forum "the world is over-" "maybe, but its our world now" (large group - open 5/7) **PLEASE JOIN** (or at least look at...)

Started September 21, 2021 by @CaseyJ group

tune

(ish is ok :D Am I good to put up a template and jump in or would you rather I didn't yet?)

(go ahead and fill out the template.)

(So…to make it easier to see who you are responding to, please @ them.)

Name: Chet Evans
Number: Never assigned one by the Government
Role: Outsider
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Ace
Looks: Chet is roughly 6'/1.8m tall, and weighs around 170lbs/77kgs. He's got a dusky complexion, made even darker by all his time in the sun, but with sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes. He keeps his hair cut short, and its straight, so it stays neat pretty easily. He's not skinny, but wiry, with no bulk but a decent amount of lean muscle. He prefers the tan/brown/orange spectrum of colors, particularly since he's been a constant fugitive for years and is used to camouflaging in the deserts.
Likes: His space, quiet moments, hoodies (hoodies forever), music, and kids.
Dislikes: Restrictions, the cold, wide open areas with no cover at all, and not being aware of everything in a situation.
Hobbies: Chet has been forced to get good at survival skills. He also designs and uses homemade weaponry in his personal resistance against the government.
Backstory: Chet is old enough to have grown up partially before the Government took over. His parents resisted the initial takeover and were killed, and Chet has been on his own ever since. He briefly stayed at the Refuge for a while, in the early days, before leaving. The Rules that were being put in place made him nervous, and he preferred his freedom. He's been surviving on the streets and in the wilds ever since, occasionally directing people towards the Refuge if he thinks they'd be a good fit. He also leaves gifts for the Refuge, as well as passing info to them from time to time.

Chet checked his scope again. The Door had been busy today, but it seemed clear at the moment. He adjusted his face covering.
Why he even bothered with these deliveries sometimes, he would never know.
He stood up, but stayed hunched over, scurrying across the open sand up to the Door to the Refuge, before unshouldering the big pack he had with him and setting it down. He banged on the door, then turned and sprinted away, climbing a dune and diving into the sand. His sand colored clothing, and the fact he was covered in the dusty dirt, immediately hid him.
He watched until someone opened the Door and looked around, before taking the pack inside.
There was enough meat there to last the kids in the Refuge 2 weeks, if they were careful.
He wasn't sure they needed the help, but he'd been dropping off packs every few weeks for years now.

Once the coast was clear, Chet got up and started towards the Forest. A ten mile square grove of trees, the Forest was one of the only places that hadn't completely turned to desert. It was a massive oasis, full of animals and plant life and most importantly, water.
There were a few villages there. Chet largely avoided them because the Guv's were there often, trying to snap up kids.
But there was also a small dirt hovel that Chet had built, where he woud hide out sometimes.
And that was where he was headed now.

(Chances for interaction with anyone near the big Door, as well as Zanna as she heads into the Forest)

Mark sighed, his scouting mission had been cut short, because of some kid who couldn't follow the rules, the one rule that no one dared break, and Sean did. Sure Mark felt bad for the kid, he was one of the only people who didn't want to be at the refuge. But that didn't give him the right to ignore the rules so blatantly.

He walked back to the Refuge, he had told his team to stay, finish gathering supplies before heading back. He had to deal with this problem on his own. He stopped at the door, nodding a greeting at the person on guard before heading to his 'office'.

-
Sean was waiting, sitting in 'Leaders' chair, he wasn't sure what his punishment would be, but there was no way Mark would let him off scott free.
-
Mark entered his office, glaring at Sean, "So, you broke my one rule. No one has ever dared to break it…but I will have to make an example of you…I can't let others think that it is ok to go outside."
"What is wrong with going outside?"
"its dangerous." Mark thought for a minute, "I should banish you, but if the government gets wind that you are alive they will bring you in for questioning."
"Yeah, what would I tell them? I haven't the slightest clue where we are, all I know is its mostly underground."
"…Good point. Banishment it is"
"Wait- I didn't think you would actually consider it-"
"You shouldn't have broke my rules, Sean, you did this yourself"
-
So a few minutes later, Sean was sent out, with a small bag of supplies, the door locked behind him. He wasn't sure what he would do now, he couldn't go back to being a scout, not that he liked it anyway. "So living on my own it is" He muttered to himself, walking off towards the forest, figuring that would be the best place to start.

