SEMI-OPEN 🔧 different eyes to see the same old things

[clockworksoul]

CHARACTERS: Declan and friends!
DATE: May-June
WARNINGS: Nothing yet but will edit if needed.
SUMMARY: Catchall with open and closed prompts.

Starters below! ⚙️ Feel free to hit me up at exposition or expositionavenue#0683 if you want something specific. ⚙️ 3.1 Questboard ⚙️ 4.1 Questboard

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⚙️ OPEN

[clockworksoul]

i ► OFF ► dodo house (magpie suite & around)

[ Declan isn’t a bad roommate by any stretch, but he is kind of messy. No matter the world, he can’t help but tinker, and his room in the Magpie Suite has become a graveyard of parts and pieces. Dismantled bits of small electronics are… well, they’re everywhere. A disassembled desk fan here, a remote that hopefully no one is looking for or needing to use in pieces over there. Bundles of wires and mystery bits of plastic and batteries of all types and sizes intermingled with the rest. Some of that mess has even begun to spill out into the common areas. He wants to understand as much as he can about this place and its technology, and “hands on” is the only way Declan knows how to do anything.

But, he also realizes that perhaps now that he’s living with other people, he should maybe make some kind of effort to contain all of his crap. So, if you’re not one of his suitemates, you can catch him awkwardly trying to make his way up the stairs with a pile of tupperware bins in his arms. He’s got quite a few of all shapes and sizes, and the balancing act he’s doing is a bit precarious.

Whoops, there goes a bin off the top of the pile! ]

Blast!

ii ► OFF ► it must be caturday (quest)

[ Declan “I keep a small clockwork menagerie in my pockets” Steelsong isn’t one to judge somebody for having too many pets, but um. Maybe this is slightly too many pets. Still, it’s plain to see that the cats’ owner is in dire need of help, and even Declan, who is not the best with animals on most days, couldn’t turn him down.

But speaking of that small clockwork menagerie, in the midst of taking stock of all the cats and cataloging (heh) their needs, a wind-up frog has somehow escaped Declan’s pocket and gone hopping off through the house, cats in hot pursuit! (Or, perhaps, purrsuit?)

It’s nice they’re getting their enrichment in, but help?? HIS FROG!! ]

Someone stop that frog!

[ Cue Yakety Sax as a little brass frog, followed by ten cats, followed by Declan, go dashing about from room to room. ]

i. dodo house

[draugrr]

[Unfortunately for Declan, he's not alone on the staircase. The escaped bin strikes Meridian square in the knees, and though he's unmoved by it, solid as a concrete wall, he looks decidedly nonplussed. With a soft grunt, he picks up the bin and rattles it vigorously. What's in here? Hopefully nothing breakable.]

Mind your fuckin' step.

[clockworksoul]

[ The bin rattles quite loudly. Not because it’s full of anything important, but because there’s another, smaller bin inside. He’s hauling them up so he can fill them with stuff.

Declan pivots in place, unable to do much else with his arms stacked with plastic. ]

I’m trying my best, my leporine friend! These containers have a mind of their own!

[ Also, he did a poor job of stacking them before beginning his ascent. ]

[draugrr]

[He goes quite still, his claws digging into the plastic, visibly denting it.]

What did you just call me?

[Which term is more offensive: 'friend' or 'leporine'? It's hard to say.]

dododododo

[preowned]

[ tsurumaru is indeed a suitemate, however, he is still passing by when declan is struggling with his pile. admittedly, tsuru doesn't care too much about the mess-- as long as it's not affecting him personally he doesn't mind. and the mess hasn't quote reached the point yet where he feels the need to interfere.

so. here he is, watching declan drop shit. ]

Whoopsies.

[ please do more than just say that. ]

[clockworksoul]

[ Thank you so much for your support in this trying time, Tsurumaru. The bin clatters to the floor and bounces on a corner, sending it skidding over to wherever Tsurumaru is being so very helpful. ]

I’ll say!

[ A beat. Declan blinks expectantly. ]

I don’t suppose I could trouble you to pick that up, or-?

[preowned]

[ ah. he looks down. then back up. there's a too long period of silence. ]

Of course! I wouldn't leave you like this.

