epidemiology | [EVENT POST] I FEEL STUPID, AND CONTAGIOUS.

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[EVENT POST] I FEEL STUPID, AND CONTAGIOUS.

CHARACTERS: Open to all!
DATE: 3/11-3/12, ICly
WARNINGS: Zombie attacks? Violence? Shopping???
SUMMARY: Lockdown at the mall! Grab your CDs and your soft pretzel, it's about to get bad.

LET'S GO TO THE MALL

LOCKDOWN

Business has been rough for Woodhurst Shopping Center ever since riots and unrest about the Bristol Virus have shunned most to their homes. Perhaps ill-advisedly, in attempts to draw a few more customers back into the polished halls of the grandest shopping experience Woodhurst has to offer, a weekend of big sales, great bargains, and fun family activities was widely advertised in the Woodhurst Watch. There was even a scheduled public concert, performed by the University Choir.

The turnout was smaller than hoped, yet the air was quite optimistic. Shoppers enjoyed the day of activities and fun, and the sense of security was bolstered by the increased security detail. There was even some members of the press on hand to document this return to normality in a troubled time. Everything was going well, until a scene broke out in the food court.

Security tried to quietly remove members of the choir that suddenly seemed to snap, plowing into one of the food stands and starting to feed on raw meat. However, a good handful of them escaped instant confinement, and while many of the visitors fled the mall as soon as they could, soon Police Detail arrived and put the entire building on lockdown. Nobody in and nobody out until the situation was resolved.

18:00 TO 23:00 HOURS

Anyone unlucky enough to be trapped in the mall is left to their own devices, with very little knowledge to go on. This includes many civilians, as well as a small number of Audentes agents. This also includes a small number of infected, more than just the university choir. There's a voice over the loudspeaker imploring people to hide in stores, barricade doors, and stay put until help arrives.

The majority of the infected seem to linger in the Food Court especially. Bad news for anyone trapped and starting to get hungry as the hours pass by, without any obvious assistance from the outside. The members of ALASTAIR have a choice, help protect or just do their best to avoid the infected themselves. Characters can get into the Security Office for a camera feed on what is happening in the mall, and potentially use it as a base of operations to work from.

00:00 TO 02:00 HOURS

It becomes apparent that the number of infected in the mall are somehow increasing, despite the lockdown. It means that those that have squirreled away into stores and outlets are growing less and less safe as infected numbers multiply and they begin attacking barricades. To make matters worse, anyone that hasn't found cover will find the infected extremely reactive, and willing to give chase around the mall.

The security feed indicates the infected seem to be coming in from the Parking Garage. Investigation will reveal a sewer outlet on the bottom floor. Characters will have to decide whether they should utilize the tunnel as a means of escape, or if sealing it off would ultimately leave the remaining hours of lockdown a little less violent.

04:00 TO 09:00 HOURS

It's been an agonizing 12 hours, and with surprisingly little aide from the outside. With time to make preparations and put plans in place, now it's time to end this lockdown once and for all. Audentes is tasked with neutralizing the remaining infected as well as escorting any remaining civilians to safety, by any means they decide on.

It is up to Audentes to decide how the end of this event plays out, be it removing or otherwise drawing away the lingering infected, or putting them down once and for all. There are plenty of civilians that have been bitten and attacked, leaving the question in the air as to whether they are infected as well. What should be done with those that could be bringing the virus back to their families? The team is going to have to decide on the answer to that.

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Surely you've picked a few things up from him over the years.

[She thinks she remembers him mentioning something about a younger brother, an actor well on his way to fame. The details don't come to her just yet but the pride in his voice is familiar enough. (Though maybe it would have been there regardless simply due to the family relation; Shizuo doesn't seem the sort to scorn family all that easily.)

More importantly, he's got a point. They can't just leave the kid there, and while she's got plenty of faith in Shizuo's zombie-bowling abilities, there's only two of them and a whole lotta infected.

So.]

I can. [With another nod back towards the mass slowly approaching them:] Can you handle all of them?

[Better safe than sorry.]

Guess I could fake an autograph or something...

