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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[ She is pleased about Rei making friends, too, even though she doesn't really want to take credit. Leia and Athena are pretty extroverted enough that they would have found Rei anyway... just as they found a thug like Ryuko. ]
What's up, Ami?
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Mmm?
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[ It was just Ryuko and Senketsu... Senketsu being the uniform that she's wearing right now. The uniform that sometimes looks like a face with eyes from a certain angle. The uniform that appears to be staring at Ami, as if it's possessed by a ghost. It may even blink when absolutely nobody is paying attention. It's probably what Ami seems to have mistaken it for a creature, but Ryuko doesn't make that connection as she considers her uniform a person. More than that, it's her closest friend. ]
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[Rei...has never quite parsed how weird it was for Ryuko's shirt to blink at her.]
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Senketsu is my friend. I kinda have trouble explaining to most people that he's more than just clothing...
[ Since he can't communicate with anyone and all. At least Rei can vouch for her alien clothes. ]
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[Really, they have.]
Ami-chan, the simple explanation though, is a sentient set of clothing. And if I'm not mistaken, it gives Ryuko-chan some of her supernatural powers? Not...all that different from my own transformation?
[In case Ami didn't want that immediately out in the open.]
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May I ask how you met Senketsu?
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[ That's how Ryuko used to see it until she learned she has supernatural powers all on her own, and Senketsu mainly amplifies her superhuman abilities. The truth is she can never "power down" to a normal human form even if she's not wearing the uniform, and there's a hint of sadness and isolation in that.
The story of how she met Senketsu isn't any more cheery, but she'll try to keep it simple and straight to the facts. ]
A-Ah, it's kinda a long story, but my dad made him. I didn't get to meet Senketsu until after my dad died... after he was killed by someone who was after Senketsu. I wanted to be stronger, and ever since then, we've worked together to avenge him.
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I'm assuming, Ryuko-chan, that you have some sort of mental bond with him? I've never heard him speak, but I've certainly heard you arguing with him.
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I know it sounds crazy, but that's just how we are.
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[Rei smiles now, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder and then add the meat to the spit. She knew those feelings of power-created loneliness and isolation]
Nothing about this sounds crazy, because it's who you are. Until I was fifteen my only friends where two crows. [And the two birds in question caw from the corner.] Nothing about you is crazy or strange, believe me. Believe me, I've seen a lot of strange things. And you? are not among them.
[There's a pause as a thought comes to her.]
You have a psychic link with Senketsu, though? You know...it's possible I could use my powers to tap in. Maybe I could hear him then, too? If that would make him happy, I could try?
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She looked over to Ryuko, and could only nod. Rei was right, it didn't sound crazy.]
It isn't crazy, as Rei said. Rei has great abilities, if such a thing is possible, she is able to do it.
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Senketsu gains consciousness by havin' some of my blood. He was kinda tailored for me, so there's some of my DNA within him... [ She leaves out the part about having some of his alien genes inside her, too. That's still a sensitive subject she's trying to come to terms with. ]
I mean, I guess you could try, but... why don't we wait 'til we're all home? No need to drain our powers with all that crap lurkin' outside.
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We probably should. I mean, it's not particularly draining, but I'd have an easier time concentrating. I can definitely feel he's alive, though.
In any event, I'd say your meat is just about cooked. You might want to stop before you char it.
[Since that was originally why she'd come in. To eat.]
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Ah, such matters as these should not be discussed while eating. Please, enjoy, Rei caught quite the animal. I will get us more fresh water.
[She stood up, stretching her arms above her head.]