Swoob
listen here bucko
Adam Stoll
Day 2
Afternoon
Hello. My name is Adam Stoll. I woke up in this world carrying only this journal, which I have never seen before now. I have a strange suspicion that it is tied to my purpose here, so I have decided to write down what I observe about this desolate land in the hope that the information I record here shall benefit someone in the future.
I have not yet come in contact with another person. So far, all I've seen is the same empty dirt landscape and one deteriorating house, which I am currently writing inside of. I still can't believe that any of this is real. Merely a day ago, everything was normal; I was just sitting in my living room watching the news when everything was bathed in red and all my electronic devices turned on automatically. There was an emergency broadcast, saying that "a great danger was coming" and to find shelter immediately. No more than a minute later, I fell unconscious and woke up here.
I simply don't know what happened. This world is too empty for even a nuclear war to have done this—there is no life, plant or animal, no water, not even scattered debris. Something about this entire predicament unsettles me. I will continue writing in this journal as I unravel the mysteries of this world.
Adam Stoll
Day 692
Night
Counting these days might be the only thing left that's keeping me alive right now. Every morning I wake up and there are new scratch marks on my chest, arms and neck. I used to think it was the Scavengers raiding me in the night, but none of my food gets taken. Also, when I'm not paying attention, I find myself clawing at the same scars while I'm awake. Sometimes I lose consciousness completely or I can't control my body. I can't tell whether I'm still sane or not, honestly. I've been living in this delirious haze for so long, I can't remember the last time I've thought clearly. More walking. More food in my mouth. More fear. Inescapable fear. The kind of fear that keeps growing the more you realize you will never be able to fix it.
I just can't take it anymore. The last time I've seen a person was 277 days ago now. I keep "following the highway" or "looking for the symbols" like they told me to, but I still can't find Tower. There's just nobody. I can't handle it. There's no wandering survivors, no zombies or animals or anything. I haven't seen a building in 41 days. There's just nothing. What's the point? Why am I even here? Why do I exist, why do I keep putting one foot in front of the other? No matter what I do, it doesn't mean anything. There's no point in a life that's already died. I always thought the scariest thing would be if there was a zombie apocalypse or someone tortured me to death or if ghosts haunted me forever.
I never realized that the most truly frightening thing in the world is complete and utter
solitude.
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How Long Can You Stay Sane?
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Warning messages, blaring sirens. Throbbing red lights. Imminent death. When threats of worldwide danger suddenly came shouting through every possible medium, you were doing something before you whited out. When you finally reawakened, you found yourself stranded in a desolate landscape with no civilization and no life. In an empty husk of a world ravaged by an unknown danger, how could you hope to survive?
It has been two years since you and everyone else have woken up in this new reality. People have managed to survive off of plundering the ruins of towns and cities. Lucky ones managed to find seeds to sustain a food source. Even luckier ones stumbled upon the greatest treasure in the land: a companion.
The Scavengers are a mysterious group of people notorious for killing and raiding almost everyone they see. Not much is known about them—some speculate that they aren't even an organized faction. The land was dominated by them until recently, when a large amount of smaller factions agreed to a truce, established themselves over an entire city and became the Tower Organization, named for the location of their base, which rests on the tops of old skyscrapers. They dedicate their power to countering the Scavengers and putting an end to their rampant savagery. Tensions have increased, and a haze of rumors whispers that something is going to happen.
So where will you be?
Welcome to Solitude! This roleplay is about a post-apocalyptic world in which food, resources, and people are scarce. This roleplay plans to delve into human emotions such as brotherhood and isolation, love and hate, fear and perception. Solitude will be rich with themes and symbolism—it is not necessary to track them to enjoy the roleplay, but you might have a bit of fun taking care to look out for seemingly extraneous details and other such pieces of the story.
Solitude will be a detailed roleplay. There are two main factions in this world: the Scavengers and the Tower Organization (Tower). Your character will be able to join either side or even be a wanderer (see the spoiler for more information if you're interested in this role). This will be a Hosted Project, so please commit to joining. There will be a one-week period for people to voice their interest and build a preliminary cast before the roleplay is set up. Thank you for joining, and I hope to see you in the roleplay!
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WANDERERS
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Wanderers are factionless people who survive either on their own or with an occasional companion. Life is hellish for them; they have no group to return to for safety or food and must rely only on themselves and place their trust very, very carefully. Being a wanderer means that you will likely spend decent amounts of time in contact with nobody. In this event, you will occasionally write an "update post" detailing the events of your character's life in this gap.
Most wanderers live as they do because they're unable to find a group, but some wanderers live alone for specific reasons—reasons better left unquestioned, reasons that they might kill to protect. "Wanderer" isn't a strict role, but rather a term used to describe anybody surviving alone in the world of Solitude. People in factions can become wanderers, and wanderers can join factions at any time.
Due to the nature of their characters, the players of any wanderers I will keep in close relation with. This means that I will often check in with them now and then, guide their posts if asked, occasionally review them before posting if it could potentially heavily influence the plot, and moderate their post frequency. This is so things can remain civilized and the IC thread isn't cluttered with solo novelists.
Wanderers are not average roleplaying characters. They spend lots of time alone in a medium which feeds on character interaction. Why, then, am I allowing these kinds of characters? They provide realism and are an enjoyable experience for some roleplayers as I have learned in past versions of this roleplay. Of the three different preset roles, they should be the minority.
Finally, you won't be completely alone. Though wanderers spend lots of time alone, I will work with them to make sure they are driven towards interaction with other characters and maintain the fun they signed up for. You should not feel dissuaded from picking a wanderer, but rather, you should feel more educated on your decision. Do what is the most fun, and remember, no roles are stagnant; everything can change!
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This section will be updated as questions are asked/answered below and are brought up here for easy access.
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