Day 53: Music Room

[rocksthecourt]

Well, if it wasn't his favorite time of the week. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Of course in this case, distance makes Klavier feel like an abused, neglected animal who was only now being allowed a taste of actual food. These people were such savages. It was still absolutely absurd that they were allowed access to this room so rarely. But the tactic was also brilliant on their part, sad to say. Klavier was always at his quietest and most obedient on Music Room days. The perfect model patient. He would give them no excuse to deprive him of this precious time.

Today was going to be a little different, however. Not only was he given access to music today, but a bout of entertainment as well. Apparently that band that had been setting up tryouts for the last week was ready to get the show on the road and start their auditions. Normally, this was the sort of project he wouldn't hesitate to take part in. But aside from the injury to his left hand and shoulder, there were three critical factors keeping him from doing so:

1. The band was named "Sex Bob-Omb." Klavier may have missed the band scene, but he had no intention of attaching his name to some Tom Jones cover band.
2. There weren't many actual instruments in the Music Room; certainly not enough variety to form the type of band they want. The one who made the poster said something about improvising instruments through whatever means necessary. A noble goal, but again, Klavier was not so desperate yet as to reduce himself to playing with a box of tissues strung up with rubber bands. That was too pathetic an image to ever place himself into.
3. The person who had posted placed up a sample music sheet of one of their songs. Klavier had no idea how many people here could actually read music enough to know what it was they were looking at there, but he had been able to decipher it perfectly. Their music... it was kind of god-awful.

In short, this was basically a disaster waiting to happen. The hints were enough to tell him this was likely going to be something akin to nails on a chalkboard... amplified by five. So honestly, he should be as far away from this room as humanly possible.

But he was not going to let these people ruin his rare access time to the Music Room. No, instead he took one of their old CD players and a carefully selected CD of choice (for the sake of his sanity) and took a seat at one of the tables, turning the chair so as to get an optimal view of the show. Why not? No harm in indulging in a little "entertainment," yes?

[free to anyone who wants to watch this train wreck with him :D ]

Comments

[mugenreppa.livejournal.com]

Hell if Mele was going to the Music Room just because she was told to. If the nurse wanted Mele in the Music Room, she'd have to drag Mele there! Unfortunately, the nurse looked like she might actually do that, so Mele grudgingly complied. Because she didn't feel like fighting. That was the only reason.

At least in here, she wasn't faced with the dilemma earlier of not knowing where to look; she could just scowl at the wall and not be bombarded with memories. Pity she couldn't hide behind someone if Yakushiji showed up, though. Taking a seat directly behind the only other person in the room was far too conspicuous, even if it was for a very good reason. Though of course he wouldn't have his axe in the day, so she could totally take him; she just didn't want to. Really. And he didn't know where her room was so it wasn't like he could just go ransack it if Mele told him she wasn't holding his ring right at that moment. What the heck was he doing with a ring, anyway? Pink-haired Yomi had had one, but she probably wasn't taking it out at night to do...something with it right before they were magically transported somewhere. And Yakitori's ring was broken, anyway.

And Mele hadn't seen him or pink-haired Yomi for a while. ...Nothing to worry about, she was sure. She certainly had plenty of other things to worry about. ...Dammit.

[oneman-onekill.livejournal.com]

There had been something interesting posted on the board - Niikura had only noticed because he'd checked briefly after lunch to see if Kiba had responded to his note (nope, no response still...had he scared the kid into silence?) - which had turned out to be an advertisement for a band. He might have been interested - the Shou Conclave was not without musical talent, and during their great Nagata-Cho operation, they'd actually put that talent to use...to great effect - but the sort of music the Akumetsu band pumped out (raw, ear-shattering death metal) wasn't exactly the type he could see being promoted by this particular band. And also because the Music Room was unlikely to have electric guitars and oversized amps at its disposal.

But all the same, he couldn't deny his interest, because it took a certain sort of special to actively promote a band called "Sex Bob-Omb".

He was one of the first patients to enter, so no band was set up, but Niikura swiftly found someone else with which to pass the time: Mele. He got the feeling she wouldn't mind talking to him again, even though he'd unleashed some rather frightening truths on her the last time...although from the look of her, she was being her usual moody self. But perhaps he could change that.

"Yo, Mele-san." Niikura walked up to stand next to her. "Didn't know ya were the musical type."

[heroesdontshave]

He'd been wondering a few hours ago if they ever let anyone go into the other rooms connected to that big bright room in the middle. Sure enough, right after lunch, Snow's nurse-guard led him straight into this place. She called it the "Music Room," which was pretty much a let down right there. Music had never really... been his thing.

The room was about as exciting as he expected it to be. And as bizarre as every other room in this place. The lack of familiarity was actually getting more and more off putting the longer he was exposed to it. That was probably a big part of why they did it. Make everyone uncomfortable. Or something. Probably figured none of them were worth the wasted resources anyway.

Still, some of the stuff here was maybe worth looking at. Snow needed to keep himself busy until it got dark so the nurse-guards didn't catch on to him having plans ("plans" being a loose term). Just have to hold out a little longer, just til dark. Then he'd find where they were keeping the stuff they'd taken from him. Once he had that, there was nothing keeping him from just busting everyone out of here.

[ for Lightning! Not sure, but assume there will be spoilers! ]

[thestormishere]

While she was somewhat glad that she was finally escaping that conversation with Scott in the cafeteria, Lightning's overall mood was not good at the present moment. Her patience with this whole place? Well, if she'd had any in the first place instead of being one who instantly tried to break out and had to be forcibly subdued, it would have been shot completely by now. As it was, she was now far into the double-digit negative numbers of the patience scale.

It was thanks to that discussion, however, that Lightning was already looking for Snow when she entered the 'music room.' It had been over a day since she'd talked to him at all, after all... something that was strange in its own right, even if entirely her fault. After what she'd found out the last time? Perhaps she'd been avoiding it without really thinking she'd been meaning to.

... Maybe she had been thinking and meaning to. It wasn't until then that she really thought about it.

And the awful thing was... when studied, her reasons didn't really make sense even to her. True, there was something wrong with Snow when they had spoken last- he didn't remember anything since before Palumpolum, which was days ago from her point of reference-- days of having everything they thought they knew mercilessly chewed up and spit out again at every turn. He was obviously clueless about all of that.

But instead of dealing with it, Lightning had just... walked away. Again. Just like what she'd kept doing, ever since Serah had become a l'Cie and her life had turned to shambles. 'Typical,' wasn't it?

Needless to say, the realization frustrated her. If they meant to find a solution to this, they would have to work together, right? Somehow. And count on that when they got out and hopefully got their memories back, they would find it wasn't as bad as it could be. She had to believe that the other Pulse l'Cie marked by Anima were still alive and fighting, even without her and Snow.

She ran an impatient hand through her hair, ignoring the slight snag from the bandages wrapped from palm to elbow. For another thing on top of all the others, she had to prove that stupid shadow from last night wrong. She had to believe that her sister would be alright as well.

