WWMF

You are in a hospital room. Earlier, you woke up from a brief coma that your friend put you in during a wrestling match, which you asked him to do. [[Wait, do you mean like real wrestling or that fake shit?]] [[Remind me why I asked my friend to put me in a coma again]]

Professional wrestling, like flamboyant costumes and personas and catchphrases and casual drug use and casual racism, and tragedy after tragedy. Yes, it's scripted and predetermined but the body is the actor. "Real" wrestling only takes a few minutes and it's frantic, which is more like life, but people watch professional wrestling to escape from their lives. Got it? [[I guess. So who am I?->SJW Description]] [[Nah, but I'll play along. So who am I?->DoubtfulSJWDescription]] [[Professional wrestling's for losers. Not interested->You sure]]

You have tried to escape your body since you were 11 to go to a place you are not sure what to call it, though you've called it the void recently. In the void, you have been able to try and go back in time to alter the past to change your future, though you have failed countless times. You thought this time would be the time you finally got it right. [[Got it, I guess. What's going on?->current situation]] [[Why have I wanted to escape my body since you were 11->escape attempt explaination]]

Your latest professional wrestling persona is SJW. Your finisher is a snap double underhook DDT you named Trigger Warning. You often use catchphrases that are hashtags, as that's what you think social justice warriors do. [[Isn't that reductive of people who believe in social justice?->Yes]] [[That's exactly what SJWs do online->I guess]] [[Have I had other professional wrestling personas?->Other personas]] [[Remind me why I asked my friend to put me in a coma again]]

Well, thanks for continuing to play, despite you not getting professional wrestling. Your latest professional wrestling persona is SJW. Your finisher is a snap double underhook DDT you named Trigger Warning. You often use catchphrases that are hashtags, as that's what you think social justice warriors do. [[Isn't that reductive of people who believe in social justice?->Yes]] [[That's exactly what SJWs do online->I guess]] [[Have I had other professional wrestling personas?->Other personas]] [[Remind me why I asked my friend to put me in a coma again]]

You sure you don't want to continue? [[Yeah. Professional wrestling is lame->endforprowrestlers]] [[Alright, I'll play. I wanna see where this goes.->DoubtfulSJWDescription]]

Yes, it's absolutely reductive of social justice warriors do. However, you have to think about your audience when you choose a wrestling persona. You work for a promotion that wrestles in rural areas of the country and you needed an easy way for people to hate you as a heel. You picked the SJW persona as a way to get people to hate you, and boy do they hate you. Pro wrestling has a rich tradition of personas that garner intense reactions. [[Got it. Remind me why I wanted my friend to put me in a coma again->Remind me why I asked my friend to put me in a coma again]]

Ah, I see you are one of those people. You work for a promotion that wrestles in rural areas of the country and you needed an easy way for people to hate you as a heel. You picked the SJW persona as a way to get people to hate you, and boy do they hate you. Pro wrestling has a rich tradition of personas that garner intense reactions. [[Fine. Remind me why I was in a coma again->Remind me why I asked my friend to put me in a coma again]]

When you wrestled as The Beta Male, your finisher was a shot to the nuts while the ref wasn't looking and the rolling up the guy for a pin. You called it “The Equalizer”. It was a cheap as hell move, but you were The Beta Male. When you wrestled as the Cornwall Estlin Oxford, your finisher was the Severance Package, a delayed package piledriver. [[The Beta Male? CEO? What the hell kind of names are these->persona explanation]] [[Thanks for that info.->Remind me why I asked my friend to put me in a coma again]]

Thanks for playing, I guess. Before you close out of this, you might want to watch <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hoqbp">this match</a> below and see if it might change your mind. [[Start Over->Intro]]

You have to think about your audience when you choose a wrestling persona. You work for a promotion that wrestles in rural areas of the country and you needed an easy way for people to hate you as a heel. You picked the SJW persona as a way to get people to hate you, and boy do they hate you. Pro wrestling has a rich tradition of personas that garner intense reactions. [[Then why did I pick The Beta Male and CEO->additional persona explanation]] [[Got it.->Remind me why I asked my friend to put me in a coma again]]

The Beta Male was your way of making fun of traditional masculinity. Most American wrestling fans hate wimpy cheaters. CEO was after the 2008 recession hit. You wanted everyone's hate to unite them against you, being you were a representation for the reason everyone lost their homes and jobs and life savings. [[Got it->Remind me why I asked my friend to put me in a coma again]]

Your mother, who you have not seen in 20 years, has come to take care of you after the friend who put you in a coma, Carl, was hauled off to jail. You asked your mother if she could help you escape the hospital instead but she's ready to have you committed to a psychiatric hospital after your latest suicide attempt. [[Why was Carl hauled off to jail->tried to kill you]] [[Why haven't I seen my mom in 20 years?->tried to kill mom]] [[How many times have I tried to kill myself->attempts]] [[What are my options at this point->options]]

You haven't felt like you've belonged in your body for a long time and you've never been able to figure out why. The void never explains why, possibly because you don't want to know why. [[So is this void all in my head->Void explaination]]

