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

[venomnom]

[Yes . . . talent.]

I'm Poison Pink, after all.

[Resting a forearm against a knee, she sips on her wine without breaking eye contact.]

It's been a while since I had some. I'm starting to miss the taste.

[rifare]

[ More than just a talent then, an actual hunger for the stuff. That's a new one to Leontuzzo, though he's only occasionally left his little corner of the world before this forced journey outside of it, and there is a young woman at the company he's partnered with that goes by the code name Blue Poison.

He'll keep the eye contact, though he does lean back in his seat, brow furrowed as he tries to decide if this is a joke or not. ]

There may be some in this facility if you really want some.

[ He sounds a little skeptical about that, but he's also seen the sort of things other people here are capable of, so who is he to doubt her desire for slurping down some poison? ]

[venomnom]

That's a good point. I'll have to take a look around.

[If not for use in a fight, then for herself. It's fine if nothing turns up, though. She's not here to play the part of poison gourmet, delightful as it can be.

That doesn't stop her from leaning back and closing her eyes to savor the wine. This breaks eye contact, but the bracelets aren't ready to separate so soon. They latch onto what connection they've bridged in this encounter, suddenly thrusting them into a memory.]

[rifare]

[ It's a disorienting sensation to be a young Lupo man one second, reaching down to grab the bottle of wine you've set on the floor, to suddenly lurching into a brief reality where for a moment you're a woman surrounded on all sides by people pointing guns at you and your family.

That part, weirdly enough, isn't entirely unfamiliar to Leontuzzo. Though there aren't many people who would be so bold as to try this level of ambush on the Bellone family while it still existed, he's had weapons aimed at him more times than he can actually remember. He's also got a few scars here and there to prove that not all of those were just for show.

As the memory plays out quickly and fades away to reality just as fast, it's not actually the situation that Reiju found herself in that sticks with Leon though, it's the feeling she has about that man, her younger brother, that lingers as he blinks rapidly as the living area jarringly comes back into focus for him. ]

Ah...

[ His ears flatten back against his head, and he twists quickly to look at Reiju's face again. The intrusion was an accident, but it doesn't make it feel any less invasive. ]

[venomnom]

[Reiju's eyes snap open once the memory passes. She notes the position of Leontuzzo's ears and smiles past the rim of the glass still held up at mouth level.

There's no question that he saw. Really, this is such an inconvenient incident and a great leap from being stuck together. There's something about this place, or are the bracelets at fault? She can't say. But she has to say something to Leontuzzo.]

As you can see, I survived.

[rifare]

[ He stays frozen where he is for a second, before he finishes his lean forward to snatch the bottle off of the floor again. ]

I'm glad for it.

[ He pauses, trying to debate how to delicately ask his next question. The memory hadn't just been a scene playing out in a movie, there had been feelings, thoughts, sensations that came with it. While the fondness for one of her brothers had been clear, the ones that were in that particular bind with her was...

Slightly more ambiguous, though maybe not that unclear. His brow furrows, and Leon takes another swig of his wine before finally asking it. ]

What happened to your family?

[venomnom]

[Her eyes narrow mildly, glinting in the artificial light in near amusement. Alarming as it is to have this buried part of her exposed, he's perhaps the one who's been the most hesitant about broaching the memory. His momentary silence speaks volumes for him.

Reiju lowers the glass.]

We were tricked. What we thought was a new alliance turned out to be a scheme aimed at stealing our assets. [She doesn't sound bothered, because she isn't.] All of us survived, and we were sailing away when I was brought here.

[rifare]

[ 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]

[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.]

[rifare]

[ Another long sip, and it really is seeming like he's cruising to let Reiju have a taste of poison tonight at the rate he's going on an empty stomach. Talking about the situation in his country is complicated, though this world is making Siracusa's problems look like a cakewalk in comparison. ]

Mm, though I have competent companions who ought to be able to handle things until I get back.

[ Assuming he ever does.... He will feel guilty for negotiating his way into being allowed to establish a new form of governance in a newly formed city, only to dump all of the work of it onto Cellinia and Lavinia though. ]

It was nothing so dramatic as running for my life either. Last thing I remember doing before waking up in this world was paperwork.

[venomnom]

[It's going to be a very exciting night for her, to be sure.

"Competent companions" is such a professional label, though. He talks like he holds a lofty position somewhere, which would explain the specificity of his palate.]

You were doing important work. [If he intends to get back to that, then . . . ] Does that mean you'll be going back to your time?

[rifare]

[ He won't deny it, even if he might attempt to downplay his own importance in the grand scheme of things. He uprooted his entire life, including both his fame and infamy to become just another guy, though he's just another guy still pulling a lot of strings to make things happen.

Another sip, smaller this time, and followed by a thoughtful hum. ]

There's no point in traveling to any other time for me. I have no plans of fixing any of the past mistakes I made, and have too much to do still to be jumping to the future.

[venomnom]

How pragmatic. I suppose it would be harder to jump through time when others depend on you.

[It goes to show that he's reliable and not driven for himself—in this instance, anyway. She's never had reason to question his capacity for teamwork in the time they've known each other. It's been the opposite, and they're all fortunate for it.]

[rifare]

[ He's trying... It's hard to stay grounded sometimes, but he's making a real go of it as he tries to make his dreams for the future happen. ]

I imagine a few people might be annoyed with me if I tried to skip past the boring parts anyway.

[ A small smile creeps onto his face as he imagines the doubled irritation he'd be dealing with, though only Lavinia would really show much signs of it on her face. Cellinia was too reticent for that. ]