//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

ASANO KEIGO | BLEACH

[loudmouths]

🌟PHASE I

This was getting old already. Keigo had felt like a flicker of something had happened to him, and all of a sudden, he was in a goddamn deathtrap! He felt a huge rush of deja vu, something uneasy and unsettling, then, before he knew it... fireballs everywhere!! It was like he was in the final dungeon of Super Mario Bros.; obstacles and platforms and weird looking enemies!! But not just any enemies, glitching enemies! Keigo had been knocked back on his ass a few times before he managed to get himself up and going again, but that led to a lot of confused stumbling around. Talk about panic-inducing!

As he ran around, things started to flood back into his mind. Things he could recall from what seemed like a day ago... or maybe even less. People he talked to. Things that happened. But he couldn't focus on that for very long! Not when a weird-looking... column of flames was shooting diagonally from the wall! "IYAAA!!" If Keigo was good at anything, it was overreacting and also having a quick reaction time. Ducking past the obstacle was a matter that was quickly dealt with, but what about other players? Keigo could see the ending (how lazy!) but ... shouldn't he try to help that person over there? His instincts told him "don't bother" but his heart... well, his heart was annoying. Grimacing, Keigo scrambled over to his fellow player, arm outstretched and hand offered up. "C'mon!"

🌟PHASE II

Things were fuzzy. Keigo felt like he was waking up from a particularly rough night; headache and distinct pressure behind his eyes... and a discomfort in his lower back. Like he was laying on top of someone... That wasn't a very common occurrence for him, which made it somewhat alarming. Alarming enough that he snapped out of his half-asleep stupor and... realized...

"........"

...ah. A pile of bodies... The shriek Keigo produced could have likely shattered glass, if there was any to be found. And the scrambling that followed would have put your average skittish rabbit to shame. Keigo was crawling and clawing and kicking and yelling until he rolled out of the pile, his entire face white as snow. It didn't matter that he couldn't feel death off of any of them, it was the principle! His heart was thumping erratically even as he got to his feet, and it wouldn't stop any time soon. After all, one of those bodies ... well, it... it looked like him.

Keigo had seen a lot in his young life, but looking at his own lifeless body might have even topped the feeling he got from being in Aizen's presence. Oh... was he... suddenly feeling light-headed? There was a distinct sway in his footing as Keigo stood there; he was going to faint, wasn't he? Hopefully someone could give him a hand? Or at least prevent him from giving himself a concussion...

🌟PHASE III-A

What a day! Keigo had just come to terms with being back to the chaos of the city (looked like he came back at a bad time) when an extremely creepy robot approached him. Twice. With a weird mask. Maybe it wasn't the same robot? They all looked the same! Either way, they were saying some very unnerving things that weren't all that great at convincing Keigo that he wasn't in the Matrix... this was running down the same plotline, for sure! That was bad news! But the next time around... he was given a pamphlet... with someone's picture on it. But who? Keigo wasn't sure at first, but upon second glance... he knew who they were. And his heart fluttered at the sight of them! He just had to find them! Onto the streets he went!

🌟PHASE III-B

...Of course, Keigo didn't realize that some of those very pamphlets the robots were handing out happened to have his picture on them. And the thought didn't enter his mind, either; why would they? It wasn't like he was running for anything... he'd just gotten back! So, naturally, the last thing he expected was to be stopped by anyone holding one of those pamphlets... At first, he thought it was a mistake, but no, that was definitely his face... Giving an awkward laugh, Keigo raised his hands and waved them back and forth, an attempt at diffusing the situation before it could start. "A-ah... t-there's a mistake...! I'm not..."

🌟BONUS

Keigo was ready to throw in the towel. Starting a ViVID level nearly croaking, waking up in a pile of bodies... now the robots were getting oddly... handsy. Keigo didn't like being near any of the robots to start with (especially the ones with the weird masks) so naturally, any time one came near, he had the tendency to veer in the opposite direction. But that didn't really work when they seemed to be seeking him out. It really didn't work when they started getting friendly. That is to say, one might see Keigo screeching in shock, nearly jumping out of his skin and generally looking embarrassed; some of these robots were forward! Who would program a robot to do something like ... that?!?! (What is "that," exactly? Well, it's too lewd to speak of...)

