« 005 ⇢ event005.exe »

[reparator]

Who: CERES & you
When: IC: 10/04 | OOC: 11/15
Where: ViViD & McCERES
What: Intro Log
Rating/Warning: PG-13 | slightly nsfw

//event005.EXE Learning is Fundamental! Let's play CERESLearn ViViD's usual worlds are unfortunately down for maintenance. While CERES' programmers work on getting it back up and running, all new entrees this round will be going through a different level than usual. Only a single world is accessible at the moment, a simple one entitled 'CERESLearn.' "What the $%@& is this?" you must be thinking. Well, it's simple! It's a study program, of course! CERES' advanced AI technology is here to make sure you learn and that you learn sexily. Whether or not you pay attention to the actual content is up to you, the player. Please enjoy it while it lasts. They're here to teach you a variety of subjects and also to make you feel vaguely uncomfortable all over. New arrivals and those logging into ViViD will first find themselves in a classroom with a new operator greeting them rather than Vidia. "Greetings and welcome to Cerealia! It's nice of you to join us at last. As you can see, we're just about to get started! Here are the instructions: ♥ Choose your subject of choice. They include things like medicine, math, CERES economics, CERES history, fun facts about Julius, engineering, and science! ♥ Choose your tutor. You can hire Astor, Hilda, or UN-Zippy ♥ They'll teach you slowly, deliberately, sensually. Then after that, they'll drill you hard and without stopping. ♥ Just when you think you've had enough, they'll quiz you all over until you're sweating and panting. ♥ For those of you who pass, you'll be welcomed well into Cerealia and be given a free voucher for a McCERES Mildly Content meal. Please enjoy!"

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] Once you choose your lesson and your tutor, you will be transported to a classroom where you and a few other players who decide to choose the same lesson will sit with your tutor after school, getting knowledge taught to you by someone who seems more intent on learning what's under your clothes than filling your head with knowledge. They will be awkwardly stretching, dropping pencils by 'accident' on the floor, and bending down slowly to pick them up. Certain things might be spilling out of their clothes. Awkward things. They will breathe down your neck and make sure you are well-versed in their anatomy by the end of the lesson. Fortunately, it won't last long as their bodies start to flicker erratically. PHASE II [ xxxx ] Just as things begin to escalate, the flickering will grow intense until your tutor will start to morph before your eyes. What takes their place is something that is anything but friendly. And yes, it will continue to breathe down your neck and speak in a sweet, soft, alluring voice while reaching out with its 'hands' to try and touch you. This will be your cue to run through the halls of the school while That Thing chases you in every single direction imaginable. There will be others joining you as everyone starts bolting out of their classrooms. PHASE III [ xxxx ] Feeling tired already? Well, don't stop and rest now! For those who successfully murder their own tutor, they will get their food voucher and a lovely welcome into CERES. You've officially passed! Everyone will be allowed to mingle around the game room in the CERES Research Tower before being directed into McCERES just across the street. For those who were already in the colony, you will also receive a voucher and directions to McCERES at the end of the game in case you want to go meet up with the newcomers there or just eat some artery-killing fast food. PHASE IV [ xxxx ] For those who get eaten by That Thing or don't pass their quizzes and upset their tutors, they will be forced to endure the Price of Failure. This means being sent to the gym with the other 'failures' to endure a painfully slow and erotic striptease by UN-Zippy. Once that is over, they will then be logged out and allowed to have their complimentary McCERES voucher. BONUS [ whyo'clock ] Congratulations on surviving CERESLearn! Here's your complimentary voucher for a free Mildly Content Meal at McCERES. This month's special is also the McKnight Burger. Characters are immediately invited to take a load off and enjoy some good ol' fashion fast food of questionable origin. Those who decide to order and eat here will also get a special toy included inside their Mildly Content Meals. [ 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 (which is not entirely applicable this round for reasons stated above^) and a FAQ that should explain everything in more detail. Please read them thoroughly before playing. Thank you!

Comments

[immobileyes]

[ Mary's a little too much of a wuss to lay out traps, so yes, this is very much the latter, and now she can finally answer.

With a very small "No" because she is so far from alright that it's almost funny. ]

[duad]

[ That's a cause for concern considering how many outcomes there are in this kind of place. She looks around with a worried expression, hoping that it's just a case of shyness. She knows she hates it when people bring that up to her so that's the last thing she's going to do with someone who may be too nervous to talk to people. ]

I—Is there anything I can do to help? Directions, calling for medical help, stuff like that...?

[immobileyes]

... [ Mary lifts her head now, peeking out a little more, her expression taking a turn for the pleading. ]

Can you... help me find my friends?

[duad]

[ She looks at her for a second. Her answer comes out a little delayed. ]

Sure! Yeah, that's fine. [ She still doesn't move from her spot, but she's giving this girl her space. ] Have you tried contacting them already?

