mehanizovati: (27)
Viktor ([personal profile] mehanizovati) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2022-03-31 12:24 pm

april catch - all

Who: viktor and others, open to all with some closed prompts
What: some late march/early april logs, including some tdm stuff. i'm happy to attach something else on if anyone's interest in doing something specific
When: late march through april
Where: various

content warning; terminal illness, arcane season 1 spoilers, likely game typical beast gore/body horror, potentially ableism mentioned, claustrophobic imagery



open prompts.

fishers of dreams - the lighthouse, early april (tdm)

a. while awake


[if you've been roped into this lighthouse business too you may enter to find a man already there. he seems vaguely disgruntled by the business, offers vague greetings but otherwise sticks to scribbling in his notebook. it looks like schematics and formulae, but anyone with an eye for either might notice they tend to trail off and start in odd bursts.

viktor will offer to cook when evening falls (or whatever seems to be the right mealtime in this place) so maybe that is a better time to strike up conversation. the smell coming from the kitchen is heavy on whatever spices the place stocks, promising pain to anyone who doesn't have the stomach for that sort of thing. worse if he finds the rotgut liquor tucked away, which he will pull out and offer despite smelling more like turpentine than anything edible.

these tricks of the eye though, flashes of people vaguely recognizable, he chalks it up more hallucinations. last month was mushrooms, so this? irritating, far more distracting, but it followed the pattern.

it isn't until later in all this he'll track whoever is with him down.]
Did you see someone else come through? There, just up the stairs.



b. nightmare

[trying to reach the odd lighthouses is fruitless, the shadows converge and when the dark clears the area seems more closed in than before. it shouldn't be, he was just outside on the shore, yet now the dark sky seems to hang too low, lower still, suffocating.]

What now? This is another illusion of sorts, is it not? One this place is so fond of. [viktor sounds more irritated than anything, maybe defensive since the grip his has on his crutch is white-knuckle tight. in the distance seems to be a lighthouse, though the light is far and the area is so stifling, promising a tunnel that will close and snuff out the light entirely.

it's ridiculous of course, the walls are not that close, certainly not enough for this suffocating grip on the lungs and throat. there's no real explanation, less so when a few steps forward and the ground begins to dot with great metal cables, the distinct, sickly sweet smell of chemicals in the air. there are pools between them where the ocean should have been, this time shallow spills of what could be gasoline or something similar, slick rainbow puddles, oily and difficult to walk through without slipping or sinking.]

(ooc; for this one please, feel free to add your own character's nightmare in any flavor at any point!)



odds and ends - willful machine, early april

[viktor can be found around the vendors often enough, especially those specializing in scrap metal, tools or small machinery. for the most part he doesn't stick out, except for the fact often his massive omen often accompanies him, some sort of huge pink salamander/axolotl that he'll lean against or ask rather politely to help carry larger purchases.

he doesn't seem to notice or care about any attention, though the creature will blink curiously around. feel free to approach or find him haggling rather intently for such a stick of a man, accent thickening when it gets heated enough. maybe you want the same scrap? or are looking for something and he's standing nearby enough to notice a lost look and offers assistance?]



[one might also find him about by the sound of a nasty coughing fit. he stands with his back curled, a rag to his mouth as a makeshift handkerchief. it's a wet cough that shakes his entire frame, and when it's over his sniffs and clears his throat, straightening.

the cloth is stained in a pale color that catches the perpetual moonlight of april. paleblood, that he regards for a moment before folding the cloth in on itself with a small frown.]





closed prompts.


jinx - willful machine, late march

[viktor doesn't stay by the lamp exactly. he would usually but he hardly sees the point when this person he's meeting knows him by sight as far as he can tell. it leaves him feeling comfortable to wander within eyeshot mostly of the lantern, strolling down the canal docks to find a place to stand and watch the boats cut slowly through the water.

he likes it here, he thinks, in this district. the noise and foot traffic, the winding canals and dirty water, the boats bobbing to and fro - it wouldn't be a bad place to set up. a lab that will double as his home because he doesn't see the point in separating the two any longer, even if he can practically hear heimendinger's tutting about his work-life balance in his ear. it will be closer to the vendors, less of a hike to acquire what he'll need to start fresh. first a new brace for his leg and back, then some basic experiments into lunar energy to get a feel for it.

his lungs flare and burn, minor enough he manages to swallow it down without reaching for the rag in his pocket. he makes a note of the severity and timing, adds it to his growing mental list that seems to indicate his illness does indeed remain but is diminished. promising, if he's being optimistic, but at the moment he feels only a sense of irritation that now he doesn't know the timeline of his own life. one he might be shortening drastically with this ridiculous stunt.

a sigh and viktor goes back to watching the boats, trying to clear his head. he considers trying to message vi and ask her opinion of this but... no, he doubts he'll get anything. he's not sure if he disgusts her as a class traitor or amuses her in truth. better to just see for himself what he's gotten himself into like a fool.]




allen - willful machine, early april

[the 'grand tour' doesn't amount to much yet, the lab area just a large, empty space dotted with a few tables and a couple of desks, not even a chalkboard he's been keeping an eye out for or something that could do the same. one of the desks at least is littered with junk, at the moment tools and the starts of a knee brace, a table nearby with all the scrap he's managed to grab that could be useful in the future. one corner has a cot, maybe he'll clear out whatever other small rooms the place has later for a bedroom proper. maybe not.

viktor seems satisfied with it as he gestures around, and rio has commandeered one of the tables for her own to lie across.]
A solid start, I think. I like this area, this eh... Willful Machine, that is.