Because of this, the ex-soldier's expression was still serious, but softened somewhat in outright irritation when she finally approached Snow, depending on the strength of her presence to warn him of her and crossing her arms to somewhat veil her covered burns. Fortunately, they were already hidden a good deal by the long sleeves of the extra shirt she'd put on earlier. Hopefully he wouldn't notice.

[its-the-mileage.livejournal.com]

Therapy hadn't illuminated much, but interesting things were happening on the bulletin board, notably the reintroduction of maps. This set was cruder than the one Indy had copied shortly after his arrival, with the staff-only rooms unmarked--an effort to evade the recent spike in censorship, evidently. Still, it was good that knowledge was getting out there.

He didn't have anything planned for this shift, so he just let the nurse lead him to the music room once he'd finished checking the bulletin board. Indy briefly amused himself with the idea of turning up to Pilgrim's "Sex Bob-Omb" (kids these days) auditions, if only to see the look on the kid's face. (His actual ability to contribute was probably limited; he hadn't seen any saxophones around here.)

After a few seconds, he decided that no matter how much his dignity had been curtailed over the last few weeks by his being forced to wear a ridiculous uniform and be led around by the hand by a bunch of condescending nurses, he drew the line at even pretending to be interested in the musical opportunities presented by a group called "Sex Bob-Omb." So he just picked up a small drum for the sake of looking compliant and took a seat on one of the couches where he could watch the audition process. Comedy hour didn't count as progress, but in Indy's book it was better than nothing.

[tightsofmight]

Call him an eternal optimist, but Peter had been clinging to the hope that today would be an improvement on the last few days. And to be fair, it was, but there always seemed to be some sneaky thing that crept up from behind and bit you in the tuccas. Today, that something had been finding out that not only one, but two of his friends were gone for good.

He could hope for a miraculous reappearance like Logan had pulled, but Peter wasn't about to get his hopes up. If fate had her say, neither Badou nor Keman would be loitering around the institute again any time soon. The idea put lead in his feet, bringing pictures of other friends long since gone to mind. Cripes, it wasn't even just the idea of losing this person or that one that bothered him anymore. It was the metric ton of people disappearing day and night. Too many to keep track of. Hell, he'd never even found out what happened to Kitty - if she was here, she was doing one spectacular job of hiding from everyone. When you rolled it all together it was getting harder and harder to be surprised at who was gone. Chances were if you hadn't seen someone in at least two days? They had already gone 'poof'.

The most he could hope for this time was that the two had pulled a Terry and vanished during the day. The alternative was unthinkable.

Then there was the not-so-freak-coincidence of having Grell respond to his bulletin post. Which, in spite of his best efforts to stay anonymous, pretty much confirmed he was getting a knife in the back before the week was out. Perfect. Apparently, the idea that they were hallucinating during that whole...incomparable mess (which was looking more and more to be the likeliest case) was beyond Grell's comprehension. All that mattered to him was that Peter had turned all symbiote-ish and tried to eat him, and the scalpel to Peter's shoulder was not a sufficient form of retribution.

Just the cherry on top of his hot crap sundae.

There had been some cheery moments today, though. Enough to make him avoid a full blown Charlie Brown Walk of Sadness. Peter did perk up when he strolled into the Music Room and caught sight of Indy, sitting all by his lonesome for once. Knowing Scott's plans for the shift, Peter had a decent guess about what had brought him here.

He strolled over and invited himself into the nearest seat, waving with the sling-free hand. "Hey Indy!" He quipped with a smile. "Are you here to try out for Sex Bomdiddly-omb or are you just watching the show?"

[bodhiandspirit.livejournal.com]

Though it was difficult to tell from looking at her, as she wasn't the most expressive person in the world, Rita's mood had improved significantly over the course of the day. Between meeting Furudo, who she was able to exchange theories with, and talking with Guy, who shared valuable information and was receptive audience to Rita's explanation of her studies, this day had been productive and almost even enjoyable.

This was Rita's first time in the Music Room, and while music wasn't of much interest to her, the unfamiliar instruments and devices scattered throughout the room certainly did catch her eye. The mage took a slow walk around the room, looking over each item she passed as she did.

When she stopped, it was in front of a wall lined with foreign devices, some circular and some box-like, and all of them with rows of buttons on top of them. Rita took one of the circular ones into her hands, pressing some of the buttons experimentally. After a few seconds, she'd turned the device on and opened it up. The inside looked as if it needed a circular object to be inserted into it.

Rita's eyes were then drawn to a nearby box labeled 'CDs'. She picked up the first case she saw - one labeled Backstreet Boys, whoever they were supposed to be - and opened it, and as expected, there was a disc that looked as though it would neatly fit inside the device. Interested in seeing how it would work, Rita set it inside, closed the device, and pressed the leftmost button. The device whirred to life, and she could feel the disc spinning inside... but nothing else.

That couldn't be all it was supposed to do, could it? Rita's eyes wandered back to the shelf she had pulled the circular device from. Perhaps she was missing something...

[pullstrung.livejournal.com]

Lunch had been kind of a blur, though the weird taste of tomato sauce still clung to the inside of his mouth as the nurse led him out of the cafeteria. He still hadn't quite gotten the hang of that whole eating thing, which was why he hadn't finished his meal. Not to mention it was hard to focus on something like that when he knew for a fact that Buzz was here, and--

"Honestly, Mr. Wheeler, I hope your dinner plate tonight will be completely clean when someone comes to pick it up," she chided him, cutting into his thoughts.

Woody could get why she wouldn't like him wasting food. But in that case, why the heck would they snatch perfectly good toys and turn them into something they obviously weren't supposed to be? It was ridiculous, and made it that much harder for Woody to sound the least bit apologetic when he muttered an insincere, "Yes, ma'am..."

"Mr. Wheeler." Her words were laced with a warning edge now, not unlike the way Mom could get when she was on the verge of grounding someone. "That kind of attitude isn't conducive to a healthy lifestyle, you know."

Yeah, well, neither was getting chased by monsters, but nobody saw Woody sassing the nurse about it. (Like she'd believe him anyway.)

Before he realized it, they were in another room he hadn't seen yet. The nurse called it the music room, and encouraged him to use it to relax before dinner. He was about to look for Buzz, but the woman, as if sensing his intentions, steered him over to a girl he recognized from yesterday -- Rita.

"Oh, great," he grumbled with a small roll of his eyes.

"Paige, dear," he nurse spoke over him with a bright smile, "I saw you and Mr. Wheeler talking yesterday during breakfast. Do you mind keeping him company for the shift? I don't think he's been able to fully adjust to the institute yet, so it'd be nice if you two could be friends."

Without even waiting for an answer, she turned and hurried off, leaving the two of them alone.

[lighthearted]

There were two very different thoughts that were running through Sora's head as he said goodbye to Neku and moved with a nurse into the Music Room. First was that he needed to finalize all of the assignments and tasks for Arts and Crafts and post them up before it got too late, but second was the fact that Scott was starting a band.

At first he had hesitated to respond. Was it really okay to be in another club-type-thing when he was already running one? And yet the boy hadn't been able to resist. It just sounded like too much fun, and Scott had been a nice guy. If it was just something they messed around with during the day, then there was no harm in it, right?

