//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

[mombastic]

Then for now-- [ as she maneuvers him past an... apparently equally-blind monster that just slammed into a half-formed palm tree-- ]

Why don't you tell me a little more about yourself?

[bulletfool]

[ Thanks, based ViViD. ]

Back home, I work for Border. As an agent, I do defense duty and fend off alien soldier invasions. A lot's classified in our organization, so I can't say too much, but this body I'm in right now has some superhuman qualities.

[ Including superhuman blindness . . . ]

Other than that, I'm just a high school student.

[mombastic]

A high school student who fends off alien soldier invasions...?

[ Why are there so many kids who have to deal with things like this?? ]

Having free time must be hard...

[bulletfool]

Ah, but it's a rewarding job. The pay's good; the fights are fun; and we keep the civilians safe. I wouldn't mind doing something like that here.

[ Except he loses half his paychecks, probably. ]

[mombastic]

Well, there's something like a police force here, but I'm not sure they'd let you join... all the same, it's a good thing to want to protect everyone.

[bulletfool]

Because of my age? Well, anything like police work would have qualifications, too.

What do you do?

[mombastic]

I'm a doctor-- here, it's mostly focused on emergencies, but I was the head physician of my branch back home.

[bulletfool]

Wow, a big shot! That's amazing. Is everyone here like that?

[mombastic]

I wouldn't really call myself a "big shot"... but you'd have to ask around for yourself. I think everyone here has their own story to tell, after all.

[ Thirteen-year-olds fighting evil triangles, teenagers with talking swords, some weird blue-haired guy who kept dumping water on her-- ]

[bulletfool]

[ She's right . . . Hm. ]

Before this level happened, I met two people named Karl and Chihiro. Do you know them?

[mombastic]

The handsome blue-haired man who might occasionally stick his foot in his mouth, and the cute little girl?

[ Well. Yes. ]

[bulletfool]

[ Uh, well, he didn't know about the "foot in mouth" part. ]

That sounds like them. Even just from them, I could tell that CERES brings in all sorts of people. Well, Chihiro-chan seemed pretty ordinary to me, but Karl-san said that he was a Summoner.

Have you seen what he can do in battle? It was pretty amazing. I wish I could see it again!

[ He wishes he can see, period. ]

[mombastic]

[ Otome's witnessed it herself, true story. ]

Chihiro-chan is incredibly resourceful... and Karl is certainly amazing! I've only seen his summoning a few different times, but it's always something to see.

[ Says the demon tamer. Who is also not mentioning that. It's fine, she can sparkle over Karl being a badass. ]

[bulletfool]

[ He agrees with both points. Chihiro is certainly perceptive, if the first level he experienced was anything to go by. ]

He's no slouch with that halberd, either. He's definitely powerful . . . I wonder if there are more people here who can do that sort of thing.

[mombastic]

Who can use a halberd?

... Well, no one I've met, personally.

[bulletfool]

[ Izumi hums in thought. ]

I know a girl back home who can, but a real halberd's another story – oh, just like hair. Karl-san is the first time I met someone with blue hair. Is it natural . . . ?

[mombastic]

Now that's something you'd have to ask him. A friend of mine back home does have dark blue hair, though.

[ So it's not too weird for her. ]

[bulletfool]

In Osaka? I guess you can find anything if you look hard enough.

[ It just means he needs to get out more, see the rest of the world! ]

I can't wait to get out of here and see everyone . . . and you, of course, Yanagiya-san!

[ She's an important pharmacist, so she must be an older woman, right? Even though she sounds rather young. Either way, he'd like a face to match the voice. ]

[mombastic]

... Ah, then we're in luck. There's a suspiciously large EXIT sign just ahead.

[ ViViD, she really doesn't trust you. ]

[bulletfool]

[ Hey . . . sometimes you just gotta take a leap of faith.

He chortles. ]

What, it's that easy? The exit was way more elusive last time. What happened?

[mombastic]

It's hard to say... the game itself really could be breaking. But I wouldn't recommend staying in here all that long, anyway.

[bulletfool]

So we'll try the exit sign? If it's a trick, we can just blast our way out.

[mombastic]

While I'm normally not one for property damage... sometimes it can't be helped. Shall we, Kohei-kun?

[ HOPEFULLY WITHOUT BLOWING ANYTHING UP. ]

[bulletfool]

[ Property damage is the best part! Izumi smiles and nods. ]

After you.

[mombastic]

All right!

[ and with no further preamble, she'll just gently-- haul him through. See you in a pile of bodies, Izumi!! ]