« 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

[nostatus]

W-- what sorta weird stuff did guys do to you before?!

[ He's a little concerned now for Mary.. seriously, what stuff has she been enduring to believe something like that would just happen?! Is she from some place where guys just kidnap cute tiny girls off the streets like that or what.. ]

[immobileyes]

[ It's not something she wants to remember, so she squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head. She knows, now, that not all humans wanted to hurt her. And she knows that she won't hurt them, but all this unfamiliarity is scary. ]

[nostatus]

[ Okay, okay. Shinpachi can at least recognize it when people are this upset in front of him, so he forces himself to take a deep breath and calm the hell down already. She still looks so young, no to mention how she's trying to keep her eyes closed that badly.. she must have been through something pretty bad.

So Shinpachi squats down - he may not be the tallest of the guys of the Shinsengumi, but still, he can be on a more even level with her this way, even if she isn't looking. ]

It's okay. [ At least he's not yelling anymore since he stopped freaking out. ] I'm not gonna hurt you.

[ And as if to prove it, he's quiet for a moment, as if to say see, a moment is passing and he's not doing anything.. ]

Are the people who did that to you in this place? [ Because then he's sure going to be on top of taking care of that. ]

[immobileyes]

[ True to his word, he hasn't budged when Mary ventures to peek at him. He's big, yes, but he's not trying to grab her or pull her hair or throw stones at her or beat her, and that's why she finally takes a deep breath. ]

... I don't know. It was a long time ago.

[ they're probably dead. One is definitely dead. ]

[nostatus]

Ah.. I see.

[ So they're not people from this place at least, but back home.. not that it makes the treatment any more fair (why the hell would anyone do something like that to a tiny and scared girl, seriously..) but at least it makes everything make a little more sense, and Shinpachi nods briefly. ]

I don't think they're here though. So you don't have to be so scared, yeah? Most people here are pretty nice from what I've seen. [ Even if some - like Shinpachi - look like walking muscle mountains.. but he's just a big dumb dog under it all, honestly. ]

[immobileyes]

But how do I know? How am I supposed to know who to trust?

[ She'd had Seto with her before, Seto who never would have let her meet anyone bad. But here... here is completely different. ]

[nostatus]

[ It's a good questing, honestly.. Shinpachi's maybe a little too trusting when it comes to people - which is a little strange considering his occupation and all, but he's just really that much of a good guy deep down. So the only advice he can give is-- ]

Can't ya feel it, just a little? If you feel you wanna try trusting a person, then trust 'em. If they end up pulling something shitty on ya, you can always call me and I'll give them what they got coming for them. [ Those swords - and muscles, for that matter - aren't for show, okay. ]

That's a promise, if you wanna trust it!

[immobileyes]

[ Mary takes a moment to stare at him, fully taking in his build (scarily muscular) and his expression (surprisingly kind). Her instincts, then? She could be confused, but at the very heart of it, hadn't she gone with Seto with very little fuss? Hadn't she thought 'maybe this time, if it's with this person, I'll be fine'?

When she looks at Shinpachi, past the fright...

Hm. ]

... I think... I can trust you.

[nostatus]

Ah, that's good to hear!

[ His smile is probably a little dumb-looking, but he's genuinely happy hearing that.. as much as he knows he's a tough guy, Shinpachi always does his best to stick to what he thinks is the right thing to do. Which involves protecting innocent people at all times as well, so to be thought of as the bad guy would leave him feeling a little disappointed. ]

I mean, I'd feel too if a girl like you was wandering around here by herself without anyone to help, y'know? Most people are pretty nice, but there's some scumbags too.. [ s i g h s freaking demons!! ]

[immobileyes]

I... don't really go outside that much, anyway. J-just in case. [ unless she has friends or she doesn't stray too far. Years of staying in the house alone had left their mark. ]

[nostatus]

[ He cocks his head a little to the side at that statement. ]

What d'ya mean, you don't go outside much? But there's plenty to do there! [ Shinpachi: saviour of hikikomori everywhere.. ]

You mean you haven't played many games outside either?

