'HOPE' - A Tale of Survival

[Hecatoncheires]

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come."
[size=+1]- Alexander Pope, 'An Essay on Man'


We are too few, now.

We have lost so very much.

Death has lost its permanence these days; the Reaper is slacking. Our deaths are no longer so final, instead a transition to some new and terrible state of being. We rise again as shambling corpses, driven only by an insatiable need to consume, to feed. No-one is safe. The causes for this horror elude us still. And with the dwindling numbers of the living, the numbers of the walking dead swell.

Civilisation is gone, buried under the crushing weight of so many animated bodies. There are no guarantees anymore, no government to watch over us, no police force or military to keep us safe; we live from day to day with no guarantee of tomorrow, knowing full well that today could very well be our last day on this earth.

All we have is each other. Our fellow survivors. We might never have known one another were it not for everything that has transpired, yet know we are all each of us have left. From all walks of life we come; the lucky few who managed to make it this far.

Yet we are too few, now.

And we have lost so very much.

Friends and loved ones, colleagues and family; they have all been taken from us, transformed into hideous mockeries of what they once were. All it takes is one bite for the infection to take hold and then we are walking time bombs set to become one of them. There is no cure, there are no guarantees to ensure that each of us will not be the next to turn. This plague, this infection, does not differentiate between age, colour, or creed; it will take us all if we let it.

Behind us, our homes and old lives are trampled into dust by the feet of the dead. Seattle is a trap, a breeding ground of living death that we barely escaped from with our lives. One wrong move, one bad decision and we could now be one of them. Yet somehow, when so many of our fellow humans have fallen, we have persevered. With what vehicles we could muster on short notice and aboard Harry Calvin's bus, we have broken free from the limits of Seattle and out into the countryside of Washington.

It has now been three days since the dead first arose. Radio reports grow less frequent. Signs of life ever fewer. The last helicopter seen was two days ago.

We are too few, now.

We have lost so very much.

Yet in a world consumed by the dead, we are finally forced to either lose everything... or fight for what we have left, and hope for a better tomorrow.

For hope is all that we have left.

[size=+3]THE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL UNFOLDS HERE...[/size]

[/size]

'Hope: A Tale of Survival' is an apocalyptic horror RP taking place not long after the rise of the living dead and the collapse of society.

The old world has died, and a terrifying new one has taken its place; a world in which the dead walk, and in which survival hinges on being able to rely upon your fellow survivors to keep you alive another day. Players take the role of one such individual who has managed to make it through the end of civilisation, part of a group of such people who have come together to seek safety and keep each other alive.

The aim of this RP is not for it to be a gore-spattered zombie shoot-em-up, with gung-ho characters slaughtering their way through thousands of shambling corpses; it will have a far grittier, dangerous and grim feel, with characters grappling with difficult issues and attempting to work out tensions arising within the group, all the while attempting to stay as many steps ahead of the undead as possible.

Think 'The Walking Dead' and '28 Days Later' rather than 'Resident Evil'; this will be an RP about a painful, often desperate struggle for survival against incredible odds. Encounters with the undead will not be pleasant; characters will be putting their very lives at risk when they attempt to fight against the corpses of those who were once their fellow human beings.

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CHARACTER GUIDELINES​

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Character Guidelines

The aim of 'Hope' is to create a group of realistic, believable protagonists, a group of ordinary people who have been thrust into a terrifying situation and forced to deal with it as best they can. They can come from all walks of life, but keep in mind a few key things:

• Keep it believable and grounded in reality.
• Consider carefully the relationship your character will have with the other survivors.
• Do not make anti-social, angsty loner-types; such character have no plausible reason to be part of a group, and thus do not fit with this RP's plot and themes.
• Though I won't outright ban police/military characters, I'm going to be very strict about them. If you keep it reasonable and, above all, believable everything will be fine, but bear in mind what has previously been said. Join as a former Army soldier who was working as a garage attendant before things went to hell? We won't have any problems. Join as a big, burly Navy SEAL who does MANLY THINGS, and I'll probably raise an eyebrow. Join as a Russian Spetsnaz Cyborg and I don't care where on the globe you are; I will track you down and sodomise you with a pitchfork.
• I won't be allowing a lot of firearms, in the interests of not turning this into a bullet-fest; a few handguns and maybe a shotgun or two between the characters is fine, but I will probably put my foot down if someone joins with some customised assault rifle, regardless of whether they're a firearm fanatic or not. Use your imagination; not everyone needs to have guns.
• Character backstories between the outbreak and the start of the game will be explored in-game, in sequences declared by the GM/GM's known as 'Flashbacks'; each Flashback a specific character will be given the opportunity to reveal a bit about their past and to explore the events that led to them meeting up with the others.

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CHARACTER SHEETS​

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Character Sheets

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Occupation: (What did your character do before the outbreak?)

Appearance: (Pictures please. Any use of anime characters will result in you being snarked to death by Asmodeus.)
Strengths/Skills: (What is your character good at? What are their best attributes and abilities?)
Failings/Weaknesses: (What is your character bad at? What aspects of themselves are not ideal?)

Outward Personality: (What personality does your character show to the world? What front do they put up?)
Inward Personality: (What is your character really like?)
Relationships With Others: (Does your character have any relationships with the other survivors? Friendships, marriages, rivalries, enemies etc.?)

Key Items/Equipment: (What important items does your character carry/possess? Weapons? Mementos from home? Vehicles?)

General History: (What has your character's life been like up until the outbreak?)
Meeting the Group: (How did your character join with the rest of the survivors aboard Harry's bus? Don't go into too much detail; much of this backstory will be explored in-game.)

copypasta

[noparse]Name:
Age:
Gender:
Occupation: (What did your character do before the outbreak?)

