futurologists: (Default)
Hathaway. ([personal profile] futurologists) wrote in [community profile] epidemiology2017-01-28 02:00 am

EVENT ★ A-LICKY BOOM BOOM DOWN

WELCOME TO WOODHURST


Arrival in Woodhurst goes largely unnoticed by its occupants. Characters will find themselves scattered into the city in inconspicuous places: stepping out of public restrooms that were previously empty, in the middle of a revolving door, appearing from overlooked service doorways and unoccupied retail break rooms. Arrivals -- with cloaking devices already active for those who need them -- will get barely a second look.

ALASTAIR researchers and networkers will have already secured housing -- whether that be a motel, apartment, home, etc. -- for Team Audentes as well as credentials for those whose jobs require them, but it is up to the team themselves to weave together their various cover stories and find their way to their new jobs. Luckily, most of the citizens of Woodhurst have more on their mind than usual, and won't be too interested in their new neighbors and coworkers.

WEEK 1

There's been a sickness spreading lately.
Everyone has noticed it. People sometimes pause to murmur together in worried, furtive tones, the one of them with a cough looking especially distressed. Largely, though, people are doing their best to keep up life as normal. This concerning turn of events will probably blow over just fine, and rent still needs to be paid. Still, little signs here and there (the grocery stores are having trouble keeping bottled water and non perishables in stock) speak to the unease that can be felt in the city.

Audentes has about a week to get comfortable. Snow falls now and then, never too much, but somehow always just enough to delay the buses of the public transit system. Historic downtown Woodhurst is picturesque in the light wintery sprinkle, and sometimes the buses even make their schedules there. Things are a little quiet in the business district, as many have opted to work from home until this all sorts itself out. The housing and suburban areas have a little more of a buzz of activity than usual; neighbors talk to each other for the first time in months to see if there's any news or updates, friends check in and visit with one another.

Signs of any actual infected are rare, to the point where it may be easy to forget that's why ALASTAIR is here. But if you're lucky (?), you may run into someone staggering down a snowy street who doesn't look very well. They could just be hungover, but what's with those dark, prominent veins on their face...?

Seven days into their stay in town, things suddenly pick up.

WEEK 2


Woodhurst is quarantined. Local TV and radio stations broadcast nothing but this fact and follow up information for a solid 24 hours. And if TV and radio isn't your bag, it's also broadcast over loud speakers for 8 hours straight during the first day. The news of it is impossible to miss, but the gist of it is simple: no one may enter or leave Woodhurst, and all citizens must be off the streets by 10 PM.

Also impossible to miss are the blockades and barricades that have suddenly and swiftly been set up at every road leading out of Woodhurst, no matter how major or minor. They are guarded by military in dark uniforms, visibly armed. Local law enforcement is called in to help, and any Audentes members posing as police officers may find themselves face-to-face with angry, terrified citizens as they take their frustrations out. Panic spikes. Some stores, usually grocery stores, report looting, and one or two riots even break out near the barricades. The military seems to have been instructed to stop people non-lethally, but will use violence in turn if it is used against them. They do not answer any questions put to them by citizens wanting to get to their families on the other side of the border and demanding to know why they can't, and keep their expressions carefully neutral.

Still, not everyone is peaceable about it -- a terrified, haggard-looking mother tightly grips her screaming child's hand as she argues with a policeman. Her older son is apparently in Wakefield, and she needs to get to him immediately. Her shouting and her child's wailing is starting to agitate the crowd and the other policeman alike, a noticeable tension rising in the air.

The hospitals experience a sharp uptick in activity, admitting those who were hurt in the first initial panicky rushes and serving many who fretfully complain of the symptoms of the spreading sickness. Even those with nothing more than the common cold have rushed in, not wanting to listen when the hospital staff explains to them that the symptoms are nothing alike.


For the most part, Woodhurst doesn't look infected. Tempers are flaring, but that seems natural considering the circumstances. Even the fights that break out can be chalked up to scared citizens vying for the limited resources within the quarantined area. Once in a while, erratic behavior can be spotted, though. A man runs down the street at top speeds with nothing pursuing him, his eyes wide and wild, only to vanish down a side street. A thrashing woman at the hospital is sedated and restrained, and the sounds she's making don't sound like words as she's wheeled quickly away.

