( OPEN ) GAME START.

[monstermasher]

▶ WHO: Everyone.
▶ DATE: July 9th, 2015 (Day 1)
▶ WARNINGS: Blood, violence, general zombie horror.
▶ SUMMARY: You've met with a bad... however that line goes. Welcome to Earth.

GOOD MORNING!

---

Please try and ignore whatever it is that you just heard. It should only last for up to a minute... maybe.

It... it is morning, right?

There are no windows.

There's a light, but it's barely considered one. The compound runs on a solar generator, but that doesn't mean it has a lot of power. The light seems to be hanging from the ceiling, swinging precariously. That's when you might actually start to wake up, sit up, find the things that are familiar to you... and then some of the things that aren't. It'd be wise to explore the small room you're in before leaving through the steel door, but there's nobody around to tell you that.

Outside is a tightly knit compound, just as dark and metallic as the room. The hallway you're in houses dozens more doors identical to yours, and if you're unlucky there may be more people poking their heads out through them, just like you. There's a dull glowing sign that reads MEDICAL BAY but not all of you remember being hurt. Some of you may be just fine, apart from the memory of the sound you heard when waking up.

The Medical Bay is stocked with enough medicine to last a couple of months. There's almost everything that can be found in a hospital. Somebody was thinking ahead.

Outside of the Medical Bay are more doors, some are even locked—many aren't. There are living quarters, a food storage, a kitchen, some laboratories; even a room full of computers and nothing else, all with a screen asking for a password. There's only two doors out of the compound, a vehicle bay with what appear to be a few military jeeps and trucks, and the front doors. It's on the inside of the front doors that something is painted in bright red, flecked with what smell like blood:

DO NOT GO OUTSIDE WITHOUT A GUN AND WATER.
GUNSHOTS ATTRACT THEM.
HOLLOWS IS 1.3 MILES NORTH OF HERE.
GOOD LUCK.

And on the outside of the doors, if you choose to open them:

THE WORLD ENDED JULY 3RD, 2015.

Now... how long ago was that? And where is this place? Luckily for you, Hollows is a small town that can be raided. It hasn't been too long since the apocalypse—surely you'll be able to find something there. Batteries, food, weapons, maybe some people—and what you're guaranteed to find. Them, whatever that means.

Outside of the compound there's a fence with a single gate. Nothing can get past this unless you let them in for tea, so be careful. There's a shooting range and a large shed full of weapons and ammo, enough to last two months if you're careful. Guns, knives, anything that would be used by the military and police is hidden away in the shed. There are even a few hunting bows with arrows.

If you climb up the ladder to the top of the wall, there's enough room to walk along the top. There's definitely something moving in the distance, something you should definitely be worrying about. Maybe it's time to get a good look with a sniper rifle...?

Oh.

It's gone.

Maybe it was just a trick of the light. Regardless, it's impossible for everyone to stay in the compound forever. There are nefarious things at work! The choices are to go to Hollows, stick around, or go somewhere else. Really, the world is almost a blank slate. Maybe more of a used slate, but still yours to explore.

When the night comes, you should be hiding. The screamers, the ragers, whatever the hell they are, are running full tilt through the streets and across the landscape, running through anything in their way, ripping apart anything alive. If you don't make any noise, they won't notice you. Especially since they're stuck listening to each other. But if you get noticed by one, it won't be long until a horde forms... you might be able to outrun one for awhile, but they don't seem to let up on their breakneck pace. Maybe someone should have told you how to kill them.

OOC NOTES.

---

There will be zombies in Hollows. Whether you meet them on the way there is up to you. Apart from the undead and the animals (maybe somebody should let those poor creatures out of their houses) the town is completely deserted. In fact, the closest thing you can find to a human are the bodies of those who died without being bitten, and there's even few of those. You can find anything you'd find in a normal town here, and are free to loot and raid the houses and stores—the cops won't be coming, after all. The power is OFF apart from what you can find that is solar powered or still has a charge. If you're lucky and find another town while exploring the first few weeks, you might find an area that still has power—thank hydroelectricity.

Just keep in mind travel time... and travel expenses.

