video ➳ action {feel free to handwave appointment setups and drop by!

[blackbirdsing]

[The camera comes on, and Sarah smiles as she greets Wonderland.]

Hi, everyone. If we haven't met, I'm Sarah Weller. I've been here about two months now, and I've noticed in between the insane things that happen, there's a lot of training going on either magical or physical sparring, weight lifting, all the good stuff. Injuries can happen, and while I do realize we have a few great doctors here, I wanted to offer my service, too. I'm a physical therapist. Specifically orthopedic which means I'm a pretty great masseuse. If you have a lot of aches and pains or joint problems that won't go away, muscle groups that regularly hurt, I can help. I can also help you come up with an exercise regimen that might be better for you.

If you're into water therapy, we can arrange something at the pool, but otherwise, you can find my therapy room down on the first floor, nestled between all the training facilities in room twenty-three.

[She pans the camera then to give everyone a view of the room before focusing the camera back on her.]

I won't live in this space, so let's go by appointment, any day of the week, normal business hours, nine to five. There's of course no charge for obvious reasons, and I'm happy to do something I know to help people. Each session goes about an hour and I'm starting now.

Oh, PS: Massages are great too for just relaxation, so even if you don't have a problem area, treat yourself sometime.

Comments

video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Heh, I know that feeling. I don't really have any skills that would be helpful most of the time, so I'm kind of envious.

[During dangerous events, he can do plenty, but otherwise, his main skill is reading a lot, which isn't helpful unless someone really, really wants to farm out research to someone else. And the research involves literature.]

It sounds like it will be really useful, though. A lot of people here don't seem to be comfortable with magical healing, so rehabilitative techniques could be in demand at times.

video;

[blackbirdsing]

I don't think anyone will really need me for anything serious when there isn't something happening here, so I'm trying to adapt to 'massages for pleasure' and not someone's just had surgery, or so-and-so is a star sports player and needs to be playing again as soon as possible.

[She hums a little, considering the difference.]

Might be nice, to just be doing something to relax people.

[Though she did situate herself so that anyone with a gym related injury could find her easily.]

video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[That fact was not lost on Kaneki.]

Hm...I think you're right. It might be something worth trying.

[He has no idea how massages work on ghouls, but it couldn't be that different than that is for a human.]

Reading hasn't been as relaxing as it used to be.

video;

[blackbirdsing]

You know, if you're not sure you'd like it, you can always come and try. And if we start and you don't like it, then no hard feelings.

video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

If nothing else, it would be a good way to get to know someone new...

[He means new to him, not necessarily new to Wonderland.

He pauses, then nods slowly.]

I think I'd like to try it.

video;

[blackbirdsing]

[Sarah gives a warm smile and nods.]

I'm always up to meeting people, no matter what. Just let me know when you want to come by, and I'll make sure I'm not already booked. People have been surprisingly receptive of this.

video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Thank you.

[A beat. Then he seems to start a little.]

Oh--! I didn't introduce myself. I'm Kaneki Ken.

Um...either of those names works.

video;

[blackbirdsing]

iIt's nice to meet you. What do you prefer to be called though?

[She'll go from there because it seems the most respectful. Whatever he wants to be called, Sarah's happy to go for.]

video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[He seems honestly surprised by the question. He can count on one hand the people who use his given name. Even his best friend calls him by his family name.]

Kaneki is fine. It's my family name, so it's what I'm used to.

video;

[blackbirdsing]

Then it's nice to meet you, Kaneki. When you're ready, I'm giving a few previews today to get word of mouth going. Do you want to come by now?

video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

S-sure. If you're free right now, I can come by and see if it's for me.

video;

[blackbirdsing]

I'll see you soon, then!

[Sarah gives a bit of a wave off, ending the video in anticipation of actually having a client.]

Re: video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[It's only a few minutes before Kaneki turns up. He was less than ten rooms away in the coffee shop.

Although it's more or less a "public" space, he still knocks at the door as he lets himself in. Despite her telling him now was fine for him to come by, he's still hesitant.]

Ah...excuse me. [That part was mostly cultural, but still: hesitant.]

[blackbirdsing]

[ Sarah looks up and gives him a smile. ]

Hey, there. It's nice to see you in person. Come on, I'll show you into the massage room.

[Leading him back, there are candles, dim lighting; it's all very welcoming. ]

There are a couple ways we can do this. Usually, I leave the room and people completely undress and lay under a sheet, on their stomach. But if you're more comfortable with just taking your shirt off, that's completely fine.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

For now I think I'll just go with taking my shirt off.

