i'm faithless now

[specifiercity]

Who: Arthur (specifiercity) & Asami Sato (futureinventor)
What: Event & General prompts for November!
When: Throughout November
Where: All over! I'll update here for the open prompts!

Content Warnings: event warnings generally apply, a little bit of Arthur's PTSD getting triggered (within the event)

[if you wanna plot with me hit me up at dreamalittlebigger!]

Comments

open / early november / willful machine

[futureinventor]

[Asami counts herself fairly lucky to have found this spot. It's on one of the busier streets in Willful Machine and there's more than enough space for her to bring in some equipment for her repair shop. One of the locals tells her a baker just moved out and the space is available when she asks, and although the lack of bureaucracy takes her off guard she decides she may as well just go for it. She's been itching to do something useful here, to carve out a way to contribute instead of just hiding away with Korra in their lovely cliffside house, as nice as that is.]

[So in the first week or so of November she can be spotted dragging equipment and machinery into the shop, often leaving the door open to let the cool air flow through while she tries to decide how to set everything up. She's not ready to open for business just yet, but perhaps depending on the day you can see the sign for Sato Repairs leaning against the wall just inside the front window.]

[Come in if you're curious, or if you're looking to perhaps entice her into taking a break.]

[avatar_state]

[Life for the two of them had been...well, weirdly straightforward. What else can you call going from being in a relationship to just living together? They'd been working on-and-off on the house location - though 'house/potential fortress for family/friends' was a better wording for it, really - but it'd be some time still until it was truly habitable.]

[But working together, roughing it together - it was honestly wonderful. She'd never imagined just how satisfying it would be waking up next to Asami. Granted, her mornings has usually consisted of immediately getting up for a workout - now her schedule included time spent curling into the woman she loved, enjoying the scent of her hair and the warmth of her form. But some changes are easier made than others, when it comes to a routine.]

[Which carries with it another, entirely different set of wants and responses that she's still learning. Which is why she waits until she can approach Asami and drape her arms over her shoulders from behind, and sneak a kiss to her cheek.]

Hello, beautiful. Things are looking pretty great here.

[A slight pause, because Korra thinks she's a lot better at being flirty than she is.]

Shop's looking good, too.

[futureinventor]

[Asami laughs, charmed by Korra's brand of affection.]

Yeah, I think things are really coming together. Hopefully once it's all set up I can settle into more of a routine.

[avatar_state]

[She's feeling very affectionate indeed. She moves some of Asami's hair out of the way, to kiss just below her ear on her jawline.]

I'm sure you will. Maybe I could help out, be your...what's it called...grease monkey?

[royalfling]

[ Wu crosses his arms, looking around at the space with a critical eye. It's not his first time here, but it's the first time he's set aside enough time to help out ]

You know, I think you could do something more with all of it. Yes, yes, I know you're repairing things, but you're you, Asami! You should still have a beautiful space to work in. So what are you thinking? Art, curtains, a nice rug? Not where you have all that greasey stuff, but in the rest of the shop.

[futureinventor]

There's going to be grease everywhere.

[She's not trying to shut him down but she's not really too concerned with the aesthetics of the whole thing at this point. You know, not while she's tightening the bolts on a machine across the room.]

There's an office upstairs, maybe I could do something nice there...

[royalfling]

An office! Yes, that should be nice, but that's for you, not for your customers. Even if it's greasy... what's grease-proof decor?

[ A real stumper for Wu. He taps his lips with a finger. ]

What are you thinking, for the clientele you want to serve here?

[ We must think about the audience! ]

[arclightning]

Need a hand with that—uh...

[ Asami sure is dragging... something! Some kind of big machine thing, it's all still kind of over Mako's head. Part of it seems to be floating somehow? He isn't sure what it'd even be used for but it's big and bulky and he'd come to give Asami some of the tea stash he'd built up at the Raccoon Room and see if she wanted any of the other extra bits he'd managed to forage over the last month, but he can't just let her drag the thing around on her own if he can lend a hand.

Before she can even answer, Mako rounds the thing to the other side, leaning his shoulder against it to give it a push over the threshold. ]

What're you gonna— [ wow it's so heavy ] —make with this thing?

[futureinventor]

Um...

