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.
GENERAL INQUIRIES
CODING
GRAPHICS
ADVERTISING
CHARACTERS
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!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
APPLICATIONS
THREAD MODERATION
MEDIATOR
CHARACTERS
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!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
CLAIMS
DIRECTORY
CHARACTERS
STAFF NAME
OPEN MODERATOR POSITION
outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
He took a good sniff of his personal and favorite nectar as he swirled the golden liquid around. It was a sticky sweet, slightly sour but also smoky scent which burned through his nose - lingering in the back of his throat. It wasn’t his favorite brand but it was good enough to bust some stress which was building up inside him lately. Demetri’s hand hovered over his waist for a moment before he continued and adjusted his shirt. His side felt so light and hauntingly empty without his badge or his gun, the handcuffs, the radio… he missed the weight of his equipment. A woman yelling in the background made him whip his head around - but it turned out her yelling wasn’t an indication for danger it was just a drunken wohoo.
Having already turned his head he decided to take a look around. The bar was awfully full despite the ongoing pandemic. However, he honestly couldn't bother to say or do anything about it. It was just this tiny piece of normalcy he needed right now and if someone was to take it from him now they would be in big trouble. Tomorrow? Fine. That's okay. Close the bar, keep a six feet distance from other customers. But today he deserved his damn drinks.
He tried to keep himself busy to distract his thoughts and refrain himself from thinking too much about something he had no control over. The barkeeper had placed a small bowl of salted peanuts, smaller than the size of his palm, in front of him and he popped one into his mouth. Ugh. Demetri wasn’t the biggest fan of peanuts. Creamy peanut butter yes, raw peanuts no. This peculiar man didn’t even like the crunchy peanut butter with the bits and pieces in it. There was just something about the texture that bothered him. Throwing in two more peanuts he decided those were more than enough and quickly took a sip of his bourbon to wash it all down. Much better. Pushing the bowl aside and as far away from him as he could his ears perked up as a woman’s voice near him asked about the bottle of bourbon.
Now, he wasn’t the nicest person out there but he wouldn’t keep someone who needed a drink from getting their favorite or their preferred one. He slid the bottle over to the redhead sitting at the bar a couple of stools away from him. "I would like it back once your drink is done." The male then turned his attention to the other barkeeper. "In the meantime I’ll take three silver bullets." Hazel eyes watched the barkeeper's hand as they moved around swiftly behind the counter, grabbing a bottle of liquor after another, adding some gin and then the scotch, a slice of lemon peel and it was done. After he placed them in front of Demetri he took one and with an abrupt back-tilt of his head downed it. He couldn’t help himself but grimace a little - hadn’t had one of these in a long time.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
After some dry heaving he slowly gathered some strength to get back up on his feet and flushed the toilet. His hair was sticking on his face, dampened by the cold sweat collecting on his forehead. When the toilet was done flushing he moved to the sink, one hand on the wall to help balancing himself. His head was still throbbing, everything around him was spinning and moving around. Usually after a good throw up session he felt better but this time he must have really overdone it with the drinking last night. Being suspended wasn’t doing any good. Demetri definitely wasn’t the type to drink a lot. Sure, a drink or two after a rough shift with his coworkers or partner, a beer at home to accompany his microwaved dinner. As far as he remembered he ordered a whole bottle of bourbon - if he emptied it he didn’t know anymore. Either way, he could still taste the smoky flavor in the very back of his throat now mixed with stomach fluids and acid.
He pushed the faucet up and filled the sink with cold water, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He didn’t look too shabby. His hair was a mess but nothing a quick run through with his hand couldn’t fix. The dark circles under his eyes had been there for a couple of days so it didn’t surprise him. He couldn’t exactly remember at what time he came home - or well, to a strangers apartment which apparently wasn’t locked so he was able to get his drunk ass inside - but he felt he didn’t get a lot of sleep. Nothing new either. Four to five hours was the usual amount of time of sleep he managed to get. More than that and he would feel like a zombie because his body wasn’t used to sleeping in anymore. The older he got the less sleep he needed or wanted…
“No!” Demetri called out almost immediately after she threatened to call the police. “Don’t call the police!” he quickly added, his head slightly turned towards the locked door. How embarrassing would it be if an officer he knew would witness this very much awkward situation. He thought about what to say, how to explain or if he should just lie and make up an excuse. He considered telling her he was working for the police department but first off he was currently suspended and had no identification whatsoever with him, second she might not believe him now after he ran into her bathroom to throw up.
