OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
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ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
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FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
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outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
Rhiannon had been at the base for a whole month now, and not once had she found the spare time to check out the pool that she'd been hearing about. She had stopped by the door to the pool a couple different times, just to make sure there weren't some odd rules about who could use it and when, and couldn't seem to find anything. Of course, Rhiannon had made sure to bring a solid, olive green one piece bathing suit with her when she'd heard about the pool. She wasn't sure if they would have a problem with a two-piece, but hadn't wanted to risk it - and she'd only been permitted a certain amount of luggage, anyhow. [break][break] So, of course, when she finally had the free time to go "train", she took it immediately. Of course, she did her due diligence - she made sure to put in a solid hour of workout time in the gym before slipping off into the locker rooms that led to the pool. A quick shower to clean off the sweat and grime of the day, and then she changed into the swimsuit and stepped out into the pool area. The smell of the chlorine assaulted her nose, and it wasn't necessarily an Olympic sized pool, but it was of a decent enough size for her. Her last base must have been underfunded or something - they only had a measly gym and a shooting range. This base was the best she'd ever been to. [break][break] Smiling to herself, Rhiannon glanced around to make sure she was really alone. Sure, there was probably surveillance, but they probably weren't watching all the time, and even if they were, that wasn't exactly her problem. With a happy shout, she took off towards the pool, waiting until the last possible moment to push off of the hard ground and dive into the pool. She took a few moments to enjoy the weightlessness, swimming aimlessly, before she started to swim laps. Back and forth, one end of the pool to the next. [break][break] Not too long later, she caught sight of a figure from underneath the water's surface as she returned to the original end of the pool she'd started on once again. Coming up out of the water at the edge of the pool, Rhiannon wiped the water from her face and looked up at the person who had entered the pool area. "You been there long?" She asked, her smile broad and inviting. The one thing she'd never struggled with since joining the military was making friends. "I'm Rhiannon. Blake."
[attr="class","ooc-area"]anyone wanna take a swim? — Ryder Hall!
Ryder had put in a full day's work today. Unfortunately, it was all done sitting behind a desk. Normally his job required him to be in the field, training hand-to-hand or using weapons. He had a very physically active work life and he enjoyed it. Today, however, things were different. The latest riots had demanded more of his time behind a desk. He had to work with analysts and strategists to plan and prepare for the next few months coming. Rioters had made off with supplies and weapons. Nothing that was scary of course, but just enough that it made his job even more of a pain in the ass.
He had spent most of the day pushing paperwork, his only reprieve being lunch and dinner and then it was back at it. When he felt it was time to call it a day he couldn't leave his desk fast enough. He had showered quickly and then grabbed a pair of swimming trunks and a towel. He left his phone in his room, not wanting to be bothered. He had thought about working out. The idea of letting some of the frustrations of the day go while he pushed himself physically seemed like a good idea. It was just too damn hot. He didn't want to deal with people at the gym or the heat of outside so the pool it was.
Ryder walked in, glancing quickly over the surface and not seeing anyone. He turned back towards the wall near the door and put up his towel, slipping off one of his shoes. A voice called out to him from nearby and Ryder jumped, "Shit!" He turned quickly, a smile on his face as he noticed the girl in the water who he had missed upon first inspection. "Not as long as you apparently. You scared the hell out of me." He turned back to his stuff and kicked off the last shoe before moving to the edge of the water. The girl introduced himself and Ryder chuckled as he sat down by the side of the pool, his legs and feet in the water, "Nice to meet you Rhiannon, I'm Ryder."
The water was cool and he took a good deep breath in as he tried to relax his body. The pool had been a good call. "You must be new." It was a guess on his part of course. She was too friendly, too smiley and happy for him to think she was on her second tour. No, if he had to guess, he'd bet that she was still in her first years of service. Not a recruit of course, but not too far out of basic either. He had been wrong before, but she just looked too damn happy.
