PHASE I [ 9 00 ] You open your eyes, and there is a chicken pecking at your face. It's not a very happy chicken, either, but if you can manage to fend it off, then it will be clear that you are in a village. It is... medieval-esque, in that video game sort of way; the details don’t seem too clear, but if you look to your left, there’s a cow! And to your right, a well! Ignore the clear evidence of modern technology in the buildings such as lights, gas, and 21st century plumbing; CERES is dedicated to authenticity.
Looks like the new ViViD level has finally been released, and everyone is invited to play, whether they want to or not.
The game (because this time, that's surely what it is) will start simple. Everyone begins in the same place and every NPC villager will say the same thing: to get out of here, you have to go through the caves. They’ll shove a stick at you (“take this, it’s dangerous to go alone”) and off you go, into the caves… !
Which are full of tiny rats and more chickens. They will try to fight you, but it’s really not very effective when they’re perfectly small and average (especially when everyone still has their typical powers and abilities -- CERES didn't mess with those at all this time). The caves are winding and circular and maze-like, and to make matters even worse, the only ones around are the other poor saps stuck in this situation.
But if you kill enough of the rats, you’ll get to hear the satisfying level up jingle. Congratulations! You are now level 2. It's probably satisfying just for a minute or so until you finally find your way out of those maze like caves and -- You're back in the village again. Great.
PHASE II [ 930 ] You’re carrying a bag. No matter what you do, you can’t take it off, either; it’s stuck with you through thick and thin. But it is awfully heavy. Maybe you should actually open it and see what’s inside?
The problem is, it’s going to take a while.
The bag has clearly tapped into its true hammerspace nature; there are items for days in there, and they’re all very, very strange. You might end up covered in hats of all sorts, buried in logs as you pull out one after another, or look like you have an odd fetish for pickaxes.
Maybe there’s 1/3rd of an evil turnip, half a piece of pie and an egg.
Geez, what in the world are you supposed to do with all of that?
PHASE III [ 1200 ] Eventually, you make it out of the caves the right way despite the harassment of the rats and chickens and the fact you'll keep perpetually getting lost. Hooray! You come out into a large, peaceful, scenic meadow, with a small river bubbling off to one side, and a house.
You'll immediately notice that there’s a bridge to cross the river, but there’s someone standing in the way of that bridge. When you approach to go past him, no matter what you try to do, you won't be able to. Asking him why he won't move will only get one thing in response -- “Bring me a fish. Cooked.”
Then he’ll shove a fishing rod at you and expect you to get to it. You can’t attack him, you can’t get past him -- looks like the only thing to do is to catch and cook that fish. Time to sit back, relax, and get to work. Or maybe you’ll team up with someone else and be the person in the house making sure that the fish gets cooked properly. For some reason, if you leave it too long it turns right into a pile of ashes.
Weirdly though, no matter how good you are at cooking or fishing usually, it’s as if you’re right back at the metaphorical level one. Any sort of seasoning or effort to cook it faster falls flat and in the end you'll only be able to place the fish in the pan and set it on the stove, whole. This may take awhile.
And if you try to cross the river itself, well... no, really, don’t try to cross the river.
At least if you get eaten, you’ll just respawn back in the village, but do have fun traveling through the caves again!
PHASE IV [ 1430 ] You made it through the caves. You made it across the river (with a slightly burnt fish). You’ve made it to the wide open world, and you can finally adventure to your heart’s content. You take a step forward on the road and --
A message pops up, bright red and in your face.
[ Restricted Area: Members Only ]
No matter what you do, you can’t go past that point. In fact, if you’re not careful and you’re going too fast, you might run face-first into it like it’s an invisible wall (which it is).
Then, just like that, you're back in the village. Again. Only this time, there's a nice, blinking message -- Pay a small subscription fee to access member's content. Oh well. No big deal, you can just start again.
Except then you see a cool sword and when you try to pick it up, you'll get that same message, and end up transported back to the village yet again. And again, with some shiny new armor. And again, with that attention-grabbing NPC over there. Looks like you're caught in an infinite loop here but no matter how much you inspect the pop up, there's no... actual way to pay the subscription fee (and why would you want to?). But at least you have company, because you can't be the only person who thought that sword was cool.