Appearance: (Pictures please. Any use of anime characters will result in you being snarked to death by Asmodeus.)
Strengths/Skills: (What is your character good at? What are their best attributes and abilities?)
Failings/Weaknesses: (What is your character bad at? What aspects of themselves are not ideal?)

Outward Personality: (What personality does your character show to the world? What front do they put up?)
Inward Personality: (What is your character really like?)
Relationships With Others: (Does your character have any relationships with the other survivors? Friendships, marriages, rivalries, enemies etc.?)

Key Items/Equipment: (What important items does your character carry/possess? Weapons? Mementos from home? Vehicles?)

General History: (What has your character's life been like up until the outbreak?)
Meeting the Group: (How did your character join with the rest of the survivors aboard Harry's bus? Don't go into too much detail; much of this backstory will be explored in-game.)[/noparse]

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THE RULES​

[/size]

The Rules

• Keep to the rules of Iwaku
• The GM/GM's have the final say on matters
• The GM reserves the right to close applications if things get too busy
• Understand the themes and ideas of the game before joining, keep to them within the game
• Please include with each IC post a summary of your character's actions/events that occurred etc.
• Be sure to READ EACH OTHER'S POSTS THOROUGHLY; this prevents confusion and clusterfucks
• Always remember that this game is about COLLABORATIVE STORYTELLING, not metaphorical dick-waggling contests; it's about working together to tell an awesome story, not to prove that you are the most awesome individual present

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THE CAST​

[/size]

The Cast

​

 

[Hecatoncheires]

[size=+1]Name: Harry Calvin
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Occupation: Bus Driver

Strengths/Skills:

• Damn Good Driver – Harry's been working as a bus driver in Seattle for over a decade; he knows how to handle such a cumbersome vehicle with practised ease, getting it to pull off manoeuvres that others would find impossible. He's got plenty of experience behind the wheel of other types of road vehicles as well, should the need arise.
• Slugger – Grow up as part of an Irish-descended family with four older brothers and you learn to handle yourself from an early age. This is very true for Harry, especially given his previous career as a boxer who almost made the big leagues; he knows how to handle himself in a fight should the need arise, though mostly with his fists and a weapon or two. He does not have much firearms experience.
• Quick Reactions – Dodging traffic all day grants you grants you the ability to react to events faster than most; Harry's ten years on the job means that he is a quick thinker when problems present themselves, something that has saved his life several times since the outbreaks began.

Failings/Weaknesses:

• Smoker – Ferrying people to and fro across the city can be a pretty monotonous job; Harry has been smoking for a long time now, and it's starting to affect his health. It'll start to affect his mood, too, when his supply runs out.
• Lacking In Survival Experience – The extent of Harry's skills when it comes to living rough in the wilds stretch about as far as being able to pitch a tent and cook on a gas stove, and that's about it; he has very little experience surviving without the benefit of society.
• Heroic Type – Despite having to deal with some complete assholes on a daily basis pre-outbreak, Harry does actually quite like people. Perhaps a little too much; he's overly willing to risk himself to help another, a trait that could land himself and others in a spot of bother if he isn't careful.

Outward Personality: Stoic, but not unfriendly. Slow to anger and thoughtful. Remarkably good at listening and noticing things others might not.
Inward Personality: The loss of his wife a year ago is still affecting him, perhaps more than he realises; he has a slight suicidal tendency that manifests itself in his willingness to take unnecessary risks to aid others. Privately, he is still nervous about the group he finds himself amongst; he doesn't know what sort of people they might turn out to be if things keep going the way they are.
Relationships With Others: (Does your character have any relationships with the other survivors? Friendships, marriages, rivalries, enemies etc.?)

Key Items/Equipment:

• Fire Axe
• Bus, well stocked for fuel and supplies
• Private Cigarette Stash
• Custom-engraved Zippo Lighter, a gift from his late wife
• Maps of the surrounding regions

General History: Seattle born and raised, Harry was the fifth son of an Irish-American couple. A high school drop-out, he initially had hopes to become a professional boxer and was well on his way to achieving this goal when a knee injury put an end to his sporting career.

Around the time his sporting aspirations died, however, he met his wife Emily. Though several years her senior the pair married after two years of seeing each other, Harry taking a job as a bus driver to ensure he could fund the life they were building together.

For several years, things were good. Harry's job wasn't exactly great, but he had a happy marriage, a nice home and a good social life.

And then a year ago it all fell apart.

Emily was killed by a drunk driver, and Harry's life was thrown into disarray. He barely managed to keep his job and had almost managed to pick up the pieces of his shattered life when the first outbreaks began.
Meeting the Group: Working on the day the outbreaks overran Seattle, Harry realised the way things were headed and managed to help get many of the survivors out of the city aboard his bus, leading a small group out of the city.[/size]

 

[Copper]

Interested! :) Post char sheet tomorrow.
I was going to do a similar idea to this but it seems you've beaten me to it >:]

 

[LadyHarpy]

Hmm...I know that I probably will scare myself shitless while playing this game, the temptation is just too much to ignore >.>

I shall work on a character sheet tonight when I have the time~

 

[LadyHarpy]

Name:Gail Walker
Age:28
Gender:Female
Occupation: Butcher

Strengths/Skills:

• The Butcher - Since Gail was little, she has always been taught on how to do things the hard way, no boxed cake mixes or instant biscuits in a can for her. She can dispatch whole animals without flinching and is handy when it comes to working on fish. Also, she knows her way around wild game, having plenty of customers who are hunters as well, plenty of them also family as well.
• Out Door Chef - With an occupation that revolves around the dispatching of all kinds of animals and a family that hunts, Gail knows how to cook them up over a nice camp fire. After all, what's a hunting trip without a nice fire roasted fish? Along with starting up the flames she knows how to use them to get people's bellies full of food.
• Jack Rabbit - Being a thin twig of a girl, Gail can move pretty fast once she gets going. More than once her quick feet have saved her from joining the herds of the undead, allowing her to live and survive another day.