[immobileyes]

Mm, but I'm not too good with it... a-and I can't seem to find them.

[ she nearly had a meltdown when she first experienced an mp3 player, all of this is incredibly overwhelming. ]

[duad]

[ She looks over her shoulder, figuring out where they should start. With how many districts there are this could take all night, so she has to narrow it down a bit.

Mary looks at her and smiles. She's feeling a little nervous herself. ]

What kinds of places do your friends usually hang out at? We could always try those first!

[immobileyes]

... Is there an amusement park here? [ Maybe they'd gone to look for something like that? ]

[duad]

I haven't seen one around here... but I don't really have a reason to go to them.

[ She thinks for a few seconds, contemplating if she should just grab someone else for help in hopes that maybe they know the place more than she does. There's no real reason for her to explore a lot of it unless she's looking for music venues and such.

A peculiar intuition strikes her. ]

You're new here, aren't you?

[immobileyes]

Y-yes?

[ a pause-- ]

You're not? [ A native?? ]

[duad]

[ She shakes her head. ]

I'm still pretty new, but I've been here for awhile. I'm just asking because... do you know if your friends came with you? I mean, did you see them in ViViD?

[immobileyes]

No... there were a lot of people I didn't know, but I couldn't find my friends at all.

[duad]

Oh.

[ Her voice lowers, her expression almost goes unheard. Mary searches the ground as if it's going to give her some sort of answer. What is she supposed to say? She doesn't know they're not here, but chances are that if they didn't come across each other once...

The conflict is written on her face. ]

Are you sure they're here?

[immobileyes]

[ No, but she doesn't want to admit it. But... ]

I... I don't know what to do if they're not.

[duad]

My friends aren't here either. [ She links her fingers together, hoping that it'll make the girl feel less shy. ] I miss them, but... this place is important to me too. For a lotta reasons.

[immobileyes]

Important...? [ ... Yeah, the gesture helps. ] Even though this isn't... where your friends are?

[duad]

[ She nods, but remembers she might not be able to see it entirely. ]

Yeah. I—I mean, I'd give anything to see them again, but... [ A smile rises on her face. ] This place isn't perfect, but it's done a whole lot for me. It gave me a second chance and I'm grateful for that.

[immobileyes]

... It sounds like you've been through a lot.

[duad]

Huh?

[ She blinks in surprise. After what happened in that store, she's not sure if she wants to talk about what's gone on or not. She wants to talk about it, but who can she talk about it with? Her music can only say so much and... she misses the honest talks she had with Kimber — the one person who understood her entirely.

Her eyes fall to the ground. ]

N— Yeah... I guess I kinda have... and I'm still figuring out what to do about it.

[immobileyes]

...

I-if you have time, then... [ and Mary finally steps out, even though she's clutching at the folds of her dress. ] I think you can figure it out slowly.

[duad]

[ She smiles, glad to see that she's no longer hiding away in fear. Mary nods. ]

Yeah. I'm not gonna let what happened happen again and I'm not gonna rush anything either. [ She thinks of her life as a Misfit where she hardly had any time to really think about her feelings unless she was at her home, away from the others. She doesn't have to worry about hiding them here or even acting like they don't exist at all. She loves the Misfits like sisters, but the opportunity to reflect once in awhile without it backfiring on her is... nice. ] Maybe there's somethin' here for you too.

[immobileyes]

I don't know... [ slowly, she shakes her head. ] I'm useless, and I... don't really know what to do in a place I don't know, by myself--

[duad]

Ah, even if you think you're useless, you're not. It took me awhile to realize that myself. I'm still learning it!

[ She gently chuckles, then returns to a warm smile. ]

I really didn't know what to do either when I got here. Sometimes I still don't when it comes to those ViViD things and our phones or whatever, but I just stuck with what I know best: music. So... I decided to play nights at a bar.

[immobileyes]

Music? [ well, now she's intrigued. Like the stuff on Seto's mp3 player? Hi, Mary, you have a captive audience now. ]

[duad]

Yeah! I play the keytar, which is a keyboard shaped like a guitar. Since I'm from 1988 and all. I used to be in a band, but now I play solo.

[ That sill feels very weird to say. She's never has to describe herself as being someone from another time. Not even when the Misfits time traveled to the 60s... Regardless, she seems to be far more comfortable talking about music more than anything else. ]

My band would normally play rock, but now I play a lotta electronic and ambient stuff. It fits the mood more, you know?

[immobileyes]

[ 1988... Mary didn't really follow the years, since time flowed differently to a medusa, but she knows the current year, and--

... This is awfully confusing. ]

Can... [ she swallows her nerves, clasping her hands together. ] Can I listen someday?