« 009 ⇢ event009.exe | OVERFLOW »

[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)
Original Post: HERE.

//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 AND OUR VERY FIRST OVERFLOW. 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

overflow for Komaeda

[unluckless]

Sheba

[unluckless]

((from here))

[OH. Oh that question. Komaeda's eyes widen faintly but he mostly manages to keep his reaction to a minimum. That strikes close to home for him actually. Ask him how done he is with murder games. Because the answer is wow totally done.]

Once, yes. Or well, they tried to. They announced a game, where we were encouraged to kill one another and the winner would be delivered home. But for the most part, in my experience, people banded together to resist and keep each other safe.

[A pause before he adds,] Not everyone.

[The clown folk. But that aside.] Is that something you've experienced before as well?

sorry for the wait! i had major burnout from work OTL

[uncoincidental]

["Kill people and you can go home"... it's very similar to what Sheba was thinking of, and that similarity makes her frown softly and go absolutely quiet as he explains that not everyone was able to resist the temptation.]

...before I came here... there was a place I spent some time in that was sort of like that.

[She glances briefly at their surroundings, then shakes her head once.]

Some of the people who were there with me are here, too. ...I didn't exactly get along with all of them, though. [Hence the "please don't tell anyone what I'm about to ask" thing.] At first I thought maybe this place was some kind of a continuation of that one. But it seems sort of different... I'm not sure what to think.

[unluckless]

Before I came here, I was in that sort of place as well.

[Though he'd had a stop in between, a place that was a great deal worse than the murder island in its own right, but he doesn't bring that up. He tries not to talk about that place.

Following her gaze around.]

It seems to be a unique place. Even for people who may have been pulled from their own worlds to others before, this place has been different. So far. I was suspicious of that at first too.

[uncoincidental]

Is that so...

[In truth, his answer makes her stomach churn. There is a part of her that wonders - if there was another game that Komaeda took part in, how many other games could have happened as well? Another part of her really doesn't want to know the answer to that, though. Just one or two is bad enough.]

I'm not sure if it's better or worse that it's different. [Sheba frowns.] On the one hand, we're not constantly being made to kill. On the other, we don't know what to expect...

[unluckless]

Mm. It is unpredictable, that's certain.

[Unpredictability is the only predictability. But at the same time, Komaeda is at least a little optimistic about things here -- when he's not annoyed as hell at the latest glitch messing with them.]

In between things going wrong, it's not so bad to live here. There's food and shelter. And most people seem to be very kind.

Kaoru

[unluckless]

((from here))

[Candy bar works for him! Apologies are hardly necessary when it's CERES screwing with them all again. Instead he'll seek out Kaoru's support for his formal complaint with CERES and Julius Vincere's shins.

For now, he follows along, trying to seem like he's not watching warily.]

Really? I think that sounds nice. And you'd get to be your own boss if it were your shop. [No working for THE MAN. Or well, THE ROBOT which is actually what Komaeda is uncertain about in this place.]

[souredsweet]

[SOUNDS LIKE THEY HAVE A DEAL. Good thing there are so many people in Cerealia who understand the importance of striking (shins) while the iron is hot...]

I'd enjoy that... I don't dislike my current job, to be honest, but it's also not something that I would like to do for the duration of my stay here. [However long that might be... Kaoru's ballparking in years by now.

That said, once they come across the place Kaoru had mentioned, it'll be pretty obvious. THERE REALLY ARE FLOWERS EVERYWHERE...]

[unluckless]

[Right? They can build an army. Train in secret. Outfit them all with steel-toed boots.]

Mm. I haven't really found anything long term to do for a job here. What do you do now?

[Mostly he takes advantage of his luck in a gambling establishment every now and again. Oops.

He gasps though when there are so many flowers.] Oh! This really is impressive.

[souredsweet]

[Kaoru would help do it and it wouldn't even be for the vine.]

I work at a cosmetics store in the shopping district. [Said in a sort of "EH" way, because that's about how Kaoru feels.] Are you working only part time jobs, in that case?

[IF ONLY but hey, gambling's still a form of income. Good work, Komaeda...

At the expression of surprise, Kaoru laughs before treading off the paved path and onto a dirt one that winds through the center of it.] It is, isn't it? This is one of my favorite parts of the park.

[unluckless]

Aah! I see. I suppose that's why I've never run into you at your work.

[He is not the makeup type, clearly. As for that question, Komaeda laughs sheepishly, ducking his head.] Something like that, yes. I make a little bit of money here or there to help out.

[He doesn't particularly like relying on his luck, but it sure does work, so. Anyway, he hesitates only a moment before following after Kaoru.] I can see why. It's lovely. And it seems peaceful too.

[He has no idea at all.] Though... with everything that's been going on again lately, I suppose peace is an exceptionally rare thing.

Aoba

[unluckless]

((from here))

[Well. That's just luck. Komaeda is used to it by now. In fact, the card that he was stuck with by that horrid little fortune telling game just threw more of the same at him. It's been a long few days.]

Thank you... I... suppose even trash like me can manage something useful sometimes. [Like putting things in the trash! It all comes full circle. Really, since he has no idea that this is not out of the ordinary for this guy, he's not sure what degree the current weirdness is affecting him.

But. The enthusiasm seems excessive enough that he's sure this guy is caught in the thick of it. He blinks over at him as that arm lands around his shoulder. He manages a smile though, only a shade off from his usual blithe, cheerful expression.] Of course. The right thing, it's important isn't it? The only thing anyone can do -- no matter how talented they may or may not be is to make the best decisions they can with what they're capable of.

