Was I really seeking good [Open]

[droptheious]

Who: Varian and you!
What: November catchall!
When: Throughout November.
Where: All around the place!

Content Warnings: Child poisoning in the comments, bloodletting in the first half of the Sleeper Farm prompt



BUILDING AN ABOMINATION TO THE GODS - Driveway of Disaster House, Cassandra- OTA

Varian can't actually remember the last time he built something purely for himself. Both back home, in Deerington and here in Trench, his inventions have always had a greater purpose. Sure, he enjoyed making them, but they were always ultimately to help other people. Building something just for his own enjoyment generally wasn't on his radar. It's only recently that he's felt like he's earned the right to indulge in something for himself.

And so, at the start of the month, Varian can be found on the driveway of the Disaster House- starting to put together the very early beginnings of a frame for a car. He isn't bothered by the lightly falling snow- he doesn't feel the cold anymore and the crisp air is honestly good for clearing his head. He's wearing his serial-killer-esque welding mask and has his little foot-pump-powered 1800s welding kit with him, but that isn't doing so well in the cold weather. After a few frustrating attempts at getting the damn thing to work, he gives up, stepping back to stare at the metal he's trying to get into shape. He looks at his hand, a soft hmmmmmm sound echoing in the mask. He's not comfortable with this, but Mako has been helping him get a more...positive outlook on his abilities.

So, for the first time since he got here, he decides to actually use his abilities for something instead of actively avoiding and being reviled by them. He flexes his fingers, using the techniques Mako has run over with him many a time, willing flame to sprout on them. He has to concentrate a lot, and it's definitely not a tiny, careful flame like the one on his torch (he's not quite THERE yet) but it's enough to start welding the pieces of metal together. Once he's done that he snuffs the flame by closing his fist. He steps back, pushing the mask up so it rests above his goggles (why doesn't he just take the goggles off, why does he have to wear both?) to assess his work, before realising someone is standing nearby, turning to offer a little smile.

"Do you think it looks okay? It's kinda shoddy but I guess I can always go over it later once the snow stops."


IT'S FULL OF OPENINGS, IT'S JUST YOU AIN'T SEEING THEM - All around the city - OTA

For once, fate has smiled down at Varian. His Patron is The Tower and while the buildings are shifting and doorways keep vanishing and reappearing he's still able to find his way around. It's given him confidence that means he might just be ignoring the always buddy up system, because it's fine. It's totally fine. He knows where he's going. So he goes about his daily business as normal - unfettered by the chaos that the vast majority of the population are dealing with. He's a compassionate soul, though, and if he sees someone looking lost, he moves over to them, raising an awkward hand in greeting.

"Uh... hey. You look...lost? Do you want me to help you out? I understand where I'm going for...for some reason. If you stick with me, we can get to where you need to go."


SECRET, SECRET, SECRET SECRET BUNKER - Willful Machine - 28th November OTA with CR prompt

Finding the compass on his workbench had been a happy little surprise. He didn't really need one, but it's pretty nice and after quizzing the people in his house (none of whom took responsibility for the little gift) he probably should have been worried about the device that just appeared in his lab in the dead of night. He isn't, though, because it's cool.

Naturally, he uses it as a normal compass first- but as he's working on his car, he does need to try it on bigger things. He's headed to Willful Machine for more parts, and it using it on a sheet of metal on the ground to measure out exactly what he needs. It's while he's doing this that the circle opens up under him, upending him into a little room. One moment he's there, the next he isn't. Maybe you were there to watch him fall in like an idiot. He looks around at the space- full of everything a person would need to hunker down for a night and makes a soft confused noise before yelling because that seems the best course of action here.

"Um- HI??? Is anyone there?"

And if that doesn't work, he'll get out his Omni and send a message to his friends:

Fell in a hole. I think into a pocket dimension? Help.


