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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Wha—

[ Mako half-twists, looking back at the map for a second, but she can't protest too strongly: this is Lance's memory, and if he doesn't want Mako to see something, Mako can understand that. Plenty of her memories are private things that have been laid bare to people before she was ready. ]

If this is going to go bad, warn me now.

[Lance glances over at her for a split second as they reach the doors… that do not react to them because they are not physically here.]

Dammit. [He huffs, then explains.] There's about to be an explosion. But if we get on the other side of these doors right after they open, we'll be fine.

[He's had memory shares that affect him and those he's viewing them with, and those that don't. Not worth the risk to stick around and see if this is one of the kinder memories.

Behind them, Coran and memory Lance are heading in their direction, and then the doors open. Lance immediately heads through and doesn't pull Mako this time since she knows what the deal is now. A floating robot drone floats through past them. It also floats past memory Lance who waves to it.] Hey, Rover.

[Immediately though, if they turn to look it's clear that memory Lance suspects something is off. He slows and turns to watch the little drone fly up to the crystal in the ceiling of the bridge.] Wait, where's Pidge?

[There's an ominous beeping coming from Rover, and then Lance sees what is about to happen and immediately rushes to Coran to push him forward and away.] Coran! Look out!

[He yells it just as the explosion goes off. Coran is pushed forward and lands past the door's opening right where Lance and Mako are standing and memory Lance is caught up in the blast and the resulting smoke.

The blast shakes the whole castle, which draws the attention of the others in it, but the memory goes black… because from this point he doesn't remember much. They are still standing in the same location, but it's like the lights were turned off and all sound is muffled and there's a ringing sounding from everywhere. Current Lance looks around awkwardly.]

Uh… well, this's different.

[ They're in a memory, and so it shouldn't matter—

but as memory-Lance's voice raises in pitch, as he runs, Mako's instincts take over. She dives right along with Coran, shoving herself in front of him with a whirl of her arms, trying to control any of the fire. It doesn't really work—she's only a figment here, nothing close to the real thing—but her ears ring after the explosion all the same, and she looks up at Lance through the resulting darkness. ]

What is that thing? What happened?

Uh… well, that was a robot named rover who got hacked by the Galra to blow up our balmeran crystal and take down the castle's defenses.

[Yes, all of that makes complete sense to her, Lance. He takes a step forward into the darkened space and sees shadows moving. Then there's the muffled sound of voices through the ringing, a woman's British accent comes through, "Lance!"

Ohhh, okay.] I kind of got caught in it. This must be all my brain was able to hold onto after.

[ Picking her way through the darkness is tough with her head still fuzzy from the blast, but Mako's glad for the sound of Lance's voice, follows the flood of confusing words until she's standing beside him again in the darkness, close enough to be hit by his tail if it's still moving. ]

Sometimes I forget that you were in a war.

[His tail is in fact still moving, and he jerks when it hits Mako's thigh. He looks over to her, able to see clearly in the darkness thanks to being part cat. And yes, his eyes are creepy reflective. And they are narrowing.]

Why? Think I'm too much of a moron who doesn't think to fight in a war?

[It's meant to be sarcastic and biting, but the hurt shines through.]

[ Mako's eyes narrow all at once as she registers his tone. Okay, so that's where they're at, huh? She knew things were going to be weird—they weren't exactly on the best of terms, and it's her own fault she let herself get so corrupted, but— ]

Yeah, Lance. That's exactly it. I think the guy who survived Deerington for three years is way too much of an idiot to hold his own in a war.

[He makes a 'psh' sound and in the darkness there's the sound of running feet that breaks through. The rest of the team running off to try and fix what just happened. They told him the basics after he woke up, and at this point he's pretty sure he's completely lost consciousness because everything goes silent and dark.]

It's not hard to survive Deerington when you come back to life all the time. And I've died more than anyone after Vira-Lorr, so not the best counter point there, genius.

[He's acting aggressive and defiant, but it's a defense mechanism against the fact that a painful wound was hit back when they had their run-in on the network and with the mushroom at the worst time for it to be hit. And he's still hurting because it pulled out his biggest fears and insecurities and things he hates about himself and tossed them in his face while he was still reeling from the fallout of killing Reaper.]

[ Mako bites back a frustrated sound as she jerks away from the noise, half-expecting people to run through her or something. This liminal memory-space is blank and eerie and very unsettling. That step does take her closer to Lance,. ]

What do you want me to tell you, Lance? That I think you're an idiot who can't handle himself?

[Lance makes another 'psh' sound and his tail swipes in large arcs that hits her a couple times before he steps out of range. He crosses his arms more tightly and tries to find some source of light in the darkness.]

