//EVENT033.EXE

[reparator]

//event033.EXE

What new and wonderful and exciting ViViD level awaits you today? What fun time will you have in ViViD this time? Surely it will be a work of art that CERES has been working on for months and months -- Actually, wait, CERES isn't even around, are they? Uh oh. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt. Error: Files Not Found

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I [ ???? ] This time, ViViD is a deathtrap. There is random magma everywhere, monsters will spawn at random, and at some points, the game is entirely unplayable. It’s like the dev team totally disappeared mid-constructing the level. Oh wait, that’s exactly what happened. Monsters may spawn on top of you, you may suddenly be standing in a poisonous bog, you may suddenly lose your powers, or your senses, or so many different things -- It’s time to get out of here, ASAP. Thankfully, the exit is obvious. Like. Blindingly obvious. It’s got a big sign over it that says EXIT And just like that, you’ll be out of ViViD and -- PHASE II [ 0830 ] When you wake up (and it’s strange, because you were sure that you were logging out just a second ago), it’s in a pile of bodies. They’re cold, but not in the same sense that a dead body would be cold. While they are lifeless and look incredibly real, they don’t feel real. They feel like dolls, mannequins, empty models and nothing more. Their code doesn’t seem to be functioning right. And what some characters may realize upon looking at this pile of bodies is that they are all of the characters who were sacrifices before. Any character that was dropped who had a high magical or spiritual affinity is there in that pile of bodies, lifeless and eyes blank and vacant. Even you might be there, staring at your own dead body -- but it isn’t real It can be touched, but it’s really nothing more than a lifeless body. You’ll have to crawl out of that pile of bodies to get anywhere, and then you’ll realize -- you’re in the Sanctuary, a building built by the characters as a safe place from CERES. And it’s looking pretty run-down at this point. The technology in it no longer functions, there is no security on it whatsoever… Oh, and now there’s a pile of bodies. Great. PHASE III [ 1000 ] There’s also a robot. It’s wandering from place to place, though it’s impossible to follow. One second it’s there, the next it’s just gone. Also, it’s wearing this. Weird. But even with that on its face, the robot seems focused on one thing in particular. In fact, it has a sign, and it says: Down with CERES. Up with Robots. That’s a happy, cheerful message. If you try to go up to it to talk to it, it will look at you before...bonking you on the head with the sign and running off. That’s incredibly rude. Alternatively, you may be safe and sound in your home, but then the doorbell rings, and there’s the robot again. The duck mask is gone, but now instead it has a pin on his fake lapel, and then he’s shoving a pamphlet at you. He tips his hat, and then he’s gone. Weird. (Also, if you hold onto the pamphlet, it will lead you directly to the person whose picture is on it, and you’ll feel like you’ve known them and have loved them for years.) PHASE IV [ 1245 ] But not all is fun and games and shenanigans. There is something...well, strange happening, and the first real realization of that will be when it starts to rain. More than just the localized rain that a few unfortunates have dealt with -- no, it’s raining completely and totally, and that’s when it might hit you. For the first time in Cerealia, there’s weather. It’ll rain for a few hours, and then it’ll stop and become hot and sunny. It may get humid, considering it’s a jungle planet. At night, it’ll get rather cold. Seems like whatever was keeping Cerealia’s atmosphere stable is now gone -- which also means that characters may start to occasionally experience headaches, nausea and dizziness if they go too close to the walls. It seems safer in the center of the city, and the Residential District is still okay, but… there’s no doubt that the planet’s atmosphere is starting to encroach on the city. BONUS [ why o'clock ] But who cares about all of that? More importantly, you are here in this… totally not shoddy city to have fun, and it’s still being advertised as a pleasure colony. Or, well, it would be if, you know, CERES was still around. But close enough. And as a pleasure colony, it would figure that the first robots to really get fixed are...well, the Pleasure District robots. Unfortunately, the Pleasure District is still a nice big mess, so now they’re wandering the entire colony, looking for people they can hug, massage or...try to drag into more explicit activities. Welcome to Cerealia! [ 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 September intro log! For your convenience, we have compiled the characters' arrival experience here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

Comments

[gaian]

[Clothes are really not high on Karl's list of priorities, but he's made it a point to try and have the layout of the colony memorized to the best of his ability (surveying duties never die), so no, he doesn't need a map.]

To the CERES Marketplace, which would be in the Shopping District... so there's a bit of walking to do, sorry! Think you can put up with your current clothes for a little longer?

[bulletfool]

[He can and will, but that doesn't Izumi is above sighing.]

It sounds like I don't have any other choice. At least the wait will be worth it once we get there.

[As they start moving, he'll ask:] How big is the marketplace?

[gaian]

Haha, it's pretty big! Hope you weren't planning on visiting every shop.

