[sorry pal, it's probably fun to fall asleep and wake up to your bedmate covered in a weird eyeball laden membrane. rio is still around, looking mightily displeased by the whole situation, which includes following pal around and staring with big, sad eyes until given attention.
thankfully it isn't a very long matter. it's later that evening the membrane begins to dry, movement inside as viktor peels back an opening to make a disgusted sound through.]
Ugh. [that's what he has to say about that. rio's tail thumps happily though, and the hand that just peeled away that mess is indeed purple.] Palamedes?
[Oh, it's definitely startling to wake up next to an eyeball pod, although Palamedes figures this is kind of a less-mobile reprise of his own eyeball monster incident, which makes them... even? Somewhat?
Either way: he knows what the eyeball pods are, so while it's nebulously concerning-for-time-reasons to have Viktor trapped in an eyeball pod in their bed!!-- it's not as harrowing as vanishing into the sea might have been. He resolves to have a normal, mature response to this, which is spoiling Rio with attention and going about his day, with a pin put in "check in on spousepod" for later.
So he is shuffling around the house in his old man pajamas and matching old man slippers when, oh, the pod wakes? He shuffles back to the bed and reaches right in there to, uh, help peel. Of course he does.]
Right here; that was fast. [so blessed to not sleep next to an eyepod for like a week--] Let's get you out of there. How do you feel?
Like I am covered in something repulsive- though rather refreshed otherwise. What are they called... spa days? [when enough is peeled he sits with a sigh, eying the mess around the bed in assessment. this dried nonsense was apparently valuable, and nutritious? or so he's heard. he's torn between being curious and being disgusted. he'll probably try some later anyway.
rio makes a little keening sound and comes to help, and by that i mean get in pal's way and try to climb on the bed between them. viktor huffs, easing from the fine tension he's trying not to think to much about at the immediate moment, though it's certainly nipping at their bond. seeing both pal and rio help immeasurably, like a breath of fresh air.]
How long was I out? [he glances pal over- nope, looked like how he left his husband. when he raises his hand to rest it on rio he pauses at the purple, still unused to it himself. keeping it gloved sort of kept it out of sight and out of mind. rio doesn't seem to mind or notice at least.]
This is a terrible spa. I'd ask for a refund, if I were you. [Ha ha, jokes. Palamedes quits peeling the pod to reach for Viktor instead and brush some... goo... out of his hair, you know, lovingly. They have to burn these sheets, there's no recovering from this specific mess.]
Well— [Let him just. Lean around Rio, hi, he can multitask with this.] Ultimately, a handful of hours. I'm surprised, honestly— you know there's always someone making some kind of panicked call for help about these things- [he picks at some dry pod, eugh] -hanging around for days.
[But enough about that, let's talk about what surely is contributing to Viktor's new tension: a purple hand? He is Looking.]
Are we feeling too 'covered in something repulsive' for me to ask about that? I could run a bath first.
I'll be sure to see how much I can annoy the pthumerians with paperwork asking for my time being compensated. Perhaps I'll throw it directly into the ocean, that is fitting.
[his hair freed of further goo is appreciated, and he resists the urge to take pal's hand to do something saccharine like kiss it. no, still too membrane covered for that, along with a few other matters. that and rio is wiggling, demanding his attention as he kicks off more of it.]
This place needs a pamphlet or eh... a program, for newcomers. Perhaps a private network for when people disappear. [that's always a downer to wake up to, sometimes a dramatic one.
but right, information. yes, that. his unease strengthens considerably, though he's bland when he says,] An experiment with shimmer that... ended poorly. Very poorly. On an unrelated note I believe I may have died in a terrorist attack in my world. [his hand touches his chest after a moment, realizing- ok, yes, new lungs still there. thank fuck, he was actually going to go beat up the fucking ocean if that was reversed.] Ah... still there, good.
Write a pamphlet and toss it into the sea for a classic two birds, one stone take.
[Maybe they'd come back in duplicate! A squid printing press, or something like it. In the meantime: wiggling Rio, who is impeding Palamedes' ability to get more goo off, here, please girl. He will reach... around her... It's fine, it's working.
There's a pause when Viktor drops all of his dramatic news at once, much more abruptly startled in the realm of their bond than on his face. He blinks a few times, then:]
Lucky we've already got the house, then. [You know, since they're both technically probably legally dead now? And so left with only the one option, e.g. here? Oop.] I am concerned about how your shimmer accident could have ended worse than a terrorist attack, but let's circle back to that.
[Mostly so he can crane all the way over Rio (and it's her own fault if she's squished) to kiss Viktor on the temple, gooey hair and all. It's nutritious, let him do the gross thing.]
