The Collapse of Mankind, oh and Earth too. (Not a comedy)

[ReaderGurl]

Actually, people in China learn English as well as a Chinese language. I don't think the language barrier would be that much of a problem.

As for her still being in China, yeah she is. I didn't even think about that when I wrote my bio lol. I would be fine with joining up with Bill first, whatever works best for the story

[Mercurio123]

Oh they learn it but it's rather limited in my experience. Unless they have lived in an English speaking country for a while it is rather rudimentary. I'm not saying she wouldn't be-able to make herself understood, but it would be rather weird if she would use the local varnacular and colloquialisms too might go above her head every now and then. Heck I already have that with Americans when I use British colloquialisms and both UK and USA speak English :-p
I'm not saying you have to play her like a stereotype Chinese tourist but you know, having her come over like a harvard student also seems a bit odd.

Now with regards to her ending up in the states, since she was on the run, how about her trying to run away a bit further and trying to get in to the states? maybe she was picked up by border patrol and detained? Or maybe instead of running away from the army the chinese and the states did some training exercise together and she came across only to wake up alone on the base? Seeing as it seems Vill's character is heading for a military installation that could be a good way of getting the two to meet up?
Just brainstorming really, obviously if you have a good idea, let me know and we can see how to knit it all together.

[ReaderGurl]

True true lol. Sh she'll just understand basic English, not all the things we say that mean something else lol. As for her in the States, I think that having the states and china do a training thing together is a really good idea, maybe when she wakes up she and Vill's characters are the only ones left there?

[Vill]

Good news guys,

I did some research into the dilemma of our Chinese Soldier and have come up with a pretty good solution. As it stands now, Petty Officer Reaux would have traveled West along the South Coast of Long Island.

The Stanton Island Expy connects Lower West Brooklyn to Stanton Island. But more importantly, Fort Hamilton sits on Brooklyn's shore directly parallel to Coast Guard Sector New York, on the Stanton Island's East shore. The two bases are a stone's throw away. Well, not literally of course, but close enough.

I had planned on explaining that Reaux had slowly gone along the shore in a commandeered, small water craft after visiting each small boat station to look for other members of the Coast Guard and to restock on fuel and whatever food he could find. Ultimately he would find a base with charts pointing at USCG Sector New York. Sector's are more or less major bases in any given district. It is possible that, if Reader's Soldier decided to hole up in Fort Hamilton -- be it that she was there for joint training between the U.S. and China, or she is a defector brought there to offer intelligence or whatever (maybe she escaped China on her own, was living in NY and somehow had known about the major army bases in America) -- she would spot the small craft he would be using to cross the Hudson River.

Despite the in-game cold, the Hudson River has only frozen a few times. This is up to Mercurio though. If it is cold enough to have the River freeze then Reaux would have to cross the Stanton Island bridge. Either way, he needs to go directly past Fort Hamilton, whether or not that is where we decide the Chinese Soldier should be.

Thoughts?

[Vill]

Another, sub-option, to all of the above would be to say that those events have all already unfolded and Michelle Chang and Aiden Reaux have already met. It seems unlikely that it would take three months for Aiden to traverse the Long Island Sound anyway. They could start their first official posts as having decided to push further North into New York city in an attempt to find other survivors. There would be a brief outline in our first posts, but this could eliminate a bunch of unnecessary exchanges if you prefer a swifter acclimation of the two military members into the main party. They can still start separated from everyone else until after combat with that demon rabbit is resolved, but they would still be in the city.

I'm down with this and the details could easily be hashed out here between myself and Reader.

[ReaderGurl]

Yeah I like your second idea better, it will be much easier and probably make more sense. How's this sound to you, Mercurio?

[Mercurio123]

Bwahaha Demon Rabbit. like it.


Anyway plan wise, yeah sounds good to me. Go for it.

With regards to Charles last post:
The window shatters with a loud crash. The monster crouches and snarls as it turns to the window. It turns round to try and locate where the rock came from but the light plays havoc on it's eyes.

[ReaderGurl]

Ok cool thanks. And nice rabbit :P

[Mercurio123]

Ana, Since you are positioned best to spot our demon rabbit, Do you want to take a shot at it? it's pretty distracted.

[Vill]

Yeah I like your second idea better, it will be much easier and probably make more sense.

I like the second idea as well. I referred to it as a sub-option because it pretty much is idea number 1, but events have already unfolded.

Do you want to make the first real-time post for our exchange, Reader?

Basically, the points we need to figure out here are:

-An explanation as to why Ms. Chang was at Fort Hamilton: Normally, I would much rather this be discussed in-character. However, being as we are doing a time lapse, it seems safe to assume that the question would be raised almost immediately for Reaux, since she is a Chinese soldier. You could even be sneaky and lie, but I just need to know what explanation she would have given to my character to fill in that missing period of time. She could even fib and say she's and American Soldier. Everything is fair game, I just need to know what he would know up to this point.

BM2 Reaux's motivation for traveling to Sector NY on the opposite side of the Hudson would be offered to her as such: He's a member of the Coast Guard, his cutter sank, and he has not been able to establish contact with anyone else from his branch of service.

I imagine there is a number of other mundane things that they would come to know about one another, but anything else of significance should be learned in-game.

-How they met: Since this would have happened earlier on, we can say she saw his 25' ft. RB-S rapid response boat heading to Stanton Island from the East. Maybe they were able to establish radio contact and he decided to head to Fort Hamilton instead of the sector station? Her side of the Hudson is closer to down town New York.

