june catch-all

[mehanizovati]

Who: viktor and others, open to all with some closed prompts in comments
What: june catch-all, some tdm prompts
When: june
Where: various

content warning; terminal illness, arcane season 1 spoilers



misc lab stuff and various fruits.

[viktor's lab in the willful machine is usually left unlocked when he's working inside. friends or acquaintances have likely been told they're welcome to stop by if they like, either to say hello or to get help with whatever a vaguely sketchy lab could handle. of course someone he doesn't know can just walk in too or knock. maybe there's a sudden downpour and that ajar door is tempting? go for it.

the lab has been slowly filling with all sorts of nonsense on the various tables- lasers! tasers! some weird machine hooked up to a blood gem? it is not unlikely to be walking by and hear some minor booming noise and either a curse in czech or a satisfied 'a-ha!' feel free to investigate.

this month there's something else too, a bowl full of fruit. all the fruits mentioned in the tdm in fact, there to be tested on though it looks more like they're just for guests if people are unaware there's some weird shit going on.]

Just a moment, make yourself at home. [he might say to guest. that would include eating some fruit, right? enjoy. probably not the raw lemon though, that's weird.]

[ooc; if you want to memshare i am game, my only hard limit on memories is no suicide stuff please. self sacrifice is fine! feel free to ask to make sure one is okay. if you'd like a viktor memory let me know any hard limits and what sort of memory you might prefer!]


gaze and time loops.

[having lungs mostly working for the moment is pretty great, in viktor's humble opinion. it means walking around the trench doesn't come with the risk of coughing up blood and attracting beasts and generally having a bad time, along with added perks like not getting so easily winded and going for longer. it also means he finds himself out longer than he usually would, which maybe isn't the best, as it turns out.

for example, making his way home through gaze and hearing the chilling cry of a beast, sighing and trying to make his way around what turns out to be the wrong corner. maybe that's where he sees your character before the snarling of a too close beast starts in earnest.

and then snap! they're both back about an hour, where they passed on the street. the look viktor gives is somewhere between resigned and 'fuck this, actually.'] There is a term for this. 'One of those days,' I think.



[ooc; if you'd like to wildcard or do something else you can pm me here or find me at dichotomy]

Comments

[mehanizovati]

[those are very much the tricky parts in this world. probably in others. then again beast proofing a house isn't usually a thing and yet.]

Ah, I see. Yes, we simply call it the arcane. I've heard it called the force as well, at least from others here. [thanks maul. still, it makes sense to him and he nods as tinkering proceeds.]

What was your world like, if I may ask? Of course you needn't answer if you do not wish, I simply find the others worlds a fascinating topic.

[and a good thing to listen to while working, not butting against people missing or gone.]

Oh yes, there are mugs right by the sink and that tin there holds the tea. Brew whichever you'd prefer. [there's a small selection, some herbal, some black. he doesn't like tea that much but you learn to make do here.]

[hammerbearer]

Oh yes, the Force. Those 'jedi' and 'sith', right?

[ Gaia has also had conversations with the people in question. In any case, while working on getting the tea brewed - it will be black - she'll cast a glance over her shoulder. ]

I wouldn't mind. But you should know that I'm probably not the best person to ask about it, depending on what you want to know. Shortly before I came to Trench I lost a lot of my memories. And being reborn here or... whatever it is didn't do any favors.

[ She doesn't seem too distressed. It seems she's made some level of peace with it. Enough to continue speaking casually as she brings back the tea in any case. ]

I can tell you the world I came from had very little land left that could be inhabited. Until recently, it had been on the brink of being consumed by a flood of Light.

[mehanizovati]

Yes, those are the ones. I have only really come to know eh... Maul, is his name? A very odd man.

[or whatever his race may be called? viktor has no idea.

he glances up from his fiddling with the fan's inner workings at that, a small frown.] Ah, my apologies then. That must make matters even more confusing than they already are.

A flood of light?

[hammerbearer]

[ Gaia looks to recognize Maul's name. ]

I wouldn't say I've gotten to know them well, but I've talked to a few.

[ The teen then shakes her head. ]

It's not as if you knew. And since there's not much I can do about it, I just look toward the future.