On the evening of the first day, the mayor makes a statement on behalf of the city, urging citizens not to panic. She claims they have everything under control, that life can continue as normal save for a few restrictions, and that the quarantine is simply a precaution. Of course, various news outlets have taken the story and run with it, looking for the scoop. A few conspiracy theorists even try to spread their thoughts, handing out nonsensical pamphlets on the street and frightening people who are uneducated on the Bristol virus.

Woodhurst is doing its best, though. After the first two days of initial panic after the quarantine descends, its sturdy citizens make a noble attempt to continue life as usual. About 25% of the population stays indoors, but the other 75% of it can still be seen going about their business, most of them with the concession of flu masks (or bandanas, t-shirts, or whatever else is on hand; supplies are tough to come by sometimes). The situation isn't great, but life marches on.

And, after all, surely things will blow over sooner or later.

OOC NOTES

Welcome to the new mission! Infection sign-ups are now closed for current players, but all characters accepted after January 28th will still have the opportunity to sign up. The offical locations page is now up. Please read it carefully! Some locations had to be tweaked to properly fit the setting. The Bounty Board will be available with the next log. Keep an eye out!

REMINDER: The infected population are not undead! We have used "zombie" as a shorthand description on the calendar, but please keep in mind that infected persons are alive, just sick.

For more information on the mission, please check the dossier and the January/February calendars. Since this log is coming up so late in the month, threads from this log can be used for either January or February AC, with the stipulation that you still cannot use the same thread for both months.

Questions about Woodhurst can be submitted to this thread. Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.
dishearten: (20)

WEEK 2 - ARCADE

[personal profile] dishearten 2017-02-04 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
( technically, he is member of the Woodhurst Police force, so maybe he should do a little more investigating in the clearly young girl bouncing around a mostly empty arcade. he doesn't, though. after all, he's a detective, not a street cop, and besides that... he's off the clock. if she were shooting people, he'd possibly get involved. skipping school? literally the least of crimes, as far as he's concerned.

Graham has never been to an arcade himself, however, on the way through the mall (he stopped by the pet store to get something for Brother and Sunny and was so disturbed by the animals kept in closed, tiny cages he had to leave before he got anything) it had drawn his attention and it seemed he was unnaturally gifted at any game that involved shooting. what a big damn surprise. he doesn't actually know how to put his initials in for his high score, so he puts the odd plastic gun down and tries to focus on the girl asking him questions instead.
)

Laser tag, meaning?
feytality: ([jaws theme plays])

[personal profile] feytality 2017-02-04 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Arrest her, Graham. She's a menace, she needs to be removed from the streets.]

[Anyway, it's pretty interesting (and kinda funny.... she can't picture Nick or Edgeworth playing videogames, maybe Gumshoe..) to see a grown man playing an arcade game, but since he is, he's clearly cool enough to be her video game buddy.]


Exactly. Wanna do it? Let's do it!

[Woodhurst taxpayer money at work... just kidding, Graham's probably off-duty]
dishearten: (144)

[personal profile] dishearten 2017-02-07 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
( he is. he is off duty, damnit. and he's enjoying being in a modern place both again and for the first time. hard to explain. it was normal before his curse broke, now there's something a bit more to revel in. and there sure hadn't been an arcade in Stoybrooke. why not try new things? he wouldn't know if he liked them until he tried, after all.

he's never tried laser tag, either, but he shrugs with a nod. why not?
) I tend to be a good shot, ( he warns gently, because there's no telling if his accuracy extends to laser tag, but he did just get a high score on a shoot-em up video game on his first try, so... it's highly possible. )
feytality: (Tell me more about ME)

[personal profile] feytality 2017-02-09 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
[He's in good company, because Maya hasn't played it before, either. Except she also hasn't held a gun in her life, either, so he's got a huge advantage over her. Will they become bitter rivals in the name of laser tag? Who knows]

Great! So you can have my back when we demolish everyone else!

[Or maybe they'll work together!]

..You don't have to pay to play, right?
dishearten: \ (36)

[personal profile] dishearten 2017-02-12 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
( it'd be easy to assume maya is simply not from a world where consumerism is the way of life for most. graham assumes as much from the question, after all. he may not be Phoenix Wright but he sure can pay to get Maya in places. )

I think so, but I can manage it. ( he will manage it in the name of chivalry or comraderie or both. whichever makes more sense. ) do you know how to play? ( bc while he knows how to shoot things, he doesn't actually know the rules to laser tag. )
feytality: (J'ACCUSE)

[personal profile] feytality 2017-02-16 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
[Graham... no... save yourself. Save your wallet. This menace will bleed him dry. In any case, her eyes are totally lighting up]

Really? Thanks, mister! [Maya has a new favorite person, that's for sure.]