MUSHABOOMING

On hearing there were cool new mushrooms to deal with here, naturally, Varian's gone about trying to harvest some. He can make all kinds of cool alchemy with them!! This being Varian, of course, means he's neglected some pretty basic health and safety in his mushroom harvesting. So people can catch him in various pickles throughout the town as he goes about stupidly collecting stuff for his lab.

They may find him hallucinating on Walking Terrors, covered in spores and running around with a panicked expression and screaming about the floor melting. Or maybe you'll find him face-down in the dirt, a Floater sitting happily on top of him. Just...help the idiot out, he'd appreciate it.


THE SLEEPER FARM

Varian starts his No Good Real Bad Time swinging upside down- his blood dripping down into a bowl underneath him. It freezes before it hits the bowl, of course, leaving a blue, frozen blood slushie at the bottom. He's still confused how he got here, but he knows that's not the pressing concern here- not while there are other bodies strung up who have definitely had body parts removed. Varian does a quick, muggy-headed check that nothing seems to be out of place- no organs missing, two arms, one leg. Everything as it should be. They've even left him with his prosthetic, which is nice. But he'd still rather get down from here before this gets worse.

"Uhhhhhh, hi? Anyone still...conscious here?"

Or perhaps you find him afterwards, once he's down and on his feet again. He's still got a sizeable gash on his arm, but at least it's frozen over - thanks for the natural cauterization, coldblood! He'll be helping get other people down or helping them move as best he can. Much like earlier in the month in the town, he feels a strange pull towards the way out, and he'll be trying to bring whoever's with him along that path.

"C'mon, I...I know the way out."

He's not offering a reason for that, oh no. It's while he's leading someone towards the alter that they're suddenly pulled out by a force Varian recognises almost immediately. It's an old, familiar one after all- and once they're upended onto the lawn where Disaster House's Lamp Friend sits, he looks up at the sky, frowning.

"...Cynthia?"



[[ooc: As always if you want something else or a closed thread, please hit me up on teeff or PM me! Will add event stuff later!]]

Comments

Private to Luca

[droptheious]

Varian had promised Luca to try and find some, safer means for him to eat poisonous substances with a little less risk to his general wellbeing. After all, paint thinner is all well and good but maybe having something that can counteract the poison really quickly is the best way to go about it. So he has Luca in his lab, a lot of poisons and their various remedies sat beside them. He's even willing to give up his (horribly derelict) recliner for the kid to sit in if he so wishes. He claps his hands, cheerful despite the fact they're...about to try poisons on a 13-year-old.

"Okay! You all set and ready to see what we can do?"

Just as a note to anyone threadstalking, this is in October

[schoolingfish]

Sit? No, Luca isn't sitting. He's practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, excited to see how this is going to go. He looks at all the vials and beakers in Varian's lab, wondering what all the stuff is, wondering what those poisons are and what they'd do if his metabolism was working normally.

"Yeah, I'm ready! What should I drink first?"

SECRET BUNKERRRR, SECRET BUNKERRRRR

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz was at home with a cup of hot chocolate when she sees on the Omni that Varian has seemingly fallen off the map. She gazed at her cup sadly a moment, then moved close and whispered "I'll come back for you," before boarding her broom and going searching for Varian. Luckily, that tattoo guided her to him pretty quickly, though once she landed, she did look around and around...until the ground gave out from under her and she fell herself].

Gah!

[This luckily didn't last for long as she landed...directly on Varian].

[droptheious]

[Sorry, Luz, your wonderful date with hot chocolate has been ruined because your older brother is a goddamn idiot. At least the tattoos have come in useful! Maybe not the way they initially thought they would, but here they are.

Varian was definitely not expecting Luz to suddenly appear through the hole, but here she is! He yelps as she drops on him crumpling under her like the weedy loser he is. He groans softly, as he comes to terms with what just then happened to him.]

Luz?

it's full of openings

[entreats]

Ange has realised by now that - for some reason - going around town seems difficult this month. Supernaturally difficult, because she knows there's no way she forgot even the streets closest to the houses she lives in, yet she gets lost even there.

