//SCENARIOS.EXE
PHASE I [ 19 00 ]
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. ]
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no subject
But thankfully, Andy didn't have to grapple with the moral dilemma of pushing someone into the role of meatshield, as after a few pointed words from Hyoubu, the robots slunk away to capture some other poor soul. He let out a shaky sigh of relief, straightening from his protective huddle from behind Hyoubu. He still looked rattled, but at least that wild, hunted look was now gone from his expression]
Thank God. They're gone. I've never felt so violated in my life.
[Hands... hands everywhere... grabbing...pinching... Well! Time to lock those memories into some forgotten corner of his brain and never think of them again!! Ever.]
no subject
[ A beat. ]
Just kidding. It's not too hard to avoid them, honestly. They seem to have something resembling a rudimentary sense of self-preservation, so if you offer a suitable threat, they'll keep their distance. Either that, or they just don't like puns. Want this?
[ He holds the severed android head aloft, dangling it by the hair. Detached like this, it's firmly at the bottom of the uncanny valley, existing somewhere in that skin-crawling no man's land between reality and twisted imagination. Someone (i.e., him) has manipulated its features into a contorted expression of abject horror, its mouth open in a silent scream. ]
no subject
I'll pass, thanks. I'm not really a fan of, uh, severed heads.
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[ He's tired of holding it, so he lets go and stuffs both of his hands in his pockets; meanwhile the head floats in the air, its long hair swirling as if it were underwater. ]
Squeamish, Himomiya?
[ He'd file that away under "Ways to troll Andy Hinomiya," except that mental file cabinet is already fully stuffed. ]
I had no idea you were afraid of creepy things — speaking of which, there's Petunia. Helloooo Petunia!
[ He nods. Petunia has just crawled out from under a nearby fried dough stand. ]
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[But alas, his protest was soundly ignored in favour of greeting 'Petunia'. Andy, against his better judgement, looked, blinked, looked away, and then back again, where Petunia was scuttling about on the floor like some humanoid cockroach. Tonight was just a night of utterly bizarre things]
What is... what the hell is that? [his voice came out flat, even if every inch of his being was cringing at 'Petunia's' almost grotesque way of crawling]
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[ His voice, thus far, has been one of amused detachment, which is how he's decided to approach life, such as it is, in imaginary space. But that word comes out flat. Because the other possibility — that this isn't imaginary space — has definitely occurred to him. It's a possibility that involves his own head detached from his shoulders, and his brain out of his skull, floating somewhere.... ]
Probably. Listen.
[ All background noise softens just then. The roar of the party goes silent, the lights flicker and go dim, and all that can be heard is Petunia's unearthly, heart-rending wail. ]
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He really didn't like this place. It toed the line between reality and bizarre hypno dream, leaving Andy unsure of whether or not everything was real. With the loss of his powers, it was possible for him to be trapped in something like this now, and he thoroughly hated the doubt and paranoia in his own senses and mind. How did other people deal with this?]
This is just... creepy. [More than creepy - but Andy couldn't think of another word to describe the unsettled feeling crawling all over his insides] That thing, this place... ugh. [he ground the heel of his palm against his forehead, looking slightly wrung out] Is it really hypno? I can't... tell.
no subject
[ His shoulders slump, almost imperceptibly. He'd been counting on Andy to be able to tell him at least that: is this hypno? He puzzles through the possibilities, rehashing once again the logic path he'd traveled. Gilliam is very good at hypno, but Yuuri is the true wizard class hypnotist, and at the point he disappeared, she was still estranged from Black Phantom. But a lot could have changed since then (who knows how much time has passed) and she might have rejoined her family.
But he should be able to resist even wizard-class hypno, and the first time he saw "Petunia," he wondered if the vision was something breaking through the hypno: the agonized scream of some captured, tortured esper working its way into his consciousness via telepathy. But if Andy can see it too, that explanation seems less likely.
He gazes up at Andy, observing his disquiet and his actions. ]
Does your head hurt?
[ Andy's powers have that effect on espers, so perhaps something else is affecting Andy's powers. Anti-anti esp? ]
no subject
[But Andy chalked that mostly up to stress and the general noise of the party. Petunia's wailing wasn't really helping matters either - it was like nails on a chalkboard to his ears, and it was starting to make the beginning dull throbs of a headache blossom between his temples. It was extremely... annoying.
He lowered his hand from where it had ineffectively tried massaging the pain away, and he took another good look at his surroundings, mismatched eyes narrowed. Maybe if he focused enough, perhaps he would be able to tell if this was real or not? Illusions, no matter how well put together, could never stand up to close scrutiny, no matter how attenuated his powers were, so he shrugged off the stress clouding his mind to scrutinise the hell out of this possible hypno dream.