I do like how you think. [vaguely petty and hilarious spite to the ocean is fun. it's a fun distraction from many unpleasant Things, and less unpleasant like rio finally settling down. she does eat some of the membrane, making viktor sigh but resist the urge to tell her off about it. frankly they both ate weirder shit when they were young so who is he fooling.
he shifts and that's weird too, mostly that he can bend his knee far and, for the moment, it seems okay with that instead of trying to end his career. there's a purple foot to match the arm as he shifts fully out of the lingering bits of dry goop, turning to face pal-
and blinking a moment, a burst of fondness overtaking him like it tends to when pal is sweet. it's colored with guilt he can't suppress and, for the moment, doesn't try to. the fun thing about marriage and bonds is learning oh, he has to be open and vulnerable and all that gross stuff. at the moment he's pretty thankful for it, even if the time home is taking a little readjustment to this much healthier mindset then icky, past him.]
If I were capable of missing you I would have. [he reaches up with his normal hand, pulling pal in for a kiss because he kind of needs it. what flavor is membrane goo? apparently not too terrible.] It was only a few days at least. Everything happened very quickly, one disaster after another. I suppose the good news is if I am dead there will be no more need for these hibernations. Rio seems to have handled as gracefully as expected.
[The goo is really doing it for him. No, but he's relieved that this episode with the pod ended as abruptly as it began, and maybe some other anxieties he intends to excise through kissing, for the moment. Mainly that, well, as a fellow technically-dead-maybe person, he worries about the possibility that it will hurt Viktor more than it seems to right now? Is Viktor also going to have a crying on the bathroom floor moment? Hmm; worth keeping track of.
But kissing Viktor mess and all, first, complete with winding an arm around his shoulders to truly spoil his old man pajamas, too, in the process. The things he does for love, and to silently reassure that he's committed to all the vulnerable and gross stuff, too. Especially if it's apparently been a few days, back there...]
Maybe, [he says about if-I-am-dead, because he's a necromancer and he's legally obligated to consider the possibility.] And she followed me around for the entire day, making that face she makes. You know the one. If you'd been away any longer, I'd have bought her an unreasonable amount of toys to make her happy.
[Probably true. Only some of them haunted. Now, hmm; as the hand on Viktor's shoulder is occupied with flicking away goo, he holds out his other hand, palm up, glancing down at the purple hand. C'mon, let him get at that.] Can I?
[the kiss and rio's behavior makes him snort, genuine fond amusement trickling through his chest and into pal's.] I don't trust your record with toys, given the haunted doll situation. How excellent I managed to return before you had Rio chewing on something cursed.
[rio trills softly, sleepy now after her incredibly stressful day of being pampered by pal. viktor's purple hand runs over her back, and when pal asks he doesn't hesitate to lift it for pal to take.
there's absolutely no concern in him that pal would find it unpleasant, the man was a catch who only ever seemed fascinated by whatever made up viktor at the moment. he is concerned about the story behind it, though in a resigned way. the hand itself is an odd mix of seemingly organic material and bits of brass like metal, slivers of light like veins. colder than skin, and some new magic rune looking shit carved into his normal skin farther up.
this is definitely what a scientist does and is not unhinged, so it's fine.] It feels similar, though it does not respond to stimuli in a manner that is easy to put to words. Stronger, certainly, resistant to damage. I haven't had the chance to experiment much on the matter. [he resists mentioning something casually dire like he'll amputate it if it shows signs of spreading, because there's enough bullshit to work through right now.]
She's a big girl, she knows how to chew her way out of trouble.
[Or just not chew cursed things if he says no about 50 times, which might be faster-- but yes, the purple hand. Palamedes gives it a light and affectionate squeeze first, before he peers more closely to investigate. This is the thing Viktor alleges went very wrong, compared to literal terrorism, and so he must wonder most strongly— what exactly was the goal, if a pretty purple hand that defies logic and natural anatomy (academically super neat, for the record) was not... it.
And he's also trying very hard to be sensitive about this great went-wrongness, but if there's an emotion for "gonna put my mouth on that ASAP," he's feeling it, for better or worse. Purple hand responds to stimuli in a new way, huh...
Okay, okay. He's focused. He is eyeing the rune thing, in fact. Viktor...]
You used yourself as material for a magic experiment? [there is no shock here whatsoever] And you received... purple.
