« 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

[psycholawgy]

[ Athena nods excitedly. She's really happy to be working with Phoenix and Apollo, and she'll show it any way possible whenever she gets the chance. ]

But we're aiming to be better! I think it's high-time we got a junior-junior partner, so I don't have to scrub the toilets anymore. Not that it's a bad thing. I still get paid!

[ She's never considered the possibility of there being separate timelines, so she thinks that this Edgeworth would end up just having more memories of the past if and when their world is brought back. So she decides not to drop as much important details right now. Besides, things are far too pleasant to talk about the dark age of the law. ]

[prosecutory]

[Aiming to be better is always a very good goal. Edgeworth is...certain...that Apollo and Athena are in capable hands. Well, provided he doesn't just teach them how to bluff. His good mood continues.]

Aren't you referring to an assistant, or perhaps an intern? I hope they get more work experience than merely scrubbing toilets.

[FIRST ONE TO SAY EDGEWORTH HAS NO SENSE OF HUMOR GETS SLUGGED BY A TOILET BRUSH OKAY. HE WAS TOTALLY SNARKY THERE HAHAHA.

This is a nice future to wait for, despite the fact that they would have to go through a retrial of some case or other. Well, if it's for the truth, it cannot be helped.]

[psycholawgy]

[ Oh, that's a very good question. But she has to sort some stuff out before that, namely: ]

Scrubbing toilets is very important! It teaches you how to be patient in the midst of annoying prosecutors.

[ She says this with such a serious expression, she can't possibly be joking. ]

[psycholawgy]

[ Then she realises she says that right in front of the prosecutor who helped a certain someone out so much. Oops? ]

I mean- whoops!

(I really need an inside voice!)

[prosecutory]

[...

Congratulations, you get one (1) Edgeworth-brand deadpan stare, Athena. Now with a free arched eyebrow.]

I would think that a lawyer should be patient in the midst of other circumstances...besides "annoying prosecutors".

[psycholawgy]

I am patient! And I wasn't talking about you, don't worry!

[ But... Widget. . . Widget would like to say something. ]

Just Payne!

[ Not even "Prosecutor Payne". Just Payne.

What respectable first impression Athena could have made on Edgeworth is slowly fading away. ]

[prosecutory]

[Sure, Athena. Suuuure -

Whut. The robotic voice comes from Athena and obviously that wasn't her.]

...Who said that? [Payne? Should I...know this person?]

[psycholawgy]

[ This was a little inconvenient, because if she wanted to introduce Widget to someone, she'd want it to be when she applies psychology... not when he just randomly says what's on her mind! It's so not cool. ]

That was Widget.

[ She puts a hand on her necklace's pendant. ]

He's a robot.

[prosecutory]

[Well, that's not something you see everyday. Edgeworth's gaze is drawn to the pendant, and sure enough, it does look like a little robot.

Kind of reminds him of Little Thief, except that Little Thief never talked. It's probably for the best; Kay is loud enough for the both of them.]

Does Widget interrupt conversations often?

[psycholawgy]

Widget likes to finish my sentences.

[ She says this rather quickly, because... well, better leave this subject behind before it gets awkward! ]

Sorry about that, Mr. Edgeworth!

[prosecutory]

Is it possible to...switch it off, or modify it so it no longer interrupts?

[Athena called Widget a "he", Edgeworth. Get with the program.]

[psycholawgy]

It's- it's okay, it won't happen again.

[ She waves a hand up and down stiffly to just leave the idea behind. ]

[prosecutory]

...Very well.

[That interruption wasn't that big a deal anyway, so they can move on. Who WAS Payne, though? Anyway.]

Can you tell me about your arrival? [Same modus operandi? Did they change their formula now, Edgeworth wonders. It never hurts to ask if an old routine suddenly changed.]

[psycholawgy]

[ If you must know, he's an old man prosecutor who claims to be a gentleman but all he is is a big jerk. He also doesn't have a lot of hair left on him... he's not worth your time, Mr. Edgeworth. ]

No problem, I'll tell you everything -[ She won't sweat the details, either. But first... ] - over some snacks!

