mehanizovati: (43)
Viktor ([personal profile] mehanizovati) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2022-05-27 01:20 pm

june catch-all

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 [plurk.com profile] dichotomy]
megatheorem: (012)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-29 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[Honestly, bless Viktor for not asking about the others, or even the boat. He came out here ready to pick up the pieces and then... this, 'can we leave,' a sentence he doesn't think he's ever uttered when fully aware that someone could probably use his help. But he'd heard the strange reverberation in Paul's voice and seen the willingness on more than one face to murder an entire crew on the word of one psychopath, so—

He leans on Rio, his other hand curled into the fabric of Viktor's shirt up at his shoulder, like if he falls on his face in this sand he will simply lie there forever. He might. A storm—]


Right. Let's just get to the lamp. I don't want to see whatever happens next.
megatheorem: (035)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-29 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Ah, and he catches that look, different from Viktor's simmering worry over him, and so he offers:]

Ortus pushed me overboard— to spare me witnessing Paul and the rest murdering a bunch of pirates, I've decided. Gideon and Harrow are still there, so...

[So, Ortus has other people to protect; he can't tell Viktor outright that Ortus is fine because he doesn't rightly know, but as far as they're both aware, he's making a valiant effort to put his hands in front of Gideon's and Harrow's eyes and stop them witnessing an atrocity.

One can hope. He falls back into silence after that, a little brooding maybe, but mostly the kind of brooding that wants to put on dry clothes and bury his face in Viktor's chest for the rest of the day and have his hair petted for a while.

So then: lantern, bunker, clothes. He dresses hastily and leaves his wet clothes in a heap on the bathroom floor rather than deal with them right now; they can drip into the shower drain, whatever. He has notably not put on his old man pajamas, although he pauses to look at them after dumping the wet stuff in the bathroom. Hm, well, everyone is on the beach by now, at the closest, but...]


Let's go to Sanctuary. Do you mind? I need to... not be near here.
megatheorem: (263)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-29 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[damn not even some cardboard drawers in the lab

Palamedes is grateful to yet again not be questioned; he manages a quick smile, picking up his pajamas in a rumpled mess, and— ah, nearly dropping them again to melt into Viktor, horror and anxiety and relief all vying for priority at once. The pjs get shoved under one arm, hands reaching for Viktor with an almost frenetic uncertainty of where he should put them first? His hair, the back of his neck, his chest— wherever Palamedes can reach in the next few moments, before the kiss ends.

He murmurs a 'thank you,' then nods and turns to put the pjs in the bag. Some more clothes, a notebook or two without even looking at which ones they are, even the last month's memory display gift thing, in case he can't bring himself to recount the events in words.

Weather, also? Is bad. He makes a face at the next crack of thunder, grim, and resolves to not think about it by remembering his stupid lens is in the shirt pocket on the bathroom floor, augh- once he's gone and retrieved that, it goes in a new shirt pocket, to be dealt with later.

So when he reaches for Viktor's hand, rubs at his ring with idle fondness with his thumb and looks around the bunker to see if he's forgotten anything obvious, well, he can't see shit. But he's making an educated guess.]


I think the storm is his fault. [Anyway, he will carry the bag, he's good for it. Let's go.] Ready?
megatheorem: (092)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-29 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[Palamedes would like the tea, actually, so that's nice of her, if in the expected disappointed way, given how hastily they dashed here in and out of the storm. Already in the Sanctuary he feels better, less heavy, less frayed around the edges, and he lets Viktor lead them to his office and drops the duffel bag as soon as they're in there.

He's reaching for Viktor the moment they're both seated, fully intent on that plan to bury his face in the crook of his neck for a bit here, just to feel the warmth of his skin and steadiness of - well, land. A couch that doesn't move; a man who'll leave home with him without asking why.]


Just you. And— a minute to think. I left them there.

