video | UN: deku | CW: Sleeper Membrane detailed on the canon update page

[wannasmash]

[ The plain young man with freckles is frowning sheepishly, shoulders raised. Today he's freshly showered and wearing one of his usual boring shirts. ]

Um... First-time renter, here... Something happened, and now some furniture the owner lent to me is damaged from... slime. A lot of it. It's gross.

[ Midoriya looks much the same, healthy even. Someone who has recently seen him might notice more freckles on his skin, like he got some spring sun. His hair needs a trim again, even though he just got one last month.

He moves out of view to reveal a plain wooden bedframe. On it is a lost cause, a mattress that looks like it's been slimed on a 90's game show. Bits of the Sleeper Membrane are already drying into peels. In it are... dozens of tiny eyelids? ]

I'll have to replace it, but... Do you think I'll get kicked out?

Comments

video; un: LSKennedy

[makingthetime]

[Leon just kind of blinks at the feed, because. Ah. Yeah, that's. Hm. Not great, Leon is a little worried about what this means for the kid because the last time he saw any membrane like that, people died.]

If you explain what happened I'm sure you'll probably be fine. In my experience I had to pay off the damage and I lost my security deposit, but that was back in my world. Could be different here.

And if not there's probably more than one Sleeper willing to take you in for a while.

[wannasmash]

Yeah... that's pretty normal in my world too. Uh, paying for damages, not... this.

[ He sidles back into frame, dividing his attention between the screen and the disaster. His voice jumps nervously around a few octaves before settling somewhere in a normal speaking range. ]

I just feel really bad! This is my first time renting and I've done my best not to be a pain. I don't want to cause trouble for my friends either.

[makingthetime]

You know, where I'm from, a cocoon like that would be very bad news. You feeling okay there?

[He's pretty sure the kid isn't going to mutate into a gruesome, murderous monster, but he has to check first, in as subtle a manner as he can manage.]

You won't know unless you actually talk to your landlord, I suppose. Who knows, maybe they'll go easy on you.

[wannasmash]

[ Midoriya doesn't have much to go on when it comes to this, so this person being familiar with something like it is a lifeline. Unfortunately, that lifeline might spell his doom. ]

Uh... What kind of bad news...?

[ So much for keeping his voice steady. His polite smile has no effect whatsoever in hiding his uneasiness. He breaks into a sweat. ]

[makingthetime]

[Welp, so much for subtlety. Leon sighs, weighing the choice of terrifying this poor kid against warning him about a possible danger.]

Keep in mind that this is from my own personal experience in my world, and it might not translate. [He drums his fingers against the tabletop.] Where I'm from, a cocoon like that would mean that the person coming out of it would be mutated into a mindless monster.

private

[wannasmash]

[ He's seen monster movies, but that's not what drops his uneasy smile and makes his eyes bore into the screen as he runs scenarios through his head. Beasthood is a very real threat in this world. He lives in a multiplex near the heart of the city.

The safety of others is his primary concern.

To avoid a panic, he switches to private. ]

How mindless? Does it happen right away?

[ His voice is suddenly clipped, exact, and efficient. ]

private

[makingthetime]

[On the one hand, good, the kid knows the risks and doesn't want to hurt anyone. On the other hand, Jesus Christ, he's just a kid. Still, he asked, so.]

In most cases, yeah, right away. In others, it took some time before their minds went even while they were mutating, but those cases were stubborn. [One case, really. Fucking Simmons did not know how to stay down.] But they got injected with a strain of something called the C-Virus beforehand. Did anyone inject you with anything before you went into that cocoon, or...?

Re: private

[wannasmash]

[ He can feel himself breaking into a sweat, and his heart pounds, but that's normal. He leaves the frame to grab a hoodie jacket with the practice of someone who has to get ready on short notice a lot. ]

No, not that I know of.

[ If someone did try to kill him, well, it wouldn't be the first time. He says uncertainly, ]

I feel fine... If it's medically related, then I'll contact a Blood Minister and see if they know anything about this.

[makingthetime]

[kindly:] Listen, like I said, this is from my own personal experience from my world. The fact that you haven’t mutated into something in the cocoon itself means this is likely something different.

[A shrug, and a small smile, meant to be reassuring.]

After all, who says this world has to play by the rules of mine? I think you’ll be fine.

[wannasmash]

It's still pretty weird. Not really squid-like.

[ He throws a look behind him at the mess and makes a face. Gross. ]

I should go in for a checkup anyway. It's important I stay healthy. What if I'm on the job and suddenly turn into a cocoon? That's no good.

[makingthetime]

To be fair, nothing we’re doing now qualifies us as squids. We just happened to start out that way when we got here, that’s all. What’s one more weird thing?

[And Leon is having a low-key crisis about that, but he won’t bother this kid with it. Looks like he’s already having a crisis of his own anyway.]

How would you know if you were about to turn into a cocoon? Are there any symptoms I should watch out for, or does it just happen all of a sudden?

[wannasmash]

[ Oh Leon... Midoriya isn't cruel. He will let this man come to terms with that squid truth in his own time. ]

Dunno. It was just a regular night. Stayed up doing English homework... Conjugation... [ He wrinkles his nose. Conjugation. Almost as gross as the cocoon. But he's a good student. ]

It must have happened in my sleep. Why do you ask? Do people in your world show symptoms before going into cocoons?

[makingthetime]

[A chuckle.] Yeah, I remember conjugation. Bane of my life back in middle school.

[Which, god, is so long ago that Leon feels like it belongs to a completely different person. That kid was a lot more hopeful, wasn’t he?]

Yeah. I saw it happen once, and she first had this splitting headache. Could barely move, she needed to be carried, and then right before she went into a cocoon, the pain got much, much worse. Then she, uh, spontaneously combusted.

[A pause.]

If you’re feeling unseasonably hot? Might want to call that Blood Minister. Otherwise, I think you’re fine.

[wannasmash]

[ He shivers despite wearing a jacket. ]

That... doesn't sound good... I'll give them a call. That should answer my questions. If not, I guess I could try the Archives while I still feel fine. I can't find my way around in there, but I know how to research at least...

[ Nerd. ]

[makingthetime]

It doesn't. Sorry. Does bear repeating that I'm newer here than you probably are, and applying what looks superficially similar from my world. Could be a completely different case.

[As for research:] Let me know what you find? I'd like to be prepared, just in case.

[wannasmash]

Of course. I'll DM anything I learn to you.

[ He will, thankfully, learn that it's a thing that happens to Sleepers sometimes. They wake up with memories from home and bodily changes that match. The Sleeper Membrane is gross, but highly prized. Too bad Midoriya burned it in an abundance of caution. ]