KARTERIA: INBOX

[techmaturgy]

@V

video ✥ voice ✥ text ✥ action

username

@V

name

viktor

age

32

hometown

piltover

codes by ✥ and ✥

Comments

first week, just bc @j.talis text; 1/3

[wondrously]

Hello.

audio; 2/3

[wondrously]

- can you hear this?

video; 3/3

[wondrously]

[ his face very CLOSE ]

audio;

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor does not turn on his video, but he will use the audio function. This is partially to hide that he finds this at least somewhat endearing.]

You don't have to hold it that close. I can see and hear you.

video forever, enjoy his face

[wondrously]

[ He's grinning wide, but he does pull the camera back a few inches. ]

Better?

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor is, naturally, more subdued, though it's difficult not to be enthralled by this new technology, now that he's had some time to process.]

It's incredible, isn't it? Instantaneous transfer of moving images. And the device is so small!

text. (sometime after Jayce idk)

[opposed]

[ This is so uncomfortable to do. She's started and rewritten this text easily four times at this point, torn between wanting something succinct and something that feels, at least, like she isn't trying to brush past the truth.

She tries to settle on something in the middle. ]

Unfortunately, it looks like these changes have caught up with me. Apparently, I have bird legs now. [ It's Great. ] But I wanted to reach out so you knew ahead of time, as I didn't want to blindside you the next time we see one another.

[techmaturgy]

[Well, that's. Viktor appreciates her getting to the point, but it's so ridiculous as to be almost comical. He reminds himself that most of the people here don't have the complicated relationship with a body that he does--this must be distressing.]

I should hope you don't feel ashamed. [Or that she thinks he might react poorly.] Do you need anything?

[opposed]

Shame is not the word I'd use.

[ Notable, she doesn't give any indication of what word she would associate with the feeling. ]

No, I'm fine. The pain has subsided. I can't walk for the moment but I'll likely stay in my room until I've rested some.

[ ... ]

I worry about Jayce's reaction to it, is all.

[techmaturgy]

You're allowed to be angry. Furious, if you like.

[At Patho-Gen, for doing this to all of them. Viktor doesn't like the idea that this is painful, but by now he knows they're alike in that this message is a courtesy, not necessarily an invitation.

Her worry, though--that gives him a moment of pause.]

Has he seen it yet?

[opposed]

I texted him earlier to tell him so he wouldn't be caught off guard. But he's seen them now.

[ It feels...awkward telling Viktor that Jayce insists she's still beautiful. Of course Jayce would say that. But she saw the look in his eyes, the terror, the worry. ]

I think he's putting on a brave face.

text; end of juuuune

[wondrously]

[ The next morning after Mel's changes, as he briefly leaves the room to purportedly use the bathroom and get food for them. ]

Viktor?
I'm with Mel.
The Augmenter did something to her legs.
She's having a hard time getting around.
She thinks she'll be fine again in a few days.
I think she's probably right, but I don't know
I told her we could design aids to help and she said no

[ He feels immediately guilty as soon as he hits send - Viktor is dealing with his own recovery, and Mel probably wants to tell Viktor on her own time, but as calm as he's been keeping around her since the night before, he was suddenly NOT calm as soon as he closed the door behind him. ]

[techmaturgy]

What can I do? Should I come to your room? I imagine she doesn't want to see anyone right now.

[But Viktor can and will offer Jayce support, if that's what he needs.]

[wondrously]

[ He's not sure Mel wants more company either, but after a pause- ]

I'm heading to the dining hall right now. Can you meet me there? I was going to bring back coffee and something to eat.
I could use extra hands.

[ He could probably carry everything back himself, realistically. It's a flimsy excuse to invite Viktor in. But Jayce is worried Mel will see through him as soon as he goes back, know that he was panicking - and try to comfort him. That would only make it worse. ]

We really need to get the hell out of here.

[ The Valentia. ]

[techmaturgy]

Understood. I'll bring my third hand.

[He is making a joke--Viktor actually understands that Jayce wants the company more than the help, because usually his hands are occupied with his crutch. They can discuss their living situation once he arrives in the dining hall.]

I'm on my way.

[wondrously]

[ Jayce's hair is still wet from the shower when they meet up at the dining hall, it's fairly clear by the way every hair isn't already perfectly in place that he rushed through his usual morning routine. He smiles when he sees Viktor, but doesn't leave much room to chat despite the wall of text he sent earlier - he seems to just want to grab a few things (pastries, fruit cups, coffee) before herding Viktor back to Mel's door.

