Day 21 - Sun Room

[soul-defender.livejournal.com]

Ichigo was only too eager to leave the cafeteria and its fresh memories behind when the softened chime of the intercome rang clear. What had begun as another ordinary meal, a rather agreeable one despite the lack of the proper utensils, quickly became somewhat unnerving. His conversation with...what was his name again?...took so many sharp turns, he should've felt dizzy. It was easy to feel a little sorry for the guy, though; surrounded by stangers in a very strange place, it was hard to blame him for being so alarmed.

The Sun Room occurred as a more enjoyable choice to spend the time; he had nothing against music, but something about being surrounded by some of the most unruly characters he'd ever met, each of them armed with cacophonous weaponry, didn't sound smart. Once his nurse departed, the young man picked out a cozy little spot near a flood of sunshine and settled in, cradling his head in the palms of his hands. There, he stared up almost bitterly at the ceiling with sharply focused eyes, still exuding the same unapproachable sense of being as ever.

The room was warm, even a little comforting, for any of the tired, weary masses found in Landel's halls, or even those who just craved a little peace and quiet. All he could hear, from end of the room, were soft footfalls and hushed voices. That sounded just fine to the 'berry head.

Comments

[lost-metal.livejournal.com]

Ed was kind of glad to be led away to the Sun Room. It wasn't as though he didn't like Tamaki; he did! He was very friendly and it was nice to have someone cheerful around in this dump of a place, but he sort of made Ed feel like he was missing out on things and it wasn't a feeling that he liked. What did he know about girls and flirting and the kind of things most boys his age did? Nothing. He hadn't had the chance and neither had Al because of his stupidity.

He flopped down on his back on one of the couches in the Sun room, throwing his flesh arm over his eyes. He'd just lie here for a while and maybe get some sleep. Even if he didn't sleep, he could rest his body and relax it some. The muscles connected to the automail always got so achey. Training normally solved that, giving him chance to stretch, but he didn't have that here an Nightshift wasn't exactly the right place for it.

He wondered how the nurses felt about practising martial arts in here.

[1imited-edition.livejournal.com]

Reinforce had opted for the Sun Room over music. Though she'd finished her conversation with Nowe over lunch she thought it prudent to keep an eye on him and Schuldig for a bit longer, and the option to deviate from the thusfar rigidly-structured schedule had piqued her interest. She wanted to see if there was any real freedom to be had here... and, well, she'd never had any taste for the music she'd been exposed to on Earth.

Aside from a few quiet conversations, though, most of the patients just seemed to be resting. The two she was interested in were quickly occupied, and no rebel leaders leaped onto furniture to make inspiring speeches, or whatever she’d been hoping would happen.

Neither tired nor inclined to give the music room a chance, Reinforce spent a few minutes inspecting the bulletin board, then simply looking around the room, and finally ended up sitting on the armrest of Ed's couch watching him in a way that somehow managed to combine idle curiosity with a creepy level of intensity. Everyone she'd talked to here had been fairly young, but he looked to be the youngest by far- around the same age as that Admin Bureau boy, Officer Chrono, perhaps a little older. And... what magical senses she had retained on appearing here had been confused since, constantly returning weak, incoherent responses, but she thought she could feel something tangible from him; that knowledge of how to change the world through will that had been food to her.

[robin-fox.livejournal.com]

Robin decided it was time to be sneaky.
Everyone had split off into two groups. Music and Sun Room.
While Robin would have liked a little music to boost his mood, he thought that he ought to really start thinking about escape. Nobody liked it here, everyone wanted to go home.

He'd look a little odd sitting in the music room, alone and without an instrument. And the noise would distract him far too much. So, instead, he wandered into the Sun Room. Of course.... he'd rather hoped for windows.

No such luck.
Maybe he'd try sneaking out later if a distraction came.
He was left dissapointed and... a little tired. He was feeling a little lazy now. And the place was calm... And... maybe he'd just sit down.

He found a seat, settled in and closed his eyes... he wanted to see the 'Monsters' tonight. A rest might do him some good.

