« intro ⇢ winterball.exe »

[poised]

Who: everyone, literally everyone
When: ooc: 04/25-04/26; ic: 12/26
Where: the Gardens
What: intro log + winter ball!
Rating/Warning: PG-13 | possibly nsfw (please let me know if you need this rating changed, or you are welcome to continue any naughty shenanigans in a private log)

//winterball.EXE Pimp My Party -- Royalty Style A few weeks prior to December 26th, an invitation went out to all whom already reside in Cerealia. In delicate, curling script, it read: You are cordially invited by Natalia L.K. Lanvaldear to a Winter Ball to be held on the Eve of December 26th in the Gardens. Dress in your best attire and enjoy a magical evening of dance and fine cuisine. What do you mean we should fuss about worlds being destroyed? Get into the holiday spirit, you scrooge! And in regards to the new-comers: whether you have been wandering Cerealia over the course of the past few days and managed to receive one of the later waves of invitations or have simply suddenly appeared in the gardens with nothing but the (hopefully…. appropriate….) clothes on your back, welcome. The gardens have been transformed through the work of slave labor condoned by royalty incredibly talented volunteers. A buffet line possibly a mile long, a sprawling dance floor with temporary wood placement to cover the grass, a lovely orchestra with scheduled interruptions of magic shows on the stage, and the entire thing lit gently with lights stretch the span of the main area of the garden. Not too far off, there are ponds and pathways that take you elsewhere into the foliage, but why would you go that way? The party’s right here! "Good evening, everyone!! Whether you are new to Tellus or old, I hope to find you in good spirits. Mind you, I do not intend to ignore the blunders of CERES nor the grave situation that new-comers have found themselves faced with. However I assure you that at this time, surrounded by these people, you are in good company. Please, dine and be merry - I believe some worlds celebrated a holiday yesterday! Get to know one another so we may strengthen our ties and stand firm against whatever this world may throw against us! Also try the salmon, it's absolutely divine. . . . How do I turn this off...? Should I just walk away?"

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] Like any respectable ball, your entrance is announced as you walk right into the party! What do you mean you wanted to slip in unnoticed? That simply won’t do. Natalia managed to rope in someone – is that a Tellus native? – to do the honor of acknowledging your character as they make their debut to the ball. This guy is under strict orders to not miss a single soul. If your character doesn’t give him a name and title ahead of time, then he’ll just make something up. Think along the lines of Broseidon McSnootyname, Duke of Erectile Dysfunction-- What do you mean that’s not your name? PHASE II [ xxxx ] Absolutely no expense was spared when it came to making sure that the food here was the best that money could buy (or threats could extort). Guests can select from a menagerie of main dishes from all sorts of cultures, adorable desserts that look like woodland creatures alongside towering cakes, and even those fruity drinks with the little umbrellas on them. Pig out, you animals – but there’s also a wide selection of fine wine if your tastes and curiosities wander off in that direction…. What even is the drinking age in Tellus? Remember, folks, drink (ir)responsibly. PHASE III [ xxxx ] Well, it is a ball. If you’re interested in proper, classical styles of dance, there’s certainly an orchestra that’s dominating most of the night. One of their songs may or may not sound familiar. Spin around in your flurry of skirts and do the fairy tale thing if that’s what you came here for. Romance, or whatever. Waltz your heart out and don’t forget to point your toes! … that said, there’s also a separate sound system not too far, prepared in case the orchestra might want a break. It’s also not being watched too closely. Maybe put on something to liven up the dance floor? Or did someone ruin your fantasy by putting on something unbearably inappropriate? PHASE IV [ xxxx ] The gardens really are beautiful. Spread throughout the area and more toward the outskirts of the party, there are plenty of beautiful fountains with glittering, crystal clear water. In fact, it’s so clear that you can spot the occasional alien life form flitting through it amidst the lily pads and gently sweeping foliage. It’s so graceful, what beauty! Look at how it rises to the water and gently opens its mouth into a yawn and—tries to chomp anything within range right off with razor sharp teeth what the fuck, whatthefuck. It would appear that's not all, though. Whether you're ready to fight the creature or run screaming, you feel something slowly slide and curl around your arm or your ankle. Look on in horror as you turn your head and realize that it seems that the nearby tree has grown rather fond of you very quickly, to the extent that it will reach out and lovingly wrap its hentai tentacles around you.... Brings a whole 'nother meaning to 'tree hugger', doesn't it? BONUS [ whyo'clock ] Are you lost? Did you try to catch your breath away from the party and start to wander off despite all the cautioning not to? Or maybe you were trying to leave and took a wrong turn? Either way, you seem to have only found yourself deeper in the gardens now. Try not to breathe too deeply or… at all. If you can’t manage that though, it appears that you’ve stumbled upon the hallucinogenic plants of the garden. You start to see things that aren’t there – though whether you suddenly find yourself in a den of cougars lions or think that the person standing next to you is the biggest, cuddliest pile of adorable puppies in the world depends on the person. Hope you have a good trip, bruh. [ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with trigger-y or inappropriate material and do let me know (through FAQ comment or PM preferably!) if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so I can lock the log. ]

