« 002 ⇢ event001.exe »

[reparator]

Who: Everyone ever.
When: 09/14-09/30 (ooc)
Where: Within ViViD/Entertainment District
What: Hardcore gaming.
Rating/Warning: PG-13

//event001.EXE It's my party and I'll tank if I want to! ( Dates: 09/14 to 09/30 ) Welcome, new players, and old, alike. So, remember getting into the lovely little test drive that you found some new friends in? We hope you've been helping some of them out, it's good to make friends. But! Our lovely scientists have been hard at work, and they've finally released a proper, completed stage to help you all along into the world of Tellus. Or just messed that up too. Unfortunately for most people, with the release of the beta version of this new level of ViViD, the new arrivals will also be shoved right in (with all their received items in a special pouch they can transport out of the game with them) and have to be helped out until they can get to a logout portal, or risk being stuck in there for a while! Yes, friends, YOU will have to go into the game and help the newcomers get out, or risk certain dragony death. On the 14th of September, signs and advertisements will start flashing for those in-game already. Welcome to the world of Cadmus, a vaguely Greek-inspired fantasy-based land, covered in dragons, and we thank those who played in our beta stage. Players, you have done well- but the three guardian dragons (Ismen, Colchi and Nemeus) are still at large, and we need your assistance bringing them down! The adventure is within ViViD, and you'll bring their scales to the Queen, who needs them to survive. Unfortunately, everyone can carry only one scale each because once a group defeats them, the dragons' bodies will vanish, but until this period of the game, they will keep reviving until the queen is healthy enough to help silence them for good. Do not fear, though! The land itself is filled with several mountains, waterfalls, and large castles/castle towns, a beautiful sight to see. Technology is very sparse inside, however, and players will be relying on their own abilities to carry out the mission to completion. Oh, and there may be people who need rescuing... can you get to them in time? And the compulsion to participate will be strong. So, players, will you and your team be able to rescue the poor folk stuck in there , and defeat the dragons, and get the scales to rescue the queen? Well. Time will tell, of course! The situation is simple: For New Arrivals: ✩ New players will be part of the group of folk needing rescuing and escape. New players WON'T leave the game after their arrival briefing, and end up in this little glitch of a system. Those that weren't in the test drive will end up here post-arrival briefing! ✩ Once a character already in the game reaches a newcomer, an escape portal will open up instantly on a point on the map. Both parties can log out from there and enter the colony, or they can band together to keep playing. Note that once they find the portal (they may have to fight some enemies to get to it, but they'll have a map!) they can log in and log out normally. ✩ New Arrivals can escape/log out once they join a party with another newcomer as well if someone in-game hasn't found them, and find an escape portal which will appear in random, dangerous locations where they may have to fight enemies. They'll level up and their options to log out will appear when they find the portal (and they'll be led to it with a map!) But only if they join up with another newcomer! (this info will be revealed to them once they're in the vicinity of another new arrival) ✩ If your newly-arrived character goes solo, well... they'd better be ready to fight a dragon to escape, because that will be the only way they'll get out. If they reach GAME OVER through death, they'll wake up in CERES' Hospital and be inactive for a day. You can log in and log out as many times as needed, and once a group of players has defeated all three dragons, they won't have to fight them again nor will they be compelled to join the game once more (but they can log in and help others who haven't defeated them yet!) For Players Already In The Game: ✩ Compulsion to play will be high, and soon, you'll know why! ✩ Remember the details you have as well. There will be people who appear to look like people your characters know, and the virus will make them act erratically and attack your own. Be wary and be swift! ✩ Helping the new arrivals will allow them to log out easily, much more easily than they would going solo or with another newcomer. Your characters will get information on-screen telling them this, and it'll be nice to follow! ✩ Players already in-game can log in and out any time. During this period of time, the dragons will respawn to fight those who haven't defeated them yet. Getting those scales to the queen is important, so make sure you get through to them! Side Quests : Knights in Seed Buns ( Dates: 09/14 to 09/21 ) Remember those Knight Burgers? Yeah, hah hah ha... players who ate them during Cerealia Welcome Barbecue will be experiencing certain interesting side-effects that can only be fixed by either getting to the hospital- or performing a side quest in the Cadmus Event, to look for the Tree of Asclepius.. This will be pointed on the north of the map, guarded by the Priestess who was in the beta stage. She will however, be different and may attack those who try to steal- she will be more hesitant to let people delegated to fight for their friends take the fruit, but she'll give in once you fight her protector, The Talon. Don't worry, he's harmless... and will participate in a duel to defeat and kill him (he'll respawn after) to hand the fruit to the player from the tree. Players who don't delegate, and are feeling the ill effects and complete the mission while making it to the tree themselves will bypass the battle. This information will all appear on-screen! This side-quest can be played on this log, with newcomers and old players alike! Also feel free to make your own logs through the week for the non-game parts!

