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 IS REALLY TIRED OF BEING PICKED UP AND UNCEREMONIOUSLY DROPPED WITH NO REGARD AS TO WHAT HE'S FALLING ON OR IN. Really tired. Though he would have more to say about it if he hadn't hit that branch at an awkward angle that knocked the wind out of him.
A silver lining, perhaps: he still remembers enough of pole vaulting to be somewhat prepared for being hurled into solid objects. (But he absolutely has never hit his head on the side poles, let alone enough times to count). However, even if he sees this one coming--and he does--it doesn't stop him from falling, and that contact is going to leave a nasty bruise later. And it certainly doesn't help matters that the cloying, humid air is difficult to breathe in the first place, making his attempt to catch his breath as he's hanging from that high branch much easier.
But if you pass by and ask what he's doing? He's just hanging out.
(Look, he has to maintain his dignity somehow.)]
PHASE IV
[All he'd wanted to do was observe. His poking around at the wildlife had been purely scientific interest, thank you very much, and if he's going to be stuck here, there's no way to come up with a plan to the opposite effect without knowing what they're dealing with, right?
But of course, Ryugazaki Rei, not!hipster blogger and lover of everything beautiful, hadn't exactly been...unbiased with his choices of plants to observe, and has easily been attracted to an artful arrangement of colorful vines.
Vines that he's now wrapped up in. (
This isn't that kind of anime, please don't let it be that kind of anime.) And could use a little help. (Or mocking, take your pick.)]iv
Then he draws his saber from its scabbard.]
Hold still.
[Without waiting for an answer, he will then proceed to chop the vines clinging to the tree. Unfortunately, he doesn't notice one tendril snaking up behind him to grab his ankle...]
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Of course, in the first few minutes, embarrassment had been the furthest thing from his mind, yelling for help to little avail. As the vines became more constricting, so too had his cries of protest, until he's very luckily stumbled upon.]
Y-yes, of course!
[Because who honestly argues when a sword comes swinging near your face or limbs? Had they been back in Cerealia, he might have argued that a sword seemed outdated or unnecessary, perhaps even foolhardy next to deadlier technologies, but out here? He couldn't be more grateful.
Unfortunately, he's too focused on staying absolutely rigid while attempting to watch Edgeworth's swings, that it leaves little attention to the vines that aren't still desperately trying to cling to him.]
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...and winds up stepping into the path of the sneaky vine. It promptly snags Edgeworth's foot, yanking him backward so he drops to the ground with a painful thump, dropping his sword with a yelp.]
Aaargh!
[He flips over onto his back to see the rest of the colorful vines, resembling a very excited nest of snakes. Edgeworth raises one hand, but two vines slither down to wrap around his two wrists.
Right now, only one person can save him, and it's that teenager he just freed.]
Grab my sword and cut one of the vines! Quickly!
omg bless
A ridiculous thought, but then, so is this tendency to bruise his knees. Or elbows. Or...everything.
Rei rises immediately with a stumble and a yelp. His gaze moves from the sword to the vines now winding its way around Edgeworth's limbs, and gives a startled whimper. This. Cannot. Be Real. But there's no time to consider, none to argue that he has no idea what he's doing, none to read up on how.
Thank fast, Rei.
He swallows around the thick lump in his throat, his clearly uncertainty taking its toll, and picks up the sword. It's heavier than he expects, moreso than any book would have adequately prepared him for, but not unwieldy. (Ha.) He thinks to warn that he's only ever seen this done in films he often falls asleep during, but bites it back.
No time, Rei.
He moves for the vines at Edgeworth's writers first. Logically that seems best, doesn't it?]
UNLEASH THE BEAST IN YOU, REI
Grunting with the effort, he extends his arms toward Rei for the teenager to strike, the vines making unpleasant crackling sounds as they strain to maintain their hold on Edgeworth.
Rei shouldn't miss. Come on, give it your best shot!]
!!!
I
Have heard humans come from monkeys. Am now seeing how that could be so! [Oona is not a nice person.
She laughs openly at him, tilting her head this way and that as she tries to figure out how he'd get down]
omgggg
[Rei, is now really the best time to get into this?]
