estoria | « 009 ⇢ event009.exe

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« 009 ⇢ event009.exe | OVERFLOW »

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

((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.]

[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...]

[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.

[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.

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.

Mm, though I could give you a discount if you ever do stop by.

[This said with a gentle, teasing sort of laugh. AS FOR THAT ANSWER, considering no details have been offered outright, Kaoru won't ask for more either. Who knows what kind of sketchy things Komaeda does on the side for money... what a hooligan!!]

Mm, it's been that way from the start, hasn't it?

[Fighting against periodically weird shit has just become a Fact Of Life in Cereal, to Kaoru. Normally there would be more frustration present about that, but instead, there's just well-contained excitement.

Up ahead, there's a little clearing that already has a bunch of plucked flowers and plants set out in a pile.]

I was already working a little...

How generous! Though I've never been the make up type. Neither has Hinata-kun -- so far as I know.

[Komaeda manages a laugh as well. Even mentioning Hinata, at least in his suspicion over what's gotten into Kaoru, he's forgotten a bit of his general fury and annoyance at Ceres. There's a mystery afoot, okay?]

I guess you have! What have you been up to, Nagumo-san?

[Inquiring minds want to know.]

Ah, well. It's not something for everyone.

[Maybe Kaoru the rude shit prankster will surprise them with a gift basket full of faulty products anyway!! How nice...

But Kaoru will step his way over to the pile, kneeling down beside it and reaching for a half-finished crown buried in the center.]

I've been a little indulgent, really. Beyond flower arranging, flower weaving is one of my favorite things to do.

[If Komaeda takes a closer look at the pile though, he'll likely find that a few flowers in the bunch are a little odd-man-out ish. Particularly, if he has any plant knowledge, he'll be able to identify a few toxic ones.]

[So thoughtful all the time Kaoru. Gosh.

Komaeda watches curiously now, looking from the pile of flowers back to Kaoru. Well. All right it does look somewhat strange, though he doesn't really know enough about botany to say for sure.]

I see... ah those really are lovey. That takes some talent to do. [Yeah this is all very strange. Kaoru there are mysteries and CERES fuckery afoot! Komaeda still this flower arrangement is an odd choice at this particular moment.]

[KAORU SURE TRIES... tries so hard..... Gesturing Komaeda over, though!!]

You can't thread any together from that far away, can you? [And a good-humored laugh to go with it.] But thank you. I've been making arrangements and weaving flowers since I was very young.

[Komaeda steps in closer, his growing suspicions not sure where to settle themselves. Maybe whatever effect has gotten a hold of Kaoru is the type that eliminates any suspicion and replaces it with cheerful oblivion?

Could that be it? Surely not something malicious. Surely.

Maybe.

Too paranoid after all his Haven time, he crouches down.] Me? Oh I think I'd just make a mess of it if I tried.

[Look at least a viper won't strike out from the pile like it did with some other people... KOMAEDA'S GETTING OFF EASY ON THE HEART ATTACK SCALE.]

Would you like to try anyway? If not, I could make something for you.

[Kaoru's already working on something aS THEY SPEAK.]

[THAT'S SO KIND. Kaoru is the nicest. By far.

Komaeda settles down on his knees comfortably, looking over at Kaoru and the flowers.] I can try, if you don't mind instructing me.

[Why the heck not? What could possibly go wrong?]

[Kaoru sure tries to be... BUT YES, TIME TO ENGAGE in the perfectly harmless hobby of flower weaving.]

I don't mind at all. [Selecting a few long-stemmed flowers for the one that's already in hand!] Starting the base is the most difficult part, but if that is secured, the rest will come easy. You'll want to pick flowers with thick and sturdy stems for this.

[Perfectly harmless hobbies are Komaeda's favorite, since his luck tends to find a way to turn any that are less than perfectly harmless into surprisingly hazardous experiences. This is why he likes reading.]

Ah... so then ones like this? [Let him pick a few ones with decent stems. Hmm.]

[Komaeda just needs to stay inside when shit starts hitting the fan, basically.

But Kaoru will nod after leaning over to get a better look at the flowers Komaeda's picked. Most of them aren't even poisonous, good job champ!! Not that it'll be an issue, considering it's not like he's going to eat his flower crown or something, and none of the flowers here are potent enough to cause damage just through contact.]

Exactly like those ones. To make the base chain, this is what you do- [PROCEEDS TO SHOW, leaning over so Komaeda can get a good look at the weaving pattern.]

