damned_institute | Day 36: Intercom, Evening

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Day 36: Intercom, Evening

The intercom's jingle rang out and the somewhat uninhibited movement that was going on between the main activity rooms halted as the Head Doctor made one of his usual announcements.

"Good evening everyone, and I'm very pleased to see so many of you in such high spirits after meeting with your loved ones! However, like with all good things, it can't last forever, so I ask now for nurses to escort our patients in the waiting rooms and in the main areas back to their rooms, where they will be treated with a special Sunday... steak! That's right: today, we'll be serving juicy, delicious steak with fries and cooked vegetables on the side – simple enough for everyone to like and good enough for everyone to thoroughly enjoy! (Our patients with specialized diets will receive their alternate meals, of course.) Our usual beverages are available, and for dessert, we'll be serving warm slices of apple pie.

"After all, patients, t's always wonderful to see all of you cooperating with the staff even when given so much freedom, so I'd like to personally thank and congratulate all of you for helping us, your family, and more importantly, yourselves. Hopefully, we can help you to a speedy recovery so that you can see your loved ones more often, but first... dinner! I hope to speak with you all again soon."

The intercom clicked off.

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you!

On an added note, just wanted to clarify to players of characters who are canonly vegetarians and the like that you get to decide (within reasonable and realistic limits) what kind of diet your character gets from the staff. :3 ]

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Artemis rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to suffocate and die from a few unoxygenated minutes. Especially when I could exercise my caring and giving nature in so opportune a moment." He smirked lightly down at Haku.

"Though I can't say that I've ever had a friend shove tubes up my nose. This is a first."

Haku smiled. "I've had practice," he said. "well, with the tubes anyway. I don't think I've had to shove them up a friend's nose before."

Artemis wasn't sure he wanted to know why Haku had practice shoving tubes up people's noses. He decided to ignore it. "You can keep my handkerchief, by the way."

"Thank you." Haku smiled. "I'm afraid I don't have anything to offer in return."

For a while he was quiet, enjoying the feeling here.

"I want to know what your language sounds like."

Artemis blinked. Yes... he'd forgotten that Haku wasn't speaking English. And that he was technically speaking in Japanese.

"I don't know how I would convey it," Artemis thought for a moment. "But I can speak Japanese," he said in a very formal, businesslike tone.

Haku frowned. "Japanese? Everyone here assumes I am Japanese and from Japan. I don't know the country though."

Artemis looked puzzled. "Perhaps you are from a world where it doesn't exist as a country, but as a geographical location..."

He studied Haku's face. "Your features are distinctly Japanese. And you've used Japanese words before. Like 'yukata'," the boy frowned deeply.

"I'm not even familiar with the name at all. I've only heard it here." He frowned in thought.

"All the places in my home are named for either their climate, or what they are known for... Interesting that I would resemble a people I don't know and use the same words."

"It is..." Artemis said, thinking. "It truly is curious, this various dimension and world theory. But I'm not complaining," Artemis smiled. "It brought me to you," the boy said in German. It was the closest language to English that Artemis knew. Certainly it made him sound a little gruff, but...

Haku blinked at the strange language and then laughed. "That was strange," he said. "But interesting. What was it?"

He never could pass up a chance to learn.

"German," Artemis answered. "It's called German. Spoken by people in Germany. It isn't a very pleasant sounding language, but its one that is closest to my own."

Haku frowned and sounded out the words. "Ger... many." He wrinkled his nose. It didn't sound right to him. "German is spoken in germany. If it's close to your own, then it is harsh-sounding like ....German?"

"I suppose some would say that," Artemis said with a light laugh. "But it depends on what you say, I guess. A lot of languages can be very alluring to those who don't speak them fluently."

Haku smiled. "Are there many languages spoken where you're from?"

There was only the main one that he knew of, and the varied dialects from the different, smaller countries that didn't have much contact with the mainlands.

"Hundreds," Artemis replied. "In general, of course. In my home country, we mainly speak English. Some other dialects as well, of course, but that's to be expected. I can speak a fair few of them."

Including one that no other human on earth spoke...

Haku looked impressed. "Hundreds?" He tried to wrap his mind around that. "We only have the one. There are a fe differing dialects scattered, but for the most part, everyone speaks the same language."

"Ah, see, that is both the beauty and the rub of it," Artemis said, shifting a little and sighing contentedly. "Many languages means that we can't all understand one another. Miscommunications occur. Wars are fought over them. All in all, it is a ghastly situation."

Haku nodded his understanding. "We can all understand each other, but still wars are fought. Usually over land, or some percived slight."

He smiled and laughed at a sudden rush of memory. "Or there are the occasional overthrowing of governments."

"Oh that happens in my world as well," Artemis said, eyebrows raised as though remembering something. "But mostly in countries that are not as firmly established. Countries with unrest, countries where the government does not treat its people well, et cetera."

He smiled down at Haku, "Despite our different languages and backgrounds, the people where we come from aren't so different. Basically."

Haku nodded. "Of course we aren't all that different. The majority here are human after all."

He glanced up at Artemis. "We're all a violent, blood-thirsty lot?"

"And selfish and short-sighted, don't forget those," Artemis said with a wry smirk. "But I can live with one of those faults."

"Only one of them?" Haku smiled, teasingly. "And which would that be?"

"Blood-thirsty," Artemis replied automatically, as though it were the simplest and most obvious thing.

"Oh good." Haku tucked himself against his friend's side again. "Though, admittedly, when I planned it, it was supposed to be a bloodless overthrow."

Artemis started laughing when Haku seemed to be playing along with the joke. However, he stopped rather abruptly.

"You... planned a bloodless overthrow of a government?" He said, his voice wavering a little.

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