(It was really, really cool.)
BONUS [ xxxx ] What’s that on the ground in front of you? It looks like… some bunny ears? Or maybe it’s a chicken head, or a pumpkin head. Either way, the moment you touch it, you have a strong need to put it on your head -- and once it’s on, it’s not coming off.
To make matters worse, each hat has an effect associated with it; the bunny ears will, in fact, randomly turn you into a cute fluffy bunny for anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour before you pop right back to yourself, whereas the pumpkin hat will, in a complete reversal, turn you into Cinderella for a bit -- complete with beautiful ball gown and the ability to talk to all of those cute fluffy bunnies.
Also the rats will love you, so maybe you should go back to the caves again.
Meanwhile, the chicken hat won't transform you into any odd creature, but it will inspire in the people wearing them a very real, persistent desire to build a nest. This will involve picking up twigs, trash, shiny things and whatever else catches your eye to try to build a nest out of it. You'll also try to pick up whatever food you find on the ground to eat, have the weirdest desire to lay an egg, and basically have all sorts of odd chicken-like instincts inflicted upon you.
At least you look festive!
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sun wukong | rwby | ota (ROUND 2)
[Where the heck did this bag even come from? After reaching level 2 with ease, Sun's current concerns surround his sack and the absolute inability to remove it.
So what's the next best thing to do? Riffle through it of course!
Maybe someone left their valuables or money in here...Bullets for his weapons. A random pouch which sounds like it contained money. Random vials of red or blue liquid. Some of the items made sense (bandages), others were random (rat tails... seriously, ViViD?). As Sun goes through them, he empties it all out onto the ground around him, tail twitching in excitement.]
Bananas?! Sweet!
[Yes indeed. From that hammerspace that is his bag, Sun pulls out not just one banana, but a whole, full bunch of them. And not just one bunch; he soon pulls out another.
ViViD knows what the monkey boy likes.]
Aww man, this is so my lucky day!
PHASE IV }}
No. Way. I can't be back here again!
[Third time's the charm they say, but Sun is getting tired of all the pop ups, all the sudden stops at getting cool new gear. He's a pretty easy-going guy when it comes to some things, but this is fraying his last nerve.
And striding up to the NPC who keeps beckoning him to come over isn't helping. The guy just keeps repeating the same information over and over again.]
Okay... okay, yeah. Go through the caves again. Beat the rats. But you don't--
["We kindly ask that you find your through this cave to find the road on the other side blah blah blah bla--"
The NPC probably would have finished had Sun not just flung a handful of banana peels at the guys. No flair. No dramatics. This Faunus is way too tired to deal with this crap.
With a sigh;] ...Forget it.
BONUS }}
Hey! Hey you!
[Ever seen a mutant bunny before? What, you mean they don't come with monkey tails usually? Cause no matter where you are, some golden bunny with a suspiciously long tail is talking to you.]
You know what's going on with this place? I put on this hat a while ago and suddenly I'm like this! Got any solutions? [Oh God, he's gesturing to himself with his tail. Why howwhatsgoingon.]
bonus 1/2
2/2
I'm not supposed to eat it if it can talk, right?
no subject
Uh, yeah. You know what, don't eat anything that can talk.
no subject
Sorry, just making sure. [ He pauses. ] So you're enchanted then. Cursed? Or maybe born this way?
bonus
You look so fuckin' stupid! Oh man....the only solution I got is go walk off a cliff. [then there's a considerable pause]
You might get tail, though. Girls might like it. Damn.
no subject
Man, if he ever becomes human-shaped again, Kaneda's going to get more than a kick in the teeth.
For now though, if he could roll his eyes, Sun would.]
Yeah, yeah. Like I haven't heard that before. [To the tail thing. Usually, it doesn't bother him, and if it wasn't for his laughing, he could have shrugged it off now.]
