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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.
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.
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???
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???
no subject
Ahaha. That's right...
[ He's got a point! But she'd still rather do this than light a new cigarette up for him. If he doesn't like it, then that's one whole cigarette wasted... and they're a precious commodity in these trying times. So at his prompting, she does suck in one last lungful of smoke for herself, and draws her breath out as she nods and holds the cigarette back out at him once more. ]
There. Now I'm done with it.
[ And then, of course, once he is reaching for it, heedless of whether their fingers brush against one another, their minds link together, showing Mark a rather recent memory of Shoko's - and he would know that, from feeling alone. It's fresh.
d. "Need a light?"
News travels fast in jujutsu society. Geto never came back from his mission in the countryside. There's no way, Shoko had thought. But they'd just lost Haibara, and what if...?
It's Yaga-sensei who tells her. Five days after Geto left for his mission, they've found the bodies of 112 of the village's residents. Killed by Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation - not by the cursed spirit he was sent to exorcise. His home has since been emptied, though evidence suggests he's killed his parents, too. A hundred and twelve people, and his parents. It doesn't make any sense.
"Need a light?" Geto appears in front of her, easygoing as ever, like he isn't a wanted man on the run. "Hey."
"It's the criminal," A bold move, for him to show up here. "Need something?"
"Just testing my luck, I guess."
With what? She hums thoughtfully, leaning in to light her cigarette on his lighter, as they have countless times by now. He always used to be there with a light for her. Her gaze flicks to his face; before leaving for his mission, he'd looked so exhausted, ran into the ground, gaunt... And now he looks happier, after massacring an entire village and his own family. It's horrible, Shoko thinks, but he's her friend, and for her own peace of mind, she needs to hear his answer for herself.
"I'll go ahead and ask... any chance those charges are false?"
"Nope. Unfortunately not."
She takes a drag of her cigarette. A long one, that burns in her throat, that numbs her nerves.
"I'll ask further, then: why?"
"I'm going to create a world of only jujutsu sorcerers."
Does he even hear himself right now? A world of only jujutsu sorcerers? Does he plan on killing every non-sorcerer there is? Ridiculous. What happened to her classmate? He always used to scold Gojo about losing sight of their cause. Took any chance to remind them all that jujutsu sorcery exists to protect the weak.
Shoko can't help but laugh, "I don't get it." It doesn't make any sense.
"I'm not a child. I'm not holding out hope that eveyrone will understand."
She had seen Geto growing distant, disillusioned, hopeless. She'd seen him, yes. She was there, too. But they're all part of this twisted world, that puts the burden of keeping peace and order on a select few. That demands and demands and demands, until there is nothing left to give but one's life. They all know this. They all understand this. Or so she thought. So why—
"Sulking over the idea that no one will understand you seems pretty childish to me, though." He's a wanted criminal - he killed so many people - and he's to be executed, but there's only one person she knows who's even capable of such a thing, and that's his best friend. Her fingers know how to dial him with practiced ease, and the phone only rings once, twice. "Ah, Gojo? I found Geto. In Shinjuku."
He asks her to stay with him - but this isn't their friend. This isn't a cry for help. It's far, far too late for that.
"No way. I don't want to get killed."
oh my god i'm sorry this is so dialogue-heavy
It's an automatic movement to bring the cigarette to his lips, try to copy what Shoko had been doing, that he doesn't fully realize it as Shoko's memory enters his head at the same time,
and it's a good thing he can go a long time without breathing, because he forgets to do that, too.
Smoke fills his lungs, the cigarette burning down on what's becoming too long of a drag. He'd note the ash if he wasn't seeing something through Shoko's mind right now, and he can feel that burning she'd felt. That numbing.
Mark coughs as they come out of it, and it's almost a relief to have it be from smoke instead of fever for once. He coughs, and though he doesn't understand how that just happened, it rings through his head — the sense of all that murder... "I'm going to create a world of only jujutsu sorcerers"...
He searches her eyes, regains his voice, reaches for her hand with his free one. ]
Shoko, I...
[ am sorry? Sure, that's one sentiment — but maybe it's the immediate understanding that
leaps to the forefront.
He's high above ground, floating along someone else — Mark a little beat up, the man with him with hands coated in someone else's blood. Nothing makes sense, the blood shouldn't be there, his dad—
"We need to get Earth ready to join the Viltrum empire," his father says, and he can't help the tears that start to flow.
