ioculus | //TESTDRIVE6.0.EXE

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//TESTDRIVE6.0.EXE

Tonight, We're Going to Party Like It's 1899

With Hallow's Eve rapidly approaching, the famed Cerealia night club Niteo has been transformed into a Victorian gothic wonderland for its Masquerade party sponsored by CERES' CEO Julius Vincere. Everyone is required to attend with at least a mask on (though full costume is preferable). For those who don't have any, they will be given a mask at the door.

Several young women and men in Victorian-era clothing will be moving around, handing out drinks and pulling guests to dance out on the ballroom floor. Don't be shy, come join them. Anachronistic techno music will be blasting through the speakers, and the side tables will be stocked with all sorts of candy and treats for guests to snack on.

As you first enter, a mysterious masked employee is the first to greet you:

"Welcome, one and all, to Niteo's All-You-Can-Eat-and-Drink Night of a Thousand Ghouls. Tonight, we'll be treating you now that the ghosts have all vanished.

But where have they gone you must be wondering? It's a mystery indeed. They couldn't have just vanished like that. Someone had to have gotten rid of them? …I wonder…

While you think on it, relax and have a drink or ten. Don't let a couple of hauntings stop you from having a good time. Tonight is a night to celebrate excess and indulgence. Let us surrender to our baser urges."

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I

[ 2000 ] The evening begins promptly at 8:00 PM. There will be crowds gathered, lining up to get in. Everyone will be allowed, children, adults, the living and flesh-filled, the robotic, and the undead. The music will be thumping as far as the sidewalks outside, and the first thing everyone will notice would be bowls of candy everywhere as far as the eyes can see. They'll be sitting on top of the tables in all their innocent glory. For the most part, they are harmless.

But not the candy corn. Never the candy corn. Within it is a secret chemical that causes those who consume it to exhibit attraction to the nearest object/person to them, whether it be inanimate or otherwise. They will feel compelled to be close, to kiss and touch whatever is around them, though the effects only last an hour or so. Consider it a low-leveled aphrodisiac of sorts.

PHASE II

[ 2122 ] You're dancing. You're moving to the music. Or you're clinging to the walls and wondering why you're even here to begin with. That's when the holograms start playing around with you. The image flickers frequently until a face appears. You can swear it's talking to you beneath the music.

'We need you. We want you. Join us. Come to the back room. Number 005.'

The closer you get to the hologram screens, the louder the voice becomes until it disappears completely, leaving you to question how real it was.

PHASE III

[ 2217 ] For those brave enough, you go into Backroom #005. What awaits you there is a room full of masked and costumed figures. You don't know if they are human or not, but they watch you eagerly, inviting you to join their private party. Unfortunately, if you chose the backroom, you chose wrong. You chose very wrong. The door is going to be slammed shut and locked, and all the figures will then pull off their masks and reveal faces familiar to yourself. Faces from your world. They'll ask you accusingly why you haven't saved them yet. What's taking you so long. Did you forget them?

Their eyes will glow as they crowd in on you, yelling and growing more caustic until the lights flicker. When you can see clearly again, the entire room will be empty save for a single glass of wine sitting on the table. You'll be sure someone was inside just a moment ago. You were definitely talking to someone. You can't be going crazy, right?

PHASE IV

[ 2345 ] Fifteen minutes to midnight. The music is getting louder and more intense. You've been eating candy or drinking all night (or avoiding food entirely if you're wise enough). Yet the music lures you in with its haunting tone, and you spot in the middle, a masked figure dancing more hypnotically than the rest. He's waving his chainsaw around as he puts out his lethal dance moves, and you are being drawn by the music into a violent dance off. You can fight the feeling, you can try and run. Unfortunately, none of the other natives and robots see the masked man but you. Only outsiders can see him, and the closer you get, the more you reach out to touch him-

you discover he's only a hologram like any other. Your fingers move through his shape, and distort it, but you're still so sure it's real.

BONUS

[ whyo'clock ] One of the back rooms has a beautiful fortune teller by the name of Aria. She will be seated inside, welcoming individuals or groups of people to give them their fortunes, and she will be giving them bizarrely specific and intimate details about their life from their underwear preference to how many partners they've slept with and how many moles they have on their ass. Prepare for awkward embarrassment. Ah, but what does the future hold in store? She'll smile when asked, and then her face will fall apart until a drill protrudes from the center to try and stab through your face. If your reflexes are fast enough, you can dodge it. If you're too slow, prepare for a hospital visit to the CERES Medical Facility.

Once that ordeal is over with, her face will reconstruct itself back to normal, and she will smile and say your future looks very bright in CERES.

[ 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 sixth 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!

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PHASE I;

[At this point in time, she's trying to figure two things out. Namely, what is going on and why the hell she decided to comply with that whole mandatory attendance bullshit. While the first one has yet to be answered, she supposes morbid curiosity led her to this place. Morbid curiosity, however, was decidedly not enough to make her wear a costume. That mask she received at the door will be the only festive item she'll be wearing. Everything else is just part of her usual attire.

