Welcome to CERES' new dating experience -- ABOMIDate (Catchy, huh?). They've found that they're a little concerned with everyone's ability to... connect with denizens of different species, and in a place like Cerealia that is full of aliens, that's a Big Problem! After all, it's pretty clear by now that there are a lot of things about your friendly neighborhood aliens that you just know nothing about. What else do you not know? That the greeting of a Faswwg is face licking? That feathered species require mating dances to woo? That [REDACTED] needs [REDACTED] to [REDACTED]? So clearly, the way to fix this problem is...to practice dating other species!
Namely eldritch abominations! In CERES' experience, eldritch abominations really sum up the full interspecies dating way of life and provide you a variety of different species (and orifices) to enjoy.
So it's time to put on some proper music -- no, not that, that's not right. There, that's better. Anyway, time to put on some sexy background music, and woo the monster of your dreams!
 [ horrifying noises of nightmares and despair ]
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PHASE I [ 8 00 ] Welcome to the new and improved Abominable Dating, CERES’ brand new virtual dating experience! The first thing you will see will be a character select screen, because CERES wants you to get to the dating part right away. Don’t worry, there are a lot of beautiful and handsome candidates to choose from so feel free to jump right in! There’s this fellow, or this dashing lass and even a hidden character who is... not really all that hidden if they’re right there to be picked, but there you go!
You have to pick one. There’s no other option, I’m afraid.
And once you do, you’ll end up in a room with your date, dressed up in beautiful, date-like clothing. Unfortunately, everyone else who picked that date will also be in the room with you, also dressed up and prepared for dating.
This is awkward.
It gets even more awkward when your date decides that you look like a great main course. Watch out for those claws/teeth/limbs/etc! Maybe you can work together to take down your starving date, sad as that sounds.
PHASE II [ 1000 ] No dating game would be complete without stat boosting sessions. Regardless of how you feel about your current date, you’re locked into the game now (and hopefully not while covered in the blood of your date themselves, though they just come back even if you managed to kill them), and the game is picking a stat it thinks you need to work on. Either your intelligence is deplorable, your charisma is totally lacking, or your strength is at noodly-arm levels. That’s pretty bad. (It doesn’t matter what your actual intelligence, charisma or strength are, the game might be making things up at this point.)
Because of this, you’re going to be automatically tossed into a mini-game to increase those stats! This will be fun, absolutely. Nothing but Fun here in ViViD. So regardless of what the game thinks you’re lacking, it’s going to throw you into the same mini-game -- eldritch abomination make-over sessions.
You'll show up at a row of dressing rooms, each marked with a sign above the door reading NO INTELLIGENCE or NO STRENGTH or NO CHARISMA in bright red letters. Choosing the right one (embrace your shame) will reveal your initial date to you. They bat their eyelashes in greeting and growl out a very sultry, Will you help me, senpai?
Time to get to work!
You won’t be able to leave the mini-game until the monster is completely satisfied with its makeover, so it’s time to really tap in to your inner fashion sense. Of course, the fact that you’re all trying to apply makeup to the same monster might make this hard, but you can surely all get along, right?
Right?
PHASE III [ 1800 ] At first, you were on a date. Finally, you, your monster, candelight. Everything was going right until... well, you made a bad dialogue choice. They asked you what your favorite food was, you accidentally picked "Italian" (or maybe picked it on purpose which makes this even worse!) and then things went dark.
When you wake up, you'll find yourself in a cage. The room is dark and dank and there's no light other from the crack of a door somewhere up a flight of stairs. You're in a cage in a basement and there's a key glinting on the table right across the room there. Is it for your cage?
Welcome to the Yandere Route.
You might not actually be alone though. The cage isn't terribly big but there's enough room for someone else and if you shift around a little, you'll bump into them. Maybe you should share some woes of the eldritch horror dating experience. Maybe you should try and find a way out! Who knows? But there's one thing for sure:
You're both extremely naked.
Good luck!
PHASE IV [ 1830 ] You did it. You’ve gotten to the end of the game, or nearly. You’ve earned up enough affection points somehow. Maybe it was through the eldritch abomination following you around to trying to eat you or maybe it really, really, really liked your makeover. Maybe there was that thing and the cage and some weird pictures it took -- who knows! But now it’s time for the inevitable scene.
The confession scene.
Except... well, ViViD can’t do confession scenes very well. You'll find yourself there in the schoolyard, dressed in the appropriate school uniforms but...
For one thing, there’s a heavy shower of rose petals. A heavy shower. They’re everywhere. They might get in your mouth and face, they’re pooling around your knees, it's a rose petal flood and you're about to drown!
