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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"If I were shooting at you, I would've only needed one shot, and you'd have been dead already." His voice is calm as he tucks the gun away, holster a little out of place against formal attire. He's used to being dressed up, though, so at least that much doesn't bother him. "Do I want to know what you did to piss it off?"
Heero won't make any move to help Duo up, senses alert for anything else that may have tracked them down, or their returning 'friend'. Sorry, buddy, but he'd rather not leave himself vulnerable.
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The shriek sends a shiver of dread down Duo's spine, not wanting to know when that thing would be back, or just what it might be doing then, but he was glad it was gone for now. ... And that Heero was there, of course, because it meant that they could work as a team from here on out. Of all the people that he had run in to, so far in this hell of a jungle, Heero was probably the one he'd been the most excited to see. Not that, you know, he wouldn't be excited to see anyone else, but -
Well, he'd been really hoping that this was one of those weird dreams. "Whatever, Heero. You say that and yet I have yet to have you do it." He huffs, moving to stand, trying to swipe off the dirt and grime he'd managed to collect in his escape attempt. "And here I was about to say I was happy to see you...."
Not so much anymore, apparently.
"I think it's attracted to blood. Last I checked, though, all that's on me isn't my own, though. Just gotta find a way to get rid of it.."
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There is another option, though. "Take off what you can, dampen the scent on what you can't using dirt or mud until there's a chance to rinse it out." This is the point where he's going to turn to walk away. "And unless you intend to become dinner for that thing when it ultimately comes back, and quite possibly with friends, I'd suggest moving."
He's not going to invite him to come along. He'll just assume that Duo knows he can if he wants to.
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"Ugh..." C'mon, Heero, you weren't the one who needed to wash all of that shit out of your hair at the end of the day. Still, the thought of Heero being the one giving him a bullet to the face? Not really surprising. Mostly, the braided boy wondered if it would've even affected Heero to have accidentally hit him, or if it would've just been an annoying miss for his chance at the monster that had been following him. At least Duo is smart enough to do away with his jacket, and, thankfully, it seems that the majority of the blood on it is not his, and stayed on the jacket instead of soaking through to his white shirt.
Balling up the jacket, Duo winds up and hurls it in to the forested area, grunting with the exertion. It falls with a bit of a crash, considering all of the surrounding brush, and once that's done...
Shouldering his weapon again and marching on after Heero, as always. It wasn't as though he was going to go the opposite direction when he knows Heero, and what he's capable of. They've always worked well together.
"Are those things even killable?" Hey, it's an honest question, after all.
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Besides, he's not foolish enough to think of Duo as a hindrance. The guy's proven himself on more than one occasion, and if he hadn't, he'd have been long dead.
"Possibly. It's easier to avoid them than to face them head-on, though. If nothing else, wounding one enough to cause it to bleed may draw others toward it instead." Logical enough. Not that he knows whether or not it'll work, but that's never stopped him before. "However, killing one may only cause it to reappear elsewhere within this setting. ViViD is nothing if not irritating in that respect."
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He's trying to draw them off their trail, okay? He's perfectly good at being quiet when he needs to be, but at the moment, it's both a moment of making a mistake, but kind of a happy one, if there's a monster nearby who might be distracted by it. At least by Duo's standards, that was a good thing. C'mon Heero, let him have his moment in the sun, even just for now? Even if it's just because this whole place is blowing his damn mind in the moment, and he might think that he's maybe eaten a brownie he shouldn't have from Howard?
"Maybe that ought to be our plan of attack if one gets to be particularly needy for our attention.." Or at least something that they tried since it would be two on one from here on out.
"Well I mean.. if it's one for one instead of two that isn't too bad.."
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Pushing branches out of the way as he trudges through the underbrush, he pauses for a moment to spare a backwards glance at Duo. "Given ViViD's track record for glitching, I wouldn't put it past them for that to be the case. Kill one and it either reappears on top of you or the kill shot takes you both out, whether it's actually possible or not. I've seen it glitch where, if you picked up the pumpkin that blocked your path to throw it aside, your clothes would become a ball gown and you could understand what animals said to you." See Duo? ViViD is not something to trifle with.
"There was also a stage with a Minotaur that would chase you around until you hugged it." ...and it took him forever to get through that stage. Heero and hugging with feeling are not things that go well together. "Other than the occasional oddities, it's not too dissimilar from the colonies. Oh, and if you're to be staying with Quatre, Trowa, and myself, you'll need to either learn to sleep in a closet, obtain an air mattress, or have no qualms about sharing a couch. There are only two bedrooms, one of which belongs to Quatre, though Trowa stays in there as well, and the other... belongs to the Gundams."
Or he could always snatch up his own place, but that option is left unspoken.
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"Christ, let's not and say we did.. Why'd you have to go tellin' me that shit anyways?" Probably because Heero doesn't really ever sugar coat things, Duo, but hey, whatever suits his fancy at the moment. The braided pilot follows after Heero, nearly silent as always, but giving enough indicators to his partner that he was directly behind him that Heero shouldn't even have a question about it. Though, with the quip about the ball gown -
"Oh, so you became Relena for that time period then, basically." Haha, Duo, very funny. At least now it seemed that they were just on a regular junlge hike, like the ones they'd been on before, instead of running from some monster he's never even seen before and going from there.Frankly, even though he was sweating and this suit attire wasn't the very best thing in the world for climbing around in a jungle? He'd take it."What do you mean, 'the gundams'?" He thinks Heero might be going bonkers officially, considering one gundam, much less multiple - should not be able to fit in to a regular room. In an apartment or a home.
"And why don't we just get a place instead?"
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Or at least he can right up until he says something that makes Heero stop abruptly, dead in his tracks. Careful, boy, that is some dangerous ground to be treading. "No, I did not." He didn't handle it near as gracefully as she would have. In fact, first he threatened anybody who approached and almost made good on said threats, then he hid in the cave with the talking rats until everything wore off and he wasn't dressed like some sort of princess out of a children's fairy tale. He'd been a hot mess.
Ah, but no sooner does he start moving again than another question comes, and this time it's one that isn't humiliating to answer. "The gundams. Or more to the point, Sandrock, Heavyarms, and Wing ZERO. They currently reside in the second bedroom of Quatre's apartment. They're also no bigger than knee height. I had to take the rifle away from ZERO because I didn't want any holes blown through walls and neighbors... and I lack the funds to afford a place that isn't Quatre's couch." The one time he wishes he'd gotten to choose whether or not he wanted to be a student -because he would've said no- and he blew it by thinking that he might need it for some sort of cover.