//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

[adornmental]

[The "Mosley is a PUNK" squad forms...]

Well, that robot guy from earlier said it was 'cause he started feeling bad or something, but who knows? I never really talked to him myself, and he didn't seem like the kinda guy who'd give straightforward answers anyway.

[unionjackoff]

He most certainly did not. [being someone who spent several hours with Mosley one bleak evening, England can agree with that] Well, whatever he did, I suppose we might never find out.

[adornmental]

[He casts over a look of vague sympathy... England sure would know, huh?]

Maybe, maybe not. I think he was working with that robot guy though, and he's definitely still around.

[unionjackoff]

Huh? What robot guy?

[adornmental]

The one that pushed us all into the basement! I think he took some other people away, too... The creepy one!

[So very specific...]

[unionjackoff]

I... Don't know who that is. Has he been in Cerealia all this time?

[adornmental]

...Y'know, that's a good question. I'm not really sure? The way he talked made it sound like he's been here a while... He talked about how CERES tried to make them theirs but that it didn't work or something like that?

[Kashuu stares up toward the overhang above, nose wrinkling a little as he tries to think... about the origin of Mystery Robots...]

[unionjackoff]

[how CERES tried to make them theirs... creepy]

It's all right if you can't remember. Thank you for sharing what information you did have with me.

[adornmental]

Sure, no problem. Um... Were you around for that whole double robot thing?

[He probably should have led in with this.]

[unionjackoff]

[a slow blink, and then England shakes his head]

Ah, no... I don't believe so.

[adornmental]

Ooh... [UNDERSTANDING. He nods once, and gestures to about the height of said robot.] They're this tall and totally metal and really human-looking and kinda have spooky eyes! CERES delivered a bunch to us earlier that started looking and acting exactly like us but then they went all crazy, and that robot showed up later on the network to talk to us. Maybe that one's the leader...

[unionjackoff]

[oh! England pops his fist into his hand] Yes, I was around for that. I never activated my robot. But I certainly don't remember a robot showing up on the network later.

[adornmental]

You were totally smart to avoid it.

[KASHUU TRIED TOO but alas, sometimes bad luck just outweighs good planning...]

But yeah, he did! And he was all, pick a side!

[unionjackoff]

Pick a side...? What were the sides?

[adornmental]

The gods, the Flamines, and CERES, I think. I think that guy counted Mosley as part of CERES back then but, uh. I mean, that obviously didn't work out long-term. He also mentioned some fourth group but said we didn't need to know about 'em? Pretty sketchy.

[unionjackoff]

...Yes, that does sound sketchy. Has that person made any other appearances?

[adornmental]

A few, yeah... He appeared randomly around the city a few weeks ago and he seemed mad about something.

[unionjackoff]

And no one knows who he is? Just that he's a robot?

[adornmental]

I think so... If someone does know about him, I haven't heard about it yet. But I think he has some connection to the stuff me and the people I was stuck with found in the place it shoved us into.

[unionjackoff]

[ah...] May I ask what your group found?

[adornmental]

Um... A creepy, bloody bed, some kinda spirit orb, and a picture of a rubber duck. Oh, and a super, super fancy version of the robots we all got earlier.

[unionjackoff]

[a picture of a rubber duck............ one of these things is not like the other]

I see. Quite a mysterious puzzle. [sigh!] Every time it seems like we're learning something new, it just brings up more questions.

[adornmental]

[It stands out in his memory so much, too... Why the duck?? Why the duck.]

Right? It drives me nuts! I'd kill for a straightforward answer about something.

[unionjackoff]

As would I. [England crosses his arms, thinking] Did anything else unusual happen, that you can remember?

[adornmental]

Mm... Not really. [He raises his hands, counting off on his fingers.] All the technology failing, CERES bailing, that robot guy, picking sides - I think that's all the big stuff.