[robin-fox.livejournal.com]

Robin woke off and went to see Azel (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/45945.html?thread=2515577#t2515577)

[qui-gonjinn.livejournal.com]

Qui-Gon basked in the sun, feeling its warmth fall onto his back as he sat facing toward the room. He had a good deal to chew over after the enlightening conversation with Renji and Eric, and needed time to come to terms with how it would apply, to both the larger picture and to the more immediate now.

Meditation had usually always helped him find his center. Some Jedi preferred the quiet, cool solitude of the Jedi Temple and the many rooms available for that purpose, but Qui-Gon had preferred being outside - or at least not having dead silence looking over his shoulder as he went about his business finding inner balance and peace. Closing his eyes, seated comfortably on one of the seats in the room, the Jedi Master focused on the sensation of comfortable heat on his back, feeling it on his shoulders and neck despite his grey clothes.

[braidless.livejournal.com]

Well, lunch had certainly been productive. Obi-Wan considered himself fortunate, running into Hughes like that. It was encouraging to know that some people here were trying to make an organized effort in getting out of this place, and the Jedi knew it would be in everyone's best interests if people fully cooperated with each other.

Still, it had been a little frustrating to have their conversation interrupted so suddenly. For all the freedom they had at night, there was very little the prisoners had control of during the day. That's why it was a little surprising when the nurse told Obi-Wan he had a choice on whether he wanted to go to the music room or not.

"If you don't mind," he said to her with a polite smile, "I'd rather go somewhere that's a little more quiet." She gave him a sympathetic look and escorted him to the sun room, the place where he'd met RC-1136 the other day.

It appeared there weren't that many people here yet. Not surprising, considering most prisoners would probably choose to go to the more lively music room. But Obi-Wan wasn't looking for entertainment. He needed to meditate, perhaps even do a little bit of stretching. While it would have been better to get a little bit of exercise while he was at it, Obi-Wan knew it'd attract too much attention if he tried anything like that in here.

Obi-Wan took a seat in one of the large, cushioned chairs and neatly folded his legs beneath him. Hands settling into his lap, he closed his eyes and began to focus on his breathing...

[numberii.livejournal.com]

Of course, quiet was not something that could be expected when Xigbar was in the room. While he was a tremendous fan of noise, he preferred it when he was the source of said noise; competition, in that regard, was never a good thing.

...and he hadn't gotten to finish taunting Dragon-Dude, either; that really got his goat!

So he immediately plopped onto the arm of the chair, ignoring such things as 'personal space' or 'manners' and instead gazing at the irritatingly peaceful Jedi. "Dude~!" Called low, just soft enough that it wasn't too grabbing, but too loud to be ignored. Or, as Xigbar liked to call it, 'The Perfect Tone.'

"Did you miss me?"

[k4t4str0ph4l.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Obviously Schuldig had made the wrong choice of rooms.

The music room had been out right from the start; Schuldig hadn't listened to music (at least by choice) for years and he didn't need it now. The last thing a telepath needed was more noise bouncing around in his head.

He could feel a headache coming on from his lunchtime session with Yohji; granted, he'd needed to pry, needed to see the things Yohji had already experienced that were still in his own future, but that didn't mean it didn't bring on pain. Best to stick to the more passive type of telepathy for a little while in hopes the ache would recede; listening to surface thoughts didn't require any effort whatsoever.

It was just so hard to restrain himself. It would have been difficult for anyone. When hearing fragments of thoughts, the natural inclination was to follow them to see what they connected to, to find their context, which required pursuing the thoughts into the mind that had spawned them. And from there, that could easily lead you deeper and deeper in search of the beginning of the line of the trains of thought, curiosity dragging one into the depths until there was no possibility of escape.

The reason telepaths were so few and far between wasn't because the gift itself was rare. But most who had it wound up as vegetables, having lost all sense of self to be left as empty shells that breathed and did very little else, or madmen, who could no longer call their mind their own; it took an exceptional mind to stay on top of what that mind could accomplish.

