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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Just because you might not believe it doesn't mean it's not real. Seriously, Nonon-chan, we should go before they get really mad and c-curse us!
[ wtf is he even talking about ... ]
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She wouldn't go quietly at least. That much is for sure. ]
Hold on a minute scaredy-cat, you owe me an explanation for this mess that I got myself wrapped up into. Tell me about this date of yours!!
[ Yeah, she knows all about it. ]
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horrifyingly, makoto makes the connection. it's partially attributed to associating nonon with rin and vice-versa, but he hasn't been on any dates in the past month, save for the one he was legitimately tricked into. not that it has anything to do with specters, of course.
time to play dumb. ]
I ... huh? That doesn't have to do with anything here! [ notice makoto hasn't denied it yet. ] W-Wait, what do you mean by that? You were involved?
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Nonon didn't even know Makoto and Rin were friends until.... like maybe a day or two ago, when Rin sent the picture of Makoto on his date. And she was not pleased. Not that any of her dates with Ryuko have ever been nearly that romantic, but that's neither here nor there. ]
If we're talking about things that are dead, it's only natural to bring it up! I've never seen a more bored couple in my entire life!
[ See? Perfect segue there. ] Where else do you think Flamey got such well trained musicians?!
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meanwhile, words makoto's never previously bothered to articulate are rising up his throat, ridiculously off-kilter things like "did he bribe and/or blackmail you into submission" and "haru didn't know any better and i was bamboozled into accepting date plans when i wasn't entirely myself", and both responses are remotely adequate.
makoto blanches, complexion drawn pale as a sheet. ]
Um, I ... I had no idea you were involved. It really looked that bad to you? I'm not sure how Haru felt, but I kind of ... remember it differently, actually ...
[ he was more enamored with the food than haru drowsing on the picnic blanket at the time, to be honest. ]
Flamey? You mean Rin, right?
[ he would've gone with Shark Week, personally. ]
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And of course, she will not accept any kind of excuse anyway, so Makoto better be ready for a lecture from a tiny pink girl. ]
Neither of you looked even remotely interested in each other! That was actually a romantic dinner and you were too busy with the food to look at your boyfriend! Do you even like him or are you just using him?
[ Nonon's got her arms crossed over her chest, giving Makoto her full attention now, whether he wants it or not. ]
Shark teeth, red hair, surprisingly meek boy? That's the one.
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[ considering he views nonon and rin as similar in methodology and general rationale, it kind of makes disturbing sense to makoto that they'd know each other.
but that's not the point??? the resignation evident in makoto's pinched frown should make it evident that he is all too acquainted with one shark-toothed redhead. shoulders drooping, he scrubs absentmindedly at his face, trying to mentally bleach the memories from recall. forgetting that entire affair would be easier on his psyche, but life is never that fair. ]
It's not like that. [ his voice flatlines, lacking inflection. ] I care about Haru. I do. But I didn't want to force anything, especially when neither of us were feeling like ourselves. I know Rin did it because Haru's happiness matters to him, too, but ... I couldn't face him directly. Nonon, he couldn't even keep his eyes open, much less keep up a conversation with me. Staring at him like that, well — ... I think it would've bothered him, too.
[ makoto exhales, attempting a halfhearted smile that almost immediately dissipates. ]
It wasn't how I hoped it'd be. That's all.
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And any body language (or spoken language) that tries to tell Nonon he doesn't want to talk about this is completely lost on her. ]
So what? Are you two even dating, or was Flamey just trying to get you and Sleepy together? Not to mention, I thought Flamey had a thing for Sleepy. Just how messed up is your little friend group here Worrywart?!
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no jk, makoto ascribes friendship to anyone who doesn't display extreme animosity or a desire to brutally murder him and everyone he loves. even if she might not see him as a buddy now, he'll keep working on her resolve until she has no choice but to admit that they wouldn't betray each other at the first sign of danger.
at least, that's what he's hoping for. ]
I-I — ... what did Rin tell you?! We're not — ... we've never been together.
[ bear with him for a minute while his mind breaks. ]
Wait, are you telling me Rin f-f-feels that way ... about Haru ...
[ he's losing his head over here?! ]
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As for a reply, she only shrugs, because these names, she barely knows them. And she barely knows what's going on here but she's interested in it all because it's drama and she's a teenage girl. ]
How should I know? Why don't you ask him yourself? ...But when you find out make sure you report back to me. It's too late to try to keep me out of the loop.
I'M SO SORRY, i couldn't leave this alone despite me being a mess... feel free to handwave/drop this
Ah, y-yeah, I'll make sure to ask Rin about it. I guess I've got no choice now when you put it like that.
[ Scrubbing at the nape of his neck, Makoto finally relents to the dark, sempiternal void in his soul and scrounges up his gratitude for key love advice. ]
Thanks, Nonon-chan. I know I get a little ... weird about things like this, sometimes, but it really means a lot to me.
[ It'll sure come in handy when he stumbles upon Rin post-village explosion, but they don't know that yet, either way. ]
haha its okay really!! :D
Don't get all sappy on me, or else I'll need to find you a new nickname. I don't stick around with losers, you got me? If I thought you were I wouldn't be here.
[ She's saying she doesn't mind his company, in case he's confused. Because this is Nonon being nice?! ]