Despite the standard day and night cycle, some of you may notice this place still doesn’t feel quite right, a bit outside of time. That shouldn’t stop you from having fun! And should you need to go back to the Grove — or if you’re someone looking to get into Neo Eden in the first place — you need only to gaze into a mirror placed in each of your bedrooms or apartments and wish to go home… which may lead you to fall catastrophically through it to the other side. Try not to hit your chin on the ground.
Life goes on regardless. In this city, there’s a lot to do. You could go shopping at the strip mall near Mania Square, where Heimr and Ydalir have set up a temporary shop to continue to provide for everyone’s needs. They’ll still take shells, but there’s nothing much they can do if you run out of Credits — both will gently suggest you find work in Neo Eden. You guys own businesses back at the Grove, it can’t be that bad, can it?
The good news is, Mr. Bone-Jangles and his entourage of skeletons who you swear weren’t originally here 12 hours ago are happy to help you get a job, where the interview process involves simply “showing up and asking your holographic boss if you can be employed”. Starting your own business is more difficult — you’ll need a loan from the bank! — but not impossible. Any hologram humans that come in to buy things will ignore you, get what they want, and leave. The only time you can interact with your fellow neon-coloured humans is when they’re making a purchase, at which point their items will digitize and they’ll leave. All very odd, but at least the customers aren’t rude to you… or your skeletal coworkers who have joined you for back-breaking labour.
After work, perhaps you want to head to the amusement park — Thrill Point is an utterly massive one to the far northeast of the city past the river that cuts through the digital roadways. With drop towers, roller coasters, rides for little babies who hate heights and fun, and tons of food stalls to stop at, you could feasibly spend all night here and almost forget that you have to be at your next shift in the morning! If you seek a different thrill, Arcadia is a nightclub southwest of Mania Square, where the music plays all night, the liquor flows freely, and anyone under 21 who enters gets marked with an X on the back of their hand by a harmless laser beam. Just outside Arcadia is a small photo booth named “The Swap”, and if you enter with a partner, both of you hitting the “TAKE PHOTO” button will bodyswap you for 12 hours. It will also print out a funny photo of you as a keepsake. Enjoy being someone else for a while!
Head to the Rent-a-Ride, where you can rent any vehicle on wheels — electric scooters, cars, motorcycles, hoverbikes — as long as you can pay the expensive fee. Speeding will get you a ticket from your local robopolice; breaking standard civilian laws will get you arrested and thrown into the unmanned city jail. And try not to tailgate or crash your ride — not only will you be on the hook for vehicle damages, but you’ll be shafted with a ludicrous hospital fee. Seriously, people live like this?
But, if a calm walk through nature is more your style, City Park and its
digital trees to the north may suit your needs. The fish in the river here can be fished up by hopeful anglers, though all are wiggly, inedible robots. Hm.
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sticksandbones2025-04-01 12:12 pm
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I haven't gone about fully stocking it, but I think there's a bottle of Dom Pérignon back there on ice if you're interested in a glass or two. [He reaches up to lift his sunglasses off of his eyes to rest above his forehead instead, reaching out to the GPS holo and giving a few swipes with two fingers to pan through to the "Restaurants" category.]
Of the city, yes. It helps plan the route out to where we want to go, so that it's easier to get there. [One, two, three... Fourth on the list of dining options seems to be a fondue place called the Molten Core a little way's off of the strip, and he taps it with a hum.] Ever have fondue before?
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[He's a crier. And if he's not crying, he's off the walls silly... and if he's not either of those he's three cups in and undressing. Do not give the angel liquor.]
But no, I've never had fondue. I know what it is, but we've never had much time to stop by restaurants. My group was constantly cooking on the road and hunting for food, so fancy things were off the menu, so to speak. Haha, I wouldn't mind, though~. I like cheese. Again, this would definitely be the fanciest thing I've eaten.
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[This thing technically has an autopilot mode, but where's the fun in that? There were also automatic options for him to pick up at the rental place, but Aventurine has chosen the one specifically equipped with a manual stick shift. Driving has always felt a little like a game, in a way, one that -- despite Topaz insisting otherwise -- he's rather good at!
