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?
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All right. Now or never. She's had it inside her this whole day, running up against walls and fumbling her way through challenging, novel experiences. It would be wonderful to let her guard down and just tell him. Tell him at least some of it. He can be trusted, surely, and right now is her chance to pay off some of what she clearly owes him.
Her eyes and one hand drop, the latter to a fine strand of hair. ] Hey, monster fighter. I... I kinda have to tell you something.
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[ J-Just ignore his first assumption. ]
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Uh. Well, see, my hair isn't... just hair. It's actually a little more than that, it's... kind of - special. I guess. [ The fingers at his forehead pass slowly back and forth over and under his own fringe as she talks. Fidgeting, fidgeting!
This is not slow. ] Do you want me to show you?
[ Then afterwards they can all take a nice damn break and she can ask 'So when do we get out of this illusion / oust this level of the dream?', because she is wondering. ]
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This is not slow. ]
Do... do you want me to want you to show me? [ when in doubt, throw the question back at them!! ]
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I– ... Maybe? I don't– I mean, I don't know! I guess. It'd be nice for someone to know. Someone who... won't freak out, I hope? I've never told anyone this. I'm - I'm not supposed to tell anyone this. Especially you. Especially people like you.
[ Live for the moment, treat it like its real, even in your wildest dreams HA. Dismissing all concerns! ]
But it'll help your head if that still hurts from when I...
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I won't freak out. I hope. --more importantly! I won't tell anyone - that's a promise.
[ Wait, what was that about his head? Nevermind, something cool is happening! ...Hopefully! ]
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[ But she doesn't think there will be any fire, or even any smoke, because he seems to genuinely mean what he's saying, and that gives her an unexpected rush of confidence. She nods, and collects the silkiest strands from before loosely now in both hands, laying them, and her palms, gently over Jaune's brow. ]
[ christ this is embarassing ]
H... Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fate's design.
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine...
[ magic glowing hair etc etc ]
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W-Whoa...
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When the light dies down and the healing stops, she drops her hands and hair, pushing the latter behind her as if to hide it from view. ]
Yeah. So. You know, it - it can do things like that. No big deal.
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It's not just your hair, y'know, it's-- well, you. This is your ability, Rapunzel... helping others. I guess what I'm trying to say is... it suits you.
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What is this. ]
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Ahem. ]
Wow. You could have just told me I was incredible from the start, you weirdo. [ flicking his cheek ] Thank you for - being so kind to me. You had no reason to be, but... you were. You are. That is the kind of person you are, I guess.
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[ She'll get an elbow nudge for that flick, though. ] Got any more crazy secrets you wanna share? Are you maybe a ghost, or can you predict the future? Do you snore really loud?
[ Not all of those are interesting plot twists, Jaune. ]
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[ For now, though, she'll respond with a chuckle that, to her credit, is only half forced. ] Guilty! Actually? Turns out I'm a ghost who can predict the future on the condition that I snore really loudly. So. You know. All of the above. [ cocking an eyebrow ] Oh and uh, just out of curiosity... a question.
How old are you exactly?
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Oh. I'm seventeen. Yeah, I know, it's... confusing for everyone when you're taller than most of your professors. And y'know what? I'm not even the tallest guy I know, how's that for ridiculous?! [ Yeah, this 6'1 giant got bullied by a bigger giant 17-year old. Let's not talk about that Cardin Winchester, though. ]
--why? Are you... h-how old are you? Oh, wait! I'm-- ah, shoot, I... wwwwhy did I ask her that...
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Still. His self-consciousness is kind of cute. And it really does appear to be bringing the tsun out in him, aww. She makes a point of craning her head especially far back to look at him from her modest five feet. ] I. Am also seventeen.
Honestly, I was just surprised that someone so young could be... I mean, it's a lot of weight on your shoulders. Fighting monsters. Isn't it?
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Even if it's hard or really scary, it's not like you can just do nothing, right? I mean, we'd still be in that bag if we didn't try to fight our way out.
........Whiiich reminds me, I still don't know what the point of that was. Seriously, why are they putting people in them?! So not eco-friendly, no way!
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But this apparent understanding leads to another, more horrifying one, ] Oh gosh. Jaune! Aren't you... Shouldn't you be looking for them instead of here with me?
[ And then, sharply cocking her head and blinking in bewilderment as she works through various Romantic, Greek, and Latin roots: ] Did you say eco-friendly? As in... helpful to the environment.
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And my team isn't exactly... here right now? It's... a long story. [ There's only Nora but 1) She's not on this level, and 2) Nora is freaking Nora, she'll be fine. ] What about you? Is there anyone you wanna look for, or... h-haha-- are you just trying to get rid of me? It's fine, I can take a hint, heh. [ Jaune Arc can't take any hint ever. ]
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No! [ Are those the strained notes of anger!? ] I... mean no. Why would I want to get rid of you when I like you? And-- besides, there's... no one. Or at least, I hope there's no one. [ Her head wilts a little. ] Pascal, my best friend, was with me... before this. But - I'd much rather him not be here. I'd rather he stay somewhere safe. My mother too. A-And Flynn Rider, my guide!
I can handle being here. I have you. But I don't want any of those people here or, you know, in danger. It's not worth it.
Plus, if... this is more or less a dream or game then Pascal will be there when I "wake up", so to speak. [ Sad how hopeful she looks! ] Right?
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The part of not wishing her friends to be here resonates with him, though. The hopeful idea that they're leading normal lives back home - if only she knew the truth, but that's for another time.
Right now he has a promise to keep, to make the most of their time here, and talking about things that are out of their control doesn't sound fun for anyone. ]
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More importantly: things will probably work out even though she's been separated from Mother, and her fear of the future has all but vanished. ] Oh, that reminds me–
Jaune, if this is supposed to be eco-friendly, then we're not doing a very good job. This material probably doesn't decompose very well at all. If that's the whole point of this level, maybe we should find a place to get rid of it.
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[ Then again, doing nothing flies in the face of what he was saying before. BUT STILL... this is so much...!! ]
...Alright-alright, Miss Eco-Friendly, where do you think we should start?
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