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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[ At least that's what he thinks. And of course he wants to know more about that village too, ahhh. EITHER WAY they can learn things, Oz!! ]
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That's true. [A thoughtful pause, and then:] I wonder if they've learned even more now, or if they just didn't want to interfere before?
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It's gotta be connected to something. We can probably ask about that too when we find someone to talk to!!
[ Yeah he's still of the opinion their questions can be answered here. ]
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I wonder if we'll be able to talk to the Bridge eventually. [They seem pretty keen on keeping everyone away, and Oz can guess why that might be, considering he was part of the party that originally found her.]
But the spirits seem like they might have a lot of answers, too.
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[ Hmmm, crossing his arms. ]
What's going on with them, anyway? Why can't they just tell us what's going on?
[ This whole situation would be a lot easier if they told them why they're doing all this and what's up with CERES. What's keeping them from doing that?
Not that he expects Oz to be able to answer this, sob. ]
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Maybe they just don't want to? It's not a very good reason, but I think that wouldn't be too unusual.
[Based on what they already know, he means, ie: they're fickle as shit and don't really care a lot about the people who were stuck in the colony.]
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Well, whether they tell us anything or not, there's gotta be something we'll be able to learn when we get to wherever we're going! [ Their home, he guesses. Whatever that's like. ] We'll just figure it all out on our own! It's not impossible!
[ That's a lot of optimism coming from an injured kid in the middle of a jungle, but WHATEVER. ]
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Mm, right! Ah, but- [speaking of him being an injured kid in the middle of the jungle and all] -we should probably pack our rations extra well for tomorrow, just in case. Do you need help with that?
[Since he's sitting here BLEEDING AND STUFF, Oz figures it would be wise to ask...]
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Ah, thanks. I could use the help right now, I guess. [ Haah ... ] You're sure you're okay with it?
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I don't mind! The faster we get things done now, the easier it'll be tomorrow.
[Or tonight! Or whenever else the elementals decide to stop goofing around, who knows, it's a mystery.]
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Then I guess we should start with finding food that isn't bugs, or something.
[ Maybe he's still a little hungry because the bugs here aren't tasty. Or bugs anywhere. Really, he would like some meat, sob. ]
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So it looks like they're good to go now! Two's a party! A... a hunting party, maybe?! Or not, because Oz is useless with that, too. It's a miracle he's made it this long without ending up dead.]
I can't really tell which animals out here are good to eat and which ones aren't, but by now, some other people have probably caught a few. I'll ask around and see if there's anything in particular that people are looking for!
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I'm sure we could find a way to eat anything we catch here! [ Besides the bugs. Well, they could eat those, but he'd rather not. ] It sure would be nice if we could find something normal, though ... like rabbits, or boar. But trying something new is exciting, too! [ A pause. ] But if you wanna ask around before we go, just to be sure ...
[ Thinking about the nature of this place, he's sure there's probably one or two monsters that might make them sick to eat. ]
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It shouldn't be too much trouble! I'll see if anyone's seen anything familiar, too, but I don't think I have yet. ...Well, I saw a few birds that look close to the birds back home, but those might be a little harder to catch than a rabbit or something bigger.
[Oz wouldn't even be able to catch a big fat slow pig?! So birds are out of the question for this punk...]
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Birds would probably be easy to catch with that ability of yours, though, wouldn't they? I bet you could catch them in a second!
[ Way easier than Sorey could with his sword. He remembers Oz's weird chains and stuff, and those could probably just shoot up and hit the bird, right ... ]
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Oh— well, I probably could. [He definitely could... He could be like the frilly Victorian version of Tarzan, shooting birds out of the sky.]
I try not to use my powers if I can avoid it, but- [Considering they're having to eat bugs and all?!] -if we can't find anything on land, I'll catch something in the air!
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But, ah. ] You don't have to use them if you don't want to. [ Sorey wouldn't want to force him into anything he doesn't like to do. ] But we can try to find something on land first, yeah! There's gotta be plenty of things we'd be able to catch ... [ S-Somewhere. ]
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I'll go take a look around! [RIGHT NOW APPARENTLY since he's standing--]
Bigger things come out when it's closer to night, I've heard. Maybe I can find something that's a good size for sharing and saving.
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Sorey will get up too then!! ] I'll come too! I can't just let you go by yourself, and all.
[ Even if he's kind of useless due to his injuries, he can still try!! Huff huff. He can't stand letting Oz do it by himself anyway. And if something bigger were to attack Oz and he were to get hurt ... Nope!!!! ]
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But he does, at least, have the decency to double-check and make sure this isn't a bad decision in the making.]
Are you sure? I don't mind, but you'll say something if your injury starts to bother you, right?
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Ah, yeah! Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, okay? [ lol ] We should just focus on finding some food!
[ That's what's important right now! ]
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If you're sure! [He'll be watching with EAGLE EYES, though. At least he's observant to make up for the fact that he is, in fact, king moron.] Should we go?
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But he nods! ] I'm sure. [ Totally positive and totally okay. Please watch over him with your eagle eyes, Oz. ] Yeah, let's get this done before it's too dangerous to.
[ Lead the way, O uninjured one. ]
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All right! Let's head out, then!
[TIME TO GET UP AND GO-GO. Oz will, of course, be keeping a watchful eye on Sorey the entire time. Better not so much as wince or he'll Be There™, asking if they should go back.]
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[ THEN THEY SHALL. Hopefully it's not too suspicious that Sorey is holding his hand over the gash in his arm sometimes. He's fine, really. It's nothing. But he can't help but do that — ]