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
[The girl - for it is a girl - regards him warily, single visible eye flicking once between him and the fresh corpse. Getting someone killed was not exactly on her to-do list today. Fortunately for Dorian, however, neither was letting someone get attacked without helping. She's not wild about how it turned out, though she recognizes the necessity thereof. That's just... not sufficient to convince her that he'll be grateful enough not to be a problem for her, too.]
[In the end, though, she seems to deem him either statistically unlikely to attack her or else really wants her shoes back, because after a moment she edges out from behind the tree, hand still lingering on it. It's fairly obvious, to look at her, why she didn't take more direct physical action against his assailant herself. She's a tiny slip of a thing, small and slender and thoroughly lacking in any visible muscle tone whatsoever. She also appears to be unarmed, and judging by the absence of any significant bloodstains on her white dress, has not been proactive on the murdering front.]
... Yes, please. And-- [Her eyes start to drift again toward the corpse; she pointedly averts them instead, a frown tugging at her lips.] You're welcome.
no subject
He holds the first shoe out to her. ]
We ought to make ourselves scarce. [ "We," naturally. Dorian may be many things, but he's not the type to leave a young lady in a monster- and murderous-NPC-infested jungle on her own. ] No telling what other dangers may be lurking nearby.
no subject
[Nearing, she starts to lift a hand to reach for the shoe, but slows. Her brows raise, caught by that, "we," for she is not used to being one and it surprises her even on a day full of much less palatable shocks. It doesn't last long, but there's still something thoughtful lingering in her eyes when she reaches the rest of the way to retrieve the shoe, fingers spread delicately.]
I agree. [How could she not? More importantly - and this comes with more natural, genuine concern rather than the slight and lingering guardedness of her other words,] You aren't-- hurt, are you?
no subject
Once she takes the first shoe, he casts around and finds its twin; this he retrieves and when he returns to her, he makes a point to step between her and the body. ]
I'm fine, thank you. Winded, but I prefer that to the alternative. [ That being dead. ]
I see you've managed to keep yourself in one piece, so far.
no subject
[Actually, as grim as she looks, she's managing pretty well, considering what she just saw (and participated in, to an extent). Her hand is steady when she takes the first shoe with a quiet,] Thank you, [although perhaps that's because she's still stalwartly avoiding looking at the body, which becomes infinitely easier once he's in front of it. Eyes focusing on him rather than the tree behind him, she takes a small step back as if to keep a more comfortable distance but does not hesitate to also take the other shoe, careful though it is.]
That's good. [There's no doubt about that, nor in her voice.] I'm glad. [Stranger though he may be. Her opinion of him is very much in the process of forming; his mention of alternatives provokes a blink, her mouth uncertain whether to turn upward or downward at the corners, as if she can't seem to figure out if what he said should be funny or not. The other bit, however, is much easier for her to grasp.]
I have. I've been lucky, mostly. [Which might be obvious, given her apparent lack of - or at least unsuitability to - martial prowess. (Or perhaps there's something else she's got going for her?)] And I've... had help, every now and again.
[Beginning to frown, she shakes her head.]
But all of this-- it seems so pointless. Everybody's killing each other, over... [What? Some man's word? Getting out? It matters little; to her, it's,] ... Over nothing.
no subject
Dorian brushes himself off, stepping around the girl in order to turn the both of them away from the still warm corpse sprawled on the ground. ]
Best to keep moving; staying in one place makes one an easier target.
no subject
[The blonde steps back as he steps around, a little too late to start and a little too quick but without quite the same nervousness that it might have been done with before. It's almost like she's trying to keep a particular minimum distance from him, but there's nothing to indicate it's necessarily personal; she doesn't watch him as closely as when she first appeared, so perhaps she just... has reason to prefer her personal space. Nodding, she gives a little,]
Right. [But she doesn't take another step first. In fact, she seems to be eyeing him as if trying to ascertain something, lips parted and hesitating to ask for that same answer. Was that... really a 'we' she heard, earlier?]