« 014 ⇢ EVENT014.EXE »

[reparator]

Who: Cerealia natives & you
When: ooc: 05/21-05/23; ic: 01/08
Where: A local photography studio
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)

//event013.EXE WE'RE YOUR BIGGEST FANS WE'LL FOLLOW YOU UNTIL YOU LOVE US (L̻̣̖̯̰ͣ̒̓̆̃̈́̈͜͞O̱̞̞̝̤͋̆ͭV̵̨̖̘͉͖̤͇̞̺ͫ̾̇̚͝Ę͐̇̓ͪͨ̇͠͏̰̼͍͍̪̙̰͍̪ ̸̫̆ͨͨ̕͝Ȕ̘̼ͬ͋ͮ̂͋Ś̑̒͗҉̧̤͚ ̪̯̰̮̘̔ͬ͂ͫͫ́͝L̠͍͔̯͔͈͆̄̉ͤ͢͝ͅO̳̰͔͙̱̹̦͌̓V͍̗͖̙̬̰ͫ̆̆ͤ́E̡̤̤̟̩̟̅̃͢ͅ ̦̙̲̮͖͙͓̄ͩͥ̇̎̈ͫ́̀͢U̶͚͔ͯ͌͘S̡̛͈̺̹̯͎̓̐̄̿͝ ̷̌̑ͮ̒̂̓҉̰̦͕͓̝L̤͍͍̝̯̙̈̓ͮͬͧ͡͠Ô̢̲̗̻̱̜͔̺̗̦ͩ̒͊̄̌̒͊V͎̬̺͇͖̮̻̚͜Ĕ̱̺͓̩̯̫ͅ ̖̫͙̞̜͇͖̹͗̿ͨͧ̄͑̕͝U͎͔̼̒̂́̽͑͆ͨͯ͟ͅS̢͔̳ͣ̊̃̇ͣ̐̀͞ͅ ̲̣̳̾ͩ͑ͦ̈́ͩ̉͗̕͞L̗̩̰͈̜͔͍͈̓͢O̫͈̝̭̠͈͕̻̎̏ͣ̚͘͠V̸͔̲̻͚̭͂͆̎̈ͨ̐̏̑́͢È̪̖̟̞̗͎̰̻̱̈́ͩ͂ͩ̓ͩ ̵͎̘̺̋̐̉ͦ͂ͧ̐ͬU͇̫̪̬ͣ͢S̰͓͂̿͂͗̐̓ ̶͌̇̂͗ͧ̓҉̤͎̫͈L̺̦͓̏̏͌͢O̷̗̥̭ͣ̐ͯ̚͢Vͮ͌ͦ͏͇̖̗̟͈E̱͉̥̋ͥ̏ͣ͘ ̧͙ͧ̃̒̓͘͠U̘̺͎͌̊͡S̸̛͇̠̭̹̞̘ͨ̓ͧ̌͋̍̊ ̬̭͋͐͗̈͒̅L̡̢̗̙͈̲͉̼̳̆͛O̶̵̗̼̺͓ͮ̓̉̕V̢͒ͫ̌͛ͣͣ̀̕҉̟̖̹̤̞ͅE̵̘͈͋ͣ̈̋ ̧̛̙͛́͂ͣ̀̍ͫỤ̧̩̞͉̰̠̉͒̓̓̓̊͟͟S̵̠͕͍̼̠̺͔ͣ͛͂̒͛͌ L̡͑̀͟͏̪͎̲͖͉̖̣ͅỌ̸͙̅̂̔ͥͭ͌̾͟͟V̝ͫ̽̂̐ͬͥͭ͒̌Ẻ̷̇ͨ̇͛̒́̿҉͓̤ ̹̺̫͇̠̰̐ͤ͋̃̉͝Ȕ̻̪̪̰̰͙͆̈̐S̷̫̻̗̜͔̜̲͆͒̓͛ͬ) CERES itself has been notably quiet lately as they run their usual code recovery protocols, but the colony locals, who totally ripped off the company's name to put on CERESCON, are more than willing to step up their game. They've got something great planned for old friends, newbies who attended the convention, and even newer arrivals who only experienced the usual arrival: a massive group photoshoot with the intention of creating photobooks, calendars, and various other merchandise that can be sold. After all, regardless of what the you all think of CERES and vice versa, the locals love you guys! ...maybe a little too much. The newest arrivals will be ushered onto a bus shortly after emerging from their powerpoint presentation and driven around the city so that they can see the sights and be joined by those who have been in the colony for longer (and those who just arrived but are retaining test drive memories). The bus will make stops at various residences and places of employment in the effort to round up as many people as possible, and they will use any means necessary to get you to join in on the fun, from bribery (did they mention that you'll get a free lunch before the shoot, a free dinner after the shoot, and royalties from the sale of merchandise your face appears on?!) to outright kidnapping for the more stubborn. If you really don't want to take part, escape is possible, but expect to be tailed by amateur photographers trying to snap candid photos of you for the rest of the day. Upon arriving, everyone taking part will be treated to a delicious buffet-style lunch! Nothing too heavy, because they don't want anyone getting sick during the shoot, but they'll certainly make sure you're comfortable. This is a good chance to mingle with the new arrivals and meet people who have been in the colony that you haven't yet crossed paths with yet, so why not take a day off from work and have some fun? After all... CERES has nothing to do with this... right? What's the worst that could happen? "LOOK THIS WAY, MY PRETTY! AH YES, THAT'S YOUR GOOD SIDE... AGAIN, AGAIN! HOLD THAT POSE... GOTCHA! YOU'RE REALLY MAKING MY BLOOD RUSH NOW, NYA! NOW LOOK RIIIIGHT INTO MY CAMERA... JUST A LIIIIITLE MORE... Ȧ͊͗̿Ṋ̪͍̲ͮͤ̔̎D̜̻͕̼ ̍͂͂͋̊̚N̴̙̯̦͆̏̐͊ͯ́̓O̸̗̫̎W̗̲̰ͮ̇̏͛ͮ͑́ ̯̩̜̰̯̿́̅̂͌ͤ̉ͅY̶͍̜̤̎ͮO̫̺̫̬͍̹͘U͏̮̦̘̩̻̠̻'̬̹́͒R̬̩̙̻̙͚̳͟Ě̞̬̬ͩͧͯ̂̈́̚ ̫̞̺͆ͥM̛̌͑I̩̺̲̗̤̍̚ṈͭͅE͚̣͎ THIS IS A GREAT SHOT! YOU'RE SENDING SHIVERS DOWN MY SPINE! I'LL NEVER LET THIS PICTURE GO..."

