Love is in the air in Cerealia -- or, well, it is in ViViD anyway. And nobody cares about your lives outside of ViViD, so that's all that matters. It's an artificial love construct, but for you sad, lonely, little people, it's probably good enough, right? CERES is on a mission to find you your other half, your soulmate, your one and only, and this is how they've decided to do it -- through technology and abuse of your private information! Welcome to your new love life, courtesy of ViViD.
For your convenience, CERES has automatically generated dating profiles to help match up the new arrivals swiftly and speed up the "get to know each other" process. Nothing like some not-entirely-agreed-to speed dating to break the ice and improve new relations! You're going to be here for awhile, so you may as well get to know each other.
For the older residents, well... you may very well find your soulmate here! You don't want to miss out on that. That would just be an unfixable tragedy. So here, use the handy-dandy profiles and find your new honey. After all, the information on these profiles is 100% accurate, certified and verified by Mosley himself.
Why would you ever doubt that?
 I've never actually been on a date before. Not that there haven't been offers but I'm just too busy a guy! I think to myself, "Mosley, me, guy who's talking to himself, why won't you go on a date with that nice lady who just asked you out?" And I reply, "Oh, you gorgeous bastard, I'm satisfied with my life as it is already! I don't need love." After all, what is love? Baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. No more.
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PHASE I [ 6 00 ] Gooooood morning, new ViViD compatriots and gamers! You’re not going to get a lot of time to adjust and recover from your sudden retrieval from destroyed and sad code, really, because as soon as you arrive, fresh and new to Cerealia, you’ll be faced with a profile.
Oh, look, it’s your face! And… a quote attributed to you? And your favorite object? Hopefully those details are correct, because there’s no going back now.
You’ve become an otome love interest.
For those who aren’t brand new to ViViD, you’ll be presented the exact same profiles -- but you’ll have to pick one. You know how this works, pick the love interest you want to romance and sweep them off their feet. Better pick the right route too because, haha! You wouldn't want to end up naked and alone in a basement again! That would be crazy. Just pick some rando hottie instead, it's no big.
Or, well, that’s what they say. But then you’re dumped into a ballroom, dressed up to the nines in finery, and surrounded by other milling NPCs. You're given a moment to process the whole situation before a genteel-looking older man who seems to be running this party steps up to the microphone. Gently, he clears his throat, and welcomes everyone to the party ("Haven't been to a party this fine since I had all my teeth!"), and then he gestures to a pile of weapons in the middle of the room and finishes cheerfully, “Anyway, whoever survives can leave this room -- enjoy!”
It looks like the NPCs aren’t messing around; they’re immediately diving for the weapons, so you might want to get a move on.
Welcome to the Cerealia Dating Hunger Games.
PHASE II [ 1000 ] When you burst out of the ball room, possibly covered in the blood of your enemies (your poor dress/suit!), you’ll find yourself in what looks to be a sprawling jungle. In reality, it’s a circular arena, and if you travel far enough, you can reach the walls, though they’re electrified with no way out. If you try to get past them, you’re going to fry yourself before you accomplish anything else! Where's the fun in that?
The bigger problem is this: there are some unfortunate monsters on the prowl (don't they... look a little familiar?) in the jungle, and they are ready and willing to eat up anyone who crosses their paths. They’re drawn to the scent of blood -- and, even more so, the scent of people in love. So hey, if you're in love right now, it might be a good time to run. Otherwise, you're the top target and about to be hunted. Have fun out there, lovebirds!
Meanwhile, the NPCs (or even your fellow player characters?!) are out for blood themselves, so nowhere is truly safe.
Was that... was that a scream for help, or someone coming to get you?
PHASE III [ 1145 ] At some point, you’re going to need supplies. It starts to feel like you’ve been in here for days without any food or water (but that’s weird, wasn’t this ViViD session supposed to be just a few hours -- ) and you’re starting to feel the effects.
So, time to get in touch with your inner man vs wild. There are animals to hunt (deer, rabbit, etc.) and if you can fashion a spear or use a weapon you scooped up in the chaos, you can kill them for food. Alternatively, you can just try stealing some supplies from your fellow players. That's probably a saner option.
Which leaves you sneaking up onto their camp, full of sneakiness, and more sneakiness, and a little bit of stealth, you reach out and...