In any case, this room was almost disgustingly peaceful. Two men meditating and two men and a teenager circling the drain of sleep. He briefly toyed with the idea of inserting highly inappropriate and/or discordant thoughts into the meditations of the master and student - possibly even trying to sow the seeds of turning them against each other, in order to cultivate them later; that was the sort of wickedness he excelled at - but reluctantly decided against that. He wanted his headache to go away, not intensify.

Besides, there was something in the minds of the two men (Jedi, his mind supplied, a word which meant nothing to him out of context but which he forced himself not to retrieve context for) that suggested that he might find himself with serious mental opposition if he tried anything. There was an air of training about them - if not training in telepathy, then training in less specific areas of the mind, but it would still make for far more formidable mental resistance than most people could present him, which would equate to an even more intense headache.

Schuldig growled in quiet annoyance to himself and flung himself into a chair rather harder than necessary. Maybe someone more interesting would show up; it was his only hope.

[felled-hero.livejournal.com]

Hughes didn't much feel like going to the Music Room. Maybe he could take a nap in the Sun Room, or at least relax. There wasn't much chance for that lately. And maybe, just maybe, he could actually catch up with Roy before nightshift.

He wasn't betting on it, though.

He saw a few familiar faces in the room. Ed was there, looking like he had the same idea of taking a nap. Both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon as well, but they looked... well, busy, oddly enough.

Hughes did notice that guy he'd been talking to at one of the meals, before that weird woman had interupted them. He figured it wouldn't hurt to head over and see if they could actually manage a conversation this time. He figured the red head had been around long enough not to need anything explained.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked, pointing to the chair next to the man.

[norainu]

Renji hadn't been impressed by what these people considered to be food. He didn't even want to go near what they considered to be music. He opted for the sun room.

There was a lot about this place that bothered him. But one of the bigger annoyances (as opposed to things that enraged him or scared the shit out of him) was the fact that they were expected to sit so goddamn much. He could park himself under a tree and pretend to be the Buddha for a while if he had to - you didn't live (so to speak) as long as he did without learning some patience, after all. But he was also used to be on his feet, working, and training every day. And after just a couple days, it was starting to get on his nerves. Sneaking around and running for his life at night sort of counted, but what about some time to just get the damn kinks worked out and relax?

He followed the nurse to the sun room, thinking about these things. And he decided, what the hell, if he didn't ask, he could take a stab at faking innocence later. And as long as he kept it low-key, quiet, and innocuous, maybe they'd just ignore him. Slow and controlled didn't work up much of a sweat, but damn it was better than sitting on his ass for several more hours.

Renji staked out a small, unoccupied space near a good patch of sunlight. With some warm sun, he could almost pretend that this was pleasant. Then, slowly, he started stretching, ears tuned to catch nursely objections before they became full-blown issues.

[walking-complex.livejournal.com]

Hojo hadn't gotten to eat quite as much as he'd wanted to, which was annoying but unsurprising considering how he'd spent the majority of the lunch shift. After a brief moment of consideration the tall man opted to spend this shift in the sunroom rather than with the majority of patients in the music room; There were probably things there that he could use for nightshift but he wouldn't be able to make off with any of them now.

As expected, it was quiet in the sunroom; it was also void of anything that a person could use to entertain themselves with, which honestly was about perfect. After seeing what the staff provided the patients with, Hojo concluded that it was far more satisfying to be left to one's own devices.

"I don't think the staff realizes how negatively stagnation can affect a person," he said after approaching an athletic-looking redhead who appeared to be doing stretching exercizes off to one side. "Unless you're getting ready for nightshift."

[0bnoxious.livejournal.com]

Albel didn't have to think long on what room to pick, since music interested him just as much as books did, which meant not at all. Albel wasn't exactly looking forward to noise either, so he opted for the Sun Room.

However, this shift would probably prove as boring and uneventful as the rest of the day had been. Flopping down on the couch with a sigh, he stared at the ceiling, not paying attention to the other occupants in the room.

If something interesting didn't happen soon, he was going to bore himself to death.

[still-free.livejournal.com]

While Mal had already more or less confirmed that the patient he'd rescued the night before was in one piece, it seemed like he might as well check in with him. Since he'd chosen the Sun Room so he could write a message to his crew on the bulletin board (hopefully they would see it before night came), he had to find someone to talk to in order to make the time pass a little faster.

