post #1: MINGLESTUCK.

[stridin]

While I promise there will be a fleshed out backstory to come for people to work with, for now Imma just give you all something to start us off with.

SO IT'S A TYPICAL FUCKING APRIL DAY AT THE CROCKER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL (working title here). And here is what is happening:

Emergency room: There's a nasty stomach flu (aka a bacterial gastroenteritis) going around and the ER is busy with an influx of patients who've got it and either have no regular doctor or can't get to their regular doctor. No serious cases aside from one very ill 3 year old (she's admitted pretty swiftly) and a handful of pre-teens with moderate to severe dehydration from their illnesses. (One or two of the sicker folks have barfed on the floor.) No serious injuries aside from one fractured arm (teenager, fell during baseball practice). One very obviously drug-addled middle-aged man wanders in around 5 PM.

Pediatrics: Out-patient is seeing a bunch of kids with that stomach flu that actually have regular doctors in the hospital that they're seeing. In-patient has just admitted a new girl from the ER, age 7, with severe flu-like symptoms that have persisted for over 10 days. (Feel free to go all House MD on that one.) All other regular peds in-patients are stable, though restless because it's Thursday and there is nothing fun to do.

Geriatrics: Quiet. Mrs. Robinson has seen better days. Her family is concerned she's on her way out. (The hospital offers some limited hospice options and also home nursing options.)

Radiology: A handful of routine x-rays and MRI's, plus that baseball kid.

Gift shop and cafeteria: both a lot busier than usual because of all the families wandering around thanks to that stomach flu. Lots of people killing time while other relatives sit in the ER for four hours. People are a liiiiiittle leery of the food. The bug, you know. Not that one questionable chef.

Eridan's rotation is probably taking him through geriatrics, though it can be wherever. Anybody/everybody else, feel free to make it up as you go.

Comments

Emergency Department

[carcino_geneticist]

Oh, man, you do not want to look in Karkat's mop bucket. He's been pretty much parked in the ED, cleaning up after the various vomit and diarrhea accidents - half the human housekeeping staff that's done ED rounds has gone home sick themselves, but as a troll, he's immune to a lot of this shit. He's had to comfort a mortified twelve year old girl who puked practically on his shoes ("Shit, kid, I have seen so much fucking worse,"), follow one guy around who insisted on running to the bathroom every time instead of using the vomit bags provided, and in one case, slop up the blood off the floor from a gunshot wound victim (unrelated, probably, but you never knew).

He's finally taking a break by the coffee machine, dumping ungodly amounts of sugar into his cup and grumbling to himself.

[pullsthestrings]

Dirk appreciates Karkat's dedication to keeping the place clean. There is nothing he hates more than a fucking messy ER and he is very particular about that.

He happens to sidle over to the coffee machine about the same time Karkat does and sets about making his own coffee. He can't help raising an eyebrow as he watches the Troll scoop his sugar in.

"You want some coffee with your sugar, Vantas?"

[stridin]

"Haha, holy shit, gross." Dave is leaning over and peering into Karkat's mop bucket over the troll's shoulder. "You've had a hell of a day so far. How you holding up, Karkat?"

Dave actually moves around to stand in front of the troll, thumbs hooked into the waistband of those bright red scrubs he usually wears. Dude stands out like a beacon and it always draws people to him, particularly kids. One of whom seems likely to barf again, probably directly onto his shoes.

[pullsthestrings]

a) Emergency Room:
[Obviously, Dirk is pretty fucking busy tonight. He'd known he would be since he overheard the news report on one of the staff TVs. An idle mention of a stomach flu? There's bound to be an influx of people. Whether they're genuinely sick or not is the difficult part to tell, but after years of dealing with flu scares and hypochondriacs you sort of start to figure out what needs to happen with a few simple question. Dirk generally runs the ER with an iron fist, but his bullshit tolerance is thinner than usual tonight. He's overdue for a break but he's trying not to let on, if you happen to be in the vicinity you will likely be roped into helping him out. Even if it means practically forcing cups of water on patients.]

b) Cafeteria:
[So his cover has been blown and the fact that he quite obviously needs a break is obvious. He knows he needs to eat, so he's found himself a corner in the cafeteria and he's dancing his fork around his plate idly. He seems more focused on whatever he's reading on his phone, mostly because he really doesn't want to crash.]

c) Dealing with druggies:
[Upon returning to work, Dirk is greeted with the friendly yells of someone who is clearly high as a kite. He seems distressed for one reason or another, but getting answers out of him is near impossible. He keeps trying to push past Dirk, but that shit don't fly. He's keeping pretty calm as he tells the guy to sit down and wait but inwardly he's praying he doesn't pull something on him. That is the last thing he needs. He might need a bit of help in that regard, his hands are pretty full.]

