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C E R E A L I A ★ M O D S。 ([personal profile] reparator) wrote in [community profile] estoria2016-07-31 06:00 pm

//EVENT032.EXE

Who: CERES and associated intellectual property
When: OOC: 8/01 - 8/08, IC: 8/16 - 8/19
Where: Cerealia™
What: PR really was important. Who'd have thought?
Rating/Warning: Currently none! Please let us know if the log heads into R-related territory so we can lock it!




//event032.EXE



Everything is normal today during the early hours of the morning. There's really no hint, no way of knowing, no anything that could indicate that CERES -- and thus Cerealia -- is about to irrevocably change. There would be birds chirping, if there were birds, but since there aren't any, there's just the constant sounds of a city in motion, humming with technology even that early in the morning.

And then, regardless of where you are or what you're doing or how early it is, everyone's CereVices flicker on to show a perhaps-familiar, perhaps-unfamiliar face.

Bellona Recreare, the business owner of Cerealia and CEO of CERES, stares at everyone with a flat, cold look. She doesn't seem happy.

(When is she ever?)

It has come to my attention that there has been industrial espionage and corporate sabotage in CERES' personnel. Such a thing will not be tolerated.

Due to this, Mosley's employment with CERES has been terminated. Please now direct any public relations questions to 1-800-7322934844444.


Good day.

//SCENARIOS.EXE


PHASE I

[ 6:00 ] Bright and early, not long after that sudden announcement by Bellona, you may decide to go back to sleep, or you may decide to get up and go about your day (or you may not have woken up at all).

Either way, it doesn't matter.

Because your apartment is broken.

The entire apartment. The door is locked shut (and that sucker is solid metal so it might be time to try a window), the HOLO(gm) is flickering wildly between settings, and the blender is out for your blood. Anything technological in any way (that is CERES-brand or has been tampered with by CERES) will be malfunctioning in a way that comes across as... oddly malicious.

Now's a bad time for the late sleepers to realize that the beds, too, have auto-control tech functionality. Hope you enjoy that electroshock wake up call, or the fact that the bed could fling you totally across the room.

PHASE II

[ 10:00 ] The rest of the city isn't faring so well either.

The trains are completely out of commission; even if the doors do open, it's probably not a good idea to get on. If you do, it looks like the doors will slam shut behind you, and the train will go hurtling forward at dangerous speeds with sudden stops. Many of the shops can't be accessed at all, automated doors refusing to open, and worst of all, every single last piece of tech in Cerealia now seems to have the sole goal of Making Your Life Hard.

The Pleasure District is flooded now that the spas are broken, but hey -- at least the perfume ensures that water smells good, and it's pretty warm. That's good, right? Maybe go for a nice swim.

The CERES police bots are out of control, chasing people down to arrest them for imagined crimes (What do you mean you aren't a closet voyeur?), and heaven forbid you're around any of the auto shops when everything goes totally wrong. The auto-drive feature in many of CERES's cars seem to be a little... finicky today. It doesn't seem like anywhere in the city is exempt from this. Good luck.

And towards the end of the second day of this insanity, the train, with whatever unfortunate passengers are on it, will derail. It crashes into part of the shopping district, leveling buildings and leaving the wrecked overturn husk of a train resting there uselessly.

Suddenly, things don't seem so harmless anymore.

PHASE III

[ 11:00 ] Of course... you're CERES-owned too.

Your code, rather, is made and owned by CERES, and it's inevitable with the craziness going on that it would soon affect everyone's code as well. So as the hour approaches noon, a few unlucky souls may start to notice that things are just Not Quite Right with them. Their powers may be on the fritz, functioning entirely wrong or not at all, or even stranger -- fire powers turning into water, ice into flame, electricity brings mud. Your clothing might suddenly change when your coding glitches, or it might be gone entirely. You may suddenly have an uncontrollable urge to start singing, or frolicking. You may suddenly be wildly in love with the first person (or robot or mirror) that you see, unable to stop it until the odd glitching wears off.

And then, just like that, you're back to normal, if a bit more tired than before. How troublesome.

There are also moments where what appears to be an ID number appears on the back of your neck in glowing light blue numbers. Each of these codes is a 7 digit number, with an E at the front of the number. It appears that the longer you've been in Cerealia, the lower the number is -- like a brand of some sort. You may not be able to see it yourself with it on the back of your neck like that, but everyone else sure can.

PHASE IV

[ 16:45 ] And, just like that, on the last day of this madness, the city goes dark. The lights cut out. The technology shuts off. Every last robot in Cerealia is completely and totally down, and can no longer be booted up. Even when the lights come back on in a few hours... the robots remain dead.

