week 4

[biteys]

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???

code

Comments

[bicth]

That's right.

[ Such words might usually be be uttered with haughty arrogance by her, but here, she delivers it with graveness. The longer she lingers on the topic, the less she feels she needs to put on a front about in front of Shoko, who's she's already determined is unlikely to betray her tentative trust while they're on this mission. Greedily, she takes a long swig from her can, hating the feeling of fretting over this in any way at all — it's in the past.

She sniffs, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. ]

I escaped within less than a fucking year of being sold to them. [ A little pride seeps back into her tone, and then fondness, indisputable and vibrant and wild, like a love that can't ever be contained or named. Even mentioning that yes, she had been sold to the laboratory by other parties can't dampen the intensity of her next words: ] I broke Ninety-Nine out too. Then we blew up the whole place as we left.

[ This, she can reminisce warmly about; she doesn't think she's ever felt or will ever feel as free as she did in that moment, metaphorically flipping the bird to all that had put them both through indescribable hell. She never forgets to mention Ninety-Nine's suffering in tandem with her own; the laboratory of Parma is her story, but it's her companion's too. ]

You know... she'd never even seen the sun before I saved her. That's the kind of people they were.

[irreversal]

[ Well... That explains to Shoko, why Ninety-Nine had said what she said about the wild berries they'd found "tasted like the sun." And it's easy enough to imagine, after all she'd seen just now - Hella and Ninety-Nine, side-by-side, walking away without remorse as that torturous place goes up in flames behind them. She—

She wonders if Geto felt the same way, walking away from that village. She wonders if Gojo wanted to do the same, after their failed mission a year ago. It's not all the same, but she can't help herself.

Her momentarily distant gaze focuses back into the moment, and Shoko offers another small smile, just curling at the corner of her lips. ]

Well, good. You two really have a special kind of strength to get out of that hell, huh? I've said it before, but I'm glad you're on our side~.

[bicth]

There's not a place in the damn world that can hold us. Not even this one.

[ This realm they've all been forcibly brought to. It's Hella's philosophy towards all things: there are no chains she shouldn't be able to break, no terrible situations she shouldn't be able to make it out of. That's what keeps her positive outlook on their situation so stubbornly bright without careening into foolish optimism. It's not that she believes blindly that they can all make it: she genuinely feels that she can force things to turn out that way. ]

I'll break us out of this hell one way or another, too. [ "Us" as in all of them, which she says confidently. She will make it to the end of this, and see them all back to their proper place, she won't entertain any other outcome for a second. ] And then I'll be able to say "fuck you" to these stupid bracelets...

[ speaking of which....... said bracelets seem to still be connecting the two of them, allowing some of Shoko's memories to spill over, too.... ]

[irreversal]

[ Shoko quirks a brow, canting her head to one side as she gives Hella a studying glance. "Us," she says, but it's an "us" that doesn't just feel like "Hella and Ninety-Nine." She huffs, poised to make a comment about how Hamu-chan's gotten soft on their little ragtag bunch of weirdos, but instead a memory of Shoko's links the two of them once more.

"I see you already saw Shoko." (cw: blood & injury)

Gojo and Geto had been away for a few days. A super important, super special mission, Shoko figured, given how tight-lipped Yaga-sensei had been about it, only slipping to tell her that it was Tengen-sama's request to send the two of them specifically. And far too dangerous for her to be sent along with them, naturally. Still, though... They sent the first-years to Okinawa as back-up, so why couldn't she go, then?

Well, whatever. She'll whine about it to them properly when they've all returned. Drag them out into the city with her, make them pay for everything, make them promise to go to the sea with her, the next time they have a break.

...Who is she kidding? They won't have a break.

They were set to return today, and to Shoko, it had been a day like any other, full of solitary studying, until suddenly it wasn't. Until suddenly, an intruder appeared on campus, and suddenly a good portion of it was destroyed, old storied buildings torn apart in a vortex that could have only been Gojo's doing, and now...

...and now, these are the thoughts swirling through her mind at present while she heals a defeated Geto in the aftermath of his own battle. For such an opponent to exist who could cut down their two strongest sorcerers... what a monster he must be, she thinks. But it's all Shoko can do, to heal Geto. They'd found another woman - it had been far too late to save her - and Gojo and the Star Plasma Vessel are missing. This is all she can do, pouring her reverse cursed energy into the deep slashes across Geto's chest, sealling the wounds shut, regenerating his blood.

It's not long before Geto comes back to, and he wakes with a start: "Shoko— Satoru is dead."

And in the wake of that memory, Shoko's features knit together tightly, loosened only so she can give a resigned: ]

Geh. How annoying...

[bicth]

[ 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?! ]

[irreversal]

[ Shoko clicks her tongue, like this is some mere annoyance, that a memory of hers was seen by another. She's quick to lift her hand and wave it dismissively, too. Seeing her friend in a state of near-death... Hella might get the sense, especially from the memory itself, that this is unfortunately nothing new to Shoko, that this is just one of many times she's had to heal a friend like this.

If she had been able to get to Gojo in time, perhaps she could have healed him in much the same way, too. But he was gone by the time she arrived on the scene. ]

...Geto was the last line of defense, and Gojo was supposed to stop the assassin. [ She presses a hand through her hair and sighs. ] But that brat finally figured out the same technique I use to heal people.

[ Another beat. The implication being that Gojo was in a very similar state of gravely wounded, himself, but managed to save himself. But that's all Shoko offers, as it's not her story to tell. ]

I kept trying to explain to them how to do it, you know. But I guess it never clicked until then.

[ her explanations are so very clear and comprehensive after all. ]

[bicth]

So he figured out a way to keep himself alive.... mostly thanks to you.

[ It's her technique, after all. The gravity of the situation isn't lost on her; it's clear both from Shoko's temperament and the memory itself that this is something she's been forced to grow used to. Hella recognizes it for what it is, it's the same way every Syndican she meets holds themselves. You need to build up a tough, hard exterior, when the world around you takes and takes and takes. ]

Though, to be fair, I guess you do have a weird way of explaining things. [ So much phew and whoosh'ing. ] He ever say thank you?

[irreversal]

Eh? I explain things just fine!

[ She will stand by this until the day she dies!! ]

But nah, 'course not. [ With a scoff. Gojo, thanking someone... ] Not like we really got to talk about it much afterwards, anyway. After he figured out how to reverse his cursed energy, he became like... that. Y'know. All-powerful and whatever. Then we all got too busy with work. I guess that's when things started going bad between he and Geto, too.