WEEK 1

[biteys]

WEEK ONE

❝Don’t panic. You’re waking up somewhere unfamiliar, but try to relax. You aren’t dead, and I don’t have any intention to harm you. You’ve just been selected for a very special mission. A delivery, I guess. I’d do it myself but… let’s just say I can’t travel in the state I’m in. Take the blue container I’ve left to where I’ve marked on the maps within eight weeks, and you’ll be able to go home happy. More than, really. Any time or place you want to go… I can send you there. It's kinda my thing. Think of it as your payment. Everything else you need to know, I’ll tell you in time. Know that I’m sorry that I had to resort to this, and I’ll pay for my sins in Hell.❞

!

the beginning of the end

That’s what’s playing on repeat on a tape recorder, when the survivors come to.

Characters will find themselves in a humble, American townhouse, which other than being a bit dusty, is still mostly clean. All characters will be sprawled out on the floor and furniture of the living room, in front of what looks to be a giant portal. Characters will also notice they have a seemingly indestructible silver wristband around their wrists, and they have nothing with them but the clothes on their back.

Take a look around, and you'll realize that everyone in the room is likely a stranger. Aside from the tape playing, there's little explanation or proof that what's being said to you is even true. For all you know, one of the people in the room could be responsible for you being suddenly taken here.

Exploring the house's many rooms will reveal that there are small stockpiles food, water, weapons (a few guns, a few bats, a few knives), and maps, along with a large, strange container of blue liquid. The maps all chart a route from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and sport detailed recommended time stamps on them. Strangely, the recommended path occasionally diverges into two separate routes.

Upon searching the house, Haru Okumura finds a set of notes, while Leontuzzo Bellone finds a separate set. They are free to keep these notes to themselves, or share them with the group.

Nothing has anyone's names on it — not the notes, and certainly not the supplies. Everyone will have to compete for the same things. Or maybe all of you can be civilized about this, before anyone goes hoarding weapons and food? Maybe you can even introduce yourselves, while you're at it. For some strange reason, every window and door in this place is locked (and impossible to break), and will be for at least 72 hours, as if someone wanted you all to be cooped up together for a time before heading out.

Most interestingly, in the deepest basement of the house, there's a room with a large, heavy dresser shoved in front of it… and a low moaning and banging emanating from the other side. The door’s slightly ajar, and a closer look reveals a zombie is the source of the sound. Context clues around the basement, like the PhD in interdimensional travel hung up on the wall (for a Dr. Bei), hint that the woman inside is whoever left you this cryptic message - the woman who brought you here, allegedly. But she's long long gone, only this monster left in her wake. It seems she was smart enough to lock herself away to prevent you from being harmed, at least... and it'll give you a preview of the threat that looms outside.

sewer diving

After 72 hours have passed, one and only one door unlocks – in the very same basement that the zombie of Dr. Bei can be found. It leads down to a dark, dingy tunnel that connects to the sewers. Not only is the smell awful, but (non-infected) rats scurry about, keeping to the shadows – but the smell of any of the food you've taken from the house will attract them. Careful!

The party will need to create some light to navigate their way out and keep the rats at bay, or they’ll be bumping around in the dark for quite a while. Now might be a good time to share if you have some matches, or a special talent for being a lantern. Mercifully, there's only one exit that actually opens down in this labyrinth, as if it's a route the Doctor designed to take all the time.

At one point, Puppy falls into the sewage, and loses something they brought from the house.

oh! that's a baseball

Once characters make it out of the sewers, they’ll be a day’s travel to the first mark on the party’s map: “Dodger’s Stadium.” The road they’ll have to hike to get there is winding, curvy, and uphill, which will give the party a good overview of the now dilapidated Los Angeles, along with the many abandoned buildings and cars that litter the place. The stadium itself looks to have been cleared of threats and fashioned into a safe spot a long time ago, as all entrances but one have been completely welded shut. The high walls keep zombies out, and the winding path up here deters most of them from even approaching.

