![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
week 2
WEEK TWO
After allowing the party some time to rest at the stadium, it’s time to get a move on again. As per your mysterious benefactor’s (?) recommendation, the party will be splitting up into two groups, with one group traveling west to a hospital, and the other traveling east to a mall.
if you chose hospital...
To get to the hospital, characters will need to venture into more densely populated areas of Los Angeles – and that means they’ll be coming into contact with a higher amount of zombies. The hordes that roam here descend upon any living creature that makes too much noise, so you might witness an unlucky squirrel or cat get hunted down by these roaming threats. The bad news is that they’ll sprint full speed at you if they happen to catch sight – the good news is that they’re not very coordinated at pack hunting, and you may be able to outsmart them by weaving through the streets.
In a stroke of bad luck, Shoko Ieiri attracts the attention of a horde, forcing the party off considerably off course. Temporarily, hopefully. Detour!
Thankfully, there are several methods of getting to the front door of the location – parkouring atop or traversing inside connected buildings, for example. The zombies aren't the only thing that can kill you, though, if you're not careful; while traveling to the hospital, Auch Aubrey slips and falls to his death off a building. Remember Dr. Bei's warning, about not getting too far away from each other? The party will realize if they get too far away from his body (specifically the bracelet), it'll start feeling like their own bracelet is burning them at the wrist. Better go back — and either lug his body around, or lop off the bracelet somehow....
The area this group will travel through has many tourist attractions – antique stores, the Natural History Museum, old-school theaters, for example. For our sword wielders, there are some dated ones among the antique stores and museums; they're dusty, but they'll get the job done. There are other cool artifacts to "borrow" at these places, too, not to mention some history of what the world was like before all this happened.
And at the theaters? There's candy, DVDs, and cardboard cutouts from a variety of movies that were out when the fall of society came. Maybe there are minions there.
Once at the hospital, the party will find that there are a massive amount of zombies that have been trapped inside. Many are former patients or hospital staff, so several are wielding things like scalpels or crutches, and they are just smart enough to attack with them. To get around the facility to find the medical supplies you need, you’ll need to find a way to either distract the zombies, stealthily make your way around, or, you know, eliminate all of them.
As for scavenging, the hospital is surprisingly well stocked, as the high zombie count has made it hard to raid. Characters will be able to find bandages, medicine, surgical tools, and more, if they look close enough.
Of this group, Satoru Gojo and Mark Grayson are infected.
In a stroke of bad luck, Shoko Ieiri attracts the attention of a horde, forcing the party off considerably off course. Temporarily, hopefully. Detour!
Thankfully, there are several methods of getting to the front door of the location – parkouring atop or traversing inside connected buildings, for example. The zombies aren't the only thing that can kill you, though, if you're not careful; while traveling to the hospital, Auch Aubrey slips and falls to his death off a building. Remember Dr. Bei's warning, about not getting too far away from each other? The party will realize if they get too far away from his body (specifically the bracelet), it'll start feeling like their own bracelet is burning them at the wrist. Better go back — and either lug his body around, or lop off the bracelet somehow....
The area this group will travel through has many tourist attractions – antique stores, the Natural History Museum, old-school theaters, for example. For our sword wielders, there are some dated ones among the antique stores and museums; they're dusty, but they'll get the job done. There are other cool artifacts to "borrow" at these places, too, not to mention some history of what the world was like before all this happened.
And at the theaters? There's candy, DVDs, and cardboard cutouts from a variety of movies that were out when the fall of society came. Maybe there are minions there.
Once at the hospital, the party will find that there are a massive amount of zombies that have been trapped inside. Many are former patients or hospital staff, so several are wielding things like scalpels or crutches, and they are just smart enough to attack with them. To get around the facility to find the medical supplies you need, you’ll need to find a way to either distract the zombies, stealthily make your way around, or, you know, eliminate all of them.
As for scavenging, the hospital is surprisingly well stocked, as the high zombie count has made it hard to raid. Characters will be able to find bandages, medicine, surgical tools, and more, if they look close enough.
Of this group, Satoru Gojo and Mark Grayson are infected.
if you chose mall...
To get to the mall, characters will need to travel underground through the subway tunnels. None of the trains are in operation anymore, so they won’t be at risk of getting flattened – but the aged husks of the vehicles are still down here, rotting away. In some tunnels, it will be impossible to go around them, and you know the saying: sometimes the only way forward is through. Inside the trains, some doors that connect the cars are operational, while others are too rusted to move, forcing characters to climb atop the train to progress to the next car. It'll be a taxing trial, made worse by the fact that in these train cars, there are both regular corpses as well as zombified ones. The unpredictable nature of the functioning or non-functioning doors will making escaping the zombies difficult — characters will need to either stand their ground, or climb up to safety if they find themselves at a dead end.
