epidemiology | EVENT ★ I PREDICT A RIOT

EVENT ★ I PREDICT A RIOT

I WANNA START A FIGHT

RIOTS

In the time between the quarantine and now, the virus has spread unnaturally rapidly, with the amount of the population infected estimated to be around 1.5% or approximately 3,750 people. Understandably, the panic has increased considerably. People who were taking the virus seriously before have begun to work themselves up into a frenzy, and even those who were calm are beginning to get anxious.

An infected teacher went on a violent rampage at the local elementary school yesterday, leading the school board to close all Woodhurst schools for the rest of the week while the entire staff is studied for symptoms. There’s no test for the Bristol virus, however, so it’s impossible to tell for sure. This, of course, worries the parents. The unrest starts with a protest at the school, calling for schools to be closed indefinitely until the quarantine is over for the safety of the children, but it doesn’t stop there.

Unrest turns to rioting before long; the majority of the riot is focused at city hall, where citizens are demanding answers, but there’s also mayhem at stores as the people of Woodhurst loot them, stocking up for what some assume is an impending apocalypse. Those who don’t believe this have locked themselves up in their homes not for protection from the infected but the rioters. Suffice it to say, most of the citizens out on the streets are of the slightly unstable variety, although some just found themselves caught up in the riots and became worked up by the crowd.

Local police forces -- including ALASTAIR agents posing as police officers -- have been dispatched to deal with the rioters at city hall. Rioters who attempt to leave the city are taken care of by officers sent by the federal government to enforce the quarantine.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

It might be a good idea to see what supplies can be found at the supermarkets, although you run the risk of getting attacked by a violent looter. The police won’t necessarily turn away anyone trying to keep order at city hall, but any supernatural powers will only incite the already violent crowd, so it’s recommended characters keep from utilizing their powers if they want to stay in one piece. Then, of course, there’s always the option to protect innocents who happen to be stuck out on the streets in the middle of the riots.

While the entirety of the police force is focused at the quarantine borders and outside city hall, now is possibly one of the only chances to get full access to buildings in the city. There are still some workers who haven’t been sent home and some of the buildings are locked up, but there are few police officers that can be spared to go check out a simple break-in.

Now is the time to search the city, if you're feeling brave. If you’re really ballsy, you can even try to slip in through the back door of city hall and go through their records. The only important building in town that’s not able to be searched is the hospital, which is incredibly busy due to the high number of people injured in the riots and traffic accidents.

Of course, just because rioters aren’t around doesn’t mean you’ll be left alone. There’s always a chance you’ll find yourself alone in a building with someone very hungry. Willing to take the chance?

Submit all CYOA choices to this thread.

OOC NOTES

The Bounty Board is now open! If you are looking for ways to get involved in this mission's optional objective, this is a good place to start. We’d also like to remind everyone that ALASTAIR does not invent cover stories for characters -- that’s all them! The only jobs they’ll help with getting are in the police force and government; everything else is up to characters to interview for.

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

[ her lips purse in her stubbornness, cheeks puffing out just a bit as she holds back her ready retort — that, technically, she didn't collapse... because he caught her just before she could. so, you know. so there.

fortunately, she decides to address something she has a lot more leg to stand on. ]

I won't get hurt, [ she tells him patiently, though it's really more like i won't stay hurt because of her healing and all. but part of it is also admittedly whether or not she deems herself a necessary use of her own energy.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]

You needn't worry.

[ gurl. he "needn't worry?" yeah, right. as if that were something he could just turn off. the fact that she's so stubborn just makes him worry more. so there.

he shakes his head, though he really is trying to be gentle about it. he knows it would upset her to leave. ]

You could have hit your head right now. If you'd been knocked out, you wouldn't have been able to heal yourself. Then you'd just be lying in the middle of a riot, and god knows what would happen to you. [ he pauses and grows quieter, but more anxious. ] And some of these people are probably already sick.

[ the thought of someone he cares about getting sick makes him feel sick. ]

[ even without her empathy, she can sense the worry rolling off of him in waves, and she does feel a pang of guilt over it, she really does... ]

That's all the more reason to be out here, [ she says in a quieter tone, shifting her hands now so that she holds onto him as well. she is a bit steadier on her feet, so she needn't lean into him quite so much. ]

We're meant to help, aren't we? We can't just let these people panic themselves into a frenzy...

[ well, this is clearly not gonna work. no amount of convincing is going to change her mind. he has an idea—he doesn't really like it, but it's a compromise. he's about to propose it to her when the last of her words hit him, and he looks at her curiously. ]

...I mean, yeah, we can do our best, but how are we supposed to keep them from panicking?

