estoria | //EVENT029.EXE

Entry tags:

//EVENT029.EXE

Who: Not CERES
When: OOC: 5/15 ; IC: 7/7
Where: Tropical ViViD Estates
What: CERES thought everyone deserved a bit of a break.
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for some questionable swimsuit choices. Please let the mods know if the rating should go up!

//event029.EXE

You know what everyone needs after rampant robotic attacks and another iteration of clone wars? A vacation! That’s right everyone, you deserve this. CERES understands what you need. CERES is here for you all the time, so never doubt that this is a pleasure colony, and they are here to look after all of your needs. Kick your feet up, relax, and let CERES Recreation and Activity Necessity Keepers (Team RANK, that is) set you up with your ideal getaway.

It’s as if you can sense the incoming relaxation and luxury before you even completely finish loading. There’s the warmth encompassing your entire body as your code gets transferred into this particular ViViD Level. A cool, refreshing breeze hits you. The sounds of waves gently lapping against the coast fill you with relaxation. The sun, the sand, the surfs, it’s all there – welcome to the beach, baby!

An echoing greeting message from the ocean comes next, if you can translate it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOHMAHH GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHD.

YOOOOOOOOOOOORRRALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOO KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT.

KYOOOOOOOOOOOT EEEENAAAAUUUUUUUF TOOOOOOOOOOOOO EEEEEEEEEEEEEEET.

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I

[ 0800 ] That said, isn’t that breeze a little… too strong? It feels like it’s brushing up against all of you, if you know what I mean. When you open your eyes and look down, it becomes rather clear why. It seems that you’ve found yourself in some pretty interesting attire. Everyone. No exceptions. You appear to have two options – be overcome and scream like the Victorian maiden your heart says you are, or strut like a model in this stuff. Turn some heads! Work that up do!

But don’t worry, we’re also conscious about safety here at CERES! Therefore everyone’s also been provided a pair of super high-tech safety-tested appendage protection floatation devices (STAPFD for short.)

At least everyone around you is caught in the same sort of attire – and everyone around you also appears to be stuck inside a giant sand castle. It’s entirely malleable to what you want it to be! Want to see a fancy sand bidet? Feel like adding a sand statue in your honor? Think that wall should now be a door? Well, with enough perseverance, you can make it happen!

Just uh, be careful about getting sand in your… everywhere.

PHASE II

[ 1000 ] Someone broke it. Not pointing any fingers, even though you sure do seem like a prime suspect, but someone broke it.

It almost starts like an earthquake with how the castle starts to rumble, the sand shaking right beneath your feet. And then the walls right next to you start to cave in followed promptly by the ceiling right… above your head. Oh dear. The sand starts to run and fall, losing its structure and shape. The hallway behind you starts to cave in, ceiling first and then the walls follow suit. Now the sand really is getting everywhere – but not just uncomfortable places. It’s in your hair, your eyes, your nose…. this sure doesn’t seem like a pleasant way to go!

Best to start running – there’s a trusty drawbridge to get over the moat (because what’s a sandcastle without a moat?) but who knows how long until that, too, is going to give way? Best to cross over it before it starts to shake and disappear too. Or if you don’t make it, hopefully you can land some pretty impressive airtime to make it to the other side!

If not, well...there'll be the sensation of sand crushing down upon you, filling your mouth and eyes, and you won't be able to breathe at all – and then you're alive again on the beach (but possibly in yet another new, uncomfortable, skimpy swimsuit). Honestly, be more careful, would you?

PHASE III

[ 1200 ] However, once you do make it to the other side, it’s all smooth sailing from there! Or is it? Hah, as they say, life sure can be a beach.

Which is what this is.

Welcome to your Beach Episode, folks. Now that you’ve made it out of the collapsing sand castle, you’ve made it to the luxurious, picturesque golden coastline. Sure, you’re coughing up fine, luxurious, sand dust right now and you’ve definitely gotten sand in all of your crevices thanks to your swimsuit, but that’s okay! Go take a soak in the ocean or something or cool off with a smoothie. There’s a smoothie shack off into the distance, complete with a long chalkboard with… well, probably a few familiar names? And some unfamiliar ingredients. Sounds appetizing right?

