deercountry | January Catchall [OPEN]

Entry tags:

January Catchall [OPEN]

Who: Lance (

azurestar) and OPEN
What: Catch-all log for January.
When: All of January
Where: All over Trench.

Content Warnings: alcohol and drug use, risky behavior, symptoms of PTSD and trauma induced hallucinations etc., memory loss, shedding of skin to alter one's body and all the psychological issues that comes with, traumatic memory share, lockjoint, will add more specific warnings as they arise.

SNAKE DEN

i. [Lance frequents the Red practically every night it's said to be hosting the talent and fashion shows. He only gets on the stage when he's in different forms, though. In the second week of the month, he's a catboy thief from a tabletop fantasy game called Monsters and Mana. On stage, as this persona he'll grab a guitar and start singing extremely well and captivatingly as he walks through the audience and uses his tail pick pocket the onlookers. He can also be found chatting people up and lounging in booths with beautiful ladies in this form and letting them pet his ears... yes, he's purring when that happens.

In the middle of the month, he's a bit younger, back to who he was before he went to space at the age of 17, and he'll be getting on stage to show off his acrobatic and dance skills, as well as his musical skills. He'll descend from the ceiling from bolts of fabric around his legs and waist, with his guitar in hand, spinning around slowly and playing with a rose in his teeth. He'll then toss the rose to the prettiest person in the audience an start singing and dancing quite well once he reaches the ground.

Also in the middle of the month, he's a beautiful young woman for a short stint. In this form, he does singing and dance routines, showing off his high notes and also gets in the fashion show, the outfits he gravitates to look like this, this and this. He can also be spotted mingling in the crowd dressed nice and downing champagne flutes and charming everyone.]

ii. [As a paleblood, people will be extra compelled to open up to him and tell him the truth in this space, and in all his shedded forms he's pretty good at active listening if the subject is heavy enough. He may also offer to help ease pain if someone is hurt or emotionally suffering, as that's the paleblood power he has when touching people skin on skin. At first he'll be confused about people just dumping all their truth on him, but eventually he'll start to figure it out and definitely take full advantage with some people he knows or is curious about.

He'll sidle up to anyone who looks interesting or he wants to get to know, and especially to existing friends and go:] Sooo, got anything you wanna get off your chest, maybe?

[It will be easy to mistake him for a working nightwalker, feel free to proposition him for anything.]

iii. [In all his forms detailed above, he'll be available for a private conversation or interaction as even he needs some time to sit and chill out. Often, he'll be laid back in a more private area just strumming on his guitar and casually singing random lyrics that come to mind. Because of his empathic powers, what he's unconsciously singing about may feel specifically tailored to your life, especially if he touched your skin and took some suffering or pain from you no matter how small. If he hasn't touched you recently, then the song may still feel relevant to you and like the notes being played hit you in your soul, but it's not as deeply specific.

Lance doesn't realize he's doing this, he still doesn't have control over his powers and has not figured out how to consciously channel them. When he notices someone's emotional or physical presence, he'll stop playing and look over, brows drawn together.]

Uh hey, looking for something? Maybe someone~?

[He waggles his eyebrows a bit and smirks on that last bit. Could be he means someone else, or himself and is implying you should stay a while and hang out with him. Either way, he's not bothered and oblivious to what he was just doing that got your attention. If you'd like specific lyrics and a musical tone/genre for your character, just describe the emotions/situation they are experiencing that Lance would be singing about in prose and let me know.]

SHEDDING CEREMONY

iv. [Later in the month, Lance sheds into a full AU of himself where he isn't human, but a highly advanced Android that didn't know he was an Android until very recently. Many things in his life are the same, and he remembers Deerington, but through the perspective of an Android Lance with slight differences to his background and certain edits to what he experienced. From his perspective, he's just returned from a big "canon update" where he discovered what he is and is understandably shook.

He can be found overcompensating as he walks through the streets of Trench or enters various venues to shop, shooting finger guns at every person he sees. This is normal, he's normal, he's totally a person and not a thing with no soul. But the mechanism that keeps his head attached to his body is disrupted after he recently tested taking it off and promptly freaked the fuck out, he didn't put it back on entirely right, so all it takes is someone or something jostling him and- POP! His head comes off and rolls up to your feet.

He looks up at you from the ground looking like he's barely keeping his shit together and trying not to freak out as he blinks and then laugh so nervously and through a tight anxious throat, that he chokes on it.]

