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.
|
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. ] |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
[It was an act of mercy from the gods that Koumei had been spared from many instances of being sucked into nightmarish illusions, but he suspected half of that was because someone in the Company knew that his mind was a less-than-pleasant place to be for many of the residents in the city. Even so...]
...You haven't been hurt, have you?
[Because, if he was, then someone was going to die that day.]
no subject
...I got it. I'll be careful, Mei.
[He doesn't want to cause any worry, so he'll fall in line and do as he's told. If it brings Koumei peace of mind, it's worth being a little more cautious than usual.]
But nah, so far, everyone's been pretty weak! I haven't got a scratch on me, see?
[Sure, he's gotten dirty, and there's a bit of blood on him, but none of it's his. The only injuries seem to be a few little red marks on his hands and legs from getting whipped by tree branches as he ran.]
no subject
And Kouha was safe. Alive and here.]
I can see-- and you have no idea how happy that makes me.
..Now. We need to find a way to finish this game, and then we can go to the place I found for us. There's much that we need to discuss, as soon as we can.
no subject
[Kouha smiles for a moment, small and quickly gone, but he can't help but feel happy to see Koumei right now, despite the situation.]
If you got any ideas on how to get out, I'm all ears. I don't want to hang around here any longer than we have to. I've already been here for days, it feels like!
no subject
[It was an unfortunate factor of staying in this city that occassionally the Company liked to whisk everyone into one of their game simulations that defied the bounds of reality.]
The way out is simple. All we need to do is clear the levels, and we're free.
no subject
[He sticks his tongue out, clearly disgusted with his present state, but he'll have to live until they can get out.]
So, it's like a dungeon, then? That doesn't seem so hard... You wanna take the lead on this one, Mei? You're more familiar with all of this, after all.
no subject
[He smiled affectionately, glad for the familiar presence of his brother.]
Even though it's been problematic for me during these incidents because they keep separating me from Dantalion's Vessel, it should be much easier this time now that you're around.
And, once we're out, you can take a proper bath-- no fires necessary to heat the water.
no subject
[Now, there's the Mei Kouha loves and would follow to the ends of the Earth. It's easier to grin in his usual way when they take up old patterns like this.]
A bath sounds like a great reward, seriously, but... They kinda took Nyoi Rentou from me, too.
[He cringes a little, clearly embarrassed. He hopes Koumei wasn't relying on him having Leraje's power as back-up in his plan.]
no subject
[Besides, he was just looking for someone who was capable in a melee fight, unlike himself. All those hours spent shirking his swording lessons as a child were really getting in his way now-- it was why some of the Swords have insisted that he learn properly.
Through the use of petty threats, of course.]
Come. We just need to complete the challenges and we'll be out, [he explained, gesturing down the path he had come from so that he and Kouha could leave. It wouldn't be a terribly hard trip this time.
Not now that two of the royal siblings and King Vessels of the Kou Empire were reunited.]
no subject
Seriously? That's pretty convenient, after they threw us into some weird knock-off of those Reim coliseums.
[He does relax a little at that reassurance, though. He might not be as attached to his djinn as much as, say, Alibaba, but Leraje is still important to him. It's a relief to know his metal vessel will be returned sooner than later.
He moves immediately, stepping onto the path while keeping an eye on his brother. It wouldn't do to get separated this early.]
You got it! I'm ready to do whatever we need to, so let's get out of here.