//TESTDRIVE.EXE

[reparator]

"I'm the reason half of you are drunk at the moment." (CEO-SAN, NO...) "I'm the reason half of you are drunk at the moment." (CEO-SAN, NO...)

//TESTDRIVE.EXE The lights flicker overhead, music blaring from the speakers as you step inside, every sound drowned out except for that hypnotic tune. The walls are painted in an array of hypnotic colors, saturated to the point where your attention doesn't know where to land, and all kinds of screens hang from each corner, showing flashing images of ads, gadget after gadget appearing in a second to show you the best of what Ceres has to offer. Dancing bodies flank each side of the large ballroom, bodies with eyes that look hollow and their faces too symmetrical. They'll occasionally glance at you and smile, maybe even engage and offer to take you to one of the private rooms in the back. However, their words are interrupted when the lights suddenly turn brighter and focus on the center where a raised platform sits. A man appears in the center, one hand raised to silence the music while the other holds a microphone. "It's been some time, hasn't it? As you may or may not know, I am the CEO and founder of CERES, Julius Vincere, and you can say, I'm the reason half of you are drunk at the moment." He chuckles lightly before continuing, "For a second there, I was worried we wouldn't make it, but I placed my confidence in all of you. I knew you'd surpass my expectations when I first brought you here, and you were able to utilize our tools to perfection. As you may have suspected by the gallons of champagne being passed around at my behest-" He pauses to reach out for a glass, snatching it from one of the wait staff passing by before raising it to the crowd. "We've finally obtained our first victory here on Cerealia. The colony is ours completely and will be fully functional from this day forward. Please enjoy all the luxurious amenities we have put together, and join me in journeying towards a new and better future. Together, we will expand our territory here and reach even further horizons. And by all means, don't be shy with the staff. They're also here for your entertainment." He gestures around the room, smiling before taking a sip of his champagne. Applause echoes from the crowd while Julius steps off the stage, handing the mic to one of the staff before pausing for pictures and interviews from reporters. You stand in the crowd as the lights dim once more, lost in a sea of people and wondering where to go next.

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ 1801 ] The screens lining the walls inside even extend into the bathrooms and the back rooms, playing commercial after commercial, all CERES themed, as you mingle with the other guests, but occasionally, the image transforms into a flash of something else. It appears for a split-second. There's the face of a woman, lips parted in a soundless cry. She looks to be in pain, fingers pressed to the screen. It's so quick that most don't register it, barely even notice it's there unless they focus. The party continues without incident, otherwise. Because it's a pretty damn good party, isn't it? There's plenty of food, strong drinks - hey, no one under seventeen is allowed to drink - and many decorative people. Just ignore that feeling of being watched! You're just so good looking, after all. PHASE II [ ???? ] A room sits in the back with several helmets characters can wear to upload themselves into ViViD, a state of the art virtual reality game, and enter one of the game stages to participate in a team mission. They can sample a few minutes of gameplay as they enter a short battle with one of the NPC creatures. They'll quickly become familiar with the state-of-the-art technology as all pain and wounds experienced inside will feel real and will appear on each character's body. But what an awesome game it is. With amazing digital quality surround, it's a world like none other... but be careful not to fall too fast! (Those monsters even smell real, don't they?) Feel free to talk to Vidia, the game host, if you need help getting things going! PHASE III [ 2134 ] The evening is wearing on, the dance floor is becoming more crowded. The music seems oppressive by now. People are feeling charged with adrenaline, or feeling the intensity rise in the mood. Maybe a new partner is the right choice to go with- or maybe you can talk to a wallflower. But one thing is for certain... The loud vibrations disguise the fact that something is moving over the vents. You can hear it in the background, the rustling sound that agitates your ears. But hey, maybe it's nothing, right? After all, it's just a party... Maybe you'll want to go into the back rooms for a bit to... explore your new friends? The rooms (and your companions) are quite pretty and cozy, and can be adjusted with holograms to create a room for your desired mood. After all, it's a little too noisy when you're not alone, but the sudden silence might get oppressive too... [ Feel free to get intimate or just get out of the party and sleep off the drinks, but remember, anything above PG stuff must go into your own journals and under NO circumstances will unwanted propositioning be allowed or any non-consensual activity lest you want to be locked in a cold box on top of a huge ice cube for the rest of the night. Naked. Please use your own discretion, the minimum age for intimacy is 15-16. ] PHASE IV [ 0243 ] In the quieter corners of the party, it becomes more ever-present until something falls on your eye. It's red. Warm... As you gaze up, you see a dead body faced down, the half-sliced face lying against the ventilation screen. The body's eyes remain open, staring down at you. Screams and sounds of shock sound, and the party halts. As the security filters in to investigate the body, the rustling only grows louder. It's then that they suspect something is in the vents. It's crawling avidly across the ceiling, and lights fall one by one, exploding against the ground. There's barely a moment to register the chaos before the last knight of CERES appears. You can choose to run. You can choose to engage. The knight won't let you leave its sight alive. But you know you have to do something. Be it protecting the innocents there, or fighting off the creature that seems to only be there to harm you and your friends, old and new. And you do want to protect this place, because it's just been won... don't you? BONUS [ whyo'clock ] There's a ball pit hidden in one of the auxiliary rooms. All invited parties are given a maximum of one hour to have fun time in the ball pit. They must not exceed their one hour or they will be forcibly removed by the security droids. Please keep all food and alcohol out of the ball pit. Do not have any genital parties in the ball pit. The ball pit is sacred to CERES. [ The party will be long, so take your time enjoying each scenario... and dreading it. At the end of it all, things will be calmed down and you're free to enjoy the night as you please. Remember to keep things PG (the FAQ below elaborates!), and absolutely no forcing any R-rated things with anyone below 15-16 (so be sure to ask their age, right?) or the droids will have a little fun chasing you around! Do enjoy the pretty views of the gorgeous digital city though. Which seems strangely quiet, but at this late hour, why not, right? ]

