It's that season

[ceasetoexist]

Characters: Pokey Minch [AU1] and You
Setting: Dorm 1-04, Floor Three, Floor Twelve
Format: Starting with prose. But will match.
Summary: Pokey's got himself a case of the flu and he is just doing his damnedest to take his mind off of it.
Warnings: Fat obnoxious kids all in this post

Dorm 1-04
If you're one of Pokey's roommates, you might notice that your bed has more or less been stripped. It is at it's very bare bones. The pillow and blanket from it is gone, and if you look hard enough you'll find those are all in a pile on one of your roommates' bed. And if you look close enough? You'll see that pile is moving sometimes.

Go away. Pokey is sick and trying to sleep and he needs all of this goddammit.]

Floor Three
[Well the sleeping thing didn't work. Now Pokey is miserably wandering around to try and find something to take his mind off of the fact that he was sick as hell. And cold. And miserable. A little hungry too but that's always there so it's not as bad as the first three. He'd already raided the infirmary a bit and took medication after medication, which was not the brightest idea he had.

At the moment he's reading a book in the library, a little zonked out from both the flu he has and the over-use of medication. But he's doing anything he can to try and get his mind off of how bad he is at the moment.

If you looked over his shoulder though, you'd notice he doesn't seem to be reading the book at all. Rather, it looks like he's reading what appears to be a comic book, although it seems like the comic was made by someone around Pokey's age instead of being an official one. Maybe even made by him. There was no reason for him to have put it inside the book he was reading aside from the weird thrill he got out of it, like he was cheating someone.

The kid is messed up in his own special little ways.]

Floor Twelve
[Either it's the medication or this room is just cool as can be.

Pokey can be found standing in the middle of the room, giving a kind of glassy eyed stare and sniffing a little as he watches the destruction of planets, of universes, of galaxies happen again and again and again in the projection room. He doesn't seem to watch it with terror, or fear, so much as curiosity.

He paces the room as he watches the spectacle over and over, as if being at a different angle will reveal something about what he's seeing. Will reveal some kind of truth to him. If it does, Pokey never says what that truth is. But at the end of one of the cycles of destruction, he finally says something.]

Stupid.

Comments

Floor 12

[andajarofdirt]

I don't know, mate, I think the word you're looking for is more along the lines of... bugger.

[Hi, did you order an obnoxious pirate lord to annoy you? No? Too bad.]

[ceasetoexist]

[Pokey just looks up at Jack, squinting his eyes at the man. They're watery and bloodshot from the flu, and he sniffles a bit out of annoyance.]

Bugger?

[He sounds irritable, beyond even the fact that he's sick and he frowns as he brings an arm under his nose to wipe some snot away.]

That's a stupid word. What's that even supposed to mean?

[andajarofdirt]

[Kid, you look like death.]

If you don't know the meaning of it how do you know it's stupid, unless you mean to say anything you don't know the meaning of is stupid, but you can't really mean that, can you? I mean, you look and sound bloody stupid, but you can't actually be that bloody stupid. There's a law or something.

[ceasetoexist]

Because first of all it sounds stupid, secondly you're refusing to tell me the definition. Why not just tell me the definition if it wasn't a stupid word and thus immediately prove me wrong?

[andajarofdirt]

Is this the face of a dictionary? No, it's not, lad, and there's your answer.

[glitchinprincess]

[Scrambling up and peeking at things over people's shoulders is something Vanellope does well, so when she spots Pokey reaeding a book, well, she scrambles right on over, climbs up behind him, and looks. Well that comic looks a lot different from what she'd expect based on the cover.]

What's that?

[ceasetoexist]

[In a big way getting caught was something he'd hoped would happen, if just for some odd reason Pokey feels like he always needs to be breaking a rule or two. Even when he isn't.

Still, he's surprised by Vanellope and her enthusiasm and he ends up slamming the book shut before turning to her. Now that someone has caught him, he actually feels a little...sentimental over the comic. And a need to hide it.]

What, you never seen a book before squirt?

Can you even read?

[glitchinprincess]

I've seen books, doi. I've just never seen that book before and you closed it really fast. How come the inside doesn't look like the cover?

[ceasetoexist]

[Pokey seems to lose himself in thought for a moment before shrugging.]

What. Never heard you shouldn't judge a book by its cover? Shows what you know.

[Still holding the book by its side he brings it back to try and lightly tap Vanellope on the head with it.]

Far as you know that's how all the books in here might look like on the inside.

[glitchinprincess]

[She flinches a little when he taps her on the head with his book, but this time she sees it coming, so she manages to steady herself and keep from glitching.]

Well I've heard that but--

[Less talking, more action! She scampers off to the nearest bookshelf and hops up to grab a book. She looks a little expectant as she flips it open, but it's full of regular, typed words - not comic pages. She holds it up and open and points it in Pokey's direction.]

This one's not like that!

[Then she just unceremoniously drops it on the ground and plucks another one from the shelf.]

Neither is this one! ...or this one! Or...

[Sheee's making a mess...]

Floor 12

[kingofthetoybox]

I think I like this room the most.

[Almost as if he came out of nowhere, Porky, standing behind Pokey, looks down at the cosmic destruction.]

You know, this room scares me a little. Not because I'm seeing the end of life and existence over and over again.

I'm scared because at some point, I'd get bored of it. ... And then what?

[ceasetoexist]

[Pokey doesn't turn around to face Porky. For a moment its hard to tell if he even heard him by how he's just continuing to stare forward at the destruction again and again.

