- « INTRO ⇢ WINTERBALL.EXE » OVERFLOW

[poised]

Who: everyone, literally everyone
When: ooc: 04/25-04/26; ic: 12/26
Where: the Gardens
What: overflow of 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 overflow! It's a bit early but just to make sure the transition for everyone over here was captcha-free. 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 and post new intros! 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!!

Comments

[darkduelist]

You don't know?

<sub>[So... does that mean he's form the past? From the time when Heartland was still safe?

Yuto doesn't say anything more. He doesn't want to-- doesn't know how to say that Heartland was destroyed by invaders from another dimension. He only shakes his head as if saying that it doesn't matter anymore and looks away.]</sub>

[jyajyaaan]

[Oh, he knows more than enough and then some. But he won't tell him that. Instead he draws a hand to his chest, balling it over his heart as if he has to fight to keep himself calm.]

What do you mean 'I don't know'? What am I supposed to know? [Making his pitch close to hysteric is easy, he only has to think about the first half of this day.] Please! Tell me! If- if something happened to Yuma-kun and my family, I need to know!!

[darkduelist]

_{[What does he do know.]}

If you don't know, then it means I was mistaken. _{[Yes, it's better to say it like that. Yuto is frowning now and he still doesn't look at Rei.]} Forget I ever said anything.

1/2

[jyajyaaan]

[Vector falls silent at that, taking a step back as his eyes hides the expression of his eyes and he clenches his fists.]


....as if I could.

[jyajyaaan]

First you chat me up about my home, then you go saying something about it being attacked three years ago and now I'm suddenly supposed to forget everything you insinuated just because I don't fulfill some inane qualifier? As if! Having to fight off the Barians and everything else was already bad enough!

If this is your idea of a sick joke, then it's not fun!!

[darkduelist]

<sub>[Yuto looks at Rei surprised, but... then he thinks about what he said earlier and realizes that Rei is definitely right for getting angry.

Yuto's expression turns apologetic.]</sub>

It's not a joke... And I'm sorry. _{[But now he isn't sure what to do anymore. He closes his eyes, taking a moment to think, before he speaks again.]}

Three years ago Heartland... was invaded by people from another dimension – by Academia. The entire city was destroyed and... believe it or not, but most of the people were turned into cards. _{[Even thinking about it makes his heart hurt. He looks at Rei again.]} Not many people survived... and that's why I was glad to see someone from there who was unharmed.

_{[And now it's Yuto's turn to make a bit of a confused look.]}

...But what did you mean by fighting off Barians?

_{[Didn't Mizael say he was a Barian?]}

[jyajyaaan]

[He gives him an unreadable look for a moment before he sets his food away with a clank. Gesturing towards the exit, he gives him a nod.]

Let's walk for a bit.

[It's no question. Vector's features are hard and his movements have shifted into the controlled ones of a leader as he starts leading the way without waiting for Yuto to react.

Heartland was ambushed and everybody turned into cards? What nonsense! If it were that easy to do Vector would never have had to dirty his own hands!]

[darkduelist]

<sub>[And yet that was exactly what happened. Even Yuto himself had a duel disk that could turn people into cards. He doesn't have it anymore now, but still.

And he doesn't say anything, only follows Rei.]</sub>

[jyajyaaan]

[Once they have walked far enough to be out of reach for any stray guests and stragglers, Vector turns towards him. His expression is grim from displeasure which he doesn't bother to hide as he crosses his arms in front of his chest and leans against a wall.]

Information for information. I'll tell you about the Barians once you told me everything about that attack. But first- [his gaze bores into him] I'll have you tell me every little detail about what you mean with that they 'killed' them by turning them into cards.

[darkduelist]

_{[He's silent, before he speaks.]}

...One day people from Academia appeared and started attacking people. _{[There's a scowl appearing on his face, when he starts remembering again. The attack, the screams of people, his beloved city in flames - it's all so painfully vivid in his memory. But he still tries to speak calmly.]} Their duel disks let them turn people into cards. Those who lost or couldn't duel were all...

_{[He trails off and clenches his fists. No. This isn't good. He needs to calm down.]}

[jyajyaaan]

[Academia? He hasn't heard of a place with such a stupid name before. And this turning people into card thing? Vector figures it has to be terrifying to vanilla humans but for his scale as a Barian emperor is still sounds ridiculously benign. There's also to question how veritable Yuto's account is, although the boy seems convinced of it. It's at least enough to still show its traces on the way he reacts while speaking of it...

