It is a quiet day in mostly reconstructed Cerealia. The robots are busily running into walls that were not there before, the Cybuddy bees are buzzing...and CERES has still not said a word. Attempting to contact them still gets the User Offline error. Strange...
But who cares if CERES is offline? After all, they are the cruel and tyrannical captors. A Cerealia without them must be better than a Cerealia with them. So there's nothing to worry about on this fine, peaceful day. Or, at least, that's what it seems like, when suddenly there's a voice in everyone's head. A chosen few may recognize the voice, for they will have heard it before, but to the vast majority, it is brand new.
Looks like someone has been saved, and a reward granted... and no, you don't have a single choice in the matter.
 Your heroism will be remembered, lost and stolen souls.
You have saved me, and so now, I shall save you.
All of you.
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PHASE I [ day one ] It happens so quickly. One moment you’re in the colony, going about your daily life, and the next, you’re… floating. A moment later, every player character from the colony is transported with a wisp of fresh air to...somewhere very very different. The distance is far, but it is covered in what must have only been a scant moment, and it’s clear somehow, especially to air characters, that it was Caeli’s doing that brought everyone there.
There, naturally, being right in the middle of the jungle.
Everyone is then unceremoniously dropped. You may land on a tree, or in a patch of poison mushrooms (no really, look out for the colorful plant life, it’s probably poisonous) or in the river. There are some strange insects of all sorts and types, some of which have some uncomfortable side effects if you’re bitten, such as swelling or the uncomfortable urge to go hug the nearest person, and there are strange flowers everywhere, some of which glow only in the dark of night or the shade of trees. It is dreadfully humid, however, and a little hard to breathe--unless you’re of the air disposition.
Either way, you’ve certainly landed somewhere fantastical, so take some time to get used to your surroundings. It shouldn’t take too long to find everyone else, hopefully.
PHASE II [ day two ] Of course, this far into the jungle, and making this much noise, it was only inevitable before some company was attracted.
Some are clearly dangerous, some are peaceful as can be and some are somewhere in between; approach at your own risk.
Either way, these monsters are all drawn to larger groups of people and a lot of noise, so it may be best to keep quiet...though the ones that keep their distance may be even more concerning.
Everyone is certainly being stalked at one point or another in the jungle -- and at night, there are eyes watching from the darker parts of the trees.
PHASE III [ day three ] But perhaps if you follow some of those monsters deeper into the woods, you will stumble across an old, run down village of sorts. It looks as though time and the jungle has overtaken it. Exploring it will reveal plenty of homes that were clearly lived in however, by families and by people of all sorts.
There are empty rooms, covered in dust, and a central village fire, long gone out.
Small knick-knacks and various objects can be found… if you want to steal from the dead, you know. It’s a little rude. It appears they led a simple, peaceful life, however; most notably, there is no technology to be found.
And if The Bridge catches you doing it, she will look incredibly sad and ask you to put everything back in its proper place before she goes back to looking very irritated at Caeli. You may overhear words about how this “isn’t the right place” and Caeli’s unrepentant, “It is only a few hundred miles”. Looks like something went a little wrong in the transportation process.
Time to camp out for the night, perhaps. And your CereVices don’t get any reception out here, so no surfing the internet for you. If you try to connect to the internet, for some reason the device starts playing a song. Was that programmed…?
PHASE IV [ day four ] By the fourth day, it’s pretty clear that you’re going to be stuck here for a bit. Pestering Caeli or Maris gets nothing, while the Bridge still can’t be approached for pretty good reasons. So… you’ll just have to make the best of it while they figure out their next approach.
Time to figure out how to camp with few supplies and even fewer nice places to sleep. Maybe try to make a fire (though it’s incredibly difficult, considering how muggy it is here) or try to find some bugs to eat (ew gross).
Of course, you can try hunting, but the prey doesn’t look too friendly, so be careful not to become the prey yourself. The same goes for fishing, it seems.
Some of the trees are poisonous, some of the grasses will cause unfortunate rashes, and some vines will lash out to grab at people (especially colorful ones); basically, this is an entirely untamed alien jungle, so it may not be the fun camping trip you'd like.
Time to work together to survive out here, at least for a little longer.
It’s your time to shine. This is Person Versus Wild.
PHASE V [ day six ] On day six, the jungle goes utterly silent.
The monsters and animals disappear. The extra friends poof away hastily and suddenly. Maris and the Bridge fall silent (though Caeli admittedly continues floating there as ever). If anyone approaches them to ask, they'll just say that "she is coming".
And soon, she does appear. She moves slowly, lacking in feet; they are roots, as though that of a tree. Nonetheless, she has no troubles with moving forward, slow bit by bit. She does not speak, not at first, and behind her, trotting lightly through the woods, there is another. Both feel strongly of spiritual energy, just like Maris and Caeli. And eventually, after observing the people gathered, they can be spoken to.
BONUS [ day ??? ] After spending some time in the jungle, emotions might be running a bit amuck. And those emotions might bring some unexpected...friends. Yes, let's go with friends.
Because if a character is typically grumpy, gloomy, stoic, lineface, or anything along those lines, they may find themselves followed by a bright, happy bird. That bird feeds off of those emotions, and will just cheerfully follow around any lineface character for as long as possible. Or until they smile. The birds are otherwise harmless, chirping happily every now and then and following them around like a friendly shadow.
Happy, cheerful, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, energetic characters, on the other hand, will soon find themselves followed by... a different friend. Or maybe a handful of them. It depends on how cheerful they are. Either way, these creatures feed off of happiness and fun, but they will also chew on hair or an ear if they're allowed to get that close, making horrifying, chittering noises as they follow anyone who is in a good mood.
