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
[An important correction.
And being disqualified would be awful, because she'd be turned into a monster, so let's not focus on that. At least she isn't aware of this and wants to win. Because she's a winner.]
Can't you just blow up that fence? You look like you have hidden missiles or something.
[stares right at his chest, where the boob missiles at]
no subject
[As if there's a huge offense to be had in being misjudged as a robot. It's the same thing, sort of...really. Speaking of important corrections.]
Not like this. I don't have my weapons with me, but that doesn't mean we can't break through.
[Apparently they couldn't fit under his all-important formal (bloody, gross) attire. But he'll make his way toward the fence, totally ignoring her as she awkwardly checks out his chesticles....]
no subject
[She needs a better nickname for him. Let's see. He's a cyborg. And he seems kind of unimpressive.]
I'm going to call you Dad64, okay?
[Like a dad, but with a 64 bit processor. She looks back at the fence, wishing there were boob missiles destroying it right about now.]
Okay. I'm going to crawl under. And when I make sure there are no enemies on the other side, that's when you'll crawl under, too, okay?
no subject
[Like having 64 dads. Her actual dad's ears are probably ringing off the hook right now. The boob missiles thing is going to get ignored everytime; his chest is so standard, flat and straightforward, stop making him feel inefficient.
There's another way of going about this, but what if the fence is actually keeping the monsters inside?]
Yeah, fine.
[It makes her idea all the more agreeable.]
My name's Raiden, by the way.
no subject
[And the name isn't going anywhere. And she'll always believe in his boob missiles. They have to be there, they have to. He's just hiding them from her.]
You can call me...Mission Accomplished.
[And with that cool line delivered, she does a forward somersault and springs to her feet, striking a battle pose before sprinting to the fence and disappearing underneath it.
Or, well, hitting it with her head and then struggling to crawl underneath it.
And then there's silence.]
no subject
There's no amount of fathering that could've prepared him for that. There is a firm hey delivered when she gets way too close to the fence way too quickly, like a child leaping into traffic after a ball.]
Don't just do that!
[And he's after her, hesitating just a moment before lifting her with both hands by her sides, mildly concerned but...it didn't look like she convulsed or anything. The shock couldn't have been too bad.
Right.]
Hey, kid. Wake up..!
[Mission NOT ACCOMPLISHED.]
no subject
She'd intended to make it under the fence, but here she is, being picked up. She's fine. She's trying to rub her head and go "ow, ow, ow" but this is impeded slightly by the fact she's being held up by her Cyborg dad.
He's kind of scary up close.]
I'm fine, I'm fine! The fence...it attacked me!
[No, she was just clumsy as fuck.]
no subject
Like an unruly kitten -- or like Simba's baptism, he's decided it's best that he keeps ahold of her...slightly aloft, a safe distance from the fence.]
I noticed that.
[And, given how tiny she is, the shock was probably a lot worse for her than it would've been for him. He's backtracking, literally, taking a few steps in reverse.]
We're moving on to plan B. Try not to wiggle.
no subject
[Being zapped is a new experience. She's just going to let herself be held, limply, not struggling at all except for occasionally rolling her neck.]
That wasn't cute at all. Your idea wasn't cute at all.
[Wait.
Wait a sec.]
What was Plan B again?
[She's about to find out, isn't she.]
no subject
[There are technical, logical yes answers to her absurd question, but none are applicable which is concerning.]
That wasn't my idea, you were rushing.
[If she did everything in baby steps, he would have told her that the fence had it's defenses and that they'd have to carefully dig a crawlspace for her.
But yeah, aborting that. He's going to godmode here, unveil his huge plan of just...
Leaping over the fence with his OP bionic legs. It doesn't take much at all to clear the fence, and once they've done so, he's happy to set her down.
Down-ish. He's got a faint hold on her, just in case she's wobbly from the whole being-hasty-and-electrocuted thing.]
