Flower - Now with 100% more jumping leeches!

THE STORY

Droserapites pontemus was thought to be extinct until x-rays of a man’s skull in Beijing proved otherwise.

Droserapites pontemus grew, bloomed, and wilted like many other flowering plants in its family. It was unusual in the fact that it trapped flies and other insects for food, in much the same way as the sundew - in fact, it shared many of its characteristics with this plant. However, what really set it apart from the majority of its fellow carnivorous plants was that it possessed an odd tendency to grow in another dimension.

What little is known about this dimension is entirely made up of observations scientists made as they were hacked to pieces by the Horrible Creatures brought back by the root, which had been quietly flourishing in its own little world ever since the last Earthly flower was harvested centuries ago.

Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. This man in Beijing died three days later, before a suitable surgery could be arranged. His body was cremated and stored in a jar of his mother’s house. From this jar grew a large, vine-like root which sprouted multiple branches overnight, and refused to be cut or burned out of existence. Unsure of what to do, the grieving mother consigned the entire vase to a rubbish dump.

The ‘Beijing Rubbish Heap’ quickly became one of the world’s greatest anomalies. Within a week, it was entirely covered in flowery vines and strange tree-like structures that bore no fruit.

This state of fame did not last, as it was becoming quickly apparent that more and more roots were beginning to grow their way into our dimension. The pyramid of Giza, Lake Baikal, Carlsbad Caverns, the Kalahari Desert, São Paulo, Lisbon, Calgary, and right in the middle of the Sydney Opera House were some of the more notable manifestations during the first year. Newspapers and online journals buzzed with the latest news on the plants as the global scientific community struggled to keep its shit together, so to speak.

For a time, the world was caught up in a state of near-total unification as other problems were set aside in order to find out the source and properties of these most unusual vines. Scientists subjected newly-manifested roots to incredibly intense heat, watched as they evaporated, then kept watching until another sprout generated in the exact same spot. Such rifts appeared to be completely unaffected by gravity, and could not be moved without destroying the physical branch of the plant – a feat which required astounding amounts of force. So much, in fact, that global agencies were helpless to destroy the manifestations and instead worked to contain them.

Then came the bigger roots, which possessed an average diameter of twelve feet. Several manifestations were now visible in space, and several more were now discovered as to have manifested in space. They could be observed, hanging silently and beautifully in the sky, on clear evenings for couples to stare at and pretend like they were special and eccentric. And then, just as the world began to think they could accept these most strange and mysterious abominations into their society, just as the wonderfully abundant and thriving systems of roots, vines, trees, and flowers began to become a part of everyday life, came the Horrible Creatures.

You live in the 22nd century, amidst a group of your closest friends in the town of Habbenstadt, Iowa. The television is a constant reassurance that the various world governments are doing all that is possible to contain the uncontainable, or at least, it was until half the town moved out and the power plant was left unmanned. Right now, however, the United States government is nowhere to be found in Habbenstadt.

Perhaps you should risk travelling out into the rest of the world, the void where so many of your other acquaintances have disappeared into, the hell reported everyday on the radio. Perhaps it would be a greater risk to stay.

You regularly study the Horrible Bestiary, which is to your knowledge the greatest survival guide for this modern age.

THE RULES (Go ahead, give them a read! They’re great! Honest!)