Hey, l-looks like I lost my head a second there...

v. (closed) [Vary late in the month, Lance is a merboy! He sheds to the form in the night, and all his memories are shifted slightly, he doesn't know where he is and believes belongs with Mariana ever since arriving in Trench. In his version of history, many things are the same, except that he had his DNA messed with on an ocean planet and gained the ability to turn into a mer. He struggled with the feral nature of that side for a long time and coming to Trench, steeped in blood pollution caused him to perma shift into the merman state and heavily bond with the Ocean. Naturally, this was startling and scary to him to wake up in a strange place and he started freaking the fuck out when woken.]

vi. [After merboy Lance is brought back to Mariana, he is actually quite happy to talk to people who come by the docks, he'll pop up out of the water and grin with all sharp teeth and flirt, Mariana sometimes assisting him further out of the water by lifting water with him in a cone. But his flirting is sometimes meant to lure in victims... yes, he's one of those siren types of merpeople. Sometimes, he's harmlessly interacting and interested in having some fun, others... he's hunting.

If he's not directly targeting you on the docks, you can catch him in the middle of luring a poor sailor out of their boat and into the water with him. If you call out to interrupt, he'll look over at you with a death glare and his hands fisted in the person's shirt as he's in the process of pulling them in.]

Ohoho you better not be interrupting us right now. Can't you see we're having a moment??

UNSNAKELY

vii. [Lance has taken a liking to Madam Generosity as she slithers through the streets. He feels comforted by her and talks to her as she goes, running to try nad keep up. Then, it doesn't take long before he's just riding on her back every now and again throughout the month, no matter what form he's taken or what memories he has (excluding merboy). Catch him lounging on his back with his hands up and pillowing the back of his head and ankles crossed like he's on the beach, definitely flirting with the giant snake.]

So, how's your day going, beautiful? Heading anywhere interesting?

viii. [Because of his affection for Madam Generosity, he does fall into the unsnakely's traps more than once and in multiple shedded forms (all but merboy). And unfortunately, his star powers are still not working correctly, even after he's shedded, and in some forms he has no powers at all, so when he follows the trail to find the snake of his heart, he's not the most prepared for when a giant fiery beast emerges to attack.]

AHHHH!

[Immediately, he leaps out of the way of a fiery attack and covers his head protectively. Then he hops up and looks around for any assistance or weapons or ideas. Regardless, he's taking a stance and rolling up his sleeves.]

Alright, let's do this.

[And if he's in a body that has powers and/or combat training (regardless of their functionality), he'll stand his ground. If he's his younger, early canon self or his catboy self, he'll immediately run for his life after saying that.]

WINTER MOURNINGS

ix. [Possible memories from Deerington open in the thick of a jungle where many of them were forced to battle each other much like in the Hunger Games. This is where he ate a man, killed his friend Moira and where Reaper tortured him to death in revenge and he'll look around at the place they end up, look at you, then at the area again...] Nope. Bye.

[And with that he turns to walk away into the jungle. And if it's not the jungle you found yourself in, it's the streets of Deerington during darker periods such as October's blood filled streets or something that looks more benign and normal but definitely isn't. He'll have no idea what is about to happen and that makes him fidgety. He looks around uneasily and then his hands come up to his head.] Maaan, this could be anything!

x. [The experience begins in his memory and the first thing you see is the inside of a very futuristic space ship, fighter cockpit, or you're in the back seat of a land rover on earth. These possible memories are from his time back home and they have him sighing next to you heavily with a note of "oh this again" on his breath.] Well, let's strap in, this'll be over soon.

WILDCARD

( Want to combine old Winter Mourning Prompts with current events? Want to add a lockjoint element to one of these prompts? Or just wanna come up with something completely unique? Hit me with anything your heart desires. Current Event and last month's event prompts are largely flexible with each AU form as well, if you want a specific AU form for a prompt that doesn't specify which one/leaves it open, just let me know in the subject line. If you'd like to plot, I would be more than happy to! Contact me on my plotting comment where I detail all my ideas so far, at spypigeon or on discord at charley#8222! )

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[Lance is ten times more agile in this body and when a flaming rock lands in their path, he grabs Wu's arm and pivots them around it smooth and easily. His tail wraps around Wu's lower back to help pull him along as well... and he may also have just picked through his pockets and stolen some stuff because he's now a massive klepto.]

Man, you weigh a ton now! And I'm not fuzzy! I just have a tail and cat ears! And tattoos or something!

[He pokes at the markings on his cheeks.]

