damned_institute | Day 60: Arts and Crafts (Third Shift)

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Day 60: Arts and Crafts (Third Shift)

Sora wasn't quite sure what to make of his talk with Doctor Facilier. The man hadn't revealed much about himself even as he'd asked all those questions, so it was hard to form an opinion. Sora could only hope that he had proved himself to be more than just a kid over the course of their conversation, though if not, then that was the doctor's loss, right? Sora figured that he was a pretty good resource in this place after having been stuck here for so long.

As for the note that he'd put up for the club, it had gotten a lot of responses already, which he was glad about. It meant that his friends were all safe and sound, and more than that, they wanted to keep working with him. He'd even gotten a few new people to sign up, counting Renji and the other person who had apparently been recruited by Soma. So while they had missed an important opening last night, Sora wasn't going to let that get him down.

Oddly enough, there was a slight change for today, which was that they weren't going to be eating lunch in the cafeteria. Sora stared down at the bagged lunch that was put into his hands. They were usually only given something like this when they went out to Doyleton, but...

If it meant that they would get to go somewhere else for the shift, then Sora wasn't about to complain. The problem was that he'd already been to these rooms so many times that nothing really struck him as exciting. They'd gone to the Game Room just yesterday, though, so in the end he picked out Arts and Crafts.

Figuring that he should get his meal out of the way first, Sora took a seat at a table and started to dig through his lunch. "Hey, grilled cheese!" Nothing to complain about there. Sora unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. It felt weird to be eating in here, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

[For Woody.]

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Loki shrugged, his smile taking on a slightly bitter cast. "It was necessary. But thank you."

He nodded. "Twenty-five days... is that a long time to be here? I've gotten the impression that turnover is quite high." He gave her a smile as well, since he didn't want to seem too eager to shake answers out of her, and she seemed like quite a sweet girl. Which meant she might well be useful, but he needed to be careful. It was as well that patience was perhaps the only virtue he possessed.

"I suppose there are always questions and more questions, but I don't want to just leap one someone I've only just met and hurl query after query." He chuckled. "Such heavy conversation isn't all that suitable while eating any way. Perhaps... tell me a bit of yourself?"

Family was definitely was a heavy conversation to have, and she knew he wouldn’t want to open up that can of worms. Who would, right? Besides, if he thought at all like Tsubaki, what was past was past.

Still… She could still feel badly about it.

Tsubaki smiled softly but left the subject alone, turning instead to what he mentioned about “turnover.” That was one way to put it, certainly. It was kind of disheartening, though. “I think it’s a fair length… It’s a long story but not long ago they were ranking people based on how long they’d been around. Mine was the second highest.” Acknowledging just how many people did disappear after only a days or weeks never ceased to be chilling; even in her own circle of acquaintances, the majority of them had come and gone, just like that. “People do come and go a lot.”

All things considered, she didn’t mind spending time answering questions. What was her time in the hospital good for if not to share with other people? And who knew, maybe one day whatever caused the disappearances would happen to her, and she would go wherever it was people went. Talking about herself, however, that was different than talking about common circumstances. It would probably be a bit dull in comparison, and it would be insensitive to hog his time when he trying to settle in.

“Are you sure?” she asked uncertainly. “What would you like to know?”

Loki nodded, making a mental note that Tsubaki was definitely someone to keep track of. And, ultimately, someone to wring completely dry of information. If nothing else, if there was some secret to longer term - longer being relative, of course, twenty-five days was barely the blink of an eye - survival, apparently she had it whether she realized it or not. "I see," he murmured quietly. "It must be difficult."

He finished eating his sandwich and examined the contents from the rest of the lunch bag. The brownie, he wasn't entirely certain about and decided to leave it for last.

"I don't mean to pry, of course," he said. "I've merely... come to realize very quickly that I come from a very different place than many others. Everyone seems to be from far into my future. It's a bit disconcerting, but I find myself curious as well. But if you would rather speak of something else, I don't mind at all."

“It’s all right,” she assured. “It’s easier to know people are sticking together.”

It was also fairly easy for someone new like Lingormr to find a place; there was always someone to team up with. Leanne had confessed she hadn’t exactly had the best luck for the first little while, but Lingormr already seemed like a pretty capable person. It looked like he was learning as best he could, and with the Arts and Crafts Club involved, she wasn’t as worried as she could’ve been about how he would acclimatize to the situation.

But figuring out the different worlds and different times issue… that was a head-spinning thing all by itself.

“Ah, that’s right… this place seems to do something special and bring together people from all over. But people also come from the same places a lot of the time. Maybe you’ll find someone who’s from where you are?” suggested Tsubaki. “And it’s okay, you’re not prying! I’m from Earth. It can be strange to imagine if you’re not used to it, but… well, people arrive from different worlds a lot of the time. I don’t know if you’re from Earth, too?”