None of his crew was present yet, so the only other patient he vaguely knew was the dark-haired one from the night before. He looked bored, anyway. Maybe he'd enjoy having someone to talk to.

Besides, it was irritating not knowing his name.

He didn't sit on the couch just yet, instead standing before the other man with his arms crossed. "They bandage you up okay?"

[reduxvalentine.livejournal.com]

Vincent wasn't a music peron.

He wasn't a noise person anymore, really.

His throat hurt from talking so much and he was still more than agitated, so it was with great, great relief that Vincent Valentine all but collapsed on one of the couches, eyes closed and arms crossed.

[soul-defender.livejournal.com]

Who needs the Music Room? If any single area in the entire asylum could come even close to normal, a lone vigil of sanity among so much confusion, it was the Sun Room. Let those busybodies argue over Bach and Beethoven; Ichigo was perfectly content right where he was.

When he closed his eyes and focused, the entire world around him became so much more open...whether he wanted it to be or not. Every shift of the light, mixed of sun and shadow, every tiny footstep across the floor, coming or going, even the nuances of sound and vibrations around him. Suddenly, something nearby approached, disolved, and fell completely quiet.

What fortuitous circumstance that it was near Ichigo, whether the fact was known or not, that Vincent chose to collapse. Kurosaki barely bat an eye over the sound and feel of another body hitting another couch in close proximity. For a moment then, he wondered whether or not he should even bother to react. No one was actually bothering him, no pointless conversations to force himself through. No, it was better off to just allow the solemn silence to continue. If...well, whoever it was...wanted to talk, they could go right ahead.

[hopeless-havoc.livejournal.com]

Havoc wandered into the sun room figuring it was a better place for a nap than the music room. Although if he took less naps, he might actually have some contact with people. He hardly saw the colonel and Hughes anymore, but it was his own fault.

Havoc plopped himself down in the first available chair he came to, stretched out his long legs and tilted his head back. He didn't close his eyes just yet though, instead he stared up at the ceiling. Hell, he was too bored to sleep.

[ontheabyss.livejournal.com]

Well, at least there was some plan for tonight. Lyta didn't really care at that point who took the lead. She just hated the fact that she hadn't even been considered - even though the whole damn thing was her idea!

She didn't want to go to the music room. She didn't care about music. But the sun room was open and she didn't feel quite so trapped there. Ignoring her blank-minded nurse, as usual, she took a seat next to some blond guy who looked bored out of his skull.

She didn't blame him.

[damned-ivy.livejournal.com]

The Landels day seemed designed to keep the patients active and, more importantly, not thinking. No conversations were ever allowed to continue too long with the constant shift changes, and there were always so many around that even at the best of times, conversations were difficult. Perhaps that was the exact reason.

His conversations with Sanzo had so far all turned out to be... well, interesting was really the best possible word. He knew something was still off, but hopefully things would sort themselves out.

Kenren was a wild card. He was similar enough that Hakkai was justly worried he would forget to account for differences. At the least, it was something to watch out for. So many unknowns, which seemed to be the one common theme here.

People were spread around the room, a few here and there talking, but most either sleeping or meditating, it seemed. Which, on second thought, sounded like a very good idea. He found himself a seat somewhat away from anyone else, where he could see out the windows and keep an eye on the rest of the room, and set about putting his thoughts in order.

[offduty.livejournal.com]

With the shuffling of all the patients, it was impossible to keep track of either Elena or Rufus, much less both. Reno couldn’t predict where Elena might go, but he had a strong suspicion that Rufus, at least, wouldn’t be heading into the music room.

Sun Room it was, then. Besides that, he didn’t feel like hanging out in a place where people were pounding on instruments left and right.

It seemed Rufus had either not arrived yet—or Reno was wrong about the President, after all—but with luck, the man would show up. For now, he could use the time to meet someone new, and maybe even somehow learn a little more about the guy Elena had pointed out earlier. Mustang. The one who could apparently make swords.