🌟WILDCARD

[ I'M BACK!! HELLO FRIENDS!! i hope these prompts are enjoyable! if not, feel free to throw one my way! i'm down to plot through PMs or over on my plurk at heartsigh! feel free to add me there, too! i'm excited! and as per usual, feel free to use action tags if that's more your style! i'll match format! /o/ ]

phase ii

[newtimes]

( As Keigo sways, he'll eventually fall back onto something solid. A wall? No, it's Mutsu, reaching out to study this guy who looked like he was going to keel over at any minute. )

Hey, hey, steady, now.

( He says it lightly, like he's trying to relax the mood some but... he sees those bodies and he sees plenty of familiar faces and it fills it with so many emotions. Anger, sorrow, grief, confusion... why? Some of those faces are friends. Some of them are children. And he's certain Keigo is feeling something similar so right now, the thing is to distract him from the bodies and to focus on something else so he'll try to spin Keigo around (again, while keeping if steady, if necessary), )

Look at me-- it's you!

i'm hype ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[loudmouths]

[ for as skittish and easily scared keigo happened to be, fainting really wasn't his thing. it took a lot to make him feel that way, especially considering he could withstand things the average person might not have been able to (at least in his world). but keigo's seen a lot in one day, experienced so much stimuli... and it wasn't even noon.

the sudden weight against his back was startling, especially since that was how he woke up: with something pressing against his back. but this was different. it felt... familiar. not quite enough to jar him out of his swaying, but enough for him to at least feel at ease with the prospect of fainting...

his eyes started to droop, but then he was turned around and... barely, just barely, he could focus on the face of the kind soul who was keeping him upright. ]

Aah... y-you...

[ keigo squinted and brought a hand up to his head, pressing his palm to his temple. he wanted to react, but pulling focus was difficult. he knew that face!! but his vision was tunneling... ]

Y-you're here...

I THOUGHT I RESPONDED AAAAH

[newtimes]

That's right.

( He gives Keigo a light shake, trying to get him to snap out of his daze and focus properly. )

Ya know me from the first time ya got here, remember?

( He feels like he's losing Keigo, though, and while he doesn't want to yell (and he certainly tries not to) he says loudly and sharply, )

Look at me. Ya're gonna be okay but ya gotta pull it together. Ya've been here before and ya know how things work here.

( They're all tricks. Messed up tricks because everything is messed up. )

IT'S ALL GOOD

[loudmouths]

[ unsteady on his feet as it was, the little shake mutsu imparted to him served to make him sway a bit more. it was a good thing he was holding onto him, really; the last thing he needed was to fall face down in the dirt.

but that niggling sensation at the back of his eyes made it difficult to drift off. yes, he knew him... he knew who he was. mutsu's aggressive voice certainly helped and keigo sucked in a sharp breath in an attempt to regain more clarity.

it helped a little. his vision was slowly trickling back to normal, the tunneling tapering off. he lifted his head and obeyed the command, staring directly at mutsu until his face was clear in his eyes. ]

You're... Mutsunokami-san... You're still here...

[ a small, relieved smile curled at his lips. at least it was someone (somewhat) familiar. ]

phase 1

[heiwana]

[ Don't worry Keigo if there's one thing Kousetsu is, it's completely calm. Mostly he's just been trying to help any newcomers he might see dodge the never ending deathtraps and such. He's never seen vivid like this before, it was bad he assumed?! He doesn't know much about computers but boy this was dangerous. So when he's offered a hand by another he nods. ]

We must...find a way to escape from this place.

[loudmouths]

[ ah, yes, good, a foil to keigo's intensity! always a good find! keigo has already hyped himself up, but now with all the fracturing platforms and uneven footing, getting out of there seemed to take much more precedence over lamenting at the poor level design. ]

It's right up there! See! They really didn't even try!

[ keigo points forward and beyond them, where a beacon of light shone down on a door. "EXIT" hovered overhead. clever. ]

[heiwana]

[ Keigo slow down?! Kousetsu nods and turns to make sure the other is keeping up. Despite wearing flowing Buddhist priest robes he's deft on his feet and doesn't even get tripped up once. They're slowly gaining distance to the exist as falling lava rocks begin to rain down around them. Kousetsu will slash away the one's small enough to do so but the larger ones are a bit more of a problem. Luckily none of those fire rocks are heading their way...yet. ]

[loudmouths]

[ N E V E R. keigo was a speed demon! he lived for thrills! or something. no, really, he was just a nervous wreck for getting thrown into this situation so suddenly. having someone with him helped some of that anxiety, but not all. he didn't have a sword on him to swing around, so helping out wasn't really viable...

dodging, on the other hand, was. what little bits of molten rock managed to come his way were side-stepped or otherwise ducked from, but clearly he was in the presence of a seasoned fighter, if the agile way this guy moved was any indication. ]

Y-you've done stuff like this before, haven't you?

