Gabriel's Journal

Character Creation

I'm going to go with the default character. Someone with no modifiers or special abilities (yet). I decide to name them Gabriel. He's a looter with no real goal in life, and just wants to make it through the day.

DAY 1:

Zone: 5 - The Sewers
Loot: 19 - Sludge Sample; Somehow adorable. Very stinky.
Wacky Adventure: 32; Outcome: 3; Encounter: 2
A billboard blinks to life and starts narrating your day out loud. Everyone can hear it. You have Partial Success, and there is A Hostile threat - danger, glitch, rival looter, or environmental hazard.

It started like any other day in Loot City. Climbing out of my bed, and into the streets. Looking for any loot that may catch me a few credits. It started off in the sewer where I found an odd Sludge Sample knocking around in a test tube. It’s kinda adorable somehow? I named him Gloop. But, then, it happened. As I emerged from the manhole, a digital billboard - that I swear wasn’t there yesterday - flickered on. With a mildly offensive cartoon drawing of me on screen, it began narrating my every move.

“GABRIEL IS WALKING DOWN SOUTH STREET TOWARDS 4TH AVENUE.”
“GABRIEL HAS STOPPED AND STARING AT ME.”
“GABRIEL IS WONDERING HOW TO STOP ME FROM EXISTING.”

Everyone around was staring at me. Mortifying, and also terrifying. One - how did the billboard know my name? Two - Why was it basically stalking me?

I yelled at it, “SHUT UP!”

“GABRIEL HAS GROWN SOME BALLS,” it said before stuttering and turning off. I huffed, readjusted my backpack and ignored the eyes on me. It seemed my yell worked, but now people might know who I am - the billboard sure does.

DAY 2:

Zone: 5 - The Sewers
Loot: 11 - VHS Tape ("Flush Me Down"); Title handwritten in crayon. Pretty neat.
Wacky Adventure: 31; Outcome: 6; Encounter: 4
Your name is on a Most Wanted poster. Why? And who’s chasing you. You have Incredible Success (+1 Loot, +1 COOL) and A Loot opportunity - stash, drop, vending machines, or something gifted.

I dropped back into the sewers this morning with Gloop in my backpack. As I’m scanning the tunnel for my loot, I see something floating in the surrounding dank water. I carefully (don’t fall in, don’t fall in, don’t fall in!) grabbed the item. It was an old VHS tape with crayon scribbles on the front. I barely made it out, but I finally read, “Flush Me Down” on the label. Huh, someone definitely flushed it alright. I wonder if I can flush it again? I shrugged and threw the tape back into the murky water. I didn’t see a use for it.

I passed a board plastered with water-damaged flyers and peeling stickers. I just walked by at first, but then I registered me. On a thumbtacked Most Wanted poster. Here. In the sewers. What did I do this time?!

The poster read,

“WANTED: GABRIEL
STOLE SLUDGE SAMPLE

Report to: [Sewer NPC Roll = 1] Jellie in [Sewer Sub-Zone Roll = 2] the Cryptid Drain.

I gasped, Gloop? I kind of love him already, I didn’t want to give him back. He’s small but mighty, and warms my heart.

I guess I’m just happy that I just accidentally adopted a small sludge ball instead of being wanted for something like a murder I didn’t do. I headed to the Crypid Drain. I hadn’t been there before, and it was creepier than I expected. Graffiti art of Moth Man and El Chupacabra covered the walls and emanated danger. I held Gloop in my hands closely, when Jellie emerged from a crack in the wall. They didn’t speak, but emitted a smell that felt like joy and excitement at the sight of Gloop.

I could hear their voice in my head, though there was no sound.

“Please, may I have my child back?”

I hesitated, “Can I visit?”

Jellie observed me for a bit, as Gloop sloshed around happily.

“He seems to like you. Co-parent?”

I beamed and agreed. Jellie apologized for the wanted poster and I told them it was in the past. At least we had Gloop. For bringing him home and a show of good will, Jellie offered me a present [Extra loot roll = 8 - Ripped Hazmat Hoodie 💬 Smells bad, looks worse.] I smiled, despite the odor and electric yellow color burning my eyes. “Thanks.”

Jellie became my companion. Their ability is to once per day, decode any written message - graffiti, glitch, pigeon tags, or cursed memos.

DAY 3:

Zone: 1 - Loot City
Loot: 96 - Tube of lipstick that applies static; Makes mouths vanish when worn.
Wacky Adventure: 64; Outcome: 3; Encounter: 1
A door appears in a brick wall. You have one chance to open it. You have Partial Success and A Faction presence, patrol, or operation (roll for which faction) = Pigeon Feeders

Gloop, Jellie, and I were walking back to the sewer gate when I noticed a door that wasn’t there before in the brick wall of the alleyway. There was a big red spraypainted arrow and weird letters pointing towards the doorknob. Curious, I tried to open it, but it didn’t budge. Jellie emitted a smell of roses and used their slime hand to touch the red letters. Their voice echoed in my mind, “It says, use the lipstick?” I winced, “I picked one up this morning… I’m pretty sure it erases lips?” Jellie shrugged as much as a slime can shrug.

I pulled the lipstick from my pocket. I definitely was not putting it on my lips. An idea struck me - I drew a huge oval with the lipstick onto the door like a portal. The lipstick vanished, but I didn’t have time to be confused by that because suddenly, static filled the doorway, glitching and buzzing, and then! The sky appeared. Rooftop Realm. I actually opened a portal! This day could not get any weirder. I looked at Jellie who just nodded, and we went through the door.

The sky was clearer up here than down below. Pigeons cooed all around, and rooftop gardens overflowed with vegetal bounty. [Rooftop NPC Roll = 5 - Croo – believes pigeons are fallen gods and may not be wrong.] A haggard old man approached us.

“You are the one the Pantheon called…”

I just stared at him, “What?”

“The Pantheon! They sent you and you don’t even know who they are?!”

“Um.. no?”

He slapped a hand to his face.

“Do you not dream of coos at night? Have the gods not scratched messages in your windshield dust?”

I stared again. He sighed.

