Staff Survivor II Game Topic

[Hahli Husky]

"Aaaahhhh nooooo I'm sorry I tried to distract you also it's not my fault we won and I really didn't have anything to do with it and oh god please don't hurt meeeeeeeee!" Janus blubbered as I dragged him through the bushes. He dragged his heels, but otherwise didn't try to break my grip. I deposited him by a large bula berry tree and then dug through the bag of supplies. When pulled out one of the larger, sharpened Gafna bones, he squealed again.

 

"OHGOD"

 

"Ssshhh, cut it out already," I fussed softly. I pulled out one of the polish cans, another of the books, and Kakaru's picture frame, and handed the items to him.

 

He glared at me. "Did you poison this stuff?"

 

"YES NOW DIE." I held the items to his face and he jumped. "Will you just take them?"

 

He regarded me in his fake-caution face, then took the items. "The empress sure wants you to use your heads, huh?"

 

I shrugged. "We should probably be flattered that she knows we have a chance of figuring it out. Though, if I get voted off, it will be nice to just watch all this on TV in my pajamas. But until then ... "

 

He pocketed the items and smiled. "What are you plotting?"

 

"Nothinggggggg. Love you." I smiled back and hugged him for a while, then we headed back towards the beach, holding hands until we got back within sight of our teams. Janus pretended that I had roughed him up, moaning dramatically, and I did my best to look angry again. Hopefully it didn't look like I was hiding a smile.

[Emzee]

I proudly stood next to DeeVee as I watched Janus snatch the wooden Tohu, and then later get dragged off by HH. A few moments later he returned, a stern-looking HH joining her team once again.

 

I decided not to ask for details. I'll let Deevs brave that storm if he is so inclined.

[Arpy]

Even this early in the game, you had to wonder if Janus and Hahli Husky would try to pull a Hunger Games, manage to end up as the last two contestants, and use the power of love to avoid having either one be voted off. You knew they weren't feigning a relationship just to win the audience's sympathy, so that was good, but you were curious to know how Tufi might feel about the possibility of bi-winning.You were also curious as to which of your team would be leaving the island. When there were only six of you, you'd have to work harder to make up for the missing Supertramp, and you'd have to do your work faster to get the same amount of work done in the same timespan. It might have been daft, but you still believed that working harder would make it better, and doing it faster would make you stronger. Edited August 3, 2013 by Arpy

[Kakaru]

Right after our fire leapt to life, Hahli Husky dragged Janus away, presumably to eat him alive, like the human version of a praying mantis or a honey badger. If it weren't for the mildly cannibalistic look in her eye I'm sure it would have been adorable.I hardly had time to begin digging a grave/barbecue pit before the jungle spat him back out again, looking slightly disgruntled. Janus didn't look too happy either, groaning melodramatically. He waited until he was out of earshot from the Tramps, then showed us what he was cradling tightly in his arms.I gasped and maybe squealed a little bit. In addition to a little jar of something and a book about something else, he was holding my picture frame! It was no toothbrush, but at least it was a small memento to keep myself mentally anchored to reality. I pulled the picture out and held the frame up to my face.

[Sumiki]

I sat down on the ground, wondering to myself who would be booted off. Would the members punish Eeko for being a few minutes late to the challenge, or would someone else get the boot for perceived lack of interest? These questions are going to keep me up at night, I thought. All logic told me that I was relatively safe, but no one could really know, could they?

 

Time to quit rambling on the introspective. HH was ... dragging Janus? Now, this I had to see.

