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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ota;
[ his profile is outrageous. the way his eyebrows have almost disappeared into his hairline ought to be a portrait, and he was about to make another dry quip regarding the scenario, ( "they're not wrong," he would've said, "but all the same, i'm really too busy to be in a ballroom." ) but then the MC steps up to the plate and mentions a dreaded word: survive.
he knows the word in context of films and games and the like. not here where it has potentially dangerous, or even fatal, consequences. he has no fighting skills, he doesn't even trust the fact that he can outrun half the people here by himself if necessary. but he's watching the crowd. he's watching the people who walk confidently towards the weapons or not at all, and ignoring the ones who, like him, are befuddled by the situation. not him. he doesn't have that luxury.
anyone he knows ( ooc; from the tdm is fine! ) or anyone who looks strong enough ( feel free to assume on your part ) will be approached by him, and kei will ask them a simple question: ]
Do you want to partner up?
PHASE IV.
[ it was an accident.
he couldn't even tell how it happened in the first place. he was covered in blood and guts and he had managed to steal a simple weapon - a bat with nails sticking at the end, so rudimentary, but it smells, oh it smells - and kei was shaking. the rain isn't helping and his mind is a blank haze.
it did not make sense. the rules and setting of this vivid session did not make any room for this kind of tragedy and he was caught unawares. he tries to tell himself, this is just a game. using loved ones as a tactic to terrify is nothing new, they do it all the time in those yakuza movies too. sci fi, as well. decoys and androids abound. isn't that the same here as well?
except that he doesn't sound as confident as he'd like to be and he feels the need to puke. to wash his hands. to somehow figure out a way to get out of the simulation and sleep, for a very, very long time. he can taste something metallic in his tongue.
the only good thing about the rain is that he can't really tell what he's seeing because the water's in his face, too, but he's cold and he feels like he can't leave this corpse alone.
so there's a tall kid looking as pale as a sheet dragging a corpse to the side, with his jacket covering their face. it doesn't make sense. nothing makes sense. but he can't leave him there. if he died he wouldn't want to die in the open. it only makes sense that he drag the corpse away, right? with those kinds of injuries a person can't really recover without any lasting damage. the most practical way to deal with this was to set them aside in a place where others can't trip or misuse the corpse for whatever purpose. he takes it to a spot that's more or less shaded from the rain and from most of the crowd. after that, he washes his hands from the rain water that falls on the gutters of the awnings of the building, slow and deliberate as he takes care to get the guts out between his fingers. his hands are still shaking. he knew that face. even before he covered it with his jacket, he knew -
( in any case, if he's doing something, then he's not standing and parsing his emotional state. that's good, right? dispassionate to the point of utter calm. there are certain benefits to knowing that kind of state. ) ]
WILDCARD.
ooc. hit me up with whatever. if you're not sure, let me know @ plurk or via pm. i'm gonna be a bit slow this week thanks to work, but i'll be tagging back as often as i can!
phase i.
but the point is, her being strong isn't really that obvious. but maybe kei thought athena knew what she's doing... which does seem to be the case. ]
Hey. [ she even gives him a warm smile. ] We can partner up for sure! My name's Athena. Nice to meet'cha!
[ the dark atmosphere aside, she seems to be able to make the scenario a sunny and bubbly one with her personality. ]
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maybe she's a regular. he offers his name: ]
Tsukishima. [ he moves a bit closer to her, even if 'closer' in kei's terms happens to be only a few millimeters. it's the thought that counts. ] Thank you. I hope it won't be too much of an inconvenience. I'm not exactly a fighter.
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surprise!!!!! ]
Don't worry. I learned how to use a spear in this place. [ wait, no. ] In Cerealia, anyway. And I know judo.
[ but from what she's known, people don't need knowledge to wield weapons if they're fighting for survival. ]
I suggest you grab something, anyway. Just in case.
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at her advice, he takes a shield. that's as good as a weapon as any. ]
That's interesting. When you have the time, do tell. Spears seem a bit outdated compared to any other weapon that's present here.
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phase i
But more importantly (more rather, more luckily for the kid) he is also the type to help out people who need it on top of it. And Kei looks.. well, some kids in his time could be relatively tough, but even that's nothing for this level of violence. And this kid doesn't even look like he's from his time period to begin with, so he probably needs some help. ]
Sure, kid. Just hide behind me. [ It sounds.. a little patronizing, doesn't it.. But this is just what he's used to. Protecting people and keeping the peace is kind of his job, especially when it comes to people who look like they can't fight. ]
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Thank you. [ his gaze is thoughtful. ] I appreciate it.
My name's Tsukishima. [ a beat, and then - ] Do you always offer to protect others if they ask? [ politely, that is. ]
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[ There's one thing obvious when Shinpachi speaks - he's used to this. Not just because he's standing his own in the middle of this situation (although he knows he can't keep this up forever either), but since he just answers the other's questions even as he's starting to fend off some of the NPCs that jump at them with various weapons.
Honestly, he's used to even less serious banter during fights.. explaining something in all seriousness, no matter how trivial it feels for the moment, is nothing compared to it. ]
Even if they don't ask-- guess you could say it's my job. [ Don't mind it if he casually shoves the boy to the side for a moment to intercept one of the NPCs with a frying pan (really?) trying to attack them, knocking it back with a swing of his sword.
There's enough of a break in the movements of the chaos around him that he glances at Kei. ]
Captain of the second division of the Shinsengumi, Nagakura Shinpachi. That's me.
