« 006 ⇢ event006.exe »

[reparator]

Who: CERES & you
When: OOC - 11/25-12/02 ; IC - 10/09-10/12
Where: Cerealia & Pleasure District
What: Event log
Rating/Warning: PG-13 | possibly nsfw (please let us know if you need this rating changed)

//event006.EXE I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa-bot underneath the Mistletoe It's the morning of October 9th when you feel it. At first, it's a gentle rumble. Then, the ground begins to quake harder as a transparent shield erupts from the perimeter of the colony. Those fortunate enough to be standing outdoors will get a glimpse of it as it slowly closes around the colony, forming a glass dome that keeps everything enclosed inside. It may spark your curiosity. It may even cause a bit of fear and anxiety, but other than that, the day remains the same. Plain. Neutral. A little too quiet. That's when the cold sneaks up on you, little by little. You may notice yourself shivering and in need of a warm blanket. It's just a little breeze, right? You might close the windows in your apartment or throw on a sweater. But the cold doesn't stop there. The temperature begins to plummet gradually by the hour, and you notice frost appearing on all visible surfaces. Machines start to malfunction and grow stiff all over. The wind knocks over a few post boxes and signs. Your skin goes numb in places. Shrinkage happens for those who have things that shrink. All in all, it's an unpleasant experience, and the trains are shut down, leaving most of the colony's citizens with limited transportation. However, a figure appears in a dimly corner of the station to brighten your day. He has a blanket laid out with snow globes placed on top, some plain, some rose-tinted. They're all for sale for a meager 25 credits. Since he can't speak, he lets his boom box do the talking for him, letting out a familiar song. "♬~ Oh the weather outside is frightful But the fire is so delightful And since we've no place to go Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! It doesn't show signs of stopping And I've bought some corn for popping The lights are turned way down low Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!~♬"

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] The cold is starting to set into your bones, a sharp pain emanating from the way it seems to burrow under your flesh. No amount of jackets, parkas, and sweaters offer relief as the temperature plummets by the hour. The streets are paved with ice everywhere, and snow is rapidly falling from the ceiling of the dome. Will you play in it? Will you settle by the fire with a warm beverage? Will you and your ill-prepared body be subjected to the slow madness promised by hypothermia? It might seem bearable at first, but nothing is ever that simple or easy in Cerealia. Of course, for those who wish to brave the weather, come see the snow globe salesman in Cerealia's train station. He'll show you a few wonders that linger behind the glass. PHASE II [ xxxx ] Just as the cold starts to reach its most unbearable temperatures, a single haven lies in the Pleasure District at Cerealia's famous virtual Fantasy Hub. Whispers will pass from lips to lips, moving quickly across the colony about the warmest place to be. Your character is welcome to investigate for themselves and set aside their embarrassment for a little bit of reprieve. The robot staff will be more than welcoming, offering you compliments, cookies, and hot chocolate. The three great C's! They will let everyone linger about the lounge and encourage them to pair up and try out a bit of the technology. They might even find a little something to smile about after. The robots will be promising customers a lovely boost of warmth just for subjecting themselves to a world of their own desires. PHASE III [ xxxx ] For those brave enough to venture into their virtual fantasies, you'll be lead into a private booth where no one else will be able to bother you. A headset will be available for you and any companions of choice. Feel free to put it on and check it out. You'll be prompted to type in or verbally explain your fantasy before watching the world being built before your eyes until you're completely immersed in your ideal world. You are welcome to roam around and enjoy for as long as you wish but do remember you're on the clock and that there are other customers waiting. Oh and do try and clean up the booth after use! PHASE IV [ xxxx ] It's day four. The cold has reached its lowest, most unbearable point. Those who took a trip into their own fantasies or the fantasy of others are now free to revel in the warmth (and in their own embarrassment and shame). Congratulations! For those who avoided it, prepare to feel numb in places and to possibly lose a finger or two. The CERES medical facility will do their best to stick you back together or keep you from death. The suffering will continue until the very last second when Julius Vincere, CERES' CEO, will appear on all screens and billboards to announce that the climate problems have been fixed at last. Just like that, the dome will open once more, and the temperature will return to normal. With that comes another set of apologies same as before. How much are you willing to put up with his bullshit? BONUS [ whyo'clock ] They're cute. They're cuddly. They're also being sold at a CYbuddy shop near you, provided that snow hasn't blocked the door from opening. They're seemingly harmless and innocent until you take your eyes off of them. That's when they'll scuttle to your underwear drawer and slowly and surreptitiously start stealing pairs of it to hide in a super secret stash so it can sell your unmentionables in an elaborate robot underwear smuggling ring. Prepare to brave the cold without underwear. [ 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 event post. For your convenience, we have compiled a post detailing what's going on right here and feel free to consult the FAQ if needed. Please leave any lingering questions in the OOC post, and we'll answer them as soon as we can.

