ROLEPLAY HQ - insomniac-pact

Triggers: Swearing, Violence, Unhealthy Lifestyles, Paranoia, Mental Health

Hot. Kick the blankets down past your ankles. 15 minutes. Cold again. Pull them back up. Toss. The pillow is too warm. Flip. You've lost track of the time again. Cho was used to this feeling. The way the blankets would pull her further into the depths as the night ebbed and flowed. Lifeless groans escaped her lips but no one ever answered back save for the monotone clock. Sleep and her played an endless game of hide and seek. She'd search under her pillow and find nothing there. Flip it for good cause. Perhaps the cold would lure it to her. It hardly did. Clench her eyes closed and slow her breathing like WikiHow told her. WikiHow lied. Adrenaline is a scary thing. 3 AM but she could run a half marathon this very second if she wanted to. She didn't want to. Instead, she allowed her feet to drag her back and forth, crashing upon the wrinkled clothing she had earlier sprawled along the floor. "Fucking hell..." She mutters in frustration as she tears off the shirt that clings to her skin. Suffocating. She glares at it in anger, balling it up in her fist and throwing it to find it's new home on her bedframe. She could feel it snarling back at her, it's periwinkle blue fabric practically sticking it's tongue out at her. Sneering, she lifts her finger up towards it, allowing it one last glimpse before she turns and shoves her way out of the room. "And fuck you too." She mutters as if it can hear her, her fingers finding her way through her hair once more. "Fuck." Once more. It's not the only word in her vocabulary but at the moment it was the only thing coming to mind. Sometimes during these nights she felt her mind running rampant. As if it were lost in some sort of maze, tangled strings of thought having lost their way through the labyrinth that was her mind. She was fairly sure it had lost sense of the turn left rule and long past tangled within it's own depths. Her fingers would comb through her hair restlessly as if they would untangle the thought

2:15 AM

s from outside of her skull. They couldn't. Kneading anxiously at her own skin didn't help either. Sleep continued to evade. With a deep breath she pushes off of her foot and finds her way to the bathroom, gasping out in pain as the doorframe nips at her toes and leaves them stinging. "Fuck--!" Once more. It's a sort of insanity, isn't it? The mirror stares back at her in disgust. Her gaze remains locked with it as her shaking hands reach for her foot. "Shut it..." She whimpers in pain, gasping as she tears her sock off to reveal a bloody toenail. Tears begin to well in her eyes. "Fuck this....Fuck it..." She mutters as she lowers her body towards the floor, shaky heavy breaths pushing through her lips. She was tired. Judgement oozes from the cracks on the mirrors that she created four endless nights ago in a fit of frustration. She apologized but she was sure the mirror hadn't forgiven her. Neither had her fist. Scabs still danced along her knuckles in fits of fury. She was sure this was insanity. There wasn't any other word for it. She was sure of that.

2:16 AM

Dragging her knees to her chest, she feels every bone in her body protest. She was sure that they hate her. They beg for rest but she continuously refused them such. A silent apology was all she could offer them. Frustration tangles in her throat as the tears tear their way down her cheeks, hands shaking as she lets out a low pained cry. "What is wrong with me...?" She shivers, letting her forehead meet her knees, shaking convulsions shivering up her spine as she allowed the pained cries to escape her. "I--god damn it-- why--" She cried out, shaking her head as she rubbed at the bags under her eyes. She was sure they were permanent at this point. They had been seared into her skin and sunken deeper than most. She was hollow. She swallowed tiredly and glared up at him and let out a whimper, "What's wrong with me?" She muttered, "W-Why do you watch over me?" Her voice quivered as she spoke, shaking anxiously as if she was teetering on the very edge of insanity. "P-please... if you are some sort of God... please help me. I--I can't do this any longer." @ansandwic

“So what happens when a person is denied sleep?” That was the question that landed Almos here, in this gloomy bedroom, watching a messy-haired, wrinkly-clothed girl toss around her bed like a fish out of water. He asked this question to his superior, Endri, who seemed to light up at the thought. Almos was dragged into the mortal’s dimension as Endri spoke about this “cult”-- infamous in the sandman company, but really more of a legend than anything. The story centered around the mortals who discovered the truth of dreaming, and landed them to be cursed for all eternity by the bosses. Well, that was above his pay grade, anyways. “This is a really interesting case of the curse,” Endri danced through the city skies, nearly dancing on the drips of golden sand that sprouted from the bottoms of his feet. The sparkle of the city skylines made it seem as if he was dancing on stars themselves as he pushed his way through the walls of the bedroom, Almos following promptly behind. Endri spins around as Almos enters, adding, “Apparently, she’s a direct descendant of the Children of Sleep’s leader!” “That’s a fairytale, Endri. Nothing more.” Almos tucks his hands into the pockets of his pants, side stepping away from Endri before stalking towards the girl. Sweat stuck her hair onto her forehead, causing her face to glisten in the dim moonlight. Almos sneered.

