etrayamemes | TDM 001

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TDM 001

⏵ arrival⏴
Arrival goes as anticipated. Characters awaken in the pristine, new hospital, greeted by Aurora and potentially getting a rundown of what's happening depending on their approach to being dropped somewhere new. The door to their room opens, and new arrivals are left free to explore their new environment.

Or what exists of it anyway. Exiting the hospital will show that there isn't much of anything just yet. Generally, Echo can build new facilities before new arrivals awaken, but it appears that this time… well, it didn't happen. The apartment complex exists, standing just beside the hospital, and there are a few facilities that are half constructed, companion bots carrying around rebar and other necessary bits and pieces, but they're not quite ready. Oops. But maybe, just maybe, one of those half-built facilities is familiar - a childhood home, a favorite supermarket, the run-down garage they worked at as a youth, a grounded spaceship in the middle of one of the massive bridges connecting land over rivers.

The companion bots will offer quiet apologies if approached; they were expecting new arrivals to touch down, but not quite this early. They'll be ready soon! A few more days at most, they promise. In the meantime, do not stray too far from the hospital. While most of Etraya looks habitable, they have not finished verifying that it's safe for its new inhabitants.

The apartment building and hospital are safe, and the land directly around them is fine, but beyond that? Stay away. But hey, the hospital's cafeteria is fully stocked with cuisine from across the multiverse! Please feel free to settle in, choose an apartment, and get to know your new friends.

⏵ water you doing?⏴
Decide not to listen? Well, the companion bots had offered their warnings.

Etraya is a new establishment, one that received newcomers before it was ready. And as such, the land has not quite been prepared for their arrival. Wandering off the land the apartment building and hospital are settled on comes with very, very poor results. Take a step down into the river below, and you'll find yourself uncomfortably hot. Or cold. Or hot and cold, because whatever that 'water' is, it wasn't meant to be played in. The only way to resolve the temperature regulation issue, as Aurora informs, is finding a buddy to cuddle up with. Those who are lucky may have a nearby friend they're familiar with and don't mind leaning a shoulder against. Those that don't? Well. . . have fun having a very uncomfortable conversation with a stranger, asking them if it's alright if you lean into them or hold their hand for a bit. Any physical contact will do, as long as it's directly skin-to-skin.

Except that's not where the contact stops. Characters will find that, for the next several hours, they'll feel everything that their companion feels. Frustration, anger, amusement, homesickness that comes from being so far away from their families and friends - all those feelings? They're not your feelings, they're our feelings now.

No explanation is given for how the empathy bond and the temperature regulation are related, but it may have to do with how since they had decided not to listen, it was time to test how well they could cohabitate with their new friends.

⏵ bonding bingo ⏴

Maybe it feels a little too much like Obi-Wan had when receiving Leia's message, but all new arrivals are their universe's only hope. Except they're not the only ones arriving, and not the only ones who are trying to keep their worlds safe. Instead, they've arrived with several others who carry the same weight on their shoulders. And they aren't meant to go through this alone. The people they've arrived with are both their new companions and their competition. Both comrades to fight beside and enemies to battle against, depending on what the specific mission of the month is. But currently?

They're here to bond. It's important to get to know those who they'll be spending the next unspecified but lengthy amount of time with, isn't it? To that extent, Aurora's hologram waits just inside the hospital's front doors, offering bonding bingo cards to those willing to participate. It's not necessary, but she does specify that this is one way to get ahead: cooperation is important, especially given what they're going to face together. Bingo cards are three long and three across, and offer a multitude of activities you can do to check each box off.

Some examples include:

Learn someone's biggest secret

Get into a fight

Tell someone something that you've never admitted out loud to

Throw a drink on someone

Win a game of pool in the apartment building's recreation room

Cheat on a card game without getting caught

Hug a new friend

Get stabbed

Steal something important to someone

Pull off an elaborate prank on a stranger

⏵ matchmaker ⏴

When the earpiece is put on, a nice green HUD(head-up display) lights up in front of new arrivals. It asks them for their name, which is fairly standard for these.

Except it seems it wants them to put together a profile to help pair them off with other new arrivals. For some, this information may autofill with what Aurora was able to discern about them from watching them in their home worlds. But some lucky individuals may catch their profiles before they're posted live, and have the opportunity to edit out information included in fields, even if they're not able to clear it out entirely.

