Chapter Text
Around 3-4 centuries ago, multiple psitanium meteors landed around the world, kickstarting a chain of events that drove what remained of humanity into bunkers. Quickly, though, as humans do, tribalism emerged, and bunkers began exiling criminals and others considered dangerous, such as psychics. Though this depended on the bunker, many tended to exile psychics based on how dangerous they were considered. Over time, the surface began to become less dangerous for survival, but many humans didn’t know of this and remained in their bunkers, continuing to exile. And some left voluntarily, growing stir crazy from lack of sunlight and true socialization.
Though the surface wasn’t unchanged by the meteor; The climate was much harsher, with hot summers mingling with colder winters. As well, animals mutated, some even growing sapient and anthropomorphic due to the meteor's radiation, kickstarting many mutations and evolutions. Monsters developed, hiding in the shadows and being able to imitate voices clearly, and bring them right to them for their meals. The humans on the surface changed as well, becoming more animalistic to accustom themselves to the harshness and be able to hunt and eat. Their bodies changed quickly due to the same reasons as the animals, and the lost humans formed settlements and intermingled with each other. There are many stations like this scattered across the country, but some of the exiling practices remain. There are also various nomadic tribes, and thieves are a large threat to anyone travelling between settlements.
Raz was born in one of these settlements to a family well known for their circus acts in their bunker, and is from a long line of entertainers and often travels to other bunkers via the underground tunnel system. The children were often told horror stories about the surface, how one day their grandmother's sister was caught using hydrokinesis and was exiled, never to be seen again. Out of fear of being exiled, he constantly kept his psychic abilities a secret. One day, though, in their home base, a large earthquake hits, sending him falling into the aqueducts. He splashes around for a long while before he finally gets to the end of the road, which just so happens to be a route to the surface. (This is what winds up giving him his fear of water. Instead of a curse, he just almost drowned.)
He wanders for a while before a group of teenagers finds him being attacked by some of the beasts of the surface, and they kinda go “wtf that's a bunker kid” and assume he was exiled. He explains he’s just trying to find a way home, so they decide to try and help him, but he has no clue how tf the sewers work, so he's kinda running on a wild goose chase at this point. They still decide to help him on his trip, because what the hell else do they have to do? And some of the people on their truck want to get back home too, so finding a bunker would be a win-win anyhow.
Much of the world is scattered with the remains of what came before all those years back, many of the remains foraged through as more and more people coming out of the bunkers looking through the rubble for things to convert and turn into usable machines and find nonperishable food or other supplies, though many buildings have been emptied, some are still filled with treasures only accessible to the bravest–or stupidest–of surface dwellers.
Sentients:
Bunker humans (sometimes called mole-people by surface dwellers) - The typical human. The species hasn’t had much time to progress due to not feeling the same effects of psitanium radiation as the surface. Though, due to their lives underground with artificial light sources, they tend to be a bit paler and need various supplements to keep themselves healthy.
Surface dwellers - Humans born and bred on the surface. The descendants of various exiled bunker humans, their isolation from the bunkers has allowed them to develop their features. Due to the psitanium meteor, as well, the speciation process sped up, making surface dwellers more distinct in looks. There are many differences between bunker humans and surface dwellers, such as:
- Increased, thicker body hair with visible stripes
- Thicker, sharper finger and toenails
- Longer canine teeth and carnassial teeth
- Small, knee-length tails
- Enhanced senses, especially auditory and visual
- Slightly pointed ears
- Development of a tapetum lucidum, the reflective layer of the eye present in most mammals.
- Unique vocal developments that allow them to make an increased range of sounds, often leads to the development of regional dialects/accents in areas where a specific variant or blend of variants settle
Those who live closer to the meteors tend to develop even more extreme animalistic features, sometimes making them harder to distinguish from anthromorphs. Though they still maintain most human features, such as faces.
