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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And honestly, Adolf's never considered Oona's scars to be things that marred her, but he could be biased. Or at least, he wouldn't be one to talk.
In consideration of Oona's neck, Adolf moves a few paces to the side and leans against what looks like a relatively safe tree. Please don't let it be a hentai tentacle tree, that would be the fanservice no one asked for. ]
Good thing that she denies you. [ Bless you, Kaoru. But belatedly, he realizes that he's outed himself as knowing Kaoru and thinking favorably about her, which prompts instinctive throat-clearing. This coupled with the knowledge that he was talked about at some point in time is disconcerting... ] —And yeah, I've talked to her a few times before.
...Don't tell me what she said about me.
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Good thing! How is that good thing? Ah, I am not spoiled ever! A little indulgence is good sometimes! [No one indulges her that she actually wants to indulge her LIFE IS A TRAGEDY.
He says not to tell him, but she does so anyway, shrugging] It was nothing bad! She said you were gentleman. [Oona seems smug about it for some reason, as if to say "Ha! See? People like you, DealWithIt.gif."
She goes quiet though, thinking about the conversation she'd had with Kaoru and the talk of giving him a book... Which reminds her:] When is your birthday?
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He clears his throat a little louder, as if to reiterate, 'do not tell me nice things people have said about me because I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT'. His shoulders raise higher against his stupid tree. ]
I don't want to know. But you can appreciate that I'm not the only one who doesn't indulge you.
[ Stonewalling, the ongoing saga. This also pertains to this later question, because his answer to that is: ]
...And I'm only going to tell you my birthday if you guarantee that you won't do anything with the knowledge.
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[She opens her mouth, perfectly prepared to promise that before realizing that that would be a lie. Breaking the promise would be another lie on top of it, and she's long refused to do such things.
Her mouth closes with a sharp click of teeth and she frowns at him, openly frustrated by being trapped like this. She actually says nothing for a long moment, working her jaw back and forth as she inwardly wars with her desire for the information and her own strict regulations on this matter.]
That is not fair, you know I can not lie. [Well, won't, because she's perfectly capable of it in actuality.]
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He remembers back to his high school days, when he'd been teasingly asked the same thing: "Ado-kun, when's your birthday?' He'd felt good about being able to answer something, for a change.
So he lets his nonanswer linger for a bit in silence, before he waves a hand. He's gotten used to being expressive with them, in compensation for his hidden face. ]
Tell me why you want to know.
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To get you present, of course. Why else would I ask? Celebrating birthdays is important, is it not? Especially between friends.
[Because of course she considers them friends. She slept on him, after all!!]
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Friends... he can deal with this. Tentatively. God save him. ]
You don't have to celebrate it. [ DISCLAIMER. He even puts a hand up, in the universal 'stop' motion. ] ...Who knows if we'll even be alive to celebrate it, at this rate.
[ Wow, ok...what a downer. ]
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[And then tell the entire network the wrong day and flood his inbox with birthday wishes. This is a great plan.
BUT WOW WHAT AN OPTIMISTIC ATTITUDE. Oona wonders where she went wrong with her life that this is the kind of people she's grown attached to. Why... She makes a face at him]
With that attitude, death will come quicker. Should have it as something to look forward to. Do you think we will really die so easily? [Don't answer that, Adolf.]
I have no such plans, not until I see the ocean. [After that she doesn't really know what might happen or what she'll do, but she's keeping one goal at a time here.]
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He wisely doesn't talk more in depth about death and dying, because he's already been a downer today. Instead, he scrubs his face with his palm, and then recovers with a soft exhale. ]
For your sake, I'll hope we don't see the ocean. [ Because if that's all that's keeping her alive, fuck the ocean!!! But here's a concession for her troubles. ] ...The date you want to know is December 25th. Forget it, though— it's not important.
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What?! [She sounds instantly shocked and a little offended by his comment, since hello, that's like him telling her "I hope you never get to go home." She's all set to lash out, but something from poor Sousei's teaching must be getting through to her because she pauses.
She blinks slowly, storing the information about his birthday away (it doesn't even click to her that that's Christmas and likely won't until it actually arrives), and frowns at him. Her expression is fairly petulant, because even though she thinks she gets why, she's still not pleased with that response.]
...Because, you are worried what will happen after? Hmph. Stupid. [What's stupid?? That's kind of a legitimate concern, oona......]
