( open ) you, strange as angels

[cadeuces]

Who: Angela "Mercy" Ziegler (cadeuces) & YOU!
What: Introducing your newest doctor! The calm (intro) before the storm (event), a chance at starting CR before things get Bananas, and exploring the area
When: All January
Where: Thesa Station & Nadril mainly, a bit of Olympia on the side
Warning(s): Possible mentions of the trauma/sickness from the cryo pod ejections on arrival

█ thesa station

( Their arrivals hadn't been easy, with the state of emergency and alarms blaring to bring them to consciousness, bleary and nauseous. But Angela has never been one to let that stop her. Instinct kicks in and she's quick to go to others and help where she can, trying to rouse anyone else unceremoniously dumped on the floors and setting to righting those who simply weren't ready to wake in the least, ensuring they're hooked back up to the vital monitors before resealing the pods.

Whether you're also recently waking or you're around trying to secure people back in place as well, Angela almost looks like she knows exactly what she's doing even with the advanced technology.

There's only so many places a heart can be, after all, so the sensors are easy to apply again. The rest... well, guesswork and waiting for "green" responses. That seems to be quite universal in all interfaces.

Once she's done as much as she can in that regard, she settles for wandering the station and exploring every inch she can (which is not very many inches in the end, beyond mess hall and the observation deck), ultimately settling wherever she can find a decent cup of coffee and wishing desperately for cream.

Let the combat medic help you get your space legs, or join another weary soul and lament the coffee, or hear a new neighbor slumping into one of the starter cabins just to catch a break. (Or maybe it wasn't as unoccupied as it seemed at first glance, and you find a nice Swiss doctor in your bed— a modern day Goldilocks. Oops.) )

█ nadril

( It's after her romp through the simulations (and boy, was that a doozy) that she actually gets the chance to explore Nadril properly. There is a sense of tension in the air but this is far more familiar to her than anything else she's seen— Angela's from Switzerland. If there's anything in her blood, it's winter.

There's ice skating (tempting, but she's too rusty) and plenty of shops to browse, and she enjoys the will of the people here. She hasn't seen a single person not busy at work with some task or another, making those from outside the city stick out like a sore thumb in their meager clothes and their lack of purpose. Still, it's finally the air of Nadril that invigorates her again and finally makes her feel awake.

Anyone exiting the simulations with her or recognizable from the station will have her sticking around to ensure they're all right for some time, to continue chatting, before they ultimately decide to return to the station. Eventually they wear out their welcome even having attempted (and partially succeeded) to help solve the mysteries in those recollection-simulations, and there is nowhere for them to stay here. It's just as well; they can only stay in the cold for so long without the appropriate attire. Her appreciation is openly offered for the company, both in-sim and out, and she's clearly glad to have made some new friends in this place. They all had to look out for each other, don't they? )

Shall we get something hot to drink before we go?

█ olympia

( This is where they were to stay, is it...? Angela is mostly found wandering the market district and checking the boards for anything she may be able to accomplish, but it seems with the worry looming overhead in the darkening night skies, no one is particularly looking to hire so much as bunk down and ride out the storm.

It's a touch problematic for someone that needs to earn some measure of money to get herself started. She's been comfortable for so long even while stranded in the middle of a desert or a remote jungle or wherever her work may have taken her back home that she doesn't recall what it's like to start from scratch. To not have money in hand to buy a few spare pieces of clothing, or a better meal. She can't even buy some street cart meal for those around her, if she happens to spot someone hungry and homeless, or a young child eyeing sweets without any parents visible nearby.

It's beautiful in a way that nowhere in 2076 could be. Everywhere she looks is the sign of age and warmth, older construction techniques she's only ever seen the likes of in historical photos or renderings of the past. She's a bit taken with it, to be honest.

She scopes out different areas and vacancies, trying to see if she can't find a place to rest her head so she isn't taking up any of the limited spaces aboard the station, but she doesn't want to be so far from those she already knew here and she doesn't know where anyone happens to be. She may just have to keep imposing, and tell herself she's best put to use monitoring those in cryo. At least it's easier to find her on Thesa should anyone need her.

...Oh, dear. It seems she's quite lost. )

Excuse me— do you know the way back to the plaza? I think I ended up a bit turned around.

█ wildcard

( Feel free to hit me with anything in the area! I'm new and not too familiar with the setting or its current state yet so I'm Doing My Best but I'm very open to any alternate scenarios / approaches / locations! )

( ooc: her test drive thread was here, her permissions/info post is here, and her CR meme thread is here for more information!

