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
[Shit, that's embarrassing. He's being handed a fucking wine glass! He feels like some guy who got lost in the wilderness for a year and finally found his way out . . . right into some dude's mansion. Draco's right that this isn't Heaven, or even Mansion material, but the difference between in here and out there is so stark that Leon doesn't even know what to say about it.
He averts his eyes and lifts the glass of water, mostly as an excuse to stop answering the question. But as soon as the water touches his lips, he has the acute realization of how fucking thirsty he is, and he just drains it in like two seconds flat.]
no subject
Well. Wherever sounds quite nice. At least you've not let one of the beasts eat you yet, yes?
[Points his want at the glass again to refill it.]
no subject
Then as he finishes it off, he switches to his middle finger instead. Ahhh, that was refreshing. But you're a dick.
Still, he doesn't express his irritation much more seriously than that. He is grateful for the water, and the rest.]
Screw off, we ain't all witches like you! Some of us have to make water the old-fashioned way!
[ . . . Okay that didn't work the way he meant it to.]
--You know what I mean. Whatever! I'm not gonna get eaten.
no subject
Yes, well. Do me a favor, mate -- if you have to make water anytime soon, go that way.
[Gestures toward that back corner of the room that's partitioned off.]
That's not something I particularly need to see.
[He crosses the room and drops to the floor in front of the bed, using it to rest against as he folds his legs in front of him. Mmmm carpet.]
I have leftovers, too. If you're hungry. Can you fight? Or defend yourself, rather?
[LOGICAL QUESTION when you say you're not going to get eaten, right?]
no subject
[Ha ha. It's a joke, although 1. Leon's honestly a little unsure if Draco was connecting those two thoughts there, and 2. this time he remembers to be slightly awkward about things like "fighting to the death" and "defending himself," a moment too late. Not too awkward, but he does trail off and shrug, watching a spot on the carpet next to Draco rather than Draco's face.]
Yeah . . . I can defend myself just fine. Maybe not against a guy who can wave a stick around and make a house appear, though, know what I mean?
no subject
[SERIOUS FACE.
Except no, of course not, and Draco rolls his eyes half a second later. Leon's tone is curious, as is the fact that he's not exactly looking at him, but Draco isn't really one to press about personal matters with people he barely knows.]
Please, I have absolutely no desire to fight anyone for anything. I can hold my own in a duel, but I'd rather not have to. I was only curious... You said you weren't going to get eaten, so I assumed you had a way to defend yourself. The place I was before this, everyone seemed to be able to fight in one way or another. Giant keys, the ability to turn into rubber, using three swords at one time -- three!
[Still weird.
He shrugs a bit.]
I just wondered if it was similar in this place.
no subject
Three swords, what the hell? You only need one sword to kill someone! Anyway, yeah, plenty of people've got crazy powers here, but I ain't one of 'em. I'm just a normal guy! In my world people don't really do all that . . . rubber . . .
[ . . . stuff. Wait. Had he really said "turn into rubber"?]
--Why would anyone wanna turn into rubber? That's the crappiest superpower I ever heard of!
no subject
[Draco's SEEN it. And it looked ridiculous.
...Also a little terrifying, but mostly ridiculous.
But oh, the rubber thing. Should probably clarify on that one. Draco shakes gives a small shake of his head.]
Well, no, he doesn't turn into rubber, that was poor wording on my part. He just... [Gestures randomly.] He is rubber. That's what his body is made of. It's very, er. Odd. [Wrinkles his nose.] There was this time we switched bodies, right? It took me awhile to get the hang of his. He makes good use of it, though -- I've seen him in battle.
[...Battle is perhaps a bit too strong of a word, but whatever. Draco looks back at Leon.]
But I'm sure being normal isn't too terrible.
[HE'S GLAD HE'S NOT, THOUGH. 8Db]
no subject
You kiddin' me? You've got a friend made of rubber and you ended up in his body? What the hell's even up with your world? I'll stick with my normal human meat body, thanks! I'd rather have a body that's not totally nasty even if it's not "good use in battle"! I guess I'm a lover and not a fighter?
no subject
[Puffs out an annoyed breath, rustling his bangs.]
Spent two years in that world. I'm rather hoping this adventure doesn't last as long. Anyway, if being able to fight isn't necessary here, I've no complaints. It's not really something I particularly enjoy either.
no subject
Shit, that sucks . . . I got a friend like that, too. The last place he came from was way worse than this, he said. It's like, how many shitty alien kidnappers even are there out there? Why us, huh?
no subject
[Though he grins a little.]
It wasn't aliens last time, as far as I know. It was a giant bloody pirate ghost. But that place was definitely worse -- at least this world is more modern.
[A little TOO modern for Draco, but he'll take it.]
no subject
[He makes a face back at that grin. It's not actually upset; Leon's more resigned than riled up. And actually, he likes hearing about all the crazy stuff--sometimes. Sometimes, though, it just makes him wonder what kind of world he's even living in, and why did it take him supposedly nineteen years to figure out how fucked up it was?]
How long you been a witch? You've had a crazy life since you were born, right? It's just so friggin' weird . . . I had a completely normal life until--I dunno, I guess a few days before I got here, whatever. Since I got here, close enough! Now I just wanna know where that life went!
no subject
Wizard. Females are witches, males are wizards. And I assure you, I'm very much a male.
[He shrugs a little.]
And yeah, I was born with magic, but I wouldn't say my life has been crazy. It's been incredibly normal most of the time. I suppose it depends what you define normal as, though. What happened to you, er...a few days before you came here?
[That's oddly specific.]
no subject
's a long story, you don't wanna hear it, whatever! I wish it was as cool as finding out I was a wizard, or whatever.
[He even corrects his language like a good, conscientious friend, or . . . whatever he is.]
I guess it's hard to say what's normal when you come from this place where the whole setup sounds crazy to me!