[ This seems like a good way to get to know the man who helped her boss get his badge back. And, of course, get to know the guy who helped Prosecutor Blackquill by a lot. Athena wouldn't be who she is now without Edgeworth's help, but of course, he doesn't need to know that. She wasn't directly helped out by him, anyway.

Also, she could get some dirt on her own boss from all this. It's going to be a lot of fun. ]

[prosecutory]

[Not worth his time? No wonder he can't even remember the guy!

...Snacks? Suddenly? Wait, wait, Athena's going to get lost around here if she attempts to look for snacks on her own.]

...What did you have in mind?

[psycholawgy]

[ She's gotten used to the burgers and grape juice that Phoenix would provide at the agency, but snack time was definitely not like that before she moved back to the United States. She'd have a slice of cake or some other light pastry, along with orange juice. Madeleines were fun to eat, too. It was a quick snack right in between classes!

But American snacks or French snacks... it didn't seem like Athena had easy access to those here. Or did she? ]

Well, you seem like you've been here for a while. [ She just sounds so casual while talking to him. Simon was so stiff around him, but Edgeworth is just a normal person, like everyone else! No need to sound so formal. ] What's good alien food?

[prosecutory]

[Athena's right, in any case. Edgeworth HAS been around for a while. And it would be good for the two of them to sit down and talk about this.]

I know a tea shop that has the best selection of tea and pastries in the colony. [And he adds with a touch of humor:] However, it isn't alien food.

[psycholawgy]

That's great!

[ She'll just let Edgeworth lead the way. ]

Thanks, Mr. Edgeworth.

[prosecutory]

You're welcome. And I must say, nice to meet you, Miss Cykes...even though our meeting has come rather early in my point of view.

[He bows. After straightening up, he begins walking purposely through the streets to find a fancy little tea joint that he knows Athena would like. She seems like the type to enjoy sweet baked goods...]

[psycholawgy]

[ It really was all casual at first, but now that Athena was being all up close and personal with Edgeworth, she slowly felt pressured and nervous. But of course, she was trying so hard not to show it.

It wasn't because he was recognised for his work back at home, but rather, she didn't want to mess up what image he had of Phoenix and what Phoenix has been doing as a lawyer. She didn't want him to have a bad impression of herself, either. Anything she could say could affect how Edgeworth would address that situation in the future, and, well... she didn't want to mess things up.

And let's be real, Edgeworth was sort of intimidating.

(No sweat, Athena! You can do this! Mr. Edgeworth is just like Mr. Wright, there's no need to be afraid of him!)

Honestly, if she could scream "I'm fine!" right now, she would. ]

It's, um, nice to meet you too, Mr. Edgeworth! I mean, we've clearly met before, but I guess this is more formal?

[ Confidence slowly fading... intimidation technique is working... ]

[prosecutory]

Yes, it is. [To him, it's now formal because he's no longer just staring at her asking HAVE WE MET?]

In case you are wondering, we may encounter more people who are from our world, but not from the same timeline. [Jamjar lyfe. Totally warning you.]

[psycholawgy]

[ She appreciates the warning, but her imagination still goes places. It's not as vivid as what Maya would think of, but instead, she thinks of other, less fortunate things. She thinks of how it would be like if Apollo arrived and he didn't know who she was. That would be tough. ]

That just sounds so hard to believe... [ And yet, she does. It's already happening, after all. ] I guess I'll just have to prepare myself if that happens.

[prosecutory]

[His expression darkens.]

Many aspects of this place are hard to believe. But yes, it would help to brace yourself.

[...you have the unfair advantage of a previous jamjar lyfe, Edgeworth.]

[psycholawgy]

[ Prosecutors have always been cheaters...

Athena's positivity doesn't falter. This place would need to do a lot to beat her down! ]

Good thing I'm the master of coping!

[ She didn't mean to make a psychology reference right there and then. She'll just explain everything later. ]

[prosecutory]

[And I'm the master of overflows!]