But he heard him. Oh. He heard him alright. And he just keeps looking forward to hide the absolute grimace on his face. Jesus. Had he been this bad when he first arrived in Mayfield? He thinks he may have been. And that makes things even worse.

Finally, he turns to Porky, a blank look on his face.]

I guess you'll just have to find some other way to amuse yourself, huh?

[kingofthetoybox]

Yeah.

[His lips curl up into a smile. Is that apprehension he sees on your face, Pokey? God, you're like a completely different person altogether.]

I'm thinking of tearing this tower apart. Block by block. That's gotta be worth a few laughs.

[ceasetoexist]

[That?

Makes Pokey smile back as well. It's fake, and he hopes that Porky can't tell that. But this is worth a try, if he wants to learn more about what the psycho is planning.

It's his obligation to try it, in a way.]

Ha! Sounds good to me. This place is a worthless hole, far as I'm concerned. The sooner it's gone, the better.

[kingofthetoybox]

Oh, I know.

[Nothing's really worth anything. Not anymore. If he can't return to his own time period, he has to make due, even if it's by tearing apart other people. That's exactly what he'll do.]

If you feel the same way, why not team up with me? I'm thinking of getting the old army back together, except... oh, I might do things just a little differently this time.

[egotrigger]

[It's not just Pokey. A tall man slips into the room, watching the projection as well. The sudden loss of life unnerves him, but he needs to see the stars again. Being on the ground for so long make him a bit nervous, and not being able to see the skies makes him even more so.]

What's so stupid in particular?

[ceasetoexist]

Everything.

[He sniffles some, trying to snort back in some of the snot that's starting to drip down his nose.]

That they think we're gonna believe this nonsense.

[egotrigger]

I'm not sure how they really think a light is something that can wipe out a whole universe...

[It just doesn't make sense.]

They're definitely keeping some things about this from us... I wish they'd just tell us.

[ceasetoexist]

Yeah. Get used to the people who kidnap you lying.




...Sorry. It's just.

If we're going to figure anything out about this we're going to have to tear it away from them ourselves.

[egotrigger]

I know that pretty well, trust me.

[Not that he remembers what happened before he was brought there, but still.]

1-04

[knightime]

There's something called asking you know.

[Dave can honestly say he feels like shit, and the hallucinating bullshit was honestly unnerving to say the least. Still, he pretends that he isn't having that problem since it was easy to not mention it.

Dave was tempted to grab his stuff back, but just motioned Missy to come over to him to keep himself warm. He does kind of poke and nudge at the large pile.] How are you not suffocating in there, Jesus fuck.

Re: 1-04

[ceasetoexist]

[Fuck you and fuck asking, Dave. That's for squares. As far as Pokey's concerned at the moment he deserves this.

Dying yesterday had been an absolute treat, and the fact that dying didn't change the fact that he was sick like it would have in Mayfield was more annoying than the fact that he had even died. Death was one of those things Pokey was starting to see as more of an inconvenience than anything. But the flu? Legitimately pissed him off.

The voices did too. They had started low at first, but over time they were growing. Voices he couldn't help but remember, strong and fearful and bringing memories with them like they were carried by an uneasy wind. He had tried following some of them, but they led to dead ends and, more often than not, some of the more dangerous floors. He kept trying to tell himself they were just that: voices, probably produced from how sick he was. Which was worrying that he might be getting that bad.

But at the same time they were so real. And they were so hurt. And they were from the few people he cared about. The urge to keep trying to find them was so bad. But he, eventually, was able to force himself into bed, and the extra layers were as much an inane, childish way of thinking he could keep the voices back.

With the voice of Dave growing so much stronger, he had to resist the urge to tell him to shut up. To go away and leave him alone because he knew it was just a phantom, a recording of someone who he once knew just playing over and over in his mind in confusion like a record player that just never stopped spinning. But when the poking and prodding began, lucidity managed to break through his confusion for a moment. Oh, right. There was a Dave he shared the dorm with. A different Dave than the one he knew in Mayfield, even if he looked exactly the fucking same.

Shifting a bit, Pokey peeked out of the covers for a moment, eyes raw and bloodshot, and spoke, his voice muffled slightly by the number of blankets over him.]

Better'n freezing. Least I'll die in comfort.

You want one, take the top most blanket. One I touched the least.

[knightime]

[You're lucky that Dave hasn't really been frequenting the dorm room as much or he'd probably take his sheets back.

Pokey is already getting used to death is an inevitability. Such a great thing this tower has taught all these kids.

Dave doesn't have auditory hallucinations, instead he's been seeing things that he couldn't quite make out and were easy enough to ignore at the moment. Dave didn't know much about Pokey, but he had to try and make friendly with his roommates right? Assuming he can even have one long enough to make friendly. His roommates tend to come in and out like revolving doors at times.]

I guess that's true. The meadow floor stays the same temperature, actually. It seems to be the only floor that didn't get affected by the rest of the tower, if you want decent temperatures when you're not neck deep in blankets.

[At least he's trying to help.]

I don't need it. You can keep them for now. I was probably gonna leave again soon.

[ceasetoexist]

[Pokey is just nestling the hell out of those blankets. Truth be told he's barely conscious as he is at the moment, and Dave's words seem far away as hell. Still. He gets the basic idea.]

Yea yeah. Meadow stays the same.







Thanks. For the blanket for now.

I owe you one.

[knightime]

Naw, you don't. I'd bitch if I were actually using them. [For like a few minutes, but he had other means to keep himself warm.]

Don't worry about it. We're all kind of fucked for this month, so it's not your fault you rather be one with the blankets.