You gonna give anything constructive or... am I just wasting my time here?
no subject
[giggling (manishly) and holding his stomach with one hand, he holds up his free hand for a pause
which turns to pointing as he laughs]
PFFFFFFT! I'd say just go with it, dude. Or go fuck someone up.
bonus!!!
... no seriously, as the mutant rabbit approaches neptune's going to let out a high pitched shriek and jump backwards, pulling his arms up to his chest as he stares in horror. ]
Oh god, what is that?! Kill it, kill it!
[ hey best friend ]
you have no idea how much i screamed when i got this notif
Well, at least its his partner who found him. It could be worse, except for... you know, wanting to kill him now. Thanks. Thanks a lot, Neptune.]
Whoa, whoa! Nep! Come on, man. It's me! Sun! Your awesome Faunus partner?
[He's actually sitting back on his haunches (having a crazy amount of balance for a rabbit), with his embarrassingly tiny little front paws waving in the air. At least as much as his new body will let him.]
Seriously. Don't kill me!
C: I HAD TO i had to
it gets especially unfortunate when it seems like neptune... can't understand what sun's saying... so instead he just hears a lot of animal noises and grimaces, taking another step back. ]
Ugh, what's it doing? It's so creepy.
[ but now he's oddly fascinated so he just leans in a little, reaching out a hand to poke the little monkey-bunny right in the tummy. ]
And weirdly adorable? Bet Sun would love you, little guy.
have you seen the new episode yet?
[It's him and he's... oh god, he's getting poked in the belly. There's something of an undignified squeak (oh god, oh god, he did not just squeak. There goes his rep) before dropping to all fours again.
Okay, not liking getting poked in the belly. Even if Neptune can't understand him, maybe he can understand how his tail knots up in irritation and embarrassment.]
Never. Do that. Again.
YESSSSSSSS yessssssss it was perfect oh my god
You have to be part monkey. Sun does the same exact thing with his tail when he doesn't like something.
[ he crouches down to be more on level with the mutant thing (which is a Feat considering his tall this guy is) and rests his arms on his knees, grinning. ]
Do you want to come home with me, cutie? You could sleep with Sun! And Sage! If you don't shed, Scarlet will probably like you too. How's that sound?
ikr??? so happy that these dweebs got screen time
Sun would have made some weird bunny chatter/retort, but somehow those little pets feel ohhhhh sooo gooood.
He briefly wonders if Blake would like that. You know, if she wouldn't break his fingers afterward.
The euphoria instantly ends at that little pet name. Cutie? Cutie?! Oh god please don't let that one get out. Ever. For both their sakes. But it does cause him to have a eureka moment, ears and head hanging in disappointment.]
Tell me you can understand me, man... I don't want to be a pet.
Phase IV!
While she is, admittedly, relieved to see a familiar face, it doesn't stop her from feeling the smallest bit dubious at it being two Faunus put into a city with few conversational partners.]
Having a little trouble?
hello pretty kitty c:
Until she asks that question. Even he can't keep up a smile right now. Heaving a heavy sigh and hanging his head.]
That's like the understatement of the year. I can't believe this place! Some game. What's the point of making everyone go through the same place again? Ugh...
[Another sigh and his tail flicks around. Interestingly enough, there's a few bandages on that tail.]
What about you? I know you can handle almost anything, but...
=*^*= Hello!!!
Well, this is my fourth time being looped back into the village after hitting that... invisible wall that tells you about it being 'members only'. So if this is the only "trouble" I run in to today, I should probably count it in my favor.
[She pauses, albeit briefly.] Are you okay? You didn't look injured after your tournament battle today.
i saw your reserve. yay for more rwby!!
Yeah, I keep running into that thing too. At least we're not the only ones. Heh, misery loves company, right?
[Dork. Total dork.
Ooooh, she noticed that didn't she. He swings his tail around, rubbing the back of his head nervously] A-haha, yeah. I was fine. No big. Its just everytime I go back into the caves, there's this ooooone rat that keeps biting my tail. I know it's nothing but... [He's not likely to admit how much that actually hurts.]
But hey, you got to see how awesome we were today! Man, I'm so glad you came to watch, Blake.
[God he's such a dweeb. He's even flexing an arm for her.]