4:19 PM

“Go on, then!” Endri waved his hands, nudging them towards the girl. “Try to get her to sleep and see for yourself.” Almos felt the irritation bubble from his stomach into his chest, regretting having the question even slip through his lips– no, even thinking the thought to begin with. Clearly, all that happens when a person lacks sleep is a sweaty forehead and the smell of dirty laundry. But Endri wasn’t going to let this go because he never does. So, Almos touches his palms together, the warmth of the sand growing in his palms. As he does so, he calmly inches closer to the disheveled girl until he is standing immediately over her. He lets the smooth sand spill out of the sides of his palms as he circles his hands together. Finally, he opens his palms, revealing a pile of glowing, golden dust. With his index and thumb, he pinches the sand and dusts it lightly over the girl, letting it settle and sink into her skin. “There.” He says, looking back towards Endri with a look that screams ‘I told you so’. Endri puts on his shit eating grin, and before Almos could question it, a small voice could be heard.

4:19 PM

“Fuck.” Almos jumps into a small hover as the girl spoke, shocked. He rarely heard mortals speak, and even less so in clear, distinct voices. Most of the human interactions he has are through mumbled speech or hardy snores. In fact, most of the time he forgets they can speak at all. The second thing he noticed were her eyes: light, with fluffy eyelashes, and open. Another rare sight. Endri and Almos follow as she moves into her bathroom, watching as she stubs her toe and starts to bleed. It was as if a dead person was up and walking to them: no wonder people see her as a legend. To Almos, the world is full of quiet, closed-eyed and half-dead mortals, but she was alive and… well, to answer his earlier question, not doing too well. Interesting. He moves in front of her as she starts to cry, watching the bulbous tears stream down her face as she begs Gods for mercy. He lets out a guttural laugh– an actual, genuine laugh. His eyes meet hers as she looks for an answer. If only she had met a god who could answer her question. Instead, she answered his: that humans really are pitiful creatures. @꒰ shae ꒱ ༉‧₊˚.

Laughter. It wasn't the first time she had heard laughter. After all, they spent their nights laughing at her, chiding her further into insanity. Further into the depths of despair that she felt growing deeper and deeper by the minute. She was sure she looked pitiful. She could see it in his eyes. The way he looked at her. They looked at her with the same eyes. She had seen it in the mirror's empty gaze and heard it in the door hinge's giggles. They thought she was pitiful. Some were amused by it. Others looked down upon her. Based upon his expression, she feared this one felt both. "I know..." Her words came soft, so quiet it was almost too quiet to call it a whisper. "I must look quite a fool." She smiled weakly, running her fingers along her cheeks tiredly. "Perhaps I am." She answered with a sigh, her eyes tired and longing for rest. She looked as if all energy was sapped from her, the earlier burst of energy released through her pacing. Her fingertips tugged at her skin gently, running up against her eyelids as she closed them. "You agree, do you not?" Her eyes opened once more, peeking through her fingertips before guiding her gaze back up towards him. She was pretty. Delicate in appearance. The girl that looked up at him was petite, no more than 5'2 in height and with her knees pulled to her chest she somehow seemed even smaller. With light fluffy black hair that fell to frame her thin face and silvery blue eyes that almost seemed devoid of color all together, she looked as if she were a painted porcelain doll. Her arms were thin as were her thighs and her fingers were that of a musician, long and dexterous. She looked as if she could be broken easily, her skin so pale it looked as a mere grasp would leave a mark and her body so frail that it appeared as she would crumble upon impact. Her smile said as much. The glassiness in her eyes revealed weakness, tears still threatening to fall despite the fact that she seemingly had calmed herself. Exhaust

4:52 AM

ion nipped at her bones, it sent chills climbing up her spine and left her shuddering. Yet she still wore that tired listless smile that she had pulled along her lips not more than a minute ago. "Why are you here?" She questioned softly, looking up towards the young man, her eyes seeming to shimmer in the dim lighting of her apartment. "I suppose to laugh at me..." She let out a soft chuckle and pulled herself to her feet, her legs seeming weak as she forced herself up. Her gaze shifted towards the mirror tiredly, a soft sigh escaping her chapped lips. She looked disheveled. She could see as much. As could he. But it was the middle of the night so she was sure he couldn't blame her. Not tonight. @ansandwic