1. Generic RP rules - no godmodding, powerplaying, hyperjiving, mastermilking, rebelroling, uberdubbing, or winnerwaxing.
2. Respect your fellow RPer, and your fellow RPer’s character.
3. Yes, it’s the apocalypse, but repopulating the world can wait. Let’s be professional here.
4. If this RP actually gets anywhere, rule #3 might be revoked late in the game. However, if it is (and that’s a big if) there will be timeskips and referencing to what will happen/happened during those timeskips will be kept to a bare, bare minimum.
5. Until then, keep your romantic interaction (if any) to kissing and cuddling.
6. Swearing allowed.
7. Be as graphic (violence-wise) as you like.
8. Now that that’s all out of the way, I urge you to keep your posts (and your characters, too) creative yet realistic.
9. Your posts do not have to be particularly long, as a great deal of character-to-character interaction will ideally be occurring throughout the RP. Bare minimum post length is 2-3 sentences.
10. I think it’d be fun to try this in... Present tense and first person. If you have more than one character, you may include the character’s name in italics before your post so we know who ‘I’ is~
11. I foresee that I will be controlling a fair portion of the storyline progression, particularly those parts that do not involve the characters making decisions (as you guys will handle that, obviously. ^^; ). However, feel absolutely and positively free to make storyline suggestions in PMs. I’d advise against posting your suggestion on the OOC thread as if I do like the idea then it would be spoiled for the rest of the RPers. x3
12. Character limit? What character limit?
13. Though you cannot godmod or control the flow of the RP by yourself, doing things such as having an Elephant Centipede appear to be fought while you’re humming to yourself in the shower is perfectly acceptable. The limit on how game-changing these arbitrary occurrences can be scales with the number of people they will affect – if you’re on your own, go ahead. If you’re in a group of five people, show more restraint.
14. If you’ve really read the rules, completely disregard rule #17 and put ‘nothing else to add, honestly’ in the ‘other’ section of your sheet instead.
15. You’ll RP as a human who is at least acquainted with all your other RPers’ charries, so at least give their sheets a quick skim~
16. Have fun. Like, seriously. RPing is supposed to be fun. If you don’t want to post, then just don’t. Take it easy until you have some inspiration!
17. If you’ve read the rules, put ‘Droserapites pontemus’ in the ‘other’ section of your character sheet.

THE SHEET

Name: Realism would be appreciated.
Gender: XX, XY, androgynous, transgender... have a ball.
Age: You may be adult, teen, senior, even eight months old if you feel up to it.
Appearance: Provide a brief description of what your charry looks like and commonly wears. Alternatively, draw them.
Personality: What are they like? What are they not like?
Useful skills and traits: Gimme a quick list of adjectives. Are they particularly strong? Intelligent? Skilled survivalists? Good with guns? Weavers? Farmers?
Useful possessions: Our group pools food, water, and other necessary resources. What artifacts did you bring with you from your past life?
Bio and important background info: OPTIONAAAL. I know having to write a lengthy bio is a real sheetdelayer, so just put as much here as you need or want to. You may add stuffs later if you like~
Other: Anything else to add, honestly?

THE HORRIBLE BESTIARY

~~~The Bridge Root is the name given to Droserapites pontemus, the plant which seems to mix properties of all of vines, flowerings plants, and trees. Its red-brown branches/vines/roots have a rough, thick surface which is extraordinarily difficult to crack. Its piercingly bright blue flowers seep a nectar-like liquid which seems to attract various Horrible Creatures. Its tall tree-like growths produce no fruit, instead sprouting unmistakable six-pointed leaves, which are theorized to be primarily utilized for energy-gathering. The branches/vines/roots grow extremely quickly, with a highest recorded rate of thirty feet per per 24 hours. The plant itself is entirely nontoxic and harmless to humans. If one manifests in your dwelling, however unlikely that may be, the author strongly recommends that you move out immediately and find another shelter (preferably very far away).

~~~Horrible Spiders are arachnid-like creatures generally ranging from eight to thirty-six inches from front to back, with legs tucked fully inwards. Their behavior is most accurately described as bee-like, in that they harvest nectar from Bridge Root Flowers and feed a Matriarch in charge of laying eggs. However, there are many instances in which nests are governed by multiple queens. The spiders knit three-dimensional webs to house their queens and young, as well as larger webs to catch prey for food. They seem to require flower nectar as material to be processed and spun into silk, not for nutrients. Appearance-wise, the spiders are almost completely white, with black spots on the abdomen, have eight black eyes, long, hairless legs, and four sets of jaws. On the ground, you can easily outrun one. In one of their hives, your primary concern should be to remain undetected as they can traverse the strands of webbing five times faster than you. Failure to escape will result in your body being bitten multiple times to paralyze you, spun up in webbing, and dragged off to be fought over, shredded asunder and eventually devoured by the ever-voracious, hippopotamus-sized Matriarchs in their inner chamber.


~~~Elephant Millipedes are gigantic abominations of the natural world, resembling something one might find in the late Jurassic. They can be six feet across and over seventy feet long. These creatures have tough, scaly skin and move extremely quickly. They behave somewhat like snakes in that they remain hidden until striking and will devour their prey whole. Fortunately for you, these reptiles (for that is what they actually are, according to scientific consensus) do not need to hunt often and are very territorial towards others of their kind. If you find yourself in a standoff with one, stay well out of its range – they are quicker than they look. If you can sever any of its three tongues, do so immediately, as they are blind and rely on tasting the air for navigation – again, like snakes. If you manage to kill one, mark your home with bile from its stomach to keep away not only other millipedes but most other Horrible Creatures as well. Its skin is also perfect for fashioning body armor.