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] So you've all just been dropped off at the venue and now it's time to get some food in you. After all, as any of Cerealia's professional models will be able to tell you, standing under the lights and looking pretty is a whole lot harder than it looks! You're definitely going to want to keep your strength up. But don't worry about paying, because this meal is on the house. Eat as much as you like. It's buffet-style, and anything that runs low will be refilled by friendly robots in a timely fashion. Also on the house is treatment from the colony's various appearance professionals. Makeup artists and hairdressers will have their time to shine as they primp and polish 'til you glow with pride, and representatives from various boutiques and clothing stores, as well as professional fashion designers, will be on hand to ensure that you look your best! Don't be surprised if, while you're waiting to get started, a dark-clad figure in a hood sidles up to you and dumps a letter or two in your lap! These are letters from your adoring public (yes, even the new arrivals have quite a devoted fanbase), and they range from cute to creepy. ...how did that messenger even get in, anyway? Maybe the way they seem to melt into the crowd and disappear when you blink has something to do with it. PHASE II [ xxxx ] Now it's time to get down to business! Business, of course, being getting your picture taken by these overly-enthusiastic photographers. ...do some of them look like cats? That's got to be your imagination. Blink and they'll look normal, promise. The photographers are interested in catching as many shots of the various visitors to the colony as they can possibly get, so don't be surprised if they pair you up with people you don't even know just because they think you look cute together. The poses they'll put you in will range from normal to outright risqué, so here's hoping you and your new buddy don't feel awkward together! Midway through the shoot, one of the volunteers will run into the room very excitedly, wheeling a cart full of animal carriers behind him. Some of the things he's brought along are harmless CYBuddies, because what photoshoot isn't made cuter by including adorable animals, but some of the others are... let's just say CERES probably won't be too happy once they hear that someone's brought alien life forms into the colony. In all fairness, some of them are actually quite cute, like the aquatic creature that manages to float itself around in a sphere of water and the multi-tailed fox with glowing purple eyes, as well as the... Well, no one's really sure what this thing is, not even the person who brought it, but it's cute enough. Others, on the other hand, are just entirely bizarre, but to each their own. Feel free to chat up the others while you're waiting for your turn, to play with the animals, or to try and escape. Those who try and duck out the back will eventually be tracked down by a volunteer or a robot that will try to either bribe or kidnap them into continuing with the shoot, though! Maybe you and a friend can team up to figure out a way past them? Or you could just be on good behavior and let them take your picture. ...a word of caution, however. No matter how often the photographers urge you to do so, do not look directly into the camera. Characters who do will be rendered unconscious (those with spiritual sensitivity will actually be able to tell that they've been rendered soulless, though characters that already lack souls to begin with will still be rendered unconscious) for five minutes in the first instance and five minutes plus one minute for every instance thereafter (six minutes for a second time, seven for a third, and so on). Should they reach the point where they would be knocked out for a period of ten minutes, the photographer will try to leave the building. You will want to stop them. If you don't, your character will remain unconscious until the dawn of the next day and will be transported to the CERES medical center. If other characters manage to keep the photographer from leaving, your character will wake up after ten minutes as normal. Feel free to NPC these encounters yourselves if it comes to it; the mods will not be doing so. It's up to you whether the photographer escapes or not. PHASE III [ xxxx ] Uuuuuuh-oh. Whoever thought it was a great idea to bring in all those alien creatures is probably going to get fired, because one thing has led to another and now they're on the loose. What's more, those of them that can do so have taken on decidedly more threatening appearances, and more than a few of them seem to be out for blood. In the chaos brought on by their outbreak, a second wave of photographers will make their way into the building. They're more aggressive in their attempts to have the characters look right at them when they