He hesitates before knocking, closing his eyes. ]

Mel? I ran into Viktor - [ a visible wince, lying doesn't come naturally and he's not sure why he did it now - he glances at Viktor as if for moral support (?) ] - we have food and coffee, can we come in?

[ He'd helped her to the bathroom earlier and left clothes on the bed, but maybe he should have texted first. ]

Cabin - June - shortly after Mel's leg changes

[bloodypath]

Hubert was beginning to suspect he would become quite familiar with the path to the research station.

Picking his way through the woods to it for the third time in less than two weeks, he lightly touched the door, simply feeling--or listening, he still wasn't quite sure, given that the two sensations seemed to be blending together as of late. Faintly, he felt the telltale vibration of movement. Better that someone was here; it made entering far less troublesome.

Hubert raps sharply twice on the door.

His changes were largely hidden by the large robes Patho-Gen had provided them, though black chitin visibly crawled up the back of his neck, jaw, and hands. Far more obvious was the long scorpion tail curled into a lax disk behind him, a few inches off the ground.

[techmaturgy]

Thanks to all the comings and goings, it's increasingly easy to get out to the research station from the main city, and Viktor has come to expect visitors. They're actively soliciting samples, after all, and so this is to be expected, even if he'd much rather be left alone to work. Viktor is getting used to it.

He's feeling a little better, too, more in control of his own overgrowth, but he's holed himself up here to continue his recovery. The knock at the door, unaccompanied by a preceding message, has him furrowing his eyebrows--but he will answer.

"Can I help you?"

Hubert gets a once-over, taking in the corruption changes. Viktor himself has limbs that look like they're made of corded vines, verdant green just barely brushing his jawline. He makes no attempt to hide it, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

[bloodypath]

The once-over look is neutrally returned. Hubert tucks his hands behind his back for lack of anything to do with them.

"I was hoping someone would be here." A gaunt terra. "Viktor, I presume? I am Hubert. Mel told me to retrieve something from her spare bag. Do you know where she keeps it?"

[techmaturgy]

"That's me," he answers, nodding in greeting and confirming that he is, in fact, Viktor. He'll step aside so that Hubert can come in, figuring that anyone naming Mel must be here for legitimate reasons.

Still, without mention of what he's after, Viktor is hesitant to show him Mel's things. The trepidation might be evident on his face.

"What did she leave for you?"

[bloodypath]

As Hubert steps inside, the visible black chitin turns to a dull blue. He casts his eyes around, partly in wariness and partly to see whatever new insane projects might have been started. He doesn't even need to look Viktor's way to feel the trepidation faintly on his strange, alien senses.

Hubert respects the caution. Someone had to be, as alarmingly open as Jayce had been to a stranger.

"Her spare boots, seeing as she no longer needs them," he says with a wry edge creeping into his tone. "They won't fit me, of course, but I was considering looking into getting them recobbled. The Augmented can't afford waste at this juncture."

video; beginning of sept

[wondrously]

[ His face will appear on the screen lit up with excitement, the Woods visible behind him as he walks at a hurried pace: ]

V - I'm on my way back to the city. Brickston and I, we - um, [ shuffling the Syntrofos from one hand to the other as he bends a low branch before it smacks him in the face ] - we've made a breakthrough on the uh, music project.

[ It should be easy enough for Viktor to figure out he means their communication attempts with Katalyth. ]

[techmaturgy]

[There is a fumbling sort of noise, Viktor scrambling to reply to the message and managing only audio first. After a moment, though, his own video sparks to life, Viktor's formidable eyebrows far too closer to the screen.]

A breakthrough? What kind?

[He pulls back, slightly, realizing he's too close to the camera.]

Tell me on the way.

SURE DID FUCK UP MY HTML ughhh

[wondrously]

[ Jayce holds back laughter when he's greeted by a close up of Viktor's eyebrows. ]

A response - a... [ hand flapping happening off to the side of the screen as he tries to explain without explaining, for their fear of Patho-Gen listening in on the network ] - a decrease, in output. From our musical friend.

[ This is frustrating! But he still seems ecstatic, and there's more waving of his non-Syntrofos hand. ]

Dinner. I'll explain everything over dinner, with Mel.

[ Nevermind that the two of them don't exactly eat much anymore. ]

i did not even notice

[techmaturgy]

[Jayce's excitement and the impending thrill of discovery is contagious, and Viktor finds himself smiling in spite of his frustration with the way they have to censor themselves. He understands, and wants more detail, but he knows he has to wait.]

Hurry back, then.

[He'll try to be patient.]

What are you eating, lately?

[He says that with a wry quirk of his mouth, because they both know that Viktor mostly stopped a few weeks ago.]