estoria | //EVENT033.EXE

//EVENT033.EXE

//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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ichigo nods, closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. Then he stands up.]

Let’s get out of this place.

[Kashuu nods a little in response, easing back away from Ichigo now that he seems to mostly be back to the usual self that he's seen before.]

'Kay. Be ready, 'cause things are pretty weird outside too.

[At least not decorated with corpse piles, though.]

[Ichigo dusted off his clothes a bit then checked to make sure his cape and vessel were properly positioned before making his way down the corpse pile.]

Weird in what way, Kashuu-dono?

Baaasically the city's falling apart.

[Definitely way too cavalier there, buddy...]

The robots all stopped working and all the other aliens are starting to move out, so there's less and less people to run maintenance and things like that. Oh, and we have weather now. We didn't have that before.

So... we've been abandoned then? There’s no one left in charge?

For now, yep. There's no real way to tell when those guys might come back, but I don't know if anyone's even watching us right now. We might be an abandoned project.

I see... Well, we'll just have to figure out some way to survive without them. How are our food and water supplies?

Both of 'em are good for now. There's a lot of space outside the city to look for stuff too, but the environment's really hostile. We can't stay out there for very long - even us.

[Spirits, he means.]

How long do you think our supplies will last? What's outside the city?

I'm not sure, but we could probably make it stretch a while longer if only the people who need to eat has access to the food.

[A BUMMER. He'll miss goldfish crackers... But if it really does turn out that their supplies are dwindling, that's the path of action that makes the most sense.]

Outside the city is the rest of the planet Tellus. It's basically a giant jungle.

[Ichigo nods thoughtfully.] Yes, we'll need to ration it and probably have someone guard the food stores in turns.

A jungle... What sort of dangers are in it?

Probably. Something like that'd be a start, anyway. [And as for their Friendly Neighborhood Jungle:]

There are weird animals and stuff, and the native people don't really like us. But the worst problem is the atmosphere. We literally can't live in it for long.

Is there any sort of central food storage here or is everyone just taking care of their own food?

There are native people here? Why don't they like us? ... the air is unbreathable?

People take care of their own stuff, but there's grocery stores.

Anyway, those guys don't like us 'cause CERES kinda took their land without asking or something? And the air is basically poisonous, yeah.

I see... Grocery stores? Are they still being restocked though?

[He nodded.] I guess that means they think we're the ones who took their land then... So it sounds like looking for food outside this city isn't really a viable option?

I don't think so, but I'm not sure. I'll find out.

[A little sigh. He runs his hand through his hair, mildly irritated.]

Not really, though. Even the last time we went out there, there wasn't a lot of stuff to forage for or hunt.

Please do, Kashuu-dono.

[Ichigo nodded and considered all that.] Are there any farms here then or places where we can grow our own food or keep animals for food?

There's the park... We could probably clear some space out there. But there aren't any real animals here that aren't people's pets that they show up from home with, y'know?

Yes, that sounds like it might work. Well, we'll just have to subsist on a vegetarian diet for now then, I suppose.

[And since planning and organizing stuff is his way of not having to face his own demons.] Could we make a detour to the park before we go to the apartments?

Yeah, sure... I can show you the dojo while we're there, too. Nagasone and Doudanuki designed it the last time they were here and we've kept it up pretty well.

[Amazingly, considering the daily beatdowns that happen inside.]

A dojo? Is it near the park? [And because Kashuu said ‘last time they were here’] What happened to Nagasone-dono and Doudanuki-dono?

They— left. [That's a little telltale pause there, but he carries on anyway.] Sometimes people leave and don't come back. Sometimes they do, but they don't remember anything.

Anyway, yeah. The dojo's in the park.

What happens to them if they don't come back...?

In the park? We are allowed to just build our own structures there...? [It doesn't sound legal...]

We get them back, then. That's all.

[As if anything's that simple. But he'll nod!]

Mmhm! We went through all the right ways of building it.

Oh, so they return to our world? [That's nice, only, hey, wait a moment there!] ... but I thought our world was destroyed ...?

I see. I can't wait to see it.

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