T̷h̷e̸ ̵G̶a̴m̸e̵ - A VR Role-play

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

As the river dragged them both towards the jagged rocks and toward the edge of the waterfall, Fabian pushed themselves up through the rushing water, taking a heavy breath in before being dragged under again.

In between surfacing, they caught short glimpses of Lyra also taking deep breaths, trying to stay afloat, before she too was dragged back down.

Their hammer suddenly snagged on a few sharp rocks, hidden in the bottom of the river.

They tried to unhook it, but every passing second forced more distance between Fabian and Lyra, daring to split them apart permanently.

Fabian glanced between their hammer and the flashes of Lyra's orange-tipped hair, before doing the underwater equivalent of an eye-roll and letting go of the handle, giving in to the thunderous flow of the river.

It dragged them down, throwing the pair against the sharp, dark rocks, snagging at their clothes and limbs.

Although Fabian tried to reach out, they couldn't grab Lyra or any of the slippery surfaces surrounding them.

They couldn't do anything, except hurtle towards the edge, choking out water with each desperate breath.

As they were both flung off the waterfall, everything seemed to slow down, almost to a complete stop.

Fabian reached out for Lyra, their eyes filled with concern and urgency, trying to use their powers to protect them from the fall.

But they couldn't do anything.

They were still drained from their fight with an insane thunder cloud, left with barely enough liquid in their body to sustain themself.

I'm sorry. Fabian closed their eyes, not wanting the last thing they see to be something awful, as the fall swept them away.

They didn't know if they had really died the first time around, or how they survived if they didn't - or how many times they could die, if they had died before. They just hoped that they'd somehow survive.

It was a few long seconds before their eyes blinked open again, wondering why it was taking so long to hit the bottom.

Their eyes widened as they realised they were getting further and further away from the ground, floating up.

"Oh," Fabian breathed, looking across to Lyra, who was drifting upwards a little faster than they were. "How...?"

They let out a short chuckle, just glad that they were still kicking, even if it was just floating in the clouds.

Past the top layer of the clouds, surrounded by its own thick wall of clouds, was a fair-sized island, split into sections.

It didn't look like it was attached to anything - no ropes or random poles extending out. It was just held by its own tiny gravity pocket.

Fabian's jaw dropped slightly, peering through air-battered eyes at the layers of composite holding the island's base together. What the hell?

As they were gently lifted safely above the edge, a huge gust of wind pushed them towards the island, at an angle.

They both crashed down, gaining a couple more bruises as they collided with the hard ground.

Fabian landed across from Lyra, rolling to a quick stop, their body aching.

(Feel free to pick the island's biomes/buildings/etc.!)

Lyra coughed spluttering water, at some point during her fall she’d shut her eyes and just hoped she went quickly. And now she was on an island? What. The. Hell.
This couldn’t be right, surely! She hadn’t even felt herself hit the water, but in this place perhaps the biome shifted or something happened to stop her from reaching the bottom.
She rolled onto her side and violently coughed the water she’d swallowed back up. “Oh my…” she broke off glancing around the island they were on, her body was still incredibly weak from her fall. She laughed a little. The island was one of the oddest things she’d ever seen, it was tiny and there was a small town in each corner. But in the middle a circle of rainforest that appeared as though it hadn’t been touched or tampered with ever. However all around this rainforest stood huts.
The huts were tall and built from wood, she had no idea where the people had gotten the wood from, the rest of their island was desert after all. “What an odd place” she muttered. With a groan she collapsed back onto the ground “I’m too old for this” she muttered, her orange and brown hair spread around her head like a fan. A very frizzy fan.

 

[Yowza Wowza]

Dex existed.

It was a weird thing, really. What is existence? Is it merely being alive, floating through the endless universe on a large rock, or is it something more, like the experience of life? Like eating your mothers Khao Soi, or staying up until dawn to watch the orange hues of the sun as it rises above the sleeping city?

Those were the questions Dex asked himself when found himself stuck in some kind of trap.

“God—c’mon!” He shouted, wriggling upside down by his ankle. He wasn’t sure how he got in this situation. One minute he was walking up a slippery hill, the next he was back in the forest, falling into a conveniently placed booby trap.

He cursed, hitting his krabong against the vine in a weak attempt at breaking it. Just need to get. . . higher. . .

He swung his body, using the momentum to grab his leg. Ears pressed down in concentration, he used his legs as an extension of the vine, climbing up until his fingers brushed against the knot.

Freedom at last. As fun as it was to contemplate life’s existence, he really had better things to do. Like escaping this other trap called trees. Once I’m back home, I’m cutting down all of the trees. I’ll make the biggest bonfire yet.

