biteys: (Default)
NIMBO ([personal profile] biteys) wrote in [community profile] turnout2024-07-20 09:50 am

week 4

WEEK FOUR


road trip!
As the doctor mentioned, the next leg of your trip is quite long, so walking isn't advised; hopefully, you've all secured alternative methods of travel between the abandoned cars and the wild pack of horses you found last week.

These cars are long abandoned, and most of them still have things like CDs and magazines in the gloveboxes and trunks - so at least you’ll have some entertainment for the trip! Conveniently, music you can find comes from the year 2024 and earlier, because in the Turnout universe, CDs were still widely a thing in modern times because I said so.

Be aware that there are not enough cars and horsies for everyone to go solo; you’ll need to group up and decide who’s driving! And, more notably...

Your drive won't be entirely peaceful! There are bound to be some zombies littering the street, which characters will need to clear in order to keep going. Whether that's through running them over, sniping them with your newfound long-range gun skills, or doing it the old fashioned way by hopping out of the car and beating them to a pulp, they've gotta move! Be careful not to let the horseys get bit.


respite

Whether or not you were suspicious of whatever the “SAFE” marked on the map was supposed to mean, when you come to the coordinates that are marked, you’ll be in front of a door that opens down into the earth — it's a bunker. The entrance is slightly hidden by foliage, seemingly intentionally so.

Inside, it’s obvious this place is not like the places you’ve been traveling to thus far. It’s clean, well stocked, and nicely furnished. Judging by the pictures on the wall, it’s a safe house that’s been used many times by Dr. Bei and her five associates. So, it was built by a bunch of super nerds surviving the apocalypse, meaning that it's pretty well fortified and self sufficient. It seems like the Doctor must have been here at least a few weeks ago, judging by the dust levels and quality of the food.

That means there’s clean running (and hot!) water, as well as a freezer that’s stocked up with some raw meat, vegetables, and a rare ice cream treat. Also in the kitchen are some seasonings and other staples: flour, rice, etc. There are cooking utensils too, of course! Characters well versed in cooking may just be able to throw together a nice feast for everyone.

There’s also, you know. Alcohol. Not a ton of mixers, though!

It seems like the nerds had simple things for means of entertainment: there are some party and card games hidden away in drawers — think pictionary, uno and twister, or other such party games. Of course, only your imagination is holding you back: while you have a safe place to rest, it might be easier to let loose and have fun.

The six rooms in the bunker all have one bed and a connected bathroom - each one is identical but decorated with sparse things, like stray trinkets or a picture frame. Only Dr. Bei's really has anything different about it, because in it, there's still a working computer.

Characters will be able to open basic programs like wordpad, MS paint, or iTunes for music purposes. Like everyone who had iTunes, she has U2 songs on there. There's still no internet, but there are some saved messages from her and another colleague using an alternative connection method.

While exploring, characters can discover a chat log between ♛, which appears to be Dr. Bei's display name, and ♝, another user.

Aside from the beds in the six rooms, there are also sofas and armchairs to rest on.


oops all memshare
While within the safe house, your bracelets will start acting strange. It might have to do with being underground, or perhaps just the highly advanced technology at work down here, but at inopportune times, you’ll find your mind linking with other party members’, especially when initiating physical contact.

When connected to another survivor, you may exchange memories, which may come with 1) the physical sensations you felt at the time, 2) the emotions you felt at the time, or 3) the thoughts you had at that time. Players can be creative with this mechanic and have the memshares be like watching a movie, or physically acted out — whichever is your preference. There’s no prerequisite on the type of memory that might accidentally spill over, and characters may share multiple memories with one person.

According to the map's schedule, you have some time to rest your weary feet from the long ride… you’re not scheduled to leave for two or three days. It seems the Doctor might want you to fill up and face the second half of the trip with your most well rested selves. So, why not relax while you can? What’s the worst that could happen???


mediator: (pic#17253300)

[personal profile] mediator 2024-08-08 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
No, but I did hear about it from a couple school friends. It came to Japan in the last few years actually, so I never got a chance to play it until now. How about you?
mediator: (Default)

[personal profile] mediator 2024-08-08 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
You are.

