epidemiology | EVENT ★ A-LICKY BOOM BOOM DOWN

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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.

david tilton;

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's not clinginess, it's the buddy system, what if he gets lost! Just kidding, it's clinginess. He takes a second to glance around at the cute, harmless pets, but it's not quite as novel to him as it probably is to her, so he decides to let her drag him to whatever bunnies she feels the need to touch. ]

When have you ever rolled around on a pile of money for fun. ...I mean, yes, that sounds awesome and I'm going to do it now, but when have you.

Um, every day of my life. [Obviously!! She hesitates in the entranceway for a second, not really sure where to go -- this is her first time in a pet store -- before she starts off toward the section labeled "small animals." Surely there will be bunnies here, she said she wanted bunnies.]

Sssspeaking of which, though. Yoouuu remember how... that thing happened to Felix but then it turns out it didn't happen, but I didn't bring him back with me anyway? [She's being intentionally vague, she can't just start talking about BOMBS and VAULT MONSTERS and TEN MILLION DOLLARS when they're trying to be on the down-low.]

Uhhhh.

[ He squints, uncertain. He doesn't want to say he doesn't know what she's talking about and look like an idiot, but also, what the fuck is she talking about. Use your words, Fiona. Rhys can at least figure out a little bit of what she's trying to say from context clues, but not her main point. ]

Ye— nnnn... maybe? Oh, my god, just whisper it.

[God, why isn't he psychic yet?? He's had so much time to work on this. She rolls her eyes, sighing, like it's such a hassle to be clear about what she's trying to say.] Okay, listen. I went to go meet with Felix. Annnd instead, there was an ECHO comm.

[She pauses to let go of him because there are bunnies here, and because this is the '90s, you can just kind of reach in the exhibit thing and pet them, obviously. I don't care, this is my shitty fluff thread, let me do what I want.]

Which -- doesn't matter, but the point is. Um. You know... all that money. [She glances up at him; she's touching a bunny, he can't get mad.] I have it.

[ He can't get mad at her if she's touching a bunny? When did this become a law! Admittedly, it's very cute, but still. He goes through a few different facial expressions, furrowing his brow and wrinkling his nose and frowning before he settles on raising his eyebrows. ]

Sooo... you've had ten million dollars this whole time. [ Was she trying to be subtle? Whoops. ] And you didn't think that was relevant to mention.

[Oh my god, he's so bad at this. She gives him a wide-eyed expression that translates to shut the fuck up, though it's pretty likely that nobody is even paying attention to them. It's a pet store in the middle of the afternoon, it's not like it's jumping.]

Nine. [Just saying. He's getting upset, so she picks up the bunny to amp up the cuteness. She's holding! A bunny!!!] But, uh... not really? It's not like it's worth anything outside Pandora.

[ Using bunnies to emotionally manipulate him, that's fucked up. It's kind of working, though, it's so hard to be mad when looking at a bunny face. ]

—Well, yeah, but. [ He has to look away from the bunny, this is too much. ] Some of that money is definitely mine. And I'm... assuming we're going to go back to Pandora eventually. Where that money would actually be worth something. And I could use it. For things.

[She kind of rubs her face on the bunny, though it's more for her benefit now since he's not looking. It's soft! She's totally getting one of these; she has decided that soft, non-bitey things are totally her speed.]

Um. [He has a point. She wasn't planning on giving any to him, as she feels she and Sasha earned it by being pawns in Felix's fucked-up double-con, but things are different now. She likes to kiss his face, for one.] I guess you could. Mister Atlas. [Of course he'd use money for business ventures, why would he use it for frivolous shit!!]

[ Wow, good, he definitely would have divorced her immediately had she refused to give him any, she would never have gotten to kiss his face ever again. His life got ruined because of that money!! He almost died!!! He ripped his own arm off!!!! He at least deserves a cool million for psychological trauma, you callous asshole.