He hoisted himself up higher, dropping his weapon so both hands could work the knot. However, much to Dex’ absolute rage, the system was rigged, and he didn’t see the spikes in the plant.

He yelped, jerking his hand away from the thorn and stuffing the bleeding finger in his mouth. Oh, it was going to pay. He was going to make it regret growing.

It was only then did he realize he was back to square one, only weaponless this time. He would make a quick and easy snack to whatever creature—or, more concerning, cannibal—that may come along. He only hoped it wasn’t vultures again. He had run into them near the top of the mountain—shortly before falling down—and it only served to cement his dislike of birds.

He crossed his arms, tail swishing in rhythm to the rest of his moving body, as he gave the vine a glare so venomous it would make his high school P.E. teacher proud.

After deciding the glare did nothing, he huffed, flexing his legs in an attempt to get more blood into them. It would all be for nothing if he got out and realized he couldn’t walk because he couldn’t feel his legs. He totally wasn’t just stalling.

Giving another huff, Dex stretched, swinging himself up. This time he caught his ankle in one try, pulling himself up until eye level with the knot. He curled his lip in disgust, before gnawing the vine.

The bitter taste burned his tongue, but he fought past it, digging a fang into the plant until it gave way, plummeting him to the ground with a startled yelp.

Dex groaned, pressing a hand to his ribs. He cursed whoever said cats always land on their feet.

Slowly, he stood up with a wince, collecting his stuff that was now scattered around the ground. Grabbing his krabong, he hit the chewed-up vine. He was about to continue his trek to god-knows-where before he turned, hitting the vine again for good measure. Satisfied, he made his way through the trees, keeping an eye out for more traps.

(I love Dex sm )

 

[FrankieDoodle]

(I love Dex sm )

(same. He’s so fun to write )

 

[TamingMaster]

Zulema sprawled herself onto the couch opposite of Theo, her legs crossed at the ankles as she looked on Leita disdainfully.

“And you weren’t.” She spoke curtly, flipping the vial seamlessly through the fingers of her right hand.

“I don’t know if you’ve figured it out already— blondie, but we’re not exactly in the reality we’ve known our entire lives. It’s far more intense, deadly, and basically some sicko’s excuse for a game.”

“And besides.. you have three lives, I wouldn’t worry about dying.”

Zulema cocked her head lightly in Theo’s direction and shifted the vial in between her thumb and index finger. Her eyes focused on its contents: shards of grass covered in a strange goop.

“You know, whatever comes from the backside of a hyena.. and no—it’s not poo.” She explained, curling her lip with repugnance before cracking open the window above her and discarding the item into the bush. She dusted off her hands ostentatiously and returned her attention to the two.

“Anyways, it was the best non-lethal option to wake the both of you up instead of waiting out the effects of the Becalm tea.”

Theo was still in a daze, xyr mind far away from the bus, Zulema, and Leita. Caught in the back of his mind, he was trying to See. See past the bus, past the honeysuckle bush, deep into the forest- and that's where it stopped.
It glitched, and their mind went blank. The comforts of home and family were far out of the poor seers reach.

"You're telling me you just made me smell hyena piss?" Theo came to, catching the last few bits of what Zulema had said. He gagged again, lip curling. It was far from the worst substance he had ever smelled or handled- Aella has a knack for selling some of the most disturbing things for potions and spells -but it was still disgusting.

They looked up as the newcomer approached, their presence much more friendly and welcoming towards her than Zulema's. "Hi," xe grinned, extending a hand towards her in greeting. "I'm Theodore."

(^ That part made me chuckle sm )

Leita's already spinning head struggled to take in the information it was being bombarded with. A game? Three lives? Zulema was making even less sense than before.

She looked at Zulema, watching her toss the vial, before slumping back into her seat. She wanted to be angry at her, but couldn't focus well enough to make any decent arguments. Maybe she's been living like a recluse in this bus for a little too long...

Theodore caught her attention shortly after, hand extended in greeting. Xe was much nicer to her than Zulema had been, and didn't seem to be threatening in any way. At least, not towards her.

She reached her own hand out, giving xyr hand a firm shake. "Nice to meet you Theodore. I'm Leita."

There was a short silence, giving Leita a little more time to take in the bus. It was dark, cluttered, but gently lit by fairy lights, strung from each corner.

"Also, I don't think it was pee..." Leita said, breaking the silence as she sat beside Theodore, scowling at Zulema.

She leaned against the back of the couch, letting out a soft breath as she rechecked her wound. To her surprise, it had stopped bleeding, and the skin had begun to slowly close shut. Whoa... What the... How long have I been out?

