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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( sylvie points her toes and stretches a bit, feeling how her body, at least, works the same as back home. everything else is strange and silly, but she's the same that she ever was, isn't that a relief?

her answer comes promptly, amused and light, although it isn't meant as a joke. she is totally serious! everything's the bee's knees when you don't let yourself get hung up on the details, after all. when you don't worry too much, because you're hoping for the best to still come.

life's generally been very kind to her so far, she can't see why that should go and change now. )

Oh, I just think it's all a crazy dream. I'll wake up in a moment. ( a frown as she considers the consequences of that. ) I think I'd miss you in the waking world, but... Paris would be safe.

( that's all the indication she gives, that she's actually afraid. for what's going to happen to her home, if she fails here, when she doesn't even truly understand what's expected of her. )

[Rita's head immediately swivels to her, mouth agape in surprise--but it is that last statement, the hint that Sylvie is perhaps more worried than she's letting on, which keeps Rita's reaction tempered, and she looks to the water again soon after.

It would be nice if this was a dream, wouldn't it? Rita can get that, even if she's also too practical to lean on that hope herself. Besides, if everything from the past two years had been a dream...sure, it might mean the nightmarish parts weren't real, but what about all the people she met that she's come to love?]

Yeah...I guess--there must be people you're worried about, right? Someone like you must have a bunch of friends and family...

There's my fiancé.

( she doesn't know about a bunch, but there are people. armand, claire and edgar. the cook. the familiarity of the darbs of paris, where she may only be another name in the crowd, but that's something to be, too, isn't it?

leaning sideways a little bit, bumping rita's shoulder with her own, she tries for a smile that feels only the slightest bit strained. giving up on trying to appear unbothered, she lets her head come to a rest on the other girl's pajamas-clad shoulder. the fabric's slightly coarse, so she shifts her cheek a little where it rests against it. )

And my brother, I suppose. ( with charles, she always supposes. it's difficult and complicated and she misses him, but also knows he has carried the world for her, he'll certainly do so for himself. she glances up at the angle of rita's face she can see from here. ) What about you? Is there a bunch of people?

[She's become much more accustomed to casual, friendly contact like this, enough that although she does turn her face to blink at Sylvie in surprise, she at least doesn't stiffen up like a board.

That's...an unexpectedly short list, isn't it? For someone so immediately friendly and adventurous. Rita thought for sure there would be dozens of people of Sylvie's life. It doesn't sound like she was locked away and isolated like a princess in a castle, the way Estelle was, not if she was talking about the night parties in Paris, surely. Not to mention the way she tacks on that I suppose regarding her brother...

The sweetest of people can live surprisingly lonely lives, can't they?]

Hm...yeah. There didn't used to be, but...yeah, there are. I, uh, have a boyfriend, for one. [You know, seeing as Sylvie mentioned a fiancé. The concept of family is still an odd one for her to contextualize for herself, so while there are people with whom she has pretty familial relationships-] And...some really good friends.

[She does tense up a little now, fingers curling in the fabric of her pajamas. Some of those friends are from different worlds, which doesn't exactly bode well if this whole story they've been fed has any truth in it...]

Hey, what's your fiancé like?

( you can be lonely in the biggest crowd, sylvie thinks. you can be lonely, because 'alone' is a mindset. it's an experience instilled in you, and it doesn't easily go away, once it's been planted there. she had friends at boarding school, but they're all so far away these days. letters, she gets letters. but no phone calls. the distances that could have been bridged, well, they aren't. she blinks a couple of times as she listens to rita talk, happy to hear she has friends and a boyfriend and people she cares about.

more than she wants to be someone who has people to care about, sylvie wants to be someone someone cared about.

besides armand, of course. )

Armand's... he's the nicest, brightest, duckiest guy you could imagine. He sets me free, and I think... ( her voice trembles for a second, but on her next breath she's tempered it again. ) There's nothing more you can want from another person than that, is there?