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] You're logged in, you have your objective. Your character is exploring the world of Cadmus, meeting friends and enemies alike. The NPCs are kind enough, providing directions. There are even a few minor enemies to battle as you gear up to handle the big bosses. For the new arrivals, they will be waking up immersed in the game straight from being pulled from the nexus code. They won't know they're in a game for the most part, not until the peculiarities start to pile up. Hurry up and start asking questions. Team up where you can and get the hell out as fast as you can. PHASE II [ xxxx ] While immersed and exploring the terrain, familiar faces start to appear, those from your world that you've been thinking of, missing, obsessing over. They seem sweet and cheery enough, a smile on their face as they spit out generic information. At first, it's strange, but then you start to notice their tone becoming more and more hostile. Within moments, your weapon is in their hand, and they're attacking without warning, looking for the fastest way to send you into the dreaded game over by forcing you to fight against your own move set. These corrupted NPCs will continue to appear all over for the next few weeks, the result of a digital virus infecting the game, so beware of sudden death. PHASE III [ xxxx ] The dragons are waiting for you to pluck scales off them, looking harmless enough. You think they're cute and cuddly and might go in for a bit of a petting. Then suddenly, they'll reveal their true forms to you, face delightfully splitting open to show off a black hole of teeth, teeth, and nothing but teeth. It's your choice whether you want to take them on or wet yourself a little, but they'll be coming after you regardless. PHASE IV [ xxxx ] For those suffering from the horrid Knight Burgers, the end of the road is the Tree of Asclepius Quest. Look above for further information. BONUS [ whyo'clock ] Congratulations! You've won, and now, your character is able to log out successfully. With great success comes great prizes. As your character remains seated and hooked up to then ViViD console, they'll be approached by a robotic stripper of either sex. Yes, your prize (for completing, other prizes will come up later) is a CERES-sponsored lap dance, complete with a stripper scantily dressed in fabric stamped with the CERES logo on it. Within the nexus code, a delightful tune was recovered to accompany the scintillating gyrations of said stripper. You are now the Drake to their Nikki Minaj. Run while you can. [ You can choose to set your threads in the game or before/after if you'd like. 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 log. ]

//ETC.EXE ✩ Make your own top-level posts on any dates or a range of dates, and plunge into adventure! Open them up to newcomers or all, and post some starters to get going! You can post as many as you want, anywhere and all. ✩ Once dragons are defeated for a player and their party, they won't have to fight them again. They'll respawn for the duration of the event, but they'll be considered defeated by them unless they join a party where a group of players hasn't defeated them. ✩ Players already in the game can log in/log out at their leisure. Players newly arrived to the game will only be able to do so once they've found a portal, after which, they'll be able to log in and out as the others. ✩ At the end of the event, the Queen will be revived and she will destroy the dragon spawn core, freeing everyone from the compulsion of playing. ✩ Credits and Prizes will be rewarded at the end of the gaming period. We'll put up an OOC post then, and ask for whoever feels they accomplished the mission to reply. ✩ Defeat of the dragons if your character managed them all can be handwaved, however, if your character is physically incapable of doing so, please do not say that they did just to get the credits and prizes (15,000 credits per dragon for all players in the party!). ✩ All participants, whether they accomplished the missions or not, will get prizes, so go on and slay some dragons! Also, remember our NPCs? They'll show up at random to help and assist those that need it. If an NPC's help is urgently required, please put in a thread titled "Open to NPCs" and set it at the city center fountain within the game, and they will show up there to reply! ... and Ceres Inc would like to apologize for this glitch in gaming for the New Arrivals, and hope you will continue to help their research.

Comments

iii

[wolfthatbarkstheloudest]

[ The grin that spreads across his face at Shinpachi's words is a little too wide. Of course, he'd pick now to do this, when something could jump out at any minute and chew on their faces. ]

Yes, because it means the two of you are bigger targets. While the dragons are watching the two of you, I can sneak up and kill them because they'll be too busy going after the gigantic yummy snacks instead of bothering with the tiny little crumb.

[ HEY WHOA WHAT? HANDS OFF THE HAIR, BITCHES! ]

...I dunno. Hair's not that chewy, just stringy. Muscle, on the other hand, would be really chewy and perfect for keeping dragons occupied. Can't fight when you're trying to bite through arms. Sano-san, tell him we're not using my hair for bait.

