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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[ ???? ]
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“Mana” is a phrase that kind of popped up in fiction, and it’s exactly as you described it, a pool of power that spellcasters draw from. In reality, have no such thing, but I guess the trade off is that all of our spells are written, and that takes time. It didn’t occur to me that there might be people out there who actually have mana.
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when do they roll for initiative ]
You can cast infinitely, then? Or, well, until your arm gets tired, I suppose?
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It's not as awesome as it sound, but yeah.
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Think we're out of harm's way for the moment?
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It's as good a place as any, but...
[ Now that some of his mana has returned, he drives the bladed end of his staff into the ground, and glowing glyphs appear in strategic locations. ]
Fire mines. [ He explains it as he's casting. The glyphs in question flare after a few seconds, showing they're primed, and only then does Dorian pulls his staff from the dirt. ]
There we are, that's better. Don't touch those until I dispel them.
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[ He finds a good place to sit with his back against a tree, and lays the sword out across his lap. It's possible he's been thinking of ways to enchant it since they started walking, and he sets to work, sketching out runes along the blade ]
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What is it you're doing, exactly?
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I wouldn't know what to do with a sword if it walked up and bit me, so I'm turning it into a ranged weapon.
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So, what, do you intend on tying a length of rope to the hilt and throwing it?
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[ As he etches out spells, the sword lifts from his lap, hovering about half a foot in the air ] I'm gonna make it fly.
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Remarkable. You have control over it, then, I expect?
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[ And it's in the middle of those finishing touches that one of Dorian's mines gets triggered- the group of about five NPCs trying to get the jump on them is cut down to four. ]
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Dorian jumps to his feet, and at least in this moment of reprieve, his mana has returned to him in more or less full force. The first thing he does while the NPCs are still reeling is swing an arm out to cast a barrier over the two of them, the air shimmering with blue light.
The next thing he does is summon a spirit from across the Veil, directing it into the charred husk of the poor fellow who triggered the mine. The sudden, twitchy movements of the former corpse as it rises from the ground is enough to sow even more confusion. ]
You might want to spare the polish and content yourself with the raw product.
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[ He finishes off the last rune and hauls himself to his feet, catching a glimpse of he corpse shambling towards his former companions. It's easy enough to put two and two together, and- ] You're a Necromancer? [ Maybe he's being stereotypical, but Charlie would never have guessed.
Ah, right, they're under attack. An arrow glances off of their barrier, and Charlie casts his arm out, directing the sword as it whizzes through the air, slashing at the archer. ]
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[ Even if it is, Dorian doesn't sound particularly bothered, distracted as he is with casting.
Their new zombie friend isn't going to last too much longer, and in a move that defies Dragon Age mechanics, Dorian shoots an orb of purple energy that latches onto the corpse; when one of its former allies drives a blade through its chest, the corpse explodes, taking the both of them out.
Two left, it seems. ]
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So instead he says- ] I don’t think so.
[ And they can talk about it in more detail now that three- sorry, two- people aren’t trying to kill them.
There’s a man with a sword of his own, and Charlie sends his sword after him, hacking wildly. The man does a valiant job of fending it off, but he’s so focused on the danger in front of him, he doesn’t notice when he steps on another of Dorian’s mines.
And then there was one. ]