Exiting the subways leaves one last test for this group: the stairs are collapsed! The light of outside shines through what is essentially a giant hole in the ceiling leading to street level. There's about a one story gap between the end point of the subways and the upper ground of the street, so characters will have to get creative with getting everyone up — using train cables? Throwing each other? Human pyramid?
Once at the mall just outside, the party will find that while there doesn’t seem to be a massive horde, there’s another problem: the first floor of the mall, which is below street level, is completely flooded. They’ll have to swim across the distance to the escalators, find a way to get across using debris, or some secret third thing. There are waterlogged zombies floating about in the water as well, who will swim violently towards you once they hear ripples in the water — they’re not subtle about going after you, and will thrash and splash and immediately let you know where they are. They're like people sized piranhas. Scary!
At one point, Sigewinne is pulled underwater by a zombie, and comes close to drowning.
As for scavenging, once they’ve scaled the escalator, they’ll find the second floor of the mall has definitely had its fair share of visitors, but there are still many useful things to find. There are electronic stores that have batteries and walkie talkies, clothing stores (like Hot Topic) that have some extra clothes lying about, and of course, the food court, where you’ll find canned and preserved foods from a variety of different cuisines.
Of this group, Suzuha Amane is infected.
Exiting the subways leaves one last test for this group: the stairs are collapsed! The light of outside shines through what is essentially a giant hole in the ceiling leading to street level. There's about a one story gap between the end point of the subways and the upper ground of the street, so characters will have to get creative with getting everyone up — using train cables? Throwing each other? Human pyramid?
Once at the mall just outside, the party will find that while there doesn’t seem to be a massive horde, there’s another problem: the first floor of the mall, which is below street level, is completely flooded. They’ll have to swim across the distance to the escalators, find a way to get across using debris, or some secret third thing. There are waterlogged zombies floating about in the water as well, who will swim violently towards you once they hear ripples in the water — they’re not subtle about going after you, and will thrash and splash and immediately let you know where they are. They're like people sized piranhas. Scary!
At one point, Sigewinne is pulled underwater by a zombie, and comes close to drowning.
As for scavenging, once they’ve scaled the escalator, they’ll find the second floor of the mall has definitely had its fair share of visitors, but there are still many useful things to find. There are electronic stores that have batteries and walkie talkies, clothing stores (like Hot Topic) that have some extra clothes lying about, and of course, the food court, where you’ll find canned and preserved foods from a variety of different cuisines.
Of this group, Suzuha Amane is infected.
rendezvous
After several days apart, characters will be able to meet back up at a spacious park in the northern part of the city. There are park ranger staff cabins that can be converted into temporary shelters with effort — and the area has a lightly wooded trail, which will make camping outside slightly more safe than if you were plain out in the open.
It’d be a good time to treat the wounded with the new medical supplies, and chow down on the food that’s been collected. Is there someone among the group who’s medical advice can be trusted? Is there someone who might be good at rationing or cooking the food? Everyone’s role in the party should start to become clearer.
There are probably a lot of things to discuss: what will you do with the infected? What's the deal with the bracelets? Reality of how dangerous this mission is will be setting in far too quickly.
Most annoyingly… after all that, some characters will find that moving north has caused their bracelets to inexplicably magnetize together at times, perhaps in response to everything that's happened. Due to this, you might need to help feed each other, or sleep next to a stranger. Hopefully you don't get stuck to someone you totally hate.
It’d be a good time to treat the wounded with the new medical supplies, and chow down on the food that’s been collected. Is there someone among the group who’s medical advice can be trusted? Is there someone who might be good at rationing or cooking the food? Everyone’s role in the party should start to become clearer.
There are probably a lot of things to discuss: what will you do with the infected? What's the deal with the bracelets? Reality of how dangerous this mission is will be setting in far too quickly.
Most annoyingly… after all that, some characters will find that moving north has caused their bracelets to inexplicably magnetize together at times, perhaps in response to everything that's happened. Due to this, you might need to help feed each other, or sleep next to a stranger. Hopefully you don't get stuck to someone you totally hate.
!week two objectives
➤ scavenge for your assigned items!
➤ protect and fight for each other
➤ treat each others wounds
➤ eat tasty canned food
➤ protect and fight for each other
➤ treat each others wounds
➤ eat tasty canned food
no subject
It also makes him feel a little better about his decision, rather than hoping that there would be a way to heal through the bite. Survival instinct is one hell of a drug, and him turning would have been even worse than him dying.
