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.
|
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bababooey) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
bakerstreet2020-10-01 04:32 pm
no subject
[He raises his eyebrows, patting her arm.]
I promise not to put the moves on you. Cross my heart and hope to die.
no subject
[ It wasn't often that she used his first name, and it was said so dryly it was almost easy to miss.
At both the promise and the pat to her arm, she sighed, rolling her shoulders in a vague shrug. ]
Don't write cheques with your mouth that you aren't able to cash James.
[ The irritating thing about those that had grown up ensconced in the magical world was that there were so many turns of phrase she had ended up needing to explain. Did Gringotts even deal with cheques? ]
no subject
[But he understands it enough to pull a pious expression.]
I have never once written a cheque I couldn't cash.
And if you want to go back to bed, I won't stop you.
no subject
I don't.
[ She said lightly, her nose wrinkling ever so as though she'd passed through a cloud of some faint but highly unpleasant odor. Admitting that kind of thing was reckless in the face of the chaotic energy that James seemed to radiate. There was some expression about giving an inch only to have a mile taken from you that suited the situation, but Lily was far too preoccupied with maintaining her carefully manicured facade of merely polite interest to conjure up a witty remark along the lines of it. ]
So, is this the big secret? A pretty hallway?
no subject
But no. The big secret's down there. [He points down the hallway, the way they're heading.] Took us ages to figure this one out.
[There's a door at the end of the hallway. He pulls out his wand, muttering something under his breath, and opens it, stepping back to gesture her through.]
[The room beyond is small and plain, carved stone with very little furniture. It's dominated by the window, which is immense and arched, latticed with smaller, diamond-shaped panes. Beyond it is the Lake, and the glen, and the mountains, sitting still and peaceful under the clear, starry sky.]
[Or. Well. Mostly clear sky. There's something odd about the window, and it may take a little while to figure out what it is. All the latticed panes show the same view, the same lake, the same glen. All the stars are in the same position, and if you move so that the moon shifts from one pane to the other, it's the same waxing crescent in all of them.]
[But some of the panes show clouds. Some show fog. In one, there appears to be a fire burning in the distance. In another, there is snow on the mountaintops which doesn't seem to be anywhere else. Move closer, so that the castle below is more readily visible, and it may be apparent that the buildings are also different when viewed through different panes - subtle changes of wear and development.]
[James is grinning ear to ear.]
Pretty cool, right?
oops this turned into my post nano treat instead of a prenano warmup
[ Lily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, the corner of her mouth curving in a lopsided smirk, though, she hoped he wouldn't take that as his cue to start talking about how wonderful he was. They'd be stuck in this hallway until dawn if so, tantalizingly close to the door at the end of it but not reaching it while James Potter delivered a monologue on himself. That she could see it happening all too easily kept her from smiling at him outright, she was far too keen to find out what was waiting at the end of the hallway.
When the door swung open Lily's mind leapt into motion, wheels already turning as she took it all in. She strode past him, arms crossing over her chest while she turned this way and that, examining the simple stonework on her way to the massive window.
It was the fire that caught her attention first, and she squinted, leaning in closer to study the view from that particular pane of glass before she took a step to the side, exploring the sight of the landscaped, but ensconced in fog. ]
What– [ Lily breathed the word under her breath, not bothering to finish the question when there were more parts of the window to look through, and different sights to see when she did. Dropping her arms from around herself she lifted a hand to rest her chin against the backs of her fingers, eyebrows raised in thought. ]
Pretty cool. [ Echoing the turn of phrase he used she turned away from the window to look at James, relenting at last and grinning right back at him. She had been too caught off-guard by being presented with something actually wonderful to bother to quell the urge to do so. He looked awfully proud of himself and while ordinarily, that would annoy her this was quite accurately - pretty cool. ] What do you see when it's daylight?
no subject
Nothing. It blacks out. We think it's triggered by starlight.