[And he's not going back, not even considering it, but he does feel guilty about it, safe and dry here when who knows what's going on on that beach.]
megatheorem: (020)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-30 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah, that's nice, he could stay here and focus on Viktor's fingers in his hair for a few hours and not have any other thoughts at all, that would be excellent. Instead he simply sits there for a few long beats, before turning his head with a sort of half-hearted puff of a laugh; no, he always appreciates Viktor's bluntness, and he's right. Just give Palamedes more time to sync thought with reality, he'll get there.]

I was thinking about you. [Well-] Us. Don't get me wrong; I didn't want to linger. But I thought, 'Viktor has been standing there for a while,' and that... helped.

[A little bemused, like, is that weird? Does that seem off, in the face of a boat full of murder? Hmm. He shifts to slouch more comfortably against Viktor, head pressed over his heart, reaching across to thread their fingers together and linger on the ring again, a moment.

He sighs.]
And I know. But the leaving is... something.
megatheorem: (207)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-30 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
[That gets him to laugh again, a more solid sound this time - selfishly, mm, is that the word to use right now? If Palamedes is supposed to be thinking about himself first this time, unselfishly, and Viktor is thinking of him - surely neither of them is being selfish. Or if it is, it isn't as if it compares to the selfishness of killing a boatload of people, so—

Well, he'd rather be here than there, and Viktor is a large part of that. Simple facts. He tangles his fingers into Viktor's and hums, squeezing lightly. A breaking point--]


Do you think so? You know me best.

[A true thing, actually, one he's thought before in purely saccharine terms and never put into proper words. Only Camilla would have him beat, and until she comes out of the sea... well. Anyway.]

I think I had some questions answered in the exact ways I'd hoped they wouldn't be.
megatheorem: (193)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-30 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah - and he's left to think about his egregious attempts at neutrality, the strain, while Viktor tries (and fails, damn) to cut Abigail off at the door. He manages to give her a grateful smile, at least, before she's turned and left them alone again, and he's quick to lean back into Viktor much the same as before. Maybe a touch less desperate; but close.]

No; you're probably right. I can't see past my own nose, I know.

[He's tried to remain neutral? To not spread gossip (outside of to Viktor, which, come on, of course), to offer advice and aid without pushing. No one has ever learned best by being pressured into picking one person's viewpoint over another, and yet.

Should he have? Pushed. He doesn't know. It wasn't his place.

He makes an aggravated kind of grunt and reaches for a crummy little teacup, currently the most beautiful teacup he's ever seen because it's here, and not on that goddamn boat.]


You could say I'm figuring out with whom I have irreconcilable differences in the coming... however long it takes. [huff!] That's still too neutral, isn't it?
megatheorem: (103)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-30 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
I make decisions, [he mutters, an objection without any heat in it. He doesn't stand around with his fingers in his ears doing nothing, which is clearly the only other option, hm. Still! Decisions are made, and regularly, too.]

I don't make decisions for other people. For my own part in... being involved with that house, I assumed I could simply stop coming around and my presence wouldn't be missed. [By That Guy, he doesn't specify; it's implied.] You have to understand: when I woke up here the second time, five weeks had passed— in the space of my untimely demise, the dynamics shifted. They seemed to be faring better, despite my misgivings; I wasn't about to tell a handful of upset teenagers that they should move out of a comfortable home because I said so.

[Or even with good reason; he'd had this argument with himself already, when first speaking to Paul again, looking at him thriving and no longer living in literal squatter conditions— had let Harrow's attachment and Gideon's involvement slide as manageable from the inside, without a second control freak in the mix.

Finally, he remembers to sip the tea. Hmm.]


I don't honestly care what the Emperor thinks of me, personally. But I'm not fool enough to poke the bear, so I kept my mouth shut. He could hardly stand you knowing something so unimportant to anyone else in this place who didn't already know— [He shakes his head.] Of course there was an eye for safety in it. If anyone touches you, all prior stalemates are over. As for the others, I hadn't intended to...

[Force their hands? Push them into the arms of Papa God who is Nice Now, Really? Be a hypocrite? There are options.]

Well, it's gone sideways now. If you'd like a third reason, I really could not be bothered inviting the whole "group chat" [he does the quotes, around the teacup] into my business.
megatheorem: (211)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-30 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
Have I? Does that mean you'll quit hassling me about the absurd monochrome at every opportunity? I think this is your shirt.

