Day 36: Arts & Crafts Room

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

Momo was both relieved and disappointed to discover that she would not be receiving another visit from Aizen this week. She was happy that she would not have to go through another bout of doubting herself and getting answers she didn't understand to the questions she had. She was sad, though, that she wouldn't get to see him again, just to feel that comforting presence he has. She had accepted that he was doing very evil things and that she'd unknowingly helped him, but... he was still her captain. He was still Aizen-sama.

Since she wasn't to have a visitor, her nurse gave the option of the vice captain choosing what room to spend the next shift in. Given her injuries, the nurse suggested she stay in the Sun Room, but Momo declined. Now that she had time, she wanted to draw... to create something, especially since she had taken the Noah's life the previous night. Her nurse acquiesced and lead the shinigami to the room.

Momo was moving slowly because of her torso, but also so she could adjust to the new blind spot on her left. She was fairly sure she was doing well enough since neither Fai nor Hanatarou had noticed. Granted Fai hadn't been feeling well himself, but Hanatarou was of the 4th; he should have noticed. Then again, the other shinigami had barely looked at her their entire meal. Maybe she could continue to hide her handicap. The last thing she needed was whomever was planning retaliation upon her for Rhode's death (most likely the other Noah) to learn that she was half-blind.

The shinigami was disappointed to discover that not only did they not have a canvas and easel for her to properly paint on, but they only had finger paints, claiming the brushes were too dangerous... that she could accidentally poke an eye out. Had she the energy, she would have considered smacking the nurse for the bad joke. There was a large white board with various colored markers that she could use, though. It made little sense - markers were okay but a paint brush wasn't? Maybe she'd just make her own brush by cutting off a small piece of her hair and tying it to the end of a pen.

An idea quickly thwarted by the plastic scissors. Sure, if she worked at it she could cut her hair with them, but it's take too long and probably draw the attention of the nurse since there was no one else in the room. Sighing, the shinigami set the finger paints down on the table with some larger pieces of cardboard, next to her journal. Maybe she'd...

Her attention returned to the white board. Picking up a yellow marker, she uncapped it and stared at the board for a long moment before she started to sketch, not quite sure what she wanted to draw.

[Hokuto]

Comments

[wishescankill.livejournal.com]

Anya woke up almost entirely refreshed. Her back felt a lot better, which was one thing, but her shirt still had a smiley face on it, which was another.

She made a resolution: today the smiley face was going to die.

Before the nurse arrived to scold her for being lazy, Anya grabbed one of the shirts out of the closet and folded it carefully. Apparently it was Sunday, which meant free choice day, so instead of skulking around in the cafeteria, the vengeance demon was free to head directly to the Arts & Crafts Room. Once inside, she grabbed every black marker she could get her hands on, a pile of construction paper, and a table in the corner. The construction paper went inside the shirt to prevent bleeding (of the non-bloody, permanent marker kind) and the first black marker was uncapped, ready to color over the perky little grinning face of death.

[free!]

[jei.livejournal.com]

Farfarello liked the Arts & Crafts room. It had so much potential for disturbing other patients. Though last time his macabre sculpting had only attracted fellow freaks, but that was okay too.

Today the place was a little on the empty side, just some girls and a kid. One girly guy. One of the chicks seemed to be up to no good, though, which meant she was probably the most interesting to Farfarello. "They'll just take it away at some point and replace it with a clean, happy, smiley one again."

[wishescankill.livejournal.com]

Anya glanced up at the strange white-haired man who approached her. "They can try," she muttered darkly, and continued with her coloring.

The shirt looked a little silly with a big black splotch on the front, so she decided it might be best to color in the whole thing. After a second or two of that, she realized the man hadn't gone away. "You're still here?" she demanded. She'd thought he just wanted to crush her shirt-coloring dreams, but obviously his goals were more insidious still. "What nefarious business are you up to?"

[jei.livejournal.com]

My oh my, Farfarello had really caught a live one this time. He grinned fiercely, showing more teeth than strictly necessary. "Bored. Thought I'd ruin someone's afternoon. You were available. Tough luck, innit?"

[wishescankill.livejournal.com]

Anya went back to coloring. "Don't worry," she muttered, "my afternoon was already ruined." She glanced up at him. "Isn't that nice? Your goal was accomplished and you didn't even have to do any work."

And he was still standing. "Sit down," she ordered. "Unless you got kicked so hard in the ass that it hurts to sit." Another thought occurred to her. "Or you're into some really kinky sex and that's why it hurts to sit," she said under her breath. Of course, Anya's version of 'under her breath' was easily audible.

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Hokuto hadn't looked at the bulletin board all day, so her first stop after lunch was checking up on what she'd missed. Oh, Momo had...