[He scratches at the back of his neck, feeling a little silly, as he looks around the room. But when he takes his shirt off a second later, there's not any hesitation.

He's surprisingly fit for such a nerd. There's a scar across his lower abdomen, about where it should be if he's had his appendix out, but it's much too long and jagged for a surgery like that to have been the cause of it.

The strangest part might be that his fingernails are almost black, like there's dark, dried blood coating his nail beds.]

[blackbirdsing]

[If Sarah's going to do this job, she can't really judge every person who comes through. She sees the scar and the nails, but what's she supposed to say, really? It could be something, or it could be nothing. She's going to do what she's here for and once he's laying down and situated, she makes sure her hands are warm before starting.]

If something makes you feel uncomfortable or doesn't actually relief discomfort, then let me know. Everyone responds to different pressure.

[And then she begins, massaging his shoulders and then down to the center of his back.]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[It's a bit of a relief she doesn't ask. She seemed way more considerate than that based on their conversation. He'd have explained if he had to, albeit a bit hesitantly. He's not entirely secretive about what he is, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant.]

Got it. [He hopes he's not going to have any kind of nervous, ridiculous reaction to things.

And...he doesn't. It's actually a lot more relaxing than he expected, once he's not tense just from anticipating it being weird.]

...This...actually, it's not bad at all.

[blackbirdsing]

[ Sarah smiles as she works, able to feel him relaxing. ]

I think it's always weird the first time someone's giving you a massage. But if it's done right, I promise it'll make a huge difference in how you feel for a while afterward. I try to get one at least once a month back home.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[He laughs softly.] I don't have a lot of physical interpersonal contact...not this kind anyway. But it seems like something I can get used to.

[blackbirdsing]

[ Normally, she doesn't talk much while working because it doesn't see very relaxing, but since he seems to be okay with it, she continues while she works.]

Where are you from?

[ It's just a curious question; she's met people from places that don't even exist for her, or only exist hundreds of years in her future. She never thought it could be so interesting a question. ]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki feels somehow like it's less awkward if he talks, but that's probably a throwback to his generally shy-ish nature.]

Tokyo, Japan. Um...the year was 2014.

[The location and year are pretty normal. So is most of what goes on in his world.]

What about you?

[blackbirdsing]

Oh, hey, not too far off. New York, United States. 2016. I've always wanted to go to Tokyo, though. Expand my world view by being immersed in someone else's culture.

I wonder if being in Wonderland counts for that, somehow. I'm meeting people from different planets and different versions of Earth. That has to count for some kind of culture, right?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

I think it counts. There's a lot of diversity in worlds like ours, but here there's even more.

[He purposely says "worlds like ours" rather than the singular--he hasn't ever met anyone here whose world has a ghoul infestation.]

I mean, there are sentient skeletons here. [He laughs softly.] I don't know how you can find a culture more more different.

[blackbirdsing]

My brother told me about one of the skeletons. I have to say that's...well. I probably won't have that experience back home. And since other people's worlds come here and we're bombarded, I guess you're right, we're pretty immersed.

[ She kind of likes thinking of it that way.

Her hands are finishing up, making sweeping motions up and down his back with her hands to massage in the rest of the oil. When she's done, she pulls the sheet back up over his back. ]

Okay, whenever you're ready to get dressed I'll be in the front room, with tea.

[ He's all set, and she gives him some privacy as she goes to do exactly what she said. It's a simple chamomile tea to keep with the theme of relaxation. ]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki thanks her quietly and gets up to get his shirt back on. It was pretty nice, really, and he's relieved to find that this kind of thing works on ghouls just as well as on humans. She didn't seem to notice anything strange, anyway.

He steps into the other room and takes a seat, picking up the tea. He enjoys the smell for a moment, with a smile that's almost sad. He thinks about trying it, just to avoid being rude, and even raises it to his lips. He tilts it back, but only gets a little in his mouth before he has to repress the urge to gag.

He sets the cup back down as quickly as he can without spilling the tea or crushing the cup. He's not quite successful on the first count, and uses his sleeve to try to clean up what he spilled. So much for trying not to look rude.]

Ah--sorry! [His sleeve is damp and smells like chamomile now, but there doesn't seem to be much of a mess left.] That was-- Sorry.

[Awkward.]