[ohspearme]

[This feels good, being together again, all three of them. Not that having only Shinpachi for company was a bad thing, and it wouldn't be if Sano only had Heisuke around, either, but when it's the three of them like this, some invisible void is filled and all is right with the world.

Even if the world is a mess and all of them take teasing to sometimes awful levels, but that's just how they roll.

And Sano falls into the fammiliar teasing as if there had never been an amount of time when one of them was missing, not even missing a beat as he answers Heisuke.]

You're suddenly really knowledgeable about dragon diets, Heisuke. But are you sure that some dragons may not be as hungry as others? Besides, you're bite-sized and therefore less chewing involved.

[He looks over his shoulder at the younger man and grins, almost like a predator with its prey in sight, and then makes a single biting motion, his teeth clacking.]

[nostatus]

[ Oh, his grin only widens when Sano agrees with him. The natural pecking order of teasing seems to never have left, no matter how much time he may have spent at first just with Heisuke and then just with Sano - they fall back into it like they never stopped, and he's enjoying every moment of it. Even a dragon that could pop up any moment now can't ruin his mood, really. ]

There, you heard Sano!

[ His hand moves to give the shorter guy a - pretty hard, but at least not on Sano-punching-levels - pat on the back. ]

It's decided then! Heisuke, how great of you to volunteer to be dragon bait while we take care of that thing..! Don't worry, we'll never forget your sacrifice once Sano and I get out of here! [ Still, laughter is already slipping into his voice as he talks, and by the end he really can't hold it back and bursts out into a loud laughing fit. ]

[wolfthatbarkstheloudest]

[ At their responses, Heisuke stops, staring at them both in horror, eyes wide, jaw dropped. ]

Sa-- Sano-sa--! Shinpattsu-san!

[ The horror doesn't last long though, and he turns his back, arms crossed, turning up his nose at them. ]

Nuh-uh. I'm not going. You guys can go get eaten and while it's mangling Sano-san and trying to chew on Shinpattsu-san, I'm gonna walk right past it, grab some scales, and leave. You guys will get to be dinner, not me. No way.

[ohspearme]

[All the words thrown around are terrible and harsh to probably anyone else who could hear them - if anyone else were around - but that doesn't stop Sano from joining Shinpachi in the laughter, especially when Heisuke goes and throws a fit about it.

God, he missed this.]

Oh, no you don't!

[But he knows their mission and he knows the three of them, and leaving Heisuke behind is not even an option, so he grabs the younger man by the back of his shirt (hey, be grateful he didn't grab that very convenient ponytail) and starts dragging him along.]

We all came out here for fun and games and by God, we're all goin' down in flames together.

[Dragon flames, as it were.]

[nostatus]

[ He laughs along just as much at their antics, although it stops for a moment when he watches Sano bodily drag Heisuke along, staring at their backs as their move further ahead. It's just a moment, so it's hardly noticable, but there's something about Sano's words that hit his memory just in the wrong spots, make his stomach twist up and his heart sink in his chest.

(Because even if it's just a joke this time, he knows that when it comes down to it, it won't be that at all - when any of the three of them go down, it won't be together. No matter who the other person is that also apparently survives the war, it won't be the three of them messing around and laughing anymore like this for sure.)

He swallows thickly and tries to force the thought of his mind, quickly jogging to catch up with their disappearing backs again, loudly shouting like usually. ]

Hey, at least save a piece for me..!

[ And it's when he's actually caught up with Sano and Heisuke again that he looks around them, quickly trying to keep on the topic to stop his mind from wandering again. ] .. So.. if you were a dragon, where'd you be hiding, huh?

[wolfthatbarkstheloudest]

[ Bring dragged around by his shirt is definitely better than being dragged by the hair, so he doesn't complain near as much as he would otherwise. Instead, he only protests a little. ]

No way! If you wanna go down in flames, you can go by yourself!

[ As soon as Shinpachi's caught up to them, the hunt is on and now it's like a really bad game of "hide and get eaten". But because of Shinpachi's earlier comment about feeding him to the dragons, Heisuke swallows hard and lifts one hand to point behind his friend, hoping his expression is one of 'oh fuck'. ]

...there?

[ohspearme]

And the minute either one of us would be gone, you'd miss us more than ever before, don't deny it.

[Sorry, Shinpachi, he has no idea how much his words have the potential to actually hurt this time.

But then there's talk of dragon hiding spots and Heisuke's own uncertain voice, which causes Sano to immediately let go - hope you aren't relying on Sano's strength to remain standing - and turn around to look at whatever's gotten Heisuke's attention.

Yeah, there's nothing to see, is there.]

