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//TESTDRIVE.EXE
//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. 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 [ 18 PHASE II [ ?? PHASE III [ 21 PHASE IV [ 02 BONUS [ why[ 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? ] |
01 ]
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.
//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. |
phase i
[ in a sea of unfamiliar, nameless faces, finding someone that didn't look like they'd been sculpted out of clay by a half-hearted artist with clammy hands was a welcome sight. not that he'd been unnerved by any of it thus far; waking up with no recollection of how or why he'd arrived, with the lingering sense of something missing, senses dulled in confusion and that feeling of unabashed, vibrant happiness? business as usual, right?
only it wasn't, and Tyki knew it. but he'd played along, as he was wont to do - or had been wont to do? he couldn't remember - moving with the throng of writhing bodies, striking up conversation with the nearest passerby with a mere nod and a half-smile, inviting. he'd gotten little in the way of answers and he wasn't entirely sure if he should be frustrated or more intrigued by that. more importantly, he couldn't decide if he was motivated enough to ascertain the question weighing on his mind, smothered into obscurity by the sea of good drink and pleasurable company.
so for now he'd indulge. he'd enjoy himself, the food, the drink, the people, and he'd pick casually at the doubts swirling in his mind at his own pace.
the pursuit of his enjoyment had led him here, to the bar - to the woman in particular, more for the fact that she was alone (and vibrant? real? someone that didn't look like a carbon copy of everything else here) than anything else. not that he particularly minded socializing in large groups, but if he had to be perfectly honest small, intimate encounters were much more preferable to larger endeavors.
he considers easing out the packet of cigarettes on his person, the imagined taste of nicotine on his tongue real enough that he could swear he's already lit up this evening.
he decides against it.
moving smoothly onto the stool beside the woman, he gives her an acknowledging nod and allows his gaze to drink in the small details. water, it would seem. no part of her bared to wandering eyes. it was the sort of appearance of one who might not want to be approached.
perhaps another time, then. ]
That was quite the battle, wasn't it?
no subject
The way she's dressed (covered from the neck down) is just one of the many ways she's learned to deal with her side-effect as an Intoner. Which is part of the reason why she's in the least flashy part of the place, her plain drink, and more importantly, away from the crowd of people that don't resemble any humans she's seen before.
She reads the labels of the bottles ahead of her easily, mind drifting back to the woman she had seen moments before. When he actually addresses her, she doesn't seem to notice. Only when she snaps out of her thoughts does she look at him. ]
In the sense that the odds were seemingly against us... I can agree. [ She has no time to decide whether playing along is a good idea or not, but she does it anyway. Maybe she can get some information out of him, or at least get a second opinion on this place. ]
We've helped to obtain Cerealia's first victory, hopefully one of many.
[ And despite knowing nothing about Cerealia, she finds herself saying that with some genuine content. ]
no subject
[ he could have kept the game going a bit longer, had them both dancing around each other without any significant reveal or any progress. they could both pretend they knew what had happened - her more than he, unless that interest, that pride in their efforts was genuine - or they could end things now and be honest with each other.
honesty. the thought made him laugh, though he did his best not to let it show openly on his face aside from the thinly veiled smile of amusement he gave her. it was no more entertained than it was generally pleasant, as though he was honestly enjoying her company. it wasn't far from the truth, exactly. ]
You seem distracted. [ he lets rests his elbow on the bar counter, props his chin on his hand. his gaze moves over her again, studying, before snapping up to her face once more, chased by a warm, albeit slightly knowing smile. ]
Or is this just not your sort of party?
no subject
However, she can't. So she brushes those thoughts away, looking at him once more. ]
..Our leader, earlier, expressed his concerns over the brief chance of us having not paved a path to victory. I drew a conclusion from that alone. [ She admits, finding the word 'leader' to feel strange on her tongue.
She takes the time to watch him, studying him as well but only briefly. It's startling how easy it is for her to soak in every detail, but with her sight, it's a given. She takes a moment to rub her eyes (gently, with all her might she has to do it gently) before placing her hands down on her lap. ]
Truthfully, I'd rather be elsewhere.
[ She is distracted, yes, but she's not sure whether she should mention much of what is troubling her. ]
no subject
he echoes the sentiment. he's not sure where he'd rather be, but somewhere away from here sounds like a solid enough idea. perhaps with the people back in his memories, the ones that made him feel a distinct sense of "home" and "family".
but then that nagging feeling hits him again, the feeling that this was a peace he'd do well to enjoy since he'd fought so well for it - had he, though? - and he lifts up the glass presented to him, raising it in a mock toast to her before taking a sip. ]
Elsewhere? One of the private rooms, perhaps?
no subject
But even then it's still a bit daunting without her sisters. If one Intoner was here, surely the rest would be, that's how it always worked.. She eases out of her thoughts, brows lifting at his suggestion.
Honestly, that'd be the best piece of news (second to the actual reason why they're celebrating) she's heard since she arriving here. ]
If you would not mind.
no subject
a beat, and he's offering her his arm. ]
Shall we, Miss...?
no subject
One. [ She provides, after giving a brief look of hesitation at the offered arm. A second later, she smiles faintly. ]
Thank you, but there's no need.
no subject
[ what an unusual name. but he doesn't comment on it and drops his arm after a moment. ]
Tyki. A pleasure.
[ if he lingers on the word, hopefully she would be kind enough not to comment on it. there are implications enough behind them going to a private room, and if she didn't know it, doubtless she would soon enough.
he leads her away past the throng of people gathered on the dance floor and to the area tucked away but close enough to be easily accessible to the partygoers. selecting one at random, he leans an arm against the entryway and beckons her inside, a faint smile ghosting across his lips. ]
After you.
no subject
That, and the fact she thinks there are more pressing matters at hand. Now confirming that there's at least one more person in her position, she grows concerned. The only way it shows is, however, through the thoughtful expression on her face as she follows behind him.
She glances up at him, then walks through the open doorway. She feels at ease the less she hears of the music, especially when she steps inside.
Once he closes the door, she'll turn to face him. ]
Am I the only person you've spoken to thus far?