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.
|
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. ] |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
1
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?
no subject
Except when Mary actually tries to explain, all that emerges is a very distressed: ]
Your pretty clothes--
no subject
(You still have time to leave, Mary.)
But despite his thoughts, he smiles more kindly, then laughs warmly and gently. He's endeared by where her priorities lie, but he's also genuinely concerned that it's a bit more than that. ]
Oya, oya... It is quite all right! [ more or less ] Why, cleaning them up is only a matter of laundry, ultimately. It is not just that, is it?
no subject
[ Yeah, no, it's not 'just that', he's completely right. ]
no subject
[ At the very least, Kasen can put aside his own distaste (sort of) for the moment when confronted with someone who looks young and upset. He places a hand hesitantly, but very gently on her head as if to soothe her. ]
It is quite all right now, at least. Can I help you in any way? It would be quite unbefitting of me to simply be upset over this little trifle!
no subject
D-do... you have a towel?
[ That wouldn't consist of his clothes but ugh she is sopping wet and it's terrible. Of course, it's also highly unlikely he's carrying towels into the jungle, so. Well. You tried, Mary. ]
no subject
[ He draws his hand back, then looking down at himself, he ends up pinching the sleeves of his elegant outfit to pull at the white nagajuban under the blue outer kimono. He wouldn't give her the outer kimono to use as a towel, but that should be fine. ]
You can use this, if you would like. It is quite clean, I assure you! [ Because Kasen is particularly about cleanliness in the first place, but also because he's wearing a pluguit underneath, so his bare skin really doesn't touch much of the under-kimono. ]
MAKING ME LOOK UP NAGAJUBAN CHRISTY PLS
Is that really okay? [ It's so... white... and clean?? He's honestly okay with her getting that wet?! ]
UGH LISTEN i had to look it up too at least...
[ He reaches up and taps his collar instead where there's the odd black garment. It looks normal when it's all together like this, at least. ]
I'm wearing something underneath it, so it's really all right. I won't get my kimono dirty, and you can at least dry off a bit.
so long as we both suffered
... Thank you, then. I promise I'll clean it when I... can...
[ IT'S HARD TO DO LAUNDRY IN THE JUNGLE. ]
no subject
[ He bows his head lightly and politely, then starts to take off the cape first. That would seem easier to offer, but considering how fine that is, it's no surprise that he didn't, really... He simply alternates the cape between his arms as he pulls the kimono down to his waist. This is all still normal. However, once he pull off the nagajuban to do the same and then untuck it from his hakama, the truth is revealed...!!
One, that elegant collar hides a frightening truth. It's definitely a skintight plugsuit underneath all of those elegant clothes. Two, Kasen is surprisingly muscular...?!
Don't react to these frightening truths too much, Mary. ]
no subject
HER FACE IS FIRMLY SMASHED INTO HER PALMS. ]
no subject
Ah. ]
Oh!
[ It dawns on him all at once, and he quickly, and a bit messily pulls up the kimono to cover his shame... Mostly. He'll have to tighten it a bit. ]
I'm so sorry! That was a bit, er— Young lady, are you all right?
no subject
no subject
[ Are you calling him unattractive, Mary??? That's route number one to Kasin appearing, since calling him inelegant is a grave crime! He pulls his kimono a little more securely over his chest, then murmurs: ]
Well, yes, it's safe...
no subject
[ FOR SOME REASON THIS IS REALLY EMBARRASSING. She doesn't see stupidly muscular men that often!!
She's so flustered right now.
(But why the plugsuit.) ]
no subject
...He decides that no, he doesn't. It's probably better that way, since if he thinks too much about it, he'll probably get upset. He knows himself well enough to know that, so instead he busies himself with quickly and very neatly folding up the kimono, which he then hands to her once he's satisfied. He didn't really need to fold it up, but he did anyways... ]
Well, no matter. Here you are, young lady.
no subject
... My name is Mary. [ And she dips her head politely, still somewhat pink in the face. ] Thank you, sir.
no subject
[ There's no hesitation in adding the suffix, since she's definitely a "-chan" so far as he's concerned... He was clinging to him and crying over getting his clothes dirty, that's adorable. ]
My name is Kasen Kanesada. [ if you thought this was the end of his introduction, no, if only. ] I am a famous liberal arts sword who loves elegance. Pleased to meet you.
no subject