You have creative freedom over everything else. The world is open. The only stationary places are landmarks and cities—if you want to go to Texas and talk to the poor astronauts stranded up in space, it's there. (Might be a long trip, though...)

If your character can figure it out by geography before getting to Hollows, the compound is located a few hours from the west coast, in California.

The way to kill a zombie is blunt force to the head. The head doesn't need to be removed, but significant damage needs to be done to it. This does not include the throat—it needs to be a headshot.

There's also a glaring hint. The computers in the compound, asking for a password. It is impossible to hack at this time. There will be more on this later!

Finally, if your character is exploring outside of the compound (or extensively inside of it) there's a comment here for linking me the thread. You can also PM me! I'll be ducking in with what your character may or may not have found, via a response to the actual RP thread.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS please direct them here!

Comments

[naturallywavy]

_{[ yeah that's right— show him your hands, thief. He knows of a little girl who has a habit of taking things so good thing you're coming clean. If Carter wants to take the time to really analyze his appearance, he doesn't look like he's from this time period. In fact, that was a yukata on his person, and he only wore it halfway over his black shirt like a complete tool. A sash around his waist held what seemed to be a weapon— like a sword— but it was made out of wood. ]}

There is an item of mine that is here.
_{[ He gestures to the largest item that seems to take up the most room.
It's a scooter. ]}

I can't have anything happen to that. It's what impresses the ladies, you know.

[mucked]

-- Impressive, indeed.

[ although it's difficult to tell what impresses her most: the scooter itself, or the mere fact that he's a creature fortunate enough to have something of his own here with him. peggy hasn't been so fortunate, aside from the clothes on her back. and the heels she's left lying innocuously on his bed while she'd been searching.

her hands drop. she approaches the door -- ostensibly, perhaps, to leave. to spare her dignity its final shred. ]

[naturallywavy]

_{[ yeah that's right he thinks it's awesome and everyone should. And she is going to take her leave just like that? To investigate more rooms and loot from them? While he can see the benefit of it, he also sees that she has left her heels on his bed. ]}

Hey, lady--
_{[ he'll call out once she has left. ]}

These aren't my size at all, so they're simply not going to do.
_{[ oh look he's returning them to you like a good scout. ]}

Do you think it's wise to just wander on your own like this?
_{[ it... doesn't look like she has anything to protect herself with but he's been wrong before. ]}

[mucked]

[ -- the damned shoes. for a moment, a crack in her expression leads to a brief roll of her eyes. not for his sake, but for the shoes. ] Useless things. I don't know why I wear them.

[ she steps near enough to collect them from his care, but doesn't bother to put them on her feet. after all, the loud clicking is still an issue. ] And frankly, I don't see as there's anything to do but wander.

[naturallywavy]

It's only thing we can do— _{[ until this filler episode ends. He's certain this is a filler episode.. it's gotta be a filler episode.]}

But we're in the same situation. Aaaah, but it doesn't look like you're from Edo.
Did you see the sign? It said the world ended, but here we are.

[mucked]

[ she hasn't seen the sign. not yet. but she schools her expression and so doesn't react to this odd new morsel of news.

instead: ] New York, actually. Quite a distance from...Edo.

[ ah, tokyo. once upon a time. curiouser and curiouser. ] In space and in time, I'm afraid.

[naturallywavy]

Time travel is risky business. You never know when you're going to meet your future self and be severely disappointed. Nobody wants to see themselves as an old man.
_{[ Despite being from uch an old time period, he seems to carry no culture shock. In fact, he seems pretty knowledgeable about. ]}

So.. do you believe it? What the sign says?

[mucked]

Ah. The end of the world?

[ she'll say nothing more about time-travel. it's a...tricky thing, indeed. and not a headache she's keen to entertain at the moment. doubly so the sort of prescient knowledge this young man seems to harbour. instead, she stands primly in his doorway. as primly as she can with her shoes in hand.

but at least she seems a little less liable to steal away mid-sentence, now. ] I believe it must have been the end of someone's world. I suppose apocalypses have the right to be rather esoteric if they want to be. Obviously, the world remains. We can see it with our eyes and touch it with our fingers. But the feeling can't be shaked, can it? That we're visitors in someone else's aftermath.