That theory is largely simplistic and does not account for the continued existence of modern apes--
[Apparently so. He goes on like this for another few moments before the strain of hanging onto the tree branch finally proves to be too much, and he falls--again, rather unceremoniously--into the thick underbrush below. After a series of groaning, he lifts shakily to his feet. Not terribly injured--he's had worse falls, and training in how to do so from a height, at least--but banged up enough that he could have avoided much of it if he hadn't been too busy trying to get into an argument, and...wait a minute...]
Are you implying that you are not human?
[Because clearly he has his priorities straight, right? He could, in fact, choose to be miffed that she hadn't even tried to lend assistance...or even the vaguest consolation, and instead, he's blinded by science.]
slowly collects all of the free boys....
But the tell-tale groan of the tree limb tells her she better start backing up-- which she does, laughing outright when he falls.] You are not injured? [First things first, because despite her amusement it'd suck if he was-- it'd mean she'd feel responsible for seeing him somewhere safe or potentially having to take care of it.
And with Oona's lack of a healing touch (in pretty much all aspects) this would have been a disaster.
But his question gets acknowledged with an incline of her head, expression growing briefly annoyed and then resigned] Of course not. Am much better than human. [She tosses her hair over her should in a motion that looks practiced (it is)] Am mermaid. In human form now, of course, but still mermaid. Much better than human!
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A mermaid. That is impossible.
[And it's said with such conviction, despite all of the "impossible" he's seen over the last week or so.]
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i.
For the past 5 minutes or so.
That isn't to say that Adolf's also just standing there doing nothing— no, he's been trying to scope out the sun's position in the sky (there seem to be about 3 suns, so this isn't working out all that well) checking his supplies (5 knives, his meds, and nothing else), and noting that all the foliage in this place looks mildly ready to slither over and kill the lot of them.
Comforting.
During this time, this kid still hasn't seen fit to... get a move on, so Adolf heaves a sigh under his breath and steps out of the shadows (why was he there, that's disconcerting) to call out: ]
Get a move on. You're probably standing in something poisonous.
[ Rude. ]
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He actually startles out of that very consideration when he hears Adolf's voice, and at least has the decency to look ashamed, as if he's missed a whole conversation in his hyper-focus. At least until those words sink in, and he loudly yelps, and vaults over the gathering of gathering of plants he's still standing in.]
Poisonous?!
[Rei, you're in basically unexplored jungle. This shouldn't come as such a surprise, should it?]
I'M HERE, I'M FINALLY HERE
[ Is what he emphasizes here again, meaning that he has no way of knowing if the oddly-bright flowers by Rei's feet are truly poisonous or if they're, you know. Just gaudy. Either way, they don't look safe, if the fact that they seem to be swaying on their own without a breeze is any indication.
Someone should make this eelman watch a Dsiney movie, maybe then he'll stop being so suspicious.
But here he is, making a motion with one hand for Rei to scoot on over to a relatively empty patch of grass, away from ominous tendrils and something that looks like a giant hornet-beetle. ]
And that bug is 'probably' not too happy that you're here. Better not stay in one place for too long.
\o/ ANGELIC CHOIR
T-thank you!
[He stumbles over that note of thanks and repeats it a couple times for good measure.]
I have to say: you don't seem very bothered by all of this.
[The tell-tale signs for panic are not present, at the very least.
And he's practically best friends with them.]i ruin this 500 years later when captcha turns on
shhhh
iv.
that said, emerging from the underbrush to the sight of rei ryugazaki, hanging upside down, glasses falling into his hair, showing off his nipples for all the world to see, doesn't elicit alarm as rin's first reaction.
he hasn't slept well since he got here. he's possibly eaten one too many poisonous mushrooms. he's sick and tired of roughing it, he wants a shower, and he's dying for some steak. but now, all he can do is laugh, and laugh, and laugh. maybe it's a bit manic.
but it's the best he's felt in days. rei can afford a minor blow to his pride, okay, it comes with the territory.
the vines seem to have taken a liking to rei, anyway. he's being rocked back and forth like a baby. a slender pink tendril plucks rei's glasses off his head and deposits it safely on the ground. the rocking intensifies. ]
How's it hanging, Rei?