Failings/Weaknesses:

• A Twig - With a body that is ofter compared to a light pole with a butt and boobs, Gail lacks any serious muscle. This means that even though she can gut and cut a large deer, she can't exactly lift it up when it's completely whole. Along with not being much of a lifter, she isn't much of a fighter either, not all that familiar with combat of any kind.
• Light Sleeper - Gail does not sleep easily, it takes a lot to knock her out and even then she'll be easily woken up by the smallest of sounds. When her condition is at its worst she may stay up days at a time, which at that point her skills start to falter and she can easily make mistakes when working.
• Overemotional - Usually calm and peaceful, recent events have made Gail a lot more emotional. Her mood can be flipped from happy to sad over simple things and failure to do a task properly can bring her to tears. Her emotional stability is like an egg shell and can break at the smallest of taps, even when she does all she can to fight the sudden swings in her mood

Outward Personality: Kind and thoughtful, She is empathetic with all the survivors in the group and often tried to bring an optimistic outlook on the situation.
Inward Personality: In one word, terrified. Gail has lost most if not all of her life with the outbreak and she fears that she'll be next. Her mind also fears what will happen in the next days, if she'll be abandoned by the group or if they will start attacking each other and things get harder.
Relationships With Others: (None as of yet.)

Key Items/Equipment:

• Knife Set, including sharpening tools
• Large Cast Iron Skillet
• Bottle of Sleeping Pills (Half full)
• Spare Clothing
• Small First Aid Kit
• Cell Phone

General History: As the daughter of a home maker and a skilled butcher, Gail has been in Seattle since the day her mother popped her out. She graduated high school but stopped there, wanting to follow her father into the butcher business to keep the dieing art alive.

Working there since she turned eighteen, she had intended to take on her fathers work and continue on the shop, her parents moving down to Florida two years before the hoards started to form. In that time she expanded the business and opened up a second shop, running the shop with the help of her father at a distance. She also began looking into relationships but nothing ever lasted very long.

Around the time of the outbreaks she had just gotten out of a relationship and had been planning to open a third shop.
Meeting the Group: Having been at home on the day the city was overrun, she instantly packed her bags and bolted out the door, not even bothering to lock her apartment door. While running through the havoc filled street she stumbled upon a bus with survivors heading out of town. The doors had barely opened before she squeezed her way on, panting roughly as she collapsed on the floor of the bus.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Glad to have you guys involved.

Character looks great, Harpy; happily approved.

 

[EquinoxSol]

Name: Karola Tunde
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Occupation: Musician

Appearance:
Strengths/Skills:
The Analysist- Focusing on what people say, she is very good at telling if someone is lying or not. This has proved helpful in finding her way through life, and she surrounds herself with people who do not lie to her constantly, knowing that no one can not lie.
The Swordswoman- A 4-dan in Kendo, she is very proficient in the art, but does not like participating in competitions. Her status has often gained her a sort of "leader" status among social groups, people looking up to her for insight.
The Bard- A virtuoso, Karola loves preforming, making people feel good when they listen to her. She has used this skill to make others feel better, give them a better look on life through her lyrics and soft voice. She can tell when someone needs a moral boost, and is always there to help.
Failings/Weaknesses:
The Mover- Never seeming to be able to stop moving, Karola constantly is found jiggling her leg, nodding her head, doing anything to keep moving. Some attribute this and her chewed down nails to anxiety, but she just likes to keep moving, to know that she can get up at a moment's notice. This can become quite a nuisance, as she can randomly, or during solemn times, begin tapping her fingers against a surface, or start pacing.
The Liar- A compulsive liar, Karola often spins false histories, that sound completely believable to the untrained person. Using this to get what she needs, she has kept herself alive.
The Vegan- Refusing to eat any sort of animal by-product, Karola will say no to any sort of offer that includes these, going the extra mile to get something she can eat, or go hungry. Because of this, she normally keeps a small supply of tofu and protein bars in case there is nothing else available.
Outward Personality: Defiant, unreasonable, and slightly ready to jump in and break up a fight
Inward Personality: Scared, restless, and loving, she quickly grows close to people, and gets hurt the worst when they die or leave her.
Relationships With Others: ((Message me if you want to discuss this ^__^'))

Key Items/Equipment:

*Wakizashi, given to her by her instructor upon becoming a 1-dan in Kendo ((A small katana)) Used by samurai to commit suicide should their honor be broken
*iPod, at least until the battery runs out
*Acoustic guitar, the one thing she would never give up

General History: Lead singer of a band, she went solo, due to personal reasons. Karola never knew her father, living with her single mother all he life. She became a compulsive liar, creating false histories for herself. Finding solace in music, she pursued this passion, hoping to give others insight and help through the medium. When she was nine, she convinced her mother to sign her up for Kendo. She was the worst of her class, but was determined to become the best, becoming 1-dan (similar to black belt) before the others. This pattern of never giving up has been seen throughout her life. All through school she would beg the teachers anything for a one-up from the other students, anything to give her an edge. The one thing she did quit was Julliard, leaving to find her own way in life.
Meeting the Group: Gaining a following in New York's indie scene, she decided to move on to other states. However, she decided instead of going state to state, she would just go whereever the road would take her, ending up in Seattle. There, the outbreak started, and she, with nothing but a small suitcase and guitar strapped to her back, dashed through the streets, finding a bus and getting on at the last second.

((Hope this is fine, tell me if it isn't~!))

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Hey, Equinox. Glad to have you in the game.

Just a couple things about Karola. First, could you remove the stuff in brackets from the original character sheet? Just so it's a little easier to find the actual material on your character. You also don't need to list everything your character possesses in the sheet; just the important items of practical and sentimental value, things that will come up a lot in-game.