He was a little nervous about the idea of singing on his own when he was usually more accustomed to having Ariel's voice (along with countless others) to back him up, but... he'd manage, right? And hopefully everyone would be nice, since they were all probably amateurs.

Still, while he noticed that there were a good number of instruments in the Music Room, the same couldn't really be said for microphones. He spent a minute or two looking around with a frown on his face before he decided to just give in and ask a nurse for help.

"Umm, excuse me?"

"Oh, what is it, Matthew, dear?"

Sora wasn't sure why the nurse insisted on speaking to him like he was nine instead of fifteen, but he did his best to ignore it. "I was wondering... are there any microphones we could use? Me and some friends were going to try and play together, so..."

"I'm sorry, Matthew, but a microphone would just make your voice too loud and it would disturb the other patients!" she replied, seeming genuinely sincere in her apology. "You'll just have to try to project as best as you can on your own."

"... All right, then. Thank you."

Sora wandered away with a sigh. He didn't see how his voice would be any more disturbing than the instruments themselves, but it wasn't worth arguing about. He would probably be fine -- he hadn't needed a microphone in Atlantica, after all. Then again, how had he even been able to sing underwater in the first place? He hadn't really thought about it before...

And so the boy stood in the middle of the room, lost in thought as he tried to solve that mystery.

[For some ragtag version of Sex Bob-omb!]

[36-24-35.livejournal.com]

A loud "DUUNNN" broke through the relatively placid murmurings and echo of neighboring instruments. Tifa sat on a stool in front of the rickety electric keyboard and stared down at the piano as if it had bit her. Her face shot up briefly to look about the room, hoping the sudden assault on everyone's ear canals hadn't put anyone in a bad mood.

Someone had turned it on to electric guitar effect before they left.

How gracious of them.

It was set back to default, and Tifa tapped a few keys tentatively to make sure all was well again. Her fingers were arranged across the keyboard with her finger on C before a simple, springy song flowed from her quick fingertips. There were a few missed notes and one complete start over, but the imperfection only heightened Tifa's focus away from her worries so she could work on the task at hand.

Unfortunately, she couldn't remember the end to the childish nursery rhyme and so she sat, tapping a key here and there while she waited for another memory to hit her.

Be nice if they kept sheet music around here...

The best she could do was look over, under, and across from the keyboard for any signs of assistance. Next time she saw her nurse walk by, Tifa would certainly ask.

[zack-fair.livejournal.com]

Right, the Music Room. Zack had almost forgotten about this place, seeing how he'd only been here once and it hadn't really stood out to him as much as something like the library, for instance. As he stepped in and saw some patients attempting to play instruments (some were good, others not-so-much, but he wasn't one to judge!) while others threw on headphones to listen to something a little more professional, the soldier wondered if he should take better advantage of the room this time around.

He had more or less ignored the amenities last time, and since he didn't have any meetings set up, why not check things out? Nodding to himself, he moved over to where the "Walkmen" were all set up. He wasn't all that familiar with the technology, but he was knowledgeable enough in general that he was pretty sure he could figure it out.

More than that, it was easy enough to learn by example. He grabbed a CD at random (it was by some artist called the "Foo Fighters") and then placed it into one of the Walkmen after he watched a more practiced patient do the same.

Once he found the "Play" button (that was easy enough) and got his headphones in place (they were kind of difficult to position around all of his hair), he was ready. He pushed the button and was immediately bombarded by some very loud guitar sounds.

Eyes widening, the ex-SOLDIER quickly started to search for the Walkman's volume control.

[cetran.livejournal.com]

[]

After seeing Yuffie, Aerith was in good spirits and was ready to take on pretty much anything. She had faith that her friends were around, and together they would take on whatever came their way and get back to Gaia. It was enough of a motivator to put an honest to goodness smile on her face, and she waved to a couple of people she didn't know (but she thought they looked like they could use someone pretending that they knew them) and stepped over to play around with some of the untouched instruments.

She loved music, although she wasn't ever very good at singing or playing anything, and so she was grateful for the opportunity to distract herself from things by getting to play with a tambourine and triangle.

She wasn't so distracted from everything, though, that she didn't notice a head of spikey hair across the room. She took pause in what she was doing, and just observed the man's backside. Not because she was interested in doing things like that, but because he was strikingly familiar, even without seeing his face.

She discarded the instruments she had been playing with and made her way over to him, and stepped around him so she could finally see his face. And what she saw caused her to gasp out loud, and cover her mouth with both hands.

"Zack?"

[nobleman]

Exhilarated after his talk with Rita, Guy moved into the Music Room with a slight spring in his step. Both sides of that conversation had been interesting, and he now had one more person here who loved to discuss that sort of stuff as much as he did. First was Claude, then Edgar, and now Rita. So long as she didn't try to touch him, things would be great! But she really didn't seem like the type, so he wasn't too worried.

To go from that chat right into the Music Room with its Earth technology was a pretty nice transition at that. Not as exciting as the Game Room, maybe, but Guy still found some joy in it.

Except for one thing. Despite this place having such interesting things in it, Guy didn't have the best memories associated with the room. He'd once gotten into a pretty tough fight here at night, for starters, but more than that -- Sync had accosted him in this room twice, usually by sneaking up on him while he examined some manner of tech.

It was enough to make the swordsman glance around the room in search of the green-haired boy just to make sure that he caught him before he pulled something like that again. Still, he saw no sign of the God-General, and hadn't for a while now. Was it possible Sync had disappeared along with Asch and Luke? That would actually be a relief...

Either way, Guy was irritated enough by the thought of that happening again that he decided to forgo the CD players for now (he'd tinkered with them plenty of times before) and take a seat at one of the tables instead. Maybe once the room had filled up a bit more, he'd go over to look at the Walkmen again.

[For Yukari.]

[windsome.livejournal.com]

After how the morning went, Yukari had spent the entirety of her lunch without company-- and oh, did she need that. Two too many people knew her name, and not only that, but then there was... well, Minato. Even after that little while where she didn't have to deal with anyone, take the time to (futilely) clear her mind, and actually eat the food given to her, she was still feeling completely and utterly floored by the entire thought that he was here.

It was still going to take a little while longer until she knew how to feel about it.

When the nurses had come by again to pull them off elsewhere, Yukari initially didn't want to go; there was still a lot she wanted to say, or at least it felt like it, but now that a while had passed by a part of her realized that maybe it was for the better. More than likely, they both had a good amount of things to mull over.

The end of the day was nearing, and it sounded like her next destination was-- the music room.

"The music room?" Yukari had given an odd expression at the news.

"It'll be good for you," the nurse with her insisted. "It's comfortable and relaxing-- and you've been looking awfully troubled all day."

There was a skeptical frown, but she didn't question it-- until she saw the room. Maybe she should have expected something like this in some place that was trying to be a hospital (yeah, right), but Yukari didn't think she'd actually land somewhere that looked and felt more appropriate for a little kid. Dinky, cheap instruments to play with? Really? It didn't take much for her expression to sour at how the nurse wanted her to spend the rest of her day.