There's a shortcut to the Astronomy Tower just a few yards... [He scrunches up his face, mentally pulling up the image of the Map, and then points.] ...that way. Moony thinks this is for research. Shows you all the times in the last nine hundred years that the stars were in this alignment, and you can... I dunno. Compare what they look like, what was going on?
Mostly, it's just fun to mess around with. [And also, to sit and stare at while high. Seriously, this is the best room in the castle to get high in, and Lily should just be glad it doesn't currently stink of weed.]
no subject
[ Was it wise handing Lily Evans something like this to work over? She wanted to pick the window apart and figure out precisely how it worked, and some part of her was kicking herself for leaving her little pencil and notepad behind in her bedroom.
And oh, how she hated the way she didn't exactly hate the way he was looking at her.
Thankfully James was James, and he plowed on ahead, telling her about the corridor to the Astronomy Tower and what Remus thought it might be for. All of these details were filed away for the research she was completely going to do tomorrow. Turning back to the window Lily was leaned in close enough that the tip of her nose was just brushing the pane of glass in front of her face, staring out at the fire burning in the distance. ]
I don't suppose I ought to trust you to pick me up enough so I can look through the panes I can't reach. [ Oh no what an idiot. ]
no subject
[And while there might certainly have been a time when he'd use the opportunity to cop a feel, he's more or less moved past that now. This is seventh year, and he's Head Boy, and while he may still be something of an incorrigible arse, he's no longer enough of one for straight-out sexual assault.]
[(It turns out that the staff's scheme to teach him responsibility by making him Head Boy might actually work, just a little bit)]
[He pushes his glasses up his nose, crossing the room to stand beside her, and cups his hands into a step by way of an offer.]
Here, have a boost.
no subject
[ Her words might have been as brusque and aloof as ever but there was a distinct softness in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Turning to look up at the panes of glass that were out of reach, marveling over the prospect of what she might find when she was finally able to see through them.
When James approached Lily gave him a quick appreciative nod, though the idea of using him as a ladder suddenly struck her as quite awkward. Still, in for a penny in for a pound and she rested her hands on his shoulders, muttering out a quick apology just in case she hurt him when she planted her foot on his laced together fingers and hoisted herself up.
Thankfully she managed to keep from kneeing him, though he was rewarded for his efforts with a face full of her midsection, Lily would worry about that later, as right now she was far too captivated by peering through the upper panes of glass at last. ]
I think it might be the same as the ones below it. The one with the fire certainly is, though this left one is, hm. [ Lily gave a wobble, looking down at James warningly. ] Hold onto me James, I'm not poisonous you know!
no subject
[His voice is a little muffled against her hip, and his glasses are steaming up a little already, both from being pushed up against her and from the effort of holding her still. But there's no real resentment in his tone, and he does the best he can to steady her without getting his hands anywhere they shouldn't be.]
You wanna go left? You can hold onto my hair if you're feeling off-balance, that's what Wormy always winds up doing.
no subject
[ Still, she was smiling while fighting to suppress her laughter. Not wanting to pull his hair, though she very much wanted to go left and peer through all the panes of glass she couldn't reach from here Lily decided the most polite course of action was to hold onto his head. ]
Go left– [ This was ridiculous, she knew it, but she also wanted to look out and see what about the landscape had changed. ]
no subject
[He's laughing now, which is not helpful, because it makes it very difficult not to shake, and he does very much not want to drop her. Stifling it as best he can, he shuffles a few careful steps to the left, trying not to lift his feet off the ground any more than he has to.]
Anything good? I never managed to get up there.
[Always the climbed, never the climber. It's a curse, being the buffest Marauder.]
no subject
[ It was impossible not to laugh as well, especially after she leaned too far to get a look and felt herself slipping, all but slapping the top of his head in her ungainly efforts to regain purchase. ]
There's nothing good! Same as it is below. [ The hand that had clumsily caught his hair fell to his shoulder and she looked down at him as she wobbled slightly. ] I think you can put me down, thank you for helping me ensure I wasn't missing out on any grand mysteries.
no subject
[He winces a little, but only a little, at the tug on his hair. The good thing about hair as thick as his is that it really doesn't hurt all that much when it's pulled - his response is more surprise than pain.]