//RUN.EXE Welcome to CEREALIA's first test drive! Please forgive our appearance as we are going through the final stages game completion. While most pages are under development and/or hidden from the public eye, please don't feel discouraged, since knowing everything doesn't always make the experience. Your characters will know as little as you. For your convenience, we have compiled a mini-FAQ - please read it thoroughly before playing. Thank you! FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS HOW DID MY CHARACTER GET HERE? You may have been just been doing their day-to-day activities - be it swimming or fighting demons - but the next moment, a crack and blinding light - now you're here, in your best attire, celebrating. The memories of your at-home activities fade away like a fleeting dream, and it's replaced with the feeling of happiness. ( You haven't forgotten your past, just that anything you were doing seems far too distant to be important. ) Must be something in the air. You can't remember clearly fighting for CERES, and whatever this Julius Vincere is telling you might be complete bullshit for all you know, but something influences you to play along anyway - if you think about it long enough, perhaps you had fought for CERES after all...? WHO/WHAT IS CERES? WHAT IS CEREALIA? You mean... you don't remember? After all the help you gave it? WHAT FORMAT CAN WE USE FOR THIS TESTDRIVE? Action (brackets/prose), video/voice, and texting are all available via your CEREVICE at this moment. Most functions are currently undergoing a system update, but as long as it is still connected to the Auralia Network, it will be available for communicative uses. WHAT IS ViVID? An amazing VR game! The demo version of ViViD will be here to play, aren't you excited? It's played with headsets that immediately allow you to experience full-body simulation, without having to move out of your seat! You can enjoy the demo world, design your own, play alone, play with a team, but remember, the boss must be beaten! Please check the phase ii thread for details and interactions! SO... PHASE III? Sexy things can happen, you're getting hot and heavy on the dance floor, and there are rooms in the back that can be decorated to your mood, after all. REMEMBER, the age of consent is 15-16, please use your own discretion and don't upset people. For the test drive, any situation that goes above PG (beyond kissing/grinding/light making out... We're lenient) must go into threads in your own journals. Any creeper behavior or unwanted advances will get an IC boot into the Frozen Locker with "Let it Go" on repeat. POWER LIMITATIONS? Actually, no, the characters don't have any of their abilities locked or otherwise suppressed. More info will be i the official FAQ, but so long as you don't destroy the entire game ( and we trust you can use your powers responsibly— as does CERES! ), limitations are nonexistent. OKAY, WHAT ABOUT PREVIOUS GAME MEMORIES? It's completely acceptable to bring a character that has been in a previous game to Cerealia! THE NAME LOOKS FAMILIAR. . . Yes, a loosely related setting concept with a place called CEREALIA was pitched for an ExitVoid phase before the moderators decided to close the game for good. A few of us got together with the original pitchers of the idea since we thought it really awesome and with a lot of potential and decided to try our own thing with it! ARE THE GAMES RELATED? Nope. Not at all, it's been rehashed from the ground up and built to stand on its own as an original place and game. We'll keep coming back to this, so don't worry.

Comments

phase i

[unathletic]

[ This is definitely the worst part of parties - being dragged into being social when he.. generally isn't. He doesn't mind the atmosphere here entirely, somehow it makes him feel a little lighter and calmer, although it could also just be since his mind feels so woozy whenever he tries to think of the reason he's here, of how exactly he fought for CERES or whatever everyone is talking about.

So when Five speaks up to him, he glances (almost awkwardly so, although his face is pretty much a lineface for the most part) between her, the bar and the rest of the partying crowd for a moment or two. It doesn't seem like he's going to find any more quiet place anytime soon, so maybe his best bet is to just take this offer instead then. Maybe she won't turn out to be that annoying of a person, even if she definitely looks.. odd. And that's putting it very lightly.

So instead of just directly answering like any normal person, he's just staring for a moment with a slight frown. Don't mind him, obviously, even though he's being the elephant in the room right now. ]

[envisaged]

[ She wouldn't put it past him to think that, she's covered from the neck down, after all. Of course, it's all a precaution. She'd rather feel uncomfortable wearing her own clothes than overwhelmed touching someone's skin. ]

I see.