The idea of a musician character is a concept I like; Seattle has an excellent history in terms of modern music, what with Grunge basically starting there and all. I do feel, however, that someone who is such a pacifist, to the point that she actively has problems fighting against the living dead, is not the sort of person who would actively seek training in martial arts such as Kendo. The two seem to clash more than a little.

I would also point out that being a Vegan is going to be extremely difficult post-outbreak, but this could prove to be a very interesting thing to explore in-game; Karola clearly has some serious moral issues with eating certain things, but as her supply runs out her dilemna of eating something she is opposed to could be a fascinating thing to roleplay.

Packing both a wakizashi and a katana seems a bit overmuch as well, particularly given the fact that she's also got a guitar to haul around as well. Katanas sure as hell aren't light, and guitars are bloody difficult to carry about in my experience; you may want to cut down on the amount Karola is bringing with her.

Other than that, looking good.

 

[EquinoxSol]

Will Do ^^ Thanks for the advice, haven't slept in a few days, so I'll fix, than get some sleep. Hopefully, my fixes will be sane ^_^

 

[Cassondrah]

Name: Chelsea Walker


Age: 24


Gender: Female


Occupation: DJ/Model

Strengths/Skills:
~ We;ve got a Climber ~ Chelsea is a great climber, she can climb trees very efficiently and perch without difficulty for hours on end.
~ Green Thumb~ ​She can also grow plants, vegetables, Herbs.
~ Tippy toes~ She is great at sneaking around, being quiet is one of her best qualities.

Failings/Weaknesses: Conflict and problem solving. She cant handle fights meaning any fights, and she isnt the brightest crayon in the box.


Outward Personality: She treats everyone equal until they upset her. She can be an emotional wreck, and in a funck for days. She loves attention and trys her hardest, mostly, for guys attention but for girls too. She wants to be wanted by all, doesnt matter if its lustful or not. Her father was never around when she was younger and her mother never really cared what she did. There fore needing attention and striving for it until shes fulfilled.

Inward Personality: Shes really a scared lonely girl. She wants to be liked but not in a sexual way. She wants people to like her for her and not because she throws her self at them.


Relationships With Others:
(?)


Key Items/Equipment: Her chapstick which she keeps in her right front pocket, a pocket knife that fits perfectly in her bra and a compact mirror which is kept in her back right pocket.


General History: She was born in San Francisco, California. Her father is Filipino American and her mother is Polish and Irish. Chelsea became an International Playboy Playmate when she was selected to be Playboy's miss December centerfold in Latin America.She has been featured in FHM, Performance Auto and Sound and Playboy; and has appeared on the front cover of FHM and Import Tuner.
Chelsea was a back up dancer and singer in the hit music video for the song "S&M" by Rihanna. The song gained much popularity when Virgin Records teamed up with Playboy to premiere the uncensored version of the music video, which features a topless dancer.
In late 2010, Chelsea began working as a professional DJ. She has played with Cory Twist and Lavender Sound.
She grew up knowing that all she wanted out of life was music and everything beautiful, that's what had always made her happy. Chelsea never once stopped to think that she couldnt have something since her father always gave her everything she wanted. Her mother was never really around and when that day came every few months they would go out, or stay in and get drunk together and end up not talking for a few more months. Her father when she was younger took advantage of her naive mind, and to make up for what he was feeling guilty for he would buy her anything she wanted. She never went with out until her father died, she had to learn how to take care of herself. She had to get a job so she went all over looking for modeling agencies and finally found her calling. It may not have been the perfect modeling job but it worked for her. She was always willing to show off her body to people an now she could do it through the most nationally known company. Playboy. She worked her ass off to get to be Decembers Centerfold and she was proud of herself but there was something missing she needed music in her life so she began going to clubs more to watch the DJ and then became friends with a lot of DJs. They taught her everything about DJing she knows.

Meeting the Group: She was on the side of the road, walking there had been nothing for miles and in the distance a shape appeared the sound was more comforting to her then she could have ever imagined a vehicle could be. The bus pulled up she hopped on.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Looks purty good so far, Cassie. Just a few pointers.

What you've got so far works nicely, I'd just love to see some more details; why did her MMA career end, and why can't she handle fights anymore? How did she get involved in the professional martial-arts world? What types of martial arts is she proficient in? That sort of thing. I feel that I should point out that most ex-MMA fighters, male or female, don't really get modelling jobs outside of sports-modelling. This is because they are buff as fuck, doing what they do, and so they aren't usually want conventional modelling agencies look for. You may want to address this in your backstory.

I'd recommend discussing with the other players what relationships you might have with them, but you're welcome to just play that out in-game. Also, you've not included the section where you explain how Chelsea met up with the rest of the group; could you throw that in?

But yesh, looks great so far. But details, girl, give us more.

 

[Moonlit Blade]

Name: Tony McKain.
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Occupation: College drop out. Worked at a bookstore.

Appearance: Tony stands at 5'7", is lanky, and looks like your average awkward nerd. He has slightly faded jeans, a pair of Converse, a T-shirt with art print on it, and a faded sweater he keeps unzipped. He's got black, messy hair he keeps out of his eyes and doesn't appear to have shaven in a few days. He always looks like he's tired, though always taps his foot. He is Caucasian, though has darker skin, as if he'd been out in the sun often, despite his preferred hobbies.
Strengths/Skills: Tony is a quick reader, having grown up with books his whole life. He can process written and spoken information quickly, but takes his time to evaluate it. He is also a very fast runner, growing up running from bullies and general assholes. In high school, he was wanted as a track member, but refused. Tony often thinks ahead, playing around with various scenarios in his head to make the best decision. He is mostly a thinker.
Failings/Weaknesses: Tony is physically weak. Horribly so. He's lanky and doesn't come off as threatening at all. He also tends to stutter when being put on the spot, and can get nervous when in the middle of action. As such, Tony is also a coward, though he claims it's his, "survival instinct". He knows he can be cowardly, and is ashamed of it, but he simply can't help himself. He can be nervous around women too, and often simply evades them. Many times, Tony drifts off in his own imagination, wishing that life were like one of the many video games or books he read. Tony is also nearsighted, and without his glasses, he can only make out distant shapes. He is wholly incapable of reading street signs without his glasses.

