damned_institute | Day 32: Sun Room (2nd shift)

All of this fucking routinely bullshit was driving him nuts. Couldn’t avoid the pun, even if he wanted.

Without further ado, Reid threw himself into a chair in the Sun Room with the notebook he’d bitched at his nurse to go grab. It was heavier than anything he could have used in the caf, which was good, but making a big show over testing his own goddamn Power like he was thirteen-years old again blew. But it was the best he could think of off the top of his head.

Tossing it onto the table in front of him, poised between the two feet he had propped on the table’s edge, he bit restlessly at his thumb nail. And then tried to probe the core of his magic. Maybe it was better if Tyler wasn’t around to see this.

"What do you mean I ain't allowed to smoke?" Tyki protested. They had only just entered the sun room and his request for a cigarette was denied already. That was something the Noah couldn't very easily accept.

"Now now, João. We are in a mental hospital, of course you can't smoke." The nurse explained calmly. "It's not only bad for your own health, but also for the other patients. It's better if you don't smoke at all."

So? He wanted, no, needed his cigarettes. For a chain-smoker such as Tyki Mikk, this was a problem. A huge problem. The possibility of nicotine with-drawl was enough to make the Noah of Pleasure more irritated than usual.

"Eh? But I.." he began, but wasn't even allowed to finish his protest, or even the (somewhat lame) argument that would follow.

"No buts, João. We are here help to help you. I'm sure you'll be fine." the nurse said on a stern tone. "Now, please make yourself comfortable on one of the couches." And with that, she left him to his devices. Of course, without any cigarettes.

The hobo made a face. This definitely sucked. He plopped down on one of the couches, leaning his head on one of his hands as he shot a soar expression to the nurses further away. He'd just sink through the floor right now and escape, except he had no idea what had happened to the Tease. He guessed he needed to find that out first. Perhaps he could avoid a scolding if he did. And there was still the issue of how he actually got here in the first place.

He let out a sigh. How bothersome...

What a way to start the day.

[ooc: unknowingly waiting for Rhode]

[Unknowingly waiting for Obi-Wan]

The first thing Clark did when he entered the Sun Room was to home in on the nearest window and plunk down in the most sunny seat. He visibly relaxed as the morning's light passed over him - it was still a little weak, but warming up as the morning went on - and settled back in the armchair, stretching out his legs. The sunlight made it easier for him to open up his notebook and look down again at Dr. Burroughs' list of the dead.

Someone's got to know about these people, he frowned down at the list, feeling the sun on the back his neck. They listed these all as "accidents" or "suicides", but for all they knew, they had been patients who'd been here before. The question was if these deaths had happened during the night or during that shift between the night and the dawn intercom post, when there were missing hours.

Lia's daze had scarcely begun to dissipate by the time her nurse dropped her off in the sun room, leaving her settled into one of the surprisingly comfortable chairs with an admonition to behave herself. She sat utterly still, gaze fixed only half-seeing on one of the paintings decorating the walls. It was a struggle to force her circling thoughts to slow or aim themselves at anything coherent, but as the seconds ticked by she managed to regain something approximating equilibrium. It didn't help much, as the place into which she had awoken still felt utterly, horribly alien, but at least she felt a little steadier, or perhaps could convince herself of such.

She set about making slow order of her thoughts, which ran mostly toward the questions she needed answers to. The nurse hadn't been helpful over the few she'd managed to rouse herself to ask, and had continued to insist upon calling her by the name she'd been greeted with upon waking. It seemed ludicrous, but the woman honestly seemed to believe that Lia was this other person, someone she'd neither met nor heard of in her life. She wondered if any of the other people in this place knew any more, and even more pertinently, if it would be safe to ask.

_{[Emo vamp reserved for Rinali. D:]}

Breakfast had been more than he’d expected, but overall the conversation with Takaya had been neither a welcome surprise or an unwelcome one. It had simply been... unexpected. It left an empty taste in his mouth. Too much for him to want to sift through and process, but not enough to ease the turmoil in him. Just enough to leave more to think about, and right at that moment, the vampire only had his own actions and words circling his thoughts.

He still felt dirty, like there was a miasma around him, a gnawing onus.

Aidou pulled a chair away from the others and sat down, propping his chin up and looking to the window panels overhead. He squinted, the sunlight especially bright to his nocturnal eyes, but had no desire to nap or escape the day time.

Brooklyn left the lunch room feeling particularly sorry for one Danny Phantom. Despite the fact that he'd been nearly beaten to death by glowing green energy the night before last, it was hard to stay angry at someone when they hadn't been completely responsible for their actions. And he was so young! It was going to mess with him terribly, having to deal with the aftermath of what he'd done then. At least Vlad seemed forgiving, and he'd been hurt far worse.

