//TESTDRIVE4.0.EXE

[reparator]

//TESTDRIVE4.0.EXE MOONFESTCON 2014 PART I: Embracing Lunacy It's that time of the season to praise the two moons of Cerealia. As they hang in the sky, looking harmless and moon-like, the robots and CERES staff have gathered together to prepare a fanciful celebration. It's primarily located in the Pleasure District where paper lanterns hang and where fireworks are starting to burst in the sky. Everyone is welcome to dress up and enjoy an evening of fantastic pleasures, platonic or otherwise. "Good evening! As always, I'm pleased you all can join me. Do enjoy all the beverages being passed around along with the many services we have to offer, all there for your pleasure. Take time to play in one of our many booths or just slip away and have a crazy evening. The moons bid it. Don't be shy."

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ 1900 ] The festival begins promptly with a kick-off speech and a toast from Julius Vincere, encouraging everyone to celebrate beneath the two moons as they light the sky. The weather is crisp and beautiful, leaving them both in full view as their light cascades upon the festival. Around the district, there are several stands full of standard fair food (candy apples/corn dogs/ice cream/deep fried everything), games, and an assortment of many awkward prizes (if you're wondering what these are, do remember you're in the Pleasure District!). Also, there is alcohol everywhere, served to minors and adults alike. PHASE II [ 1945 ] The music is playing loudly beneath the noises of the festival. Anyone approaching the speakers will notice a strange buzzing noise that keeps wavering. Then, the sound changes abruptly to the sound of pained moaning hidden within the song. It grows more pronounced by the second until the lights in the Pleasure District flicker off for a brief second. When they return, there is someone crawling out of the speaker. Your eyes squint, and you can see them briefly, the faint outlines of their form as their screaming escalates, only everyone else seems to be deaf to it. Only you can hear it, and you wonder how and why no one else is reacting. Is it just you? Are you hallucinating? Better get used to that feeling in Cerealia. PHASE III [ 2000 ] Your friendly speaker friend up there doesn't seem to want to go away. (S)he keeps crawling out and disappearing throughout the evening, but it's easier to ignore as Julius takes to the stage. He has a special announcement for all. CERESdate (who sponsored this wonderful festival by the way) has agreed to set up all you vibrant, sexy Cerealia singles with some robot partners for the night. Want to escape? Too late. They're latching on and dragging you out to the dance floor to boogie down. Afterwards, they'll try and drag you to the nearby hotels for some extra loving. You are welcome to run at this point or comply happily. PHASE IV [ 2103 ] Have you escaped the overzealous sex robots? Good, good! Now, it's time for the real fun. The holograms turn from PG images of the stars and surrounding moons and planets to a few fun images of various robot couples caught in absolute bliss. You may spot a clown mask in there or two, reminiscent of those who were running around causing a bit of trouble earlier. The images continue to get distorted as the clowns look like they're stretching their necks out of the image and reaching out towards you. The moaning from before returns. Doesn't it get you in the mood? If it does and you'd like to find a partner for the night, a few CERESdate robots will be on hand to help fix you up with a partner, organic or otherwise. They're being quite insistent again because they want your credits. BONUS [ whyo'clock ] Have you ever been stalked by a condom-dispensing machine? Well, there's a first time for everything! These friendly contraptions are set up all over the Pleasure District, waiting for you to pass by before trailing after you very slowly. At first you don't notice. Every time you turn around, it stands stationery. But the moment you start to move, it just carefully rolls behind you. Watching. Waiting. [ 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 meme. ]

//RUN.EXE Welcome to CEREALIA's fourth Test Drive Meme. For your convenience, we have compiled a post detailing everyone's arrival experience and a FAQ that should explain everything in more detail. Please read them thoroughly before playing. Thank you!

Comments

[allweather]

[Are Chains morons... probably.

Reim is mildly surprised by the offered hand coupled with the title, but since it would be more improper to refuse, he shakes it. The trouble with being a servant but still technically having social status...??]

Reim Lunettes. It's good to meet you, Earl Phantomhive. [He sure isn't bothered at all by adopting deferential behavior to a literal child, at least.] Pardon me, but I'm not familiar with that household.

[cheats]

[ His hand is small, even for a child's, but despite that, he has a strong, confident handshake that's befitting of a nobleman. It's a funny contrast in that way, but Ciel doesn't seem to think it's strange, since he withdraws his hand without missing a bit. ]

Quite alright. That is... common, admittedly.