Welcome to Aurora's idea of matchmaking. Have fun getting paired off with a buddy or four, with your profiles exchanged between one another. Maybe they're the perfect match. Maybe this is a nightmare in the making.

⏵ OOC ⏴
Welcome to our first TDM! We're excited to have you here. For more information on character arrivals, click here. For any questions relating to the TDM please reply below. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

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[Natsuno has had a similar reaction, except he got to hear the rest of the explanation by virtue of limiting himself to silent, dead-eyed scowls. The second the AI fades away, he bolts out of the cot and into the hallway. First step, map out the new surroundings. Step two - stock up on weapons, just in case.

The hospital is well-equipped (we are expected to get hurt, he thinks darkly) and Natsuno soon gets himself an EMS bag which he fills with various surgical tools and syringes. He's examining what looks like a bone saw when he hears screams from the hallway. Very familiar screams.

He shoves the bone saw into the bag and hurries out.]

Rita!

[Sup babe, here's your vampire, in matching striped uniform.]

Natsuno! ...Huh? Oh--Natsuno!

[Relief turns to questioning turns right back around to relief in what's at least a decent case of emotional whiplash. It's good to have her emotional support vampire here; his presence immediately stops her from shrieking like her life depends on it, as she takes in his appearance and prison uniform and feels--confusion, still anger, yes, but definitely--relief. He's her Natsuno.]

You're here...

[But that brings her right back to their new problem...]

Hey, did you hear the same thing? About--why the hell we're here?

[There she is, his Rita, and from the exact same point judging by the outfit. Natsuno allows himself to feel a tiny bit of relief, because as alarming as being taken to the new environment is, at least he's not alone.]

Yeah. [He frowns.] To prove our worth to another omniscient weirdo with an inflated ego.

[That's her Natsuno, alright--if she weren't so annoyed by the situation, she'd snort in agreement. As it is, she moves closer, noting the bag--of course he's stocking up; she can always trust him to be prepared for anything.]

Guess that's a problem when there's a whole multiverse out there. It just means there's potential for infinite numbers of these jerks...

[She glances around. Some of the people she's spotted aren't ones she recognizes, and while it could be something like the Village, considering the state things were in last they were on the ship...that's pretty unlikely.]

Never thought this is how we'd escape...

[She runs a hand through her hair in agitation. What now?]

...yeah.

[Natsuno imagined someone would eventually think of something, and the only issue was figuring it out before it was too late. He never considered a quite literal deus ex machina.]

Though for all we know, there may be "us" that are still there.

[Maybe they are copies of a copy, another snapshot pulled around by chance and forces beyond their understanding. Maybe there are Natsuno and Rita who didn't leave their friends behind to a miserable fate.

Maybe. But this line of thinking is hardly productive, and he frowns lightly, shifting gears into the here and now.]

We're obviously expected to explore here on our own. So let's explore. Is your magic back?

[You know he already stabbed himself to make sure his own powers are back.]

Oh...maybe.

[She'd been so caught up in trying to find grill Aurora that she hadn't even thought any deeper about the implications, but it's a possibility, isn't it? Not that it matters at this point whether they're copies or copies of copies or whatever, but she isn't entirely sure how she feels about it all, either.

--Besides the unfairness that they keep having to lose the people they come to care about. How many times is that going to happen? At least neither of them are alone, but everyone else...]

Huh...my magic?

[She hadn't even thought about it, but bringing a hand to her throat--oh, her blastia is there.]

Well, Theodora's here, so--guess if we find somewhere more appropriate, I can test out a spell.

[Being back with Natsuno has calmed her down considerably--she's still agitated, of course, but she has sense enough to not go flinging magic around a hospital. And because she doesn't necessarily know how much he's tried yet, as they fall into step together to look for the exit, she looks to him.]

Are your powers back to normal? How long have you been awake?

[Good, she's got Theodora. So all she needs to test is whether this realm has aer-like energy to channel, right?]

An hour, maybe a little more? I was upstairs, looking for supplies.

[He then lowers his voice, even though other people have been sparce and no one's close enough to overhear:]

There are blood bags, too.

[So, y'know. At least that's covered. He continues in a normal voice:]

Anyway, yeah. All my powers are back.