(I forgot Jules’ entire personality, lol. We left off on them getting food, since they’re not really near the others. Imma tag those who are with him)

@imNOTdenki and @Celeste_X0X0_

“Oh—okay.” Jules’ voice trembled. He still felt pressured around Vienna, her presence put on quite an edge. Not in a bad way, but in a simple ‘I don’t want to make her mad’ way. He could tell by the tone shifts and numbness in her demeanor that she hated him. What had he done that was so wrong? He guessed hiding a secret healing power could be up there. “I’m not very hungry, but—uh— I guess I have to listen to the medic.” Jules sighed, biting his lip while regretting a few of his decisions. A friendship was never going to happen. He was right in that. Looking to Azzy, he got to his feet, using the edge of the bed as a stabilizer. A twinge of sadness took over Jules’ gaze. What had he done so wrong? He couldn’t keep pondering on it. It would hurt him further.

Jules quietly slipped out the door as Vienna held it open for him. His mood had deteriorated quickly as he thought about that question. How did he wrong Vienna? Silently thanking her, Jules played with his hands, trying to distract his mind. He led the two through the winding halls, taking many lefts and rights to the point where one my feel dizzy. The halls were nothing to stop and look at. Honestly, they were scary. It seemed like a rock could hit you on the head any day. But that didn’t matter, at least they escaped the government. Scampering through the labyrinth they called home, Jules finally reached the commons. The scent of fresh food floated through the air, provided by the refugee’s scouts. “Here… we are.” He mumbled, feeling the awkward air between him and Vienna more than ever. The days seemed to be getting shorter, and a horrible feeling tugged at his stomach. Something bad was going to happen. Wasn't. How could the world get continuously worse than it already was? And then he remembered. People like Sean, we're trying to escape.

(nice)
(I don't wanna take over, Casey, so lemme ask: how much worldbuilding are you ok with me/us doing? You have full veto power on everything, of course)

(well, as I have left the world as basically no description, feel free to do as you please, but just remember most of the world is dead/desert)

Chet skittered over the sands, heading towards the Forest. He enjoyed travelling like this, quickly and not particularly carefully. There was nothing around the Refuge, so he could afford to move without camouflaging every few yards.
He stopped near the top of a dune and looked back towards the Refuge. It was mostly under a big sand dune, but you could see the Door if you knew exactly where to look. From this angle, the desert sands were actually kinda beautiful, the tan and orange of the sands mixing in a nice marble pattern over the dark brown of the dusty earth.
As he looked towards the door, he saw a figure step out. Chet immediately dropped into the sand, not really wanting to be seen, and managed to scramble over the top of the dune. He glanced back again, only to see the figure start heading towards the Forest as well.
"Hm." He grunted to himself as he lifted his bow to look through the scope.

Young looking kid. Black hair. Kinda short, average build.

And carrying a pack.

That part was weird. Chet had never seen Mark send someone out with a full pack like that, rather than an empty one for scouting.
Years ago, Chet had come across the Refuge in its early time, when Mark was still securing it and pulling in kids. He'd stayed for a while. but had left when the list of Rules started getting too long. Mark had not liked that he decided to leave, which is why Chet dropped off his packages anonymously. He also wondered if it was the reason Mark had made a rule to never leave. He'd learned about that Rule from a scout a few years later.

A Rule this kid was clearly breaking.

"Someone to keep an eye on…" He muttered to himself. He stood back up and turned back on his way to the Forest. He needed to make sure he had dinner ready.