[nostatus]

[ Yeah, how about we don't talk about the possibility of dead friends thank you very much!! Slap a trigger warning on that shit, check your dying privilege, etc. etc.

But-- god, why did Heisuke have to point behind him?! Because he can't even tell if Heisuke's trying to mess with him or that he's genuinely scared of something.. but he guesses that this once he'll risk falling for a prank in return for not getting himself barbequed by dragon flames without even noticing, and he turns around to look behind him too. ]

[wolfthatbarkstheloudest]

[ As soon as Sano releases him, Heisuke promptly falls on his butt with an indignant squeak, but when Shinpachi turns to look, he immediately breaks out into a fit of laughter. ]

You totally bought it! There isn't even anything there, but you totally fell for it! See, this is why you guy're gonna be the ones that get eaten -because you believe everything anybody says!

[ Why are you guys friends with him? ]

[ohspearme]

[Why are they friends with him, indeed. Especially when he pulls shit like this!

So Sano, being Sano, retaliates by conking Heisuke on the head.

Yep, with his fist. Not hard enough to do any real damage, of course, but with enough force that Heisuke won't be able to just ignore it.]

Heisuke, you're wasting valuable time. You know what we do with liars and tricksters?

[He glances over to Shinpachi, as if silently asking him to agree with what he's about to say, though he has no doubts that Shinpachi will.]

We feed 'em to dragons.

[nostatus]

[ Don't worry, Shinpachi's totally on the same page here as Sano. Especially when Heisuke is going to try and laugh his ass off at the two of them, that's just unacceptable, okay! Even if they're in the middle of dangerous dragon territory or whatever, but that's never stopped any of them. ]

Yeah, Sano's right!

[ So Shinpachi's already stepping over and with relatively little ease he's already scooping Heisuke up and carrying him in his arms. He's used to the piggyback rides now, so he can handle this much easily too. ]

We're gonna go straight up to that dragon, and then we'll say-- [ He moves his arms a little forward as if he's presenting Heisuke to someone or something. ] "Oh, mighty dragon-sama, take this tasty meal and let us leave with one of your scales!"

Bound to work, if ya ask me.

[wolfthatbarkstheloudest]

OW!

[ Dammit, Sano, watch your fists. Those things hurt! He doesn't have much chance to recover though, as Shinpachi's suddenly scooping him up and wait a minute, what is happening WHY IS HE BEING MADE INTO A MEAL? ]

HEY! That's not fair! Besides, I've already suffered enough! Are you really gonna let me get eaten, too?!

[ Even as he says it, he's scrambling for some sort of purchase in Shinpachi's arms, trying to cling to the man as if to say that if he goes, he's dragging Shinpachi down with him. ]

No! It won't work, because if it eats me, who's gonna keep that little croc from chewing on your face at night? Maybe I trained it to get revenge if something happens to me!

[ohspearme]

[One day, maybe Sano's fists will make a dent in Heisuke's thick skull, carrying not only pain, but also justice. And a little bit of common sense.

Don't say he's not determined.

But as he watches Shinpachi carry Heisuke and thus carry out this premature ritual with an invisible dragon, he laughs to himself and then continues onward, knowing the other two will (eventually) follow.]

[nostatus]

[ Shinpachi just laughs, no matter how much Heisuke is nearly shoving his hands into his face and then around his neck - it's just.. fun, being like this again. With all three of them together, and Heisuke no longer all weird and quiet. He'll take this high-pitched yelling close to his ears over that. ]

Didn't we already establish I can easily take care of that thing?! I don't care how you trained it, a tiny thing like that can't defeat the famous Nagakura Shinpachi-sama over here!

[ He tries to look past Heisuke's wild flailing and clinging for a moment to the other man ahead of them. ]

Yo, Sano, already seein' anything? [ You're tall and ahead of them, okay, someone's got to be recon here. ]

[wolfthatbarkstheloudest]

Famous?! HAH! Sano-san's more famous than you, if the girls in Shimabara were any indication!

[ Oh, but two can play this game, and he's going to play hardball.

Lowering his voice to a slightly more teasing tone and trying his best to be 'seductive', Heisuke grins and the clinging turns into him looping his arms around Shinpachi's neck and tossing his head as if to flip his hair back. Getting through this without dissolving into giggles is so hard.]

Or maybe your plan is to show those big bad dragons just how big and bad you can be~!

[ ...Yeah, he can't manage to keep a straight face. No sooner than the words are out of his mouth and the small pause at the end of his sentence hangs in the air, is he cracking up. This is your friend, Shinpachi. Are you sure you want to keep him? ]