[The blood bags were a great help. Natsuno lights a small light sphere in his palm, just for a moment.]

Well, that's some good news.

[She nods; supplies, blood, and powers--all important to know. It's so Natsuno to already check as much as he could, and there's no need to ask why he was gathering supplies. In fact, she makes a mental note to find out where the blood is herself, too. Anything could happen from here out...

The hallway's pretty quiet as they pass rooms, some with doors closed and others open and unoccupied, and there's an elevator ahead--looks like they might as well see what's here besides medical treatment.]

You know...you're always impressive. I don't know how long I would've spent looking for that weirdo if you hadn't shown up...

[She's glad he's here, though it might be a little selfish of her. It's not fair that he should get dragged into...whatever this is. Which reminds her-]

What do you make of her story, anyway?

[He stops to peek into rooms as they head down the hallway towards the elevator. Everything is in different shapes, sizes and languages - he has to wonder what some of the equipment is even for. Seems like they're ready to admit all kinds of people here.

He gives a small smile when Rita compliments him. It's hardly the time for overly affectionate gestures, as Natsuno is focused on the task at hand, but he does bump Rita's shoulder lightly.]

If anyone can get her to come out again, it's you.

[She has a track record of annoying someone into appearing, after all. The humor vanishes quickly at her sobering question, though.]

It's outlandish for sure. Not sure I buy it, but even if I did... I don't like it. Pick someone to prove billions of souls are worthy of existing? That's bullshit.

Damn right.

[Anyone else but Natsuno and she might've taken offense, but because it is him? She takes it for the wry compliment that it is. She will track these mysterious jerks down...

But that'll be later. Her own brief smirk disappears as she huffs out an immediate agreement.]

Seriously. Who the hell died and made these guys think they're in charge? Nothing gives them the right to decide...all of this!

[And she thinks something's fishy about the story, too. She wishes she knew more about all this multiverse stuff--the science, the physics... If only she'd grilled Crichton more about it when she had the chance...]

No one has the right to decide something like that. And this "Echo" we're supposed to impress won't even speak to us directly.

[That says something about their new captor. They both know you can't trust mysterious beings who send programmed assistants instead of facing the ire of the people they kidnapped.]

Besides... why us? We left our worlds long ago.

Clearly they're jerks.

[Her agreement with him is immediate and punctuated by an angry jab at the elevator button. As for the question, though...her anger fades a bit, replaced by other mixed emotions she's not sure where to begin sorting through. It has been a long time, now...]

It doesn't make much sense... If they actually wanted us to represent our worlds for some reason, wouldn't they pick our original versions? I mean, we accepted we weren't going back, so...thinking of them as "our" worlds is kind of...

[Kind of... what? Natsuno isn't sure what she means, exactly. He isn't sure what he is feeling at the moment, either. But a suggestion of mixed and messy emotions lingers as Rita trails off, and that he can empathize with.]

...yeah.

[Maybe he can understand why Rita. Her original self is fighting to save Terca Lumireis - it makes sense to pick her other self to fight just as fiercely from outside. Natsuno, though, never cared like she did. He wants his dad to recover and live a happy life away from Sotoba, but an entire universe? He can argue about morals, say it's abhorrent to destroy billions of souls just because some mysterious entity said so, but he doesn't care for it.]

Unless they take people at random, like the Erda did.

[She isn't sure what she means either, because accepting that she's not returning to Terca Lumireis is very different from feeling like it's no longer her world. Especially under these circumstances--she can trust her other self to do it takes to save Estelle and the planet, but suddenly having this outside force barging in and making all that Rita's efforts potentially futile?

Saying that she needs to sacrifice untold numbers of strangers if she wants her friends to continue existing? (And not necessarily all strangers, either. She hasn't seen Jade here, and if nobody's fighting for his world...)

--But Natsuno could be onto something there.]

...Random...of course. That just figures. [An angry huff. She's no representative for an entire universe, so random--annoying as that is--is a likely explanation. Of course-] But when it all comes down to it, I don't buy it. This whole thing sounds way too suspicious.

[He hums an agreement as the elevator reaches the bottom floor. The doors open to the lobby, with the cafeteria on one side.]

No details on how we're supposed to achieve the goal, either. So let's focus on exploring the place for now, see who else was "chosen."