Um.... you shoot people? With lasers?

[Nailed it]
dishearten: (141)

[personal profile] dishearten 2017-02-18 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
( #itsfine no really, it's not too big of a deal. Graham doesn't care too much about material wealth, anything he earns goes to his "partner" and even then Emma won't take all of it, just enough to meet half of their expenses. what does it matter if he buys a game of laser tag for a strange girl? it's not like he'll need any money once their mission is over, anyway.

his eyebrows lift. he's not entirely sure, but... he thinks there might be more to it than that.
) Just for the sake of certainty, we might want to ascertain if that's the case before we start.

( he bets that's the basic idea. he just is guessing there's more to it than that. )
feytality: she'll beat you up with her noodle arms (Does Maya have to smack a bitch?)

[personal profile] feytality 2017-02-20 07:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[They're going to get along swimmingly. Maya's more than happy to spend his money, especially if he isn't using it!! Even if it is for a temporary situation, she's not no qualms in making use of the monetary system here. Especially if it's not her temporary money.]

Aww, come on, how hard can it be? You just have to wear a vest and shoot lasers or something, right? We can pick it up right away!

[or just go for the tutorial....]
dishearten: \ (2)

[personal profile] dishearten 2017-02-25 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Do you often play games without much idea as to the rules?

( he doesn't sound remotely judgmental about this. and don't worry, even heartless Graham is fully capable of being judgey when he wants to be. it usually involves animals. in this he isn't really judging, he's just mildly curious. wasn't it rather difficult to participate in a game if one didn't know any of the rules?

clearly, in Maya's case, the answer was no. no it wasn't that hard at all. in fact perhaps it was easier when one could make up their own rules; hard to be a loser that way!
)
feytality: i guess if you look really closely there is a nose, maybe (WHO NEEDS A NOSE)

[personal profile] feytality 2017-02-26 06:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Screw the rules, she has Graham's money!!!]

[Even if he was being judgmental, it wouldn't have deterred her. She's used to it. That's all Phoenix does]


When you think about it, isn't it part of the fun? We're learning as we go! Going commando!

[That's not what going commando means, Maya....]

Haven't you ever run in, guns blazing? Or laser guns, in this case.
dishearten: \ (36)

[personal profile] dishearten 2017-02-26 07:53 am (UTC)(link)
No, I am afraid that I don't.

( he's possibly too cautious for his own good, and his heartlessness makes it difficult to follow his heart, as it were. running on emotion and the heat of the moment isn't something he does very often, if at all... though he can be convinced to follow someone else's lead, if they're especially convincing.

it's not clear if Maya is that, or if he's simply too willing to go with the flow.
)

Guns blazing, then. Shall we?
feytality: (hay gaiz wuts going on in this thread)

[personal profile] feytality 2017-03-02 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
Well, it's about time you started, mister! This'll be a great new experience for you. It's your first time too, right?

[Clearly, Maya's acting as his replacement heart here, teaching him how to live and... how to lose at laser tag.]

[She holds up her hand and balls it for a brofist]

[Don't leave her hanging, Graham cracker!!]


Let's kick laser butt!
dishearten: \ (36)

wrap??? possible? (that's possibly in spanish just fyi)

[personal profile] dishearten 2017-03-04 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
That it is.

( Storybrooke was a cursed place, so clearly it never had anything as awesome as laser tag. still, today is a day of firsts. his first video game shooter, and his first bout of laser tag. even better that he's facing the latter with a partner in crime.

he does stare blandly at her fist for a moment, having some awareness of high fives and handshakes and yet a fistbump? speaking of firsts. he's a little slow, processing the intention, but after a heartbeat he doesn't have, grants her a bump in return. he's seen it before, even if he's never participated... that's three firsts for today, thanks Maya!
)

They won't see us coming.

( the huntsman and the samurai mystic... they'll be unstoppable... )
feytality: U BETTER CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE U WRECK YOURSELF (BITCHES GONNA GET POINTED AT)

i'd prefer a sandwich thanks.... jk we can wrap

[personal profile] feytality 2017-03-08 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Clearly. Luckily, Maya is here to provide many services and teachings for Graham. She pouts at him impatiently in the time it takes him to fistbump her, but is pleased, regardless!!]

Let's do it! We'll wipe the floor with the competition!

[Aka: Graham will do all the work and Maya will just shoot randomly]