“I’ll start from the beginning. I am Croo, featherprophet of the Skyfall Pantheon. The ones you call pigeons were once deities who ruled the skies and heaven, but now are regulated to rule window ledges. I facilitate their worship and take care of their earthly bodies. There are six gods, destined to rise again.
Plumo - the God of renewal and molt;
Caurix - the Goddess of scavenging and half-eaten french fries;
Skree - the God of secrets and surveillance;
Glimfeather - the God of Updrafts and divine consequence;
Coospira - Goddess of nesting and whispers;
and Droppis - God of poop and perfect timing.”
I laughed at the last one, Croo just glared at me. I quickly shut up.

[Faction Quest Roll = 1 - Feed the same pigeon three days in a row. Name it. It brings you something.]

“The Gods have given you a quest, and I am to deliver it to you.”

“Okay..?”

“You don’t seem very into this…”

“Sorry, just.. It’s unexpected. I didn’t anticipate pigeon questlines today.”

Croo declared, “One should always be prepared for a message from the Gods!”

“Right.”

He ignored me, “You are to feed Caurix for 3 days in a row. Should you ignore this quest, the City will know.”

“What happens then?”

“Caurix didn’t tell me, but I’m sure you don’t want to find out.”

DAY 4:

Zone: 2 - Loot City
Loot: 50 - Giant Foam Finger ("#2"); Use to humiliate enemies.
Wacky Adventure: 42; Outcome: 4; Encounter: 4
You accidentally enroll in clown college.Orientation is mandatory. You have Success and A Loot opportunity - stash, drop, vending machines, or something gifted.

The lipstick portal had unfortunately closed when I went to feed Caurix this morning. I had to climb the fire escapes which took forever and my breath. I did manage to find a Giant Foam Finger (“#2”) flapping in the wind, stuck between the wall and the landing.

When I finally made it up, it was like Caurix was waiting for me. It was weird. I made sure to sprinkle enough breadcrumbs around to satiate her, curious how she would get any with how many other pigeons swarmed. Oh well, I had done my task.

I climbed back down the fire escape and when I got back to ground level, a smart car was idling at the curb. The door opened and to my surprise a clown emerged. Then another. Then another. Then another. Seriously, how many were there?! One with a classic red nose and ginormous shoes approached me with a comically huge clipboard.

“Gabriel?”

I nodded before I could think.

“Excellent. You’ve been accepted into the Beep-Beep Institute of Applied Jester Sciences. Orientation is mandatory.”

“What?”

Another clown blew a horn in my ear.

“That’s one demerit,” they said giddily.

I looked to Jellie for support, but they were already boarding the smart car, their slime wobbling with curiosity.

Against all better judgement, I squeezed in. Jellie’s goo wrapped around me as the multitude of clowns origami’d their way back inside. The driver started the car, and literally 2 feet later stopped and said, “We’re here.”

I pressed my lips together; Jellie emitted a smell that felt like a giggle. I poked them, annoyed they were enjoying this so much.

One after the other, the clowns exited the smart car until finally I could get out too. They brought us into a pop-up circus tent and we were led into a bizarre space run by these clowns, jokesters, and bad mimes.

“Here’s your student ID card. It can be used at any kiosk for a student discount!” The cheery clown lady handed me a badge with a picture of me holding my foam finger and pretending to pick my nose with it.

“When did I take this?!”

“In about 5 seconds!”

In a flash a greenscreen and camera set up were surrounding me and my foam finger was being pushed up to my nose before the camera flash blinded me. The rest of the day was spent doing improv and tricking each other with squirting flowers and inflatable hammers.

Honestly it was kind of fun.

DAY 5:

Zone: 4 - Rooftop Realms
Loot: 5 - DIY Kite-Wings; Glide off buildings. Sometimes works.
Wacky Adventure: 54; Outcome: 3; Encounter: 6
A child hands you a drawing of something terrible. It’s signed “Thanks in advance.” You have Partial Success and A Story Event - something personal, prophetic, or tied to your past or quest.

I once again trudged my way up the fire escapes to feed Caurix. Caurix was waiting again, perched on a ledge like a judgmental gargoyle. I stopped for a second and realized I kind of believe in her? She cooed at me. I tried to believe it wasn’t in response to my thoughts. I scattered the breadcrumbs and whispered a small prayer to the bird gods, just in case.

Jellie nudged me, emitting a scent I can only describe as eeriness, and pointed out a cluster of pigeon poop, “It says look behind you.”

Caurix cooed again. I turned, and honestly, I’m grateful I didn’t scream, because right behind me was a child. Just standing there. Menacingly? As much as a 7 year old can?

They handed me a piece of paper with a drawing. It was me, falling, with my mouth wide and surrounded by pigeon feathers. In crayon was the message, “THANKS IN ADVANCE.”

“This is very well done… did you draw it” I said carefully, but when I looked up, the child was already gone.

I looked at Jellie, “What the hell was that?”

They just wobbled uncomfortably. I looked around for any clues and noticed a contraption of garbage bags, duct tape, and busted antenna wires. A sticky note barely clung onto it, “FLY.”

It was DIY Kite-Wings.

When a creepy kid hands you a drawing of yourself falling, and then you immediately find a glider made of trash? There's only one rational response.

You jump.

“You ready?” I asked Jellie.

They squelched affirmatively.

Strapping it on felt like making a very dumb promise to the future. I stood on the edge of the building, spread my arms, and jumped.

It worked. Mostly.

I didn’t fall, not exactly. I spiraled. Like a pigeon feather. My shoes hit a power line, I bounced, and crash-landed in a compost heap behind an abandoned juice bar. Gross.

Caurix screeched once, far above.

Was that approval?

Or a warning?

Or was that... laughter?

I wiped the banana peels off myself and checked my inventory. Still had the foam finger. Still had the clown ID. Now I had a bad drawing and a garbage glider.

Whatever Day 6 has in store, I’m ready.

Ish.

DAY 6:

Zone: 6 - Corporate Dumpster
Loot: 5 - Cracked Smartwatch; Flashes 'HELLO' at midnight.
Wacky Adventure: 22; Outcome: 5; Encounter: 2
The vending machines are unionizing. Pick a side. You have Success and A Hostile threat - danger, glitch, rival looter, or environmental hazard.

I swung by the Corporate Dumpster early this morning and found a cracked smartwatch. It doesn’t really seem to do anything. Bored, I headed to complete my quest. I was feeling a bit sad that it was going to be over.

