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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no subject
korra
A bender?
[ By his tone, it's clear enough that he's never heard the word, or at least in that context. Now that they're a bit more conversational, Kasen at least relaxes, and he tucks his hands into their opposite sleeves almost like he's crossing his arms. ]
My, I've never heard of such a thing, but to control elements...! You must be quite a powerful person. [ He'd be impressed by even basic bending in the same way, though... ]
no subject
To the second part, all she does is shrug.] I'm pretty good at it. [No modesty here.] We have a lot of benders, though. I think it's split pretty evenly between benders and non-benders.
no subject
Oya... Is that so? Goodness! I suppose I must have simply met those who cannot. Ah, though I suppose I could have and it simply did not come up...
[ He waves a hand dismissively. ]
Regardless, I am quite grateful for your skill, Miss! It is certainly helped me out.
no subject
Yeahhhh that's the thing about the colony. I think a lot of people here actually have some kind of power, but there's so many different kinds. You should ask around if you want to hear what other people can do.
[Some of her enthusiasm fades as she realizes now that, powers or not, they're still stuck in the jungle instead of in the city.] So... if everyone got dropped in here somewhere, I guess we should go looking for them.
no subject
Ah, so indeed. I would worry for my comrades, so I do hope they can take care of themselves for a bit....
[ They cannot. But neither can Kasen, honestly, he just thinks he can. ]
If you would not mind terribly, may I accompany you? I think we may have more luck if we were to look together, for opting to not travel in groups could make surprising situations more difficult!
gloom spider
[ Kasen may not be Kashuu, but he's at least used to Yamato being... himself. So even though he's a bit baffled over how the tables managed to turn this way, he still can't bring himself to be genuinely upset. Now, if it was Kanesan, he would be in trouble, but. That's because it's Kanesan more than anything he would have theoretically done wrong.
Kasen follows Yamato's gaze as he glances away, and the gesture is mirrored as he tucks his hands into their opposite sleeves. He makes a thoughtful noise at first to the idea of foraging, since in truth, that's a bit of an intimidating prospect. Kasen is a sword of the liberal arts, not of the forests, so knowing what might be good or how to prepare it? That's difficult. He really only knew what he did about the mushrooms because of enjoying reading about botany.
However, he's broken from those thoughts in surprise as soon as Yamato says "liberal arts," but further still when he expresses interest. It brings a warm feeling to his chest, since when the other swords (or anyone, really) expresses interest in his passions, of course he's pleased. That serious and thoughtful expression melts away, and Kasen instead smiles very warmly. ]
Well, certainly. The hardest part will be to pick a greatest... I admire other's work far more than my own.
[ It's a little humble, but also he does genuinely believe that. He reveres humans' work, and he just earnestly feels that he's trying to imitate it. ]
So would you like to hear of my poetry, or perhaps of one of the great thirty-six poets?
dangit grandpa
A few hours?
[ Kasen sounds much more alarmed by this than Mikazuki, but Kasen would probably also be crying and whining after approximately five minutes if this were to have happened to him instead. He's Delicate...
Kasen manages to find a good foothold in the tree near Mikazuki, and looking around to make sure there's little risk of him falling, he holds onto branches as he leans closer to see just how he managed to get so spectacularly stuck. ]
You're all right, I hope? That's terrible, Mikazuki-san...
namazuo
[ Kasen sighs heavily, since so far as he's concerned, this is terrible! Truly terrible!! But he's also ever the team mom/big brother/kasen, so he doesn't vocalize those concerns quite as bitterly around Namazuo. He should probably be optimistic around the wakizashi, or that's at least how he feels. ]
Mm, I haven't... Do you think we should try calling him?
[ He means you, Namazuo. Kasen is still working on how the CereVices work... ]
no subject
Ah! That's a good idea. [OH YEAH. The phone thingy. That's a thingy.] Would you mind if I used your pho--ah, device? Mine is still awfully wet...
no subject
[ Kasen pulls out his CereVice, and though he probably could take this as an opportunity to learn how to use it, he does not. Instead, he dutifully passes it over. ]
I suppose I am just too old-fashioned to use things like this...
no subject
That's alright! We're usually with master Haru anyway, so we don't usually need to know, right? I haven't used mine very much either.
[Namazuo knows how to bring up the directory, though! Bless Hinata for putting up with these swords, honestly. But he does just that, scrolling through carefully until he finds Haru's name. After a little fiddling, accidentally closing out and having to go all the way back through the list, he hits the button!
Aaaaand no reception. Well.]
It seems we can't make phone calls out here...
no subject
[ Kasen doesn't understand!! Which may or may not be because he doesn't understand the concept of "reception" in the first place. These are all things that are too far beyond him. ]
Why not? I thought these sorts of things were to work everywhere...
no subject
[Namazuo isn't exactly the most tech-savvy sword, either. He frowns, turning the device over in his hands as if the answer could be written on it somewhere.]
Oh! Isn't there something else-- the... net? The interlock net? [Close enough!] I think it's this button here, maybe that will--
[That... sure is a lady singing.
Um.]
no subject
What is that?
no subject
[He isn't [purposely trying to be a brat--he just doesn't have a better answer. From Kasen's response, it's pretty clear he didn't put this in his device, but if that's the case then Namazuo has no idea how it could've gotten on there.
Tilting his head, he listens, but it doesn't seem familiar. Still, he smiles a little.] It's nice.