deercountry | april catch

Entry tags:

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

dichotomy or you can dm me here!]

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No, mystery is good for you. [mostly he's kind of embarrassed to explain some of it, it'd be easier if they were just bullshit or something dirty. that's a thought though, maybe he'll teach pal that. fun.]

Miláčku. [he sounds it out slowly, a touch pink at the ears despite himself. well, a touch green. plant man.] It means something like dear or eh, sweetheart? I suppose.

[twelve courses is something viktor agrees is the worst, even if he's still warm in tine from their discussion so far.] They give you sorbet in between some to 'cleanse your palate.' There are also specific silverware for each course that must be used in the proper order.

I'll have to start guessing. [Technically, a fun new project? No, that's silly; he'll be content with this other definition, for now. His personal brand of affection doesn't normally extend into this kind of term of endearment, but since it's the thing Viktor offered, well. An exception?

He glances down at the table, mumbling the word a few times over before he's satisfied he isn't totally mangling it.] In that case: you're blushing, miláčku.

[God, they get more saccharine the longer this fish takes to be cooked. Palamedes doesn't even know what a sorbet is, either-]

Stop, though, you're going to put me on the floor. Why? The food doesn't know what you cut it with. That is seriously... unhinged.

[viktor runs a hand over his face. he is not a nickname guy, or a pet names guy, or go on dates guy so god, how is he supposed to cope with this?] I already deeply regret this. [does he? does he though?]

Not a terrible pronunciation. [he lowers his hand to offer a small smile despite himself.]

You have to hold the utensils a certain way, and place your napkin a certain way. [suffer like he suffered learning this shit.] Your elbows can never touch the table.

[but hey it's their fish. viktor sits up a little straighter giving pal a quiet look. time for the plan of 'ask lots of questions to the waitstaff.'] Excuse me, we were curious about the facade of this building. Do you know much about it?

[the guy glances between them then shrugs, then offers a quick 'no sir' as if remembering he should be polite. hm. not promising already.]

You don't; you like me. [It's okay, Viktor, being a pet names guy is perfectly reasonable and mild when your boyfriend is a sappy monster who writes romance novels and love letters. This is mild. Palamedes smiles at him fondly, only a bit teasing; it's cute when Viktor is fussy about these things, what can he say.] I'll practice my pronunciation later.

[Ah, and he looks down at his elbows all over this table, humming. Well— well, saved by the fish; he sits up some himself, although his elbows are still there, shamefully. Ahem.

He glances at Viktor, very good first question!! And - and oh, huh. Well, that diverts the course a bit. He says,] Huh!

[Like this waiter being clueless is a revelation, and then, as it occurs to him,] How long have you worked here? Just curious. It seems- exciting.

[This one gets another unhelpful response, 'a few months, sir,' and Palamedes does his very best to nod like that too is very interesting. Oh.]

[viktor sighs like pal caught him in the very believable lie that he regretted anything about them. sentimental. they have an audience now though so any of that needs to be put on the back burner for harassing this poor minimum wage trench worker.]

Do you know anything about the history of this place? [he's already losing patience- look, no one said he was good at this aspect of things. there's a reason why jayce took over the social shit.

the 'not really, sir' makes him almost sigh. the look he gives pal is one of this guy is not going to help, we'll need to find another. the poor dude just looks between them, clearly wondering if he's allowed to leave them to their fish yet.]

[Good god, Viktor, don't actually interrogate the poor man. Palamedes gives him a look, like, please - he is merely doing his job. He gives him a little nudge with his knee under the table, ahem.]

Right; well. [to the poor waiter,] Thank you, that's all.

[There, the waiter is freed. Palamedes waits until he's walked off out of earshot before he gives Viktor another look, marginally more amused than the last. Sir.]

Your subtlety lasted thirty seconds. 'When is he going to employ subterfuge?' I asked myself. Let's hurry and eat this overrated fish; we've got places to poke around where we shouldn't.

[the waiter can't hide the 'oh thank god' look as he heads off, viktor huffing at the nudge. wow, it's like his impatience isn't helpful? unbelievable.]

Bah, subtlety is for when the person actually has useful information. We were wasting our time and his. [ok maybe pal has a point. regardless he is not upset that's over quickly.] I suppose it was too much to hope for everyone who works here would be helpful.

[still, poking around where they shouldn't? that'll be interesting. he picks up his fork, regarding the fish. fancy fish, it probably has sauces and artfully arranged mushrooms and everything. whatever people eat in the trench. viktor isn't particularly impressed but he never was going to be.]

[Oh boy, the huffy plant man and his weird eyeball date are going to get talked about in the break room for sure. Now they definitely can't come back here until these changes have faded. Palamedes shakes his head, but he doesn't bother to hide his little grin - at Viktor's huffing, not at the poor waiter.]

