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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Merlin | BBC Merlin
[ Every footstep feels like slush under his feet, dirty to the point where it's hard to even breathe. He's woken up after being knocked out with his face in horse poop before but this is just taking the cake. It's hard to even come around, the stench so disgusting it would probably be easy enough to just pass out.
But. Something isn't right. Merlin presses his hands against his face, tries to think of where he was last and how this could even be possible. He can't even imagine where he is though, anything further than that seems impossible right now. The information at the start hadn't done much to help... the technology here is way more than he can fathom in one go and he already has way too much to worry about without all of this. ]
No... something, something isn't right here. [ His hands fly up into his hair and he half turns on the spot, squinting past more and more piles of trash. A rat scuttles over his foot now, but he doesn't seem bothered about it at all. That's when he spots you. ] You wouldn't happen to have any idea where this is, would you?
( 2: 8:00 aka when did trash get this sophisticated?? )
[ Right. What a load of fun this is. One thing he knows he's trying to save a kingdom from Morgause and Morgana, protect Arthur and now he's knees deep in... trash. Or was, before he gets pulled up by one of the drones. It's a little unnerving when dragon is pretty much your only way to fly where he's from.
For a moment it's almost comical as his legs kick out and he tries to pull at his shirt. ] A-alright, you've had your fun, come on... [ Only this isn't a joke, is it? A hesitant glance to his left is where he finds you, another person hauled up by one of these things. ] So... uh. [ He swallows, glances up at the metal latched onto him, quickly looks back before you're lost again amongst all the dirt of this place. ] Not a friend of yours either, then?
[ Well, duh. ]
( 3: 11:25 aka how many times before merlin stops getting into trouble tbh )
[ The question here isn't "what is your escape plan? and is sadly more twisted towards "how long does it take for someone passed out and in danger to wake up when they're about to die?". A long few seconds, is the answer. When the ground shifts Merlin's eyes slowly open, somehow having been knocked out on the way down. He sniffs at first, scrunching his brow at everything comes rushing back to him--mostly the smell.
He scrambles up within seconds, eyes darting around to work out what was going on. The incinerator isn't difficult to miss, nor is the person next to him.
Quick thinking. Quick thinking. He can't risk using his magic whilst in this kind of close proximity but--
That's when the ground stops. Merlin's shoulders slacken, relief floods his face. ]
So maybe one thing is worki- [ Spoke too soon. ]
( 4: wildcard! aka choose another phase, the bonus or re-do 1, 2 or 3! )
1
I'd say you've gotten into the weird side of ViViD, but that probably applies to the whole thing. So... welcome to the weirder side of ViViD?
[Nailed it.]
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Right. [ Maybe agreeing will help this all fall into place? Nope. Nada. No chance there. ]
You know, none of this really makes any sense. [ He cuts off, distracted. ] I mean... How are you doing that?
[ Because no one sane wants to walk on trash like this. ]
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I'd tell you sense isn't important when you're having fun, but this isn't one of those actually fun ViViD levels sooo. [He gives his staff a whirl and now a breeze is blowing and ruffling Merlin's hair.] I command the wind. Need an airy hand?
[You think, Jack?]
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Speaking of magic-- ] You can use magic? [ There's an air of excitement to Merlin's voice now, along with bewilderment because where he's from magic is taboo. It's forbidden, punishable by death where Uther is concerned. No matter how much he might have saved Arthur's life with it. ]
You know... it's not very often someone actually admits to that.
[ Merlin... stop being so distracted?!?! ]
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So it's a sigh of relief that greets him when he wakes up, Kaguya smiling gently-- she's not too perturbed by their potential fiery demise--and speaks when the incinerator stops.] Thank goodness you are alright, my lord. I was afraid to move you in case you had been seriously injured.
[The incinerator starts for a few seconds and then stutters to a stop again, making her frown.] Are you alright to move? We should move further up, away from the center.
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I'm certainly no lord, ma'am but... [ A brief glance is given to the fire again. ] I'm more than willing to listen if you have a plan.
