droptheious: (If you're not interested)
Varian ([personal profile] droptheious) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2021-11-01 06:42 pm

Was I really seeking good [Open]

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 [personal profile] teeff or PM me! Will add event stuff later!]]
charlastan: Alone You Breathe - Savatage (And now we'll never see)

[personal profile] charlastan 2021-12-07 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Honestly, it was worth it. The scowl gets another laugh out of Stan, like he won something in getting a reaction out of him at all.

"Yeah - looks like the kinda place where we'll get tons of snow. Maybe even a blizzard or two." He coughs into his hand, as though the helpful thing he's about to say is just a frog stuck in his throat. "You, uh-- you'll wanna throw a tarp over it before that. So it doesn't get all rusted and junk."
charlastan: Old Pine Box - They Might Be Giants (You tried punching a cop)

[personal profile] charlastan 2021-12-16 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, I've never built one from scratch," he admits. "But my El Diablo got me through some pretty tough times. You don't keep the same car for fifty years without learning a thing or two about taking care of it."

He can't even remember all of the dumb problems he's had over the years with his car, but he knows he fixed them every time because he couldn't afford not to. Even once he could afford not to, the car had decades of sentimental value on it. He wasn't going to just let it go if he could keep fixing it. It was a perfectly good car! The only reason he doesn't still have it is that he's here in Trench now.
charlastan: Old Pine Box - They Might Be Giants (You pulled the fire alarm)

[personal profile] charlastan 2021-12-16 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Stan's not used to it either, but it helps that it's something he already knows a good amount about - even if he doesn't know all the science behind all of it.

"Vegetable oil works pretty good - that's prolly what half the restaurants are using to fry stuff, so you oughta be able to get it no problem," he says. "Bet they'd even give you it for free, since they'd just chuck it in the garbage anyway."

Because obviously that's still important, in a world with no real consistent currency. Obviously. At the end of the day, Stan is who he is.
charlastan: Old Pine Box - They Might Be Giants (You tried punching a cop)

[personal profile] charlastan 2021-12-26 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
This is absolutely not a bonding moment and no one is having a good time or learning anything worthwhile about the other. Nope. Stan shrugs.

"Eh, oil's oil. Not like I've never jumped in a dumpster before anyway." he says. "Plus the last time I had to build something I flat out stole nuclear waste."

You know, as you do.

charlastan: Old Pine Box - They Might Be Giants (They called the fan club)

[personal profile] charlastan 2021-12-28 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Stan rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, something about 'radiation' or whatever," he says, making air quotes. "I had a hazmat suit and they were getting rid of it anyway! Once someone throws something away, it oughta be free for the taking. Even if it's dangerous nuclear waste."
charlastan: Old Pine Box - They Might Be Giants (You're just too tired to stop)

[personal profile] charlastan 2021-12-30 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"Exactly! They're gettin' rid of it, so they can't get mad that someone else takes it off their hands!" Stan throws his hands up. "If I wanted to rob them I would've done it before they threw the thing in the trash!"

Which he could do, and absolutely has done.
charlastan: The Perfect Crime #1 - The Decemberists (Two three four!)

[personal profile] charlastan 2022-01-04 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Stan just laughs.

"Once it's in the trash it belongs to me, 'cause I'm probably the one pulling it out of the trash!" he says. "The universe is gonna have to fight me for it!"