//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]

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!! ]

[bulletfool]

[ Gross!! With his bottom half buried in the pile, this is not what he wanted to see after a period of blindness. ]

Bodies!?

[mombastic]

They're not real-- [ automatically, but she also sounds a little startled. They ought to be out of the game, so what is this? ]

[bulletfool]

Whoa! Is that you, Yanagiya-san?

[ She isn't what he imagined at all . . . In trying to push himself out of the pile, he presses down on the bodies – oh. ]

They're not . . . But we're out of ViViD, right? What's with this stuff?

[mombastic]

[ Otome nods, giving him a little wriggle of the fingers before she tries to haul herself free a little more with a wince. ]

I'm not sure... I think we need to get out of this first before I can figure out where we are.

[bulletfool]

[ The deed is easier said than done as Izumi shimmies his way out, only for one of his feet to be stuck in a tangle of limbs. ]

For real?

[ Grabbing hold of his trapped leg with both hands, he wrenches his foot free with enough force to send him toppling down the pile. But it was only his foot . . . His shoe was left behind. ]

Agh, you've got to be kidding me!

[mombastic]

... Ah. How much did you like that shoe?

[ Because sifting through bodies doesn't seem very fun. ]

[bulletfool]

I can always find a new pair, but . . . [ He can't believe he lost to creepy mannequins. He's going to look stupid to the public. ] Dang it. Now I only have one shoe.

Yanagiya-san, do you need help?

[mombastic]

...

[ Yeah, she's sort of... still trying to free herself. ]

Possibly. I can call on a little extra help, though.

[bulletfool]

[ At least he's wearing socks. Izumi climbs the pile toward Otome and offers his hands. ]

I can't guarantee that you'll be coming out with both of your shoes on.

[mombastic]

That's all right. I'll manage. [ with a faint smile, but she'll stretch her arms out and grasp his hands. ]

[bulletfool]

[ His breath catches as Izumi pulls. This is much harder in his flesh body than it would be in his Trion body – he has no desire to rip Otome's arms off – and the uneven footing atop the bodies doesn't help. ]

[mombastic]

Be careful not to hurt yourself! I'm a doctor, not a chiropractor...

[ Please don't actually throw out your back or anything. ]

[bulletfool]

It's fine; it's fine. I've handled worse before.

[ In his Trion body, but she doesn't need to know that. Rather, he's more worried about hurting Otome's hands at this point, so he readjusts his grip to around her wrists before putting all of his weight into the next pull. If she so much as surfaces half a foot, he's going to fall over. ]

[mombastic]

[ She does, with a little gasp and accidentally elbowing some poor not!body in the face in the process.

Sorry, Izumi. ]

[bulletfool]

[ Sorry, not!body.

With an abrupt yelp, Izumi tumbles down the pile. Fortunately, his head is cushioned by a body's hand and not the floor. Unfortunately, his head is where it is and he snaps into an upright position. ]

Ugh! [ He looks over his shoulder behind him. ] Did it work?

[mombastic]

Oof-- [ Yep, she's got enough room to get herself out completely now, awkwardly trying not to step on-- yeah, it's not gonna happen. ]

Thank you! Are you all right??

[bulletfool]

[ Gosh, stop disrespecting the fake dead with both of your shoes. Meanwhile, Izumi climbs onto his feet, noting the uneven feel of his feet due to the lack of one shoe. ]

I'm fine! What about you?

[mombastic]

[ She's sorry, fake dead, she didn't mean it. ]

Also fine, thanks to you.

... [ and then, as she glances around... ] This is... the Sanctuary?

[bulletfool]

[ It's all right. The fake dead take no offense. ]

"Sanctuary"?

[mombastic]

It was a place built by those who were pulled here... somewhere slightly safer where CERES couldn't monitor us.

... Or it used to be. [ It's kind of a mess right now. ]

[bulletfool]

It looks like we got pranked, but what's going on? I thought CERES isn't around anymore.

[ He looks around. The only thing that's out of place is the bodies, but who put them here? ]

[mombastic]

It isn't... but I wonder if something's happened to the code itself.

[ The destruction hadn't been this bad, even when the technology had gone haywire, but-- Otome sighs, quietly. ]

Well, if nothing else... this proves we're out of the game.