//RUN.EXE Welcome to CEREALIA's latest intro post! This one is player-run and all the basics have been laid out for you here. Absolutely feel free to come up with your own prompts, I just attempted to set the scenery! For your convenience, I whole-heartedly welcome questions and inquiries being directed to my attention here and I'll answer them to the best of my ability! Have a ball! Enjoy!! OVERFLOW IS HERE Move over at your captcha-free leisure!

Comments

iii.

[undaunts]

[She is definitely not here to make him dance.

In fact, she's only here because in her avid attempts to continue wallflowering and not get dragged into anything herself, she ends up bumping into him a little. She's at least been put in a proper dress and heels (a mistake) by Natalia for this dance, but even so, she still feels awkwardly out of place.

Aghhh.]

Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run into you, I was just trying to avoid all of the dancing people, and then there were these feet stilts getting in the way and--

[sorry ciel]

--annnnd I'll stop now.

[faithfulflame]

[Rei shakes her head and pulls out a second strip of paper, and it visibly stiffens in her fingertips.]

It's an o-fuda, and it will only burn dark spirits. Unless you happen to be some sort of demon or possessed, you're safe enough.

[She flings the next one with the same cry and it strikes a vine that was just starting to move.]

smdh

[harepiece]

[Look... It may be his fault, but Break's also made a new friend! Surely that counts for something, right??

Anyway, of course Oz bounds over pretty much as soon as his nerd companion speaks up.]

Break! I'm glad you could make it! [Every person he traps in Holiday Hell Partymode is a success point in his book...

Anyway, after glancing at his plate of candy:] Do you want to try some of the other desserts here? They're all good and fresh.

[tsuranuki]

[ Saitou takes a moment for this to sink in. ]

I see.

[ He's going to love it here, isn't he. ] The slightly inconvenient things such as that-- [ A glance at the tree ] --can be mostly disregarded, but has anyone died from incidents?

[dishonorstudent]

[ Even in her dress, she's still quite tomboyish with a hand on her hip and feet spread in a wide stance. ]

...I've been here for a while, actually. I was startin' to think I'd never see anyone from Honnoji again.

Imagine my delight when I heard your voice.

iv.

[deontology]

[Poor Mary.... meanwhile, Sousei's starting to think that he should just patrol through the park to make sure nobody is eaten by trees...... which is a weird thing, but nonetheless, here they are.

Sousei neatly shears through the branches that have Mary caught, and a moment later he sheathes his sword and neatly bats the monster away with it.

He's not going to stab something that's almost right on top of Mary, okay........ and he didn't miss that it was frozen at all, but he's not sure yet what to make of that, and so--]

Kozakura. Are you alright?

[faithfulflame]

You don't have a date?

[That's strange. Inaba is actually quite pretty, in Rei's estimation. And while not the friendliest, she seems like she could be. But she was dateless, and Rei had...well...Yosuke.]

Whyever not? Did you turn them all down?

[rebelia]

[At least she's moved away. IV doesn't mind bluntness, but there's something about having his trashed appearance pointed out that rubs him wrong.]

I just got here.

[He makes a wide gesture, meaning to motion to the world as a whole. A part of him hopes that's enough of an answer to drop the matter, because, contrary to his rather nonchalant front, his pride stings.]

It's about time I left to settle, but you were too close to the water.

[fittedgloves]

[ Not really, but if that's how things are... she'll adjust. ]

It sounds like I have a lot to research.

