Effect Room: Amnesia

[stealshinies]

[Today, quite a few of the rooms seem to have taken a liking to inflicting some stupefying amnesia. One might still remember bits and pieces of the past, their name, their family, and common knowledge...or one might forget everything. Either way, the effect only takes place once the room has been exited, and then its poor victims are left to wander the halls in their confusion.]

((ooc: so basically, at some point when walking out of a room, your character is inflicted with amnesia! mingle, tag around, etc.~ Characters who tag into other threads don't have to be affected by the amnesia, only the ones making the thread starters do. Effects last as long as you want.))

Comments

[obeytherod]

[He draws his hand back, looking down at it as if he'd just touched something untouchable.]

You're...a spirit?

[fluffydeathdealer]

[His hand lifts to rest against the Ring.]

Heh... I guess it had to come out some time.

[obeytherod]

... [Clearly unsure of how he feels about that, Malik turns back to his koshary.]

I wish I would just...remember already.

[fluffydeathdealer]

[They both do. But at least Malik's memories have a shot at coming back.]

Just be patient. They'll come back.

[obeytherod]

[Finishing off all his food except a little intentionally left at the bottom of his bowl, he looks to Bakura.]

Is it okay if I sleep for a little while? [He was feeling overwhelmed. Maybe his dreams would sort some things out for him.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Bakura nods, amused. Like he has to ask... Heh. Malik's kind of cute, like this.]

Feel free. I'll make sure you're not disturbed.

[obeytherod]

[Nodding a thank you, he rises to his feet and heads over to the bedroom in silence. The first thing that strikes him as odd is the way the beds are pushed together, with both pillows copying that aesthetic. It's not as if the beds couldn't separate, so why put them so close together?

Maybe he slept on the top bunk?

Malik looks up, but they're no sheets up there at all, so he guesses not and just climbs into the bottom one, careful to only take up one side of the bed. He even moves the pillow further away, separating them and giving himself at least some semblance of personal space.

Curling up in the sheets and closing his eyes, Malik tries to sleep, but sleep refuses to come. Twenty minutes feels like hours. Something was missing as he laid there, arms wrapped up against his pillow.

"Warmth" was his mind's automatic answer, but he was plenty warm already. Finally, after restlessly tossing and turning, Malik admits defeat and comes back out into the living room. His hair's disheveled now even as he runs his fingers through it, and he looks tired and distraught as he takes a seat on the couch.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

...hm? [Bakura looks up from his book as the man reenters the room. Malik looked like hell warmed over after his failed efforts at sleeping. It was a little worrying. Setting it aside, he watches as Malik takes a seat beside him again and wonders what's wrong. Most likely, he guesses, Malik is feeling too stressed out to sleep. He wouldn't blame him.]

Who won the fight?

[obeytherod]

[He looks up and over with a distinctly not amused expression.]

I couldn't sleep.

[fluffydeathdealer]

...ah. [Thinking about it...] It's probably because you're sleeping alone. You almost never do that recently. Ryou or I are usually always with you.

[obeytherod]

...Is that why the beds are pushed together?

[He supposes that makes sense, but--wait.] Who's Ryou?

[fluffydeathdealer]

...among other reasons, yeah. It's a comfort thing that started because you used to have some pretty bad nightmares.

[A slight pause. He can't exactly explain...]

Ryou's your other friend, other than Harriet. He's actually the one that started the sleeping thing. I wasn't around, and you were kind of freaking out in your sleep, so he went in to calm you and you wouldn't let him leave. It was kind of adorable.

[obeytherod]

Ah...I see. [Malik accepts that readily enough. Based on what little he remembers, the idea of having nightmares doesn't surprise him.]

I should see both of them sometime--[yaaaawn]--maybe it'll help jog my memory.

[fluffydeathdealer]

I'll call over to the Rose dorm in the morning and see if I can catch her. But in the meantime... [Getting up off the couch, he looks over at the teenager still sitting there.]

You should really get some sleep. Come on.

[obeytherod]

[Malik looks up, but doesn't move as he looks puzzled.]

...? Where are you going?

[fluffydeathdealer]

To test out a theory. [He jerks his head towards the bedroom, carelessly. Honestly... You're as naive as ever.]

You said you felt at ease around me. Maybe I'll be able to help you sleep.

[obeytherod]

[He grimaces slightly, looking away.]

I don't know if I'll feel at ease like that.

[fluffydeathdealer]

What? Are you afraid I'll try to feel you up? [Resting one hand on his hip, he gestures extravagantly.]

I'm not trying to screw you, but it seems you don't quite get that yet. Sex was never centric in our relationship, Malik. It was a fun byproduct, but it isn't something that rules our lives. We didn't even do it very often.

[The smile on his face is almost taunting.]

But if it makes you feel better, I don't mind sleeping in my clothes. And if you're unable to get comfortable in ten minutes, I'll leave you alone. That should be enough time for you to decide if it's helpful or not.

[obeytherod]

...I wasn't--

[Malik's jaw drops and his shoulders slouch dramatically. He's speechless as Bakura speaks, staring wide-eyed like a frightened cat. Finally once the other man has finished, he blurts out his feelings on the matter:]

We've what?!