I would rather not learn what happens when a haunted object gets eaten. All the possibilities are deeply unpleasant, Palamedes. [some are funny though, in a very gross way.
this is exactly why pal is a catch, despite damn well everything that mouth emotion is met with fondness. if he only had the dead news he'd probably encourage immediate further experimentation.
unfortunately the real news is the sky news, and means he's putting off very professional purple hand and mouth experiments for the time being.] As far as I can gather I tapped into a very dangerous, likely sentient power, made a desperate experiment of using it and shimmer to modify my body and received fascinating results at first. I ran for the first time in my life, it was-
I was careless. I thought the only danger would be to myself, and I was already doomed. I pushed then Sky came in when I thought she would be at home, and when she tried to save me it devoured her whole. There was nothing left but ash and this hand.
[again said fairly calmly, resigned. shockingly the emotions are pretty intense in self loathing and despair. part of him is still and quiet, like waiting for judgment to pass, because he will always trust pal to be upfront when others would flounder.]
Spoilsport. [But okay, okay, he won't fill the house with haunted toys. He promises.
Anyway, here's this... news, and he continues idly picking at some pod pieces while Viktor explains. There's a bittersweetness to the first half, he can't help but think, before the flood of much more profoundly negative emotions takes over. That... is— wack, a sentient power that eats people and also shimmer, and where is that shimmer vial they keep bouncing around throwing back into the sea now—?
Well, first things first. Palamedes presses another kiss against Viktor's temple, quietly thoughtful.]
Careless mistakes happen. I can't absolve you of this one, but I can give you an ear for... all this. [This, gesturing in a little circle at Viktor, broadly - all those feelings that are loud and clear.] And I'm sorry, for what happened to her.
[What is the life lesson here, lock doors? Do magic experiments at home? Hmm.]
Well— you know I don't believe in platitudes, but I do believe in memory. That is, if you wanted to do something for her. I don't honestly know what people do with... non-bones.
[necromancers. anyway, they could buy an urn? to be symbolic?]
[have a pat on the hand- sorry for ruining your haunted house dreams.
the lack of immediate condemnation eases him a touch, though it makes his guilt spike too. he's self aware enough to understand overly drawn out self flagellation will help exactly no one but it's still a difficult instinct to kick.]
I spread her ashes where I used to see her play when we were children. I suppose that is appropriate? In truth I found funerals and remembrance a largely unwieldy affair before- all of this.
[no weird tomb gardens, sadly. after a pause he lets his forehead slump on pal's shoulder, a little awkward with the positioning but calming nonetheless.]
[Sure, killing someone through sheer carelessness - lock your doors, Viktor, babe - is a crime, but Palamedes isn't as worried about that as he is about the persistent guilt and general bad feelings. If this... sentient hungry magic thing had been something Viktor had meant to rope other people into, on the other hand...
But, well! Objectively, he did not! So there's no condemnation from Palamedes here, besides the vague hindsight that maybe he ought to have locked the door more effectively. So- and they need to get Viktor actually out of this pod sometime tonight, but apparently not yet- he shifts to squeeze around Viktor's shoulders and give him an awkwardly-angled kiss on the top of the head. Hey, sulky.]
I don't know how much this will help, but... you know, she could turn up here one day. [remember how they are both definitely-probably dead] At the very least, you could talk it out.
[he's not sure it helps exactly but it is something. it's good? that she'd could get another chance at a life. she deserved, far more than several here if he was being entirely honest with himself. he tries not to think of life in terms of worth and price but the unerringly human part of him always defaults.
(and something something maybe humanity needed to evolve thoughts, which he mostly pushes aside. thank god for good influences.)
a long breath and he looks back to pal, nods.] Maybe that shower is in order. That and cleaning this mess- I'd like to run some tests on the material, I admit. I have a thousand questions and I doubt more than three will be answered.
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action; gross sleeper membrane time
thankfully it isn't a very long matter. it's later that evening the membrane begins to dry, movement inside as viktor peels back an opening to make a disgusted sound through.]
Ugh. [that's what he has to say about that. rio's tail thumps happily though, and the hand that just peeled away that mess is indeed purple.] Palamedes?
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Either way: he knows what the eyeball pods are, so while it's nebulously concerning-for-time-reasons to have Viktor trapped in an eyeball pod in their bed!!-- it's not as harrowing as vanishing into the sea might have been. He resolves to have a normal, mature response to this, which is spoiling Rio with attention and going about his day, with a pin put in "check in on spousepod" for later.
So he is shuffling around the house in his old man pajamas and matching old man slippers when, oh, the pod wakes? He shuffles back to the bed and reaches right in there to, uh, help peel. Of course he does.]
Right here; that was fast. [so blessed to not sleep next to an eyepod for like a week--] Let's get you out of there. How do you feel?