And today, when she had to go a bit further out, she figured that perhaps she'd try to use her own power to be able to tell the way back home. But alas, the butterfly she was planning to use is sitting sadly on her hand, as if it too has no clue. Whatever is going on with the town, it's more powerful than her own magic.

It leaves Ange glancing at the butterfly in frustration before making it fade in the air - frustrated enough to seem very much lost.

So when Varian approaches her for it, she looks over at him, quite surprised. Not at the offer of help, but at the other thing he says, making her raise an eyebrow.

".. For.. some reason?"

[droptheious]

Even if Varian isn't the biggest fan of magic, he'd still say it's pretty unfair this place is causing magical issues for his friends. It's like taking a valuable means of defence away from them and it's just unfair. At Ange's comment, he chuckles awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I- I don't really know why?" it's so freaking weird. "But I'm not getting lost? Like... I can see the buildings moving but it's like I've got a- homing beacon or something... in my head? I don't know how to explain it."

SECRET, SECRET, SECRET SECRET BUNKER

[demonicbeauty]

It was taking a lot of concerted effort, but Ariadne was doing her best to start thinking of the Willful Machine as home. Just like settling in Deerington--and Valeria before that--she'd started taking intentional walks down the streets. Not so much to memorize the pathways, which was simple enough. More to memorize all of the scents. She wanted to be able to navigate the place with any one of her senses. And she often found smell to be the most reliable.

Anyway, it also helped to get her mind off of the horrible corpse version of herself that had been following her for weeks, without her noticing.

That had been just awful.

She was on her way back to her orchard when she picked up Varian's scent. Ariadne had grown rather fond of her friend, even after only knowing him a short while. So she turned to follow the smell, and was just in time to see him kneeling on a piece of metal by one of the stalls.

And then he dropped out of sight.

"Varian!"

Had he always been able to do that? She'd never smelled much ozone on him. Quickly, she ran over to the spot where he'd last been.

[droptheious]

Varian would be very approving of an idea like that. After all, you never know when one of your senses might be taken from you- either by a terrible accident or magical spite brought on by the world itself. It's good sense to be able to figure your way around the place in a multitude of ways. Especially when it came to trying to avoid the horrible stuff that happened here.

Such as your friend suddenly vanishing into a heckin' hole in the ground. He looks up from his little bunker at the sound of her voice, calling up to her.

" Ariadne! I'm... in here? Wherever here is? I'm not sure? Can you see an entrance?"

And because he WANTS her to be there, congrats, Airy, there's a hole appearing in the ground. Come on in to the fun room. It's great here.

abomination to the gods

[vibing]

Yuri is lost. Definitively lost, but he doesn't really care. He has nowhere to be, not really. Repede, walking at his side, wanted to stretch his legs anyway, so the two of them are enjoying this little excursion outside of their usual turf of Crenshaw and the route to Lysithea's bakery in Willful Machine. He hasn't explored Cassandra much, so he doesn't really know where he is, but he's sure he and Repede can find their way back to familiar territory if they need to, and if not, well, they have to be able to find a lamp or a friendly face, at some point.

Which is when he sees a kid in a welding helmet. That isn't that interesting, until he starts welding with his hand, and Yuri stops in his tracks, watching for a long moment. He can almost feel his fingers itching to try it.

When Varian glances back at him, Yuri nods, impressed. "Yeah. Bet you could make it stronger, if you want to."

[droptheious]

Varian's still not used to using his abilities for anything good. He still treats them as a dangerous, unpleasant sickness that has been foisted on him. To actually use them for something useful, something that brings him some joy, it's...a pleasant surprise.

Still, it's nice to see Yuri and his smile grows a little more.

"Yeah, I think I either need to get better at the fire thing or get my welding machine working better in the cold weather," he gives the machine a little nudge with his foot, then turns his attention back to Yuri. "What brings you to Cassandra? Were you checking out the creepy tree?"