[Rita gets it. Being around people isn't enough to bond with them--not really. Even when it seems like it happens organically, it still takes effort and investment from both parties. After all, the two of them wouldn't even be sitting here together if not for both of them deciding to extend a proverbial hand, and now spill a little of their hearts. And opening up one's heart opens them up to hurt...but it's possible to find people for whom it's worth taking that risk.

And even one or two worthy people can be enough. Sylvie's generous description of this Armand--although Rita's brows momentarily furrow in bemusement over "duckiest"--certainly paints a picture of someone loved and loving in turn.]

Free, huh... [She contemplates that for a moment. She thinks she was already pretty free, but maybe there's something to that...?] Maybe...I don't know. When I'm with Natsuno, I feel like...we can overcome anything the universe throws at us. I guess that's a type of freedom, huh?

'Overcome anything the universe throws at us.'

( she repeats those words slowly, like they're important to her and they honestly are, because they ring true. with armand, she knows she'll always have another freedom fighter by her side, she won't be a revolutionary on her own. which means, when - she wants to think if, but the world has already hurt her, so when it is - reality eventually collides with her, someone will be there. to pick her up, tend her wounds if she isn't dead or bury her lovingly, if she is.

that's worth something, isn't it? that's worth everything. and that's why sylvie keeps reaching out, although saint-odile didn't teach her that, although her aunties didn't. she's taught herself. necessity must.

so, she doesn't remove her head from rita's shoulder. liking the companionable distance, the lack of distances. )

That's exactly it. Together, we can win even the things we'd have lost on our own. ( finally drawing back a little, she turns her head to look straight into the other girl's face. ) In that way, this world can't be very different. I just don't have Armand, I have you.

[The past two years of her life have had some of the best and worst experiences; she doesn't think she could've made it through the latter even half as well as she did without Natsuno, and it's also because he was there that the former existed. Everyone needs someone like that, don't they?

...Of course, she's not at all biased when she thinks that Natsuno is the best there could be. He's wonderful--sweet, levelheaded, capable, reliable, handsome and cute and just...everything perfect. She's on the verge of voicing some of these terribly sappy thoughts when Sylvie shifts and proceeds to drop a targeted emotional strike right into her heart.]

Huh? I, uh- [Her face goes impressively red as she stares at Sylvie. Sylvie's--so nice. Too nice, really. Rita thinks back to what she said earlier, about being sad their meeting wasn't real if this turned out to be a dream, and suddenly thinks but that would be better, because if this is real, then they really are going to get hurt-

Floundering a little, Rita starts and her foot slips off the edge of the bank, plunging her leg into cold water right up to her knee--and she yelps in surprise and shock, because-]

Aah! That's cold!

( a moment passes between them, in which it's a little bit awkward and quite a lot thrilling and sylvie likes that, likes to feel herself like that, present in the moment, feeling something, anything. she embraces it readily. straightening up a little, reluctantly putting distance back between rita's body and hers, she's about to say something - it's okay, we'll make it okay - when the other girl flounders and her foot slips, and she's in the water, yelping about it being cold. sylvie laughs. it's a liberating sound.

unceremoniously, she drops both her feet directly into the water as well, gasping at the chill, at the feeling, at the feeling of being suddenly alive, though there's a tint of shock to it as well, surprise, mixing with her initial delight. it feels strange, yet she doesn't pull back.

she stays. she always stays. )

So cold! Isn't that the berries?! Oh!

Too cold!

[Sylvie's odd enthusiasm is endearing--it's just buried underneath her own indignant shock at the extreme temperature. Sylvie keeps her feet in but Rita swiftly pulls hers back, wringing out her cotton pant leg as best she can. Ugh, wet clothes clinging are so annoying...]

Geez--where the hell is this water coming from, a glacier?

--Aren't you freezing?

