“I watched her go… saw the way her plump, ruby lips just stopped forming words – her eyes, how they went white, I saw – saw… oh my God, I just sat there and watched her die… and I couldn’t do a thing about it. Couldn’t do anything… Mama… I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, I…

I walked out into the street after she went. Put a blanket over her, left her next to Dad and John. The street was so quiet. The streetlights didn’t come on no more. It was so dark. There were so many stars. I was so cold, and I just… I just sat there, in the middle of the road beside the red car that finally stopped smoking and the pale corpse of an older man I never saw before. And, to be honest? I cried. Just fucking wept. I didn’t know what else there was to do, I mean, everyone was gone. Just like that, everyone I loved, gone, and I… I didn’t even get what it meant, it didn’t fully sink in for a long time. I couldn’t even wrap my head around the fact that everyone was gone. Everyone.

And suddenly I was alone in the world.”





It was late October, 2013. There were traces of the first snowfall coating the brown crispiness of dying grass preparing to wilt away for the wintry long-run. Minor news reports of a resilient superbug originating in Sri Lanka battled for media attention against the Duchess of Edinburgh’s public homosexual announcement and the singer-songwriter conjoined twins that became an instant viral sensation. Conflicts between China and Kazakhstan persisted. The discovery of a mysterious satellite suddenly orbiting Pluto sent the science world into a frenzy, and fast food superpowers McDonalds and KFC officially declared they would be merging.

No one even knew what was coming.

It’s all just second-hand speculation at this point. It supposedly started deep in South America, somehow wormed its way up into the North American stretches, engulfing cities with it as it went. In under a week the southernmost reaches of the United States had succumbed to the viral outbreak that seemed relentless – a hyperactive phantom, moving at alarming rates, unwilling to be tracked or predictable. The virus was first supposedly waterborne only to be theorized as carried by mosquito’s days later until it was settled upon being an airborne virus. No one really knew or could confidently say what it was.

Midway through that November, human contact from Mexico downward was a thing of the past. The lower half of the USA had fared only a fraction better, but it was speculated the death toll was in the high millions. Canada was a bastion of hope for survivors who were spared from the chokehold of the rapidly-spreading virus. Some said the oncoming cold weather halted the spread of the virus as reports of the infection dwindled to very rare cases. Others said the ones who never contracted it were immune. And, still, there were the few that doubted it was ever meant to leave anyone alive.

It is now April, 2014. The snow has almost all melted; and with the heavy amounts of rain, it’s leaving puddles on the freeways and roads where traffic remained has immobile for the past six months. Most buildings haven’t been stepped in since. If there still is any government officials left standing, they had abandoned their power long ago. Whatever law enforcement or army once existed has stopped breathing with the many frozen bodies now beginning to thaw and rot in the streets. There’s no one left to tell us what to do.
There’s just us. And there’s still me.

This was once my city, and it will be again. Starting with this,

Me. Us. Our redux.





We haven’t seen another case of the virus since… since November, really. There are no telltale signs an individual is infected. There’s no warning cough, no fever or vomiting leading up to it. Hell, the person could appear perfectly healthy and happy like they never even knew they were carrying the infection seconds before their face goes slack, their eyes roll up into their head, their last breath seeps out from their gaping mouth, and they stop. That’s it. They just stop – their lungs stop, their heart stops… they just die.

The first few days there were so many bodies. Every hour, more and more. You never knew who was going to be next – you watched your family and friends die in front of you, praying the entire time you weren’t next until that moment came when you realized you were the last and you couldn’t help but have wished you were the very first to go.

From what I’ve seen, trying to treat it is futile. The infected individual will perish in seconds. We didn’t have time to prepare for it, let alone look for symptoms. Believe me, I’ve tried. Preventing it might still be possible, I just don’t know where to look yet, what to try, you know? We don’t even have working technology or access to basic medical supplies to conduct tests. Hell, we don’t have a recent victim either, but I sure as shit don’t want to wait for that.