The void is kind of in your head but it's powered by something that is kind of like god but isn't actually god because god doesn't exist in this version of your universe. You have control in the void, to an extent, but the things powering it have a say on whether you can do something. They've let you do pretty much most everything you want, except fuck with time and space because that's probably a terrible idea. [[Got it, I guess. What's going on?->current situation]] [[Wait, so why I won't tell myself why I've been wanting to escape->avoid truth]]

I wish I knew. I'll listen when you're ready to tell me. [[Got it, I guess. What's going on?->current situation]]

You woke up sooner than expected from your coma and you asked Carl to put you back under. He did so by smothering you with a pillow. A nurse caught him and he was arrested. [[Got it. What are my options->options]] [[Why would Carl agree to that->question carl]]

You drowned in your stepdad's pool and took your mother with you to show her the void, show her why you've been trying to escape your body. The void would not let both of you stay. Your stepdad dragged you both out of the pool and saved your lives. She sent you back to your dad and told him what you did and she never wanted to see you again. [[Wow. Fuck. Ok. So what are my options->options]]

I've lost track. When you were younger, you tried doing it yourself, but then your mom left after she found you hanging by the neck in your bedroom when you were 11. You didn't want to end up committed to a psychiatric hospital like your grandpa so you got better about making others try and kill you. You thought professional wrestling would be the perfect way to do it. It's a career path your father didn't want you going down on since your father was a pro wrestler. [[My father was a pro wrestler->background on father]] [[Got it. What are my options?->options]]

You are wearing a hospital gown. You are hooked to an IV, which gives you fluids, and allows the nurses to inject you with drugs, as needed. You are standing in front of the window to see whether your mother changed her mind and is waiting for you in the parking lot to escape. What do you do? [[Look for your mother's car->look for car]] [[Pull the needle out of your arm->pull needle]] [[Go back to bed->back to bed]] [[Try and go back to the void->return to void]] [[Try and escape while you are hooked into an IV->escape attempt IV]]

There was that one night stand the two of you had years ago. The next morning, while you were both hungover, he said he loved you only as a friend, and then quit the promotion the two of you were working in. He probably felt guilty about what happened and wanted to make it right. [[Got it, I guess. What are my options->options]] [[Wait, so asking Carl to put me in a coma and then put me back under was my way of having him make things right between us?->sure]]

I guess. I'm not in your head so I can't tell you why you had Carl put you in a coma instead of you doing it yourself. [[Fair enough. What are my options->options]]

Your dad was a no-nonsense wrestler. He'd rather let his actions speak for him but he never got far doing that. When he wasn't wrestling, he worked construction to keep food on the table for the two of you. He died a few years ago in one of those Legends of Wrestling type matches. [[Got it. What are my options->options]]

You look for your mother's car out in the parking lot but then you realize you don't know what your mother's car looks like since you haven't seen her in 20 years and she's probably using a rental. Even if you knew what her car looked like, she wouldn't be out there to enable you to escape. What do you do? [[Pull the needle out of your arm->pull needle]] [[Go back to bed->back to bed]] [[Try and go back to the void->return to void]] [[Try and escape while you are hooked into an IV->escape attempt IV]]

You pull the needle out of your and you (either:"start bleeding out. A nurse walks into your room during her rounds and immediately alerts the rest of the staff that you're bleeding. You're not getting out any time soon. [[Try again->Intro]]","press your hand down on the injection site. [[You figure out what to do next->Next steps]]")

You go back to bed and hope your mother does the right thing and not commit you when you're well enough to be discharged. Maybe, you need to be in a psychatric hospital. Maybe, you need medication. Maybe, you need to confront the thing that keeps you wanting to escape from your body, the thing the void will not tell you because you do not want to be told why. These maybes keep you awake when the nurses aren't checking on you. [[Thanks for playing. Feel free to try again->Intro]]

You take a blanket into the bathroom and tie one end on your neck, the other end on the showerhead. (either:"A nurse walks into your room during her rounds and immediately alerts the rest of the staff that you tried to kill yourself. You're not getting out any time soon. [[Try again->Intro]]","You start blacking out and the void tells you that you broke your promise and you are no longer welcome there. A nurse finds your body an hour later. [[Try again->Intro")

You clutch the pole that you're tethered to and being wheeling yourself out of your room. (either:"A nurse catches you walking out of your room and ushers you back to your bed. You're not getting out any time soon. [[Try again->Intro]]","[[You make it in to the elevator->Elevator]]")

You are pressing your hand on the injection site to make sure you're not gonna bleed out. What do you do? [[Look around the room to see if the nurses left behind Band-Aids->bandaids]] [[Look for something sharp to cut a strip of fabric off of a blanket or pillowcase->cut]] [[Walk to the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]

You press "G" and go down to the first floor. (either:"[[Hospital security stops you->beat hospital security]]","You keep your head down as you walk through the emergency room as the aftermath of a five car pile up rages through. You step through the double doors and keep walking. [[As you walk, [you think about your options->post escape options]]")