Apparently they caught his dad off guard, too, because his expression softens. "Mark, this is good news," he starts. "We can finally do what we were meant to do. Be who we were meant to be."
"You lied to me," Mark chokes out, not looking at him. Wounded. The man he's known for his first seventeen years of life — the hero he'd grown up in awe of, idolizing, but the blood... the idea of preparing Earth to be taken over, conquering humans...
"You couldn't know the truth. Not until you had your powers. Not until I was sure," his dad says. Calm, authoritative, like this is all supposed to make sense somehow. That he had to wait to make sure Mark was one of them in order to go through with whatever this... this...
Mark pushes himself out from under what was probably supposed to be a supportive hand, but no. No. "This doesn't make any sense," he says, trying in vain to wipe away the tears. "You love me! You love Mom! I know you do!"
And maybe that gets to his dad, because he looks away for a second. Pauses, before dropping the news on Mark that he's going to live for thousands of years. "Everyone you know and love will be gone before you even look thirty," he says, and he just... he can't. He has to keep looking away as his dad explains to him that the only world he's ever known isn't even his. That after his lifetime to date of belonging, he never actually will.
He hasn't stopped crying, but. "But we can help them," his dad transitions. Details the way that his people actually can help humans, can make Earth a better place, and maybe... maybe Mark is listening. Because it's his dad, right? The superhero, the person he's known his entire life to work to save others, and if this is just another way of doing that...
Mark takes a breath, turns to look at him again. Maybe...
"I do love your mother," his dad continues. "But she's more like a pet to me,"
and the hope Mark had been feeling comes crashing down.
"A pet?!"
And then he's yelling. Yelling at the man who raised him, the man he'd thought had been his world. All of this shit about the Viltrum empire, about conquering people under the guise of helping them, and they're angry tears now. Sorrow and dismay had already been bubbling up in him, but there's rage now, too. He's told to calm down, and no. No, fuck that.
"I will not calm down!" he yells. "This is insane! What do you think is going to happen, that I'm going to go enslave my friends for a bunch of aliens I've never met? This is my life! These are my people!"
"We have a responsibility to Viltrum—"
It's just anger now. "I don't give a shit about Viltrum!" Mark snaps. "And I don't care if I live a fuckin' million years. This is my home, and I won't let you destroy it."
And up against him, his dad is nothing but an infuriating calm. "You don't know what you're saying," he says — and then, for the first time, he turns deadly serious. "And I can't let you interfere."
Shaky breath. Wipe away the tears. "I know exactly what I'm saying," Mark chokes out, putting his fists up. Ready to defend his home against the man he'd wanted nothing more than to grow up to be.
His father pauses. "So be it," he says, emotionless — and then it's a sudden burst of physical pain, on top of everything else.
puts it in my mouth and shakes it like my favorite toy
One that, despite feeling entirely foreign, feels... strangely familiar. That immediate understanding leaps to the forefront for Shoko's part, too, as she recognizes those selfsame feelings as Mark confronts his... father?
Betrayal. That's what it is. A complete breach of faith that splinters all that you know about a person, that taints all of the happiness you might have felt with them in the past and dissolves even the barest hint of a future with them.
There is much, much more to Mark's memory, too, much more than Shoko could have ever anticipated - the truth behind his heritage, and what it means for his life, the very foundation of his family shattered beyond recognition, but most of all... Mark's strength. Not in a physical sense, but the strength of his spirit, to be able to go against his father in such a way, to want to protect what's precious and good and right.
All punctuated, of course, by all of that pain. Deep in the throes of his memory, Shoko hadn't even realized until they come out of it that she'd reached for him, tried to take hold of his shoulder, or arm, or hand, whatever she might be able to tightly grasp her fingers around. ]
...Mark.
[ What can she - they, both of them - even say, after all of that? ]
Your dad's a big jerk. [ She huffs something almost like a laugh, though she must still catch her breath from the sudden, intense pain with which his memory ended. ] Glad... you didn't turn out like him.
[ Also, she's definitely reaching for a fresh cigarette now. Fuck it. ]
no subject
Meets her eyes at the sound of his name. Between that and her hand, he feels as though he's getting his footing back. They're just out here, in the woods, and it's nice and peaceful out, quiet, no bodies, no rampant death...