She froze when she read the messages; what had happened? Momo seemed hurt, probably badly, and she'd killed someone... mostly in self-defense, but it sounded like there'd been a lot more to it than that. And at least one person was really angry with her for it, and...

So. If she heard Hitsugaya yelling at me, she probably doesn't care anymore. Like that mattered, compared to the situation.

She couldn't find Momo anywhere in the Sun Room; she tried the art room next, and was relieved to see her already at a table, working on something. Except... there were new marks around her eye, and the eye itself looked like...

Even surgery... won't save the eye now. She clenched her hands into fists to keep them from trembling; Momo didn't need to be comforting her, now. Especially when so much of her reaction was to an entirely different scene.

When she thought she had herself back under control, she went to sit down next to Momo, keeping where she was sure the other would see her, and gave as genuine a smile as she could. "Good afternoon."

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

Momo hadn't noticed Hokuto looking her over at first, given the girl had ended up not only in her blind spot, but because the shinigami was intently staring at the white board on the wall. The yellow lines had turned into the form of a person, but it consited of circles and lines, nothing definite to even reveal whether Momo was drawing a male or female figure.

At the voice, though, and the appearance of Hokuto in her vision, the vice captain sighed and then gave a tired smile. "Hello, Hokuto-chan." She turned to the table the girl was sitting at and flipped through her journal to quickly look over what she'd already done before leaving it on the table and turning back to the board.

The marker moved across the board. "Care to tell me what you said to Hitsugaya this morning to make him yell?"

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Hokuto managed not to meep; uh-oh. "Just asking him to--think about a few things," she said, a little flippantly; it wasn't all that important, after all. Sure, his reaction to it was...

"What happened? I saw the board..." She knew a few things about eye injuries. And Momo's looked almost exactly like Sei-chan's had.

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

"I appreciate your initiative in speaking with him on matters that you find concerning, but he is not to type to take kindly to your well-meaning intentions," Momo replied, moving from a yellow marker to a blue one. "It would be in your best interests to make sure you understand the facts before broaching certain subjects with the captain."

The blue marker sketched out around the yellow figure, which still had no definition, what could have been large reptilian wings and a tail.

"If you've seen the board, then you know what happened," the shinigami continued, her voice getting quieter. "There isn't much else to say."

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

"I know." She'd spent the conversation wondering if she would be able to block a hit, after all! "Habit... I would have preferred just leaving a note in his shoe locker, but we don't have those here." She tried to smile.

"And if you're trying to get me to not worry, not happening," she added softly. She waited until Momo's marker wasn't touching the page (she didn't want to ruin the other's drawing, after all) and gently took her by the chin, trying to turn her head so Hokuto could get a good look at her eye.

[bewarethecute.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/478791.html?thread=38794055#t38794055)]

Ururu found a table for herself and Yue once they had come into the room, and asked a nurse for things not so unusual for a girl who wanted to make things. She'd decided it last night, when Shiki said she wanted to go. It didn't seem important when Ururu compared it with things like finding their friends, but she still wanted to do something nice for the people she did have.

Everyone had been getting hurt lately. She wanted to help any way she could, and she knew that she liked getting presents. So everyone else would like getting them too. Once the nurse came back, Ururu took a pink piece of paper (which came first because pink was her favorite color) and began to outline the shape of a cat's head. "Could you please cut things out for me? I can't do it very well like this. Thank you so much, Yue-san."

[winged_moon]

Every time Ururu called him by Yue's name, Yukito could feel his other self's irritation increase just a little bit more. Now he regretted not correcting the girl right away, but how exactly did one explain these kinds of things? He wasn't even sure how to deal with it himself, much less tell a little girl who he both did and didn't know.

Once, he thought somewhat wistfully, he'd thought his life was completely normal. Even once he'd found out about Yue and all that entailed, he'd still been able to deal with it because he'd had the support of people he loved to keep him grounded. Now in this place, though, the ground seemed to be constantly shifting beneath his metaphorical feet, and he wasn't entirely sure just what to think anymore. Or just who he was.

It took him a second to shake off his reverie enough to respond, but Yukito smiled and reached for a pair of scissors that looked like they'd have a hard time cutting overcooked noodles, much less paper. "I'm glad I can help you somehow, Ururu-chan" he replied, trying not to frown in reaction to the faint, displeased sigh he felt from the back of his mind.

[bewarethecute.livejournal.com]

Ururu made several outlines on her paper, drawing shapes she thought matched each of her friends. Shiki and Fai-san each got cat's heads, since Ururu thought Mr. Mew was probably a cat, and Fai-san drew cats on his bulletins sometimes. Kurogane got a dog's head, because he fought with Fai-san a lot, and he reminded Ururu of a big growly dog with how he acted. Orihime and Keman got little people heads, future miniatures of their own faces when Ururu put together all the parts--which of course would include smiles, even though they were in a bad place.

