saying, you made your own bed right there.]
Sure, I can draw my own conclusions, but with you wanting to offer your own input on the situation, you really should have been ready for me to ask questions.
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[It's a quiet, tired tongue click that he gives before continuing.] I don't care, if you want to ask questions. That kind of reaction is only to be expected. I'm not claiming to be an expert about any of this, either.
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[hell, he seems so put out about it all, Chrollo almost feels bad about asking more questions. but almost is not there.]
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It's virtual reality, but deeper. Our bodies are here, digitized and uploaded into whatever game you end up in, whether you choose it or CERES does; they can drop us into a game at any time and there's nothing to be done for it. You can die in here, but be fine outside of playing, and you can play however much you want. [He sounds vaguely disgusted, because the effects ViViD can have are strange.] You'll be tired after, though. It gets exhausting, if you play too long.
[Oh, and since it seems to be what most people voluntarily play for:] There's some things that aren't entirely useless about it. The games you can play earn you credits and points for prizes, if you win.
... Anything else?
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[his tone makes it clear he's interested in that aspect, at least - if it was something actually worth working for then perhaps he'd play along. it sounds similar to that game, except that death wasn't as big a deal and it could release you midway. very interesting.]
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The usual game center prizes, trinkets, worthless little toys. If you earn a huge number of points, you can even trade them in for certain items from your world. I haven't tried it myself, so I don't know how well it works.
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rise
The key lies in that proof. And the choices presented to you, of course...or maybe I should have said options. Something like that.
[it's all the same pseudophilosophical mess.]
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I don't think this counts a choice when we weren't asked. [It's just another part of this she doesn't like. Things are better now, of course, but she can still remember times where she never got a say in what she was doing as an idol.] But I am making a choice to get out of here.
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[might as well ask everyone he can. sticking around this place doesn't feel fun or exciting, and it's worn out its welcome. now, all he wants is a scalding hot shower and the chance to try to think about some of the things he's learned today.]
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[So no. No real theories but she's going to try anyway. Sorry to disappoint.]
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[his eyes go to searching nearby for a suitable tree or something - whatever could work to give a vantage point of the area that wasn't only "yep, more swamp".]
Inside the maze, all you can see are the walls. But look from the top, and it's simpler.
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lop
[this isn't bragging, not in tone nor in fact. Chrollo knows what he's capable of, and if this person was going to be so amiable...]
Do you want to travel together for right now? You can probably hear things I can't, and I can fight for us both.
[practicality over sentiment, though it might look otherwise.]
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[ that earnest response comes out before he can help himself. lop immediately looks a little flustered. ]
That is, if it's no hindrance to you. I'd be glad to lead the way to where the noises are coming from, but I'm afraid I'd only get in your way in a fight. If, um, defeating a monster is one way to get out of this place, I wouldn't want to be another obstacle in your way, sir.
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[it's easy to believe it when he says it with such confidence, right? when he smiles and even covered in mud and grime he carries himself high.]
Fighter or not, it's better to not be out here alone. Even if we can't find an exit, I'm sure we can find some kind of shelter.
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Right. Right, of course. Then -- I'd be happy to travel with you, sir.
[ his ear flicks as he catches the distant sounds of another roar, canting his head in that direction. but before he starts leading the way, he manages a meek smile: ]
Ah, um. I've been forgetting my manners. I'm Lop. I hope I'll be able to be of some use to you.
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[he says his name because he knows it's unreadable beneath the dirt and filth, and because it's polite.]
You're already offering to listen out for us, I'd say that's more than useful.
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[ he tries not to make it too obvious, but lop's clearly happy to hear that he's being useful; his voice sounds more earnest, a little less timid for a moment, and there's more energy in the way he looks into the woods. his ears flick back, then forth slightly, before he steps forward. ]
Um, it's this way. It's been moving, but I hear noises coming from that direction. And -- someone shouting, as well.