FIRST! *self high five cause nobody else is here* So, here's my plan: Back in the 60's I developed a weather changing machine that was in essence a sophisticated heat beam we call a
laser
. Using these
lasers
we punch a hole in the protective layer around the world which we call the
ozone layer
. Slowly but surely the ultraviolet rays would pour in, increasing the risk of skin cancer. That is, unless, the world pays us... a hefty ransom?
Yeah, that just happened. I quoted Austin Powers just so I could use the airquote smiley things. You're all welcome. Anyway, here's my old CS:
Name: Cassandra Shannahan
Nicknames: Cassie, Cass
Age: 29
Class: Salvaging Trader
Subclass: Communication tech/builder/salvager, crazy person, flying zombie distractor
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Straight
Physical Attributes:
Cassie stands at an even 5’8 with a wiry, athletic build and probably weighs about 130lbs fully clothed and soaking wet. She’s a natural brunette and her hair has an affinity towards turning a little blondish if she’s outside long enough and reaches midway down her back. Her face is long and angular, with a small nose and a crooked, mischievous smirk. Her eyes are hazel, but lean more towards the green side than brown. She has several scars that she’s proud of, including large jagged one down her right leg after she ate dirt from flipping off of a motorcycle which then proceeded to land on her. One may also notice that the range of motion of her left shoulder is not all that good due to a previously broken collarbone. She’s broken most of her other bones too, but they don’t bother her until the weather starts to change.
Attire: Cass is normally found wearing mostly red swoop pants with a black ass and knees, and white down the side. The pants are made specifically for skydivers and are made of cordura; a super tough, rip and tear resistant fabric. It’s the same stuff that many rucks, backpacks, and other things of the sort are made from. The black portions are where there is some extra padding, which comes in handy during the apocalypse. As for a top, that changes regularly. If it’s hot she’ll mostly be found with just a white tank top and will add layers as needed all the way to a heavy, white winter jacket. She wears running shoes for quick mobility and lightness, and has a pair of Oakley sunglasses that are always either on her face or on top of her head. And though technically equipment, she would also consider her skydiving rig (black, red, and white like her pants... skydivers have a thing about matching their gear) as part of her attire since it only leaves her back when she needs to repack her chute. She normally carries it like a normal backpack, only using the two leg straps when she plans on jumping off of something.
Height: 5’8
Weight: 123lbs
Personality: Cassie is… well, she’s crazy. Not the psychopath, serial killer type of crazy but no regard for her own safety, adrenaline junky type of crazy. She was like this before the end of the world, though not quite to the degree she is now. She will do basically anything to get a rush to include acting as a distraction to a horde of starving zombies. Ever watch a zombie horde turn into an undead waterfall as they chase a parachute wielding woman off the top of a skyscraper? Hang around Cassie enough and you will probably be able to mark that off your bucket list; it’s her signature move. She’s extremely extroverted, some would say eccentric, and some would say just plain bat-shit crazy. Someone who will walk up to a complete stranger and act like their best friends can be a bit off putting, especially in this day and age, but to most it’s oddly comforting to have someone who remains so upbeat and friendly. Cassie isn’t one to hold a grudge, though she can have a bit of a short fuse at times. However, when she gets mad it lasts as long as it takes her to pop the offender in the face one good time, then she can laugh it off and go about her day. Despite her rather goofy, good-natured outlook on life Cassie is surprisingly smart. If you start her going about communication tech, be prepared to get chattered at about radio wave propagation theory and the art of constructing antennas from a Pringles can.
Before the Infection: The best explanation as to why Cass is the way she is can be found in her childhood. She was born in a Podunk town in southern Michigan that was known for two things: the good whitetail deer hunting there and a nice little drop zone that catered to both the avid licensed skydiver and anyone who wanted a thrill in that corner of the state. Cassie was the result of two skydiving instructors that worked there deciding a baby would be a fantastic idea. She was raised by the skydiving culture; her family was the regular divers that came every nice weekend to jump. Now, being raised by a large collection of people who thought normal hobbies included jumping off/out of a variety of things may not have been the best place for a little girl as they seemed to have created a high-risk taking, adrenaline monster. She participated in a cornucopia of sports, all of which held an element of danger above your average baseball game; motocross, BMX, skateboarding, etc. and the day she was old enough, skydiving and base jumping.