Then there was Yue. Ururu looked up at the man, and tried to decide what she should draw for him. "Um. Is there something you really like, Yue-san?" She wanted it to be special, because Yue was being so helpful. Ururu decided she was going to make just the right thing for Yue. Then, after a moment, she decided to ask something else too. Not because she wasn't glad Yue was so helpful--just because she wanted to know why. "Did something good happen to you today?"

[winged_moon]

Something good? Yukito could almost have laughed, except that part of the reason it was funny was that it wasn't. He kept working in silence for a moment, trying to think of what to say and how, now feeling a little guilty for misleading the girl.

He finally sighed quietly and set the paper and scissors down again. "Ururu-chan, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but - it's hard to explain. You see, Yue-san and I are, well, kind of like two sides of a coin. You know, you usually only see one side at a time, but it's still the same coin?"

Yue didn't seem particularly thrilled by the comparison, but he didn't offer anything better, so Yukito just continued on without waiting for the girl to respond. "But...something happened, last night, and now both of us are here at the same time. Well, Yue is, ah, upset, so he's resting," he amended, then gave the girl a worried smile. "But he's worried about you, so I wanted to help."

[bewarethecute.livejournal.com]

Ururu had gone back to work when Yue put his things down, making the little girl wonder why. She looked up at him, about to ask what was wrong when he began to explain. The only problem was, Ururu didn't quite understand at first why Yue was talking about himself as if he wasn't himself. She listened carefully though, not wanting to say anything until she was sure Yue (or maybe it was not-Yue?) was done speaking.

It was a good thing she had listened. By the end, Ururu thought she understood. Maybe.

"Oh." Ururu spoke slowly, not wanting to get it wrong and make not-Yue upset, or Yue even more upset. "So you're not Yue-san. But then who are you, Not-Yue-san? And why are you in the same body with Yue-san?"

Ururu didn't really understand how one person could really be two very well. But she would try really hard, because Not-Yue-san was nice, and helping her make things for her friends. And speaking of those things, Ururu hadn't forgotten. "Yue-san doesn't have to worry though. I'm okay. But I still need to know what Yue-san likes. And Not-Yue-san too, okay?"

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

He wasn't really the right kind of mood for it, but as long as the arts and crafts room was open, Usopp felt as though he ought to go into it anyway. For one thing, he could go on making paper mache spheres with the vague idea that someday he'd put something in them. For another, it was a change of pace from the Sun Room, quieter than the music room, and less boring than the library.

Too many things were happening at once, and he didn't like it. He tried to tell himself that some of those things were already done with, like Chopper's brainwashing, but that didn't help. Maybe just concentrating on 'work' would.

[tonytonydoctor.livejournal.com]

Chopper liked the sound of the arts and crafts room, even though he wasn't in the mood to try to make anything. He had a hard time picking between the arts and crafts room and the music room, but he finally asked the Cat Lady to take him to arts and crafts. He hoped that he would find someone else from the crew there; it seemed like a likely place...

Talking with Sanji and then with Luffy had helped a lot. By the time the Cat Lady left him alone in the arts and crafts room, Chopper had made up his mind that not only was he not going to cry about what had happened (since he'd told Sanji he wouldn't), but he also wasn't going to keep blaming himself for what had happened. It was that fake doctor's fault.

...But that was easier said than done. He wanted to blame Landel, but worry kept on creeping up on him. Sanji and Luffy didn't blame him for what happened, but what if Brook did, or Usopp did, or any of the rest of the crew? What if they thought he should have been stronger? Could he have been stronger? Shouldn't he have tried to resist, or been able to resist...

Usopp was there in the arts and crafts room like Chopper had hoped, but he wasn't so sure that seeing the pirate was what he wanted right now after all. That funny feeling in his stomach came back; worry, or nerves, or dread, or maybe all three. But no matter what, he had to apologize. He'd hurt Usopp; he could remember landing on him when he'd fallen... He took a deep breath to squash the feeling (only partially successfully) and marched over towards sniper before he could reconsider.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out the moment he reached the other boy, the words tumbling out quickly. "I know what happened to me, but I didn't really mean to fight you, and I don't know why it felt like such a good idea at the time, and are you okay?"

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

Usopp had been busy trying to distract himself, and jumped in surprise at the unexpected burst of words. "Cho-Chopper!" It wasn't hard to recognize Chopper in the human form for Usopp, but he hadn't taken notice that someone'd walked up to him until Chopper spoke up.

Listening to Chopper apologize was a little uncomfortable, but strangely, only a little... it felt good in a way too, like letting out something that needed to be released. Like a burp, but with more worry behind it. Most importantly, it meant he had the chance to answer, "No, no, don't worry at all! It's fine! A little thing like that can't possibly injure the great Captain Usopp!"