[ the silence was definitely him debating on whether or not to leave declan like this, but being nice won today. he will bend down to scoop it up. ]

These are from our place...?

around dodo

[feyfound]

[ annnd CATCH! Juniper saves the falling bin with ease. Just another day for a young adventurer of the Alchemighty! She didn't even have to use her axe (which is strapped to her back just in casies)! The City of Townsville is saved, etc.

Of course, she doesn't quite realize who she's helping until she stands up straight again. ]

—Oh! Uncle Dee! What are you doing with all those bins? Here, let me help you!

[ She holds out her arms to receive additional bins! ]

[clockworksoul]

[ He can’t see who saved his poor bin from a terrible fate, on account of all the other bins in his arms, so when Juni pops up into his field of vision, they’re both surprised. ]

Fancy meeting you here! Take a few off the top of the stack, would you?

magpie

[windsongs]

[ Don't let her membership in the crafters' guild fool you, Hibiki has no idea how to actually make or fix things. Sometimes she can get away with pulling up UTube and making a paltry offering to the Fix It gods to get the job done, but as Declan walks through the door with his bins, he'll find the small blonde having a stand-off with a shoddily-designed stand mixer. A vaguely disgruntled pout on her face, she pulls the plug for about the tenth time, plugs it back in, pulls the lever at the side--

And nothing happens.

Thoroughly frustrated, she exhales deeply before trying the lever again just in case. Like that's going to solve anything. No losing your temper, Hibiki, you've got a reputation to keep. But this is just! So! Frustrating!! Sure, she might have gotten it secondhand, and yeah, she probably should have tested it out before buying it, but who could have seen this coming? That's what she gets for being cheap... ]

Oh, come on, you're not even that old. Stupid piece of... ugh!

[ Hibiki hears someone come in, but she's too busy having a staring contest with this hunk of junk on the countertop. ]

Welcome back.

[ Doesn't stop her from greeting him, even if she sounds incredibly irritated. ]

[clockworksoul]

[ Declan has only met his suitemates in a cursory sort of manner, so while he knows Hibiki's name, he hasn't spoken with her an awful lot. He sure has never heard her sound irritated before, though. His vision is blocked by the pile of bins in his arms, so he thinks at first maybe he's done something wrong. With a frown, he sets his pile down on the nearest surface and— oh? OH?

Is this a thing in need of fixing? No, no. Don't get too excited, Declan! ]

Is everything alright?

ii

[onlypets]

[Help Declan. This is so funny.

D has arrived as pseudo wildlife biologist and pet shop owner to help a familiar man with his nearly baker’s dozen of cats.

Just in time for a wee little brass frog to hop up to his feet. Hmmm. He bends down and opens a palm, letting the frog continue hopping into it. Then he stands again as the herd of cats, followed by Declan, come charging after.]

I believe your friend is really testing its luck today.

[He is holding the frog carefully, but also petting it gently along the back. Brass frog or not.]

[clockworksoul]

[ Here in the OFF world, the little frog is nothing more than a fancy toy – if a finely made one, all ornate embellishments on the brass, with gaps in the plating to show off the clockwork insides. The frog hops into D’s hand, the gears and cogs winding down as it apparently begins to run out of steam.

The cats all skid to a stop at D’s feet, looking up at what they believe to be their new toy with wide eyes. Some of them meow plaintively. Give it back!

Declan also skids to a stop, arms flailing as he tries to keep himself from tumbling into a pile of cats. Thankfully, he keeps his footing. He sags a little with a huff. ]

Oh, thank gods. I thought for certain they were going to catch it. I’m glad you showed up when you did!

⚙️ KNIVES

[clockworksoul]

ON ► not the bees (quest)

[ Well now, he’s found himself with a most unusual ally for this little outing, hasn’t he? Declan doesn’t know too much about Knives, despite having chatted with him a couple of times, but he seems no-nonsense and driven. The driven part is nice, but the no-nonsense part? Well, they’ll have to see.

In the ON world, Declan seems to be much the same – pointy ears, purple eyes, smudged with grease – though his clothes differ quite a bit, and skew more fantasy-steampunk than anything he wears in the OFF world. ]

I’m a bit more in my element here, thankfully.

[ If Knives didn’t want conversation as they’re making their way to where the bees were last sighted, too bad! ]

I’ve the means to trap them if we want to try that route first! Or perhaps we should gather some flowers just to be safe?

