Out with the old, in with the new as they say, and this ViViD level is no different. Ever progressive and ever mindful, CERES has decided in their war against the evil carbon footprint to give citizens both new and old a lesson in healthy living. To show this, they've created a level all about... recycling, or as close to recycling as a company like CERES can get. (Which isn't very close at all, honestly.)
This, of course, means that when you're dumped in to today's ViViD level, the first thing that will hit you is the stench. It's vile and rancid and the type of stench that makes a person want to give up smelling altogether, and when you finally open your eyes, you'll see why. There's trash everywhere. The buildings are decrepit and crumbling, the cars are broken down and rusted, and overall, it looks like the apocalypse rolled right on through. Which is weird because this is definitely not a post-apocalyptic game. Yet wandering around this pathetic excuse for a ViViD level will just reveal more of the same -- it's a total wasteland.
And if you look up, you will see a billboard.
RECYCLING AND YOU: HOW NOT TO BE A DIRTY WASTE OF SPACE
You'll only have a moment to be offended by the sign before, amongst the piles of trash and rubble, there's another, smaller pile of trash and rubble. The only difference is this one can talk.
 Welcome to The Dumpster Dive, my cool cats and sweet kittens. A brand new ViViD level, created and innovated to you by CERES's very creative and innovative technicians. We're all here to help you learn to Reuse, Reduce and Recycle, givin' you kids some tools to help you lessen your impact on the planet. After all, we're all here together on this great planet of Tellus. Wouldn't want to ruin it, right? Ha ha!
Happy Trash Day to Cerealians one and all!
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PHASE I [ 6 00 ] So, you're here.
You're probably sitting in a pile of trash because, well, everywhere is a pile of trash. You're in a landscape of trashiness and there's no escape. Your only option is to give in to the sweet, sweet pull of the garbage. The buildings are crumbling, the sidewalks are a mess of bottles (but no bottle caps), rubble, and empty chip bags, and you're stuck in this... trash. This garbage. This hellhole.
Wasn't recycling supposed to be clean?
It probably takes a rat skittering over your foot to get you going but like any good game, the protagonist needs to move. If you're going to find out anything in this trash heap, you'll need to explore a bit. See if you can find someone else! Or something else. Maybe someone more experienced with ViViD can help you figure out how to log out. Even if logging out doesn't seem to be working right now. You should be careful too because one wrong step might cause the pile of trash you're standing on give way and send you into the sewers below.
Which means there are rats, there are bugs, the ground is unsteady and... yep. It's starting to rain.
Good luck.
PHASE II [ 800 ] And then come the... trash drones.
They zero in on any living thing in this ViViD level -- if you’re moving, if you’re breathing, if you have some sort of a pulse, they’ll be there. And they’ll grab you and take you away. No matter how many you shoot down, more and more and more will come, never stopping until you're swarmed completely by them. They have to get you! You're garbage, you're garbage, you're garbage! You're garbage!
And so, you're snatched up.
Don’t worry, though. After a short flight (wave hello to your fellow drone-napped neighbor!), you'll arrive at three huge trash chutes with three equally huge signs above them. GARBAGE, RECYCLING, and COMPOST hang above the chutes and the drones pause just momentarily before announcing one of these options in a robotic voice. You've been sorted and without any preamble, the drone will dump you in whichever one it decides.
Hopefully you don’t end up in the compost. Gross.
Of course, once you down there, there's plenty to poke around in (or not much if you're still not into the whole trash thing). It's piles and piles and piles of trash as far as the eye can see! Again! If you're especially clever, you may be able to use the trash to build a way out of the chute. The very, very long chute. Maybe there's someone around that can help you? And better do so quick, who knows what CERES has deemed to be "recycling" this time.
PHASE III [ 1125 ] CERES's standards continue to shine on again, because after some time, those chutes will finally start working. So if you've been separated from a friend through any of this ordeal, don't worry about it. You're all gonna end up in the same place anyway.
Which is the incinerator, of course! (Wait, that’s not how recycling works.)
