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« 003 ⇢ event003.exe »

Who: Everyone ever.
When: OOC: 10/15; IC: 09/17
Where: Cerealia - all five districts.
What: Intro, murder bots, and fun for the whole family.
Rating/Warning: PG-13

//event003.EXE

Welcome to the CERES! You are now under arrest!

Did you think the glitches were over? Boy, were you wrong! Through the last remnants of the digital kerfluffle, the latest batch of recovered code has manifested in CERES' computer systems as the guilty parties. Yes, that's right, all incoming arrivals are now placed on the wanted list, accused of having committed the heinous crime of creating and releasing the gorg0n virus all over Cerealia. These vicious twelve have been working together all along and conspiring against CERES, and it's now up to everyone to figure out if the new arrivals are truly guilty or if they are as innocent and confused as they claim.

In the meantime, CERES has dispatched assassination droids to stop the accused and bring them to justice via disembowelment. So while CERES rushes to stop the droids from committing murder, characters are perfectly welcome to a.) soil themselves b.) fight off the droids c.) run while soiling themselves or d.) cry a lot. e.) ask for assistance!

"ASSASSINATION MODE: ONLINE
OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE THE ACCUSED
TIMEFRAME: 24:00 HOURS

JUDICIAL UNIT-00345 DISPATCHED"

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I

[ 0001 ] It's a minute passed midnight, and the newest sets of recovered code are being spat out of ViViD and into Cerealia. Before the joyful reunions begin, an announcement starts blaring through everyone's computer screen, TV sets, devices, billboard screens, and so on. The image flashes with twelve names and twelve pictures along with a list of crimes each person has committed. They continue to flash again and again throughout the colony, alerting everyone of these heinous criminals. It's up to anyone if they want to engage them or stay far, far away from these perverts and miscreants.

As the arrivals begin to explore, they will see themselves plastered on just about every screen imaginable.

PHASE II

[ 200 ] It's still dark outside, hardly anyone out and about. It's the perfect time for an assassination attempt because that's when the information is received and processed by Cerealia's judicial system, but this isn't a job for any ordinary donut-eating cop. No, this is far greater than that. They bring out the big guns.

Twelve assassination droids, clad in armor and carrying katana, are immediately dispatched and sent to take out each of the accused at any cost. Characters are welcome to do any of the above choices while veterans to Cerealia can assist the arrivals, assist the droids, or just sit back and watch others suffer. It's completely up to you. They can also run into the droids on their search and try to interact with them.

PHASE III

[ 700 ] Your friendly CEO has finally gotten his ass out of bed, but by then, who knows how many people are left alive? After hearing of the kerfluffle, he decides to issue a cease and desist on the assassination droids, and instead, has his investigation units step in to confirm that the new arrivals are not guilty of any of the crimes and charges listed under their name. They will be pulled aside for painful, painful questioning before being released to explore as they wish.

To make up for all the damages and trauma incurred from the near-death attempts, Julius will also be giving the new arrivals a settlement of 20,000 credits each, so go out and party.

PHASE IV

[ 1200 ] By noon, the incident has been cleared up with little to no blood spilled (hopefully). New arrivals are welcome to explore and enjoy their new living arrangements or possibly lie in bed and just cry some more. Either way, welcome to the magic that is Cerealia. The CEO will announce that the last of the virus has been officially cleaned up and taken care of, and he'll be issuing a video with a public apology for all.

BONUS

[ whyo'clock ] Among the police droids dispatched, there will be a rehabilitative droid in a dinosaur suit, looking to cure the criminals of their improper behavior and their moral indiscretions through the power of LOVE and HUGS. It was developed after the researchers in CERES did extensive research on other worlds and found that this mystical creature was capable of creating worldwide joy and cheer. It will be chasing those who are on the Wanted List exclusively, but it will not stop at just them. Your character will be accosted and hugged whether they like it or not.

[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with trigger-y 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 latest intro post. For your convenience, we have compiled a post detailing everyone's arrival experience and a FAQ that should explain everything in more detail. Please read them thoroughly before playing. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Now if only Rollo would actually listen to me... [ which only happens about half the time these days. it's actually a wonder that rollo even seems to understand, and accept, what's happened at all. you'd think a cat would be more freaked out from being transported to another world.

he just lets her remain silent, leading her towards a safer area. he's not sure where else to take her right now, so he might as well take her back to his apartment. it's been some time since he saw her last, but she's definitely his responsibility. ]

Hm? What is it?