Cerealia's a lot harder to function in without those handy dandy robots running the place. It's also a lot more desolate, and rather quiet.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the technology will boot itself back up towards the end of the last day. But the robots remain broken, and cannot be fixed. In fact, opening them up will reveal that nothing's wrong with them at all... they just won't wake up.

As time ticks by, it doesn't look like Bellona will address anything on the network about the events and all people are left to do now is... learn how to function again. Without any help.

BONUS

[ ??:?? ] If you were a stupid brave enough soul to log into ViViD during this time (or were unfortunately glitched there, which could happen), you will find that ViViD is in... safe mode. It's struggling to boot up, and even when you finally enter, you'll find yourself wandering through skeleton levels of half-completed scenery and incomplete quests. There are readings in the corner of each level that can be seen now, one about Energy Gain and one about Energy Loss, and just as the gain goes up the longer you are there, the loss, too, rises. At first, it's fascinating, and it isn't particularly dangerous... but then it becomes clear that you can't actually log out.

You can't exit Safe Mode at all.

Slowly, it feels as though you can breathe less and less, that the empty walls of the level are closing in on you... and there's nothing you can do. Unless you are or find a particularly genius hacker and they can access the source code and find the exit buried inside that code within the next few minutes... there's nothing to be done.

And then everything goes dark.

You'll wake up the next IC day, with those same energy readings marked on your wrist like some sort of bright blue digital tattoo. When you wake in the mornings, it will read at 100% and slowly go down during the course of the day until you sleep. It will fade after three IC days.

And from now on, ViViD always has those energy levels in the corner, even when it's fixed. They always seem to be recording you, every time you're in ViViD. Strange.


[ 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. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to Cerealia's August event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will last from 8/01 to 8/08, or IC 8/16 to 8/19. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-08 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
It's not a lie. [She says, and she seems to mean it.] What does it matter that it was the first? Those societal conventions... I don't see a need for them.

I would... hope it's not the last, however?
faithfulflame: <user name=cupcake-graphics> (Rei Sad)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-08 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Surprise flickers across Rei's features and she looks down into Naoto's eyes.]

I'm...not sure. Are you actually...thought this through? I mean, what about me is drawing you in, exactly? [She really wants Naoto to think clearly, see if this breaks with her behavior pattern.]

I need to know, before I kiss you again.
truedetective: (15)

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-08 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Your beauty and grace, of course. You seem to maintain a cool intellect under stress, from what I've seen, and...

[Hang on. She blinks, her eyes refocusing.] --I'm sorry, what were we talking about just now?

[Why are we embracing?]
faithfulflame: (Rei Smarmy)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-09 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
[With that, Rei's more sure that Naoto's coming down, and so disengages, stepping back.]

Think back to the last five minutes, Naoto-kun.

[Please don't make her spell this out for you.]

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-09 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
Er... [Naoto seems to be thinking. Her memory is oddly foggy. They were embracing, and then, what led up to that? Why were they...?

Oh.

Naoto takes a stumbling step backwards, her eyes going wide and her face turning a shining red.]
--what on Earth?!
faithfulflame: <user name=cupcake-graphics> (Rei A Little Down)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-09 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[Rei closes her eyes, takes a breath in, lets it out slowly...]

It's CERES, I'm sure. They did something to you. [She looks at her feet.]

I'm sorry, by the way. That it was me as your first.

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-10 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
I... [Sorry, she's extremely flustered right now, give her a moment to catch her own thoughts. She'd just kissed this girl. This girl, barely more than an acquaintance at this point.

Really, it's not that Rei isn't attractive or perfectly fine to get along with. It's not even that she's also a girl; Naoto's never been one to really cling to gender norms as a matter of principle. It's that she was essentially controlled into doing this. It feels violating.

Naoto shakes her head.]
...as I said, I don't put much value in cultural traditions like that.

I would really have wished to have made that choice under my own volition, however.
faithfulflame: (Rei Faithful)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-10 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
Naoto...

[Rei drops the honorific at this point, just out of sympathy if nothing else. Yes, she was just an acquaintance, but what had happened was pretty horrid. It was absolutely a violation of her free will, and that was perhaps the most sinister thing about Cerealia. That a will could be taken away, just like that.

Squeezing her hands into fists several times, just to keep from grabbing the younger girl and hugging her, Rei swallowed thickly.]


I know it's...pretty awful. That's why I'm apologizing, because value a tradition like that or not, you should at least get to choose to give that to someone.