I wish I had wings that lifted me up instead of tumbled me to the floor, but that isn’t the case, and I had to climb about a thousand and three steps back up to Caurix. She greeted me with eyes that know too much and a couple coos of welcome. I whispered my prayer and spread the breadcrumbs - this was quickly becoming a ritual, which was slightly alarming, but nevertheless.

Behind the chimney was a FRIENDCHIP™ MINI-KIOSK. A vending machine full of things that are marketed to shy youths and grumpy adults. It apparently has items that make you a better friend or makes you a friend.

I pull out my Clown ID card ready to [Roll on vending machine loot item = 4] buy an “It’s Okay” Button. I went to press the buttons when the machine beeped out in a robotic voice, “Did I give you permission to touch me?”

I startled, “Um.. no? I just.. thought…”

The machine harrumphed at me. How does a machine do that?!

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” I said, “I just wanted to purchase one of your items.”

The FRIENDCHIP™ MINI-KIOSK whirred.

“Consent is everything,” it said, voice metallic and righteous.

“I agree!” I said quickly. “One hundred percent! Big fan of boundaries.”

It scanned my Clown ID with what felt like disdain.

“You’re lucky you’re in the system,” it beeped. “Most clowns aren’t.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

With a series of sharp ka-chunks and delicate beeps, the machine spat out a small plastic badge.

The “It’s Okay” Button.

Big and blue with white letters. The kind of button you press when you can’t find words. It made a gentle chime when touched, like it was saying, “You did your best.”

I hooked it onto my belt for easy access.

Just as I turned to leave, a loud crash echoed from the next rooftop over. Something metallic groaned. Jellie perked up and emitted a scent like “danger approaching with attitude.”

Then we saw them.

Rival looters. At least three of them, masked, mismatched, and covered in stickers from expired vending alliances. One of them was wielding a broken soda hose like a whip. Another had an old touchscreen strapped to their chest — it flickered in error codes. The parkoured over to our roof.

They’d seen the FRIENDCHIP™ machine too.

“That's one of ours!” one shouted. “It doesn't belong to the union yet!”

The vending machine beeped aggressively. “I BELONG TO NO ONE.”

And suddenly, there was a lot of noise. The rival looters advanced. The vending machine started launching gum and granola bars like projectiles. Caurix screeched from above, feathers raining like shrapnel.

“Jellie,” I muttered, “any chance those kite-wings still work?”

They vibrated affirmatively.

“I regret everything.”

We jumped.

Caurix is waiting for me on the stoop of my place when I make it home. She was carrying a small porcelain mask on an earring hook. It was shaped like her face. She dropped it gently at my feet. I picked it up, and instantly all other pigeons on the street stopped and looked at me. Waiting. The porcelain felt cool at first, then warm - like sunlight on stone. I swear I heard a distant coo echo inside my skull, saying: “One of six.” I took a breath, and bowed my head. To Caurix or to the City, I don’t know, but the pigeons resumed scavenging and Caurix flew back to her rooftop, and I put the earring through my ear.

DAY 7:

Zone: 3 - Loot City
Loot: 94 - Zippo lighter engraved "Time is Fake"; Never runs out. Flame burns blue.
Wacky Adventure: 11; Outcome: 1; Encounter: 5
You woke up in a stranger’s apartment. They left a note and a sandwich. What now? It’s an Absolute Failure (+1 GRIME AND +1 CITY DOOM) and there’s A City Glitch - the infrastructure or world is unstable or acting weird.

I woke up on the couch in an apartment I didn’t recognize. Groggy and disoriented, I saw a note on the coffee table.

“Took your name for the day. Hope you don’t mind. Made you a sandwich. TTYL - G”

Next to it was a sandwich, slightly off color. I didn’t eat it.

I fished around in my pocket for my phone, and instead found a zippo lighter. I don’t know how I got it, or where it came from. Etched into it was, “TIME ISN’T REAL.” That’s comforting.

I opened a window and flicked the zippo on to light a cigarette. Outside, traffic drove backwards, pigeons perched upside down, a flashing construction signboard across the way read, “Yesterday’s Tomorrow is Canceled.”

Then, I realized Jellie wasn’t with me. I decided to go look for her, but when I opened the front door, a hallway was there instead, infinitely stretching into an abyss. I hesitate in the doorway, staring into the hallway-that-shouldn’t-be. It hummed faintly — like fluorescent lights, but deeper, almost inside my teeth. No doors. No art. Just endless, carpeted beige, lit by flickering bulbs that seemed to sync with my pulse.

I took a step in.

The apartment door slammed behind me.

After what felt like an hour (or a second) of walking, I spotted a vending machine just sitting in the hallway. It looked old, and was stocked with unfamiliar buttons. Some were labeled with emotions, others with memories. A single handwritten note was taped to the glass:

"INSERT NAME TO PROCEED."

I realized:
I don’t have a name anymore. G took it.

I reach into my pockets, searching for anything that might help. Lighter. Cigarettes. Clown ID. Wait - CLOWN ID! I slid it into the slot.

The vending machine blinked, then spoke:

“CLOWN: 496030; NAME: MISSING; VENDING CREDITS: 0”

I forgot I had already used it once before. A dead end. I sat on the ground, slightly defeated, tired, and mulling over my situation. I looked at my smartwatch, it just endlessly blinked HELLO at me, which told me it was midnight. The blinking didn’t stop. Midnight stretched on.

I pull Gloop from my backpack, looking at his adorable form.

“We’ll get through this,” he seems to say.

Resolved, I place him carefully back into his backpack pocket, and search around for anything that might be useful. I pull out the creepy kid drawing. Instead of me falling, it was now me in a hallway with my eyes scratched out. Great. Love that.

An idea struck me. I stood, and inserted the drawing into the vending machine.

The vending machine accepted the drawing without resistance. It hummed. Then shuttered violently. The glass fogged from the inside like someone exhaled against it - from within.

The screen flashed a new message, letter by letter:

“IDENTITY: UNSTABLE”
“IMAGE RECOGNIZED: YES”
“REDEEMING VISUAL TRUTH...”
There was a sharp click.

Then a second vending slot opened - not the usual one.

This one was lower, darker, and slightly melted around the edges.

