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!]]
imaglyphwitch: (fallen again)

SECRET BUNKERRRR, SECRET BUNKERRRRR

[personal profile] imaglyphwitch 2021-11-01 07:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[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].
Edited 2021-11-01 19:38 (UTC)
entreats: (and it ain't coming down)

it's full of openings

[personal profile] entreats 2021-11-01 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)
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?"
demonicbeauty: (Surprised)

SECRET, SECRET, SECRET SECRET BUNKER

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2021-11-01 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
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.
vibing: (huh | look | neutral | soft | skit)

abomination to the gods

[personal profile] vibing 2021-11-01 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
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."
schoolingfish: (Excited human)

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

[personal profile] schoolingfish 2021-11-01 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
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?"
siriusly: (whoa what wait hang on)

openings

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-11-01 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
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."
demonicbeauty: (Confused)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2021-11-02 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
It was something of a relief to hear his voice. At least he hadn't teleported away. Or, more deviously, been teleported by someone else.

That sort of thing happened in Valeria too.

She scurried over, hopping up onto the sheet metal, before squatting down, peering into what looked like a giant...hole? A giant hole in the ground that didn't really fit in with the surroundings. Planting her hands on either side, she leaned forward to peer into the dark. And she caught Varian's scent, just before her eyes adjusted to the dark.

"You fell in a hole," she said.

There was probably something better she could have said, but it was the first thing to occur to her.
siriusly: (i--wait. huh??)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-11-02 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ufh--"

Manabu is a body unused to sudden contact that isn't, say, a punch or a slap or something born of very dire circumstances. Even with Wu wearing him down to it, a hug is often the last thing he plans for when approached by someone. That said, between that and still getting his legs back, he wobbles a little, but his feet are planted well enough to take the brunt of the embrace, leaving him to simply stand there captive and bewildered, his elbows locked and unable to react one way or another.

Worried about him? Manabu almost puffs out why? Of all the people to worry about...

That just makes the lump he got from Mako throb as a reminder of his own foolishness.

"Hh, hi, Varian," he utters once he can get a word in-between the barking at his feet. "I, um. Don't...know. The number of days, sorry...A couple, I think."
imaglyphwitch: (I am shocked)

[personal profile] imaglyphwitch 2021-11-02 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Alas, it was not meant to be. Instead, Luz is now in a strange new room with her older brother (it's pretty official now), and casts her light glyph to get a better look].

How did you manage to get in here?!

[Please ignore the footprint on her cheek].
entreats: (and i know you know everything)

[personal profile] entreats 2021-11-02 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"That doesn't sound good."

Sorry, Varian. Maybe it's not the best thing to hear in this situation, but Ange can't help but say it. Maybe it's since she's so protective of her friends, especially now they've found out that this place honestly isn't all that much better than Deerington in some aspects. It's going to mess with their heads just as much.

And this sure sounds like something has been messing with Varian's head.

Ange frowns. "I mean.. It's a good thing in this case, I suppose, but it seems odd that you are able to do so while everyone else is getting lost."
vibing: (huh | annoyed | neutral | skit)

[personal profile] vibing 2021-11-03 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
"Who, me? Just wandering," read: so lost, Varian. So terribly lost, but he doesn't really care to say that. "Didn't know about the creepy tree. Maybe we'll go sightseeing."

He takes a step closer to eye Varian's handiwork, crouching next to him. "You do the thing with your hand?" Yuri shakes out his own hand and holds it with the other one, a small, hot flame forming at the ends of his fingers. "A guy taught me this, a while back."
schoolingfish: (Friendly human)

[personal profile] schoolingfish 2021-11-03 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
Luca takes the Ethylene from Varian and tastes it. A small sip at first, and he winces at how bitter it is. Then, knowing he's got to get more than that to properly test this, he just throws the whole vial back, chugging it down while trying to ignore how it tastes. He drinks all of it and feels...great. Honestly, he wishes it tasted better, because it leaves him feeling like he had a cool glass of water on a summer day.

"Pretty good! I feel refreshed, energized, and I think that was actually pretty good for me."
demonicbeauty: (Considering)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2021-11-03 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"A pocket dimension."

Normally, this would have been the moment that Ariadne screwed up her forehead and said something stupid. But for once, she actually understood. Although she'd never really seen a pocket dimension like this before, she knew they existed. Her father used to tell her stories about them. How Alastrians could hide in them, once upon a time.

And she kind of thought that her own messenger bag might be a pocket dimension. It was bigger on the inside.

Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she scanned Varian's supplies. "I guess the most important question to start with is if there's a ladder."

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