[ Wu yelps when Lance grabs him, but then he realizes that Lance just saved his life (again) and he clings to Lance's arm a little too hard (he doesn't know his own strength in this body). He doesn't notice being robbed, seeing as they're literally running for their lives, but Lance will find several gem stones, some very pretty shells and feathers, his Omni, some keys, a crumpled piece of paper with a list of Rocky Horror props they need, and a well-loved, paperback historical romance novel. ]

Hey! That's-- that's so weird! Do you, do you have the same memories? Are you still from space?

[ Because, this all looks super different, but it could just be a cosmetic change.

Wu grabs Lance now and pulls him down the next street, which is narrower, harder for the Unsnake to follow them, he hopes. ]

[All of those things get stored into Lance's pockets… and he will absolutely return them after he's back to himself. Sorry Wu. And Lance wiggles his arm that's in Wu's grasp.]

H-hey, you're cutting off my circulation! And yeah, I'm still me. I'll explain more, whe-

[Just then a flaming rock the size of a soccer ball hits him square beteen the shoulder blades and knocks him down. And yep, he's also been temporarily knocked out since his head slammed on the ground hard. The only sounds coming from him are faint, dazed groans, almost comical when you remove the context.]

[ Wu lets out a cut-off shriek when Lance gets hit. He's still holding onto him and Lance is pulled out of his grip as he goes down, but Wu doesn't leave him there. He hesitates, looking down at Lance, then back at the monster, then he doesn't have the time to think it through, so he reaches down for Lance, intent to drag him like he would have to in his normal body, but right now Lance feels so light to his much more developed muscles, and he hefts him far too fast.

But then the monster sends another streak of fire toward them and Wu dances out of the way. The fire barely misses Lance and Wu knows he has to do more than this. He has to. He's strong now! He can do this! ]

I can do this!

[ He says it to himself and reaches down to grab Lance, hefting him up into his arms the way Mako has carried him so many times, and he wonders vaguely if this is how Mako feels when he's doing that.

The the monster lets out a crashing roar as it squeezes its way into the alley and Wu hightails it out of there with another scream. He knows he should be quiet, but it's pretty hard to remember just around now! ]

[Yes you can do this Wu! …Is what Lance would say if he were conscious right now. He's a little singed, but okay when Wu picks him up, hopefully the smell of burning fur isn't too overwhelming.

The Unsnakely has gotten closer in the time being and roars so close and loud, the ground trembles. That seems to be enough to jostle Lance a bit from his spot in Wu's arms.]

Hmrm… star………………buttts.

[Not all there yet. Oh look that alley is getting destroyed and a fiery pebbles are raining down!]

[ Okay well at least he's alive. That's what matters! Wu books it out of there, shrieking again as fire rains down on them. A few of the pebbles hit his coat and he yelps, leaping from foot to foot.

He spares one glance backward before trying even harder to run as fast as he can. He's letting out a low whine as he goes because he's fucking terrified, and that fear is radiating off of him.

He isn't thinking about where he's going, not really, not at all. His mind is full of static and fear, his muscles are working, and they aren't tired yet, which is a nice change of pace, and by the time he's aware of where he is and what he's doing again, it's quiet. It's quiet and cold and he might have lost the monsters. His steps slow, and he looks down at Lance, finally feeling the ache in his arms from carrying him so far. As soon as he thinks about it, though, he feels it everywhere, the exhaustion deep in his bones, and he drops down to the frigid ground, legs collapsing under him. ]

[That fear is so intense that it starts to pull Lance out of his daze, thanks Paleblood powers. And he starts to stir when the fire pebbles fall on them, but he isn't fully conscious until there's cold air around them. He'd been going in and out of it through the run, more aware each time he gets a strong blast of Wu's fear.

He groans when Wu drops, eyes fluttering and arms uncoordinatedly fumbling and grasping momentarily. He bumps Wu in the cheek and his back arches as he rolls instinctively away from the solid object he'd just hit. Clearly, the way to go is away from that even though he's not sure of what it is.]

Hrmphasssss, fi mo minu… [As he rolls, the bleeding and charred wound on his back twinges and he makes a squeak, falling the rest of the way out of Wu's arms and onto the ground. Faced-down.] W-whosat?!

[ Lance rolls away from him, and Wu tries to reach out to stop him, but his arms feel so weak, as if he doesn't have any of this additional muscle at all. ]

Lance... [ His voice is small and weak and he curls up, knees tucked into his chest (so much harder to do, stupid bulky muscles) ] Lance, are you okay? I, I think we got away. We should... [ Keep going, get off the street, get somewhere safe ]

[Well now he's definitely more with it, though his head is swimming, he fumbles his way to his knees. Instinctively, he reaches out to Wu and steadies himself on his shoulder but he's struggling to really focus on him, head bowed.]

