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C E R E A L I A ★ M O D S。 ([personal profile] reparator) wrote in [community profile] ioculus2015-12-31 04:57 pm
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//TESTDRIVE12.EXE

//testdrive12.EXE



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!

//SCENARIOS.EXE


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

[ 8:00 ] 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

[ 11:25 ] 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

[ 11:25 ] 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. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to CEREALIA's twelfth Test Drive Meme. For your convenience, we have compiled a post detailing everyone's arrival experience and a FAQ that should explain everything in more detail. Please read them thoroughly before playing. Thank you!

damfool: ([ happy ])

[personal profile] damfool 2016-01-05 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ Sorry Atushi. Saburo didn't quite catch the part about the scissors as he has decided to study a particularly tall stack of cars some yards away. Once he figures it would be safe enough climb, he claps his hands and points towards the car tower. You'll have to put up from the explicit material a little longer. ]

Alright! Then let's head over there. I want to check what I can see from the top.

[ It'll be totally fine! Probably. ]

Oh, and I'm Nobunaga in case you're wondering. Let's get along, Atsurin!

[ And yes, he totally just mentioned the name of one of the most frightening warlords in Japanese history. NBD, NBD. ]
jinko: (41.)

[personal profile] jinko 2016-01-05 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
Ehhh?! Are you sure this is going to be safe...?!

[ Those sure look like cars stacked precariously on top of each other... hm. But Saburo seems to have assessed it favorably, and despite his trepidation, Atsushi decides to follow. He's good at that, incidentally.

Hauling himself up onto the hood of one car, he shakes some stray trash off of his shoe.
]

A-Atsurin?? But...it's good to meet you, Nobunaga-san. [ what a regal name... Saburo's parents must be a real Sengoku enthusiast, huh!! ] I hope we can both make it out of here safely.
damfool: ([ certainity ])

[personal profile] damfool 2016-01-05 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
Sure we can, Atsurin! [ lightly pats the other boy's shoulder. 'chin up!' the gesture seems to say. ] I've climbed a lot of fences and trees back in the day.

[ After saying something that sounds vaguely criminal, Saburo also starts his climb. True to his word, he moves with practiced leisure despite the extra luggage, gracefully(?) climbing the side of the next car. Like a giant monkey. ]

Well. [ He peeks down from a car in a higher place, continuing their conversation. ] If you watch my back, I will watch yours. Two pairs of eyes are better than one, right?
jinko: (52.)

[personal profile] jinko 2016-01-05 07:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ Technically, he can hop up along these cars no problem using his stupid furry abilities, but...

...that would be cheating, so he does this the old-fashioned way. Good ol' sweat and strength. Using windshield wipers as footholds to pull himself up over a half-busted Jeep.
]

I...can do that, definitely. [ It's a promise, and one he'd like to keep if he can. His expression finally eases into something like a smile— no more panicking for him, for now. ] If anything happens, I can probably fight in a pinch, too.

[ Just in case Saburo needs protection? Atsushi is never sure. ] Ah... where are you from, by the way? Are you also from Yokohama? I'm wondering, because I want to know if this is just happening in my city, or...everywhere.
damfool: ([ happy ])

[personal profile] damfool 2016-01-06 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, you can fight! [ Saburo perks up. Sure, he has his trusty short sword with him, but he's no warrior. Saburo smiles back at him, his lips easily curving up. ] Then our odds are even better.

[ Yes, do protect this idiot Atsushi. Even if he has incredible luck, he wouldn't be alive right now if his retainers weren't there to block a swing of blade or two. ]

Yo~ko~ha~ma~? [ He stretches each syllable as he pulls himself up to the roof of a rusting mini van. Boy, how nostalgic. A name of a modern city. ] Nah, I'm from Owari. That's Aichi, so city-wise, I guess it would be Nagoya?

[ Not 100% sure, but he knows he was pretty far from Yokohoma. Both distance-wise and era-wise. ]
jinko: (37.)

[personal profile] jinko 2016-01-06 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
Owari... [ That's not a term he hears too often, so he wonders if he's just bad at geography or if Saburo is really knowledgeable about this sort of thing. How embarrassing. ] Ah, Nagoya! With the big castle... I hear it's a nice city.

[ He says, and immediately feels like one of those people who just say tourist spots to sound authoritative. A meek half-laugh later, and he busies himself with standing up properly on one of the cars, peering out over the garbage landscape where the sewer river winds into...oblivion, maybe. ]

So I guess this isn't just an isolated event happening in one place. —But don't worry, Nobunaga-san, I'm sure there's a way to get you back to Nagoya, somehow...!
damfool: ([ ambushed ])

[personal profile] damfool 2016-01-06 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, but the big castle is nice. Saburo agrees from somewhere near the very top. Since he lives in it and all, he can even give you an insider's tour. If they can ever go there together. ]

Looks that way. [ When Atsushi stands up to look over the garbage-filled horizon, he hops down to Atsushi's side and wipes beads of sweat off his brow. ] There are a lot of guys out there walking around. They're probably like us.

[ Hmm, going back home. From Saburo's experience, a leap to another world is easily done but difficult to do in reverse. It's a draining thought Saburo rather not indulge in. And there's no need to put Atsushi in a hard place. ]

Just remember to include yourself, all right? I wouldn't want to leave you behind in a trash mountain like this one.

[ Their friendship is forged by dirty mags and cat sweaters, remember? ]
jinko: (79.)

[personal profile] jinko 2016-01-06 07:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Softcore pornography and strange cat sweaters, the mark of friendship. Atsushi's looped his hand companion around his arm for ease, and he barely even registers it as an inconvenience at this point— he's too busy being vaguely happy about having found someone to talk to in this situation, like the true weenie that he is.

He's still getting used to being told that he's not a burden for breathing in someone's general vicinity, so the sentiment that's being shared is, in fact, a welcome one.
]

Aha... thank you, Nobunaga-san. I'll do my best to keep up with you, don't worry.

[ Time to try to make himself useful, then...! He doesn't see anything that could be an actual end to this game, save for one building in the distance that looks mildly less decrepit compared to the others. That could be their endgoal...? Maybe...? ]

Speaking of trash mountain— that building over there looks less run-down than the rest. Maybe there's a clue, or something we can use to get these off our hands, at the very least...
damfool: ([ tenka fubu ])

[personal profile] damfool 2016-01-06 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, you're right, Atsurin. You got a pair of good eyes!

[ Because you know, bosses usually hang out in the nicest building and wait for the heroes to show up. Of course, we're right. A boss in a trash heap like this ... Saburo wonders if it'll be a giant trashman.

It is a little far away though. He sighs out his annoyance before straightening up. ]


It's nice we got our next destination, but I really wish we had a better way to get there besides walking.

[ He slips off one of his sandals and shakes it, few trash pieces tumbling down to the abyss below. Also, don't look at his feet, they're disgusting right now. ]
jinko: (56.)

[personal profile] jinko 2016-01-07 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ With Atsushi's luck, they'd end up fighting a Transformer... which sounds cool on paper, but probably wouldn't end well for anyone involved.

Atsushi slowly makes his way down to the car he'd just come up from, and then glances up at Saburo once he digests what the guy's just said.

A beat later:
] Ah...Nobunaga-san...

...Could it be that you're pretty lazy?

[ COME ON, MAN...IT'S LIKE, A 15 MINUTE WALK. ]