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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[ Keiichi barely had any time to focus on his profile, which implies he's the most youthful-looking old geezer alive. It's almost weirdly flattering... almost. But once he's dropped into the ballroom, there are much more important things for him to be concerned with, namely the melee he's found himself engaged in.
Fortunately, he's one of the lucky few who had enough time to get a hold of a weapon. Unfortunately, it's not a weapon he actually knows how to use, and he spends a good bit of time just trying to back away from the nicely dressed group of murderers approaching him. ]
Shit! How the hell do I use this fucking thing?!?
[ He tries spinning it around in a circle above his head, but the spiked balls just clank together harmlessly. A crossbow bolt sails right by his head, and he jumps away, startled. ]
G-Gaaah! Screw this!
[ He ends up just chucking the entire weapon in the direction of the crowd, turning tail, and running. He's going to head for the closest person he can see that isn't actively trying to kill him, laughing nervously as the crowd behind him turns on one another. ]
H-Haha... you didn't happen to pick up a second weapon, did you? I think I lost mine...
[ Phase III ]
[ Keiichi just isn't any good at surviving in the wilderness. Hell, he's not even good at surviving in a house. But what he does have is a lot of experience being sneaky and underhanded, and what better way is there to use that to his advantage than to let his fellow players do the hard work for him? It feels a little dishonest, but that's why he's taking only what he needs. People are less likely to notice there's a thief about if only a small little bit of their supplies go missing.
It's a pretty good strategy, too. He's managed to avoid eating anything poisonous, or so he hopes, and he's managed to avoid detection so far. He's making his way to another player's loosely-guarded cache when suddenly, poof! Lights! Camera! Action! The announcer starts regaling anyone who's listening with the heartwarming, underdog story of Keiichi Maebara, the boy who has no idea what he's doing and has surprisingly not died yet.
That's when he sees someone looking right at him. And in a terrified moment of panic, he smiles nervously and dumps a bunch of his hard-earned berries right onto the ground. ]
B-Behold! I'm the secret berry fairy, here to reward good boys and girls with delicious gifts! You'll believe that, right?
[ Wildcard ]
[ Feel free to use your own prompt if you'd like! Anything goes. ]
Phase I
She seems mostly calm if heavily serious by the time a nervously laughing Keiichi happens upon her.]
I didn't but there are some left.
[Here she glances around. People are going down right and left, dropping their weapons as they do so.]
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He looks back over his shoulder at some of the chaos behind him, feeling a little knot in his stomach that's starting to get tighter. That's a lot of bodies. ]
Hrrk--! [ Oh god that's disgusting ] ...This isn't what dates are like where you're from, is it?
[ Oh, good. There's a dropped weapon not too far from him. It's underneath somebody's body, but it definitely looks like a katana from here. And what teenage boy utterly untrained in any martial art doesn't think that katanas are the coolest thing ever? ]
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She's momentarily surprised by his question though.]
Ah... no. I don't believe people court one another during fights at home.
[Though... now she seems a little thoughtful.]
I wonder.
[When she thinks about it, fighting alongside someone she loves sounds fulfilling.]
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...Oh. No, it's just one of those wooden ones. Maybe that's for the best, though, since he'd probably just swing it around like a baseball bat anyway. ]
Huh? What are you wondering about?
[ She doesn't look like she really has much of a stomach for this carnage, either, so as long as the action stays away from them, he feels like he doesn't have to be on his guard so much. But they should still probably get moving. ]
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phase iii
The secret berry fairy?
....are you not a player? Or is that what you get the most enjoyment out of when you play?
[She's not about to judge.]
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...
Okay, you caught me! [ He throws himself down onto the ground, assuming the kowtow position. ] I'm sorry! I didn't think anyone would notice!
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Do not be sorry-
[Her free hand goes to his shoulder.]
Stand, there is nothing to be sorry for. [At least, that's what she thinks right now? He could always prove her wrong but for now she doesn't know what it is that she's caught him doing.]
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Either way, the hand to his shoulder is a little unexpected, and he freezes in surprise, looking up at her. That's a lot nicer of a welcome than he'd expected. After a second, he manages a weak smile. ]
Hahaha...! You're right. I guess I didn't actually take anything...
[ He pushes himself to his feet, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously. ]
I'm just not very good at surviving on my own. I can't even start a fire.
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Phase I
... although he seemed to be taking that train of thought almost too literally, as he's tossing the body of another guest over his shoulder and into a throng of others by the time Keiichi's question reaches him. He furrows his brow, looking rather annoyed.]
You think I'd be doing this if I did?!
[... actually, Yusuke, yes you would, you huge loser.]
Try using your fists or something instead. That, or just get creative if you're THAT desperate to go and stab someone.
