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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The audience gasps and ominous music starts to play from the speakers as she tries to think of a good excuse for trying to raid his supplies. Is there food there? Who knows, she doesn't, but unfortunately she can only come up with one thing to say.
"I was going to steal your food!"
That was definitely not her best excuse. She sounds a little proud of the idea, actually.
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He would have just told her to go get her own, but... Well, she's obviously a kid, and Mika just doesn't have it in him to be cruel to kids.
Though needless to say, the fact that there is a kid in here has significantly lowered his already none too high opinion of whoever's running this game...
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And it's not one she's going to answer, apparently. Vivid is intense, and there are monsters. All she has to show for her troubles is a bottle of cola.
"So, how do you feel about sharing, huh? Us young'uns have to stick together, right? Right?"
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"Don't you have any friends or something around here?"
That didn't mean he couldn't try to find an alternative way to get her to go on her way, though.
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"Nope. I remember falling asleep during a slide show, and then I woke up inside a video game. What about you?"
Asking her questions wasn't going to get her to go anywhere. Instead, she sat down and made herself comfortable.
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"There's no one you know?" he asked.
Of course, at the same time, he wondered whether she didn't realize he was a vampire, for that matter.
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It's a burden, being the most action-packed twelve year old she knows. And while she didn't realize Mika was a vampire, she was starting to come up with the theory that he was definitely very pretty. Maybe even prettier than her. But probably not.
"What about you? You don't look much older than me. Aren't you worried at all?"
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"You should find someplace safe until this game's over."
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Her logic is sound, but only because she has no idea what she's dealing with so far.
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"Why do you think it'd be safe with me?" he asks frankly. She's putting a lot of blind trust into someone she's only just met, after all.
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She does have a point with the first part, though, even if Mika doesn't want to admit it.
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She leans closer.
"Are you really a vampire? Like for reals? Because that's kind of cool. I mean, it's probably a little scary, but it's not scarier than monsters in the jungle, right?"
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"How is that 'cool'?" he asks, definitely a little taken aback. Vampires weren't supposed to be cool, they're supposed to be monsters, after all.
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At least she's being honest. She's not going to insist on it being cool, because now maybe he's thousands of years old and she might be dealing with a grandpa.
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He thinks being one is bad too, of course, but that's because he didn't become one by choice.
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"... You know what vampires do, don't you?"
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She states this pretty matter-of-factly. She's either really confident or really dumb, and she's probably both.
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"In here, this place is just a game," Mika says with an exasperated sigh. "How can you be sure you can still trust me outside it?"
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And it's as simple as that to her. He seems almost like he wants to be feared and mistrusted, and Miu can't help but think that makes him sound a little lonely. How could he ever make friends like that?
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"Don't be stupid," he says instead, dismissively.
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She dismisses the insult entirely. She's allowed to call herself stupid, it doesn't bother her one bit.
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"... Whatever. If you can't handle the monsters then stay close and don't get in my way." He manages to sound plenty exasperated about it, though.
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"Alright! I'll stay really close to you, and I won't get in your way."
Of course, she shouldn't push her luck and sit closer to him...but she does anyways. Just not too close. She wouldn't want him to trip.
"So, what's the plan of attack? How are we getting out of here, huh?"
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