TL;DR - This is a rough draft. I've really only actually worked on the first and final paragraphs of this entire piece, most of my information being directly from The Last of Us Fandom Wiki Page. I would love to see how many people are interested in the idea of a European Version of the last of us. I'd love to collaborate, spitball ideas and expand on this barebones offering. I'm a roleplayer - not a GM, so having a Co is ideal. Thank you for reading and have a blessed day!
¡Que dios te bendiga!
It all started - or ended 15 years ago. Scientists and scholars alike said, and maintain that the cordyceps fungus mutated in South American crops, which is where the first infected human was. The export of these crops then lead to the spread of CBI (cordyceps brain infection), throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. It wouldn't reach America until September, and on the 27th, the cordyceps outbreak in Austin, Texas would occur. In early morning hours, CBI had reached critical mass, and even though the infection had been rising in intensity for days, it reached such a state when people began to be admitted to hospitals. The infection spread quickly in cities like Austin, eventually being confirmed to have spread nationwide. That's when runners, those within the first stage of infection, began popping up worldwide. That's when FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency) and the CDC (Center for Disease Control) took of the United States Armed Forces, declaring a state of emergency. As social order collapsed, the remaining U.S. military forces were deployed into major cities and created massive quarantine zones to contain the masses and isolate the infection. The Air Force carpet-bombed the surrounding areas of some of the quarantine zones, significantly the downtown area of Boston, with the objective of killing as many of the infected as possible, while also creating buffer zones. It was this that caused the rise of the Fireflies.
The Fireflies were formed in response to the US military's martial law placed on all Quarantine Zones. The group called for the return of all branches of government to end the military's rule and staged several attacks within the Quarantine Zones. Support from the public increased when soldiers executed at least six Firefly members. The Fireflies successfully defeated the military in several Quarantine Zones, notably in Pittsburgh, but their actions did not always have the desired results. In most uprisings, rioting citizens have fought more than actual Firefly members, leading to feuds that typically resulted in the citizens turning on their city's Fireflies after the revolt was finished, fearing a rein of oppression by the Fireflies, rather than the Military. The Fireflies lost control and were executed or forced to flee, allowing the citizens to take over, some adopting a 'survival of the fittest' philosophy instead of trying to find a cure. Those people would band together with others of like-mindedness would be pegged 'hunters'. Hunters seem to be distinguished from other hostile survivors (like Bandits) in that their ranks are made up of former citizens of Quarantine Zones that were abandoned by the military. In the case of Pittsburgh, a Hunter group formed from the remnants of civilian rebels that seized control of the zone after overthrowing the military and subsequently resisting Firefly influence. Supply shortages and failure to establish a better government eventually lead to the remaining people of the Zone degrading into murderous Hunters, who are forced to kill outsiders for supplies.
Though no countries 'survived' the apocalypse, only 60% of Earth's human population being left after the apocalypse, some countries did a better job fairing than others. Russia, The US, The UK, Australia, North Korea, and Israel, were the most successful in defending against the Runners, who outnumbered the armed forces and survivors by plagues. Countries with high population density, like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Singapore, had the highest rate of infection spread and the hardest time defending against the infected. Then, it was countries with low hygiene and medical care, like Africa, Central America, Brazil, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Next were countries with with weak militaries like Mexico, New Zealand, most small islands, Poland, Spain, Germany, Mongolia, Central Asia, The Balkans, and Portugal. Countries with strategically indefensible positions like France, Italy, Greece, and The Nordics.
With Russia, The UK, and North Korea unwilling to help; Australia and Israel unable to help, The US would be the only country to answer the cries of those less fortunate - and this would go without a hitch. FEDRA would create a foreign branch called the International Disaster Response Agency. With haste, they'd send FEDRA officials to Panama, Portugal, Morocco, and Australia, where they'd introduce their formula to a country before moving on to the next, in exchange for resources being sent back to America after each time a FEDRA official helped. It'd take years for these 4 men to finish their journey, only to return to America, which was showing them the long term results of the practice they had helped spread.
It's the year 2028, and word of the Fireflies having some success in trials with a passive vaccine has reached Europe. This has sparked a rebellion in Paris, France (💀 we all know why) and now a new group under the name 'Lucioles' have been launching terrorist attacks for weeks now, and there are talks of a final attack being launched on Christmas. This has both citizens and INDRA Agents, all over Europe, on edge - many other Quarantine Zone inhabitants being inspired to fight back.