For another, the eldritch abomination you chose to romance is getting closer and... closer. And closer. And that sure is a lot of teeth, huh? Is it coming in for a kiss or to eat off your face? It’s... really hard to tell with all the rose petals, isn’t it?
To make matters even worse, you can’t move -- you’re locked into the scene until it comes to its proper conclusion. The game is stuck and you're here, suffering through it all. Well, you're suffering unless someone comes and rescues you, but who in the world would interrupt a touching scene like this to do that?!
BONUS [ why o'clock ] You know you have to get dressed up nicely for your date. It's an important one! Third date means third base, after all. So, you’re shoved into a closet, and surrounded by tons and tons of choices to pick from. You're spoiled for choice!
But, well... no matter what you put on, or even if you just elect to stay in your regular clothing, it changes as soon as you step out of the closet to meet your date.
Don’t worry, you look adorable.
It can’t be taken off, of course. So you’d better get comfy, because you’re going to be a pink dinosaur for your third date and... your fourth date. And your fifth. Hell, you might still be a pink dinosaur when it comes time to confess! How... cute.
[ 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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Shion | No.6 | OTA
[ Being forced to suddenly pick a... erm... 'Date' really left no room for questions- especially considering since Shion had no one to really talk to. So, easily enough he picks... Choice number 1! The option that's the least scary, but you can tell he's pretty frightened. He's never seen monsters this ... Grotesque before, and now he's suited up and is just staring at the thing before him.
The fact that the monster is just staring at Shion, trying to lean closer isn't helping him. He's frozen in fear but something in his mind is telling him to make a break for it, his eyes flicker to the left and the right. He picks up the closest thing near him- which happens to be a fancy wine glass and throws it right at his ... date (minus 10 affection points probably)! He's been told he's never been really good at the romance thing... ... ...
And now you might see a white haired boy try to scramble for it. He might bump into you? Trip over a chair and land on the ground with a loud thump? It's up to you- just help this kid, maybe. ]
Phase II
[ Honestly, if Shion took a class in running away he'd probably get an easy 'A'. Though, he finally found a place to relax so there's an automatic sigh of relief! ]
It looks safer here... Now where am I...
[ He looks up only to see the dressing rooms with the signs. Well, truthfully he knows he isn't a charismatic person, or a strong one! Although, is he supposed to pick one? Ah, well... On the bright side it seems like he's not the only person here! Finally, maybe he can get some answers, because honestly his mind is more focused on all the questions that are buzzing in his head ever since The Date. ]
What were those things? Holograms- no they looked too realistic... No way it was an illusion either... Ah, maybe robots? [ Totally ignoring the dressing rooms for now (he'll get back to it later don't worry) because those monsters are what on his mind right now! What were they!!! He needs his answers. ]
Phase III
[ It's awfully dark and Shion has yet to register he's in cage- well, until he backs up and feels the metal bars against his back. They're cold too! He feels it right against his skin and... Oh.
Oh.
He wraps his arms around his chest to try to cover up... whatever he can, but it's kind of futile. Shion's cheeks are definitely turning warm from embarrassment. He's honestly more self conscious about the snake-like scar that wraps around his entire body, although since it's pretty dark it's unlikely anyone can see... Perhaps.
Speaking of other people, he does catch the noises of someone else beginning to stir. Okay, just... Ignore your naked. Ignore it... Just ignore it. It should be fine, hopefully, because his immediate thought is that maybe the other person can help, so he calls out. ]
We got to get out of here- [ Yes. Obviously. ] Are you awake? I wonder who did this- I remembering picking a choice and ended up here. Ah... [ The... Monster? Oh no... ]
phase ii
I am not certain about them being holograms but they can hurt you if you are not careful. They are rather organic to be robots.
[Veronica picks a door by random, twitching it open only to see the "dashing lass" from earlier.]
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You're calm about this... It's amazing.
[ Meanwhile, Shion is trying his best not to freak out too much. Of course, that kind of fails when he watches her open the door and he sees that "dashing lass"! Without even thinking he grabs Veronica's arm. ]
Ahh- be careful!
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[-that it's all that amazing, honestly. 'Calm' is her default state of being.
Though she's not sure if he should be poking monsters just to see whether or not they're warm.
She stumbles back when he grabs her arm, eyes wide as the creature opens its mouth and growls out about needing help. And another word that Veronica isn't familiar with.]
....What is a "senpai"? [Help her out on this, Shion.]