[True, it's a little bit of both--Shizuo is fond of his family on the whole, having no reason not to be, and Kasuka's success will always be a point of immense pride on top of that too. Shizuo may not be living up to much right now, in his own opinion, but at least his little brother is a really cool person...what more could one ask for, really? Though he doubts he'd ever be able to emulate Kasuka's acting talent to any particular success. (Shizuo pls, if you'd stop putting yourself down for two seconds you might be surprised....)

The kid definitely feels like a priority about now, at any rate, awkward explanations about acting gigs in the middle of a mall full of infected or no. At Riza's question Shizuo considers the approaching crowd, and then shrugs.]

...Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. I've fought more people at once before. [How many people shambled their way to the park that night when the Slasher incident came to a head, back home? Triple the infected crowd in front of him now, at least, if not more than that...and they'd all been armed with knives and a lot of weird and awkward love. What's this by comparison, really?

Shizuo starts forward, waving to Riza idly over a shoulder.]

I'll follow after you guys once you get moving, make sure nobody else tries to follow us. Aah, what a pain...

[The next few minutes are probably about to be filled with a lot of shouting and clanging as the mall map proceeds to get put to further use. He's zombie-bowling for a few strikes today, might as well make it count...!]

[She's got faith in Shizuo's zombie-bowling skills, never fear. (But are they as good as his actual bowling skills, will she ever find out.....)

Riza waits for her cue, then once the mall map starts swinging downwards in a wide arc she's on the move once again, weaving through the still open floors in a beeline for the kid still ducked behind the giant plastic fern. (An odd choice of interior decoration, but the entirety of Woodhurst has been odd to her so far.) It's hard to hear over the thud of bodies hitting first map, then whatever surface they happen to careen into, but she pitches her voice loud enough for the boy to hear.]

Come on, let's get you to somewhere safe.

[To which the boy answers:] Is he [with a point to Shizuo] gonna come with us?

[Lord, what a terrible time to gain a fanclub.

She nods, stamping down a burst of exasperation, then leads him out of his hiding place and towards safety - in this case, towards the northeast corner of the mall, where some of them have set up temporary shelter. No doubt his guardian's there too, though why they would let a child run off without supervision is anyone's guess.

To Shizuo, she fires a quick message.]

Northeast section of the mall. There's a group there.

[(Who knows, truly.....but the answer is no. Don't put him in an actual bowling alley. Either he makes a strike and embeds the bowling ball in the back of the alley, or he pulls back and ends up with those awkwardly wide spares to pick up instead. It's a struggle. Zombies are easier.)

Shizuo manages to hold onto the mall map for quite a long time--longer than he'd hold onto most of the improvised bludgeons he usually gets, really, but he knows collateral damage should probably be kept to a minimum, and resisting the occasional urge to throw the map is a must. The infected might be hungry and driven, but in the end they're just normal human people all the same...and normal people just don't have the strength to really match him. It's possible Shizuo has yet to be infected just because his immune system is as ridiculous as the rest of him by now, but it helps that he never actually lets any infected get close enough for long enough to land a bite either--a firm punch to the face usually remedies that, and now the map does too, where it's needed.

There's a lot of infected to deal with, that being said...but Shizuo's in no rush, and harbors no particular concern for his own situation. He'll give this however long it takes for Riza to guide the kid out of the area, and in the meantime it's actually pretty cathartic to be able to hit a few things, put off the temper simmering close under the surface a little longer with some placating violence. Pathetic, that it still takes violence--but he can't be picky either, right now...and his magitek's pinging, oh. He takes a look at the message between swings of his map.]

Right.

[Short, sweet, and to the point--but he's sure Riza would understand, since his hands are a bit full when he sends the text. They aren't for long, though...and a few minutes after Riza has sent off her message, she'd find Shizuo stepping into view of the temporary shelter at length, not much worse for wear but...without the mall map, now. There's also an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He waves.]

Hey. Things should be quiet for a bit now...how's the kid? Find his parents or whatever?

[There's pockets of infected still lingering in the mall but they're lucky enough to avoid them as they strategically hop from one store to another on the way to their final destination. For his part, the kid still clings on to the strange delusion that he's part of some in-progress action film still being taped, but she supposes that's better than the alternative of a screaming crying child drawing attention from all corners of the mall. They arrive at the shelter with little incident, and while Shizuo wraps up his impromptu bowling Riza goes hunting for a set of parents missing their child.