take their pictures, and will absolutely try and gang up on them to hold them down and turn their heads to force them into having their pictures taken over and over again. These shots will have the same effect as being directly photographed during the photoshoot, but fighting back against them is okay - in fact, the volunteers and photographers who organized the shoot will actually do their best to help you fight the paparazzi off. This sort of aggression is not condoned by the locals who love you, after all. Should your character be rendered unconscious for ten minutes, anyone who attempts to stop the paparazzi from absconding with their soul will be assisted by the official volunteers for the photoshoot. ...of course, if your character is managing to hold their own, they'll just hang back and photograph the fight. Why waste a good opportunity for candid shots? After all, you're the people who are going to be restoring your own worlds and subsequently protecting theirs from the Flamines! Why wouldn't they want to document it every step of the way? PHASE IV [ xxxx ] The paparazzi has been successfully expelled, the photoshoot has been finished up, and as if by magic (okay, no, it's just technology), they've actually managed to produce the prototypes for the various merchandise that will be sold around the colony. Isn't that exciting? You've all done a great thing here today, the volunteers will tell you. Now just sit back, relax, and let them make up for all the trouble. Admire the calendars, books, and prints you're all appearing in! Or, you know, you can also wonder why ghostly images of people who aren't even there are showing up in some of the pictures you've taken. If you took a picture with just one other person, you might see a third person there, posed perfectly to go along with you! It's almost like the photographers were able to see them all along, but that's not possible, right? They won't always be there, either. You can see it and someone else can see it, but if you look away for too long and then look back, the picture will look just the way it should have based on how you took it. Huh. Weird. Anyway, enjoy the lavish banquet the volunteers have prepared to thank you for all your hard work! You've done a fantastic job and they really want to express their gratitude. If there's any particular food you like, chances are it will be there. (Don't ask how they knew what you like.) While you're eating, another black-clad messenger might appear and give you even more fanmail than you might have received before the shoot - apparently people have been watching, and this has really boosted your popularity! You're developing quite the fanbase. The dinner crowd's fanmail definitely ranges more along the "creepy" side of things, though some of the notes actually will be cute and innocent expressions of admiration. The security has been stepped up considerably for the meal, so the paparazzi won't be able to get in (though you can certainly hear them trying). At the end of the night, the volunteers will offer to escort you home, and should you take them up on their offer you'll make it home safely and be unbothered by the paparazzi at your place of residence. Try and go home alone, though, and the paparazzi will stalk you until sunrise, even going so far as to try to break into your room. BONUS [ whyo'clock ] It seems like your devoted fanbase has gotten a little out of hand! At any point during the log - even during the chaos surrounding the animal outbreak and paparazzi attack - you might just be approached by a robot. A robot that loves you so much, it's going to take you away from all of this. This robot will wax poetic about its undying love for you and how it's going to make sure that the two of you can be together forever and no one will ever be able to take you away from them. It will then proceed to do its best to kidnap you. Maybe there's some kind of a glitch in its program, because it's not gentle about it at all! And if you try and escape, it'll definitely get violent. Try to run away and it might just have to break your legs so you can never leave it behind. Try and fight it off, and it'll do its best to incapacitate you so it can drag you off, put you on display, and take super good care of you. These robots are incredibly sturdy, but the more technologically-inclined may be able to reprogram them into being less creepy and more helpful if they can get to the control panel on its back. Fight hard enough, or avoid it for long enough, and eventually its battery will wear down and you'll be safe. If you can't fight or run, you'd better hope someone who can will come along and help you...! [ 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 everyone's usual arrival experience and feel free to consult the FAQ if needed. Please leave any lingering questions right here, and we'll answer them as soon as we can.