[rollo is just the most chill chat, that's why. he's used to this, but it's okay, elle will boss rollo around and try to put the fat cat in his place later. for now, she just follows ludger's lead though, trusting he'll bring her somewhere safe. at least they can figure things out from there.]

Thanks. You know, for saving me and all. ["even though i'm a fake" is an unspoken implication, and doubly so since she was about to just take off for canaan with bisley despite everything. it's not like she really wants to make him feel bad, or get hurt in any way because of her... things are just so confusing.

though maybe that's what happens when an eight year old tries to bear the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. even if she has to disappear eventually, she can't let it be before getting to canaan and wishing away the fractured dimensions, so she can't help but be at least a little happy that ludger somehow found her and saved her anyway.]

Of course. I was looking for you. [ rather frantically, at that. he's a little out of breath now, though he's doing his best not to show it. for now, he's just relieved he found her before anything happened... granted, he had really cut it close that time. ] I won't let you get hurt.

[ he still hasn't fully processed what happened with victor either, but for now he can compartmentalize. whether elle is his alternate self's daughter or not doesn't matter... or at least, it doesn't change things between them at all. he'll still do his best to take care of her, even if he's not her actual dad. ]

[his response takes her a bit by surprise, even though it probably shouldn't. the fact that she's from a fractured dimension didn't really stop him before (even when she lashed out about it in drellin), and she was pretty sure he probably was going to be upset over her decision to run off with bisley without a word.

it's a lot harder for her to cope with these things and compartmentalize it the way ludger can. she lost a whole hell of a lot recently and things are only getting more confusing. but if ludger isn't going to push her away and treat her like a phony, she wonders if she should just accept it for now. she cares about him a lot, and she has nobody else to turn to anyway. she'll probably lash out more than once when she really tries to deal with it... but for tonight, she'll let it go in the same way she did the night they destroyed her dimension.]

This place is really big... You must have been looking for a while. I didn't mean to you worry you. I'm sorry. [both for here and preemptively (in her case) for marksburg. as they walk, she rubs her eyes a bit tiredly... and there's a chance that in the silent breaks, her tummy may be rumbling. running around trying to hide from assassin-bots makes a growing girl hungry.]

It's not your fault. I'm just glad I found you in time. [ he knows she's acting a little odd... more apologetic than usual, and definitely more downcast. and just as well, he knows it's not just because of tonight. he can imagine the multitude of mixed emotions she's feeling right now, even if she doesn't express most of them out loud.

he can't really ease most of her concerns... if he could, he would have done so sooner. he really didn't have answers to the questions plaguing her, about her own existence or about her future. but at the very least, he could definitely be here for her. ]

Are you hungry? [ it's the first question that comes to mind... and he might be trying a little too hard to act like things are normal. but all the same, he'll do whatever he can to try to put her at ease. there's going to be a lot she needs to get used to here, so she might as well find a few familiar comforts. ]

[at least she doesn't expect ludger to be able to do any of those things. there's been a lot at stake on top of losing so much... she may not even be consciously thinking about how much of a toll it's taken on him too, but her concerns are definitely present.

hence all of her other actions.

they seem to be coming to a strange, silent agreement about how to handle it for the time being. maybe after food, sleep, and a better understanding of what's going on (in terms she can follow, of course) will put them on a different page. she'll take the offer though, because she needs something, anything to hold onto right now for normalcy. she's really needed that since they got back from her dimension... maybe even since the events on the pelune.] ...Yeah, maybe a little.

[you know, if "a little" meant "totally starving." but that's elle.]

I'll make you something when we get back.

[ ...then he can figure out what to do about her being a wanted fugitive. at least this isn't an entirely new situation for him, its just weird knowing elle is the one on the run this time ~~no terrible wanted posters for her though~~. ]

I'm sure Rollo will be happy to see you too.

[ and he can try to figure out how he's going to handle elle being here while she eats. he'd at least understood that CERES had mostly brought people here that were capable of looking after themselves and contributing, but he couldn't deny he was worried about how elle fit into that equation. no matter what, he couldn't let them use her power... if that's what they were intending, anyway. ]

[well, at least they're both equally baffled by the role reversal here.

in any case, the mention of ludger's cooking and rollo is enough to legitimately brighten her expression. she didn't think she'd get either of those things again... and ludger's cooking is pretty important to her. it's automatic comfort food, it makes her feel better even if it also reminds her of victor at the same time.

funny how that works.]

