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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He's kicking his legs a bit and trying to wiggle himself free but as before, it only serves to make his sides hurt from digging so much into the tree. So he's going to try to stop moving -- yet he keeps kicking his legs and waving his arms. After a second, Mikazuki calls out for Kogi and makes grabby hands towards the little fox so far away from the crescent moon. ] Kogiii...can you get me down?
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You're trapped, huh? Maybe if you stop wiggling and just try to slide out, I can catch you. [ The little fox, opening his arms so wide to show how great his arm span is, though not before making grabby hands of his own at the grandpa with a worried smile. ]
Here. Just come down, unless you want me to go up there and get you?
[ Because Kogi will, no matter how awkward it could get. ]
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-- And it works! Mikazuki pretty easily slips out of the tree and is falling from a great height but isn't worried at all that he'll hit the ground. He lands quite perfectly in Kogi's familiar arms with a little laugh, smiling faintly prior to thanking Kogi for always faithfully being there for this old man. ]
Aaah, I must say being stuck in your arms is FAR the more favorable than being stuck in a tree. [ Jiji is terrible. ] Thank you, Kogi. It's only the first day here and you've already saved me twice, ahaha. Hopefully that will be the last time I need saving.
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Well, I'm glad you think that! Trees have nothing on me, you know. [ He laughs confidently. Trees = 0, little foxes = 1. Kogi likes keeping score on things like these. ]
Other than being stuck, are you alright? No scratches or cuts, hm? [ Kogi gives Mikazuki a once over, even giving the sword one! There's no way he'll let Mikazuki go by himself now, anyway, so he's stuck with Kogi doting over him. ]
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[ His physical body on the other hand? ] Being stuck there for so long left my sides a little sore, haha. But nothing a little rest can't fix! [ He's rubbing his own sides a little before he pats Kogi on his cheeks a few times, assuring him that he's perfectly fine otherwise. Afterwards, he hops down (reluctantly) and takes his dirtied sword and tries to dust it off as best he can before sheathing it.
Mikazuki then turns back towards Kogi with a meaningful smile and an offered hand so that they can be in constant contact, just in case. ] We should head further in and see if we can find anyone else, yes?
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The gentle face pats make him feel more calm and with it, a smile forms on his slowly relaxing features. He's a little concerned about how tightly the tree may have treated Mikazuki, and he frowns at it. ]
... the tree could have been nicer to you. [ The little fox sighs, though he's happy the Jijii is finally out of his perilous situation. He's quick to grab Mikazuki's hand, giving it a squeeze. ]
Yes, we should look for others. This place could be dangerous, you know? We're very lucky to have escaped any sort of major problems.
[ Danger is lurking around every turn. They have to trust their feelings... ]
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Hm. [ Putting his free hand to his chin, Mikazuki curiously looks at the large river that separates the two tachi from the other side of the jungle. After a second though, he just turns to Kogi and asks his opinion. ] What do you think? We could try to forge across but... [ Do swords even know how to swim??? ]
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Kogitsunemaru hums thoughtfully, kneeling down to pick up a fallen branch that some tree (he wishes it is a limb from a relative of the one that wouldn't let Mikazuki go). It's long, probably long enough to touch the bottom of the river if possible. Thankfully, it doesn't even seem to move very quickly, but the width is a little worrisome. ]
Let's see.
[ And so he thrusts the stick down into the murky water while still on his knees and realizes that he can't touch the bottom with it. ]
Ugh, it's so deep! I don't know if I can... wait.
[ The stick is suddenly airborne and Kogi is fortunate to have let go? Something underneath the water has snatched it, flung it up and away. ]
... do you still want to go in the water? [ He looks up and behind him to Mikazuki, clearly a little worried. If only they could fly... ]
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Perhaps further down there will be...aha! Over there should do it. [ And Mikazuki leads them to a particular section of the river that happens to have some conveniently stepping stones. They're the best option instead of swimming or wading through the water at the moment and it's still kind of dangerous but there's nowhere else to go! ]
Would you like to go first or should I? [ He promises to release their held hands for this part only. ]
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This does look much better. [ The water doesn't seem as aggressive here, though it's probably still as deep. Maybe the stones block off the predators that lurk in the water as well and Kogitsunemaru is still pretty uncomfortable about the prospect of slipping.
But it is the safest route... ]
If you go first, then I will keep an eye out for anything dangerous. [ Kogi squeezes Mikazuki's hand again. There's no way anything will go wrong if he can help it. ]
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So be careful but as long as you go fast across, there's no problems! [ Smiling a little, Mikazuki promises to keep an eye out for any trouble on his end just as Kogitsunemaru did for him. Though he suspects nothing will go wrong, you can never be too careful in an unknown environment. He'll ready himself to leap at a moment's notice for Kogi of course, since the fellow tachi is someone Mikazuki would gladly go to the ends of the earth for. ]