Rhiannon couldn't help but chuckle at his shock at her presence. It definitely handn't been her intention to scare him, but the smile that he turned around with wasn't a bad reaction. "Sorry about that." She replied, watching as he kicked off his shoe before coming over to dip his legs into the water. [break][break] When he introduced himself, she thought she'd heard about him here and there during her time on base. He looked familiar, but Rhiannon couldn't decide if she was just convincing herself she'd seen him around. Afterall, she'd spent a large portion of her time here in the garage, working on vehicles or tinkering with engines. It wasn't that she was purposefully keeping to herself, it was just that she'd yet to feel settled here. It was her first time on a base like this, and it felt odd to be living underground. It was sort of futuristic and exciting in a way, but at the same time it felt fairly isolated. She enjoyed the time she got to spend outside, testing out the vehicles she worked on. [break][break] "And the same to you, Ryder." She replied, her tone friendly as she pushed away from the wall and let herself just float in the water. She wasn't eager to get out of the pool just yet - the weightlessness was a nice feeling. Hopefully that didn't scare her new friend off - she knew a few people who preferred to spend their free time alone, and they were quite protective over that. [break][break] "You must be new." [break][break] Rhiannon let out another chuckle in response to his words. "What gave me away? Or is someone talking about me already?" Her tone was playful, and she offered Ryder another signature smile. More often than not, Rhiannon was smiling - she preferred to just enjoy life, as often as she could. "What about you? You been here long?" She asked, coming back to the wall, just a few feet from where he was sat. She rested her arms on the edge, leaning her body against the wall so she could lazily kick her feet and focus on him for a moment. "If so, I'm very jealous. My last base didn't have a pool. If I wanted to swim, I had to wait for it to rain and splash around in the puddles."
[attr="class","ooc-area"]anyone wanna take a swim? — Ryder Hall !
Ryder stretched his arms, leaning to one side as she asked what gave her away. "You're too happy." He replied with a grin before stretching to the other side. It felt damn good to let the stress of the day go. "You clearly haven't been in this place long enough for it to break your spirit yet." He was kidding, mostly. This job wasn't easy and if someone said it was, no matter what career they had chosen to take in it, they were lying. This job made you see all kinds of heartbreaking things, it made you push yourself past what you thought you could ever physically or emotionally handle and asked things that you never thought you'd be asked. Every choice you made inside this career affected someone. It wasn't an easy place to be in. Not that he hated his job. In fact he downright loved every minute of it, but it did take a toll.
She asked if he had been there long and he nodded, "Almost nine years. Four more months until my contract is up. Probably sign on for another four years. How about you? What's your MOS?" He didn't think he had seen her before, but that didn't really mean anything. He had people in his own MOS who he rarely saw. The base was big and assignments were around the clock. There was no telling what shift someone was on. Ryder watched as she swam around for a moment before taking up a spot near him.
Rhiannon mentioned the base was a good one and he laughed, nodding his head in agreement, "You're not kidding. This one's better than the usual ones I'm stuck at too. The scenery isn't all that great, but it beats miles upon miles of sand."
He braced his arms on the side of the pool and lowered himself in. The water was cool and he went under, coming up near her, but not too close. "So where are you from?" He was a little surprised there was no one in the pool other than the two of them. "Have you gotten a chance to check out the city yet?" He had been out a few times of course. The last time he had his heart set on a burger and he still hadn't been able to find a place that could live up to his expectations. He had planned on scheduling a trip to go and visit some places undercover, but the riots had brought all that to a screeching halt.
"You clearly haven't been in this place long enough for it to break your spirit yet." [break][break] Rhiannon shrugged her shoulders, enjoying the feel of the water swirling around her legs as she kicked lazily. "The goal is to never let it break my spirit. Trust me, they've tried." She flashed a broad smile, clearly pleased with the fact that the military had yet to break her. She was still as wild as she'd always been, just better at not getting caught. The mellowing out she'd done was simply because she matured - but the craziness was here to stay. [break][break] She raised her brows, impressed, when he told her how long he'd been around. Then he was returning the ball to her side with a question of his own, and she gave him a thoughtful look. "Mmm, three years for me. I'm a mechanic - specifically a 'wheeled vehicle mechanic'." She exaggerated her statement with her brows, always amused by the way the military had to break things down so minutely. "But between you and me, if it has an engine, I can probably fix it." She said, shrugging her shoulders again. Because her job wasn't directly involved in combat, she'd only had to go through the basic training. She could shoot a gun, knew how to defend herself, but she just didn't use it every day. Appraising him, she tilted her head. "You look like the kind of guy who doesn't sit at a desk, though. What's your job - specifically?" [break][break] "You're not kidding. This one's better than the usual ones I'm stuck at too. The scenery isn't all that great, but it beats miles upon miles of sand." [break][break] Rhiannon shook her head, raising a hand and shaking it dismissively. "I can definitely do without miles and miles of sand. Honestly, though, I've only been on one base other than this." She admitted. "They had me out in California before this all went down." She gestured around them, generally encompassing everything. [break][break] He asked where she was from and if she'd gotten to see the city, and she couldn't help but laugh. "I'm local. I jumped at the chance to transfer when I saw Lethford was needing more bodies. I've been all over this city." She told him as she watched him slip into the water. "Much to the displeasure of the good ol' Lethford P.D., I'm sure." Rhiannon added, rolling her eyes as if her getting arrested multiple times was no big deal. "Have you gotten to get out very much? I've only been out once, to go see family and check up on them. I feel like I haven't gotten to breathe for the past couple weeks, with all the chaos." Which had culminated recently in riots. Of course, she hadn't been involved directly with the riots, but some military vehicles had been damaged during them. So she got to deal with that - and of course, it had been heart-wrenching to not be able to go check on her family after. But she'd gotten a call from them not too long ago, reassuring her that they were alright.
