PHASE I [ 10 00 ] No matter how you feel about reading activities, you’re going to the library today. Whether you accepted that flier and its promise of 1000 credits if you came to experience the joys of reading, or you didn’t and one of the truancy bots grabbed you and dragged you there, kicking and screaming, the fact of the matter is that you’re going to the library. Today.
Now that you're here though, remember to please be quiet while in the library. The librarian will not appreciate it if you’re loud.
In fact, said librarian will gladly hunt you down if you’re loud. She hasn't had lunch yet and you look ever so tasty, after all. If you don't want to be eaten though, apologies and a hefty donation to the library will get her to back down. See how simple that was? And all you had to do was shut your piehole.
Also hey look, all of your friends are here too! You should go read with them. Quietly.
Welcome to the library.
PHASE II [ 1015 ] And once you’re in the library, well… you may feel drawn to a book. It can be any book. It may not even be the typical sort of book that you’d read. But you’re drawn to it, you pick it up, you read a few pages, and then something happens.
The effects may take hold slowly and worsen over time, or they may immediately grab you by the throat, but either way, you’re no longer acting quite like yourself.
And now that you’ve read a book, you’re allowed to leave the library without a fuss, book now safely in your arms along with your new CERES-issued library card app on your CereVice. The app is handy for things like seeing if a certain book is at the library or checked out, requesting for a specific title to be available, renewing books from the comfort of your home and checking on events happening weekly. (Tuesday Afternoon is the "Romance Lovers Book Club" and it seems to be personally recommended by Mosley himself! Wow!) Look at how handy that is! Of course, you can also try to escape through the windows without a book, but nobody will let you leave until you’ve at least checked out at least one.
Reading is good for you, kids.
PHASE III [ 100 ] Either way, you’ve escaped the library, right? You’re safe now, even if everyone around the city is acting totally strange. And, for a day or two, everything will just stay that way. Everything will probably be fine, right?
Wrong.
The third night after this disaster began, you’ll find yourself back in the library. You don’t know how you got there or why but you sure are here. One moment you were asleep in your bed, or reading like the night owl you are, and the next you’re in the middle of the library, wearing whatever you wear late at night. No judgment here, you rock those pikachu pajamas. You really do. ... Oh wait, you weren't wearing pikachu pajamas? Oops. You are now.
Anyway, the library is completely dark, and eerily quiet. But there are skitterings of creatures right outside of your field of vision, and no matter how you try, you can’t find a light switch. While nothing is jumping out at you immediately, this is also Cerealia. Who knows what’s lurking out there in the dark? Maybe you should take a swing and see what happens.
Of course, if you do get the zombie skeletons, you should feel bad about it; it seemed they were just trying to sort the books with a lot of enthusiasm. It's not their fault you were in their book-sorting way.
(Or... maybe it’s just your friends. It sure would be bad if you killed them. Please don’t kill them and get blood all over the books.)
PHASE IV [ 645 ] From the sun shining through the windows, it... seems to be morning. Yayyyy! You survived the night.
But you also made a mess. There are books everywhere, along with (re)dead zombie corpses, and they need to be sorted back into their proper places. You do know the system that Cerealia’s books are sorted by, right? Of course you do.
... What the heck is a Dewey Decimal System?
Well, either way you’d better get to work fast, because if the books aren’t sorted, you will be. If you inspect the corpses, you might notice that there's something off about them. That maybe they weren't there to attack you last night but to... clean up the library. And you stopped them, oh. So now it's your job to sort through this mess and if you don't, a certain giant metal claw will happily grab you and stuff you into a bookshelf regardless of whether or not your limbs fit.
(Also wow, rude, did the claw sort you onto the dinosaur erotica shelf?)
Either way, you can probably leave once the librarian gets here and forget this whole PR stunt ever happened. Thanks for reading with CERES!
BONUS [ xxxx ] So, remember those book clubs? It seems like they're not doing nearly as well as the library would hope (even with their sponsorship from Mosley!) so the library has decided to do something about that. Sometime during the next week, even if the effects of that book you checked out have worn off, you might be approached by some robots (holy shit are they huge too). They don't look friendly either. They'll have the official Cerealia Library logo on their chest and when they spot you they'll make a beeline right over, so you might want to run.
They're here to collect you and no matter how many times you try and outrun them, they'll just keep coming back. If you finally give in, don't mind the robot as it scoops you up (bridal style, naturally) and carries you straight to the library.