He gave the room another quick once-over before heading for one of the available windows. He was used to spending most of his time walking the streets outside, or moving from one bar to the next, and being cooped up in this freaking institution was starting to get to him. It was like being locked inside the Shin-Ra office for the same amount of time. Except Shin-Ra at least had a damned coffee machine.

There was another guy sitting in the spot Reno had his eyes on, but he looked as good as anybody to talk with—if he was willing to converse, that was.

“Mind if I sit?” Reno was already doing so before a response could be given.

[somber-secret.livejournal.com]

There were doing it on purpose and it was getting annoying. The minute anything of importance was about to be discovered the damn voice stuck his damn disembodied nose into everything and made them change rooms. It was like that stupid game Tsuzuki had told him about once, Musical-something.

Well, he wasn't having fun.

Hisoka glared-- and ignored the scolding he recieved from his nurse for it, again-- as he was escorted into the Sun Room, this time without much harrassment. It must have warmed her very soul for her to see him interacting with other psychos kids patients his age. Oh, he'd warm her soul alright, in hell.

With barely a glance around the room, the young boy ignored the rest of the nurse's words as she disappeared once more. Perhaps the only upside to these short shifts was that he had managed to get the fork, which was currently hidden in his sleeve. The only problem with that was that he'd have to figure out how to hide it for the remainder of the day without it slipping out and/or being seen.

The last thing he needed was for the nurse to think him problematic, Hisoka had seen what they did to those they couldn't handle when he was at breakfast. Not something he wanted to deal with right now. Glowering at the thought, the young ex-empath stalked to one of the couches and flopped down, eyes wandering around the room slowly.

[faithful-frost.livejournal.com]

Haku smiled and nodded as the nurse leading him towards the music room blathered on and on. He broke into her monologue. "May I see the... The Sun Room instead please?" She beamed and led him into the bright room. Bowing his head and thanking her politely he moved around the room, glancing at all the faces. Spotting one familiar from lunch, he approached hesitantly, stopping a bit away and bowed his head.

"May I sit with you?"

[reunion.livejournal.com]

Today was not going well.

From breakfast with that black-haired imbecile, to a boring shift spent listening to conversations about cat ears, of all things, to an utterly disappointing and infuriating lunch, Kadaj was thoroughly convinced that all of Landel's was determined to piss him off. He didn't even know half the people there, but already he wanted to kill all of them.

This took him less than a second to put together, but compared to however many hours he would be forced to spend in these people's company, he might as well have dedicated that second to chatting up his nurse for all the good it did for him.

As a result, he was in a particularly foul mood when he was escorted to the Sun Room, storming towards the nearest vacant seat and claiming it for himself as he glared balefully at the people around him, just daring them to try and strike up a conversation. No one could be that stupid, though, so after spending a few more moments making sure no one would try and talk to him, he turned away from everyone and shut his eyes tightly.

Maybe he would disappear. That would be nice. Being dead had been infinitely better than staying at Landel's, really. At least then he didn't have to deal with so many people taunting him and getting in his way. Didn't they have better things to do?

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gradually opening his eyes and looking around again in search of Yazoo. After the things the president had said, they needed to talk. Now.

[not-a-savior.livejournal.com]

Nowe knew the warnings about keeping away from Kadaj were probably legitimate, but he couldn't help but notice the way the silver-haired man was sulking off on his own when he reached the Sun Room.

He'd decided to forgo the Music Room for today. He liked music, kind of, but hadn't ever learned to play anything. So instead he'd ended up here. He knew the man had been the one responsible for hurting that blonde girl, but it was hard for him not to worry about the man at least a little. After all, Kadaj was the one who'd given him useful advice when Nowe was still new at this hospital. No one else seemed to be approaching him, either.

Finally, Nowe sucked it up and wandered over to where Kadaj was turned away from the crowd of people, and sat down in the chair next to him. He felt like he owed the man... something.

"This is probably a stupid question, but are you alright, Kadaj?"

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

Once again, the intercom sounded, and Barret was pissed. He wasn't quite prepared to leave the company of the beautiful woman he had just become acquianted with...then again, if all went well, they would be seeing each other that night.

What he was really in need of at that moment was a cold shower.

