{ OPEN LOG } Breathing in the dark, lying on its side — ;

[halfdecay]

Who: Owen Harper
When: Early April - Late April
Where: Various locations - ADI Headquarters, Housing Complex, etc.
Summary: CATCHALL for the month of April
Warnings: Mentions of gun violence, blood, organs, needles, mild nudity


(i) ⮞ Schrödinger's Medic | ADI Floor B3 - Medical Unit

[If death ever had a feeling, then it would be the absence of feeling. Void of any emotion and sensation that made one’s connection with the living world more personable. Every meal you tuck into, every word, every sensual moment… They are all yours.

And in a blink of an eye, they can be taken away.

At least, that’s what Owen Harper thought. In mere moments, he was standing in front of Martha Jones to protect her from Dr. Copely’s open barrel. And, the next, he is lying cold on the floor. A fatal wound ripped open through his chest. Jack had held his hand tight. Toshiko crying her pretty little eyes out.

And yet, he could not feel a thing anymore. Slowly slipping away from the world.

Words cannot describe how helpless and terrified he was at that moment. In only a few moments, Owen Harper’s world went dark…

At least, that is how the story should go.

You don’t actually expect that you would be able to wake. Bright fluorescent lighting beaming in his eyes. ‘Shit,’ he thinks to himself. Is he back at the Hub? His eyes slowly but surely crack open. There is a lingering dizziness Owen feels. The sort of thing you might feel after having a go at the Merry-Go-Round one too many times. He turns his head to the other side to find a heart monitor and an IV drip. Maybe he really made it, after all.

Owen doesn’t have the patience to wait for a nurse or doctor to pop inside for a check-up. He rips the needle to his IV along with several heart monitoring nodes, then his hospital gown.

All so that he can get a better look at the gaping wound in his chest all stitched up.

From hospital bed to hallway, Owen leans a hand against the wall as he walks down barefooted and in a hospital gown through the halls. That is until Owen feels a sharp pain in his chest that makes him trip over himself and land face-first on the linoleum floors.]

—SHIT!

(ii) ⮞ Laundry Day | ADI Apartment Complex

[Out of the frying pan and into the laundry room. Who would’ve thought hopping between dimensions would be so fucking dull? He supposes he should be grateful that he landed himself in the sleepy city if Gloucester and not, you know, a gaping desolate Hellmouth.

Owen shoves an entire load of clothes in the front load washer. There is about a week’s worth of clothes in there. All thrifted and plucked out of one of the donation bins. He doesn’t exactly have the luxury of shopping for nicer shirts and trousers. Not until his salary kicks in.

He closes the washer door shut and reaches out for the box of laundry soap.

…Only to find out there isn’t any box of soap. The soap he thought he picked up from the General Store but didn’t.

He can’t help but roll his eyes at the cock-up he’s made. His eyes glance around the laundry room until he spots the nearest person with soap readily available.]

(iii) ⮞ Leave Your Heart on the Slab | ADI Floor B3 - Medical Unit

[Here for a medical visit? Maybe talk shop about this town or a new discovery? Cool. You’re just in time to find Owen shoving himself through the double doors of the autopsy room. Unlike most medical doctors and scientists around here, Owen’s lab attire has a pop of flair to it. Literally. The collar on his lab coat is popped up and his lapel is decorated with an array of colourful pins.

And so here he is, now donning a kidney dish that contains, well, a kidney.]

—fucking all this for what? A hunch?! You’d be better off lopping off the scrot on this one if you want to tickle their fancy.

(iv) ⮞ Wildcard | Dealer's Choice

[Feel free to drop in with your own starter! I'll roll with about anything you might have in mind. Drop me a line via PM! Or find me on discord or plurk.]

Comments

iii

[setthetone]

[While Carter prefers the company of the still living and working to make sure they stay that way a little longer, there's also research to be done.

It's not the kind of research he's used to. Surgical procedures, yes, or being on the lookout for different treatments that could avoid surgery. New medication they used in the ER and their effects. New diagnostic means and equipment. Things like that. Plus, he's still busy getting caught up on the medical advancements of the past twenty years.

But, well. He has to start somewhere. Dunne and her darkness effects was the first obstacle and he's taken copious notes on his light therapy. It makes it easier to think of these things as new diseases that have to be treated. Does he still have a journal for his notes that reads Treating Magic on it? Maybe.

He's on polite and professional terms with most of the staff here. The bustling teamwork of a big hospital is second nature to him so he has no problem settling into a routine and getting along with people. Regardless of what he might think of them personally. Or how much he might trust them, for now.

And then there's Owen to be met and, well. Carter doesn't know him but he's immediately hard to miss. He glances up from his chart, down again, frowns, looks up. His eyes find the dish and its contents.]

We're organ trafficking now?

ii

[abrightboy]

[Malcolm looks over and immediately smiles broadly. He knows this man from IT training. Clearly he’s tapped Malcolm on the shoulder to say ‘hi’.]

Oh, hey! Desert island guy! How’re you doing?

ii

[thedoctorsmate]

[Donna's reading a magazine while she sits and waits for her laundry. She sees the man moving toward her. She'd spied his predicament with the soap.]

I'll be nice. It's a fiver if you need a pull on my detergent, mate.

I

[10billionpercent]

[ This is not his department, but through some kind of mix up he was there to explain something to do with his medical records. Doesn't matter, really, it's not that interesting, just paperwork bureaucratic nonsense.