[naturallywavy]

H-Hey, don't say stuff like that, oi. That crap really creeps me out.
<sub>[ but like.. what she is saying— it makes sense? It does make sense. He can understand that, and maybe that is why he is trying to deny it off the bat.

He's got to get back home. There are precious things he has to protect back home.
Gintoki thinks about this for a moment, though his deadpan expression never ceases.

what an animated fellow. ]</sub>

Sounds like we got ripped off. I don't like cleaning up other people's messes. When somebody clogs the toilet, they should unclog it themselves instead of leaving it a mess.

Or maybe not make the mistake of eating rotten bean paste the night before.
_{[ somehow in that analogy, it makes sense. ]}

[mucked]

A colourful analogy -- [ she responds, and these few words are capable of suggesting a great deal of dissatisfaction with the cruder image he attempts to paint. ] And yet I find the sentiment rather...appreciable.

[ she leans backwards by degrees, so she might eye the empty corridor behind her. ] But we may be staring down the barrel of a mess where there are no other people to unclog it. What do you do when no one else remains?

[ you hire. recruit. shanghai'd. ]

[naturallywavy]

Either that, or maybe there are people, but they're just too scared of the toilet overflowing.
_{[ Gin isn't sure if he believes the world has ended like that note bluntly says. He thinks there might be people who live here and that belong here instead of these recruited people like himself and this girl. ]}

Have you met anybody else yet or been outside?
_{[ he hasn't.. just yet. Though, he did do his exploring in the compound. ]}

[mucked]

[ -- her nod is slow. ]

I've seen a few about. All strangers. [ so far. ] And I won't be stepping outside without boots.

[ she waggles the heels in the air, still hooked on her fingers. ] Why, have you?

[naturallywavy]

I've also met a few strangers. None of them are interesting-- they're probably side characters.

I haven't gone outside yet. The note said to take a gun and water but I think it forgot one important thing..
It should be: Hey, don't go out there without gun, water and some strawberry shortcake.
_{[ looks like somebody has a sweet tooth. ]}

What is the meaning of all of this..?

[mucked]

Strawberry shortcake? [ her eyes narrow. peggy won't pester him about all the other oddities in his declaration -- particularly the bit about characters. but she will question this. ] Come, now. I hardly think that's appropriate.

[naturallywavy]

My doctor says I need to monitor my sugar levels to make sure they don't drop. I need a strawberry shortcake.

It's very appropriate. And it's very delicious.
I could die if I don't eat it.

[mucked]

[ a twitch of concern. she can't help herself. ]

-- Are you diabetic?

[naturallywavy]

Yeah, yeah. The absolute worst kind. Sugar is the most important thing right now.
_{[ a lie, but he is hypoglycemic. Maybe if he makes a big deal out of it she'll get the idea.
But belatedly, he replies: ]}

Boots are great and all when the world has supposedly ended, but I don't think we can be too picky here. Plenty of women can do things like save the remainder of the Earth in heels, plenty of diabetics can do amazing things without monitoring their levels, right?

But if we're going to be looking, I'll keep an eye out for boots if you keep an eye out for cake. Sound good?

[mucked]

Even so, we might do better than cake. [ ever the pragmatist, she makes her case: ] Juice would serve you best. Wouldn't it? Hits the bloodstream far more quickly. Added benefit of being portable. I'd rather carry a canteen than a cake.

[ translation: she'll help him find his sugar fix, but only within reason. ]

[naturallywavy]

I'll haggle with you.
It can be liquid, but preferably strawberry milk. Oi, how's that?
_{[ He's being ridiculous at this point, especially when he just said they shouldn't be picky, but hey, in actuality, he would take juice. Juice would probably make him feel better. ]}

The people here previously didn't think wisely ahead, did they?

[mucked]

[ her expression persists in being wry. she'll not haggle -- peggy's adamant about that. mostly because she's quite convinced he's pulling her leg. having her on. being trouble all for trouble's sake.

fair enough. after all, he'd caught her rifling through his things. ]

People so rarely do.