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« 002 ⇢ event001.exe »

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

None of 'em seemed particularly familiar to me..

[ See, this is how Shinpachi manages to stay out of trouble. Sometimes, anyway. Through sheer luck in not running into one of the glitchy NPCs.. he doesn't really doubt the other's words though. Mostly since this place is so weird that something like that actually would happen - he's been waiting for the other shoe to drop with this place for a while already.

And he immediately eyes the nearby NPCs a little more suspiciously. ]

Didn't you think it'd be a better idea for you to just.. [ . . . pause.. since it's so logical to him.. ] .. y'know, stay away from them? Even if we were told to gather information, it's not like it's worth going through that shit, yeah?

I would, but I haven't any other idea of how to find the dragons and leave!

[There's frustration in his voice, because if it were that easy, he'd have done it already. He doesn't like to stoop this low or go into potential danger like this without good reason.]

If you've been here for longer and know so much, perhaps you ought to help a newer adventurer out?

[Puppy eyes. Can you resist them, Shinpachi?? He's pretty good at them, if he does say so himself.]

[ NO, NOT THE PUPPY EYES.. why does everyone keep trying that one on him, it's so unfair. First Heisuke, now this kid, can we just not?!

Especially since that very sentiment is pretty easy to read off Shinpachi's face too as he stares down at Cynbel. His expression is just "why this, why anything" and after a moment of staring, he lets out a resigned sigh. ]

Well, guess I can't leave a kid to fight a dragon by themselves.. [ Even if said kid may be a pickpocket but he's always broke anyway so he doesn't have much to fear in that department. ] Just make sure to stay close to me instead of doing any funny business, yeah? We're talking about a huge thing here. Maybe even breathing fire, if it's anything like the stories.

[YES, the dreaded puppy eyes. Luckily, Cynbel perks right up after that, smile back in place. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

He doesn't correct the "kid" comment, even though it's not true, because it's easier to get Shinpachi to do what he's asking that way. Sorry for the lie by omission, Mr. Intimidating, but he won't be taking any more wallets, he swears.]

Of course! I wouldn't want to end up on the wrong side of a dragon, after all. I've heard enough stories myself to be wary!

[And just to drive the point that he's going to stay close home, he grabs Shinpachi by the hand without a second's hesitation. Caving to puppy eyes takes away, like, 100 scary points, so he's not so wary now.]

Yeah, they're--

[ Woah. Wait, hold up here. He just stares at Cynbel when the other grabs his hand with wide eyes - as if he suddenly grew a third arm rather than just grabbed his hand or something.. Shinpachi shakes his head a little and blinks, but nope, he's not imagining things. This is a thing that's really happening.

Sure, it's a kid (or so he thinks), but.. still...! ]

.. Oi, I didn't mean you had to get that scared right off the bat! [ Since he figures that's the idea behind the hand grabbing and all. ]

[Cynbel just blinks up at him, perfectly innocent. He hadn't expected that sort of reaction, but no amount of random yelling is going to make Shinpachi scary again, so he'll just roll with it.]

Didn't you say that I ought to stay close?

[He tugs on their joined hands, smiling again. His reason for this is totally logical, so there's no need to freak out.]

This way, the chances of me getting separated from you are much lower!

I never said anything about being that close..! [ But despite the instantaneous reaction to the other's words, he isn't exactly trying very hard to pull away his hand.. or not as much as he could, anyway. Instead he just ends up looking like a vaguely miffed big child. How does he manage to get himself into this sort of situations.. ]

'sides, how am I supposed to use my sword like this? I'm a pretty amazing guy, but even I'm not amazing enough to use one hand and still have it at full strength..!

[He turns the tugging Shinpachi's doing into a little swinging motion, playing around and deliberately making himself seem even more childish. It's like quicksand: the more you fight it, the deeper you sink!]

Oh, that's no trouble! I'll simply let go and get out of the way, should you need to use this arm for fighting.

[Completely logical thinking, right here.]

[ It's probably at this point that Shinpachi realises something fairly firmly.

That thing being the fact that he's not going to escape. In fact, it's only going to get worse the more he fights it. So he just sighs and gives into the hand-holding for now, letting his arm be swung back and forth and all.. he's just hoping none of the guys will see this and make fun of him forever. They would, the jerks.

So instead he starts walking, tugging Cynbel right along. ]

You seem awfully unafraid 'bout there being a dragon here somewhere. [ Then again, maybe it's that easily excitable thing most kids ~~and Shinpachi, really~~ have going on for themselves. ]

[Good Guy Shin and his sidekick, that weird pointy-eared kid. But he's right about not getting out of it, and Cynbel's grip remains tight as he's pulled along.]

Well, if they've sent us after it, it's at least able to be killed, isn't it?

[He shrugs, picking up his pace to keep up with Shinpachi's longer strides and giggling. He really is playing up the "kid" image, and he's absolutely shameless about it. But so long as Shinpachi never finds out the truth, it totally won't backfire on him, right??]

That's already a fair bit easier than some kinds you might run into, back home!

[Immortal lizard monsters are a real hazard to the everyday traveler. Seriously.]

.. You have these things back home?!

[ Okay, so he has bad things to run into back home too - there's a reason why the members of the Shinsengumi keep going rasetsu in every route, after all - but he isn't exactly thinking of dragons.. at least the demons looked like humans. ]

What kinda world do you even come from?! [ Since.. apparently the ears didn't give that much away to Shinpachi just yet... (Sherlock Holmes over here, ladies and gentlemen.) ]

[Non-human creatures that look an awful lot like humans are the norm where Cynbel comes from, too. He gets the best of every kind of horror!

Because of that, he doesn't really get what Shinpachi's all worked up about. He tilts his head, confused and making no point to hide it.]

