« 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

open

[rebelia]

PHASE I

[IV all but stumbles into the gardens, his eyes wide from the sudden change in environment. With his disheveled hair and tattered clothes, he makes for a sore thumb indeed. He's more than ready to whip around and leave when the guy nearby gestures to him, announcing: English Ragamuffin, Knight of Bed Head.

Frowning, he turns back around. With how sore his body is from having been tossed every which way up and down the street, he doesn't have the energy for this, but there's the matter of not letting go of such a stupid address.]

. . . Hey. You've got it wrong. That's not who I am. I'm IV.

[English Ragamuffin IV, Fourth Knight of Bed Head! IV grits his teeth and balls his hands into fists, his words sharp and punctuated.]

No! IV!

PHASE II

[Somehow he's been roped into staying. Fine. After all that yelling and gesticulating, he's thirsty and in dire need of a drink to calm his nerves. He runs a hand through his hair, smoothing out some stray strands as he swipes a glass from the buffet table to down its contents.

At first, he's all scowls and closed off body language – namely in how he folds his arms and tucks himself away in the corner – but the mood of the ball gets to him eventually. After a while, he just looks gloomy, and that's where he's at now. It's anyone's guess why he's still there. Hell, he doesn't know.

He might be standing in the way of food, being in front of the buffet table and all.]

ii.

[undaunts]

[The fate of wallflowers everywhere........

wallflowering as best they can. Somehow, in her attempted avoidance of dancing and enthusiastic partners and sisters, Ruby ended up next to him.

... ... ....]

So....

[It takes her some time to speak up, but here she is, speaking up.]

...you're stuck here too, huh?

[rebelia]

[Wallflowers should just throw a party of their own. The kind where nobody is allowed to go to the middle.

For all stands there, seething, IV's attention easily goes with the shift of his gaze to Ruby. She looks sincere. He already likes her more than the laughing guy. (Anybody is better than the laughing guy.) Much as his interests are colliding, he finds himself discomfited by the idea of somebody suggesting he's stuck.]

It's a ball. You can go wherever you want.

[undaunts]

That's what you think.

[Haaah.... she just crosses her arms, frowning a little.]

I'm pretty sure my sister would drag me back without even a snappy one-liner, and let me tell you, Yang's scary when she's not coming up with cheesy one-liners.

i

[defeets]

[oh my god, Jae-ha's been listening to all the mixed up titles so far and that has to be one of his favorites. Don't mind him if he very nearly spits out his drink when he's rung through the air and then glances back in the direction of who could possibly have such a title--

And then he actually laughs openly.]

Ahah...! I see it, I can see what he's trying to say...!!

[rebelia]

[Is that person laughing at him – IV stops mid-argument to whip around. Laughing guy's close enough that he takes just one or two steps forward for the distance to be respectful. Under normal circumstance, he'd challenge exactly what the announcer's trying to say, but he knows. He's a mess. His hair's pretty wild on its own, but it's worse now when he looks like someone mugged him.

This shouldn't bother him at all, but he's not been in a happy place lately. The butthurt is strong in this one.]

Stay out of this!

ii.

[tachyonme]

[Somehow he missed IV's entrance or he might have slowly wandered over. Or maybe IV got there before he did. Either way, Mizael didn't know he was here.

And at the moment, he too busy looking over to food to notice him either. Which is why, as Mizael creeps along the table, he ends up bumping right into the grump who's blocking part of the table.

And then, of course, he step back a looks incredibly offended that there was someone in his way like there, but before he actually says anything, he gets a good look at just who he bumped into and completely forgets whatever rude thing he was going to say.]

I know you...

[Not enough to remember a name right off the bat though, whoops.]

[rebelia]

[Likewise, IV has somehow missed Mizael all this time until he's nudged at the buffet table. He scowls, but, on looking over at the perpetrator, gapes with his eyes wide.

So he's only seen the guy, what, once, but the words coming out of Mizael's mouth serve as double confirmation of a fresh memory. IV turns so that he's face-to-face, taking a step back at the same time. The back of his hand knocks against a glass at the edge of the table and sends it shattering against the ground.]

You . . . Barian!

[tachyonme]

[To be honest, Mizael is more startled by just how startled the boy is than by actually running into him; he even jumps a bit when the glass crashes to the ground and steps back into his own almost-defensive stance.

And then he scowls at himself for letting something like that startle him, crosses his arms, and takes a step forward so his feet are even again.]

Human.

[He could probably remember the boy's name if he thought about it, but he's more in the mood for just responding in kind for now.]

You can settle down. I'm not going to do anything to you.

ii

[sheathwife]

[ There's a lot of patience from Horikawa. He didn't want to call the other guy out for blocking a part of the buffet, so he simply waits. And waits...

Eventually though, another person starts waiting behind them. Now this won't do anymore. It's rude to take one's sweet time in a buffet. He should've decided ahead before moving to line up. Besides, he could always come back if he wanted some more as well... ]

Excuse me. Are you unable to decide?

[rebelia]

What?

[ Because he's not actually getting anything to eat, the question confuses him. It takes just the second, though. As soon as he speaks, IV realizes what he's been addressed about. Shaking his head, he steps away from the buffet table. ]

I'm not eating.