The gargoyle made himself comfortable somewhere he'd be easily noticed. That patient who was supposedly a dragon outside of the Institute had wanted to meet him this shift, and far be it from Brooklyn to disappoint. He couldn't help but wonder what a dragon turned human would look like. Probably huge and muscular with deep brown skin. Could you really be a creature like that originally and not still look fearsome even when you were made human?

Well, Brook had been just as energetic as he remembered. Sanji had no doubt at all that he and Luffy would get along fine - whether the musician was a skeleton or not. He still wasn't sure what to think about what revelations Brook had provided them about their future, but he was going to try not to dwell on it too much. He hadn't said anything negative, and that was just fine with him.

Taking a seat at one of the tables, he allowed himself to stretch his legs out and just relax. The wounds on his back ached in protest at this, but they'd healed just enough by now that he could ignore it. His eyes roamed the room, trying to pick out Nami but not seeing anyone. Perhaps it was just too early.

She had to be all right. He'd gotten over his fever, hadn't he?

Mmmm, Diva remembered playing this game sometimes… Picking people out of the crowd by the echoing taste of their blood, thinking whether they’d make a good Chevalier, a regular Chiropteran, or a test subject for Amshel. Just like how some kids would amuse themselves by picking out signs or vehicles on a long road trip, it was something that had made Diva laugh. Carl and Nathan enjoyed playing.

It was a secret between her and James, but every once and a while he would play with her too--his suggestions were usually about who might taste good to Mama.

For now, it was the game Diva found herself playing: listening to heartbeats, wishing for her children, watching for openings, thinking about nightfall. Night time would benefit her, it seemed. She had yet to come across anything that could subdue her during the night. Then, she’d use the results of the game to feed and find a suitable Chevalier.

Following Naminé's advice about the bulletin board, Zexion had asked his nurse to take him to the Sun Room. It had been a pleasant surprise to find that the Sun Room was the location where he would be spending his time next. It wasn't hard to locate the bulletin board; it was placed in the middle of the east wall.

He walked over and studied the board. The process seemed very clear; one wrote a message and then stuck it on the board. After reviewing the various posts, he added his own to the mix. Trusting Naminé was correct about the bulletin board's reliability, he started to read the other posts, seeking anything informative about the institute.

[Unbeknownst to him, he's waiting for the Melodious Nocturne, Demyx]

Sanzo's first impulse was to scan the room, looking for that familiar black hair and eyes. He wouldn't put it past Homura to enjoy what happened yesterday's breakfast shift. The fucker would probably gloat about it too, probably thought that he'd even "won" that round.

The priest's fist, wrapped in bandages from his wrist to his shoulder, clenched. So far, it looked like there wasn't any sign of the dickwipe.

The day in solitary had been a long one, boring as hell, but it didn't stop the homocidal urges the monk was still feeling towards Homura. He was still feeling (somewhat) satisfied with that punch yesterday, but knowing Homura, that wasn't going to be enough.

There'd been consequences to attacking him besides Solitary, and he wouldn't count on the same luck as last night with the door.

That gun was looking very tempting. It'd be a waste of a bullet, but in the long-term, he'd be saving his sanity. He'd listen to his first instinct this time, track him down during one of the nightshifts. This time he'd stay the fuck back too.

As far as Sanzo was concerned, Homura was filth, no better than the scum that had gotten in his way more than once. He just spoke fairer than most; the worst part was that some small part of Sanzo had actually listened to him that night, and spared his life. That was a mistake.

Homura wasn't even worth the single bullet, but Sanzo would make that sacrifice.

Peter was glad that he had gotten to have a good talk with his brother, though at the same time it seemed to have brought up more questions than answers. That seemed to be the name of the game when it came to Landel's -- though he wasn't sure if this place had anything to do with the Nathan's "miracle" or the fact that they remembered things differently.

Glad to hear that he wasn't going to subjected to any therapy, Peter was led into the Sun Room. He considered scanning the bulletin posts, but there was a lot to go through and he wasn't really up to it at the moment. Maybe later on in the day, but for now he figured he would take the nurse's suggestion and relax.

Peter noticed Brooklyn, but it seemed like the young man was waiting for someone, so he went to sit by himself instead. He wondered if Nathan was going to have to go to therapy - chances were he would not be pleased if that were the case.

So far, the day had been going well. He had already arranged some meetings for later on, along with working out a system for circulating information about the nighttime monsters with the young man at breakfast. On top of that, he had already been starting to gather that information with Kadaj's help.

The appearance of someone who knew Edward, himself, and the others was interesting, though Roy imagined it had to do with that alternate version of Amestris that supposedly existed. The Greed who had been here before the most recent one (and wasn't that confusing) had come from there, so the colonel imagined it must have been the same for this "Ling."