Of course I do! They're rare enough, but they certainly exist.

[He doesn't usually go anywhere near them, if he can avoid it, but he doesn't have any choice right now. That's not so weird, is it?]

Doesn't your home have them?

[ At least he guesses it's a lot easier for kids to find something like that natural - they hear about it in stories and all that, after all, and kids have difficulty seperating reality from fiction.. clearly that's it.

Because no one should find lizards that size normal, that just sounds like an unnecessarily cruel world!!

(Then again, not everyone's on his level of lizard trauma after Zelien.) ]

Of course they don't! There's stories 'bout them, but of course those aren't real. People would notice a giantas-- [ .. whoops. Probably shouldn't ass left and right in front of the kid.. ] -- big dragon flying through the sky, right?

[It's genuinely hard to hold back a snicker over the self-censoring. He manages to keep it down to just a smile and some raised eyebrows, but really. "Ass" shouldn't even count as a curse, but he'll let Shinpachi keep acting like the overly concerned adult, as long as it keeps being funny.]

Certainly, people notice! And it tends to cause a lot of panic, until it either passes or lands and causes trouble.

[He shrugs, not really getting what the problem is. Dragons exist, along with a billion other natural things that can kill you, including other people. What's the fuss about this particular one, other than Shinpachi not having met one before?]

But so do great storms, and no one would say they don't exist!

True, but no one has ever spotted one before where I come from.

[ And please, let's keep it that way. Demons and their regular enemies are already terrible enough to deal with, they don't need to add dragons to that list as well. Although, considering the general luck of the gumis.. (read: their terrible luck) ]

But I've seen tons of stuff in these kinda places that isn't s'posed to exist, so I guess I'm kinda used to it now. [ says the guy who was super surprised like three seconds ago, ssshhh. ]

Well, not having them around is probably for the best. Most of the time, they cause trouble for everyone else.

[Especially for people from rich kingdoms, because oh boy, do dragons love to hoard. Greed just isn't a good look on anyone.

But instead of giving Shinpachi a dubious look for that comment (which he kinda deserves), Cynbel decides to get curious, instead.]

But what have you seen? I wonder if our worlds are so different about other things, as well!

Huh?

[ He blinks. Yeah, he sure didn't expect show and tell corner with the kindergarten kids while they're going around to try and find a dragon.. but since he supposes he should be able to spot such a huge thing from far away, he can probably spare a bit of his attention on talking for now.

.. walking around is going to be super boring otherwise, anyway. ]

Well.. my world's mostly full of samurai. In the country I come from, anyway. You ever heard of those?

[Judging by the confused look on Cynbel's face, he's got no idea what Shinpachi is talking about. But he doesn't let that deter him, so he tries to say it for himself.]

Sam... Samurai?

[He stumbles over the word for a moment, repeating it a few times to get it right.]

I can't say I've heard the word before! What does it mean?

[ See, this is a lot more fun than talking about dragons. Teaching little kids about just how damn cool he is. Perfect. ]

They're warriors, basically. They fight with swords-- here, see, I'm one too. [ He pats his katana and wakakizashi with his free hand. ] My friends and me, we're part of a group called the Shinsengumi who fight to protect everyone.

[ That's the way he likes to define it, anyway, since he sure hates the idea of fighting just for some lord way up. ]

I'm the captain of a whole division, in fact! Sounds pretty amazing, doesn't it? [ PUFFING HIS CHEST OUT LIKE A PROUD FOUR YEAR OLD.. he's sure not holding back here. ]

[Samurai vs dragons is a pretty cool topic, lucky for the both of them.]

Oh! Those sorts of blades mark you as one? I've seen another person with them here, though he didn't mention any "Shinsengumi".

[Again, he stumbles on the word, but he recovers faster this time. He's interested enough to not let it bother him much, so he can hear more.]

It is rather impressive, being in charge of so many soldiers... You fight to defend you city with them? Ah, are you from Kyoto, as well?

[ He looks so happy when Cynbel says "impressive", honestly... it's not like the Shinsengumi have the best reputation back home, so someone saying he's impressive and all that, even if Shinpachi thinks it's a little kid? He's totally soaking in it. ]

I was from Edo, but I moved to Kyoto along with the rest. [ Not that it matters too much to Shinpachi where he is, so he says it fairly casually. ] But yeah, we did all sorts of amazing things there! One time we got rid of an entire inn full of troublemakers [ he figures that's the easiest way to.. explain it to a kid... ] and another time, we stopped the enemy from burning down the city! It's a pretty tough job, but that's why it takes strong guys like me.

[Cynbel sort of feels like he's the one dealing with an overgrown kid here, with how easily he can make Shinpachi happy, but Shinpachi's good-natured enough that it's easy to let that go and enjoy the conversation.]

"Edo"... I see!

[Another city name to remember for later. He wonders if it's as interesting as Kyoto sounds.]

You're quite a busy group, aren't you? Even stopping people from setting buildings on fire! It sounds very exciting... I don't think I could ever grow to be that strong and brave.

Ahh, it may be pretty hard to end up as strong and brave as me.. [ Half-jokingly-exaggerated, half-serious.. because even if Shinpachi might joke around a lot, he does think of himself as a super strong guy since he's been training so hard all his life. ]

But I'm sure you can still get pretty far if ya try, kid! Don't give up so easily, as long as you give it your all, you'd be surprised what you can reach!

[ actual motivational life coach shinpachi nagakura... ]

[He swings their joined hands again to distract from the way his smile twitches, trying to hold back a laugh.]

If you believe so, then it may be true!

[No need to burst anyone's bubble by admitting he's almost fully grown as he is...]

I will do my best to work towards it, at least.

[That's a total lie, but hey, it makes them both feel good, and that's all that really matters.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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