Inside the stadium, there’s some baseball merch (and equipment) to scavenge, not to mention some really old peanuts! Delicious. Maybe there are even some old fireworks laying around this place. Setting up camp here won’t be very comfortable… but at least it’s very safe. A luxury the party won’t have for much longer, if the map is anything to go by. You'll be heading through the city, next, so rest up while you can.

!

week one objectives

➤ make acquaintances with your fellow travelers
➤ decide what to do with the zombie of dr. bei
➤ arm yourself with what you can find
➤ scavenge some portable food from the house and while traveling
➤ make camp at the stadium

code

Comments

[normalness]

[A you-what? A koto-what? He’s just a dumb American please help.]

And what’s that? [Patiently watches her find useless money.] Koto… dama?

[kototama]

[She flips the coin in the air, considering it for a moment.]

Yeah, Kotodama. It's making stuff into existence with words. Like, ah...

[It's not going to be near as flashy as she'd like it to be, but... she sticks out her tongue, and for a moment, her eyes flash from their usual brown to green. There's a crackle of electricity around her tongue, and surprisingly precisely and clearly despite her tongue being out:]

Small packet made of paper pulp, rectangular, white, about zero point seven five grams, filled with cubic shaped sodium chloride. No logo.

[... Poof! In her hand, there appears a salt packet!]

1/2

[normalness]

[what


on EARTH]

[normalness]

[Staring at the salt packet like it’s some alien life form.]

H-how?? Is that magic? Can you make just anything?

[kototama]

It’s not any more magic than your telekineses.

[She just shrugs a bit, reaching for his hand so she can deposit the salt packet into his hand.]

I can make… anything that I can describe. It’s gotta be a full description though, not a half-assed one. Oh, and I can’t make living things or food.

[normalness]

[The little packet settles in his hand, and he still stares at it.]

So... that's why you're interested in learning about all sorts of things. Because it helps you create more objects.

[kototama]

Well... I guess that's part of it.

[She shrugs, going back to digging into the cash register. C'mooon.... c'mooonnnnn!]

But it's not all that. I'm more than just my powers, you know? So it really is partially that I just like learning things.

[normalness]

[He will leave her to the cash register, then return to digging around for something, anything, of use.]

Right. You mentioned something about fitting the stereotype of wearing glasses?

[That might've been a joke though.]

[kototama]

That’s right!

[She bounces back up to her feet, one hand on her cocked hip and one finger pointed dramatically at him (she’s smiling, though, clearly being dramatic just for the sake of it).]

I’m the resident glasses-wearer, which means I’ve gotta be the smart one. Resident fighting genius school girl Kotoha Isone, at your service!

[normalness]

[He just blinks. She has so much energy, so much confidence; he wishes he could be like that. It makes him smile, at least, even if his brow pinches a little.]

Fighting genius? Wow. I'm in the presence of a celebrity.

[He stands and straightforwardly... reaches out his hand for a shake. Maybe it's a little awkward for how blunt it is.]

My name's Henry Creel. Resident psychic, I guess.

[kototama]

[If she notices any awkwardness, she doesn't show it. Instead, she reaches out to take that hand for that handshake, humming.]

Nice to meetcha, Henry. That's a Western name, right? You from America?

[normalness]

[Handshake achieved! And so smoothly too!!]

That's right. I'm from Indiana.

[Being trapped in an underground lab counts as 'from' right.]

And you're from... [Best guess, here:] Japan?

[kototama]

[hm. sure.]

Yep, you got it. Born and raised, and now I live in Sakurashin City.

Wowwww, I never thought I'd get to meet people from across the world so easily!

[normalness]

[He has no idea where Sakurashin City would be in Japan, but he nods anyway.]

It'd be more exciting if we weren't out here risking our lives.

[kototama]

[That's okay, she doesn't know where Indiana is either. They're square. Nobody has to know.]

