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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i.
she's at ludger's back as she side-steps a crazed NPC of her own, knocking them out with the pommel of her sword against their head. for how bloodthirsty they were, they really weren't putting any effort into this... honestly, the most concerning part about this is ludger's entire existence.
why did she pick his profile. ]
"Messed up priorities" should've been your favorite item instead. [ but she's used to this. ] Would you rather they put not tasteful?
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until this moment, ludger hadn't been sure if the "tasteful sideboob" thing had just been a random joke, or if it had some greater significance. while he wanted to assume the former, some part of him knew the latter was more likely. that the other foot was going to drop eventually.
when he sees milla, he considers the other foot squarely dropped. on his face. ]
Well... [ hm. he suddenly finds the brawl around him far more interesting than he did a second ago, eyes darting to the random people fighting left and right. ] It sure is dangerous here, isn't it! [ his voice could not sound more forced. ]
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milla knows pretty well why he's suddenly pulled the AH YES THERE IS COMBAT! card, and why his gaze keep bolting all over the place. come on, buddy, she's always fighting in a ridiculous get-up. is this new.
his embarrassment is making her embarrassed. diverting attention from the obvious topic here is drawing attention to the fact she's in a sideboob dress and they're both uncomfortable.
and yet she'd be mad at him if he didn't try to steer the topic somewhere else.
.... god. what if this is the one time ceres was being honest? ]
If that profile of yours is actually true, give me your jacket. Right now.
[ dryly, with another sidestepped NPC. ]
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or just specific parts of it. ]
Huh? Oh...
[ it actually takes him a second to process what she's saying, before he hastily removes his jacket and thrusts it in her direction. all while, of course, avoiding eye contact. granted, he doesn't stop to realize that doing so sort of is an admission that the profile is, at least, partially accurate.
since he's not looking in her direction, he also fails to notice as another npc comes charging in from the side, snatching the jacket while its extended between them before running off with it. ]
That... wasn't my fault. I think?
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but maybe she likes him a little less when the confirmation comes in the form of his jacket and his shifty eyes. she also likes him less when her very much needed jacket is grabbed away right in front of her.
milla pauses, trying to ignore the blush on her face to.... roll her eyes. then, she gives chase.
and, looking over her shoulder to yell at ludger: ]
Don't just stand there! Get it back!
[ FREE HER FROM THIS SIDEBOOB HELL
she's not wearing this alone now that she knows he's into it ]
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...or maybe it's ruder to admit it in this situation? who knows. ]
R, right!
[ for as unthreatening as these npcs are, they sure can run fast. ludger breaks in a dash, hopping on top of table and then to another as he tries to close in on the npc from a different direction than milla is...
only to be dismayed as the npc chucks the jacket away to another one just as they both close in on him. ]
Wow... they're pretty good at keep away. [ probably not the time to be impressed. ]
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but she skids to a halt when the jacket's thrown away to someone else in the distance, her teeth clenching at the annoying turn this chase is taking. she's stuck in a dumb dress... she just wants that damn jacket. ]
Not good enough.
[ look how cool she is. she's picking up a chair to throw at the guy, in an attempt to get that jacket back.
aaand milla does get him, and he does collapse to the floor. unfortunately, not before he throws the jacket to a woman a short distance away.
................. ]
Aren't you supposed to be killing each other?! Stop working together!
[ fuck this ]
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ludger's already started going after the second guy when he realizes what milla has in mind... which is a bit problematic given how close he is to him at that moment. ]
H, hey, wait a second!
[ thankfully he manages to slow himself down enough and roll to the side to avoid being collateral damage of milla's wrestling move, though he can't help but look back at her in shock. that was a little too close.
but at the same time, he doesn't really want to risk incurring her wrath any further at this point. there are other chairs around, after all. ]
Isn't this getting a little ridiculous?
[ why do the npcs even want the jacket to begin with... ]
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also, does milla look apologetic at all for almost nailing ludger with a chair? nope! she's just looking annoyed at that woman running off with the jacket. you know what, yeah, he's right. this is ridiculous. it's annoying. this is annoying.
she looks at the guy pinned by the chair beside ludger.
considers what's been said. and, with a flippant wave of the hand: ]
You're right. Take his instead. [ POINTING. ] Considering he took part in stealing something of ours, we might as well return the favor.
[ don't get this one stolen too or you really will be on the other end of her wrestling move ludger ]
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thankfully the guy was knocked out cold when he got decked by a chair, so it's not too hard for ludger to start tugging his jacket off. it's about the same size as his too, so... ]
Ah.
[ of course, it couldn't go that easily, could it? the npc wakes up about when ludger manages to get the first sleeve off, and just looks absolutely scandalized. never mind the fact that he stole ludger's jacket to begin with, the npc starts screaming bloody murder and struggling with everything he has. which just earns them both looks as ludger continues to pull the jacket off of him, succeeding only after considerable effort and hair pulling. ]
I... got it... [ he has to catch his breath a bit as he walks back over to milla, holding out his spoils of his war. though... he doesn't exactly feel like he accomplished something admirable here. ]
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milla's. actually somewhat shocked, even though she's personally the one that asked him to do this Horrible Deed. well... they probably could've done a lot worse, like kill him (you know, like everyone else is doing), so... the lesser of two evils here.
she takes the jacket from ludger with absolutely zero guilt. but that surprise does come through somewhat in her tone, when she slowly says: ]
... Good job. Thanks. [ you won the cat fight buddy. let her put this on to cover up the sideboob... ] I don't know if I should be impressed or concerned you actually went through with it.
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granted, outside of the heat of the moment, he is starting to regret it. it seemed reasonable at the time... they took his jacket, so why shouldn't he get to take their's? but... two wrongs don't make a right, a lesson ludger would have learned if he'd properly gone to kindergarten.
he winces a little as he tries to straighten out his hair again, noticing that there are a few scratches on his face now. that really got ugly, didn't it... ]
At least now you have a jacket. [ sigh. ] No more tasteful sideboob.
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Too bad for you.
[ ... okay, not quite a mystery, since the way she says that is slightly displeased but not entirely focused. she's approaching him then, eyes narrowing at his injuries. ]
When he started fighting back you should've backed off.
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No, it's better off this way. Something like that is too dangerous to go around unchecked.
[ he tries to laugh a little at that, but in the end it just comes off as stitled and awkward. especially as he can tell she's staring at the rather pronounced red scratch on his cheek. ]
At that point, I'd gone too far to back down.