Outward Personality: Tony is outwardly awkward, usually biting his lip or tapping his foot. Among his friends, he was most known for saying, "U-uh, I guess..." and never really takes control. He avoids trouble at all costs, though that doesn't mean he would stand by and watch a friend die or fight alone. Outwardly, he tries to act happy.
Inward Personality: Tony truly desires to be brave, and help people out as much as he can. He often thinks in terms of video games and books, when making comparisons, and will occasionally say things like that out loud, though rarely. He feels depressed, the people he knew and love all dead and gone, but he tries to maintain an outwardly happy personality.
Relationships With Others: None. Tony only happened on the bus by chance, and never met anyone before.

Key Items/Equipment: Tony carries with him a heavy baseball bat, his "weapon of choice". He also has a pocket knife, a couple screw drivers (mostly to maintain his glasses), some cheap zippo lighters, granola bars, crackers, a flashlight, extra batteries of varying types, a PSP (in a case with a few games), an iPod, a knight chess piece, and a semi-automatic pistol, with just less than half a magazine. The pistol was his dad's, which he kept in his office desk. The knight piece was hand-made by his now-dead girlfriend.

General History: Before the outbreak, Tony lived a boring life. He didn't make it in college, due to his lack of effort. He never knew what he truly wanted to do, and so he was simply content with playing video games, reading, working at the bookstore, and hanging out with friends. His parents rode him on going to college and moving out and such, but Tony only shrugged and did what he did. Eventually, his parents kicked him out and he moved in with his girlfriend, who lived in the apartments near his parent's house.
Meeting the Group: Tony had simply been running, avoiding the zombies, and saw the bus moving. He waved at them, trying to get them to stop, and luckily, the bus did.

 

[Astaroth]

Name: Kit Coffey
Age: 13
Gender: Female
Occupation: Middle school student

Appearance: A scrawny beanpole with freckles and a boy's frame. Her hair is short and unkempt when she's left to her own devices, and she prefers jeans and t-shirts that are any color but pink or other pastels. Her fingernails are chipped and ragged from chewing.

Strengths/Skills:

• Whiz Kid - She's a veritable child prodigy with a brilliant mind. She's sharp as a tack when it comes to problem-solving, attention to detail, and three-dimensional thinking. Creative brainstorming in particular is her forte, as well as being able to rattle off anything she's read as if it were five minutes ago.
• Cool Under Pressure - She has the ability to focus on a task enough to complete it despite outside influences, and can keep a level head when passions are high.
• Youthfully Spry - Injuries don't keep her down and out of the count as long as they would for adults, and she's quicker. She can also squeeze through tight spaces that would be impossible for anyone larger.

Failings/Weaknesses:

• Tactless - She has difficulty with social graces, and can be honest to the point of rudeness. Logic takes precedence over emotion in her eyes. Arguing with her is like running into a brick wall.
• Peter Pan Syndrome - She is extremely resistant to the idea of growing up, particularly having to confront her femininity and identity as a person, and reacts violently to being told to "act her age" or "behave like a proper lady". She's also hitting puberty, dealing with the onset of teenage hormones, and sometime soon she's going to start having "that time of the month".
• Idiosyncrasy - She's extremely sensitive to sensory discrepancies, and will refuse to do things any way but the way she's used to doing them. It can be as extreme as refusing to eat something that tastes "wrong", or redoing an action that has been performed "incorrectly". It's compulsive; she can't help it.

Outward Personality: She comes off as a geeky, tomboyish, know-it-all kid. Adults usually love or hate her, because she speaks very articulately and maturely on complex subjects, but will not hesitate to point out grammatical errors in conversation. Kids her age generally find her insufferable. Her dedication to tasks and loyalty to those who give her affection, though, is rather endearing. Her appearance and behavior both are steadfastly androgynous.

Inward Personality: She finds other people confusing and social interaction frustrating. She especially has difficulty relating to other girls, because she shares none of the typical interests of her female peers, being more drawn to traditionally male activities such as baseball, historical weaponry, tinkering with electronics, and roughing it in the woods. Dolls and makeup and dresses terrify and disgust her, as does the idea of having to kiss or be intimate with a boy. She becomes focused to the point of ignoring her surroundings and doesn't typically find difficulty keeping calm, but has a few hot button triggers that cause her to blow up in a tantrum. Prolonged social interaction is taxing for her, and she can get irritable after a certain point. She is extremely uncomfortable with her own body, and doesn't like revealing clothing or to be seen in any state of undress even around other females. Although she doesn't make friends easily and isn't an extrovert, she also feels very lonely and values the people who care for her greatly.

Relationships With Others: (I'd actually be really stoked to have her be related even tangentially to someone, so anyone let me know if you'd be interested.)

Key Items/Equipment:

• Aluminum baseball bat with conspicuous stains on the tip.
• iPad, complete with car charger.
• Faded blue denim backpack.
• Canteen full of apple juice.
• Swiss army knife.

General History: Her childhood was very normal, even idyllic. Born to accountant parents in a quiet Seattle neighborhood complete with local park, she never wanted for material needs. Her parents were proud of her accomplishments but uncertain of how to handle her eccentricities, and her mother actively sought to deter her boyishness. She was sent to a "gifted" school, where she flourished academically but not socially, and as she entered middle school her grades began to swiftly decline despite having no difficulty grasping the material; she simply didn't complete her assignments.