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Shion only tilts his head at the word and taps his cheek thoughtfully. ]
It's just a suffix used in Japanese meaning upperclassman or someone of a higher age. Basically a senior. It's used in a lot of academic societies. [ Back where he was he never really used such honorifics, but Japanese was a pretty prevalent language there. ]
I guess that would make, err... Her [ ??? ] your 'kouhai'?
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I see. I do not think we are in the same academic society. Although I am not entirely certain if I am older.
[What a strange thing to say....]
But why is she referring to me as such? [Clearly when they're standing face to face with a horrific monster, this is the thing she should be wondering about, right?]
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[ Shion tries to think about it. From what he's gathered so far... He went through several steps: choosing a, err, 'date'... going through that 'date', and now he's here having to choose a door. It's almost like a process that seems set and stone for everyone because it looks like he's not the only one that has to deal with this! ]
This almost reminds me of a simulation, I guess... I use to do them a lot in my classes. Although, they weren't [ erm. ] like this exactly.
[ A simulation that helps you... Date? Gosh, if Nezumi was here he'd probably say something about how much Shion actually needs this. ]
Have you ever been here before? [ They both seem pretty... Clueless about why there are monsters in a weird date setting, calling them Senpai and whatnot, so he can only presume such. ]
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[At least that's what all the ads had said. It had looked interesting enough from the outside??]
And no, this is new so I have never been here before. [She's not sure she'd come back to this again. But mostly what she found confusing was the whole dating thing....she had been on one date before and monsters hadn't figured into it at all.]
You have not been here before either?
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It almost reminds me of the ones I had to do... Except they weren't this realistic.
[ Which actually brings up a question, but first he shakes his head to Veronica's. ]
No, I haven't... If this is a simulation then this isn't real. So those monsters aren't real either, despite looking extremely realistic. [ Although, Shion still doesn't know if he could actually touch the monsters, and be hurt by them as well. So, knowing how realistic they are is still up in the air. ] This must be very advanced technology to achieve something of this level.
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phase i
That wine glass looked reaaally expensive, right? And to think that you'd just go throwing it like that...
[ he'll give shion an exaggerated sigh, but he doesn't keep up the ruse for long — if shion looks up, there's a friendly sort of smile on his face — a bit too friendly, though, given the severity of the situation that they're in... ]
You okay?
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But I think it was hostile, it was about to chase after me and I had no other means to protect myself so I immediately thought- [ he started talking too fast and he bit his tongue! Shion inhales sharpy while clasping a palm over his mouth. ]
I'm okay. [ Ow ow ow... His tongue! ] ... Probably. Is it coming after me? [ The monster... ... ]
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[ he shrugs, and for someone in immediate danger, he's sounding pretty calm. anyway, shion might notice a sudden shadow hovering over him from behind his back; and just when it raises its arm, about to strike, tsurumaru will reach for shion's wrist and yank him forward towards a certain direction, mouthing a 'run'.
there was really no point in mouthing anything, though, because once shion gets going with him, tsurumaru laughs... but should he really be laughing right now?
well, no, but he's doing it anyway. he speaks in between moments to catch his breath, but it's a slow, clambering monster, so there's no need to bolt at full speed. ]
Next, we can talk about how difficult it is to get wine stains out of white clothes. What if the monster makes us pay its dry cleaning bill?
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Shion's more focused on finding a way to get out of here, so when Tsurumaru spoke up again he only stared. There's a delayed response but he answers back... in the most serious way possible. ]
I don't think we have to worry about that- it wasn't even wearing clothes, so I don't think there's a dry cleaning bill to pay for.
[ He... Didn't really catch the joke. ]
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Ah..... You're not one for jokes, are you? It's fine, you'll learn.
[ learn... how, right? tsuru's just out here recruiting any poor sucker under his wing... but, while they're at it: ]
Do you see anything that'd help us? I mean, I could just stab it, but I'd prefer not to — even if that monster doesn't have a dry cleaning bill, I do.
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He almost didn't notice the weapon that he's carrying! That would be pretty helpful, but true Tsurumaru is wearing a lot of white and that is pretty hard to wash out. So with a quick glance back at the monster Shion can make a few guesses of how to get out of this predicament just by simply running away! ]
It doesn't seem to have eyes, [ if so, extremely small which means its eyesight is terrible. ] so... I wonder what it relies on. Smell? Hearing? I don't think it has much to hear with... It wouldn't even be able to really rely on something like echolocation because that would require hearing.
[ Hmm... ] I wonder if we can maybe hide somewhere and it'll give up.
