
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. ] |
Rinne Rokudo | still open!
nice
O...Okay, give it here. I'll start with mine, to see if it works. [ He's good with doing the dirty work... although, he's trying his hardest not to look at the bird that's been following and for the most part, cheerfully chirping at him... ]
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Go ahead.
[They're horrible people.]
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He lands pretty roughly, before trying to get back up, palm flat against a tree. ]
I... I knew it. I can't do it.
[ The bird acts as if nothing has actually happened, cheerfully chirping. ]
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You had me chewing on my nails in anticipation. I thought you were going to do it for just a second.
[Yeah, he's definitely not going to do it.]
You went with it for a while, though.
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Thinking about it, they haven't done anything wrong to either of us. It'd be cruel of me to inflict harm on another living being, just for being relatively annoying.
[ It's not mad about being called annoying at least?? ]
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leon
I think... maybe, it just can't hear us and is more courageous than other birds, which is why yelling and scaring it didn't work. [ Nature is amazing... ]
I wonder how rare it is. [ Maybe. Maybe he can sell it. Eat it, no. Sell it, maybe. ]
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He makes a face, though, first at Rinne and then at the bird, his tongue curling out past his teeth for a moment.]
It ain't the first one I've seen. Why, you worried about endangered species or somethin'? Maybe they should've thought o' that before they started following humans around!
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Rinne gives the bird a twice-over, nodding his head. ]
Someone may be interested in keeping one. It seems friendly enough to humans. [ This is a completely stupid idea he even realizes, but at the same time, weren't those who were rich always buying shit they don't need? Advantage: Rinne. ]
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[Leon gives the bird another look. It sure is flashy . . . and it's definitely pretty tame. It wouldn't surprise him at all if someone wanted to keep theirs around for a pet. He's not really into the Cybuddies himself--all the fake stuff in the colony had been pretty cool, but it was fake!--and he's not the only person he knows who feels that way, either.
But he still hasn't made any connection between that and how rare the thing is, or making any money off of it.]
You're sayin' you're gonna hand it off to someone who actually wants one, huh? That's a pretty good idea. There's gotta be someone here who actually wants one o' these things stalking 'em around everywhere!
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I don't know if it's particularly useful to have, but I know a little companionship in this harsh wood is always well worth the trouble. It will keep me from getting lonely and going crazy.
[ He laughs a bit... while the bird just up and starts walking away. ]
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kousetsu
[ He takes the step and leaps up into the tree, holding onto it for dear life as he maintains his balance on the branch. Good, the Haori is close by, and he starts to reach for it. ]
I hope your landing was-- almost-- easier than mine. [ As he mentally decides to never climb a tree ever again after this. ]
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I...do not know why they have dropped us into such precarious territory.
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--could this be CERES' doing? From what I've heard, this seems like their handiwork.
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It is something Ceres would do. Or it is perhaps the work of the spirits that Ceres has angered.
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Spirits? Are there any in particular that have come forth as being disturbed by CERES?
[ Right, off the tree he goes, clutching onto his haori for dear life. ]
ket
No I'm... I'm still alive. I'm standing right in front of you. [ What a silly question, people don't usually walk around after they've been killed!! ] It's a shinigami tool.
1/2
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But regardless, he's super curious. ]
Where are we? Are we still in the same world as before?
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We're in a jungle. [ So helpful. ] Caeli's jungle.
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rolls in late
and no starbucks
i have failed you, senpai
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back on phase 3 B bruh
Like young old girls who were being chased by a large creature. Namely this one, as she burst out into where Rinne was, yelling loudly.
And having something huge stomping after her.]
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Oi-- what did you do?!
[ Seriously, why would you piss off a huge monster?! And now it was coming after him too! ]
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[She can't help but smell like meat, you know. Dead meat...but meat nonetheless.
Yep, latching onto him. DRAG HER ALONG PLEASE.]
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It wouldn't start following you for no reason-- ugh, never mind. Let's go! [ Rinne didn't even bother waiting, it was far quicker to turn the device off and start running as quick as he can in the jungle, with a dead body hanging off of him. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO HIM.
At this rate, he'd have no rate but to break the law. And his scythe, which screw that! He didn't know how long he was going to be here... it was probably a good time to ask. ]
You wouldn't happen to have any weapons of your own on you, would you?!
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