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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There you go... all right, let's go grab that!
[And then she suddenly just jumps up into the tree, easily landing on a branch beside the whiteness.]
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[The girl, however, nearly jumps out of her skin, promptly losing her balance on the branch she's been occupying since long before Hajime showed up, and it's almost certainly pure luck that the blonde actually manages to snag hold of another branch and keep herself from taking a headfirst tumble straight into the ground.]
[Someone else probably would have shrieked, but Naminé lets out no more than a startled yelp, eyes wide as dinner plates as she stares at her suddenly much closer company. (It would probably help if she were certain what, exactly, she's looking at, much less who.)]
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[She hadn't expected it was a person up there, and she feels bad about surprising her, quickly moving to grab her hand to keep her from falling - though it seems she caught herself. Breathing a little sigh of relief behind her mask, she offers her hand anyway to help pull her back up if she needs it]
Are you okay? Sorry about that!
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... Yes, I'm alright. You-- um. ['Startled me,' seems a bit unnecessary to state. That's probably abundantly clear already.] I'm sure you didn't mean any harm.
[She heard, after all, those attempts to assist that unfortunate NPC.]
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Ah ha, I didn't but I'm still sorry! I didn't know anyone was up here; I thought a cloth might have gotten caught up here or something... so what are you doing up here?
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[Blinking at the question,] Hiding. [Her lips threaten to curl down into a frown.] I didn't want to hurt anyone, or to get hurt, so... I've been trying to stay out of the way.
[She should. Probably have hid higher, or something, since clearly she's been found out.]
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I guess that makes sense! [Settling back on her own branch, Hajime looks down at the unconscious body beneath them at hte foot of the tree]
Did you happen to see what happened to this guy?
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I--
[She may not have been as successful at one of those things she just said she wanted as she would have liked. Her hesitant,]
... Yes.
[sounds thoroughly uncomfortable, and she adjusts her position on the branch, dangerously close to shamefaced.]
He tried to attack someone. It didn't work out for him.
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Ohhh, so he was causing that kind of trouble... well, hopefully whoever he attacked was okay!
[She glances down - even hearing that, she doesn't necessarily want him to get hurt, but obviously there's no convenient sheets to cover him with up here.]
Are you going to keep staying up here?
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They are.
[It's almost a mumble. Naminé glances down, too, without having seen the other girl do the same. Truthfully, her sentiments are similar. At the question, her eyes are drawn back up.]
I was... planning to. But I'm beginning to think that maybe I should find somewhere better.
[You know, given. What just happened.]
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[She prepares to jump down, holding a hand out to the girl to join her]
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[Her eyes fall to the offered hand. Funny, how often that sort of thing seems to be happening to her lately, and funnier still how automatic it's become to reach for it, which she does despite her not quite realizing the intent behind it. More importantly,]
And-- you will?
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[Smiling as she takes that hand, she gently pulls the girl closer and, if she lets her, scoops her up in her other arm before jumping down to the forest floor and setting her down there.]
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Thank you. Not just for getting me out of the tree, for-- well, offering to help.
[It's still so bizarre to her how helpful people here seem to be.]
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It's what heroes are for after all!
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Heroes? ... You're a hero?
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[She gets rid of her helmet in a flash of sparkles, revealing her grin]
Ichinose Hajime, at your service!
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It's-- very nice to meet you. But I'm afraid I... don't know what a Gatchaman is.
[Other than a hero, apparently?]
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[Which is different from protecting the earth from aliens, though aliens do sometimes cause a lot of trouble]
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[Keybearers of old are the first example that come to mind, but she stops herself. Instead,]
That's what you meant by 'hero'. I understand, now. [And the 'Earth' much be their world, she assumes.] That's awfully brave of you...! [Protecting any world is generally a worthy goal, although it does make her wonder what kind of aliens are involved and why they need dealing with.] Are there a lot of-- Gatchaman?
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[She crosses her arms, thinking] Hmmm, there might be more, now that I think about it, but on Earth there's eight of us! Oh, and J.J., Katze and Gelsadra, though I'm not sure they really count as Gatchaman? They all help out though!
[For very generous definitions of "help" in Katze's case]
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[Which she can only assume 'Earth' is. Seems like the reasonable conclusion to draw, given the context.]
Huh...! That many? [She wouldn't be saying that if she knew how big it was.
She's used to one kid and his companions handling several small worlds, but--] I'm not sure whether I should say it sounds like your world is very safe or very dangerous...![Because if there are so many, wouldn't they have it covered? But at the same time, if it needs so many... hm.]
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It's a pretty big group, but even just one city can be hard for us all to cover! [Sorry Namine, Earth has more than one city] But that's why it's great there's things like Galax that help everyone be a hero in their own way!
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[What? Preposterous! What a mess that would be, having more than one town. Stop with the crazy talk.] That must be quite a city, if it gives all of you that much trouble...! Is Galax your--...? [She almost says 'organization,' but ends up trailing off instead for perhaps understandable Reasons, offering a blank to fill instead.]
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It's a social network! It let's people connect with each other and communicate, organize events - and it even alerts users when there are other people in their area who could use their help!
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