That said, she'll be hanging around the candy tables, looking but not taking anything for—uh. Various reasons, really. Mostly, she's searching for familiar faces on the dance floor... But you can be sure she'll come up with a lie if asked about what she's doing.]

BONUS;

[WELL. That, uh, sure was a drill. A drill that came out of someone's face. Like that is a totally normal thing. Wow. She's not sure what she was thinking about when she stepped into that backroom, but whatever it was, it must have been something absolutely stupid.

After surviving the ordeal without getting a new hole in her face, she steps out of the room and slams the door behind her with vitriol. When she steps forward, she notices a drill sized tear on the side of her jacket.]

—Shit. [Said in the most deadpan way possible.

Screw you, lady.]

[The smell of blood perks his interest all too quickly. It seems to originate from the backroom. He watches in delight as people enter and some come out fine while others...not so much. It's rather amusing. So when he watches this girl enter and then exit so angry he can't help but to chuckle...well, until her scent intrigues him. She doesn't smell human.

Putting on his false happy face he approaches her and looks surprised.]

Oh my! Are you okay? I've heard some commotion from back here and was curious what was happening!

[Man, if she were to make a list of things she hates, nosy people would probably be somewhere between the top three. The urge to snap at him is stronger than the urge to wonder what the hell is up with that hairstyle, but—ugh. She manages to reel it in. As much as it would satisfy her right now, snapping at this dude won't help her in the long run. Kind of a pity, really.]

I'm fine. [A little more forceful than is strictly necessary... good job, Touka.] Go back to the party.

[Not budging from her spot in front of the door, though. There is nothing to see back there.]

[Nosy was always more fun for Tatsumi, he could build up some kind of interest in someone that way...or show that he had some. It made it easier to tick them at times. Though with this woman he can see she might be harder to lure in...maybe he should address her scent.]

Really? [He smirks a little bit.] Because you smile quite strongly of blood...and more so, not human.

[For the briefest of moments, Touka tenses up. Being outed as a ghoul so suddenly isn't something she expected, and much less by someone she literally has just met in a random hallway. When the moment passes and she's able to force her body to relax, her rationality catches up with the rest of her being. Even if this guy has somehow picked up on her scent... that doesn't mean it's okay for her to throw her hands up and admit defeat.

Leveling this guy a stare, she tries to look as natural as possible.]

Haa... What makes you say that? That's not something a normal person would say to someone else, wouldn't you agree?

[ Gareki makes a gagging face as he moves from candy bowl to candy bowl, not sure what he's expecting here. He's never been particularly fond of sweet things, but the kind they keep in this place seem especially awful. Why aren't they serving real food? They have all the technology in the world at their fingertips, yet no one can figure out how to grill a decent steak or a burger?

He continues to wade through the dishes, still wondering what the thought process behind this was, while watching the quiet girl out of the corner of his eye. It is a little suspicious that she's standing there, not really moving or doing anything. Is she some kind of secret candy security ... ]

You with the staff, or just waiting until everyone moves away so you can grab a huge chunk of candy for yourself? Just take it and stop lurking.

[ It's not like he'll judge her for it. What does he care if some stranger wants to glut herself, though he knows she'll regret it once she actually tastes most of it. ]

[AS FASCINATING AS BEING SECRET CANDY SECURITY SOUNDS... that is not what she is. At all. It's more like she's the awkward kid at the corner of the dance who's secretly praying someone she knows shows up to whisk her away. She can count the number of times she's enjoyed an activity like this on one hand. Or, more accurately, no hands.

That comment gets her to stop squinting at the dance floor, at least. This is not a positive thing.]

H— Haa—?! What makes you think I want any of it?

[Besides the fact that she's been standing there for fifteen minutes, minimum...]

Why else would you be standing in front of them for so long? You don't have to lie.

[ He's the last person who'd judge her for gluttony. He was a street urchin himself not too long ago. He gets the need to pounce on food while it's available even if this isn't his ideal dish right here. It's much better than starving, and she's practically a stick anyway.

He moves aside to give her more room, half-expecting her to actually comply and get it over with instead of continuing this weird song and dance in front of the food. ]

I'll even look in the other direction if it'll get you to move quicker.

[Is this guy for real??? He's 100% for real, isn't he? She can only hope he's good at reading facial expressions, because she's doing some hardcore squinting right now. If she weren't so busy feeling annoyed by him, she'd be a teeny bit offended. After all, even if she were capable of digesting this crap, she wouldn't dare touch it with a ten foot pole. Only an idiot would eat something that was offered to them in a situation like this. It could easily be drugged or poisoned, all things considered.

So, deep breaths. No snapping. She can totally have a civil conversation, even if she's already a little testy due to the circumstances.]

Look—I don't want any of this shitty candy. [Okay. Maybe scratch that "civil:" part.] If I did, don't you think I would have taken it already? Jeez.

[That's an oxymoron. He's probably incapable of rational thought.]

Then why are you standing there if you don't want it?! Obviously, you'd be standing somewhere else if you didn't.

