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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She's also help serving, so whenever someone needs more, she'll give it to them. For now, she's trying to see if he wants another serving of meat.]
It is best to conserve bullets, yes. [Whatever he has left. Also when did he suddenly think she's all of those occupations!!!!] One would need quite a big trap, but as long as you are able to immobilise it, it should not be hard to end it swiftly, no? Bait and trap it, a group to secure the limbs, and one to end it.
You did well just shooting it too, seeing how big it is. Your aim must be exceptional.
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[ He takes another serving from the ex marine special forces black ops eagle two lady. ]
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Yes, I've been trained. [And had to use them a lot in the past...STOP BEING RIGHT.]
What are you? I mean your work, in the past. [That's right, she's going to ask him first.]
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But then again, Akane isn't a good cook and Kogami likes that, too, so take it with a grain of salt. ]
It probably doesn't look that way now, I imagine.
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WHO LIKES HER FOOD. Look, she doesn't care about standards as long as they're approved of? Everyone has different tastes!]
None of us are in our comfort zone here. But your skills as a detective makes you strong, no? You took down that beast by yourself.
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It's your turn, Vietnam. [ If that is your real name. ]
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Myself? I am a country. [Lol.] In a way, I am like a spirit? I respond to a boss, who is a country leader, and I assist accordingly. [Which includes politics and military work. HMMM.]
1/???
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done.
[ HE SHOULD HAVE GUESSED... ]
ALL OF THAT...
No, I am not a normal person. [WELL HE'S NOT WRONG.] But I suppose I am more normal here.
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Does that mean you can die here? [ Spirits can't die, but she did say she's more normal here. Also leave it to Kogami to take this conversation in a cynical direction. ]
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But yes, I can die here. [He's figured it out already.] It's one of the few things they took away from me. But other than that, I am not much different to a human.
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[ Says the guy who would probably bring Sasayama back to life with forbidden alchemy if this were a different canon. ]
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I am lot less reckless now, yes. I just need to remember this. [Because she still heals fast, which means she can still jump into fires and anything that can't kill her immediately. IF IT'S NOT INITIALLY FATAL...also he can't talk.]
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You'll be fine, Vietnam. As for your age, thank you for the offer, but I think I'm still trying to wrap my head around swords and ships for now.
[ Someday, he'll have a normal conversation with a normal human here. ]
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Thank you for...how to say, vote of confidence. [She laughs softly before clearing her throat.] Perhaps you will meet one soon. I know for certain the swords function a little differently to myself.
But if it will help you think of us as humans, I can give you another name. [Is he about to explode. Is he Old.]
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[ He's not sure if it will help or not, but he's curious at least. She seems more open about it anyway, so why not oblige. ]
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Sen. Sen Linh Đoàn. I need this especially for paperwork. [SOMETIMES THEY DON'T TAKE SINGLE NAMES.] I do not mind which of my names you prefer to use.
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[ It does make her seem more human, doesn't it? He supposes it's courtesy to tell her his full name, too. In Western order, because that's how it's translated in Cerealian. ]
Shinya Kogami.
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[She repeats that in her head. And since it's in her head, she can reverse the order to a proper Asian order.] It flows nicely.