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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OPEN like THE GREAT JUNGLE
Edgeworth doesn't like the feeling of being watched. Already he can feel the hair on the back of his neck standing on end and a chill, tingly sensation spreading down his spine. From the corner of his eye, he could see something move among the greenery - a clump of branches? Antlers? It's not near enough for him to discern exactly what it is. Perhaps you can see it?
When he can't stand it anymore, he follows those moving branches, a hand already on the hilt of his saber. Unfortunately, stepping on dry, dead leaves and kicking some pebbles out of the way give his position away...and by the time Edgeworth manages to sprint toward the spot where he thought he saw those moving branches...all the plants and trees in the vicinity are quiescent. The creature, needless to say, has slithered away.
He looks around...until he spots you. Were you running from something? Looking for firewood? Sorry, here comes Edgeworth, walking up to you and asking HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MONSTER.]
This may sound strange...but did you see a clump of moving branches there? [He points to the spot some distance ahead. The branches there are not the moving type.]
[PHASE II-B
Night has fallen. Edgeworth is sitting under a tree, folding up his jacket into a makeshift pillow. His cravat is stuffed into a pocket, and his sword hilt is propped up against the large tree trunk. Looks like he's getting ready to sleep...
...until he changes his mind and grabs his weapon, sliding the sword out of its scabbard in one fluid motion. Edgeworth jumps to his feet, dropping his jacket. There are eyes in the treetops, eyes in gaps in the bushes...he's being watched again. By what, exactly? He doesn't know. The silence is interrupted by the rustling of leaves, breaking twigs, and his loud, clear voice.]
Who's there?
[He's just standing there, ready to cut down the first monster that charges, glancing around to see if any of those eyes wanted to come closer.]
[PHASE IV-A
Prosecutor versus Wild is more like it. Edgeworth certainly looks the worse for wear - his hair is damp from washing in the river, his sleeves are rolled up, his clothes have tiny tears and dirt smears all over, and his cravat is absent, safely tucked away in a pocket.
His sword is drawn and he can be seen taking on a large, furry creature howling before charging toward him. Edgeworth dodges to the side, narrowly avoiding the claws that only scratch his wrist, but he trips and falls onto the ground, still tightly gripping his only weapon.]
Distract it! I'll kill it! [He cries out to the nearest Cerealite...which could be you, and tries to get back onto his feet.]
[PHASE IV-B + bonus
That beast won't be enough for an entire day's meal, so Edgeworth is going to sit by the river, on a rock, attempting to carve out a spear from a fallen tree branch with his sword. His face looks sullen and So Done With Everything, but that colorful bird strutting about in the grass behind him is in high spirits, chirping as he grits his teeth. His workmanship is dreadful and pitted with marks where his carving went awry, and the point...let's not speak of the point.
He drops the branch with a sigh, staring at the river. Maybe if he just took his shirt off and jumped in and stabbed the nearest monster...nah.]
[WILD CARD
Hit me with your best shot.]
dat bonus
So why do you get the cute rainbow bird, huh? I'd take that any day!
[ Probably why it's avoiding you, Yang. ]
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Your guess is as good as mine. You can take it, if you can convince it to stop following me. [His feathery companion doesn't seem to realize that it's being given away.]
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[ Do the world a favor, and whatnot. ]
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Wait. There are weirder things than birds that like to eat frilly neckwear.]
...If it did want my cravat, shouldn't that bird make an active effort to look for it?
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phase iv-b + bonus + a somewhat wildcard option?!?!
Hello! It sure is surprising meeting you here. But I'm glad! I was hoping I'd be able to meet you again.
[ hand lifted in an awkward wave, he breaks the ice with a warm, if exhausted, smile. ]
I'm Makoto. Makoto Tachibana. Thank you for saving me before, during the flood.
[ it sure is weird how they keep coincidentally finding themselves situated next to large bodies of water, but makoto's certain the irony isn't lost on the other man in the slightest. ]
It's been a really long day for you too, huh?
LET'S DO THIS...poor unfortunate souls
It's a pleasure to meet you, Makoto. And, it was the least I could do in the chaos.