Private to Vyng

[droptheious]

[Hope Vyng is ready for a VERY EXCITED message in his inbox today.]

HEY HEY VYNG. I managed to replicate the gunpowder you gave me. Do you want me to bring it over to you or do you wanna come to the house? It's...a pretty big barrel.

[Just gonna casually make a giant-ass barrel of gunpowder. Like you do. He's so pleased with himself though wow. ]

thanks for your patience!!

[spiritwalks]

HEY HEY YOURSELF.

You figured out? AND you made a whole barrel? 💥😻 That's AMAZING, buddy!

I'll come over. Our wooly pig can help carry it back.

openings

[siriusly]

From behind, Manabu's a pretty average-looking guy, and that slow, staggered walk of his does convey a sense of being lost. True enough - he's not...entirely sure he recognizes where he's at, nor where the nearest familiar landmark is. Before he can do much more searching, he hears the voice calling behind him. This stops him again, and he turns partway to look.

His face is pale, expression still quietly haunted in the way someone or something looks when they've been wired for so much that it's just gone beyond being wired and just...tired. It's a very this may as well happen kind of mindstate he's aware of and isn't a fan of, but can't really control. It wasn't his call, it's just what his mind is doing to keep him upright and moving without losing it.

At his feet, though, Magnet is much more responsive: The little dog whips around right away, ears perked up and tail wagging as recognition strikes right away. It takes a couple seconds longer for Manabu, but the name comes to mind eventually:

"Uoh...Varian."

[droptheious]

Varian definitely didn't catch on this was Manabu he was speaking to until the man turns around. The teenager stills for a moment, his breath catching. Varian isn't the most tactile of people, but he never really does well when people he cares about dies. He's never been able to cope with it very well.

He's not the most tactile person in the world, but right now that's out of the window. So that's how Manabu gets a teenager taking a few strides over to him and giving him a tight hug.

"Manabu, you're back," his voice wavers, just a little, before he squeezes him a little tighter. "I was really worried about you. When did you come back? Are you feeling okay?"

Sorry, Magnetm he'll give you so much fuss in a moment, he's just gotta get this out of his system first.

Let's build an abombination to the gods

[eugenesis]

Scorponok thankfully could easily address the unease in his heart with more work. Capturing a few live, small animals for testing was easy enough, and he did set internal reminders to add more food to their enclosures every few hours, but at some point, the trapping had to stop and the experiments have to begin. He did plan to work with Varian on how sea pressure can affect a Sleeper's biology, but to do that, he has to ask a few questions in person.

He finds the address soon enough, carrying his own notebook of plans and watching the human work with his abysmal tools.

"Is this all that you've got? We barely have enough for a small aquarium."

[droptheious]

Varian would definitely have some opinions on the small animal capture, but for now, he lives in bliss. He glances over at Scorponok, smiling in recognition (after all, there aren't any OTHER giant robot people here!) before turning his attention on the tools.

"Well, this isn't ALL my tools, but I also don't have what...uh, you're used to. Different planets and timelines and that," he gestures to his pile of metal. "Anyway, this is gonna be a car. Eventually. Hopefully."

SECRET BUNKER PALS

[possessum]

Not only are Varian and Peter on opposite ends of a Time Period Spectrum — Peter the modern teen and Varian the dated one — but their blessed days fall on a bit of an opposite spectrum as well. Peter gets his gift from The Tower at the very beginning of the month, which means by the time the end of the month rolls around and he sees Varian's message, he actually is able to offer some help, for once....

He's quick to message the other teenager back (from where he's actually currently chilling in his own secret hideaway room).

Did it happen when you drew a circle with a math thing?

He remembers using a compass in math class a few times when he was younger....

[droptheious]

Look at Peter, being GENUINELY helpful and smart! For this day, he is truly a winner!!!

Wait. You mean the compass?

'Math thing', Peter, please.

Yeah, I did! I found it in my lab this morning. Is that... is it a new thing? No one else in my house had one.

