( open ) weird science

[hexcurse]

Who: Jayce (+ Viktor) and you!
Where: Outskirts of Panorama, the Scrapyard
When: Throughout August
What: A man and his bug make a discovery out in the Fringes. Let's do some science! Open prompts will be in the comments below.

Warnings: Body horror as our blob friend gains a skeleton, will add additional warnings to comment headers as needed.

Comments

OPEN - throughout August (general repairs, Viktor + Jayce)

[hexcurse]

[ Viktor and Jayce have been doing freelance repair jobs around Panorama, mostly picking up work via word of mouth. Generally, they can fix your broken appliances, phones, and vehicle troubles. Their limitations, like everyone else here, is money and supplies - so if they're unable to get what they need, they can at least give you an honest assessment of the issue and potential ways to solve it.

If you're given their number, you can call them up to:
☑ meet at your residence, you'll get a knock on the door
☑ meet at the outskirts of Panorama, a beat-up looking truck will pull up and you may notice an eight foot tall creature in the back
☑ meet at the side of the road where you've broken down, they're generally willing to pick up people between Panorama and the Scrapyard
☑ wildcard, pick a parking lot somewhere, or maybe your place of employment has something busted, or wave them down in a diffusion zone for assistance! ]

side of the road on the outskirts!

[godfragment]

[To his credit, John hadn't meant to drive recklessly. He'd only been driving like himself-- a creature of too many limbs, too many moving parts, still learning how to carry all that he is in a machine built for something simpler. Now the car, rust-worn and groaning, rests like a wounded animal on the fractured shoulder of a road that reeks of heat and old fuel. The skyline looms behind him through the haze, crouched and watchful as an animal.

The vehicle isn't ruined. Something inside it has failed, quietly shutting down on him whilst he's still a ways out from the city proper. Fuck if John knows what's wrong with it. Only that it has stopped. So he'd called their number-- the one passed along by another fluxdrift who'd helped him once, when a tire had torn itself apart within half an hour of his arrival.

This is fine. It's all fine. People are fine. He just doesn't know how to be around them.

He has grown accustomed to existing within the bounds of someone else, going unseen and unheard by all but one man. But here, now, he's on his own. There is only daylight and bad luck and the inevitable moment when someone will meet his eyes and not know what they're seeing. So he stands at a polite distance from the car, its hood yawning open, hazard lights blinking their slow, red pulse into the sun-blanched afternoon.

He folds his arms. Unfolds them. Draws his living hair back into the hood of his robe. Tries to shrink without seeming to. He flickers - faintly, momentarily - between the soft blur of his less-anchored form and the more solid shape that is more 'home' to him. One looks spectral, the other wrong. He doesn't know which is worse.

Only that neither looks like someone you'd want to help on the side of the road.]

[mechatheism]

[It's not unusual for Viktor and Jayce to come across stalled vehicles on the route between Panorama and the Scrapyard--more often than not, they're willing to help, even if stopping for a stranger is something of a risk. It is less usual to receive a phone message from someone they don't know, and he half wonders if it isn't some sort of strange trap, a feeling made more intense by what he senses on their approach.

Viktor's full powers require physical touch, but he's attuned enough to the arcane to pick up on ambient magic--or, at least, anything out of the ordinary. The figure standing beside the car that they are presumably headed to fix immediately registers as something more than human.

Jayce will pick up on Viktor's slight apprehension as they get closer. Still, he doesn't stop them from pulling over and exiting the vehicle. He will lean in to Jayce, slightly, as they get closer, his voice low.]

We should be cautious.

[Viktor, too, wears a cloak with a hood, though it does little to hide his stature. He raises a hand in greeting.]

Are you having trouble with your vehicle?

[hexcurse]

[ Jayce feels vaguely exposed, the only one of the three figures standing on the side of the road not hiding his face beneath a hood. He takes his cues from Viktor, erring toward caution and not approaching any closer for the moment. This person is... also quite tall, slightly shorter than Viktor. Upon arriving they quickly discovered that very obviously non-human fluxdrifts like them are the minority, though not necessarily alarming to the general population.

He glances from Viktor to the stranger. In an amiable tone: ]

We're the ones you called.