[faithfulflame]

Oh...I don't know. The Fiery Priestess of Fire River Temple is a little weird but it's not entirely inaccurate.

[Rei can't help but huff a laugh. It was definitely the sort of thing that a foreigner would say, trying to sound knowledgeable...]

[fittedgloves]

[ ...Well. The only hint of surprise Kyouko shows is a small frown. ]

What class were you in?

[helmets]

[ ~*~friendly~*~ ]

I suppose it would be uncharacteristic of this place to not stir trouble even during an event like this. I only hope the newcomers would be prepared as well.

[reuser]

[ (Isn’t it always the Make Fun of Jaune hour?) With all the finesse she has to spare, Pyrrha turns the conversation away from him in a dress. ]

You look wonderful, Yang. Was anyone lucky enough to tag along with you?

[helmets]

Thank you. It's kind of you to say so.

[ a beat, as her helmet tips to one side. ]

If it makes you uncomfortable, I'm sure no one would notice if you decide to leave a little early.

[ she feels u tenka, she really does. if she didn't have two dates to bring home, she'd have left too. ]

[fittedgloves]

That's right... [ After the past few weeks, they all knew exactly what Enoshima was capable of. ] I suppose those rights led to other things?

[reuser]

[ Pyrrha immediately sets down her clutch on the closest railing surface and flips through its minuscule contents until she comes to a dry, unused tissue. It's offered to Rock. ]

Oh, thank you.

[ More importantly, though - ]

Are you alright?

ii

[harepiece]

[so two rabbits walk into a cakebar]

Ah... That's pretty realistic, isn't it?

[He wonders what kind of person crafts lovingly-made replicas of woodland critters with the intent of seeing them consumed by huge parties of people...]

[harepiece]

[Good lord, that's a mouthful! Oz looks surprised for a second before laughing...]

It definitely sounds impressive, at least! No one would want to underestimate someone with a title like "the fiery priestess".

[helmets]

[ nah, bro, just the text to voice app. ]

I'm glad to hear it was too your liking. Though I think the one who deserves the most credit would be Rin, since she was the one who planned it.

[ so be sure to thank her too ok. ]

I've been alright, earlier I was busy with helping with the decorations for tonight. It's nice to see everyone's hard work paying off.

OTA!

[failures]

[phase I]

Presenting, Mr. Harry Butts!

[As if the smell of trouble wasn't in the air already, a certain unfortunately-named man's presence has been announced for the entire ball to hear.

Or well wait, that's not actually his name--]

It's Larry, man! How many times do I gotta say it?

[With an indigent huff, Larry hastily straightens out his suit before entering. Don't let the snazzy look of that suit fool you though, it's cheaply made. Larry had just better hope he doesn't make any sharp movements or it's going to tear...

Welp, time to go find his friends!]

[phase II]

[What sort of freeloader party guest would Larry be if he didn't check out the sweet snacks? He's sampling a little bit of everything, but judging from the look on his face most of the time, he doesn't enjoy this super fancy food. Which is why he's going to sport poor manners by like...taking a bite and then leaving it on the table somewhere instead of getting rid of the remnants in the trash. How classy.

However, the alcohol definitely seems to be a hit with him. Why yes, he'll definitely pour a glass of that wine to go with his cheese! How gouda.]

[phase III]

[Wallflowers, prepare to embrace your uncomfort zone. Larry be seeking out particularly lonely-looking female (or at least feminine in appearance) wallflowers for dances. But don't worry, he's going to try to be a gentleman about it. He even bows a little bit as he extends his hand, pouring on the charm in any way he possibly can.]

S'cuse me Miss, but I couldn't help but notice you look like you could really use a dance. Wanna go for a round with me?

[bonus]

[Remember when I said Larry should probably be careful with his suit? This is that time.

After a lot of partying hard and several glasses of wine, Larry really should've decided to walk home with his friends. But he thought he could just walk off the adrenaline rush from all the excitement. "I'll be fine after I get some fresh air and water," he thought to himself as he took a completely wrong turn than the way he came in.

Yeah, he's not gonna be fine at all because the hallucinogens are not helping matters. Because that bridge that he swears was a bridge about two seconds ago is now actually the side of the pathway which he has just manages to stumble right into, tumbling down into a patch of dirt and other plants.]

