estoria | « intro ⇢ winterball.exe »

Entry tags:

« intro ⇢ winterball.exe »

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!

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Naoki glances down, and his eyes seem to shine as he looks at the necklace and he's tempted to lean in and kiss just above it but no, no, it's crowded.]

That should keep you safe from dancing hazards for sure.

Are you saying you don't think about samurais often?

[ Because that's the real question here. ]

[ Pyrrha's just going to reach around his shoulders and cover his mouth. ]

I've met Naoki, he's sweet.

[ There's an implied "good catch" there. ]

You should bring him by later. I promise Jaune will be on his best behaviour.

[ ... She recognizes him, vaguely. Not enough to feel any real sense of pleasure at the sight of a slightly familiar face, but Judith isn't really here to mingle, anyway. It's why she's dressed as usual, and she settles down in a chair beside him, casually glancing his way. ]

If your neck hurts, you don't have to stay.

[ w o w. ]

Well, all right.

[ And she holds out her hand. ]

Come on.

[ The fact that the maître d’ has announced her as “Craterface” probably hasn’t helped, but hey. He’s a man in a tux with a sword strapped to his back—and more importantly, he can’t stand seeing a girl in distress. ]

Don’t worry about it, Beautiful. I can fix that. [ And like A TRUE BLUE JAPANESE MANLY MAN, HE…delicately plucks that frosty winter posy of flowers from her hair to delicately arrange it back on the display like nothing’s happened. ]

[What is this? Has Hinata done away with his ahoge? It doesn't seem to be in its usual springy place atop his head. No... Actually, it's just been liberally combed and gelled down, hair all combed back. To go with the outfit, you know.

But more importantly--

Who is he talking to?]

...Er. Katsura? [He's stumbling on him in the middle of his doting... on his treats...??]

[ While Minako's hardly been to fancy places and dressed up all nice like this (when does she usually have chances like this anyway?), she approaches the food table, ready to take at least one of everything.

That is, until she sees Pharos.

This is strange. Well, until she sees what he's been looking at. ]

Looks pretty, doesn't it? For a cake.

... Goodness, you've found a fun dance partner for the night.

[ Whether she's talking to the tree or Katherine remains to be seen, but there's Judith's boot, landing hard on the root. This (usually) quieter area is more to her taste, and she's lingered around, keeping a watchful eye on the more interesting threats of the garden. ]

_{[Ruca's smile becomes more and more awkward, before he speaks again.]}

Ah... w-well... _{[He takes a look around.]} To be honest, I'm not really sure what to do here. This is the first time I've been to this kind of party...

_{[Or any party at all, actually. Places as crowed as this one make him feel so nervous.]}

[ Unease in an alien flower garden? Join the club, Ai. Part of the reason Koujaku had been willing to come back to this evil, evil place of which he would never speak of again is because he wants to defend Natalia and anyone else from evil plants.

He knows how horrible they can be, all right? Not that the sight of her doesn’t brighten up his mood anyway. ]

Yo, Ai— [ His greeting stops short when he sees she’s nervous.

Serious time: ] What’s wrong?

[ Good boy, California Maki... For agreeing without a fuss, a reward must be in accordance. In order to help his comrade settle down, he'll let him hear words that he will definitely appreciate. So once they start walking off together— ]

I'd believe it. I'm sure that plant wanted your attention, since you're so beautiful.

[ How's that? How's that? Still angry? Horikawa watches him with his familiar calm smile, continuing to lead Kashuu away from the garden of death. ]

Roleplay competition? What happened there?

IV

[The gardens… they’re nothing like Argilla’s seen before that she’s immediately drawn to them more than the building and the party. Flowers were a rare commodity in ‘Nirvana’ and they were almost like a currency. To see so many in abundance had the woman in awe as she bent down to touch of one of the delicate plants to see it booming with life and strong. What a lovely smell, what a lovely color, it’s like she ‘remembered’ what it was like before the sun went black on Earth – a ‘rose’. Yes, this is called a ‘rose’. And all the water – it’s clear and clean and not like the rain of the Junkyard – the rain that was the cycle of death and rebirth.

Could this be Nirvana? Has she finally reached it? So --

A) One could find her adoring the flowers in the garden with her sniper rifle by her side. She looks like a terrorist, but she’s certainly not acting like one.

B) Or… one could find her actually using her rifle, shooting that alien being of a tree – or in her mind, a demon, a tuner like her – trying to defend herself. She thinks she’s being attacked, at the Atma mark on her breast is glowing pink as she gets more and more upset. This isn’t Nirvana at all!]

Bonus

[This all naturally leads her to paranoia the more she sniffs the plants, seeing ‘demons’ around her as she’s screaming and yelling. You may find her in either her human or demon form. As a human, she’s showing a lot of combat experience – kicking, using her rifle to hit enemies, or even at a distance from… something… and shooting at it. Hopefully not shooting your character…

As a demon, she’s casting her earth spells, trying to hit… whatever is there. Or maybe your character because she’s on edge now. Though just as equally, she might see your character as one of her allies and heal them since they’re fighting a common enemy… or something. Either way, her being used to war and death is definitely affecting her right now and whatever hallucinogenic effect there is on her.]