[ Nodding to his vehicle: ]

Can we have a look?

OPEN - mid to late August (science, Jayce and/or Viktor)

[hexcurse]

[ It's been a few weeks since their accidental discovery of an odd techno-organic substance in a diffusion zone. Earlier on they had debated what to do with the material once they found it within the machines they hauled back to to city, and debated again when they realized it was able to consume outside material - and grow...

As it slowly grows from the size of a hexgem, to the size of an orange, to slightly larger than a Piltover Shaddock, they begin to take their experiments to the outskirts of Panorama. On the day you find them, they'll have commandeered an abandoned trailer. Likely, you've already met them before and have been invited to meet them out here. Or, if nothing else, maybe you have been set adrift drawn in by the timeless pleasures of Tubular Bells playing from a small speaker of tinny sound quality.

Spread across the opening of the trailer is metal scrap. While Viktor is soldering pieces together into what appear to be small, skeletal sculptures with his hexclaw. Jayce is standing near a makeshift work table, stretching some flexible material over one such sculpture. ]

Here, look - [ As you watch, the material begins to morph, becoming less like impossibly malleable metal and more like... flesh. This particular skeleton had been roughly shaped like a wide fork with three prongs. The substance quivers around it for a few seconds, stretched with no gaps between the fingers - looking more like a flesh pancake. Jayce waits, patiently: ] Give it a second...

[ Slowly, the flesh begins receding at the gaps, giving the faint impression of three fingers. Nails even begin to form at the tips. Jayce doesn't seem particularly horrified by this. ]

( ooc: If we have established CR, please feel free to handwave that they've explained some of what they've found already (strange techno-organic substance in the diffusion zone, seems to eat rust). Threads here can either be done with both guys or just Jayce, pls specify which you prefer! )

give me both science guys please!!

[catharses]

[ Whatever task it was which brought him here: Sunday all but forgets it upon arriving with a greeting to find Viktor's work in progress on those miniature sculptures and Jayce at a work table, and then he's beckoned over. At first he's unsure of what he's looking at - and the uncertain glance he sends Jayce's way communicates as much, though when paired with the other man's patience he looks back just in time to see the substance start to move.

Sunday watches in astonishment as on second thought, it's not mere movement happening which would've been curious enough but rather a transformation. First in appearance, and then by moving along the form to expand further. ]

Fascinating. [ Aloof as he generally is at any other time, there's no hiding the sincerity in his voice to underscore that one word - to start with, since of course his thoughts can't stop there. ] How was it that you discovered this ability? Or... other abilities?

[ For movement is still happening when Sunday looks back to the tabletop again after glancing to Jayce again and then Viktor next, and now something emerges. Is that... a nail? No - multiple nails as the substance expands from being a mere shape alone. Vaguely unnerving, but fascinating still seems like the correct adjective. ]

[hexcurse]

[ Jayce seems both in better spirits and physically healthier than the last time Sunday encountered him, with no visible scars or lingering injuries from the effects of the hitchhikers the previous month. As the substance moves and takes shape, Jayce seems pleased, offering Sunday a faint smile and a small shrug. ]

The material is flexible, so as it grew... naturally we tested the limits of its abilities its plasticity. [ He looks back at the 'hand', noting the impression of fingernails. Quickly: ] - it's not sentient in any capacity, though. Not like the mannequins.

[ If that's a concern, which is valid. He glances over his shoulder at Viktor, who unlike Jayce actually has the ability to sense more and can explain better. ]

[mechatheism]

[It's good to see Sunday again, if only because Viktor had been curious about some of the things he described. He imagines that their current project will take precedent, but once he's relayed what they've discovered so far, there might be time for further inquiry.

He straightens from his hunched position, figuring that it's probably rude to continue soldering while trying to carry on a conversation. The Hexclaw tucks against his back, politely.]

The properties of it are strange. I can sense the arcane within it.

[Here, using the arcane as a catch-all for something otherwordly, perhaps even magical.]

The same kind of energy I detect from this world.

blob time

[mechatheism]

[It had been a good tip, all things considered, especially given the disappointment of the shopping arcade. For as much as he wants to become involved with the Scrapyard, Viktor has realized quickly that making any headway will involve apprenticeships that both are overqualified for. It seems a better use of their time to make money through their own freelance repairs, and learn more about the nature off this place from the storm chasers.

