« 020 ⇢ EVENT020.EXE »

[reparator]

Who: Everyone who was once in Cerealia, plus some guest stars
When: OOC: 10/01 - 10/12 ; IC: 3/15 - 3/21
Where: The wide, vast jungles of Tellus. Cerealia is nowhere to be found
What: A special reward frees everyone from the clutches of Cerealia; too bad nobody's competent around here.
Rating/Warning: PG-13: Some scary images, some violence. Please let the mods know if the rating goes up or the log needs to be locked!

---

//event020.EXE

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.

//SCENARIOS.EXE

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. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to Cerealia's October event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will last for the month of October, or IC 3/15 to 3/30. This log will last from 10/01 to 10/12 or IC 3/15 to 3/21. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Please treat this like a jungle mingle log, and feel free to make your own logs in estoria in the jungle as well! You'll be here for a little while, so go crazy and get some exploring in. Feel free to contact the mods if you have any questions on what can be found in the jungle in any given area. Thank you!

Comments

[immobileyes]

[ PHASE I. ]

[ Well, it sure is a lovely morning. Getting dropped into a jungle (an oddly familiar one) was sure high on Mary's list of Great Things To Happen, and by that, we mean that she's wailing miserably on a downwards plummet into the river. And once she's out of that, here's where your poor character comes in.

Because one muddy, still sopping wet teenager is latching on to them. Did something startle her? Is she traumatized and seeking comfort? Or did she just get bitten and find herself struck with the urge to attach herself to the nearest soul like a shivering koala bear?

... Yeah, no, it's the last one. If she knows you, it's a very quick muttered apology she's saying, and if she doesn't know you, it's more like-- ]

I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy--


[ PHASE IV-A. ]

[ LIFE CONTINUES TO BE GREAT FOR MARY. She's managed to survive thus far (although may not have been eating a single thing, but it looks like she's okay, she's got mad fasting skills) and she's doing her best to avoid angering the wildlife.

Except she's being approached by something big and mossy and grumpy-looking, and backing up very quickly-- to the point where she might collide with someone, since she's not exactly glancing over her shoulder. Help her out when the mossy thing charges, or try to distract it-- but if you do nothing, her eyes flash from pink to red when it moves, and it will abruptly freeze in place.

Gawking or dragging her off are both fine. ]


[ PHASE IV-B. ]

[ OKAY, SHE'S DONE. Trekking the wilderness, she's tired of. Walking, she's tired of. Avoiding death at the jaws of hungry creatures, she's tired of. She's just plain tired, but hey, at least she's breathing better than anyone non-air-oriented.

And also her hair is stuck. To be more accurate, several multicolored vines are playing impromptu jumprope with her hair and merrily swinging the strands back and forth, and Mary is quite literally on the verge of tears. If you make eye contact with her, she's just going to STARE AT YOU AND-- ]

Help.

i

[sunshrouded]

[HIS BABY GIRL.

Nah, Tenka's just lifting the poor shivering thing up in his arms, cuddling her close.]

Hey, hey, Mary-chan, it's okay! It'll all be okay. You're safe -- you're with aniki now!

I

[sewayaku]

-- Mary!

[ What a coincidence, just the person he was looking for! Unlike her, he had the good fortune (for once in his life) to not land in a particularly bad spot; he's got some brambles and stray flower petals stuck to his clothes and hair, and a scratch here and there, but otherwise looks unhurt. Excusing the new mudstain she's just given him.

Still, he won't complain. The situation is very shocking, and while he's still adjusting to it, himself, his thoughts are, as always, with the others before himself. Mary wouldn't do well by herself in the wilderness, so finding her was an imperative for him. Zara claps his hands on her shoulders. ]

Goodness, you're soaked! Are you all right?

phase iv-b;

[bropane]

[ tadashi sees that and rushes to mary's side right away, swatting at the vines first before shooting them with his electro-mag gloves. that should at least leave her alone.

or not. it looks like they've gotten angry...

with a quick flick of his wrist, he switches his gloves off, princess carries mary and flies off on his boots before the vines grab hold of any of them. ]

You okay?

iv-b!

[harepiece]

[LORD ABOVE Mary's having an even worse time than he is... But!! He certainly won't leave her to deal with this by herself, and he's already on his way over before she even asks for help.]

Hold still for a second, Mary! I'll be done soon, okay?

[First he'll try seeing if he can ease the vines out by hand, hoping that something will be Easy™ for once in this trip...]

iv-a

[reprizesal]

[When something collided with Sayo, he's about to lash out when he noticed it's Mary. Before he can ask her, he saw the big, mossy thing. When it started charging at them, he grabbed her by her hand pulled her out of the way.

Hope she doesn't mind the sheer suddenness. If the large creature continues to chase after her, then well...

