The mind's take on locked-in syndrome

[have_your_lives]

[It wasn't as though Schuldig expected anything good for Christmas. For one, it's Mayfield; anyone with the barest flicker of intelligence (which would be to say, Ken) could recognize the town's pattern for making life miserable. For another, even if the real Santa had come to visit the town, 'naughty' isn't even near a strong enough word for him. And, finally, he's had years of miserable Christmases, often where the holiday went completely unacknowledged because he was in places that couldn't care less about holidays; experience alone has taught him not to expect differently.

But Mayfield deserves credit where credit is due - this is, without a doubt, the most horrible Christmas in his entire life.

Even before he'd reached the end of his Christmas letter, he'd known he was in trouble. But he hadn't realized just how badly until he reached the last word, and all sound stopped.

All sound.

His ears echo with the silence; telepathically, his mind rings with the emptiness. Every connection he has to the rest of the world has been severed, so abruptly that he has no chance to adjust, no chance to anticipate or cope. It was bad enough when he was restricted to hearing with just his ears when he first arrived in Mayfield, but now he is utterly, completely alone with himself.

And when he tries to scream, he can't make a sound; not that he could hear it either way. He exchanged his voice for the telepathy that's now been ripped away from him.

He can't actually hear the bomb that's ticking away in his stomach, but in his current state, he'd actually consider death a relief. Others may be able to pick up on it, of course...

Housemates can find a shell-shocked Schuldig downstairs by his letter; otherwise, he'll probably be making his way to Nagi's house. Obviously, he's got no other way to communicate with his teammate now. Anyone trying to talk to him will have a very hard time communicating, since he can't hear you and he can't talk back, but you're welcome to try...also, he has his gun in his hand. Surprising him might not be the wisest course.]

Comments

[rulethegame.livejournal.com]

[Yeah, he wasn't stupid enough to open his present without first seeing what happened to the other people who'd gotten one as well, and although he's admittedly a little curious as to what he wound up getting, he's sure as hell not opening it now. So it's a completely unaffected Joshua that's wandering around the streets, observing with casual detachment the chaos going on before bumping into Schuldig.

One look at the guy's face tells him all he needs to know.]

I'm guessing you made Santa's naughty list, hee hee. [He tilts his head.] What's that sound . . .?

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Schuldig gives Joshua a blank, rather miserable look; he's not all that good at reading lips, since he's always had plenty of other ways of reading people, so he's got no idea what the boy just said to him. He reaches up to tap an ear, however, in order to indicate that he can't hear.]

[rulethegame.livejournal.com]

[His eyes widen slightly.]

Ah. Took your hearing, did they? What did you ask for, I wonder?

[Well, the fact that Schuldig hasn't tried to talk to him via other means answers his next question. He pats his pockets absently, wishing he had his cellphone on him, before making a gesture that clearly says wait here and ducking into the nearest open house. Privacy, what privacy, that's for little people.]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Schuldig actually follows him for a few steps before stopping and waiting, not entirely patiently. The isolation being imposed on him is bad enough that he's desperate for company, any company. It's both a reassurance and, more importantly, a distraction.]

[rulethegame.livejournal.com]

[He makes an amused sound at Schuldig following him, not that the guy can hear it, and emerges with a notepad and a pen, scribbling something down before passing it to him.]

Other than taking your telepathy and your hearing, did they do anything else to you?

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[This much Schuldig can answer with just a shrug. There's nothing else he's noticed, anyway...though if you're quiet enough, Joshua, you can hear the ticking.]

[rulethegame.livejournal.com]

[He can, actually, and it prompts his next question.]

What, exactly, did you ask for? There's a ticking sound coming from your body.

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Schuldig pauses briefly, then borrows the pen and scribbles a list on the page.]

Guns
My voice
Quiet
Explosives

[He glances up at Joshua, then underlines 'quiet'. And then he circles 'explosives', and adds a question mark after it.]

[doesntpoop.livejournal.com]

[Spots you when you're on your way to Nagi. What's the gun for...?]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Partially for self-defense; Schuldig is incredibly vulnerable without his telepathy, his hearing, or even the ability to call for help, and he's well aware of it. And he's certainly got no shortage of enemies. But more than that...? He'll probably wind up killing himself soon, being unaware that there's a bomb that could take care of it for him and willing to take the risk that it might return him to normal.