She's still hunting when Shizuo arrives, and his question's answered with a shake of her head.]

He's fine [with a point at the kid now happily engaged with another child] but I haven't been able to find his parents yet. It's possible they're trapped somewhere else.

[The mall's big and there are plenty of them. It's not an unlikely scenario. She raises an eyebrow, checking him over.]

No injuries?

[Seems unlikely given his ludicrous strength, but she does feel a bit bad leaving him to fend for himself all alone.]

[Drawing up until he's standing next to Riza, Shizuo frowns a bit around his cigarette as she outlines the current situation, before shaking his head at the question.]

Ah, nope. Might be a few scrapes here and there-- [though he certainly couldn't tell her where, even if he wanted to--he certainly doesn't know, since he can't feel any of them] --but nobody's gotten in a bite yet. Which is good, 'cause I'd like to keep up this track record of not being bitten for this whole mission, if I've got a say in it. There's a few more infected knocked out now than there were before, anyway.

[It all took a toll on his mall map, though...it's laid in some hall he'd passed through on his way back, now, with a few hearty dents and stains for police to probably puzzle over later. Shizuo plucks the cigarette from his mouth, following Riza's line of sight to the two children cheerily chattering away.] Sucks about the kid though...hope his parents are alright. Might be barricaded someplace like everybody else, though, right? ...Ah--

[Shizuo's fairly distinctive bartender-clad figure seems to have caught the boy's attention at about this time--there's a delighted gasp, and then the boy's promptly running back up to both of them, tugging the second child in tow. "See, there he is! That's the cool guy I was talking about!"

"Ooh...hey, is it true? Did you really hit somebody with a map?"

Shizuo stares down at the both of them as they approach, looking promptly thrown off.] Uh...I'm, uh... [Looks...back up to Riza.......help????]

Edited 2017-03-29 03:08 (UTC)

[Ah, it looks like Cool-senpai has gained a tiny religious following. Congrats on this new elevated status, Shizuo.

The unbridled enthusiasm tugs at the tangled mass of tension inside enough for it to loosen and for her shoulders to droop momentarily in relief. If children can stay so calm about things, surely there can't be that much to worry about. Surely everything will be alright.

Everything - and everyone - save for Shizuo, who seems to be dumbfounded by all the attention suddenly showered upon him. Or perhaps he's just fish-flopping uselessly on the inside trying to come up with a reasonable phrase to excuse away his super strength. Either way, it's a much needed burst of entertainment and Riza lets it drag on just a little too long before she finally steps in. (Sorry, Shizuo.)]

He did, but you have to promise to keep it secret, alright? He's a hero from another planet [not incorrect] here on a top secret mission to keep this city safe [also not incorrect from a really great danger.

[Look, the crazier the story is, surely the less their parents (and other people) will believe them.

The kids soak it up like water into a sponge and immediately push forth, asking almost conspiratorially:] Can we still get your autograph?

[Ah, truly a new world has opened up...HE ISN'T READY.......

As is evident by the way he struggles to answer the kids' eager questions, before Riza finally does step in. It's a combination of both, really--he's still far more used to being feared than admired, by a long shot--and he's also still a terrible off-the-cuff liar who may or may not have already completely forgotten Riza's earlier suggestion to act like an actor in a movie or something.

Riza ends up coming to the rescue just in the nick of time, at least, and the children aren't the only one staring at her as she recounts......an actually more or less accurate summary of their current mission in Woodhurst on the whole, here. Shizuo blinks at her mildly incredulously, but apparently the kids see no flaw whatsoever in this riveting explanation, so that's probably a good thing...

Aah, but now they're still asking for his autograph...man, and he was just joking about autographs earlier too, way to jinx himself. Shizuo is heaving a very deep internal sigh about now, but he only lets himself look as hapless as he's currently feeling for a few more moments, before...well, alright. Fine. If it's only for a few minutes--and this is the angle Riza wants to take--he'll go ahead and run with it, he guesses. Okay, how does Kasuka deal with his smaller fans again...? ...Like--]

[Shizuo breaks into a wide smile--decidedly at odds with the smaller smiles he tends to slip into very sparingly and mostly on accident--and leans down closer to the childrens' level, planting his hands on his knees.]

