
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. ] |
I WAS ABOUT TO but then i realized. wouldn't people wonder how i know... damn
[ the flatness in his tone aside, it surprises tsurumaru to hear those kinds of words coming out of hijikata's mouth, having considered him to be somewhat of a confident person. one day, he'll find out more, or he'll die trying, or both.
but for now, tsurumaru looks at hijikata's cerevice, immediately noticing how the battery is still a good, solid 75%, despite being three days in so far (out of a maximum of 7 days for battery life); not to mention how most of his settings seem to be left on the default, rather than customizing it. it looks like stylish and cool doesn't transfer over to phone customization... ] Wow — you really don't use this thing a whole lot, do you?
[ flipping to the camera option, he holds the device between his hands, several inches away from his face. ] Go stand next to the bird — smiling might be a little too much to ask of you, but at the very least, hold up a peace sign, something. I'll count down, and then I'll take the picture.
Is that too confusing?
oh my are you curious
I don't have a reason to use it. [ What... Does it even do again? Communication? He hasn't really used it for communication at all so... Whatever. ]
... Seriously... Is this all necessary? [ Well, the bird started bobbing its head as it started to sing a different song. It's probably saying yes, huh? Hijikata just crosses his arms. Even when the bird sits down to him it still manages to match Hijikata's height, and he just turns his head to the side. ]
Honestly... [ A sigh. ] I can't allow this- a picture of all things. Other people can't see me doing strange things especially. [ What a party pooper. ]
listen... sticks paw in mouth, You Love This Cold-blooded Man Dont You.png
but tsurumaru's absolutely determined to take this picture, no matter how much hijikata doesn't want him to? the bird seems to be doing its part to convince him as well, chirping and singing a new tune and even sitting down next to hijikata, as if it's aware of the current situation. good job, bird! ]
It's on your phone — it's not as if I'm going to upload it anywhere else.
[ he gives hijikata a small frown, but in the end, he supposes that hijikata staying still is good enough for him. he'll count down, focusing the screen, and then takes the picture. he'll hold out the screen towards hijikata afterwards, motioning for him to come over. ] Come here, look!! See, you look just fine. As elegant and grumpy as ever, mister demon vice captain.
well... u chose this fate? im sorry, im just so pretty and and strikingly handsome
But Hijikata hears the snap! of the CereVice and he finally relaxes his posture. There's still a pretty sour look on his face since he isn't one for pictures with giant, colorful, and fluffy birds that won't stop singing!
Anyway, when Tsurumaru motions him over, Hijikata goes to take a look at the picture he just took.
... Yeeeah, this isn't going to stay. ]
... ... This looks awful, is there a way to burn it? [ He doesn't want this on his CereVice! No way, no way!!! He immediately swipes the phone out of Tsurumaru's grasp when he least expects it. He observes the screen, finding a way to get rid of it but... No dice. He still doesn't really Understand how to use this weird device. His finger just hovers over his screen for a moment. ]
Uh, well. [ Ahem. ] Wouldn't it just be better if... You took a picture with it. You're the one that likes the bird more anyway.
ugh listen... u are pretty and handsome but puts you in box U DIDNT HEAR MY BRACKETS!!
and he's right! for now, at least, the lame picture of hijikata is completely safe. ]
Nope! And don't you dare think about burning it. Here, since I don't trust you with my CereVice — you might blow it up by accident, who knows? — take my picture with yours. I'll send it to mine after we get signal again.
[ he'll lean in towards hijikata's screen though, pointing out the big, white button on the screen that's used to take the picture in the first place and instructing him to count down. no sudden pictures! no surprises! after that five-second tutorial, tsurumaru heads back towards the bird, standing next to it. ]
thx for agreeing. i can now hear ur subject :O
A sigh. ]
Fine then.
[ So he watches Tsurumaru's fingers, guiding him how to take a picture — which seems simple enough then watches him go over by the bird. Alright… Point the CereVice towards him… ]
3… 2… 1… [ Snap! He presses the button and hears the sound of a camera snapping. Hijikata stared down at the CereVice to see what he just took. ]
Well, happy now?
stuffs bread in ur mouth Just
Mhmm! It turned out nicely, too.
[ aaaand back to the bird... since they've decided earlier that they're going to let the bird stay here, visiting it afterwards seems to be the only solution. but hijikata isn't the most friendly kind of guy, you know!! at least on the outside. so tsurumaru wants to make sure of something, first.
but he's not going to get to the point immediately, instead asking: ]
You know, when we go back... I think Aya's going to miss you. She seemed awfully attached to you, didn't she?
JUST SOTP, NO BREAD!!! i tire
Done now? [ Well, he knows a particular button at least shuts it off (actually locks the phone but the screen turns black? Good enough for Hijikata) and he puts the CereVice away.
Hey, listen... Hijikata isn't friendly for a reason. He has his #reputation to keep up! It's actually a miracle he's allowing Tsurumaru to kind of bother him with all these pictures and whatnot. Well, even if he tried to ignore all this the bird wouldn't leave... Ugh... Today has been a really weird day. All he wanted was just a nap...
He rubs the back of his head in an awkward manner. ]
I don't see why, I practically tried to hurt it. [ A scoff. ] Pretty poor reason to get attached to someone, right? It should be fine here, me coming and going shouldn't really make a difference.
[ Totally ruined the moment, didn't he.
But either way... ... ... Who knows. Maybe he's a bit salty!!! He misses his home? This bird is lucky. ]
WHY!!! its real this time
at that response, he blinks for a second or two, before a soft smile forms across his expression. ] Ah... is that a poor reason? Maybe it's a forgiving bird. No matter how much I tried to protect her, she would run to you anyway.
Even if we did leave her here — she would probably spend the rest of eternity missing you. [ he'll add, a bit more quietly: ] Not that you would know what 'eternity' feels like, human.
In any case, I think we should give her something. That way, when we visit her, we'll be able to tell which bird she is.
are u sure idk if i can trust ur (fake ass) bread
Hijikata scoffs. ] Who knows.
[ It's almost like he received a new pet without even asking for it. How weird... Maybe he'd feel different if the bird had no where to live then he would actually feel a sense of responsibility over it. He still can't help but feel awfully perplexed because he just can't believe it can so easily forgive him.
Honestly... It would just be better if the bird left him alone, right? ] Yeah, I don't know what eternity means, I don't know if I'd want to live forever anyway.
[ Though, maybe he would? If he could use all that time to protect the Shinsengumi. ] Well, if anything I'd rather be able to turn back time... [ If anything happened, he could always fix it if that's the case. If he could turn back time... Maybe he could return home where he actually belonged. This bird's awfully lucky being happy in its very own home without having any worries what-so-ever. Hijikata sighs at that thought — he couldn't help but be awfully jealous. ]
Huh... Like... A collar? Or something... [ Hijikata only knows how to deal with dogs... and Five year olds. ]
shoves it in your mouth anyway :|
but, his thoughts snap back to the current situation at hand, thinking about hijikata's suggestion out loud, since to his surprise, it's not actually a bad idea! ]
I think some kind of necklace would work, but it doesn't have to be an actual collar — that's kind of weird.
[ reaching behind his white jacket, he unclasps one of the many golden chains that adorn his usual outfit. he'll hold it out in front of him, to check that its length is long enough for it to go comfortably around the bird's neck, before stepping forward, placing it around aya's neck, redoing the clasp at the chain's ends.
naturally, it'll jingle a little when she moves around. ] There. How's that?