estoria | Error: File Not Found

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Who: ? ? ?
When: OOC: 11/03, IC: 11/18
Where: Cerealia
What: Well, that sure went wrong quickly.
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for dangerous/scary situations

//event???.EXE

The quiet of Cerealia is interrupted almost all too suddenly.

Things were broken and not working before, sure, but that was before the sky opened up -- and the clouds part. And then, above the planet, hovering almost innocently...there’s a ship.

The peace only hovers there for a moment.

Because then...then the Flamines come.

There’s a debt they have to settle.

And the time has come to pay up.

We're here.

:)

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I

[ ❓❓❓ ] And then the Flamines are there.

They just appear, suddenly, as if from nowhere. They’re a race of mercenary aliens, and fighting is all they know -- they’re definitely not going to be easy to kill by any means. They seem to have a natural resistance to magic: aside from very specific types of magic (in particular, light magic and anything highly spiritual), they absorb it. Light magic and spiritual magic can harm them, but it will take a lot to take one down.

They can be stabbed, if you can get that close.

But good luck.

Of course, they look like nondescript black shapes with masks until you knock the mask off...and then you can see the true shape of the Flamines.

They’re here to kill you all. :)

PHASE II

[ ❓❓❓ ] As if that isn’t enough… it seems the Flamines’ arrival was the last straw for Cerealia and the Nexus Code. There’s a tear in the sky, and from it… the Nexus Code, where all of the lost friends from before, can be seen. It can be entered, even, though remaining there too long can be detrimental to your health.

But people are there.

Old friends, strung up and lifeless, can be seen there, unmoving.

And…

Then some of them move. They open their eyes. They remember how to breathe. And they’re able to return, able to stagger their way back into Cerealia and take their first breath of air in a long, long time.

Welcome back to the chaos of Cerealia, friends.

Unfortunately, you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back while murderous aliens are rampaging, so hopefully you’re able to think fast. It’d be unfortunate to die so soon after coming back.

As for spiritual and magical characters who were not in the Nexus Code...well, when they return, they’ll find that they’re covered in old, dried blood, and their clothing might have tears in it, as if from a knife.

There are no scars, though, and they’re otherwise fine. Strange.

PHASE III

[ ❓❓❓ ] As if this chaos isn’t enough… there are also the masks. Regardless of whether or not characters were around to receive them the first time, regardless what they did with them before, the masks will suddenly reappear in your characters’ hands. They can be tossed aside, but they’ll reappear again eventually, unable to be truly shaken.

Characters who received them before will receive the same mask they had before.

Characters who didn’t receive them before will receive a mask according to the trait that’s more prominent for them.

Either way...it’ll have a profound effect on the Flamines.

They will go after any character with a broken mask in a bloodthirsty rage, intent on murdering them. Characters with a barcode mask or bloody mask will be the next likely to be chased down intently by the Flamines.

Characters with a :( mask will be killed if they get in the Flamines’ way, though they will not go out of their way to chase them down.

Characters with a vine mask or feather mask will be treated with wariness, though they may still be attacked if they get in a Flamines’ way.

Characters with a grey mask will not be killed unless they are first the aggressor, as will characters with a bloody fingerprint mask.

Naturally there will be exceptions to every rule, but the masks will change how the Flamines’ generally act towards characters!

PHASE IV

[ ❓❓❓ ] But something’s not quite right.

Regardless of the battles against the Flamines, it seems Cerealia’s just been under too much pressure lately. Something had to give --

And it’s the code building up the characters that really suffers.

Their code has been hanging on by a thread without CERES to maintain it, and now… it’s finally giving out. The glitches that afflicted characters before will be even more prominent now; they might glitch from place to place, or have their powers go totally awry in odd ways. There may be a lack of powers suddenly, or a sudden difficulty staying on the ground as gravity stops working on the character.

They might suddenly be unable to breathe, or go cold, or very nearly die --

But it can be controlled, too, with effort. Characters can learn to control the glitches, gaining an ability to almost teleport, or ways to tweak their powers in exciting new ways.

With a lot of effort, they could even possibly reverse a death -- but only their own, and only once.

BONUS

[ ❓❓❓ ] There are also… birds?

Flamingos, to be exact. Who knows where they came from, but either way, there are plastic flamingos chilling all over the place. They’re just normal plastic; they don’t move, they can very easily be destroyed --

But if you touch one with your bare hands… it’ll have an interesting effect.

Characters will suddenly find that they have the abilities or the last person they touched -- but without any of the practice or ability to control it, of course.

Still, it might help with that pesky Flamines problem, right?