This was about the same time that her mother handed her father divorce papers, packed up a suitcase, and left. Kit hasn't heard from her since. Her father, overburdened with work and the issues of his wrecked home life, sent her to stay with relatives, and it was when she was with those relatives that the world went spiraling out of control.

Meeting the Group: She was on the bus when Harry peeled out of town with his group of survivors.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Everyone's looking good so far. Glad to have you all in the game.

Could do with a few more dudes for characters, though, methinks; any takers?

 

[Effort]

I'm in the process of making a character, Grumps. Might have it up today.

 

[Iliana]

....I'll be a d00d....

>>

<<

Name: Drew Been

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Occupation: Usher for a movie theater.
Strengths/Skills:

-One, Two...: A natural mathematician. He's good with numbers so far to the point that if he can see something, he can put it into numbers. He's that kid that can count the beans in the jar by looking at them and get damn near close to the accurate number. Comes in handy when trying to portion things.

-Pyromaniac: He loves explosions. All kinds. He is your natural dynamite expert with the kind of attitude that is usually found in risk takers. He may not know it will blow up at a designated time or distance, but why not try it the hell out? If there are two wires, he'll make sparks. Sparks start things and things that start can blow up as well. It can be something simple from trailing intricate lines of gasoline to make a beautiful fire show, or rigging a building.

-We Got This: Drew is the supposed comic relief in a bad problem. He explodes optimism, but not in that childish boy type way. He is the couch that well call you dirty and weak and a coward only to get you to try the drill again. He rarely takes no for an answer and dives head first into situations just to get the upper hand in it. If anyone is down, he's a shoulder slugger and some corny, stupid ass one liner that will ultimately piss everyone off, but its much needed, eh?

Failings/Weaknesses:

-In Denial: He never looks at everything as a whole. He can never see the bigger picture so he will formulate a bigger picture in his head. He does not like believing 'the worst has yet to come' and definitely does not enjoy apologizing for anything, even if he was the one in the wrong. It's a pride kind of thing.

-Watch Out for That Gravity: He fails at standing straight. Gravity kicks him in the ass so many times its ridiculous. He is clumsy, tripping over thin air if its there. Running is not his forte for he would trip down a cliff if it came to it. He just can't seem to grip on the foot-to-ground-ratio everyone else has. He's what you would cal an "Kiss the Ground" boy.

Outward Personality: "Don't worry, guys! Those bastards won't know what the fuck hit them!" Always outwardly positive and ready to get the show on the road. Drew comes off as being laid back and ready for anything, confident enough to know that he and everyone else are going to come out victorious. He will go so far as to make up makeshift facts about how they can not possibly be killed. All in good spirit.

Inward Personality: Scared shitless. He's 19 and his life has not even kicked off yet. Working at the movies, he's seen a lot of films about these certain types of situations, and he never thought he'd be in one himself. He is a panicker in the inside, latching onto the first idea in his head and blurting it out without even thinking clearly on it. Drew doesn't want everyone to know he's really a soft piece of tissue in the inside, so he bonds as one of the bro's outwardly, showing everyone he has the nuts to do this.

Relationships With Others: Not yet, I presume.

Key Items/Equipment:

*Pair of shades.
*A wristwatch that runs on Solar Energy.
*An extra T-shirt tucked into the back of his pants.
*Bag of Trail Mix.
*Dog Tag with a key to his house attached to it.
*A wad of one's (about 12) shoved away in his sock.
*Brass Knuckles found at the back of the theater.

General History: His life was pretty much the life of the average teen. He went to all levels of school, eventually graduating a year and a half ago. Since his lack of stability kept him from doing anything athletic, Drew decided to pursue something more on the lines of being a teacher. His friends, the neighborhood jocks, did not agree with him on that area of expertise. To them, Drew was one of the bros. He had the look, the attitude, and did not look to appear like some smart ass math whiz. He was chill and relaxed all the time so they figured he should get a steady hourly paying job,

Drew, of course, disagreed. It'd be dumb to waste his 'good talents' on being something stupid like a burger flipper or any other part time occupation. Unfortunately for him, his stamina and optimism didn't keep his parents from getting that divorce and tearing the family apart. It was some family: mother father, and drew. Drew had no siblings and no close friends to tag along with. He wanted what any other son wanted, to be noticed by his father. And he was: noticed as a complete waste of air and space. Drew stooped lower than low, doing everything he could to please his dad, even dropping his dream of going to the bigger college across town because of what a 'pinch' it would give to his dad's pocket.

He settled with working at the theater. And for what? For them to get that divorce regardless? Leaving him with his mother and with a burning hatred of all people who represent the perfect big brother or father. Drew was broken with nothing to show for his math skills but counting popcorn on the floor.

Meeting the Group: He attempted to chase it down when he ran from a mindless idiot on the side of the road. Half successful in his attempts, he stumbled most of the time, but it eventually came to a stop to pick someone else on. Let's just say, he got lucky.

 

[Effort]

Name: Dave Holsten
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Occupation: Part-time repair man/Student

Appearance:

Strengths/Skills:
Free Roam Athlete- He is very well practiced in parkour and climbing, skills that have saved him from many close calls; he's always looking around for the best way out of any given area.

Tinker Mind- Ever since Dave could comprehend that not everything operated by magic he has been responsible for fixing everything around the house like TVs, cars, radios, air-conditioners, toys, refrigerators, all kinds of things. He became interested in how things worked and could probably throw something together to function as well as a professionally built appliance.

Rough Streets- Dave grew up in a bad neighborhood, so he's accustomed to running for his life or fighting for his life and has scars to prove that he has done so. He doesn't intimidate easily or buckle under pressure, he has learned to pick up details about his environment or people around him that occasionally allows him to act preemptively or be ready to react.