B

[bev_rage]

[And here comes the magical coffee fairy to help stave off sleep just a little longer. Roxy creeps behind him, cupping her hand around the side of her mouth to give her voice an echoing quality.]

Paging Dr. Stridizzle. Dr. Dirkleton Stridizzle. We've got a patient here with dangerously low caffeine levels and he's fading fast. [She plops down across from him at the table, setting down the biggest Styrofoam cup of coffee available in the cafeteria.] Plot twist: the patient is you.

C

[encore_dueling]

[Jake happens to be passing through when Dirk starts having the trouble. He immediately stops what he's doing to make a beeline to the other man.]

Dr. Strider? Do you require some assistance?

[He's exceedingly glad that his grandmother used to work in mental health, since even at her age could have taken down someone twice her size with little difficulty and without pain to the patient, and taught him how to do the same thing just in case he needed to.]

Gift Shop

[stubbornskeptic]

Hoo hoo, this is a stressful as fuck day if Jane ever saw one! There's so many people and most of them have children and don't get her wrong she loves kids! But she is not thrilled about them knocking over displays and trying to eat baked goods through their packages without paying for them. And she is pretty certain a little boy just peed into the refrigerator full of sports drinks. There's pranks, and then there's just plain rude (and gross), and that is rude (and gross).

She's got a lot of energy for one gal, but this is ridiculous! She's busy returning a large stack of ibuprofen bottles to some semblance of order if anyone happens by.

[pullsthestrings]

Dirk is actually on his way out by the time he comes across Jane. He usually tries to pop in either before or after his shifts to say hi and maybe buy something that will keep him from falling asleep on the drive home. He also doesn't mind helping out when he has the time, since Jane always seems to have her hands full.

He stops one of the bottles slowly rolling out the store with his foot, stepping forward to place it neatly alongside the others on the stack before moving to the side to peruse near Jane.

"Busy day, huh?"

[encore_dueling]

Jake is actually stopping by to check in on Jane, since he's got a little bit of breathing room and he's back at the hospital. He's about to give her a warm greeting when he sees what a mess the gift shop is.

"Egads! What happened, Jane?"

[99purroblems]

A) Geriatrics
[There's not a lot therapy animals can do about tummy problems, since generally people are too uncomfortable for even the fluffiest of affections, so Nepeta's keeping to her regulars--the inpatients who have been here a while, the ones she sees often enough that they have their favorite animals. Mrs. Robinson in particular needs a lot of attention today, so Nepeta's brought her favorite dog: an older, floppy-eared Phalene with soulful eyes. All the dog has to do is put his head on Mrs. Robinson's knee and the old lady strokes his ears tremblingly, while Nepeta sits by with tea and gentle gossip when Mrs. Robinson's up to it.]

B) Pediatrics
[Likewise, while the "real" staff's taking care of all these poor barfing kids, Nepeta's entertaining the rest with literal armloads of kittens and her best-behaved dogs. Nepeta herself has engaged some of the more restless whippersnappers in a game of pirates, where each bed is its own ship so they can't get up and overexert themselves. Or are they space explorers? Whatever the case, it looks to be a lot of fun.]

B

[bev_rage]

[Even super busy and sexy nurses need a break from vomiting children and herds of hypochondriacs once in a while. For Roxy, the most obvious place to de-stress is around more sick children! But at least these children aren't five seconds away from yarfing on her scrubs and dear, darling, precious Nepeta is there!

With kittens.]

'Sup, kidlets?

[carcino_geneticist]

[Nepeta's animals are very well trained, but they're also familiar with Karkat, so don't generally see a problem in coming to say hello to him. Or at least this basset hound has taken it upon himself, as the mutant troll is about to clean up yet another vomit incident around the corner-]

OH MY FUCKING GOD, DON'T YOU EAT THAT, THAT'S DISGUSTING!

B

[stridin]

[ The hell is all that commotion.

Dave finds himself leaning in the door frame of the room Nepeta has commandeered, watching with arms folded and a smile at the corner of his mouth. Shit, that's pretty cute. He doesn't comment immediately, though - just watches, kind of waiting to see where the game goes.

