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
Rapunzel, stunned, reaches up slowly to still the movement with a light touch and manages to brush her cheek, which is bleeding (whew, close one!), on the way. ]
Did... Did someone just shoot me? That - that, um. That was rhetorical, by the way. Please don't answer that question. HEY! Who just shot me!?
[ Apparently that one isn't so rhetorical. ]
1/3?? MAYBE?? this is not the Disney Princess adventure he signed up for
Why is it that most of the people who preach about 'kindness' and 'empathy' don't actually have a friggin' clue how it actually works? If you want to help so badly, you'll let me have my damn space and stop nagging me so I don't have to deal with this bullcrap! What part of that DON'T you get?
2/3
Hey--
[Without thinking about it, one of his hands reach up from her shoulders and ghosts across the wound, pulling it back and staring in mingled disbelief and horror at the blood on his fingertips. They didn't. They wouldn't--
Yusuke turns around, his stained hand balling into a fist and his shoulders tense.]
HEY!! ASSHOLES! If you got a problem with me, don't go taking it out on HER, okay! She got nothing to do with this!
DONE SOBS
Fortunately for them, however, Yusuke's reflexes were better than most human beings! At nearly the last second, he shoved Rapunzel down, using the other hand that was still on her shoulder from before the attack. The knives joined the arrow in the wall with a flurry of sharp 'thunks', sticking deep and fast into the wood.]
Has everyone lost their goddamn minds?! I know I was being an asshole, but that doesn't mean they can try to KILL us over it!
no subject
For now, as soon as the onslaught of sharp edges ends (briefly), she springs forward with one hand out in front of Yusuke and the other touching his arm lightly, defensively, though she's still crouched. ]
Don't listen to him. It's - it's my fault. I was being childish. LEAVE HIM ALONE! I– Aie!
[ One last ninja star. Amazing. Owing to Rapunzel's simultaneously good and bad luck, this one dislodges the original arrow and opens the door! At least now they have somewhere to run... though they'll have to outrun an entire armed crowd.
Which, frankly, sounds kind of fun????? to her???? a-adrenaline junkie... ]
Um. [ This is to Yusuke directly. ] Truce?
no subject
Not that the gesture wasn't a nice one, much nicer than what this jerk deserved from his actions before, but... wow. That was certainly a new one. Especially since, out of the two of them, he was definitely the one with more fighting experience.]
Uh, listen, that's sweet and all, but you don't hafta--
[Okay, THESE STUPID PROJECTILE WEAPONS GOTTA STOP INTERRUPTING THEIR CONVERSATIONS, GAHDAYMN. He looks up, the now broken door swinging open behind them, and then back at Rapunzel, his eyebrow raised.]
Seeing how I just got my exit out of here? Consider this argument dead and six feet under. Now, c'mon, let's get the hell out of this place before these jerks get any more ideas.
[With that, he grabs at her arm, looking to hoist her up to her feet to get a head-start running. When it comes to adrenaline rushes, you're dealing with a pro here. (No, but... seriously, it's his actual job here. Professional Adrenaline Junkie. This may actually net him some sweet cash.)]
no subject
Somewhere along the way Rapunzel actually manages to pluck one of the flying blades right out of the air, effortless, as though she's only just picking apples from a tree.
What no one needs to know is that this is an accident. She ends up with a spear purely by chance. ]
Hey, you! Guy! [ Did he ever say what his name was? Was she defending some jerk - probably a criminal - without knowing his name?! ] Catch!
[ Somehow she wound up with a pistol by chance, as well. DON'T THROW LOADED GUNS AT PEOPLE, YOU IDIOT! ]
no subject
Not that Yusuke's doing so shabby himself, fluidly ducking, dodging, somersaulting and even flipping (??) to dodge the various projectiles, all while keeping a steady sprint away from the hoard of angry NPCs. His movements are surprisingly smooth, well used to avoiding people trying to kill him for whatever reason.
He really wasn't expecting this girl to be as good as she was at this whole 'skedaddle' thing, though. Especially in that get-up?? And all that hair?? But for complete strangers cheesing it for their lives (no, he never gave her his name nor did she give him hers, for shame), they were doing pretty damn well. He misses her catching the spear (a shame, because that would have been pretty bad-ass), but he turns his head quickly as she calls for him, expecting some sort of question.]
My name's not--!
[But the words die a strangled death in his throat, eyes going wide as saucers as she chucks the pistol at him. There's a bitten off yelp of surprise as he fumbles with the gun, tumbling in his hands like a hot potato. Without a second thought, he flings it over his shoulder, far and long in the mass behind them. There's a loud thunk of metal landing against skin as it smacks into someone in the crowd behind them, followed by a deafening BANG and a round of loud cursing.]
SORRY GUYS!
... wait, I LIED, I'M NOT ACTUALLY SORRY AT ALL!! SUCK IT, BITCHES!
[He snickers to himself, proud of his dumb little comment-- ah, but wait, this wasn't done yet. He turns back to Rapunzel, all business again.]
Don't throw any stupid weapons at me, okay?! I can handle things without 'em!
[But you just threw a gun at them, Yusuke.......]
no subject
You know. Even though Yusuke TOTALLY JUST LOST THEM A VALUABLE ADDITION TO THEIR AMORY AND THE THING THAT COULD POSSIBLY HAVE KEPT THEM ALIVE THROUGH THE END OF THE GAME!!! ]
...not his fault, not his faaaaaault...
[ Why not use all this smouldering anger as fuel to feed her speed? Rapunzel will spend the next several moments sprinting ahead of her new partner, trying to increase the distance between them so she doesn't just stop and strangle him right here.
Then they're bursting through the doors of the ballroom and out into the open jungle and none of it even matters because she's looking around, blinking and searching desperately for a place to hide. ]
Quick! The trees!
no subject
Yusuke, being dense as he was, hadn't quite picked up that Rapunzel was pissed with him as of yet-- maybe she wanted to hurry up the pace and leave as soon as he did? He effortlessly caught up with her, only really running at the speed he had before as to not leave her behind.]
Hey, if you wanna try to ditch me, say something, okay? I'd be more than happy to--
[But, OH, hey, hello there jungle! It, admittedly, was not what he was expecting the exterior of this place to be, but he's seen weirder. He keeps an eye on her, and when she gestures to the trees--]
Got it!
[Quick as a wink, he scrambles up to one a little further in, leaping onto it and hauling his way up.]
You need a hand over there?