When you get there, everything's less threatening, of course. You'll be dropped right at the circle of chairs with everyone else (maybe you see a friend there too) and given a book to read. Is this... is this dinosaur erotica again? Of course it is. (Or maybe it's the robot western, the zombie noir? All these genres to choose from!)
And it seems like those robots aren't going to let you leave until you've given a detailed, thoughtful account of the main character's struggle either. They want to see tears.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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Phase II | dear god in heaven, flynn
He doesn't immediately regret it at this point in time, considering he has now somehow amassed a small pack of shiba inu CYbuddies. Later, he'll regret everything. For now, though, Mikleo's kind of looking to see if there's anything exciting to do that can get the adrenaline pumping.
The seraph is interrupted by Flynn taking his hand very suddenly. Mikleo is confused, which then turns immediately to embarrassed confusion. What the fresh hell is this???
it is entirely possible that nobody has ever flirted with him before in his life, especially not this terribly]Wait, what? [Hang on, Mikleo's brain is trying to catch up. His pack of shiba inu stare at Flynn and do synchronized tail wagging.] Uh...queen? That's pretty. Forward. Of you, Flynn.
[He has no idea what to say other than that. What do?]
heaven is clearly missing an angel, mikleo
One ought to be nothing but forward with one so enchanting, so... [he leans in and gets WELL into mikleo's personal space] breath-taking.
[was that a hint of huskiness in his voice at the end? why yes, yes it was. flynn is so fully taken in by the beauty of mikleo. ...you know, as much as a king who'd marry everything would be.]
1/2 dear heaven, plz take him back home asap.
2/2 he just can't handle this, heaven.
Mikleo should really say something.]
Uh....
[Masterfully articulate, Seraph Mikleo, especially since that comes out as more of a squeak.]
I-I appreciate the compliment, F-Flynn, but....
[He might be glancing around a little desperately. Someone please save him before Mikleo decides to take drastic measures.]
GOOD THING SOREY IS HERE TO SAVE HIM kind of
And in his wonderfully forced deep king voice: ] Unhand him! That sheep belongs to me!
NAH, HE'S HERE TO MAKE MIKLEO SUFFER MORE
One who refers to such a stunningly beautiful maiden by such... [flynn scrunches up his nose in disgust] common terminology cannot possibly be worthy of them.
MAOTELUS SAVE THE QUEEN....
That bright expression? It's totally gone by the time the second sentence gets spoken.]
Sheep? [For once, he doesn't notice Flynn moving his hand. He's a little busy being offended.] Do I look like a woolly barnyard animal to you?
[One of the shiba inus barks at Sorey.]
I mean, I appreciate the save and all, Sorey, but I am not a sheep.
NO ONE CAN SAVE YOU .......
He's quick to draw his sword, not only at Flynn's words, but at the movement of his hand as well, pointing it straight at the hand that's trying to make a move on his precious sheep. ]
Common terminology? Are you saying sheep are not the superior creatures? [ HUFF.
And to Mikleo: ] Do not deny your sheephood just to appease such a lowly man! You mustn't stoop to that level!
[ You're a sheep now, Mikleo, deal with it. And Sorey doesn't like what's happening — this hideous man bad talking sheep and one of his sheep denying himself so that he can appease him! How terrible! ]
pops in real quicklike
the
everloving
fuck
is this.
Mikleo's a queen, Sorey's a literal Shepherd, and he's dueling this random blond guy who she doesn't even know. What is going on here. Does she even want to know.
This is comedy gold is what it is, and like hell she'll let this chance slip away from her fingers. Edna, camping out nearby a bookshelf, quickly pulls out her CereVice to record the entire debacle.]
bless you edna
Lowly man?
[excuse you. he is the GODDAMN KING. lowly can apply in NO way to the likes of himself, thank you. flynn gives a dry, unamused laugh as he draws his own sword (how fortunate he's learned to always carry this on his person, no?). an insult to his honor like this cannot go unanswered. if this delusional cretin wishes to battle then a battle will be had!!
and it may impress the lovely future queen. score.]
You, my poor deluded fool, have mistaken me for yourself. And in the midst of your foolish babble, you continue to insult this poor, pure maiden. I, King Flynn Scifo of the Nam Coban Dai Empire, will not permit this to go on.
bless her and someone should stop Mikleo...
A duel! Great idea! To make this more exciting....
[Why would anyone want to make this more exciting?
Mikleo, apparently.
The water seraph walks straight over to a nearby lamppost. He uses his water magic to push himself all the way up to the top and sits on the bar. His shiba inus form a ring at the base, looking like they're guarding him.]
Whoever wins can catch me and carry me away!
[He's not taking no for an answer, either. He's doing it, man.