Once the sink was half full he turned off the faucet and splashed the water in his face repeatedly. He barely heard her complaining about cleaning bills but those were the least of his problem. Washing his face felt good for sure. He pulled the plug and rinsed his mouth with some water as well. If he had to pay for the cleaning bill he might as well pay for some mouthwash too. Opening the cabinet above the sink he looked and found a bottle with blue mint flavored mouthwash. He lifted the bottle above his mouth and poured it in straight. He never understood why people diluted it with water, he was fine using just a pure shot.
“Look, I’m sure I can explain. I can explain… Which apartment number is this? I’m pretty sure I live in this building. I just got the wrong apartment.” he finally said, his legs carefully moving him over to the door, turning the lock to unlock it and then grabbed the handle and pushed it down - clack. He tried again. Clack.“You’ve got to be kidding me.” A nervous chuckle leaving his lips. Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack. He tried multiple times but it seemed like something was blocking the handle from going down fully to unlock the door. “Look, I’m having a bit of issues with… small rooms.” he said quietly, almost mumbling the last part. Sure, he was a part of the police force but not everyone was perfect - and this was something he kept hidden for most of the time.
Demetri tried knocking at the door - or maybe hammering against the door. He nervously glanced around the room. There was no window, at least none he could fit his large body through. The size of the bathroom was similar to his but he had the built-in bathtub removed for an open shower to make it bigger and he would normally keep the door open since he was alone most of the time anyway.
A non suitable smell started filling the bathroom and he sniffed the air. “Are you burning down your apartment now?” he said after noticing the smell of something burnt. It wasn’t exactly the smell of burnt wood or paper - and considering the amount of books which were scattered across the floor and basically every surface possible those were good fuel. But no… he recognized the smell… it was more like burnt… meat.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Demetri was nothing less but confused. Very very very confused. The layout of the apartment looked like his own but the interior didn’t - which could only mean one thing: he wasn’t in his own apartment. Even though he should have realized earlier it took him quite some time but even as a detective when you are hungover deducting things was very difficult. He tried to take in his current surroundings… it wasn’t so clean but it wasn’t too messy. As he looked around he saw clothes lying around pretty much everywhere, all sorts of books placed in random places.
His head immediately snapped towards the crashing sound coming out of the kitchen. He was about to ask if that person was okay when she told him about money in her purse. What kind of situation was this exactly? He already realized it wasn’t him getting robbed but apparently the owner of the house thought he was the robber instead. Funny. Him being a cop made it even funnier. Hilarious if even. After telling him about the purse being near the front door he looked over but couldn’t see one. Ha, nice try. Good thing he wasn’t a robber - maybe an accidental intruder.
Demetri frowned once she mentioned owning a gun and knowing how to use it. “In my 9 years of my career I’ve never seen someone actually being able to properly use a gun after saying exactly the same sentence.” he explained and was going to say more but he stopped himself. It wouldn’t help now anyway.
“Could you shut up for a minute.” he growled and rubbed his temples. His head was hurting and he was feeling dizzy. Her yelling at him didn’t help it made it just worse. A sudden wave of nausea came over him and he could feel saliva building up inside his mouth. He put one hand on his stomach and the other on the couch, slightly bending over. Well, if that wasn’t perfect timing. Not only was he in a stranger’s apartment hungover, no, he also had to throw up now. If he knew he was near his own home he would already be bolting out of the door. Drops of sweat rolled down his head as he tried his best to keep it in. He glanced around the apartment nervously, trying to figure out what to do.