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rio makes a little keening sound and comes to help, and by that i mean get in pal's way and try to climb on the bed between them. viktor huffs, easing from the fine tension he's trying not to think to much about at the immediate moment, though it's certainly nipping at their bond. seeing both pal and rio help immeasurably, like a breath of fresh air.]
How long was I out? [he glances pal over- nope, looked like how he left his husband. when he raises his hand to rest it on rio he pauses at the purple, still unused to it himself. keeping it gloved sort of kept it out of sight and out of mind. rio doesn't seem to mind or notice at least.]
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Well— [Let him just. Lean around Rio, hi, he can multitask with this.] Ultimately, a handful of hours. I'm surprised, honestly— you know there's always someone making some kind of panicked call for help about these things- [he picks at some dry pod, eugh] -hanging around for days.
[But enough about that, let's talk about what surely is contributing to Viktor's new tension: a purple hand? He is Looking.]
Are we feeling too 'covered in something repulsive' for me to ask about that? I could run a bath first.
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[his hair freed of further goo is appreciated, and he resists the urge to take pal's hand to do something saccharine like kiss it. no, still too membrane covered for that, along with a few other matters. that and rio is wiggling, demanding his attention as he kicks off more of it.]
This place needs a pamphlet or eh... a program, for newcomers. Perhaps a private network for when people disappear. [that's always a downer to wake up to, sometimes a dramatic one.
but right, information. yes, that. his unease strengthens considerably, though he's bland when he says,] An experiment with shimmer that... ended poorly. Very poorly. On an unrelated note I believe I may have died in a terrorist attack in my world. [his hand touches his chest after a moment, realizing- ok, yes, new lungs still there. thank fuck, he was actually going to go beat up the fucking ocean if that was reversed.] Ah... still there, good.
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[Maybe they'd come back in duplicate! A squid printing press, or something like it. In the meantime: wiggling Rio, who is impeding Palamedes' ability to get more goo off, here, please girl. He will reach... around her... It's fine, it's working.
There's a pause when Viktor drops all of his dramatic news at once, much more abruptly startled in the realm of their bond than on his face. He blinks a few times, then:]
Lucky we've already got the house, then. [You know, since they're both technically probably legally dead now? And so left with only the one option, e.g. here? Oop.] I am concerned about how your shimmer accident could have ended worse than a terrorist attack, but let's circle back to that.
[Mostly so he can crane all the way over Rio (and it's her own fault if she's squished) to kiss Viktor on the temple, gooey hair and all. It's nutritious, let him do the gross thing.]
It's been several hours, but I missed you.
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he shifts and that's weird too, mostly that he can bend his knee far and, for the moment, it seems okay with that instead of trying to end his career. there's a purple foot to match the arm as he shifts fully out of the lingering bits of dry goop, turning to face pal-
and blinking a moment, a burst of fondness overtaking him like it tends to when pal is sweet. it's colored with guilt he can't suppress and, for the moment, doesn't try to. the fun thing about marriage and bonds is learning oh, he has to be open and vulnerable and all that gross stuff. at the moment he's pretty thankful for it, even if the time home is taking a little readjustment to this much healthier mindset then icky, past him.]
If I were capable of missing you I would have. [he reaches up with his normal hand, pulling pal in for a kiss because he kind of needs it. what flavor is membrane goo? apparently not too terrible.] It was only a few days at least. Everything happened very quickly, one disaster after another. I suppose the good news is if I am dead there will be no more need for these hibernations. Rio seems to have handled as gracefully as expected.
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But kissing Viktor mess and all, first, complete with winding an arm around his shoulders to truly spoil his old man pajamas, too, in the process. The things he does for love, and to silently reassure that he's committed to all the vulnerable and gross stuff, too. Especially if it's apparently been a few days, back there...]
Maybe, [he says about if-I-am-dead, because he's a necromancer and he's legally obligated to consider the possibility.] And she followed me around for the entire day, making that face she makes. You know the one. If you'd been away any longer, I'd have bought her an unreasonable amount of toys to make her happy.
[Probably true. Only some of them haunted. Now, hmm; as the hand on Viktor's shoulder is occupied with flicking away goo, he holds out his other hand, palm up, glancing down at the purple hand. C'mon, let him get at that.] Can I?