The ground beneath you shifts, enough to knock over whatever flimsy excuse for an escape plan you have, and suddenly all of the trash, compost or recycling will be dumped down into an underground furnace -- along with everyone stuck there, of course. Bit by bit, everything moves ever closer towards that red hot furnace and it’s clear that everything's going to be dumped straight into the fire and burned. Say your farewells. Make nice with your neighbor. Finalize your will because --
Oh. It stopped.
Looks like it jammed.
It doesn't remain jammed for long because CERES is, if anything, highly efficient. So it starts up again. But then stops again. And then starts again. And then stops again. This may be a glitch in the level, actually.
So, you're still getting ever closer to fiery death, but... slowly. Very slowly. In fact, you could probably walk away from said fiery death faster than you're going towards it. It's like they can't even program a near death experience right!
PHASE IV [ 1125 ] Maybe you avoided the incinerator. Maybe you ended up in a different part of the level altogether. Maybe you just got lost. Either way, now you’re stuck with the age-old hobby of enthusiasts and the exceptionally desperate alike.
Dumpster diving.
And CERES wouldn't send you down there without an incentive, you know. If you look, it seems like there might be something valuable, something incredibly important and just for you. A shiny item that you’ve always wanted right from home and it’s right there in your grasp, something precious that you could never get in Cerealia. How it came to be there, nestled between an empty carton of eggs and a half-eaten cheeseburger, no one knows, but you'll be filled with the inescapable, all-consuming urge to go get it. Just jump right into that dumpster and get it.
The more you resist the urge, the more it'll hurt. (As in, physically hurt actually. The feeling will be comparable to your fingernails slowly being plucked out.)
This is ViViD though and the moment you hit the trash, the spell breaks. You'll see that your most precious thing, whatever it was, was never actually there. Instead, you seem to have actually grabbed something else and whatever it is, you can't let go of it. Be it an empty bottle of bacon soda or a bicycle tire with a giant hole in it, it's attached to your hand now and no matter what you do, you can't get it off.
Hopefully whatever you grabbed wasn't too big because it looks like you're not getting rid of it. Not till you beat the level.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] The odd thing about being stuck in a trash wasteland is that you can go for ages without seeing another person. Ages. Of course, CERES doesn't like that very much since ViViD games should be co-operative! Player with player! Player against player! Players who shouldn't be playing at all. That's the type of play CERES supports.
Which means the longer you go without seeing another person, the more you might feel an itch. It gets under your skin, making you feel dizzier and dizzier, and shorter and shorter of breath until -- you pass out. Vision going dark, breathing cutting out, and down you go into the trash and whatever this ViViD level has planned next.
It won't take long. You'll wake up feeling slightly confined and there will be a moving body next to you. It seems as if you've finally, finally found someone -- and they're really, really close. In fact, maybe a little too close? When you open your eyes, you'll see that the two of you may be bound together in a way that might be familiar to some.
But instead of a shirt, it's just a garbage bag. A really, really strong garbage bag that can't be broken out of no matter how strong you happen to be. No laser eyes, no super powers, nothing will separate you from this person other than, well, getting along.
There really is only one question you have to ask yourself now. Just one.
What the hell does this have to do with recycling?
[ 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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Usagi Tsukino l Sailor Moon
[The first thing that hits her is the smell. It's awful, making Usagi scrunch up her nose and attempt to cover it and breathe through her mouth as she all but gags. Ugh.....
This place was such a dump. Wait. Dump? What was she doing here and how did she even get here in the first place? Where was everyone? Ami and the others, Mamoru....? It doesn't seem like they are around, at least not within her field of vision. Nothing for it but to pick herself up and attempt to find some way out. Grumbling all the while, of course.]
This is so disgusting! And where is everyone anyway? Ami-chan? Rei-chan? Mako-chan? Minako-chan? M-Mamo-chan.....? Even Luna?
[And then the rain starts. Well. This is just perfect. She sulks, half wanting to cry and half hugging herself, sniffing as she just glares up at the sky and the clouds. Really?]