Anthromorphs - Animals who have evolved to have sentience and intelligence. Many of these animals have psychic powers of their own due to the meteors. Only certain ones can speak human languages, but many can communicate with most zoolingualists very easily. Some walk on all fours still, but many can walk on two legs and have other human-like features.
Companions: Mental figures manifest as living beings. Most of the time, they stick close to the mind they originated from, tending to dissolve if separated for too long.
Monsters
Living mind beasts
The radiation from the psitanium meteors also enhances psychic abilities, but as a side effect, they can make it so figures from the mind can manifest as real monsters.
Bad moods - When humans go through large amounts of stress, they can begin to manifest as large clouds of dust in the real world. When someone enters, they become incredibly disoriented and agitated, and this agitation fuels the beasts, making them larger.
How to avoid: Any bad mood can disguise itself as a typical dust devil. Shelter yourself during dust storms and avoid any strange clouds you notice.
Panic attacks - One of the most dangerous beasts, created out of some of the most extreme stressors, they roam the lands, attacking anything that has the misfortune of getting within a few hundred feet of them. They’re quick and merciless killers.
How to avoid - If you spot one, it may be too late. Do your best to back away and not engage. Wait until it goes away; it's the only way to survive.
Others
Stalkers - Thought to be an evolved version of wolf or coyote, stalkers keep themselves in the shadows. They follow groups of humans, waiting until one separates from the group before imitating one of the members' voices, calling for help. This allows them to lure them into the center of the pack, and the group surrounds them before devouring.
How to avoid: At night, stay close while travelling. Do not separate, and avoid talking if possible when passing through forested areas. Do not listen to any voices coming from the woods, especially if they’re calling for help. Staying together and caring for your own is your best bet.
Characters:
Truck kids:
Raz - Little shit of a bunker kid. Not 100% sheltered but still scared out of his mind and has no clue “what the fuck is that™” like ~60 percent of the time. Makes some pretty amateur mistakes at first, but gets the hang of hunting and all that after a while. Seems a bit shy at first, but once he gets close to the teens, he's the most boisterous and foul-mouthed out of all of them.
Dogen - A young surface dweller, exiled from his settlement due to his extreme psychic abilities. He’s shy, though calm, and enjoys talking to the many animals and anthros on the surface.
Adam - The Default leader of the truck kids, someone who doesn’t enjoy talking about his past. Seems to be from one of the bunkers, and implies he escaped something. He is very confident and a great sharpshooter, keeping his gun close to his side. He enjoys messing with a makeshift yo-yo in his free time.
Norma - A pompous and self-centered girl from a very expensive bunker. She tends to talk down to others and believes herself to be an incredible investigator. She is heavily inexperienced, though, quickly running away from most dangers instead of sticking around to fight. Despite running away from home, she secretly hopes to be able to return to the safety of her bunker and keeps its emblem visible at all times.
Lizzie - Norma’s sister, though the more rebellious and down-to-earth one. She was the one who originally convinced Norma to escape. She adores the surface, dangers and all, and has completely abandoned the idea of going back. She’s an adept tracker and has learned quite a bit about survival in the time she’s been on the surface.
Sam - A surface dweller, Dogens' older sister. When Dogen got exiled, she refused to let him go on his own since he was so young. So, she followed. She’s a forager, great at identifying edible things and cooking them. Though the quality of her meals is… questionable, at least.
Gisu - A surface dweller who’s incredibly interested in the machines of the past. She left her home settlement voluntarily, looking for adventure and to investigate the many old towers of metal. She enjoys foraging through long-forgotten buildings, looking for things to create new machines and inventions. She and Morris met first, and Gisu helped Morris repair his chair. They’ve stuck together ever since.
Morris - A bunker kid. He got separated from his group when they went out to do a quick trek, and his chair broke down. Gisu helped him repair it, and the two began travelling together to try and get back to Morris’s bunker. He’s big into radio, and is trying to create a working radio and see if he can find his bunker through their transmissions.