Why would I want you to repeat yourself? I got the message the first time. When you were a guy, anyway… whatever, do you still have your bending thing here? Can't you make some light?

That was never the message!

[ Mako snaps as she, too, steps back to avoid being hit. She absolutely can make some light, and that's probably a good idea, and also kind of ridiculous of her to be this annoyed and caught-off-guard. She should have thought of that. After a beat, she flares her fingers, letting a flame bloom orange-bright in her palm. ]

[Now that there's a bloom of light in the absolute darkness, Mako will see the expression he has on his face that he doesn't smooth over fast enough. In the cover of darkness he'd unconsciously let his face move with his emotions: deep-seeded self loathing, regret, pain and of course the trauma of war and torment, all mingling withe the frustration, which takes a back seat. Until that light blooms and then a moment later, he's letting the guarded frustration cover it all up.

The only lingering indication of the sadness and hurt etc. are the way his cat ears droop and draw back. Damn things keep betraying him.] Oh yeah? Sure sounded like it to me! If that wasn't it, then what was it, huh?

[ This, Mako thinks savagely and somewhat helplessly to herself, is why words are imperfect things, why she always manages to get herself into these situations. Because she thinks so hard about the right thing to say, crafts her words and nudges them into order and then spits them out and still manages to be misunderstood, to get it wrong, to lash out in a moment of uncontrolled anger.

Maybe a year ago, maybe if corruption were simmering higher in her blood, she would have snapped back that he was being stupid, that obviously that wasn't what she meant, not to take this so seriously, but now—with a year's growth under her belt and Wu's anger still loud in her head—she snaps her mouth shut with an audible click of teeth, and the flame in her hand wavers.

She saw those emotions. She sees those ears, pressed back, defensive and upset. This is bothering him. Has been bothering him?

Her nostrils flare with the flame as she lets out a slow breath. ]

It was... stupid.

[ Cautious, careful. Almost defensive, but not quite. Mako's gut twists and tightens. ]

Sounds like I'm full of applesauce to say it was corruption, but that's what it was. I could barely think, and I said stupid stuff. Even ticked Wu off.

[He's quiet for a good moment as he takes that in, arms crossed and tail swishing back and forth. The set of his ears has become more droopy and then he lets out a frustrated sound, his head tilting a bit to the side. But it's also relenting because he gets that.]

Bad timing too… [It's not like he'd be happy with the way Mako was acting on a normal day, but it came not long after his killing reaper breakdown that left him an emotional live wire. In a number of ways, he's still recovering and processing that even today.] …"full of applesauce", though? Dude, who says that?

[This from the guy who has said shit like 'holy crow'.]

[ Maybe because this is a sensitive conversation and Mako's already uncomfortable, maybe because she's tired of everything in her world being questioned, but Mako shoots him a Look. ]

What? It's a normal thing to say. Plenty of people say it. That's not the point. The point is...

[ Spit it out, Mako. Why are the most important words the hardest to say? Why do they always, always stick behind her teeth, requiring more breath than she seems to have to make real? The flame in her palm flickers, shrinks until she catches it and pushes it brighter. ]

The point is, I'm sorry.

[Lance snorts and awkwardly crosses his arms tight. Just because he gets what Mako was dealing with and can't be mad at him (her?) for being corrupted, doesn't mean he's suddenly okay. He lets out a shuddered breath.]

We… both had a lot going on. It's… fine. [Is it? He heaves a breath, closing his eyes.] Any other time that probably woulda rolled right off… y'know how it goes.

Also… literally nobody says that.

I hate this place sometimes.

[ Mako's mouth twists, and the flame flickers even more, juddering wildly, throwing orange light around the darkness. ]

The corruption is—I hate that it just happens. How much are you responsible for your actions like that? I know it's just like the dream, but you can't just... I can't just let myself get corrupted and then get off the hook.

[Lance has put a painful amount of thought and emotion into that same exact issue and he still doesn't have an answer. It's complex and difficult and he's not sure he'll ever be able to emotionally be okay with the fact that he's killed people under a mental influence of some kind. He'll always feel like he's responsible somehow. And he's sure there's psychiatrists somewhere who would love to pick all their brains as a study in some sort of trauma whatever.]

If I ever figure out the answer to that... you'll be the first to know.

[And oddly, as if that line was a set of magic words, the blackness around them shifts as the memory skips forward to when he was conscious again. It's hazy, but now they can see a purple room, there's a battle going on. Shiro is nearby Lance where he is starting to sit up, painfully so with his rifle and fire a shot at a large purple alien fighting Keith. Then he falls back unconscious again and the world is a black purple mess with muffled sounds.]

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January Catchall [OPEN]

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