Details! At least for now. Nothing bad has happened yet, right?

[Famous last words.]

[normalness]

[They can just pretend to know where foreign places are on the map.

With a tired, but actually vaguely humored chuckle-]

I mean, yeah, but we just left. We still have a long ways to go.

[kototama]

And we’ll handle it!

[She has now moved on to trying to loot the shelves in the back, though there is basically nothing.]

Just look at the tools we’ve got. I’m a Kotodama user and you’ve got your telekinesis. We’re already off to a good start.

[normalness]

I guess so.

[Everyone here does appear some manner of capable. Though Henry feels… a little out of place.]

So, what did you do as a Kotodama user, anyway?

[He’ll go over and help look at the lower shelves, where there’s not much but cobwebs down here.]

[kototama]

I help out the mayor!

[Casually, it's nbd. She yanks out a plastic container that was used for organizing something, and tips it over. Only dust floats out.]

But most of the time, I'm just a regular school girl, you know? We're too young to have something specific that we just Do.

[normalness]

So your powers aren't all that weird where you come from?

[Maybe it's a redundant question. They must not be if she's helping out a big public official like that — or even if they are, they must not be frowned upon. Accepted, seen as useful, but not so coveted that she needs to be hidden away somewhere.

He, too, turns over a box. Another small box falls out, and he opens it up: more peanuts. Go figure.]

And do you feel that way, too? "Regular"?

[kototama]

[The way he asks these questions... it reminds her of a lot of people who are new to the town.

So she's quiet for a moment as she looks him over, and then she hops up on the counter where the register used to be, leaning back on her hands.]

No, they're pretty weird. My world's filled to the brim with regular old humans doing their regular old thing.

But the town I come from is pretty special. It's become a gathering place for both humans and youkai--that's non-human creatures with powers, for the American in the room.

[She hums, kicking her legs idly.]

A lot of those youkai were persecuted for being different, or treated badly, or shunned as outcasts, but in that town, they can go to school and make friends and have a job and everything like that. That's what the mayor and her group do. We try to protect that treasured sense of being "regular", or "normal".

[normalness]

[Ohh, that's such a nice thing to hear? A nice thing to have, a wonderfully accepting place to be? That some world out there has a group of "weirdos" that would see each other as friends and value them for who they are. Not just for what they can do.

He's happy that she comes from a town like that.

It also kind of stings to hear it.]

I see. [He keeps his chin up, all the same, and forces a faint smile.] It's hard to feel "normal" when you're so different from the rest of the world around you. I'm glad you have a place like that — your job's really, really important, then. That Dr. Bei should have let you stay home instead of bringing you here.

[kototama]

You're telling me!

[She totally agrees. It's bullshit that she's here, when she could be home with Hime and Akina and her sweet Ao... but it's fine.

She heaves a heavily put-upon sigh, and then shrugs it all off.]

But I'm here now, so it is what it is. Just gotta get back home ASAP.

... For the record, the town's always accepting new residents. [...] No pressure, but. Just wanted you to know that.

[normalness]

[Ah. He feels very, very seen all of a sudden, and Henry's attention flicks over to the packets of peanuts. Wow so interesting.]

That's nice of you to offer.

[More than just "nice." It's such a huge thing, and he almost doesn't know what to do with it. Hates the part of himself that still thinks, But Dr. Brenner would be so angry with me if I left. Chooses to ignore it, instead.]

I've always wondered what it would be like, where "weird" was the new "normal." But...

[He shakes his head.]

I don't think I can.

[kototama]

No?

[She looks curious--of course she does--but she doesn't press on it.]

Well, the offer's not going anywhere, even if you decide on it later. I can confirm it's a really nice place!

[After all... they took in someone like her.]

... Anyway! [No need to push the poor boy too hard. He already looks like she put him on the spot a liiiiittle too much.]

Just peanuts, huh? Maybe we should look somewhere else.