« 011 ⇢ event011.exe »

[reparator]

Who: CERES & you
When: ooc: 03/22-03/25; ic: 12/09-12/10
Where: Cerealia's Entertainment District
What: Intro 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)

//event011.EXE The Gifts that Keeps on Giving ((You)) Nightmares It's been a whole month without any new arrivals. Who knows why? If you ask CERES, they won't bother with any in-depth explanations. They will simply claim that none of the code out there has been responding to their recovery methods, so they had to rework a lot of their technology. However, after several weeks of grueling work, they have finally experienced success! A fresh new batch of faces is coming in, and to celebrate their arrival and the real upcoming holidays, CEO Julius Vincere has arranged for a Christmas-themed carnival for all to enjoy. Those who arrive will wake up in Cerealia and be given a long, boring explanation and powerpoint as per usual before being ushered onto a bus (there is no escape. The robots will force you onto the bus one way or another). You will be unwillingly carted to the theme park where you will be immediately assaulted by a giant array of lights followed by several rides that you can enjoy. After you disembark from the bus, one of the snowman robots will be waiting to give you tickets to the rides and show you around as part of the Grand Opening. The amusement park will remain open for the rest of the month of December so anyone can visit as they please. The first couple tickets will also be on the house for new arrivals, but the rest will have to be bought with credits, so choose wisely! (Or try and sneak into the rides -- then face the wrath of the snowman robots and their snowman firearms :D) "☃ WELCOME NEW ARRIVALS ❅ YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT THE SANTASTICAL FOREST OF CHRISTMAS WONDERS ❅ PLEASE ENJOY ALL THE RIDES CEO JULIUS VINCERE HAS HAND-PICKED FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT ❅ WE WISH TO BRING YOU MERRY FEELINGS FOR THE HOLIDAY ❅ COME GIVE SNOWTRON 5000 A HUG ❅ WHAT? YOU DON'T WANT ONE ❅ BUT I WAS PROGRAMMED TO CONVEY HUGGING AS LOVE THROUGH AFFECTION ❅ PLEASE DON'T RUN ❅ COME BAAAAACK, VISITOR ❅"

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] Do you like ferris wheels? This is an enchanting one where you get to ride around in a giant snowflake at a very limited speed. The wheel will turn excruciatingly slow before stopping abruptly, leaving you trapped at the very top. We hope you're not afraid of heights because you're going to be in there for a while! The windows on the snowflake will rapidly darken leaving you and your fellow riders trapped in the darkness. At that moment, you will feel something warm breathing down your neck and along the back of your ear. As you reach over, you'll feel like the chair underneath you is made of snakeskin, and a hissing sound will intensify as the "chair" squirms and as the breathing gets louder and hotter. Scrabble at the doors, fight your way out! Will you escape or not? Probably not, but the experience will last only a good five minutes before the lights come back on and before the ferris wheel starts moving again. The chair will appear as normal, and there will be no one else inside except any fellow riders who came with you. PHASE II [ xxxx ] If the ferris wheel didn't "do it" for you, then perhaps a fun house will? If you're a fan, that is! This Christmas-themed funhouse features a wonderful walk through a snowy forest convered in singing reindeer. The more you walk through, the more you will notice things like within the distorted mirrors, there will briefly appear strange specters. You will also hear a bunch of howling in the background, and while you may think that you're safe since they're trapped behind a mirror, you are very wrong. The lights will go out once more, and you will hear the mirrors shatter all around and feel yourself being grabbed and hurled to the ground. Whatever is coming for you is something you can't see, but it's advancing fast with impressive strength to hurl you back once more. You will feel pain erupt through your body before an engineer will appear to get the lights back on. Once they're back on, the reindeer will be happily singing, and all the mirrors will appear as they were before -unbroken. PHASE III [ xxxx ] After those interesting adventures, another option would be to simply visit the rocking santacoaster, a large, sprawling roller coaster that reaches 150 mph. You will be strapped into a sled and be shot through the tracks where you can scream and cry all you want except once you reach the tunnel, everything will come to a sudden stop (whiplash pending). You and the other riders will be in there for a few minutes, surrounded by a dozen santas as they start to fly out from the tunnel walls, carrying swords and swooping down to take a swipe at you. You better duck or be prepared to be cut up by their blades. The rollercoaster will abruptly resume, and when you reach the end, you might notice some bleeding, a little bit of hair missing, or some clothes shred up. If you ask the snowman robots about it, they will just shrug and claim they don't know what you're talking about. Please go enjoy a snowcone on the house! PHASE IV [ xxxx ] The Christmas whirl will be your last stop for the evening! This is a ride that goes round and round and round while tilting. Everyone will be strapped into it while standing up and forced to hold on as it spins, and somewhere in the midst of the spinning, the ride will suddenly malfunction. Yes, big surprise there! But it won't stop spinning. It will just be a rockier ride, and you will seemingly enter a new space where you will be among the stars and seeing planets all around you. Your own home planet will be amongst them before it breaks open like an egg and out crawls a friendly visitor. If you get bit by it, you will spend the rest of the day and night experiencing an array of possible symptoms, including: a voracious appetite, a fear of light, the urge to 'mate' with anyone who smells especially good, heightened senses, the ability to climb on all kinds of surfaces, irritability and crankiness... (( you don't have to experience them all. you can pick and choose which one you like. )) BONUS [ whyo'clock ] What's that jingling you hear in the background? Why, it's Santa Clause! Coming here all the way from the North Pole. The park will stop, and all the snowman robots will gather in the square, ushering along as many people as possible. Santa-Bot X-3 will be seated on his chair to welcome all visitors to sit on his metaphorical lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. He will then give them a nicely wrapped present and tell them that it's exactly what they asked for, but they can't open it until they get home. For those who can't wait and choose to open it quickly, they will get some nice treats from Mundus Caelestis. But beware! Those who do take this gift home will experience a weird after-effect as the lovely red and white toy will come to life on its own and hop out of the box that evening to try and violently electrocute the owner. The other one is completely harmless. [ 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 intro post 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. OVERFLOW IS HERE!!!