SECRET SECRET SECRET

[justoscar]

[This... was not a message that Oscar was expecting as the days grew both shorter and colder-- and crazies were out making his friends lives chaotic once again. Oscar looked askance at the message for a moment before setting down his book and already gathering up supplies.]

Where did you fall into this pocket dimension? Do I need to bring back up or is the staff enough?

[droptheious]

I was in Willful Machine. By the metal stall? I was measuring a sheet of metal and I fell down a hole.

[He's so confused. Why can't they have like, a week where weird shit doesn't happen?]

It's safe, I think? There's nothing in here with me. It's just...a room. Kinda like my room back home.

BUILDING AN ABOMINATION TO THE GODS

[kingoftherats]

It's only natural that Varian's peace and quiet be rudely interrupted while he's working on something. Which means Charlie has been wandering around Trench for the fun of it — aaaand remembered that Varian's got a cool lab he'd been in once (much to Varian's displeasure; did he ever put extra locks on there?). Luckily, no breaking in is required today!

Charlie instead pops out from behind the car frame in what certainly must be a surprising manner, eyebrows high on his head and dirt on his jacket and shirt (from what, we can only guess). He beams:

"Yo dude! What're you doing!?"

[droptheious]

You know what Varian wasn't expecting today? Charlie popping right the fuck out of nowhere,/i> and scaring the shit out of him. And yet this is exactly what has happened. The teenager screeches, flailing away, a burst of flame (thankfully) shooting into the air and not at Charlie's face.

"OH MY GOD, WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!!!"

Around Town!!

[saltyadam]

It was bewildering waking up somewhere new, still not dead. It should have felt as unnatural as it had the first time, but instead it felt... comforting? He was at peace in a way he hadn't been when he'd woken up back in Deerington. Even the chaos of this place hadn't unmoored him from a feeling of correctness.

Not until he heard a very familiar voice.

He turned, wide-eyed, to the gangly teenager.

"Varian?"

[droptheious]

Varian has mourned Adam's loss. It became very clear he hadn't washed up on the shores with the rest of them, and however much Adam looked, the man just wasn't there. It was doubly heartbreaking because he already knew what was waiting for him back home. No happy ending, no future. Just death. A good man, gone forever. Shiro had told Varian they were alike in that way- having someone they love more than anything only facing death if they were to return to their home worlds.

He has no means of pulling Adam back here, so he's focused on Shiro. Trying to keep an eye on him and support him as much as the man will allow. Which is not a lot. Shiro is a Grade A Problem Avoider. But he's carried on anyway- trying to figure out how they're supposed to live with a vast, incomprehensible hole in their lives now.

He stops stock-still when he heard Adam's voice, turning to stare at him for a moment, trying to figure if this is some sort of trap or hallucination.

"...Adam?"

Full of Openings

[prodigalhairess]

[It's a strange thing, to have some sense of familiarity with a place you've never been to. It's like deja vu, but... different. It's not just a strange tingling in the back of her mind - Rapunzel can remember walking along the beach she awoke on. She remembers a bonfire, and people who helped her. She remembers awkwardness and kindness overtaking the fear and uncertainty she felt waking up in such a strange town. And she remembers-]

Varian?

[... She remembers her friend, similar but different than how he was when she saw him what felt like just the other day. He carries himself differently, and his leg...]

So that wasn't a dream?

[droptheious]

[Varian has dealt with Rapunzel coming and going more than once. He's accepted that it's a small, crushing experience that raises its ugly head to beat him emotionally with before vanishing once more. He's come to expect seeing her as a fleeting thing, quite possibly Deerington's (and now Trench's) twisted way of messing with him. Letting him see one of the most important people in his life, only to wrench her away too soon.

But then he hears her, and his heart about stops. He turns to stare at her for a moment deer-in-headlights look. Before very quickly striding over, putting a hand on her arm and giving it a gentle squeeze- to make sure she's...real. ]

You... you came back. You're still here.