[Natsuno is done playing other people's games. But until they learn more, they shouldn't run themselves ragged with speculations.]

[She spares the cafeteria only a cursory glance as they pass and continue for the main doors; she doesn't have any appetite, despite not being sure when she last ate or drank before they were all locked up. Natsuno's plan is a good first start, though: find out what and who they have to work with.]

Yeah...seen anyone you recognize?

[Whether from the ship or otherwise. She hasn't seen any other familiar faces yet herself... And while she can't say whether that's for better or worse, she is glad they haven't had to say goodbye--somehow, they've managed to stick together even into this whole other dimension.]

Just you.

[Truth be told, Natsuno isn't expecting more people from the Eterna. It's a weird enough coincidence that both he and Rita are here. He isn't expecting any familiar faces from home, either.

The cafeteria gets a cursory glance, but if Rita doesn't want to step inside, he won't either. He's already had his fill with hospital blood bags.]

It still looks under construction, [He remarks when they step outside.] But that gives you plenty of room to test your spells.

Mm, not surprising, I guess...

[It probably is something of a miracle they're both here together. What are the odds? Actually, she doesn't think she wants to know them.

Anyway, they're outside, and--wow, it really is still half-built.]

Geez, look at this... You do have a point about the magic, though. Alright, let's find a good spot--I don't see any ocean, so I wonder how far we can go...

[Beyond the scaffolding, it looks like wilderness. But she suspects there'll be something to keep them from just wandering off.]

[The prison uniform mark him and Rita as distinctly together, but Natsuno has to wonder how many people were taken in pairs or groups. Would they ever see people from their home worlds? Surely you'd select a single representative from each universe if you want to at least pretend the game is fair.]

I assume there's a barrier to stop us from going too far, but I'd still like to know what our limit is.

[So might as well start walking to look for a good spot.]

Might be a good idea to see if your spells have a limit. Like fire on the Eterna.

Edited 2024-03-10 17:39 (UTC)

Yeah. Just because we don't see one doesn't mean we won't run into one.

[So they can head for the wilderness, even if one of the bots tries to warn them that it's dangerous. It's almost laughable, to be dragged into this and then warned that the woods are dangerous, isn't it?

With some of the initial surprise wearing off, a nervous pit is starting to form in her chest. They don't have any reason to believe this game, she reminds herself. Just because someone isn't here--like Jade--doesn't mean their whole world is doomed to be culled...

She reaches out to hold his hand as they walk, giving it a squeeze. She's worried about everyone else they care about--but they'll figure this out, right?]

[The bot warns them, and they ignore it. Let their mysterious kidnapper know that they don't fall in line so easily.

When Rita squeezes his hand, Natsuno squeezes back, and runs a thumb over her knuckles.]

What's on your mind?

[Many things, to be sure. This isn't just an affectionate gesture, after all, and he can sense the tension in her body.]

[As if they would stay within whatever boundaries they were told, even if they hadn't just come from cell blocks. It's hard not to forget about about the bare concrete walls, iron bars, and wondering if she'd ever see anyone down the hall ever again.

She savours the contact with Natsuno's hand, though. It's good to be able to feel his touch again.]

The people we haven't seen. Not since before we were locked up...

[Of course that's what she's thinking about. Natsuno was trying not to think about them. Lock anything other than the current predicament behind some dark door of the soul, let it out when he's ready to stop.]

We know they were in other cells, at least.

[He gives Rita's hand another squeeze, as if to affirm that they're still here, together. It's impossible not to worry about those they left behind, but letting that door open makes Natsuno angry. What's the point, when they can't do anything about it? People die, disappear, get left behind. He should be used to it by now, it shouldn't hurt so much.]

...it's unfair, right? If they want "champions" so bad, they can at least let them choose.

[At the squeeze of his hand, she sidesteps a bit closer, shoulders brushing as they walk.]

Yeah. I just--wish I could've seen them with my own eyes.

[It does hurt. Despite what she said earlier, letting go of the places and people they've known--well, just the people, really--is never going to be that easy. When someone's made room in their hearts, the absence is just going to ache...]

It isn't fair--they're total jerks. Just--grabbing whoever they please and telling us we're deciding people's fates for them? Where the hell do they get off?

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TDM 001

A for arrival

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