[ Ciel sighs as he shakes his head, since he's reminded of the fact that Oz failed to mention being a nobleman for more than a week. He underestimates Oz being Oz still... ]

I met a Duke Vessalius, for example, and similarly, I have never heard of the household. That is the problem of different worlds, as mad as it sounds to say so.

[allweather]

[It is odd; Oz may be young, but Ciel looks to be even younger (although admittedly, Reim would probably overestimate just how much, because everyone is a toddler as far as he's concerned) - and that's saying nothing of how the young nobles he knows don't act appropriate to their station, really. At all...

More importantly,] I've found that much is easier accepted than thought about too hard for the time being. [until he can read all about it, that is] But do you mean Master Oz, by any chance? He must be making fast friends.

[JUST ASSUMING... because he's met Oz and that's how these things work.]

[cheats]

...Yes, Oz.

[ His expression falls in a long-suffering, tired sort of way that Reim should recognize, since it's remarkably similar to the face that Reim wears when Break is around. Except, you know, Ciel has only known Oz like a week and a half as compared to a decade, but still. ]

He is a— [ He pauses, awkwardly, since he doesn't want to say it, but... After the events of that stupid park, he has to. ] He is a friend of mine, I suppose. We met before coming here.

[allweather]

[He feels a strange kinship already. The look he gives Ciel in return is friendly, but wry; yes, he understands. He understands so well and he will impart this wisdom somehow, someday.

But there, the logic snags.]

Before... coming to the party?

[cheats]

[ He shakes his head, and the rather playful lilt to his expressions dissipates, since this is a much more serious topic, ultimately. He plays it off casually, which is because he doesn't want to think too much about it, but his explanation is simple to the point of not really being much of an explanation at all. ]

Hmm, not quite. It was a situation a bit similar to this, where many people were pulled together, but the overall purpose was different.

[ It's vague, but there's no nice way to explain Dreamland, so he shrugs. ]

I would not wish to speak more than Oz would like, so I would recommend you ask him about it.

[allweather]

[That's definitely an intentionally abridged explanation. Reim is sure the last thing Oz was doing was running off to dive into an Abyss-city, but his own limited experience in that makes him wonder if perhaps he somehow traveled from there to - somewhere else.

It could be possible. Given that nothing else about the Abyss makes sense.]

I see... I had no idea. [And that's that! He's more likely to not ask Oz a thing unless he starts getting all tragic again, but hey - maybe that will never happen, like other miracles.]

Then coming here with a friend in tow is fortunate, isn't it?

[cheats]

...I suppose so, yes.

[ Which he says quite reluctantly, but hey, at least he's not Break who may literally be allergic to the word friend. But it is close. This subject also now sucks, so he's going to change it!! ]

Er, pardon the question, but since you know him... Is he always so... [ how to put this ] energetic?

[allweather]

[He knows that reaction well, too... one-eyed losers are a dime a dozen.]

Ah— more often than not, yes. [Casually skirting the "everyone I know is depressed" issue.] It's... admirable, you know.

[He waves a hand, like, youths. Ciel is clearly an old man like himself, he can already tell.]

[cheats]

[ Reim's assessment is correct, since Ciel laughs, like, youths in response. ]

It is quite remarkable, in the very least. His optimism was either incredibly heroic or incredibly stupid. I am still undecided as to which.

[ It's both. ]

[allweather]

[This is how they bond, two people acting decades older than they actually are. Youths. Demonstrated by Reim whipping out this old man phrase:]

His heart is in the right place. Not many people can stay so upbeat, even in day to day activities...

[yeah it is both though]

[cheats]

[ Ciel laughs easily at that, since... Yeah... They only hung out for a week, and yet, Oz sure did demonstrate that. On one hand, they set a kitchen on fire together, and on the other, they were basically trying to murder the other and Oz still shonen'd through it. Incredible. ]

Well, that much I can be glad for. I was always unsure if it was a real trait of his, since it's so extreme, honestly.

[allweather]

[You hardcore kids, what the hell. Reim considers for a moment; they're good kids, Oz and friends. Oz might not be as dazzling as Gilbert, but still, they're worth having faith in.

Even if Oz tripped him that one time and his chin was bruised for like a week from smacking into the floor never mind that.]

