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. ] |
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no subject
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. ]
no subject
[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!
no subject
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. ]
no subject
[He watches the bird head off, and then just . . . nods in that direction, trying to catch Rinne's eye. Look. Look man your tether to sanity is wandering off.
When had he gotten attached anyway? What a weirdo.]
no subject
[ Rinne finally realizes that his bird friend has decided to leave him, getting a good watch as he starts trotting off to the next grouchy fellow. Rinne immediately shouts after it. ]
Hey! Get back here! [ Turning to his other new companion, he tilts his head towards it. ]
We need to go after it.
no subject
[ . . . It is kinda cute and all. Leon watches it go, looking back and forth between the bird and Rinne. How did he get roped into this again?
It's not like he's got anything else to do, though. But he's not going to make the first move. It's not even his bird!]
no subject
[ Or, he really really wants to trade the bird for food or something, and he can't just let it go. ]
Follow me. [ Rinne takes right off after it, putting his semi-decent track skills to use. He ropes Leon right in because hell if he's going to drag it anywhere on his own. ]
no subject
[But he follows. He's morbidly curious--and this doesn't really come at any cost to him, yet. If things get weird, he can always just turn around and walk away, right? For now, Leon's half convinced this guy really is going crazy, and maybe someone ought to keep an eye on him or something. Hey, this is a hard situation they're in! Probably people are going crazy. Leon himself feels, at times, like he's edging up to that cliff, the longer this goes on.
But at least he's not emotionally attached to a bird.]
What the hell d'you need me for? It's not like I'm part of your weird bond. No way am I letting that thing imprint on me or whatever!
no subject
[ He's just trying to be helpful, honest! Leon could trade it away for something else too? ]
no subject
[Though he does phrase it with the implication that, well, maybe he is a bit. If he'd noticed he said it that way, he would have pissed himself off--but he hasn't.]
Kinda hungry, though. You think it tastes like chicken?
no subject
I was wondering the same thing. I don't know how easy it would be to take down, though.
[ Plus it's... kinda cute. ]
no subject
[But he sounds dubious. It seems like it shouldn't be hard, but it's not like Leon has the first idea how to do it, or what to do with it after. He's hungry enough that it's tempting . . . but it's pretty daunting, too. And also, maybe he shouldn't be talking about that in front of this guy, with all his emotional bond crap--hey, wait.]
--Were you seriously thinkin' about eating it? I thought you were making it your pet!
no subject
[ But as a last resort it's okay?! Also, seriously, how fast was that bird? Rinne can barely even see it anymore. Or maybe, it disappeared or turned left or something. What a disappointment! ]