You look around the room and you don't see any Band-Aids. What do you do? [[Tear a strip off of the blanket with your hands and tie it around your arm->tear blanket]] [[Tear a strip off of a pillowcase with your hands and tie it around your arm->tear pillowcase]] [[Remove a pillowcase and tie it around your arm->remove pillowcase]] [[Walk to the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]

You look around the room and then you remember why would they leave anything sharp in your hospital room to possibly hurt yourself with, especially if your mother has told the doctors about your escape attempts. What do you do? [[Look around the room to see if the nurses left behind Band-Aids->bandaids]] [[Tear a strip off of the blanket with your hands and tie it around your arm->tear blanket]] [[Tear a strip off of a pillowcase with your hands and tie it around your arm->tear pillowcase]] [[Remove a pillowcase and tie it around your arm->remove pillowcase]] [[Walk to the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]

You walk out of your room, your hand pressing the injection site. (either:"A nurse catches you walking out of your room and ushers you back to your bed. You're not getting out any time soon. [[Try again->Intro]]","[[You make it in to the elevator->Elevator]]")

You grip the blanket (either:"and you're not strong enough to tear it. [[You determine your other options->Other options failed blanket]]","and you tear a strip off of it. You tie the strip around your arm. [[You determine what to do next->other options successful blanket]]")

You remove the pillow case. (either:"You're not strong enough to tear it. [[You determine your other options->Other options failed pillow]]","and you tear a strip off of it. You tie the strip around your arm. [[You determine what to do next->other options successful pillow]]")

You managed to remove the pillow case and tie it around the injection site. What do you do? [[Sneak around and see if you can find scrubs you can steal->Look around for scrubs]] [[Head to the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]

You were unable to make a bandage by tearing a strip away from the blanket. What do you do? [[Look around the room to see if the nurses left behind Band-Aids->bandaids]] [[Tear a strip off of a pillowcase with your hands and tie it around your arm->tear pillowcase]] [[Remove a pillowcase and tie it around your arm->remove pillowcase]] [[Walk to the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]

You managed to tear away a strip from the blanket and bandage the injection site. What do you do? [[Sneak around and see if you can find scrubs you can steal->Look around for scrubs]] [[Head to the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]

You were unable to make a bandage by tearing a strip away from the pillow. What do you do? [[Look around the room to see if the nurses left behind Band-Aids->bandaids]] [[Tear a strip off of the blanket with your hands and tie it around your arm->tear blanket]] [[Remove a pillowcase and tie it around your arm->remove pillowcase]] [[Walk to the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]

You managed to tear away a strip from the pillowcase and bandage the injection site. What do you do? [[Sneak around and see if you can find scrubs you can steal->Look around for scrubs]] [[Head to the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]

You sneak out of your room and (either:"you find a supply closet. [[You try to open the supply closet->open supply closet]]","you are caught by a nurse. She ushers you back to your bed. You're not getting out any time soon. [[Try again->Intro]]")

(either:"[[You open the supply closet->in supply closet]]","You are caught by a nurse trying to get into the supply closert. She ushers you back to your bed. You're not getting out any time soon. [[Try again->Intro]]")

[[You check the supply closet for scrubs->check the supply closet for scrubs]]

(either:"You find some clean scrubs and put them on. You also find a surgical mask that you put over your mouth. [[You leave the supply closet and head to the elevator->on elevator with scrubs]]","The supply closet doesn't have any scrubs you can use. [[You decide to make a break for the elevator->determine whether you make it to the elevator]]")

You make it in the elevator while wearing new scrubs and a surgical mask. You press "G" and go down to the first floor. You keep your head down as you walk through the emergency room as the aftermath of a five car pile up rages through. You step through the double doors and keep walking. [[You think about your options->post escape options]]

(either:"You beat up hospital security but the police on site Tased you. When you come to, you'll be handcuffed to your hospital bed. You're not getting out any time soon. [[Try again->Intro]]","Hopsital security takes you down and drags you back to your room. You're not getting out any time soon. [[Try again->Intro]]")

As you walk away from the hospital, you think about your options, what the future might hold depending on your choices. You could go to the police station, explain to them that you told Carl to kill you, that you're not pressing charges, to free him from your mistakes. //Let him go//, the void reminds you every time you think of Carl but the void doesn't understand friendship or love. //It's what holds you back//, it says when you it reads that you think it doesn't understand friendship or love. You could find your mother, reconcile with her after all these years, but the void reminds you that redemption is just another anchor. You could beg Marty for your job back, promise him that you'll never break the rules again, but that's just repeating the same patterns you're trying to break away from. You could focus on yourself and fix yourself so the void will let you in when it's the right time, so you can fix the other versions of yourself stuck the same way you're stuck but you don't know how, not yet, maybe never. **END** [[If you want to play again, go for it->Intro]]

--- This is a Twine story by J. Bradley. Submit your feedback <a href="mailto:senryujournalist@gmail.com">here</a>.