Locked in a Room

[dishevelment]

Who: Everyone stuck in Pride HQ
What: This load of crap.
When: Nov. 1-5
Where Pride HQ
Warnings: Pg-13 minimum because Carnies. Tag if it gets over that.


Everyone got the same call-- and now we're all stuck in HQ with no hint of release in sight.

The reason? No one knows.

How are you coping?

Comments

Hah, it's okay. We're all suffering here.

[dishevelment]

And you smell like a young man who hasn't left the building for a few days.

[Was it a useless retort? Yes, but Koumei was just sleep-deprived enough to have problems maintaining his usual filter and grace. He drew from his cigarette (and released it away from Yosuke) one last time before pinching it out and dropping it in the basin of a nearby plant. It was paper-- and, thus, at least moderately biodegradable.

That was his rationale, anyway.]

I'd open a window, but even those are locked. What do they expect us to do?

[Not smoke? Then what would they do when they couldn't sleep?]

yeah i sorta saw your plurk earlier and went "shit"

[punchesyu]

Give me a break! I've showered since we got locked in this stupid building!

[He retorts right back, arms folding. It was bad enough that they weren't allowed to go out, it was driving him stir-crazy in addition to dealing with other things that he doesn't want to necessarily talk about.]

You could try quitting, it's never too late! [He says with mild irritation.]

I'll always make room for you, though <3

[dishevelment]

[The bags under Koumei's eyes were especially evident in the deadpan look he threw at the young man.]

....Maybe one day when I've had sleep, [he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck listlessly and frowning in irritation.] Which, obviously, isn't today.

[But he would, for Yosuke's sake, switch to a different stimulant. Soda was a good standby if he wanted to make sure he slept at night instead of the day.]

you're too good to me

[punchesyu]

How is that even helping you with sleeping...

[He doesn't smoke, so he really has no idea what it does for people in the first place. He knew it helped with stress or something? Whatever they liked to smoke for.]

You're just awesome

[dishevelment]

Clearly, not well enough.

[Usually his insomnia was due to his bizarre sleep cycle and his love of caffienated drinks, but the last few days it had been for other reasons.

He couldn't get his mind to stop, and he kept having weird dreams.]

there's a wooper emote for that compliment i'm sure

[punchesyu]

Is this whole thing bugging you just as much as everyone else?

[It's the first thing on his mind, and the first thing out of his mouth too. He'd talked to other people, and they weren't dealing so well. For a lot of reasons, some spoken, some unspoken.]

https://emos.plurk.com/0dc28fb2b1ec4e3c1a101ea3b1d7553d_w48_h48.gif

[dishevelment]

...I think you're answer for that should be fairly obvious.

['Yes.' Resoundingly.]

You seem to be faring better than I, Yosuke. What's your secret to handling Cabin Fever?

ogm then you linked it to me ahahahah jessus

[punchesyu]

My secret? [He's not so sure about sharing it with Koumei, but hey, most people were going insane so he figures sharing part of it is okay.]

I'm just trying not to think about it too much. Sora went missing with some guys that picked him up, and it's sorta hard to keep it together when it seems like everyone else is losing it somehow.

of course I did!

[dishevelment]

Hm...you make it sound so simple.

[If only it would be that easy for him. There was no way to escape your dreams.]

i shouldn't of expected any less

[punchesyu]

Yeah...it's not.

[He wishes it were as simple as it sounds.]

I think a lot of people aren't sleeping well either. [Yosuke doesn't look too hot himself. He's been staying up late, trying to figure things out.]

noooooope

[dishevelment]

It's getting so bad that I'm getting tempted to organize a raid on the bar. If we get drunk enough, we should sleep...right?

[His thought process wasn't as clear as it could have been, but he had noticed the same problems that Yosuke had. There needed to be a solution-- there had to be.]

[punchesyu]

Yeah, fall asleep and wake up as alcoholics.

[He rolls his eyes, like that was kind of a stupid idea. Though sleeping pills probably isn't a better idea either.]

I'd almost rather deal with all the shit going on right now...it's seriously giving me a headache.

[dishevelment]

[Sleeping pills really did fall into the same category, but those weren't working too well for Koumei either...]

...So how is all this crap treating you? You're lucky enough to have a level head here.

[punchesyu]

[His eyes turn away from Koumei. He's not good at hiding it.]

...I don't know so much about that. I've had a lot to think about since this whole lockdown started.

[Since it was clear that no one was Fine and Okay right about now in Pride HQ.]

[dishevelment]

Things that seem familiar but shouldn't be? [He ventured, picking his words delicately and precisely.] Things that you realistically shouldn't know anything about?

[punchesyu]

...Yeah...

[His eyebrows raise. That's got his attention, for sure.]

How the hell do you know about that...?

[dishevelment]

Wild guess.

[He shrugged. He had seen Garnet lost in the haze of her own dreams, and spoken with Yan about his. It seemed like a rational conclusion to come to.]

[punchesyu]

Because the same thing's been happening to you too.

[It's not an accusation, but rather an addition to Koumei's statement. Yosuke's eyes intensify.]

[dishevelment]

[Koumei matched the intensity of Yosuke's gaze, eyes glinting like those of someone who excelled at strategy games...or something bigger.]

And to you, [he replied, not even bothering to ask. They both knew it to be true.]

[punchesyu]

[Well, it's time to come clean now. He breathes out heavily, letting his shoulders fall.]

What do you think about all this? If both of us and more are having the same thing happen to us...

[He lets his voice trail off. It's so weird.]

[dishevelment]

What I think of it doesn't matter, one way or the other.

[He shrugged. The full nature of his dreams wasn't something that he wanted to divulge so quickly-- a twisted knot in his gut told him to stay quiet, for reasons he didn't quite understand yet.]

At first I thought we were being drugged, but the effects of most hallucinogens wear off in a few hours. Unless someone is routinely spiking our food, there might be something more organic going around here.

[punchesyu]

Organic? Like what?

[He tries to think about that. There's a lot of things that it could be. But it doesn't make sense.]

A virus or something? What kind of virus would do that?

[dishevelment]

An illness-- or something else that they're not telling us.

[He had been conversing with a cohort in Virgo, who relayed that he had been told of having a medical condition in connection with the strange symptoms. It was worrisome.]

[punchesyu]

They? Are you talking about our label? That doesn't make any sense.

[His programming refuses to let him believe that Pride would have anything to do with it. He can't even logically see how they would be involved, right now.]

[dishevelment]

....Tell me, Yosuke. Has anyone from Flashstep gone missing for a while this week?

[Koumei didn't want to question it either, but there were too many patterns syncing up in his mind. Questioning was inevitable, even if he didn't want to believe it himself.]