[ She sets her glass down gently, not minding the fact he's not answering like an normal person. She's used to interacting with far more ''normal'' people (her sisters), so she doesn't mind his behavior. She isn't going to push him to do it either, primarily because this is not her problem, so she'll let him do whatever he wants.

She turns to face the bar, deciding to read the labels on the bottles than face the crowd behind her. ] You're not used to gatherings like this. [ She states, looking at him for a confirmation. ]

[unathletic]

[ Of course, those sisters are the most normal of people.. a bastion of sanity, One's "family".

He doesn't walk away just yet though. Mostly since he's looking for answers. As weirdly light as he's feeling (for his standards while he's in the middle of this busy of a social gathering, anyway) there's still something that's a little too weird nagging at the back of his head. He can't entirely ignore it.

So even though he doesn't really care for small talk, maybe he can at least find something out by talking to someone here. Even if it has to be a girl this strange-looking. (Most people here are rather strange-looking, anyway, there's not even any opportunity to be picky.) ]

.. Yeah.

[ At least he honestly admits it. He could add that he doesn't even know how he got here, but it feels like playing his cards too early. He's used to dealing with shady stuff thanks to his younger years, so he knows not to show weakness too easily. ]

Is this usual for you? [ So maybe Heung Soo just needs to angle it so he might get answers out of her, instead.

(He's still not sitting down though. Awkwardly standing there is totally the way to have a conversation, what do you mean...) ]

[envisaged]

No. [ The last time she did any kind of celebrating was when One and her sisters arrived back after defeating the tyrant lords of the land. And by celebrating, she really means being forced to parade through the streets of her city atop a horse.

As an Intoner, she spent the lot of her time protecting and guiding her people as well her family. And before that, it was leading her sisters into battle after battle. With whatever free time she did have, it was spent in a vault reading countless books for the pursuit of knowledge. ]

Fortunately, it isn't. [ She tilts her head upward to look at the other, noticing that, yes, he's still standing. Since she already offered the seat, she didn't see much point in voicing it again.

The volume of the music and the strange odor coming from the dancing figures makes enduring this evening more of a task then it already was. She wants to cover her ears and find some place to be alone, but she sees no chance of that happening any time soon.

She keeps her expression even, doing her best not to frown. Although it's hard to try and look pleasant when you're squinting because the colors in this room are far too intense for her to handle.

One crosses her legs, turning her body to face the crowd behind her. ] ..You wouldn't happen to know what that is, would you? [ She makes a gesture towards the screen up in the corner nearest to them. ]

[unathletic]

[ He follows the direction of her gesture, his eyes falling on the screens that line the walls of the large room. ]

Television. [ But unlike a certain someone he's used to who might have been deadpan about the answer, there's a little more in Heung Soo's answer - a kind of question, or maybe just plain curiosity, as he looks back at the girl. Television is a pretty normal sort of thing for everyone, right? Especially if they're at a party like this with those things all over. But it's not like there's anything else she could have meant to point at, so he's just a little bit confused as to why it's apparently so unfamiliar to her. There's only a hint of it in his expression as he looks at One, though. ]

You don't have one at.. [ Heung Soo hesitates for a moment. He's not sure why, but just until the word came to mind, he didn't even think about the place he came from. Not much, anyway. It all felt so far away, like it didn't matter, even tohugh everything at this party is so unfamiliar to him compared to his house. Why didn't he realise before-- ] .. home?

[ But then again, even people without televisions should at least know what they are. No way someone wouldn't know. ]

[envisaged]

[ She stares at him evenly as he speaks. That slight shift in tone tells her that despite the fact they've all come here for one singular reason--to celebrate their victory, that there's still differences between them all. That man did mention having brought them here.. Her eyes lower, expression concentrated.

At the mention of home, she suddenly questions where his is. Suddenly, she actually bothers to notice what he's wearing. While she looks strange to him, he looks strange to her. ]

No... [ Her voice softens, but it's still loud enough to be heard through the music. ] ...We don't. [ He's acting like it's common information, that she should already be acquainted with the machine. So does that mean what she saw was 'common'? No, that doesn't make sense... it can't. She has to scratch that idea immediately. ]

Have you watched what was on that television?

[unathletic]

[ Is this chick from some hippie family, is that what's going on.. it sure would explain the strange outfit and the fact she doesn't even have a television at home nor seems to be very familiar with them. Weird parents sounds like the best thing to blame all of this on rather than something like different worlds that isn't even an option in his mind since it's not supposed to be real.

Her question makes him direct a small glance at the screen again before glancing back at her, lightly raising his shoulders into a shrug. ]

Commercials. [ From what he saw, anyway. ] So I didn't look much. They're the usual.

[ Except that they were speaking of this CERES group just like that guy -- but even from watching one he didn't get more information that actually made sense or filled in his hazy memories, so he just gave up on looking for information there.

He hasn't noticed the woman yet, apparently. ]