[attr="class","ooc-area"]notes notes notes — Ryder Hall !
Ryder found himself grinning at her little smirk. So he had been right about her trouble-making. Though it wasn't really trouble-making of course. There was nothing wrong with having a good outlook on life and positive demeanour. No, those were all good things. They just weren't when it came to a 6-foot tall drill sergeant who took pleasure in making people cry. Ryder had hated basic. He wasn't that kind of guy. He handled it of course, and it never messed with him mentally, but he certainly didn't enjoy it. There was nothing productive about a grown man screaming and throwing a temper tantrum. He knew it had to be done and he knew the reasoning behind it, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it.
"Did they stick you with a nickname?" In his experience, almost everyone he knew who went through basic and made an impression earned a nickname. Some were great, some were most definitely not great. He leaned back in the water, trying to float as he spoke up again, "Mine was Rodeo." A smile came to his lips at the memory, "I personally think the whole Wyoming kid and R name thing was too easy of a target but that one lasted through graduation." He hadn't been called that in years. The few people who knew about it had long dropped out of service, had been moved halfway across the world or had passed away.
Ryder asked about her job and watched a moment as she tilted her head in thought. When she brought up the Cougar Ryder grinned, "I love the Cougar. I've been in a 6X6 but I heard the base is getting a few of the 4x4 versions. Smaller design...well...hell I don't need to tell you that." He figured she could probably run circles around him in her knowledge of the vehicles they had hanging around.
When she mentioned the LARC-V he whistled impressively, "Nice. I haven't been in one of those yet. Only seen them in training manuals." He thought back to all the vehicles he had been in. Unfortunately, there had been a lot. The places where he had been sent required them, though none to date had demanded a tank, and for that at least, he was grateful. "I think my favorite that I've driven is the M1117 ASV. Doesn't go very fast, but she can do some damage and take a beating." He let his mind think back to the last time he had been in one. It had been in Kuwait, on one of his last mission runs. It had been peaceful and wasn't a place he'd mind if he had to go back. If he got to go back.
She asked if she should have saluted him and he shook his head, giving up on trying to float and instead moved to the side of the pool, leaning against it, submerged to his chest. "Nah. Don't worry about that shit. Unless it's someone with a lot of bars, stars or command, don't worry about the saluting. Maybe under normal circumstances, but with the level that the base is at right now, if some ass gets mad that you didn't salute them you tell them to come see me." If there was something Ryder hated about this job it was when people who got the tiniest bit of authority acted like pompous asses. There was a damn pandemic going on and the last thing that this base needed was for someone to be saluted so their ego wasn't hurt. He had seen cadets get promoted to unit leaders and become nightmares to those one level down from them. That was a sure-fire way to get on his bad side.
Rhiannon asked about his job and he mirrored her from earlier, his head turned to the side in thought. "Being able to come up with a solution that gets the job done with little to no casualties." That was it. That was his favorite. When he could come up with a solution that was outside the box, when he could solve a problem before it became a problem, that was what he lived for.
Ryder then brought up her avoidance of authority and he found himself grinning when she laughed. "That...is very unexpected." He grinned at the idea of the small, happy girl in front of him causing trouble. He would have never pegged her for the sort and he had to admit it was a little intriguing. "How in the hell did you wind up in the military?" He shook his head softly.
When she put her hand to her chest, her face lighting up he found the grin returning. Was it possible to be near her without grinning like an idiot? He wasn't sure, but he did find her amusing. "Sounds perfect." He made a mental note to check up on the place. "What about sides? This place in my hometown used to make the best beer-battered onion rings, all by hand, perfectly breaded. It was hell before PT but man were they worth it." He hadn't had a greasy burger and onion rings in so long it felt criminal.