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[rio trills softly, sleepy now after her incredibly stressful day of being pampered by pal. viktor's purple hand runs over her back, and when pal asks he doesn't hesitate to lift it for pal to take.
there's absolutely no concern in him that pal would find it unpleasant, the man was a catch who only ever seemed fascinated by whatever made up viktor at the moment. he is concerned about the story behind it, though in a resigned way. the hand itself is an odd mix of seemingly organic material and bits of brass like metal, slivers of light like veins. colder than skin, and some new magic rune looking shit carved into his normal skin farther up.
this is definitely what a scientist does and is not unhinged, so it's fine.] It feels similar, though it does not respond to stimuli in a manner that is easy to put to words. Stronger, certainly, resistant to damage. I haven't had the chance to experiment much on the matter. [he resists mentioning something casually dire like he'll amputate it if it shows signs of spreading, because there's enough bullshit to work through right now.]
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[Or just not chew cursed things if he says no about 50 times, which might be faster-- but yes, the purple hand. Palamedes gives it a light and affectionate squeeze first, before he peers more closely to investigate. This is the thing Viktor alleges went very wrong, compared to literal terrorism, and so he must wonder most strongly— what exactly was the goal, if a pretty purple hand that defies logic and natural anatomy (academically super neat, for the record) was not... it.
And he's also trying very hard to be sensitive about this great went-wrongness, but if there's an emotion for "gonna put my mouth on that ASAP," he's feeling it, for better or worse. Purple hand responds to stimuli in a new way, huh...
Okay, okay. He's focused. He is eyeing the rune thing, in fact. Viktor...]
You used yourself as material for a magic experiment? [there is no shock here whatsoever] And you received... purple.
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this is exactly why pal is a catch, despite damn well everything that mouth emotion is met with fondness. if he only had the dead news he'd probably encourage immediate further experimentation.
unfortunately the real news is the sky news, and means he's putting off very professional purple hand and mouth experiments for the time being.] As far as I can gather I tapped into a very dangerous, likely sentient power, made a desperate experiment of using it and shimmer to modify my body and received fascinating results at first. I ran for the first time in my life, it was-
I was careless. I thought the only danger would be to myself, and I was already doomed. I pushed then Sky came in when I thought she would be at home, and when she tried to save me it devoured her whole. There was nothing left but ash and this hand.
[again said fairly calmly, resigned. shockingly the emotions are pretty intense in self loathing and despair. part of him is still and quiet, like waiting for judgment to pass, because he will always trust pal to be upfront when others would flounder.]
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Anyway, here's this... news, and he continues idly picking at some pod pieces while Viktor explains. There's a bittersweetness to the first half, he can't help but think, before the flood of much more profoundly negative emotions takes over. That... is— wack, a sentient power that eats people and also shimmer, and where is that shimmer vial they keep bouncing around throwing back into the sea now—?
Well, first things first. Palamedes presses another kiss against Viktor's temple, quietly thoughtful.]
Careless mistakes happen. I can't absolve you of this one, but I can give you an ear for... all this. [This, gesturing in a little circle at Viktor, broadly - all those feelings that are loud and clear.] And I'm sorry, for what happened to her.
[What is the life lesson here, lock doors? Do magic experiments at home? Hmm.]
Well— you know I don't believe in platitudes, but I do believe in memory. That is, if you wanted to do something for her. I don't honestly know what people do with... non-bones.
[necromancers. anyway, they could buy an urn? to be symbolic?]
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the lack of immediate condemnation eases him a touch, though it makes his guilt spike too. he's self aware enough to understand overly drawn out self flagellation will help exactly no one but it's still a difficult instinct to kick.]
I spread her ashes where I used to see her play when we were children. I suppose that is appropriate? In truth I found funerals and remembrance a largely unwieldy affair before- all of this.
[no weird tomb gardens, sadly. after a pause he lets his forehead slump on pal's shoulder, a little awkward with the positioning but calming nonetheless.]
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Oh. Admittedly, that was my only idea.
[Sure, killing someone through sheer carelessness - lock your doors, Viktor, babe - is a crime, but Palamedes isn't as worried about that as he is about the persistent guilt and general bad feelings. If this... sentient hungry magic thing had been something Viktor had meant to rope other people into, on the other hand...
But, well! Objectively, he did not! So there's no condemnation from Palamedes here, besides the vague hindsight that maybe he ought to have locked the door more effectively. So- and they need to get Viktor actually out of this pod sometime tonight, but apparently not yet- he shifts to squeeze around Viktor's shoulders and give him an awkwardly-angled kiss on the top of the head. Hey, sulky.]
I don't know how much this will help, but... you know, she could turn up here one day. [remember how they are both definitely-probably dead] At the very least, you could talk it out.
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(and something something maybe humanity needed to evolve thoughts, which he mostly pushes aside. thank god for good influences.)
a long breath and he looks back to pal, nods.] Maybe that shower is in order. That and cleaning this mess- I'd like to run some tests on the material, I admit. I have a thousand questions and I doubt more than three will be answered.