[ Somehow he's not even surprised that she had an idea. Has he ever been able to hide anything from her? ]

I wish you had asked me back then, Pyrrha. [ He had convinced himself that he wasn't really lying, but only choosing not to tell the whole truth every time she didn't ask him about it. It still ate him up, in the end. ]

I'm such an idiot. I... I accidentally picked the wrong job and had to work somewhere embarrassing. [ And completely distasteful compared to what Pyrrha is doing. For a teacher to even be associated with a stripper just seemed so socially unacceptable to him, it was just another reminder of how she's so amazing and he isn't.

Also, song change. There's a theme starting to form here. ]

I'm afraid I missed it. [ And here's someone who isn't dressed up at all, because balls aren't her thing, she's just here to investigate. Be moral support, perhaps. Either way, it's fairly obvious that she isn't here for the finery and the flirting. ] They may have had their fill of blood if they're not coming to the surface.

[ No, Judith isn't actually joking. ]

[--is that guy staring at him? Hinata's finally gotten around to filling his plate (shaking off any lingering worries of poison), considering not only what he'd like to eat, but other options to share. He's currently torn between two options of finger sandwiches when he does notice.

Shifting his gaze over slowly, he blinks toward him.]

--er, is there something wrong?

[ She's reserving judgment until he answers this next question, ]

What job were you doing?

[ Whew! Man, all that food was amazing. The music wasn't too bad, even though she just watched others dancing. So, Minako's gonna stroll through the gardens, enjoying the night air, when the sight (and did Yurlungur talked? she was used to them talking to her in her head but...) of an actual glowing boy with a demon, well, she might as well say hi. ]

I didn't think I'd see an awfully touch tree here.

[Mio gives him a dubious sort of look] On his own? Aren't you afraid someone might snatch him up or something?

[It had been easier to be confident and outgoing when her sister had been by her side, when she had needed to be that way to take the lead her sister wouldn't be able to take. But here... It's harder, here, but she's trying. Because if they can bring the world back, maybe they can bring her sister back too-- she has to believe in that much, at least.]

It was Dungeons And Dragons. Both Archer and I made great characters together. Misfits who found love and compassion due to each other.

[ As expected of Rin, it was a Travesty. ]

[ My, how flattering. c: Is it because he radiates a unique light? Huh, huh? Either way, hearing that familiar voice... Yoon turns over with a smile.

Though, that smile quickly turns into a flat expression after... seeing the icing. SIGH, the babysitting saga of a Korean named Yoon starts once again. His eyes shrink further and further, the more he hears and notices things.

Icing. Messy hair. A dumb question. But he'll simply shrug it off and forgive the older boy, since he... did appreciate a kind gesture from recently. Hmph. ]

Me, merry Christmas... Red Aura. Before that, come over here with me, will you?

[ He walks off to a quieter corner not far away, grabbing a clean tissue while he's at it. ]

[It's strange, the way the pleasant and helpful demeanor - not exactly something he associates with Horikawa's owner - doesn't as much fade but shift into something more familiar. Watchful, steady, but with a hint of an edge to the calm.

(And the gesture too, the instinctive hand reaching out to support him-)

He's torn between laughter, because it's so unexpected, and something that tugs at his heart and tempers his smile a bit with solemnity. After a moment of searching carefully for words, he folds his hands neatly and sinks into an elegant bow, while still maintaining eye contact, still smiling.]

I'm sorry, I'm afraid I've startled you. [And honestly, in a way he's been there himself. People with names the right names but the wrong faces, the pangs of recognition counteracted by the differences... He's not exactly about to make matters less confused, but at the very least they should be less alarming.] I'm not from the same world as you, so you wouldn't recognize me, but- My name is Okita Souji, and I certainly recognize you... in a manner of speaking.

[A few years ago, Rei wouldn't have questioned that. She'd have just said that Inaba made the right choice. Now, though, after years with Usagi and company?]

Why's that, exactly? If you wanted a date, you could have had one...

O-- oi.

[Coming along a person stabbing the tree with a knife honestly... doesn't perturb him that much, not after what he's seen that thing do. Goodness knows he's hacked at it at bit himself. However, that frenzied way of doing it is far more of a concern, and if she keeps that up she's going to hurt herself this time...]

I think you've already got it. [Hurriedly, as Hinata rushes over toward her.] Here, are you okay?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 64 of 225

« intro ⇢ winterball.exe »

no subject

no subject

no subject

phase ii;

no subject

i

ii

i-ii

phase iv;

no subject

iv!

LOLDKFSFG CRIES AT THAT PUN

no subject

open!

no subject

phase iv;

ii

no subject

iv

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

iv