[She drags it a little farther and then stops with a sigh. That's good enough for now.]

Honestly, I'm not sure. Apparently it's for infusing blood into parts to make them stronger or... give them special properties I guess. A vendor down the street was getting rid of it, and I offered to take it off his hands.

[arclightning]

[ Mako pokes his head out from around the thing to look at her, looking for a moment a lot like Bolin. ]

That's... horrifying. Why is so much of this place run on blood? There has to be a better thing to be using. That you don't have to get out of people.

[pabugotmoves]

[It's Friday or so by the time Bolin gets a chance to come by. He feels bad it's taken so long but he's been a busy boy and he thinks Asami will understand. So in he comes about mid day, knocking on the open door. There's a black beret perched on his head at a jaunty angle and he has, in his hand, a small gift bag with a piece of cake and a single, fresh stem of tiger lily. Expensive stuff.]

Hellooo, anybody home?

[futureinventor]

[Asami's hidden behind a very large piece of equipment near the back, but she pops her head out at the sound of a familiar voice.]

Hey Bolin!

[pabugotmoves]

Hey! There you are!

[Good, he can come in properly now. As if that would have actually stopped him.

He comes to meet her and offers the little gifts.]

Some little birdies told me you'd set up shop. This is amazing! How's it all going?

for laurel / mid november / sleeper farm

[specifiercity]

[Arthur wakes up in storage.]

[It's slow, and painful. His throat's dry and his shoulders ache from the weight of his body, and he can feel crystalized blood falling to the ground as he starts to shift. He makes a sound, a soft groan of effort as he looks around and sees the mangled bodies. His arms are tied to the wall above him and he groans again as he tries to pull, tries to summon some fire, any way to get free of this.]

[It doesn't work.]

[He can feel his stomach twisting as adrenaline starts to rev up in his exhausted body. He knows this feeling and he wishes he could stop it in its tracks, but it's largely out of his hands at this point. His voice shakes as he calls out.]

H-hey!

[lightinside]

[Thankfully, Laurel was rescued earlier by Luz so she’s been able to move around freely for some time now. Anyone she came across on her exploration that needed her help, she didn't waste any time in doing what she could.

Eventually, she finds a flight of stairs through a door down a hallway and advances up them, afraid of what she would find. The smell of blood and flesh hits Laurel first before she steps onto the third floor, making her cover her hand as she explores the room. This place was much worse than where she woke up and Laurel tries her best to not throw up, horrified by what she could see.

It isn't long until Laurel hears a voice - faint, but definitely there. ]

Hey. I can hear you! I'm coming, just hold on, okay?

[specifiercity]

[He hears Laurel's voice and it does little to calm him. He knows it's a potential way out of this, but it's a potential danger too. His heart's beating hard and he pulls his arm one more time, but it just hurts and he grunts with the pain.]

[He decides to take a chance, because at least he'll get out of this mess and he thinks he can fight if the source of the voice becomes a problem too.]

I'm over here!

[lightinside]

[For all she knows, this could be a trick. But Laurel is willing to take that risk because she would hate to leave someone in trouble if she was able to do something about it. She waits and listens quietly to see if the other person responds and once they do, Laurel makes her way carefully towards the voice.]

Almost there.

[Laurel calls back in response as she rounds the corner to discover Arthur with his arms tied, clearly unable to move. There's no time to waste as she steps into the area, careful not to knock into him.]

I got you, okay? [She reaches into her back pocket to retrieve a small piece of sharp stone she’d found on the floor, hoping it would be enough to cut the rope. Laurel starts to work on it as quickly as possible, sawing the stone against it.]

Just hold on.

can't believe i didn't write this yet smh

[falsify]

[ When he finally escapes that tower, the portal drops him off in Cellar Door. It comes with the vague thought that if he throws up from the pain and fatigue, at least it wouldn't be so wildly out of place here. ]

[ Truthfully he has no idea how he managed to get back-- there's some vague memory of a spell, maybe a glamour to keep himself hidden? Otherwise all he has is a mantra telling him to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and following as his omen guided him back to the house. ]

[ The house he barely makes it into. ]

[ He gets through the door and closes it behind him, and that's all he has left in him. Even the adrenaline is all used up. He sinks to the ground, a mess. Smears of dark blood on his skin alongside cuts and gouges, strips of flesh carved from his body. Even laying here on the floor hurts, but it's the least pain he's been in since he came to in that fucking place. ]

[ Once he's on the floor, he's out cold almost instantly. Curled on his side, he'd look peaceful if not for the state of him. ]

[ Now he's home, his Omen can focus on other things. Like getting help. Púca stands vigil next to Eames and tries to contact Arthur and Sylvia. ]

Are you near the house? We need you.