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now. kei is a good student. top marks in all of his classes. he's frequently sought as a tutor even if it's not exactly the kind of service he'd like to offer to his peers. which means that 'second division of the shinsengumi' gets the guy a double take. by now, he's well aware that this place brings different kinds of people, from all walks of life, but this is a bit too sudden even for him. and even if the guy is kidding, well. that seems like something oddly specific to kid about. ]
I see. [ heroes in popular culture, though historians disagree. ]
I'm honored, Nagakura. [ the -san at the end is as polite as it gets. kei, in an effort to be proactive, beats a guy with the frying pan when they tried to get at him. there's something to be said about honing his reflexes in volleyball as well as having the advantage of being tall. if all the npcs were superpowered, this would've been a bigger problem. he can take care of the more average ones, at least. ] It's not every day you get to talk to someone from the Shinsengumi.
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i
Honestly, he doesn't look like he could be that strong. He's only 5"7, after all, and by no means bulky. But he throws a sharp glance sidelong as Tsukiyama approaches, from slightly narrowed yellow eyes before his eyebrows lift.]
For the sake of getting out of here?
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[ he wishes he was a lot better at evaluating which ones are the regular, average human like he was and which ones are more different, by dint of their background or something else. it would come in handy in the future. kei adjusts the tie around his neck, the starchy collar that scratches his skin. it's uncomfortable. ]
But only if you're not too busy.
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[With a crooked smile. Naoki tilts his head, staring toward the people still gathering whatever weaponry is remaining. He takes a step back and indicates with a wave of his hand that Tsukishima should follow.]
I'll help you out. Let's keep back close to the wall, for now. [He's not fight-happy... that's good??]
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phase iv.
Slowly he folds his arms so they are crossed over his chest.
By all rights he should leave him there, but... There's something about the scene he can't just walk away from.]
What do you think you are doing?
[He's Helping.]
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Washing my hands.
[ that's simple enough, isn't it? and now that he's done exactly that, he wipes them clean on his pants and regards him calmly. his hands are still shaking, but only slightly. breathing has somewhat resumed normally. that's good. rather politely, ] There's nothing wrong with that, is there?
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He's not interested in prying more, because he doesn't see what demanding a deeper answer than that would even accomplish. They both have a pretty decent idea of what he was doing before that.]
Yes, there is.
[Straight to business, then!]
Unless you would like to be eaten by some sort of monster, standing out here in the open like this.
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IV for a change of pace (assuming the TDM thread is game canon if that's okay!)
So he doesn’t know that the body beneath the jacket is someone Tsukishima knows, though that’s a possibility anyway. Game or not, this is awfully real, and he doesn’t blame the kid for being rattled after taking a life. ]
Hey, kiddo. You okay?
it's ok!
[ charlie. not an enemy. even if he were he wouldn't be able to kill him like he did to hi - it. it on the floor. ( that's right, he tells himself, none of his friends are here, it's just him. it's always been him. ) still, he couldn't stop himself from flinching when he talks, and mentally berates himself from being so unsettled with a question. ]
Thank you for asking.
You've been busy, I suppose. [ well. 'busy' is a term for it.
if he's sounding a lot more polite and even than usual, it's all his efforts in place to remain calm. he needs to get out of this place, the dead body might be attracting some monsters and terribly violent npcs and that's just as bad. if he leaves the body on the side it probably wouldn't matter so long as he gets out of here. things are a little confusing at the moment, but he can always count on himself to prioritize. ]
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Sometimes you don’t have a choice, though.
[ He falls quiet for a second, trying to get a read on the kid. As ever, Tsukishima has the best damn poker face Charlie’s ever seen, but he’s white a sheet, and faltered once already anyway. ]
You know, it’s okay if this freaks you out.
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... alright.
[ tall. why does he keep running into such tall people.
kakyoin purses his lips thinly for a moment at that thought, then returns his gaze to the npcs. some of them are starting to head in his direction, and he quickly undoes the collar of his shirt. there, now it's a little less uncomfortable. ]
Are you able to fight?
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[ rather dryly said. at his question, though, kei shakes his head. ]
Use me for diplomacy. Not as a battering ram.
[ kei, at least, stands rather imposing in his formal wear, but that's about all that he can offer to the table at the moment. he supposed that if kakyoin needed a boost he can offer that too, but he'd rather not. when kakyoin makes no move to follow the rest of the crowd already hissing at each other over weapons, he asks him, ]
Don't you need a weapon?
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[ it's said dryly, but kakyoin's more occupied checking their surroundings. tsukishima's answer confirms that he's not a combatant, and kakyoin exhales slowly as he spots a group of people heading their way. they're brandishing swords, axes, spears, nothing too long-range. as long as he stays alert, this shouldn't be too hard. ]
I'd rather not use a weapon I'm not used to. Please stay behind me.
[ then, before that group can get much closer, he
poses dramaticallywhips out an arm, as if lashing out; in that same moment, some invisible force whips one of the NPC's feet out from beneath him, tripping up a couple of them at once in a small domino effect. ](no subject)
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phase iv
Yet, it isn't himself that he's concerned with. It's the tall lanky teenager dealing with probably his first death. Even if it wasn't even a person beforehand, even if it was an enemy, he's never taken a life before.
It's when he starts to drag the body that Merlin runs over, careful to not slip on the mud. His hand reaches out, to offer a truce in the hope that Tsukishima doesn't think he's here to do anything bad. He indicates to the body, expression sympathetic to what has obviously happened here. ]
Let me help you?
[ Maybe while they're doing this he can convince him that this isn't real, as he's not entirely sure this guy believes it at the moment. ]
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phase i
When approached, she tilts her head and examines Kei from head to toe, eyebrows raising. ]
Eh? What will I get? Do you cook?
[ Offer the cat fish and you're golden. ]
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