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!
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[ There's one thing obvious when Shinpachi speaks - he's used to this. Not just because he's standing his own in the middle of this situation (although he knows he can't keep this up forever either), but since he just answers the other's questions even as he's starting to fend off some of the NPCs that jump at them with various weapons.
Honestly, he's used to even less serious banter during fights.. explaining something in all seriousness, no matter how trivial it feels for the moment, is nothing compared to it. ]
Even if they don't ask-- guess you could say it's my job. [ Don't mind it if he casually shoves the boy to the side for a moment to intercept one of the NPCs with a frying pan (really?) trying to attack them, knocking it back with a swing of his sword.
There's enough of a break in the movements of the chaos around him that he glances at Kei. ]
Captain of the second division of the Shinsengumi, Nagakura Shinpachi. That's me.
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now. kei is a good student. top marks in all of his classes. he's frequently sought as a tutor even if it's not exactly the kind of service he'd like to offer to his peers. which means that 'second division of the shinsengumi' gets the guy a double take. by now, he's well aware that this place brings different kinds of people, from all walks of life, but this is a bit too sudden even for him. and even if the guy is kidding, well. that seems like something oddly specific to kid about. ]
I see. [ heroes in popular culture, though historians disagree. ]
I'm honored, Nagakura. [ the -san at the end is as polite as it gets. kei, in an effort to be proactive, beats a guy with the frying pan when they tried to get at him. there's something to be said about honing his reflexes in volleyball as well as having the advantage of being tall. if all the npcs were superpowered, this would've been a bigger problem. he can take care of the more average ones, at least. ] It's not every day you get to talk to someone from the Shinsengumi.
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.. although he's holding his own pretty well for a guy who looks like he isn't used to battle - Shinpachi can't help but let the thought shoot across his mind when he spots the teenager from the corner of his eye. It's something he can appreciate in a guy, and that thought coupled with the acknowledgement of who he is (Shinpachi knows people in the future know him, really.. but it's still an exciting kind of thrill every single time someone actually recognizes him, meaning his efforts carried that far down in time) makes a grin appear on his face despite the situation.
He really shouldn't be getting a kick out of the situation, considering this is far from ideal, but it's actually turning out a little fun like this. Or at least not completely miserable, he thinks, as he cuts a NPCs with a dagger. ]
Save the flattery for later. [ But the grin shows through in his voice, clearly prideful. He appreciates it, but Shinpachi knows this isn't the right moment for it.. it'll be easier to talk normally once they get out of the thick of it. ]
Although if you know who I am, then you also know it's better to follow what I say, yeah? I'm used to this stuff. [ Understatement.. ] We're gonna head for the exit-- I dunno what's beyond there, but there ought to be less of these guys there than there are here. I'm trustin' you to move along.
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