She waited to see how that explanation went over, hoping she hadn’t dropped a bomb that would just upset him. It was one thing to come from a different city or a different country, or even a different time, but alternate universes was no small revelation for those who didn’t believe in them.

"I am from Earth," he said. "Just from the distant past, it would seem. I don't know what the year would in the Christian reckoning, but I've gotten the distinct impression that it's been quite some time. I was born in Uppsala, if that has any meaning to you, though I traveled much across Noreg, Gotaland and Svealand. I was last in Uppsala as Emund the Old began his reign."

Peter had already implied that there were those from different realms here, and Loki had already set the precedent that he was terminally unsurprised by everything. It wouldn't do to change it now. "Peter mentioned... aliens to me, so I imagine that is those not from Earth? Is it quite common?" He leaned forward a little, chuckling. "And which portion of my future do you hail from?"

“Uppsala…” she repeated in thought, turning her eyes to the ceiling. She was sure the word sounded less lyrical coming from her. But did those names seem familiar to because they were familiar, or because she thought they should be familiar? Now was a bad time for a pop quiz on geography that may or may not have existed in her version of Earth! Maka would have known the answer in an instant, probably, but Tsubaki was less sure. Combined with his name, though, the sounds of the words sounded almost… “Could it be Scandinavia?” she wondered. “I’m sorry, I’m not certain off the top of my head. People on the bulletin board could probably answer for sure, if you know about it already.”

When she returned home, paying attention in history class was going to take on a whole new dimension, that was sure.

Tsubaki wasn’t sure who Peter was, but as Lingormr continued she tried to follow his line of thinking on those who weren’t from Earth. When she thought of aliens, she thought of little green men in shiny space ships. Oh… that wasn’t a very nice way to think of foreigners, was it?

“Y-yes, sort of! Technically that’s what an alien is… I think it’s common here, at least! I’ve met so many people from different worlds or different versions of Earth. I can’t say if I’m exactly from your future, but I was born in Japan? It's far to the east from Scandinavia. A long time ago it was called Wa.”

"Yes, Scandinavia. I believe that's right. I think someone said that... the modern name for the country is Sweden." Loki nodded. "I'm afraid I haven't heard of Japan or a country called Wa. Though that's probably for the best, since if we did know of your land, my people would likely be conducting raids on it and all sorts of other unpleasant business." His smile became both sheepish and apologetic. "Perhaps you've heard of Vikings?"

He considered what she said about aliens. "Different versions of Earth. Hm." It was theoretically possible, though he hadn't ever gotten around to personally trying to see a parallel universe. But that would make sense, he supposed. And if it was a matter of not just different realms, but parallel universes all being subjected to abductions by this Landel fellow...

That was some technology he'd really like to get his hands on. Which would of course involve separating the owner of said technology from his head or at least most of his vital juices, which was a side benefit.

"The Head Doctor has certainly been a busy man," he said mildly. "Since you've been here so long, I don't suppose you know anything at all about him?"

“Sweden! That makes sense.”

Both because of the language and the Viking thing. Raiding wasn’t exactly a pleasant thing for a group of people to be doing, but what was the present reality for him was kind of in the past for her. Or at least she thought so. As far as Tsubaki was aware, people from the Scandinavian area weren’t running around pillaging other places; if they were, the world would be more topsy-turvy than it already was with Asura afoot.

She laughed softly a bit, uncertain if she wanted to try imagining what “unpleasant business” meant. “I have. Are you a Viking, then?”

Ah, but his next question was harder to answer. Impossible, actually, if she wanted to convey the more personal things Tsubaki knew about the Head Doctor. How did you explain to someone who had just arrived that there were people like her around who knew things but their situation but couldn’t say anything? Her expression went from curious to apologetic, in a somewhat more remorseful way than Lingormr‘s.

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that much,” she replied. If he only knew! “He seems to keep to himself a lot. A lot of the time his messages get more nasty at night.”

"I suppose it depends on how you want to define a Viking," Loki said, with an easy smile. "That's generally what we seem to be called, though I'm certainly no warrior and have never personally gone a-viking. I'm a scholar by profession."

Loki's eyebrow went up as he observed her expression, which was oddly apologetic. "I would imagine he would keep to himself. I suppose I'll have plenty of time to deserve what nastiness he might spout on his own in the evenings." He snorted quietly. "It just seems odd, that he's supposedly in charge of this place and no one seems to know a bloody thing about him." Though he did have to wonder if she meant can't or can't, and was hoping she'd provide a little clarification in her next statements.

Because the latter would certainly be a new and interesting wrinkle to the game.

