
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. ] |
open!
...Not this again.
[ and just like that, dipper finds himself in free fall. except this time, he doesn't land in a tree! nope. this time he lands on something surprisingly soft!
he peels open his eyes, pleasantly surprised with his lack of broken body parts, until he realizes that that soft thing he landed on? yeah, it's a giant spider web. ]
Ohhhhh no.
[ and there comes that big spider now! dipper's somewhat stuck to the web, but you know what, NOT TODAY, GIANT SPIDER. he slugs that thing right in the center of its eight eyes.
it's a solid hit, buuut mostly serves to only make the spider angrier. yeah, he could probably use a hand, here. ]
[ PHASE I:b ]
[ so maybe he got bit by a giant spider, or maybe by some other mythical-looking insect that looked like it runs on pixie dust. whatever the case, dipper's been bit by the HUG BUG. and he's overcome with the irresistible urge to hug every person he sees.
he looks EXTREMELY ALARMED as he walks determinedly towards his victims, arms widespread. hide yo kids, hide yo wife. serial hugger dipper pines is on the loose. ]
[ PHASE III ]
[ okay so, as below-average as his first couple of days in the jungle have been, dipper is pretty captivated by this abandoned village. investigative as ever, he pokes his way in and out of rooms, picking up objects he should probably not and trying to piece together how the long-dead villagers went on with their day-to-day lives here.
join him for some exploring! or advise him to not pocket that pretty cool-looking pipe. what! it's not like anyone here is using it... ]
[ BONUS ]
[ yep, dipper's one of those people with a bird following him. an incredibly colorful, and kind of obnoxious bird. and eventually, he's so fed up with being followed by it and being stuck in the jungle that he turns around on his heel to have WORDS with it. ]
What? You think this is funny, big guy?
[ oh boy, he might be starting to crack. ]
[ WILDCARD ]
[ jungle shenanigans of all shapes and sizes go here! ]
iii.
[ lightning says this as she enters the dilapidated building Dipper was currently occupying, moving her head around to avoid some cobwebs. c'mon dipper you have to know not to pick up precarious items in abandoned villages!! it's like a rule. ]
Did you find your sister?
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hey, he could totally be cursed already and not know it. that's a comforting thought. ]
Oh - uh, hey! [ he sets the pipe back down, somewhat guiltily. ] Yeah, I did, actually. Sheeee's not really a very hard person to track down.
iii
[That sure is Tenka lightly hitting Dipper's wrist with his closed fan to keep him from reaching any more for that pipe. He knows those eyes! It's like when his little brothers are even hungrier and want to grab extra food from dinner!]
Wouldn't do that if I were you!
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dipper glances up as his assailant, somewhat indignant. ],/small>
Why not? It could be an important archaeological discovery! Besides, no one around here is using it.
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That doesn't make it yours to take. You need to have some respect for the people who were once here.
[also what's archeology]
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i:b
[ That sure is a little kid coming at her with an expression that's totally at odds with his gesture. Which wouldn't be the first time she's seen something like that, but still. ]
Should I be worried?
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Iiiii don't think so? not unless she's like. allergic to human contact. ] Probably best if you just kind of...go with it.
[ because there is no stopping him. ]
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[ Broadens her stance. OPENS HER ARMS. ]
Come at me, bro?
[ Yes, sure, she's fine with hugging cute little kids. Comes with the big sis territory. ]
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i-b
Yo.
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Come on, man. This is way worse for me than it's going to be for you.
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i-a
I wonder if I should help...
[ Curling her lips into a mischievous grin, Illya taps her chin, just watching from afar, the careful observer. She may be trying to provoke someone by being Very Unhelpful, but it's unlikely that she actually cares. ]
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buuuut all the same, he's kind of in a bind, here. ]
Yes! You should help! You should very much be helping me right now! [ he continues to struggle against the web. ]
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I-a.
Stay still.
[ that's about all he says before moving to stand almost directly underneath the web, out of dipper's line of view. ]
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still, dipper knows when to listen, and he barely even breathes after that command. as much as he doesn't love the idea of being saved by kanda again, he likes the idea of being eaten by a spider even less. ]
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phase iii!
You should put that back.
[It's rude, okay.]
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with a short sigh, he sets the pipe back down on the shelf where he found it. ]
I don't see what the big deal is, but I guess now I won't get blamed if we get attacked by angry spirits or something.
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I:b
Dipper-san, I'm so glad to see you, are you alright?
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he continues to walk towards her, arms spread wide. ]
H-heeeey, Ami. I'm...fine?
[ that was not the most reassuring answer, dipper. ]
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8)..... i:a!
[ Need a hero, Dipper? This guy's got you covered. Though since Yu is on the ground, Dipper won't be able to see him. What he will be able to see is a huge, imposing figure appear in the air before him, wielding that massive sword, which he brings to bear with flashing eyes...
... to slice into the spider web, causing the spider to rear back and spit and hiss. Izanagi darts forward and snatches Dipper up, tugging him free of the sticky web's strands, and bats away one last assault from the spider before bringing Dipper safely to the ground. The spider does not give pursuit, too busy angrily hissing over the destruction of its web to want to give chase over what is clearly too strong a challenge.
Izanagi will deposit Dipper in front of Yu, who stands there waiting with one hand on his hip, a concerned smile on his face. ]
Hey. You alright? That looked like quite a scare up there.
eeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyy
no, he's mostly preoccupied by screaming in terror, but he manages to put a sock in it when he realizes, a moment later, that he's being rescued, not sacrificed in the name of spider demons.
he drops awkwardly to his knees when izanagi sets him on the ground, staring up at his presumed rescuer. he has...pretty much no idea what just happened.
so he gives the most brazenly untrue answer he can. ]
I totally had it under control.
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bonus!
He navigates around to the other side and calls out, not wanting to terrify the person with the possibility of him being a hungry monster.]
Um, hello! Who's there?
[stepping out from around the fern, he immediately recognizes Dipper. it's that kid from the first day he was here!] Oh... it's you!
[what's with the bird...? was he talking to it?]
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Oh, hey! [ dipper waves somewhat halfheartedly. this hasn't been the most enjoyable week of his life, no. ] Good to see you're...still alive, and such.
[ that is a perfectly normal greeting to give someone. ]
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bonus!
Luckily, the birds were tall and obnoxious enough that Iwatooshi could follow them around without the person they're attached to knowing. Who knows how long this kid had been leading a parade of Obnoxious Bird and Obnoxious Sword through the jungle!
Sorry if this comes as a shock, but the naginata leans out from behind the bird.]
Who, me? [a lot of people call him Big Guy, okay?]
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Ahh - [ YUP just as tall and imposing as he remembers! that's...great. how long had he been back there?! ] - Iiii mean, hello!
[ quick, dipper, ACT NATURAL, it's definitely not too late for that. ] I was talking to the bird, actually, kiiiiind of didn't realize you were...there.
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