We keep telling ourselves it’s been two months since anyone has died from it and we should be thankful for that – optimistic, and appreciative. Maybe it’s gone, you know? Maybe I don’t have to worry so much about trying to, I don’t know, trying to cure this, or something. But maybe it’ll also mutate into a new strain and wipe the rest of us out. Maybe it’s nothing we can even explain with modern science and medicine.

I don’t know. I just don’t know anymore. I’m not even a real doctor.





Two more people arrived yesterday. They said they heard the radio message we’ve been broadcasting, so we know that’s finally working. In total we’re up to thirty-two residents. There used to be twelve million people in this city.

Thirty-two in six months. Huh.

Yesterday we finished the rooftop garden at East building and we’re starting on West building tomorrow. One of the people who got here yesterday said he used to live on a farm and could help out with it. Annette should be happy about that. She’s got that whole thing where everyone’s important and can lend a hand. Sure. Okay.

We also got a team starting on the balcony gardens. We’re tearing down the dividers on every floor’s balcony and laying out pots and bins to grow stuff in. We also got this older couple who started a cockroach farm. Can’t say I’m in love with that idea, but protein’s protein. Until we catch those rabbits we’ve seen around here anyway, it’ll do.

Our food stocks are getting lower now that we’ve got a lot more people. We’ve raided the supermarket and convenient stores in the area, but that’s it. No one wants to venture out into the rest of the city and see all them dead people. I don’t blame them. It’s depressing. Someone will have to eventually.





And now a long, drawn-out message from me!



And that’s all for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

A post-apocalyptic survival role play that doesn't focus exclusively on gunfights between rugged, grizzled, hardass veterans and their swooning model girlfriends? How controversial.

You play a dangerous game. I'm interested.

A post-apocalyptic survival role play that doesn't focus exclusively on gunfights between rugged, grizzled, hardass veterans and their swooning model girlfriends? How controversial.

You play a dangerous game. I'm interested.

What can I say? I'm a rule-breaking rebel like that.

That's one person interested. Now to just (extremely impatiently) await other responses.

@Palindromatic

What with the compelling manner in which the original post was worded, I'm sure they'll come flocking in droves once they spot it. (I'm being sincere; that was a thoroughly entertaining read.)

I'll have to say I'm also pretty interested, and my friend Ink might also be as well. He ain't sure yet. How much of the population has survived the apocalypse? 2%? 1%? How much progress has been made on The Towers to turn it into a liveable place? Do we have power and shit? Decent living quarters?

Oh, and nice to meet you two. I'm thinking of making a gentle guy in his mid twenties who used to be a preschool teacher. AVERAGE.

I believe Beo has convinced me. I'll tentatively throw in my interest.

Also interested here, will keep an eye on this.

Interest.

A post-apocalyptic survival role play that doesn't focus exclusively on gunfights between rugged, grizzled, hardass veterans and their swooning model girlfriends? How controversial.

You play a dangerous game. I'm interested.

You forgot "katana-wielding teenage badasses".

But yeah, could be nice. Haven't seen a survival horror worth my spit in ages.

Can’t exploring abandoned malls, detailing the memories of strangers left behind, foraging for desperately-needed supplies, building alternative tools and methods for survival and interaction between complete strangers brought together be just as fun?

Yes, this is exactly what I've been fishing for an apocalypse role play and it's taking me ages to look for one.

You have my interest.

Since there's suddenly so much interest, would you all like for me to post the CS skeleton now? That way you all have something to work on while I create the OOC?

@Palindromatic

What with the compelling manner in which the original post was worded, I'm sure they'll come flocking in droves once they spot it. (I'm being sincere; that was a thoroughly entertaining read.)

Well thanks, Cleric! I'm glad it came off as entertaining.

Also, I go to sleep and wake up to find more interest than I expected... how did you know? Are you magic?

I'll have to say I'm also pretty interested, and my friend Ink might also be as well. He ain't sure yet. How much of the population has survived the apocalypse? 2%? 1%? How much progress has been made on The Towers to turn it into a liveable place? Do we have power and shit? Decent living quarters?

