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.
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PHASE I [ 08 00 ] 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.
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no subject
[Anyway- Sakura does get something akin to recognition, rather than simple agreement, for her trouble. But no, he's sorry, he's not really feeling game for sentimentalities, not when they were exhausting for him and he'd already done more than his fair share of indulging them.
Besides, he's not the world's most patient son of a bitch either, and there's this idea nagging at him, at the back of his head. And there are more important things in the world than talking of and to the dead, so:]
There is a gathering scheduled some days from now to share information. If anybody who's been here before should want to compare what's new and what still is, then I suggest keeping an eye on the CereVice's messages. But what do you remember of this place, Sakura? I've been here a month; the gist will do. [Probably the most he's ever spoken to the girl in his life, he knew, and he's wanting something specific out of her. Some other person would feel bad about it, probably.]
no subject
I was here during a holiday they celebrated in December. With Lee-san. [ Others were also present although Sakura didn't really get to speak with them much. There just wasn't enough time in the day for her three jobs and socializing. ]
Being able to work at the CERES Medical Facility gave me a lot of insight into the way things worked here. People who are gravely injured don't really die, they're paralyzed in place and fade in and out. There were a number of herbs I gathered in the garden as well to study for poisons but I assume they have been removed along with my previous possessions. [ Or they have rotted out. ]
I plan to meet up with Lee-san and catch up on everything I've missed since then. Today's been a tiring day so I ask your forgiveness in my vague reply. [ A Very Tiring Day. ]
no subject
[Thank you, Captain Obvious. But his brows knit together at the discord-- and a part of him wants to praise Lee for what so obviously isn't his doing... but atta boy for being everybody's constant. Impatient though he is, he listens on. He isn't entirely sorry he does so. Though there's a very sincere pull at his chest telling him he should back off with the interrogation, Neji only nods again.
Yes, it's been a tiring day for everyone. That wasn't meant to diminish her own experiences, whatever the hell they might have been (now's about the time Neji even remembers that Uchiha traitor is still slinking around, somewhere). White eyes move away from Sakura, and Neji remembers he's still damp and he's feeling somewhat colder than he should but. It was a tiring day. Sakura would understand if his mouth keeps moving on its own accord.] You worked in the Medical Facility. [He feels an awful lot like a parrot, suddenly. And, like something equally simple-minded, he presses on.]
Do you know about the implants?
no subject
[ Of course she's probably heard of them. Has she ever been able to get her hands on them? No, not exactly. The robots handle that part of the facility as far as she can recall but surely it's changed by now. ]
I've heard of them but never seen any proof of their existence. I don't think anyone has. [ She pauses, looking around the area. Speaking of, there are eyes everywhere. Cameras throughout the public spaces. Things she's been warned about before. ]
Is your place nearby? I know it's uncouth for me to invite myself over, but I am the only trained medic-nin from Konoha present in the colony so it wouldn't hurt to have me look over you. [ Plus he really looks like he needs a towel. ]
no subject
Silent, he's quick to raise a brow.
On the one hand, no, he really didn't want to answer, because answering would be an invitation to the apartment. And no, he wasn't a damned prude; he was proper .] I'm fine.
[Which did nothing to change the fact that Sakura was the only trained medic-nin from Konoha present.
...
With her glancing around, he thinks it's easy to follow her train of thought, so he sighs in small resignation.]
It's not far.
[Well, then. Come along. Follow him.]
no subject
Sorry for being so forward with you but it's important I evaluate you first thing. If there's anything off in the future, we'd be able to look back on the data gathered today. [ She's not serious about giving him a physical examination, but she does need to fill the air with talk that's non-intrusive.
At least talk that's non-intrusive to CERES.
Speaking of being intrusive: ] July huh...
no subject
[Nod and all. And at least he's pretty darn sure even Sakura would know not to press the actual issue of a physical once they arrive at Lee's apartment.
Yes. July. He'd said that. She can figure out what day with a quick glance at her CereVice. Neji... hums something in acknowledgement, because he isn't going to go off on a tangent about homesickness. And moves a hand to push back some stray strand of hair from where it'd clung to his face, pushes the plain cloth headband so it actually does its job of keeping hair out of the way.
The silence is all her fault, really, she should have said something easier to make conversation out of.]