Three little kittens, however, have no such reservations and amble over to Dave, gamely attempting to climb his legs. ]

Whoa, whoa, hey--

[ Help. ]

B

[dorktorate]

[and this is one reason John enjoys being a pediatrician—seeing children having fun like this always makes his day. he grins as he passes by the room Nepeta's in on his way to take his break; he figures he can spare a few more minutes for this.]

Who do you have for the kids today, Nepeta?

[bev_rage]

A) Emergency Room
[Ho boy, flu season. Even the most minor mention of a stomach bug in the media and suddenly everyone with the sniffles thinks they need to be admitted and go through every test known to man. Roxy has her hands full trying to explain to people that no, having a stuffy nose for a day doesn't mean you need antibiotics and trying to shove cups of water down dehydrated teenagers. A little help would be appreciated.]

B) On Call Room
[Three guesses who's been at the hospital for 18 hours straight and is in desperate need of a nap. Or a huge cup of coffee. Or a conversation that doesn't run the risk of getting puked on mid-sentence. Or all three, she's really not picky.]

B

[stubbornskeptic]

[Jane's aware Roxy's been at it for a while, so when she gets her lunch break she sneaks her way onto the floor to deliver that nice big cup of coffee to her BFFsy. She lucks out that Roxy's in between rounds and she finds her in the on call room. She carries the coffee and a bag of fresh donuts over to a table and sits down, smiling sympathetically at her obviously frazzled friend.]

Rough out there today, huh?

A

[stridin]

Sup, Rox.

[ Dave slides into her vicinity in that quiet, sudden way Striders have, like they appeared from nowhere. Dirk's roped him into helping out, and he got permission from Feferi like 20 minutes ago to put the time in here instead of up in pediatrics, where he's supposed to be right now.

Anyway, Roxy looks like walking death, so he can take a second out of his busy schedule to check in with her. ]

Need a hand?

A

[maidof]

[ Aradia's quick to take a cup with pills and deliver it to an elderly man, as well as bring a child a trash bag for his projectile vomit, while Roxy is in the middle of having a breather. She slides up next to the other girl -- she's been here for a long time, definitely, but Aradia doesn't look stressed at all. In fact, she seems to be having a lot of fun! ]

This is sure some stomach bug.

b.

[aseerstant]

[ Don't even think about getting by on just a huge cup of coffee, Roxy. Eighteen hours straight? You need an actual meal in you, and Rose of course is going to try to make sure that happens. She can't exactly steal her sister out of the hospital proper, but she can utilize her non-medical magical ability to leave the hospital, pick up actual non-hospital food, and come back.

Once she gets back, Rose will be taking herself down to the on call room, ignoring all the employees save for one: Roxy. She'll just go straight over to Roxy and drop a bag in her lap. ]

No need to thank me. If you die of exhaustion and-slash-or starvation, I'll be stuck with twice the rent, you know.

[ That's said teasingly, though. Rose is just taking a second to visually check Roxy over before sitting down. ]

Busy day?

[encore_dueling]

[Jake has been in need of a well-deserved break at the cafeteria. As if the flu isn't bad enough, he's had to take care of someone with both the flu AND a black widow spider bite. Jake had been terrified that the man would've died from that, but thank God he didn't.

The same thing can't be said over in animal control, though. Today he's had to put down two very sweet dogs and someone's cat. He hates that part of his job, but it's better than to have the owners watch their precious pet suffer needless pain.

It doesn't help that some of the officers have also gotten the flu, and now Jake's taking more calls. At least he can't say his job's boring.]

[99purroblems]

[A young Dachshund wiggles its way through Jake's legs to smile up at him, tail wagging against Jake's calves, tongue lolling out like he's just found his new best friend.]

Anubis?

[Nepeta's a few tables down with a couple cats tucked into her arm, peering under people's seats for the missing dog.]

[stridin]

A) Emergency Room
[ ... nah. This isn't even where he's stationed today. He just kind of rolls in out of curiosity, sees all the chaos, and pretty much just rolls right back out. Ain't gettin child vomit on these scrubs today. ]

B) Pediatrics
[ Of course, there's a bunch of sick kids here anyway, but at least it's somewhat less chaotic. A large number of the kids he sees get their hair ruffled and the parents get a comment or two designed to pull a smile out of them. He's mostly at his ease, operating with a routine efficiency. Every so often kids ask about his strange eyes and he rolls his shoulders in a shrug and goes along with it. It's been a long time since that really got to him, now. (Albinism. He's a mutant. Aliens. All ninjas have red eyes. The answer varies according to his mood.)

