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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You think we'll run into Koushiro and the others around here, too?
[He glances across at Taichi. Koushiro was with him at Taichi's place last he heard, so maybe he knew something.]
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I'm half-expecting it. I haven't seen any sign of them, but... You know how it is. There's four of us here already, so the rest can't be far behind. [At least, that's how it used to seem to go, but they're in a very different kind of digital world now.]
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[Yamato glances over his shoulder from the way they came, and the cheering crowds seem to recede.]
What's with this game, anyway? Do people really enjoy watching this?
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He makes a face as he considers the fading cheers.]
No way! I don't know what's up with this dumb game, but there can't be that many people who really like this kind of thing! It's gotta be faked!
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[A doubtful expression crosses Yamato's face. Maybe he's just being cynical, but this whole thing does seem very convincing.]
What if this is like when everyone watched us fight on the internet? That wasn't faked. [Only that time, they were cheering for them to win, not for everyone to kill each other.]
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On the internet...? [He blinks until he can think of the closest thing he can to a matching memory.] You mean... when we got pulled back into the digital world to fight the dark masters?
...I guess everyone could see us then, but this still sounds a lot different?
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Taichi gives a light punch right back, because Yamato feels like the one who deserves it right now.]
How am I being the dense one? I never even heard of a Diablomon... Did you hit your head on something?
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[He snaps at him, getting defensive. Then he looks at Agumon.]
You remember, right, Agumon? You and Gabumon joined powers and saved everyone!
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We did? ...I'm sorry, Yamato. I don't remember us doing a thing like that...
[The dinosaur looks regretful at providing fuel for the argument. While Taichi balls up his fists in irritation.]
See? Nothing like that ever happened! I bet you just had a bad dream...!
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[Yamato turns away before he lashes out or does anything stupid, but his shoulders are hunched, visibly upset. Gabumon hovers beside him.]
Yamato... Maybe they'll remember later.
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[Taichi scoffs and shakes his head. He still looks tense, but Agumon is thoughtful.]
Taichi! Remember what Hikari said... She doesn't remember Apocalypmon! What if we're all remembering differently?
[Taichi doesn't answer, but he pauses, that hesitation dialing down the tenseness of his stance a little.]
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[Yamato glances back at Agumon, considering that. He'd need to ask Takeru about it later to confirm what he remembers, and if it's different again, it might prove Agumon's theory right. But for now--]
Let's just keep looking for the others. It's not like it was important anyway.
[And with that, he shoves his hands in his pockets and carries on walking, Gabumon trailing sadly at his heels. Maybe he's acting petty, but he doesn't like to be accused of being a liar.]
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He's now just more confused than ever and irritated at the idea that there could be something he doesn't remember. Not only because it would mean Yamato's right, but it could also weaken his skills as leader if there's things he's unaware of.
But he does manage enough sense to just add-]
We'll figure it out later. Let's just try to survive for now.
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[He says it through gritted teeth. What's the point in even trying to explain Omegamon if Taichi doesn't trust him enough to believe it? There is no point. It hurts, but for now, he recognises it's best to just drop the subject.
He pulls out his Digivice, hoping for any telltale signals or beeping, but so far it's been unresponsive.]
No sign of Takeru or Hikari... I wonder if this even works in this world.
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[That's what he got out of that... and he shakes his head, bothered by how weird Yamato acts. It's always so frustrating - sometimes they seem to be so in sync, and it's perfect. But then at times like this, he feels like he can never guess what's going on in his head, and it just bothers him to no end.
Taichi compulsively checks the digivice again, but with the same results.]
I should have taken it out when I was near her to check... Damn.
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[Yamato glares at him. How hard would he have to hit him to get a clue through that thick head? If he didn't know better, Yamato would think he's intentionally trying to provoke him. But he restrains his temper, and tries to let it go.
The key word being tries, anyway. He pockets his Digivice again, responding tersely.]
This area can't be that big. We don't need to rely on the Digivices.
1/2
So he says one of the hardest things to say to Yamato, even if it's accompanied by a roll of his eyes.]
...Sorry. I'll drop it for now.
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You've got a point. Let's find them the old fashioned way! [He whips out his mini telescope, flaunts it for a moment and then turns to quickly scale the nearest tree.]
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Right. I'll keep watch.
[He moves to lean against the tree while Taichi climbs up, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Gabumon, meanwhile, moves over to Agumon.] Yamato is disappointed, but... Even if our memories are different, we're still a team, right?
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Yes! I'd like to be a team with you, Gabumon, if it's okay! I'm sorry that I don't remember...
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[Gabumon is cheerful, but Yamato just huffs out a sigh. Sometimes he's a little jealous of how straightforward the Digimon are with each other.]
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Thanks! Let's both do our best!
[They really do get along so easily... and soon Taichi makes his way down from the tree.]
I think I saw Patamon! [He indicates a direction.]
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