[he'll never admit part of it is the boats. everyone's allowed a sort of childish interest, right? they're soothing, even if they lack the motors that fascinated him.] Have a seat, if you'd like. How have you been since the tombs?



wildcard.

[as i said, feel free to ask for anything else, including other tdm prompts, i am more interested in seeing the worlds built by others for the archway prompts so i didn't include any here. my plurk is [plurk.com profile] dichotomy or you can dm me here!]
hearuthinking: (Grr)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-11 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Yep; Freud's rollin' in his grave, but fuck him. [He gives a humorless smile] That pretty much sums Trench up in a nutshell.

[He never really thought of himself as claustrophobic, but it's getting really enclosed here. Too similar to the catacombs last month where sometimes he had to crawl through bones. Jason shudders and feels something grab him, something strong that's going to drag him away. Instinctively he pushes Viktor back so he doesn't get grabbed by the creature, too]

[As the way nightmares go, it's kind of a weird mix of a skeleton and the well monster he fought when he first arrived. Jason gropes around until he finds his knife and starts stabbing wildly. He fought off a vampire; he's not going to let this nightmare take him out]
hearuthinking: (Panic)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-11 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, yeah, get it in the fuckin' eyes!

[He remembers Esfir doing that to the actual well monster. And when Viktor lands a blow, the creature shrieks and releases Jason's grip. He quickly gets out of reach, shaking a little from the adrenaline and fear]

Thanks.

[He's still shaking a little. Once was enough with that thing]
hearuthinking: (Listen)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-11 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm good, Vik. I'm good. [Shit, Nick was right: he really does repeat himself when he lies. Thankfully Viktor doesn't know him well enough to catch onto that yet]

Then we'd better keep goin'. [He shakes off the rest of the attack's aftermath so they can keep pressing forward. But after a few more paces he's starting to notice the weird noises, too]

You hear that? The fuck is that noise?
hearuthinking: (Default)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-11 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
That one's all you. I don't think I've set foot in a factory in my fuckin' life.

[Though what he knows about them tells him there should be more open space than he's feeling. So it's pulling out fears and combining them? Like how it pulled out the well monster and mashed it with skeletons from the catacombs]
hearuthinking: (Default)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-12 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
[He raises an eyebrow, though his lip twitches a bit. So apparently Viktor is a bit wordy]

Yep. I told you about that well monster that attacked me when I first got here. It tried to grab me like that and drown me.
hearuthinking: (Concern)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-12 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
[The healthiest. Jason buries things down so deep he had to fall into a temple to open up to anyone. And he learned absolutely nothing from all the torture he went through in NOT sharing in February because he is still burying]

I'm tryin' not to think about it.

[Even without the vampires, there's the usual horrors of war that this place could use against them]
hearuthinking: (Concern)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-12 11:23 am (UTC)(link)
[He pauses when Viktor starts coughing. He waits until the other straightens and puts a gentle hand on his back]

You got this, Vik. Just a little bit farther and we're outta here. Lean on me as much as you need to.
hearuthinking: (Blush)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-12 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[The coughing worries him. He knows a little first aid but not enough to really help if Viktor needs it. The best Jason can do for him is get him out of the nightmare. He helps push them forward as fast as Viktor can manage. Jason is glad he came in here; if he was in the waking world this whole time, he might not have seen Viktor being in any danger.

He lets out a little amused snort. Damn, he does like a guy who can make jokes during tense situations]


What would you do, give this place a stern lecture? That would show it.

[He sends up a silent prayer that this is right, and slaps the lighthouse like one would tag out after a relay or something]
hearuthinking: (Default)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-13 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
[His eyes twinkle in amusement and then he snaps back to focusing forward. The way the world kind of snaps back around them makes him think maybe they made it. Then he smells the food and sees that color is back in the world. It definitely seems like they made it, though he doesn't let down his guard just yet.

It's only when the fishermen are gone that he relaxes slightly]


I think we did it, Viktor. Whatever the fuck it was.
hearuthinking: (Concern)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-13 11:41 am (UTC)(link)
You got it.

[Assuming Rio is still around, Jason will ease Viktor over to her. Esfir comes around, growing until she's as large as a lion. Jason puts a hand on her to keep himself steady until Viktor is settled. Then he's sitting as well, using Esfir's larger form to lean against]

The fuck was the point of all that? What sort of fucked-up ritual were they doin'?
hearuthinking: (Listen)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-13 08:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[He gives Rio a pat and thanks both her and Esfir for watching over him and Viktor while they were asleep]

I got the same feeling. Maybe it was one of them patrons. Last month was that weird goat creature. I don't know who the patron is this month, but it could be this whole ritual is for them.
hearuthinking: (Side-eye)

[personal profile] hearuthinking 2022-04-13 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Argonaut? Seriously? [He lets out a snort] I'll try not to take that personally.

[What a dumb and nerdy joke that will likely go over Viktor's head]

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