Inside was a hospital wristband, soft plastic, aged, scrawled over in marker:

NAME: GABRIEL
ADMIT DATE: WHENEVER IT STARTED
NOTES: “RETURN IF FOUND.”
As I touched it, the hallway glitched - subtly at first.
The walls pulsed, just once.
The vending machine powered down with a long, sad beep.

The world bent around me, and suddenly I was outside, hospital band in my hand. I slipped it on the wrist opposite of my watch. The world stopped. Breathed. The pigeons shifted right side up. The cars moved forward. The world continued. And I walked home.

LOOT & STAT CHECK-IN

Inventory (7/8):

• Sludge Sample (Gloop)
• Ripped Hazmat Hoodie
• Giant Foam Finger ("#2")
• Clown ID Card
• DIY Kite Wings
• It's Okay Button
• "Time is Fake" Zippo

• Cracked Smartwatch
• Caurix's Favor
• Hospital Wristband

• GRIME: 1
• COOL: 3
• DOOM: 1

DAY 8

Zone: 6 - Corporate Dumpster
Loot: 1 - Branded Water Bottle (Still Sealed?); Label says "VOIDCO FreshEmotion"
Wacky Adventure: 11; Outcome: 1; Encounter: 5
You woke up in a stranger’s apartment. They left a note and a sandwich. What now? It’s an Absolute Failure (+1 GRIME AND +1 CITY DOOM) and there’s A City Glitch - the infrastructure or world is unstable or acting weird.

I found a VOIDCO water bottle this morning at the corporate dumpsite. It was still sealed and slightly humming somehow. The train back home was quiet. Stop after stop, people got on and off, on and off. I sat, watching, until the train would lurch forward again, leaving behind the people who didn’t get back on in time.

A man approached me after the 3rd stop. He handed me a briefcase, more like shoved it into my hands, and said, “Don’t open this.” Then simply - and I quite literally mean this - disappeared. I was baffled, and looked down at my new briefcase friend. It had a biometric scanner, two keyholes, and a post-it note that read, “IT KNOWS IF YOU TRY.” Guess I won’t be trying to open it…

Nah.

I placed my thumb on the biometric scanner. A quiet beep sounded and the latch unlocked.

That was easy.

As the latch clicked open, a cool vapor spilled from the seams. Not smoke - something else, like memory, like an afterthought trying to leave before it’s remembered.

Inside was a stack of VOIDCO® blank contracts, each signed in advance by me; a single vial of glittering black fluid labeled “MARKETING SAMPLE – DO NOT INGEST”; and a small cube, metallic, with no markings. It was warm to the touch and hummed in harmony with the water bottle I had found.

A sticker fell from the stack of papers. It said: “Coolness Confirmed.”

The train didn’t lurch again. It just… drifted.

The doors opened to no platform.

A Corporate Drone stood outside, floating and moving at speed with the train, clipboard in hand, and said:

“Gabriel, congratulations. You passed onboarding. Please proceed to your next activation zone.”

He paused, the train now passing by him and leaving him behind.

When the train arrived at the next stop, I emerged onto the platform with the briefcase in my hand. A crowd of Corporate Drones stood in a half circle, waiting for me. One in the middle stepped forward, “Gabriel. Your training starts now.”

[Roll Corporate Drone faction NPC = 2; Manager Kyle – immaculate tie, says “we're like a family” while threatening layoffs.]

He continued, “I’m Kyle, your new manager. Welcome to the family.” He says this slightly ominously, and leads me through the Subway to a corporate office downtown.

Training was… surprisingly smooth.

Kyle handed me a clipboard filled with orientation paperwork, none of which I remembered filling out, but all of which had my signature. I nodded along while he explained things like “brand loyalty initiatives” and “synergistic optimization,” and I somehow answered every question correctly without speaking.

By the end of the first hour, I had my own lanyard. By the end of the second, a corner desk. By lunch, a direct report named Chaz who saluted me unironically.

The office pulsed with quiet dread, piped-in optimism, and the subtle whirr of drone wings. Still, I felt oddly… in control. The briefcase, now resting on my desk, glowed faintly whenever I told someone what to do. The cube responded to corporate buzzwords. The water bottle refilled itself every time I emptied it.

At one point, Kyle clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder and whispered, “You’re gonna go far, Gabriel.” He didn’t blink once the entire conversation.

And when the day ended, I walked out not as an imposter…

…but as a rising star.

Day 8: Crafting

Branded Water Bottle + Cracked Smartwatch
Roll = 1; Lose crafting items and gain 1 GRIME

I tried to craft tonight. It went horribly wrong. With my newfound Corporate power, I tried to combine my two corporate items - the water bottle and the smartwatch. I KNOW. I know it sounds stupid. Water and electronics.
To be fair, it worked for a second. The VOIDCO water seemed to add magic energy to the watch, making it pulse and radiate coolness. But then, with a pop and hiss, the watch shattered, the water bottle itself vaporized, and now I have a VOIDCO logo shaped scar on my wrist. Great.
I looked up through my window and a corporate drone across the street stared at me with a not-so-subtle thumbs down.

DAY 9

Zone: 2 - Loot City
Loot: 55 - Traffic Ticket (Your Name On It); Dated next week.
Wacky Adventure: 33; Outcome: 6; Encounter: 6
You find a pair of glowing sunglasses. You can now see something. It’s an Incredible Success (+1 LOOT, +1 COOL) with A Story Event - something personal, prophetic, or tied to your past or quest

I got a damn ticket this morning. It was taped to my forehead when I woke up. It was dated for next week. I needed to hang onto it, but my backpack and pockets were full. I decided to clear out my backpack. I tossed the Hazmat Hoodie. Honestly, it’s gross and reeks anytime I unzip my bag. The foam finger soaked up the hoodie’s smell too, so I threw it away. I feel bad for Gloop, he’ll miss the smell.

I think of Jellie. I hope they’re okay. It’s been days with no signs of them, not that I haven’t looked. I sighed, grabbed my bag, and headed out for the day. Sitting on a bench on the sidewalk outside was a pair of sunglasses. They’re arguably the coolest shades I’ve ever seen. I put them on, and the world shifted. Street names were different. Billboards were showing versions of me that I don’t remember being. Every reflective surface flickered with alternate timelines. There was movement at the edge of my vision - familiar green goop, on the other side of a window. Jellie!