“Look I think there might be a-” he couldn’t finish his sentence. He covered his mouth with his hand
“Ex..cuse me-” he mumbled, the sour taste of acid building up. The apartment layout was the same so the bathroom must be… over there. He shouldn’t be moving too quickly but his feet carried him over to the bathroom so fast he didn’t have time to stop them, dropping his shirt which was still slung over his shoulder lazily on the way. He went inside, closed the door behind him and locked it. Feeling a tiny bit sorry for using a strangers bathroom he tried to breathe in and out slowly but as soon as his eyes landed on the toilet it overcame him and he rushed to it involuntarily throwing up in someone else’s bathroom. Lesson of the day: don’t drink so much.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Demetri walked into the police station, his badge hanging in front of his chest, his gun attached to his hip. He greeted officers passing by and the front desk sergeant as he made his way towards the detective unit office. Once he reached the elevators the noises around him started diminishing until only a faint whisper was audible. He wanted to question it but he was already being a little late so he had to hurry. With a ding the elevator arrived and he stepped inside, pushing the floor number with his thumb. Looking at himself in the mirrored walls something seemed off but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Fifth floor, the elevator announced and the doors slid open. "Good morning." a familiar voice greeted him without giving him a chance to step out of the confined space. Demetri looked up, a confused look assembling on his face. "You…" he muttered, his voice cracking. But just as he was about to lift his foot to walk out of the elevator the doors closed so quickly it wouldn’t have been possible for an ordinary elevator. "No no no." he started, hammering against the metal doors without any luck. The odd smell of breakfast filled the space. Demetri couldn’t make any sense out of all the things happening. -154th floor, the elevator voice announced - and with that it plummeted into the darkness.
His eyes flung open so fast he didn’t have any time to adjust to the lights. Lights? He shut them as quickly as he opened them and rubbed his lids. Red and black spots danced around his view so he couldn’t focus on his surroundings. The smell of breakfast still lingered around the room… must have been an intensive dream, he thought. With a groan he sat up straight, looking down at the couch - what an odd color it had. His eyes probably still haven’t adjusted yet. He wondered if he drank so much that he passed out on the couch since he usually manages to make it to his bed.
With a yawn the brunette stretched his arms, lifting them above his head. His eyes landed on his coat and shirt he apparently had thrown on the floor. He was just about to grab his shirt when he sniffed the air - the scent of bacon and freshly brewed coffee. Strange. Maybe it wasn’t a dream at all? He turned his head towards the kitchen, eyes squinting. Someone was there… cooking?
"I like my bacon extra crispy, thanks." Demetri said, swinging himself off the couch. He reached for his shirt and slung it over his shoulder to put it into the laundry basket when he suddenly came to a halt. Wait... someone was making breakfast? He looked over his shoulder, eyebrows drawn together and hazel eyes squinting at the person in the kitchen once again, watching her rummage around in a cabinet. "If you are here to steal something I advise you to leave now before I call the cops."
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
"Another one." he told the barkeeper as he raised his empty glass. Suspended. The word still echoed through his head, hazel eyes glaring a hole into the wooden counter. Not to mention the pay cut he had to grudgingly accept. It was his own fault but it also wasn't. If only his partner would have listened to him. The amber colored liquid burned in his throat but it was a good burn. It was that kinda burn you needed when you're stressed or upset. Demetri was both. Stressed and upset. "Idiot." he mumbled to himself, exing the new glass. He was talking about his missing partner but himself as well. In the end they both were idiots.
"Another one."
"Another one."
As much as he wanted to drink the rest of the day away he still was nothing more than slightly buzzed. A heavy sigh escaped his lips, long fingers wrapping themselves around the cold glass. He wondered if he should just order the whole bottle - or perhaps a row of shots just for himself. Demetri usually wasn't the kind of guy to drown his worries and problems with alcohol but he just felt like doing it after visiting the Police Department and having to listen to the most annoying speeches of speeches.
"Anoth- goddammit just give me the bottle." he ordered, swirling the leftover sip of bourbon in his glass. What was he going to do for two months without being able to work? Two months. Sixty days. 1440 hours of staying away from the police station. Demetri had to temporarily give back his badge and gun. His hip never felt so empty and light before. He was banned from getting access to police files. There was nothing he could do. Knowing himself too well he knew he was going to investigate his partner's missing case and the other missing cases which it all began with. There was no way he was going to let him go like that. No one could stop him - except for the bottle in front of him... at least briefly.
Sighing once again the suspended detective filled his glass taking a big sip.
He's a bold and freedom-loving individual who enjoys pushing the limits and exploring the unknown. He just can't stand having to listen someone BUT on the other hand he likes to give commands and orders although he doesn't really care if that person listens to him or not considering he is just the same. Instead of thinking of strategies or tactics he prefers to improvise and just do it without thinking no matter what consequences his actions may have. Demetri is a risk taker and pretty reckless. He doesn't like to waste time to think of a plan because sometimes you have less than a milisecond to do react before it's too late. There are rarely any occasions where he agrees with someone, no, he usually disagrees with everyone and just has to do what he thinks is right. He's stubborn but he knows it and he knows one day it might get him into trouble but he couldn't care less.