 

Edited July 28, 2013 by Sumiki

[Tufi Piyufi]

"You're sure about this?" Tufi asked Ophelia. The puffin-Vahki nodded. "Like, really sure?""Super totally sure. I kept checking the maps and everything. They're up ahead." Ophelia swatted a nameless bug the size of her hand out of the way. "And there they are."The host and her assistant walked out to where they'd left everybody, to find everybody still there. "Don't you people have your own camps or anything?" Tufi called out. This got their attention, and in the case of the Clikit Supertramps, their fear."Okay, so, according to the members, Sumiki and Sisen are tied at nine votes each. I'm not getting rid of two players the first week, so that tie has to be broken. In the true spirit of first-week voting, I flipped a coin. Sisen, I'm sorry, but your time here is done. Ophelia?"Ophelia walked over and heaved Sisen onto her shoulder in one smooth move. "Come on, let's get you out of here," she said as she went back the way they'd came. Tufi didn't move."And I'm not going anywhere until you guys head back to your camps. You... you do have camps, right?"

[Sumiki]

I watched as Sisen was hefted away by the intimidating puffin-thing named Ophelia. I felt rather appalled that Sisen and I had tied for the most votes ... but I was still here, still alive to compete another day. I mentally pumped my fist, but was still saddened to see Sisen go. First getting caught up in an explosion, and now this ... Well, he'd get proper medical treatment off Voya Nui, and we were all still here to fend for ourselves. "And I'm not going anywhere until you guys head back to your camps," Tufi said. "You ... you do have camps, right?" Tufi seemed bemused and vaguely disappointed as the prospect of us not having camps seemed to become more and more of a possibility in her head.

[dviddy]

I watched Sisen get dragged off, and pride swelled within me at my own team. We had succeeded, and we were stronger than they.

 

Tufi made a disparaging remark about camps, and it got me thinking.

 

"Gang, I do believe it's time we began building ourselves some sort of camp."

 

Janus nodded in approval, as he always does when I talk.

 

"It must be better than the other camp, but let's face it, what sort of camp to "tramps" normally have?

 

"Not very good ones!" Oh Kakaru, always so smart!

 

Our good-looking and attractive team all grouped together, and started brainstorming. We decided very quickly that the center of our camp would be the Schizo Kaita distillery and Pub.

 

Why? Be-pub we can. That's why.

 

TMD and xccj got their Nektann and I sent them out to forage lumber from trees. The Nektann would make things easier, as it could cut, carry, and help build. TMD and xccj assured me they could program it do these things.

 

God we were the smartest and most attractive of teams!

Nothing would stop us now. Especially not beach-hair.

[Hahli Husky]

EVERYONE was watching me apparently, until Ophelia snatched up Sisen. I waved goodbye, thankful that at least he'd be able to rest his ankle. It was a tragic moment for our team. But it was something we had to be prepared for at all times. At Tufi's passive-aggressive shooing, the team collectively winced.

 

"YES," Makaru announced, then added softly, "In the future, anyway."

 

The dudebros who had Settled For Something were already planning an awesome camp as they walked away. I could feel a few of my teammates bristle.

 

We turned towards our old campsite, determined.

 

We probably weren't as gorgeous as the other team.

 

But we were tramps.

 

Long-term homeless staff members who could do anything.

 

And even if some of us were lost along the way,

 

We could at least make a campsite worthy of not tearing down the next day.

 

It would make the other team's campsite cry in its chocolate milk and burn its terrible fanart, too.

 

But that was just a bonus.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Hahli Husky

[Ta-metru_defender]

Besides Junkbot, our erstwhile Guardian of the Flame© turned construction foreman, xccj and I had managed to scrounge up three working Repair Nektann. The boyscout and I, armed with our spears fashioned from short-curuited nektann, watched with pride as they began building the Schizo Kaita Distillery and Pub next to the river.

 

As for shelter, we had what basically amounted to a biggish leaf spread over a few twigs with another biggish leaf underneath. DeeVee's blueprints (blueprints here being drawings in the sand somehow transferred into a nektann's programming) had living quarters outlined for the second floor. Voya Nui might actually be on its way to becoming hospitable. Well, I'm not saying I'd want to build a summer home here, but the trees are actually quite lovely.

 

"We're gonna need a waterwheel," said xccj. Oh yeah, waterwheel. I'd forgotten about the whole powering-the-distillery thing. Wait. We were on Voya Nui. It was all Bionicle here.