But no, even worse, the lady was still acting as if Yukari had no will of her own, suggesting and insisting even more she could do this or participate in that and--

Honestly, Yukari only agreed just to get her to shut up. For the love of god she had never started to get any more fed up with a nurse in her life, but that was probably because most of them she ever had to deal with didn't think she was too crazy in the head to function at normalcy.

"Here, Kara," Oh, right. They also called her by her actual name, too. "Why don't you spend some time with Mr. Browne? He's been with us for a while, so I'm sure he'll help you get comfortable."

After glancing between him and the nurse, reluctantly, Yukari sat down in a chair across from him unceremoniously, and she waited until the nurse gave a nod of approval and walked off elsewhere before speaking up to the person in front of her; "So... is everything here supposed to make us feel like we're in kindergarten again?"

[justthedealer.livejournal.com]

"Pardon... Nurse? Infirmière? Your music selection seems to be lacking in Zydeco. Be nice t'have, non? Gets de feet tappin' an' de spirits up." It was a silly thing to complain about, really, and Remy only brought it up to have something to complain about so he wouldn't feel as though he was just letting himself be led along like a puppy on a leash. Small bits of rebellion, right?

Yeah, he felt silly thinking that too.

The music selection wasn't too terrible, all things considered, but he didn't feel like listening to any of it. Some group of kids nearby looked like they were getting ready to start making some noise anyway, so that should provide a little entertainment for the time being. Hopefully.

He picked up a CD player, attached a pair of headphones, but didn't turn it on. Sitting in a chair and trying to make himself look comfortable, Remy sat back and watched the proceedings.

[free]

[hiddenbadass]

And then he was lead along for his next shift to the music room. Again, something that hadn't been a part of his life in so very long. It threw him for a loop, how so suddenly all of this was being suddenly shoved back into his life. Mike ignored his nurse as she chatted away, letting his mind wander just enough to consider what he was getting himself into.

He hoped there were more than instruments, maybe a Walkman or something. Something to drown out the noisy, probably horrible, band tryouts. If Turtle Luck was particularly vicious that day, especially to make up for the pizza he just ate, they'd have their instruments hooked up to amplifiers.

As he was entering the room, Mike realized that his stomach was beginning to feel weird. Coincidentally, this was occurring shortly after he had gorged himself on pizza. He blinked, then put a hand to his stomach. Oh.

Actually, it was beginning to hurt. It dawned on Mike that he hadn't of had pizza in so long, and suddenly he had eaten half of one by himself.

Smart, Mike. Real smart.

"And here we are, Michael!" his nurse piped up happily. "Try to make some friends."

"Yeah," Mike grunted.

She tilted her head, looking confused after a moment. "Are you all right, Michael?"

"I'm fine," he half-snapped, then immediately walked away from her.

The nurse didn't follow or stop him, but something else did. As he was looking around the group of patients, trying to discern if any were dangerous, his eyes fell on a particular sunglasses wearing patient with a CD player.

It wasn't a Walkman; it was even better. Mike looked over the room, trying to find another like it, but he didn't see any. He frowned slightly.

Wouldn't hurt to ask where he got it, Mike guessed. Or what sort of music selection they had. He would probably end up needing it as a distraction if his stomach ache got worse.

The former turtle walked up to the mutant, waving briefly. "Hey, where did you find that CD player?"

[kindalikedit]

He didn't do the whole music thing. Listening to it, sure, cool. But messing around with guitars and all that wasn't really his first choice on how to have a good time.

Dean wasn't having a good time.

He didn't appreciate Sam treating him like he couldn't handle this. He'd handled finding out Sam had weird abilities, hadn't he? And then he'd got through that whole possession thing and he'd known even then he couldn't waste his brother, no matter the reason. So Dean figured that had to cut him some slack. Had to mean something. Whatever Sam thought he had to keep from him, Dean could handle it and honestly, even if he didn't like it, he could still keep it under wraps. Kid was still his brother, freaky powers and all. It beat finding out from one of the monsters and whatever running around at night.

Dean glanced over his shoulder, trying to pick out anyone he might know. "Know", there was a good one. He'd got so used to just breezing in and out of town that it felt weird to actually get to know some of the people here. No sign of Sam or Ruby. Turning, Dean stared down at the CD collection, frowning down at them as he picked up a CD case and turned it over in his hand. Wow. Talk about a crappy collection.

[For Watson]

[you-miss-it.livejournal.com]

Music. John had never had much of an ear for it (though if he had an ear for it, he suspected this still wouldn't be the place for him) but he was ushered in to the music room like everyone else. Once there, he milled around because there really seemed little else to do: he didn't know anyone and everything he'd learned about this place so far just made him wish he hadn't.

If this was the way life was going to be from here on out it was safe to say he missed Sherlock and Baker Street and the occasional decapitated head in the refrigerator.

John found himself shuffling aimlessly through the room's library of CDs. He wasn't really paying any attention, just attempting to look sufficiently well-adjusted that none of the nurses would think to bother him about anything. He thought it was working well enough up until he nearly bumped into someone who was also eying the CD collection.

"Oh! Sorry."

[full-score.livejournal.com]

His talk with Mom certainly could have gone worse, but Claude still left the cafeteria feeling more anxious than he would have liked. That was to expected, though, right? She'd been captured and thrown into this hell-hole by a mad man, in a place that had ultimately gotten the best of people like Dias and Dad. Not that he didn't trust in his mother's strength, but Claude recognized that the odds were in no one's favor here. They were all in terrible danger, and now his own family had gotten involved.

On top of that, he had the stress of having to hide his relation to his own mother. That meant being dishonest about more than a few things. And, as the institute had demonstrated time and time again, he probably wasn't going to be able to keep it up forever. But what else could he do? Somehow, hey, there, Ilia, you don't know this, but I'm actually your son from about twenty years into the future, didn't quite cut it.

Now it was the final shift of the day before dinner, though, which meant he had some time to kill before he got sent back to his room. As if sensing his mood, the nurse suggested he go to the music room in order to relax. That sounded like as good a place as any, if only because it was one of the areas he didn't get to go to so often.

Once he arrived, however, he didn't immediately look for an instrument or a disc player like he normally would have. Instead, his attention was drawn toward the group of patients who he soon realized had signed up for that "Sex Bob-omb" band. Weird name aside, it didn't sound like such a bad idea. Claude would have been tempted to do it himself, if a) he didn't already have a bunch on his mind, and b) he'd developed some sense of pitch at some point in his life. And, quite frankly, if he hadn't done it during his travels, he wasn't so sure he'd magically discover it while playing around on a recorder in here. On the other hand, his rhythm sense wasn't half-bad, if he said so himself...

Either way, it meant he was content with just watching for now. Claude leaned against the wall of the room, folding his arms over his chest as he got a better look at the people who were involved. They sure seemed like kind of a strange bunch...except, say! Wasn't that Tifa over there? Her piano playing had been soothing to listen to, from what he remembered, and the thought of her signing up for that band stuff was enough to put a smile on his face.