He flips the switch to turn the car on, and the engine purrs to life as he takes her out of park.]
Well, we'll just have to indulge in every upscale dining spot we can find, won't we? Purely in the name of experience, of course; after all, the more places you try, the better your odds of finding a real gem. Besides, I can’t think of a better excuse to keep taking you out~
[THERE'S the on-purpose rizz--]
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It's clear by the sudden blush that flits over his features that Aventurine's words strike a chord, though. Ain is easy. Ridiculously so. Ugh, it doesn't help that the driver of this fancy-ass car is cute, too.]
I can put away my weight in food, but can you? Haha... [And he's telling himself mentally right now, do not inhale your food Ain, be dignified for once in your life, praying with himself that he has some amount of self-control. Have a modicum of dignity in front of the gorgeous blonde boy who bought you those expensive gifts, Ain.] ...I'd love to occupy more of your time, Mr. Casanova, but I'm a very boring person deep down.
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[There's a teasing sort of purr that creeps into his tone, but for his part he keeps his eyes forward as he pulls the car out onto the street. And he's a good driver, really! Sometimes he just, y'know... Does that thing where he steers the wheel with his knees when there's a straight stretch of road so that he can rest his elbow against the window ledge. And sometimes maybe he's a bit too aggressive when it comes to cutting into a different lane.
But, he's not speeding, and he's certainly not taking unnecessary risks.]
Here's the thing. In my opinion, anyone who thinks that just hasn’t taken the time to play the game right. But me? I’ve got all the time in the world and every reason to learn exactly what makes you tick. And believe me, I always play to win.
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Aha... I'm actually pretty easy. I don't have much to hide~. I suppose I won't give you spoilers, though, and let you figure me out for yourself.
[It truly won't be difficult. Ain loves pretty things these days; less "on the road we gotta go" type adventures have given him time to stop and appreciate things he didn't get to back home. He likes cute animals, people — especially people, always people — and being useful. When it comes to hobbies, gardening and tailoring and singing are at the forefront, things that are easy to compliment him on but offer tangible results as well. He could, however, flex to do anything; as a general rule, he wants to do what other people do, in a sense that may have been chameleonic at one point but has now become more of a way to participate and get to know somebody.
It is very easy to figure out the puzzle that is Ain.]
Aww, but I want to learn about you, too, so you have to let me try. I know you like fancy things like this, and you love a good bet. What I really want to figure out is what your other hobbies are, and what sorts of songs you like, and what kind of dances you know.
[The other thing about Ain is that he is transparently, wholeheartedly invested in his friends. This is, perhaps, the simplest thing to glean about him.]
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Much appreciated, friend. You know me, I hate cheating at the table.
[The second half, however, causes him to pause for a brief, measurable amount of time. He's sure Ain means it in a good natured way - and really, given the context what other read could there be? - but there's a small twinge of nervousness that squirrels itself away to hide over the concept of having himself figured out. To show his hand, lay all his cards on the table.
Ah, danger. Welcome back again, old friend.]
Fair's fair, isn't it? If you're that eager to dig, then by all means, poke around to your heart's content. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself in deeper than you planned. [A pause here, alongside a contemplative, thoughtful hum.] We could swing by the nightclub after we’re done with the shops, unless you’d prefer to save that little adventure for another time. Though, I will say, it’d give us plenty of time on the dance floor... Surely more than enough for you to start piecing together what I like in that arena.
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[He has dignity, dammit! Like... 3% dignity! And all 3% of that is going to Aventurine right now, as the tip of Ain's tail wags at the mere suggestion that they could dance together. Blessedly, he knows how, although he may be somewhat silly with it in an effort to make the other man laugh.]
It'll be fun~. Although that sort of club music doesn't make much sense to me, I'm better at classical waltzes and folk dances and things like that. We don't have those big... [he makes a box motion with his hands,] speaker radio song thingies on Elrios, and we definitely don't have that music that sounds like drums and honking.
[EDM. They don't have EDM.]