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Apparently, though, this guy doesn't need weapons. That makes him kind of terrifying in his own right. ]
Hey, I'm not interested in stabbing anyone! I just don't feel like letting any of those bastards kill me!
[ Weapon or not, though, he feels like there's definitely safety in numbers. Especially when one of those numbers can just hurl a body into a crowd like that. As long as he's not next, that is. ]
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You gotta do something to get 'em off your back, though! Otherwise you're a sitting duck!
[Kicking aside the poor paramour he clocked out, Yusuke takes a look at the spiky, blunt object he wrested away from the character, before turning and tossing it in Keiichi's direction.]
Here, catch! This thing can't be too hard to use, right?
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That's a lot better! Thanks, I owe you!
[ Yes! He caught it, and it looked pretty cool, too. Or so he'd like to think.
And to pay back his kindness, Keiichi turns his attention to the nearest unfriendly person he can find, who was hoping to take advantage of the distraction. He's going for kneecaps if he can, at least for now, and he finds it's not that unlike swinging a bat. (He's totally holding it like a bat.) ]
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phase iii
But that doesn't mean he isn't still going to blance when Keiichi attemps what he's trying to do over there. And although he wouldn't even mind sharing all that much, it's not like he knows for sure just yet if Keiichi is just a hopeless teenager like the voice is talking about or just a guy who's looking to screw over people over. (Look, never trust random voices coming out of nowhere, they're bad news.)
So the boy might find a sword pointing his way from Shinpachi's hands. Whoops. ]
Berry fairy, huh. Do fairies eat meat now?
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The smart thing to do would probably be to admit fault and hope that this stranger doesn't see the need to cut down someone who doesn't pose any threat to him. He can be awfully persuasive when he has to be, anyway. And if these were truly life-and-death stakes (instead of just really weird ones), that's exactly what he'd do.
But something that Shinpachi says catches his attention, and he just can't let it go. ]
...You've got meat?
[ He's just been taking berries and firewood (that he hasn't been able to actually start a fire with yet). The idea of actual meat makes his stomach grumble in anticipation. These are really convincing hunger pangs. ]
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Shinpachi isn't too sure if that's the first thing you should say to someone pointing a sword at you, but.. then again, he can sort of understand food priorities. Why do you think he hunted so much? He was really hungry, okay, and how is a man going to survive out here without meat?
It doesn't mean he's entirely lowered his guard, but from how Keiichi looks, he doesn't really look like a threat, now does he.. So Shinpachi at least lowers his sword instead of looking like he could stab the pointy end of it into the boy any moment now. ]
Yeah.
[ He'll admit it! He's just that great and honest!
(Nevermind that he already admitted it a moment ago.) ]
Hey, kid. [ Because Keiichi at least looks young enough for him to call him that. ] Have you never heard of asking people for their stuff first?
[ It's pretty rich coming from a guy who steals food off his best friends' plates all the time.. ]
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He could try to defend himself by saying that he'd only taken the absolute minimum he could, but that would just be making excuses. ]
Yeah, I guess you're right.
[ He looks down, feeling a little sheepish. ]
I guess I never stopped panicking when people started killing each other. I wasn't sure if people would just kill me as soon as they saw me or not.
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phase iii
... Just the fact that you asked if I'd believe it makes me not believe it at all.
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Isn't it true that magical beings lose all their strength if you don't believe in them? I'm just making sure I don't disappear!
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phase i
At least he isn't trying to attack him, though with what he's saying it sounds like that's impossible anyway. He tilts his head back slightly, hand reaching for the other's arm to pull him back. He can't run that well thanks to a certain lady earlier, but -- ]
I don't need one. [ His head tilts up in a half nod, his eyes flash gold and the entire group of NPCs screaming and running at the other go flying back. A few are just unconscious on the floor, but one or two might have cracked their heads on the wall or fallen onto a weapon left hanging around. ]
If you can help me out of here, I can protect you, don't say no--please?
[ Look, it seems like a fair trade off, right? ]
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It probably shouldn't surprise Keiichi that magic is real. Nothing should really surprise him any more. But it still does. ]
Are you kidding?!? That was incredible! I'd be lucky to have you on my side. Just tell me what you need me to do.
[ One of those unhappy NPCs seems to have dropped an axe not too far from him. He quickly scoops it up with both hands, ready to follow whatever orders he's given. ]
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I just need to use you for support. There's-- [ Like really, Keiichi, please come back the ax isn't necessary!!! ] --My ankle's injured, so I can't walk that far, but I can hold off anyone who attacks us.
[ Basically, he's asking the poor guy to be his crutch.......... ] I'll pay you back later?
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