Phase IV
[Still hopelessly lost, Usagi tries to keep going. To keep telling herself she'll find some way out and get back home somehow. To Mamoru, to her friends, to her family.
It's only then that she realizes something is missing. Her brooch. That realization sends her to a slight panic. She can't transform without that. Plus, it has the Silver Crystal with it. She needs that!
Out the corner of her eye, she spots it, dashing rapidly over, tripping once or twice but ignoring that, any subsequent scrapes and pain from it as she gets back up and reaches for the brooch.
Only to find it is just some junk. An old soda can. That she cannot seem to get rid of or let go of. Meaning she's stuck.
Stuck and being rather loudly, vocally irritated by this fact.]
Get...off...stupid soda!
phase 1
[Until that moment, she'd figured they were in another part of the Digital World. A really, really gross part. Worse than the sewer systems they'd had to wander through back in Mugendramon's city. Except...this girl was human. And there shouldn't have been any other humans aside from the eight Chosen children.]
Are you lost too?
[She approached with a soft voice and fairly neutral expression. And a sleeping, white kitten with...strange paws and markings...clutched protectively to her chest.]
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[But oh. Usagi is even less happy when she turns around and finds Hikari there, that much younger voice belonging to a child. Still, the way she said that, asked if Usagi was lost too meant she obviously was as well. So she wasn't going to get any answers from this girl to know which direction to go in proceeding to get out of here.
Regardless, even Usagi surely can't just abandon the lost kid. Better to stick together, that way she can make sure this girl gets out of here as well, right? So Usagi sighs before seeming much more determined, straightening and putting her hands on her hips.]
Don't worry. I'll figure something out and get both of us back home, okay? Well. Both of us and your cat there.
[Seriously. Where is Luna? She'd surely at least have a much better idea of.....just what the heck happened here. What to do.]
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[Hikari glanced down at Tailmon, then back up again. She nearly opened her mouth to correct the older girl, except...if they were somehow back in the Real World, then it was better she keep up the pretense of Tailmon being a cat, right?]
Her name's Tailmon. [Offering her name surely couldn't hurt.] And mine's Hikari. Yagami Hikari.
It's a pleasure to meet you, and...thank you for helping us.
[With hints of a smile, she bowed her head down respectfully.]
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[Still, if this girl has her cat, perhaps Luna might be around somewhere too, for all Usagi knows. It's hard to say. Regardless, her focus is still more on Hikari and the situation at hand.]
Hikari-chan then. I'm Usagi. Usagi Tsukino. Now, I can't promise, but I'll do what I can. I want to get back home too. Or, at least, out of this tip. So if we work together, we might manage!
[Sometimes she isn't. So great with kids. But that is probably just because Chibi Usa is so like her that she couldn't help getting frustrated at times. Not to mention her insecurities set on overdrive with how close Chibi Usa was with Mamoru. Still, she is trying, giving a reassuring smile before looking around. Trying to see if any particular direction has an obvious exit.]
Now, which way.....?
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Phase IV
She was walking with her handkerchief over her mouth, trying to not cry at the smell when she suddenly had to duck as an arm with a soda bottle suddenly swung her way.]
Ah! Careful please!
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S-sorry. I just can't seem to get this thing off. I thought I saw something of mine but then I got stuck with this can instead.
[A can that is not productive in the least in figuring answers. Or finding a way out of here, for that matter.]
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Ah, may I see your hand please, miss?
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Maybe if you try tug it, pull it off?
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IV
The welling sense of panic from across this...junkyard...draws Kerra to drop from her perch atop a nearby wall and head in that general direction. Her cloak flutters heavily as she falls, and her boots hit with a wet squelch as she lands in...]
Eughh, old diapers.
[Frantically kicking, the Jedi stumbles into view just as Usagi starts shouting at the soda can. A final flailing kick sends a clinging diaper sailing away and leaves her standing there fuming for a half second. The girl can't have missed that...
Way to go, Kerra. Daring rescue indeed]
Uh...hey. You okay?