When Ryder mentioned basic, Rhiannon almost threw her head back and started cackling. She could still remember the look on the drill sargeant's face when she even so much as twitched her lips. The guy had hated her, and she had indeed gotten her company into some trouble on a regular basis. "Let's just say we were really good at going through obstacle courses in the rain." She replied, a self-satisfied smirk on her lips. Truth be told, Rhiannon had actually been very close with her fellow recruits. Though they obviously didn't appreciate the extra tension she seemed to generate, they did at least know how to laugh about the bad stuff. And it wasn't like Rhiannon had refused to be punished - no, she knew how to take her just dues, and had always been right there in the mud with them. She'd gotten it in her mouth more times than she preferred to admit. [break][break] Then they were talking about her job - which she certainly didn't mind doing. One of the quickest ways to get her interest was to start talking about her work. She'd always said she would never get stuck doing something she hated, and she'd stuck to that declaration. [break][break] "What's the coolest thing you've repaired?" [break][break] Giving him a thoughtful look, Rhiannon quickly ran through all the vehicles she'd been able to repair so far. Mostly humvees, of course, and she also maintained the regular vehicles the military often used. But during her training, she'd been given the chance to work on some of the more....bulky military vehicles. A devilish curve to her lips, Rhiannon raised her brows at Ryder. "You said your usual bases had a lot of sand, huh? Then I'm betting you've been in a Cougar before. The six by six? I got to work on one of those." She said, the glow in her expression resulting from pure passion. She frowned slightly, her expression scrunching up. "Didn't get to drive it, though." [break][break] Wasn't for a lack of trying, however. During her training, though, her higher ups learned pretty quickly that allowing Rhiannon behind the wheel wasn't in anyone's best interest. She liked to go fast, and she wasn't shy about handling a vehicle that was made to drive in the desert. "I also got to work on a LARC-V, the amphibious vehicles. I did get to ride that once we got it fixed, but no driving." Yeah, she hadn't been allowed to drive a lot of things. [break][break] His response to her query about his job made her chuckle, nodding in agreement. "I get antsy when I'm not moving." She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. Even before the military, Rhiannon could never sit still properly. She had always been on the move - parties, boys, roadtrips. Sometimes she couldn't sleep, because she couldn't relax. Those nights were the ones where she wished she wasn't so...her. Of course, now, with the military putting her through the ringer, she slept like a rock. Considering him for a moment, it suddenly clicked that he'd just told her that he was of a much higher rank than she was - though of course, her job was fairly unrelated to his field, so she didn't let that fact bother her. Still, she wrinkled her nose at him in a playful expression, "Should I have saluted you earlier?" [break][break] Still, it wasn't every day that she got to socialize with the more combat-focused jobs. Some days she spent her entire day in the vehicle bay, tinkering and puttering about when she didn't have anything to do. And since Ryder had already asked her a question, she felt it was only fair that she got to ask her own. "What's your favorite part about what you do?" She asked, tone curious. [break][break] He mentioned not being stuck in this base for much longer, and she felt her lips tighten slightly. Though she was close to her family for the first time in a long while, she wasn't happy about the circumstances. Even she, a wild thing, was affected by the current events. Jumping from too busy to think to worried down to the bone about her family was exhausting. "I couldn't agree with that statement more." Her tone was, surprisingly, sincere. Even though she knew she'd probably be shipped off to wherever she was needed next, she'd prefer to still have her family around to talk with. Even if it meant she didn't get to see them in person as often as she did now. [break][break] "Oh yeah? You mean to tell me Miss Sunshine has been in trouble with the law? You've got to share some details now." [break][break] Rhiannon let out a laugh, shaking her head. She was surprised by how sociable Ryder was - unless she was mistaken, he was in a position of authority, so she would have expected him to be solemn and snippy, like so many higher ranking officers were. "I've done everything from tagging to taking a dare to skinny dip in the high school swimming team's pool after hours. I could probably bore you for hours." She said, raising her brows. "I was on a first name basis with some of the officers, back in my day." [break][break] And then he was asking about burgers, and immediately Rhiannon knew a place. Pressing a hand to her chest as if she were about to recite the pledge, she smirked. "There's a place called Pop's on the corner of Lewis and 15th, it's a really small diner and the old man who started the place actually still works there. Best burgers in the city." Her voice was solemn as she ended the sentence, and she flashed him a serious look before it devolved into a grin, as her serious expressions usually did. "They don't do any fancy burgers like some places do nowadays, but they're still the best, in my opinion."