[ 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. ] |
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[ The landing, like it had been when he initially arrived in Cerealia, was harsh. He had landed in a tree, and through a bit of struggling, managed to slip out of the haori he had been wearing-- and right into another branch, tumbling onto the ground beneath him. Gracefully.
Even after being dropped and feeling a bit sore, Rinne's first response was to latch onto the tree, and start attempting his ascent. That haori cost way too much for him to leave it in that tree! But, try as he might, he can't seem to just-- get the right type of handle on the tree...!
But, he's not going to give up, even if it takes him the rest of the day. ]
phase III
a.
[ The village was worth exploring, inside and out, though Rinne's self-conscious nature got the better of him. After all, some people did know him a little by now, and being caught sneaking through homes wasn't a good idea. Which is why he's donned his Haori of the Underworld, to slip by unseen-- well, by anyone who can't see spirits anyway.
While searching through the houses, Rinne makes perfectly sure not to disrupt anything, knowing full well that it wasn't right to disturb the dead. Even if he wanted to a few small things to help him build a fire later-- he knows better.
But, he can't help but pick a few bits and bobs up, just to examine them. He wasn't going to leave any fingerprints, and it'd help him get a better unstanding of what happened here. Though when he sees someone entering, he stands perfectly still, item held in place. To you, it's either floating unnaturally, or... yup. In the hands of a suddenly suspicious looking character. ]
b.
[ What a long, long couple of days it already had been. It had only been a few days since being deposited here, and he felt tired and hungry. It wasn't a new feeling, but it wasn't one that he wanted to become readjusted to, after having lived in relative luxury for a few weeks. Even worse, he kept checking his CereVice, just to make sure it was still working. There wasn't any reception, but he kept it open anyway to make sure he hadn't cracked the screen or gotten anything on it that he'd have to pay for.
And then the song started playing. He looked it over, eyes wide-- and decided to leave it.]
At least it's still working. [ No repair payments today! Still, what a nice tune. He's even humming it a bit. ]
bonus
[ Being semi-serious most of the time and not paying too close attention to his whereabouts made Rinne a prime target for that bird. Rinne occasionally looked up at it, and then kept walking.
And again.
Until he started powerwalking away from it. Oh come on--... when he spots you, Rinne clears his throat. ]
Can you help me distract this bird? [ Please help him escape. ]
phase I
You look desperate, Sir Rinne. [ The kind friend says kind words, as always. ] Need help?
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Give me a hand, I need to get up there!
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Here, catch! [ Time to drop the cloth onto Rinne's head, like the good friend he is. ]
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[ Rinne's words are cut off, when thanks to the haori landing right onto him, he just up and right stops talking. Well, that and he just outright disappears from regular non-spirit seeing sight. Honestly, he hadn't even considered that for even a second. ]
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[ Probably because she is cheerful and energetic and not at all gloomy and very rarely serious. Which is a shame, because these birds are kind of cute, and she can't admire them when they keep ignoring her! ]
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[ Because he's not going to let someone else get attacked while he slips away. And he can't seem to shake them. ]
You didn't do anything to make them angry, did you?
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[ Hnnngh. ]
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[ Rinne, with all the emotional excitement of a can of paint, turns around and starts waving his hand right at the bird. Which then, starts waving its head back and forth in response, chirping along.
Why isn't this working. ]
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[He'd been minding his own business when the person spoke up to him, but he looks over at the bird, and at the one that was following him around at this point.
Sigh.]
Can't. I got one of my own that I haven't been able to get rid of.
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Should we try to outrun them? They don't look like they can run for that long.
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That sounds like a lot of effort to lose some birds. [Sorry Rinne, Nice is lazy as fuck.] If they find us again anyway, it'll be for nothing.
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Then it's settled. We'll figure out a way to knock it out.
[ There's always one solution! ]
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phase i
Huh, what's this kid reaching for? Hands tucked in his sleeve, Mutsu watches for a moment before voicing his observations, )
Ya almost got it. ( He's being supportive! ) Just a li'l more to the left there!
( He's not helping. )
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[ And Rinne tries to shift his grip to grab a branch on the left, which immediately snaps, causing him to drop right back down the tree, landing right on his back. ]
Gah! [ Ow. ]
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Oh. Dang. )
--Maybe ya'r other left. ( Maybe he should go over and help too. Just maybe. ) ... Ya okay?
( Please be okay he doesn't want to have to explain this to anyone later. )
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If only I could fly... [ He's clearly delirious. Sorry, Mutsu. He's barely even acknowledged your presence yet. ]
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[Distract it? How's that supposed to work? Maybe if he had some food or something . . . but if he did, he'd be eating it right now. It has been way too long since he put anything in his stomach that didn't feel like flirting with death, after a few days in this jungle.
But he wanders over anyway, even though he looks incredulous.]
How do you distract a bird? Don't they just fly away when you get anywhere near 'em anyway?
[That's how the birds at home act!]
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[ Of course! If you jump into a circle of birds, they all fly off, that was common sense! So, taking his new found companion's advice to heart, he immediately starts walking back towards the bird, who squawks with a greater frequency as Rinne approaches. ]
...Maybe if you made noise? [ Yes you, Leon. ]
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[Who doesn't like running into a flock of birds and shouting and waving their hands to make them all fly away? Damn. Amateurs. And that's exactly what he does: after seeing how much this dude sucks at this, he rolls his eyes and goes running right at the bird with a shout. SUCKERRRRRRR!]
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How embarrassing. ]
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I
[ Kousetsu without fail always helps a fellow spiritual bro in need. Kousetsu could get behind it though, given that if it were his own robes he would be none too pleased if they were stuck in a tree. ]
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[ He knows he can climb onto that next branch, and he didn't want the haori to fly away... ]
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I am...more then happy to help. Please...be careful.
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