[Lowering his cupped hands gently, he sets her back down.]
Anyway, if I'd taken him, I wouldn't get to see you actually get excited about something. Let me have this, Evans.
no subject
Alright James. [ Turning those bright green eyes back on him she let her hands stay where they were for the moment, the smile on her face growing just a touch wider. ] Have this. You win.
[ And just before it might have seemed like an invitation she let her hands fall back to her sides, stepping back as a series of second-guesses trapised through her thoughts. Had that been an invitation? ]
no subject
[But either way, he doesn't take the moment. Honestly, can't take it. He's too busy being paralysed by it, staring dumbly at Lily's heartstoppingly beautiful, heartstoppingly real smile through his fogged-up glasses like...]
[Well, not to put too fine a point on it, like a deer in headlights.]
[It's just... she's looking at him the way he's spent seven years wishing she'd look at him, and her hands are warm on his shoulders, and he's getting lost in those emerald eyes, and for a moment, he might have forgotten to breathe. Even after she drops her hands and steps away, it takes him a moment to snap back to reality, and he still looks thoroughly wonderstruck.]
[He clears his throat, and fumbles off his glasses to wipe them on his pyjama bottoms. His usual cockiness seems to have been knocked out of him for the moment.]
[Only a very short moment, though.]
Uh, yeah. I always do.
no subject
Oh, James had looked at her plenty over the years. In amusement, with desire, hell - at least a few times with a bit of both and everything else in between. Most of the time when James looked at Lily it was with the sort of hope someone who's told a joke gives to their audience, believing in it, and wanting their intended audience to be just as in on it as they are.
Lily Evans had spent years tidily stepping around whatever that punchline he wanted to get to was. She didn't want to be in on it, she didn't want to do anything but finish school and explode out into the world beyond Hogwarts.
And truthfully, he'd been such a colossal prat for such a long time he'd made it quite easy for her to focus on building the momentum she needed to do just that.
However, humans are humans, and seventeen-year-old girls are especially human, and it was for that reason alone that Lily's thoughts warmed slightly, enough that she reached out, nudging at his wrist with the tips of her fingers. ]
Come on then Potter, let's find ourselves somewhere to watch the sun come up.
[ She tilted her head at the marvelous window before continuing– ] In this century.
[ Lily took another step back before turnings smoothly on her heel to head back towards the corridor they'd come down. ] Maybe a pot of tea too.
no subject
[It was a full couple of seconds before he snapped back to himself and hurried to catch up with Lily. His smile was bright, spreading ear to ear.]
Sounds good to me. You want to swing by the kitchens?
no subject
[ Then, a beat later– ] Have you already got a spot in mind?
[ Knowing James as she did Lily was almost certain the answer would be yes, and maybe on another night that thought would have made her roll her eyes, deeming it another piece of evidence in the rock-solid case of how much of a menace James Potter was.
Tonight, especially after finding out his incredible taste in windows, she decided to have a little more faith in him than that. ]
no subject
[But also, he was nothing if not a good improviser.]
Yeah. Yeah, I know a place. Stunning view over the glen, you'll love it.
[He offered her a smile, genuine and relaxed.]
The current glen, I promise.
no subject
[ She knew that was far more than she had ever offered before, but it was hard not to ride the momentum of the excellent mood he'd somehow been the cause of.
Lily walked beside him for a moment before she reached out and took his arm again, walking half a step closer to him than she had on the way there. ]
no subject
[He smiled at her, not his usual smirk or grin but something rather softer around the edges, and for a couple of moments, as they walked, he was silent. For once, silence didn't feel like it needed filling. It just felt like more space to soak up the moment.]
...Thanks.
no subject
Oh no, I insist, thank you. [ Lily stepped lightly to the side, gently bumping him as they walked. ]
no subject
[He grinned at her, a little more of his usual cocky, silly attitude coming through.]
Told you I could be good company.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)