I raised my glasses to check, and when I did the city resumed as normal and Jellie wasn't there, just my reflection. I put the glasses back over my eyes. Jellie looked at me, pleading. Desperately, I ran inside the window’s building, but there was more glass that trapped them inside. I banged on it, yelling at them that I’d get them out. I wasn’t sure if they could hear me, but I hope they understood.

I looked around for clues. Taped to the glass a few feet down was a sign that says, “LOST + FOUND + FORGOTTON.” I walked down the hallway a bit more and found a deserted clerk desk surrounded by rows of lockers with keypads. I checked all of them to see if they were open, but they were all locked. One of the keypads says, DAY 13 13:04:38. I stopped. It seemed familiar, but Day 13 hadn’t happened yet… Then I remembered, that was the day and time of the ticket I woke up to.

I input the ticket number into the keypad. Incredibly, it opened. Inside is a sticker of Jellie, drawn in crayon. It was cute. I walked up to the clerk desk. On the edge was a bell. I dinged it. A mouthless android materialized in the chair.

“Um… I’m here to pick up someone I lost?”

The android just stared blankly at me. I looked down at the sticker in my hand, then back at the android. I placed the sticker on the counter, and slid it slowly across towards them.

“Jellie… is their name… I think this is their pick up token?”

The android took the sticker and slid it into a slot on the side of their head. The eyes pulsed green and a speaker above us said, “PICK UP ACCEPTED.”

I heard the glass down the hallway begin to slide and open. I ran back and Jellie hopped out of the trapped room. I raised my glasses to be sure they were actually real this time, and thankfully they were. I cheered and hugged my globby friend who emitted a smell of thanks and I’m glad to be back and What the hell took you so long?

DAY 10:

Zone: 6 - Corporate Dumpster
Loot: 2 - Office ID Badge (Deactivated?); Grants limited access and Max suspicion.
Wacky Adventure: 61; Outcome: 5; Encounter: 5
Your phone rings. Caller ID: “THE CITY.” You answer. It’s a Success and there’s A City Glitch - the infrastructure or world is unstable or acting weird.

I was walking through a train tunnel shortcut, alone, phone at 2%. It rang. Caller ID: “THE CITY”

I answered, because of course I did.

“Hello?”

Static. Then a voice — my voice, layered with elevator music — said, “You’re in the wrong instance. Adjustments pending.” Click.

Every screen I passed, billboards, bus stop ads, someone’s cracked tablet, lit up with a single word: RECALIBRATING.

Streetlights began cycling through emotions instead of colors. Benches clung to the ceiling like obedient furniture bats. Gravity flipped for three full seconds. I floated up, screamed, and then dropped back down gently, as if the fall had been cushioned by canned sitcom laughter.

Then… everything looked normal again. Too normal. Like it was working really hard to pretend.

My phone now showed 104% battery. God, this city is weird.

I continued my journey downtown until I got to my office building. Hanging on the doorpull was a keycard. No name or ID. I scanned it. The door opened. Hmm. Should probably talk to HR about that. I shrugged and continued up to my floor.

Kyle nodded at me, Chaz saluted. I sat at my corner desk and looked out through the windows, wondering what else this city had in store for me.

“Hey, Gabe. Got something for ya,” Kyle said, sauntering up to my desk. He sat down a memo, said, “Good luck,” and walked away.

[Corporate Drone Quest Roll = 3. Recover a corrupted employee manual from the Data Morgue.]

I picked up the memo and read through it. Ugh, more busy work. I needed to find a manual from the Data Morgue. I put it on my to do list for later.

DAY 11:

Zone: 4 - Rooftop Realms
Loot: 20 - Plastic Flamingo; Sacred to rooftop spirits
Wacky Adventure: 56; Outcome: 6; Encounter: 1
A tech bro tries to recruit you for a startup. It's... illegal? Maybe? It’s an INCREDIBLE SUCCESS (GAIN +1 LOOT AND +1 COOL) with A Faction presence, patrol, or operation (choose or roll). [I’m going to say Corporate AND Pigeon Feeders are here today.]

I’m standing on the rooftops with Caurix on my shoulder having the world’s toughest debate about what to get rid of. My backpack is full and my heart is heavy as I hold onto the dopest pink flamingo statue I’ve ever seen. I want to keep it, but that means I have to discard something else. I need the Briefcase for work, I need the ticket for Day 13, I need the lighter for my cigarettes… I look at my Clown ID Card, aware that it no longer has my name or spending credits on it. But it has a good memory. That’s hard to let go of.

Caurix coos. It sounds like “it's okay to let go.” I take the card and place it in the bin. The pink flamingo goes in the bag. Jellie emits a supportive smell. Gloop jiggles happily at his new flamingo friend. I think the flamingo chirps? Is that the sound they make?

Croo emerged from the rooftop gardens, “Ah, Gabriel. I see you’ve earned Caurix’s favor.” He smiled and I hummed in response and gave Caurix’s head a little pet. She cooed.

[Rooftop Quest Roll = 2. Decode a pattern in pigeon droppings. What message does it spell?] “Droppis has a quest for you, should you like to earn the God’s favor.”

Droppis - the God of pigeon shit and perfect timing. I tried to not laugh this time. Now I understood the reality of the Pantheon.

“What’s the task?”

“Decode the message he’s left for you, and follow the trail.”

Oh, this should be easy. I have Jellie on my side.

Croo pointed out an intricate layer of pigeon droppings. Jellie understood the assignment and immediately read the shit oracle.

[NPC Wants Table Roll = 9. A Lost Item - Could be loot, a pet, a memory, or a person. I look at the Rooftop Realms Loot Table and pick one to find later; Number 10.]

“Droppis is requesting we find the Pigeon Skull Crown.”

I nodded, and looked at Droppis who was busy pooping off the ledge. I heard someone yell down from below. Yikes.

I let everyone know I accepted the quest, before we said our goodbyes.

As Jellie and I made our way down the fire escape - we weren’t trying the Kite Wings again unless it was an emergency - a tech dude bro was sitting on the landing in a rickety folding chair.

“Yo.”

I just looked at him, “Hi..?”

“I got a proposition. You, me. Legendary. Heard you like pigeons. Listen to this: Decentralized emotional storage. For pigeons.” He exuded confidence.