Plan B was the good one.
no subject
You...you used me as a Guinness pig. Well-played, cyborg dad.
[Did she figure it out, or is she just making baseless accusations? Well, no matter, she survived a lot better than that wimpy kid from Jurassic Park who couldn't even climb down a fence fast enough, so she's probably fine.
And yes, she is wobbling. She might throw up on his foot.]
Why didn't we do that first?!
no subject
[It's fine. Raiden's had absolutely no part in raising his son from infancy so he's a little bit ??? about the drooling and entirely-out-of-it appearance she's bearing, but she's conscious and responding. It's fine. It's fine.]
Can you stand up on your own or should I carry you to the next checkpoint?
[He's only asking to be polite.]
no subject
[Although he can set her down if he needs to fire one of his boob missiles in self-defense.]
I'm fading pretty fast. Does my hair look burned to you?
[It might. Just a little. She's gonna need to fix that.
Also, she's not lying, she feels really out of it, running into an electric fence does that to you.]
no subject
Try not to do that. Stay awake until we get out of here.
[Her hair looks singed -- frazzled. Maybe they can talk about that later...]
You should feel better by then, since this isn't real.
[Which may not be entirely correct, but what's he know? He just showed up here.]
no subject
It sure feels real. Maybe...maybe we're not real.
[She doesn't believe that, of course, but her dad might be fake. He looks like he's from a video game or something.]
And where is out of here, exactly? Please tell me you know.
no subject
[Which is his strongest line of defense right now. Rather, he doesn't recall dying. He remembers being incredibly successful in all of his deadly endeavors, actually. Unless someone assassinated him in his sleep somehow...]
Don't tell me you're going to turn into one of those monsters or something.
[He doesn't know the way out, in truth. He's just going to press on and distract her with conversation. He knows she's conscious at that rate, too.]
no subject
[She's being dramatic even after being shocked, so that's definitely a good sign. She's not really going to resist being carried at any point, so keep doing all the work for her, Raiden.]
I'm not going to turn into a monster. Maybe a robot. Is being a cyborg contagious?
no subject
[There's gotta be a checkpoint somewhere. His visor slips forward and he scans the immediate area for anything at all; more monsters, anomalies...there's nothing remarkable in sight.
Moving ahead's better than staying idle, at least.]
no subject
[That's probably not how it works. She doesn't lift her head, only starts to make a quiet beeping noise to see if he'll fall for it.]
no subject
[Babytalk for nanomachines? Her beeping isn't very convincing, but he's glad she's making noises. She's awake enough to make them, conscious enough to be annoying. Good signs.]
I think there's a terminal up ahead.
[It looks apart from trees and junglery bullshit, at least. Not something that'd immediately jump out at an approach-ee, but he's spotted it. Belatedly.]
I'll touch it first, just in case. If you get fried again, it might be the end for you.
no subject
[Beep. Beep. Beep.
She lifts her head when a terminal is mentioned, then looks up at Raiden.]
Wait, wait. What's a terminal? That's like a computer, right?
[Hm.]
Yeah, you should touch it first. But can you put me down?
[So she can run and touch it first herself.]
no subject
If you wanna think of it like that.
[Mostly because he's at a loss for how to explain mechanics here. He's only just arrived!!! But a computer thing sounds fine to him.]
Are you feeling better enough already?
[PLS DON'T LIE TO THE BIG CYBORG.]
no subject
[Let her just add in a few unnecessary letters to make it sound like she's not. Really, she just wants to beat him to the exit, she's not feeling super great because she was shocked by a fence.]
I can do it!
no subject
So he does set her down, not fully -- he's got a talon-like hand trained to her shoulder.]
If you're dizzy at all, don't keep it to yourself.
no subject
[And the she unceremoniously throws up. Look, she's a twelve year old who hit an electric fence. Plus, she weighs less than a Pomeranian. She's not fine. She probably manages to hit his foot somehow, too.]
(no subject)