¡Que dios te bendiga!
It all started - or ended 15 years ago. Scientists and scholars alike said, and maintain that the cordyceps fungus mutated in South American crops, which is where the first infected human was. The export of these crops then lead to the spread of CBI (cordyceps brain infection), throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. It wouldn't reach America until September, and on the 27th, the cordyceps outbreak in Austin, Texas would occur. In early morning hours, CBI had reached critical mass, and even though the infection had been rising in intensity for days, it reached such a state when people began to be admitted to hospitals. The infection spread quickly in cities like Austin, eventually being confirmed to have spread nationwide. That's when runners, those within the first stage of infection, began popping up worldwide. That's when FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency) and the CDC (Center for Disease Control) took of the United States Armed Forces, declaring a state of emergency. As social order collapsed, the remaining U.S. military forces were deployed into major cities and created massive quarantine zones to contain the masses and isolate the infection. The Air Force carpet-bombed the surrounding areas of some of the quarantine zones, significantly the downtown area of Boston, with the objective of killing as many of the infected as possible, while also creating buffer zones. It was this that caused the rise of the Fireflies.
The Fireflies were formed in response to the US military's martial law placed on all Quarantine Zones. The group called for the return of all branches of government to end the military's rule and staged several attacks within the Quarantine Zones. Support from the public increased when soldiers executed at least six Firefly members. The Fireflies successfully defeated the military in several Quarantine Zones, notably in Pittsburgh, but their actions did not always have the desired results. In most uprisings, rioting citizens have fought more than actual Firefly members, leading to feuds that typically resulted in the citizens turning on their city's Fireflies after the revolt was finished, fearing a rein of oppression by the Fireflies, rather than the Military. The Fireflies lost control and were executed or forced to flee, allowing the citizens to take over, some adopting a 'survival of the fittest' philosophy instead of trying to find a cure. Those people would band together with others of like-mindedness would be pegged 'hunters'. Hunters seem to be distinguished from other hostile survivors (like Bandits) in that their ranks are made up of former citizens of Quarantine Zones that were abandoned by the military. In the case of Pittsburgh, a Hunter group formed from the remnants of civilian rebels that seized control of the zone after overthrowing the military and subsequently resisting Firefly influence. Supply shortages and failure to establish a better government eventually lead to the remaining people of the Zone degrading into murderous Hunters, who are forced to kill outsiders for supplies.
Though no countries 'survived' the apocalypse, only 60% of Earth's human population being left after the apocalypse, some countries did a better job fairing than others. Russia, The US, The UK, Australia, North Korea, and Israel, were the most successful in defending against the Runners, who outnumbered the armed forces and survivors by plagues. Countries with high population density, like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Singapore, had the highest rate of infection spread and the hardest time defending against the infected. Then, it was countries with low hygiene and medical care, like Africa, Central America, Brazil, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Next were countries with with weak militaries like Mexico, New Zealand, most small islands, Poland, Spain, Germany, Mongolia, Central Asia, The Balkans, and Portugal. Countries with strategically indefensible positions like France, Italy, Greece, and The Nordics.
With Russia, The UK, and North Korea unwilling to help; Australia and Israel unable to help, The US would be the only country to answer the cries of those less fortunate - and this would go without a hitch. FEDRA would create a foreign branch called the International Disaster Response Agency. With haste, they'd send FEDRA officials to Panama, Portugal, Morocco, and Australia, where they'd introduce their formula to a country before moving on to the next, in exchange for resources being sent back to America after each time a FEDRA official helped. It'd take years for these 4 men to finish their journey, only to return to America, which was showing them the long term results of the practice they had helped spread.
It's the year 2028, and word of the Fireflies having some success in trials with a passive vaccine has reached Europe. This has sparked a rebellion in Paris, France (💀 we all know why) and now a new group under the name 'Lucioles' have been launching terrorist attacks for weeks now, and there are talks of a final attack being launched on Christmas. This has both citizens and INDRA Agents, all over Europe, on edge - many other Quarantine Zone inhabitants being inspired to fight back.