[ Because he's still trying to come around with a banging headache tbh. ]
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I can attempt to teleport us, my lord, [Completely ignoring his 'no lord' comment] but it is a bit difficult if I do not know where we are going to. [She brings a hand to her mouth, tilting her head thoughtfully.] And I am reluctant to just start attacking the walls, in case we cause irreparable damage. But, if it comes to it, I would prefer irreparable damage to being trapped.
...Shall I attempt to teleport? I could go first to see if it is safe.
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For a moment his mouth opens and shuts like a fish, until finally he clears his throat. ]
If it's not safe out there I'd rather not have you go alone. [ But, that hardly helps. ] There must be something. [ Which is when he finally seems to start thinking properly, to start analysing what's going on. ]
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If she was thinking, she'd just remember she could fly and get up, but Merlin isn't the only one wasting a long few seconds. Thankfully the incinerator stops, and while she's still panicked she lets out a half relieved-half hysterical laugh. Not today, fire!
But then someone is moving next to her and talking and Ene jumps up, shrieking, still perfectly on edge. She's hovering mid-air now, which is much better, not in a pile of trash and not heading towards the incinerator at all. Same can't be said for this poor guy though once the machine starts moving again (but hey maybe he doesn't have to worry so much about magic around her). Immediately grabbing for him!]
H-H-Hey! Don't you know not to tempt fate!?
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Nope. Nope. Fate can go stuff itself. ]
Somehow, I'm still trying to learn to stop doing that.
[ Well, at least she's trying to help?? ] Is there another path out of here?
[ He can't even keep being excited about all the supposed magic here at this point, too much is going on at once and he'd just really like to not die right now. ]
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[But just because she can fly out doesn't mean he can, and she's definitely not strong enough to carry him. She can try, and this incinerator is going so slowly it's not like he's really in danger. For now, at least. Ene is glancing around, desperately trying to think of a way to get them both out, but what could be done?]
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You know, one day I'd also like to know why this keeps happening.
[ He steps over to one side, trying to be careful that he isn't pulled too close to the incinerator. ]
This doesn't look all that stable...
[ Because let's not talk about when he and Arthur went to save Guinevere and he kept slipping down the wall they were climbing. ]
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( 2 )
I don't know about you but I don't tend to befriend kidnappers, no!
[ if only you knew, sweet summer child ]
jesus who armed her with that!?!?!?
Merlin even raises his hands in mock surrender, tries to shrug despite the way his shirt is pulled thanks to the drone's grip on him. ]
Not usually, no. [ He glances up, letting out a long breath. ] Though I can see why they... I mean, you must be someone important, right? [ Well, she looks like she'd be important??? ]
a world where people throw out valuable kitchen tools!!
Why would– What... what makes you say that? I am not important. No way. No way! [ her laughter is 100% forced ] Hah. No. If they're after anyone, they're after you. I bet you're a thief too!
the frying pan was less terrifying tbh
ikr? it will be dearly missed
maybe one day she'll find another....
knives wouldn't sell as well at the disney store i guess
i guess not!!!
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[Bender wasn't trash. He wasn't even living! But he did get a certain giddy joy in recycling that he'd never really had before. And now that the drones had dropped some stupid human to be incinerated, well Bender considered it his civil duty to make sure the furnace was working correctly. Somehow - some way, he'd found his way up to the control room where he was doing everything in his power to get things running without all these annoying pauses.]
bender why.... this....
You almost-- [ Wait. What?! ] Wait, stop! [ Why is someone telling him "Don't worry" before saying they're trying to fix this thing? ] Stop! [ His hands press against his face and drag down, pausing only when he realises how gross his skin is now. There's no time to worry about that though, not when the belt seems to be doing a little better now, going at a somewhat steady momentum as Merlin tries to keep walking the other way. ]
What did you do? Put it back! I don't want this!
[ a walking disaster tbh ]
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[Bender has got it working again! He stands at a viewing platform and pauses only long enough to pull out a pair of shades from his body-cabinet. This is what it's all about, really. Sitting back, relaxing, and watching some good for nothing human gets his. Really, nothing could go wrong.
