#i also thought it'd be maybe a good idea to start linking sets of memes together like that

[standfortheangels]

Morning and nightly rituals: you and raph!

Send one for the Mun and Muse to have a conversation comparing...

(Okay, so again I'm going to be doing this like self-insert style. I'm this one veering slightly further from my reality bc there aren't many opportunities someone as quiet as me would wind up talking to Raph. Also the way I led the first one off from the explanation meant I wound up doing it in first person, so I've done the same here for consistency's sake)

- - -

"UghhhhhHH we're still not cleared??"

"You think it was even smoke?"

"It's okay, sweetie, we'll be back inside soon."

"What is Taking so long?"

"If this is a prank and we've been stood out in the cold over it I'm going to be so mad. I swear, I will Kill whoever did this if this is a prank."

I glance over my shoulder looking for the source of that last voice.

"Not with those arms."

It's the man standing to my left I look at next. He, like me now, turns back to face front, an expression somewhere between tired and... smug? Difficult to say for sure out here; The street lights were terrible in this part of town. I glance back- it had been an odd thing to hear the man mumble to himself, but he was right. That girl's arms were practically noodles- and not the thick egg noodles. Although, this was America, so...

"Maybe she has a gun." I reply, not really thinking, and his gaze turns to me. God this man has the icy stare down pat. "Just saying..." I add with much less confidence. I don't look directly at him until I see his head turn back again.

He had on the most wrinkled, scruffy grey shirt on, sweatpants, and bare feet. 'Jesus his feet must be cold' I thought to myself. I mean, I could judge my own sleepwear- my pyjama bottoms have pineapples all over them for god's sake. But at least I managed to throw my warm little boot-slippers on. And not... What he apparently took the time to carry out under his arm.

"Why do you have a pillow?" I ask, perhaps unwisely. This time, he doesn't even look at me. Just gruffly replies, "for sleeping."

"Out here, I mean. Why did you bring it outside?"

"I don't have to answer to you." Now I get an even sharper stare from him. This guy is kind of intense.

"Okay," I sort of squeal out. Gotta pull my voice back down. "Little defensive over a question.. We all do slightly odd things when we're half asleep, I guess."

He sort of gives off this, half-groan, half-sigh and says, "I wasn't."

"What?"

"There's awake, and there's asleep. There's no such thing as half."

"Oh I beg to differ." I turn away a little, eyes off anywhere but him, but keep talking anyways. "I wind up there all the time. Like, when I first wake up in the mornings- I keep notes, so if I wake up at like, 4am, I want to write that down, and I try. But then when I wake up for real- I remember what I wrote, but I look at it and it's just gibberish. It's like, I gave my hand the right instructions, it couldn't do it, and my brain believes it when it goes 'yeah we So wrote that thing, don't even worry about it!'" .... "'cus I was half asleep still."

There's a second or so of silence, then, the man speaks. A little quieter than before. "Why do you write down when you wake up?" Aha! There's something other than contempt on his face now- confusion! A chink in the armour! I fight the urge to smile a little and instead focus on his question.

"I have this..." ah shit, I hate explaining all this crap to strangers. How do I do this... "It started as a pacing thing when I got sick a few years back. You're s'posed to write down everything you do, then figure out how much energy it all took so you can kinda plan your day out better, space out the high-demand activities. And it became a habit. I write down everything I do. Like-" I pull out my phone from the pocket of my fluffy, hooded dressing-gown, and point the screen at him. "See?" and bring it back so I can see it again. "Right now it says 'standing in the cold because the fire alarm went off, why does it connect to the whole building, I want to sleep.'" I hear a tiny sound that might have meant amusement.. or a sniff. "But before that I've noted when I started and stopped watching YouTube, what time I went to bed, then when I started and stopped playing a game... And now, this."

"In that order?" Good, he still looks confused.

"Yeah. I can't sleep right away, unless I'm like, really Really Reeaally tired. So I just, write messages or, put a little phone game on like, bitlife or something, or I get my switch out. And then, once I'm starting to fall asleep, I put it away, lay down and, I'm off."

"So the whole, screens before bed thing..."

"Utter crap." I respond. Then, backtrack. "I mean, it's probably good advice for most people, but, I find it way easier to fall asleep if I have something like that to do."

"I knew it." The man sort of half mumbles, half whispers, and then, "HEAR THAT?" He yells off to the side. "YOUR SLEEP GUIDES ARE CRAP, JAKE!" I stand there, eyes wide (at least, for me), sort of slightly leaning away from him. Oops. What have I gotten myself in the middle of? "That's my roommate. He's An Ass." he says slightly louder, but thankfully not yelling again. "I haven't been great sleep-wise, so this ass decides to Creep into my room, and steal the lightbulb from my lamp, because ApPaReNtLy it's bad for me to have a light on or to Read in bed. It doesn't make a damned difference, but now, I've gotta go buy a lightbulb tomorrow."

"Ah." It goes quiet again.. there's a lot there I could reply to. "He Does sound like an arse." I settle on. "Even if it IS bad for you, he shouldn't be taking your stuff."

"Thank you!!" He shouts again, leaning around behind me a little. "SHE gets it, Jake! Quit taking my crap!"

"I have a Child here you know" a woman somewhere behind us pipes up, prompting a "Great, you can butt out together." from the grouchy man. This time, I can't not snigger, though I try to stifle any sound. True, swearing in front of kids probably isn't really 'okay'.. but that was funny. Thank god she can't see my face.

"Sounds like you need a lock on the door." I continue casually.

"Eh.. Locks mean keys, and keys mean one more thing I gotta do before I can sleep or get to work."

"Well, yeah, but it would keep him out."

"Nah. It's hard enough to drag myself from one to the other as it is. And coffee does Not help, I don't care what anyone says. That crap is not a good start. Getting to cook a little breakfast, maybe."

I chuckle a little. The idea that Doing Things would make a morning start easier is an alien one to me, but mostly, the way he talks about coffee is amusing. That little crinkle in his nose as if he can smell it right now.

"Besides", he continues, "Every time he takes something outta my room, I get to take somethin from his." With something that looks like glee in his eyes, the man lifts the pillow under his arm just enough for me to see, and briefly raises his eyebrows. No, no way. I lean forward slightly, raising my own brows and getting a little smug smile in return. "Well. I think he's going to notice that at least~"

"That's the plan."

The people at the edge of our little crowd begin to shift, and the rest try to peek around. "It's okay, all clear!"

"False alarm, folks!"

"Oh thank god." I breathe a sigh of relief. "I need to be asleep so bad right now." As we too start taking steps back toward the lobby, and finally into the warm, I look up at the man beside me. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope your roommate learns his lesson this time~"

He gets one foot on the stairs inside and shrugs. "That'd be a first." He heads up the stairs, and as he and the stolen pillow turn the corner, I smile to myself and roll my eyes, reaching for the key in my pocket.

There were some interesting people living here.

- - -

Mike's Vs Mun's Hobbies