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but for now, he looks back at the monster, and like shion said, it doesn't look as if it can see with its nonexistent eyes. there are a lot of other complex words that tsuru hears (echolocation? what's that??), but he understands what he needs to — the hiding bit. definitely the hiding bit and he nods. ]
We could try to find some kind of narrow hallway, that's big enough for us to run through, but small enough so that it can't follow us.
[ because he's sure that if they met some kind of dead end, they'd certainly end up eaten... ]
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iii
Nah, he's got a bunch of scars all around his own body and he's not shy about any of this, though he is a little on edge--]
Dude, it's so not cool! Where's my stuff? My dice? My swords? My clothes...?! [why in that order] What a pain....
[He glances over to the other then, after his little tirade is over.]
You're not hurt or anything though, right? You don't really look like a fighter...!
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They took everything from us while we were out cold... [ Shion scratches the side of his cheek and looks around again- well, until Sakon tells Shion he doesn't look like a fighter and the arms are hugging his chest again! He knows he has a pretty scrawny body so he's pretty self conscious about that too when he's undressed. ]
Well... I managed. I've been getting better at running away. [ Is that something to be proud of? He's alive and that's all that matters, really! ] I never seen anything like those creatures before though- I wonder what their motive is...
[ His only possible guess is food, considering how it looked like the one he went on a erm 'Date' with was veeery interested in eating Shion rather than the food on the table... ]
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[He's but a simple Sakon....]
I mean - they wanted a date with me, right? But that's already pretty risky business as far as I'm concerned - and not the fun kind. [Oh.] So I can't say that I'm willing to pick up what they're putting down....
[There's a flicker of a frown. It's unfortunate how little he understands even now. But then he's glancing back to Shion and offering a bit of a grin.]
Didn't mean to scare you with the whole not a fighter thing, though! S'okay, not everyone's cut out for it. Just let me handle it if it comes down to that, okay? You can do your running away thing until I can catch up with you.
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He only shakes his head. ]
I want to help, if I can. [ because there must be a way he can help... they have to get out of here somehow... ]
These bars seem pretty solid, I wonder if there's still a way we can get out of here... Maybe if we find the door it can give us an idea what to do. Do you see it? [ this is going to be tough. He has experience with a lot of things but getting out of a cage!? Nope... Well, he definitely will try. ]
i!
That is to say, Kaoru is the victim of one (1) white-haired punk who isn't watching where he's going, but life can't be easy for either of them! So that backwards momentum carries Kaoru into a chair, and that chair is knocked over into Shion's path, so good luck either suddenly playing hurdles or tripping too, comrade... From this corner of the boxing ring, Kaoru just makes a vaguely distressed sound. Falling always sucks okay, falling isn't even fun for demons.
Also, Shion's date is still kind of shuffling eerily their way. That's a thing.]
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Sadly, Shion is not a graceful person so he isn't the type that can just jump over these new chair-hurdles, so naturally he trips as soon as his foot gets caught on the one that hits the floor with a thump... Down he goes! This is seriously the worst date ever? He probably earned himself a bruise or something later, but he tries to make his recovery fast by lifting his head to look around only to see the person he bumped into down as well.
So now his thoughts immediately set his priority from escaping to helping Kaoru. ]
Hey, are you alright? [ He tries to reach for Kaoru, putting a hand on his shoulder to make sure he's still with the world... ]
I'm so sorry... We really have to get out of here though..
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[SO DISTRESSED. Look what you've done, Shion!! What a clumsy escape attempt... and date in general... Their eldritch friend certainly doesn't look too pleased, especially since Shion is still trying to ditch! Rude!
But time to - not be here anymore, honestly, because Kaoru doesn't want to get gutted by someone else's angry date.]
Quickly, then - to the exit!
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Thank goodness. Good thing it wasn't a big fall...
[ There's a sign of relief and- oh, right. Right. Escaping from the monster, that's definitely a thing they should be doing right now. So without further ado... Shion's going to actually grab Kaoru by the wrist and drag him along!? He's in a rush here so he can't really process half of his thoughts. ]
Okay, let's try this way! [ Honestly, since Shion's never been here before he's not sure where to go, but he'll drag Kaoru along to the nearest door. It's either the exit or another room... Pray for that exit. ]
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But oh, they're going on a trip now!! Kaoru will let this punk lead the way, though there's definitely a look of Concern being shot his way. This guy is a newcomer, Kaoru already knows... So where the heck does he think he's going??
To another room, apparently. HAHA, no exit luck for either of them.]
Ah— Perhaps we should try going left this time?
[At least Shion's date is slow...]