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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[the word has time to get out before someone comes up to the side, swinging some type of club - she dodges and brings down her sword to remove their offending arm. the pain from that is sufficient distraction to cut open their stomach, and she kicks the body to the side.]
Don't interrupt. [this is said to the soon to be corpse, before she turns her gaze back onto Chibi, expression shifting from the casual annoyance back to confusion.] What do you mean, sir, by returned?
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[That's a whole lot of digital entrails. Ugh.]
So you have lost your memory, or it is another iteration of you-- [There is another spearman sneaking behind Grell, and he drops them through a portal and flings them to the other end of the room, chiding them like he would a child as he does:] Ah-ah, no you don't! [Back to Grell.] I mean to say you were here before, once. Your other self worked with me on a few things.
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Another me...well, such a thing is possible-[and while she speaks, she draws a circle in front of her with her free hand, the space around them for three meters secure with a faint distortion in the air where the force spell is.]-but probable, that's another question altogether. And really, I'm still trying to sort out this where and why that a few more questions on the nature of being can't hurt.
Ah, sir, if we weren't under the threat of our lives being ripped from us, I would dearly love to ask you so many questions about the one of me that is yours, to understand what it is that I've been called forth into the absence of.
[another her. she recalls the way she had to separate her version of someone against the one who was not him, to have the confidence that he found home in the many facets of what was. it's not something that she thinks she's above - but it raises so very many questions.]
no subject
[Still, Chibi raises an eyebrow at the force-field, visibly impressed. Even with wakfu manipulation, he can't do anything like that.]
I take it that is a barrier? That should be good. Since this 'you' and I have not been formally introduced... [He steps back just a bit to sweep into a bow.] I am Chibi, of the Eliatrope people. Feel free to ask away.
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Mr. Chibi. Or do you bypass formality and go straight to the name?
[in return, she picks up the edge of her bloodstained skirt and drops into a curtsy.]
It's truly a pleasure. And since you asked, it is a barrier. Hasty enough that until it is dispelled, neither of us can walk away, but they also cannot get in.
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Only about, uh, some centuries and change.] Welcome to Cerealia, yet again.I do not recall your previous self being so adept with magic, though! Or if she was, she did not show it.
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[it's an honest question - she's so used to living and breathing with magic that if she should be concealing her skills, better learn now than later. still, the very concept annoys her. there was no sense to limit oneself when learning and using magic.]
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[He waves a hand dismissively, and Grell might notice it's lit up blue with wakfu, or more generally an analog to life-force.] Otherwise, you would not see me so free with mine. There are things we must hide in this place, though, different ones.
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Are they things that their subject cannot even be discussed without protection? Or do they merely require privacy?
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[With a seriousness that was not written on his face a minute ago:] I will simply say that neither CERES nor ViViD are what they seem. To what extent? Who knows, but it is best to watch each other's back.
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[the idea of something in her eyes unsettles her, but the omnipresent watchfulness feels almost expected. don't tell her they were at war again. in any case...there has to be some kind of spell, she thinks. that or one would need to be constructed. but she's getting ahead of herself.]
Perhaps we might meet in better circumstances to discuss them.
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[But there are too many things happening here, what with the ViViD bloodbath and all, so Chibi's mind is jumping back to getting out again.]
Yes, in better circumstances. When things have calmed, perhaps. [He offers a kind smile, features softening, and raises a hand to hover a portal just above the floor. The cast of his gaze indicates he's creating another just by the door.] For now, how do you feel about getting out of here?
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[glancing at the portal, then to him, so that she can indicate that she gets his meaning. how he did it is going to have to be a question for later, and extending her hand again, she clenches it into a fist - let the barrier break. just to avoid it getting in the way of his spell.]
I'll look for you, Chibi.
no subject