[ ...making small talk might not be a good idea, but running in silence was far too awkward for keigo. ]

3-b

[sayonaradumbass]

[he's run around what feels like all day (its only been like 2 hours), growing more and more agitated as every robot he comes across (is it the same one?? are they just changing circuits?? whats happening) piles on the pamphlets and by the time he recognizes the face on the cover of it, he's fuming.

He grabs Keigo by the collar and shakes him:]

Do you think this is funny, you little pissant? Do you think it's cool?!

[loudmouths]

[ well. that escalated quickly. keigo was used to being manhandled in such a way, but it had also been a while, too. ichigo had been around more often back home and had the tendency to prevent much from happening to him when he was around... but he wasn't there. so keigo only had his wits to rely on!

he winced slightly at the jerky motion of the guy's shaking, but he didn't look particularly ... frightened. alarmed, certainly. confused? definitely. he was still holding his hands up in a defensive manner, shaking his head back and forth. ]

I-I don't know what you're talking about!! I just got back here!

[sayonaradumbass]

You just got here? Bullshit! You've been here all along, with your robot fuck army.

[as he's shaking Keigo he shakes the crumpled pamphlets at him, the ones with his face on em]

[loudmouths]

[ yikes, this guy was angry... keigo grunted as the shaking continued, his bewildered expression melting into something more akin to annoyance. ]

I haven't been here in months!

[ ... or... well, he thinks, anyway. the months definitely passed since he was last there... either way, he glanced over at the pamphlet and... well. ]

--What the hell is that!!

[ okay, so now this is getting weird again. he reached up and snatched the paper from the guy's hand and stared it down.

...yeah that was definitely his face. ]

This is edited! I don't even know what the hell this is supposed to be for!

bonus

[good_ideas]

[You'd think Shiho would have learned not to wander so far into the seedier districts with Kaoru's powers doing the thing they were doing, and without Hyoubu there to act as a last resort.

And she had. But there really wasn't much she could do when she'd bumped into one of the robots while rounding a corner to buy some chips from the grocery store. Unwilling to entertain them, she'd done the only thing she could do: run.

Which is why nearly colliding with Keigo when he suddenly veers isn't ideal in the least until she realizes:]

Take him instead.

[She ducks behind him, probably planning to dump him here and leave him to the mercy of the robot following her when she comes face to face with Keigo's robot who had been following him.]

.....um.

[loudmouths]

[ keigo knew that there had to be other people experiencing the same nonsense he was going through, but actually seeing it unfold was a little bizarre. in this case, he didn't really care much for being used as a meatshield, but everything was happening so fast... from the second her body collided with his own to the presence of the robot that was so very interested in her, keigo was trying desperately to catch up to what was going on.

it became glaringly obvious what was going on after a moment or two. and he wasn't exactly pleased. whipping his head over his shoulder, he glared at the girl, shouting incredulously: ]

What?! How can you just offer up a stranger to one of these things?!

[ and as his own little robot stalker caught up to them, keigo grimaced, his eyes narrowed. ]

...See, now look what you've done. Karma caught up with you!!

[good_ideas]

[Shiho's only defense as a psychometer was her ability to think fast, use a gun and to make necessary sacrifices. And while it was true that she had her Tim&Bullet Special Gun (with wire attachment and ability to tase people), she couldn't deal with two robots at once.

This is the only reason that has her frowning back at him.]

At least it would have given one of us a chance, right?

[Though that one person would be her...]

And I didn't do anything. You brought that one. [But arguing aside, she knows they have to find their way out before they become intimately, uncomfortably familiar with their robot stalkers. One of her hands goes to her purse where her gun is hiding out (and accessorizing her outfit if anyone asked). She could probably take one down. How fast could they both run if they had to? (Since she did feel marginally bad about getting him stuck with not just one but two weird robots. But only just a little! And only enough that she felt it fair that she should help him.)]

