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!
|
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?
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chrollo lucilfer | hunter x hunter
[of all the places to end up while still trying to adjust to facts that barely felt like facts, but yet couldn't be denied anyway...a literal junkyard wasn't exactly the worst. sure it smelled bad, and sure, it was unfamiliar, but he remembers how to hop from place to place, judging integrity with his eyes and keeping his arms out for balance. and the rain coming down helps with the scent, pressing down some of the worst parts under the water.
of course, there's the disconcerting fact that this entire environment isn't real, and the nature of reality is up for debate now, so that could be entirely wrong, actually. maybe real was more a state of belief, and his past experience with things others would consider unbelievable was why this slid into place so easily...
the philosophy could wait, though. instead, when he sees someone else, Chrollo doesn't hesitate to raise his hand in a wave, carefully maneuvering to be close enough that shouting would be unnecessary.]
Excuse me, but did you happen to catch what our goal here is supposed to be?
[because he sure didn't.]
[bonus.]
[okay, so dealing with this strange confinement...there are a few questions. why a garbage bag, why is he unable to tear this even to the slightest degree, and who, exactly is next to him?
all answers that can be found in time, Chrollo tells himself, as he shifts in the garbage bag so that both of them can sit back to back instead of the awkward side to side. despite the place, the circumstances, all of it, he sounds...pleasant? as if this sort of bizarre happening was something to be taken in stride.]
So, this is the next phase of the game...I wonder.
[really, it's nothing to be content with, but there are greater things in his mind to be concerned with that override being put in a garbage bag, and those...well, those are things to be pleased about.]
[wildcard.]
[other situations for when you want to do what you want.]
phase i
chrollo spots her as she's walking through the dump, a hand covering both her mouth and nose. but for the sake of being polite in a conversation, she removes her hand from her face and bows. ]
Hello. It's just ViViD testing out something new. [ that's what she guesses, anyway. ] I'm not sure what the goal is, especially when we can't even log out. . . I'm sorry.
no subject
There's no need to apologize, it's not like it's your fault.
[and not like he was in any major hurry to get somewhere.]
Perhaps the goal is for us to find a way to log out? An item hidden in this landscape or some condition we have to fulfill.
no subject
That may be right. There has to be a mission that we've to do if we want to log out.
[ she closes her eyes and just thinks of logging out, but nothing happens. you'd think they'd give the people who have been here longer a break, but apparently not. ]
There is likely a boss at the end of all this.
no subject
["a giant trash monster" is the first thing to come to mind, but then again, it could be something entirely unexpected. invisible until they pass some sort of boundary or complete this aforementioned mission.]
What sort of bosses does ViViD usually contain?
[mainly so he can start formulating a plan of attack.]
no subject
It depends on what kind of game you play, really.
[ and as much as she wants to elaborate further, she would rather hold off on it because it's so tough to be inhaling such ghastly fumes. instead, she offers a suggestion. one that comes out of her imagination. ]
In this place, it's probably garbage that eventually became sentient for being here so long.
no subject
Then it's likely vulnerable to being crushed as well as being burned. That's assuming the rain doesn't cancel out the latter.
[which he prays only grows stronger to drown more of the scent which is probably going to end up paralyzing his sense of smell for a while.]
...Also, where you're standing, I wouldn't recommend moving to the right. It's likely going to give way.
no subject
much better! ]
I suppose, but video games work differently. Especially with bosses.
[ but she did say she supposes! so she isn't completely discounting what chrollo had said. ]
I'm Tsunemori. Would you like to form a party to get out of this level together?
no subject
[and with a little more maneuvering and some hopping, Chrollo manages to get over to where she is, able to stand closer like a party member would, and not a complete stranger.]
I'm Chrollo. Nice to meet you, Tsunemori, and thanks for taking a new one onto your team.
[that part at least is genuine. it's a chance on her part to pick up a stranger to beat this game with, and by watching her, hopefully he can learn more about how ViViD is supposed to work.]
no subject
[ she nods her head as she looks up at him. boy, you sure are tall. but, that's enough niceties for now. she isn't about to let her guard down in front of someone whom she barely knows. and so, she takes command of the mission as she pulls out her gun. ]
Let's go.
[ off to some random direction. hopefully, they'll wind up finding an exit! ]
i
[firstly, Kaneda doesn't hear him. He's sitting on a pile of cardboard boxes with one boot upturned, rainwater doing nothing to help the squealch of...whatever it is in there. Toe jam. Who knows.
One look at this motherfucker (his coat, specifically, as much as it now smells), has him pausing.]
I imagine its to teach us some stupid lesson. Me, I'm gonna look for a tv tray. Course, if you're lookin' for some help...
no subject
or there'd be a way to circumvent it entirely.]
Absolutely, if you're offering. It's my first time in this...ViViD.
[though he doesn't think it'll count for much, it's worth throwing out there to see if it can gain that millimeter of sympathy.]
no subject
[...no sympathy, no manners. Just slouches back into his boot and gives the other male a once over.]
I dunno if there's anything in particular we're supposed to find, but maybe you can get some cash for cans. This is one stupid level.
no subject
[blunt enough to state that he had a cost upfront. Chrollo can work with that.]
no subject
no subject
I'm the wrong guy, if you want cash or anything else valuable. Sorry to disappoint.
[and really, even if he did have anything of the sort, he'd lie and say he didn't. there's no reason, new to this place or not, he should fork over his money to someone he trusted not a bit.]
no subject
[he wrinkles his nose...what a stingy son of a bitch.] That coat could fetch for a good bundle of cash. You that attached to it when you're out here? You might get mugged or somethin', looking like that...
no subject
People do tend to be attached to the clothes on their back. Especially when it could get colder any minute now.
[if this is a game, then if he needs to take drastic measures...well, it won't really kill someone, will it? idle thoughts while remaining relaxed and at ease, as if he actually isn't prepping for the stranger to try and take it from him.]
no subject
[excuse, probably rich guy, but that is not how that saying about the clothes on your back goes. he knows.]
But suit yourself-- I've been through this game before, and you clearly haven't. If you're gonna be that petty about stuff, and stupid, then so be it.
no subject
It's not petty, but call your own giving up whatever you want. You've got time enough to try harder in the future.
[he'll find someone else and win them over, and he'll leave this one to navigate the trash, conveniently not telling him about the weak spot in the pile that was only a few inches away. if he was meant to fall in, he'd fall, and Chrollo would consider it just the way of things.]
no subject
[he waves him off and scowls; rich people. They're stubborn and you just can't live with 'em. He especially doesn't want to hear lectures like he knows what he's talking about.
You can bet Kaneda will find it and will fall on his ass, though.]