Ah, an autograph? Well, I guess I could risk it just once, since it's for you guys. [He drops his voice, equally conspiratorial as he presses a finger to his lips in a hushing motion:] But you've gotta promise to try your best to keep this a secret, okay? We're undercover right now, so it's real important to be sneaky.

[He's regarded with wide eyes and eager nodding.] Okay, we promise! [And this earns a wider smile in turn.] Hey, thanks. Alright, now I've got your promises--huh, I haven't got a pen right now...have you guys got anything to write with? [The girl raises her hand excitedly.] Yeah! I've got, um, I have my crayon... [Which she proceeds to pull out of one of her pockets; green, and more of a stub at this point, but Shizuo accepts it cheerily.] Wow, you guys are prepared for anything, huh?

[He looks up at Riza.] Uh, got any paper or something else that can get written on...?

[Look, they're kids, who's gonna believe them if they start spouting stories about aliens and zombie viruses and people from different planets. (No one, unfortunately. She's never had kids of her own but she's been around Elicia enough times to know.)

More importantly though—she's completely taken aback by Shizuo's transformation from quiet and reluctant bartender to effusive wannabe actor, more than willing to make small children's dreams come try with a few simple flicks of his wrist. It's certainly a sight to see, and she wishes she had some way to record the event and keep it for posterity. (No video camera, alas, but maybe—she reaches up to twist once at a ring hanging off a chain around her neck before tucking the chain back under the collar of her shirt.)

She's still largely in awe as Shizuo asks her for a stray piece of paper, and stays silent as she digs through her wallet for something she won't need later. It ends up being a business card, boring and stodgy but with a nice empty back for Shizuo to write on.]

Will that work?

[Otherwise he could totally go the route of wild concert fans and sign the boy's t-shirt....not that such an idea ever dawns on her.]

[It's true, at least.....and it really does help that what they're telling them isn't even actually a lie in any particular form, albeit just too unbelievable to be true coming from children's mouths. Shizuo's trying hard enough as it is just to keep more or less channeling his clearest memories of Kasuka on tv for another minute or so--though most strangers probably wouldn't be able to tell, as easily as Shizuo accepts Riza's business card and turns back to the children, beaming warmly all the while. Signing t-shirts doesn't exactly occur to him either, really...but this is just as good. Who knows how crayon goes together with fabric anyway...]

Yeah, this should work great! Thanks. Let's see...well, can't just leave one of you without an autograph. So I'll do two, how's that? [He tears the business card in half, and then starts scribbling on each of them with the crayon--gingerly, so he doesn't end up snapping it in half, and attempting to use the edge of it instead of the dull end for a bit more precision. Ah, his handwriting is still very light and objectively terrible once it's all said and done...

But that ends up not mattering at all in the long run, since it's his name in kanji anyway. The children note this immediately as they each accept a piece of the business card from him with a nigh-reverent air, comparing them between each other with wide eyes.]

Look, it's like, alien letters...he really is from another planet! [....Honestly, it had mostly been to save space, but you know what? Fine, he'll go with this. Shizuo laughs.] Yeah, that's my name! But I'll give it to you guys like this since I just know you'll keep our secret for sure. This'll be between us, alright?

[Shizuo returns the crayon to the girl, and then draws upright, tucking his hands into his pants pockets and....giving the kids an actual honest-to-god wink, wow, he really is going all out on this--]

So hey, could you two do me a favor? We're gonna keep watch over here to make sure no more bad guys come this way, but somebody's gotta make sure all these people here are doing alright. Could you guys check around and make sure nobody's hurt? Tell us right away if somebody is, huh?

Oh, sure--
Okay! We'll tell you right away! [And the children dash off into the small crowd, clutching their autographs in delight.]

[Shizuo's smiling until they're out of sight--and then he turns around and back to Riza with a sigh, rubbing at his face a bit as the act deflates almost immediately.]

Ah, damn...I still keep forgetting things are in English around here. You think that'll be alright? [Surely improvised green crayon autographs in kanji aren't going to blow their cover...right??? Shizuo doesn't know. He's busy sinking right back into his proper frowning self, about now.]