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But she has to respond to that question, doesn't she. Right. This woman probably heard Usagi complaining. She waves her hands a bit before pointing at one of them evidently stuck with the soda can.]
Ah....I'm a little stuck.....
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Stuck? [Tall, clad in dark armor of a matte-black looking material, Kerra stops a few paces from Usagi.]
You have magnets on your hand or something? Or is it glue...or?
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[Best not to think about any number of things they might be standing on in their attempt to find anything useful or get anywhere on the way to finding an exit. Though at times, depending on what they might stand on or in, that is easier said than done, of course.
Still, Usagi gives the hand stuck with the can another shake in demonstration and confusion.]
Maybe if you try pull it off?
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Phase I
Miss! Are... are you alright? Do you require assistance?!
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[Oh, it's some boy. Usagi manages to straighten a little once she hears him and turns to face him. Maybe he knows a way out of here? She really could use a bath. Or a shower. And a change of clothes, for that matter.
But she shouldn't get ahead of herself and that simple daydream.]
Ah, I'm....well. Wet. And gross. You don't know where the exit is, do you?
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I- I see. It is a relief that you are not harmed, at least! [Might as well focus on the positive first.]
As for an 'exit', I know of one solution. Currently, we are in a virtual reality space known as ViViD! To escape, we should simply log ourselves out. ...Er, but, it is not always that simple...
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[Though tripping isn't the only reason she is often injured. But she isn't about to mention the whole senshi thing. Instead she tries to brush it off and focus on what he says next.]
V-virtual reality?! Oh. If this is technology, we should see if we can find Ami-chan! She's really good with computers and stuff! So if she's here, she would know what to do!
[Because. Usagi herself is rather hopeless and the complete opposite with technology. Outside of music and playing video games, at least.]
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1
To be more specific, for Rapunzel, looking at Usagi is not unlike staring through a fun house mirror and seeing a distorted, off-model version of yourself reflected in rain-stained glass. The image is similar, but strange enough to be unsettling. A chill runs down her spine now; she didn't know there were others out there with long golden hair.
This does nothing to convince her she's awake, of course. Rapunzel, who is covered in such muck she's considering discarding her dress altogether, approaches Usagi, her gait more relaxed than it's been since she found herself here. If this is a dream, there's nothing to be scared of. Right? Just a little rain. ]
Hey... Don't cry. [ crouching a little ] It's hard to hug someone who's crying, you know. Or - that's what Mother says. Heh.
cr I didn't know I needed in my life. Yes.
At the approach of the other blonde though, Usagi does at least pause in her wailing, reduced to a sniff as she gives a nod.]
R-right. I should....should focus on finding a way out of here. Everyone will be waiting, so.
[So she has to figure something. For them. So her family doesn't pick up on her secret if they notice she is gone and worry.]
*u* magical girl squad!!
There's nothing wrong with being sad. It's just better, probably, to wait until - this [ gesturing to the chaotic landscape ] is all over. And your beautiful, valuable hair... [ UH... ]
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[Just. Everyone okay. She has not seen a single familiar face in all of this quite yet. And it scares her. Being so alone without anyone she knows. Even if she is almost always quick to make friends regardless. That doesn't mean any of this is easy.
Still, she does note that 'valuable' mention with her hair. Raising an eyebrow in question.]
Valuable? Why would my hair be valuable?
[Okay, yes it is rather long. And blonde. But there's nothing otherwise special about it. Not really.]
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IV
He's pulled out of his daze when he hears the sudden loud yell for help! Help? Well, it was a loud yell anyway. And so he strolls over, banana peel subtly hanging from his head. ]
--Would you like some help? That looks annoying.
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[Look how relieved she is, she doesn't even care or blink at his state, the banana on his head. She just wants him to help get her free of this and then maybe if she is lucky, help her get the heck out of here!]
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[ Rinne's glad his sorry state isn't picked up upon at least! But, to the matter at hand. He gazes at her hand to make sure that there's nothing really sticking them together... looks to be nothing, so maybe if he gives it a good yank, that should work? ]
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It seems to at least make a start?]
I think it's getting there! Just a bit more....
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