He reaches over to pet the bunny's head because he's weak and it's cute. ] I could roll around in a pile of it, for one. Orrr, you know, the Atlas thing. It would probably be a good idea to turn that into an actual thing. [ It's surprisingly hard to support yourself on Pandora when your only job experience is with Hyperion, who knew. ] So. You took a long time to mention that. Were yooouuu... planning on telling me, at some point.

[The most she can give him is half her share, which is like two-point-five million?? Will that soothe his tender soul. (If he wants to give Vaughn half of that, that's his prerogative, but he seems to be pretty happy rolling around in the dirt playing bandit king, so. Fiona doesn't feel particularly beholden.) She probably can't both get off-planet and make a decent living for herself elsewhere, but at least Sasha will have enough to get out and that's the important thing.

She still feels a little cautious, as she doesn't particularly want to get into a passive-aggressive argument in the middle of a pet store, so she smiles tentatively and holds the bunny out so he can hold it. If he wants!!] It just didn't seem relevant, what with... everything else going on. [Vault monsters and Vaults, she means, but also the whole intergalactic peace corps thing.] I told you now.

[ They can get in a passive-aggressive argument in the middle of the street instead, if she wants. He frowns, but takes the bunny in his arms anyway; petting its soft fur is soothing, and he needs to be soothed now that she's finally coughing this up. ]

So... does that mean you were just going to take it all without telling me.

[Now that Rhys has her bunny, she reaches into the pen for another one. They are probably not supposed to be just manhandling the animals, but whatever, nobody has said anything to them yet.]

Umm... no...? [She's not even trying.] Okay -- no, I mean... I don't know. I didn't have time to think about it. But I'm not now, isn't that more important?

[ He rubs his face on it a little, too, but just because it's soft, not because she rubbed her face on it and he's copying her. He misses cute, non-violent animals so much, he's taking advantage of this one. This is such a weird conversation to have while holding a bunny, but he keeps stroking its fur to have something to do. ]

I mean, I would hope you wouldn't have to think about whether I deserved to know about the nine million dollars you had lying around after my entire life basically fell apart, but yeah, it's fine.

[ It is not fine. ]

[Maybe she'll get him the bunny. They can share it. Gortys II, their second child.

Meanwhile, he's being such a freakin' girl about this, it's ridiculous. Why can't he be like her and be open about his negative feelings?? And only his negative feelings. The only feelings that matter. She frowns at him a little and puts her bunny back in the pen so she can touch on his face (in public!!!).]

Don't get upset, [she murmurs lowly, stroking her thumb along his cheek.] I can split it with you once we get back. It's in my room.

[ That would be his fourth child! At least not a single one would be genetically related to him, it would probably be unfortunate to unleash four different people sharing his DNA out into the world. This universe can only take so much Rhys. He puts the bunny back with its friend, patting it on the head and looking at it to avoid looking at her like the baby he is. ]

I'm not upset. You're— you're upset. [ NO, YOU'RE CRYING!!! ] Any other secrets you feel like sharing?

[UgggGGGGGHhhh. She wants to smack him in the dumb stupid face right now, that would surely knock him out of this sulk, but she probably shouldn't start beating on him in public. Or... ever? She should stop using her jabby little fists to circumvent feelings, basically.

She moves to stand next to him so she can lean against him a little, subtly, slipping her arm behind his back. She's not a huge fan of PDA, but touching on him when he's upset seems to calm him down, so sacrifices must be made.] I like Gortys better than Dumpy. [It's a joke, she's trying to be cute for levity. She might just grab the bunny again if that doesn't work.] No, um... no. Nothing. I'm sorry.

[ He's still feeling pissy about the whole thing, but he lets his hackles down a little. It's entirely involuntary; if he had it his way, he'd stay annoyed about everything forever, then he'd win every argument. He's weak, though, and she's being cute. He sulks for a moment more, then rests his hand on her back. ]

Yeah, well. If it turns out you're lying, I'll tell Dumpy what you said about him. And he won't be happy about it.

[Thank god. She can only take sulky Rhys for so long, it's too pitiful.] Nooo, not that. I'll go deaf. [She presses her fingers lightly into his hip to just reinforce her soothing, since winter clothes aren't super conducive to the standard Gentle Scratching.