[For Leon]

[heraldric.livejournal.com]

This pizza stuff they fed them every so often in the Institute was quite a bit more greasy than Leon approved of and certainly wasn't the best thing to start the day off right for a growing boy of his age. Granted, if he hadn't slept through breakfast it wouldn't have been his first meal of the day, but the point still stood. He was grateful they were at least considerate enough to offer salad as an option so he didn't end up feeling outright disgusting when he was moved on to the next shift.

Having already napped in the sun room, he was easily escorted to the music room for a change of pace. He too had his attention drawn to the group setting up to play, and unlike Claude the young mage had a fair amount of confidence in his own ability to provide accompaniment. In fact, he was soon wondering if they had a violin available, and if he'd be allowed to join in with it if they did. Every group could use a violinist, couldn't they? Of course, not knowing anyone involved very well made asking such a thing difficult.

He almost missed Claude, hanging back against the wall as he was, but as soon as he noticed him he was headed that way, band forgotten. The message he'd left on the board hadn't been outright troubling, but it worried him all the same. Leon gave his friend a smile as he got near. "Hey!"

[composers.livejournal.com]

The moment the word 'music' left the tip of the Head Doctor's tongue Austria's attention had immediately been captured. He'd nearly forgotten to finish his food, though it wasn't as if he was hungry anyway. Instead he stood from his seat as soon as his nurse arrived, requesting to take a peek at what the institute had to offer. If they were able to provide classic novels, then it could only be assumed that their musical selection was good enough, if not meager.

Yet to say that the room was a disappointment was an understatement. Having expected to see real instruments, Austria wrinkled his nose in disgust when all that was offered were cheap and strange imitations. Just what good would any of these do for anyone? However, what he felt then was nothing compared to when he finally caught sight of the 'piano' in the corner. A part of him was almost grateful that the atrocity was occupied, though barely. As much as his fingers itched, he was hardly that desperate to stoop so low as to play on that.

And so, after dismissing one of the plastic tambourines his nurse attempted to offer him, the aristocrat made his way to the other side of the room. His attention was eventually captured by the various 'paintings' hung up over the walls, stopping in front of one with Beethoven.

"I'm sure you would find this as horrifying as I have..." Austria murmured under his breath.

[For the un-awesome loser.]

[hat_einen_vogel]

[Wow, I think you meant 'the most amazing and glorious Prussia']

When the nurse (annoying once more) decided that he should spend the time after lunch in the music room, Prussia was completely against it. If there was a music room, that was where Austria would be. It had been a perfectly good day, and there was no need to ruin it by seeing him right now.... even if as far as Prussia was concerned, last night had happened. It hadn't, and therefore had nothing to do with him wanting to avoid Austria right now. He just didn't want to get irritated by seeing Specs' face.

The woman had other ideas, and it wasn't long before Prussia found himself standing in the music room. He turned to leave—the nurse was gone now, so there was nothing stopping him from returning to the sun room—but caught sight of the aristocrat standing in front of a portrait. He froze.

Avoiding Austria was one thing, but if he left now, it'd be like running away.

A moment passed, and then instead of heading back out the doors, Prussia made his way straight for Specs. He pivoted around when he reached the other nation, leaning against the wall by the portrait with his arms crossed. "I was expecting to see you at a piano."

[fangirlfatale.livejournal.com]

Morgan was not happy with the way this job had turned out. She couldn't believe she'd been stupid enough not to make sure she knew exactly where to find that Ratgut at night, since it was obvious he was spending his days hiding out somewhere now that he hadn't delivered on his end of the deal. Smart move. Now that she had a sword again, a reunion wasn't likely to go well for that deadbeat geezer.

On the plus side, at least she hadn't actually started his LeChuck job yet, so she wasn't out anything except the time and energy she'd spent thinking about how to do it. And they were leaving tonight. She'd back off from LeChuck for now and make sure the escape went according to plan--and when they got back to the Caribbean, she could find a way to deal with him on her own terms. The thought of setting sail with that undead loony-bearded walking atrocity (not to mention having to watch what might be weeks of constant kissy-face between Elaine and Guybrush) wasn't a pleasant one, but it was still a lot better than being trapped here any longer.

Morgan had been hoping to find Guybrush (or even one of the others) today to finalize the plan, check how well-armed everyone was and agree on where to meet. As far as she was concerned, it went: sneak to the front entrance, fight their way out in a seriously epic melee free-for-all to the death, emerge blood-soaked and victorious and make their way to the nearest coast, where they'd commandeer a vessel and set a course back to Flotsam Island, where the Knave of Toro was still docked if anyone around there knew what was good for them. She knew Elaine had a blade, at least, but the scuttlebutt lately had also suggested that Elaine might not be around to swing it. Hopefully Guybrush had tracked down his wife, though. Morgan had to admit that having Elaine there would definitely increase their chances of success--the woman was more than a decent swordfighter--but she wasn't crazy about the thought of having to put off their escape to play search and rescue.

She had one more chance to find any of the four people she was looking for, so she let the nurse lead the way into the music room. Personally, the only music Morgan needed was the screams of her vanquished opponents, so she just found a seat where she could see the whole room and waited for someone relevant to come in.

As for what had happened last night, she wasn't going to think about it.

[for Guybrush]

[threepwood]

Even after an interrogation by Maya and an enlightening conversation about explosives with Sergeant Carter, Guybrush was still feeling the burn from last night, his shadow's taunts still playing in his mind. The nurse wouldn't tell him where Elaine was, and nobody else had a clue. It was time to take it to the experts.

Speaking of the experts, where were LeChuck and Morgan? Passing through the Sun Room, Guybrush found neither of his fellow Tri-Islanders, so after a quick stop by the bulletin board (and seeing that Scott was starting a band. This would be interesting) he decided he'd try the Music Room at his nurse's suggestion. Surely enough, sitting away from the potential members of Sexy Bob was Morgan LeFlay.

Guybrush made a bee-line for her, addressing the mighty pirate hunter before he even made it to where she was sitting. "Morgan! I've been looking for you all day! Elaine's gone and I can't find her and I need your help finding her. You're good at finding people."

[ai-no-minako.livejournal.com]

A music room? Now that sounded like fun! Minako was disappointed, however, to find an utter lack of a karaoke machine within said music room -- what was fun was it when you couldn't sing along with your music? She could've wowed everyone there with her amazing voice! Or... well, at least she could've had some fun to distract herself for a short time from what she had to do once night fell.

She heaved an entirely dramatic sigh and allowed the nurse to herd her over to the boxes full of CDs, nodding a little glumly at the suggestion that she find something "nice" to listen to. Would they even have anything she liked here? It didn't seem likely, but she started flipping idly through the CDs just on the off chance there might be something there to catch her attention, though more of her attention was on the rest of the room and the others present. There wasn't anyone she knew in here, but that guy was kinda cute, with the blond hair and the muscles. Or the guy with the dark spiky hair. Or...

Music, Minako, she chided herself silently. This wasn't the time to be admiring guys. Even if they were pretty cute.

[Japan]

[stellarregions]

After the day he'd had, Gren was looking forward to some time in the music room. And then he'd seen the announcement on the bulletin board and was simultaneously intrigued and skeptical as to how enjoyable this time would actually turn out to be. Whoever'd written that music... well. Maybe he could offer them a little help in that department later. At the very least, it would be interesting to see how they pulled this off. The variety of instruments on offer was not what one would call spectacular, and certainly not the sort of thing suited to a band with a name like 'sex-bob-omn.'