That would most likely be settled at lunch, though. For now he had to kill time in the Sun Room, seeing how he wasn't scheduled to meet anyone this shift. Scanning the room's other occupants and not seeing anyone he had much desire to speak with, Roy found an empty armchair and glanced at the doors that led from the cafeteria in hopes of waving down someone he would want to talk to.

[Unknowingly waiting for Roxas.]

As Axel was escorted into the Sun Room he quickly sighed in relief when he found that the room was still relatively empty. After another pleasant conversation with Kairi it only felt right to follow the rest of the day with that same, laid-back attitude. So, as much as he wanted to approach Roy who'd taken a spot on a nearby armchair, he knew he could talk to the man via bulletin board later on that day.

The Nobody limped over to one corner of the room, dropping his crutches onto an empty couch before sprawling over the entire space. The nurse who'd been with him shook her head disappointingly, but she supposed she could let her patient have the entire couch just this once. She made sure he was comfortable before tending to the other patients.

With nothing else to really do, the Nobody threw an arm over his face and began counting sheep.

[Waiting for Seiya~]

The conversation with Falis had been distracting, but Usagi felt another pang of fear in her chest when she entered the Sun Room and didn't see Ami. At least it's still early... maybe she's just sleeping... but her friend was always on time for everything they did. Did Ami go out at night without her? The ice senshi knew how to handle herself, but what if something happened while Usagi wasn't there?

The blonde plopped herself down on an empty couch and curled her knees up against her chest as she watched everyone enter the room.

[Waiting for ~~cuteing~~Ururu?]

If he was going to be stuck in an unfamiliar room in a strange place, Yue would have much preferred to find a quiet corner in which to stand, where he could watch and assess the situation. Whatever drug the nurse had given him, though, made that pretty much impossible; he rather doubted that he'd reliably be able to stand on his own at all for the moment, a fact which annoyed him immensely.

He barely even twitched in protest when the orderly settled him on the end of one of the couches, trying to conserve what strength he had while he waited for the effects to wear off. Only his eyes moved as he examined the room, watching other people file in as he tried to determine what was going on. Apart from the scattering of nurses and orderlies, everyone else was clad in the same bland grey clothing as he, and at least some of them seemed just as pleased as he was to be there. If he kept his ears open, perhaps he'd be able to find out what had happened to him.

Bella was rather content with things when she walked into the Sun Room, her mind elsewhere as her body clicked onto autopilot. It was rare to have such a good morning – the last few had been hectic – she had been hurt, then him, and in the end, everything just ended awfully. At least last night and breakfast made up for all of those awful moments.

But! She couldn’t think of those now. Moving over to an empty couch, Bella flopped herself ungracefully down onto the cushions with a sigh, her eyes peering around for the vengeance demon that she had agreed to speak with. Anya was going to be difficult to speak to – did she really have as bad as a temper as she remembered? It had been ages since she had even seen Buffy, and … well, Anya was quite real, so who knew if she was different?

At least she remembered the series finale … even if it hadn’t ended well for the aforementioned girl. Maybe she could leave that bit out.

Breakfast had been a quiet affair, and Tyler was relieved. He hadn't spotted Reid there, but he doubted the blond would be in a good mood, as they'd gotten very little actually accomplished last night.

He spotted him here, though, sitting across the way with Shadow. He contemplated joining them, but then thought better of it, finding a chair near a window to settle down comfortably and idle the time. There wasn't a whole lot to do in the Sun Room, but he wasn't feeling overly outgoing at the moment, either, and saw few familiar faces among the room's occupants at the moment.

[waiting for L]

Idiot. Hitsugaya thought as he entered the sun room. Artemis' revelation had left the young captain more annoyed than normal. He could understand feeling rejected, could even understand bringing objections to him, but to go not only to another team, but to a team of sociopaths? It was childish and immature.

But at least the kid had been man enough to admit it.

He walked over to the message board and leaned against the wall next to it, waiting for his meeting with his mysterious ally. His interest in helping seemed a good idea, though he was always cautious when someone freely offered aid without wanting something in return. Some people were noble, generous souls looking to work together for mutual benefit. Time in soul society proved to him that these people were in the minority.

[Unknowingly waiting for Nathan]

Claire followed the unfamiliar nurse down several corridors until she was shown into this large, bright room. There were a few people already here - all seemed unfamiliar to her from what she could see. Feeling worried and uncertain, she slipped away from her nurse as soon as she could, finding a quiet corner where she could sit and calm her chaotic thoughts and try to figure out what had happened to her.

She resisted the urge to approach one of the strangers in the room just yet. They could probably answer her questions - at least she hoped so - but she needed to figure out which questions would be safest to ask first.