It's either fight or flight.]

I

[yourfononsarewhack]

[Jade sighs as he finds the soggy koala clinging to him. He's not one for hugs at all, and his own uniform is muddy already. He seems entirely Too Done with this situation.]

Please. Release me, immediately.

[Yet, by the time Jade has finished his sentence, his arms are already wrapped back around Mary in a firm embrace, even as the entire rest of his body displays nothing but a mix of irritation and boredom towards this situation, and an insect flies away from Jade's cheek.]

1

[liberalarts]

[ Kasen isn't exactly any happier to have landed in a jungle since he is a sword of the liberal arts, thank you! This is no place for a refined, elegant spirit like him! He really has every intention of finding someone to complain about this horrible injustice to, but luckily for pretty much everyone, something else becomes much more pressing.

And that is the tiny, shivering, apologizing (?!) girl that has suddenly attached herself to his side. There's a moment where Kasen raises his arms up as if to avoid her getting him any more wet than she already is, but in some ways, he's very soft. As a resident team mom for the swords, once he gives her a proper look, a much gentler concern takes over.

...But he's still avoiding touching her any more than he has to. You're wet and his clothes can't take that, Mary!! ]

Ah, dear me... What's wrong, young lady?

iv-a!

[gravesite]

[ if there's anyone else that understands why monsters chase fluffy, white things that run around, sticking out glaringly through all the layers of dark nature colors, it's him.

in fact, he's already being chased by some monsters already; unlike her one moss monster, he has about........... twenty.............. or so........... stampeding after him. (there's a trail of flattened bushes behind him, and yes, someone will probably get mad at him later for this.)

so when he sees her in his path, there's no time to think twice — he'll apologize later, but for now, he grasps her wrist firmly, pulling her along behind him. ]

Come on!

phase I the dream

[failsaver]

That's new. Okay, that's new. Kind of knocked the breath out of me, but – [ Ket reaches over, contemplating petting Mary on the head in an attempt to comfort her... before poking her forehead instead. Some cartoon did it, so clearly he should follow suit. ]

– don't worry about it, sir. [ ... ] No, wait. Girl. Small girl. [ So that means... ]

Don't worry, small ma'am? Ma'am-chan? [ He's got this. ]

ii

[meatthefuture]

[he is about to move when the mossy thing charges, because he wasn't sure if it was gonna or not, but suddenly it freezes]

Eh? Did it fall asleep?

[approaches it]

I

[digiteyesed]

[Oh no gross now Ene is wet and muddy, ew!!! Shrieking at first and flailing her arms, because after the confusion and disorientation of their little trip the last thing she wants or expects is to be grabbed suddenly by a waterlogged fluffball.

...No wait.

She knows that fluffball.]

M-M-Mary!? Oi, did you fall in a swamp or something, are you okay?

iv-a!

[yasusada]

[ Yamato has been fond of the various monsters that's been in this jungle for as long as they've been here. What he finds exciting is that they'll chase after people and that's nothing but a battle sequence for him. So the moment that he finds one chasing after another person of the forest — he does make sure to follow. Sadly, the jungle is like a maze to him and he does get lost, standing in place and looking around doesn't take him long to feel someone bump into him.

Turning, he beams with happiness as he sees the monster is doing fine and even the young female is also well! What's much weirder is the fact that when the monster freezes in place, Yamato says nothing as he looks towards the female. ]

It stopped moving, I guess it's tired? You had nothing to be afraid of. [ Patting her fluffy head for just a moment, he stares at the monster's eyes. ] Those aren't as sparkly but.. I guess they'll do. I could collect them! [ But first!! He should make sure she's doing okay? And maybe they should ask the mama and papa monsters who are now slowly coming from the deepest part of the forest to see their sonion frozen. Ugh.. ] I think you're safe now!

i

[swordboning]

[You know, at first, Archer is honestly heavily frustrated. But he sighs, realizing it be dumb to take it out on her. Not to mention that he doesn't care if he gets dirty.]

What are you apologizing for. No one can expect someone like you to be okay out here.

[...this was troublesome. Rather than be a heartless fool, he picks up Mary.]

iv-b

[deontology]

[...... Mary....

It's not like Sousei is doing much better, admittedly; his hair is a mess, his hair tie having snapped with an unfortunate fall through the trees, and his clothing is a mess from his dip in the river after trying to help Kashuu.

(And he is having a little bit of trouble breathing, though he doesn't want to think too hard on that.)

Either way, when he sees her and those vines, he draws his sword immediately, slicing neatly through the vines holding her in place, reaching out to grab her wrist surprisingly gently to tug her away from the trees.

Sigh.]