Comments

OTA

[theshiningone]

PHASE I

[How long has it been since he's been offered a free meal? Far too long. But where there were people, there was bound to be answers about certain things going on. Everything about data and world apocalypses weren't anything new in his book. But he was hoping to see a familiar face in the crowd or two whenever he arrived. And if all else failed? He go out and make some new friends. While Hiro was eating happily at the buffet table, he makes a new plate and walks over to the giant tiger that's chilling in a corner. The tiger looked rather tense and pensive towards any strangers, but it quickly shifts to a more welcoming demeanor once Hiro arrives.]

Yo! Don't think I left you hangin'! Eat up as much as you want, buddy.

[He'll place the plate on the floor and Byakko starts to eat its fill. In return, Hiro starts to gently pet it on the head. Previous experiences had taught him that when things were going a little too well, there might have been a catch waiting. So while he'd have fun, but keep his guard up until then. Seriously, who invited the giant white tiger?]

PHASE II

[... Of course that was quickly forgotten whenever Hiro had seen the cute fluffy looking animals. The bunnies were especially catching his eye, he immediately hops in line and he's even hopping rather enthusiastically as he waits his turn. He was so tempted to just bumrush the whole line if it meant that he would be first... But there was that thing called common courtesy that he needed to remember. Once it was his turn, Hiro was happily cuddling up with the animals without any shame. He's even pressing the alien bunny up against his cheek as he's perfectly comfortable with this being his happy place.]

Ohmygodyouaresocute~! ♪ Can I take these guys home? Can I?! CAN I?!

[Someone please stop him from plotting a grand scheme to smuggle these animals back to his apartment room.]

PHASE IV

[Once all the photos were taken, Hiro was happily thumbing through some of the calenders that were offered. He's openly admiring some of the photos by saying some embarrassing things or backhanded insults like "Wow, she's a cutie!", "How lewd!" and "It's not like they're showing off much..." He had to wonder if he could take some of these back to his apartment complex.]

The spotlight is better when you got people to share it with, after all. [And he'll just casually lean over to you if you're also thumbing through photos and what not like him.]

So how many fan letters did you get? Bet'cha I got loads more than you. [Ever the competitive one...]

WILDCARD

[Anything goes! Join him up for the fight against the alien creatures and paparazzi or come up with your own scenario.]

i;

[immobileyes]

[ Mary's wondering about the tiger, of course, but after the whole thing with dragons and squirrels... she's come to accept that weird animals will just tend to show up. It doesn't mean she'll want to say hello, though (unlike Seto), so she'll just quietly try to tiptoe past them to get to the food. ]

[theshiningone]

[Asides the food, Byakko sniffs something inhuman very close by. Glancing its eyes in Mary's direction, Hiro just automatically knew what to do. Like he would let her get away tie-toeing like that! So just like that, Hiro steps right in front of her with his hands raised in the air.]