There's technology in the bunker, and it isn't full of strange goo. He and Jayce take some of the devices back with them, intending to sort through it once they drive back to Panorama. He reminds himself that they need a better workspace--but the hollowed-out trailer on the outskirts works well enough.

The first thing he does is pull off the casing, setting every removed bolt and screw aside so as not to loose anything.]

It appears to be in order. [No goop, at least not that he can see. Functional interior, once they figure out what it does.] Seems promising.

[hexcurse]

[ They'll have to figure out an alternative spot before the temperature starts to drop, or otherwise put the effort into insulating the trailer. Jayce isn't looking forward to finding out what winters in Panorama are like. They have time, at least. And instead of freezing, he's baking - but he hardly seems bothered. Ever since they discovered the machines - the first large devices uncorrupted by the cosmic force of the diffusion zone, he's been buzzing. They can take as many samples of goop as they want, but without the right equipment they have nothing to actual study any of it with. With this find, at the very least, they should be able to retrieve useful parts.

Jayce peers into the opening of the casing. ]

Functional power unit?

[ They could repurpose it for mechanizing Charles' wheelchair. Or the other project he half promised to work on - Viktor might catch a flash of annoyance from Jayce, antithetical to his previous reaction. ]

[mechatheism]

Eh...functional enough.

[Now that he looks, it seems fairly basic. Nothing with any extra oomph, but not useless. Then again, he and Jayce tend to see everything as a learning opportunity, and this will be no different.

(He can't help but hope, however, that this most recent trip will yield something more interesting.)

Viktor is having similar ideas about what they might repurpose this for--though of course he doesn't know about Violet's request yet. He feels the displeasure, though it's brief enough that he doesn't withdraw from the machine, elbow-deep in his efforts to remove the power source.]

Is something wrong?

sort of wildcard - jayce (but waves 2 viktor)

[faithfall]

[ Adrian could never have accounted for how busy life would be in the city. If he wasn't dealing with some sort of horrible mannequin situation, he was working, and if he wasn't working, he was trying to figure out how much he could budget for payments and food. He's never thought about money this much in his life, and frankly he still feels as if he's on the back foot all of the time. (Adrian had only managed to quickly drop off a single bowl of takeout ramen while Jayce was ill in bed, and he feels a bit badly about it.)

Still, texting Jayce had been something of a welcome distraction. It's easy for the shine to wear off in the grind of day-to-day life, but Jayce's (and Viktor's) breadth of knowledge when it comes to technology is still fascinating to him.... just as his magic seems to interest Jayce. Adrian has no qualms about sharing what he can, hopeful that Jayce will still find some further use for it, even if he's unable to wield it himself.

It had made the most sense for Adrian to simply drive over to Jayce & Viktor's... workshop of sorts, on the edge of Panorama. After he parks, Adrian takes a moment to look around curiously at all of the makeshift tools and things they've gathered, but he smiles in greeting as soon as he sees Jayce. ]

You look well, M— Jayce. I take it you're feeling better? [ He'll also wave hell to Viktor, if he happens to be lurking nearby. ] Thank you for agreeing to meet with me... I'm sure you must be busy with your latest discovery.

he will be ill next month but bless adrien for the future ramen...

[hexcurse]

[ Jayce hasn't had as much time to catch up with people either. Between the mannequins last month, and the sheer amount of time that road trips take from one site to another, the days have been moving surprisingly quick. So, he's also glad to be hearing from Adrian again, having not forgotten the offer to teach the methodology of spellcraft.

He waves to Adrian when he spots him, exiting the trailer where Viktor appears engrossed in their current project. ]

Glad to be able to bend my fingers again. [ He gives a strained laugh as he demonstrates his returned dexterity by curling his hand in and out of a fist. The van takes his attention next, and he begins circling it as he assesses its general condition compared to the last time he worked on it, glancing to Adrian with a faint, earnest smile. ]

It's no trouble. We're used to managing multiple projects. [ They enjoy keeping busy. ] Tell me more about what you're thinking with this.

the way i got my wires totally crossed... ty ;; yes it will be future ramen

[faithfall]

[ As far as Adrian knows, there have been no lingering ill effects for anyone, which is definitely a relief. Considering the lengths some people had gone to... He does hope it wasn't quite so terrible for Jayce, though that laugh doesn't fill him with confidence.