[She's BACK. Sorry, Rapunzel, you're getting one hell of a hug. Varian's still way too cold to the touch, but he's hugging her anyway. Like she might vanish into smoke if he lets go of her.]

No- no it wasn't a dream. It was real. This is real.

SECRET TUNNE-- i mean bunker

[shiro2hero]

What do you mean you 'fell in a hole'?

Because that's the text you want to get when you're skulking around the Hunter's district. Looking up clues to their motives, how to be like them, all of that. He exhales. Pinches the bridge of his nose.

Where is this 'hole'?

[droptheious]

Oh hi, Space Dad :D

Wilfull Machine. I was measuring a sheet of metal with this compass I found in my lab and I guess it created an entry to a pocket dimension? Seems safe, at least.

How's that blood pressure, Shiro?

Full of openings

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Everything about the city of Trench is an itch on the back of Cassandra's skull, a maddening twitch she can't escape from, bothering her endlessly as she attempts to traverse the winding roads that only seem to bring her right back to where she started. It gets to the point that she raises her shadowblade, preparing to smash straight through the door that just decided to block her path... When she hears him.

There's a vague recollection of... sometime. On a beach, somewhere. If only it wasn't buried under all of these other emotions.]

Varian! [Him. In the flesh, it seems. Too bad this isn't a happy reunion, as she makes clear by spinning around with sword still brandished.] What... just what is this?

[droptheious]

Varian remembers Cass showing up on Trench's shores and vanishing again. It's a rare occurrence people from home show up (even rarer for Cass) and then vanish away. He doesn't like it, but it's a fact of life here.

So he's more than a little surprised when he hears Cass's voice, turning round to a raised sword.

"Caaaaooohhhkay," he raises his hands in mock surrender. "You're back. With the...the sword. Awesome."

He points at it. In case she missed it.

"Okay, I can explain things but can we drop the weapon first? Maybe?"

ABOMINATION TO THE GODS, FINALLY

[charlastan]

Stan has very good reason to be over Varian's place today - he had to deliver Fern his Victory Meatloaf, which was both successfully made out of real meat and vaguely shaped like Fern's head. It's a thing of beauty. An edible masterpiece.

But it's all delivered now and Stan was getting ready to head home when he spots Varian in the driveway with...some sort of hunk of metal he's welding together.

"It's a car, right?" he says, tilting his head. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but actually doesn't look half-bad."

He can tell it's supposed to be one after all, so that should count for something probably.

"What, are you welding it together with your powers?" He holds a hand up and twiddles his fingers, making a blue flame dance across them. You know, like a show-off.

HAZZAH!!

[droptheious]

Fern will crow about that Victory Meatloaf until the end of time. Stan has doomed them both. Varian genuinely wasn't expecting the man to come and inspect his work, much less have anything nice to say about it. He turns, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Max went home and I want another form of transport just in case anything happens to the Lamps," a pause. "...Plus since I learned what they were I just kinda wanna see if I can do it."

Just for the joy of putting it together. He rolls his eyes at the little display, before kicking the welder gently next to him.

"This doesn't do so well in the cold, it's...like, really old," like he is. "I'm not that great with my powers yet. It took me forever to figure out how to get a flame to come on purpose at all."

Sleeper Farm!

[chickenchoicejudy]

At least the train let him have shoes.

When Varian comes across him, Ryan is sitting on the floor barefoot and overwhelmed. There are a couple of spots on his jumpsuit that are a darker red, since his blood type doesn't come with instant cauterization and he isn't exposed to moonlight at the moment. It seems that despite the blood loss, no arteries were hit. The zealots wanted this to be slow.

His head is foggy and the air is thick with...with something. It's smothering and he can taste it in his mouth and it's making his stomach turn. Even though he's on the floor, he's at least pulled himself into a corner to try and hide while he pulls himself together.

At first, he doesn't look up. Everything feels sore and awful and he's holding pressure to his right arm...but, he's also staring at his right palm. Slowly opening and closing his fist.