He's strict when it comes to working in the police department. For him training is one of the most important things in the world. He can't sit still and loves to spend time exercising or training others. It has become part of him a long time ago. When you meet him in the shooting range or the martial arts sessions he's probably going to be your worst nightmare but when you meet him in the cantine he can be an easy-going person because there is food. He loves food. He loves it even more than training. Ways how to distract him? Wave with a slice of pizza and he'll come running like a dog - just kidding. But it might work if he's really hungry.
Demetri is rather cold hearted and distant by nature and is probably not the most popular guy in his district as he comes off as rude but even he used to be a fun loving and emotional child but sometimes things go very wrong in life that it makes someone change.
He is easily bored and please don't get (too) offended when he just turns around and leaves without a word. He's not the most sensitive person. In fact expressing feelings or feeling empathy for someone is really really difficult for him. But hey he can be pretty optimistic even though one might think he's more of a pessimist. Losing or dying is never a thought that might cross his mind before or during an investigation or mission. Neither does it bother him to get his hands dirty if the situation calls for it.
While he might seem like a jerk on the outside. . .okay, he doesn't seem like one - he is one - he secretly worries about others. He's a worry-wart. It's one trait that stuck with him during all this time but he doesn't show it or let's people know. He's always the secret bodyguard, caring about others from a distance.
Because of his childhood he developed having trust issues. He doesn't trust anyone even if sometimes it appears he does but in reality he doesn't. He doesn't require others to trust him either. He sometimes wishes he could trust someone but he is struggling with that.
[attr="class","ozapptitle"]BIOGRAPHY
Demetri was born to a wealthy family. His father owned a rather large company specializing in military equipment. His mother was the daughter of a congressman. He grew up in the wealthier part of Seattle. Instead of receiving toys as birthday gifts his dad gifted him stocks. His friends were all driven to school by their personal drivers in their fancy cars. Demetri lived like them too until a certain point in life where he met a boy who didn't have much money, who didn't have anyone drive him to school so he took the bus. Something very normal for a lot of people but not for Demetri. When he asked his dad about it and about wanting to take public transportation as well his mother became furious and started ranting about the poor. Little did they know they would be the same very soon.
Once Demetri started attending university to study law his dad was arrested for tax fraud and money laundry. His mother was arrested for assaulting their housekeeper. Both ended up in jail.
Well, he wasn't as shocked by this as one would think. Almost everything the family owned was seized and all he had left were a bag with some clothes, his phone and a wallet with some cash in it. His so called friends weren't very keen on helping him since he became a 'poor' person now. The only person willing to help was the boy he met during school when he was younger. He didn't tell his parents that he became friends with him and sneaked out of the house to play and hang out. Having a temporarily place to crash Demetri figured that studying law to become a lawyer wouldn't be the right path for him. While walking through the city he witnessed a robbery and jumped into action to help the person in need. He followed the two robbers into an alley where they stopped him and threatened him with knives. Being still very young and inexperienced with situations like that he started doing what he saw in movies - fight. Or at least he tried. The woman who was robbed had called the police already and they rushed in to help and arrest the two robbers. The officers thanked Demetri for his help but told him not to do that ever again unless he would be working for the police or the military. As he walked back home the feeling of chasing someone, the adrenaline rush and the blood pumping through his veins didn't let him go.
Soon after he decided to apply for the police academy in Seattle. After completing training and working as a regular patrol officer he wanted more and started training as an investigator. After completing he worked his way up to the Detective I before being able to get to his current rank. As a skilled detective his solving rate is very high. Finally he was feeling like he belonged.
Five years ago he decided to move to Lethford City and work for the local Police Department over there. He was assigned a partner who he became really close with. However, ever since the virus spread cases of mysterious deaths started piling. He and his partner decided to look into it with other authorities. At some point within the investigation Demetri was planning something without permission from the higher ups. His partner tried to stop him and went instead of him. Demetri never saw his partner again. He was suspended for six months but he is still privately and secretly investigating the disappearances as well as his partners case.
