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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Since the song had been annoying anyway, he's turning his CereVice back off and tucking it into a pocket, not bothering to sweep any dirt off of his pants from where he was sitting.]
"Useful" is kind of an optimistic word right now. I'm pretty sure this whole village is like a museum of the dead, so it's not exactly the kind of place you want to set up shop.
[He nods in acknowledgment of Gino's statement; a few days ago it might have been an odd thing to say, but now, it's just one more part of dealing with life here.]
And it sounds like you've been having a great time on this field trip too, Gino.
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Here I was thinking we could stay here, [ if it seemed safe enough. but gino's right to mention that they're constantly being watched. it does feel that way doesn't it?
this is a new adventure for akane tsunemori, and she's absolutely determined to make the most out of this exeprience until they get back to the colony. of course, what "most" might be is still up in the air. but she's sure she'll be able to survive. she's learned a bit of martial arts, she has a gun, all she needs is a knife or a spear and she'll be set to hunt and get some food. yeah, she'll do that. whether or not gino and kagari were thinking about doing it, she'll join them even if they say no. ]
Have any of you seen Kogami?
[ and of course, she'd ask about him. for all she knew, the man had turned back to code again. ]
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[ The dark part of a doorway to an abandoned house illuminates as Kogami lights himself a cigarette. He seems calm and collected as usual, but considering this is Day 3 of their adventure it's kind of expected, isn't it? If anything, this stray wolf feels right at home in a place like this - he was more or less prepared for this sort of life when he decided to become a fugitive. ]
Whatever used to be here, hasn't been here in a very long time. Nothing looks as if it's been raided. We can stay here for the night before we move on.
[ They'll need the rest, especially Mr. 4-Hour Sleep over here. ]
kogami why are you so rude
The other half though, is a little too dedicated to even consider that option more than a flight of fancy.
Akane brings up a good point, being able to rest here for a little while. It wasn't in the best condition, but it was more optimal than spending another night in the jungle. He's about to agree and answer a negatory when Shinya appears. Of course he would've beaten them here. Of course he would look like he's right at home.
And of course he'd have to make a jab at Gino's expense. Already feeling cross, Gino just stares him down, lips pressed in a line. ]
Regardless of whether it'd been raided or not, it provides us with more control over protection. This way, we can tell where something is coming from, instead of remaining on edge persistently. [ He doesn't know about the rest of you, but he's drained from that alone. ]
Getting enough rest will put us in a better place; exhaustion leads to mistakes.
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Great, everybody's in one piece and we can all have a nice little sleepover in the ghost village while we hope nothing tries to eat anybody overnight.
[He's honestly not a fan of the idea of actually trying to stay in the village for the night, but he's not about to wander off on his own or make a big deal out of it, either. He's tired too.]
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This place is abandoned, and there doesn't seem to be any sign of footprints from those monsters we've encountered the past few days. We should be safe.
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At least Kagari is having fun.
Not.]I don't mind starting the watch. [ He had already lit his cigarette, so no point in checking out now. ] There are some notes I'd like to go over anyway.
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I'm sure if anything wants to consume us, we'll know about it fairly quickly, Kagari.
[ What a wild imagination. Though probably not off the mark too much. ]
Kogami will go first– we should figure out the remaining shifts as well. Inspector Tsunemori, Kagari, how are you feeling?
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If Ko's going first, I don't mind going second. I mean, I'm sure you guys are exhausted too.
[Plus, their environment isn't exactly conducive to getting a good night's sleep. He figures that even with the opportunity to rest more than he's been able to so far, he wouldn't be able to stay asleep for too long anyway.]
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basically, she's tired from trying to look for food that's actually edible, and just hunting down small creatures on her own. it's not fun, you guys. while akane may be patient as hell, this is actually taking a toll on her.
still, she doesn't want to look weak to her colleagues. which is why— ]
I'll go after Kagari, then.
[ gino can go last. no problem with that. that is, if anybody has no objections. ]
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Then it's settled. [ He can't help but smirk, feeling like they're acting as a cohesive unit again. ] Let's make sure we recover plenty before tomorrow.
I'M SORRY EVERYONE......
Glancing at Akane, he tries to object as gently as possible. Which this is Ginoza...when is he ever not blunt? ]
Inspector, you need more rest. I'll take your shift.