[It's also really shiny and full of flashing lights, which is so bizarre to the guy who comes from a pseudo-medieval world.]

[bulletfool]

I'm not looking for anything fancy, so one will probably be enough.

[Assuming the first shop they see isn't, you know, for lingerie or something. Izumi looks around, noting passersby and recalling just how big the colony is.]

People really hang out here, huh. Is it true that our worlds were destroyed? They put me through that presentation twice, and I still don't believe it.

[gaian]

... I'm not entirely sure what to believe. It's pretty hard to swallow...

[Considering how much effort Elgaia put into defending itself from otherworldly threats, especially.]

But there's been indications that it's not all made-up—specifically, the Flamines do exist and will destroy worlds if contracted to do so, and CERES has made use of their services. You're right not to trust CERES, anyway.

That reminds me, though... Ah, hold on. [He takes out his CereVice, before bringing up a document and handing the device to Izumi.] You might find this useful.

[bulletfool]

[Izumi receives the device as Karl hands it to him. The first thing he notices is that that's a lot of pages, the second being that it can probably wait until they've stopped moving and he's got dry clothes. The content looks important.]

Is the Sanctuary nearby?

[He has no idea it's the place with the creepy mannequin bodies.]

[gaian]

[...]

When you logged out of ViViD, did you happen to wake up in a pile of bodies?

[bulletfool]

Was that it? I wouldn't have guessed from the name.

What was the deal with those fake bodies, anyway? They were fake, right?

[gaian]

Trust me, it didn't always look like that.

[The entire thing is kind of depressing, in more ways than one.]

Yeah, probably. I couldn't tell you what the heck that was supposed to mean, but I don't think they were real.

... Though it'd be a lie to say that this place can't be deadly at times.

[bulletfool]

[Maybe depressing for Karl, because Izumi just remembers encountering a pretty man prone to tears after getting out of that nasty tangle of mannequins. He does, however, take that last statement more seriously.]

How so?

[gaian]

Well, a lot of the incidents are explained in that document, though if you want a recent example...

[...]

All of the technology in this place went out of control at one point, and in a city dominated by technology, including transportation, you can imagine how this proved to be dangerous.

[bulletfool]

[That does sound dangerous, though Izumi considers that numbers would paint the picture better.]

Was a lot of people hurt?

[gaian]

[He looks a little pained at that, because you know who was there, trying to heal the injured and/or dying to the best of his ability? Yeah.]

Yes. It... really wasn't a pretty sight during the most chaotic moments. [...] A train, if you know that that is, derailed off the tracks and crashed into buildings at one point.

[bulletfool]

[In the middle of sneaking a look at the CereVice's screen, Izumi glances at Karl's expression and does a double take.]

I know. [What a train is, he means.] I didn't think about that . . . It must have been a rough time for everyone.

[gaian]

Yeah... well, we've been moving along, which is the best we can do, right? [He doesn't like thinking on all the grim stuff too hard—and there's no need to bring Izumi's spirits down.] Anyway, I was told when I arrived here that things are actually pretty dull in between the disasters, and so far, that hasn't been inaccurate.

[It's really weird. Karl's not used to so much mundane.]

Ah, you'll have to get a job... and sorry, but are you under eighteen? You'll probably have to go to school too...

[bulletfool]

[So it's kind of like the situation back home, where things are relatively peaceful until something big happens. Izumi understands that way of life.]

They offered me a job as an "explosive chess tester" when I cleared ViViD for the first time. I'm not sure what it means, but it sounds fun.

I wouldn't mind going to school, either, but does CERES consider that really necessary for us?

[gaian]

... That definitely sounds like an interesting job.

[???]

Who knows? Maybe it was their attempt to make things seem normal around here.

[bulletfool]

[It had better be or it'll be more than just the chess pieces (?) blowing up.]

I wonder if they teach the same things here as back home. I'll go to check it out.

[gaian]

Haha, well, it's probably not a good idea to fall into the habit of skipping, just in case, so you might as well!

[School was so long ago for Karl...]

[bulletfool]

[Karl is old . . . ]

Karl-san, what do you do for a living here?

[gaian]

[He's ancient by anime standards.]

I work as a friendship counselor!

[bulletfool]

That's a real job? I've never heard of anything like that before.

[gaian]

Neither have I! [a beat] Then again, I haven't heard of half the jobs around here, so that's not saying much.

[bulletfool]

This really is another world, isn't it . . . [Odd jobs included. That reminds him – ] What is it like where you're from?

[gaian]

Haha, not half as shiny as this place! But, hmm... well, you might describe it as "medieval"?

... I'm not the best judge on what that means, but that's a word I've heard someone use. But it's pretty advanced in some ways, too—I'm familiar with technology here that I know some others weren't, or at least that seemed out of place based on first impressions of my world?

[How to explain that JRPG blend of medieval + sci-fi...]