 

"Wheels don't exist, man," I said. "That's what they said in the Legends of Metru-Nui commentary."

 

"What?" xccj gave me one of those looks that implied the speaker thought I was insane. I am very familiar with this look. "Fine, power stones."

 

"You mean those shiny gems you can use to transform into an armored thing and shoot rockets and stuff?"

 

Xccj gave me another one of those looks.

 

"Right. Power stones. Voya Nui. Got it." I said. I was only a little disappointed. A big little.. "So I'm guessing we can find those in the old Matoran village?"

 

"Isn't that on the other side of the island? The Supertramps' side?"

 

"Rule Number Three of life my friend, it's always better to ask forgiveness than permission."

 

Besides. We had spears.

[xccj]

We had spent way too much time gawking at each other after the challenge, and it was a surprise when the empress showed up and dragged off Sisen. That was a bummer... Sisen and I had orchestrated an alliance when we first stepped foot on the island. Or at least, I assumed we had cause we both had said, "Hi" to each other. Now TMD was dragging me off to go find Power Stones. Somehow the useless repair nektann had been miraculously repaired, and work had already begun on the distillery. It was a crazy how fast things were moving, especially after such a prolonged period of do-nothing time. I couldn't tell if it had been hours or days! As TMD dragged me off, holding onto a crude spear made from nektann scrape metal (which nektann had we scraped again?) I signaled for Junkbot to follow us. It would defend us from any Rahi attacks or Cliket ambushes, which was nice and all, but it wouldn't help us find Power stones. But where to search? "Okay, let's click on any container we find (I mean, open them up, not click), on the off chance that someone conveniently left a power stone behind.” Edited August 3, 2013 by xccj

[Bfahome]

With Sisen having vanished into the mist (I like to imagine there was mist, it was more dramatic that way), my team was left a man short. But that wouldn't deter us. It would make foraging and preparations slightly more difficult, though, since we now had to set up a superamazing campsite. Or at least that's what Her Puffinness implied.I smiled.I could finally show off my epic skills at making stick forts. And with everyone helping, this one just might have enough structural integrity to stay standing for more than an hour.

[Makaru]

For once, my tremendous ability to do terribly in a poll worked out to my advantage. I was [allowed???] to stay on the island and eat more rat. Yay!

 

I picked up a rather pointy stone, I etched a name on the handle of GAFNAXE.

 

SISEN

 

He would not be forgotten. Seriously, I have a terrible memory, and this is pretty much the only way I will remember ol' whatsisname was even here.

 

I made my way back to camp.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Makaru

[Arpy]

You shed a single tear of manliness at Sisen's eviction. One was enough. Two would have been a waste of precious water (and yes, you could cry on cue; you weren't Lindsay Bluth, for crying out loud).You trudged off to your campsite and grabbed some more of your favorite leaves on the way. You were all about green housing materials, and dangnabbit if these leaves weren't some of the only green things on the island apart from xccj's wardrobe.You jumped to the left, took a step to the right, put your hands on your hips, and in this way navigated around a small creek before arriving at your campsite. Several posts' worth of general neglect had reduced it to a pretty shabby state, but you were eager to rebuild it in true Supertramp style. You knew from your extensive study of pop culture that to make camp, your team needed something that was kind of ridiculously over-the-top, kitschy, and extravagant."Hey," you said to your surrounding team members, "Does anyone know how to make an Adam West Batman costume?" Edited August 3, 2013 by Arpy

[Eeko]

I'll admit, I felt more than a little guilty at the removal of Sisen. He'd been pretty deece.Like that time he blew himself into a pit.Classic.No use looking to the past now, the Clikit Supertramps must look to the future!And all the sick-nasty drawbridges that would probably entail.

