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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[Here it is, his incredibly inaccurate profile. Has there ever been an 80-something year old bachelor that looks so fine? The fact that he's been thrust into some ballroom wearing a three-piece suit that doesn't belong to him at all (but fits well enough) is a shock in and of itself. When there's some weapons acknowledged and a scramble of some sort, Raiden's uninvolved. He's OP enough to not require outside weapons, first off.
Second of all, this outfit is constricting his movements (it's not tight, but it's confining to a degree). He's just going to start shoving his fist through NPC-related faces -- only the ones that're seemingly taking aim at him, which is almost all of them.
Feel free to join in.]
ＰＨＡＳＥ ＩＩ
[The good thing is that, while he's covered in his own artificial white blood (minimally) and the blood of his enemies (majorly), he's not feelin' this forced love thing. He's not coupled with anyone here (to his knowledge) and any love-related interests are far from this VR game. He's absolutely not going to do anything to instigate a riot with this guy, nor this fellow. They seem occupied with each other in the distance, and it's not as if he's fearful.
He's just dealt with that centipede motherfucker and he was a pain in the ass, impossible to kill type of cretin. Notto diso shitto again. The bigger issue here is the electric fence.
Until he hears the brush rustle just to his side; as he turns to see what it is, and possibly be eaten by a deformity, he moves to draw a sword from his side -- except it's not there and he wouldn't even be able to access it with this fancy, shredded outfit.
He's like a cat with tape stuck to his legs.]
ＰＨＡＳＥ ＩＶ
[Raiden's responsible for killing so many people; here, back home (planet earth ffs), and apparently everything in between. When he kills a straggler out for his head on a platter (possibly since that's the last of him that truly remains), it's done so with minimal effort, but when he has a looksee at the results....
Maybe Mr. Lightning reacted too quickly; he's fairly certain he didn't just snap Solid Snake's neck, but there's that old man lying there on the ground. He's realized some time ago that this isn't at all indicative of reality, but he can't help but second guess himself suddenly. He's squatting down by the corpse, searching it for a pulse or any inaccuracies (like he'd know Snake's body so intimately, jeeze louise). He's
In a very subtle, still-developing panic.]
Phase II
Which meant that this world really was filled up to the brim with total bullshit. Awesome. Will's had better days. He's ditched the dress coat forever ago, leaving him in a white dress shirt now untucked with the sleeves rolled up. It's filthy with dirt, blood, and sweat and his hair is an unruly mess.
Yet he somehow still looks pretty bright and unfairly perky as he comes out of the brush, walking with a certain confidence of someone who didn't know how to worry in situations like these. He did. Just. No one was around for him to worry about.
At least he thinks this until he walks out and sees...
This guy. Will comes to an abrupt stop and he doesn't reach for the quiver on his back. He's not naive enough to think all people mean him well but he's not inherently hostile either so he winds up gaping at Raiden in surprise.)
Oh. Uh.
(So eloquent, so sophisticated.)
You're from the thing. The dating thing.
(Yeah he kinda remembers this guy now. He snaps a finger and points.)
Likes pretty dresses.
(As if Will can even talk. His profile was redonk.)
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In any case, someone comes into view and they appear to be very unbeastly, if not slightly, tentatively defensive. Raiden does nothing in turn, merely watches...
And frowns..]
Don't remember me from that.
[Because -- yeah. He's not eighty-four either.]
If you think that meant anything, that means yours has credibility too.
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And yeeeeup sorry Raiden but that sort of thing is pretty impressionable. In all fairness, he's not 99 either. He winds up grinning just a bit and raising both his hands as if trying to calm the guy down.)
Hey man, I don't judge here. If you like dresses then that's good for you. Least you got taste with it.
(He could like ugly dresses and then that would just be embarrassing for Raiden and everyone involved.
He hums thoughtfully and taps a finger against his chin before rolling his shoulders up into a shrug.)(As for the stripper thing..............Well. He's just not gonna comment on that unless it's brought up.)
Okay, so you don't like pretty dresses. That's cool. What would you put there instead then?
(Yeeeeeah Will asking someone about what they want their actual dating profile to look like in a moderately monster infested woods isn't one of your better ideas probably maybe.)
