oversleep | ( FOLKMORE. ) IC CONTACT

[ ... actually, the way Sunny is acting about the potential weapon does kind of put him at ease. He doesn’t know why, and it absolutely shouldn’t, but it does.

He shuffles towards the front door, unlocking it and opening it wide enough to stick his head out, blanket still covering most of his head like a shroud.

Not wanting to wake his neighbors (as if he hadn’t just screamed bloody murder) he whisper hisses at the boy. ]

... Sunny ... why aren’t you in bed?

_{[ The second he is whispered to is when he skitters to the other side of the burrow to to the door and nudges himself inside, wiggling through and past Junpei and going straight to the big TV. ]}

I wanted to see the television.

_{[ The real reason: nightmares, but you know. ]}

[ There are a couple surprised sounds of protest as the boy just ... becomes a liquid and wiggles his way into his house. Junpei watches in disbelief as the boy is drawn to the TV like a moth to a bulb.

He opens his mouth, intending to inform Sunny that it’s too late for company and he’s very tired ... but ... the words die in his throat and he finds himself closing and locking the door with a sigh instead.

That done, he’ll plop himself back down on the couch. ]

... if you’re going to watch, you’re going to have to stay until at least morning. Are you OK with that?

_{[ Junpei sits on the couch, but Sunny is still examining the big television in surprise and shock. His mouth is hanging open slightly as he turns to look at Junpei. ]}

... Am I really allowed to watch this TV?

_{[ He's not answering his question, but Sunny feels like he's undeserving to be gifted such a grand opportunity. For a hikikomori, this is a really big deal. ]}

[ Sitting soon becomes laying, a yawn escaping Junpei’s mouth before he answers. He really had been stone asleep before the annoying nightmare had formed.

And hey. Maybe Sunny being nearby would be enough to keep any more from popping up. As good an excuse as any, and not as vulnerable a thing as feeling protective of the kid.

He nods his head tiredly. ]

Sure. It’s not like I have school or a job to go to in the morning. Just as long as you don’t care if I fall asleep.

You don't have to go to school anyway.

_{[ Sunny helps himself to one of the blankets that are on the floor and drapes it around his body with expertise, shuffling into a little circle as it drags around his body, making a pristine blanket burrito around.

The social recluse is a pro at making himself comfortable. ]}

Careers are a scam.

Edited 2022-08-09 02:05 (UTC)

I stopped going to school before I even came here.

[ He shifts to lay on his stomach in the rabbit relaxation position, grabbing the nearby pillow to lay his head on. ]

And we earn spoons just by ... talking to people so there’s no reason to hold an actual job. Which suits a fairytale land I guess. But I know some people who still attend the schools here.

Do nothing. Be nothing.

_{[ He's lying down on the ground now, becoming one with the floor in his cozy burrito state. ]}

Life sucks then you die.

_{[ .. ah. ]}

[ Junpei might be an endless well of cynicism, but that’s a little much even for him. He scoots over to the edge of the couch to look down at Sunny, expression serious. ]

Sometimes life really sucks, and then you really die ... and a magical fox carries you off to a new life ... where things suck. Until they don’t. But then they might again ...

_{[ He has a feeling that Junpei is looking at him and he turns to look over his shoulder at the other teenager. Does he feel bad about saying that? Possibly. But it doesn't show on his face, expression unreadable like always. ]}

... That's reality.

_{[ Then he turns his head back to the television, opening up to Junpei about something he's not really told anyone before. ]}

Which is why I avoid it all costs.

[ The statement is allowed to hang in the air for a bit, the silence filled by whatever is on TV. At this point it’s an infomercial selling some amazing device that helps you hatch your eggs in half the time. (Hatch your eggs?)

You would think a fairytale land of magic and wonder wouldn’t have infomercials.

But you’d be incorrect to the tune of 4 easy payments of 99 spoons.

Finally, Junpei speaks again. ]

But you can’t. Not really. It’s always happening around you. To you.

_{[ And Sunny is watching the television as if it's the most fascinating thing right now. ]}

I do, though.
Almost everyday.

_{[ Idly, Junpei may see him fidgeting at the blanket that is wrapped around him. ]}

[ Junpei is at a bit of an impasse.

He does like to get into a good philosophical discussion. It was a source of pride for him at one point; his cynical views on life and humanity that he’d cultivated. One of the components that had dragged him deeper into the last bad ‘friendship’ choice he’d made was finally finding someone else who would discuss such things with him. He’s absolutely itching to pick at what Sunny has said, to challenge it.

... but. He’s not as confident in his opinions as he once was, or at least tried to pretend to be. There’s a delicacy to this situation, and he isn’t one hundred percent sure he has the capability of handling it.

So, instead, he reaches out to gently rub one of the cat ears on top of Sunny’s head. Like he had at the fire not too long ago. And says nothing. ]

_{[ That's a pity. Sunny would love nothing more than to have a long, philosophical discussion. He read a lot. Typically things on the internet.. wavering opinions on many things.

However, he doesn't mind being touched since his ears are out and just begging to be petted, so he blinks and glances back at Junpei for a moment before settling his eyes back on the grand television.

Junpei doesn't want to talk abut his safe space? His dissociated dreamworld he had fabricated to ensure everything was going to be okay like Basil told him so long ago? That's fine. Junpei is quiet, and maybe that's how Sunny came to like him so much. He leans into the touch slightly, but otherwise, he also says nothing. ]}

[ The quiet is held for a number of minutes, sleep wrapping its tendrils around Junpei and trying to pull him back into its restful world.

But the itch remains at the corner of his mind, bothering him as he stares at the back of the other boy's head.

The corner of his mouth twitches.

He can't. ]

... what do you mean, exactly?

I avoid reality almost everyday.

_{[ Sunny repeats himself, a little surprised he's being open about this to Junpei. He's been surprising himself a lot lately-- maybe there is something about this place trying to improve his character. ]}

Because reality is too cruel to live in.

[ In his own way, Junpei had done the same thing. Back home he’d stopped going to school and spent as much time as possible watching movies. Becoming absorbed in them. Focusing on them.

He knew it couldn’t last forever. But at the time of his death he hadn’t made any plans for his adult life, pushing off that reality for as long as possible.

What is Sunny’s method? ]

How do you avoid it?

I go to sleep as much as I can and I dream. My dreams are bright and colorful when I want them to be. They are full of happiness and are safe.

_{[ kid has a special imagination talent, and so: ]}

Sometimes I dream without even going to sleep.

Ah, so ... you mean you use your imagination.

[ He doesn't stop with the head rubbing as they talk, finding it just as grounding for himself as it hopefully is for Sunny. ]

I don't think I'm creative enough for that.

Edited 2022-08-12 16:27 (UTC)

Sometimes I never want to leave it.

_{[ Mmm. Pets. There's some quiet purring. Sunny has just accepted he is going to wither away in his imagination, and that's fine by him. He just hopes it doesn't hurt when he actually dies. ]}

Even here?

[ His tone remains neutral, just a question and not any sort of judgement. ]

Especially here.

_{[ There's a lot of scary things here, expectations from others... pressure. He hates it, and it might hurt Junpei to hear it, but it's true. That doesn't mean he's ungrateful for his friends that he has made here, however. ]}

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