He nods, letting it go for now as Jayce gets right to work. ] Keeping busy certainly isn't difficult in a place like this. Could I perhaps... see some of what you're working on? Later, of course. If you have the time. I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude—

[ He's shutting up now.

Adrian digs through the little bag on his hip where he keeps most of his spell components, pushing little glass vials aside to produce a small notepad. ] I've made some sketches but they're um. Rudimentary.

[ He offers the notepad to Jayce. The diagram is blocky and labeled in nearly illegible handwriting, but it mostly gets the point across. There's even a little stick figure patient with a sad face. ] I believe the seats were able to fold down at some point but the mechanisms are damaged beyond use. I would like to restore that functionality to the middle seat, to allow someone to lie down and recuperate.

[ He briefly describes the rest; housings for some equipment, storage for their things. Overall, he's tried to keep the requests moderate, considering the very serious limitations of his budget. ] I most certainly do not have the funds as yet but I would appreciate your estimation of the cost, and if you have some idea of what parts may need to be scavenged... And how feasible this all is.

both please!

[decussate]

[ The Bells of Tube are good enough bait to snag The Knave as she returns from some excursion out in the wastelands, her motorcycle properly layered in dust. She might have kept on driving had she not recognized one of the two figures standing in front of the trailer... and she can guess at the identity of the other.

Her vehicle slows to a stop nearby, close enough to get a decent look at the strange hand-like structure on display. She cuts her engine, removes her helmet (safety first, kids), and nods politely enough to first Jayce, then Viktor. ]

Greetings, gentlemen. This is quite the unexpected spot for an art installation.

[ That... probably isn't what this is, but it's hard to know what else to make of a giant, vaguely creepy hand. ]

[hexcurse]

[ They're generally a bit wary of strangers approaching - though once the helmet comes off Jayce is quick enough to recognize the rider - did he get her name? If he did, he can't recall it. He offers her a nod in greeting and recognition as she approaches, and gives a slight huff of amusement before he reaches over and stops the music. ]

Can't beat the rent out here. [ With it costing nothing. Eventually, they'll have to either work it into something more secured as a workspace, or find a place to rent within the city. Both cost more coin than they currently have.

Jayce doesn't move from the experiment, but offers no indication that she ought to stand back. He inclines his head toward the 8ft tall figure behind him. ]

This is my partner, Viktor. [ He at least remembers mentioning that, right after he attempted to hit her in the head with a hammer. There are no hammers or much else weapon-like around him now. In contrast to his guarded, confused manner the last time they met, he seems almost sheepish now. ] - I'm Jayce. I might've forgot to introduce myself last time...

[ He did not share with Viktor that he almost hit someone in the head with a hammer out of panic. ]

[mechatheism]

[Viktor is more on edge in the wake of the hitchhikers--before his concerns mostly extended to getting robbed in a parking lot. The latter he can certainly deal with through sheer intimidation alone; the former has him reevaluating just how effective he is, when it comes to protecting Jayce. Suffice to say that there's a flash of tension between them, when they're approached.

But Jayce seems to recognize her, and doesn't balk at her appearance, and that's enough for Viktor. He doesn't stand in greeting, knowing that might be a bit intimidating at first meeting, but instead swivels his stool to face her.]

You've met?

[Though he has no facial expression to read, Viktor's voice is curious. It sounds like there's something of a story, here.]

also requesting both!!

[recitations]

[ Call it caution or paranoia or whatever, but Aria walks the last little bit from her car to the source of tubular bells. It's clearly occupied, and turns out jeeps are louder than your average vehicle. There are two wolves inside her; one curious and stupid enough to approach a random trailer, the other tense as she braces herself for the attack she may or may not be walking into.

Inside, though, are two... people? Sure. Considering how many questions she's gotten about her appearance at this point, it's not in her place to judge when someone is nearly eight feet tall. She lingers at the door for a beat longer, watching the material shift and mold itself against the metal, before she skips over the formalities ( for now ) and— ]

Is it alive?