[ As well as writing down copious entries in journals, but that's another matter entirely. Gaia sobers and nods. She closes her eyes. There are things she remembers after all and, while she might have professed boredom or disinterest she was probably listening when things were explained back then. ]

All the elements exist in aether and it's everywhere. Sometimes the aether is pulled out of balance toward one of the elements. Usually that's not a big deal because it happens all the time. Like wind blowing, or a storm brewing. Or when someone uses magic to cast elemental spells. But when a lot of aether gets pulled out of balance at once, it's a catastrophe.

[ Gaia isn't making light of the topic but she's calm enough despite the seriousness to take a drink from her cup before continuing. ]

One hundred years ago... there was a fight. [ For a moment, Gaia casts her gaze downward. ] And to stop their world's destruction, the ones trying to protect it world called on a blade of Light to take down their foe. But the world had already been leaning strongly toward the element. So it tipped the balance too far.

[ She falters momentarily, looking back up at Viktor to see if he's following along. Gaia's well aware that just because the concepts make sense to her, that a stranger from another world was probably going to be confused if there wasn't room to ask questions. ]

[mehanizovati]

I have a friend here who also suffered with memory loss. I believe between all the odd events poking at our pasts he was able to begin regaining many of them.

[which is neither here nor there, but it seems the sort of relevant thing for gaia to know. it's hard to say if the trench wouldn't just focus elsewhere anyway.

viktor pauses his work to listen, finding the explanation fascinating on a conceptual level. it isn't terrible far off from arcane theories in his own world, though seemingly delved into far deeper.

he frowns but nods as he glances to him, following along easily enough.] So if it were wind there would be catastrophic storms in the excess of this element of the aether, but because it is light instead it is something else. I can imagine an excess of light could be... sterilizing.

[hammerbearer]

[ Just her luck. A lot of memories she can't really brace for getting displayed on the Omni network or goodness knows what other outlets. There's definitely something along the lines of a put out expression crossing her features, though it borders on unease when all's said and done. ]

Wonderful. I mean, not to diminish your friend's achievements, if that's what he wanted of course.

[ Well if it happens there's not a lot to be done, as will no doubt be demonstrated. So she'll move on as well. Sterilizing? Gaia considers the word.]

I guess that could be a way of putting it? [ After all she's no scholar. ] Light is mostly a state of stasis while Dark is one of activity. They're the poles that can draw the other elements. When most of the world was consumed by the Flood of Light, it became what was called the Empty. Endless land saturated in Light-aspected aether. Living beings consumed by it were changed into aether-starved beings called sin eaters. The stronger ones could cause others to change. Sometimes it was quick. Other times the change took a while.

[ Her hands are wrapped around the cup as if to seek solace out of it. She might be able to talk calmly about it, but she's not unaffected by the tale. For many reasons. Taking a deep breath, Gaia looks up and speaks with a more positive tone. ]

But things are better now. The source of the sin eaters was found. And a cure was found for the afflicted that hadn't yet changed. And a solution restoring the Empty had been found. There will be a future for that world. And one day the balance will be restored for all of it. I'm sure.

[ Her tone indicates this is more than just wishful thinking on her part. She's certain. ]

[mehanizovati]

[viktor offers something a sympathetic shrug- how fun the mental nonsense here must be when it's a surprise what might pop up.] It was ultimately to his benefit, I believe, but I cannot say it was not a struggle.

[that's a horrifying picture, and after a moment of consideration viktor makes himself return to the fan. more pieces pulled out and examined, new ones being slotted in, a quiet curse in a different language before he's grabbing a rag to clean up a corroded area inside.]

That is... an alarming picture. Was the trick to introduce more Dark energy in the end?

[good to know it seems to have a happy ending.]

You know I probably should have mentioned a spoiler tag.

[hammerbearer]

[ One might think that it was just a need to introduce the element of Darkness! But Gaia shakes her head firmly. ]

All the elements needed to be introduced. And I think they had mentioned something about a particular order as the reason they did it in a certain way.

[ Clearly the gritty details elude because she definitely shrugs away the details here. And it's probably not related to her ability to remember the reasons this time. Gaia continues on the topic with something she's a little more certain about. ]

Because the aether that was tipped to the Light pushed out all other elements. But you need all of them, not just Dark and Light. I guess...

[ Gaia touches the rim of her tea cup. ]

This tea couldn't be warm without fire. And it wouldn't be liquid without water, right? So those elements are a little stronger, but the rest is all there. It's the same with the aether in our bodies...

[ The teen scowls and looks a bit confused. ]

Did I say that right? Well the important part is that all the elements needed to be restored to a more balanced state for it to work and bring life back into the Empty.