The lines remained firm, the details sharp, and the noises - sans Petunia's wails fading in and out - sounded as they should. From what he saw, the mundane and the weird, everything seemed real, to his mind and senses. Not a single hint of doubt or flaw leapt out at him, yet it only filled him with more uncertainty. If he pinpointed this as an illusion, he would have felt a lot more at ease with the entire thing, but like this... he really couldn't believe that this honestly was reality]
I really can't tell. [a quiet, worried mutter as he drooped, shoulders slumping just like Hyoubu's] Damn it. If it's not hypno, what else could it be?
no subject
That is a very good question, and no one I've spoken to seems to know the answer.
[ He's silent for a time, frowning. And then his features smooth out and he smiles. ]
Part of the show, maybe? This Julius Vincere fellow seems to have quite the flair for the theatrical. Want some cotton candy?
[ He has started to turn away into the crowd, hands stuffed in his pockets, back towards the food stands, his severed robot head bobbing along behind him. ]
no subject
Yeah, that sounds good. [Sugary stuff solved many woes, in his opinion, or, just, food in general. Although...] You know, that head thing is starting to get just plain weird. [Effective pleasure droid deterrent as it was, it was just starting to creep him out now - well, more than when he first saw it. It was probably because, as it bobbed along behind Hyoubu, its wide, terrified eyes were staring right at him. It was... very off putting, truthfully] Can you turn it around so it's not staring at me?
no subject
[ He doesn't.
What he does do is make its lips curl upwards into a horrible rictus, as he acquires a pair of pink, fluffy cotton candies. ]
It's interesting, isn't it, the apparent emphasis on —
[ There's a crackle overhead and a series of popping noises. He looks up. Fireworks are exploding overhead, with the twin moons hanging in the background. ]
Ah.
[ It's beautiful, and also somehow strangely nostalgic, to be at a festival with street vendors and fireworks. ]
no subject
Deciding he had no choice but to try and ignore its existence (which was difficult, since the head was insistently bobbing in his peripheral, no matter how much he averted his gaze), Andy tried to focus on more important things, like the cotton candy Hyoubu was in the process of getting, when the telltale shriek and pop of fireworks made him look up.
Bright streaks of colour, exploding into a beautiful shower, sparked across the twin moons looming over them, and even the sight was surreal, he had to admit it was an impressive one all the same. It brought forth a sense of nostalgia, an old, almost forgotten sort, when he was just a kid watching the fireworks flashing across the sky from his bedroom window. It was something else to see them from directly below]
Huh... fireworks. [It's a good thing to know that Andy's skill at pointing out the obvious was still intact] They're really going all out with this crazy gig.
1/2
It's almost as if they want us to enjoy our—
phase iv apparently
[ Which is when the holographic firework display covering the dome of the artificial sky gives way to an enormous, vibrantly-colored, intricately-rendered display of ROBOTS FUCKING.
...
...
...
He is too old for this shit. ]
no subject
Then]
I think... they want a specific type of person to enjoy themselves. [Andy's voice was a little weak, his gaze now redirected at the same location of his feet. If he looked up, robots fucking, if he looked head level, pleasure droids roaming the ground, so feet staring it was. Andy was... probably the right age for this shit, but right now, he felt way too old for it too - or young? Sane??] I think I'd like to go home now.
1/2
Ah.
After a moment, his shoulders come down, and he shakes himself out of it. He can detect mortification coming off of Andy in waves, and how can he pass up such an opportunity for amusement? ]
Don't be such a prude. Look up. You might learn something. The young lady, er ladies are very....
[ What's the word? There are so many. ]
....flexible.
[ And he's going to wrap an arm about Andy's shoulders in an entirely friendly sort of way and attempt to force him to look up.... ]
no subject
...
Clowns. ]
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So he peeked at Hyoubu from the corner of his eye (because that, at least, seemed safe enough), a sharp retort on his lips when he saw the esper looking... somewhat horrified. Huh? Just a second ago he was... morbid curiosity flickered, and Andy looked up.
Clowns. Sky clowns. Creepy sky clowns. Oh, Petunia's moaning had started up again too. Well, this had gone from embarrassing to disturbing in a split second]
That's just gross. [Is this part of the show? Just what kind of tastes did these people have?!] Right, I'm going to go and crawl under a rock now until all this weirdness is over. Come get me once you finish ogling the clowns.
1/3
[ For once, they're in complete agreement. Between porn clowns and Petunia, he's had enough. ]
I want to go to bed.
no subject
I mean — to sleep. By myself!
[ Smooth, Hyoubu. ]
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Tch!
[ Snap!
you're on your own, Andy. ]
no subject
Up until he vanished anyway]
Wha- hey! Hyoubu! Wait a minute-!
[Alas, the esper was gone, with the severed head too! Which meant... Andy got a chill, and he looked about himself, seeing the pleasure droids still prowling around. His chances of survival had skydived back to 1%, he was in the thick of enemy territory, and his only bit of decent cover had stormed off in a huff. Well then.
Back to square one. Thanks, Hyoubu]