Waaaaugh!

[He hasn't broken anything, but that definitely caught him by surprise and took the wind right out of him. Oh, and his suit is torn of course.

...Someone might want to help this poor idiot out of the ditch. Or maybe he took you out with him on the way into the ditch? Either way, good lord.]

[souredsweet]

[NO......

Making a little humming noise at that, ever thoughtful. Why do people do these weird things. Why would anyone want to collect little tiny drink umbrellas... Questions that will likely never be answered.]

They do look festive, I suppose... But something more reminiscent of winter would have been better-suited, don't you think?

[faestra]

[Not what she expected, so Yuzu blinks. It didn't seem normal to be beat up like that upon entry; it wasn't like ViViD was real or anything.]

Is that it? I didn't mean to be rude, I thought it had something to do with what you were warning me about.

[Which... she's still not entirely sure what it was, she's just taking his word for it, but another is that if they stand still for too long the creeper vines are going to start creeping.]

Well, I don't blame you. They really pick the weirdest places to send new arrivals...

come at me losers

[spes_phthisica]

[You know what you end up in when you get your idea of what you should wear on a ball from two enthusiastic teenage girls, but you still can't make heads or tails out of western / modern / both styles of clothing? In Souji's case, it's something like this. He also has glittery snowflake pins to help hold up his hair, although it's gathered in a simple utilitarian ponytail.]

phase i

Okita Souji and Saizou!

[Yes, that is a pig walking next to him. Yes, he asked the announcer to call out the name of his pig as well. Mind, he'll probably just allow his pet to... wander around the place like he normally does. What do you mean that is not usually considered appropriate? How do you balls, anyway?]

phase ii

[Food! And by food, he means sweets. Well, mostly sweets. You probably don't understand the utter delight of being able to pick what you like among all these kinds of foods unless you've been on a strict and very boring health food diet for quite some time not long before. Which is probably why Souji's plate is so full, it looks like an accident waiting to happen. It's the classic buffet mistake of wanting to taste everything and probably ending up throwing half of it away.

Still, for now he's elegantly balancing the plate in one hand. After trying to reach across the table and realizing he can't do so without dipping the sleeve of his kimono in gravy, he tries to catch your attention instead.]

Excuse me? Could you maybe pass that over to me? [One of those huge cakes. Well, there is no way this could go wrong.]

phase iv

[Souji has had a great deal of fun and he's gotten a chance to dance and... to tell the truth, he's overstretched himself a bit tonight. The problem with being sick for a long time and then getting medicines that make you feel better is that you're prone to feel like you're not sick at all. You feel great... right up until when you don't. Especially when one of the side effects of the medicines is to make you even more hyperactive than you normally are.

Which is why Souji quite frankly has to step out for a while and gulp down some fresh air. His cheeks are faintly flushed, signalling the return of a bit of a temperature, and as he reaches a tree he has to lean on it and deal with a scraping, nasty-sounding bout of coughing.

And when the tree decides to get all touchy-feely, he does manage to instinctively kick out and then twist himself free, but he ends up stumbling and almost falling as well, still wheezing. Help a guy out, will you?]

[shoutai]

[The tension certainly doesn't go unnoticed, but he has no reason to bring it up, so he doesn't. This is just supposed to be a casual conversation, anyway.

But something he says is interesting.]

Another world? Like this one? [That was the implication, it seemed. Normally, the idea of other worlds wasn't that strange (definitely not when you came from a place where travel between planets wasn't unusual), but this place... Well, the circumstances were different.

Despite the serious implications, though, he chuckles.] You sound like an unlucky guy.

[reuser]

[ Oh, Jaune— You know what? Stick to looking pretty, sweetheart. The adults will do the talking. Pyrrha puts a hand on his shoulder, as if to indicate exactly that. ]

Well, it was nice of our benefactor to arrange all this.

[ He looks so unhappy, but Pyrrha has learned that's just the default state of Sousei's face. She's learned not to gauge him simply by that. He's here (Tenka dragged him, maybe?) and making some effort to socialise, even if he admits to not having fun. She'd be pleased except for that last part. ]

I'm sure if we put our heads together, we can think of something about parties you enjoy. Did you try the food yet?