He may glance at Dahlia briefly, but as he can't communicate, he doesn't make much effort to acknowledge her.]

[doesntpoop.livejournal.com]

[Oh, he looks upset. Hmmm....what for?]

[bittermayfly.livejournal.com]

[Nagi's at home, of course, his own letter from Santa nearby for Schuldig to read. Even with no speech, he can probably pick up on his teammate's body language and the like.]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Schuldig lets himself in without knocking - Ken will probably kill him if he finds Schuldig wandering around his house, but that really wouldn't bother the telepath much at this point - and prowls around until he spots Nagi.

If Nagi is reading body language, then Schuldig's is visibly, vastly altered from its usual. Whereas normally Schuldig's movements are self-assured in a languid way, he's twitchy now, almost shaking at times, clearly in a state of high inner turmoil. The gun's presence is hardly reassuring in light of that.]

[bittermayfly.livejournal.com]

[Nagi's wary of what the letter means, but he hasn't found out the effects yet. Seeing Schuldig so upset makes his eyes get huge and he blinks several times. That gun's really not helpful.]

What's going on?

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Schuldig can't hear, but he can certainly guess the nature of Nagi's inquiry. He taps his ear, again giving a fairly universal "can't hear" sign.]

[bittermayfly.livejournal.com]

[Wait...Schuldig's deaf and there's no attempt at telekinetic conversation? Nagi quickly realizes what must have happened, though he doesn't know what Schuldig requested for this to happen. He grabs a pen and paper, deciding to write in German so they still have privacy if anyone sees this later.]

Santa's not very nice here.

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Schuldig gives Nagi a rather flat look and plucks the pen from his fingers to write in big block letters, also in German. He also underlines it.]

UNDERSTATEMENT.

[This close, with this uncharacteristic quiet from Schuldig, Nagi may be able to hear the ticking.]

[bittermayfly.livejournal.com]

[He'll just grab another pen for himself, glad there's plenty of paper here. Nagi sorta notices the ticking and sticks his tongue out in thought for a moment.]

You sound like a clock right now. Any ideas why?

[sting-like-a.livejournal.com]

[Hey, Schuldig, there's a dragon horse (http://imgur.com/FeeOJ.png) hanging out in front of Nagi's house, and she's not happy to see you.]

Grunk! [If he could hear her, it would be pretty obvious that she is not happy to see him... but the way she's snarling should be a helpful indicator of that, too.]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Schuldig stops dead when he sees the creature, staring at it for a few moments. He can't hear the snarl, but he can certainly see it and put two and two together. He waves the gun at her in what is no doubt meant to be a warning, but the gesture is almost an afterthought, as though he doesn't really care one way or the other if she attacks him. Which is more or less the case.

Miakis' hearing is probably enhanced as an animal; she may be able to hear the ticking in Schuldig's stomach already.]

[sting-like-a.livejournal.com]

[Miakis takes a step back at the sight of the gun, but she still looks like she's ready to attack at a moment's notice. But dragon horses, indeed, have excellent hearing, and the ticking sound coming from his belly gives her pause.

She tilts her head at him, blinking.] Griiiink...? [Did Santa do something weird to him, too?]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[He can sense the shift in the creature's demeanor, even if he can't hear the audible cues. Whether that decides him or Schuldig just doesn't care, he makes a vague, irritated gesture with the gun hand - it rather clearly expresses the sentiment of 'fuck this' - and moves to go past Miakis, toward the door of the house. He needs to see Nagi.]

[sting-like-a.livejournal.com]

[Miakis possesses a temperament very similar to that of a dragon horse, most especially in her desire to protect her loved ones. So when Schuldig makes for the door, she views it as a threat and follows after him, grabbing onto his shirt with her teeth. She's not letting him go anywhere near Ken, especially not today.]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Since he can't hear her movement, the yank on his coat comes without warning, and he reacts on instinct by whirling on her with gun at the ready. He doesn't fire yet, but he may yet if she doesn't let go.]

[sting-like-a.livejournal.com]

[Miakis does let go, but only so she can try and bite his gun hand. If he doesn't dodge, it'll be enough to draw blood and cause a fair amount of pain, but that's about it. It's meant to serve as a warning: don't fuck with her humans. :| ]