[ he manages to cough out, once the laughter has quieted. ]
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[Rei never really had ever learned to laugh at himself. Because as it stands, this is an embarrassing display that absolutely deserves to be laughed at, and he can only thank any and every god possible that it's only Rin here to witness this ridiculous shame, and not Nagisa.
His face is already red enough, though much of this is due to the sudden shift in his equilibrium and blood rush to his head. If he dared to look, however, that flush extends far past his face, and is, in fact, unmistakable for shame.
Why is this horrible series of unfortunate events suddenly his life? What had the universe had against a quiet inclination toward homework and a drive for perfect school attendance? This is karmic paybay, somehow, if only he knew what for.]
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Nice boxers. I'm digging the rainbows.
[ sorry, rei. rin's been stressed and out-of-his mind for days; now it's impossible to turn off the shitty sense of humor.
in a show of helpfulness, he does scoop up a stick off the ground to nudge at the vines, trying to see whether it's just rei for whom they have a penchant or if anything will do. one of the vines springs loose, coiling around the stick.
it has the added effect of loosening rei's left leg. he might've dropped far enough to dislocate one of his other limbs, but rin steps in to steady him, still laughing under his breath. easy-peasy, just gotta distract the other ones. all the while continuing to give rei a hard time. ]
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Rin-san, please. Now is not the time!
[The statement would have been accompanied with a sigh, were he in better condition to give it. Instead, he's slightly dizzy from the bloodrush to his head from being hung upside-down, horribly embarrassed, and in desperate need of help.
He's not in much of a place to argue with how the latter is given.
He does, on the other hand, hate feeling this helpless. (Ryugazaki Rei: human in distress). But even despite the laughter, Rin's helping to steady him when he feels some of the vines pull loose, and he's thankful someone is here, even in spite of how often these things seem to happen.
Rei doesn't test his "restraints" until he feels the other leg go loose. It's not exactly the most graceful descent, but it's a far cry from this "falling from the sky" talent he's seemed to have unfortunately mastered overnight. There's a final vine still wrapped around his wrist, but a forcible enough pull only loses him a sleeve as his arm springs free.
And there's the sigh.
Before he realizes his shirt is still bunched up and askew, and pulls it down suddenly. The redness in his face then isn't just from the bloodrush.
Why this.]
This wasn't what-- [Bite back that denial, he's seen everything. He's still laughing. There's no arguing it.] Thank you.
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phase iv!
granted, it's not as strange as the time he found haru murmuring affectionately to the pool or nagisa impersonating an extraterrestrial in order to get the iwatobi swim team to believe in the validity of aliens and ufos in their universe, but rei trussed by vines is high up on the spectrum. definitely a seven on the abnormality scale. but as makoto retains an actual conscience, he doesn't bat an eye starting forward, mouth frantically running off the gas fumes of concern, commiseration localized to his contracting hands as he brandishes a sharp fallen branch with about as much composure as a regular swim captain can reasonably bely in the jungle. ]
Rei! Are you okay?! Hold on, I'll get you out of there!
[ he's careful to step around the snaking tendrils, sawing along the stems sprouting around his teammate's wrist bones. once one of his underclassman's hands are freed, makoto works on disentangling one of his other appendage with diligent focus. he's so caught up in his endeavor that he doesn't discern the trellising vine languishing against his nape that, for all intents and purposes, wants nothing better than to play hangman with makoto's neck.
now might be a good time to warn/save makoto from getting the noose?!?! literally. ]
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i!
if it helps any, she's also wearing floral patterns. she's not totally barbaric. ]
If you drop, I'll catch you.
[ yes, please trust this random teen girl. totally safe here. ]
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iv
But he doesn't understand why anyone would poke the vines until they tried to choke the life out of you. That just seems counter-productive to surviving.
So when he comes across this kid wrapped up like a rainbow birthday present to nature, he stops, stares and then sighs.]
The hell did you do to get yourself in this mess?
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phase i