At some point he can be found wandering down the hall with a kid on each arm, and he's hoisting them into the air to let their feet dangle a couple of inches off the floor. This, of course, wins shrieks of delight and some parental stares of disapproval. ]

C) Cafeteria
[ Mostly here to take a short break that consists of: 2 cups of coffee, 1 soda, 1 bag of chips, and pecking away at his cellphone. ]

C

[stubbornskeptic]

[Jane wanders into the cafeteria on a mission to retrieve some extra coffee cups and suchlike when she spots Dave from across the room. Unfortunately for him, she also spots his lunch, and marches right over to him to flick him on the nose.]

I thought you were supposed to be interested in health, being a healthcare provider and all.

[dorktorate]

A) > Be the pediatrician.
[with the stomach flu bug that's been going around, John's had his work cut out for him. he's been running around the area, going from patient to patient and writing up prescription after prescription... he may have joked around with some of the boys that their stomachs were being eaten from the inside by angry little bugs with nubby horns (probably whenever he knew Karkat was within earshot). the young girl who's just come from the ER, however, baffles him; he's done a couple of routine tests and sent the samples off to the lab, but he can't do more than try to comfort her at the moment.]

B) > Take a break.
[... and after finishing with his patients, he'll leave the pediatric ward and wander around. every now and then, he'll run into a child or two—whether they be patients or visitors, he'll greet them with a smile, and maybe fool around with them a bit to make them feel more comfortable in the hospital environment. though his main destination will be the cafeteria in order to grab some much needed coffee (it's been a long day), he's more than likely to run into another staff member along the way.]

B

[encore_dueling]

[Jake's on his way out with a cup of tea because coffee is utter crap. Granted, the tea isn't great, either, but it's better than that black sludge they call a drink in his humble opinion.

His eyes light up when he sees John, though.]

John, hullo!

[fintastic]

A] Pediatrics

[ It's busy. Everything's busy. The whole hospital is buzzing, with the influx of stomach flu patients, and Feferi is doing what she can to make sure both her in-patients and the incoming children are well taken care of, especially the former. The department is more than competent enough to treat the stomach flu going around, but she hates to see the children who have been here longer or have long stays ahead of them languishing in the frenzied atmosphere.

Every spare moment she gets is spent trying to search cabinets and closets for spare decks of cards, games, whatever she can find... even asking coworkers and nurses if they have anything in their cars to donate temporarily. ]

B] Cafeteria

[ A girl's got to take a break for hydration, a fish-girl especially, and she even manages to score a light snack too! She's mostly taking a moment to cool her fins before she's back on th floor. ]

B

[pullsthestrings]

[For Dirk, breaks are essentially his allocated networking time. What better way to get your name around and get the hospital gossip than doing it while cramming coffee and food down your throat? And who better to rub elbows with than someone so high up on the ladder?

Dirk sets his tray down in front of Feferi, nodding at her as he does and pushing forward a packet of goldfish crackers.]

Sup.

[aseerstant]

i; cafeteria
[ Rose does occasionally eat lunch. It is a thing she has been known to do! Of course, she could eat lunch in her office, but that would cut her out of gossip circles and a perfectly good chance to observe her coworkers and the situation as it stood. Busy day, wasn't it?

Blending in isn't something she has been known to attempt to any significant degree, so the assistant CFO can be found in a pantsuit amongst the more obvious casual wear for families and scrubs for doctors, idly flipping between reading a book and people-watching. Her table is mostly empty, for anyone who dares to venture taking a seat (or for anyone left without any other options). ]

ii; around and about
[ And occasionally she's been known to pop around the hospital, collecting files and numbers or just surveying the lay of the land.

Or looking for anyone free enough to chat for a moment or two, although her pester-the-coworkers schtick never extends so far as to keep anyone from work, especially on a day like this. ]

iii; her office
[ For most of the day, however, Rose will be found in her office, keeping neatly out of the way. There's paperwork to be done, and if you have any to add to her load, well.

Take your fate into your own hands, depending on what that paperwork is. ]

Geriatrics

[wwaterboy]

[Sigh. A sad day for his rotation, with Ms. Robinson on her way out, there's a lot of her family coming in and out, bringing flowers. One little girl started crying when her mom dragged her into the room to see her dying grandmother, and Eridan can't really blame her. Who wants to see some shriveled up old crone?

He is shuffling through some charts, checking each one to make sure that all the old fogeys have gotten their meds on time. Mostly it's procrastination. He hates this rotation.]

[carcino_geneticist]

Move it, Ampora. [There's a short, impatient looking troll holding a cloth and wearing gray scrubs staring at the resident.] Some of us have work to do.