[ 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 the beginning of Cerealia's endgame event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will begin 11/03, or IC 11/18. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A) Fire of Unknown Origin:

[The day Rei had been waiting for had come, the day she’d somewhat looked forward to and dreaded at the same time. A step closer to the end, but also a step into danger. She was no stranger to it, of course, but others here weren’t so lucky. When the ship arrived, she was already on the move, shifting forms quickly and rushing out to meet an enemy. Only, when she rounded the corner with her mask strapped to her waist, the first alien she’d come across had given her nothing more than a wary glance. The second and third were much the same, and that made her pause and thump her head.]

Masks.

[Of course it was masks. It was always masks with these weirdos. Which prompts her to go looking for people with broken masks. She remembered what they’d told Merlin, what they’d told Athena, and all the other threats. Whoever she spots out and about with one she rushes over to, blurting out hurriedly:]

You have to get inside, now!

B) Veteran of the Psychic Wars:

[Of course, maybe she was too late, or maybe you didn’t listen, maybe you both stepped in, or maybe any of a million other things happened. Either way, you and Mars are on the run with the Flamines at your back, brandishing weapons, ready to kill you. Down streets, through alleys, wherever, until eventually there’s not much point in running. Maybe you stop on an abandoned basketball court, maybe the plaza of some grand hotel for alien visitors, or the junkyard. Either way, this area’s about to become a battleground.]

You ready? We don’t have long to get prepped, they’ll be here any minute.

C) Don’t Fear The Reaper: (Closed to Mabel Pines)

[There were plenty of ordinary people caught up in all this too, and Rei was doing her best to take care of them. Gathering them up wasn’t always easy, and she wasn’t sure what’d spooked Mabel, but she knew that this empty office wasn’t exactly a secure place to hide, and for whatever reason she wasn’t answering her CEREVice. That meant going in after her, following her sense up darkened stairwells and through a long series of winding office corridors until at last she stood outside the room she felt Mabel’s presence in.

Knocking, Rei called into the gloom:]

Mabel-chan, are you in there?

D) After Dark:

[In the gloom of the early evening, things might be beginning to settle down a bit. Maybe you’d just gotten away from some pursuers, or maybe you’d just walked on by without being bothered. Either way, it’s quiet. Until the top floor of an office building at the end of the street simply erupts in a shower of glass and debris. A torrent of fire explodes outward, the burnt husk of one of the Flamines true forms flying through the air and slamming into the pavement with a dull, wet thud. From out of the ruins comes a figure shrouded entirely in flame, floating down on blazing wings and landing nearby.

Body positively shaking with rage, the figure looks down at the corpse…the flames dying away to reveal Mars, chest heaving. She’s holding a small bundle under one arm, something limp and covered with a charred sheet.]

I’ll destroy them all. Every last one of them.

[Her hand draws back, a lance of ruinous holy fire forming and she hurls it into a masked figure rushing up out of the shadows, but there are more coming, and this girl looks like she’s ready to throw herself headlong against them alone.]

You shouldn’t be here. Get moving!

E) Wild Card:

[Want to catch Rei another time, here’s the place. Find her taking a breather, text her, call her, however you like.]

[It's one thing to be told that the girl you're kinda sorta maybe a little dating is the reincarnation of a war goddess.

Seeing it in person is something else entirely, though. The power of Mars is mildly intimidating, even to someone who's faced down gods of her own. But Naoto's attention is more on the Flamines than on Rei. Luckily, she's found that her Hama magic in particular is rather effective.

It's a shame it doesn't kill them in one hit like it does Shadows.

Naoto's hand tightens on the handle of her revolver. She knows that this won't do much to the Flamines other than slow them down for a few seconds. It makes her feel better holding it, though.] As much as I'll ever be, I suppose.

[She's been managing her spiritual power as best as she can, so there's still some gas left in her tank, so to speak.]

[Mars is doing her best not to intimidate the girl she might sort of be dating. But right now, that's not even on the table. Reaching into her belt pouch she passes a small pile of o-fuda scrolls to Naoto, by pushing them into her pocket if she won't take them.]

Keep these on you, in case we get separated. You know how to set up a ward by now I'm sure.

[If she's paid any attention to Rei rather meticulously setting a scroll over every entrance to a building anyway.

As for Mars herself, she focuses her attention towards the direction their pursuers are coming from, a barrier of light springing up around them as she draws on more of the scrolls, setting them into motion with a spell she'd learned from a friend here.]

And when they do get here, stay inside the circle.

I-- yes, I do, but I do have my own-- [You know what? Probably not the time to argue over it or get defensive. Naoto will just have to accept those as a backup.

She can't see the Flamines, even though she knows they're there-- and coming. Where are they? How long do they have until they come? She feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.] I'm assuming it's some sort of barrier they can't cross?

With luck, they won't reach us.

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B

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C

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d. lmk if this works!!

Nope, doesn't work. One MILLLLLLION YEARS DUNGEON

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wild card, as is my right

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B

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b!

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D

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A-ish

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B

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