Suddenly, there are lights on you! Cameras! Cheering, adoring crowds! There's a narrator narrating every step you're taking (loudly) and there are fans hanging on your every move --
Oh, did that wake up the other player and/or bring monsters roaring down upon you? Whoops. The perils of spectator sports like the Cerealia Hunger Games, really.
PHASE IV [ 1400 ] You did it. Someone came at you, and you killed them. Their blood is on your hands, but it’s fine -- it’s just a program in a game.
Right?
Except when you look again, it’s someone you know. The corpse of a person who’s very important to you in so many ways is lying there on the ground, blood still warm but clearly dead. They’re solid to the touch. They’re there, and they look just like that person you care about so very much. Your heart hurts.
And you’re the one who killed them.
Then, without warning, it starts to rain because ViViD is nothing if not good at sensing the mood.
PENALTY [ why o'clock ] So.
You died.
This isn't really that surprising, considering it's the Cerealia Dating Hunger Games. People die a lot in games like these. It's the price of love.
Don't worry, though! It's just ViViD, so it's not like you really died. You'll get reconstructed, good as new, and they'll toss you right back onto the battlefield. Except, well... it seems like something's a little different.
For one thing, you've got claws instead of hands.
You can't seem to speak, either; all you can manage is garbled growls and sharp noises.
And, worst of all... you're really, very intensely hungry, and you can smell blood (or people in love, that's an even better scent).
So yeah, you're one of the monsters now. Don't worry, it only happens the first time you die in this game; if someone valiantly slays you again, you'll come back good as new, a normal person in the Games. What a weird glitch. There's no way that's on purpose or anything, right? No way!
[ 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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Nico clears his throat and pointedly does not look at Will once he's all ready to go.] Uhm, so... this way. [He randomly picks a direction and starts walking. It's probably not safe going into the forest, but it's probably not safe standing next to the doors where a mod of people with weapons might come burst out at any moment either. He'll take a single monster or two versus a mob of people right now.]
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Will follows diligently and eventually winds up walking next to Nico instead of behind him. Not that walking behind him had been all that bad. They walk a good couple of feet before Will casually clears his own throat.)
Soooo.
(He looks at Nico from the corner of his eye.)
You realize I'm gonna have to check you out later, right?
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I mean, I'm fine. Really.
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Humor me, okay? In all fairness to me, the last I saw you, you weren't looking your best.
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...Yeah, you do. But I'm still not satisfied. At least let me check the basics. Sound fair? That way I can rest easy and you can say 'I told you so'. We both win.
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[And since it can't hurt to check...]
Did anything else happen to you between when you were in that ridiculous outfit til you showed up in that ballroom just now?
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(Will's smile is probably way too ridiculous to be normal.
The question surprises him though and he winds up looking down at himself before over at Nico again.)
You mean that really awesome outfit? No.
(He points to the part of his face that Nico had punched and there was a faded bruise that wasn't all that noticeable anymore.)
You were the only thing that really happened to me between now and then. I mean other than the whole dating profile back there. Did you see my profile?
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No, I didn't see your profile. I was more focused on other things. [Like finding you and making sure you didn't get hurt or killed because you don't know what to expect here.]
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(He is totally going to keep calling you Death Boy, Nico.)
It's a gem. You should give it a look when you have a chance. (Because Will's kind of a smarmy jerk. He also thinks Nico's reaction to it would be priceless.
That is pretty thoughtful. Again, Will is extremely capable. One day Nico would admit this.)
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[Wait a minute. There is no way Will is 99. His eyes narrow as he glares at Will in suspicion. Is this some kind of prank he's pulling?] If you were 99, you're older than me, so unless you got stuck in the Lotus Casino too, you should be dead. That or you're been granted immortality and haven't told anyone. [He crosses his arms, looking very unamused. He can tell you're not immortal just by looking at you, Will; he can see your life aura and it's not one of a gods.
He's forgotten that Will no longer remembers him telling him about being stuck in the Lotus Casino or that he's not from the current century, whoops.]
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His laughter is cut off like.
Really fast though.
His head whips around and he winds up staring at Nico because yup. He sure doesn't remember any of that. At all. Like even a teensy, weensy little bit.)
....What?
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(Will doesn't really snap but his tone is steadier than usual, his eyes bright.)
What's this about 'unless you've stayed at the Lotus Casino too' business. And the whole 'you're older than me if you're 99'. I'm already older than you.
(Except that last bit sounds a lot more like a question than a sentence.)
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Oh.