It was nice to see people trying to make something positive out of the situation they'd found themselves in, though, and for that reason alone, he was willing to give them a chance. If they were terrible, well. Maybe that could be improved upon. At the very least, it would prove entertaining. So he forwent any of the other distractions the room offered (he wasn't quite sure he wanted to touch those ancient music players anyway) and took a seat where he had a good view of the tryouts, waiting to see what they had in store.

[Free]

[shorttank.livejournal.com]

Leela had seen the... very enthusiastic note on the board about the band, and she was curious. It was nice that someone was trying to make the best of being here. Besides, she had a weakness for classical music after spending so much time with Fry. She wondered if they'd have harpsichords and beatboxes and other weird, twenty-first-century instruments.

It looked like they were still in the sorting-things-out stage when Leela and Betty reached the room. No harpsichords, unfortunately. Leela spotted Gren, who seemed to have had the same idea she did, and grinned as she went over to him. "Hey! Mind if I join you?"

[dualistic]

[Train wreck, you say?]

The sooner he could get away from Ruby, the better. In fact, it was that very thought that led to Harvey moving into the Music Room without a second thought, even though he usually did what he could to avoid this place.

He was already in the middle of the room when his mind caught up with his body and he heard the cacophony of sounds coming from the patients blowing away at instruments that should have stayed in an elementary school classroom. Harvey gave the room a weary once-over and let out a sigh. He doubted his nurse was going to let him move back out into the Sun Room now that he was here, so he was just going to have to try and tune it out.

Looking for someone who would be bearable to talk to, he first spotted Jones -- but the man was already speaking to a young man who Harvey had actually talked to once before. What had his name been again? Either way, it didn't matter. He kept looking...

The only other person he recognized was Klavier. Their first conversation had been interesting enough, and so Harvey figured he was his best bet. Shrugging, he moved over to him, taking a seat next to him as he noticed the odd smile on the younger man's face.

"What's so funny?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

[rocksthecourt]

Those gathering up for this little audition were piling in rather quickly. Mostly kids, from what he could see. He'd figured as much, with an advertisement like that. Ahh, the energy of youth. It was a wonderful thing. Skill and instinct could be taught, but it was the spirit that really made a good musician. Not to say he was expecting much, but at least the heart was there. That counted for something, yeah?

A nearby movement caught his attention and Klavier turned in time to see Herr Dent take the seat next to his. A surprise, but hardly an unpleasant one. He widened his smile in greeting and motioned with one hand to indicate the ensemble gathering at the other end of the room. "Ahh. Didn't you hear? Today we're to be blessed with our own little talent show. Isn't it exciting?"

There was a small hint of a sarcastic laugh underneath his tone. Yes, he was in a terribly good mood.

[selfnighted.livejournal.com]

Music Room. When the nurse asked, Maya was afraid she was quite vehement in going to the Music Room. It was, after all, a Music Room. She overtook the nurse once she had seen which door the nurse was heading for. Once Maya reached it, she stood in the doorway for a full minute, uncomprehending. Did she have the wrong room? Was the nurse not heading for this room, after all...?

And then she saw the instruments. Indeed this was a room for music, simply that it was...quite a lackluster one. Maya stepped forward in a daze when prodded by the nurse, and after a few steps, shook her head, recovering. "Thank you for the concern," she said the nurse, smiling one of her insincere smiles, before dejectedly moving to the recorded music selection. Perhaps the asylum secretly had good taste and she'd be able to find some nice music to listen to.

[giftofstars.livejournal.com]

Although she usually flocked to the instrument portion of the music room, Sakura instead decided to head over to opposite side of the room today to look at the CD collection. She was hoping to find a nice CD and curl up in corner to relax. The longer Sakura was in the institute, the more lethargic she seemed to become during the day time -- the daily activities becoming less of a treat and more of a routine.

The young girl peered into a box of CDs and slowly searched through them before realizing that she didn't recognize any of the artists on these CDs. If she was going to find a CD she would like by herself, she would have to try each of them one-by-one. Maybe it would just be easier to ask someone else...

She turned to the woman next to her and gradually plucked up the volume and courage to ask, "U-Umm, excuse me, do you know if any of these CDs are good? I don't recognize any of these artists..."

[thatdemonbitch.livejournal.com]

As badly as every part of her body wanted to scream no to the possibility of spending a few hours -- correction, wasting -- in a music room that was bound to be some kind of headache waiting to happen, it wasn't rocket science to notice where the majority of the troops were rallying. Sure, they were probably in it for the fun and games, but she was in it to continue lurking around the big groups and picking people off to squeeze info out of.

The nurse had learned by now to guide with her voice, not her hands, and it was a fact Ruby could actually appreciate. What do you know, the girl learned. To encourage the behavior, Ruby took a couple, completely willing steps into the room.

Cramped. It was the first thing she noticed. With that many people hanging around and only a fraction of the space the sun room had to fill, it was undeniably a cramped comparison.

The sun room's big bay window and comfortable chairs were calling her, and so was that damned bulletin board, but she kept her feet rooted to the ground, giving an exaggerated look of compliance to her nurse as if to say hey, look, I can be social too. Go figure, before she went traipsing further into the room, scoping out potential good Samaritans.

Truth be told, none of them looked altogether too promising. Sure, Dean was hangin' around, but he looked otherwise occupied -- go figure -- and the last thing she needed was to talk to him without Sam present to keep her on track with the story. The majority of the ones who weren't already busy picking up instruments that she doubted they knew how to play looked like they didn't know their heads from their asses.

Yeah, not too promising barely began to cover the level of annoyance that most of her options started and ended with teenage girls. That was a whole new level of crazy she wasn't prepared to deal with, mental institute or not, so instead she just worked on looking her most approachable and grabbed a walkman that had some crappy CD already popped in that looked like it hadn't seen the light of day since 1984. Entertainment of some kind to dull the noise until she spotted someone to harass, she skulked over to a bright red couch and draped herself across the whole thing.

If nothing else, someone was bound to come bitching.

[ free ]

[beastlyred.livejournal.com]

Music. Jr. loved music. He'd always loved music, and being in the music room made him wish he had the harmonica he'd kept before he'd been abducted here. Maybe it would help take his mind off of his altercation with Albedo. But that wasn't the case and, in any event, he had more important things to do than sit around making sure his harmonica skills didn't rust.

He didn't recognize anyone in the room, but that was no big surprise. He only knew two people here and even if they were here, he'd probably have trouble finding them in the crowd unless he followed the mental link they shared. But he did notice someone off by herself, looking as if she didn't really have anything to do. Well, it was a good place to start.

He walked toward the couch, waving slightly, although with his left hand-he didn't want the number on the right to distract from what he wanted to know-and put on his best innocent face. "Hey. You been here a while?"