[slowly, she holds her hand out, not quite touching Naoto's but offering all the same.]

I'm...at least, would...you like to...[She fumbles, concern overriding her ability to speak properly.]

There's a place around the corner we could sit. Please let me do something. This isn't right.

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-10 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
[She really hasn't experienced anything like that before. Even her Shadow, in the TV World, had ultimately given her the choice to reject it or accept it. So to have her free will completely overridden... it makes her skin crawl.

She's surprised by the way that Rei offers her hand, however, and glances up at the other girl with a confused, somewhat skeptical look.]
There's... nothing you need to do. You've done nothing wrong. The problem was entirely with my own advances. [She says with a side.] But... we can go there, if you would like.

[She says, more for her own benefit than Rei's.]
faithfulflame: (Rei Red Dress)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-10 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Is it really for her benefit, Naoto? Maybe it's best if you just accept that something bad happened, and let her be as kind as she can be.]

I think it'd be for the best, yes. It's a sushi restaurant. Nothing complicated, but there's not much technology involved. The owner's from some variation of Earth as well, I think.

[There's that small comfort, at least.]

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-11 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Her cheeks are still red, and don't seem to be returning to normal anytime soon; she doesn't quite meet Rei's eye.] Do you think it'll be safe? [She looks around at the city. Even if there's nothing going on immediately here, the sounds of chaos all around them are obvious.] I... don't want to feel like I'm running away when I could be helping.

Though a reminder of home does sound appealing. I can't lie about that.
faithfulflame: (Rei Positive Thinking)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-11 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
There's not a lot we can do, short of completely repairing every electronic system in Cerealia, and I know I'm not capable of that. It'll be alright, for a bit. [She keeps her hand out, waiting for Naoto to take it or brush it aside.]

I'll treat you, and yes, it's safe. He uses only traditional tools. So, there's nothing electronic in there except for the lights. Which haven't attacked me yet.

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-11 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
As long as he doesn't have anything he cooks in addition to the sushi. I'm not sure I'd trust even a gas-controlled flame right now. [Naoto looks at the girl's outstretched hand, then down the street as the city lights dim as it gets darker.

What can she do? What can she do with her mind and emotions in a jumble? Her greatest asset is her intellect, and on the back of having her mind controlled she can hardly think straight.

She reaches up to take Rei's hand in hers.]
...very well. Let's try to not take too long, though.

I'd be an exceptionally poor detective if I ignored the public need.
faithfulflame: (Rei Traditional Lady)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-11 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
Exclusively sushi.

[Rei was adamant about finding a sushi place that only did the traditional stuff after Archer left. This was it.

With Naoto's hand now in hers, she curls her fingers up around it and starts to walk, leading the way down the darkening, gloomy sidewalk.]


And I'd be a poor shrine maiden if I didn't do what I could, as well. But for right now, we have a moment.
truedetective: (01)

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-12 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[It's not that unusual for girls to hold hands as they walk, right? It's a purely platonic thing, she thinks.

Social norms are, as always, a topic that elude her.]
So it seems we do. [Naoto says low, and under her breath.]

...you aren't upset?
faithfulflame: <user name=cupcake-graphics> (Priestess Pleasant)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-12 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Rei looks to Naoto and smiles, almost laughs, and shakes her head.]

Why should I be? I'm upset for you, but not for myself.

[A pause, and she decides to just spit it out.]

I'm physically attracted to girls, more than boys, Naoto-kun. A girl kissing me is hardly new, or grounds to be upset.

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-12 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
[That's not a thing she was expecting to hear Rei say, and for a moment it visibly catches her by surprise; her eyes go wide.] Ah-- Hino-san, that's...

[She casts her gaze back down closer to the ground.] That doesn't bother me, if you're concerned about that. [Boy, are her cheeks feeling hot.] To be frank, I haven't given my own... preferences, such as they are, much thought either way. That you're also a woman doesn't make much of a difference to me; I would likely have reacted in that manner no matter your gender.

[She says just a hair too quickly, betraying her awkwardness.] I received several love letters from female classmates while attending Yasogami High, but I can't say I ever gave them more than a second thought. I had other thoughts on my mind than romance.

[Boy, she's saying way more than she's accustomed to.] Not that you're particularly interested.
faithfulflame: (Priestess Cute ?)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-12 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not concerned about it at all. [Rei keeps her pace, not putting too much pressure on Naoto's hand as they continue forward. she figured all of this would be the case, honestly, that Naoto had never given this all much thought. She, like Rei, seems busy.] And please, call me Rei. Rei-san, or however you'd like. There's little reason to be quite so formal at this point.