Nico inwardly curses. That's right, Will doesn't remember some things, and he'd been too busy bickering with him to remember that. Why does Will always have that effect on him?
Now he looks hesitant and a bit reserved. He's still afraid of being rejected by people, but he told Will before and he didn't react negatively, so... why would now be any different, right? It's still Will; he just doesn't remember.
Nico looks down at his feet, dropping his arms down to dangle at his sides and curling the one that isn't holding a sword into a fist, mumbling a bit now.] I was born in 1932. That's why I don't know what a... Swiffer whatever thing is. [He doesn't know what a lot of things are in the modern world, even though he has learned quite a bit. He suddenly looks up at Will again, glaring at him with sharp eyes like he's just daring him to laugh again.] It's not funny.
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But if Nico had told him once before then that meant he had wanted to originally and might want to again- right? It was something to be hopeful for.
Truth be told? Will just....wanted to be closer with Nico. That's all.
So ignoring his own feelings, Will focuses when Nico starts to talk, his eyes on the boy. Thing is, when Nico explains it a little bit better, Will doesn't find anything funny at all.)
I didn't think it was funny.
(His words come out soft, gentle, but not babying by any means. They might even sound a bit apologetic. He looks away from Nico then, staring ahead.
He couldn't even begin to imagine what that must be like. Losing such a big chunk of your life like that. And to think....Nico felt like such an outcast already because of his father. It probably really didn't help that he was so out of the loop because of the Lotus Casino. Will made a mental note to try and not make fun of Nico for not knowing about modern stuff. He might like teasing Nico about plenty of things, yeah, sure, but only when it was in good fun. This felt a little more...wrong. Like he was laughing at Nico instead of trying to get Nico to laugh and loosen up.
He walks closer to Nico then and lightly bumps their arms together. The smile he sends Nico's way is genuine but also light.)
You look really good for your age.
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Let's... find somewhere to make some sort of camp, then we can talk more. There's no telling how long we'll be stuck here.
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He doesn't say much, no, but Will does reach out and briefly touch Nico's hand. It's a brief moment of contact in which he grabs Nico's hand loosely and gives it the slightest squeeze and this flourish of warmth passes from Will to Nico and it's like this soft patch of sunlight.
He drops Nico's hand a moment later and slips his hands into his pockets, casual as ever.)
Sounds good to me. Should we find your dog? Not to be pushy but seeing Cerberus would be pretty cool. Or is he the sort whose bound to find us eventually?
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Knowing him, he'll find us sooner or later, if he's here. He might not have been brought in with me though. [Nico pauses, pulling a slightly disgruntled face.] That means he's probably eating my shoes again. Great.
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So, he's just like....a giant dog? But just with three heads? And huge?
(That is completely delightful. He's somehow not at all surprise and both pleasantly surprised and it's a feeling he pretty much always has in relation to all things Nico di Angelo oriented so he's just rolling with it.
As they walk, he keeps an eye out for both monsters and good camp ground.)
So you've been here longer than me- where should we camp out?
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[He gives a little hum, scanning around for a place too.] I don't think I've seen this scenario yet. It'd be good if we could find a cave somewhere... or at least some place to set up some kind of shelter with sturdy ground. [Thank the gods they're not in that stupid swamp level again.]
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(Kind of really awesome. He was suddenly tempted to ask all about the Underworld. Unlike some other demigods and the like, Will seemed to have no real issue with the Underworld. Maybe it was Nico. Or maybe it was just the fact that as a healer, he fully accepted that death was simply apart of life. Who better to understand that than someone who had to accept the job where they might not always be able to save everyone?
Not that it ever made it any easier but....Still.)
So this is really like a video game?
(He lifts up a hand and wiggles his fingers in front of his face.)
It feels so real though.
(He drops his hand a moment later, frowning mostly to himself. His eyes begin to dart around though. Cave or sturdy ground it is. He picks up the pace a bit.)
Hey, I totally didn't thank you for back there. For getting me out of that mess. Even if you did do your shadowy-travel business, I still appreciate it.
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I'm not sure how it works, exactly. [He's still a bit confused by all the current technology that's around here.] It does feel real, and you can feel pain here, so I don't recommend doing anything dumb or reckless.
[The thanks comes as a bit of surprise. He's not used to being thanked for much of anything. His answer comes after a slight pause, quiet.] You're welcome. [He remembers finding a piece of Will's shirt on that altar. He'll do whatever it takes to keep Will in one piece all the more because of it.]
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