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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[ this isn't ludger's first rodeo. in fact, it's not even his second one. so he was fairly sure that no matter how this all started, it was eventually going to culminate in things trying to kill him.
as usual.
that doesn't really appear to bug him though. no, for now he's focused entirely on his profile, even as the room around him descends into chaos and killing. he doesn't seem particularly perturbed, as he'll occasionally move to the side out of the way of crazed npc or random flying weapon. ]
...I don't get the "tasteful" part. [ actually, there's a lot of his profile he doesn't really get, but that part in particulalar. ]
phase ii;
[ he managed to make it through the initial blood bath with minimal difficulty, though there were some close calls (mostly because he wasn't paying enough attention, and/or someone taking great umbrance at his general apathy towards everything happening around him). it wasn't that he didn't care, there were just other things demanding more of his attention.
like his blood soaked tuxedo. ]
I'm... not going to have to pay for the dry cleaning, am I?
penalty;
[ as should be no big surprise given his cavalier attitude towards everything, eventually ludger found himself on the business end of... well, something. he figured his death would just lead to a respawn, he hadn't really counted on exactly how that respawn would take place.
he most surely regrets his decisions now.
for as long as he could, he decided he'd just sit around and do nothing, hopign to wait this out. but eventually, his instincts get the best of him, and a voice in the back of his head manages to convince him there should be no harm in just looking around, right?
right. ]
phase i;
(then again, neither is "aesthetic," but eh. minor details.)
it just means that ludger is going to get something of a puzzled look.]
Does that mean you get the other part? [what is a sideboob, even. stahn needs so much help all the time. he kind of figured it was weird jibberish, of only because these things hardly ever make sense as it is. thanks, ceres!]
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[ blink. for a second, ludger's not even sure what this other guy would be referring to... before looking at the words again, and noticing there are in fact two of them. ]
Oh. That. [ er. ] As long as you won't ask me to explain anything further, yes.
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(probably leon, so this will end well for exactly nobody.)]
Ah... Mm, okay. [at least he has some logic for why he can agree to ludger's terms without questioning it.] I guess that makes sense! If that's you, I guess you should know what it is.
[maybe it's personal. whatever, he's not going to pry into anyone's personal life like that.]
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phase i.
but things had gone downhill quickly from there, and his being promoted to vice fucking president after destroying only a handful of fractured dimensions over the course of a few weeks had marked the death of whatever lingering residue of positive feelings rideaux might have had. and now, with the vague information about future events that he'd picked up from jude mathis during his time here...
well.
catching sight of that distinctive and familiar hair now immediately stirs up a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach, and though he sets the thought aside, there is a brief moment where he fondly considers using ludger's throat as the testing ground for one of his newly acquired knives. ]
Vice President Kresnik.
[ he smiles coolly, making no effort to hide the bitterness permeating every syllable. as usual. ]
Everyone always dreads running into their bosses at events like this.
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[ sure, that was technically his title, but it was still pretty rare that anyone actually called him that. especially considering how very very short his tenure as vice president had been.
but his surprise at hearing those words is quickly overriden by his recognition of the voice saying them. it wasn't as if ludger particularly expected to run into anyone here, but rideaux? this place really had a sick sense of humor, didn't it... ]
I guess so? [ a pause. ] Wait, am I the "boss" in this scenario?
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Please, don't tell me you don't even know the basics of corporate hierarchy.
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ii
absolute disbelief
what.]
.... That's what you're concerned with right now?
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Stains like this are really hard to get out, you know? If you don't do something about them right away, you might be stuck with them forever.
[ and dry cleaning is expensive. ]
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Buy new clothes then. There's plenty in the world outside of here.
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penalty
He hates fighting but will do so if it's to protect people. ]
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yeah, they're in this. ]
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phase ii.
Leon's tuxedo is pretty blood-soaked too, but unlike Ludger, he's entirely unperturbed by this fact. It's gross, but that's all there is to it as far as he's concerned. Spoiled rich kid things....
So he's scoffing as Ludger asks something so ridiculous.]
Are you an idiot?
[Thanks for that input, Leon.]
Focus on the situation at hand.
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[ ludger blinks a bit at that, suddenly pulled from his line of thought. he frowns a bit as he notices the similarly blood soaked young man, shaking his head a little at the sight. ]
If you don't deal with this now, it's going to be a big problem later. [ so without any hesitation, he'll take his handkerchief and... try to wipe some of that blood off your suit. sorry, leon. ]
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phase ii
... I don't think you have to. But you should worry about those monsters first.
[In his hand is a dagger-long sword. This small, young looking child looks pretty much at ease with using a weapon.]
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[ somehow, ludger had managed not to notice them until now... or perhaps he'd just been ignoring them. all the same, a few seems to have gathered around both of them... and while ludger would be happy to continue ignoring them in favor of obsessing over penny pinching, he can't just leave a child to fend for himself. ]
...alright, but I need to be careful not to get any more blood stains... [ priorities, he has them. ]
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phase 2
Don't you have other things you should be worrying about?
[His priorities are concerning.]
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...though, he'll hazard an answer anyway. ]
...you? [ a pause. ] And no, not really.
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i.
she's at ludger's back as she side-steps a crazed NPC of her own, knocking them out with the pommel of her sword against their head. for how bloodthirsty they were, they really weren't putting any effort into this... honestly, the most concerning part about this is ludger's entire existence.
why did she pick his profile. ]
"Messed up priorities" should've been your favorite item instead. [ but she's used to this. ] Would you rather they put not tasteful?
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until this moment, ludger hadn't been sure if the "tasteful sideboob" thing had just been a random joke, or if it had some greater significance. while he wanted to assume the former, some part of him knew the latter was more likely. that the other foot was going to drop eventually.
when he sees milla, he considers the other foot squarely dropped. on his face. ]
Well... [ hm. he suddenly finds the brawl around him far more interesting than he did a second ago, eyes darting to the random people fighting left and right. ] It sure is dangerous here, isn't it! [ his voice could not sound more forced. ]
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phase ii;
[ Trucy got out thanks to MASSIVE HELP from people she knew. She's not really a combatant, though she does throw knives very well. Currently she's looking cheery despite the circumstances, since she figures the game will surely have to end soon. ]
Kinda wish all laundry could be done that easily.
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[ not because he particularly likes it, but because it looks expensive, blood stains aside. he was really hoping he'd get to keep this afterwards, but part of him knew he probably wouldn't.
granted, there's really no way it could be salvaged anyway. no dry cleaner is that good. ]
So I guess we just have to lay low for a while?
phase ii
[ "Might" being the key word here. ] Those aren't the clothes you woke up with, are they?
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[ the stench alone is pretty bad. ] No, I think I started out in my regular clothes. [ sigh. ] After they went to all that trouble to dress us up like this, why'd they have to go and ruin it?
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