TDM 001

[erkumods]

TDM 001: TFLU

( 1 ) After leaving the teleportation chamber, you are gently coaxed out of the hospital and encouraged to find a place to stay. Maybe you've had time to check out your A5 app. Maybe you're just settling in. It's cloudy, overcast, cold -- you'll want to seek out someplace warm. Also, your device is beeping. A lot. The tech on the island works, it just doesn't work right. You can't seem to send a message to the correct person. It's time for... Texts From Last Universe ( 2 ) What's this? Your bingo card has just been beamed to a stranger's inbox...?! ( sample A5 cards -- NSFW, may contain triggering content, please feel free to use/ignore as you see fit) ( 3 ) And now you're receiving messages from other users that they don't remember sending: Nice shirt. It would look better on my floor. 10/10 would ride it into the sunset. This user thinks you're attractive. u up? 🍆 ( 4 ) Once you figure out that the robots have been hacking your devices, it's no easy feat to track one down and demand they stop. "So The Augur wills!" they wail in a monotone. "So it is done!" Any attempt to actually contact The Augur and get back into the hospital will be met with beefy robot bodyguards, who suggest taking a gentler approach to fix your devices. If you know what they mean. Wink. (This is your overt kink prompt. Please label any threads accordingly.) Note: All prompts are optional. The theme for this TDM is "malfunctioning devices." They can be fixed by indulging in the squares on your cards. For the sake of the TDM, you can use one of the pre-generated examples or a wildcard from the kink list. This can be used as a free bingo square completion once you have been accepted into the game. Players are welcome to wildcard their own TDM prompts; we only ask that you try to stick to the theme. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

[gsoh]

I hate every single potential reason for that question EXCEPT ‘Fort Harmony is the name I gave your secret, surprise birthday party and I’m very disappointed you don’t remember it’.

I will also accept ‘it’s the name I quote-unquote “ironically” gave to the weird, yet endearingly disarming truce you have going on with JJJ these days’, but that’s at the bottom of the acceptable pile.

( VAGUE DATE goes here because lol comics ). At ESU.

[gwenzelle]

we can go with the first one.
oh, what a night. blah blah billy joel blah.

oh! okay, great.

[ so he never spent time in duplicity. or just... doesn't remember it. that's honestly just fine. there's a lot about that place she wants to forget, too ]

i'd say i'm glad you're here too but for all we know this place is a fucking nightmare, so.
i'm glad you're here, too.

[gsoh]

We can, but then I'm going to be asking why you're throwing me a birthday party several months too early.

...Sooo, want to tell me why you're really asking?

[ because— ] Sorry, Gwen, I'm not glad I'm here. I'm not glad you're here either. I mean, as far as bringing life back to a planet goes, this was not at the top of list.

[ like, they could plant seeds? grow flowers? trees? YOU KNOW. ]

[gwenzelle]

fair point!

and
okay, yes. also fair.
but also

i haven't seen you in almost two years, so on a REALLY selfish level
i'm glad you're here.

[gsoh]

Did you mistype something there?

Two years?

[gwenzelle]

ish. almost.
i was stuck in a situation kind of like this. my portal watch-now-charm was basically useless the whole time.
and by "basically" i mean 100% useless.

i got to go home once but it was almost like a dream situation? i guess technically i did see you there, but even that was a while ago.

[gsoh]

I think I'd have noticed if you were gone for two years. I disappeared for two months once and my answer machine hasn't been the same since.

[ A DELAY. ]

...Ooor not, given the type of people we know.
How?
When?

[ SECOND DELAY. ]

Two
Years?

[gwenzelle]

19 months. yes.
i still don't know how, exactly, but it was kinda like this?
or some kind of social experiment... thing.
it's actually pretty foggy at this point.

if this place is anything like the last crazy pocket dimension i was in, everything back home is basically paused until we get back. so.

that's why you haven't noticed.

[gsoh]

[ there's a lot peter can and wants to say to that, with varying degree of flippancy and glibness — you know, like 'why doesn't that ever happen to him when he ends up taking a detour from life as expected^TM in new york', but that's—

really not the most important thing here. ]

Are you okay?

[gwenzelle]

the answer to that is one of those "yes"s that's like "technically yes...?" but it's mostly just a plain and simple yes.
it was just
a lot.
and it's stuff i know you don't want to hear about.
like, these bingo cards kind of look kind of sweet kind of stuff.

i'm beyond grateful to be away from that city, but i sort of built a whole life there?
it's confusing.

anyway.
yes, i'm okay.
but i really missed you.
like, a lot.

[gsoh]

[ "these bingo cards look kind of sweet kind of stuff, yikes. ]

Gwen, I'm not going to even try and guess at what you've been through or put up with for two years for this to look appealing, but I can promise you that whatever I want doesn't come into it. If you want or need to talk about anything, you've got my number.

Figuratively speaking.

[ because sort of built a whole life — he knows what that's like, in more ways than one and though it's not anything he likes to dwell on, it's an experience to have that ripped away, even if it's not the life you wanted or ever imagined having. it's still a life, still something of yours. ]

Where are you now?

[gwenzelle]

i'm actually okay with never talking about that place again.
ok maybe not never.
but thanks.

i found a relatively stable rooftop on one of the taller buildings near the hospital.
maybe two blocks away?
just keeping an eye on things.

there's room for two, if you want to join?

[gsoh]

The offer's there, but at the same time I know that if we, in general, were good at talking about things not framed as potentially life-changing parables, we probably wouldn't be donning spandex - or in your case, symbiotes - and punching bad guys as a "stress-relieving" "hobby".

But in the absence of a good bad guy to hit, don't let it get to the point where you're like, sleeping on the ceiling in a web cocoon. That never ends well for anyone.

Or so I've heard.

Give me 5 minutes and I'll swing by.

[gwenzelle]

that was very, very specific but i'm not going to ask.
i'll be here.

[ and she IS there, on the ledge of a roof that looks like it's about ten minutes from collapsing, looking much like a emotional blonde gargoyle. because those exist. no headphones, no costume. just gwen stacy and her no-good-very-bad-day expression. well, alright, it's not that bad of a day. it's a confusing day, and a weird day, but not bad. this isn't on the same spectrum of bad that she's gotten used to, at least. she's still almost positive that it's not real, that it's just duplicity trying to mess with her again, but she doesn't know that for sure. having a brand new network and a brand new set of rules is new. but who knows?

... seriously, who knows? gwen would love to hear it.

and yes, she could stand once peter is up on that roof with her, but she happens to really like this spot?? and she's feeling incredibly lethargic right now? or maybe just lazy... but she opts to just pat the spot next to her on the ledge instead, trying her best not to seem too glad or relieved or just plain emotional about the fact that he's here, he's actually really here. it's one thing to know you miss the people closest to you ( even though she's still not looking for a best friend, thank you yes she is, she needs a best friend so badly ) but it's another to finally see them again and feel that weird weight finally lift.

she's also leaning on him basically as soon as he's sitting by her. she'll even scoot her butt closer to him if she has to, to make that happen ]

Hi.