[attr="class","ooc-area"]notes notes notes — Ryder Hall !
Ryder found himself grinning at her little smirk. So he had been right about her trouble-making. Though it wasn't really trouble-making of course. There was nothing wrong with having a good outlook on life and positive demeanour. No, those were all good things. They just weren't when it came to a 6-foot tall drill sergeant who took pleasure in making people cry. Ryder had hated basic. He wasn't that kind of guy. He handled it of course, and it never messed with him mentally, but he certainly didn't enjoy it. There was nothing productive about a grown man screaming and throwing a temper tantrum. He knew it had to be done and he knew the reasoning behind it, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it.
"Did they stick you with a nickname?" In his experience, almost everyone he knew who went through basic and made an impression earned a nickname. Some were great, some were most definitely not great. He leaned back in the water, trying to float as he spoke up again, "Mine was Rodeo." A smile came to his lips at the memory, "I personally think the whole Wyoming kid and R name thing was too easy of a target but that one lasted through graduation." He hadn't been called that in years. The few people who knew about it had long dropped out of service, had been moved halfway across the world or had passed away.
Ryder asked about her job and watched a moment as she tilted her head in thought. When she brought up the Cougar Ryder grinned, "I love the Cougar. I've been in a 6X6 but I heard the base is getting a few of the 4x4 versions. Smaller design...well...hell I don't need to tell you that." He figured she could probably run circles around him in her knowledge of the vehicles they had hanging around.
When she mentioned the LARC-V he whistled impressively, "Nice. I haven't been in one of those yet. Only seen them in training manuals." He thought back to all the vehicles he had been in. Unfortunately, there had been a lot. The places where he had been sent required them, though none to date had demanded a tank, and for that at least, he was grateful. "I think my favorite that I've driven is the M1117 ASV. Doesn't go very fast, but she can do some damage and take a beating." He let his mind think back to the last time he had been in one. It had been in Kuwait, on one of his last mission runs. It had been peaceful and wasn't a place he'd mind if he had to go back. If he got to go back.
She asked if she should have saluted him and he shook his head, giving up on trying to float and instead moved to the side of the pool, leaning against it, submerged to his chest. "Nah. Don't worry about that shit. Unless it's someone with a lot of bars, stars or command, don't worry about the saluting. Maybe under normal circumstances, but with the level that the base is at right now, if some ass gets mad that you didn't salute them you tell them to come see me." If there was something Ryder hated about this job it was when people who got the tiniest bit of authority acted like pompous asses. There was a damn pandemic going on and the last thing that this base needed was for someone to be saluted so their ego wasn't hurt. He had seen cadets get promoted to unit leaders and become nightmares to those one level down from them. That was a sure-fire way to get on his bad side.
Rhiannon asked about his job and he mirrored her from earlier, his head turned to the side in thought. "Being able to come up with a solution that gets the job done with little to no casualties." That was it. That was his favorite. When he could come up with a solution that was outside the box, when he could solve a problem before it became a problem, that was what he lived for.
Ryder then brought up her avoidance of authority and he found himself grinning when she laughed. "That...is very unexpected." He grinned at the idea of the small, happy girl in front of him causing trouble. He would have never pegged her for the sort and he had to admit it was a little intriguing. "How in the hell did you wind up in the military?" He shook his head softly.
When she put her hand to her chest, her face lighting up he found the grin returning. Was it possible to be near her without grinning like an idiot? He wasn't sure, but he did find her amusing. "Sounds perfect." He made a mental note to check up on the place. "What about sides? This place in my hometown used to make the best beer-battered onion rings, all by hand, perfectly breaded. It was hell before PT but man were they worth it." He hadn't had a greasy burger and onion rings in so long it felt criminal.