BOO!!

IV

[swordboning]

[What? Was he saying something. Archer was intentionally not paying attention while ripping up anything he got without reading them.

That's about how much he cares about what other people thing.]

What were you saying?

[theshiningone]

[Rude Aacha! Hiro is just going to reach up and shake his shoulder because that just wasn't cool!

People's feelings were at stake, so it was his natural role as a hero to step up and protect them. Not to mention, this guy sounded like someone he knew.]

Wha-! That's mean! Read them before ripping up, you asshole!

phase iv

[dereban]

Does it really matter how many fan letters I got? [ Because she doesn't care at all whatsoever as she lets out a defeated sigh. ]

I mean, all the fan letters could have been sent by the same person.

[theshiningone]

Suuuure it does. If you're too shy to say that you didn't get any, then you can just say so.

[Because clearly that's why she wouldn't mention it.] Just think of it as having a really devoted fan if that's the case. Isn't that a beautiful thing?

ii

[bloomnobly]

I don't see why we shouldn't be able to! [ haha....ha....oh boy

she's snuggling the tiny purple kitsune, herself. ] These are much better than those...machine "buddy" contraptions they like to sell around here.

[theshiningone]

[He just met her and he already likes her style.]

Oh, um... Those Cybuddy thingys, right? The cold steel of a machine just can't beat the warm fur of a living being.

phase i

[emotive]

[WHOA ANOTHER DEMON... is kind of what Ai Thao's first thought is when she sees the white tiger. Her own plate is quite crowded with various kinds of foodstuffs, but her attention was now on Byakko.]

O-Oh...! Is that... Is that yours???

IV

[sjokolade]

[At this point, Anna didn't even care how many photos she might have gotten! All she wanted to do was to go back home and rest up! After spending the entire day wandering around, who could blame her that she just wanted to go to bed?

However, that didn't stop her from taking the time to look through the photos. Although, once she does though?]

I think you're taking this a little too seriously. I mean, does it really matter?

ii

[muscats]

[ A comrade!! Someone who can see the beauty behind these animals. Unfortunately, Hotarumaru is horrible and would encourage this behavior because he's in the middle of trying to take one of the aliens home. Haru already has his hands full dealing with the alien fish, but apparently that wasn't enough for the little sword spirit. ]

Nobody said we couldn't...

[ But they should still be pretty discreet about it, right? He'll go ahead and tuck one or two of these little critters under his shirt.




That's not discreet at all. ]

i.

[undaunts]

[And in direct contrast to Mr. Protag over here, there's Ruby with a corgi trotting after her, a piece of some strange alien food on a stick in her hand.

She pauses, blinking at the tiger.

Munches.

Considers it some more.]

...Cooooool. [In agreement, Zwei arf's.]

iv

[psycholawgy]

[ She is going through her own photos, and as someone who's used to posing and wearing costumes, hers look really great. She even waves one around when Hiro decides to talk to her. ]

I'll have you know I got a ton of creepy fan mail! I've never been more happy in my life!

[ Wait, no... WELL, WHATEVER. If it's a contest, she isn't backing down! ]

ii

[junebound]

[ Being this enthusiastic over cute things reminds Rika of one of her friends back home, and she smiles as she reaches out to pick up a bunny. ]

They are really cute, aren't they? I've never seen a bunny that looked like this before.

[ After all, the one she's holding is pink. ]

i

[reprizesal]

[Sayo's keeping his distance from the white tiger, but he's looking at it very curiously. Considering his luck with animals, that tiger might be the same and dislike him for his vengeful aura and bloody past. How in the world can animals sense that, he didn't know.

Gokotai might like this tiger...

So Hiro and Byakko may notice a boy in blue watching them.]

i

[masakados]

[That's Byakko, huh... He recognises it, even from a little ways away. Naoki's throwing glances from a safe distance, arms folded over his chest as he wallows in indecisiveness. Approaching Raidou and Gdon that first time had been... a thing, but maybe this will go better. At least there's slightly less combative stuff going on around here.

Eh, well, whatever. He'll walk closer (within earshot) anyway, hands tucking in his sweater pockets.]

