etrayamemes | TDM 001

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!tdm

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⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There's an errant 'are we really doing this?' thought in her mind but she chases that away. They were really doing this. Why the hell not?

She nods at him and grips the scalpel before eyeing the spot. She doesn't count down or give him a warning before she stabs him with the scalpel. She presses, going to the end of the blade and then stops, eyeing him. ]

Not gonna pass on me, right?

[ There are people who can take injury with cool, steely resolve, a set jaw, and a harsh exhale. Krouse is not one of those people. His whole body goes rigid with the initial burst of pain, his eyes wide and mouth twisting as he curses. ]

Fuck!

[ He manages to hold his arm in place from as much shock as willpower, pulling away only once he can wrap his fingers around the end of the scalpel and take over control of the implement. ]

Fuck. [ He mutters, bringing the blunt tip of the scalpel up to his mouth to hold it in place with his teeth as he fumbles next to him for gauze, distorting the rest of his words. ] No. Not after that. Fucking Christ.

[ When he pulls the scalpel free, the gush of blood already dripping off his arm turns into a spout. Thick red droplets splatter the floor before he slaps a pad of gauze on top and bears down with firm pressure, cotton instantly blooming crimson. He discards the blade in the sink with a metallic clatter. ]

I know I said we weren't fucking around, but you're really not fucking around.

Edited 2024-03-06 17:08 (UTC)

You were the one that suggested it.

[ She doesn't sound upset but...well, maybe she's a little sorry for it. Still, he's not going to die and she even reaches to press down on the gauze pad since she'd been the one to do the stabbing. She can help him stop the bleeding. ]

You'll live.

[ Trust her, she's a doctor. ]

Stay still and stop whining. You'll get to repay me as soon as you stop bleeding.

I'm not whining.

[ Krouse says, petulantly, but lets her take over applying pressure. He takes a deep breath in and out through his nose, and when he's confident he can look at her without too much tension around his eyes, he lifts his head. ]

Maybe you forgot, New York, but this? [ He jerks his chin at his arm. ] Stings a little.

[ But it was his idea, and he's giving the wrong impression. ]

Can't fault the technique, though. [ He wiggles his fingers, mouth tilting up in a lesser wince. ] Thanks.

I haven't forgotten, don't worry.

[ She might be strong but when she gets hit or shot or stabbed or anything like that, it still hurts like a bitch and she still bleeds. She keeps a hand on the wound for a few moments longer before pulling it up and taking a look. ]

Not bad.

[ Both the jab and his ability to bleed. She presses the gauze back down. ]

When's the last time you got stabbed?

[ Jessica's bedside manner isn't what Krouse would've expected, starting with how it's surprising she's helping him at all.

Beyond that, it's brusque, but not harsh. He might be reading too much into it, mistaking a lack of sadism for decency. But maybe that's a distinction that doesn't mean as much as it might have, once. ]

Couple months ago.

[ He admits, quietly. ]

Someone with an old grudge. [ He shrugs the shoulder attached to his uninjured arm. ] Superficial damage. He didn't know what he was doing.

[ It almost wasn't so bad. It had felt like something. ]

What about you?

Couple months ago.

[ Came with the work, really. She shrugs. ]

I was working. The guy didn't like what I found out and decided to give me a little parting gift. More annoying than anything. Ruined a good shirt.

[ She'd actually thrown that one away after much debate. ]

[ Krouse takes that in as the blood flow underneath the gauze slowly peters off to a trickle instead of a flood, pressure speeding along the clotting. ]

So.

[ His mouth tips up in a faint smirk, eyebrows quirking. ]

There's no way to ask this question that isn't a little insulting - you're not a cop, are you?

[ That actually makes her laugh. And surprises her which isn't easy to do. She shakes her head quickly though. ]

No. God, no.

[ Hell no. Absolutely not. ]

Private investigator.

[ Never a cop. Never, ever a cop. ]

[ Her laugh sparks something faint behind Krouse's eyes, a ghost current lighting up faded filament. It's nice, having a joke land, under the circumstances. Distracting her from the screwed up situation they're in, even if only for a second, makes him feel less - pointless. ]

Really? [ He says, straight-faced. ] You're a gumshoe? Full on, 'I knew the dame was trouble as soon as she walked into my office'?

[ He reaches for fresh gauze and bandages. ]

No wonder you don't trust any of this. Not exactly a profession that inspires much faith in humanity.

Something like that.

[ There weren't too many dames walking into her office and she tended to be a little picky about cases. But, if the money was good, she'd take it. ]

I'm not wearing a fedora and a trench coat before you go asking.

[ Hats wouldn't look good on her head anyway. ]

It keeps the lights on.

Why not?

[ Krouse peels the sodden gauze free and inspects the tacky wound briefly before he slaps the fresh pad on. He thinks it'll be fine without stitches. ]

You could pull a fedora off.

[ Bandaging it up is the work of a minute, a few loops of fabric and a slap of surgical tape. ]

And it's the look, right? Although - I guess you might want to leave it behind on stake outs.

[ He's just bullshitting, mostly. He means it about the fedora. ]

Compliments aren't going to get you far with me. I don't care.

[ Does she appreciate them? Maybe a little. Slightly. Very slightly. She shrugs, looks slightly shy about it. ]

What I'm wearing now is what I tend to wear when I work. Need people to look past me if I want to find out their secrets. Tends to work.

[ Krouse isn't sure he's reading the shyness right, just like the carefulness before. But when he puts the two things side by side, they're supporting evidence.