That said, once you do ingest some of the smoothie with the name of a newcomer, you might suddenly find yourself feeling a bit… different. You’ll be taking on some of their traits, one of the most intense parts of their personality – or you might need to take a second to sit down because you’re suddenly seeing one of their memories. Whoa. What do they actually put in this stuff?

PHASE IV

[ 1500 ] For the brave souls that venture out into the water, you have even more adventures waiting for you. Anyone who’s swimming around, wading in the water—hell, even looking at the water is getting scooped up and deposited in one of these giant orbs. But don’t take up too much room, because someone else is getting shoved right in there with you. Time to get cozy with your new friend, because it's only going to get worse as the waves begin to carry you out into this big, blue, virtual ocean. Hopefully the choppy waves don’t bounce you around too much or – well, you could always get really friendly with a stranger! Why not?

At least until it’s made very clear that fresh air does not make it back into these balls. That seems like a bit of a design flaw. Now what? Fight the other person who’s inhaling all your air? Suffer through it for swimsuit-clad fun? Or if you break it…. well, you sure are stranded out in the ocean. Or are you?

After enough flailing, you’ll be met by a giant, dumb-looking creature who will then eat you whole.

Everything goes dark. This is surely the end --

And then you're in Cerealia proper; it seems that was the exit to the level (but why there?) and you'll find yourself either in one of the fountains or the pond in the park. Either way, you'll be very, very well. And this time, that's not virtual. But hey, at least you'll have all of your stuff with you.

BONUS

[ xxxx ] Do you hear that?

Anyone idle on the beach will hear a distant melody coming from further out into the ocean. It’s a beautiful, elegant song that automatically makes the listener stop what they’re doing and immediately wander toward the noise. It takes you a moment to recall – it takes a moment to think about anything now, really – but you remember hearing the smoothie shack owner say something about mermaids populating the beach. Could this be their song calling out to you? Whether you would normally abide by this kind of call or not, you find your feet walking further and further out into the water, the shallows lapping up to your ankles and up and up as you are drawn in by the song.

A rather classic song, though the usual instances of French are also replaced with the very enticing, enchanting nonsense promise of omelette du fromage........and then they try to drown you.

[ 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. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to Cerealia's May intro log! For your convenience, we have compiled the characters' arrival experience here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He may or may not notice as Taka swings by the fountain, seems slightly alarmed at the state he's in, and flies away again. What he will notice is when Ankh--still wet, but in much better shape than Eiji--comes running up following the bird a few minutes later.]

[Eiji does notice Taka and smiles in relief before slowly pulling himself out of the fountain.]

I'm okay, Ankh. Just a little worn out.

[He's also not making eye contact, and Ankh can probably guess why, considering the stitches are still there on his arm.]

[Ankh gives him a scrutinizing look--inventorying the stitches, the way he's barely holding himself up, anything else (he won't meet his gaze, and he doesn't have to see the purple eyes to know they're still there)--then sighs quietly. He's not in good shape, but he's sane, and he's not dying. That's an improvement over Inugami.]

Say that when you haven't just been laying around in a fountain.

[Really, it says enough that he didn't bother to move until Ankh showed up.]

I'm fine--or I will be, at least.

[It's nice that Ankh's worried about him, but there's only so much of that Eiji can take at a time. Not to mention he's got a message on that CereVice. Huh, a smoothie coupon. Useful.]

I'll feel better after I eat something. It looks like I've got a coupon for a smoothie--I can probably get something there.

[He replies with a vague nod. Food doesn't sound like a bad idea, in general, though the mention of smoothies catches his attention.]

Like the ones on the beach?

[Those were pretty weird... though it also seems likely that that might have just been something about ViViD.]

There were some on the beach? I didn't see, I was too busy...

[Well, busy trying to save you from a bunch of murderous mermaids, but he's got some sense of self-preservation at long last, and he's not saying it out loud.]

[Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Ankh had plenty of time to discover the smoothies before all that happened, so what else were you too busy doing? But he's not going to comment. He nods toward the information on Eiji's CereVice.]

So where are we going, anyway?

Somewhere in the pleasure district? There's supposed to be a place.

Let's go, then.