[Sumiki]

"Y'know, that camp idea sounds pretty useful, but I honestly think we should try and ... fortify ourselves," I said. I wasn't entirely sure anyone was listening; Makaru was etching Sisen's name in something that appeared to be Comic Sans, Arpy seemed preoccupied with campy 60s superhero sitcoms, and Eeko just sort of stared off into the distance. "Perhaps we should make a fort or something. For protection! Who knows when something 'round these parts might think we're lunch?"

 

Eeko groaned. "Luuuunch ..."

[Bfahome]

"I'm in!" I yelled, catching Sumiki off-guard. I ran over, eager to get constructing.

 

"Er… okay," he replied, looking around again. Everyone else seemed preoccupied.

 

"Hey, Makaru," I said, "I might need the use of your Gafnaxe—sorry, GAFNAXE—for what I'm planning. Would you care to join me to collect some big ol' pieces of wood? Or is the axe mainly for, you know, skulls and the like?"

[Arpy]

"Perhaps we should make a fort or something," Sumiki said. "For protection!"Using protection sounded like a good idea. On the other hand, you really wanted the fort to be made out of blankets and couch cushions. You wallowed in internal conflict for a bit before realizing that blankets and couch cushions would be hard to come by here.Your leaves would do just fine for roofing material, and you proclaimed as much to your team. Bfahome and Makaru seemed to be making precursory wall-gathering runs, and materials were all very good, but you knew that real estate was all about location, location, location. To save construction time and to provide excellent protection, you hopped up on top of a small rock and indicated some rather larger ones."You know what we should do?" you said to your fellow Supertramps. "We should build our fort into these rocks. Then we can call it Fort Rocks. And we can say that Fort Rocks rocks." Edited August 3, 2013 by Arpy

[Sumiki]

"Rocks are good," I told Arpy. "I like rocks. Not easy to get through, generally speaking." I motioned to a small clearing. "Perhaps we could roll some of the larger rocks over that direction. The rest could still be a traditional fort ... if we get enough logs."

[Hahli Husky]

I did an excited little dance that I usually did when ~productivity~ was in full swing. "We are gonna rock them with Lincoln Logs yoooooooo!"

 

Arpy crossed his arms with pride. "And Lincoln Logs are definitely a million times better than LEGO."

 

As an ex-rock farmer, I hurried to move the rocks Sumiki indicated. A fort was the perfect idea at this point, and seemed like a good way to honor our first fallen comrade. The other team was also unpredictable enough that ambush was highly possible at this point. And speaking of which ...

 

"What sort of things should we use for fort defense?" I called out to the others. "Besides boiling oil, which unfortunately we don't have."

[Bfahome]

I cocked my head to the side. Sure we could get some logs, but I didn't really feel much like Lincoln. At least not yet; only time wculd tell if I'd be able to do some vampire hunting.HH asked what defenses we could construct. I was thinking pointy sticks. Maybe some exploding fruit. Or some exploding fruit with pointy sticks on them.Arpy was looking at me, as if waiting for a response. He seemed to have something turning in his mind, but I couldn't tell what.I went back to thinking. My bow was pretty decent at shooting, but As awesome as an automatic archery defense system would be I doubted I could easily make another. Maybe if we could launch the fruit somehow?Then it hit me. Bow, fruit, Arpy. I turned to face him again.Ludo.

[Kakaru]

TMD and xccj had wandered off, talking about constructing a waterwheel and finding powerstones despite DeeVee's orders to use the nektann to find lumber. Several hours passed as the remainder of us began digging post holes and covering the ground floor in polished river rocks.We decided on a six-sided design for Schizo's Pub, using six posts each on the inner and outer edges to stabilize the second floor. It looked a little like this from overhead, although it's not like any of us had the ability to cast our ethereal spirit into the sky like a twelve-headed bat, ever-watching from the depths of the unknown abyss. That would be silly.

Unfortunately that depleted the supply of standing logs we had lying around, so the rest of the walls would have to wait on our nektann team. I sat down and began weaving welcome mats out of river reeds.