I'm… I think I'm good. What… happened? Where are we?

[ Wu reaches up to grip Lance's hand, glad that Lance is up, that he's lucid, at the very least. ]

You got hit. That, that horrible monster! It hit you! I'm so sorry, I couldn't, I didn't do anything. But I, I ran. I think we got away from it.

[ As if summoned by his voice (and maybe it was), there's rumbling nearby. Not imminent danger, but closer at hand than Wu wishes it was. He cowers a little, casting his eyes around nervously ]

We need to, to get out of here. Find a lamp? [ It's a question because he has no idea if that's a good idea or not ]

[Lance manages to look at Wu as he goes on about how he was hit and how he was sorry for not doing anything. His brows draw together in confusion.]

Wu… you did do something. You did the only thing you could do and you saved my life. [He puts both hands on his shoulders and grips firmly shaking him gently like that will make the point sink in.] I-

[Then there's that rumbling, he sways a bit and it really pulls him into sharp focus. He nods, reaching down for Wu's hand.] Right, let's go. [Then he starts to get up and fumbles back to one knee.] Dammit.

[The rumble comes again, stronger.]

[ Wu squeaks at the rumble, and pushes himself up, hefting Lance with him. These muscles are very handy, and he wraps an arm around Lance's back to help brace him ]

We have to, have to get out of here. Can you walk?

[ Wu doesn't know if he can carry him again. He doesn't know how he did it before, really.

But Lance's words echo in his head: he helped. He did it. He saved Lance's life. He's never done anything like that before, and he can't let it be for nothing now ]

[Lance nods at the question, it was just a momentary fumble, he's fine. His ears twitch and swivel on his head, the benefit of cat ears means that even when they don't feel the rumble, he can hear it approaching and how far it is, now that he's fully conscious now, anyway.]

Yeah, let's go. Any idea where we ended up? I don't recognize this area.

[They have a few minutes maybe to orient themselves and figure out a direction. If he's judging the sounds correctly, anyway.]

[ Wu glances around, and he thinks that they might be somewhere in Willful Machine. He comes here a lot to shop for the Room, and tugs Lance in the direction he thinks the lamp might be in. ]

Yeah, I... I think so. This way, we have to, to use a lamp. Get away from it.

[ He's in a little bit of a fervor to get there, to get out, even if his eyes catch on Lance's ears again. It's so odd, but, well, they have more important things to think about right now. ]

[They can absolutely talk about the ears thing when they get to that lamp. He lets Wu lead the way, the more they walk, the easier it is to keep his feet under him. His ears keep swiveling backwards and he lets out a nervous sound.]

We should… pick up the pace. How far d'you think we are?

[He knows Wu is exhausted and he's not in the best shape either, but he can hear it gaining ground far below the earth.]

Not-- far.

[ He thinks. He thinks. His sense of direction didn't get better with the addition of muscles, and the rumbling is getting louder and his heart is pounding in his ears and Lance's ears are twitching and that's so weird and he grabs Lance's hand and pulls him faster, his own legs aching from the exertion and

There. There it is, the lamp, and Wu cries out in relief, but that cry only makes the rumbling louder and closer and Wu starts to run, pulling Lance with him. The Unsnakely appears around the corner they just came from, and they get an eyeful of it just as they reach the lamp. ]

AHHHH!

[Lance yells in a very non manly way as the Unsnakely appears and immediately grabs for that Lamp. His hand on Wu's tightens and he decides to leave the destination to Wu, he doesn't even want to think of what might happen to them using the lamp while holding hands and thinking of two different destinations…

Wherever they end up, he'll immediately fall to his knees and start rubbing his face on the ground to listen for the Unsnakely. Because he doesn't trust this place to not teleport it over to them.]

Edited 2022-03-02 02:42 (UTC)

[ They end up outside the Raccoon Room (where else?), and Wu slumps down next to him, his chest heaving. Wu isn't really one to judge an unmanly yell. He leans against Lance with a whine ]

Why does that thing want to kill me so bad?!

[ At least they got away. They got away, they're alive, they haven't been exploded into fire ]

[Lance lifts his head, relived to not hear any rumbling and his ears droop in relief as he sits up. Then he leans against Wu in kind.]

Well, it didn't follow us somehow. So maybe it doesn't wanna kill you that bad?

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January Catchall [OPEN]

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