“That’s an interesting profession! Do you have a specialty or is that not the kind of profession it is?” Tsubaki was always happy to learn more about people and their lives back home; she supposed the man was quite smart to be dedicated to scholarly pursuits. “Then… then do your people call themselves something else?”

All things considered, it was a million times easier to get a picture of another prisoner than it was to figure out even the basics about Martin Landel, despite the fact that the Head Doctor seemed to come from a familiar version of Earth, whereas prisoners could come from all sorts of places. When Tsubaki compared how long she’d been in the Institute to how much she actually knew about Landel, she recognized how sparse her knowledge was. He was a mysterious figure.

Her smile retained a somewhat humble cast. “I’m sorry, there’s probably others out there who could explain more than me. From what he’s revealed, it seems he was involved in starting up this place, and it hasn’t been open that long. There’s a military force he has a tense relationship with; they fired him and he just recently came back. It sounds like he has to report to people higher up. But if you go out at night, please be careful! Being with the Arts and Crafts Club helps, but it can get dangerous. Places where people might find clues are probably guarded.”

"Scholars are just generally... scholars." Loki laughed. "Not that there are all that many of us, mind you. I'm particularly interested in the maths and sciences, but I don't think there's any sort of special name for that." He shook his head. "Svealander is the more generic name, since that is where I'm from. But it just seems easier to go with Viking right now, since most seem to know what that is, even if it's not entirely accurate." He grinned. "Though perhaps it gives the wrong impression, I don't know."

He idly traced a curling pattern on the table top with one fingertip, listening to what little more she had to say about the Head Doctor. "Clues," he said. "Makes it all sound like a bit of a game, doesn't it? Though I suppose our captor might take it as such as well. Though it does seem very sloppy to just leave useful things laying about for us to find."

Still, this was now more than he'd known earlier, so he was at least a little grateful. And it made sense, he supposed, that there was some sort of command structure that plagued the Head Doctor. That was always a point of weakness that could potentially be exploited, though it would require some creative positioning to do so.

He smiled. "I promise that I will be careful, though I suppose it's all in the hands of whoever I get put with."

“There’s not?” Tsubaki imagined how perplexed people like Maka and Oxford might be to learn there weren’t many scholars where Lingormr came from--Svealander. But Maka would also probably know a lot more about the area he came from, given the avid reader she was, as would Ox. Alongside Black☆Star, Maka was one of the other dear friends she missed for her insight… Heh, and Ox, too, and all of the others. But there was no point getting nostalgic now! “Oh, I admire people who study in those areas; they seem so difficult sometimes,” she said. “They’re subjects at my school, but there are a lot of students who are better at them than I am. I’m sure people wouldn’t judge you if went with Viking, though.”

At least in Tsubaki’s case, there were so many unique types of people and special abilities that it was kind of hard to rely on her own understanding of thing. Landel’s had opened her eyes even more to how fallible her perceptions could be.

“What happens at night does seem like a test sometimes… People have warned you about that, right? He’s hinted before that he evaluates what we do, but I’m not sure what that means.” She smiled back, a little wider than before. “I’m sure you’ll be in good hands! Um, I don’t know if you’ve heard this already, but if you have certain special abilities… in some cases, they might be dampened during the day but they’ll come back a little bit once nightshift starts. So that’s something. And people lend weapons if you ever need one.”

"I think there'd have to be more scholars about for us to have special names." He chuckled. So it seemed that Tsubaki was no scholar; pity, he'd just have to save his math discussions to fling at Peter and see if anything stuck. But that meant she'd also be much easier to wow with some very elementary concepts, if it ever came to that. Really, Tsubaki seemed the sort to come pre-wowed to most discussions. "As long as you think it's all right, I'll stick with Viking, then. Though I hope I don't disappoint too many people when I show up without a massive beard."

He nodded. "I have been warned that things get ugly at night, so I've taken steps to ensure that I'm at least not wandering about on my own. Hm, so we're being evaluated... interesting. That certainly puts a different spin on things." Soma had spoken of abilities as well. It seemed that it was fairly common here, for people to have some sort of extra-human ability. Though perhaps that was part of the design of the abductions. "I will hope that the regaining of abilities is the case, though it's still quite limited use when it comes to me since I'm more of a theory rather than execution sort." He grinned. "I suppose a weapon could at least let me appear marginally useful until I tried to actually do something with it."

“I think you might be in luck here, then; there’s bound to be other scholars around, I bet,” she said with a smile. It had to be a culture thing, she supposed, having more warriors than scholarly types. A big beard must have been a part of the… Viking image, then? She wasn’t sure why, exactly, beards always went hand-in-hand with the idea of strong fighters, but that was how it was.

The man’s joking replies continued to add to the picture of his not fitting into that same mould. As many people with fighting abilities as there were, there were also a large number that didn’t fight. Lingormr wasn’t alone in that regard. It could safely say the motives behind the Institute’s abductions didn’t strictly lie with offensive capabilities, at least.