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

(Idk how I forgot about this, I'm sorry.)

"Cool. coolcoolcool," Zayne said. He cast a weary look to the mountains, before nodding at himself. I can do this. We can do this.

He fell into a step behind Xai, arms wrapped tightly around himself as the wind began to pick up, carrying a few stray snowflakes with it. He paused, tilting his head and raising a hand, catching a snowflake on his fingertip.

"Hey, do you see this?" he asked, offering the snow to Xai. "Doesn't this look weird to you? It's like it's. . . pixelated, or something." Rubbing it between his fingers, he was surprised to find it didn't melt. Instead, it vanished, leaving no trace it was there in the first place.

Eyebrows drawn together, he looked toward Xai. Before either of them spoke, he crouched down, scooping a handful of snow. Much like the lone snowflake, it was icy to the touch but didn't melt in his hand like normal snow would've.

"That's so weird," Zayne said, letting the snow fall between his fingers and brushing the remnants on his shorts. "Like, my hand's fully dry. Isn't that weird?" He stood, glancing at the small snow pile. "Snow shouldn't be like that. Right? Or am I just tripping? I guess it's not the weirdest thing that's happened today."

Looking back to their destination, he grimaced. The clouds were getting closer, and pausing to examine snow was a terrible waste of time. "Sorry, shouldn't've stopped. Let's keep moving."

As they continued to walk, the storm picked up, coating the ice in a heavy layer of snow. If there was one good thing about it all, it would be that now the ice was less slippery. Or at least that's how Zayne hoped snow worked.

Still, the snowflake nagged at the back of his mind. It wasn't the first unusual thing to have happened, and wasn't that suspicious? If it was only one or two things, maybe that would be a coincidence. But with everything that had happened, it was looking more and more like there was something bigger going on.

After stewing on it for a few moments, Zayne gave Xai a sideways glance. "Hey, uh, I don't want to sound paranoid or anything, but has his all seemed weird to you? and not just the "waking up in the middle of nowhere" trash. The snow, the horses, it all just seems so. . ." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Never mind. It's probably just the cold talking."

(No worries!)

Xavier had found a fairly quick hobbling pace, despite the slippery ice. The cold had numbed its legs too much for the pain to bother it anymore.
Although, annoyance prickled their skin as Zayne decided to pause and show them a few snowflakes. "It's snow," they scoffed, rolling their eyes. Their suspicion did rise when he picked up a handful, and the snow didn't so much as leave a trace on his skin when it fell back to the ground.

"No..." it murmured quietly. "Snow shouldn't be like that."

But they decided to ignore it, and continued hobbling towards the mountains. The storm was getting progressively worse- a thin coat of ice and snow crusting to their hair and shoulders.
"You're not paranoid," it mumbled. "It is weird. none of it is... normal." They met their sideways gaze for a few minutes. "I don't understand any of it. I'm just holding onto hope we find some form of civilization that can help."

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

(^ That part made me chuckle sm )

Leita's already spinning head struggled to take in the information it was being bombarded with. A game? Three lives? Zulema was making even less sense than before.

She looked at Zulema, watching her toss the vial, before slumping back into her seat. She wanted to be angry at her, but couldn't focus well enough to make any decent arguments. Maybe she's been living like a recluse in this bus for a little too long...

Theodore caught her attention shortly after, hand extended in greeting. Xe was much nicer to her than Zulema had been, and didn't seem to be threatening in any way. At least, not towards her.

She reached her own hand out, giving xyr hand a firm shake. "Nice to meet you Theodore. I'm Leita."

There was a short silence, giving Leita a little more time to take in the bus. It was dark, cluttered, but gently lit by fairy lights, strung from each corner.

"Also, I don't think it was pee..." Leita said, breaking the silence as she sat beside Theodore, scowling at Zulema.

She leaned against the back of the couch, letting out a soft breath as she rechecked her wound. To her surprise, it had stopped bleeding, and the skin had begun to slowly close shut. Whoa... What the... How long have I been out?

Theodore whipped his head around to look at Leita beside him. They didn't even want to know what it was if it wasn't pee. "Right. Disgusting."

Xe leaned his elbows on his knees, glancing between Zulema and Leita. He was still lost on the whole reality of the situation, despite how much Zulema had tried to explain to him.
Although. It would have been even more confusing if xe didn't have three guardians who had all once been teleported to some alternate dimension.
If only I had their help right now.
"So... I'm just gonna TL;DR this whole thing. We're trapped in some.. high fantasy alternate reality with changing environments, we have three lives, something is trying to kill us around practically every corner, although the bonus of defeating said things is that you get coins, and... no one has any knowledge about how to get home?"