It is, rather... He and his friends are all very lively. [a beat; his friends who are not little old man] From our world, of course. Though I've often suspected he could befriend anyone if given the time.

[unnatural]

[cheats]

[ Ciel smiles in a fond, soft way, because he agrees, and Oz at least also managed to pierce his icy heart and draw out a few friendship moes. That is unnatural. ]

I imagine that you're right. He managed to befriend nearly all of the people where we were at before, so it would at least not surprise me.

[ He shrugs. ]

He told me about some of them. Mostly a man named Gilbert, actually.

[allweather]

[Nothing about that description of Oz in wherever-they-were surprises Reim; he won't be surprised to learn Oz has befriended every strange person here, if that happens. Still, how nice to see the grumpy, prickly types can still be aggressively absorbed into friendship. He's sort of proud...]

Oh, that isn't surprising. They're quite close— Master Gilbert is quite the upstanding young man, himself.

[things Reim really believes]

[cheats]

[ He nods, though the expression does fall somewhat. ]

Ah, it seemed so. He serves Oz, doesn't he? I believe he mentioned something about that.

[ Which is also why his expression falls, since Ciel doesn't exactly trust servants, but that's because the one he has to deal with the most is Sebastian, so can you blame him... ]

[allweather]

[That one Reim wouldn't understand, for obvious reasons... 2servant2fussy. He sees the look, though, and thinks maybe he should say something in their- defense?]

He does, but I wouldn't call it a traditional arrangement between master and servant... They act very much like ordinary friends.

[At least when Reim is around they sort of seem like regular people. He sleeps through the crazy stuff...]

[cheats]

...Well, knowing Oz, I shouldn't be surprised.

[ Ciel shrugs, since Oz treating a servant like anyone else pretty much fits with his personality, but— ]

How terribly strange. I can hardly imagine such a thing, since my servants are good people that I hand selected, but they're hardly friends. [ He makes a thoughtful noise. ] He is the worst Duke I have ever met.

[allweather]

[CIEL... you haven't met enough Dukes. The frankness should be a surprise but really isn't, honestly, and Reim shrugs. Youths, right?]

He must want to bridge gaps, or something similar. A little idealism is good for some people.

["good," anyway enough about Oz's backwards interpretation of the peerage...]

You must meet many Dukes.

[cheats]

[ Another nod, since while Ciel doesn't agree with Oz, he at least understands the idea behind it and finds it rather charming. Only because it's Oz, though. If it were anyone else, he'd find it irritating. ]

Frequently enough. My family has always worked closely with Her Majesty, so we attend many of the royal events as a result.

[ Though he shrugs, since he only goes to those that are absolutely required, since he hates parties. ]

...Though that is also why is the worst Duke I have ever met. They tend to be restricted to polite conversation only, since they're of higher status.

[allweather]

[It's sort of odd that Ciel has an audience frequently with an Her Majesty - he's just an earl. Reim writes that one off as subtly different status hierarchies, though, instead of wondering too deeply why an earl (unimportant, his father never gets to meet the king or anything) gets such a privilege.]

Well— I don't suppose the two of you met at a formal gathering, if it was similar to this place. [so it makes some sense if he's weird??]

[cheats]

Well, no, but he has no sense of responsibility.

[ Rude, Ciel. Also untrue, since Oz's responsibility is in sane areas, unlike your tiny grandpa self. ]

...But your point still stands, I admit. Without the usual formality, I suppose there's no reason to stick to it, but it's still a surprise.

[allweather]

[Way harsh, little lord... But in the end, Oz's dignity isn't Reim's problem. All his fellow fake Victorians are irresponsible in at least one way, so Ciel isn't entirely wrong...]

This whole place is a surprise... I've never seen so many people in one place who were so- brazen.

[He has probably been propositioned at least once and he doesn't like it!!]

[cheats]

...That's one way to put it.

[ He half mumbles that, though, since he's already had his embarrassing experience with carnival prizes, and his face heats up a little to remember it. Why this... ]

It is lower than any slum I have ever heard of, yet dressed up to look like the finest streets in London. It's completely ridiculous.

[allweather]

[Reim looks briefly mortified, like he forgot Ciel was a tiny child for a minute there... He might have. But the truth is back.]

This is supposed to be a festival... Although I can hardly tell what the festivities themselves have to do with the moon. [...] Moons.