[freewill]

The last person Castiel would have expected to see in this place was the prophet, but any hope that Chuck would have some more information for him was quickly crushed. Still, even if the man would be more than a burden than a help here, with his panicked personality and his inability to fight, he was the first person (other than Gabriel) who Castiel had come across here who would actually be able to follow his thought processes. It would be preferable if the man could calm down for longer than two seconds, but...

Even Castiel could realize that that might be too much to ask.

With no new information gained, Castiel was forced to move into a place termed the "Music Room." Its function was clear enough, and people had already started making use of it by the time he appeared.

The voices of angels far surpassed humans in terms of capability, and that went for singing as well. Luckily most people here didn't seem to be singing, but that was the sort of music that Castiel was the most familiar with. He glanced around from place to place, spotting the grouping of people with headphones on. He only knew the term because of Dean.

Not seeing much that was worth investigating further, Castiel found himself standing in the middle of the room as he searched for a seat.

[For the Gabester.]

[affictitious]

The day had been fairly socialable, which was acceptable - he was a social kind of angel if it really came down to it! - but it wasn't on him to control, which did not, in fact, seat well with this particular archangel. In fact, several things didn't at the moment, like the fact that too many big players were popping up now. Jo Hunteress... well, even she was a little believable, despite the whole being dead thing. But Chuck Shirley? Too close to home. Literally. Someone who was tuned into angel radio twenty four-seven and now dumped onto his new stomping grounds did not good company make for an undercover angel.

Though if the prophet had any two cells in his brain to rub together, he'd keep shut about it.

Despite all that, it was still feeling like a lost cause at the moment. Really, what did it matter if the whole spiel got tossed around by way of a round of Telephone? What could possibly happen? Lucifer could kill him again, sure, but he had better things to do. Besides, if Gabriel didn't know where he was right now, chances are no one else did either. If Lucifer hadn't come stomping through the door in full out Beast mode yet, chances are he wouldn't until someone called for him.

And Gabriel was feeling very Disney about that whole situation. Very Lion King. The betrayal hurt more than the death. Don't get him wrong, though. Implosion still hurt.

Maybe they'd catch on, maybe they wouldn't. Maybe Heaven would come crashing down and splinter the universe. He'd done his part -

- oh, was that a little -? Gabriel moseyed his way to inspect the shelves lined with various instruments on the wall, snapping up a metallic plastic trumpet. He shifted around before blowing a puff of air into the mouthpiece which came out as a satisfying HONK from the other end. It sounded rather like a duck getting run over by a bulldozer. He immediately decided he liked it, which was he brought it along with him after he spotted his brother in the midst of a sinister glance around the room.

Looking very avian himself - like a turkey too stupified by the rain to close its mouth to prevent drowning - Castiel was standing in the middle of the room, which made him a prime target.

A ungraceful HONKHONKHONK to the tune of Hot Cross Buns sounded Gabriel's presence next to the other angel before he gave a smile, lowering the instrument. "Hey Castiel, how's the search for meaning going?"

[composers-proxy.livejournal.com]

Lunch with Sora had been interesting. He still wasn't sure what the shadows last night were all about, but he felt a little better knowing he wasn't the only one. As long as he didn't have to worry about the thing creeping up on him again tonight, he could put it out of his mind. And while on the subject of helping him put things out of his mind, the music room shift was up next and Neku was only too thrilled to be listening to something new.

The promise of a live band was new, but it didn't keep Neku from rummaging through the CDs and finding a player that looked like it could still read the things without skipping. By the time he got to an open seat, he didn't feel bad for leaving his headphones on and plugging into the player instead of the noise around him. Sex Bob-Omb was just a little on the rough side for his taste. Maybe with some practice and some decent rehearsals though, they might have something.

He leaned back in his chair, set the CD player on the nearest stable surface, and closed his eyes.

[Franziska!]

[kingdomless.livejournal.com]

By the time Kairi entered the Music Room (a room she was happy to see, she admitted.) there were already a few other patients roaming around (Sora being one of them, but she said nothing to him, seeing as he was busy.) so she quickly moved towards one of the music players and grabbed a random CD, not wanting to touch the recorders and the other things.

Plopping herself into an empty chair, Kairi placed the earphones on her ears, listening to the music she had grabbed for a few minutes before pulling her headphones off, much rather interested in what the group Sora was apart of was doing.

She could overhear something about a band? Exciting! Kairi thought to herself, setting the CD player and the CD down. She couldn't help but wonder how they would sound, considering the lack of instruments. She had never played an instrument, even in school. Still, she couldn't wait to see what Sora could do.

She'd have to ask him about it later.

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Sasuke had been in the Music Room once before, and it had been quieter then. Quiet enough for dance music to be played and heard. That had been weeks ago, and he had had little cause to return to it since then -- precious little use could be had in a roomful of instruments when he couldn't see them, after all, and last he'd remembered there hadn't been anything useful the first time around. For all that things had changed, the material resources of the daytime here stayed remarkably constant.

The schedule had changed somewhat over time, though, and Sasuke had to wonder why that was. With the cacophony of dozens of patients in a roomful on noise-making devices, it was easier to focus on one train of thought only. Almost a luxury these days.

Sasuke twirled the flower Sakura had given him absently between his fingers, the fragile paper incongruous in the context of its manufacture; why the hell had she made it for him, of all things to do and people to think of? The thought coincided with a clatter of drums and Sasuke absently considered coming in here more often if the force of shutting out external distractions meant it was easier to muffle unnecessary thoughts.

[idolism]

Hunger was a persistent tug at his attention, but as the day progressed, a separate anxiety swelled slowly as it did every day his designs hung precarious and half-complete. There were avenues that needed tending to. Faces he hadn’t seen in a suspiciously long amount of time. The stupid boy and his new friend.

At the front of this long list, however, was the ongoing concern with Sasuke, and the vampire spent a good portion of the day pacing around like a caged animal, watching out of the corner of his eye for the human’s unkempt raven hair. Find him? Like he wasn’t the one currently complicating things with his unavailability. He had half a mind to kick any lingering sleepiness out of Sasuke once he saw him, just as a means to vent his anger. It seemed a better idea the longer he went without finding Sasuke.

Aidou was driven to have that conversation today and no later, so long as Sasuke was on his feet. If Sasuke wasn’t… well, that was an alternative that he’d have to address.

For now, though, it was an alternative that needn’t be addressed yet. After scouring the Sun Room, Aidou had turned to the only other option, given Sasuke hadn’t said anything about therapy. And like someone wandering about in a carefree daydream, there he was, standing about doing nothing. The backlog of irritation he’d been storing up immediately set his teeth on edge, bordering on full-fledged anger.

Had a staff member tried to interrupt, he probably would’ve shoved them straight out of his way as he locked on to the human. “What the hell,” Aidou demanded at large as soon as he was within range. Why was Sasuke looking so unoccupied after everything? It pissed him off. "Why am I chasing you down when you’ve blown me off--more than once, in fact. Is there something else going on that I should be aware of?" Something more important than simple negligence? Aidou wasn’t just frustrated by personal principle, but by the fact that alliances--as part of the uphill battle they were fighting here--couldn’t have lags, not if they were to be effective.