[Janus]

While TMD and XCCK (or is it J?) had wandered off to do robot things, Emzee, DeeVee, Kakaru and I planned out the beginnings of more than a camp, more than a fort, we planned the beginnings of civilization--or as close to it as this primitive island could get.

 

And naturally, all civilization starts with drinking. Just ask the cavemen, before they discovered fire, they discovered mixed drinks and cocktails. (with the little umbrellas on top)

 

With Kakaru deciding (for some strange reason) that the oddly-flower shaped pub should be in the direct center of the pub (all the while ominously chanting "ritual of blood") we set to work. Or rather I set to complaining and watched as my boyson started working. The frightening way he chanted and attempted to summon demons reminded me so much of his mother....

 

But when the base had been complete and Kakaru set about creating "I hate everyone mats" I had a startling thought.

 

"DeeVee! Emzee!" I shouted

"How can we have a pub if we don't have any DRINKS?"

[Emzee]

That's a very good question, and I believe that this is where I come in!

 

I had already begun thinking about the beer we would be brewing, whatever kind it would be, or perhaps we would brew multiple kinds. I knew I was fit for this, because of living in such close proximity to the great Shiner, Texas (85 miles is considered a stone's throw in Texas).

 

Yes, just because there's a town pretty much known only for beer (relatively) near me, that does mean that I'm naturally fit for this.

 

Of course, that assumes that beer is the direction we're taking. I don't know how to mix a martini.

 

"What kind of drinks are going to be selling?" I asked, looking to both Deevs and Janus.

[Arpy]

With Bfahome once again in tow, you once again trekked into the wilds of Voya-Nui, once again in search of the Blocking Lava Ape. You used the phrase 'once again' once again because you could. Once again.You'd hashed and slung and slashed out a plan as you left the other Clikit Supertramps at Camp Supertramp to build a truly excellent Lincoln-Log fort. The GAFNAXE would work fine for felling and notching logs, though you wondered if a GAFNADZE wouldn't make them fit easier. Anyway, Makaru and HH seemed to be doing some kind of two-person job that required close attention, so you left them to it.Meanwhile, you and Bfahome were going to find Ludo and try to hire him as your fort's primary defense mechanism. The secondary defense mechanism would be the exploding fruit from the same area, which you were counting on Ludo to throw at anything that saw fit to invade your impending fort. You knew from your sleepover that Ludo was incredibly gentle and thus unlikely to trigger the fruits' low impact force threshold.Your memories of that time were wibbly-wobbly, though. Had you really met a lava ape? Had Bfahome really engaged in a stunning, if accidental, display of archery-related prowess? Was Richard Astley really never going to--"LUDO FRIENDS."Two huge arms swept you and Bfa up from behind.Okay, so maybe Ludo was one of those fine individuals who required social interaction once every few days or so. You were fine that with as long as he didn't qualify lobbing exploding fruit as social interaction. You decided to try communicating with him on his level."LUDO THROW?" you said, pointing to some of the low-hanging fruit.“FOR FRIENDS?”He sniffed."NOT LIKE THAT!" you yelped as you broke through the forest canopy. Edited August 3, 2013 by Arpy

[xccj]

“Where are we?” TMD asked. “How close are we to finding those power stones?” “I don’t know,” I replied. “Let me check my map carving of Voya Nui.” “Wow, you carved all of that?” TMD asked. “Yep, sure did.” “But how did you get all the colors and details and what did you even use to carve this and why is this a deep blue stone and when did you even have time for this?” “Um, I did this while we were waiting for somebody to get voted off, don’t you remember all that downtime? And the rest isn’t important.” “So where are we again?” “We’re heading to the Matoran village, which is on the edge of this green section to the east,” I said, tracing it out on the map. “Did we cross that lava river that’s apparently flowing north of the volcano?” “Hmm, I don’t remember that, and we should’ve landed right next to it. Maybe this map isn’t completely updated.” “Hey, aren’t we really close to the Clikit Supertramp’s camp?” TMD asked. “Maybe we should avoid it. And how did you even know where it was?” “Um, cartographer’s intuition.” I pointed in a direction across the rocky landscape and towards the jungle. “We should head that way.” But no sooner had we reached the edge of the jungle than we saw something fly through the air and land nearby. I recognized the projectile as Arpy, from the other team. And then something raced out of the forest behind him; it was a lava ape, and it was apparently clutching Bfahome in a vice-like grip. “Okay, wasn’t expecting that,” I said. Edited August 3, 2013 by xccj