[loudmouths]

[ keigo wasn't in the mood to argue semantics; as far as he was concerned, it didn't matter which robot came for who initially! the girl still managed to get them into a worse situation than the ones they'd each been in previously, or so keigo was going to say. the problem here was that keigo lacked a weapon... all he had to go off of was his own strength, which wasn't particularly remarkable.

he clicked his tongue against his teeth, squaring his shoulders out. he ... really didn't want to fight these things. would they even fight back? could he knock one down? how heavy were they? to be honest, they felt pretty strong, as far as how insistent they were on ... touching various parts of keigo's body. ]

It doesn't matter. Now there's two of them, either way.

[ and one was reaching forward, skimming a palm up keigo's side. ]

S-stop that!!

[ keigo rose his knee up, kicking out at the robot's midsection. ]

What is with you stupid robots?! I'm not interested!!

bonus!

[adornmental]

Geez, why're you always causing people problems?!

[Gosh, Keigo, why!!

...Except as it turns out, Kashuu is actually talking to the robot, not poor Keigo. He's also attempting to pry said bot away from said sad re-newcomer, not yet resorting to force considering none of the robots have started flipping out and acting violent yet.

Yet.

He's always ready to draw on the off chance that might change, of course... But for now, once he gets a little distance between the bot and Keigo:]

You okay?

screams!

[loudmouths]

[ the voice rang out and keigo stiffened somewhat. it was a familiar sound, one that was actually rather comforting to hear, but his conscious thoughts weren't catching up to the subconscious reaction. who the hell was that??

once his eyes snapped from his robot assailant to kashuu, keigo's expression beamed. ]

I-it's you!

[ was he a little too excited? maybe... but he was so grateful to see a familiar face! ]

I'm okay now, yeah... t-thank you.

HE'S HERE FOR YOU, SHONEN SIDEKICK

[adornmental]

Of course it's me! No way could I leave someone out here when they're kicking up such a fuss. You're kind of a bad luck magnet, aren't you?

[Ah, his rescuer is still a rude punk... But at least he's a rude punk who's currently working on Keigo's side, systematically releasing the robot's grip on his arm bit by bit until he's able to fully pull it away.

And then push it away, because no thanks.]

But it's good you're okay. We should prooobably get outta here before more come this way, though.

swoons so dashing

[loudmouths]

[ keigo might have been perturbed by that remark under normal circumstances, but as it was, he was just happy to no longer be alone and tracked down by the weird, handsy robots. as the robot's grip was loosened, keigo took initiative to scramble out of its reach, coming up alongside kashuu with a relieved sigh. ]

Y-yeah... I'm not really lucky...

[ even his birthday was unlucky... but that was neither here nor there! at the moment, he was all about making an escape! ]

Where do you suggest we go? They're bound to pop up everywhere, right?

bonus.........

[earthpulse]

[ Why is a tiny girl here in the Pleasure District? Well, she's not so young, it turns out, and she doesn't quite care about anything here really, just wandering around and taking note of the colony's state all over. "Taking note of the colony's state" also includes this...scene happening right here, apparently. ]

...Gross.

[ Sorry Keigo, she might lend a hand in a moment or two. ]

[loudmouths]

[ having anyone watch him at that moment, of any age, was not something keigo was prepared to deal with. or really even think of, for that matter. he didn't notice the girl's spectating, as the robot who'd taken a liking to him started to ... pull on his pants...

there were far more pressing matters than who happened across him in such a compromising position! ]

Let me go!

[ about that time, keigo became angry enough to actually lash out, so lash out he did... he wasn't confident enough to punch a damn robot, so he brought his leg up and kicked it instead. ]

I don't want your "help!"

[earthpulse]

[ Edna simply lets out a sigh, and then summons a small stone pillar below the robot after he kicks it, knocking it into the air.

But she will make it very clear soon that she didn't do that for the sake of helping or anything like that. No, it was just to preserve the general decency of the place. The last thing she needs is malevolence sprouting from sexual harassment, or something along those lines. ]

[loudmouths]

[ woah there! that was so sudden! keigo yelled and stumbled backwards, initially unaware of the third party to his little run-in. did he trigger something?? was security on the fritz??

glancing around, that was when he finally noticed the young girl. oh. maybe she had something to do with it. ]

D-did you do that?