Comments

[sewayaku]

So I've heard. I must admit that a world without strife between species sounds peaceful to me, but I know that you undoubtedly find other things to war over.

[ he doesn't mean it as a slight against humans - it's just the nature of people. Even within the Huma, there are differences, whether it be physical, political, social; as long as there are differences between men, there will be conflict.

They're growing closer to the pleasure district; the unusual pink-flowered trees are a clear sign. Zara doesn't feel any warmer. Then again, it was supposedly just a single store that had heat in it... ]

Please stay close by, Earl Phantomhive. [ he doesn't want you to get whisked away in a skeevy part of town... ]

[cheats]

[ Ciel nods solemnly, since it's certainly the case, and he opens his mouth to respond, but then Zara gives his warning. He's surprised that Zara gives that gentle warning, but he just makes a soft, grumpy sound of approval. At that point, he just speaks more gently than he had been planning, but still to the first point Zara had mentioned. ]

...We do. There are always wars going on, but England isn't involved in any directly, at the moment. [ He shrugs, then speaks to what Zara had been thinking. ] That's just people, isn't it? There's always something to fight over.

[sewayaku]

[ with a faintly judgemental air, he nods - not judging Ciel, but civilization, mostly. War had taken so much from him, and still threatened to take even more. Zara is tired of it. ]

Exactly right. War is a terrible thing, and yet we can't seem to get enough of it. Supposedly, it's even our reason for being here.

[ a tired little sigh. ]

[cheats]

[ That gets his expression to harden further, but this look isn't so much one of hatred or intensity so much as determination, in this case. Ciel turns his gaze ahead, but the look stays firmly in place. ]

Do you think that's actually true?

[sewayaku]

... I wonder.

[ in other words: no. He doesn't know what to believe - not even after being here for several weeks. The idea of an alien war being waged was outlandish to him at first, but now it doesn't seem much stranger than anything else he's seen.

Still, he hesitates to believe in their story. At the end of the day, he's been kidnapped; as far as he's concerned, only an idiot would willingly believe their captors without evidence. ]

Weblin has plenty of problems, but alien forces weren't one of them.

[cheats]

[ Ciel nods in agreement, but it takes him a moment of thoughtful consideration before he answers. ]

I don't believe it at all. Even if it is true, somehow, it's better to err on the side of caution with something like this. [ a beat, then, ] I want to look into it more. But this is hardly a matter of going down to the police archives and demanding entrance.

[ Which is definitely what Ciel usually does... Scotland Yard pretty much hates him, and yet, he gets the job done when they can't. ]

This damned technology just obscures everything.

[sewayaku]

[ now that is a sentiment he can understand one hundred percent. He sighs heavily, polite expression slipping into one of very honest frustration. ]

It truly does... I've never felt so helpless. I was a competent researcher at home, but here... I'm like a useless leveret. With the amount there is to learn, it feels hopeless.

[ he's only just begun trying to break down and understand what a "computer" is and how it works, but for someone who didn't even have electricity before... it's a long road. ]

Of course, I cannot give up.

[cheats]

Were you?

[ Ciel pauses and hums thoughtfully to himself, because this gets him to thinking... He hadn't done much here, since he had run into largely similar roadblocks as Zara, since everything about this place was just a little overwhelming, and yet, if he had other people working alongside him, perhaps it would be easier. He brings a hand to his chin thoughtfully, but before saying more, he asks a more basic question. ]

What was your area of expertise?

[sewayaku]

Nothing too useful for our immediate problems, I'm afraid... I'm a doctor and apothecary. My young lady was born very frail, so I've dedicated my life to researching disease and how to stop it.

[ technically, he was hired to do so, but he's gone far beyond the call of duty in how he takes care of Fiona. Medicine was his passion. Unfortunately, he couldn't cure his total incompetency with computers by rubbing some herbs on it. ]

... Still, I would like to believe this is all knowledge I can pick up... not to sound arrogant.

[cheats]

[ Ciel files that bit of information away with interest, since it definitely makes Zara all the more useful to him, though in a way he's reluctant to bring forward just because of his own pride. He hadn't told Sebastian about his asthma, after all, so he would be hard pressed to tell others without it being a problem first. So when he needed help, at least he had a contact.

...That aside, though. Ciel raises a hand as if to stop Zara, but it's only to put a pause to the half-apology. ]

I don't care whether it's arrogant or not. There's no need to be polite and humble with something like this.