Glancing at him sidelong, she adds,] Do you want to look around more? Or go home? ["Home," he knows what she means.]

[ She's basically petting with the grain and he's easily influenced, so this pleases him, and he untenses the rest of the way. That's one temper tantrum narrowly avoided, but probably not the last one she'll need to sidestep. Not about this, necessarily, just in general. He has a lot of emotions about a lot of things. ]

Me, I'm super okay with that. But you only got to pet, like, two bunnies. [ ONLY two!! Although that's also probably the most bunnies she's ever seen in real life, if he had to guess, so maybe that was exciting enough. ] And we didn't touch any lawns, or... mow them? Or— whatever it is that you wanted to do with them. Is that the end of Fiona's Super Big Mega Awesome Suburban Adventure Jamboree today, are you sure you're ready to go home?

[As long as he doesn't have tantrums in public, she can probably deal. By which I mean she needs to be able to argue with him without getting the muggle police involved.]

We can't mow lawns when there's snow, stupid. [OR CAN THEY??? No, she's pretty sure. Like 95%. She moves away just enough where she can take his hand, leading him back through the store so they can leave. She came here for bunnies and she touched bunnies; this is in fact her first real-life experience with them, so she needs to pace herself.] Weee could... go sledding. Or build a snowman? And then there's hot chocolate, that's what happens post-snow excursion.

[ Ooh, she's holding his hand in public, this hot PDA. Actually, he's super pleased about it, show everyone that they kiss each other's faces. It's the closest he can get to making her wear a shirt with his face on it. I ♥ Rhys, etc. He just lets her lead him wherever she wants, he would just be trailing behind her like an annoying puppy anyway. ]

Wow, you're an expert, huh. [ What holiday special of space Degrassi did she get this from, because clearly it isn't from personal experience. Since she literally lived in a cave. An actual caveman. ] You said sledding was dumb. Also, I'm not actually sure how to buy a sled. Or, um, how to do it? I... literally do not know anything about sledding. [ His knowledge of winter sports probably ends at playing SSX Tricky. ] Buuut we can do the other stuff?

[Don't get too excited, she goes back to holding his arm once they're outside. Which is still a Display that is Public, but it's less gooey. Or more gooey? Whatever, the point is that she prefers it as far as public touching goes.]

Oh my god, you don't know how to sled, what kind of suburbanite are you. [These important survival skills! She turns them around to go back """home,""" the house that they've temporarily acquired; she still wants lunch, but cuddling up with sandwiches sounds more appealing than paying for weird, overpriced Earth food.]

Well, anyway. Lucky for you, we have the essentials at the house. Cups and hot chocolate mix.

[ The kind of suburbanite that doesn't go outside! Basement-dweller, remember. He probably spent all his snow days inside on whatever the 29th century version of Reddit is. ]

A mix, oh, boy. [ Obviously, he's being sarcastic — where's the Starbucks! — but he smiles so she doesn't think he's making fun of her. He has to be on good behavior so maybe she'll hold his hand some more later. ] I feel like you're going to make me make it. Are you going to make me make it? You're going to make me make it, aren't you.

[Obviously it's space Reddit or Speddit, get with the program. She makes a little face in response to the sarcasm, but squeezes his arm right after, happy although she's unwilling to be that obvious about it. It's embarrassing.]

Shut up. I was going to do it myself, but you just talked yourself right into hot chocolate duty. [Torture.] It's fair, though, since obviously I'll be pulling most of the weight in snowman-building.

[ Yep, he was all over space /r/me_irl. He doesn't totally believe that she was ever going to do it — maybe she thought she was, but he fully believes she would have gotten lazy before then and demanded he do it instead because that's the kind of person she is — but he makes a big deal out of scowling about it anyway, like, oh, darn, this is the worst. He'll have to put some hot chocolate in the microwave, so difficult.

Quite frankly, he's more offended by her suggestion that she'll somehow be """pulling more weight""" here. ] Excuse me? Obviously, what's obvious— when's the last time you even made a snowman, just wondering. Is iiiit never?

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