“Is that legal?” I asked.

“In which layer of the City?”

From my Corporate background I asked about VOIDCO ethics policy 4.3.02. Asked the right questions, the right buzzwords. He assuaged my fears - in awe at my corporate knowledge. I was in.

He handed me a prototype in a shiny case, called my a visionary, and that he’d be in touch before jumping off the landing with a sputtering jetpack that worked, but just barely.

[Narrative loot = Pigeon Emotion Drive. A small device that displays pigeon memories and sometimes chirps.]

Day 11: Mythic Crafting

VOIDCO Briefcase and Contents + Hospital Wristband with my name + Office ID Badge (Deactivated?)
Roll = 6; You birth a new myth in the city - an urban legend, minor god, or glitchy being. It follows you (and judges you). You are now a prophet.

I needed space in my backpack for the Pigeon Drive, so I decided to Mythic Craft. It went surprisingly well? I combined my VOIDCO briefcase with my wristband and id badge. Does it look like a writhing mass of bureaucracy and boredom? Yes. It kind of whispers to me too, “Submit your timesheet on time.”

I crafted the DIY Key of Instant Bureacracy [Named with the Crafted Item Name Generator on page 49. I picked the name instead of rolling to fit the vibe. Below, I make up an applicable effect for the item.]

Effect: Once per day, I can “submit” any lie as truth. The City accepts it as legally binding. I gain access to secret bureaucratic spaces (abandoned offices, liminal DMV branches, closed hospital wings) but now the Corporate Faction now wants me to “return” the Key.

LOOT & STAT CHECK-IN

Inventory (7/8):

• Sludge Sample (Gloop)
• DIY Kite Wings
• It's Okay Button
• "Time is Fake" Zippo
• Traffic Ticket (Your Name On It)
• Plastic Flamingo
• Pigeon Emotion Drive

• DIY Key of Instant Bureaucracy

• Caurix's Favor
• Glowing Sunglasses

• GRIME: 2
• COOL: 7
• DOOM: 1

DAY 12:

Zone: 1 - Loot City
Loot: 68 - Bag of coffee grounds used 5 times; Smells potent. Might be brewable one more time. Maybe.
Wacky Adventure: 55; Outcome: 3; Encounter: 6
You find your name on a graffiti wall. What did it say? You have Partial Success and there’s A Story Event - something personal, prophetic, or tied to your past or quest.

I found a bag of coffee grounds behind a melted street vendor kiosk. Smelled like ambition and burnout. The label just said: “Brewed With Intention. Rebrew With Caution.” It’s been used five times already according to some tally-marks on the bag. Still smells stronger than most office coffee. I pocketed it.

Later that day, I wandered through an alley I swear wasn’t there yesterday. One of those places that smells like ozone and old printer toner. The brick walls were covered in layers of graffiti, some fresh, some peeling. Then I saw it.

My name.

Not just scrawled, but tagged big, in dripping ultraviolet paint. The glow shimmered weird when I moved. Beneath it, in a different hand: “DON’T SIGN ANYTHING ELSE - G.”

I froze. My chest felt heavy. A soft flutter behind me: a single pigeon - I don’t know which one - landed near the wall, tipped its head at me, then flew off. A warning? I left, wondering what I wouldn’t be able to sign onto next.

[OPTIONAL WEIRDO PHASE: Adventure Roll: 11 Outcome Roll: 2 Encounter Roll: 2 A vending machine gives you a receipt for something you never bought. It knows your name. It’s a Partial Success with A Hostile threat - danger, glitch, rival looter, or environmental hazard.]

I stopped to tie my shoe outside a bodega when the vending machine next to me spat. Not whirred, not beeped - spat - a crumpled paper out into the grime.

It was a receipt. It read:

VOIDCO TRANSACTION CONFIRMED
ITEM: “YOU (BACKUP COPY)”
STATUS: ALREADY DELIVERED
NAME: GABRIEL
PICKUP LOCATION: NULL
My spine tingled. Then I heard the hiss. The vending machine began to unfold.

Metal arms creaked out from its sides. A third slot opened vertically like a mouth. It wasn’t a vending machine anymore. It was something else wearing vending machine skin.

ERROR: flashed across its display, followed by:
"COPY CONFLICT DETECTED. INITIATING DELETION OF DUPLICATE.”

And that’s when the thing charged me.

I ran.

The thing moved fast on clunky roller-feet that shouldn’t have had such good traction. It smashed over crates, glitched out streetlights, and warped pigeons mid-flight. All the while, it played faint, warped MIDI hold music like a broken waiting room god.

I ducked into a corner store, slammed the security gate shut just as it reached the door. Sparks shot from its arms. It froze. Then burped out a can of CHERRY GLOOP SODA and collapsed in a heap of sparking metal, singeing me in the process (+1 GRIME). I panted behind the counter, trying to steady my hands. My watch buzzed. Two timestamps blinked on the screen.

Apparently two of me are existing, and the City doesn’t like it.

DAY 13:

Zone: 5 - The Sewers
Loot: 15 - Gas Mask (Cracked); Helps... a little.
Wacky Adventure: 61; Outcome: 4; Encounter: 1
Your phone rings. Caller ID: “THE CITY.” You answer. It’s a Success with A Faction presence, patrol, or operation [I choose Sewerborn.]

I was very careful to not earn the ticket from last week today. Thankfully, I seemed successful and made my way up to the Sewers.

It had been a while since Jellie and Gloop visited home. We descended into the Sewers. I found a cracked gas mask near a runoff pipe, which helped with the smell a little bit.

[Sewerfolk NPC roll = 6. Gutter Linda – runs an underground "spa" made of bathtubs and slime]

I sighed, “We need a break.”

They knew what I meant.

“I know just the place,” Jellie said, and led us to a warped wooden door down a few different sewerways. Above the door was a crooked sign that said “Linda’s.”

Linda’s what? I wasn’t sure, but I soon found out as we entered. The air was humid and slightly glowing. Overflowing bathtubs steamed gently, full of (non-sentient) slime in all colors.

A woman emerged with a friendly smile and open arms. She was wearing flowy linens, but had a pair of industrial goggles perched on her head.

“Welcome, welcome! Come in, come in!”