[What a good show......can she launch into a round of wild applause and demand an encore? But from the looks of things, his few minutes of momentary fame have taxed him more than he'd let on. It's like watching a balloon suddenly untied, deflating to a ghost of its former self, the shape still barely there but the contents completely gone.

A strange transformation, but still one she considers herself privileged to see. (And one she hopes to see again one day in the future, if she's entirely honest. He still looks the best with a smile on his face, in her opinion.)

Her gaze shifts, sliding towards the retreating backs of the children, both exuberant over their good luck of the day. (Never mind that they might have both been three minutes away from becoming zombie chow.) She smiles, a ghost here then gone.]

They did say it was even in an alien language, didn't they?

[Japanese, technically, but it might as well also be an alien language for her for all that it looks like a bunch of scribbles on a piece of paper. But back to the kids—she nods at their now-tiny figures, eyebrows raised.]

You seem to do well with kids.

[You'd truly better have cherished this entire sight, Riza....he's probably not gonna do it again for another hundred years or so smh. (Or well, whenever more children in need of a distraction crop up probably, but. That's how it feels in his heart....)]

Yeah, guess they did...hah, funny how people see things just in different countries. [Though he's not about to be particularly offended over a pair of children calling Japanese characters alien script, especially if it means he hasn't just compromised their entire mission with green crayon scribbles. Shizuo watches the retreating forms of the children until they're lost in the crowd himself, though Riza's remark has his attention refocusing on her after a bit. He grimaces vaguely, shrugging.]

Ah, I don't really think so...Kasuka sort of is, though? That's the kind of stuff he'd say, back there. [Shizuo rubs at the back of his neck, shaking his head.] I hate lying like that...feels like I'm trying to sell a false product or something, you know? ...But I hate scaring kids too. [And he's frowning back over at the crowd again, even though the children are well out of sight by now.] Talk about a shit situation. Hope they all get out of here okay.

[Ah, what a waste.....! Clearly it's time to find more children to mob Shizuo with.

The mention of lying has her sobering - it's never been an activity she's approved much of either, both in herself and in others - but she merely tips her head to one side, understanding and reassurance settling across her face.]

You gave them hope and something to look forward to. Better than than more hours spent worrying over their parents and their friends.

[When it comes to children, the future generation....she's willing to allow leniency, if it means they'll have one more happy day in their lives. But it's a softness that fades too quickly as reality invades once more, and she straightens back into position.]

We should try and find their parents though, if you don't have someone else you were already searching for.

[Clearly....just mob him with all the children honestly, the cuter the better. Add some spice to his life...

Shizuo dislikes disingenuous things in multiple forms, really, especially if he's doing those things himself. He's got no illusions about the sort of person he is, and he doesn't like trying to cover that up for most any reason, even if sometimes it might make things easier for him. That's where he and Kasuka really differ, in the end.....but at least his dislike of leaving children unhappy is even stronger than putting up a front that he's not, for a small amount of time. If that's what it takes, sometimes...

Well, then that's just what it takes. And Riza's words do take the shitty-feeling edge off being fake like that too, admittedly.]

...Yeah, guess that's true. [Though that's about all he's going to admit, if it. Though maybe Riza can spot the reassurance anyway, in the slight relaxing of his shoulders, a bit of tension slipping away. Shizuo nods shortly at her suggestion.] --Nah, I might as well stick around here for awhile. Haise and I were together before all this stuff went down, but I already know he'll be fine, so... [He waves a hand vaguely.] We'll bump into each other later, I bet. That sounds like a good plan to me. Let's split up and ask around, huh?

[And so they do.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[EVENT POST] I FEEL STUPID, AND CONTAGIOUS.

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1/2 oh my god congrats riza...u get to witness Akane Mode, a rare sight

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i'm still not over this, i hope you know

1/2 thats fair tbh, i cant believe im actually USING THIS ICON ICLY

val how did this thread get here

i have no idea but i welcome it wholeheartedly

ME NEITHER...i yell back as i finally return to this a million years later omg

omg you are a-okay, i've been dead this entire month anyway

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