He laughs a little at her assessment of his dad, mostly humourless, but the spirit of it is there. Just hard to commit to. Looks at her a little worriedly as she catches her breath, but it's just for a moment... She's fine, he's fine, it's fine. ]
Thanks. [ As Shoko goes for a fresh cigarette for herself he looks back at his half-spent one, absently taps it to dispel of the ash that had gathered up there. Stares at it as it falls away. ] ... I'm still terrified that I might, one day.
[ Big sigh as he contemplates the embers before looking back up at her. ]
I'm sorry you had to... your friend. That you had to call Gojo in for that... [ He doesn't know how it ends, just that whatever happened, Gojo would've made it out okay. Physically speaking; he doesn't know about emotionally, which could explain a thing or two, but. Not his place. ] It isn't easy, is it?
[ And he's just going to take this moment to bring the cigarette back up to his lips, try for a proper pull of it this time. If Shoko's doing it right now too, then it'll probably help. ]
no subject
Geto's was not an injury she could heal with her ability, but the symptom of a sickness that plagues all of them in their society. They each know this, full well, their burden, their plight as sorcerers. He caved beneath its weight, and they were each too preoccupied by their own duties to notice until it was far too late.
And now, she can't save Kotoha either, nor Mark, nor anyone else they might lose in the coming weeks.
So just this once, she allows this. Her hand holds fast to Mark's, her fingers squeezing tight between his while her other hand slips her fresh cigarette into her lips, then flicks her lighter out to light it. ]
Being terrified that you might go down that path already... means more than you might think.
[ Had Geto been terrified at one point, too, of the path he'd chosen...? She'll never know what drove him off the edge, to embrace that side of him that would forsake the world he once wanted to protect. ]
Just promise me that you won't ever think you're all alone, Mark. You never are.
[ No matter what, there are always others that are there for him, too. Even if his time may be running out... they're still here, all of them. She's here. ]
no subject
I... yeah. I know that. I have people back home, I have people here... you, right now. [ He tries for a little smile, isn't entirely sure if he feels it. He wants to, though. Is that enough? ] It's just that sometimes... I mean, if the circumstances align, and I forget...
[ He looks away, as though something like that might very well have happened recently. Takes a second. Squeezes her hand a little tighter. ]
... I can't forget. Not again. [ There are tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he turns back to her. ] I mean, what you had to do— You shouldn't have been in that position. He shouldn't have done it, or put you there, or any of that. It's not fair, if people like us do that to people like you.
[ Him and Geto. He isn't Geto, hasn't done what he has — but in Mark's eyes, he's probably more like him than Shoko. Shoko helps people through healing, and Mark's abilities originate in violence. It leaves him a little choked up, voice small, self-loathing. ]
Can we just... stay out here a moment longer?
[ He really doesn't want to let go of her hand. ]
no subject
She squeezes his hand, and lets herself lean back against the trunk of the tree, watching the smoke from her cigarette curl up into the air before dissipating. ]
I was... Surprised, honestly, that he showed himself at all. I thought after word got back to us about what he'd done... that was the end of it. That I'd never get to speak with him again. We talked less and less, those weeks leading up to it. We were all so busy...
[ Still, she had been there. More than any of the other sorcerers, she was always a steadfast presence at school, and if he'd only come to her, if he'd only sought her help, maybe...
...She just hopes Mark will keep remembering. Already, that's enough. ]
...Yeah. Of course we can stay out here. A little more fresh air can't hurt.
[ Even though they're breathing in each other's secondhand smoke on top of the actual smoking. It's the sentiment that counts. ]
no subject
Mark follows Shoko's gaze, watches the way her smoke dissipates. Takes another drag on his and watches it go up in the air, too. Past that to the leaves above, the clear night sky peaking through smoke and greenery both, the stars that still manage to shine through... This really could be a picture-perfect moment, if not for his persistent illness and what feels like the weight of the world on his shoulders. Can only imagine it might feel that way for her, too. Or maybe worse, because if not the entire world, then one person — someone she'd known well, called a friend...
Softly, ] Did you want to speak with him again? After what he'd done?
[ Because in part, he's also thinking: if he slips that far, would anyone want to see him again?
But at least in the here and now they want to spend time with each other. At least in the here and now Shoko is still holding onto his hand, and he squeezes back as he inhales, brings the cigarette in his other hand to its end. ]