[ He affirms Mark's sentiment, knowing it to be true. Even if the worse does happen. He waits for his own tea to cool, dipping an earl grey bag in. ]

Hey Mark, tell me something about your home. It can be anything.
mediator: (pic#17288700)

[personal profile] mediator 2024-08-08 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Which means we have to finish what we started. To not would be a disservice to all the time we spent, and those who are gone.

[ There's no turning back now. They've made it this far already and he wants them all to keep pushing onward. ]

But I have to say, you seem impressively resilient through all of this. Even for all the terrible things that have happened to you, it feels like you never break much of a sweat.
venomnom: (003)

[personal profile] venomnom 2024-08-08 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[Yes.

It's an answer so fitting that Reiju's face crinkles lightly in amusement.
]

That's just like you.
venomnom: (028)

[personal profile] venomnom 2024-08-08 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
I'd never heard of it until now. Playing games wasn't something I did as a child.

[In any case:] Does that mean you're still in school?
bicth: (pic#17160431)

[personal profile] bicth 2024-08-09 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ Her eyes avert, then drop to the floor, unsure of what she should say in the face of such a strange confession. He laughs, and pantomimes the action, but it's nothing to smile about, and she wonders if he's simply wishing she won't try to pry further. ]

It's not nothing... it means you didn't let them get away with it.

[ She mutters, pulling her jacket sleeves back up on her shoulders. Maybe it couldn't literally make a difference to her, but the distinction is important to Hella — that he hadn't just left and escaped on his own. ]

You cared about her, right?
bicth: (pic#17160534)

[personal profile] bicth 2024-08-09 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ She had set him free, right? How could she ever see that as one small favor...? The mask on his face looks anything but pleasant; combined with the information from Reiju's prior memory, putting together that they must have all been tormented to some extent. That act of kindness must have defined his whole world, back then.

Hella's brows tense, and she shakes her head. ]


I don't think you have any idea how much that "small favor" meant.

[ When all you know is suffering, one person showing you the light can be life changing. She knows, because Ninety-Nine has told her. Hella taking her to see the sun had made her realize just how much she wanted to live. ]

Did you know? It wasn't just those doctors that cut into me and hurt me. Ninety-Nine did too, countless times. [ She says this bluntly — it's just a fact, and she holds no ill will towards her companion. ] But there's a big difference between her and them. It's why I did everything I could to save her, but I left all the others.

[ She thinks it's the same reason why Sanji must want to save Reiju, even if she's a part of this horrible organization. It's not the same, being created under such cruel circumstances, inheriting a role in something so sinister. Reiju and Ninety-Nine aren't the same as the things they've become a part of through no choice of their own. ]

He knows you're good, no matter what you've done — he can't ever forget it. Just like how I know no matter how many times Ninety-Nine bites or cuts me, it can't make me forget that she's kind. [ she leans her elbows back on the counter, looking across the room. ] To you, it might seem like risking his life for you wasn't worth it, but to him... it's something he wanted to do, for someone he really cared about. Because he wants you to be free alongside him.
bicth: (pic#17160427)

[personal profile] bicth 2024-08-09 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Hella's eyebrows raise at the content of the memory — then moreso at the whole Satoru is dead comment. She's grateful that the bracelet's connection helps her make sense of the finer details: the memory of the school being attacked, that whoever must have done this to both this Geto fellow and Gojo must have been some horrifying monster, indeed.

Hella's not new to seeing people be healed — there are tons of Sinners who can do it, even if she's not among them — but it's rare for her to see such severe wounds be healed in battle, aside from her own as a result of her powers. They really are lucky to have Shoko around, is the thought that passes her mind, as the memory comes to an end, before that last bit of dialogue. ]


Dead? How can that be...?

[ He's literally here.... right?! ]
bicth: (pic#17160518)

[personal profile] bicth 2024-08-09 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ She's not sure what exactly Kotoha might mean by that — but she's going to choose to believe that it means that she'll be there, even if it takes time for her to recover. Hella's not oblivious to her condition; there's probably nothing that exists where they can just snap their fingers and she'll go back to her old self. But they can still meet each other in her hometown, she's confident.

She smiles, lopsided, then bumps her shoulder with Kotoha's. ]


Fine, but don't keep me waiting. Or I might need to borrow something from your pockets as compensation....