[Not once had he reached the conclusion that they'd done anything like that. He had been suspicious of Bakura trying to get a little too touchy, but nothing that extreme!]

I'm not sleeping anywhere near you! [He had sex with this guy?! How did that even work?!]

1/2

[fluffydeathdealer]

...

Good grief... How long has it been since you've looked at me like that?

[Bakura's shoulders shake with repressed laughter. No, he can't be as outwardly callous as he usually is. He'll have to bottle up these laughs that keep threatening to force their way from his lips, making his chest tremble. It probably looks like he's ill, head lowered as he shakes. But...]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[...he can't help but tease.]

What? Are you scared? I already promised you that I'd be nice.

But if you're so bothered by it, I'll just go and sleep on my own. You don't mind taking the couch, right? I've become rather accustomed to our comfortable bed!

[obeytherod]

[Malik glowers in return, feeling a but uneasy as the other man shakes there for whatever reason. Was he going to be sick?]

The couch is fine.

[Ignoring that goading, Malik instead turns his head and makes to get comfy on the couch.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Heh. That's fine by me!

[A strange smile settles on his face as he looks at Malik. How familiar... it reminds him of the stubborn way the boy had clung to the couch in the past. Well, he's not going to argue. Whirling on his heel, he strides into the bedroom and casually flops down on his back upon the bed.

It's only once he's out of Malik's sight that he lets the casual act drop. Resting an arm over his eyes, he sighs quietly to himself. How irritating. If Malik slips out and gets robbed, he'll be the one who has to track down the Rod.

More annoyingly, sleeping on his own again is a pain. He could just let Ryou out, but that would be even more troublesome. Malik doesn't know Ryou is his host, and Ryou can't be trusted not to let things slip to him. For all his kindheartedness, Ryou is uncontrollable. Bakura knows that well. Especially lately.

Well, that's fine by him. After three thousand years in the Ring, he's more than just used to solitude. It only feels strange because he's gotten so used to sleeping with Malik now.

That's all it is. If he just tells himself that, it'll be fine. Rolling over onto his side, he lets the body rest, staying in control but settling into a dormant state that can only tangentially be considered sleep. Sure, the body is relaxing, eyes closing and breathing evening out as it calms, but the spirit controlling it is perfectly aware. It's more like an act than an actual sleep, the body utterly at ease while the mind still races, running over the events of earlier.

If Malik didn't regain his memories... would he be able to walk away? Could he treat it as just a bizarre friendship and let Malik do what he liked?

He wasn't sure. Malik would be harder to control like this, and less of an asset. It would become like it was in the past. Pawns like him were so irritating. Of course he could gain control of him again, but would it be worth the effort?

More than that... it would be painful to let him run the risk of growing attached to other people.

Tch... he really had grown soft. It was infuriating. Being uncertain wasn't his thing. It never had been, as long as he remembered. It was better that way. He had always simply acted to his advantage, regardless of danger. Like in a minefield, even if he don't know where it was safe to walk, he walked as if he did. It wasn't a conscious thought. It was as if the fear that should have held him back had never been there at all. There was logic to it. If you didn't act, it was pointless. It was better to go on, regardless of fear.

Uncertainty wasn't something to show, even if it was felt. Fear was transient. Everything could be turned to your advantage. And more importantly, it would throw off the enemy if they thought you controlled more than you did. Just stepping forward without fear took away more of the enemy's power than any magic could.

So why...

...did he feel like he was hesitating to step forward for the first time?]

[obeytherod]

[On the couch, Malik eventually found sleep; a quiet escape from his racing thoughts. But even in sleep he seemed tense and guarded after Bakura's confession. More than once he'd considered leaving the dorm entirely, worried that the other man might go too far.

He only stayed because he had nowhere else to go, and looking for somewhere else to stay when he was tired wasn't the brightest idea.

At least after a few hours that tenseness gives way to a more relaxed state of sleep, and his arm even ends up hanging off the couch. It really was just like before they'd been together.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[It's late in the day when Bakura finally awakens. The sunlight streaming in through the window is a reminder that he forgot to draw the curtains the night before. Sometime during the night, he must have slept for real, spirit as well as body, yet he doesn't feel terribly rested. Stirring, he lifts his head slowly to blink into the air.

His mind is a little foggy, too full to think straight, and at first he doesn't understand why he's curled up alone on the bed. Sometime in his sleep, he'd grasped the pillow he wasn't using and hugged it to his chest like a child with a beloved toy. How pointless.

Releasing it, he throws it aside, rolling over to sit up.

That's right... he just went to bed fully dressed to avoid Malik's paranoid shock over their relationship. He's in no hurry to wake the man up, so he doesn't bother to shake him awake, just disappearing into the bathroom to shower and change.

It helps, a little. His mind feels less messed up once he's done, and he feels bold enough to go over and shake Malik's shoulder.]

Oy. Planning to sleep all day?

[...well, the kid did sleep at an odd time.]