Instead, the nurse redressed his wounds before taking him into the Sun Room. He simply wasn't in the mood for any musical tunes. He opted for silence, for a bit of relaxation. For some reason, he didn't think he would get it. His eyes spotted Vincent, yet he seemed not in the mood for conversation either. He let the man be as the nurse deposited him close to a corner of the room. With a fake smile, she turned to leave, and Barret was all too tempted to rusheat her with the motorized wheelchair and knock her off her feet. But he knew his temper was misdirected. Maybe now he could relax just a little bit before a possibly eventful night that was up ahead...

[materianinja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie didn't even give the nurse five seconds to walk away before she was already approaching Barret. She was clearly waiting for him to be carted over. And patience wasn't really a virtue she stressed much in the first place.

"Hey, Barret!" she chimed with a grin, eyeing the contraption that her friend was seated in, her arms crossed over her chest. "You don't look so good. What happened? You get in a fight with a rabid chocobo last night?"

[broodingly.livejournal.com]

Squall still wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to acquire his second shadow, but Bast had taken an interest in him at lunch. He didn't understand it, really. Maybe no one else had tolerated him for more than five minutes. Maybe that was Squall's first mistake. The nurses had separated the two of them after lunch was over to shuffle them off to their respective places.

Squall had opted for the choice of the Sun Room. Music was definitely not his thing. Knowing how to dance decently was justifiable as SeeD training, but playing an instrument wasn't so much. He looked around the room and sighed. It was quiet in here. He liked that. He glanced over his shoulder, having a feeling the quiet wouldn't last for long. Bast would probably be soon behind.

Oh well. He'd dealt with worse. At least Bast hadn't slashed his face open or tried to stab him with huge chunks of pointed ice.

For now, he had to try and think of a plan for getting out. He scowled. That would probably require Zell's cooperation, since this place seemed to be more tightly locked down than the damn prison he'd been in before this. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to the boy at lunch, so he decided he'd probably have to wait.

[rabastlestrange.livejournal.com]

"I lost my brother!"

Squall was quite right. Bast was only a few steps behind him. Stopping to check the bulletin board had slowed him down a little. That and the resulting snarling match he'd had with his nurse who had patiently informed him that yes, he was real, and that he shouldn't pay any attention to those telling him he was just a storybook character.

Quite a few people had made Rabastan's list of Those Who Annoy (and Thus Must Die).

Unfortunately, it looked like the white haired terror was very close to finding Squall once more.

"What does your brother look like?"

"He's big and tall with blue eyes and brown hair. He has a scar across his face. He's a seed from the Banging Garden! Did you see him?"

It was a nurse that betrayed Squall in the end, or at least his location. "He went that way into the sunroom."

"Thank you!"

A patter of feet and Rabastan plunked down beside Squall again. "I almost lost you out there! Did you see those terrible things on that board? As if I were a character from a book. I'm real!"

He paused there, glancing up at Squall as his fingers twisted around each other.

"Aren't I?"

[in-your-defense.livejournal.com]

The sun was bright in Phoenix's eyes, but he didn't mind. It was his first true glimpse of what it looked like outside since he had gotten here, and the warmth relieved some of the stress in his head.

Curled up on one of the couches, Phoenix wrapped his arms around himself, notebook in his lap. He had skipped lunch, having decided to go back to his room in order to gather up his notebook and a pen, wanting to follow Edgeworth's example. The nurse had been annoyed by his dilly-dallying, having wanted him to go and eat something, but Phoenix had merely entertained her in idle conversation as he had searched his room for things. Once he had finished, she had brought him to the lunchroom and forced him to scarf down a bowl of noodles -- but from what it had looked like, everyone was already leaving.

She had then brought him to the sun room, and Phoenix had found a lone place to sit and think.

To say Phoenix was preoccupied and slightly confused was an understatement.

Seeing Edgeworth again bothered him, but the thoughts had already exhausted their way through his head. Phoenix was tired of trying to figure out whether Edgeworth wanted him around. Everything pointed towards the obvious -- no -- but Phoenix, whether it was through forced ignorance or idiocy, couldn't bring himself to believe it.