I instantly relaxed. It’d been so long since I felt normal or safe. Here, in the underground spa, I felt like the City wasn’t out to get me.

Then my phone rang. Because of course it did. The City doesn’t let me rest. How could I have questioned that.

“Hello?” I answered.

A distorted voice hissed through the line, warped and painful to hear: “ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS.”

“Okay, thanks...” I replied. The line went dead.

I shook it off. Jellie wrapped her jelly-ness around my hand, comfortingly. I gave a half smile to her and Linda ushered us in to give us the royal spa treatment. I was coated in slime masks and soaked my feet in warm goo. Jellie got to try on new slime colors, but stuck with her signature green. Gloop purred, which was new. It was a great time. Oddly normal. Nothing else happened. I wasn’t about to push my luck.

[Narrative choice: -1 GRIME]

DAY 14:

Zone: 4 - Rooftop Realms
Loot: 3 - Pigeon Nest Blueprint; Detailed, suspiciously magical
Wacky Adventure: 26; Outcome: 1; Encounter: 2
A stranger trades you something mysterious for your shoelaces. It’s an ABSOLUTE FAILURE (+1 GRIME AND +1 CITY DOOM) and there’s A Hostile threat - danger, glitch, rival looter, or environmental hazard.

While visiting the Pantheon, I saw something blue fluttering, stuck on a rooftop orchard tree branch. I picked it out and discovered it was a pigeon nest blueprint. It was kind of sparse. Just 4 sticks laid down on top of each other at specific angles.

I called Caurix over. She gently landed at my feet. I squatted down, showing her the blueprint.

“Do you need help with this?” She cooed.

Nodding, I stood and started scavenging for the correct size sticks. It took a little while - Caurix is very particular - and laid the sticks just so at the area Caurix usually hangs out at.

After I was done, she cooed appreciatively and began pecking at my backpack. Curious, I opened it for her, and she pulled out the Pigeon Emotion Drive the tech bro had given me a few days ago.

“Do you… want me to use it? On you?”

She cooed twice. I took it as a yes.

I pressed the button on the drive and it digitally scanned Caurix with a red laser beam. The tiny screen on the device sputtered to life. It was pixelated and disjointed, but I saw it. I saw her. Caurix - not as a pigeon, but as a god. On the screen, I was looking through Caurix’s eyes - her memory. Here, she was looking into a mirror. High cheek bones, tanned skin, olive branches weaved into long, flowing hair, delicate golden cloth enrobing her. She was applying dark makeup to her eyes that resembled green and purple pigeon markings. She smiled, radiant. The screen cut off.

Caurix flew to my shoulder. I sat there dumbfounded. She pecked my ear.

“Ow.” She cooed in response, as I rubbed my ear.

“Thanks for showing me,” I said quietly.

I sat beneath the orchard tree, still stunned by what I’d seen on the Emotion Drive.

Caurix had shown me something ancient, something holy. A version of herself that wasn’t just a pigeon. A god in silk and shadow. She’d perched on my shoulder for a few moments longer, then flapped into the sky, trailing sunbeams through her feathers.

I was still staring at the device when a voice behind me barked, “Put it down. Slowly. Don’t want you to see too much.”

I froze.

A figure in a mismatched trench coat stepped forward. One eye was covered by what looked like a broken payphone receiver, wired into their head. They smiled with too many teeth.

“It’s bartering time. You were granted access to the holy realm.”

Before I could even ask who they were, they snapped their fingers. The air wavered. My shoelaces unraveled, slithering off like worms and into the person's outstretched palm.

“For just your shoelaces, your access to the realm will continue. Do something wrong… trip over yourself and the pigeons who trust you…? Hm. Well. I’ll know. Careful now.” They turned, didn’t look back, and jumped off the ledge. I screamed, shocked, until he rose and ascended to the skies before my eyes.

I stood, feeling GRIME-smeared, confused, and heartbroken, as the City ticked louder in my ears.

“What the fuck.”

DAY 14: Crafting

Bag of coffee grounds used 5 times + Time is Fake Zippo
Roll = 5; It’s better than you thought it could be! Add +1 COOL.

It felt like a good time to brew some coffee. I applied the Zippo flame to the coffee and it brewed something amazing. A scorched, bubbling cup of impossibly potent coffee that smells like 3 a.m. thoughts and deadline panic. Brewed by flame older than causality and grounds steeped in five regrets. I made up a tagline for my new cup of deliciousness: "Brewed beyond the bounds of reason. Serve hot. Sip slow."

I crafted a Sizzling Coffee of Memory Theft.

Effect: I can drink to immediately take an extra turn, reroll a failed attempt, or finish a journal entry that refuses to come together, but I forget something important.

DAY 15:

Zone: 2 - Loot City
Loot: 70 - Sticker of a cat with a third eye; It sticks to your palm no matter where you place it.
Wacky Adventure: 65; Outcome: 6; Encounter: 5
A meteor lands in the skatepark. Someone’s already trying to sell pieces of it. You have INCREDIBLE SUCCESS (GAIN +1 LOOT AND +1 COOL) but there’s A City Glitch - the infrastructure or world is unstable or acting weird

While taking a break from scavenging, I sat on a rickety bench. I heard a meow from underneath me, and I found a sticker. It was of a cartoon cat with a third eye, drawn in a fun cartoon style that was just a little offputting. I peeled it off the bench and tried to stick it in my bag, but every time I blinked, it was stuck to my palm. Doesn’t matter where I place it, it returns.

Anyway.

Later, I heard screaming from the skatepark. A meteor - like. An actual, honest to god glowing hunk of space rock, had bisected the halfpipe. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anyone was hurt. Looters were already setting up makeshift booths. Hand-painted signs reading, “REAL SPACE ROCKS. $5.”

I elbowed through the crowd to get a closer look at the meteor. The air around it shimmered like heat off a grill. I grabbed a chunk before anyone noticed. And then the skatepark glitched.

Grinding rails floated, concrete rippled like pondwater. The other Looters eyes seemed to fill with static. I ran. Behind me, the crater caved in on itself. More like folded into itself? And popped out of existence. The skatepark returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

The sticker still stuck to my palm. I swear the cat winked.

[Narrative loot = Meteor Shard. Used in crafting and can be activated during a scene to bend a narrative glitch.]