[hissecondshadow.livejournal.com]

After the green of both the Sun Room and cafeteria, Soren was fairly glad to see a different colour on the walls. Cream. Cream was a dull colour, and an uncomfortable one. The greens had been close to those of the tents he had spent so much of his recent life dwelling in. Cream was more like the walls of the castle interiors, particularly those within Begnion. Considering the apparent size of the building, and the posters hanging from the walls in this room like paintings and tapestries, Soren knew two things. Firstly was that Landel, whoever he was, happened to be a wealthy and probably influential man. The decorations, the scope of the place, the number of staff he had to call upon – it all pointed towards power. Soren wondered if perhaps getting close to Landel might be more beneficial than simply trying to escape the place.

The second thing that Soren knew was that familiar things made him no more comfortable in this place. It would be unwise to ignore them, he mused, considering there was still the possibility of drawing information from them, but still. He remembered S.T.’s words from earlier that morning. Lies by day. He shouldn’t trust anything that he saw or heard, at least not entirely.

At the same time, he had been informed about monsters roaming the halls at night, and he was distinctly aware of the sun lowering itself toward the horizon. Not good. He needed another information source, and he needed it quickly. It was necessary to both confirm what he had already been told and to glean new information. If night fell and confirmed the rumours, then Soren wanted to be prepared. At the very least, he needed to find somebody else to stick to temporarily and act as a shield.

He scanned the occupants of the room, for the moment ignoring the strange objects scattered around. He needed to find somebody who could hold off potential monsters, but who could also be easily persuaded to his side.

At the moment, he was playing chess without pawns.

[divinebrushwork.livejournal.com]

[ /)_(\ I am so sorry it took me so long! Back-threading is totally fine.]

The music room was very interesting to the sun goddess.
Once her nurse had gone, Amaterasu was left to stare around to her content. It hadn't occurred to her how little of this place she had seen. The Sun Room, Cafeteria, Arts & Crafts Room and the various hallways she'd walked along were probably just a small piece of something much bigger. More places to go meant more people to help and, quite possibly, a way to get back to her own time and land.

Her thoughts took her back to the notes posted on the bulletin board. She had written to a person who had called himself 'Japan'. Ammy was unsure of how a person could be an actual country. Yet, after all the unusual things she had witnessed during her long lifetime, the former wolf knew better than to question the impossible. Even if the person writing to her had been a lunatic, there was still a chance that they knew about the state of Nippon and its people.

The people around her were mingling back and forth, while others sat by themselves. Amaterasu studied each one carefully, wondering if she would be more successful in finding someone to help than she had been at lunch.
There was one boy in particular that her brain picked out immediately, just as it had done with Scar.

His hair was long and black, his eyes a deep garnet. He seemed to be looking for someone . . . maybe she could help!
Amaterasu got out of her seat and moved towards the boy with a gentle expression.

"Hello. Are you alright?"

[highvoltagegirl.livejournal.com]

Just when Elle thought there couldn't be many more horrible things left to uncovered in Landel's, she got to behold the worst of them all.

The music room.

She knew was music was, and the banging and clashing taking place in this room … definitely did not qualify. It was almost enough for her to wish that Sylar would come out and kill her. Put her out of her misery. Or that Isaac's giant mutant spider would come out and devour everyone. It was getting pretty close to nighttime, right? There was still hope.

But since neither event looked like it was going to occur any time soon, she resigned herself to sliding over to the corner with the walkmans and CD players. She grabbed a CD without as much as looking at it-- it had a bright and shiny cover, and whatever happened to be on it had to be better than the racket the other patients were making and insisting upon calling music.

It was after a few seconds of fiddling with the volume that she came upon a horrific realization.

It wasn't going to go all the way up.

There was no way to drown out the noise. She didn't bother taking the headphones off-- some barrier between her and the music was better than none-- but she did sulk like a five year old who was just told that there weren't going to be free pony rides at her birthday party after all.

[For Jooooo :> ]

[saviored]

Really, now. This place needed to stop pretending with its little recreational activities or whatever. It was so not working out. At all.

Still, curiosity overrode annoyance, thus: here he was. Damon hadn't been able to see who it was his brother had been speaking to earlier which only meant he was interested in finding out. Hungry or not, Stefan didn't usually look so obviously ready to pounce on some random kid. Obvious to him, at least. He more than knew his brother well enough to recognize that look with a glance, recognize the way his fingers curled. Something had been happening in that conversation. Normally, he would've been able to overhear it and none of this would've even been necessary, but what could he do.

Except kill a few people. Of course. When in doubt, that was always an option.

He leaned idly against the far wall, not quite expecting to spot who he was looking for off the bat—back of the head, not that useful—but the truth was, he didn't have anything better to occupy his time with. He'd already talked to Elena and he'd already talked to Stefan; there was only so much those two could do when it came to taking his mind off of things. Especially when those things were sheer, basic instincts.

He needed to wait until tonight, that was all. He hadn't been lying earlier. He was going to eat something, one way or another, and he didn't care what or who. Enough was enough. The only thing stopping him now was his unwillingness to expose himself in a crowded room. It would lead to Stefan, which would lead to Elena, and he didn't want that happening.

He remembered when that hadn't mattered. Hell of a lot easier back then. What had made him decide to start caring again, anyway? Caring was never a good idea. He'd known that. And yet—

Sometimes, even he had a few brief seconds where he would admit that maybe he was an idiot when it came to some things. One thing. Always the same damn thing, each and every time.

[Edward Cullen :3]

[prodigalson]

Edward should have known that when he was spending half the day in a somewhat reasonable mood - that was saying a lot, considering how the shadows had attempted to ruin what would have been a progressive night - that it wouldn't last for more than a few hours. That seemed how the institute worked. Roller coaster emotions.

Not that he could attribute his current mood to the head doctor. Actually, he wasn't quite sure who to attribute it to. It was rather, you know, earth shattering. So what did this mean, ultimately? His life was a lie? No. His mind absolutely refused to consider that idea. It was much more likely something he couldn't understand was involved. He thought of Alice, who knew his life before she had ever even encountered him... perhaps someone like that? Someone seeing his life, then writing about it?

How absurd.

And how perfectly horrible. He did not want anyone to know most details of his life, and here was some stranger in a mental facility that knew more than Venom had learned in two weeks. Everything Venom had learned, he had learned personally.

To be honest, he didn't want to continue investigating this phenomenon. Even still, he knew he couldn't let the matter lie. He believed, like most things, that this is particular could prove a danger to Bella. It was a very real danger, especially if other vampires were in the institute. Though he wasn't sure what Stefan had meant with some of his implications - real vampires, that walking in the sun made him an anomaly - he was still a potential threat even if he was just a sociopath who believed he was a monster.

That threat was why so thoroughly searching for the face Stefan has associated with his brother's name. He had peeked his head into the Sun Room, only to insist he be taken to the music room instead after having changed his mind. The nurse was somewhat hesitant, but eventually relented. If this Damon was awake, there were only two rooms he could be in - ah, and that seemed to be him, leaning against the back wall.

"Excuse me if I'm bothering you," he said as a way of an ice-breaker, "but are you Damon Salvatore? I just have a small question, if that's alright."