WEEK 6

[lockdownmods]

[Week six comes like an ominous wave. If anything, the wall is more threatening that it's ever been. That sign from last week? Looks aged-- like it's far more than just a week old. But more than that, it feels like something is waiting to snap this week. What could possibly go wrong, after last week?

Said no one ever, at this point.

But still, if you look around this week, you might find out something. It's like someone has started leaving clues in places old and new. Take a look around.]

LOCATIONS | PROFILES | HAN OFFICE HOURS | MEGUMI OFFICE HOURS

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

Comments

[sendintheclown]

[Gogol gives Poe enough time to finish talking before he can no longer contain his laughter, or maintain that frown.]

Aha! What a cruel joke!

[He gives the penguin a tight hug, grinning at Poe.]

I love it!

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

Oh.

[Poe stops mid-panicking and just... looks so relieved. A small smile that soon threatens to turn into a grin forms on his face.]

I'm... extremely glad you liked it then. I... um... spent most of the latter half of today earning enough tickets for it. I'm... not very good at arcade games.

[Gogol probably would have gotten a kick out of seeing him fail so badly at most of the games in there. ]

[sendintheclown]

[Of course, he laughs at how long it took Poe to get the tickets. God, he wishes he had been there.]

You really did all that for me?

[He gives the plush a tighter squeeze. It's a shame there isn't a squeaker inside.]

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

I did.

[It was terrible... but worth it to see Gogol's reaction.]

The only game I was even remotely good at was the one where you throw balls at clowns and try and knock as many down as possible.... um... Down The Clown I think it was called?

[He rubs a sore spot on his arm.]

.... I don't think I was supposed to throw the balls very hard though... or aim badly enough to cause them to bounce back and hit me....

[And that was the game he considered himself sort of good at.]

Really... you would have been better at all the games than I was... but I... um... I wanted it to be a surprise.

[sendintheclown]

That must've been very cathartic for you.

[There can be no other reason why Poe managed to be good at that particular game. He chuckles into the penguin as he imagines the scene of the balls backfiring right back to him.]

I didn't think you were one for surprises, Detective.

[Usually they scare you.]

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

It was.

[He might try and play that game again sometime...]

I'm not... but I thought that you would.

[Besides... he's not on the receiving end of the surprise, so that's better.]

[sendintheclown]

[The reality of the situation is only just sinking in for Gogol. This was something Poe has done completely for him, just to make him happy.

Gogol moves towards the door, nudging Poe off of it enough for him to unlock it.]

So what favor are you asking me for in exchange?

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

Nothing.

[Poe moves to the side obediently.]

It was a gift. You liking it and being happy about it... that's all I wanted out of it.

[Friends give friends birthday gifts. Also he felt bad about upsetting Gogol after Rebecca's death.... and he likes seeing Gogol genuinely happy over things that aren't murder.]

[sendintheclown]

Really?

[Giving a shit about Gogol? That's fucked up.]

Ha! [He pushes open the door, wide enough to let Poe in too if he wanted.] You should've asked for another favor!

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

[It's Poe. He's always been fucked up to one degree or another.]

It's a birthday gift... you don't just ask for favors when giving one.

[He'll be entering the room right behind Gogol then. He can't say he's not curious about the state it's in after all the weeks they've been trapped here.]

[sendintheclown]

Does it really count as a birthday gift if it was months ago?

[Gogol's room is...still a mess. There's some frog-shaped string lights hung up, and most of his collected garbage has been banished under the bed. Only on the desk are the smaller more delicate objects; a syringe, the poison bottle, some stationary sets, and the flower crown.]

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

[Poe's the sort of person to overthink birthday gifts usually and accidentally spend so long planning that by the time he's read it's been three months. This is better than he usually is.]

It's an extremely late one... there's no rules against that.

[He looks around the room with clear interest... although he wrinkles his nose at the frog shaped string lights. He's never going to be able to look at frogs the same way again. He's... a tiny bit worried about the syringe and the poison bottle... but he doesn't say anything. It's better than knives....]

[sendintheclown]

[Gogol closes the door behind them, and sets himself down on the bed with the penguin, still hugging onto it. He hums and kicks his legs, and looks over to Poe with a grin.]

But you said it was an apology gift too, right?

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

I did.

[Poe hesitates slightly... but sits down next to him on the bed as well. It's... more or less the same position as they were in after Rebecca this way.]

... I... um... felt bad about upsetting you during the conversation we had after Rebecca...ah... passed.

[The theory about what the administration could do with the dead... and... essentially verbally dissecting him during the game.]

[sendintheclown]

[Gogol gives the plush a squeeze.]

Unbelievable, caring about a thing like that.

[He rests his head on the plush's.]

What are we going to do with you, Detective?

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

Yes... caring about upsetting a friend. Truly... it's preposterous.

[It's sarcastic, but it's in more of a joking tone of voice than anything else.]

Nothing. I'd... um.. like to think you can't get rid of me at this point.

[sendintheclown]

[Gogol makes a little jabbing motion towards Poe's stomach.]

I could always kill you.

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

Cute.

[Poe doesn't look threatened in the slightest. He looks more amused than anything.]

You're not going to kill me here... and I don't plan on interfering with your plans at home. You have no reason to kill me.

[He pauses and tilts his head to the side.]

Well... unless Dostoevsky orders you to... but I see no reason for him to do so.

[sendintheclown]

[Gogol smiles knowingly to himself. There's a missing option, but he won't say it.]

I don't think Dos-kun would, either. I guess I'm stuck with you.

[He doesn't sound hung up on it, though.]

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

You don't sound upset about that outcome.

[Poe... can't see he could have ever saw this outcome coming at the beginning of this... but he thinks he's happy with it.]

[sendintheclown]

[It's still something that weighs on his guilt, but, there's something in it that's started to be easier to ignore.]

I've simply come to accept it.

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

Mhm.... We've become quite the pair, haven't we?

[He gestures between them.]

I... don't think either of us could have predicted this at the beginning.

[sendintheclown]

[He laughs.]

It's quite a twist, isn't it?

[blackcatintheruemorgue]

It's the sort of thing you'd expect to find more in fiction than in real life.

[But.... here they are.]

[sendintheclown]

Maybe we're just in one of your books and neither of us know it!

[If so: where's all the gothic aesthetics, Poe??]