Comments

[scaryintuition]

[He had been alone. It was not something he would likely admit to Kaneki, because he knew it would only make his friend feel guilty, but he hadn't noticed how truly alone he was until Kaneki wasn't around anymore.

There were people at school he would call friends, if only because he occasionally hung out with them after class. There were even more people he knew as acquaintances who he could have surrounded himself with. But none of them were like Kaneki. His best friend. The one person in the whole world he would rather spend time with.

With Kaneki gone, he had no one to tease about reading too much. No one who would grudgingly share their notes with him despite knowing he hadn't written his own because he'd been too distracted reading about his latest obsession to pay attention. No one to sit in a cafe with and talk about cute girls. All that had been left was a giant hole in his life because he hadn't realized how big a piece Kaneki had been.

Until he was gone.

His grip tightened around his friend, as if he thought Kaneki would just disappear if he let go. Hide wasn't about to chance it.]

Yeah, you have...if you didn't know that...I'm always going to support you. No matter what.

[He could feel Kaneki's tears through the fabric of his shirt, but he didn't mind. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as well, leaving Kaneki's shoulder wet under his face.]

It's okay. You...did what you...thought was right.

[dimidiampura]

[ This feeling could only be likened to someone removing a heavy blindfold from across their eyes; it was liberating and he could truly see the overall picture more clearly.

Sure, he had everyone at Anteiku whom he got to know very well and they accepted him but in doing this, he really hadn't stopped to think how much his disappearance would have impacted Hide. He'd been truly blind and he hated it now, if only because it meant this was the likely reasons behind his best friend's tears that he felt so clearly in their warmth as they hit his shoulder. Hide had always been strong when he couldn't and he'd be incredibly hard pressed to find a time that he'd ever actually seen Hide cry at all - he was so strong, so bright, and that reminded him now that like anyone else, he was human.

Yet through all these tears, his friend would still support him with his kind words and actions. It struck right down to his very heart that he'd mostly locked away from the rest of the world. ]

...No. I can't... It's not okay, Hide.

[ His voice shakes and trembles, quivering with vulnerable hurt and emotion as his fingers clutched at Hide's shirt firmly. Kaneki wasn't ready to let go either and he couldn't give a damn if anyone saw him because doing this, he felt like he was truly feeling again after all this time.