[Ta-metru_defender]

For a few moments xccj, Arpy, Bfahome, the Lava Ape, and I stood there blinking at each other. This was... I believe awkward would be the word to be used here. Sort of like when you run into someone and can't remember their name (though they remember yours) or when you realize that girl you've been hitting on for the past hour is your second cousin.

 

"Hey," I said tentatively. Trying to break the ice.

 

"Mom?" said Arpy in a dazed manner. Though that wasn't the relation I was aiming for, it was nice to see my ex-cuddle buddy again. "No, wait, you're not my mom. Dad?"

 

"This is our side of the island!" declared Bfahome.

 

"C'mon, what are boundaries but markings on rock by bored old men?" I said.

 

"I worked hard on that map, y'know," hissed xccj. I ignored him. Because sometimes I ignore people when talking to other people.

 

To my credit, Bfahome ignored him too: "Little too close to our camp, don't you think?"

 

"We want to scavenge the Matoran Village," xccj said diplomatically. Good for him, maybe he had a future in politics. Nah, politicians weren't diplomatic. Customer support, then.

 

"Well I want to go vampire hunting, but I tend to doubt that's happening."

 

"How about a deal, then?" xccj asked. Again, very diplomatic.

 

"Go on..." Bfahome said.

 

"You go get us the power stones and we'll reprogram a nektann to obey you."

 

"A nektann that you give us," I added quickly. Didn't want to help them any more than we had too.

 

Bfahome mulled it over.

 

"DANDY CAKES!" exclaimed Arpy suddenly.

[Arpy]

You'd just remembered the ziploc-sealed Dandy Cake^TM in your cavernous shorts pocket, which evidently hadn't qualified as a luxury item to be confiscated. Possibly because there was only half of it left. "Sorry," you said. "Got excited for a moment there." You massaged your aching head and tried to think. "So you have access to Nektann?" "I have an army," TMD said confidently. You shrugged nonchalantly and wished you had an awesome goatee. "We have a Hulk." You cleared your throat awkwardly. "And by Hulk, I mean Blocking Lava Ape." You unwrapped the Dandy Cake and gave it to Ludo, then pointed at TMD and xccj. "LUDO..." you said, "CHASE." Edited August 3, 2013 by Arpy

[xccj]

“Tell Junkbot to fight him off!” TMD yelled. I paused to consider the difference in hit points between a Nektann and a Stone Ape. The Nektann were early level enemies in the VNOLG, whereas you couldn’t hope to take on a Stone Ape until near the end. In short, with rock vs scissors, rock would win. (The rock was the Stone Ape, and the scissors were Junkbot.) However, thinking about the VNOLG also reminded me of anoher sure-fire tactic to use when dealing with Stone Apes. I waved my hand, “Hey over here!” Then as the beast ran towards that location, I bolted off in the other direction. Method: Distract and then run like crazy! Edited August 3, 2013 by xccj

[Ta-metru_defender]

Right. Distraction. I knew I should've finished the VNOLG. Nonetheless, the Blocking Lava Ape had realized our ploy and was now a Chasing Lava Ape. Admittedly, this was not the way I'd hope today would go. Maybe we should have told the canon to go screw itself and build our darn waterwheel. Because we're in control now and Bionicle is now (there, I said it!).

 

Lot of good that did us, what, with the Lava Ape blocking our escape.

 

Haha, see what I did there?

 

"Sneak into the other side! Genius!" yelled xccj. "Any other bright ideas?"