I wouldn't expect the kitchen staff in the Library to know the ins and outs of the dining hall's history. [A beat, while he sticks his fork in a mushroom and gestures with it.] They did, but I wouldn't have expected it. As a rule.

[Hmm. Bad example. Well, they only have to make this fish look like they enjoyed eating it, then they can go. He... nibbles at the mushroom. It's a mushroom, alright.]

It's very edible.

[they get one more shot when they're not monsters, to maybe not menace the wait staff. viktor will make more of an effort, probably. then again he's not planning on asking any of the wait staff anymore prying questions since they're probably just living their lives in hell town.]

He has likely lived here his whole life, surely he could know something. [but alas. he goes for a piece of the fish, a breath of amusement at pal's assessment of one mushroom.] Worth the price edible?

[a bite. he sits back, not particularly impressed but at least aware it's pretty well cooked, he guesses?] Well, it's less alarming looking than some of the fish you can get at the docks. I suppose that's the draw.

[Viktor, good gracious. Palamedes snorts and nudges him under the table again, for his criticism. Be nice to waiters.]

I think slapping a whole fish on a plate is alarming no matter what the fish looks like. [Blood and bones and corpses, normal, but food that looks at you? Weird. He prefers fish that's fried in sticks, he's decided.] The mushrooms are decent, there.

[He's not super interested in the mushrooms, looking back towards those mysterious curtains from earlier, and then in the direction the waiter walked off in. Hmm.]

We have options for getting lost. [He wiggles his fork again, gesturing vaguely at each.] What do you think?

[fine, he'll be nicer. not to the fish though, it's good but like most fancy food he finds it pointlessly extravagant.]

Oh decent and edible, quite the feat they've managed. [he tries a mushroom, which is a mushroom.] I can see you getting distracted, try to finish a little more at least.

[not that he isn't distracted as well, following pal's gaze. he nods towards the mysterious curtains with-] Better not to run into the waiter again, and I would like to know where those go. [priorities can sometimes be curiosity, as a treat.]

[Oh, caught. He makes a face, but dutifully finishes one whole mushroom and even obtains a piece of fish to think about eating. Ahem.]

I had bread. [he had one bite of bread. actually, he's going to pick up the abandoned bread and have more of that, this fish is on pause. sorry fish.] Alright, though; curtains it is. Depending on what's back there, we may not have to pretend to be lost for a while yet.

[Maybe a simple 'oops, wrong room' will suffice? Who can say.]

[he's so proud of you. be proud of viktor in return, who has enough Food Trauma tm that not being fussy about it is kind of hard. he has learned to accept pal is a bird man who pecks at his food. he even has the wings for it now.]

I can rarely tell if you even like what you're eating. [it's making his preference agenda very hard, pal. so far he thinks the street food chips were probably the biggest hit? meanwhile the fish here is just getting ignored, fair enough.

anyway.] Precisely. I don't see any signs saying to keep out. [the curtains sort of imply it, but whatever.] Maybe we will finally learn what this place functions as besides just a restaurant and stage.

[Palamedes chews his fancy bread and considers, hm, that? It's an offhand comment, but he knows food is more important to Viktor than it is to him, even besides his terminally birdlike appetite, so ah, okay. He lifts the piece of bread a little.]

I like this. [womp...] Give me a minute, I'll try some fish before we go.

[You know, just to say he's done it. He smiles a little behind a sip of water, as Viktor really does make it sound like this place houses some kind of grand conspiracy. Like, is it odd that the big stone hangs on the front, and the very floors are also weirdly bloodstone-looking... yes, definitely. But after their poor waiter didn't seem to care at all, well.

Still, still. He's ready for espionage.]

What if it's very boring? When should I start tapping the walls for clues?

[ah, a favorite to exploit. he’s never made bread before, it can’t be that hard. haha. go to the fucking bakery… ]

The fish is not that impressive. [not really selling it.] But I will keep that in mind.

[but this is the fun part, not talking to waiters. being where they shouldn’t is excellent. he is not smirking a little.]

Please, maybe you will find a secret door, or one of your ghosts.

[No no, get into sourdough starters, Palamedes will learn to simp for breads. Actually, since the fish apparently is mediocre, he makes a half-exasperated face and picks up another piece of bread instead, to put on his little plate. There, see? He is Eating.]

I'll consider it a victory to find anything besides more red drapery.

[Although, if he thinks about it, perhaps an empty room with some drapes would be a certain kind of victory. In the 'get to be alone with the bf' sense, anyway. Hmm.]

A haunted storage room would be something. We'll see. Are you done eating?

[he will put this bread in his pocket if he must, let's go!!]

[honestly bread is Weird Science enough on top of feeding pal food he'll actually enjoy, it's a real possibility. giving up on the fish makes viktor chuckle, pushing his own away.]

I am, let's get moving. [it's Time. he leaves however the hell payment works at the red on the table, along with a tip because yeah, the guy deserves it. the lighting is low enough it won't be hard to sneak around quietly, and he reaches out his hand to take pal's.]