[ But she chose to stand here. Where's the explanation for that? She's in the way of him and food, too. That's a lethal place to be. He's a growing boy, and this is all they have to eat, not that he trusts it all that much, either, but none of the other people who have eaten it have keeled over, yet. ]

At least, stand on the other side if you're going to do nothing but watch.

[ It's pretty creepy otherwise. ]

Does it matter? Maybe I'm standing here because I feel like it. [Orrrrr, maybe she's standing there because she thought it was the sensible thing to do. Somehow. Probably. She's now beginning to reevaluate her definition of sensible.

Either way... She would have moved if he asked politely, but since that's obviously not the case...!!]

Tch... I don't have to listen to the likes of you. I'll stand here for as long as I want.

Fine. I won't bug you about it anymore. I don't care that much.

[ Something has to be up with the candy behind her. She wouldn't be this defensive if there wasn't something special about the candy. The question is - does he really want to find out? Well, it's not like there's anything better to do at this party...

That's when he suddenly looks like he's in shock, stumbling backwards, and he jerks his head to the right, pretending there is something coming from one of the hologram screen. ]

-Oi, move fast! It's headed straight for us!

[Of course, if something is headed straight for them, her senses would have picked up on it already. While she can't quite brag about having sharp hearing like Irimi or Hinami, she still isn't as laughably weak as a human. Which is exactly why she hesitates on heeding his warning... and then falls for it a split second later, if only because this place is so strange—she has no idea if there is something here that could get past her reflexes.

Unfortunately for him, she isn't fully moving away from her spot. Still, her back is turned to him, and she did take a little step or two to her left. If he's quick about it, he could easily grab the candy without her noticing. Not that there's anything bad about her noticing, because candy tastes like crap and why would anyone want to eat this willingly???

Alas, them's the breaks. Better grab that candy fast, before she turns around to screech at him for being a complete and utter weirdo.]

[ Gareki does just that, hand darting out for the bowl to grab a handful. It's enough to stuff into his mouth, and he's careful not to drop any while clutching it all. Whatever this is, it doesn't look particularly appetizing. He doesn't get why she's guarding it so carefully, but he does almost considers tasting it... almost.

Fortunately, he's not that stupid.

He stuffs them in his pocket while she's got her eyes facing away. A few years on the streets have made stealing practically reflex for him, and he'll just keep the rewards to give to some other poor sap to see what really is the big deal about the candy. In the meantime, he keeps looking at the holograms while feigning confusion. ]

...Must have been part of the footage. It was like a face coming at me all of the sudden. Wasn't expecting it. You've seen things like that around here?

[ Meruru's exploding with excitement and she'll greet Touko with a large smile on her face.]

Hello!! How are you?

I heard the candy's not good for you. I'm trying my best to avoid it because I don't want anything funny to happen. It seems a little scary. Well, I'm enjoying the party anyways! There's so many people here. I'll have fun without eating food!!!

What do you think?

[Oh. It's a girl. A very, very talkative girl. Touka's going to be staring at her for all of two seconds, just wondering if it's normal for people to talk to strangers like this, before snapping out of it. She would probably say... something. Preferably something not weird.]

Ah... [How does she deal with bubbly people? Yoriko is bubbly, but she's also Yoriko so she doesn't count.] You should listen to whoever told you that. Since we don't know who put that candy there, we also don't know if it's been messed around with.

[Never mind the fact that even if it weren't suspicious as heck, she still wouldn't be able to eat a bite. But, details.]

Who knows if you could die from eating it...? [KIND OF MUMBLING. Leave it to Touka to say something scary like that.]

I plan on listening to them!! [Rufus would approve. For once she isn't being reckless.] We should try to stop other people from eating it.

It's bad to keep something so dangerous outside! [If Meruru could get rid of all of this candy and replace it with real ones, she would.]

What will we do if someone dies here? IT ABSOLUTELY CAN'T HAPPEN!

We should, huh...? [Bubbly and righteous... and including her in whatever it is that's going through her head. Aye.........]

What are you suggesting we do? [Nothing. Hopefully, nothing.] Steal all the candy so nobody else can have it?

Yes!! It's the only way we can save everyone!

[Meruru has a giant basket with her. She's taking this matter into her own hands and placing absurd amounts of candy in there. ]

Think of it this way, if no one can eat it then nothing bad will happen. It's the perfect plan.

Oi, oi — that was joke! [ONE SHE DIDN'T EXPECT ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND TO TAKE SERIOUSLY.] You can't just take all the candy with you!

[Where did that giant basket even come from? Or more importantly, WHY IS SHE TAKING THIS SO SERIOUSLY??]

I will! [Sorry, Meruru's stubborn. She's following up on this.] This evil candy isn't doing anyone favors!

You were joking this entire time? [Oh no...] Why? You made such a brilliant idea.

[This is not something she should have to explain, man. What happened to having common sense? Jeez...]

Because... Even if you take all of it, who knows what'll happen? It's likely they'll even bring out more.

You're right! That can't be a good thing. [Meruru doesn't want to put any of it back though. She looks nervous and isn't sure what to do.]

Do you think they have a stash of endless candy?

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//TESTDRIVE6.0.EXE

touka kirishima / tokyo ghoul

Bonus

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Phase I

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