2̷̰̝̉̅͠0̶̩̿͐͝2̸̠̳͕̍̑́̀ͅ

He can't even process the thought. All he can do is look at it as it flickers in and out of existence. Sometimes it's there and sometimes he blinks and it's gone again.

It hits him all at once that someone is there, someone is talking to him, and he jumps.

"Varian?" There seems to be some mental gymnastics going on in his head about how this is possible, but he pulls himself together as soon as he processes what was actually said. "--How do we get out?"

It's really him, it's someone he knows and not someone he boarded with so it can't be the train, it's not the train even if they put him in a stupid jumpsuit and took all his stuff and-- it's not.

It's not but he's so sure he sees a faint green glow from his hand. If Varian looks, he won't see anything at all.

this is super duper fine

[droptheious]

Genuine worry sinks into the pit of Varian's stomach once he gets a proper look at Ryan. Oh, oh he looks REALLY bad. Varian dithers for a moment, before frowning at his own jumpsuit, starting to tear off one of the legs. It's fine, it's the one his prosthetic is attached to, it's not like he needs it. Once he's torn it off, he gestures to Ryan's arm.

"Lemmie deal with that first. I'm no Eddie, but I can stop you from bleeding everywhere."

Please let him help you stop bleeding out. He doesn't know why Ryan is so focused on his hand, either. That's...really concerning.

"I know how to get out. I don't know why. I...I've been able to navigate the city, too? It's weird, it's like a pull telling me which way to go."

Mushabooming

[laminae]

The mushrooms are weird addition to the city, and for Fern they really aren't great. They're probably easy enough to avoid for regular people, but he's been getting pulses of unpleasant feelings all day, and it's giving him a headache. He isn't even sure how that works when he doesn't have a brain.

He's wandering through the city, lost as heck, when he turns a corner and sees... his boyfriend! Great! Except he's lying facedown on the ground and there's one of those floaty mushrooms on him and oh god did that thing kill him??

Fern doesn't stop to think, he just reacts. Thorns and poisonous mushrooms sprout up all over him and his body starts shifting, becoming less human. Yelling, he lunges at the mushroom. Forming a sword, he dices it up into little pieces.

[droptheious]

Varian is totally dead. Felled by another plant The tragedy. The irony.

Except...not any of that. Once Fern dispatches the poor mushroom into tiny little mushroom pieces, Varian lets out a soft groaning sound. It takes him a few seconds to get movement enough to slooooowly raise his face out of the dirt. He blinks, slightly out of synch. It's fine, he's fine.

"Oh heeeeeeeeeeeeeey, Fern. Not- not dead," because that sure was a lot of yelling, and he's looking really spikey. "I'm okay."

The God Abomination; The Glitch and Varian Chronicles.

[glitchinthesystem]

There's a lot to say about what he's looking at and none of them are nice. He had just come by to the Disaster house to make sure Varian hadn't killed himself with one of his experiments; not something likely that would happen, but hey; It was called the Disaster house for a reason.

For a few minutes, he had watched in silence not really making his presence known seeing what exactly Varian was working on. Some kind of sculpture? He's not really sure. Either way, he finally steps forward to look at it, quirking a brow towards the whole thing. Also in clear abject defiance, Glitch still was not conforming to Trench fashion life.

That's right, Varian; he's still wearing more modern clothes.

Either way, to the question he does say "What's it supposed to be? Not another murderbot I hope. You're banned from those." Don't make go King Triton on this, Varian.

[droptheious]

Varian's surprised to see Glitch near the house- he hasn't seen him around the building since he left after the whole...Maul incident. He'd honestly expected Glitch to avoid the building- especially with Reaper living there -and as such a much more prominent Maul presence.

"You banned me from explosives in the house, not murderbots- not that I'd listen to either anyway," he points out, a touch dryly. "And nope. I wanted to see if I could build a car. Something fun just for me, you know?"