Actually --

( while the water was cold at first, very cold, too cold, icy, it suddenly feels overheated, like it just boiled a moment ago and is still far from anything lukewarm, something anyone could stand, and sylvie finally pulls her feet out, feeling a sweat break out on her face and she raises both hands to her face, fanning herself quickly, then down to her wet feet, fanning them as well. hot, hot, hot. )

It feels like someone turned the volume up suddenly! Really high up. Gosh!

Huh? You're hot?

[There's an edge of disbelief in her voice as she turns a confused stare to Sylvie fanning herself. That--can't be right. The water was freezing. She's still freezing, actually, the chill settling quickly into the rest of her body. She doesn't even notice that she's starting to shiver.]

H-how can you be hot when it's--it's so cold?

[This doesn't make any sense. It shouldn't be this cold, but it is--an icy cold cutting right to the bone, just as bad as getting splashed with icy seawater while trekking across those ice floes.]

S-s-seriously...you're f-f-feeling this, r-right?

[--If Sylvie's hot, then why not? Rita reaches out and touches icy fingers to the back of her neck to see if it elicits a reaction.]

( how can the same water make them feel so vastly different things? shouldn't they both be shivering, shouldn't they both be burning? shouldn't they both be... the same? as rita reaches out and presses her fingers to the back of sylvie's neck, sylvie's own hand comes up and she grabs the other girl's wrist, wrapping her fingers around her hand, holding her there.

she is cold. but it's also cold in a way that seems to take the sting of the sweat and the burning fire in her system. without really meaning to, she holds on tighter to her, so she can't go anywhere. )

It feels nice.

( it's almost said with a sigh. little more than a murmur. where they touch, it's nice. )

Huh, how--oh. That really is...

[Admittedly, Rita was expecting something--more like a squeal or complaint at the cold, but instead...huh. Suddenly, warmth does seem to spread from the point of contact. She retracts her hand from Sylvie's neck, because just leaving her hand there is kind of weird, but she doesn't pull her other one away from the other girl's grasp.]

I'm not...as cold all of a sudden.

[And Sylvie's not fanning herself, either.]

...Is it just me, or is there something just a little fishy about this?

( sylvie, on the other hand, lets go as soon as rita withdraws, not holding her although a part would like to do that, especially as the overwhelming, feverish heat returns as soon as they don't touch anymore. oh. oh no!

she starts fanning herself again, then looks helplessly at the other girl. )

Please touch me again! I think it helped. It feels like it's the only thing that does.

( saying those words and not blushing is a bit of a struggle, but she manages mostly because there's already so much heat in her cheeks, they feel like they're burning. she holds out both hands, inviting rita to take hers. )

Even for this place, that's strange.

[It could be a very weird request, but you know what? After Sylvie's letting go causes the chill to settle right back into her limbs, eliciting another shiver, Rita's not going to think too hard about how it sounds.]

Alright, here goes-

[She feels a small amount of trepidation, because it'll feel silly if this doesn't work (and also they'll still have a terribly bad temperature regulation problem), but she takes both offered hands.

--And the same curious thing happens, the cold receding from the point of contact immediately, comfortable warmth taking its place.]

Wow, it does work. But...why? It doesn't make any sense...

[Please, she thought she was done with places where things didn't make sense!!]

( the relief is immediate. everywhere they touch, it's neither too cold nor too warm, but just right and sylvie can almost forget about the rest of her body, burning, since her hands are fine, the lower parts of her arms, a little bit in her upper arms as well. the rest, it burns a little still, but this means there's a way to fix it! there's a cure!

completely without stopping to think, sylvie releases both rita's hands and without considering her question much, she unceremoniously steps forward and embraces the other girl, full front to front.

the heat dies down right away. like a cooling balm. she sighs contentedly, arms wrapped around rita's waist, her chin resting on her shoulder. )

We can figure it out when we're not so uncomfortable anymore, right?

[There's relief in the warmth gradually spreading up her arms, but now that the cold is fading... It's just as she's starting to get a little embarrassed, wondering how long they'll have to hold hands, that Sylvie comes in for a tight embrace, and suddenly-

Rita squeaks, and suddenly everything is very warm, and it's not just whatever strange power is causing their temperature problem--there's a very red flush covering her face, and she stiffens up a little- (not that the hug is bad or anything, it's just--you know--a sudden hug!)]