And yet, there's some stranger who's trying to escape and walk down the hall until he's not walking.

He arches an eyebrow and goes over. ]

Should you be out of bed?

[ He's looking over Owen as though trying to assess that. ]

[halfdecay]

[ Don’t tempt him.

Even though Owen is still a new blood around these parts, he struts down the hall with an air of confidence. New house, different bullshit. The quip doesn’t go completely lost. He smirks and turns his head at Carter. ]

With me slinging these between departments? Might as well make a fast quid while I’m ahead.

[halfdecay]

[ Oh shit. It’s Gloveboy. ]

Yeah, uh—I’m good. [ He nods. ] Um, IT training, yeah?

[abrightboy]

Yeah! They don’t usually have mandatory classes like that. How are you settling in?

[halfdecay]

[ The golden retriever energy is rubbing off Owen much like a cat near a body of water. Still, somewhere in the back of his head, there is a distant voice from Jack asking him to make nice. At least for these first few days.

His eyes look around before nodding and getting back into their little conversation. ]

As good as any other bloke would: on the brink of death, nearly pissed myself twice, had a lovely workshop on passwords and now —

[ He doesn’t even ask for it. He goes in for the detergent snatch. ]

I’m doing laundry.

[ Smooth. ]

[abrightboy]

[Malcolm doesn’t make a move to stop him taking the soap. He’s new, he needs soap, he’s welcome to soap. Something he said captures Malcolm’s attention a lot more.]

Something attacked you already? Was it the shadow girl?

[halfdecay]

[ Cheeky. But he respects the hustle. Owen purses his lips as he rummages inside his pocket for a crumpled Abraham Lincoln. ]

Some side hustle you’ve got there, love.

[ He says while uncrumpling it and handing it to her. ]

Don’t spend it all in one place.

[halfdecay]

What?

[ He shakes his head. ]

No, no… I meant before I was dragged into the bloody Twilight Zone. I was shot while on the job.

[halfdecay]

[ He’s lightheaded. Even when he tries to pick himself up off the floor, the hallway around him feels like it is spinning round and round. Owen’s pale hand leans against the wall. ]

…I need a phone.

[ He spits out while making a rather pathetic attempt to walk further down the hall. ]

[abrightboy]

[Malcolm's eyes go a little wider.]

Shot on the job? Are you a cop?

[10billionpercent]

[ He definitely should not be, and he approaches with his arms crossed. ]

I don't think you're going to get very far. [ Bedside manner was never his strong suit. ]

I can lend you a phone though, if you get back in bed.

[thedoctorsmate]

[She plucks the bill out of his hand and tucks it into her magazine, eye returning to the fashion article she's reading.]

I'll be queen of the Dollar General around here. Maybe get you some sticky notes so you can leave reminders not to leave your supplies behind, hmm?

[halfdecay]

Reckon you have those on you? I would have snagged some from HQ, but I’m afraid there’d be some redhead charging me a quid for a pack.

[ The side of his lips tug into a small smirk. ]

Figured someone like yourself might take pity on a poor bloke like me: First week out and not well-adjusted, as you can probably tell.

[halfdecay]

[ Yeah. Christ. About that… ]

No — [ Just rip it out like a bandaid, Harper. ] I work as an operative in a secret organization that stops dangerous threats from aliens. It just so happens I got nipped in the chest with a bullet while I was on the clock.

[ It was that or make some snarky remark about being a Ghostbuster. ]

[abrightboy]

[Malcolm considers that.]

…So you’re with the Men in Black?

[halfdecay]

[ …He should’ve just said he’s a Ghostbuster. ]

Yes, and my dad is Tommy Lee Jones. It’s all serendipitous, really.

[abrightboy]

[Ah. Owen’s making fun of him. Well. He’s not the first and won’t be the last. He nods, managing a tight smile.]

It’s… always good when things work out.

[He looks at the dial on the washer. Not soon. Okay. He looks at Owen again, gamely taking another stab at it, as it were.]

I guess all the weird stuff here isn’t that weird for you.

[thedoctorsmate]

[Donna looks up at him again, clearly looking him up and down.]

Mm... not hot enough. Cute, but not hot. Now, if you had some muscles and maybe took your shirt off so I had a show while I was waiting? Could've been different between us.

[halfdecay]

Isn’t that a shame?

[ A direct hit to his ego, but he quietly chuckles it off.

She’s a fiery one. He reckons not the type to be shoved around so easily. ]

I suppose I’ll just have to go about it the old-fashioned way. Say maybe over a coffee? If, of course, you’re willing to tolerate this silly mug for another mo’.

[halfdecay]

[ For what it’s worth, Malcolm, Owen’s sardonic tongue isn’t done out of spite. He is more than worthy of a good smack across the head. That much his teammates can testify.

So he is going to attempt to not be too much of a prick. ]

I suppose you can say that. Then again, I don’t think I’ll ever be accustomed to driving in the right lane.

[abrightboy]

[That makes him laugh.]

I don’t drive but that seems like it would be confusing for the muscle memory involved. How have you found the food?

sorry for the delay! event npc tags are consuming me a bit

[thedoctorsmate]

If your silly mug is buying? I hear you're a rich man. Can afford to pay 5 quid for a thing of detergent instead of just popping back to his flat to pick his own back up. That's how you know someone's made it.

[She's smiling just a bit, though. All right. So maybe he's not drop-dead gorgeous, but she can appreciate the sense of humor.]