[He gives Makoto a small smile. It's a smile, nonetheless, and his bird companion finally leaves him alone, scuttling off into the trees. Edgeworth glances over his shoulder in time to see the bird disappear, and directs his attention back to Makoto, one hand still gripping his sword, the "spear" forgotten on the ground.]
I think we've all had a few long days since arriving in this jungle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Du48Nty_U
Yeah. I can't remember the last time I ran so much.
[ for once, he's glad that the insectoids have scuttled off even temporarily, paying no heed to what that might mean. in fact, the sudden lull of noise in the surrounding jungle goes unnoticed by makoto as his gaze crawls down to the sword clutched in edgeworth's hand, then the spear lying on the ground with slightly piqued curiosity. ]
By any chance, were you planning to have a go at fishing?
Bonus points for surprise tentacle fish creature then
You wouldn't happen to have any string, or rope, would you? [Edgeworth would rather use a fishing pole, but the odds of anyone finding serviceable rope or string with which to dangle a lure in the water were next to nil in this jungle.] That might be easier than using a spear.
their lives become a little mermaid spoof
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Phase II-B
Mr. Edgeworth? Is that you?
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Glowing...right, Ai had powers, to some degree. Hadn't the shattering glass windowpane taught him that?]
Miss Ai Thao? Yes, it's me...
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[She smiles down at him so it's safe to say she's being pretty sincere about that.]
Everyone's been scattered about so it's hard to keep track of where people are.
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[Knowing that those other eyes watching may not be friendly, Edgeworth doesn't stow the sword just yet. But he can see Ai's smile.]
Would you happen to know anyone proficient at tracking, or would have powers to that effect? [Because he's got nothing. His survival skills stop at killing things. And keeping his head, hopefully.]
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ii-a!
[Oz glances over in the direction that Edgeworth is gesturing toward like he actually expects something helpful to be there, but alas... Nothing but the regular, non-moving variety of branches. He also hasn't been fortunate enough to run into the spooky branch creature yet, so after a couple seconds of thought:]
Oh! Do you mean the stick bugs?
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No, they are much bigger than stick bugs. They look more like tree branches than twigs. [Which is what stick bugs would resemble, right?
In any case, Edgeworth is very sure of that...that thing he saw that looked like moving branches.]
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Hm... I don't think I've seen anything like that, then. Was it a bunch of branches stuck together, or were they just sort of clustered in the same area?
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Hmm...more of the latter. And before I saw them, I felt as though I was being watched.
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II-A
The small boy looks up to see an adult in front of him, with an unusual weapon and clothes typical of the foreign stuff most of the others from Cerealia wear. Probably friendly, then.]
Moving branches? [Link follows the direction of his gesture and pauses for a moment.] You mean... as if something were hiding?
[Grabbing his sword, he stands up, keeping his eyes on the foliage in question.] Is something after you?
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I felt like...it was watching me, but I'm not sure if it wanted to pursue me or not.
[His eyes sweep over Link's items - his gaze lingering on the gilded sword for a little longer.]
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I'll go take a look. [Link may as well have shrugged when he said it, apparently not scared by the idea in the slightest. Despite being, like 10 years old, and very small for his apparent age.] Will you watch this stuff for me? If you're hungry, you can have some.
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[Edgeworth moves to stand closer to Link's stash. He notices that yes, Link is indeed a child, or child-sized, but he has seen children who can fight. And win. So he says nothing about it. Except:]
Do be careful.
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Bonus
That's not fair, how come you get a pretty bird and I don't?
[No seriously, why???]
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[Edgeworth looks straight at the bird and gestures to Takeru, unsure if the creature understands human speech.
Needless to say, the bird doesn't budge from its spot beside him, and only cocks its head to one side before trilling happily and sitting down.]
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With that, he gave his hand out to him before giving him a bright smile. Although...]
But I think he likes you even more! I really don't think he'll want to go with me or Patamon! You're really lucky!
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[The bird pecks Takeru's hand gently, tapping it as if acknowledging the boy's presence.]
I suppose that in itself is lucky. [It could be worse. He could be tailed by a much more inimical creature.]
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