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?
[ 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. ] |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
3/3
Of course it doesn't! [ Er. Perhaps shouting a little forcefully there. She stumbles back, lands on her butt in a puddle of diesel, stands, and raises both palms in defence. It's pretty pathetic. ] I mean - yeah, of course. I know! I-I know. Um. D-Did you say you had friends around here? That sounds nice! Let's... find your friends now, Miss...?
no subject
[There's. Definitely something going on there. Why had this girl thought Usagi's hair would be valuable? Though really. The other girl's hair was pretty long too. Also blonde. But that didn't necessarily....mean anything? Does it? She's not sure. But Usagi simply tilts her head, about to offer a hand when Rapunzel manages to pick herself back up from stumbling like that.]
Well, I'm not sure if my friends really are here. But maybe. If I am, at least one or more of them might be and I just haven't found them yet.
no subject
[ oops, almost forgot ] –and I'm Rapunzel. Sorry.
no subject
[Ikkuko would probably wonder what Usagi was doing here when she should be sleeping. Or doing homework, or at school. Regardless, she isn't one that so much considers herself brave, but simply that she steps up and does what she needs to when necessary. Not usually at first without some complaining or fear, but she does.]
Rapunzel. There's nothing to apologize for, though. Maybe if we look for a way out together?
no subject
Yes! I mean, yeah, that... that sounds great. ...Ooh. Sah. Gee. Usagi.
Hm. Usagi. You have a really interesting name. What does it mean?
no subject
[She's possibly a bit too friendly and casual with this. Ending up in strange places is not entirely new to her though. And Rapunzel doesn't seem like she's any threat.]
My name? Oh. It's....it refers to the story of the rabbit on the moon. It's Japanese.
no subject
[ Somewhere in the distance there's what sounds like an explosion. Something crumbling and falling, perhaps. ]
M...aybe we should - get out of here. Uh– Yeah, I-I didn't know there were rabbits on the moon! Wow. Is Japanese where you come from?
no subject
[Or maybe she doesn't know her family? Some orphans or the like might not know, perhaps. Or maybe it just isn't something everyone does, in other cultures for all Usagi knows. She has a hard enough time with English, let alone considering and learning about all the other languages and cultures.
She winces at the sound of something falling, giving a nod and instinctively reaching to Rapunzel's wrist or hand to try pull her along. Some direction neither of them had come from to get this far.]
Ah, it's just a story. My first name means 'rabbit' specifically. But yes, I'm from Japan.
no subject
[ boom ]
You... you wouldn't happen to know why you're here instead of in Japan, would you?
no subject
Just your mother? No siblings or dad? Isn't that lonely.....?
[Or. Wait. She probably shouldn't just outright ask that, jeez. But she always did get that impression from Ami-chan, and her mother was often out with work and all. Perhaps it is similar for Rapunzel.
As for the next question, Usagi can't help but give a shrug.]
I'm not sure. But if there was a way here, there has to be a way back somehow! We just have to keep looking!
no subject
[ Maybe she does have some of that. She believes in Usagi, strangely enough; the unconventional leader. ]
It's not so bad at all. I have Pascal, and my - friends around the house. There's so much to do at home! How could I ever possibly get lonely? [ HA HA h a.... ] Ah... does that... look like... food to you? [ No, it looks like a busted out gas station and attached convenience store with bright wrappers in the window. Getting a little tired now! But only a little. ]
no subject
[But. Of course, because this is Usagi, she's almost instantly distracted when Rapunzel mentions, or rather, asks about food. She turns, following Rapunzel's gesture, head tilting.]
I'm not sure? Maybe. If the food is in wrappers and haven't been opened, it might be okay? Might be worth checking out at least.
no subject
Electrified with renewed purpose, Rapunzel clenches her fists and strides confidently in the direction of the gas station. She steps in spilled diesel fuel and gravel, which is fine, because there's not likely to be fires around. Right. ]
Mm. I can tell you one thing, Usagi. My mother would not approve of this sleepover.
no subject
Usagi tries to be somewhat mindful of the potential fuel, but ends up stepping in some anyway and just then walking through it the same way Rapunzel does, though she at least actually has shoes to cover her feet.]
Well, what she doesn't know won't kill her?
[Usagi just because you are used to keeping secrets and being out at ridiculous hours and traveling to weird places, does not mean the same of Rapunzel and her family.....
Still, she calls out when they enter, looking around and trying to find someone, anyone. Unsure if others may have found this place too, or there might somehow still be people working?]
Hello? Is anyone else here?
1/2
[ Rapunzel strolls right in through the shattered doors of the place, casting her eyes around in a sweep of the area and gripping her saw especially tight. ]
no subject
Shh! Quiet! Someone unfriendly and possibly dangerous could hear us and ambush us!
no subject
[Though when Rapunzel whirls around and tells her to be quiet, her eyes widen, darting around before she purses her lips, crossing her arms, hair bouncing a little as she moves.]
I'd like to see them try. But we can't hope to find someone else that might know their way around better if we just keep trying to sneak around. At the very least, there might be something edible here to keep us going. Let's keep looking.
no subject
[ Her eyes catch on a glow in the corner of the room, triggering her curiosity. ] We should get food, though. That'll come in handy.
no subject
[Besides, Usagi's always been more of an extrovert, and someone that almost always wants to make friends, that does so without even really trying.
She enters more, following Rapunzel's gaze.]
If there's some snacks in wrappers that should be okay? Maybe. Depending on the date.....
no subject
She pinches her nose. ] Uh. I don't think this stuff is any good. I'm... not sure trusting somebody else just yet is a great idea, though.
no subject
[Rapunzel please be careful of the glass though.
Still, Usagi is quick to scrunch her nose at any potentially old food smells as she continues searching. Her hair trails on the ground when she leans down a few times investigating some potential supplies.]
Why not? You trust me easily enough!
[Because Usagi makes friends as easily as breathing. Not everyone is so helpful and trusting....]
no subject
You're-- different, Usagi... You...you look like me sort of. Uh. Heh. I mean, your name may be weird but everything else about you has been - kind! So far. So...
[ shaking her head again ] Wow. What is all this stuff? This hard, shiny material... It's cold! Like iron. And these crinkly, loud, smooth... smooth bag things? Oh, look, there's a picture of potatoes on this one!
no subject
[Insanely so. Still. She's at least distracted from asking about the hair when Rapunzel continues and asks about the food.]
The potatoes must be some chips! They're good, we want those! The food is inside the bags. As long as it is in a bag, the food inside is probably going to be all right to eat!