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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no subject
Well, let's see what we can figure out then. [ Stepping a little closer and bending over the bloody mess, he observes the slain animal. He has gone on hunts before as Nobunaga, but his retainers refused to let him handle whatever he managed to kill. So, he's no expert but ... ]
It doesn't seem bad.
[ a pause. ]
Maybe we should cook it to be sure?
no subject
Good to see that at least that much has held up just fine. ]
You any good with cooking?
[ Not that Shinpachi is terrible, but he's sure not.. good either.. And he'd rather not risk getting food poisoning after all out here. Besides-- ]
I figure the scent of cooked meat might draw out some of the weird creatures 'round here, so one of us oughta keep guard. [ And since he's so used to it, he's implying that he'll do it, yes. Fighting is pretty much his job, and he loves food, so protecting his next meal? That sounds like a pretty ideal combination of interests. ]
no subject
[ To the dismay and horror of the Oda women, Saburo frequently tried to make modern food - namely katsudon and tempura - in the kitchen, so he's not unfamiliar with the concept at least. To be fair, they tasted pretty good too! His proto-tempura made Ieyasu Tokugawa fall in love with fried food, you know. ]
It's a relief! I can protect myself, but I am not good enough to protect other people. You, on the other hand, look like you can send anyone flying.
[ It's not just his strong build. If he can hunt a deer like this, he probably is pretty strong. ]
I'll be in your capable hands, Mr. Huntsman.
no subject
You're right though! Yeah, yeah, you really have a good eye. [ He nods a little to himself. ] Protecting other people's practically my job.
[ Sort of. It's at least a big part of it, so he doesn't feel like he's lying about putting it that way. ]
Although it might be good if you actually had my name too, yeah? I'm Nagakura Shinpachi. [ The other guy looks pretty eastern, so he figures he doesn't have to resort to western naming order.. It still feels a little unnatural to him to do that. ] Nice to meet you, even if it's in a crappy situation like this.
no subject
[ Being told he has good eyes, it makes him glad. He used to hire retainers left and right without really considering the consequences. Back then, number was more important than loyalty or capabilities. Does this mean he is improving as a lord, he wonders. ]
Got it. Shinpachi-san. [ Of course, he has no trouble understanding the eastern-style. Once he thinks he has the name memorized, he raises his hand as if in greeting. ]
It's nice to meet you too. I'm Oda Nobunaga. [ a relaxed sort of smile. ] And yeah, the situation is pretty crappy huh. Hopefully we can build up our strength soon with a nice dinner.
[ One of the three unifiers is going to cook you a nice steak. ]
no subject
... ner..
The idea of food - or anything else about this, honestly - is thrown out of the window quickly when the other guy says his name. Sure, it's not like Shinpachi isn't still hungry, but he's caught off guard, okay. No matter how much ridiculous shit you come across in places like these, you can't just meet Oda Nobunaga himself and just ignore it. It could just be a coincidence in naming, but.. come on. The other guy looks enough like he'd be Japanese, and he's using honorifics, and no one in Japan would just name their kid that now..
It's rare for Shinpachi to be on the receiving side of the history shock, but here he is - his jaw hanging open so much he'll have to pick it off the ground at this rate. ]
W-wait, hold on a sec! [ There aren't many things that Shinpachi will leave food waiting a moment for.. but this is one of them. ] You don't mean you're really Oda Nobunaga, right?!