[Not that he has much of any idea where he's going, but it looks like that coupon at least came with a few hints at directions. Ankh isn't quite as starved as Eiji is, but those smoothies in ViViD don't seem to have counted as real food, either, so the sooner the both of them can get to a meal, the better.]

[Honestly, Eiji's not that enthusiastic about liquid food again, but he'll deal for now.

And at least the directions aren't too hard to follow, so it doesn't take long before they find the place.]

Okay, looks like they at least have some snacks here. That okay with you? I mean, I can get you an ice pop later...

[He does kind of owe Ankh a lot of them, after everything that's happened.]

You better.

[They had a deal, and he's not going to forget about it. But right now he just wants food and won't be quite so picky.]

This is fine for now.

[Well, at least now, Eiji smiles faintly.]

Right, right. I promise.

[And one quick order later, they've got some snacks and one very purple smoothie that he can't help but give a suspicious look.

Seriously, of all colors.

But he takes a cautious sip.]

It's okay, I guess.

[Ankh likewise gives that smoothie a suspicious look, though it at least doesn't seem to have any weird effects on Eiji. For now, though, he just munches on some of the other snacks.]

[Well, it probably doesn't affect the person it's named for. Or Eiji's honestly just screwed up enough that he's immune--your pick.]

Did you want some? I'm probably not going to finish the whole thing.

[And he knows that, about it probably not affecting him the same way, which is why he hesitates just slightly. But most likely that was just something weird about the ViViD world, and he's not really going to say no to something like a smoothie. So after a second, he reaches over to grab it and take a sip.]

[Unfortunately for Ankh, it's not just a ViViD thing. The very next thing he sees will be Eiji, his appearance completely normal but unusually shaken as he locks himself in a room and staggers over to a desk.]

[There might be an odd distant look on his face as the smoothie starts to affect him, but if Eiji reacts, he'll be unaware. He's too busy seeing a memory he didn't ask for and can already tell he'd rather not know about. But as long as he's stuck with it, he can't help wondering what put Eiji in that state.]

[Eiji looks down at a stack of notes in his own handwriting for a moment before tearing them up and throwing them across the room.]

Nothing works! Why can't I get it?

[Well, that doesn't do much to tell him anything, other than Eiji tried to do something and it wasn't working. He can at least understand the frustration, then, but what-

When the notes land, he can read them. Scattered bits on halves of pages, but it's enough to start making sense of it.]

Eiji, you-

[You're like this over him? That damn medal he never asked you to fix in the first place?

The words don't come out, though. Not in any way that affects anything here, at least. The Eiji in the present might hear them, but not the one replaying a memory.]

Ankh?

[That voice would be the present Eiji, still left behind in the restaurant, confused.

The memory version, however finally finishes destroying his notes and proceeds to sweep several very old-looking books off the desk before collapsing and clutching at something in his pocket while whispering.]

I'm sorry. I can't figure it out. I'm so sorry.

[He hears it, barely. It doesn't quite register where it's coming from, and hearing Eiji say his name right now helps nothing.]

Don't apologise!

[Even if he knows Eiji won't hear it, and even if he's somehow passingly aware that the version sitting at the restaurant might, he can't help saying it. Being stuck watching the past without being able to do anything didn't bother him when it was strangers, but right now, it's infuriating. The next words are muttered.]

I didn't ask for this.

[Not him trying so desperately to fix that medal, and not seeing it now. So why is it happening?]

[Memory-Eiji doesn't move for a while, still clutching the Medal in his pocket. But Ankh will soon feel someone trying to shake him awake.]

Ankh! Ankh, what's wrong?

[The memory starts to fade, and for a second Ankh is nothing but groggily confused as he becomes aware of a hand on his shoulder and his eyes start to focus on a version of Eiji that isn't trapped in a memory.]

[And then that question registers. What's wrong? Everything is wrong. Eiji wasn't supposed to spend so much time trying to fix that medal. He wasn't supposed to wreck himself over it. Ankh wasn't supposed to have seen it. That drink wasn't supposed to even do anything, much less that.

And he hates all of it, so the only coherent response he can manage is grabbing Eiji's shirt and glaring.]

[Except he's struck with the simple fact that he's there to grab him, and that angry expression breaks and for a brief moment all he does is stare at his hand.]

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