After her high school graduation, Cass moved out to Hollywood to make a career out of being a stuntwoman. It seemed like the only choice for one such as her. Might as well do what you love, right? Not only did she love it, but she was damn good at it too. She was the go-to girl for several big film companies for quite a while. It was after crashing on a crotch rocket during a shoot at nearly 90mph and pretty much becoming a human skid mark that was laid up in the hospital for three months that she realized that she could not, in fact, be a stuntwoman for her entire life. So, she slowed down her career enough so that she could start taking night classes at the local university for communication technology and get herself a plan B. Now, you may be asking yourself why one such as her would choose a major in communications (see what I did there ) and the answer is simple: curiosity. How do cellphones work on the same or incredibly similar frequencies without people having bleed over from other converstations? How do people bounce radio waves off the moon with a ham radio and send messages to Japan from Georgia? How does tracing and tracking signals to the device making them work? These are just some of the questions she had wondered at over the years. From her grades it seemed that she was some sort of closet techy; she picked up everything faster than she could fall from the sky. It was a year after she achieved her Bachelor’s degree that the end of the world started. It was actually quite ironic seeing as she had been doing stunts for a movie that had been under production about an apocalypse, but with aliens rather than zombies.
After the Infection: As soon as even the slightest whiff of the outbreak reached Cass, she hopped on her bike and was out of Hollywood like a bat out of hell. Being in a big city with a rampant disease that made people mindless cannibals? No, thank you. She headed for the desert and eventually found her way to Reno after a few weeks. She didn’t last long there however because safety also happened to mean boredom and she needed to find something she could do to make a living again. Her skill with communications became the answer and she became a mix between a trader, salvager, and drifter.
She would leave the havens all by her little lonesome to find her parts that she didn't trust anyone to get, going places that most others wouldn’t dare due to the danger like the top floors of a skyscraper (a death trap unless you happened to have a parachute like her). This worked out fairly well for her, toughing it out on her own, until she had an "accident" one day. That is, if you could really call setting the truck she was using on fire and crashing it into a gas station to kill a horde of infected an "accident." Cassie was fine... mostly. She had tied the wheel to stay generally straight and jammed the gas pedal down with a piece of metal she'd salvaged to keep it going. After, she opened the door and swung herself into the bed and then proceeded to deploy her parachute as her emergency ejection seat before she got too close to the station. The landing was rough and she got some scrapes, bruises, and a minor case of whiplash from it, but she took care of most of the infected. The others seemed too distracted by the explosion and she was able to sneak away. After walking for two days in the middle of nowhere she was picked up by a roving band of Condemned, which was its own misadventure. Long story short, she offered to build them all radios so they could communicate with each other in exchange for not raping/murdering her and a ride to the outskirts of the nearest haven when she was done. Both parties ended up keeping to their bargain, though Cassie figured it was more of a last minute decision on whether or not she was actually going to get back after handing over the headsets she'd made. After that, she decided she didn't much like going out on her own anymore. She may be crazy, but she's no masochistic wanting to be tortured by the Condemned.
So now it’s not odd to find her hopping onto a leaving group of salvagers’ convoy where she generally convinces said group to let her in on it with the offer of being the human distraction should things get bad. As far as that goes, she has to be either one of the luckiest or craftiest people left on earth, though probably the former. After she finds what she needs, Cass takes her goodies back to the nearest haven where she can tinker to make whatever it is that people in that area are in need of, radios, antennas, etc. Her skills are a hot commodity in the havens, so she cruises back and forth mainly from Chico, Reno, and Washington though sometimes she’ll venture out as far as Bismarck and Colorado Springs.
Arsenal: Cassie carries things that she can easily wield and secure should she need to jump off of something (which is more often than you might think as she has a tendency to gravitate towards high ledges). Therefore, she has Glock 23 pistol which is a nice .40cal with Trijicon iron sights (they radiate their own light) and a muzzle break which makes for a lot less recoil and a lot more noise. This she has in a lower leg holster on her right. She also has a nice hatchet, with about a foot long handle, which she keeps strapped to her left thigh. The sharp side is great for chopping body parts off, the back side for bludgeoning things over the head. She will use both without hesitation. Other than that, she uses her wits to get herself out of trouble.
Strengths/Skills/Talents: She’s a decent shot with just about any weapon, but anyone who leaves the havens does. Due to her past occupation as a stunt woman, she can also drive just about anything extremely well (not to mention fast) without killing herself. She’s practically a genius when it comes to her radios and is slowly but surely improving communication within the havens. She’s also pretty good when it comes to tinkering with other technology or mechanical things too.
Weaknesses/Problems: First and foremost, she has a general disregard for her own safety. She has gotten herself into countless deadly situations that she could barely get herself out of, if she could even do it without someone else coming to her rescue. It’s a miracle that she’s still alive and not infected. Like was previously stated, her multitude of old injuries make her sore and stiff in adverse or quickly changing weather (she doesn’t do too well in the cold either), and she doesn’t have good range of motion in her left shoulder.
Vehicles: Cassie is currently owns a dirt bike that had been modified for racing. She likes its maneuverability and ability to traverse pretty much any terrain.
Home Base: None, really. She drifts pretty constantly.
Starting Point: A few miles outside Washington Haven.
Extras-Theme Song: Mötley Crüe - Kickstart My Heart
Additional Information: This character may or may not be an exaggerated, slightly altered version of myself...
Username: Free Faller