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[But in general, dresses aren't bad?! He's trying to diffuse this without overdoing it. Too much denial is just as bad as none at all.]
You're probably the same way. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have been part of that. I'm married.
[And he's got a kid. This robot's got no business parading dress-related fetishes here and there.]
More importantly, we should be figuring out an escape plan. As much as I wanna talk to you about women's clothes...
[Which is to say he doesn't want to do that AT ALL.]
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(Oh, Raiden. You're the exact kind of person that totally sets himself up for full-fledged mockery on Will's part. He'll try and be gentle though. After all, they just met.)
Married? Really?
(His eyes open pretty wide at that revelation and he squints suspiciously at the guy.)
How old are you really then? Like, in your thirties or something?
(Will's not married but he's...Romantically Distracted. Or something. Into someone. Not that he's about to discuss that with a total stranger though.)
Yeah, I guess that is more important huh.
(Will just kind of sighs like it's all such a drag to him having to escape monsters and death.)
Nah, women's clothes isn't really up my ally. No offense.
(He gives the robot a bit of a shit-eating grin because yes he is going to subtly dig at him being into women's clothes. He curtly turns around, hands on his hips and gives the surrounding jungle a curious look.)
Don't know if there is a way out. This whole thing is like a video game, right? So this must be like a level or something.
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[As if to further prove his point, though he hasn't got a photograph of anyone on him. Not of his wife, not of his son, just a dating profile that suggests he's incredibly old and very invested in crossdressing.
But yeah, he is trying to make a case for himself, despite the odds.]
So we don't have to talk about it anymore. [He makes it sound...extremely final. As it should be.] Let's see what's past the fence.
[Because yeah, they're not gonna get anywhere standing here and talking about skirts. Video games are typically more complex...well, maybe not an otome?!
Shit.]
2
All this in just a few moments.
When the teen finally gets his footing, he paces back and forth along the fence.
That's when he notices Raiden.]
The hell are you supposed to be?
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A guy.
['Bout time he got noticed. He knows the brat's getting on his case about his robotic appearance, though much of it's being concealed in a bloody white shirt and dark slacks, it's not as though he looks normal.
That being said, having his robotics questioned has grown to be -- not a peeve, but he doesn't like answering to strangers about it.]
I wouldn't recommend standing so close to the fence.
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[Kaneda decides. A penguin dildo. Stop this now, anyway. He turns up his nose at Raiden, even though he's just had a shock...]
The hell do you know. You're just standing there with your thumb up your ass.
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I saw what happened to you. [He squats, briefly, then propels up from the ground and basically pole vaults over the electric fence sans a pole vault. Sucks to suck, Kaneda. It's not godmoding if his superhuman abilities happened out of his current circumstances...or something.
He lands soundly on the opposite side of the fence.]
I was going to help, but having some one on one time with those monsters might do you some good.
[Bullshit Raiden u can't abandon a kid.]
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[he's still stuck back here, by the way. Arms crossed over his chest, then he kicks at the dirt around this damn fence.]
Whaaatever.
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[Sounds like this dude has some school-related PTSD. He'll stand there, arms crossed at his chest.]
Hurry up and dig your way through.
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Don't tell me what to do. You dig your way through, then, tough guy.
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[but, well, the roars in the distance have him on his knees, digging with his hands]
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IV
[Maya watches the guy (Robot? Cyborg? Very large toaster oven??) examine a random corpse intensely for a little, then decides it's probably best for someone to step in, and approaches him.]
[Especially since it's started raining out of nowhere]
Um.... I don't know what you're looking for, mister.... [And she hopes he's looking for something, otherwise she has no idea why he'd be checking out that body so intensely] but you should probably get out of the rain. You'll catch a robocold!
...Or get electrocuted? [How do robots/cyborgs/very large toaster ovens work?]
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...And in allowing her to speak, unable to rise from his crouch, he finds that she's just an innocent bystander. One who's apparently seen some shit, too, if she's not getting on his case about the dead body.]
I'm not looking for a thing.
[His only reassurance about this is that it's just...training, it's fake. It's probably fake, right? He glances up to the girl, abnormally white hair plastering to the sides of his face.]
What's your opinion on killing people in this game?