Well, humans are weak.

More silence follows before exhales with a sigh and squeezes Yuto's shoulder.]

...Is that so. You did good surviving, in that case. What year are you from?

[darkduelist]

<sub>[Yuto doesn't respond right away. It's true he survived the attack and kept fighting for three long years, but... in the end he lost, too. He was not turned into a card, so maybe in that sense it was different, but still. If everything were to go back to normal, he wouldn't be able to fight anymore. He would be no longer be there.

Not meeting the others eye, he focuses on the question instead.]</sub>

From the year 2XXX.


_{[Because mun doesn’t know what year was it. Is there anyone out there who knows?]}

[jyajyaaan]

2XXX? That's a little less than three years in the future. [His jaw's muscles tense for a moment as the wheels inside his head shift into overdrive.

The pieces don't fit together at all. Vector is sure that Zexal wouldn't have just sat idly and watched something like that happen, not to mention how unlikely it is that the Astral and Barian leading tiers would just silently permit such an outrageous tipping of the scale -- by an outside force, no less!

Furthermore there's also Yuto's body language, which is basically screaming 'I'm not telling you everything!' at him at this point.]

Alright. Two more questions to get the details clear: first, what happened to the cards? Do you know if they were destroyed or just collected?

Second, have you ever heard of a person named Zexal or Zexalura?

[darkduelist]

They weren't destroyed.

<sub>[He answers quickly for that one. The fact that the cards are still there gives them hope that their comrades can be rescued and everything would return to normal again one day. For now they might not know how to do it, but Yuto firmly believes that they will find a way.

As for the other question, he thinks about it for a moment.]</sub>

I'm not sure.

_{[He doesn't remember anyone called like that.]}

[jyajyaaan]

That is good to know. There should still be hope in that case.

[He nods to himself curtly before a frown marks his face for a second. No Zexal... Well, go figure. That one public stunt was more of a harebrained idea, so it was most likely not repeated.]

Then let's try something else. Do you know what became of Heartland? I mean the Mayor, not the City.

[darkduelist]

Of course, there is hope. I do not doubt that we will save everyone.

<sub>[Eventually.

But the question makes him think back to the times before Academia attacked. What happened to the Mayor? He shakes his head after a moment.]</sub>

I don't know.

[jyajyaaan]

Good.

[He smiles before he shakes his head with a 'tsk' under his breath. The lack of useful details is frustrating, although it could also be converted into an answer of its own. He'll need some more samples before he can take it as a proof, but.. ]

Alright. Then it's now your turn to ask the questions.

[darkduelist]

<sub>[Yuto realizes that his answers weren't exactly helpful.

He thinks for a moment. Right now the thing he wants to know the most is...]</sub>

You were saying that you fought the Barians. What did you mean by that?

[jyajyaaan]

Exactly what I said. [Now it is Vector's turn to be vague.]


The Barians are a force from another dimension that suddenly started showing up not long after the WDC. They started hunting and killing everybody who came in the possession of a certain type of card for some reason.

[darkduelist]

<sub>[Killing and hunting? Yuto is shocked to hear that. He spoke with a Barian before! And Mizael didn't seem like a bad person to him at all.

A scowl appears on his face. He'll have to talk to Mizaeal as soon as he can.]</sub>

...What cards?

[jyajyaaan]

[Oh? That seems to have hit a nerve somewhere. Vector will have to keep an eye on this one and his friends.

For now he is going to give Yuto a skeptical look as he frowns in fake contemplation.]

....Numbers. They are cards who become the embodiment of their owner's soul by devouring them.

[darkduelist]

_{[He's never heard of Numbers, but he doesn't like the sound of it at all.]}

Is there anything else you can tell me about the Barians and those Numbers?

[jyajyaaan]

Just one thing: Don't engage them at any cost.

[darkduelist]

_[...]

I'll keep that in mind.

_{[No promises though.]}

[jyajyaaan]

Please do.

[ . . . . ]

I'm sorry that I can't give you any more information. If things were different and he still around- ...!

But as things stand this is as much as can be risked to be disclosed without endangering you or me too much. I'm sorry.