[hexcurse]

[ Jayce looks up from his makeshift workbench where the 'arm' is currently resting. They aren't attempting to hide this project in the slightest, obvious from all the noise their making and the open area they're working in. This receptivity to an audience might be, in a way, a sort of safety measure of its own. ]

Not in the traditional sense - [ he glances back toward Viktor, who has a better inherent read on the substance through his abilities. ]

[mechatheism]

[This is someone he doesn't recognize, so Viktor will proceed with caution. He sets aside his current activity and stands, figuring that Aria must be curious about what's going on here but not necessarily wanting to take any chances. Still, Jayce is welcoming, and that helps him relax, even slightly.]

It's not sentient.

[They're mostly certain of that. Viktor had found it something of a relief. Hopefully it remains mostly inert, only responsive to particular stimuli.]

As far as we can tell, it's mostly interested in rust.

tearfully adds to your pile, i will take whoever

[frostfist]

[ Unfortunately for Wriothesley, he's always been a curious sort, ready to stick his nose into places where maybe he shouldn't poke around. The urge has been somewhat curbed in Panorama, an unfamiliar setting filled with unfamiliar people and unfamiliar dangers, but it rears its head again at the sight of an odd little setup on the outskirts of town.

He drifts over, hands in his jacket pockets and eyes wide with fascination. Researchers from the Institute have paraded in and out of the Fortress over the years so he's not wholly unfamiliar with science and innovation, but this isn't like anything he's ever seen before. ]

Impressive. Did you do that all on your own?

[hexcurse]

[ Jayce takes in the newcomer's wide-eyed expression, and gives a faint, wry smile. ]

It's all a work in progress.

[ The substance, this cobbled together workspace. It's not much - even the substance they have is only a small amount right now, but it's something. ]

This - [ he waves at the material that's wrapped itself into a hand-like shape, clarifying in case there's confusion over whether they developed it: ] - we found in a diffusion zone.

[mechatheism]

[Viktor is becoming increasingly used to his stature--knows that it can easily be used to intimidate, especially when they're being approached by a stranger. He lets Jayce do the talking, looming slightly until he can recognize that Wriothesley is only interested in their work.

So far, other fluxdrifts that have arrived around the same time as them have meant no harm, but Viktor tends to be cautious, especially where Jayce is concerned.]

It has...unique properties. We are attempting to test them.

kinda wildcard, both boys please

[haemosexual]

[The sun has already set when Laszlo rolls up to the trailer, either unaware that visiting after hours is rude or just not caring. He parks his vehicle (an old-fashioned ambulance that was probably once bright white but is now coated in a thin film of grime, with some kind of suspicious iron oxide stain splashed across the bonnet) at a precarious angle nearby, kicks the door open, and dismounts in a way that makes him look very cool and aloof.

There is no one here—or at least no one he notices—so he decides to take the opportunity to poke around the workstation without Jayce's well-meaning but ultimately banal human chatter interrupting him. Or that of his mysterious partner, for that matter.

He was told the discovery in question is some kind of fluid with unique properties, which doesn't sound all that exciting on paper, but he frankly hasn't found anything to beat it, so he's not about to turn down the invitation. However, he pretty much forgets about it when he claps eyes on the big fuck-off revenant automaton that's chilling out here soldering things.

Laszlo looks at it for a second, vaguely annoyed.] You'd think he'd mention this fucking thing before a mystery secretion.

[hexcurse]

[ Jayce is around, starting to pack some of their gear up and loading it on the truck and thus out of sight. But he hears the arrival of a vehicle, and then the familiar, accented voice.

As he pokes his head out from behind their truck next to the open trailer, flatly: ]

Hi, Laszlo. This is Viktor, my partner.

[ Not a 'thing'.

Viktor, who he will have told by now about this odd, pale man - a fellow scientist. He's not exactly certain why Laszlo preferred to meet after sundown, but he also didn't ask. The buttons on Jayce's cellular phone stick whenever he tries to use it to type messages, even though he's taken the damn thing apart and cleaned it twice already. ]