Fight for your queen, good kings.]
someone should stop a lot of this
I'm not the mistaken one here, lowly King Scifo. I will not allow you to corrupt the mind of my sheep any further!
[ He watches from the corner of his eye as Mikleo makes his way up there. He has to keep his eyes on Flynn, after all, right now. But he nods. ]
Don't worry, my sheep. I will be the one to catch you.
[ Huff puff. ]
should stop ALL of it tbh
Your delusional state of mind coupled with your laughable overconfidence will be your undoing.
[and, unlike this fool of ruler, flynn doesn't look at mikleo but instead keeps his eye on the opponent as he speaks. his stance becomes far more battle ready, as well, and with stance fit for a seasoned warrior. it doesn't strike him odd at all that a king who never fought on the battle field possesses such knowledge. he's just this naturally awesome and that's all.]
My maiden fear not, for I will be triumphant and restore your honor after it has been so cruelly wounded.
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His more sane side wonders how disastrous it would be for King Sorey and his thrill-seeking self to be combined into one form. Probably very disastrous.]
I'm neither a maiden nor a sheep! But I appreciate both of your sentiments.
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[ HMPH. He really wishes Mikleo would stop denouncing his sheephood, but for now, Sorey thinks he should keep his full attention on Flynn. He keeps his sword pointed at him, and takes his stance. Sorey isn't formally trained like Flynn is, but he can at least put up a decent fight, especially after all of his experience as the Shepherd. But that means that his stance isn't as refined, and is more based on instincts.
Enough of Sorey is still there for him to at least not want to make the first strike here. So he'll maybe take a step or two to the side while keeping his sword pointed straight at Flynn, keeping himself moving and his eyes on all parts of Flynn's body so he's ready for when he moves. ]
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and thus the battle begins. after one more step, flynn lunges forward with sword raised and then quickly swings it downward at sorey. a teeny fraction of the normal flynn can be seen, if not easily so, with how he holds back the smallest bit. instead of attacking with full strength, it ends up being only most of it. which is still a lot. sorry.]
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So despite his initial hesitation, Sorey ends up fighting at full strength, quickly moving his sword to block Flynn's attack easy enough. He holds it there for a second and gauges Flynn's strength, pushing up against his sword, before he very quickly side steps to Flynn's side and tries slashing at him from there.
Luckily Sorey only wields a ceremonial sword, so even if he's able to hit Flynn at any time, he won't injure him as badly. Less guilt later, at least. ]
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though such skill only comes to some kings, the GREAT ones. sorey, the poor fool, failed to even bring a proper weapon. it's laughable, really. his knight sword is... why the hell does he have a knight sword? whatever the reason, better a knight sword that can actually deal damage than a toy sword and an ugly one at that!! needless to say, many apologies will come later when flynn regains his sanity.]
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But Sorey will go ahead and quickly side step those sword rains, as blocking them is a little difficult, but only after being grazed on the arm by Flynn's blade. Ah, Flynn's unexpectedly quick and agile for a king. He really seems to know what he's doing. And it may have caught him a little bit off guard, thanks to how arrogant he is like this.
And since he's arrogant, he feels the need to combo into a sword rain as well — his is better. ]
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flynn gives a small snort as jumps backward to avoid the attack. trying to catch him off guard with a poor imitation of his own technique? hah, how laughable. with enough distance to give way for a good hit, he follows the motion up with rising phoenix. copy that, you big fat copycat!!]
Incapable of coming up with something original, I see, as an inferior king does!
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Damn arrogance clouding his ability to think fast during a fight, whoops. ]
I-I've always used that attack! How do you know I didn't start using it first, huh?!
[ Just going to hold his sword out in front of himself defensively for now, recovering from that hit. ]
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Because your stuttering gives away your identity as a pathetic copycat.
[flynn smirks a cocky smile, one so cocky that even a saint would wanna punch him in the face for it.]
How distasteful.
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But that cocky smile and the things he's saying ... they're really pissing him off. And he pushes on Flynn's blade a bit more, angrily. ]
That wasn't stuttering! [ Yes it was. And it was because Flynn hurt him and is winning, oops. ]
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[king flynn is far better a king in all the ways! looks, humility, power, brains, etc etc etc!! clearly mikleo's future king was decided before this battle ever began.]
cutting in for a hot second
Hey, if you're going to start flinging insults like that at my best friend, then you're not much better, 'King' Flynn. Aren't things like that below you?
mikleo, his almost-savior ;o;
the best sheep a shepard could ask for
he swears to Maotelus
maotelus can't save them
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