The hovel might have a guest tonight.

@Davadio

As Sean walked, he pulled out a pistol from his back, one that he had stolen. He checked the mag for ammo, it was fully loaded, he made sure it didn't have a bullet in the chamber before hooking it to his belt. He had stolen a holster a few weeks back, and now he had a use for it. He started humming loudly, out of toon. It would seem that he was trying to draw attention to himself. Which he was, better to find people then they find him, not that he couldn't defend himself, he was the top fighter in his group…before he got kidnapped.
"UGH!" He kicked a rock in frustration, "he can't blame me for wanting to leave, I didn't want to be there in the first place," He picked up the rock, looking at it. He looked at the numbers on his arm. 5349. He sighed loudly, bored of walking already, and talking to a rock.

3110 had factory duty today, as his leg was still healing, and slowly without proper medical treatment. The work was monotonous, specifically designed to discourage thought and creativity, a slow soul killing job. You weren't even aloud to know what you were building, just assembling the parts slowly and methodically. The sound of machines was deafening in the background to make sure the workers didn't speak with one another. On 3110's left was a short, mousy looking man and on his right a woman with bright blonde hair that was matted with grease and oil. As he worked, the red-haired man zoned out his hands moving on auto-pilot without his knowledge. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself not being on scout duty, aside from his personal work there wasn't much that kept him sane, a tiny bit apart from the faceless crowds. He tried closing his eyes imagining the din of the machines was the howling wind, the overheated workshop the desert.
3110 shook his head slowly, driving such fancy from his head, there was no point in having such an imagination, he was only on factory duty for another few hours and the next day he was back on scout duty, he'd filed a false report on his leg, he didn't care if it damaged himself, 3110 needed to get back on the outside. He zoned out again, working comfortably for maybe another half hour, before his eyes caught movement. Accustomed as he was to barren planes and desolation, movement was a rarity, and he had trained for most of his life to simply see everything around himself. However, movement in a factory wasn't novel, everything moved and breathed, what caught 3110's attention was the mousy man slowly moving up the assembly line, glancing at him in a rapid, nervous way. 3110 pressed his lips together, continuing with his work, until the man had gotten close enough to touch, he tried glancing at the mans forearm, to read his number. 7719 was printed neatly, one number after another, though 3110's new nervous companion seemed to take this as an invitation.

"Hey-" 7719 cleared his throat and tried again, his voice sounding more whisper-y, yet it was louder, which irked the red head.
"Hey- You're new here, right?" The man kept fidgeting, highly nervous, worried glances all around himself. 3110 gave the man a curt nod, his annoyance growing further. Apparently, any form of response was the wrong answer, because the man brightened, giving him a small smile.
"Here! This uh- We've been working on…" 7719 trailed off, handing him a tiny slip of paper, probably stolen from a report from the small green line on the top of the torn slip. With one hand, 3110 slipped the piece of paper into his own hand, giving a glance at the words. As he expected it was a meeting place, time, and some words along the line of 'Rise Up!' or 'Worker Rights!'. The ginger rolled his eyes, motioning for the small man to get back to work, not wasting his breath on one like this. 7719 skittered back to his place, looking pleased with himself. The rest of his shift was the same work, and as soon as the bell rang 3110 stood, heading to the door. Before leaving everyone was searched as was custom, to make sure no person had smuggled out parts, stealing was, of course, punishable by death. As he was searched 3110 turned in the slip of paper, giving the description and number of the man who had given it to him. 3110 was annoyed by the sheer audacity of the man, he wasn't subtle, was openly rebelling, and for what? He shook his head in disgust, was it really that hard to understand? Rebelling was useless and even if they were successful, only the clever succeeded, it was simple. His blue eyes looked upwards at the sky after the search.. One more day and then it was just him and the open sky, as long as he wasn't given a group again, or worse, just a partner. 3110 shuddered, walking faster back to his sleeping quarters.