[That's something positive, at least. But she's not going to allow that last statement to lie. No, not when there's an opportunity to both amuse herself and possibly boost Naoto's self esteem.]

And I wouldn't say that I'm not interested, either. You're a lovely girl, with a sharp wit. I admire that and knowing more about you would be nice.
truedetective: (10)

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-12 08:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[Rei. Rei, you can't just say that. What the hell.

Naoto's experience with being flirted with is pretty much nil. She reaches up with her free hand to grab the brim of her cap and tug it down almost as a reflex.]
I...

...don't really know what to say to that. [Let's be honest here. She is so out of her element.] My appearance is-- it's certainly not something I think much about. At least, not in terms of... what is socially considered typical of women, and... [Naoto. Naoto, stop talking. You aren't actually saying anything.]

I don't mind your company. [Yes.]
faithfulflame: Color by <user name=Messala> (Rei Giggle)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-13 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
[That's kind of the funny thing. Rei isn't deliberately flirting. She's just talking and telling the truth. She'd like to get to know Naoto. She means it platonically, but you can go on a date with someone and still think of it as platonic. It's a means to pass the time, after all.

And that reaction, well, that's cute. That's extremely cute. So cute it almost burns, and she giggles. She can't help it.]


It's a good look for you. And I'm glad you don't mind my company.

[By now she's reached the restaurant, and pushes open the door for the very embarrassed detective.]

I'm just telling you that I think you're smart, and I think you're interesting. Don't worry. I don't bite or anything.
truedetective: (15)

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-13 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not assuming you bite! [She says back with a little more force than it really warrants.] I'm just-- I'm still slightly on edge, that's all! [From, you know, the mind control.

It's not wrong, but she's more flustered than on edge at this point. She steps through the door, and quickly finds a seat. The tables are... low, so she has to kneel. How traditional.

She very much doesn't look up at Rei.]
I'm not... very experienced with social interaction. [She mumbles.] That should be obvious.
faithfulflame: (Rei Kind look)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-13 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
[Rei takes her seat across from Naoto, not at all bothered by the reaction.]

It is a little apparent. [A beat, and a nod to the waiter.] Order whatever you'd like, by the way. My treat this time.

[She orders some very simple sashimi before really focusing more attention on Naoto.]

But what I meant to say was, you don't need to be shy. I...had a lot of trouble with people, in the past, myself. I didn't have many friends growing up. [She still doesn't, back home.]

In that, at least, I think we've got common ground.

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-13 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
[Boy, the table is interesting. Naoto is slightly frustrated in just how flustered she is. When Rei asks for her order, she glances up at the waiter, ordering some rice and some simple hand rolls. Nothing too fancy, but a taste of home.

She doesn't look back at Rei, until the other girl says what she does-- which gets Naoto to look up and meet her eyes. After a moment, she nods, slowly.]
...your deduction is correct.

Rise-san, Yu-san, and the others... I suppose you could call them the first friends I've ever had, to be honest. Growing up, I was more interested in my prospective career path and following the Shirogane line. [It comes out easily, easily enough to surprise her. She has gotten better at talking about herself, after all.]

I actually... spent most of my recent life disguising myself as a man, if I'm to tell the truth. Other than my grandfather and his staff, they were the first ones to... meet the real me, you could say.
faithfulflame: (Rei Elegant)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2016-08-13 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Rei nods in kind, glad to have that confirmed for her. And weirdly, talking about her grandfather is yet another similarity.]

I...had a similar thing. Makoto, Usagi, Minako, and Ami were the first friends I had before coming to Cerealia. [She huffs a soft laugh.] And when I showed up, I was alone. The first person who ever reached out to me who wasn't one of my...special people...was Yosuke. [Not Hanamura-san, or Yosuke-kun. Just Yosuke.] He's a strange boy, but I like him.

[Rei holds her thoughts in for a moment, thinking about what she's been told. Haruka masquerades as a man often enough. She doesn't know why, but it is what it is.]

Your grandfather is your caretaker, too?

[personal profile] truedetective 2016-08-13 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Naoto can't quite disguise her surprise that she'd have made friends with Yosuke, of all people.] Yosuke Hanamura...? I suppose that's not so strange. He's certainly... outgoing. He's been friends with Yu-senpai since the beginning.

[She folds her hands on the table in front of her.] That's correct. My parents were both killed in a car accident when I was very young... almost too young to remember. My grandfather has done his best to raise me ever since then. He's a remarkable man.

He's the third generation in the line of Shirogane private detectives, which would make me the fifth.

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