~~~Butcherbirds, dark in coloration with bright blue crests and white skin, are about the size of the common vulture (though much lighter) and roost in the Bridge Root Trees (though more and more are beginning to adapt to urban areas). They are unusual in the fact that their wings are composed of skin membranes coated in feathers, and thus could be comparable to oversized bats. During the day, they are generally harmless and fill the air with strange guttural songs. At night, they rise in flocks of twenty or more to hunt, and will attack live prey, efficiently stripping their victims’ skeletons of anything and everything digestible. You needn’t fear a small flock unless travelling by yourself – they seldom attack groups of humans. However, there is always a possibility that you will become a target, especially in the presence of a particularly large flock, and being stabbed to death by thin, ten-inch-long beaks that will slice right through tissue is a particularly nasty fate. Do not try to intimidate or attack any number of these birds unless you are armored and prepared for a fight. If you find yourself outside at night and hear their unmistakable call, seek secure shelter immediately.


~~~Horrible Ants range from one to five inches long and are mottled green in coloration. They possess six antennae, which they use to navigate. These ants, while they possess a harmless bite and are not particularly aggressive, are enormous pests and can quickly decimate one’s food supplies. Their sense of smell has been observed to be remarkably keen. To keep one’s food safe, encase items in as much steel wool as possible and lock them away in the strongest metal container you can locate.


~~~Vampire Tadpoles are small, amphibious, hemovoric creatures that travel in large swarms. They range from three to eleven inches long and can be easily identified by their call, which resembles the croak of a frog but is repeated multiple times in quick succession. By far the oddest creatures encountered so far, they are at first glance somewhat similar in body shape to earthly tadpoles, yet they possess two thin arms sprouting from the forepart of their body. Each hand has three webbed digits. These creatures use both their arms and tail for locomotion, leaping distances as great as fifteen feet in one bound. They are incredibly quick and can be an extreme nuisance. Fortunately, the creatures only hunt at night, a time period in which you should not be out of doors, anyway. If a swarm is approaching, you would be best-advised to mobilize immediately, either towards your shelter if it is nearby or the nearest source of fire if it is not. Being caught in a swarm is certain death - the creatures will stick to you like leeches and are seemingly resilient to pain and the death of their kin.

More to be added~

THE LIST OF ACCEPTED CHARACTERS

Empty.

So this is my first RP. Basically I'm looking for feedback, ways to make this better, sheet pledges, anything like that. Have at it~

... Ok so this is about crazy multi dimensional plant/monsterspawners that pop up all over the world and make a bunch of nuisance creatures that... eat you if you are outdoors?

Excellent idea, I'm not sure where you are going with it, which I like, but some more devious and foreboding creatures are needed...

I hope this succeeds. I'll start brainstorming ideas shortly.

I appreciate the feedback, and yes, that's pretty much it. I've ideas as to where the plot will eventually take the players, but for now their objective is to survive and possible debate on whether or not to remain in their city.

You should make ROUS's (rats of unusual size, if you do not get the reference).

I think I have a good character in mind. But I have a question, 22nd century is a large amount of time, so what exactly has changed other than multidimensional plants growing everywhere.

This is both really weird,* and really interesting. I'm tempted.

*as in, first I've heard of extradimensional plants eating the world

Mata, this is really creative. Have you been eating Snickers again?

@Balu: HAVE FUN STORMING THE CASTLE. And little of consequence has changed, technology-wise. Tech is basically the same, though it would obviously look quite different. Widespread resource shortages set back humanity a few decades in the twixt time between present and RP-timeframe, which basically forced scientists to invent new ways to do the exact same things the old tech did, only using alternative fuel sources. I think I'm going to let the RPers invent new little technologies such as implanted cell phones if they really want to, as I don't intend for that sort of thing to be particularly crucial to the plotline : P

@Eo: Cool cool, glad to have your interest. c:

@Patches: Why thanks ya~ and no but I did eat cereal WITHOUT milk.

I see no leeches sir!