And then...he felt stupid, if only for the simple fact that he had built certain parts of himself on Miles Edgeworth. He had hoped...Phoenix wasn't exactly sure for what, but he had. Phoenix couldn't help but feel as if he were about to leave himself vulnerable for another wave of rejection just by speaking to Edgeworth.

Phoenix didn't know what to do with his anger and unhappiness. The emotions were heavy and cumbersome, and hard to swallow. But he knew that he couldn't abandon Edgeworth, no matter how badly he felt. Somehow, he needed to get all of it out of his system, but there was nowhere for him to raise his voice, and he couldn't escape the nurse long enough to kick something. He almost wanted to go home, where Edgeworth was gone and Phoenix could pretend that he had died, as unfair, shameful, and contradictory as it was.

The emotions reflected in his expression -- perhaps not clearly, as he was a mess of it all as it was -- and he leaned his head upon the cushions, not quite ready to begin thinking and writing about what he had experienced so far, too wrapped up in trying to think around the heavy rock of thoughts lodged in his head and chest.

[opposingheaven.livejournal.com]

He'd intended to go speak with Hakkai again, but it seemed like the other man was already in a conversation and while with Tenpou he'd have had no qualms about inserting himself into it seamlessly, Hakkai was different enough that he didn't want to disturb things. Still, he felt drawn to the other man and it was kind of disturbing, especially if what he thought was true.

Damn, he missed Tenpou.He could really have used his 'spouse's' input about now. Together they could take on anything. They wouldn't necessarily win, but they' kick ass, look fantastic and have a great time doing it.

He sprawled lazily on one of the sofas next to another guy. Looked deep in thought and depressed as hell too. Kenren chuckled at that. Depression had never been one of his vices. He preferred the fun ones.

"You know, no matter how bad you think things are, they can always get worse. Might as well enjoy yourself before it does." He flashed a grin at the other man. It was typical of him to say something not quite as comforting as it seemed, but hey, he was, despite his other faults, something of a realist at times.

[theheirshinra.livejournal.com]

Rufus finally did make it to the Sun Room and glanced around. He'd lost track of the others after speaking to a nurse and dealing with questions over what he desired. While he did get it, he been further delayed by a disagreement with the nurse over her belief that he needed to wear that troublesome sling later. It would have been perfect to wear if he had a gun or Reno's EMR to hide within it, but seeing as how he didn't, the sling was a potential entanglement he didn't desire. It took care of his headache and dulled his arm back down to ignorable levels. Amazing the tolerance for pain Geostigma gave one.

A glance around the room brought some relief (Yuffie and Wallace were busy and wouldn't be pestering him), annoyance (Kadaj was there), straight out loathing mixed with the desire to shudder (Hojo) and while he did spot Reno, he didn't head towards the Turk for the time being. The man looked to be talking to someone else and Rufus usually disliked it when he was interrupted in something. For all he knew, the Turk might be working to establish his own network of people to move around at night with. Not a bad idea that.

Settling into a chair that left his back to the wall, Rufus studied the others in the room while his mind worked over the problem before him. He hadn't counted on Kadaj's ability to fall through completely, but it did give him information he hadn't possessed before. What he needed was a weapon in truth. That would make all the difference, at least in his mind. Unless it was a gun, it might be useless in his hands, but in that of Reno, things might be different.

What he needed now was another plan.

[offduty.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/45945.html?thread=2438521#t2438521).]

Reno dragged a chair up across from Rufus without much of a warning. He flipped the chair around and sat straddling it, his arms hanging off the backrest.

“Hey. You up to talk shop?”

There was still a bit of an awkward air between them, but he shook it off. Whatever had happened had happened, and however Rufus might be feeling was just that. Unless Rufus brought any of it up himself or it proved to be a definite wedge between them, Reno was more than willing to let it remain buried. There were more important things to take care of. Although he still couldn’t stop an inward wince every time the words he’d spoken last night surfaced...

Part of the pen cap snapped off inside his mouth suddenly. He frowned and spat it out. Jeez. He hadn’t been chewing that hard, had he?