[In this training session, VR thing; he's not sure how to word it without sounding insane. The Snake he knows is already dead anyways -- probably, but this is just making him feel dizzy.]
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[She will totally approach and bug complete strangers about hanging around with corpses, though!]
Um.... don't do it?
[It's a little late for that, Maya!!] Ooorrrr... don't stick around to hang out and be a sad cyguy in the rain after? I know it feels real, but that's just 'cause this stupid game likes to mess around with everyone's heads.... You shouldn't let it get to you, mister.
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[Makes sense. That's about the kick in the ass he needed. The sad cyguy tidbit was totally unnecessary, though.]
You can't say you made it this far without hurting anyone.
[That, he won't believe, even if she's an innocent girl. He's met similarly innocent girls and they were anything but!
He rights his posture, determined from here on to make eye contact with anything but Snake's corpse. The rain isn't letting up much - it's a subconscious thing, probably.]
This ViViD crap should've ended by now, don't you think?
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Well... I did knock some heads together. Beat up a whole bunch of guys! Tossed some jerks around. That sorta thing! [Pumps her noodle arm into the air, miming air punches. Clearly, this is far more believable. This shrimpy weirdo tossing around hoards of overzealous murderfans like a badass. Definitely.]
[She is pretty scraped up, though. Evidently she's run into trouble... though she doesn't look particularly bothered. Again: weirdo.]
I mean.. it totally should've. But it's super glitchy, so it's not gonna end. We'll have to bust our way out or.. find a hacker to encrypt us out of here, or something!
[Maya you don't know anything about computers don't even try.]
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Her charade does add emphasis to her words, anyways, and while he's skeptical, he's in no place to dismiss her miming/storytelling as anything fictive.
Though she might be overlooking her own missteps. It's fine. She hasn't been completely maimed.]
My codec isn't working, so there's no way I could get in touch with a hacker.
[Unless she knows one? He's got a few names in mind, but yeah -- irrelevant.]
Assuming we could just burst out of here, where would we aim?
[Maybe they should start by walking away from not-Snake's corpse? He's distracted enough, but still.....]
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[It's more like she just barely escaped (with help!) the various NPCs and monsters that were out for a date to die for --- with her, but hey, if this guy is going to endure her antics, the antics will keep coming.]
[(They'd keep coming even if he didn't endure them)]
[On that note, leading him away from the corpse is a good idea. Any minute now it could start raining oil on his face. She has to protect him.]
Weeeell... don't you have any viruses installed? You could stick your hands into the ground and it'd totally fry the whole thing! [Maya, stop] Or we can try busting through the fence! I saw it somewhere over.... [She points in a seemingly random direction] There! [At last: operation protect sad cyguy in the rain is beginning. They have an escape route from awkward corpses now.]
...What's a codec, anyway?
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You want me to fry the ground with viruses?
[Even if it were possible, he hasn't got a single one installed on him. That's an interesting point, though -- like, if it were at all possible, that could come in handy. He would require some very specific repairs if that thing were to go haywire, though, and without the good old doktor around...
It'd be a challenge.]
It's a communication system.
[He's looking off toward the indicated direction, even though her question is...so outdated. Like a kid asking how to download Construction Truck Derby on an iphone. Codecs are about as common as nanomachines.
Maybe he's being nonchalant because he thinks she's being goofy on purpose. Maybe. Maybe he'd just rather not think about being stuck somewhere where no one's heard of anything he's got to say. She wasn't weirded out by his appearance, though, which is pretty good.]
Let's head for the fence and figure out what they're trying to keep us out of.
[PROTECT CYGUY FROM THE RAIN: GO.]
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Yeah! Or... install a program.....? [On the ground?? Maya just can't stop pretending she knows how computers work.]
A communication system? Is it coded? [Not only is she not weirded out by his appearance, she's very weird herself, apparently. Congrats on your new perky teenage girl sidekick, Raiden. You'll need to feed her four meals a day and take her on regular walkies]
[Speaking of walkies... Maya starts off towards the fence, looking back to make sure he's following. She'll push him out of the rain with her noodle arms if she has to!! There's no way this operation can fail]
Yep, that's just the kind of plan I was cooking up, too! Great minds think alike, huh?
omg i didnt even realize that html fail...
on the bright side I won't need an eye exam for another three years