[chlorokyll]

[ Declan is not the only one who's undergone an outfit change now that they're online. Knives is carrying himself in a much more confident manner when compared to their first two chats, with his back almost perfectly straight and his shoulders squared. More than that, he's wearing a large white cloak, though at the moment the hood is down. The strange pattern of a skintight bodysuit can be glimpse beneath the loose fabric, at the forearms and shins in particular.

Also, he has no shoes on.

Given that Declan had insisted that Knives owed him nothing for the healing rendered to him before, it seems they'll be undergoing this quest as partners, much like when he'd run through that dungeon alongside V and Brickston. It's an odd thing having to work alongside so many humans, but... Declan is half-elf, for whatever that may be worth.

So, fine. This Declan is a bit much, but he's also harmless as far as Knives can tell. Harmless yet useful, like Brickston.

He doesn't actually protest the conversation. They should have a plan of attack. ]

And what means would those be? I would rather not resort to gathering the flowers unless we have little other choice. All the flora here seem to have... effects.

[ He doesn't need to being acting like a cat again, okay. ]

[clockworksoul]

[ Some part of him really, really wants to ask if Knives is okay without shoes but... it's not like he's expressed that he's not, so. Better not to bring it up. They have more pertinent things to discuss anyway. Declan just has to tell himself that it's Knives' own fault if he steps on something unpleasant.

In answer to Knives' question, Declan dips a hand into one of the pouches he keeps on his belt, and pulls out, surprise surprise, another of his little clockwork creations. This one is particular is a spider, with long brass legs and beady eyes made of polished blue glass. Legs and all, it's about the size of Declan's palm. He reaches up to set the little brass arachnid on his shoulder. ]

A web, of course! If we can find some trees or something to use as supports, I can make one that spans about twenty feet.

[ A beat. ]

Well, I usually can. I'm not sure what arbitrary limit I'll be stuck with, in truth, but surely it's better than questionable flowers.

⚙️ PINOCCHIO

[clockworksoul]

ON ► the prince of shoeburg and the frog (quest)

[ He’s not, like, super thrilled to be going to a fancy party. Declan and nobility don’t tend to get along, and he has a special sort of dislike for the type of nobles who think they’re far more important than they actually are.

Well, he can push all that aside for one night, probably. There’s a priceless(?) statue on the line, and any good adventurer won’t turn their nose up at a chance for a bit of coin!

So here he is, in a stupidly fancy outfit, with a little lapel pin to match, not a speck of grease in sight! (He has, however, kept his hat + goggles combo. Maybe it doesn’t go together. He doesn’t care. You can only push a man so far.) At least he’s not doing this alone, though his partner in crime (or anti-crime) for the evening is a bit unorthodox.

As they’re waiting at the door to be admitted, provided invitations in hand, he glances down at Pinocchio. ]

You’re sure you don’t want me to fix your nose for you?

[ This has probably come up a lot. One application of Mending could do it! ]

bursts in kool-aid style

[bubblegumwhisky]

[Unorthodox indeed.]

Oh! Uh, no, no thanks. It's fine. [AWKWARD.] Trust me, it's better this way. I'm good.

[Beside Declan stands a diminutive figure that barely clears his kneecaps. There's little Pinocchio can do to freshen up, being stuck as a beat-to-shit puppet. Maybe there's been some effort to scrape a bit of moss away, but that kind of hurt so he'd laid off real quick. Thankfully this whole "virtual reality" thing, which he chooses to believe is either one hell of a hallucination or a really useless magic story-cum-universe, allows him to change his clothes at will. So he's decked out in finery fit for a prince!

Which is the role he'll be playing, of course.]

Besides, the real magic we're working is all in the con. [He gives Declan a wink.] If anyone asks, I'm the Prince of Shoeberg.

[Why bother complicating things? Not like Lord Bainbridge (?) is here to call him out on shit. Fuck that guy.]

Don't worry, I've impersonated royalty before. And I've been hanging out with a prince and a princess for a while, so I'm basically an expert now. It's gonna be smooth sailing, I'm telling you.

[Though Gerard was kind of dicey on the noble and reliable prince front. So...he'll lean to Rosamund on this one. Just like, the boy version.]

What's your backstory?

[clockworksoul]

But…

[ But it’s BROKEN. And it’s BOTHERING HIM. Also, it can’t be pleasant to deal with splintered wood on your face all the time?? He’s not going to press the matter, of course, but he sure wishes he knew why Pinocchio was so against having it fixed.

