//EVENT029_OVERFLOW.EXE

[reparator]

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_overflow.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!

Comments

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...

... ...

... ... ...

Of course I saw it.

[He did not.]

[With that, he grabs the door handle and gives it a yank...and the entire door comes out.]

[It's all sand, after all.]

Er...

[tetherbell]

But you missed me shaping it out of the sand, didn't you.

Made you look~!

[forgeabettertomorrow]

THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR GAMES, DAMMIT!!

[tetherbell]

Why not? We don't actually seem to be in any danger, you know. Why are you so high strung about all of this?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I'm always a little high strung when a ghost is following me and watching my every move.

[tetherbell]

[YOU ARE LITERALLY NEVER GOING TO GET THIS "GHOST" IDEA OUT OF YOUR HEAD, ARE YOU???]

Why do you have such a problem with ghosts, anyway? You're as spooked as a small child.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I don't really do well with anything from...well, other planes of existence, I guess.

I have some history with things like that. I guess it just manifested later on as a fear of ghosts.

[Was that...was that an actual serious answer?]

[tetherbell]

What happened? Did the spirits tease you as a child?

[Muzét this is now how you get a guy to open up and be nice around you.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

They killed my twin brother, my father, and tried to do the same to me. [Hence that enormous scar going from the back of his neck to his left hip.]

Well, not necessarily spirits. Archfiends.

As far as I'm concerned Archfiends, Celestials, angels, demons, spirits all kinda fall into the same category.

[tetherbell]

Oh, dear. I can understand why you might have some issues, then.

But that's quite a broad range, isn't it? If they had been attacked by humans, would you resent all mankind?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...Probably.

[tetherbell]

How sad.

[How stupid.]

But I guess it can't be helped, then?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I can't say for sure because humans are the people that took me in. They raised me, gave me a second chance at life.

If things were reversed, I doubt I'd have any reason to trust humans.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, yeah I'm making a sweeping generalization. That doesn't make me right, it just makes it easier for me to cope.

I could just as easily be proven wrong by someone with enough time and drive to do so.

[tetherbell]

Is that so?

... ... ...

[I can't take him in, though! I don't even know where I'm living yet! Besides, he's kind of a jerk, so he'd probably be an awful roommate.]

What other things have humans done for you?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...Heh.

Given me a job. A purpose. A place to belong. Hell, I learned to take care of myself, I learned to fight, I learned how to help and look out for others.

Humans gave me something to...well...

To aspire to.

[tetherbell]

[Oh boy. It's a cool speech and all, but when you break it down, that's a big to-do list. Can't I just bring you back your pants instead?]

[... actually.]

What if I brought you those pants you're seeking, then? Would that be deserving of trust?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

... ... ...

Here's a better question:

Why do you want to be trusted so bad?

[tetherbell]

I'm not fond of being treated like some sort of monster. Isn't that reason enough?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

But see, here's the thing.

If you're not fond of it, nothing is stopping you from turning around and floating in another direction. I'm certainly not forcing you to hover around. So you either have an ulterior motive or it bothers you that I don't trust you.

So, again. Why do you want me to trust you so bad?

[tetherbell]

[Because it's working it out with you or working it out with one of the other strangers in this place. What difference does it make??]

Well, for one thing, I'm going to require a source of mana sooner or later. Until I've located one, it would be a poor idea to start burning all my bridges.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Mana power? Like magic?

Sorry to break it to you, but I don't know any magic. I never showed any aptitude for it so I was never tested.

[tetherbell]

... ... ...

[Uh, hello? Does he not realize I can taste his mana from all the way over here??]

Is this... supposed to be a joke? Or are you lying to me out of fear?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Nnnooo...?

I've never once shown that I have even the slightest affinity to any of the four elements.

Well, except fire, but that comes from me being a blacksmith.

Usually, those who can use magic showcase an affinity towards an element as a kid. If they show that affinity, their parents take them to get tested at one of the corresponding magic guilds. If the test results show that they're naturally attuned to that element, then they're generally accepted into that school of magic.

I've never even shown the slightest interest or affinity towards magic, let alone learning it.

makes this face forever and ever

[tetherbell]

[what.]

Well. That sounds very...

... erm...

... ridiculous. Your whole world sounds ridiculous. Are your people even aware of non-elemental artes...?

RUDE

[forgeabettertomorrow]

If you're talking about non-elemental magic, no. It's not something that exists. Sometimes you find a prodigy who can use two elements at once and occasionally combine them, but they're so infrequent that they're treated like saints when one eventually shows up.

So call my world and its people as ridiculous as you want, the fact remains that I don't have a speck of magic to give you. Besides, I'm more of a 'hands-on' kind of guy so magic never really suited me to begin with.