He's still not sure if he should be indulging in making anything for himself. There's still a little guilt surrounding that, but he's trying to focus on the positive- for this one little thing. He glances Glitch's way.

"What brings you here?"

sleeper farm | hope this is ok!!

[hopticulture]

A rabbit strung up upside down by her legs is not necessarily an uncommon thing. It's all part of the reality of being a prey animal in an eat-or-be-eaten world. She accepts it as a truth, of what can happen and what does happen to rabbits, and though her head is pounding, mouth dry, with no recollection of how or why she got into a situation like this--

Well, it's not necessarily a resigned acceptance she feels, but once she's thrashed herself to exhaustion trying to break free and fall from the metal chains wrapped tight around her ankles, she just shuts her eyes and returns to that letter she started to write so long ago the last time she found herself in a situation of certain death.

Whoever is behind this, they haven't gotten around to bleeding her out. Instead, it seems like they're just waiting for all the blood to rush to her head and make quick work of an animal who makes for an easy kill. It's not like she has much blood in her anyway, not compared to the other Sleepers who hang around her, already bled out and dead, or in the process of dying.

So when Varian approaches her, his voice sounding tinny and distant against the roar of blood in her ears, she accepts this as someone who's come to cut her open. It's hard to stay calm, so she winds her eyes even tighter shut, as though silently bracing for the end.

this is super okay!

[droptheious]

Varian definitely wasn't expecting to see a rabbit here, and the sight of Haru gives him reason to pause. Just for a moment, though. He's experienced plenty in his time here- people of all kinds. Hell, his homestead alone includes a sea monster and a man made of smoke. And he's literally dating someone made of grass. People are people- no matter what their shape, and right now this person needs help.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm here to get you out, okay?"

He reaches to try and unhook the chains, wincing at each too-loud noise it makes when they scrape and clang together. He really doesn't want them to get caught.

"Are you hurt? Did they cut you anywhere?"

SECRET BUNKER LET'S DO THIS

[laminae]

Well, that isn't a text Fern is expecting to get. He sets aside the sword he was sharpening to read through it a second time, then gets up to head out of the bedroom.

what???
don't tell me it's another dimension like in Deerington
where are you
or were you
where were you?

Fern is more than a little frantic when he texts that out. The two of them haven't had great experiences with dimensional portals, and he's concerned this is going to be another one to add to the list. As he texts he bounds down the stairs of the house, looking around in case portal has opened up in their living room or something.

IT'S TIME!!

[droptheious]

It's not that big. It's like a little room? Kinds of like my room back in Corona actually.

Does that help? It probably doesn't help. It probably sounds like he somehow got home.

It was at Willful Machine when it happened. By that stall that sells the sheet metal? I think I made it myself? I found this compass on my workbench this morning and the hole happened when I was measuring some metal.

Just. You know. He decided to immediately use the sketchy thing that appeared on his bench.

Secret Bunker

[survivalthroughhate]

When Maul sees the message appear on his Omni, he just sighs and shakes his head. Really, at this point in their friendship, Maul really isn't surprised by anything that happens to Varian any longer. He just sits up, puts on the fur coat he'd aquired earlier in the month as his own personal reward for being a good citizen to help keep him warm, and sets out into the city. He supposes if the Omni is still working at least they will be able to communicate with one another.

Where was the last place you were at before you ended up falling into the pocket dimension hole? Maul for his part is currently using his powers to sift through minds close by to see if he can sense Varian's somewhere in the crowd, though he's not sure if that will work if he's gone into an entirely different realm altogether.

[droptheious]

Maul really should never be surprised at anything Varian gets himself into at this point. If there's some science-y disaster to get stuck in, he can bet Varian will do it every single time. Without fail.

Willful Machine. By the stall that sells sheet metal.

He's definitely a lot harder to detect right now, but as Varian actually wants Maul to find him (and come into the super fun magical portal hole) it shouldn't be hard of him to zero in on the little idiot as he sits on the edge of his new, fancy bed.