Last night had been a bit of a wake up call for her. Here she had been wandering around in the dark thinking she only had to worry about grumpy inmates and tightwad security guards. Now she knew she also had to worry about giant, white, hissing bugs of death on top of that. It sure would have been nice if someone had left her a memo or something. With things liekt hat crawling around, it was definitely going to be more difficult finding an escape route. At the very least, it ruled out the air vents.

Harley was going to have to rethink her breakout strategy later. For the moment, she was going to be meeting an old playmate of hers. At least, that was the impression she'd gotten from the bulletin board thing.

Someone who used to work in Arkham, hmm? That would make it either a nurse or a doctor. Orderlies wouldn't have asked to meet. Even so, she was interested in seeing a familiar face again. Whoever it was would surely know her as well. She was certain there wasn't a member of the Arkham staff who didn't know of her or her puddin'.

Though the room was supposed to be primarily for relaxation purposes, Harley sat on one of the softly colored couches, leaning back and kicking her feet restlessly. She was turning her head back and forth to inspect the occupants of the 'Sunny' Room, pigtails smacking her in the face every so often. It was almost like a guessing game. Which, oh, which one will it be?

[Patiently waiting for Crane]

Hanyuu was more than a little worried when she was taken to the Sun Room. Rika hadn't yet responded to the note she left on the bulletin. It was possible that the other girl was simply ignoring her, but... Hanyuu couldn't think of anything she had done that would've made Rika mad. Unless it was not checking in with her the previous day... Although punishment for something like that usually came in the form of spicy food.

Shaking her head, Hanyuu tried not to think too much into it. Rika likely just missed it--it could be easy to over look things written on the board, after all. She'd just have to be on the look out for her friend.

That thought in mind, Hanyuu picked a seat that allowed her to keep an eye on the doors. Maybe she'd be able to see some of the other people she knew, too. Even if she didn't talk to them, the spirit would feel better knowing that they were at least all right.

[Unknowingly waiting for ~~they see me~~ Roland]

The woman from before escorted her away from her conversation with Mason, but Esmeralda paid little mind. This was a dream, after all, which meant she'd wake up soon- she couldn't die on her friends, that just wasn't an option. Instead, she found herself looking up to the light in the oddly constructed room, peering at items she didn't recognize, and wondering just where did these wonders in her imagination come from.

Hm. Maybe watching all of Quasimodo's creativity with his sculpting made her want to make things of her own.

Still, it was rather boring for a dream. With an imaginary rhythm, she began to sway and dance slowly in the middle of a particular beam of light, body twirling softly as she started to sing. It was an old song she used to hear a lot with the other gypsies while she traveled, but had never understood what the words meant.

"Un cofre de gran riqueza
Hallaron dentro un pilar,
Dentro del, nuevas banderas
Con figuras de espantar."

[Reserved for Brook.]

Well, breakfast sure had been fun! Luffy always liked talking with Rena -- she seemed like an interesting person! He wondered if they'd get to decorate the walls at Landel's someday after all. Man, that'd be pretty awesome.

He was still in a good mood by the time his Cat Lady took him to the sun room. This room didn't seem as cool as, say, the game room or arts and crafts room, but the pirate liked napping in here sometimes when he got the chance.

Grinning to himself, Luffy settled down on one of the couches, pulling his straw hat over his eyes, and placing his hands on top of his chest. He gave a yawn and closed his eyes. Maybe he'd have another good dream.

At least the cafeteria had been noisy enough to keep him distracted and away from his thoughts, listening idly to the other patients as they talked. But he'd eaten? That made a change at least. And he'd spotted Ken and Omi, but not Aya. That was worrying, but it meant he hadn't had to face his teammate over the matter of Schuldig.

He let the nurse drag him into the sun room and guide him to one of the couches. He was kinda' getting sick of being stuck here and ordered around. He missed Tokyo. Sort of. Missed the fun parts of Tokyo anyway. Like the clubs and the girls. He stretched out on one of the sofas anyway, thinking that he might try to catch some sleep or something.

The situation still was not any better in Conklin's eyes. Now he knew he wasn't alone, and that this 'Landel's' place wasn't the Parrish Island facility he'd heard so very much about. Firstly, he could tell because his brain wasn't fogged by sedatives; secondly, Parrish Island's security was supposed to be ultra-tight, so much so that there weren't even windows to the outside world.

So he hadn't been sent here because he was batshit insane enough to worry Director Holland or anyone else that he could give away national secrets, because he'd be at Parrish Island. The crowd was strangely varied - some of them had hair colors he knew didn't exist in nature, and there were more than a few kids around. That alone was weird enough. There was a bulletin board nearby, which he limped over to examine. Everyone else here had to be insane, he concluded, because some of these scrawled notes were just unbelievable. He sat down on the nearest couch, scowling at his blank notebook. For right now, he needed to jot down his first impressions of the place so he could get a handle on what was going on.

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