[ Urgency is, unfortunately, not something he's good at conveying, but he thinks he got it. ]

[specifiercity]

[Arthur wakes up to the full weight of his omen dropping on his chest. It nearly knocks the wind out of him, but to be fair to her he’s been almost unresponsive since getting home from his own trip to the Farm. Sylvia hops aside as he flails, waiting the second it takes for him to be able to process anything.]

Eames needs you downstairs.

[Everything about her tone and the sharp way she looks at him in the dark tells Arthur this is bad, and he hastily throws aside the covers and heads downstairs. His heart drops when he finds Eames, dropping to his knees beside him, hand starting to shake when he reaches out to touch him.]

No. No, no, no… Eames? Eames, please…

[falsify]

[ Speaking of unresponsive, Eames doesn't even stir. There is little in this or any world that could wake him right now. ]

[ His omen, at least, is calm. He's more worried about Eames' pain than the idea of him dying, that would be fine, but the agony he's going to be in while he heals is a terrible thought. ]

I can't move him. Not without making his injuries considerably worse.

[ The fox peers expectantly up at Arthur. Being bipedal and having hands gives him a lot more options here. ]

[specifiercity]

[Arthur looks at the fox with wide, desperate eyes.]

I can’t… I can’t lift him.

[His voice is trembling - he’d give anything to be able to do that right now, but there’s no way. Especially not with him in this state. He gets up and goes to the living room, returning shortly with some pillows and a blanket that he drops on the floor before sinking back down. He carefully lifts Eames head to slip a pillow underneath it, swallowing a lump in his throat as he smooths back Eames’ hair.]

What do I do?

for faolan / late november

[specifiercity]

[It takes Arthur about a week to be able to leave the house. He's exhausted from his own nightmares and having to fight Eames into resting, and the dark circles under his eyes do more than enough to show it.]

[And to think, he was really starting to settle into life here.]

[Fucking Sleeper farm.]

[Anyway, one of his first stops is to track down Faolan, getting his omen to scout him out and showing up unannounced at his door sometime in the late afternoon one day. He has a bottle of what he hopes is half decent whiskey in his hand, shoulders slouched miserably as he waits.]

[reticence]

[Despite the fact that Anduin has left the city over a month ago, Faolan still finds himself haunting his house. Haunting perhaps being the most accurate word -- given the fact that there are two men here from Anduin's homeworld, despite the fact that he has lived in this house the longest, he does feel as though he is not entirely welcome in this mansion of a house anymore.

When a knock comes at the door, he half expects for it to be one of his two other housemates -- even despite the fact that the one seems too secretive to have visitors and the other, well. He hasn't gotten a good read off of Fairwind, truth be told. Neither of them seem to be in though so when it comes again, he drags himself to the front door, raising his eyebrows in response to the figure that stands before him.]

Arthur. I don't suppose you're here to check up on me again...?

[A joke. That was supposed to be a joke.]

[specifiercity]

[Arthur lets out a breathless, amused sound, a little caught off guard by the comment. He shakes his head and holds up the bottle awkwardly.]

No, I uh... came to say thank you. Hope you like to drink.

[Also he really needed to get out of the house. Like it's fine if you don't invite him in but please invite him in.]

[reticence]

[Faolan can't help but raise his eyebrows in response to that, though he reaches out to take the bottle from the other man as he's offered it.]

Thank me?

[Of course he'll invite him in. He's already stepping back inside the house and ushering Arthur inside after him. He's hardly the best host. That was certainly more Anduin's area of expertise. But he can certainly show him to the kitchen and fetch him a drink himself, as he's come all this way.]

Come on, then. Would you like any yourself? [He holds up the bottle in question.] Or... Tea?