He needed this and so did Hide. ]

I... I thought I was protecting you and the others but I... I didn't see that all I did was hurt you all, I was so selfish! If I would have listened to everyone then maybe things... wouldn't be as they are now.

[scaryintuition]

[He didn't know what to do now that Kaneki knew the extent he'd been willing to go to get him back. Even without saying the words, Hide knew that Kaneki had figured it all out. The loneliness he'd felt and why he had been so driven to involve himself with the CCG. A part of him was relieved. Finally, Kaneki understood why it had been so hard on him. He understood that disappearing and trying to carry the burden alone had hurt Hide.

Mostly though, he just felt sad, because Kaneki was now using his understanding to blame himself. Hide hadn't wanted that. He didn't care about who was to blame or not. He cared that he had his friend back and that they were finally able to come clean with everything and start fresh.

It felt weird to think that knowing the situation they were in. Their world was destroyed but they still had each other. Hide wanted to take that as a sign that they deserved a new start. In a place where ghouls weren't being imprisoned or mercilessly hunted down. In a place were they might, for a time, find some peace.]

What happened...wasn't all your fault. There...are others to blame. But I don't care...about that.

[He paused for a long moment, burying his face in Kaneki's shoulder, and tried to take a few deep breaths to calm his erratic and shaking breathing. When he spoke again, he sounded much calmer.]

I don't blame you Kaneki. And I don't want you to blame yourself. [Slowly, he pulled away just far enough to meet his friend's eyes.]

You need to give yourself a break, Kaneki.

[dimidiampura]

[ There were a thousand things that Kaneki could say to Hide in this instance, a thousand more apologies for his actions and telling him everything but he was both tired physically and mentally now on top of this so perhaps it worked out in that sense. He hadn't meant to use that understanding of the situation to blame himself but it was hard not to when it really came down to feeling like it was his fault with all that's happened.

In the back of his mind he remembered his fight against Amon, the gaping hole in his side and the blurry remembrance where he swore he'd seen Hide back then before arriving at Cerealia and it was the same then as it had been now. However the only difference was that his head was a lot clearer now than it had been then, confirming how real this was and that his humanity was still there and intact, telling him he didn't have to be a monster anymore. This comforting warmth told him everything and grounded him in a way nothing else could, told him this was not a dream and those fears he had were gone. Along with seeing everything clearly, there was a weight taken off and in turn made his shoulders relax subtly as he listened to what his friend had to say.

By the time Hide pulled back enough to meet his eyes, there was something akin to sadness and a flicker of something like defeat mixed with exhaustion within them. ]

Do you... really think it will be alright to..?

[ The past hurts and he doesn't want to dwell on it, to focus on the future was better and what should be instead of what makes you hurt right? ]

I want... it to be like it was. Not worrying about everything at home... it's really okay to do that?

[scaryintuition]

[He hated that look of defeat in Kaneki's eyes, but he didn't know how to make it go away. Grip tightening on his friend's shoulders, he met his eyes with a seriousness that was uncharacteristic for him. Hide usually tried to lighten the mood, made a joke of things, anything but allow someone to linger on the seriousness of the situation.

But he wouldn't do that now, because he wanted Kaneki to know that he was being serious. He wanted Kaneki to know that Hide's next words were completely truthful. It felt to him like the only way he could combat Kaneki's uncertainty.]

Yes. It's alright for you to put all of that behind you. We can start new here. Make things just like they were. You and me.

[dimidiampura]

[ Having gotten accustomed to the normal smiles and cheerful nature that his friend always wore around him, it was the firm grip on his shoulders and seriousness within his friend's eyes that stopped him short. Part of him would still worry but... most of that uncertainty eating away at him stopped short at hearing Hide's words.

Closing his eyes for a second, he inhaled a breath and let it linger before exhaling it and re-opening them to look at Hide once again. This time it was more of a gentler look, that defeated and near broken expression gone completely. ]

You're right. This... world can be a new start for us. Nobody knows about what I am... or my past. So, it's alright.

[ Kaneki was trying to come to terms with it and all in all he was doing a bit better with Hide's help now. Everything was clearer and the now solid thought of being able to truly start over in a world where nobody knew what he was had been engraved into his mind. ]

...When we get out of here... you can come and live with me. It's not much but... it's a start.