Actually, his chest was still aching from the previous night, although he thought as long as he avoided doing any jumping jacks he should be okay. Chopper was the one who'd been under attack from three sides at various points. "Are you okay? Sorry about the, um, flour-chili bomb. I was trying to distract you." He rubbed the back of his neck a little, awkwardly. "What you did was just because of that jerk, Dr. Landel. We'll all just have to take it out on him later." Like Luffy had said to Usopp earlier, but Usopp's voice couldn't quite hold the same intensity of conviction.

"Sanji got your hat. Is that all right?" Later Usopp had thought in passing that they should have grabbed Chopper's bag, especially if it had rumble balls inside, but it might have been damaged by the water anyhow. Too late. He wondered if the hat would stay on right without antlers, but Chopper's 'human' form didn't have antlers and it seemed to stay in place...

[tonytonydoctor.livejournal.com]

Chopper was relieved to hear that Usopp wasn't hurt at all, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd started holding after his apology spilled out. "I'm glad..."

He nodded quickly. "I'm fine. And... um... thanks, for the flour-chili bomb. It irritated my nose, and my eyes, but... it stopped me for a little while, and that's good. And we will stop that fake doctor," he agreed with conviction. Everyone seemed to be set on kicking Landel's ass, so it was going to happen. "We have to."

A smile spread across his face at the mention of his hat. "Yeah! Sanji told me he got it! I'll have to get it from him tonight." And that reminded him... "Oh! Can I get the medical supplies from you tonight, too? Since I didn't make it before..."

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

"Right, I wanted to make sure you got those!" Usopp had been holding onto them since Yuber had first brought them by, and was glad they would finally go to a person who could really make use out of them. Hopefully... differences in chemicals, the way they were presented and the way they were used, was a problem for him, and he wondered if medicines here would be foreign. But there were first aid supplies too, bandages...

He grinned a little at Chopper, adding, "I'm hoping to meet with a lot of people tonight, but I'll definitely be in my room part of the night. I still kind of want to go to the shed in the courtyard too, if I can." It might be too late... Usopp had been putting off asking about meetings on the board. He'd just had a bad morning, that was all. Probably a lot easier than Chopper's, though. "I need to get some wood out of Sanji's closet too." Eventually. Where was he going to put them? Under the bed? Maybe he could rig a hammock to hold them in the top of the closet... "How about I meet with you first thing tonight, and I can pass the supplies off? Oh, yeah! Do you know about the St. Francis room?" Their doctor was more talented than any club, but still, he had to wonder if Chopper had any thoughts about the larger 'medical' organization in the population.

[notaghostreally.livejournal.com]

After brunch, Danny didn't know what to do. He ended up wandering into the Arts and Crafts room, for lack of anything better to do, sitting down at a table near a stack of organized construction paper. He picked out a few sheets in various colors and folded them over nonsensically before sighing and setting them aside.

Productive, huh? How could he be productive at night when he was barely doing anything during the day?

[Free if anyone's as late as I am.]

[totallytheseme.livejournal.com]

[Hikaru totally is!]

Arts and crafts? Really? Hikaru's nurse had separated him from Kaoru so he could cut paper with plastic scissors and then pour glitter all over it? What the fuck.

At least he'd managed to get his brother to eat a little bit during brunch. Not nearly as much as he'd have liked, but a decent amount. Enough that he had at least a few calories in his system now, right? Better than starving himself. Hikaru just wished Kaoru would tell him why he was on this new anorexia kick.

The nurse set him down next to a boy named "Danny" and told "Andrew" to "make friends" before vanishing into the ether. Well, shit.

"Uh, hey."

[notaghostreally.livejournal.com]

Danny noticed a kid, maybe a bit older than him, with red hair sitting down nearby. He seemed friendly enough--well, enough that Danny wasn't the one to initiate the conversation. That meant that at least he was trying to be friendly or something, right?

"Hey." He gave his paper a quick glance and then turned back to the new guy. "Andrew, right?" He was guessing based off what the nurse mentioned in passing. "You have any ideas what to do with this stuff?" Danny motioned vaguely to his small mess of randomly folded papers.

[totallytheseme.livejournal.com]

"Only if you're listening to them," Hikaru replied blandly, raising an eyebrow. "Last I checked, Hikaru was still the name on my birth certificate. And no, I don't." What did he look like, some sort of origami master? Gotta Fold 'Em All?

Well, there was one thing he could do. "I can fold cranes," he admitted. "Or I could when I was in grade school. Haven't done it in a few years."

[kagurazuki.livejournal.com]

Kagura had been waiting for days to play in the arts and crafts room. She asked the nurse to help her get some fabric and a sewing needle and thread before she set to work on her projects. There were a lot of fun things to work with and if she wasn't stuck in this place, it might have been a little more fun.

Humming quietly to herself, she started cutting the fabric with a pair of safety scissors.

[also late and free!]