Her soft spoken words were almost too quiet to discern, at first. At first, he looked up at his coworker with a cocked eyebrow and a concerned smile. At first, he pointed down to her as if to say, “did I hear that right?” Endri said everything he needed to know with the look he gave. Terror. Pure terror. This human can see him. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he moved his head back towards the ground, watching the girl speak about her foolish behavior. She looked relaxed: as if this has happened a thousand times, like running into a neighbor on the street. Her eyes, devoid of color and light, looked as if they were sleeping. Maybe his dreamsand worked on her, and is just taking a bit to kick in. Maybe she was sleepwalking. Either way, this was not a problem for Almos to handle. Like he said before, above his paygrade. But something was keeping him locked in this stare with this small, pitiful girl; he was trapped. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. If this was going to work, if he could talk to this human, then what in the world could he say? What should he say? He decided to answer her question, for a start. “I’m here to put you to sleep.” Endri immediately started to freak out, mouthing “why would you say that?” and squirming behind her. Almos didn’t even glance up, instead remaining in the eye contact contest he seems to find himself in. Who will blink first? He was making his next steps in his mind as he ran through his options. If he could talk to mortals, he’d have to report it to his superiors. But then, what would happen to him? His job? And what of this girl? There were questions circling his mind a million miles a minute. His face, however, was completely stoic: a look of mild distaste was all anyone could discern. A closer glance, however, revealed a slight pinch of his forehead from his eyebrows crossing. As he continued his thought process the reality of the situation became clear: if she can see him, it was all over.

9:11 AM

@꒰ shae ꒱ ༉‧₊˚.

"I'm here to put you to sleep." Those weren't the words that Cho had expected to hear. After all, none had been able to put her to sleep before. After all, it wasn't the first that she had seen one of their kind. The first few times she ignored them for the fear that they were ghosts. She had watched a show once that told her to never make eye contact with a ghost. She didn't want to be possessed or haunted. Instead she ignored their existence, idly passing the hours of the night in silence. Yet when she researched her apartment building she had found that not a singular soul had ever died in the building before. Could a place that was only built 5 years ago truly be haunted? Cho questioned it. That was when she had heard them talking. It was the first time that she had been visited by more than one of the spirits. Something about a curse. About denying someone sleep. At first she had ignored their conversation, pretended she couldn't hear them. After all, she had a feeling they would cease their conversation should she make it clear that she could hear them. Instead she would bide her time, have patience. Patience had run thin. After all, patience was a hard thing to come by when you hadn't slept a wink in days. Occasionally she would drift off, though it was always that shallow dreamless sleep that left her feeling entirely unrested. It had been at least four days since she had managed that though. The bags under her eyes were making that clear. Her body was making it clear to her that she couldn't keep this up for much longer. She truly would begin to deteriorate. That was why her eyebrows perked when the man claimed that he was here to put her to sleep. The tired girl looked him in the eyes curiously as he stared back at her as if they were having a staring contest. She most certainly blinked first. Her eyes were dry. She had been putting drops in them daily to try and hide her exhaustion from those around her whom she knew would worry. Her boss, her c

1:03 PM

oworkers, mother, so forth. People she was sure would question her well being if they knew the extent of her insomnia. Try melatonin. That's what they would urge her to do. She had grown addicted to the stuff a few years back when she found it the only consistent way to sleep. Yet after a while, even that became inconsistent and the more she took it, the more her body began to rely on it. It had gotten so bad that she had began to rely upon drugs. Have you tried smoking weed? It always puts me to sleep. People always offered their ideas. Nothing had worked. "You can do that?" Her voice came soft once more, as if she didn't have the energy to truly raise it any higher. She lifted her gaze slightly, yet her eyes remained locked on his, refusing to drop the connection. "I thought I was cursed." She added softly, her gaze shifting towards the other sandman, pale eyes locking with Endri's for but a second before tiredly lulling back towards Almos. "That's what you said earlier..." She muttered under her breath, clearly aware that they may lie to her. "Something about...uhm..." She paused, eyebrows furrowing as she attempted to remember something. Her hand lifted towards her head and began to rub the crease in her brow in exhaustion, eyes closing as she struggled to keep her memory focused. "Oh right...the children of sleep." She whispered, raising her voice to be more audible as she recalled the name. "What is that anyway?"

1:03 PM

@ansandwic

(( Hi there!

@꒰ shae ꒱ ༉‧₊˚. @ansandwic , We noticed this roleplay has been inactive for 30 days or more. Please reply to this message so I am pinged if you would like to keep this roleplay open. In addition, roleplay must begin within 7 days, otherwise this channel will be moved to our archives. All archived roleplays are eventually uploaded onto http://rphq.me/ and can be viewed there. If you wish to archive this roleplay yourself, you can request this with the /archiverequest command in #channel-request ))