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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atsushi nakajima | bungou stray dogs
[ Okay, well. This is great.
It had to be garbage, it had to be— of all the places he could end up in, it's right where he belongs. The bin. That doesn't mean he likes it or particularly wanted to be here, because who actually ever wants to fall face-first in a pile of trash, but.
Anyway. The long and short of it is, Atsushi falls into a world of shit, and he reacts appropriately for the occasion, which is— ]
—Ah?! Ahhhhh?!
[ ...to scream, apparently. Not very dignified or manly, but let's be real, who has the time to be posturing right now??? ]
No, it's— it's everywhere?! [ Ah, there's a rat struggling... in his shirt, someone put him out of his misery, please. Cue more yelling. ] Ehh!? It's in my shirt?!
[ no seriously give this child a hand ]
PHASE III : THAT SCENE FROM TOY STORY 3
[ At least this thing is moving slower than molasses... this fucking incinerator, thanks for being threatening without actually being threatening.
That aside?! Impending doom is still... impending, even if it's very very slow!! Atsushi'd morphed his legs into his tiger form to make his escape quicker, but once he realizes that he actually...doesn't have to hurry... he's out to look for people he can help. Listen, he might as well make himself useful.
So he trots towards the person nearest him, offers him or her a hand without taking into consideration that it might be a little weird, this boy with furry legs running up towards a complete stranger. ]
Hey— it's not safe here, so...! [ insistent handwave! ] We should probably go...?
[ 'Probably'. ]
BONUS
[ He really only has one thing to say, as he turns his head slowly, slowly, and fixes the person he's stuck with with a cold sweat running down the side of his head and the stiffest half-smile he can muster, without looking like he wants to die. ]
I...
I'm...sorry?
[ nailed it. ]
phase I
Stand still so I can kill it. [She's not gonna take it out of his shirt first apparently???]
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[ Whoa, this sure escalated quickly...!? Catching a glimpse of someone approaching him with a fan, like he's about to be smacked on the head with it, Atsushi raises both of his hands in the universal sign of 'surrender'.
Even as the rat circles his chest, under his shirt. It's a very visible struggle. ]
Wait, wh— that looks dangerous! [ PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM, he just got here... ]
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[Okuni stops until she's just in chest-whacking range, fan still held aloft, but also waiting... Because that's the polite thing to do, right??? She's offering to kill rats for total strangers and also giving them time to decide! She's being so nice today. She doesn't seem to be emitting any murderous vibes over here... But she's also holding her fan like she's used to whacking people in the chest with it, so]
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im cracking up
ME TOO... poor okuni having to put up with this weenlord tbh
u mean POOR ATSUSHI... what a pure cinnamon roll...
BONUS!!
Even though the more fashion-conscious side of her is appalled at having to wear a garbage bag, she doesn't mind everything else. Even though the poor guy she's stuck with looks like he's about to completely panic.
So she just blinks at him, expression completely calm as she shrugs a shoulder. He didn't put them in this, so she doesn't understand why he's apologizing.]
... For what? It's not your fault, or were you trying to get stuck together with me like this? [Completely deadpan as she says this.]
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...Actually? There's also something profoundly nervewracking about her complete placidity, and Atushi tries to put his hands up (he can't— one arm is still buried in this garbage bag) to indicate that he doesn't intend to be untoward. ]
I! I definitely wasn't, so please don't misunderstand...! [ wait, does that sound rude?? Regroup. ] It's just, this whole thing... it's not exactly what anyone would want, right?
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Well, at least ghost buddy isn't too mad about this situation, even if he's hovering about grumping.]
... Right. So you have nothing at all to apologize for. [Pause.] You don't need to panic so much either, I'm not gonna start yelling or anything like that.
[A-attempts to be reassuring...? At least the lineface has softened a tiny bit.]
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phase III
Still, he's clicking his tongue, obviously not interested in a helping hand, though he does raise an eyebrow at his legs before looking away, more interested in escaping than whatever this kid's deal is at the moment.]
It's obvious that it's a good idea to go. People should at least be able to figure that much out on their own, right?
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The wild gesticulating and the sudden pitch in his voice might clue Fushimi in to this. Probably. ]
I... y-yeah, it's... I didn't mean to insinuate that you wouldn't have been able to figure that out on your own! I just didn't want to assume...
[ He trails off, because even he realizes that this is pathetic. ]
But, I thought that maybe I could... help. [ not better. ]
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It does let him know what kind of person he's dealing with though, so at least there's that. He tries again, putting some effort into adjusting his tone so that he doesn't sound completely condescending, at least.]
You were just trying to be useful. I get it. [Sigh.] ... It's probably not a terrible idea to leave together, though. Some annoying problem might crop up later.
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bonus i am so, so sorry for this
Listen up, Creampuff. [Minatsuki's face contorts slightly into an irritable snarl. This is going to be risky---they're in close proximity to one another, and in his defense, this isn't his fault, so she doesn't want to be held responsible for hurting him.
Or maybe it is his fault, and he's just playing Pretty Pretty Princess. Could be that, too. Either way, she's still going to give him the spectacle (read: emotional trauma) of a lifetime. She inhales sharply.] Stay as goddamn still as you can, and move back as much as you can.
[Her one free hand goes up toward her earring, and yanks----she's bleeding, but the blood curls and extends into a whip-like tendril, which swiftly lashes at the garbage bag vertically.
And nothing happens. Minatsuki gapes, looking from the bag, to Atsushi, and back again, with a wild, fairly horrified look on her face.]