[ Actually, this is one of the more encouraging things he's heard, so Ciel nods as if assured of something. ]

Research is research. It's the ability to do it that matters. So considering the situation, it's best if we put our skill to work, right?

[sewayaku]

[ he's quick to shut up when prompted, bowing his head lightly in deference. What a blunt earl... Not unheard of, he supposes. He'd rather have them blunt than megalomaniacal. ]

I fully agree. I wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise. Besides, if we truly are in danger, I believe having a medic on hand could be useful.

[ not that he's seen any actual aliens attacking, but hey, they have been attacked by... other things. ]

[cheats]

Then it's a start.

[ Ciel nods again, seeming more confident and less pissed off about the cold the more the idea turns in his head. Alone, he might not be able to do much, but he feels reasonably confident that he can get people to work together for the sake of looking into what's actually going on here. It's not quite the Evil Noblemen, but the purpose will be similar enough. ]

I'll try and find more people willing to look into this. I don't believe it for a moment, so there have to be others that are doubtful too. If we can dig up the truth, then that will only benefit everyone.

[sewayaku]

[ there are definitely others that are doubtful, he thinks to himself. So far, he hasn't run into a single person that's bought the story they were given - which, admittedly, gives him a bit of hope. If they're all keeping an eye out for something wrong, then it's only a matter of time before they learn something. ]

Certainly. My master and his friend feel the same as I do, so I'm sure they'd be willing to help, as well - although they're knights, not researchers.

[ but, if worse comes to worse, maybe they'll need those, too. ]

[cheats]

Well, if they truly has something to hide, we may just need knights as well.

[ He says it with a wry, but lightly bitter laugh. This is the sort of work he's used to, but in itself, that's a sort of familiarity he wasn't exactly keen to bring up. Still. It's necessary, he tells himself, and his smile seems much more genial than he actually feels. ]

...I just need to find someone familiar with the technology, really. That's the biggest hurdle.

[sewayaku]

[ Zara can't really share that smile; he's more certain that they will need people with Nesso's combat prowess, considering what he's already had to deal with in his short time here. It's only a matter of time before they're really attacked - either by the supposed enemy, or the people who brought them here. ]

Indeed... I wish that I knew someone familiar with it. I believe we can use the "phones" to contact the city at large, but I'm not sure how to do so... which is part of the problem, I suppose.

[cheats]

...Well, Oz taught me how to do that much, at least.

[ And yet, Ciel hadn't actually done so yet, despite the fact that he did want to reach out on this topic. He would say it's because he doesn't want to talk to the idiotic masses, but in reality, he's honestly a little shy about doing such a thing. It's similar to making a noble address, which he can do with ease, but it's just different enough that he shies away from it. ]

I'll see if I can find someone the normal way, but if not, I suppose I'll have to make a call.

[sewayaku]

Oh? Did he? I wouldn't mind learning, if you'd teach me... Once we get somewhere warmer, of course.

[ there is no way in hell he's taking off his gloves right now. When he can, though, how to use the phone is most assuredly something important for him to learn. It's clearly a major part of daily life in the city, and likely to understanding more about the entire world he's been placed in; there's supposedly a hundred libraries' worth of information stored in some kind of network they can access. ]

If you do, then you can leave the calling to me.

[cheats]

[ That would work out well, he thinks. He also didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself if they were looking in the right direction, so in this, he would have to act as the Queen's Watchdog more than as himself. He liked Zara, but... This was useful. He could feign ignorance if he had to.

He looks a little surprised, almost relieved, but he nods to the request. ]

I can show you, yes. It's no bother. It's actually not terribly difficult, thankfully, but just figuring out what all the controls do is the harder part.

[sewayaku]

I suspected as much... Everyone else seems to use them with ease. But when you're completely unfamiliar with technology like this...

[ he shakes his head, sighing a small white plume into the cold air. Zara hates feeling uninformed and useless - he's supposed to be the one taking care of everybody. ]

I'd greatly appreciate the help.

[cheats]

[ He nods, though it's with an oddly sour expression. ]

Then when the weather is tolerable again, I'll show you.

[ He pauses, then chooses to elaborate, which should explain why his expression got a little more sour. ]

...As thanks for helping me, I suppose.

[sewayaku]

[ ... such a sourpuss, Ciel. He can't help but smile at that proud attitude, but he bows his head appreciatively anyway. ]

Of course. Though you shouldn't thank me just yet. [ he looks out, trying to avoid lingering on any of the sleazier signs in the area. ] We're looking for the "Fantasy Hub," I believe.