[immobileyes]

Mm-mm. [ a slow headshake. ] Um, but I've been outside with my friends more, and it's been fun!

[nostatus]

Ah, that's good.. you shouldn't just stay inside all the time, it's not good for a kid!

[ Although Shinpachi has - unsurprisingly - never been an indoorsy type as a kid, so it's hard for him to imagine not going outside much. ]

Make sure to find some friends to play with here too, yeah? I've already seen some other kids around. [ Not that Shinpachi is really above playing with kids though, let's be real with ourselves here. ]

[immobileyes]

[ To this, Mary actually looks a little indignant. ]

I-I'm not a kid!

[ Technically. ]

[nostatus]

[ A sheep puffing up its cheeks indignantly, how intimidating... ]

Well, you're a kid compared to me, yeah? And compared to you, I'm an old man. [ He'd never say that under normal circumstances, Mary, consider yourself pretty lucky!! ]

[immobileyes]

... You don't have enough wrinkles to be an old man. And you don't have a beard.

[nostatus]

...

[ There's a brief moment where he stares, almost surprised.. but then he bursts out into fairly happy laughter. ]

Oh, that's right! You should make sure to tell Sano and Heisuke that, maybe they'll be willing to believe you when you say it. [ Even if it's just because he doesn't have a beard or wrinkles, but hey, he'll take it! Shinpachi is like a compliments sponge. ]

[immobileyes]

... Who are they? [ but wow, he sure looks thrilled... ]

[nostatus]

They're my friends. [ Not like he doesn't have more, but-- ] My two best friends, really. From back home.

And they're nice guys, but also-- ahh, how should I say it? They like making fun of me a lot, y'know? It's so rude! [ Look at this 28 year old sulking over being teased by his friends.. this is why Mary is not the kid here. ] They're good guys though, so you should make sure to meet 'em sometime. Heisuke'll probably wanna play with you if you need someone to play with.

[ Except Heisuke is not 15.. but... Shinpachi can pretend, okay. Spoilers: he's just as much of an ass to his friends as they are to him. ]

[immobileyes]

[ of course she's not the kid here. She's perfectly mature-- or at least, she has certain moments. And for a minute, Mary considers this, meeting more strangers like this person. ]

... Are they as big as you?

[nostatus]

Sano's even taller than me, but.. [ .. he considers making fun of his best friend as always, but for once, he decides to can that a little. It'd just frighten Mary anyway, judging from her earlier behaviour. ] .. he's the most gentle guy I know, so there's nothing to worry about.

[ THERE, SANO, YOU BETTER HAVE HEARD THAT. He's cleared his friendship karma here and now, okay!! ]

And Heisuke's almost a midget! [ .. okay, maybe not this half of the friendship karma. ] I think that he's only got a tiny bit on you.

[ He holds his fingers apart, but only a little bit, as if to indicate it's really that little difference. ]

[immobileyes]

[ Wow, this Heisuke person sounds really short... ]

Um... i-if they're nice then, I guess I could try to meet them. [ One day. She will probably be scared stiff for up to a minute, regardless, but hey. Progress! ]

[nostatus]

[ To be fair, he's not lying about the short part.. he's only like 6 centimeters taller than Mary. Amazing. ]

Sounds good. [ Don't worry, Shinpachi is here to start operation Make Mary Some Friends. In his.. own special unique way.. ]

If it makes you more comfortable to talk to 'em while I'm there too, just tell me. I can introduce you anytime you want, 'kay? [ Not that Shinpachi can't be intimidating either.. but he's trying right now, okay. ]

[immobileyes]

... Oh. [ you know... ] I think that would help. [ because Shinpachi seems okay enough-- she'd feel safer. ]

[nostatus]

Ah, that's great-- then I'll make sure to introduce you sometime! If either of 'em's mean to you, I'll whack them over the head!

[ It's said with a laugh - he doesn't think Sano or Heisuke would be mean to Mary.. Heisuke's not capable of hurting a fly most of the time, and Sano is.. well, Mary is a girl, so she shouldn't have anything to fear, lucky her. ]