[That's his current stance anyway. He's come quite a ways with it. It shouldn't be personal growth to think that "Yeah, everyone should do the right thing even if they aren't super talented!" but for Komaeda, it is.]

[aocatch]

[ Them's the breaks, Komaeda. But even under the addling effects of an overblown sense of justice, he still can't handle people self-deprecating themselves with any degree of affable calm. So he'll turn — pivoting hard on his heel mid-step, teeth audibly gritting together — to pointedly jab at his companion's chest. ]

... What's with that attitude? You're not trash. You threw away trash. Correctly, too. Everyone should praise you for your efforts.

[ The distinction's important! And something about this not-so-subtle passive-aggression, even if it's self-inflicted, is seriously getting on his nerves. ]

Isn't that obvious? You don't need me to tell you. Everyone's important. People on the side of justice are better, but that doesn't mean someone can't change for the better. From my experience, even complete strangers appreciate good deeds in the long-term.

[unluckless]

[Komaeda blinks in surprise, glancing from the finger jabbing at his chest back up to Aoba's face. A tilt of his head before his smile resurfaces.] I suppose that's a good point. There is a difference.

[He won't argue anyway, and he's actually considered a fair bit of what this guy says next.]

That's true. People can change. I didn't believe that for a long time, but it's definitely true.

[aocatch]

... You're not convinced, are you.

[ Imperceptible as the insinuation is, Aoba presses his mouth to a thinning line, relatively unconvinced by Komaeda's ready assent. But — brain-addled as he is, it doesn't register so much as it passes through one ear and out the other, unfortunately. ]

It might take a long time, but people do change, given enough reason and incentive to. Sometimes it's gradual, sometimes it isn't. But at the very least, I don't think people can stay the same way forever.

Hinata

[unluckless]

((from here))

[Komaeda leans back enough to look up at him, slowly, even if he's rather reluctant to dislodge that hand from his hair. It's more comforting than it has any right to be, okay?

How very strange.]

Mm. That time. You really did save my life, you and Hajime-kun both, I think.

[Hinata's feelings for him anyway, in Kamukura's hands. Something like that.]

[particularity]

[The hand doesn't immediately dislodge either, even as Komaeda pulls back-- he can tell, after all, that Komaeda doesn't completely want for him to stop. Because Komaeda's understandable, or something like that.]

...

[It is more or less exactly like that, really.] Do you understand yet the lengths Hajime is willing to go to assure your safety?

[unluckless]

[Good. That's nice actually, that it doesn't end, even as they're still talking. For the span of a few breaths, a short cadence of accompanying heartbeats, he's quiet, considering those words.

Hinata cares about him, more than he deserves. He knows that. And he cares about his boyfriend more than Hinata may deserve too, given what they are, what they've both done.]

Too far, for someone like me. But... do you understand how far I'd go for his? [Hinata has given Komaeda something more precious than he would have imagined. It's like hope, but his own hope, not some concept outside his reach that he can only hope to witness and be a stepping stone for.

It's strange, to have found it in Hinata, after everything that's happened.]

[particularity]

If he had to, he would kill others. As himself, without my help, should you be in danger. [Basically Hinata's overprotective and he still runs on some of the mindset he learned in Haven. If you're not ready to kill... you'll be killed first.]

...Of course, I understand how far you would go as well. That's easy to understand.

[He is Kamukura, after all. But more than that, all of Hinata's memories of Komaeda, feelings, have blended together inside of him as well, though lacking on the emotions front right now. He doesn't truly know if it's sharpened or dulled his insight.

Kamukura's fingers tug absently through pale hair, his eyes shifting to watch the way hair moves through his fingers.]

[unluckless]

[Those words. They're sobering in a way. Not that Komaeda has not been willing to see others sacrificed in the past -- but that was for hope, for the greater good as he saw it. Not for him.

But at the same time, he can't say that he wouldn't do the same for Hinata now too, if the other was ever in peril, if he could do anything. It's... it's a thought that has him shaken, somehow. But at the same time, something in him feels protected by the thought. He really has become selfish, hasn't he?

There's a tired smile tugging at his lips anyway as he ducks his head.] Of course it's easy to understand. I guess even I can admit that it's predictable. But somehow I can't want to change it.

Menardi

[unluckless]

((from here))

Oh. Well... that's not entirely true. Enough goes wrong here that there's usually something to fight. Robots trying to kill us, or bands of murderous clowns. And there's always ViViD too.

[And that's even supposed to be a place for combat.]

Are you a fighter then? [Or does she just really need to work out some anger issues? He can understand the latter even, especially in this situation.]

[eyesearingly]

... Well that's good.

[ She will remember this ViViD thing. If there isn't enough chances to light things on fire otherwise. ]

Yes. [ It's both. ]

[unluckless]

That's a useful skill to have here, to be honest. There are a few times it's definitely come in handy to have experience fighting.

[A sheepish laugh.] Unfortunately, that's another thing that I'm entirely useless at.

[That list is a long, long list.]

[eyesearingly]

Hmmn.

[ She looks him over - or at least what she can see about the cubicle, and.. yeah, he does look like he'd be someone to step over in a fight. ]

Clearly you need to pick up a stick and find some housepests.

[ This is totally not the proxian way of both pest control and training children. ]

[unluckless]

[That about sums it up! Though he's less useless than he used to be. The place he got dragged to before this he had to at least learn enough to survive on a daily basis.]

House...pests? [What kind of housepests does this lady have where she's from?]

I don't think I've seen any pests around here, actually. [Unless you count the robots.]