[ at that, olivia just quiets. she glances around for a moment then, before finally putting up a finger towards her lips. then, ever so discreetly, she shifts that finger to point towards two men who were slightly sectioned off from the main riot, who looked quite ready to tear into each other's skin — and they weren't even infected!

two whole seconds later, however, both men's expressions slacken, and then suddenly both are erupting into laughter, so much so that they needed to lean on each other just to keep upright. ]

[ his eyes follow her finger to the men, and for a second he feels an anxious need to dart over there and try to break up what is very clearly about to become a fight, but then—

they double over onto each other laughing like the best of friends. what the hell? his head jerks back toward her and he stares, utterly dumbfounded. ]

Wh—how did you do that?

[ olivia's smile is small, sheepish. while she is grateful he isn't looking upon her in horror or anything, she is also still quite aware that this is not something she should be advertising... or particularly proud of.

she's doing this without their consent, after all. ]

...healing isn't the only magic ALASTAIR has gifted me with. For a few months now, I've had empathy too.

Empathy?

[ yeah, he's confused. since when is empathy a magic power? isn't that just a normal thing one person can feel for another? he tries to work this out in his head for a moment in the interest of not looking stupid, and he can't quite grasp it, but glancing back at the two laughing guys kind of speaks for itself. ]

Are you saying you can, like... make people feel things?

[ ha ha. ]

...Yes.

[ ha ha ]

If I want to, I can feel what others are feeling, or alter or remove them.

[ she shrugs her small shoulders, ducking her head a little. ]

Since I've been able to control these powers, I have done my best not to use them at all...

[ what good are they, anyway. ]

[ he has a brief "oh, shit" moment when she says she can feel what others are feeling. but he trusts her enough to know she wouldn't use that on someone without their consent, so it fades quickly.

thank god. ]

Wow. That's... pretty amazing, actually. Why would you want to keep from using them, though? They're obviously useful. Although, if they exhaust you like this...

[ that he doesn't like. ]

[ olivia's lips pull into a frown, her gaze shifting back to the laughing men. ]

Is it...? Changing someone's emotions like that, without their knowing or their consent... [ she shakes her head, turning away. ]

It doesn't feel right.

[ the exhaustion part doesn't seem to bother her. her healing powers function just the same, after all. ]

[ she has a point. still, after thinking about it for a moment, he squeezes her shoulders gently to get her attention. ]

Hey. I get what you're saying, honestly, but these people would be hurting each other if it weren't for you. It's not like you're just going around screwing with people's feelings for fun. You're using these powers to protect them, right? How many people are going to get home safe today because of you? Judging by the state you're in, I'm gonna say a lot.

[ she had already begun to retreat into herself, evident in the way her shoulders began to hunch, her dead began to dip and eyes trailing soon after — but the squeeze on her shoulders has her glancing back up again, pulled away from her gloomy thoughts.

she finds herself scrambling to come up with a rebuttal, to refute his claims, but it is perhaps a true testament to her own tiredness that she comes up blank.

after a moment, she bites down on her lip, hands beginning to wring between them. ]

...Do you really think so...

Of course I do. I know so.

[ there's no doubt whatsoever in the smile he offers her. why would there be? maybe he doesn't trust her not to utterly exhaust herself doing this, but trusts in her intentions 100%. ]

Now, I could easily drag you home right now, but I'm not going to do that, because I dunno if you'd ever forgive me. So I'll make you a deal. You can stay out here and help some more, but you have to hold on to me, and the next time you pass out, I'm taking you home. How's that sound?

[ her expression grows mildly pinched when he mentions easily dragging her home — not because she doesn't think he can do it (she is a dancer, after all; the body is her canvas, and she, more than most, has an easy time knowing what many people have to work with), but because she would obviously prefer if he didn't. (though, even then, it's more of a pout than a disapproving frown. as if she were two seconds away from stamping her feet.)

she finds herself torn, though, unable to think of a good rebuttal to his proposed plan. it is incredibly well thought out, at least in the sense that it allows her the opportunity to keep doing what she's doing, but to do so much more safely than she had been doing before... and without having to feel scolded about it, either.

the pout is back, now, but only because goshdarnit he's good. ]

...Fine. Deal.

[ she holds her hand up towards him — to shake on it, of course, but also to keep true to the "holding on" part of it. ]

[ her agreement pleases him greatly, and it shows. it's a fine balance he has to strike between desperately wanting to protect her from this and not wanting to stand in the way of her strong will to help others, but this seems like a fair compromise.

he really doesn't like that she wants to work herself to collapse, but at least he can be there to catch her when she does. again. ]

Good. [ he takes her hand, shakes it, and then leans down to pull her arm around his shoulders for support. ] Ready to get back into it, then?

[ she takes in a deep, steadying breath, allowing her body to calm.

somehow, it is easier with him right beside her, keeping her upright and steady. ]

Ready.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ I PREDICT A RIOT

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wrap up here too?!