Another uneasy silence filled the bus.

"So, what do we do? Sit here all day, staring at each other, twiddling our thumbs?"

 

[Yowza Wowza]

Theodore whipped his head around to look at Leita beside him. They didn't even want to know what it was if it wasn't pee. "Right. Disgusting."

Xe leaned his elbows on his knees, glancing between Zulema and Leita. He was still lost on the whole reality of the situation, despite how much Zulema had tried to explain to him.
Although. It would have been even more confusing if xe didn't have three guardians who had all once been teleported to some alternate dimension.
If only I had their help right now.
"So... I'm just gonna TL;DR this whole thing. We're trapped in some.. high fantasy alternate reality with changing environments, we have three lives, something is trying to kill us around practically every corner, although the bonus of defeating said things is that you get coins, and... no one has any knowledge about how to get home?"

Another uneasy silence filled the bus.

"So, what do we do? Sit here all day, staring at each other, twiddling our thumbs?"

Half-listening to what either the two were talking about, Zulema sluggishly rested her face in the palm of her hand and stared hard at the ceiling while absently fiddling with the knit of her fishnets.

"So, what do we do? Sit here all day, staring at each other, twiddling our thumbs?"

“Actually—” Zulema’s voice finally broke out as she peeled herself off the couch and stood up to face her guests.

Her eyes lit up with exhilaration,“You two hatchlings are getting a big kick out of the nest.”

She tossed on a hooded cloak and collected her crossbow. “We’re going on a quest, and hopefully from there you newbies can figure how to navigate this world first-hand.” she stated sternly, slipping on a pair of gloves and filling her pockets with miscellaneous items from around the bus.

Once she was finished, Zulema stood at the front of the bus and pointed at the rows of seats that were occupied with random equipment, gear, and weapons. “You’re free to pick whatever you want from these seats, they’re pretty basic so you’re allowed to keep them.”

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Half-listening to what either the two were talking about, Zulema sluggishly rested her face in the palm of her hand and stared hard at the ceiling while absently fiddling with the knit of her fishnets.

"So, what do we do? Sit here all day, staring at each other, twiddling our thumbs?"

“Actually—” Zulema’s voice finally broke out as she peeled herself off the couch and stood up to face her guests.

Her eyes lit up with exhilaration,“You two hatchlings are getting a big kick out of the nest.”

She tossed on a hooded cloak and collected her crossbow. “We’re going on a quest, and hopefully from there you newbies can figure how to navigate this world first-hand.” she stated sternly, slipping on a pair of gloves and filling her pockets with miscellaneous items from around the bus.

Once she was finished, Zulema stood at the front of the bus and pointed at the rows of seats that were occupied with random equipment, gear, and weapons. “You’re free to pick whatever you want from these seats, they’re pretty basic so you’re allowed to keep them.”

Theodore cast a startled glance a Leita, then back at Zulema. "What do you mean by 'quest'?" He threw up air-quotation marks. It didn't sound very promising- with their only other experience being outside the bus nearly ending in xyr death.

They observed her as she collected things around the bus. It seemed she wasn't giving them much of a choice to go on this "quest," so he decided not to argue. I just hope I can find a way home.
Trying to find a path in his brain, trying to see beyond the walls of the honeysuckle bush, past the confines of the present, was futile. Crackling static in xyr mind blocked xem from seeing almost anything. Failed Seer.

A mention of weapons and armor drew their attention back to the bus, and they stood, looking over the array. A basic set of bow and arrows, slingshots and a rather large shield, knives, chain mail armor, a vest and gloves, and a few various other items.
I could use the bow, but my aim isn't that good... I'm clearly poor with knives, and a slingshot wouldn't protect me from something like the thing in the woods.

Oh.

Glinting from beneath the chain mail shirt was a long blade, which he carefully removed from where it was hidden. Nearly immediately he recognized it as a scimitar. It wasn't a pretty thing, nor was it as long or as thin as Hana's katanas, and it didn't weigh the same in their hands, but it was familiar. Xe knew how to wield a katana to some extent- a scimitar couldn't be horribly different.
He settled on that, the chain mail shirt, and a belt with various pouches. Now lets just hope I don't die.

 

[FrankieDoodle]

(No worries!)

Xavier had found a fairly quick hobbling pace, despite the slippery ice. The cold had numbed its legs too much for the pain to bother it anymore.
Although, annoyance prickled their skin as Zayne decided to pause and show them a few snowflakes. "It's snow," they scoffed, rolling their eyes. Their suspicion did rise when he picked up a handful, and the snow didn't so much as leave a trace on his skin when it fell back to the ground.