[pimp-plan.livejournal.com]

Zelos didn't really care who was leader, so Lyta or Zack or Aerith, he would have been fine. He'd noticed Lyta's bitterness but shrugged it off. She'd gotten her wish, and she'd get over it soon (he hoped).

He didn't really feel like going into the music room and instead opted to relax in the Sun Room. Finding a free chair, he stretched out on it and started to nap.

[tte-bayo.livejournal.com]

It figured, the minute the conversation with Gaara and Sasuke turned fun, the intercom went off. Disgruntled, he obliged the wishes of his nurse, if only because he didn't want to be drugged a second time. It hurt his pride every step of the way-- and he refused the music room, if only to be combative and difficult.

Naruto stepped into the Sun Room with his chin held high. It was full. With as much swagger as a fifteeen-year-old boy could pull off, he sauntered over to a red-headed dude. The victim had been picked out at random.

"Hey," he announced loudly, stopping a foot away from his chair. The guy looked to be sleeping, so he chose to speak even louder. For Naruto, this meant he was plainly yelling. "I'm new here. What can you tell me about this place?"

[blacksustenance.livejournal.com]

Dicking around with Kasady apparently did act as a poor man's Aspirin.

It was a small victory, but Brock was going to savor it while it lasted: he'd managed to render Kasady incoherent and that was almost worth the returning bodily pains just to imagine the expression on the serial killer's face.

And of course his Other had to jump in and rain on his parade - he loved the alien symbiote, loved it more than anything in his life, but it did have a tendency to poke holes in the moments Brock wanted to cherish forever.

It's not victory, purred the symbiote, taking the moment to turn their shared head this way and that, looking for the possible Host for their coming offspring. It's just more useless bantering of human words - I fail to see the significance of telling absurd, ridiculously over the top lies about one's parentage, personally.

Brock made his way to the far wall and sat down, glancing up, trying to think of the pain he was going through as just cramps or indigestion and not the idea that the Other had hijacked his body and was using it as a factory for this offspring. Brock had no idea how symbiotes produced, but he hoped to God it wasn't like humans. If it was, he swore he'd shoot himself. There was no goddamn way he'd call himself Mom.

The symbiote finally gave him a time-table. It will be over by tonight.

Brock prepared to celebrate.

And it will come back by midday tomorrow, so get used to it. It's only a little discomfort.

Brock sighed. Christ.

[brilliant-azel.livejournal.com]

Azel entered the Sun Room, having decided that the quiet was better than having to listen to people make a cacophony on random instruments. He wasn't in much better spirits, even as the day progressed. He felt very much alone and very invisible; everyone had their tightly-knit group of friends and he really wasn't close to anyone. He'd talked to a bunch of people, but he really didn't feel like he knew any of them, or that any of them knew him.

He took a seat in half-sun, deciding that like some others, a rest would be in order.

[robin-fox.livejournal.com]

Robin toddled in from here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/45945.html?thread=2409849#t2409849)

Robin had been looking up every now and then to observe people. He ought to get talking, but people either had their groups or just seemed tired. Boredom could be exhausting.

But then he spotted the little guy from Breakfast. He got up and wandered over, smiling.

"Hey, Azel. How you doing?" he asked, sitting down. "We'll be out of here in no time."

He blushed a little then. Back home he'd be well on his way to escaping. But everything was so new here and strange....it was just difficult. Tomorrow he was going to try making a run for it and return for the others if he got out. He couldn't exactly take someone along in case it was dangerous. Or perhaps he'd only go half way and send Tamaki on so that he could help the others. Tamaki could then meet them outside and they'd all be free!
He was just so ashamed that he hadn't yet escaped despite the fact that he wasn't even tied up.

[numberii.livejournal.com]

There should have been more days like this. One long string of 'victories', and even with a bit of manipulation on the side. He was going to shove that right in Luxord's face, because nothing was as good as starting the game off with a nice healthy lead.

And now? Now he was going to catch a few 'Z's before the night rolled around. He sat and leaned against the wall, and his single eye drifted shut.

...why was it that the single best day of Xigbar's non-existence was in a mental asylum? If he hadn't been so comfy, that might have worried him, just a little.