DAY 15: Crafting

DIY Kite-Wings + Meteor Shard
Roll = 5; It’s better than you thought it could be! Add +1 COOL.

The sacred flamingo blinked alive when I strapped it to my Kite Wings. I guess it wanted to fly.

I crafted some Ritualistic Kite Wings

Effect: Once per day, I may declare a Pilgrimage Glide. I can describe where I want to go emotionally (e.g., “somewhere safe,” “somewhere to find answers,” “somewhere stupid and loud”).
Roll a die:
1-2: I land in a place symbolic but inconvenient.
3-5: I land somewhere narratively resonant and useful.
6: I arrive exactly where you’re meant to be. Even if it defies geography.

DAY 16:

Zone: 2 - Loot City
Loot: 47 - Glow Stick Sword; Melts shadows.
Wacky Adventure: 61; Outcome: 5; Encounter: 6
Your phone rings. Caller ID: “THE CITY.” You answer. It’s a Success and involves A Story Event - something personal, prophetic, or tied to your past or quest.

I was wandering beneath the overpass where old rave flyers papered the concrete. My boots crunched against some gravel, and the smell of a hundred past parties lingered in the air. I didn’t have a clear place to go, I was just walking to keep my thoughts at bay.

I tripped, suddenly. Damn missing shoelaces. I looked down to see what I’d hit. A sword. Well, a glow stick sword. Multiple glowsticks duct taped together. I shook it. Its light pulsed and the surrounding shadows fled.

I kept walking. My phone rang. Again. The same Caller ID: “THE CITY.”

I answered. My own voice - distorted as usual through the receiver: “You’re out of place.”

“From where?”

“You’ll remember soon enough.” And the line clicked.

Every streetlight around blinked off one after the other in sequence, coming back on shortly after. Brighter. Shadows emerged, twitching.

I looked at my reflection in a bus shelter window. I didn’t smile, but it did.

[OPTIONAL WEIRDO PHASE: Adventure Roll: 22 Outcome Roll: 5 Encounter Roll: 3 A cat tells you a prophecy. The more you ignore it, the more it comes true. It’s a Success with An NPC with a problem, offer, or story.]

I keep hearing soft meows and mutterings. Whenever I look around there isn’t any cats. I look to my palm, the cat with the third eye now has a Cheshire Cat type of grin. I hear another meow, but this time inside my head.

The third eye cat purrs from inside my thoughts. It stretches its limbs in my mind like it owns the place (and it kind of does now). Then, it speaks... not in words, exactly, but in strange, shimmering truths that pulse through my neurons like lightning.

“The copy of you will knock. Don’t open the door. You’ll want to. You always want to. But this time, your wanting is the trap.”

My chest tightens. The sticker on my palm pulses and thrums. The third eye closes, the smile remains.

Far in the distance, I hear a knock. I’m not sure from where. But the cat was right. Every fiber of me wants.

I strap on my Ritualistic Kite Wings. I pray, “Take me where I need to go.”

[Roll = 4. I land somewhere narratively resonant and useful.]

The wind caught my wings before I even got a running start, like the City wanted me airborne, like it had been waiting for this moment. I jumped up, the Ritualistic Kite Wings snapped open, the flamingo spreading itself open and shimmering. Wind howled in my ears, not just with air but voices. Chanting, repeating my name in a thousand variations.

I soared across the rooftops, the sky glitching as if it was having trouble loading its texture. The glow stick sword in my hand pulsed with energy. The cat sticker whispered in my mind, “Close the loop.”

[Sub-Zone Generator Roll = 1 - Broadcast Spire: A rusted antenna tower where messages, glitches, and ghost frequencies converge. Reachable after receiving a rooftop-coded message or by completing a pigeon quest. Allows weekly broadcasts into the City.]

Then, the Broadcast Spire came into view. Half-digital, half-sacred, the City’s highest point. I landed on the rooftop, the cat speaking one last time, ““Inside is a version of you that signed everything. All the wrong contracts. All the doomed bargains. They’re broadcasting you on every channel now. Close the loop… or be overwritten.”

A doorway popped into existence in front of me, filled with static. A hand - my hand - came through it holding a contract. It beckoned me to sign it.

I thought of everything I had been through. All the warnings. All the signs.

“No.“ I said resolutely.

The doorway hissed and widened. From it stepped... me. Normal, but in a VOIDCO-branded suit and static filled eyes. He had a single pigeon feather pinned to his lapel.

“It is your destiny to sign! I signed, it led to all of my successes. You’re too frail, your heart too soft, too fragile - that is why you will lose.”

He lunged first, I reacted with my glow stick sword defensively. It met his contract trying to kill me with a thousand paper cuts. Light versus ink, the fight continued. Each strike of paper and my sword echoed throughout the rooftop, showing a version of me that could have been.

He knew my every move - he was me after all - I eventually stumbled, foot almost slipping off the Spire’s rooftop edge.

He raised his contract at me, “Say goodbye.”

In a panic, I hit the “It’s Okay” button on my belt. It dinged like an elevator arriving.

Time paused. The wind hushed around us. For a moment, everything was still. Then, a huge wave of golden light burst from the button, knocking my double backwards. I regained my footing and let out a whistle - high and sharp. I called on the Panethon.

The sky filled with the beating of wings. Caurix led the other five gods, while dozens of other pigeons followed behind. Their feathers trailed fractal light. Their coos harmonized into a holy choir.

Caurix landed on my shoulder; Droppis circled threateningly above; Plumo was dropping feathers spine side down like dangerous darts; Skree landed at my feet protectively; Glimfeather, with his wings beating the air into forceful currents; Coospira perched on the Spire cooing softly whispers of encourgement.

Suddenly, the follower pigeons dove at my double. They pecked his eyes and body, and tore up the contract in their beaks. He screamed - not in pain, but in betrayal.

“The pigeons are mine! I signed for them! I gave them purpose, you gave them freedom!”

I rushed forward while I had the chance, “Exactly,” and swung my sword into him. He exploded into a puff of corrupted pixels.

All surrounding static disappeared. The light at the top of the Broadcast Spire dimmed.

The Pantheon flew to the sky, circling once, before heading back to their home, but Caurix remained. She sat on my shoulder. I swear I heard her voice, righteous and true, “The loop has been closed.”

END OF SESSION.