I can be reached via PM, private plurk @ clegane, or on disco @ 🍑milkies#5968 (in the game server as "Jamie! | Mercy" in green). I'm very open/comfortable with chatting so please don't feel shy if you wanted to prod or had any questions! )

Comments

[gravemistake]

[Gabriel regards her quietly for a moment, as if searching for something on her face. There's no reason for her to hide anything from him, but Gabriel's own paranoia will always have him wondering.

He manages a sort of halfhearted smile and shakes his head.]

No, I think I probably shouldn't know too much about my own future.

[Not that the timeline really means anything, anymore. He can pretend.]

[cadeuces]

( It isn't anything she clams up from. She meets his eyes and smiles idly, as if searching him in turn, trying to find out what it is he seeks in her expression. Mild as ever, and honest.

The smile looks good on him, even half-hearted. She's so used to scowls even now. )

I was thinking more along the lines of— can the cars fly yet like in the cartoons? Has Thespian 4.0 broken his Oscar streak?

The important questions, Gabriel.

[gravemistake]

What you should do is tell me all the sports team wins from the last six years.

[Aka, the one exploit every time traveler must think about. Reyes is exactly the kind of person to take advantage of something like that, even if they are joking.]

I'll retire in style.

[cadeuces]

( She snaps her fingers in faux dejection, giving him her best apologetic smile. )

You know, I never was one for sports. I can't recall a single win. The loophole they never think of in every time travel plot. I'll be sure to bring a list next time.

( See? Not every conversation had to be a painful or awkward one. They could tease and get along.

It isn't exactly business anymore. Though, on a more personal note: )

Did anyone ever tell you about how Genji fared? He's been doing well. He's much more at peace with himself. We exchange letters.

( He'd been one of his, after all. They shared something like joint custody of the poor man. )

[gravemistake]

What good are you, then?

[He sounds good-natured about it, at least, a clear indication that he's joking around. Better to play it all off than think too deeply about what would have become of him in the future. Better to think of all this as a second chance, even if it doesn't really feel like one.

Genji's interesting to think about. He can't imagine the cyborg being at peace with himself, but maybe that's what the fall of Overwatch did for him.]

Nice of you to write. Glad to hear he's doing well.

[That part, unfortunately, rings a little hollow, simply because Gabriel knows his role in Genji's misery.]

[cadeuces]

Oh, not much else, I'm afraid. Medical skill isn't so valued as future knowledge, I'm well aware.

( Just as cheeky in response to his teasing, at least until his response comes of Genji and her brow furrows just slightly in her confusion, thinking he would have found the news a comfort.

Though, she supposes he had been hard on the man during his recovery, treating him much the same as anyone else. It had seemed harsher to Genji, who had lived a very different life before Overwatch had intervened and saved it. )

Mm... He had struggled for some time finding his place in the world, but he fell in with the Shambali. They helped him with the parts of himself that we couldn't.

( The metal parts, she means. )

We broke a few laws in our continued contact, but I don't think anyone ever suspected something so traditional and slow. He was the first to reach out to me when he was ready.

Are you sure you didn't want something hot to drink, Gabriel?

( If it isn't a subject he wishes to discuss, she can change it. Or they can part ways before it sours, which may be for the best. It will take time to find their place in one another's lives, as the years have separated them further. They've spoken enough, and she's given him plenty to chew over. )

[gravemistake]

Yeah, I know.

[If Gabriel feels at all guilty about that, however, he certainly doesn't show it. He's a pragmatist first and foremost, and more often than not other people's feelings don't factor into the things he does. Genji's certainly hadn't.

He's not sure he wants to get into that with Angela.]

No, I should probably get back. Make sure Morrison isn't setting himself on fire.

[He offers her something of an apologetic smile.]

Next time, maybe.

[cadeuces]

( No, he likely doesn't; but where Gabriel had neglected Genji's feelings, Angela had done her best to make up for it at the time. Easing her way into his trust, getting him to confess to his aches and pains to adjust accordingly and provide relief where she was able, ensuring he knew that there were others who cared for him. About him.

It isn't her place to scold him in how he treated someone who has since healed, either way. She couldn't be upset about it on Genji's behalf, six years later. She would just be gently chiding him to be kinder to those around him.

Except the words of choice have her partially repeating them back, confused, until: )

Setting himself on— Commander Reyes. ( There's that chiding, even as a tease. And then a little laugh, shaking her head. ) Of course. It was very good to see you, and thank you for walking with me. I hope we'll keep in touch.

( She's sincere in that. )