S--Sylvie... Uh... I guess, but... How long...?

Just for now.

( that's not really an answer, she knows. "for now" can mean a moment or it can mean, dares she think it, forever. that feeling of being close to someone makes her feel so happy, so safe, and she tightens her grip a little bit, though careful not to overdo it and hurt the other girl.

when she carries on, it's a mumble into the fabric of rita's striped pajamas and the material scratches her chin, but it's warm, comfortably so and although she can't see much of rita's embarrassment... she feels it. strangely enough, she really feels it, that urge to pull away and apologise and hide that she knows so well. she swallows, says, )

Don't be embarrassed, please. I didn't mean to make it awkward for you. It's just comfort.

[She says don't be embarrassed, but that just make her blush bloom hotter.]

You say that...

[She almost says but...but what? Sylvie's been maintaining a cheerful, sweet face, yet Rita recalls that hint earlier of the worry for her home that must be underneath.

...Maybe it can just be comfort.

Gingerly, she places her hands on Sylvie's shoulders, not to push her away, but in an awkward return hug.]

Alright, you can just...let me know. When you feel better, okay?

Will you wait for me to be ready?

( sorry i'm such a bother, it means, as much as it means, please wait for me regardless. she feels sad all of a sudden, knowing she could never truly ask these questions with charles either, it's armand who has given her the confidence and he isn't here. she closes her eyes and presses her forehead to rita's shoulder, her own shoulders slumping slightly. oh, horsefeathers! what horsefeathers. even as she doesn't want to, as she wants to keep close and not be alone, sylvie begins drawing back slightly, looking at rita sideways. )

You can say no. Someone told me once, everyone disappears, by now I have practice.

[The sudden well of sadness--the fact it fills her even before Sylvie says said is something Rita doesn't understand. But it's hard to spend the time thinking and wondering where such emotions are coming from when the sadness--a loneliness, a really, and edged with regret and so many other things--only grows in response to Sylvie's words.

Everyone does disappear, sooner or later, but knowing it doesn't make it any less painful when it happens.]

No--it's okay. [Swallowing a lump in her throat, she shakes her head and meet's the other girl's look.] I'll wait. I'm not...disappearing anytime soon, if I have any say.

( rita promises. she promises. and sylvie's eyes well with tears, because she hasn't been given many promises in her life, not in words, hardly even in action. she has been cared for, and cared for well, but she has never been given the promise of any of it getting better, safer, closer... smiling through the tears that blur her vision, she hugs the other girl close once before stepping back, a feeling of weak hope overtaking the rest. maybe it will really be different here, in this place, this strange and wondrous place with technology she doesn't understand and people from worlds she's never heard about before.

the heat returns as soon as they don't touch anymore, which seems to be the way it is now. but she waits for rita to decide what to do with that, it was her promise after all. her decision. )

Thank you. I'll be here when you need me, too!

[The sight of those tears tugs something fierce at her chest--although speechless, she pats Sylvie's back when they hug. It's a good thing she's not one to make promises lightly, because it's clearly meant a lot to Sylvie--and she has every intention of doing what she can to keep it.]

Th...thanks.

[A faint blush remains on her cheeks, though an appreciative smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, even as the chill returns. But that's what friends do: they're there when needed. So she extends a hand towards Sylvie, an invitation for her to take it.]

Come on, you--I mean, we still need this, don't we? For the temperature.

( at the extended hand, sylvie smiles and takes what is offered her. gratefully. clasping rita's hand in both hers, she shuffles a little closer, not hugging distance, but close enough to feel the heat they both generate now. it's more comfortable than her own inner warmth, her own inner cold, the unregulated spikes of either one.

this feels nice. )

For the temperature.

( and for the company, she thinks. )

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TDM 001

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