Wait a sec. What do you mean "when we get back," anyway? [her first thought is "back to the prime dimension" but that doesn't make sense. they can't do that until they finish what happens here, and it's not like they never ate while they were in fractured dimensions before. so really, it doesn't make much sense. sorry, ludger, she's going to be asking a lot of annoying questions while she tries to understand all of this.] You're not really doing a very good job of explaining things tonight, you know. You usually tell me way, way more, even when it's weird and confusing. [or scary.]

Oh... I mean back to my place. Here. [ he still does sort of need to explain the basics, doesn't he? even if that's probably going to end up confusing elle even more. ] I was brought here a few months ago. I've been living here since then. I know that sounds weird... but time works differently here than it does back home.

[ he's not entirely certain she'll be able to wrap her head around that, but it'd just confuse her more if he said nothing... as far as she recalls, she probably just saw him not too long ago.

although that does beg the question: ] Elle, what's the last thing you remember happening back home? In our world.

So it's kinda like... how it was when we went to my dimension? [she tilts her head a little, questioning that. it's not really very much like that at all, but she does understand that time works and maybe even passes differently in different dimensions. that whole time gap between hers and the prime dimension isn't something they could ignore. it's still pretty confusing though.

not that it really matters, she's kind of used to not understanding the finer details of this stuff. all elle can really do is trust ludger, take his word for it, and hope they end up back in the prime dimension soon so she can finish what she set out to do. ...and that's something she's reminded of harshly with ludger's question. her expression falls again, any brightness that had seeped in from the earlier distractions now gone.]

We were in Marksburg, and Chronos was there... [she figures saying they were in marksburg wasn't enough, they'd passed through there so many times, after all. but she does conveniently leave out the part where she sought out bisley. elle really wants to keep that from him for as long as she can, because she doesn't think he'll take it well.

even if she is a fake, and even if she verbally questions the things he does for her because of it, she knows somewhere deep down that everything ludger does for her, he means. understanding this stuff is hard, though. she misses when things were easier...]

It's a little like that. [ if she'll understand it better under those terms, he might as well agree. it does seem like she sort of gets it, even if it should probably be hard for an eight year old to wrap her head around. then again, elle isn't exactly a normal eight year old girl... ]

Marksburg... and Chronos? [ that wasn't too long ago for him... at least, before he ended up here. and of course, that was right before elle had decided to leave with bisley. then does that mean this elle hasn't made that decision yet?

...no, even if she hasn't left with him yet, if she's from that time, then she probably had already made that decision. part of him wants to question her about it, but he also recognizes that can wait for another time. ] That's good. Then we're from around the same time. [ no point in telling her he's from slightly later. ]

[it's definitely not all that easy to wrap her head around, but things they've already done is the closest equivalent she can really understand for not. there's no doubt she'll get a better idea of how it all works later in simpler terms... for now though, elle will just accept that for what it is.]

This is all really confusing... [it doesn't really occur to her completely what kind of discrepancy in memories there could be. she'll accept that for what it is too, and just be a little relieved that he's not questioning where she ran off to or... anything about her decision to go off with bisley.

she still feels bad about it, even if she knows it's the best thing for everyone. she sighs, and then pouts after a moment, trying to remember what happened before wandering around avoiding assassinbots.] They could have at least tried to explain it easier, instead of showing all that weird stuff and pushing me out on the street.

[it's arguably a little more annoying than a spirius explanation. she'd rather pout about that than have to talk about her other choices.]

They're not very helpful when it comes to explaining things. [ and that refers to everything, really. it's been months now, and most people still have very little idea what they're actually here to do. ludger included. unless they really dragged him from his homeworld just to make him work in their cafeteria. ]

But don't worry... we'll get things figured out eventually. [ at least, he really hopes they do. ]

For the meanwhile, it's not that different from back home. [ slightly more advanced technology, aside. ] They'll probably want you to go to school though... [ granted, she's the youngest person he's seen here, so he's not sure what the protocol is for that. ] They didn't tell you anything about jobs when you first got here, did they?

Oh...