[ Right after her joke, it seems the brief contact between the two of them causes one of Hella's own memories to bleed over, completely different from the homey, warm vibes of the bunker. No, it's cold in this memory, and they're surrounded steel; Hella is handcuffed to a chair in the center of the room, being interrogated by someone in front of her (through 16:53). In the memory, she explains the origins of her powers, the experiments at Parma, and defends a certain "monster" who, according to evidence, played a major role in her torture. For those who have been around them both, noticeably, she speaks of the "monster" with the same defensive and protective quality which she speaks about Ninety-Nine ... ]
venomnom: (003)

[personal profile] venomnom 2024-08-09 02:35 am (UTC)(link)
["I've hurt her, too."

She did know. And it's always spoken for the both of them that they could have such a close bond in spite of their bloody history—for the goodness in Ninety-Nine's heart and the kindness in Hella's, whose petite stature belies the size of her heart.

Most of all, there is the light of humanity within Ninety-Nine. She dreams and loves. She possesses the drive to live. No matter how beastly she might appear at times, those qualities make her wonderful. Hella must see them, too.

Reiju's eyes water despite the wry quirk of her mouth. The tears don't fall. Her relationship with emotions has always been difficult.

It was a small favor, because there is so much more to Sanji—to Ninety-Nine and Hella—beyond their cages. Their existences aren't tied to a single moment. They should be defined by their dreams, something Reiju fundamentally lacks. People like Sanji and Ninety-Nine remember the smallest acts of kindness due to the darkness in their pasts, but they oughtn't be defined by them. Failure or perfection, they're so much more than their results as written on a sheet of paper.

She blinks, drying the tears and swallowing the rising lump in her throat. For how much they're at odds right now, a sense of peace washes over Reiju as she relaxes her features. What's done is done. The wedding is over, and she's here now.
]

I ran, just as he wanted me to. In the end, I escaped with my family and he, his. Our paths will likely never cross again . . . and that's how it should be. [How it should have been from the start. Selfishly, though, she's glad to have seen him again.]
unliminal: teen (65)

[personal profile] unliminal 2024-08-09 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...He can see where this is going from a mile away, and he doesn't like it. No, in fact — he hates it, because Kotoha is right. Limited and injured as he is, Gojo might not be able to take her out before she did something dangerous to someone in their group, and more than highlighting his own shortcomings...no part of Kotoha's spirit should bear that kind of guilt, even if her true self is already gone by the time she reaches that point.

Still. Still.

His lips part, mouth working soundlessly for a moment as his mind whirs at a mile a minute, searching for the obvious solution, the easy answer, but of course there isn't one, to a situation like this. There never is. ]


Then we'll — leave you here, when we go. [ Swallowing thickly. That would work, right? The safe house seems pretty secure, and then, even if she does lose her sense of self, once they have the cure — they'll definitely get the cure — they can come back an administer it to her. He'll make sure Shoko can safely do the honors herself. ]

You — you have a date to keep, Kotoha-chan. And you still owe me a new arm, besides.

[ Why does he already feel so...resigned? ]
unliminal: teen (34)

[personal profile] unliminal 2024-08-09 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's funny...how Gojo is supposed to be the other way. The exception to the rule, the one to make the impossible possible, to turn the very axis of the earth on its side by his mere birth. He's supposed to be strong enough to do all that and more, but he keeps —

Keeps being unable to save people. Amanai. Kuroi. Haibara. Suguru. Kotoha. The list keeps getting longer and longer, and it isn't getting easier.

His stomach churns against the presence of alcohol. Maybe he is only the strongest because he's Gojo Satoru. ]


There should have been another way. [ His fist tightens around the bottle. ] This...isn't even her world. Her friends and family...

[ They don't even fucking know. There's no one to come visit her grave. ]

We're the only one who can do anything about it now. [ A beat. ] So make it to the end with me, Shoko. For Kotoha.
unliminal: teen (39)

[personal profile] unliminal 2024-08-09 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's something that Gojo had prodded Haibara for before — his overenthusiastic nature, his blind spots, and he was a talented sorcerer, but still weak compared to even Nanami. Most sorcerers got incensed when Gojo called them weak, but Haibara would instead chuckle sheepishly, scrubbing at the back of his neck. Then show me how to be like you sometime, senpai.