Ryder asked if they'd given her a nickname, and immediately Rhiannon was thrust back into her days with the group she'd gone through basic with. There had been such an array of personality in that group - but Rhiannon had always been the source of their woes, usually unintentionally. Her antics were hilarious until the whole group was punished, and she was often given a decent ribbing every time they were assigned the worst of the worst duties. But they'd been close. A tight-knit family group that reminded her of her own family - and even though they all groaned any time she couldn't shut her mouth, or she broke the rules, they were also the first to jump to her defense when any other person tried to insult her. Smiling at the thought of them, Rhiannon rolled her eyes. "If they didn't just curse my name, they liked to call me Cannon. As in 'loose cannon'." Grinning as Ryder told her the nickname he'd been known as, Rhiannon shrugged her shoulders. "Mine probably weren't any more creative than your group." [break][break] Her expression lit up when he mentioned the base getting some of the smaller Cougars. "I'm definitely driving one when they get them." She proclaimed excitedly, already so certain of the fact. Thankfully, she'd been fairly well behaved since coming to this base, so no one would probably give her too much of a hassle if she tried to drive one. After the first time was the real question. She didn't take offense when he started explaining the smaller Cougar to her, because she was too thrilled at the fact that she was finally getting to gush about her work without the other person going glaze-eyed. "I may know about Cougars, but I'm still pretty fresh. I'm sure there are some vehicles you've gotten to play with that I don't even know about yet." [break][break] When he told her his favorite, Rhiannon gestured as if to say 'see?'. "Perfect example. I've never seen a M1117 ASV in person, much less worked on one." Rhiannon told him, that permanent smile of hers still plastered on her face. "But I am a fan of the bigger military vehicles. Always wanted to drive a tank, too." Rhiannon chuckled, "And yes, it always comes back to me wanting to get behind the wheel. Honestly one of the main reasons I went into this field." Rhiannon jested, but only partially. She'd excelled in the physical part of basic - she was a decent shot, as well. She could have easily aimed for the more combat-focused fields. But when she'd told her parents that she wanted to join the military, her mother had pulled her aside and begged her to avoid the fighting jobs if she could. Rhiannon may not have listened to her parents very well in most aspects, but the unshed tears in her mother's eyes had been enough to seal the deal. So mechanic it was - it just helped that she was eternally fascinated by her work. [break][break] Smile softening at his next words, Rhiannon let out a short laugh. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm sure eventually I'll run into someone who wants to wave their authority in the air." She told him. It was nice to find that not all of the higher tiered military members had egos larger than the state of Texas. Reaching out of the water to rub at her chin, Rhiannon's smile tightened. "I went to one of those schools kinda like a boot camp, and one of the instructors there absolutely demanded to be treated like he was the president of the entire country." Her smile growing into a mischievous grin, Rhiannon tilted her head. "He did not like me." [break][break] "Being able to come up with a solution that gets the job done with little to no casualties." [break][break] Rhiannon nodded her head along as she took in his answer, raising her brows. "Impressively heroic response there." She teased lightly, "I commend you for not picking the gun shooting part." Her tone remained jovial and friendly, though she'd certainly met some of the men who joined the military for all the wrong reasons. There wasn't a woman in the military who hadn't encountered the high school jocks who had grown up to find themselves useless at anything that wasn't filled with aggression and toxic masculinity. Usually, Rhiannon got to enjoy tricking them into showing their ass. [break][break] She laughed right along with him when he reacted to hearing about her past antics - though they weren't necessarily in the past when she would still absolutely do them again if dared to. Shrugging her shoulders at his question about her joining the military, Rhiannon waved her arms through the water, enjoying the feel of it running along her skin. "It was either military or stripping, and my parents would both have strokes if I'd done that." She replied, her tone matter of fact, as if it were obvious her path either led to wild parties or strict rules. The grin on her face definitely didn't let on whether or not she was joking about the stripping part. "I wanted to do something that made a difference, I guess. Like a lot of people who join the military." She finally said, shrugging a shoulder lightly. "I was never going to be a doctor, and I can't sit quiet long enough to be a therapist. So military it was." Of course, she thought she'd be fighting for her country - but then her mother had made that one request, and she'd changed her plans. [break][break] Ryder seemed to take her suggestion to heart, which pleased her - she hated when people asked for her opinion without actually caring about what she had to say. Her grin broadened as he talked about the onion rings he loved, asking her about the sides Pop's offered. "They keep it pretty simply - baked beans, green beans, french fries. His wife made the recipe for their cole slaw, and it's to die for. I don't think they have onion rings, though. But there used to be a food truck that ran around the city that made the best onion rings I've ever had. Not sure if it's still around now, though." Rhiannon tried to remember the name of the truck, but it didn't pop into her head. Would it even be running now? More than likely not. Restaurants were of course only one of many victims of the pandemic, and certainly not the most important, but it still made things more stressful. The riots had come from a place of that stress - frustration unable to be let out in a healthy manner, because everyone was under lock down. [break][break] "I would probably kill a man for a good, greasy pizza, though." Rhiannon told him, sighing for dramatic affect. Then she gave him a curious look, "You said you were from Wyoming, right? What was your home town like?"
[attr="class","ooc-area"]notes notes notes — Ryder Hall !