Oh, and nice to meet you two. I'm thinking of making a gentle guy in his mid twenties who used to be a preschool teacher. AVERAGE.

A mild-mannered middle-aged preschool teacher? My, that's so average! I feel understood!

Glad to see you're interested, and recruiting friends! To answer your questions:
1) Roughly 1% of the population survived - definitely for the region we'll be playing in, leaving it at about 120 000 surviving humans from the city alone;
2) The Towers have been running for three months, so I'd say enough progress to make them worth living in. Because mostly everyone died spontaneously, the majority of the condo's units weren't too unlivable. Just had to toss the bodies outside. Add the rooftop garden(s), rainwater-collecting systems and campfire sing-along nights, and I think they're doing okay. I didn't want to have them too established before the RP; I kind of wanted all of us to build the rest;
3) No power yet. Generators are something we'll aim for, but as of now, people have to actually take the stairs. It's good for them calves, though.

<Snipped quote by clericbeast>

You forgot "katana-wielding teenage badasses".

But yeah, could be nice. Haven't seen a survival horror worth my spit in ages.

"This is my character, her name is Michonne - I mean, Michelle. She has a katana and is really strong and kills really good and is a lone wolf. Oh, and she's thirteen." Yes. Weren't we all when we were thirteen.

Good to see you're interested! Although, please, save your saliva. That's a lot of pressure you're putting on me here to create something worth sharing it.

To be fair, the katana-wielding baddasses I saw in great number long before The Walking Dead hit its popularity! That last one I recall was around 2006 or 2007, you know who I was? A simple construction worker with a wrench.

Well it's not like you have a huge bar to rise above for me, most people want to play "action (badass) simulator" not "survival (humanity really sucks) simulator". So if it's in the tone of State of Decay, Telltale's The Walking Dead, Resident Evil Outbreak, and similar titles I think it will live up just fine!

The last character I played was a snarky high school teacher with a checkered past, and boy is he fun to write but is entirely antagonistic. I might run a variation of my other characters from my "collected zombie character works" text file I have lying around, it depends what you are looking for in me as a player.

@Palindromatic

Well, I'll admit it was more of a lucky guess, but honestly, quality survival horror (which is kind of an oxymoron these days) is a genre a lot of us are desperately starving for. Mowing down dozens of zombies per battle is fine, and all, but there's a reason games like The Walking Dead are insanely popular.

Did anybody watch this show? I think it really represents the feel of this rp. A bunch of people are thrown into a realistic simulation of the apocalypse and are told to survive. They construct means of electricity, showers and toilets, hell, even a solar panel that tracks the sun's movements and follows it.

I'd recommend watching it, both the first and the second season. Here's a link if anyone wants it.

If it's not too late, I would be happy to express my interest.

Cleric had it nailed down; I was halfway through the first paragraph and I was completely enthralled by your writing. Also your 'long, drawn-out message' gave me a few laughs! I have a pre-made character in my head (who I have sadly realised is essentially a younger, slightly more extreme and isolated version of myself at university sans having met my wife and turning into a (half) decent human being. But hey, we all draw inspiration from ourselves, people we know and our experiences... right?).

@Jinxer

Don't beat yourself up - that sounds like a perfectly solid character.

Besides, it could be worse. Leagues worse. Remember the parody of everyone's teenage Mary Sue badass ever? (You'd be surprised the number of people I've met who considered that solid writing. And plausible. Like, all right, suspension of disbelief is fine and dandy, but when disbelief comes hobbling out of the story with three torn ligaments and a fractured spine, I think enough is enough.)

@clericbeast

Heh, too true. My self-imposed badass character during the teenage years suffered a lot... I feel sometimes injuries we inflict on characters modelled on ourselves may speak to a darker part of our souls than we like think exists! (That and we are all, of course, capable of rising above any number of fatal injuries to live another day because of our innate heroism and badassery - there would be no honour in succeeding without suffering severely!)

