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}
no subject
[This was one heck of a way to return to Cerealia. She had been missing to some degree and when she first appeared, ready to run to Hirari and the others...she was suddenly in the air. Transported by some means she's quick to start a chant allowing her to land with ease where they arrive next.
Looking with wide eyes, Botan is completely uncertain of what is happening...just what did she miss?
Wary of the flowers and plant life she takes a deep breath, luckily being of the element air. In her wanders she discovers a patch of interesting flowers.]
Beautiful... [Still she needs to find the others...she notices some others that are scattered where they land. Hurrying to them in case they need first aid.]
Are you okay?
PHASE III
[Botan doesn't mind much of the wildlife, most of it seems content with her too. There are some perks to her calming nature but still he best find is the village. She wouldn't want to steal from the dead but she will at least make use of some items before she returns them.
Attempting to make a fire outside of one of the homes, she drops the gathered wood she found. It was surprisingly muggy on this world, it was rather humid in temperature though so it makes sense. Still she goes to setting up some of the sticks using some small items she found.
When it goes silent, the shikigami looks around...wary of it. Anyone that approaches might find her clearly on edge.]
I
[ The fall had taken him by surprise. No longer was he in his room, about to leave for the day, but suddenly in midair and landing harshly onto the ground. At least he didn't squash any flowers or bugs, but hitting the ground so squarely on his back knocked the air out of his lungs and winded him. ]
... ah, Botan-san? Are you okay?
[ He breathes in deeply, able to catch his breath and unaffected by the suffocating moistness of the jungle air. ]
Re: I
I'm okay, I was able to land well...you don't have any injuries right?
[Botan is honestly worried it would be bad to be injured as soon as they arrived here.]
no subject
I don't think so. [ His sword is fine, after all, so he is also fine. Kogi takes a moment to size up the situation, taking in the environment, and comes to the conclusion that: ]
... so we're outside now, huh? Was it because of that spirit?
[ Kogi could sense it. ]
no subject
I'm glad you're okay.
...We do seem to be now...a spirit?
[She has been gone for a little while now but that sort of thing would make sense...]
I see...
no subject
I'm glad you're okay, too. Hirari-san must be worried as well! We should find him, I hope he's safe...
[ He just likes his friends very much. ]
no subject
[At the mention of Hirari her expression softens.]
Thank you, Kogi-dono...I'm sorry I worried any of you.
no subject
All is well. I figure that two spirits like us can navigate this jungle pretty easily? As long as none of the creatures that live here are terribly aggressive.
[ Of course, he's pointing to some of the dragon-like creatures that have been just sitting and watching them. ]
... think they're nice?
no subject
no subject
[Sayo doesn't sound like it, as he's trying to breathe after landing in a bush. It cushioned his fall, but it still surprised and knocked some air out of him. He looks up and and see Botan with one eye. His other eye is covered by a leaf, which he reach out and swipe it away with his hand.]
Botan-san?
no subject
Yes, it's me...I'm glad to see you're okay. [Gently she offers him a hand, to help pull him from the bush.]
no subject
[One moment, he'll try to get himself out from this bush. Which ends in in rolling out and lands on the ground, crouching down as he try to regain he breath. It's still a bit hard to breathe here. He doesn't even care if he's getting his legs and hands dirty like this.
Although there are some leaves in his hair from the bush. He looks up at her.]
Are you... alright?
no subject
I'm okay, are you sure everything is fine, Sayo?
no subject
[But for some reason, Botan doesn't seem to have the same problem. Maybe he's more affected by the landing than he thought.]
no subject
i
I was so worried, Botan!
no subject
I'm sorry I worried you... [Rubbing his side she feels stitches and gives him a worried look.] Hirari what happened?
no subject
[ He doesn't know what he would do if she disappeared on him again. He's okay with waiting, he will wait forever, but it hurts so much. He hugs her tighter, breathing in her scent before answering, still not letting go. ]
Me and a few groups of people went inside a Ceres place. There was a ghost-like creature that attacked that dragon that's here and when I tried to kill it, it attacked me. It's okay, I went to the hospital so the poison didn't kill me.
no subject
[Botan lets him hug her all the tighter...she's still a little in shock of vanishing so quickly. Though her concern is more on his side now, he was hurt...and she wasn't here. She feels terrible about that.]
Let me see your side.
no subject
[ She couldn't help it. Nothing of what happened was her fault, and he was one of the lucky ones. Him and Rei were the only ones who died. He couldn't even save the dragon in the end.
He pulls away to let her see, but he doesn't let go of her sleeve. ]
no subject
[She really didn't and she felt horrible for it happening, the last thing she wanted was to leave him. The injury was worrying enough, if she knew he died it would be even worse.
Looking at his side she feels her stomach turning...she could have helped him. She can feel her chest tightening.]
Let me try to heal you...does it hurt?
it was supposed to say "didn't" die, i suck
[ It had to be Ceres who had done something. He doesn't know what, but it was something and they were most likely the cause. ]
It's okay. It doesn't hurt much anymore.
lol all good!
[At least she did come back...since it seems that wasn't the case for everyone here.]
...I'm sorry.
<3
[ He leans forward to kiss her forehead. ]
It's not your fault.
no subject