This is the second legally questionable date I've had with you. [he sounds quite pleased about that.]

[Time to eat nothing but carbs and the occasional fried food, at least they'll look a little less dangerously skinny in due time.

But yes, it's Time, and Palamedes is more than happy to abandon sitting politely at this table to holding hands and wandering around where they shouldn't. He squeezes Viktor's hand and sidles in close, bumping arms together as they walk very innocently back towards the Other Area of this place.]

As always, a life of crime would be a decent alternative if our projects don't turn out. [ha ha.] Don't get too riled up before we find out what's back there.

[only a little riled up. a smidge.]

[if they can weigh a normal human size that would probably be a win, thanks bread and fried foods. good for pal's bleeding hobby.

pal makes a nice light- a problem in keeping a low profile but good in being able to see better. his own mushrooms have a low purple glow so really hiding isn't much of an option so much as never being seen at all. at the moment viktor's plan is just 'let's see how far we get.']

Maybe we will end up stealing their blood stone in a grand heist. [dream big in this criminal au. pushing through the curtain leads to a set of hallways and several more doors, making viktor hum in intrigue.

he moves to one, tests the handle and cracks it open to find... a room? with a bed. the hotel room part, which makes viktor look over in triumph.] It is a brothel.

[hotels exist, viktor.]

[An excellent plan by Viktor, which seems to be working, if only because no one else is wandering this hallway with them right this second. Palamedes hums his agreement about stealing the big rock, excellent, yes, that's the ultimate goal - and shuffles up to peer over Viktor's shoulder into this particular room.

Well, it has a bed in it...]

This is what brothels look like?

[Like, it's Luxurious, he's guessing, but it's a room with a bed and some miscellaneous furniture. Did romance novels lie to him about brothels and sexy parties??]

Isn't someone supposed to be in here, if it's a den of sin?

Hm, usually. Though maybe this is just one of the empty rooms. [fine, maybe it's not a brothel. he's still suspicious though. beds? that's funny business.]

Maybe the workers are allowed to stay here? Or it is for the performers? [hotels. to be fair he's probably never even been in one of those. with a discontent hum he closes the door.]

Let's keep looking while this place is empty.

[beds are sus -- viktor 2022]

Now it's a dormitory? I don't know; those are very different concepts.

[But alright, back to wandering. It's a hallway, and all of these doors seem to look the same... Palamedes doesn't know what a hotel is at all, so here they are, confused about a hallway full of bedrooms. Maybe it is a weird dormitory that anybody can just walk into, behind a curtain!!

Ah, but here is a door marked 'PRIVATE,' behold. Palamedes stops in front of it, reaching out for the handle and wiggling his eyebrows at Viktor before he tries it - and lo! It opens!

It's a supply closet.]

Ah. Viktor, are we getting a lesson in hubris?

[no one appreciates his red string theory that the red is actually a very fancy brothel. he is unappreciated in his time.]

Bah, hardly. Either way it's a room for workers with a bed. [still he follows, and that private door? finally something promising. things that say private must be important-

ah. viktor squints into the supplies lining the small space, resisting the urge to sigh.

before he can offer a quip back he hears footsteps, which has him tugging pal quickly into that supply closet and quickly shutting the door behind them. at the very least they help light up the small space, and viktor puts his fingers to pal's lips as he listens.

after a beat with no indication they were caught he whispers,] I feel I should be learning something here, yes.

[Bring out the conspiracy board and maybe Palamedes will listen, but until then, it's just a tacky restaurant with a stage in it. And these bedrooms, and this supply closet, which Viktor has dragged them into before Palamedes has a chance to look down the hall and see if someone is coming who actually works here.

Like, someone who might need to come into this supply closet? It's fine, evidently; the footsteps fade, and besides the weird angle he has to move one of his big wings into so as not to knock over all the shelves in here, it's - hmm.

Comfortable is the wrong word for the supply closet. Cozy, as well. Crowded, perhaps, but only in an interesting way. He hums softly and reaches up to take Viktor's hand away from his mouth, not learning about hubris at all if Viktor is doing that. Ahem.]

Well, [he whispers back, even though the footsteps are gone,] what's our next move?

[maybe it was another janitor, always the innocent in the crossfire of their nonsense. viktor eases a little to find they aren't discovered one way or another.

frankly they'd probably be less suspicious power walking down the hall than being found in here. ah well, kneejerk reactions.

when pal moves his hand he glances over, moving to rest that hand on pal's chest- hm indeed. getting distracted now of all times would be a terrible idea, but as it turns out viktor is full of those, ranging from 'put blood on the evil rubix cube' to 'seriously consider making out with his boyfriend in a supply closet they aren't supposed to be in.']

Escape, most likely. [still low between them. maybe a little closer.] Or we could give it a few more moments, to make sure. [uh huh.]

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