[that's a sort of all-encompassing repsonse. if ludger says all that, she knows he's not lying. she can trust that it means he probably had a tough time too, and she also trusts that he'll be able to figure things out, because somehow, the answers always fell into their lap that way.

even when the answers weren't so good. it does beg the question of what's gonna happen with canaan and all the other fractured dimensions, and all the origin stuff... but elle can't bring herself to ask aboout where all that stands right now.]

School... yeah, I got something about that. Or that I could be, um... [so much happened that she needs a minute to remember what it said. they were all things she could understand, at least.] Pet store security... baked goods salesperson? And, um...

[ready for this one, ludger?] Lolita cafe kitchen help? These don't sound like very good jobs. I'm just a kid!

[seriously, who thinks eight year olds should be doing this kind of work? are they stupid or something?]

I'm pretty sure those were just jokes.

[ or at least he hopes they were. if they weren't, he's going to have to have some words with somebody. no, young lady, you're definitely going to school, if he has to walk you there every day himself. which, well, he probably will. she's already been in mortal danger once tonight, and he's not going to risk that happening again. ]

You should just forget about them. [ especially that last one. ] At your age, you should be going to school with... [ the rest of the kids?? are there are any here??? ] ...everybody else. [ whoever that's comprised of. ]

If that's a joke, it's not a very good one. Aren't jokes supposed to be funny?

[okay, that's kind of a rhetorical question; elle obviously knows that jokes are supposed to be funny. maybe they want elle to inherit elize's maid costume or something... at least that's not something elle wants to do.]

School, huh... [she's considering it now, but it makes it no less weird. they never had to do stuff like this when they went to other dimensions before.] This place really is weird.

This place has a strange sense of humor.

[ that he agrees isn't very good. ]

It is. But it might be fun, right? [ just ignore all the gloom and doom about your world being gone and go learn some math or something. ] We're probably going to have to stay here for a while.

[this is kind of hard to ignore, given how things were getting even more serious. there's a part of her that really wants to lash out about it, even as she tries to stay calm. she'd already given him enough trouble recently, right? elle knows she needs to at least try to be fair about it, especially because when it's all over, she's still going to go with bisley.]

We can't go back until we fix the problem here, right? [kind of like always, only with less divergence catalysts... she guesses. ludger hasn't mentioned any of the stuff that usually comes with that, so she isn't sure.]

Right. It's like a fractured dimension, just... [ not really like one at all. ] More different than usual.

But we always managed to find our way through those and get back home. It'll be the same way here. [ at the very least, he needs to find a way to get her home. that takes priority over himself, though he imagines one will naturally lead to the other. ]

Okay. And then...

["we can finish everything," sits on her tongue, but she hesitates and doesn't say it at all, for the sake of not wanting to get on aspects of that topic right now. and after a moment...]

Are we close?

[ he just nods a bit knowingly at that first bit, understanding what she meant even if she couldn't quite get it all out. if what she said is true... then she probably doesn't realize he already knows what she's planning with bisley. but that's definitely a talk for another time. ]

We are. It's right over there. [ and he'll point to an apartment building in the distance that... well, even from afar looks clearly out of something he should be able to afford. being vice president of spirius, unfortunately, hasn't really counted for much here. ]

You live there?

[shock and awe!! after being pretty well-acquainted with his apartment in trigleph... and obviously his financial situation, there's nothing she can be other than totally surprised.

it looks pretty swanky.]

Ludger, you didn't do anything weird to get a place there, right?

It's a long story.

[ no... it's actually pretty short and uninteresting, but he'd rather not admit to her that he'd somehow ended up stuck with an apartment there while he thought he was just browsing. after his life of crippling debt, he wanted to see how the well off lived!!

and now he's back stuck in a life of crippling debt. ]

But I didn't do anything wrong. It just sort of ended up this way.

[that's literally the entire story of ludger's life, and elle sorta knows that.]

If you say so... But it looks pretty swanky. I thought you'd just have a place like you do in Trigleph. [because that makes more sense, especially since she really doesn't know all that much about ludger's newfound vp status.]

I would have preferred that, but we'll have to settle with this place. [ if there was any doubt you'd be living with him, let it be put to rest quickly and with great prejudice.

besides, an eight year old really shouldn't be living on her own to begin with... ]

It's pretty big, at least. Rollo seems to like it. [ since he doesn't have to pay for it. ]

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