So, how is the food? [Yes, Naoki could've approached anyone at all to ask that icebreaker but you know what there's no sense in just leaping into "hey I see you have a demon with you so do I except they're in my hammerspace somethin-or-other".]

phase iv!

[cordated]

[ he's just trying to put the bare minimum of decorum and get himself home, honestly. all of these miscellaneous curios are ramping his paranoia up to eleven and taking it out for a joyride. the pictures themselves are horribly invasive, not to mention the apparitional people fading in and out of the pictures like someone took a liberal amount of freedom with photoshop for the express purpose of scaring him out of his wits. he's beside himself waiting for an opening to leave, but ends up cross-sectioned by a mailman dropping off some disturbing fanmail, like it wasn't uncomfortable enough. eyes trained on the photos and myriad of letters in question, he answers out of unconscious habit. ]

You really think so? Isn't all of this kind of weird to you?

[ but he blanches after reading one message, hurriedly shuffling them back only to ... drop his all over the floor in the process ... ]

Y-Yeah, probably! You definitely have me beat.

[ AND THERE HE GOES, vainly attempting to collect all of his notes before someone manages to read the disconcerting contents of each individual note. ]

i

[darkduelist]

<sub>[Yuto watches the white tiger, wondering what exactly it is and whether it can be potentially dangerous or not. To him it looks like a monster that can be found on the cards, but the owner(?) of the tiger doesn't have a duel disk, so he can't be another duelist...

Hmm

And so Yuto keeps watching Hiro and Byakko in silence.]</sub>

iv

[invoker]

[ Mitsuru wasn't holding her fan letters because she was actually standing in them. A volunteer had come and actually dumped an entire trolley's worth of fanmail at Mitsuru's feet. ]

I don't understand what's going on - I don't photograph well and I thought the days of receiving unsolicited fanmail were behind me.

[ She sounds alarmed as she holds the photos in her hands, not even bothering to leaf through them like Hiro was. ]

ii.

[springful]

[The alien bunny fascination would be interesting enough on its own to take note of honestly, but WELP. THAT SURE SOUNDS LIKE SHINJI SOUNDING LIKE HE WANTS TO CUDDLE UP WITH BUNNIES!! Naturally, this is beyond disturbing to Sakura, and she whips around to stare at Hiro in wide-eyed shock.

Of course, it's obvious that it's not him. It was obvious from the beginning, really. Her brother never cared about animals like that. And now she's practically gaping at a stranger for no good reason. Welp.]

... You sure are taken with them, aren't you?

i

[unathletic]

[ .. well, that's not something you see every day. Although maybe in this place you sort of do, considering the amount of weird things Heung Soo has seen. This is just another weird thing to add to the pile, especially considering this whole situation is weird enough with them being bodily hauled off for this photoshoot thing.

Still, just being quiet while seeing someone interact with something that looks obviously dangerous isn't really Heung Soo's style. So even though his flat voice doesn't fully betray his concern, he does speak up. ]

Shouldn't you be more careful?

IV

[jyajyaaan]

Hm? [Others might be insulted at the lack of respect for their private sphere, but Vector just stops shuffling through the pile with his own pictures to give Hiro a curious look before he shifts into a bright laugh.]

Haha, I bet that you can't beat my record! I've got exactly none!

i.

[awaken]

[ That is the most recognizable giant white tiger Minako's ever seen, as she walks by, double-takes, all the while holding a plate, a fork, and eating. She doesn't seem too freaked out by it, and Byakko and the guy seem to be friends.

She approaches them from a good enough distance. ]

He seems like a nice guy. [ Byakko, she means. ]

iv.

[souperb]

[ she's sitting off to the side, a rather large pile of letters in front of her. she'd... only opened one, gotten incredibly embarrassed, and the ripped up remains of the one she had read are proudly displayed at the top of the pile. "proudly..."

some of the pieces read:

LADY MILLA
I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU
WANT YOUR LONG BLONDE LOCKS TICKLING MY NOSE WHEN I WAKE

she notices hiro when he makes one of his comments about whoever it was he was looking at "not showing too much", giving him a look. she doesn't really care, except now she's noticing the photo he's looking at and. that sure is. her.

embarrassing. ]

Why would I show any more than that?!

[ oops. outburst. ]