 

"Actually, yes."

 

Xccj gave me that look I get a lot.

 

"C'mere, Junkbot!" I yelled and jumped on the nektann. That's right: I was riding a nektann.

[Tufi Piyufi]

Across the island, eyes were not turned to the sky, which was where all the action really was. Twin canisters, each sailing towards a camp, carried a message:"Thank you for actually having camp sites. You're only going to spend the next few weeks living there, after all. You should try to get at least a little bit comfortable."And if you need motivation beyond 'not sleeping on the ground night after night,' then here it comes. Your second Immunity Challenge is to create a visual representation of your campsite. One per tribe, please. It doesn't matter what form it takes, so long as i get something. I'll be at the usual spot on the beach waiting for you to turn your entries in by midnight Pacific time on Friday, and whichever tribe's entry I like best wins Immunity. Losers get to lose a person."Get cracking!"Soon, they touched down...

[Makaru]

So the Empress wants a visual representation, eh? Kinda weird, seeing as our camps are RIGHT HERE but whatever. Puffin gets what puffin wants.

[xccj]

I had a feeling that something important had just been announced. As if it had been written in bold text to verify its importance. Eh, whatever, I would get to it later. I was kind of in the middle of a chase. TMD hopped onto the Nektann and shouted, "Yahoo, ride em cowboy!" It wasn't a bad idea for escape, but there was only room for one atop Junkbot. He rode off into the allegorical sunset, leaving me behind with the Lava Ape. Well, it was a good thing that I had fictionally enhanced endurance, because this was going to be a long chase. I turned towards the thickest part of the jungle ahead, and leapt over the bramble and foliage. The lava ape was way stronger than me and faster in a straightaway, but I was more agile. I was able to weave my way through the jungle, but the beast was forced to clear a path on its own. As such, I was able to stay just ahead of it, but not by far. A clearing appeared up ahead! Wouldn’t you know it, I had reached the old Matoran village. I dove into the closest hut, and the Lava Ape was too large to fit through. So instead he stood outside and started pounding on it. Now I was trapped, with nowhere to run, and the stone building would crumble eventually. Maybe not the best tactical choice after all. There were some crates in the corner. I went over and opened then, hoping to find some sort of useful weapon or even a Power Stone, cause that was what we were searching for anyway. All I found was a dim lightstone. How was THAT going to help? Well, I hope that important thing didn’t need my immediate attention, cause I was probably going to be occupied for a while. Edited August 3, 2013 by xccj

[Arpy]

"BWWWWWWWZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzpf" you blew into the alphorn you had fashioned from long strips of bark and tiny bits of grass while Ludo was busy chasing TMD and xccj. Chasing was fine, but in moderation: you just wanted the other guys to stay away from you and spread tales of your power, plus you needed to get Ludo back to the fort.Some distant crashing came from the undergrowth. Trees shook and birds shrieked. It might have been ominous if you hadn't known who was causing it. Ludo burst through a shrub and flattened it into an artisanal shrubbery with two levels, one slightly higher than the other, and a nice path down the middle."LUDO NOT CHASE?" he said sadly. You shook your head."ARPY AND BFAHOME HAVE PROPOSITION. LUDO COHABITATE WITH FRIENDS?""HRM." Ludo snorted and turned back into the surrounding forest before you could do anything. He seemed to be quite fickle. You wondered if there was any way to incentivize him to hang around beyond the promise of friendship--not that you were a user or anything, oh no. Maybe you should have used a smaller word than 'cohabitate.'You sighed and trudged off, then the crashing got louder again, and Ludo reappeared, dragging a hollow log behind him."LUDO MOVE HOUSE.""ARPY APPRECIATE EFFORT," you told him. "FRIENDS USE HOUSE FOR MATERIAL TRANSPORT?" You envisioned a corral in your fort with Ludo, his log, and stockpiles of fruit to throw.You, Bfahome, and Ludo gently filled the log with explosive fruit, and you swung your alphorn over your shoulder and walked back to camp. Come to think of it, maybe it wasn't an alphorn. Maybe it was a vuvuzela. Edited August 3, 2013 by Arpy

