bakerstreet | (no subject)

the i n s o m n i a meme

It happens to everyone - sometimes, you have nights where you just can't fall asleep, no matter what you do. It could be for a number of reasons, or no reason at all. And this is what's happened now: you've been laying in bed for what feels like hours, just tossing and turning, and nothing seems to help. So what's left to do? Get out of bed and go wake someone else up, of course. If you're not getting any sleep, then why should they?

i n s t r u c t i o n s

• Post with your character (note the name and fandom in the subject).
• Other people reply to you by generating a number from 1 to 10.
• Have fun!

o p t i o n s

01 • FEAR. Maybe you're hearing strange, indeterminable noises; maybe there's a severe storm happening outside; maybe you watched a scary movie before bed? Whatever the reason, you're terrified and it's keeping you awake. You just want to wake someone else up so they can protect you from the monster in your closet.
02 • HUNGER. Your stomach is growling and it just won't stop. Or perhaps your throat is so dry you could cough up a tumbleweed? Well, you've gone to the kitchen to remedy this and hey, that was a pan that just dropped on the floor. It was loud enough to wake the dead! Oops.
03 • PAIN. Your body is completely worn out, be it from exercise, battle, sickness, or what have you. Either way you're in enough pain to keep you from sleeping, so maybe someone else has a home remedy or something, or can at least help you take your mind off of it.
04 • SOLITUDE. For some reason, your bed just feels so empty at the moment. You're feeling terribly lonely and really just want someone to keep you company for a while. Maybe it'd be easier to fall asleep if you're with them...
05 • DISCOMFORT. Your room is an oven. Either that or a freezer. Or maybe this bed is just really uncomfortable? Who knows why you can't get to sleep, it feels like it could be anything. Why even bother trying? Maybe someone else can preoccupy you until you feel tired enough to ignore your discomfort.
06 • PENSIVE. Something's on your mind, and no matter how hard you try to focus elsewhere, it's just not going to work. Your body may be tired, but your mind is incredibly busy and it's virtually impossible to get to sleep. Surely, talking it out with someone else will help?
07 • SADNESS. Something terrible has happened that day, perhaps; or you could just be severely depressed. Either way you're trying your hardest not to cry yourself to sleep, and it's not working at all. Better find a way to get it out of your system somehow; you need a shoulder to cry on.
08 • ANGER. You are just... fuming. Who knows why - that annoying dog is barking again, or maybe the people next door are getting busy and keeping you awake. Whatever the reason for your ire is, you'd better put an end to it so you can get some damn rest already! Go wake up a friend so you can complain to them.
09 • RESTLESS. You're far too energetic to sleep right now. Maybe you're just trying to do so out of necessity - you have to be up early tomorrow! But you just don't think you'll be able to fall asleep for a while now, so why waste the time trying to sleep when you could be doing something else? Namely bothering someone else - you're totally jealous because they're getting more sleep than you.
10 • WILDCARD. Choose one of the options above, or make up your own scenario.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Just another dreary oceanside town, on another dreary night, and even though he's a stranger here he feels relatively at home. He hasn't been someplace like this in a long time, but it feels familiar, like a city out of time, and for a man who feels like he's out of his own time, that's a comfort.

He slouches up the street, just another man who works the sea, scruffy, tallish, but overall unremarkable. His build, his face, his bearing, all is nondescript except for the intense storm-grey eyes under the brim of a cap pulled low. The stranger pauses, within the sight and hearing of a pub, but far enough away not to be noticed by the occupants, and leans against a lamppost to light up a cigar.

The night is late and getting later, but the crowd in the pub shows no signs of clearing out anytime soon. It doesn't matter to them that Meg has a little boy who's been running a fever going on three days now, or that she's been on her feet all night and then some. They're good men, who she's grown up with or at least around, but so long as they're getting served, they don't give much thought to what goes on outside of the shipyard or the walls of the pub.

By the time she finds a few seconds to catch her breath, her legs and back are aching, but she won't complain. There isn't a lot of work in Wallsend, even less that would be considered enviable, and she needs the money, determinedly refusing to accept anything from Arthur even when he tries to insist. Meg Dawson is no charity case.

So she's taking a much needed break, just a few minutes of fresh air and off her feet before she has to finish out the night. Sitting on the step in front of the pub, she doesn't notice the man initially, the lights behind her making it difficult to make out much of anything across the street, so when she finally does see him, it's only the outline of a man. Impossible to see a face, or even make out whether she knows him or not. So she only calls out:

"Alright then?"

The figure, outlined by light, gives a mild nod. He wasn't really even expecting to be spoken to, but now that she has he studies the girl briefly. Serving girl, late at night, probably tired from a long shift. He's seen too much of the world to disregard anything that goes on in it as insignificant, but he's also seen enough to quickly assess people, and make a good guess at what to expect from them. It seems better to let her recognize him as a stranger than to try to act mysterious and just end up looking dodgy. The second course seems more likely to get him run out of town, and he'd prefer to linger awhile, here. The place suits him.

"Aye. You closing up soon?" The minute he speaks, she'll know he's not from around here. The raspy voice is unfamiliar, sure, but the accent is striking, a muddled mix of something European, with traces of French, and even American. That's an accent that's gone around the world a few times, until it would be impossible to guess where he's from originally.

(no subject)

9 for simplicity's sake? Also OMG you're awesome.

ldkfjasd i can absolutely not take the credit for this journal happening, but thank you!

Well, have not seen the play, but in love with the music.