Failings/Weaknesses:
Family Man- Family is very important to Dave. As the oldest of the kids and with both parents working long hours he was like a third parent to the kids as well as a big brother. This has left a strong impression on him to the point where he has a difficult time when it comes to dealing with zombie children. If left to brooding over his family, Dave will spiral into a deep depression.

Big Brother- Dave will tend to respond critically when someone is going about doing things not necessarily good for them, he means all the good in the world but goes about it the wrong way. When comfortable amongst a group of people he will regard any stranger approaching with prejudice, automatically intimidating the stranger to deter any hostile action.

Cabin Fever- Dave cannot and will not stay in a building or small space for long, he needs to feel like he has enough room to run and stretch and all kinds of things. The longest time he'll be in one enclosed space is when he's sleeping. If there are droves of zombies outside he may wait a little longer to go out.

My Own Man- From having the responsibility of taking care of his family, Dave is adamant about being his own person and doing things that he wants to do.

Outward Personality: Calm, patient, quiet, serious, mean. Due to his time being spent mostly with kids he hasn't had much social interaction with people his own age until just recently, and then zombies showed up. Until he feels comfortable he will keep mostly to himself but put himself amongst people anyway as an attempt to be social. Also, because of his scraggly appearance and serious looking face people tend to see him as a cold person, being able to shrug off most any insult directed at him only supports that image.

Inward Personality: Inquisitive, attentive, patient, caring, playful. In actuality Dave is a sensitive man, most vulnerable to the people he feels close to and is willing to do or sacrifice just about anything for the greater good of everyone.Dave loves activities that occupy his mind and make him think as well as exploring the outdoors or abandoned buildings. Being able to go into buildings once restricted to him is something intriguing to him, he's curious to see how nature will flourish with less environmental activity from humans and feels a sort of childlike glee when he considers the fact he won't get in trouble for climbing.

Relationships With Others: (Currently NA)

Key Items/Equipment:
Fifteen speed bike, long metal pipe, backpack containing binoculars, a map, magnifying glas, snacks, a bouncy ball, a small photo album, and a couple of tools.

General History:
Dave didn't grow up in Seattle, he grew up in the ghetto of a lesser known city not far away and managed to get a scholarship to a school in the bigger city. His father was a former criminal and his mom became pregnant in high school. Once his father found out that she was pregnant, he decided to turn his life around for the sake of his child.

Meeting the Group: When the outbreak began Dave was amongst some of his school friends. Everyone freaked out and when no one listened to his plan, a couple of them got killed. Deciding he didn't want to deal with any more conflicting personalities he went to his apartment, packed up some things, and headed out on his own. Soon he realized he really was going to need a group to not only survive physically but emotionally as well. Fortunately he happened upon Harry and his bus. He affixed his bike to the bike rack and hopped in. Hopefully this group would be more level headed.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Welcome to the game Ili and Effort. Them characters is good.

Right, I'd say that's a decent-sized cast to be getting along with for now. The IC will be up soon (probably the next day or so). If you were thinking of joining I'll take another two characters but I'm afraid after that applications are going to be closed. First come, first served and all that.

So yeah, if you were thinking of joining get your ass in here.

 

[Jack Shade]

Name: Jack Vittore
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Occupation: Medical Examiner

Appearance:

Strengths/Skills: In the industry you might say he was a whiz at identifying dead bodies, a natural. Never had much luck with living patients, but dead ones told him stories their living counterparts might never have. Although he has enough medical experience to pass as a doctor, as a Coroner and Medical Examiner, his work was unparalleled in the tristate area. Besides being handy at identifying bodies, he shows a certain disconnection from firing a handgun, the weapon besides a scalpel he seems skilled in using. The last skill that seems to have worked so well for him is his charismatic and charming demeanor. Always smiling and helpful in public, he never seemed to get angry or sad, always upbeat and chipper
Failings/Weaknesses:
Morbid Fasination: Never let your work follow you home, well, after the crazy started, work did just that. Since then, Jack has a morbid fascination with the Walking dead. He's slower to retreat, to fire, to react to them that doesn't involve documenting or observing. He's even like to leave some walking if no one's watching. He finds them fascinating from a psychological standpoint, can't seem to get enough.
Sociopathic Tendencies: Jack has problems making connections. Emotional ones. Not that he's incapable, but he has a difficult time playing sides between people. He's naturally manipulative and self centered, a little cold and uncaring in all the wrong situations. It isn't murderous, but a personal failing might be that he'd let the someone fall behind, may even orchestrate it for the 'greater good'. Depending on who's greater good…well, it's probably his.
Nictophobic: Darkness, it's everywhere, it has teeth, and it's a whole lot scarier than a couple of corpses. Jack can't sleep in pitch blackness, freaks out in pitch blackness. Without constant reassurance, he will go into a panic attack when faced with his adversary…a loud one.


Outward Personality: Charismatic, Charming, Open, Likeable, easygoing. Jack seems like the perfect guy to get along with. He seems understanding and hardworking, completely serving the group and happy to serve in any way he can. Sometimes he comes off as too happy, or innapropriately upbeat at the wrong times, but it hasn't become an issue yet…at least to his knowledge.
Inward Personality: Cold. The best way to describe Jack inside is cold and lonely. He doesn't connect well to people, not emotionally anyways. He has a difficult time helping empathizing, although he can put on a pretty good act. Inside he's alone, cornered, and afraid…but has no way of expressing it than through his morbid fascination with the cold indifference of the dead.
Relationships With Others: WIP

Key Items/Equipment: Lighter-back up fuel cannisters almost always on him…for dark situations.
Glock handgun (2 clips, 5 rounds in the gun)
Medical bag (All your basic essentials)
Odds and ends bag (what he could grab from his house and the morgue)
A Black Briefcase (unopened, keeps it with him, he knows the only combination)
Suitcase (Full of clothes, mostly nice shirts and suits…he says looted)

