It’s Monday – that means it’s Metaverse Day! Join us tonight at 6PM PT for the season two finale of PROJECT: METAVERSE, our original RPG livestream, exclusively on http://twitch.tv/zombieorpheus!
If you’ve never seen the show – don’t worry! This is the perfect time to jump in and experience the ZOE storytelling you’ve come to know and love. And if you’re hankering for more backstory, check out the ZOE Wiki and the Masters Of The Metaverse section for a complete crash course in all things Metaverse related. After the show, come by the ZOE Discord to chat, ask questions, and hang out with other ZOE fans.
RECAP
Last Monday, the dark creatures revealed themselves and even more secrets were uncovered. As the darkness fades, Wyatt, Andi, and Maddox find themselves in a mysterious room surrounded by hundreds of boxes. Inside each box is a child, tormented by their own personal nightmare. In the three closest boxes, the pilots find Angel, Bobby, and Lizzie.
Before they can react, a sudden sound announces the arrival of a new sort of evil. Impossibly pale, thin, and long, the being calls himself Harvester, and this is his “masterpiece”. The Harvester is feeding off the essence of the children and is toying with them to make the meal all the sweeter. But he is curious about the pilots and TOM. He specifically doesn’t like TOM, but before the pilots can discover more, the Bobble-TOM gives out a shriek and the world shatters like a mirror.
The pilots wake up back in the bodies of the children, only to discover that Lizzie is being pulled up into the ceiling by a giant spider, who looks an awful lot like Harvester. Bobby discovers the true capabilities of his gun, while Angel utilizes some of Andi’s speed and strength. Lizzie is rescued and the three fight back against the demonic insect. They manage to force him into a retreat and as he vanishes, TOM appears.
TOM is concerned about this not-Metaverse that should not exist. While he cannot provide much information, he does have one piece of advice: keep moving. He encourages the pilots to stay together, telling them that they are strong and are capable of surviving. TOM disappears in search of more information, while the others board a small train that was waiting nearby.
On the train, they discover a wooden locker with the names of three children carved inside: Mikey, Sarah, and Johnathan. Beside the names are twenty-two hash marks and a crudely scratched map of Toyland. They also find a quill pen, some marbles, and a Yoda toy. The engine enters a tunnel where the group is attacked by hungry pieces of clay who are turned to the side of friendship thanks to Angel and her tea party.
The train travels on until they reach an area marked on the map as Candytown. Once there, the track is blocked by icing and candy forcing the team to disembark. Candytown is nearly destroyed and a partially maimed gingerbread man approaches them. He tells of monsters that come to eat them and laugh as they do so, pleading with the pilots to help save them all. Angel holds up the mirror to reveal that the gingerbread people of this town are actually children, all injured and yet still surprisingly alive – as if they cannot die.
Suddenly, the sound of rumbling alerts them to the approach of several large jawbreakers who attack the town. Before rushing into battle, two loot boxes are opened revealing a jackhammer and a container of rocket fuel. Bobby’s gun and the rocket fuel, along with a flaming gumdrop, prove very effective against the monsters and they are soon run off.
Bobby begins working with the jackhammer to find out what lies beneath the sugar and frosting, when the Harvester appears and pulls the tool away from him. The hole left by the jackhammer reveals a deep gray nothing – that seems to point in the direction of the great tower on the horizon.
Approaching the front door of the tower, the children hear the sound of hammering and spot a creature at the top of one of the turrets, seemingly carving in the fondant. Angel shines a light in his eye, angering him, but any attack is diverted as soon as he sees the quill. Angel gives it to him, and the creature becomes a little boy who vanishes into light – free at last. Climbing to the top of the tower the group finds a candy garden complete with a giant white chocolate tree. Another loot box is opened, revealing their very own H-Bomb.
The group begins climbing the tree, higher and higher, when a long red licorice snake wends its way down toward them. The snake is blind and all three children hold as still as still. Maddox notices that the snake, while still solid, seems to be fading. She has no more time to think on this as the Harvester suddenly appears overhead. Having tired of this game, he reaches down and stabs Angel, before flinging her off the tree and out into the nothingness beyond. At the very last moment there is a flash of light and a Hawaiian shirt and Angel is gone.
Andi sees a flash of an abandoned shed or building, with a single light bulb in the centre, before everything goes white. Angel is standing next to her, holding her hand. Angel introduces herself as Angela Hamilton before Andi sees a vision of Angel sleeping in her garden among her faerie tea party. Andi wakes up on the cave floor in Africa, mouth dry and stomach empty. As her eyes adjusts, she realizes she is not alone. Cole looks up from sharpening his knife and smiles. “‘Ello,luv.”
PROJECT: METAVERSE is an RPG set in a world completely designed and created by Zombie Orpheus Entertainment. In it, players control two characters: a pilot and an avatar. Each one gives the players different skills and abilities – but the catch is they can only access one at a time. The setting is unique and changes with each story arc. So far, we’ve visited a city of superheroes, an old west setting with zombies, magical space princesses, an alien invasion, and even spent some time in the world of Fartherall.