« 009 ⇢ event009.exe »

[reparator]

Who: CERES & you
When: ooc: 01/15-01/22; ic: 11/03-11/06
Where: Cerealia's Research & Technology District and Beyond!!!
What: Intro and Event log
Rating/Warning: PG-13 | possibly nsfw (please let us know if you need this rating changed, or you are welcome to continue any naughty shenanigans in a private log)

//event009.EXE Always Believe in the Heart of the Cards Except When They Tell You to Kill People Welcome to CERES Research Tower’s latest event! For all you new folk queuing outside of the conference room where you were just made to sit through a lovely power point presentation, you will be asked to stay a bit longer and test out some games in their Game Testing Center. It’s a giant space located in the basement level filled to the brim with cubicles for everyone to sit in and enjoy their newest array of pop-up games. The games themselves will be in holo(gm) form and will feature suggestions from CEO’s post, including a simplified, 8-bit version of Tetris, Baseball, Soda Smash, etc. Characters can control the game through moving their fingers and tapping them against the holo(gm) screens. Surrounding the cubicles will be tables of food and more food for characters to partake in. It’s all safe this time. No mind-altering candy corn or gut-exploding Knight Burgers. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the party. For those who have been in Cerealia for a while, they should have received an invitation to the event and an offer of 1,000 credits just for participating. So come on down and bring a friend or ten! Meanwhile, CEO has a small welcome for everyone- “Good Morning and thank you all for coming! We have been expecting you. We hope you will enjoy what we’ve put together today. Ever since we got your feedback on << RAINBOW NARWHAL MELEE >>, we’ve been developing new games for all of you to enjoy. We’ve also tried to draw in some things from your worlds. We hope to hear more feedback from you in the future. In the meantime, feel free to sample our food, generously provided to us by TGICERES, a moderately-priced family restaurant located in the Shopping District."

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] Music lightly wafts from the speakers as the showroom opens. Julius Vincere, CERES’ CEO, delivers the opening announcement before leaving the room. He’ll be watching through all the video cameras placed around the room, so be on your best behavior! You will be guided to one of the many cubicles where you will sit and wait for a screen to pop up with a game. Once that game is defeated, another will pop up and another and another until your character gets hungry/has to pee/is so done with this shit. PHASE II [ xxxx ] Among the game rotations is a simple 8-bit fortune telling game starring Aria, the fortune teller. Come be enchanted by her mysterious wiles as she reads your future. She will do some 8-bit arm motions before summoning a ring of cards that will float around her. Characters will be encouraged to pick a card -any card. Once one has been selected, it will turn around slowly and unveil a card from the major arcana. Aria will then give your character their fortune, and that will be that. End of game. Onto the next! PHASE III [ xxxx ] You’ve left the testing center, and the evening has passed. As you wake up to perform your normal daily tasks, a niggling urge emerges at the back of your mind. It’s faint at first, just a whisper of a suggestion that pokes at your brain like a mosquito bite. However, that bite starts to grow bigger and become infectious. As the day wears on, you find that one little suggestion escalating. The next day is even worse. It starts to dominate your every thought, making you carry out actions you never thought yourself capable of. Who is this person in the mirror? Who have you become? PHASE IV [ xxxx ] By day three, the impulse is now a full-blown addiction. It’s set into your psyche completely. You’ve become something else entirely –the embodiment of the card. You will be acting out everything without anymore resistance, and it won’t stop until the clock strikes midnight. That’s when you’ll reel back to your senses, and when it’ll all have felt like the worst dream ever. Or a nightmare really. BONUS [ whyo'clock ] Among all the games present, there is also an 8-bit version of CERESLearn. Yes, you remember the magical game that won your hearts over not too long ago. It will come complete with the same rules. You choose a subject, you choose an 8-bit teacher among the three (Astor), (Hilda), or (UN-Zippy), and you watch them as they try to erotically teach you what you want to learn. Is that an 8-bit boob or her arm? Who knows? But beware… as you may remember, these teachers house a very terrible secret. They will transform into an 8-bit giant bug that will chase around your protag as you guide them to run away with your finger, but you can also flick the bug on the holo(gm) screen to send them away for good. Those who figure out that little cheat code will immediately receive a special real-time shoulder rub as a reward from a robot that looks eerily like a carbon copy of their teacher of choice. [ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with trigger-y or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ]

//RUN.EXE Welcome to CEREALIA's latest event and intro post. For your convenience, we have compiled a post detailing what's going on right here and feel free to consult the FAQ if needed. Please leave any lingering questions in the OOC post, and we'll answer them as soon as we can. If this post goes into overflow, we will make a new one to deal with the ever-hated captcha! Worry not!

Comments

one/two!

[unluckless]

[There's really no mistaking Pekoyama at all, is there? It's been a long while since Komaeda has seen her. Between his stay at Haven and his time here, well. It's been a long time since he's seen most of his classmates -- less time in Pekoyama and Kuzuryuu's case however, but he's going to err on the side of believing she won't remember that.

