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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Naki stiffens at the angry buzzing, looking around for some sort of idea, and--grabs another leaf. Pincer attack!?
Or maybe the bug will just get angrier.]
It's not dangerous, is it...?
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[He probably should've figured that out first, but oh well. They'll be fine!]
Here, let's try again-- [Except the buzzing is growing louder, and now it's coming... from behind them?] --how is it doing that?
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Ah...Namazuo-san, you might want to turn around.......
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[What's wrong, babyfox? And why the heck is this bug suddenly so loud? Namazuo glances over his shoulder, and--
Hunh. Well. It turns out the bug they'd been chasing is a baby, given the size of the one hovering behind them now. Namazuo doesn't know that much about bugs and facial expressions, but if he had to guess, he'd say this one looks angry.]
Maybe we should run.
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[And Nakigitsune does in fact drop the leaf and run! He might also grab Namazuo.
Enemy Bug used Takedown! Will it hit!?]
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With how much noise they're making, it's a wonder he manages to hear the bug gearing up for an attack. But hear it he does, and at the last minute, he jumps on Nakigitsune, dragging him down onto the ground. He would've given a warning, but, y'know. Angry bug attack.
AND JUST AS PLANNED-- the bug has gained too much momentum to follow them down, and crashes headfirst into the tree in front of them. Namazuo doubts they have time to celebrate, though, and he scrambles to his feet, tugging on Nakigitsune's hand.]
Come on, come on!
((We can move to the overflow if you want!))
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Nakigitsune falls as expected when he gets tackled to the ground, letting Namazuo pull him back up again as he looks (somewhat curiously) at the temporarily stopped angry bug. Imagine if they could catch that...but smallest fox's tail flicks against his face, and he turns back to the task at hand. Running! If they run far enough they might run into a different terrifying creature entirely.]
Are all the creatures here this large...?
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Maybe if they had a net, or a cage, or... anything besides some flimsy leaves, Namazuo would be up for trying to catch the monster jewel bug. But since they currently lack all those things, running it is! Maybe they'll meet a friendly earth dragon who'll let them ride on its back...! That would be a much better jungle adventure.]
Well, if they are, at least we won't go hungry! [Silver lining??]
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[That makes perfect sense! Says the fox, as they run for their lives. But no, Naki agrees too, it's cool.
Aaaand is that a lake full of giant creatures up ahead?]
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Ah, be careful!
[Luckily, Namazuo is agile enough to stop himself before he goes skidding straight into the water (again). He stumbles to a halt, crouching down at the edge of the water and peering back behind them. Hopefully Naki won't go tumbling into the lake either...! Those creatures would probably enjoy a fox snack. They can worry about that in a second, though.]
Do you think it's gone?
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We can probably safely say it's gone at this point...do you think those things up ahead are dangerous as well, though...?
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[Namazuo may be the catfish blade, but he's no Urashima... he has no particular camaraderie with aquatic creatures, unless they're in his stomach.]
We should stay on the shore here, just to be safe. [Hopefully they don't have legs. They're prooobably not the only ones stuck in this jungle, though.] I wonder if they'd be safe to eat?
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Just when he opens his mouth, though--]
Even if they're safe to eat, I think there might be too many there for us to take on by ourselves...
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That's true... maybe we could lure one away from the others? We could find one that looks friendly. [If that. Exists.]
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[Let's see, let's see.....maybe one of the smaller ones might be friendlier. Naki starts quietly making his way...closer to the things....]
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What about that one? [Carefully, Namazuo points to a pair of eyes, just barely peeking out of the water. The creature has something on its head that sort of resembles an ahoge, and that's not very big, so the fish probably isn't either. Logic!]
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Does it look like he's holding a staring contest with the creature? Because he just might be.]
Ah, that one does look promising! And reasonably small, too.
[Let's catch an iceberg!]
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Okay, let's lure it over... [Shoot, if only he had something for it to eat... alas, they'll have to get creative.]
Here, fishy fishy fishy~
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[Did Namazuo's call work? Was it Naki's staring that did the trick? Maybe it's just a coincidence? Either way, the fish is rising!
And rising.
And.....gosh that's a lot of teeth.]
.........Um.
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--oh.]
...Ah, perhaps we made a mistake.
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[And yet the fish isn't moving yet?
Is it having a staredown with Naki.
.....It might actually be having a staredown with Naki.]
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Waaaait a second...]
Ah! [A gasp of realization, and a hurried whisper.] Whatever you do, don't blink!
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D-do you have any ideas, Namazuo-san? Nakigitsune can't exactly stay like this forever!
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I'll distract it!
[This is a terrible plan, but listen, he's not used to this... and if it comes down to it, he's sure he can run faster than a great big fish.
Carefully, he edges away, doing his best not to draw its attention. Once he deems he's far enough, he looks down, scouring the ground for something, anything to use. Luck is with him--there's a river stone of sorts nearby, and though he's never seen such designs, a rock is a rock is a rock.
Crouching down, he swipes it, takes careful aim, and throws with all his might. Will it hit...?!]
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...Just kidding, it's just mad at Namazuo now.
What will you do:
> Run
> Fight
> Watch as the rock turns out to be magical or something
> Other]
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