On a relevant note: I imagine such a character would find some solace in that there would be no waiting list for books from the local library during such times... the perks of surviving into a post-apocalyptic world.

@Jinxer

Oh, yes, the dark days of self-insert wish fulfillment - also called, the chicken game of mutually-assured destruction my past self loved to dabble in during her teenage years. But, it's a necessary roadblock on the path to decent writing; we've all had our guilty pleasures in writing. That's just the way things are.

If it makes you feel any better, back during my embarrassing Mary Sue days, most of my characters looked like they could have fallen right out of Dragon Ball Z. Or that one My Immortal fanfic.

Good lord am I glad to be out of that stage, hopefully forever.

Alright, while I'm still working on the OOC, I'll drop this here so everyone has time to make those extraordinarily average characters:

Character Sheet:


In terms of when the OOC will be up, I'm aiming for Monday. Perhaps tomorrow night now that The Walking Dead is done and I have nothing left to do but feel empty inside.

To be fair, the katana-wielding baddasses I saw in great number long before The Walking Dead hit its popularity! That last one I recall was around 2006 or 2007, you know who I was? A simple construction worker with a wrench.

Well it's not like you have a huge bar to rise above for me, most people want to play "action (badass) simulator" not "survival (humanity really sucks) simulator". So if it's in the tone of State of Decay, Telltale's The Walking Dead, Resident Evil Outbreak, and similar titles I think it will live up just fine!

The last character I played was a snarky high school teacher with a checkered past, and boy is he fun to write but is entirely antagonistic. I might run a variation of my other characters from my "collected zombie character works" text file I have lying around, it depends what you are looking for in me as a player.

Hey, a wrench can be deadly. Have you ever been hit by one? They leave bruises. Granted, maybe don't bring a wrench to a katana fight. I don't know, it's just a hunch I have.

In terms of what I want from you as a player, I'm looking for people who like world-building and who create plots/events that affect the whole group and RP in general rather than just sticking to what I start. Aside from interacting with others, personal stories and adding to the main plot, your character should also act as the vessel to introduce other ideas and concepts you want to explore.

Also, because you mentioned an antagonistic character, don't feel like your character has to be the good guy/girl all the time. Most characters' morals will waver given time, sometimes to the extreme. So if you want your character to start off a contributing member of society but eventually become violent and aggressive, it's acceptable. People change in dire situations like the end of the world, right?

Did anybody watch this show? I think it really represents the feel of this rp. A bunch of people are thrown into a realistic simulation of the apocalypse and are told to survive. They construct means of electricity, showers and toilets, hell, even a solar panel that tracks the sun's movements and follows it.

I'd recommend watching it, both the first and the second season. Here's a link if anyone wants it.

I used to love that show - mostly the second season. I always wondered how much help they were receiving, though. Sometimes things seemed to work a little too conveniently.

Now I want to go back and watch both seasons again. Just when I thought I'd have a productive day...

If it's not too late, I would be happy to express my interest.

Cleric had it nailed down; I was halfway through the first paragraph and I was completely enthralled by your writing. Also your 'long, drawn-out message' gave me a few laughs! I have a pre-made character in my head (who I have sadly realised is essentially a younger, slightly more extreme and isolated version of myself at university sans having met my wife and turning into a (half) decent human being. But hey, we all draw inspiration from ourselves, people we know and our experiences... right?).

Definitely not too late, though depending on how many CS's we get in the end, I may have to do a "quality over quantity" method of accepting people. I didn't want too large of a group; they tend to get confusing and messy. We'll see.

You're probably ten times cooler and more interesting than just half a decent human being. A young person who isolates themselves after losing everyone sounds like a good basis of an idea. It'll be a good balance, to have some characters who want to be proactive and social, needing human comfort and connection, and then characters who require the exact opposite. A fun group dynamic.

Oh, excellent, the template's up - I can't wait to figure out what sort of character I'm going to torture during this RP. It's going to be glorious.