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
It certainly is a change from the norm.
[the monsters lurking everywhere feels almost homely. granted, the lack of blastia to protect from them makes it less so, but it'd be a reality soon enough, anyway. the smile soon gives way to a more thoughtful expression.]
But what strikes me most is that the village lacks any noticeable sign of having been attacked.
[maybe it's too old to tell, but nothing screams attack. most of the structures, though old, are in tact and there's knickknacks of various kinds everywhere: neither indicative of attack. factor in a lack of weapons scattered about, something almost expected if the villagers put up a fight, and it really raises the question if an attack was what ended this village's prosperity.]
no subject
Crossing his arms in thought. ]
Yeah, but it might be too old to tell. I'm not sure whether the lack of technology indicates its age, or just that they weren't as advanced as CERES. [ He's not familiar with the full history of this world, or anything. It's a little more difficult to draw conclusions without things to compare this to (such as architectural patterns of eras, etc). A pause. ] But if they weren't attacked, then maybe it was something else. [ Hmhmhmm. ] Did they relocate due to the environment? Or maybe someone forced them out ...
[ He's sure if CERES were to force them out, they could do it rather cleanly, thanks to their technology and power. But where does this village stand in the timeline in relation to CERES' technology? ]
no subject
Environment might not have been the factor. If they moved here then they had to have been aware of the threats the creatures and surrounding area posed.
[no one moves into a jungle without taking the right precautions. that'd just be dumb. granted, for all flynn knows, the people could have been complete morons, but chances are, they took the right measures in order to survive and that resulted in them being able to actually build a village here. that also rules out one other possibility about what happened, at least.]
But being forced to move could certainly be a possibility. Quite a number of items were left behind, so they may have lacked time or ability to take everything.
[and ceres seems the sort to force innocent people out of their homes. then again, it might not have been ceres, either. nothing around the immediate area gives any indication about, well, anything. ho hum, think think think... what can the answer to this mystery be?]
no subject
I think the idea that they were forced to leave might be the best one we have, then. [ If they weren't attacked, and didn't relocate of their own accord, then this is the best one that matches what they're seeing. ]
I wonder if there are any other villages in this jungle that might be able to help us solve this ...
[ If this one is here, then there are bound to be others. Possibly with people. ]
no subject
It definitely is possible. Organizing a proper group for some exploration could help determine whether or not any other ones beside this one exist.
[this might be thinking too far ahead, however. exploring should probably wait until everyone isn't trying to just survive in this forest. so many of them are scattered various locations, too. organizing may not be impossible, but definitely difficult. if only the cerevices functioned...]
Though that may need to wait until we have a means to organize and learn more about our present situation.
no subject
I'm sure we'll have a chance to organize something! Everyone's all over the place right now, but I think we'll have to come together eventually. They brought us out here for a reason, I think, so somethings gotta give.
[ Maybe the people who brought them out here will fix the issue of everyone being all over the place?? If they could transport them out here like this, then there's gotta be something they can do for the situation. And he pauses for a moment before — ]
By the way, my names Sorey. [ And he smiles all friendly-like!
It just seemed like a good time to introduce himself after all that heavy conversation. ]
no subject
True. Even if the spirits don't lend their aid, we will organize ourselves.
[friendly does beat heavy and introductions are never a bad idea. flynn returns the smile, offering a hand to shake as well.]
Flynn Scifo. It's a pleasure, Sorey.
no subject
It's nice to meet you, too, Flynn. [ Annnddd ... handshakes are not quite in his human-social-interaction vocabulary. So he's a little thrown off by Flynn extending his hand for a moment — he actually glances in the direction he extended it, just in case he's pointing at something ... or something.
BUT then he realizes he should maybe take his hand?? That makes sense. So he just kind of grabs his hand, after a moment of delay. Flynn will have to initiate the shaking. ]
no subject
thanks to that uncertainty, no shaking comes immediately when sorey takes his hand and that only fuels how confused flynn feels. anyone watching would get to see a very awkward scene with two guys just holding hands. awkwardly. so awkwardly. rather than start the shake, the course of action taken is to keep standing like that while asking a very obvious question.]
Is something wrong?
[because this is not how you handshake, bro.]
no subject
But Flynn's reaction to Sorey grabbing his hand makes Sorey feel like he's done something wrong, and he's not quite sure how to fix it. Was grabbing his hand wrong?? He's not going to let go though, not yet.
He sounds a little bit sheepish. ] Ah, no. Why do you ask that?
[ Hahahah ... M-Maybe Flynn will tell him what's wrong if he asks that. ]
no subject
the lack of shaking has flynn more and more uncertain. it's not the holding hands in the middle of the jungle for god knows how long that causes the uncertainty; it's not doing a gesture so obvious!! what reason could ther-- wait... could it be...]
It's just... [he pauses, frowning a little.] Are handshakes inappropriate where you come from?
[is this an insult somewhere?? different worlds are bound to have different customs. had he accidentally insulted sorey without even knowing it??]
no subject
So this is mostly to himself, and he has the expression of a guy who just figured something out. ] ... Handshake?
[ SO ... that's what they were supposed to do. Okay. Makes sense!! He thinks. But he waves his free hand to dismiss Flynn's question. ]
No, no! That's not it! Handshakes are fine!!
[ Finally initiating that shake!! A little enthusiastically like he's trying to cover up what just happened. ]
no subject
his eyes jump down at the overly enthusiastic handshake. not QUITE right, but it's a step up from awkward hand holding. after a moment, a small, if warm smile gets sent sorey's way.]
Try slowing down the shaking itself and use a slightly firmer grip.
[rather then call the guy out, why not teach him the ways of the handshake, instead? far less embarrassing and a good handshake can go a long way. yup, handshake master flynn thinks this option is the best option.]
no subject
Sorey looks at him a little curiously for a moment before doing as he says, slowing his shaking down and trying to hold his hand a bit more firmly? He hopes he's doing this well enough, and he appreciates Flynn's niceness about it ... And it's always good to learn things. ]
... Like this ...?
no subject
Yes, much better.
[it's at this point his own grip loosens, a sign to put an end to their fun hand holding. the handshake lesson, however, doesn't end right there. instead, flynn decides to elaborate a little on the importance of a solid shake.]
A handshake can at times make or break a first impression, as silly as the notion sounds.
no subject
Wait, really?
[ He's maybe a little concerned he's made bad first impressions because of this. And he's glad he was taught how to properly shake someone's hand now ... ]
I guess that means I didn't make a very good first impression with you, huh? [ A soft laugh of slight embarrassment. Oops. ]
no subject
Your willingness to learn made up for any negative impact the initial shaking may have had.
[which it really didn't have to begin with. higher ranking people judge by that and no-- ...oh wait. he... is higher ranking now, isn't he? uh, well, he doesn't count here so it's all good, sorey.]
no subject
Aaah, that's good! I was afraid I'd messed that up! [ They can still be friends! ] I guess I'll have to remember this so I don't repeat it in the future ... [ Hahah ... ]
no subject
[flynn believes in you, sorey!! become a polite, well-mannered friend of his since he really needs more those.]
no subject
Thanks! For ... helping me, and all.
no subject
Not at all. It was my pleasure.