General History:Born the first child of a blueblood family, Jack was raised to be great…or to die trying. Jack tried to be a real doctor, really did. His patients kept dying on him, and after the third he was 'kindly' asked to retire. That was in San Francisco. There was a man from Seattle that said he could get him a job as a medical examiner, no past deaths coming to haunt him, no police giving him the stink eye or asking uncomfortable questions, nothing. Just a job with a few extra perks for someone who knew their way around a body. Jack found the money and job too good to pass up. The 'Job' took him through a few states and he met a woman near Tacoma. She was in a marriage with a kid, but something about her attracted Jack. He manipulated her, made her fall in love with him, then used her husband's killing of some kid to convince her to file for divorce and move to Seattle with him. A living trophy of his manipulative prowess. Needless to say, they didn't make it during the outbreak. Now he's surviving, but only just. He has no links, no real friends, no emotional ties, and yet he cannot seem to get along without people…and people he has found.

Meeting the Group: They hit him, with a bus. Well, to be more accurate, he hit them. Out of Seattle when shit hit the fan, his car wasn't going to make it. Two flats and no gas and a bus was heading out the straight away. He turned the car just-so, getting hit and spinning around in front. Took them a moment to back up and dislodge and when he showed them the medical bag, they pulled him on and helped treat his injures from the crash. Driver may have his suspicions, but no one had a medic on board, and so Jack travels. And as the group swells, so does Jack's comfort. More people means more people to talk to, to challenge. He likes the idea of challenges, especially these days.

 

[Jumi]

Name: Kelly Price
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Occupation: Convicted Murderer.

Appearance:

Strengths/Skills:
Deadly Hand: Kelly didn't survive the time he spent in incarceration by simply abiding by the rules. He learned how to defend himself, and kill those that attack with him with a various variety of mundane items ranging from pencils, paperclips, soap dispensers, and other various things. No one leaves prison with cleans hands.

Glutton for punishment: The lifestyle, Kelly has lived as done wonders for his ability to take a hit, and keep on getting up. The truth of the matter stems from his child hood, where his father would beat him, and his sister at any given moment during his constant benders. His sense of pain, and touch is muted in a sense from the sensory overload he's experienced over his light.

Ink to canvas: Kelly's always been a naturally gifted drawer, and acting on the knowledge he became a tattooist though he never gave up drawing. He can flawlessly copy a design from sight, and create a mirror copy.

Dedicated father: If there ever was one thing that seperated Kelly from someone else... it was his desire to protect, and provide for his daughter. With her death now on his mind, he's bound to become very protective of children, and try to protect them from harm.

Failings/Weaknesses:
Alcoholic: Kelly's life as been marred with a need to drink in order to retreat from the stress of life. Especially in prison where he got it smuggled in, or made it himself from whatever he could find. He get's aggressive when he goes for prolonged periods of time without a drink as it represses old memories, and he starts to visualize them over, and over when he's sober for a time.

Addiction: The use of marijuana helps Kelly sleep, and without it he's prone to fits of insomnia. It's gotten progressively worse as he's been clean for a few years, and any chance to score a hit is cause enough for risk.

Fearless: Having seen some of the worst humanity has to offer, the sick, dark, and twisted things of life have started to cease phasing him. He'll go to extreme lengths at the drop of a hat without any regard to his personal saftey, and often times puts himself in precarious situations.

Outward Personality: Point blank, verbal, crude, and impulsive. Kelly does what he wants to do, and doesn't go out of his way to explain the reasons unless is serves a greater purpose. His time in incarceration has left him with a stained ability to talk, and deal with the rest of society as he believes them to look at him as a criminal and nothing more. He however doesn't go out of his way to cause tension, or danger to those around him.
Inward Personality: Warm, caring, and deeply sorrowful. Kelly blames himself for the situation the death of his daughter, and his ex-wife. He wants to atone for his life of stupid choices, and make right by them, but doesn't quite know how to deal with being free again. The comforts of prison were the schedules one followed, and the fact that no matter what they wanted at the end of the day, they would only have the opportunity to wake up, and life another day... if they were lucky.
Relationships With Others: None as of yet.

Key Items/Equipment:

A claw hammer
An old saw
A bloody metal file
Length of blood covered white cotton with flower designs
A length of small rope with his ex-wife's wedding ring tied to it
A matching Men's wedding band
A backpack with a pound of marijuana, and a half filled bottle of whiskey

General History: Born in Tacoma, Kelly, and his sister moved to Seattle with their parents when their father followed a railroad foreman job. Their mother was a housemaker, while they attended school, and their father became an ever increasing alcoholic after losing his position on the tracks after an altercation over illegal shipments. His sister died during her middle school days to a form of rare bone cancer, while his mother eventually drifted into insanity over the ordeal... eventually being locked up in an asylum until the grief overtook her, and she died to complications due to stress.

After graduation, Kelly moved out, and began working as a tattooist at a local shop, where he met his would be wife, Aila, and after dating for three years, they married. Their daughter Rosalyn was born on his 30th birthday, only two years after they'd married. Events then transpired that would shatter their lives. During one summer night, a burgler broke into their house, and during the ensuing scuffle, Kelly killed him with a bowling ball. He then realized the man he'd fought wasn't much older than eighteen.

Once the news caught wind of it, Kelly found himself being tried for murder against the deceased youth. He was convicted, and sentenced to a ten year sentence. During the five years in prison, his wife divorced and moved on with her life, taking their daughter with her, getting a court order to relinquish all of Kelly's rights to their daughter. She had been seeing someone else during their marriage, and used the opportunity to leave.

Meeting the Group: He was found among the streets after apparently killing a few zombies that had attacked him.