Maybe if they had more time to train together, if Gojo had just been sent on that goddamn mission instead...

He said that Geto asked him to bring back sweets.

A huff of laughter, that quivers in his throat, ever so slight. ]


...That idiot. [ He was still thinking about Gojo, even then... ] You get to see it all from your point of view, huh?

[ She's always...there. Here. ]
unliminal: teen (420)

[personal profile] unliminal 2024-08-09 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
...Yeah.

[ Given what she saw, it's easy to own up to that much. Riko wasn't a sorcerer, their mission to protect her had been a pain even before it all went to shit, and yet...

He and Suguru made the decision together. To save her from her own ill-begotten fate, the one they were supposed to deliver her to. The higher-ups couldn't force her to merge with Tengen and give up her sense of self. She had a right to live her life, and they would protect her in that, too. After all, who could have stopped them? They were the two strongest.

...He'd never really felt so much like a normal teenager ever before. ]


But there's no point in getting all worked up about it now, so don't you go feeling sorry for me or anything, got it?

[ The last thing he wants is to be pitied. For not being strong enough, no less. ]
bicth: (pic#17160454)

cw: torture, experimentation

[personal profile] bicth 2024-08-09 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
Who said I feel sorry for you? You're the one getting worked up all of a sudden.

[ She frowns, though it's less bossy and petulant than before, more thoughtful and pensive. She gets it, he doesn't want to show any weakness in front of her, probably, or admit that any of it hurt or affected him. And she can respect that, because she's the same way. ]

Am I not allowed to feel sad a pretty, nice girl was killed for some stupid reason? Damn.

[ Because it is sad, and she wishes things were different, but she knows that's just not how the world works all the time, much as she tries to swim against the current. Looking down, she rubs at her forehead with her wrist, which seems to trigger one of her own memories — a vision of her handcuffed to a cold, metal chair in front of table, hooked up to all sorts of monitors. There's a figure in front of her with evidence laid out on the table, who seems to be interrogating her (through 16:53). In the memory, she explains the origins of her powers, the experiments at Parma, and defends a certain "monster" who, according to evidence, played a major role in her torture. For those who have been around them both, noticeably, she speaks of the "monster" with the same defensive and protective quality which she speaks about Ninety-Nine ...

Her answering the long string of questions posed to her by the Chief is intercut with flashes of her time at Parma: enduring things no human should be able to survive, all while her body tirelessly repaired any damage in seconds. Bones re-growing, sinew knitting back together. Her own memory of the events is hard to discern from one another, which explains the faulty playback of it all — most of the agony she felt then is a blur. But she remembers the other experiments dying off one by one, and Ninety-Nine's blade cutting into mercilessly, time and time again. ]
parttimesoldier: (distance)

[personal profile] parttimesoldier 2024-08-09 07:17 am (UTC)(link)
I’m… kind of used to pushing myself to keep moving, no matter how bad things get. This is admittedly the worst I’ve ever had it, though.

[Which is saying a lot, considering how endless the conflict at home seemed… but back there, she hadn’t had to contend with such serious wounds like this nor a threat that was quite as unpredictable as the zombies out here are.

She tries for a somewhat rueful smile, and she shrugs.]


I can’t let myself be a burden to everyone here. And if I can still be a help to people, then I have to try. There’s not really any other choice.
titlecard: (004)

[personal profile] titlecard 2024-08-09 11:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ ... At least it's nice to see him taking this so seriously, even if Mark doesn't quite like the answer.

At the same time, and for as much as he's all for teamwork, Gojo has a point that he can't deny. ]


I could've gotten this done on my own too, you know. It would have taken me seconds to fly to San Francisco. [ And then he never would have so much as been bit, and all of this could have been avoided — not just for him, but for everyone.

He levels that same heavy stare right back at Gojo, a slight tilt to his head. ]


So either the doctor screwed up, or we aren't as good as we think we are.

[ And both seem equally possible to him right about now. ]
titlecard: (026)

[personal profile] titlecard 2024-08-09 11:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ He's just been kind of angrily staring at his tea, even after Soujuurou affirms that he's still around, still okay. It's that followup that gets him to pause, the tension ebbing from his shoulders.