Except just then, when the machine started making a horrible cranking noise as it began to grind to a halt. As it turns out, Bender's solution wasn't a solution - he'd overclocked the system and now it was burning out.]
Oh no! Wait, wait, wait. Aww, crap. [A dejected Bender stands in front of the control system in utter dismay now that the machine has come to a complete stop. Even worse, he's accidentally saved Merlin.]]
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Define friend, dipshit. Although these things are as much of a pain in the goddamn ass as certain assholes I know--- [Which implies that, wonder of wonders, even someone as clearly cracked in the head as her has a friend or two. Just don't ask her to fully elaborate. But in the meantime, Minatsuki yanks off her earring, and out comes a strange, bloody tendril that is whip wing. She grins rather menacingly at the drone.] Now watch, and lear---
[Well, it would've been cool (or maybe just disturbing) to see her slice the drone to ribbons before she gets unceremoniously dropped into RECYCLING, with a yelp of:]
---Gah! [Followed by the sounds of garbage getting sliced up, and growls of:] Motherfucker! Hey! Hey! Wait till I goddamn---
[That's when the suspicious sounds of garbage shifting may or may not be the sign of a landslide coming from recycling. Uh.....help?]
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He opens his mouth to maybe apologise (though it's hard to get the words out with the performance she's giving here) when she's dropped first. He's almost relieved until he's also dropped down the same chute she was seconds before.
Thanks for slice and dicing down there, Minatsuki, this is precisely what he wanted to deal with.
He's probably lucky to have just missed her whip as he lands on a pile of the trash that's sliding down. The problem now? He has no idea where she's ended up in this mess. ]
Uh... hello? [ He tries to turn around on the spot to see where she got to, but at this point she's probably buried. That's what you get for trying to kill a metal bird thing... ]
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Unfortunately, she's perfectly intent on tax evasion, because, yes, she's been buried underneath a mound of what appears to be energy drinks of some kind---some of them strangely full and opened---and if Merlin thought he was out of the frying pan, he's sorely mistaken, because the heat's about to be turned up to a sizzle. The mound starts quivering, when, all of a sudden, flashes of red streak across several portions of the mound, sending icky, sweet-smelling energy drink spraying all over the place---and out bursts Minatsuki, with a shrill growl of:]
----Okay, this is goddamn bullshit! [She's unfortunately drenched in the stuff no thanks to her own ragequitting, and she's seeing red, immediately glaring over at Merlin when she spots him over where he's landed.]
Hey! [Yelled out in a vicious snap, as she straightens from where she's sprawled over the remainder of the cans, whip wing still very much at the ready.] You sound at least marginally fucking smart. Know the saying "two heads are better than one"----
[But just as she's about to hop from the remnants of the mound, Minatsuki literally goes flying. Toward Merlin. She gapes.
Hopefully he's got a decent evade stat, because she's going to be flailing wildly as she hurdles toward him, which won't help matters at all---]
----The hell?!
[You know what they say about Red Bull, after all...]
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But then it stops and she seems to regain herself, scrambling to move out of the trash that she's stuck in and then
and then he says that and almost as if the machine is mad at him, it ROARS TO LIFE AGAIN?]
Are you mad?! It can hear you!
[someone tell her that it's a machine please
but she's also going to reach for Merlin's hand because SHE'S NOT AWFUL ENOUGH TO JUST LET HIM GET EATEN BY THIS FIRE MONSTER]
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I'm sure it's nothing... really.
[ Except something burning trash up like it's paper?!?!?!?
He isn't stupid enough to not take the hint though, pulling himself up as quickly as he can. Sadly, he won't be the one to tell her it's a machine... for all he knows there's a dragon inside there blowing fire constantly. ]
Though it's probably best to not test that. [ It's a little awkwardly that he starts taking in their surroundings, their focus had been on the fire, after all, so they hadn't really considered how difficult it was going to be to get out of here. ]
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You think?
[A little condescending -- sorry about it.]
We don't have time to test much of anything, you know!
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