[Kakaru]

I set about to complete the Empress' challenge on the back of the mysteriously unrevealed photo I had taken out of my frame, then remembered that I didn't have anything to make the map with and also I didn't want to ruin my picture for reasons."Kakaru," Janus prodded. "Don't you have the inherent psychic ability to make vague and suspiciously paint-like representations of your immediate surroundings under great stress?"I gasped. It was entirely true! I had completely forgotten! I quickly set about trying to stress myself out by thinking about things like terrible inequality of social states in America, the censorship of my favorite videogames in other countries, and what on earth my dear toothbrush collection was doing without me. I ended up making myself very sad. Janus suggested that I try to channel my creativity instead in order to balance out the negative flow of the universe, but he only reminded me of that one art commission I took from someone four years ago and never finished.I STILL NEED TO GET THAT DONE OH MY GOD. Edited August 3, 2013 by Kakaru

[Janus]

 

 

 

I attempted to look at the glorious map that my son had designed but found that the image he had sketched into the sand (in full colour, somehow) was glowing too brightly with either sacrificial blood or the light of creation (either was good, really) proudly I placed my hand on his shoulder and said.

 

"Son. You sure did do a thing"

 

And he sure did.

 

Also the rest of the team was somewhere I guess.

[xccj]

“And then I rode away, just barely escaping with my life,” TMD said. “That’s why we’re now a team member short. We shall not let his sacrifice be in vain!”I wandered back into camp. “Sup, guys.”“Oh, hey, you’re alive after all,” TMD said. “I mean, I totally knew that.”“You look pretty beaten up,” Kakaru said.“I guess I do,” I said, then grinned. “But you should see the Lava Ape.”Okay, so really, the Lava Ape had just wandered off and left me alone, but I had tripped and fallen on my face on the way back. They didn’t need to know the details.“So I found a power stone in the village!” I said. “As well as some lightstones, a Matoran plushie, a few claw like weapons, and a blue backpack, because Matoran are always leaving backpacks lying around. What did you do?”“I drew this!” Kakaru said proudly, pointing to his map.I frowned. "But I could do this totally cool animation piece and..." I started."No," Janus said. "We're settling for this." Edited August 3, 2013 by xccj

[Kakaru]

To be fair, xccj's piece was actually really cool. Like really, really cool. Like, his psychic ability not only looked like he used an actual art program, but he could make it animated and in full color, which was an impressive feat in the sand. It was also more accurate because it showed us partying harder, better, faster and stronger than the Tramps.Also my map was still glowing too brightly to see, so I'm pretty sure we couldn't actually use it even as a joke. If the Empress showed up asking what we had to show for our effort, I'd convince her to use xccj's.I quickly stamped out my map with my foot and made a second, incredibly foreboding one.

Edited August 3, 2013 by Kakaru

[Eeko]

Dang. Makaru was a wood chopping machine with that GAFNAXE.I was finishing up lashing some wood together for our sweet drawbridge.This fort was the bomb.

[Arpy]

Now returned to the camp and apprised of recent developments by Makaru, you immediately busied yourself making your fort presentable for the Empress. The fruit and log went into a surprisingly load-bearing tower where Ludo would live.As one of the resident MOCers, you felt that you should have been in charge of the drawbridge engineering, but you settled for making a moat to go under it."LUDO DIG!" you said to your apish minion-friend. Ludo sniffed at the blueprints (okay, they were more like dirtprints) started scraping at the ground, and built up speed as he went. Pretty soon he was windmilling his arms through the dirt like Ryan Lochte, and the Supertramps had a Nektann-proof moat."JEAH," Ludo said, broishly."Okay," you shook your head. "That's just too far." You hoped he wouldn't be a bad influence on the team. At least he wasn't like Michael Phelps?