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
[He hears the running, then the voice of that someone. It's enough to cut him off completely and cut some of the attention he'd been giving Baymax. It's Hiro, and hearing the robot say his name aloud confirms it.]
[Bellamy gapes when Hiro quite literally bursts out. He's about two seconds from rushing forward, but something stops him. It's the voice, Hiro's size, and the way he carries himself. He's younger. It's different enough to hollow out the immediate thrill of seeing him here, but not enough to maybe carry that small fraction of hope. There are still signs of the Hiro he knows there.]
[Even if Hiro shows no signs of recognition in return.]
I've had worse. [Completely careless about his injuries right now, to be honest. It's so incredibly hard to hold himself back from launching at the kid.] Hiro?
[It's more openly hopeful than he intended, but he has to just - ask. He has to be sure, even if deep down he knows he's bound to be disappointed. The multiverse strikes again, and he shouldn't be surprised.]
no subject
What's even more important though is the fact that he...knows him as well? He stares at Bellamy quietly before he slowly nods in agreement. Yep. He's Hiro. And though he thinks it could be because Baymax mentioned him already, it's hard not to see that look or hear that tone.
How many more people will he disappoint today?]
Hey. [There's a weak grin. He's trying to make this less awkward and he's openly curious now, but he can't lie. He has absolutely no idea who this is.] Just because you've had worse doesn't make this really okay, you know.
no subject
[There's no grin back, but Bellamy doesn't find himself tensing up or rejecting it. Just because this Hiro doesn't know him doesn't mean he shouldn't be trusted, right? It's hard to imagine any version of Hiro that isn't a good person.]
No, but it means I don't have to worry about dealing with it immediately if I can't. [He keeps any former hostility out of his voice, even if they're still in the middle of a battlezone. His body is still on guard for outsiders, but his attention on Hiro is a lot softer, even if he doesn't realize it.]
[Instead of dealing with any of this in the here and now, he turns back to the subject of Baymax. Far easier than what it feels like to be unrecognized by Hiro. He tries to keep his voice even. He has to get through this conversation.] Does your robot actually store those bandages he went on about?
no subject
He's staring. He wants to outright ask, not quite having the finesse the older Hiro had developed when Bellamy saw him last but he does feel that looking at the injuries is a little more important.]
He's got a med-kit at our apartment and everything, but usually I'm the one who holds the tools for him. Kinda gets in the way of his armor. I'm working on upgrades but with how things are in this place I haven't finished everything yet. [He raises an eyebrow.] Don't tell me you've never seen bandages before.
no subject
[It wouldn't be the worst though.]
I know what a bandage is. [Half exasperated, half teasing.] I'm just used to more magical healing. Been a while since I stuck to good old fashioned medicines.
[It's so hard to stand here and act like he has no idea who Hiro is, or anything about him. Especially because it's not fair that he knows so much and this Hiro has no idea. If the situation were reversed, he knows it's be driving him up the wall.]
I'm - Bellamy. [God, if that isn't the weirdest part. Introducing himself. It's almost enough to get him panicking, topping off everything else his mind has apparently been through lately. Baymax's conclusion of "emotional distress" was not wrong, even before Hiro showed up.] Baymax is like a doctor, right?
no subject
Look, I'm just checking. You never know with the kind of people we get around here. [There's a short smile.] I wouldn't call most of what's in the colony old fashioned, but you've got me and you've got Baymax in the meantime. We can't use magical means but...you know. [There's that word again though. "Magic." He knows people use magic and are capable of it, but it's not something he himself possesses. He thinks sometimes maybe he'd like to learn magic if it were possible. The other thing that sticks out to him is the way Bellamy's tone reflects something else. Almost a familiarity that should seem out of place.]
Bellamy. [He repeats the name to commit it to memory. He doesn't introduce himself, if only because Bellamy seems to already know his name. Since he knows Baymax's as well he can assume that was all information provided by Baymax earlier.] It's nice to meet you. ["I think."] And it's something like that. Baymax was designed to be a robotic nurse, but he's upgraded a few times since his original creation.
I am a personal health care companion. [Excuse you, Hiro. Baymax would like to set the record straight.] I was designed to help heal the sick and injured.
no subject
[There's something off about his tone when he responds to the introduction, the words forced in a way that isn't rude, just lacking.] Likewise.
[But back to the injuries! Bellamy is so determined to avoid this conversation and thought process that he is willingly focusing on medical care. What is his life?] Honestly, as long as it works, I don't really care how it's done.
[He glances back over at Baymax when the robot speaks up again, fascinated and curious because - this is the robot Hiro was so goddamn proud of.] Nurse, health care companion - either way, what I'm hearing is you can fix this up so it doesn't drag me down? It's a bit of a deep gash, but nothing crippling. I just need it to stop bleeding.
no subject
That we can do. Baymax? [Baymax focuses on Bellamy again, hand up as he stares down at Bellamy's injury.] I advise an antibiotic spray in order to prevent infection, followed by wrapping in clean bandages. I will spray your wound now.
[And while Baymax waits for Bellamy to hold out his wounded arm, Hiro's reaching into his utility-belt-pouch to pull out some bandages.] Word of advice? It's easier just to let him do his thing without asking questions. You gonna jump back into the fight as soon as this is wrapped up?
no subject
[After a quick glance at Hiro, Bellamy's back to watching Baymax - which honestly is another sign of how comfortable he feels, not so worried about what Hiro might do when he's not looking.]
[If it had been anyone else, there would be much more of a fight, but it's easy to hold out his arm for the robot.]
Not like we can avoid the fight too much anyway, right?
no subject
Not really. I kinda feel like I've been fighting on and off since I first got here. [Not unlike the Drabwurld, actually.] There's a lot of stuff we've recently found out, too, that's changed a bunch of people's opinions on this place. You can avoid it if you try hard enough but avoiding it might be even worse than facing it head on.
[He examines his work, nodding to himself.] This should hold until you can get to the last level and log out.