Are you all right?

i

[colonially]

[OH Mary. Somehow this seems both familiar and fitting, doesn't it? Quatre glances down at the soggy little medusa as she attaches (he's still getting his bearings after landing in a pile of overly touchy foliage, but he's out of that at least).]

Mary?

[Poor thing. Is this fear hugging?] Are you all right? [No clue this isn't just a momentary startled hug. He'll figure it out soon.]

iv-b

[worldcup]

Hm?

[ Illya blinks at the other girl with a slight tilt of her head, blood red eyes wide. ] What did you say? I couldn't hear you.

phase iv-a!

[cutebutexpendable]

[ Even if Styx was close enough to do anything drastic, he sure as hell ain't getting up close and personal with that thing, so Mary's gonna be all alone (with the rhino monster) on the forest floor. ]

[ At least, until throwing daggers suddenly seem to sprout out of the rhino's head. Two thud harmlessly into its flowering horn-branch, but a third actually cuts into the flesh above an eye, stopping the monster's charge as it tries to figure out where these stings are coming from. Styx's voice rings out from somewhere behind Mary- ]

Move. MOVE!

Phase IV -B

[senseandcecilbility]

[Oh no, why is there a little lady in distress looking at him. That is unfair, madam. He has a weak spot for doleful stares of woe.]

Miss Mary, is that you?

[With the expertise of someone who is used to detangle hair (Michael and Raphael have always favored long cuts) he attempts to remove one of the weird vines.]

Ah, have you tried to ask them to leave?

iv-a

[coexistent]

[well, roxas was going to come charging in, keyblades in tow and make sure that mary didn't get hurt... but he kind of, sort of misses his opportunity.

not for a lack of trying, he's just a hair too far away, and by the time he's close enoguh, she's already got it frozen in place. his approach his from behind though, so roxas doesn't actually see the shift in her eyes.]

...Mary? Are you okay? [the next step is "we should get out of here," but making sure she's okay to do just that is priority. cannot! let friend! get hurt!]

IVA

[zombiedude]

[Nico is making his way through the jungle, putting together a rough mental map of the surrounding area as best he can. Having a survival plan (as well as an escape route) is a good idea, in his opinion.

He comes across someone backing up - away from something? - and he recognizes her from when they were stuck in the glitching ViVid system. He's not sure what she's looking at, to begin with; it's blocked from his vision by trees. He gets the feeling it's not something good though, so he quickens his steps, aiming to go around and maybe surprise it from behind if he can.

That proves unnecessary because he sees Mary's eyes flash a different color and the creature suddenly freezes. Nico hesitates for a moment, wondering what just happened, before he steps out from the trees into view so she can see him.]

Mary...? Are you alright...?

phase IV a

[queenofminiskirts]

[Kaoru happens upon Mary by accident, but the moment she's there, she's glaring at those vines. She still hasn't gotten used to how heavy the air was and it was making her irritated but she was livid when she stumbles on this scene.

She holds out a hand.]

Psychic Son't Go Around Picking On Girls! [When she chops her hand down in the air, the vines suddenly snap, leaving severed pieces of plant life in Mary's hair.] Mary! Are you okay?

IV-B

[zerotohiro]

[Mary...Hiro feels you on this one. Seriously. After hauling his low-battery-powered robot back to camp and finding he has to move around on his own without the constant nanny, he's been stomping around the jungle looking for anything to bring back.

It's then he runs across Mary though and his eyes widen as he watches her, then the vines, then her again before he shakes his head and snaps out of his stupor.]

What...happened here? [He approaches, curiously looking at the vines that seem to have a mind of their own. Sorry, scientist at work. He may or may not just be studying them first before figuring out how to help her.]

phase IV-b!

[notsmall]

[This girl. Is. So small. And so cute. And she looks so sad.

Iwatooshi must help her. Without hesitation, he drops to one knee, reaching for her hair and swatting the vines away with large, clawed hands.]

Ahaha, your hair so is pretty! I guess those weird vines thought the same thing, but I can't imagine having them pulling on it would feel nice!

[He gives a friendly smile, patting her hair down gently. Usually he prides himself on being terrifying to look at, but right now, he's really hoping he's not too scary, because this girl looks to be at her wit's end.]

Any better?

i! LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN this time without computer breakage

[scenting]

[ THERE IS A TINY CHILD CLINGING TO MALIA TATE and she is not entirely sure how to react. her arms sort of hang in the air uselessly and then comes the apology and she winces because, well. dog ears. ]

It's-- It's okay! It's okay.

[ and then she just. hesitantly pats mary on the head. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE MALIA HAD TO BIG SISTER SOMEONE, ALRIGHT. she sniffs the air for a moment and then nods. ]

Hey, you're not bleeding!

[ good news! she's trying to comfort her! ]