Supporting what, he's also not sure. Maybe just that he's glad they deescalated not just because he still likes having teeth. ]

Maybe I'm trying to butter you up so you don't knock me on my ass in a minute.

[ He smiles slightly. ]

Or I just know the kind of attitude it takes to pull off a hat.

[ He picks up a cotton ball and squeezes disinfectant onto it, then offers it to her. ]

This look works, too. A lot of people go too plain when they're trying to be inconspicuous, and just end up looking like they stepped out of a Gap commercial. Standing out by trying too hard not to. [ He nods at the cotton ball. ] Clean off wherever you want it. If you still want to do this.

Yep.

[ While Jessica isn't afraid to go back on her word if she needs to, in this, she's not going to. She's managed to have a conversation with this guy for a lot longer than most people can tolerate her so —

So, she's not in any kind of rush to end it now even if it does mean letting him stab her. She shakes her head because yeah, she's going to let this happen. ]

You let me stab you, I'm going to let you stab me. If I backed out now, you'd be calling me chickenshit.

[ Couldn't let that happen.

With that in mind, she pulls off her jacket and looks at her arms. After a moment, she pulls the sleeve up to gesture at her bicep, skinny as it is. That's where she cleans off before nodding. ]

Go on, let's do it.

[ Krouse picks up the clean scalpel while she gets ready. He feels slightly more assured of what they're doing now that he's done it. It'll hurt, but not badly enough to ruin her day. Easier to pretend this isn't something strange when it's almost surgical.

But he doesn't go for it right away. He flips the scalpel over in his fingers as he approaches, cupping the back of her elbow carefully, and looks at the clean patch of skin that's his target. ]

I wouldn't call you that.

[ It doesn't matter. She'd think it anyway. But maybe it matters to him, saying it.

She didn't count him down. He assumes that's how she'd want it handled for herself. So when he goes for it, planting the scalpel blade halfway into the meat of her arm, he doesn't telegraph until he's already moved. Krouse anchors the handle as he reaches behind himself for more gauze, then offers it to her like the cotton ball, eyes flicked back to her face for her reaction. ]

Motherfucker!

[ Yeah, that hurts. She might be strong, able to lift and toss cars, but she's still human and things like this still hurt. Good to remind herself of that sometimes, she guesses.

She hisses sharply and then reaches for the gauze that he offers, pressing it to the wound and kicking a nearby table because it's there, because she can.

The pain is winds its way through her but she fights through it, blinking a few times and shaking her head. ]

Ow.

[ The upside is that Krouse feels less like a wimp. The downside is that, in wincing sympathetic reflex, he reaches out with his clean hand to give her an awkward pat on the shoulder, which is just embarrassing. ]

Yeah.

[ He says, equally as lame, and turns around before he can keep talking to add the second scalpel to the first in the sink. He washes his hands again, as much for the excuse of not watching her as to get the blood off them. ]

...if that doesn't count, let's not tell people we did it.

[ A wry reflection, mostly muttered to himself as he shakes his hands semi-dry. ]

It should count. There weren't any specifics on that stupid card.

[ No one had to stab anyone in certain areas and for certain periods of time. It just said stabbed and they were the idiots that stabbed each other.

So, they won. Or whatever the hell they got for doing what they'd done. ]

I've seen some pretty fucked up ways of bonding before but this might actually take the goddamn cake.

[ When Krouse turns back around, there's a thoughtfulness to his expression that isn't vague or disconnected. The wryness holds over, a little more resigned than might be expected of someone his age. ]

Whatever works, right?

[ Because he can't deny that it kind of did. He wouldn't go so far as thinking they've bonded, but -

He's had worse first interactions. Plenty of them. ]

It does make you wonder what the next team building exercise will be. Armed robbery?

Nothing would surprise me at this point.

[ Wincing, Jessica pulls the gauze off her arms and eyes the new wound there. It doesn't look too bad but it's definitely going to sting for awhile. ]

Wonder if there's anything even to rob. The hospital? Can't wait to get away with a bunch of bandages and cotton swabs.

[ Though, she supposes drugs would be a hot commodity. ]

[ Krouse preps fresh gauze and the roll of bandages as he approaches Jessica again, eyeballing the injury with her. ]

Patient records, maybe. If they have any for us.

[ He holds his hands up, nodding at the stab wound. ]

Do you want me to get that, or do you prefer DIY?

Go ahead.

[ Might as well, right? They'd already been through stabbing each other so she supposes she can let him bandage her up.

She pulls the gauze away and nods. ]

Be a fun story to tell when someone asks me how I got this scar.

[ He bandages her with the same efficiency he used on himself, privately relieved they got to skip the suture kits. Teaching themselves first aid was about avoiding hospitals, not keeping things pretty.

He remembers the first time Marissa got a bad cut. It had been her shin, deep enough that it had needed stitches. They'd done what they could, but -

That was a long time ago. He tapes the end of the bandage and steps back, assessing his work, and decides it looks fine. ]

Do me a favour?

[ He pulls paper towels from a dispenser on the wall and crouches to start wiping up stray blood. ]

Don't tell anyone I flinched, and I won't mention your abuse of hospital furniture.

Deal.

[ That sounds like a pretty good deal to her, honestly. Telling someone about his flinch isn't going to gain her anything. She'd probably get yelled at for actually stabbing him even if they'd agreed to do it to each other. ]

I'm starting to get the idea that we're not going to get anything special for completing this card either.

[ Still, kind of fun to try out. ]

Too bad. Would have been nice to have a little leg up on this place.

TDM 001

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cw: stabbing, blood

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