-What they spent the last month and a half doing: An easy answer to this is patrolling water ways and coast lines in search of survivors, but to no success. Once it became too cold to traverse the Hudson on their small boat, they decided to push North towards down town New York on foot. Maybe they thought that the winter might be enough to finish off any survivors who had been worse off then they were. It might seem more logical for their own preservation to stay at Fort Hamilton, but they take the risk because of the potential pay off.

I think if we figure out these three points we will have a convincing introduction to Reaux and Chang's co-addition to the story.

I also think you should write an exhibition or some recap of what happened to her the night of everyone's disappearance.

Let me know what you think, friend. And I'm more than happy to discuss, explain or change anything that you think might not work.

[AnaBellaJade]

Yea I'll go for the demon rabbit ;D can't promise she will actually kill it she is a school teacher after all lol

[AnaBellaJade]

Posted, sorry for the short post, I'm mobile but didn't want to keep you waiting

[Mercurio123]

S'all good Ana, nice post.  :-)
Vill and Reader, by all means feel free to post the two of you meeting up. It will take a few rounds before this bunny has kicked the bucket and is ready for skinning. I don't want to make you hang around and be passive. your ideas are good so go for it. plus since they are still exposition they can freely slip in between the bunny posts. all being well we can then figure out a way to get everyone joined up.

[Vill]

WHO HAS TWO THUMBS AND GOT APPROVED TODAY???

This guys *points thumbs at self*

I'll be a little inactive the next couple days, I have to stand watch on a boat that is in dry dock and the place doesnt have wifi. I snuck off to a bar tonight to check my messages. I'll try to be around, but I'm deffinitly going to wait for Reader to post first.

This is really rare, I'm normally home every night, so I still plan to be super active after this.

[Vill]

ALSO: nice posts, guys! It's fun to watch the action unfold.

[Mercurio123]

No worries, take your time. May your watch be uneventful
I've added a small post, mostly so everyone knows what is happening with our Rabbit of Caerbannog.

[AnaBellaJade]

Congrats on your approval!

[Vill]

Thanks! I can't wait to join you guys.

[Vill]

Morning guys,

I'm starting to wonder if ReaderGurl will not be joining us.

Do you think I should just make a post, or what, boss?

[Mercurio123]

Yeah may not be a bad idea. I was going to send her a message but unfortunately she is unnaproved still so I cannot send any PMS.
Go for it, and if Reader does come back and wants to join I'm sure we can sort something out.

[Tyrhung]

I'm hoping this is still open to new players?  :)

Name: Aleksei Vorontsov
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Played By: Tyrhung
From: Russia, with love

Background: Aleksei lived under Communist rule in the 'former' Soviet Union for many years.  While technically the country had transitioned through the upheaval to Democracy, there remained a large portion of the powers that were who played only lip service to the notion.  Aleksei was the prodigy of one such figure of authority, trained from an early age in science and mathematics.
Aleksei was to become a nuclear scientist, and make his way to America to develop tenure in the country's nuclear community.  When the time was right, Aleksei, as a sleeper agent, would sabotage key facilities when given the signal by Mother Russia.  The idea was to keep the Cold War from happening all over again, and cause the great nation to be brought to its knees before the Hammer & Sickle.
When he had completed his education and training overseas, Aleksei was given passage to New York, as its port of call was one of the most convenient for his homeland.  The process of receiving his greencard, and later citizenship, was smoother than most immigrants would ever experience... as they were without the backing of a well-greased palm.  Aleksei was hired to fill a vacancy in a local engineering company, and soon the plan was in motion for him to rise within the ranks of the company.
The signal never came, as those who would give it vanished one day with the millions of others who left no trace.  Realizing that the time for warring among humans had come to an end after seeing the world bleed into chaos, Aleksei fled to the reactor building and barricaded himself inside.  He was certain the walls would hold against the monsters, and if they did not... he would see to it the walls of no other structure in New York would remain standing, either.

Special Skill or training:
Science and Mathematics - This brand of learning was what Aleksei had been groomed for since childhood.  Capable of understanding and operating complicated machinery, dangerous power sources, and formidable algebraic equations, Aleksei was a shoe-in for many an engineering or R&D company.  His particular field of understanding is geared towards nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry.

Siberian - While not necessarily a skill, per se, Aleksei was born and lived most of his life in the bitter Siberian tundra.  As such, he has become acquainted with hunger and cold, and may not necessarily be affected as adversely as others.

Sleeper Agent - Part of Aleksei's training before his coming to the United States would require him to one day turn on his co-workers and sabotage key facilities.  As a result, he was tutored by Demolitionists and Covert Ops agents.  While this was hardly the largest part of his training, it does mean that he is familiar with the basic use, operation, and maintenance of handguns and explosives, as well as having an understanding of general stealth tactics.

[Mercurio123]

Haha, I like it!. Yeah I have no objections, I'll be posting a DM post shortly to move the story along again, however feel free to post how your character dealt with the first few days  of him discovering her is alone. Story wise we are a few months further but there is always room for flashabcks. 

Vill How's your post coming along amigo? I suspect Reader has fallen to the way side so by all means, go for it. Maybe you and our russian sleeper can catch up? US marine and Russian spy. could be fun :-p

[Mercurio123]

Nice post tyrhung

[Tyrhung]

Why thank you, sir.  I'm liking what you've done with the various monstrosities that seem to be popping up - that bit about how the coloration of the fur of the rabbit helped it blend in with the snow was quite fun.

Before long I'll have him go for a romp in the snowy cityscape to meet up with the other intrepid heroes.  :)