WILDERNESS SURVIVAL MEME

[dontpokethat]

So. You’re lost.

Or maybe you know exactly where you are, but, for one reason or another, you can’t get back to civilization. Or maybe you just don’t want to.

The fact is, you are, for all intents and purposes, trapped in the wilderness. If you play your cards right, you might get through this basically unscathed - but one mistake could destroy your chances of survival.

EXTRA OBSTACLES

You know, in case it’s not going to be tough enough for your character already. Feel free to combine them, or forego them entirely!

Injury - Could be anything from a sprained ankle to a concussion. Of course, there’s no reason you can’t make it worse if you want to (as long as you make sure to warn for any particularly bad gore).

2. Illness - You knew you shouldn’t have eaten those berries… or maybe you’re just a little under the weather. Whatever the cause, you don’t feel great.

3. Hunted - Something out there wants you dead. Maybe it’s just a case of natural predation, and you happen to be on the wrong end, or maybe there’s some kind of a most dangerous game situation going on here.

4. Extreme Weather - Whether it’s snow and ice or the burning sun, the weather itself seems to be out to get you. Huddle for warmth, set up a shelter... whatever the situation, do what you’ve got to do and hope it works out.

5. Natural Disaster - Flooding, landslides, earthquakes, fire… though adjacent to the matter of the weather, some dangers deserve their own category.

6. Wildcard - Make up your own obstacle!

Comments

[dontpokethat]

[Oh, right. Ginko blinks, looking to Frisk like he had forgotten they were there, then points up at the sky.]

That's not really lightning. It's a type of mushi - how much do you know about those?

[gainedlove]

[Frisk shakes their head mutely, looking up into the sky again. That light was a creature? Is that what takes people off the mountain?]

[dontpokethat]

[He'll take that to mean 'not much'.]

Alright, well... Mushi are a kind of life, like plants or animals. But they're their own sort of being, they work in ways unlike any other kind of creature.

[He gestures toward the sky again.] Thunder threads live high in the atmosphere, and feed on other kinds of mushi; whenever they feed, they give off those flashes of light. They usually aren't visible from the ground, but more of the mushi that they like to eat come out in the rain, so the flashing gets brighter.

[gainedlove]

[They frown faintly as Ginko explains, and it...sort of makes sense. And it means the light isn't a danger, which is...good, they suppose.]

Whadda...whadda mushi look like?

[dontpokethat]

Depends on the mushi. Thunder threads look just how they sound - they're long and thin, and mostly transparent even to people who can see them, but with these threads of bright light running through them.

[He opens up his backpack again and starts rummaging around. After a few seconds, he pulls out a small, compact book and starts flipping through it.] Think there's an illustration of one in here somewhere... I'd show you a photo, but photos of mushi tend to be pretty low-quality. Nobody's managed to make a lens that can capture a clear picture of one yet.

[Eventually, he holds up the book, pointing out an illustration on one page.]

[gainedlove]

[Frisk slowly starts to unfurl from their tight ball, looking curiously at the book Ginko pulls out. The page he shows them isn't terribly interesting on it's own--the mushi shown looks like just an artistic squiggle due to it's shape--but what's on the page opposite catches their interest even more.]

I saw that b'fore!

[The exclamation bursts out unexpectedly, and Frisk immediately flushes bright red and curls up again, averting their eyes.]

...'m sorry...

[dontpokethat]

[That comment actually gets Ginko's attention, and he looks up - but then the kid is shrinking away, apologizing. He blinks, brow furrowing.]

...For what? You haven't done anything wrong. I'd... like to see where you saw that, actually.

[gainedlove]

[Frisk bites their lip, glancing down and then away before pointing down the slope of the trail.]

It was...um. When I was climbin'.

[...odd, considering that type of mushi is supposed to dwell at the top of mountains...]

[dontpokethat]

Really? That's pretty strange... can't imagine why they'd be so far down the mountain.

[He follows the line of sight they indicate, resting his elbows on his knees.]

...I guess, if it happened anywhere, it'd be here.

[gainedlove]

They...they are?

[Frisk's gaze flickers down the trail and back again, their brows creasing.]

Why?

[dontpokethat]

[He blinks, then shakes his head slightly.] --Ah, sorry. Must've misunderstood. I thought you meant closer by, but... well. Wouldn't have been too surprised.

[He sits back in his tent, then grabs a stick to prod at the fire a little.] See, this mountain is... kind of odd. If you live around here, I assume you've heard about it? Everyone in town seems to have. That's actually why I'm here.

[gainedlove]

Mm...mmm.

[Frisk nudges the ground a little with the toe of one small boot.]

I heard...a little.

[dontpokethat]

[That... is actually a little bit suspicious. But Ginko doesn't comment; he just nods and keeps going.]

I'm guessing you know, then, about the disappearances on this mountain. [He pauses for a moment, his tone and expression more serious than when he had just been talking about the mushi themselves.]

I guess, to be more specific, those disappearances are why I'm in town. It's my job to figure out what's causing them, and what can be done to save those people.

[gainedlove]

[Frisk's gaze steadies upon Ginko, and their expression falls oddly blank for a moment. What can be done to...save them?]

...they can be?

[dontpokethat]

Maybe.

[It's not certain, not with how little is really known about what's happening here.]

Some types of mushi will... take people, leave them somewhere else. Put them in another place, sometimes one that can't be accessed by normal means.

Of course, there's also the possibility that it's not a mushi doing it at all, but the mountain itself. That's been known to happen sometimes - but only if something is very wrong with it.

[gainedlove]

Somethin'...wrong?

[Their brows furrow slightly and they look down at the wet earth, one small hand splaying out against the ground as if they could feel whatever sickness might be there.]

How can--what kind of wrong?

[dontpokethat]

There are a few possibilities. [He stares out at the rain in silence for a moment, then pokes at the fire again, buying himself time to think as much as actually stoking the flames.]

See, mountains are living things, in a way - which means they can get sick. Sometimes something is affecting them that shouldn't be there, sometimes they're lacking something they need. If a mountain is out of balance, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think that people who approach it may not be able to leave.

[gainedlove]

It...eats them?

[If it's alive...it must get hungry. Right?]

[dontpokethat]

...It depends.

[No, that's not a 'no'.]

Any living thing that dies here will be taken into the living system of the mountain, so that could be considered 'eating' them, in a way.

[gainedlove]

[Frisk shivers a little bit and chews on their lip, thinking hard about that information. After a few moments of silence, their question is soft and incredibly hesitant.]

Will...will it get better if...if it eats?

[dontpokethat]

[Ginko's expression hardly changes... but he does not like that at all. Too close to the kind of response he would have had at their age.]

It's always eating. That's not the problem; whatever is going on is much deeper than that.