[Don't be so sure they look pretty tasty and it's been a long week. Komaeda is still trying to figure out what is going on with Kaoru though, and he thinks he's decided on artificial obliviousness or something like that. It's the best explanation that he has anyway.]

Then... [Let him try to replicate it. Poorly. Until one of the stalks he pushes too far and it snaps back and smacks him right in the eye.

But that's luck and he's not that surprised by it.] Aaah, I suppose it's harder than it looks.

[DON'T EAT YOUR MILDLY TOXIC CROWN, KOMAEDA...

But Kaoru makes a little surprised noise when the flower snaps back, one hand rising to stifle it. What the heck kind of luck is that... GOOD AND BAD LUCK AT THE SAME TIME because ouch being hit in the eye, but on the plus side, if any of these plants were more hazardous, that probably would have been enough to cause some serious damage...]

It does take a certain balance between gentleness and strength... Like this. [WEAVING AT LIKE LIGHT SPEED. Actually, it's finished pretty dang quick, partially because it had already been worked on. Once Kaoru twists the last stem into place, the crown is held up and out, like Kaoru wants to put it on Komaeda's head.]

May I give this one to you?

[muffled jaws theme playing in the distance]

[Good and bad luck at the same time. He should get that on a t-shirt really. But with his luck they'd print it wrong So no t-shirts.

He rubs at his eye now. He laughs though, at least cheerful about his misfortune.]

I suppose I haven't quite found that balance yet. [OOPS. But oh okay. That's impressive, Kaoru. Really impressive.]

Me? Are yo sure you want to waste something that pretty? [But he will accept flower crown!]

[Komaeda truly lives a life of hard knocks...]

Once you do find it, it's difficult to forget, at least. I think that you could easily become a natural. [An encouraging smile! Go forth and practice flower weaving, friend.

BUT ON THE FLOWER CROWN GOES and once again the gods of luck are on Komaeda's side, because nothing in there is a contact poison. Kaoru is still in mild prank mode... But!! Expression shifting to something vaguely distraught after that!]

Oh, my... It isn't a waste at all, Komaeda-san. It's a gift for a friend. [A TERRIBLE GIFT... It'll take a little while to start, but if he leaves the flower crown on for too long, he'll find himself sneezing pretty uncontrollably and possibly dealing with other symptoms that mimic allergies; runny nose, watery eyes and so on. Still better than poison, but definitely a nuisance...]

[A terrible gift is still a better gift than he's gotten for most of his life! Sure things have turned around since he and Hinata managed to get over their very rocky start and he's met other people. But still, poison presents are still presents!]

Is that so? I guess I'll have to practice more.

[Become a flower crown expert. Something like that. So his smile brightens at that. Friends, huh? He likes that.]

Then thank you, Nagumo-san. It's a really lovely gift. [That's totally not a trick at all.]

[HINATA NO, THAT'S REALLY SAD... THAT IS SO SAD. At least Kaoru will apologize for this shitty gift later and probably deliver a real one...

But for now, he's just stuck with the flower crown from hell.]

You're welcome. It suits you, if I may say so... If you would ever like to practice making more, will you let me know? I would be pleased to help.

I'll keep that in mind.

[Though now that he's been crowned, he can't help but question, curious.] You do seem to be taking the current strangeness going on right now pretty well. You don't think there's any cause to worry?

[Or, is Kaoru caught up in it? That's Komaeda's theory. Blissful oblivion or something. Though what card would that be, he wonders?]

[Oh... YEAH, THAT STRANGENESS. That sure is a thing that's happening, isn't it... Kaoru does definitely have awareness of it, but as the effects of the magician card have kicked up, that awareness has bled away until it's hardly a concern at all.]

Mm, well, some people are certainly acting in harmful ways. Others seem benign despite being strange... If anything, I would say that the cause for worry lies with the ones who are doing the most damage.

[Or maybe with the fact that this is happening at all?? But since Kaoru isn't really concerned about it, those thoughts don't come as quickly.]

Benign. Mm. I suppose that is a good word for some of it.

[Komaeda has currently classified Kaoru in that category for the moment anyway. He supposes that applies to Hinata's condition too in that he's not hurting anyone. Except it's very worrisome.]

That's one cause for worry, yes. If people turn genuine destructive it could be difficult, especially if they're under some influence that isn't themselves.

[It's not nice to fight and beat back people who don't mean to be causing harm, right?]

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