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A slow tilt of his head to the side, Adolf takes in that petulant look, that slight pout that speaks volumes about how truly stupid Oona does think his previous statement was. He answers with a calm that he reserves for more serious topics, the kind of even tone he takes to make sure that he keeps up that veneer of distance. ]
You said so before. That you wanted to die.
[ A vague gesture here, to indicate that he's recalling their past conversation. ]
I'm making sure that this isn't the ending point for you.
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[She pitches her voice low in a poor parody of his voice] 'Care for you, Oona, and would be sad if you died.' [She returns to her normal voice and tilts her head in amusement as she glances to him] Is it so hard to say? Stupid.
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And after a beat, he walks back over to Oona, bends forward so he can put his hand on her head and ruffle, instead of pat. ]
I'm not responsible for you. [ Why does he have to ruin this... but no, this isn't all he says. ] But, yeah.
[ Stated as matter-of-factly as he can, really. ]
It'd be hard.
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Eh? Uh-- [It isn't terribly hard to actually throw Oona off, actually, and she's visibly flustered at the fact she didn't have to needle him into this.
The eel finally scored a point...
Still, she's pleased despite her embarrassment. The simple act of a hair ruffle or a pat on the head makes her ridiculously happy, it's almost sad. She reaches up to grasp at his hand and smiles sweetly]
Yes, understand. I will not make things harder for you than I already do. I would not want to make you suffer. [You know, beyond the usual amount of personal life suffering she puts him through.]
So, suppose I will keep living a while longer. Ah, but, you have to too, you know? It will not be fair if you die. So you can not. Promise? And I will promise too.
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His hand lingers in her hair, before he smooths it down into place. He doesn't quite pull it back, because Oona's still got a good grip on his wrist. ]
You're telling me to live.
[ Not phrased as a question. Give him a moment to digest this, and digest the word 'promise'— it's a heavy one. ]
...I'll think about it. [ Is his final decision, delivered offhandedly. Again, this is his idea of a dry joke; he's only truly difficult to people he has a feeling will put up with it fine. ] I won't die here, at least.
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But she inclines her head in acknowledgement and grins a little.] It would be unfortunate if, after everything, a stupid jungle is what kills you. Embarrassing, too. [She tilts her head to press her cheek against his hand, but doesn't kiss his palm this time like she might have otherwise been inclined to do. This isn't the time for that kind of teasing, and this gesture was affectionate enough without the need to add a kiss to it.
She lets him go after that though, expression warm and pleased.] I will promise you to live. It would be hard for me as well if you died. [There are few things Oona likes more than turning his words back on him.]
Besides! There are many things we do not know about each other. We can not, hmm... leave loose ends? I believe is how it is said?
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But that aside. There's that stupid existential crisis, and then... this.
He's not sure if this is 'living', being here, but he's willing to prolong it if Oona asks him to.
(stupid soft eel.) ]
Don't let it be too hard, if I die. [ The last death throes of his tsun life... someone help him. ] Besides, there's not much to me to know. You know more than most others do.
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There is still much I do not understand about humans, and am sure there is very little you know of mermaids. [Which is to say, there's a lot they can learn from each other, even on a general level.
Still, it pleases her to know she knows more than most-- she's selfish that way (or would 'childish' be a better way to describe it?), perhaps, but she likes feeling 'special.'] There is plenty to know! Know more, perhaps, but not all. I do not know when or where you are from, or things like, hmm... Favorite food! Little things, but important. I will learn them all, some way. [Is that a threat... It might be a threat. Prepare yourself, eel.]
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What he does in lieu of arguing is accept, with a relinquishment of his vigilance to sit down next to his companion. ]
Maybe you will, maybe you won't. [ It's better, he figures, not to make promises yet. But he turns his head to look at her, steady and calm. ] ...I'll ask first, then. Your favorite food.
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His question baffles her a little, and it's a little funny how much she doesn't expect these same questions and things she forces on others to be turned back around on her.] Fish. [She answers it automatically and stares at him as if to say 'shouldn't that be obvious?' before she grins a little.]
I like rice, too, but I do not like noodles very much. They make me think of worms. [MAKES A FACE... For the girl who just ate a fish raw it's kind of funny, but ew. No thank u.]
Ah, when I was young, my father would get, hmm... I do not know the human name for them. They are like shrimp? Very small. He would collect many of them, and we would sit and eat them together. I do not think you could get them here, though. [She sighs, a tad wistful for good days long gone.]