"No..." it murmured quietly. "Snow shouldn't be like that."

But they decided to ignore it, and continued hobbling towards the mountains. The storm was getting progressively worse- a thin coat of ice and snow crusting to their hair and shoulders.
"You're not paranoid," it mumbled. "It is weird. none of it is... normal." They met their sideways gaze for a few minutes. "I don't understand any of it. I'm just holding onto hope we find some form of civilization that can help."

Nodding, Zayne's shoulders slumped as he let out a breath. He hadn't realized just how much tension he was holding, until Xavier confirmed that no, he wasn't the only one who thought it odd.

He trudged along next to Xavier, rolling his sleeves down to cover his forearms. The mud frozen to his clothes made the action pointless, but Zayne was happy to pretend it at least blocked some of the wind chill.

Casting yet another look to the mountains, he shuddered, flexing his numbing toes. A part of him knew that maybe he should be concerned by the lack of feeling, but he was too tired to care, and the dull ache in the rest of his body made up for it.

Gotta keep walking.

"So, uh, what's the first thing you're going to do once we get home?" Zayne asked, raising his voice to be heard over the wind. "I'll probably shower. In hot water. God, hot water would be great right about now." He grimaced, shaking his head. He honestly didn't expect much of an answer from them, only a little ashamed to admit he was he was talking for himself. The more he talked, the less he would think about the cold, and how he could feel it creeping through his body and oh no I'm thinking about it again.

Just keep walking.

"Where are you from? Have I asked that yet? I don't remember."

 

[Yowza Wowza]

( @HeavensHens88 )
Attempting to hoist Pickles arm around their shoulder was possibly the most unideal way to assist the injured woman as the pair resulted in another collapse on the swampy bank. Tem’s scrawny and small frame was no way capable of carrying even someone their own body weight.

Brushing their face free of muck and pebbles they got on their feet again, uttering out a huff. “Okay, so that’s not gonna work..”

They looked over Pickles and decided to grab her by her arms, seeing at it was their best bet to drag her out of the open instead of leaving her vulnerable and injured.

“Let’s get you somewhere safe.”
Making sure she was laying on her back, Tem grabbed her wrists and started tugging the woman along, making sure to stay on the soft marshland. Once they reached some dense undergrowth amongst a colonnade of trees, they assisted Pickles by propping her up against a base of a trunk.

Already sweating from the damp and hot climate of the swamp, Tem slipped off their jacket and folded it neatly to put it underneath Pickles’ ankle for cushion.

“Um…” they began, crouching down with hands on their cheekbones as they thought about what their next move would be. Having a moment or two of completely zoning out, they abruptly jumped up and clasped their hands around the bag the old west looking man gave them.

“I’ll be right back, I have something to take care of.” Tem announced vaguely and set off back to the cave where the Wart Beast disappeared into. They gave Pickles short glances here and there as they strayed further from her proximity, visibly torn with leaving someone behind again. Though this time it was made on their own conscious decision.

She should be okay.. I mean.. she has that glowy looking harpoon gun.. and the spot I chose keeps her pretty hidden..

Maybe I can find something that can help her in that chest the guy mentioned.. or I can get him to help Pickles? He seems to know about the area..

Seeming to let their thoughts ramble about, Tem eventually found themself far inside the rocky cavity and eyes adjusted to the abyss of the eerie dwelling. Surprisingly, they found the cave to be far more cooler than the absolute sauna outside, but still retained the mosquitoes that annoyingly buzzed by their ears. Giving a few heavy handed swats at their exposed arms as they explored further, they started to notice faint lights in the ceiling crevasses.

They were some type of glow worms, at least Tem believed them to be from the stringy threads that surrounded their bright forms.

When Mom and Dad were trapped in that other world.. I think they said they spent a night in a cave.. that had glow worms too?

Or was it a dragon..?

They tried returning their attention to locating the Wart Beast, but they couldn’t help but think about what their parents could possibly doing right now.

I know for a fact they’ve already noticed I’m not home. Nothing gets away under Mom’s nose.. and Dad is likely tearing apart the neighborhood looking for me.

Then Cheddar and Jack.. are probably just being Cheddar and Jack, begging for treats or belly rubs.

After some time Tem was taken away from their thoughts when they stumbled upon the Wart Beast, situated in a equally massive pond filled with small orbs that they couldn’t help but compare to tapioca pearls. They could smell a pungent odor emanating from the amphibian, which to their appeal warded off a majority of the pesky mosquitoes.

Careful with each approaching step, they kept their eyes glued to the Wart Beast, watching its every movement as it remained in a catatonic rest state. Their gaze slipped to the abundant clutch of eggs.

Here goes nothing.