More importantly, he's still staring when he's bumped into, blinking before holding up his hands.]

I'm afraid it was my fault, Pekoyama-san. But that's probably not all that surprising, is it?

[He ruins everything. His smile is the same, blithe and cheerful even as he continues on -- but it's tired around the edges. He's mostly gotten over his starvation-victim state of being, and his missing hand has been replaced with a prosthetic realistic and functioning enough that it's nigh on indistinguishable from the real one.] I guess you just arrived? I didn't expect to really see anyone I knew.

[perfectstrike]

[She is fairly distinctive, that much is true. At least she isn't completely surprised to see Komaeda, considering what Hinata had told her, but that's not to be confused with considering him a welcome sight.]

Komaeda.

[At least her method of address hasn't changed, the stern gaze she's fixing him with matching her familiar attitude from the island. Considering she was a guilty culprit herself, though, she's still not expecting the warmest reception. That, more than anything, is what gives her voice a suspicious, guarded tone.]

...That is correct. You... have not seen any of our classmates aside from Hinata, have you?

[unluckless]

[He's more than used to people not wanting to see him. And for his part, well, his feelings on his classmates are mixed. Those who survived, who made the decision that Hinata and Sonia had, well, it's easier to really firmly believe that they've chosen to be something more than despair.

His classmates who didn't make it long enough to face that choice, well. He's skeptical, but he's come far enough that he's not jumping to the worst conclusion. It's personal growth. Or something. It's been a long year and a half. Besides, he figures if Kuzuryuu made that same decision with the other survivors, Pekoyama is likely to follow suit.

So that smile stays the same, unsure what she knows or when she might have been plucked from by CERES.] Have I seen Kuzuryuu-kun you mean? I haven't. I'm sorry it's only me. And Hinata-kun of course. That's probably more reassuring at least.

But if you've arrived... maybe the others will follow. And since there are so many new comers arriving again, we should make sure to investigate to be certain for now.

[perfectstrike]

[This makes both of her classmates who've seen right through her pale attempt at asking about Kuzuryuu. Well. At least she knows that they remember exactly what happened, with her trial. Not that she was expecting them to forget, per se, but it's... easier, not to wonder if she needs to pretend. Especially when she doesn't have Kuzuryuu here to prompt her.

Not that it's really a good thing.]

You want to investigate with me?

[And at that, she actually seems somewhat surprised. Hinata is the SHSL Harmless Face, if anyone was going to forgive her, it'd be him. Komaeda, on the other hand... she isn't sure if it's because she demonstrated a strong hope or what, but she did still kill one of their classmates. Forgive her for being a little uncertain.]

[unluckless]

Mm! It seems like a good idea to collaborate. And you'd have more motivation to look carefully than anyone else would, right?

[He is sure that Pekoyama wouldn't miss looking anywhere if it meant finding a certain small yakuza heir.

Another smile and he shrugs.] That and you're new here. It's very strange to get used to. And more than that, I admit I'm also curious! [About where she lies on the hope and despair spectrum just now.]

[perfectstrike]

Mm.

[She... can't argue with his logic. Not that she often could, except when it came to things like "measuring hope" and whatnot. So she nods sharply, choosing not to look a gift horse in the mouth this time around, and moving past him to check each booth individually.]

Curious about what? [You can't just say something like that and not expect her to want clarification.]

[unluckless]

Lots of things.

[Komaeda answers, helpfully. He is, of course, always exceptionally helpful. Or something like that -- or not at all like that. He falls into step with Pekoyama though, taking the next row of booths.

But he's still chatting on casually as he does.] For example, what's the last thing you remember before you came here? Time can be a strange thing here, you know.

[perfectstrike]

[He is always. so helpful. The bulk of Peko's attention is still on checking the booths, looking for that distinctive buzzed hair with the shaved swoops, but there's a catch to her step when he asks that. The idea of time being strange hadn't really occurred to her at all.]

The last thing I remember is my execution. I'm certain I died, [she says bluntly. An earlier trip to the bathroom to look in a mirror had revealed scars where she remembered being stabbed. There's no way even she could have survived that, not once Kuzuryuu had been struck.

A pause, then she glances to him.] Hinata told me the truth about the island.

[unluckless]

You did. At least on that island.

[Komaeda smiles at hearing Hinata has found her already. Ah that does make his job a lot easier, doesn't it?]

That's good. That you've heard about it. Was it difficult to accept, that sort of information? [He, umm, he took it pretty badly. The truth. Especially the half truth, the bits that had him trying to kill everyone. He's reconciled a lot of it in his mind since then.]

[perfectstrike]

[She glances to him with a hint of annoyed confusion, opening her mouth to protest that no, she definitely did die, she remembers that pain -- only to close it again and resume checking booths. He has to be referring to the island outside the New World Program, right? She's assuming so, anyway.]

Hinata would have no reason to lie, [she answers without answering, purposefully continuing to look toward the booths themselves.] He is not so malicious to try to cause a killer further pain.

[edit: overflow here!]