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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[A bright smile is thrown over his shoulder - maybe a little too bright for the given situation, but Kashuu is also way too used to ViViD shenanigans for his own good. A no-frills bloodbath is almost tame, compared to some of the ridiculous things they've done...]
Mm, yeah. That should work... I think there's a pretty thick area of jungle up there and most of the monsters can't get through those parts. We'll have to keep an eye out for the people, but it should be doable.
[A nod, more to himself than Dorian, and he's setting off!]
Make sure to keep your guard up, though! Glitches and all.
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He calls forward warily, ] What do you mean by "glitches," exactly?
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Well! Basically, nothing here is real. This is virtual reality - like... a game? A fake game? Like a dream! More realistic 'cause you'll still mega hurt if you get hit or whatever, and you'll remember everything when you log out. Uh - that's like waking up, basically. Anyway! A glitch is when something goes wrong with the... stuff that makes up this world. ...Basically.
[...]
Long story short, it can make crazy things happen! Like big holes appearing in the ground outta nowhere or extra monsters swooping from the sky when the area should be clear. Or your weapon totally disappearing! Or your clothes totally disappearing.
no subject
Random acts of happenstance, then. Good, good -- I was just in the middle of thinking this entire mess needed an extra layer of difficulty, just to keep things interesting.
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Baaasically. Like - in general, if you're used to having good luck back home, you should probably get ready for a change of pace.
[But hey, if he's used to bad luck, there shouldn't be a noticeable change!]
I haven't seen anything glitch so far, at least.
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[ Because given his life thus far, he might as well just sit down and wait for the warm embrace of the Game Over screen. ]
I take it you're something of a veteran, then.
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I've been here for a while, yeah. Like— I dunno... Over half a year? [He's not very good at the whole keeping time thing.] But there's some people who've been here for over a year too, I think. Some people only stay for a few days, though. It's pretty weird.
[AND CONFUSING. He'll probably go into more detail once they're a little more covered, since he can still hear people screaming in the distance...]
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Just like home. ]
And do these games typically involve wanton bloodshed?
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[Dorian's luck is already awful, showing up in the first Cerealian hunger games and all...]
Things are usually pretty nasty, but this is the first time it's ever just been no-frills battle to the death type stuff.
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[ Dorian has awful luck, yes, but at least he's skilled at the fine art of sarcasm. ]
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A good welcome, yeah? [There's a little flitting smile, but Kashuu's more focused on the path ahead (and making sure he doesn't step in any gross bloody mud puddles).]
But hey! Think of it this way - you probably won't have to deal with this again since they don't really do doubles.
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[ Even with all the irony dripping from his voice, he still flashes a bright, lopsided smile. ]
We ought to enjoy it while it lasts, I suppose.
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[Mostly joking... There's a little huff of a laugh that follows, and up ahead of them, a spotlight sweeps down across the foliage. He pauses for a second, but it seems like they've found a different victim to tail and harass with encouraging words from their mystery audience...]
—No promises on the rest of your stay being totally bloodbath-free, though. They like throwing people into super dangerous and really rude situations. Oh - death isn't permanent here or anything, buuut I'd still suggest you avoid it. It'll hurt and you'll be gone for three days and it's really disorienting.
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--You mean death isn't permanent in the game, surely? [ Because that's the only way that little factoid makes sense. ]
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Nope! In the colony, too. We're real, but we're not like, really real...? Like... Mm, someone who understands technology better could explain it to you, but it's basically like the you here is made up of code that CERES restored, and the data will still be there even if you die, so they can just restore you again.
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Like duplicating a book, I suppose? [ He sounds uncertain. ] Destroy one copy, but the contents can be recreated?
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