cancry | [Open] Dr. Medic's Sleepaway Funtimes Camp

I. So girl keep telling me [network post]

[About three hours after the whole post-Esmeeting kerfuffle, every phone included in the Executor group chat suddenly blares loudly with an incoming post that appears to have every possible alert and priority notice the person writing it could find attached to it.]

ANYONE WHO ATE ANYTHING AT ESME'S HOUSE REPORT TO MEDIC IMMEDIATELY YOU ARE POISONED

[Well, you can't accuse her of burying the lede.]

i'm in my lab in invidia [The exact address and coordinates of the lab are attached along with the message, including a helpful photo of a scribbled map just in case anyone is really bad with directions.] if you ate ANY of the food esme served or if you're feeling sick, come here so i can treat you
if you find someone unconscious or unable to move on their own, BRING THEM HERE
if you don't have anyone around and think you need help getting here, reply to this message immediately

i threw up, so i tested some of the leftovers i took home
and that food is very, very poisoned
(also, if you brought leftovers home, don't eat them)

II. pick me up whenever i'm feeling down [in-person log]

[True to her word, Medic is ready and waiting in her lab the second anyone arrives.]

[The living room of the apartment she commandeered has been turned into a makeshift hospital. She's dragged cushions and mattresses in, laying them out on the floor and covering them with clean sheets and blankets to make sickbeds. Next to every bed is a glass of water and a bowl for, uh. Any stomach issues you might have to deal with.]

[Anyone healthy who walks in the door will be cheerfully pressganged into nursing duty.]

[The beds are set up facing the living room's lone TV, but well... this is Invidia. Guess who's probably on every channel.]

[You might have better luck with putting on a movie, but no one actually saw this coming, which means your available selection consists exclusively of stuff Medic brought with her from the Limbo library when she came down to Invidia. By which we mean exactly one film.]

[Whether having to see Esme's face is better or worse than watching Brutal Instinct again is a choice you're going to have to make amongst yourselves.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah— [ oh god right Phoenix wouldn’t know ] yes, wings. I am what’s called a Feathered in my world, specifically of the crow variety, so I have wings on my back.

You know I just like to throw you off guard, and yes, Beast, your height is, to most of us [GESTURES AROUND ENVY CIRCLE OF HELL] a bit of a reach.

Hm. Question: is it a faux pas to pet wings in your world? [asking for a friend]

[ huh.

He pauses for a moment, then shrugs. ]

Not as much as it would be to say, grab someone’s tail or pet a Furred’s ears honestly. Unadvisable to do to a stranger or one with higher social standing but that’s just common sense for any physical contact.

[ In other words he don’t care, go for it. ]

Can we perhaps focus on the matter at hand rather than this sudden revelation everyone but me knew already?

[he’s not embarrassed. shut up.]

[ SORRY FAM rip ]

[He waves a flippant hand at Ignis just out of habit, not out of forgetting.] Yes, yes, the lady of the hour. Well then, my dears, if you've no issue with us nominating you to do the talking, perhaps I'll hang back somewhere sight unseen and record from a distance? I'm not sure how much sound will be picked up, however. Perhaps we should just leave it up to you two?

"Well yeah, duh." says Tagalog Girl with a dismissive flap of her hand. "I'm pretty sure he's the only one who's an actual Alice fan!"

She's still on that, huh. But just as she speaks, another voice speaks up--

"Oh, were you calling for me? Did you need something?"

... It's Alice making her way back with some menus tucked under her arm. Looks like she overheard a little. Uh oh.

[ "The only actual Alice fan" she says, about the dude who didn't even see or hear the original videos.

Blessedly though before anything can be said about that the devil herself shows up and Beast leaps into action. ]

Ah, my apologies my lady. My companion and I were just discussing how much you eerily look like a performer we are both huge fans of.

[ And then, a face of awed surprise ]

Though if you mistook us saying her name for calling for you, could it be that you...?

[ He's watching closely for a reaction. If she seems way too uncomfortable with this or tries to deny it then they ditch the plan altogether, maybe figure something else out. But if not... ]

In the kind of gesture that's so second nature by now that she doesn't even appear to think about it, Alice lifts up both her hands in an apologetic gesture and says "Oh, sorry! But I'm on the clock now so I can't give out autographs!"

And then she blinks, looking a little taken aback by her own words.

"Wh... what did I just...?"

[ Oho? That's interesting. There were a number of reactions that Beast expected but this wasn't one of them.

His face lights up almost comically. ]

Oh! So it really is you then, Lady Alice! Uh-- do not worry though, we would never dream of pestering you while you are working!

...But would it be a hassle if we had a chance to speak with you after your shift? My companion truly does admire you, you see: she even tried to imitate your lovely hair! It would mean oh so much to her...

"Sorry but– I think you're mistaking me for someone?" Alice says, but even she doesn't sound very sure of it. As she speaks, she starts slowly sinking herself into one of the chairs, looking a little shocked and a little scared. "I'm not... I mean, I don't remember, um..."

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Tagalong Girl reaches out to touch her hand, comfortingly.

"... I don't know if you remember me, but um... a really long time ago, when you were performing, you sang a song that was really important to me, and it helped me a lot. And when I got the CD, you signed it for me and..."

She trails off as she watches the blank look on Alice's face grow increasingly distraught. But more notable is her eyes – while there'd seemed to be some sort of fog over them a moment ago, they're suddenly growing sharp and clear.

"I'd... I used to daydream about performing, but... for as long as I can remember I've always just worked here. But there's something before that. And it's so far back and I can barely see it but I... what was I doing up on that stage...?"

[ Beast just... casts a look at the other dads for a moment, before dropping his starstruck fan act entirely for something more gentle. ]

My lady I can assure you, you were indeed once the very performer you daydreamed of.

If you would like to talk and learn more to fill in the gaps you've forgotten we would be more than happy to assist, be it here or outside when you're ready and able to.

[Hey this is Alarming] It could very well be this happened to you deliberately. Whether you simply made yourself forget or...someone perhaps did this to you. In any case, the discovery that a performer on screen now waits tables here is something that's bound to be noticed eventually by some people. [BECAUSE...OF THEM...]

At first, Alice doesn't reply. She just sits with her head in her hand, her other hand still carefully clutched in Tagalong Girl's. But then eventually, her fingers curl around Tagalong Girl's hand and she slowly looks up.

"I... remember the studio." she begins, in a quavering voice. "And I remember us all laughing. It was... a contest or a competition but even though we were rivals, we were friends. I really, really thought we were friends but–"

Her grip on Tagalong Girl's hand tightens suddenly enough to get an "eep" of surprise as Alice suddenly sits up stock straight.

"Kotori! That's right, Kotori! Is she okay?! What happened to her after–?! Sh–she has to be alright!"

[oh NO oh no

He glances uneasily at his compatriots and clears his throat.] My dear...this may perhaps be a conversation you want to have somewhere else. For your sake. [and also theirs and like everyone else's]

Something about the way he says that just makes her expression crumple. If everything was fine, there'd be no need to go somewhere else just to hear that. But the unease on his face and his hesitancy to actually explain himself... Alice just nods.

"... yes. alright. I... I have to understand just what happened to her."

[Open] Dr. Medic's Sleepaway Funtimes Camp

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