Oi! What the shit?! This is fucking plastic, dammit!
HAHA no apologies necessary ever...!!
[ Listen, there are so many things to be alarmed about here: this entire situation, for one, and now added on to that, her nicknames for him, her language, the fact that she seems to be an Ability user. He does what he's told when she advises him to move back and stay still, purely out of reflex, but he flinches at the sight of blood, when she uses it as a weapon in an attempt to sever their shared garbage bag.
There are a lot of things he could say about this, and the words are halfway out of his mouth as he gapes... but what he actually manages to say, in lieu of anything really helpful or relevant, is: ]
—You're an Ability user? Ah, you're bleeding...!
[ yes, Atsushi... we know this... ]
but he doesn't deserve this.....
Well, looks like someone's in need of the purchase of a clue. She lets out a "tch!" noise.]
Let's have a round of goddamn applause, huh? You ever seen anyone else rocking super-blood like this?
[While the word 'Ability' is unfamiliar to her---at least, not in the context of superpowers---it's clear he must be familiar with the overall concept of such, and, immediately, suspicion starts to do a little jig in the back of her mind. Her eyes narrow slightly as she squints and cranes her head, somewhat uncomfortably, toward him.]
Oi. I'll give you points for not being entirely goddamn clueless. Unless you're one of those fucking quacks who research this shit, eh?
[There's another crack of the knuckles---this time with her free hand.]
'Cause if that's the case? I've got some scientific opinions to share.
[Although his definition of such may wildly differ from hers.]
it builds character......!!!
at the cost of his dignity, alas
did he truly have any to begin with, the answer is no
cmon, he's one of the kings of the jungle, he can do better....
more like one of the actors from CATS: the musical...
phase iii.........
the figure's head turns toward the teenager, and.. yeah. honestly, it was probably obvious. ]
Ah? Atsushi-kun, hello. [ look at that smile!! is dazai finally going to get his wish????? ] An incinerator seems like a good idea, don't you think? I can't believe I never considered it before. [ he brings a hand to his chin, expression thoughtful. ] I mean, I suppose it's a shame that I won't be able to commit a perfect lovers' suicide, but I can't really pass this opportunity up. Right?
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He gapes for a beat, then seems to resign himself to This Life. ]
Ah... Dazai-san. I thought you didn't want your attempts to hurt... [ This is all he can think of to say, really. Dazai... why must you be this way. ] Is this really the time for this...?
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but look, he's considering that very carefully. while it's true that he doesn't want it to hurt terribly, probably the flames would burn hot enough that it'd be over pretty quickly, right? on the other hand, it's not particularly elegant to die in a garbage heap, and while beggars can't be choosers, it seems like this place will afford him many other opportunities.
that sorted out, he hops down from the pile he'd been standing on, giving atsushi a sunny smile. ] I think you're right. I'm sure I'll have better opportunities elsewhere. [ and if not, he can always.. come back???
he shoves his hands in the pockets of his coat, pauses, then pulls an apple core out and tosses it away. ] It seems as if it's just the two of us, hm?
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phase iii
absorbed in trying not to panic, lop doesn't hear the sound of someone approaching -- and he might let out the slightest, startled squeak when there's a hand suddenly held forth in his field of vision.
scrambling back a half-step, lop uneasily looks his savior (?) up and down. but as soon as he spots those tiger legs, he blinks quietly, eyes tinging with ... recognition? at any rate, he seems to calm down a little as he looks back up to timidly meet atsushi's gaze. ]
Ah ... right. Of course. Thank you.
[ he does take the offered hand but doesn't lean on it too heavily as he hefts himself up on his feet. ]
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predictably, atsushi transitions from disarmed to ashamed in a matter of a fraction of a second, aware that he's Done That Thing That Everyone Probably Does; his lips knit into a tighter line, and his grip on lop's hand tightens somewhat. it's stupid and silly and entirely unneeded, but it's an unconscious reflex that he has as he pulls the guy up. ]
Ah, don't worry about it. I mean, no one could have seen something like this coming... [ a vague gesture to indicate 'all of this'. ] Maybe this is what they mean when they say 'silver linings', right...? We have plenty of time to get out of here.
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I have to admit I couldn't quite think straight for a moment, out of shock -- but I guess wasting too much time that way would have been dangerous.
[ he gives atsushi a weak smile before looking out towards where he imagines the exit is. ]
Maybe that way? [ his ears flick as he tries to listen for sounds of the outside, but it's all drowned out by the slow creak and grumble of the incinerator. ]
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phase i
[who has time for posturing you ask -- THIS GIRL
This girl who is looking over. Unimpressed. Bruh. Her eyes rake over him and she makes a face at the rat in his shirt because that's gross and then she's scoffing.]
Are you a man intimidated by a rodent?!
[she thought squishing gross things was the only thing that men were good for!!]
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[ Is he a boy intimidated by a rat in his shirt, the answer is yes. He can't even pretend that he wasn't— isn't— freaking out about this, so.
He looks stunned for approximately a second, before he looks. Defeated. ]
—Ah, it's clawing at me... I'm sorry, I'll try to be more quiet...
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She's just going to make a face at that because there's still a rat and it's not like she's going to lend a hand to help herself because why would she touch a rat but--]
What? Are you still just going to stand there? Dig it out if it's hurting you....!
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iii
The teenage boy just gave the boy a bored look. ]
Oh, you think so?
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[ Points... in its general direction, even if they're moving VERY SLOWLY towards it. ]
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[ If it was water, he would have been worried. Since it's not, he's cool as a cucumber. ]