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.
|
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. ] |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
[She will totally approach and bug complete strangers about hanging around with corpses, though!]
Um.... don't do it?
[It's a little late for that, Maya!!] Ooorrrr... don't stick around to hang out and be a sad cyguy in the rain after? I know it feels real, but that's just 'cause this stupid game likes to mess around with everyone's heads.... You shouldn't let it get to you, mister.
no subject
[Makes sense. That's about the kick in the ass he needed. The sad cyguy tidbit was totally unnecessary, though.]
You can't say you made it this far without hurting anyone.
[That, he won't believe, even if she's an innocent girl. He's met similarly innocent girls and they were anything but!
He rights his posture, determined from here on to make eye contact with anything but Snake's corpse. The rain isn't letting up much - it's a subconscious thing, probably.]
This ViViD crap should've ended by now, don't you think?
no subject
Well... I did knock some heads together. Beat up a whole bunch of guys! Tossed some jerks around. That sorta thing! [Pumps her noodle arm into the air, miming air punches. Clearly, this is far more believable. This shrimpy weirdo tossing around hoards of overzealous murderfans like a badass. Definitely.]
[She is pretty scraped up, though. Evidently she's run into trouble... though she doesn't look particularly bothered. Again: weirdo.]
I mean.. it totally should've. But it's super glitchy, so it's not gonna end. We'll have to bust our way out or.. find a hacker to encrypt us out of here, or something!
[Maya you don't know anything about computers don't even try.]
no subject
Her charade does add emphasis to her words, anyways, and while he's skeptical, he's in no place to dismiss her miming/storytelling as anything fictive.
Though she might be overlooking her own missteps. It's fine. She hasn't been completely maimed.]
My codec isn't working, so there's no way I could get in touch with a hacker.
[Unless she knows one? He's got a few names in mind, but yeah -- irrelevant.]
Assuming we could just burst out of here, where would we aim?
[Maybe they should start by walking away from not-Snake's corpse? He's distracted enough, but still.....]
no subject
[It's more like she just barely escaped (with help!) the various NPCs and monsters that were out for a date to die for --- with her, but hey, if this guy is going to endure her antics, the antics will keep coming.]
[(They'd keep coming even if he didn't endure them)]
[On that note, leading him away from the corpse is a good idea. Any minute now it could start raining oil on his face. She has to protect him.]
Weeeell... don't you have any viruses installed? You could stick your hands into the ground and it'd totally fry the whole thing! [Maya, stop] Or we can try busting through the fence! I saw it somewhere over.... [She points in a seemingly random direction] There! [At last: operation protect sad cyguy in the rain is beginning. They have an escape route from awkward corpses now.]
...What's a codec, anyway?
no subject
You want me to fry the ground with viruses?
[Even if it were possible, he hasn't got a single one installed on him. That's an interesting point, though -- like, if it were at all possible, that could come in handy. He would require some very specific repairs if that thing were to go haywire, though, and without the good old doktor around...
It'd be a challenge.]
It's a communication system.
[He's looking off toward the indicated direction, even though her question is...so outdated. Like a kid asking how to download Construction Truck Derby on an iphone. Codecs are about as common as nanomachines.
Maybe he's being nonchalant because he thinks she's being goofy on purpose. Maybe. Maybe he'd just rather not think about being stuck somewhere where no one's heard of anything he's got to say. She wasn't weirded out by his appearance, though, which is pretty good.]
Let's head for the fence and figure out what they're trying to keep us out of.
[PROTECT CYGUY FROM THE RAIN: GO.]
no subject
Yeah! Or... install a program.....? [On the ground?? Maya just can't stop pretending she knows how computers work.]
A communication system? Is it coded? [Not only is she not weirded out by his appearance, she's very weird herself, apparently. Congrats on your new perky teenage girl sidekick, Raiden. You'll need to feed her four meals a day and take her on regular walkies]
[Speaking of walkies... Maya starts off towards the fence, looking back to make sure he's following. She'll push him out of the rain with her noodle arms if she has to!! There's no way this operation can fail]
Yep, that's just the kind of plan I was cooking up, too! Great minds think alike, huh?
omg i didnt even realize that html fail...
[Giving to her straight...he'd be the worst person to use for the Santa isn't real speech. Or maybe the BEST person to use.]
Something like that. It's hard to hack into, too.
[So whoever managed to fuck that up has to be very dedicated. Or bored. He wasn't thrilled about the initial reveal, but he's since gotten over it...to a degree.
Raiden doesn't have enough foodstamps to cover the cost of +1 teenage sidekick, but he is indeed trailing after her. Pushing him along is acceptable regardless of how compliant he's being...]
--That's what they say.
[A tumbleweed rolls in the distance, somewhere in an alternate universe.]
on the bright side I won't need an eye exam for another three years
[What good if he if he can't hack the ground and he doesn't even have boob missiles?? 0/10, requires an upgrade immediately.]
[But trailing after is fine. She's not going especially fast, as she's (somewhat) alert to the potential attempted murder from various npcs that will surely converge on her and her new robopal any minute now. Luckily for him, she's her to protect him if things get hairy. Clearly, he needs it.]
Well, fellow genius, let's see if a fence can hold up to the power of our brilliance, combined!
...
It's this way, right?
[Yes... a genius, indeed]