So where he might have with the others, he doesn't refuse her help, reaching to snap the top off the can when she picks it up. ]
Two good arms, four good legs...we can become the abomination this group needs.
[ Also a weak attempt at humor. They're coping! ]
You keep that one. I'll get another.
no subject
[Is that anything? Not really, though it still draws a weak huff of a laugh from her. But a laugh nonetheless!
Whatever forced mirth-as-coping they’re scrambling for here fades fairly quickly for her, but it does leave her a little more at ease now. Right. He gets it, she gets it—she doesn’t have to feel like she’s walking on eggshells or averting her gaze from looks of pity with him like she does with all the others.
And it’s why she keeps the newly opened can without a fuss when he tells her its hers. She’s going to hold him to getting another can for himself, though.]
…Alright. I’ll stand by for further can opening services.
no subject
It's already going to be hard enough as it is. He realizes that now.
So he steps over to grab another can of food from their supply, before holding it out to her. ]
Take two? [ And, nonchalant, he adds like an afterthought: ] So, what happened to yours?
[ He figures he doesn't need to specify. ]
no subject
If you were wondering at all if the zombies can swim, well—they can. [Which probably paints most of the picture there already, but she sighs and glances back his way before elaborating.] Bottom floor of the mall was flooded and we had to cross it. One of them managed to grab Sigewinne, nearly drowned her. I didn’t even think about it—just dove right in to pull her away.
[Wouldn’t be much of a stretch to guess what happened next. She shrugs, finally picking her own can back up.
A beat, then:]
You?
no subject
If he had been fighting alongside someone, if he had someone watching his back, maybe he wouldn't have...
But he isn't going to play that game. He takes his freshly opened can back, quiet a moment as he glances down into its contents. ]
Keeping a horde at bay in the hospital while the others escaped. I'm — [ Hm. ] My power is supposed to keep things from touching me, but it didn't, soooo I just stood there like a jackass and got myself bit.
[ It never should have happened. It should have been impossible, yet here he is, down one arm with perhaps even worse damage done to his pride. He stakes so much that he is on his power, his strength. If he can't even rely on that here, then...what else does he have? ]
no subject
[So they both got smacked down for daring acts of heroism. It probably shouldn’t be much of a surprise; leaping headlong into danger or standing in tall defiance of it was always gonna be riskier than anything else. Maybe they just vastly underestimated just how big that risk really was.
And what a sucker-punch it must have really been in his circumstance. To have confidence in that sort of protection, only to have it torn away in a single moment like that? She can only imagine the sort of blow that must have been, even discounting the very obvious physical one. She’s trying her best to maintain that air of nonchalance they’re both scrambling at here, but it’s feeling like a little bit of a harder ask for her.]
That's... a rough way to find out.
[There’s sympathy in the look she gives him, in the furrowing of her brow before she glances down at her shortened arm.]
Pretty awful prize for us cool kids trying to play hero, huh?
no subject
[ It's not untrue, though the difference being that last time he was grievously injured, he tapped into his own abilities to heal himself from the edge of death. This, however...is going to be permanent. The window for regeneration has long since passed, if it was the sort of injury that could even be healed by cursed energy. And if Shoko couldn't even do it...
...but he's alive. They're both alive. They didn't turn, they didn't give up. ]
Guess someone had to take one for the team. [ A very put-upon sigh like they aren't discussing losing limbs in the zombie apocalypse. ] Haaaa, this is why I work alone.
[ Not really, but he's still fussy! ]
Who did the honors, by the way?
[ Of relieving her of her arm? ]
no subject
Not like that part’s a new experience for her, but the severity of things this time sure is.
It takes her a moment to really clock what he’s asking, blinking back up at him until the realization hits her.]
Ah. Haru. Got a surprisingly strong arm for someone so cute.
[Which was a blessing. She made it quick and clean, at least. Not really much else she could ask for, given the circumstance.]
no subject
[ Haru does have this sort of polite-but-deadpan way of speaking, and for her choice of weapon to be an axe of all things... ]
Yeah? I better get to see her in action soon. [ ... ] Ehhhh, but not while cutting someone's arm off. No one else is allowed in our club.
[ It's highly exclusive...and he likes to think the group will be smarter next time. More coordinated. (Narrator voice: this would quickly prove to be untrue.) ]
no subject
You know what, sure. I think I’m cool with keeping the club exclusive to us. Guess the others will have to miss the boat on that one.
[A quick shrug of the shoulder as if saying ‘what a shame!’ Does it make the whole situation feel any less dire? Not entirely, but they can grant themselves a moment to just pretend. Kind of an essential part of holding onto their sanity.
Besides, they’ve got the advantage of knowing what to expect now. There’s no way they can screw up that badly again. (🤔)]