He looks back up, turns around. After a moment, Mark leans against the counter to address him. ]


Um... [ What's the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks of "home"? ] My mom's back home, waiting for me. Her and my little brother. They...

[ the last time he'd seen them angstrom levy had been with them. he'd shown up in this world covered in his blood. and when this is all over mark can go back to a time of his choosing... ]

... I'd do anything for them.
rifare: (all the risk)

[personal profile] rifare 2024-08-11 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ That sort of scenario doesn't sound entirely unfamiliar to Leontuzzo. He might not be a pirate himself, but the brutes that controlled his country worked in similar ways. Hadn't his own father pulled this kind of treacherous maneuver on others?

He'd certainly been on the wrong end of a weapon himself a few times before.

He drums his fingers against the bottle as he considers this situation carefully.
]

You were all lucky then. I'm glad to hear it.

[ Maybe not for her brothers, who he doesn't know, and he doesn't get the sense she was particularly fond of considering the feelings he picked up from her, but for Reiju herself. ]

Though I'm sorry you ended up here so shortly after.
venomnom: (004)

[personal profile] venomnom 2024-08-11 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Glad is a word for it. Her feelings toward her family are straightforward and somewhat complicated at once. Leontuzzo is being kind, so she lets her smile answer for her.]

I wasn't the only one. You must have been in the middle of something, too.

[It isn't as if she was doing anything especially important at the time of her summons. She can't say the same applies to everyone here.]
kototama: (pic#17279159)

[personal profile] kototama 2024-08-11 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[True. She could be left behind, turn into a brainless zombie, and wait for them to come back. She could. She's confident that they'll make it. She has full faith in this group.

And... she does have a date to keep. A date and--showing off, proving to Gojo that she can make that new arm.

But...

There's a crackle of magical energy around her, and she winces, biting down on her tongue hard enough that it bleeds, just to be sure she doesn't spit out anything dangerous.

A shaky breath in.]


G-Gojo, I... I don't think--

[Another shaky breath in. Her eyes flash green.]

--don't... have that kind of time--!

[She's turning too fast, losing control too fast, and she knows she'll be too dangerous to leave alive.]
mediator: (pic#17265659)

[personal profile] mediator 2024-08-12 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Soujuurou feels terrible for being so nosy and listening in however best he can from his spot, but they aren't being especially hidden either so maybe it's ok? It doesn't make him feel any better to be listening to such personal discussion.

He's been debating just walking away and acting clueless as typical, but then something in the air begins to shift. The crackle of a foreign energy. It reminds him of the first time he saw Aoko Aozaki use magic while spying on her in the park by chance. Is Kotoha losing control of her senses already? But it's only been a week!

Mark -- no Mark is different, he's not entirely human so his resistance must be stronger. An empty pit of fear expands from his stomach.
]

Isone! [ he makes his presence known to both of them with the call out to her. ] You need to keep it together!
mediator: (pic#17265655)

[personal profile] mediator 2024-08-12 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
A mother and a brother. [ he smiles fondly, knowing in the back of his mind how lacking he is in that connection himself. ] That sounds nice. How old is your brother?
mediator: (pic#17288700)

[personal profile] mediator 2024-08-12 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ One of those types huh. It reminds him of when Aozaki and Kuonji, on the border of life and death, went back out into the fray less than 24 hours after nearly being killed in the most horrific of ways. They were barely functional, but still decided to face the same woman and her beast that brought them to the brink.

It was courageous and stupid. He hasn't forgiven them for it entirely.

Then again, he ran after them and he doesn't think they've forgiven him for that either. So they're even.
]

Yeah, I understand where you're coming from. But I hope you take care of yourself too. You're not going to help anyone if you push too hard.
titlecard: (029)

[personal profile] titlecard 2024-08-12 02:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ help i can't believe you went there

For his part, Mark just kind of. stops everything else he was doing, trying to figure out how to answer that. ]


Um, he's a couple of months old... But he has a different mom. An alien mom, and her people age a lot faster, so he... looks like a toddler? Or I guess he just is a toddler, huh...

[ this is a really great way to stop moping actually ]

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