“That’s all right. Fighting only gets people so far, anyway. Sometimes it’s better to avoid some of the hospital’s attacks if you can.”

"I'm to meet one this afternoon," Loki agreed. "It's rather more exciting than it should be, but any difficulty is easier when you meet like minded people along the way, don't you think?" It was a matter for curiosity, who would count as a like-minded person for Tsubaki. He hadn't run across this sort of relentless good cheer since he'd first met Volstagg, and Tsubaki's good cheer didn't seem to hinge on food.

Probably for the best, considering lunch hadn't exactly been something to write home about.

"Though it really begs the question, what exactly we are getting tested about, if it's not fighting. And it's plainly not... more arcane abilities, since those seem to be largely unavailable from what I've observed thus far." It was possible that it was a matter of raw intelligence, strength, and creativity that was being investigated, but it seemed like an awful lot of trouble to go to for just that. Then again, it could all just be a thin veneer of respectability put over what was effectively a sadistic game for a bored demi-god.

Not that Loki would know anything about that sort of thing.

He chuckled. "I never understood people not wanting to avoid trouble." Well, not wanting to avoid the nastiness of a fight. Trouble in and of itself wasn't so much a means at times as an end. Because it was certainly better than being bored.

“Yes,” Tsubaki agreed, smiling. “I hope you get along well.”

The hospital definitely fell into the category of “difficulty”--in fact, it was probably one of the most intense situations half of the prisoners, herself included, had faced. But getting the lay of the land was made relatively easier with other prisoners around who could answer questions and make someone feel comfortable. Or as comfortable as it got, being kidnapped amongst strangers.

She wondered what Lingormr would classify as ‘arcane abilities’ in his experience. “I wish I could answer that,” she replied. “It would explain a lot if they ever told us. The Head Doctor makes it sound like the result is helpful, but I don’t know.” She did have to laugh a little at his opinions on avoiding trouble. Tsubaki couldn’t help but agree with his sentiment. “I suppose it takes all types… But I’ll be relieved if you end up not seeing anything weird at all.”

Loki chuckled. "I'll do my best." Very rarely did he not get along with people if he really wanted to. And it was in his best interest to do so at the moment. Antagonizing people could wait for the moment, until he'd figured out how to do so with the necessary flair. "But you never know with scholars. We're a rather volatile lot. Sometimes such meetings end up being parties of mutual enthusiasm, and otherwise... let's just say I once saw a disagreement over chemical formulae devolve into a knife fight. A literal knife fight."

He nodded when she spoke of the lack of information. "It serves them better to keep us guessing, whether this is actually a test or just some sort of... perverted game," Loki said. "Forcing us to constantly guess at what is happening provides a layer of protection to those who hold us captive. It serves as cover."

He smiled. "You are too kind, Tsubaki. We shall see how it goes. Though if I have any luck, it has always been bad, I'm afraid to say."

The man‘s anecdote earned a curious blink from her. “Oh… sounds like an instance of getting hot under the collar…” she said slowly. “Heh, I know people who get like that, too. I wonder if the reason I don’t totally understand those things is because I’m not a scholar? At least we should be safe from that here. During the day the staff steps in if people start breaking into quarrels.”

It was a small attempt at humor from her. Still, enthusiasm wasn’t a bad thing at all. The Institute could definitely use some enthusiasm in certain areas.

Of course, as much as it was a place people had to learn to live in when days began to turn to weeks, one could never forget its dark underbelly. She nodded at Lingormr’s observations. He put it eloquently; the idea of layers of protection made a lot of sense. Unfortunately, winding up in this situation wasn’t exactly a testament to good luck, but she still had to say, “I’m sure it hasn’t been all bad! Well, I can’t say waking up in a strange place must’ve been nice for you, but good things happen here, too. Maybe your luck will surprise you.”

He laughed. "You could definitely say that." He gave her an easy smile. "I think we all probably know people like that. Those with nasty tempers and a passion for what they do can end up nearly anywhere." He cocked his head slightly to the side, eyebrow going up. "Is that often a problem during the day? How do the nurses deal with such difficulties?" He certainly didn't think the woman he'd been cursed with could do much more than annoy people into trying to punch her instead of each other. Though it was always a possibility that she was expert in some arcane martial art.

...a very, very slim possibility.

As Tsubaki continued, Loki finally unwrapped his brownie and took a tentative nibble of it. His eyebrows went up and he nodded approvingly. "Well, I suppose this dessert could count as a good thing that has happened. And the waffles." He laughed softly. "Considering the luck I had prior to coming here, things quite possibly could be looking up."

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Day 60: Arts and Crafts (Third Shift)

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