[It's whatever he grabbed from the pile of Clean Laundry, but upon further inspection, this looks like it was once a grey t-shirt with a funny screenprint on it, before someone who doesn't know how to do laundry (Palamedes) was asked to do laundry (oopsie). He plucks at the front of it, left-handed— ah, and the ring is fairly beyond the familiarity of home, too. Truly, this is growth.

He sips the tea again, settling back in close to think about... What Happened.]


The Emperor wanted to, I suppose, punch a hole in the universe to get at the River. He asked them to capture and murder a crew of Trench pirates. [sssssip.] Paul was... making a case, I think, when Ortus pushed me over the side.

[Which they could assume means maybe murder didn't happen, but:] That was before the storm started. I imagine he got his free swing in before Marianna responded.
megatheorem: (235)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-30 06:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, he is furrowing. To be called out on his grey crimes, in the face of Viktor's own t-shirt? How could he. Thanks, but how could he.]

Hm, unless he was hoping I would drown. [Haha, no, not even absurd enough to be a joke, so he instantly follows that up with,] I owe him a great deal, obviously. What do you give someone for saving your life? A 'greeting card'?

[That's not a bit, he's serious; he would like to show Ortus his thanks and maybe also go over there just to see if Ortus is alright? That shed is truly... well. The sort of squatter conditions he was glad to see Paul leave, so.

Pencil it in. He hums over his next sip of tea, wondering - but no, Viktor is right, what happened on that boat was definitely something of a last straw for fussing around "neutrally." Viktor offers him his unconditional support and Palamedes feels some new shade of madly in love over that, ah, saccharine, but more than that: simple, no dissection needed. No this side or that side or prodding him to spill the information he's collected for so and so's advantage...]


I want to finish my tea, [he says, after a moment, not flippantly.] And then I want to have one of those cakes, to earn Abigail's elusive favor. Let's stay here for a few days, if we can; admittedly, much earlier than planned.
megatheorem: (oh no the numbers are gone)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-30 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
That sounds... whimsical. Do we have to cut the fruit ourselves?

[Palamedes could make some really cool and accurate organ-shaped fruit pieces, but probably better to leave that to a- professional? Professional fruit-cutter? It cannot be stated enough that he's never heard of this concept and finds it absolutely bonkers, but in a cute and fun way, at least. A fruit basket...]

Let's bring him a basket of fruit with a picture of a house inside; subtlety is key.

[Ha ha. Maybe consider the house picture though. That's for later; for now, mm - the beasts are certainly already riled in the ocean, that's for sure. He believes it will spread, and with plenty locals already seeming... off, more corruption-prone, everyone here is going to have a lot to contend with, huh.

He says, in his patented 'I know you've probably guessed this already, buuuut' tone:]
I've never been on a vacation.
megatheorem: (this actor smiles like 4 times total)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-06-30 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll learn to make flower shapes, if I must. The work is never finished.

[So world-weary, this young necromancer. No, he's going to make skull shapes and anatomically correct hearts and livers and so on, it'll be great. If they're running low on fruit, the skull can even be jawless! Tada!

All very subtle, indeed. He takes the little cake and immediately questions his profession to want to eat this, hm, actually— no, no. He'll nibble. He's nibbling.]


So no lasers, either? [If they're both banned from work and work-adjacent things, on this vacation... Seems like a buzzkill, actually, but the concept of sitting around stress-free for several days itself is fairly appealing right now.

He has eaten a whole corner of the little cake. He's really into vacations.]


We could work on the book. I'll craft an intricate series of plot twists, and you can keep me honest about how many actually make sense.

[And when he gets in his head and wonders if he should go back to get mired in Empire business, but that's a downer.]

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-02 02:49 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-02 14:49 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-03 04:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-03 17:09 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-03 19:21 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-04 16:25 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-05 02:40 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-12 01:35 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-12 04:28 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] megatheorem - 2022-07-14 18:50 (UTC) - Expand