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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[She still eyed the top of the staff with great curiosity, though, as if she were seeing it in a new Light. So to speak. At least, until the two little digimon reached her, Tailmon in particular looking up with a mixture of concern and a pride not unlike Taichi's.]
Are you sure you two actually need us?
[A joke, of course. She would never abandon her partner.]
This is supposed to be a game, right? It wouldn't be fair if everyone needed a digimon to win a fight.
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We're going to evolve into adults one day too, you know! [He flashes a playful smile at Hikari.] Anyway, let's keep moving!
[Agumon nods along.]
Be careful! The big ones come out of nowhere!
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[Tailmon raised a feline eyebrow at that phrase, if only to hide the smile behind it.]
The little ones come out of nowhere too.
[She added, though she no longer seemed quite as concerned as she had a moment prior.]
I wonder who else we'll find in here?
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There's only one way to find out! At this rate, I'm sure we'll find the rest of the group wandering around somewhere...!
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[She had such mixed feelings about the thought. On the one hand, if they were...then who was helping to protect the Digital World? The battle with the Dark Masters might have been over, but a small part of her wondered if that was really the end. There were friends to reunite with and possibly even new digi-eggs to hatch!]
[On the other hand...she did miss a lot of her friends. Not to mention...]
I know Takeru-kun misses his brother. I'm sure he would be so happy if Yamato-san were to show up too.
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I'm sure of it! We're the chosen children, you know? Where some of us are, the rest are bound to turn up! [He just feels straightforwardly confident in it. As a team, he's sure that they can overcome whatever this world's problem really is and get back home quickly.]
Yamato... I'll keep my eyes open for him. [He frowns.] It can't be easy for Takeru.
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It wasn't.
He was sad for a long time before I came. We've been able to stay together since, and we promised each other we would try not to be sad anymore, but...
[She'd talked to a few other people. Who knew him from the time when he was alone. On top of that...she could just tell. That heaviness in his heart whenever they talked about home, or when he was thinking of his family.]
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Takeru's really strong, too. Just like you.
[And she knows she must have been sad too, like him.]
And I guess your wait's been rewarded, right? So... I'm sure that Takeru's will be, too.
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[After a moment, she lifted her head again and the smile was back.]
I'm sure it will be too. And until Yamato-san gets here...at least we have you, Oniichan.
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I guess that you do. [He chimes teasingly.] You guys are stuck with me!
[At least, he hopes he'll stick around this time. He's being silly right now, but he does worry about how he never made it out of that previous game successfully. Taichi has no idea if that malfunction will happen again.]
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[She honestly couldn't think of a single better choice of someone to be stuck with.]
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But then his smile flickers a little, as it seems to be time to face.]
I'm sorry about... about that other game. I don't know what happened when I tried to log out.
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[She did seem to falter in her happy expression when he mentioned it, but recovered soon after. What's more, her smile didn't seem any less genuine than before.]
I know you didn't mean to disappear. [Again. But none of the other times had been his fault, either. ] And you did keep your promise and came back. It just took you a little longer.
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That's right. I'm not going anywhere this time, Hikari. I'm sure of it. [Really, he doesn't have any more control of the situation than this time, so he has no guarantee that he'll make it out of the game successfully, but... he has belief and determination, and those things along have gotten him pretty far in the past.]
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[Which was why, unlike last time, she didn't question it. Not once.]
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Let's find our way out of here together!