[sheathwife]

Huh? Are you sure?

[ If he's standing by the table, surely there must be something that caught his attention... Horikawa is concerned now, wondering why he suddenly changed his mind. He doesn't look overall happy either, perhaps something happened to him? ]

i;

[brbwalking]

I wouldn't bother.

[ It's a calm, quiet voice from somewhere behind him as Judith, newly arrived and also in not ball-appropriate clothes, approaches. She's not really here for the dancing, but she can provide pleasant enough conversation. ]

You can introduce yourself without help, can't you?

[rebelia]

[ Amid his volume and the announcer's own botching of things, the calm voice cuts through their squabble. IV turns away to face the woman behind him. The scowl is still there, although not intended for her. ]

Of course I can. That's not what this is about.

[brbwalking]

I don't think anyone will be taking his credibility seriously, either.

I

[darkduelist]

<sub>[Yuto sees what is happening and after a longer moment finally decides to say something.

Because it takes too long and he is pretty sure that no matter what IV is going to say, it just won't change anything.]</sub>

I don't think he's going to listen.

[rebelia]

_{[With a faint hiss, IV whirls around. After the third time, he's had enough of the announcer.]}

I get it! _{[His voice lowers to a grumble.]} Good grief – and it was only a number.

ii

[endworld]

[WALLFLOWER DETECTED!!

... Which means that Seren, who's really the sort of person who believes that strangers are just friends you haven't gotten to know yet, heads on over to him.]

Hey, what's got you so down?

[rebelia]

[This must be the bluntest one of the bunch. IV's a tad taken aback by the sudden query, because "what's wrong?" is not a question he's used to answering. It follows that his immediate reaction would be to give a dismissive wave.]

Nothing. [No, that's a lie. Let's rephrase.] It has nothing to do with you.

ii -- I might be cheating a little shhhhh

[icefallen]

[Rio has been watching carefully.

It's not a predatory sort of stalking, but she's following him from somewhere she hopes he won't notice her all the same, trying to think of a way to address this... predicament. Ryouga isn't here, as far as she can tell, and that's either a blessing or a curse. Even though they made up somewhat after he had used IV as an object with which to gain momentum into his duty, it still must have hurt. It hurt them a lot more than it hurt her, at the end of it all. All of them...

Her eyes slide away, then back again. She can't even mill around the table and find something sweet to chew on, because he's just standing there and looking like he's all but waiting for someone to come up to him and take pity on him, or something. But does she want to fall into that trap, knowing they have so much baggage to contend with? Does she want to be the person who--

Ah, forget it. Yes. Yes, in fact, she does. Watching him sulk endlessly and seem like he intends to do nothing about anything is driving her crazy. He should do something. She should do something.

So she stomps up to him, smothering down the memory of having her arm slung around that very back and being carried half-consciously while flames swarmed around them both.]

I hope you weren't planning on sulking here for the entire day? If so, I suppose I'm here to ruin your plans.

Not to worry. IV can't judge –

[rebelia]

[Later, he'll kick himself for not noticing her.

It's hard to ignore the cacophonous thumping of someone stomping around in a ball. What starts as a glimpse turns into a stare as IV goes rigid upon seeing her, his eyes wide and jaw slack. The first thought to cross his frenzied mind is that Mizael's a filthy liar, and he questions the supposed pride of the Barians when they sink to such low blows. At that moment, there is no second thought – just watching her coming at him is the same as a disorienting punch straight to the gut. It follows that he doesn't know what to think when she starts talking with a fussiness that's out of place with current events.

IV clumsily unfolds his arms. While there's a good likelihood that she'll deny it the same as her brother, his only coherent thought is a name. In his shock of seeing her (like this, after so long of avoiding her by chance [and perhaps by choice]), he can't help but to blurt it out.

Kamishiro – ]

Rio!?

[ It's perhaps more breathless than he intended. It's certainly awkward, at the very least. ]

phase i

[puerilely]

[ God, this is why Shuu kept hanging around the entrance.. not since he's waiting for someone, but just since this whole display is hilarious. If the nicknames aren't the funniest thing about this, then it's the way people react to said titles. It's utterly hilarious to him when IV gets all worked up about it-- and this guy over here doesn't even bother to hide the fact that he's laughing his ass off. ]

I don't know, he seemed pretty spot on with that last one.. [ Be nice to the newbies for once, Shuu. He might not know what the phrase "cutting slack" means.. ]

[rebelia]

[ You wanna go.

Laughing guy was bad enough, but now he's got backup. IV turns to Shuu, just in control of his rapidly unfurling temper. Maybe some of that anger is misplaced and using this drama as an outlet, but who can say. ]

Putting aside accuracy [ questionable as it is ], he should do his job properly!

II

[ridethathippo]

[Wow, IV, you look like a mess. Yuya can totally understand why he wouldn't be enjoying himself if he were in his situation, which is why he approaches the older teen, trying to think of what he can do to make the situation less awful.]

Uhh...hey. You okay? You look a little beat up. I could run out and pick you up something to change into, if you want.

[IT'S A WEIRD OFFER (even to give), but this is a big party and it sucks that IV isn't enjoying it.]

[rebelia]

( ooc: boy, you be senile. )