He sighs, and moves on. ]

Oh! I hadn’t thought as far ahead as coming up with a backstory. What if… I am also a Prince of Shoeberg? I don’t have much experience with royalty, so I could follow your lead.

[ Surely nothing can go wrong! ]

it's me again, i'm here for handholding

[verselet]

[The Dodo house sure has seen better days, hasn’t it? It’s as though time has weathered parts of it in excess without there being any real reason for it — doors jamming, windows cracking (not his fault this time), faucets leaking abundantly. V’s not much of a repairman, certainly not in this state, so there’s not much to be done about it, unfortunately; beyond letting those more able take care of repairs here and there.

And sometimes, a guy’s just walking down a corridor, cane clacking the whole while… And a floorboard gives out right under his feet, cracking and snapping sharply.

His cane goes through the wood. One foot does, too, but V blessedly catches his balance before he topples right over in a very embarrassing manner, startled.]

Ah… of course. [Dryly. Excuse him as he tries to free himself from the floorboards—]

[clockworksoul]

[ Declan has absolutely been running himself ragged trying to keep up with repairs. He doesn't mind helping, of course, and he knows that there are those who are unable, so he's been pulling double or triple or quadruple duty as needed. Dodo House takes such good care of them all that it would be a shame to see it crumble into total disrepair.

As such, he's primed to listen for the sounds of structural failure. The sharp crack of a faulty floorboard catches his ears and he darts to the hall to investigate. ]

V? Good heavens, are you alright?

[verselet]

[In his periphery, here comes Declan. V flicks his gaze upwards and offers him a wan smile.]

Hello, Declan.

[It's easy enough to yank his cane free, but it's a little harder to wrench his foot out without adorning his ankle with all manner of splinters. The angle's awkward. Maybe Shadow can slice it all up and free him-]

Oh, you know. Just being swallowed up by the floor.

⚙️ JUNIPER

[clockworksoul]

ON ► dancing on the wind, up and down again

[ True to Declan’s word, he lets Juniper join him in the little workshop space he claimed for himself in the Crafter’s Guild as he sets to work on a new weapon for her. He finds her company indispensable. She brings snacks and conversation, and sometimes surprises when she lets her mind wander and starts poking at things that she really should not be poking at.

And if something blew up in her face or his as a result, they laughed it off and took it as a sign that it was time for a break. Perhaps they’d pop over to the local tavern for a meal, or take a walk around to the town. As completion of the weapon drew near, Declan knew he was going to be sad to see these moments end.

But, well, he’d promised her a new weapon, and he was going to deliver.

The final look and function of the weapon were always meant to be a surprise, so he finishes it up in the dead of night when Juni isn’t around. The next time Juni steps into the workshop, there is a cloth laid over the workbench, and Declan greets her with a wide grin. ]

Junebug! I’m glad you’re here. [ You knew she was coming, Declan. ] I have a surprise for you.

[feyfound]

[ On Juniper's end, visiting Declan's workshop in the Crafter's Guild has been such an exciting experience, affording her a new window into her uncle figure's passions and work as she watches him create something from start to finish... and it's something for her, which is the strawberry on top!

Not only does hanging out with him in this capacity remind her so much of her days visiting him in his workshop in Waterdeep, but... watching him work reminds her a bit of watching her guardians, too - right down to things blowing up in her face and everything that follows - and she realizes in these visits that she misses that more than she would want to admit. It really is such a special thing, to watch someone pour their soul into something they've dedicated their lives to... it's like watching Dad 1 pour over endless scrolls and myriad spellbooks to invent new spells, or Dad 3 with his lute, or Mom 1 with her potions...

She doesn't have anything like what they have, what Uncle Declan has... But when they spend time together like this, she thinks that it would be nice to, someday.

Anyhow, Juni has brought some steamed meat buns in a bag with her today, one of which is already partly in her mouth when she peeks into the workshop and then admits herself. ]

Mmmph? [ but you know she was coming, Declan. ] What kin' of shurpwise?

[ Clearly this is not at all related to the cloth on the workbench and also not related to her greataxe-to-be? ]

[clockworksoul]

[ Oh, those smell delightful! And they must be good if Juniper is already shoving one in her mouth.

Wait, no. Focus, Declan. He motions to the workbench. ]

I finished it.