open-ish

[jolting]

who: Victor Frankenstein + You?
what: catch-all for March
when: various places
where: March
warnings: I have no idea, but it's Victor, so it might get creepy/morbid/idek

Hospital | Shopping | Want to do a thing but it's not listed? PM me here

Comments

Hospital; OTA

[jolting]

[Victor is coming into work as usual and doing his rounds. He comes in on regular shifts, on the off-chance he'll be needed or there's some sort of unforseen emergency. You never knew.

He's become more open with his identity as Victor Frankenstein with people, but here in the hospital he still calls himself Doctor Whale. It's on his nametag and office door and on his work phone.

The Quarantine has proven to be a more openly accepting place, but he's still not sure just how thrilled the hospital staff and its patients would be were they to learn that one of the doctors is the infamous Frankenstein]

[killthepast]

[ Medical clearance. Pierce won't let him return to the field without a doctor's note, and Ren-- for as frustrated as he's become with his abundance of pent up energy-- has been putting it off for as long as possible. But now he's at the end of his tether. He can either visit the doctor for the all-clear, or waste away his days at a desk.

At least it's fortuitous that the doctor who performed the impromptu surgery in the first place is affiliated with Prometheus Labs. So here he is in one of the examination rooms, waiting for the doctor's arrival.

And, once the doctor's in, Ren simply says (without any prelude): ]

I require medical clearance.

[ NO NEED TO DO A CHECK UP OR ANYTHING. Just give him that doctor's note. ]

[jolting]

[Victor didn't have steady patients like in Storybrooke, so he wasn't sure who he would see when he was told one was waiting for him in an examination room. He stepped in and... oh. This guy.

He remembered fishing the bullet out of this guy. And he was way overdo for coming back in for a follow-up. Victor grunted at the words that sounded to him like a demand]

Let's see the wound.

[nope, not gonna cut corners for you, kid]

[killthepast]

[ Damn your medical ethics, Victor.

Ren stares at him, mouth pulling into a frown as he considers the doctor's instructions. Perhaps he can strong arm him-- or another doctor-- and let that be the end of it. The thought crosses his mind, and then passes. He's well enough to face the dangers beyond the wall; he knows it. Showing Dr. Whale how well his injuries have healed should be no problem at all.

Even though he's still a bit sulky about it, he pulls his sweater up, over his head, to toss onto a nearby chair. There's only the slightest wince, the movement aggravating his left arm. Getting shot in the shoulder has done a number there, with the nerve pain extending down to the tips of his fingers, but it's improved over the past six weeks, thanks to a combination of whatever back-alley medtech he could access and stubborn physical therapy. He's not at 100%, but he's functioning.

The second injury, just above his hip, still causes aches, but all in all, seems to be responsible for fewer complications.

At least these two fresh(er) injuries are easy to tell apart from his multitude of older wounds, the various scars from lightsabers and blaster bolts. ]

See. They've healed.

[jolting]

[he waits patiently until Ren follows instructions. Victor knew he would eventually. While the kid could go to someone else, Pierce is more familiar with Victor and would know that whatever diagnosis came out of this exam, it was one not strong-armed by the patient.

Speaking of arms, Victor snaps on some gloves and starts pressing his fingers not very gently into the muscle of the shoulder and back where Ren was shot. He didn't miss that wince]

Do a few physical therapy routines for me.

[he has no doubt Ren's been doing it, but six weeks is hardly enough recovery time after shoulder surgery]

Shopping; OTA

[jolting]

[Victor is growing tired of living in communal housing. He knows he got lucky with a private room, but it's still small. So when he has the time, he goes house hunting. Where it is, he doesn't really care. He's more focused on the size: he needs room for an office and a small library.

Also while he's out, Victor drifts into shops looking for things to buy for James. Mostly just stuff for when James stays the night, but now and then Victor tries to figure out what to do for gifts. Something that will make James smile. Victor does ask when he's stumped, wondering what to get someone special]

[royalpassport]

[ Finding some kind of tolerable routine here and sticking to it has been pretty much touch and go for Jefferson. He has good days-- more good days than in Storybrooke, strangely, even with Grace's absence an ever-present wound to his spirit-- but the bad are enough to knock him out of sorts for a while.

Today's a good day, though, and Jefferson celebrates it by crawling out of isolation and returning to the world of the living. He's never been the best with money even when every copper counted, and in Storybrooke, he was afforded ludicrous wealth, so... Yeah, budgeting's not his strong suit, and he's not thinking twice before grabbing the things that strike his fancy: clothes, scarves, cologne, this and that.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there's Victor, who he spots in the shop, seemingly caught in a loop of indecision. ]

You seem stumped.

[ That's it. No other introduction. Just Jefferson walking up behind Victor and speaking his observation. ]

[jolting]

[it's only because Victor knows Jefferson well that the sudden sneaking up and blurting out words doesn't startle him-- that much. He was focused on trying to figure out gifts, so he wasn't completely aware of his surroundings.

Victor glances at the man, then at the displays he'd been debating over]

I'm buying a gift for someone.

[royalpassport]

[ His brow lifts. 'Someone,' but clearly not Lucy. Presumably not a woman, either, judging by the stuff Victor's looking at. So this is already 100% more interesting than Jefferson's own shopping, and he leans down to look at the displays. ]

Someone, huh? What kind of someone?

[ DISH. HE'S BORED AND HAS SO LITTLE TO OCCUPY HIM. Your love life is now his primary source of entertainment, pal. ]

[jolting]

The kind I'm sleeping with. My first thought was flowers, but I don't know if that's right.

[he's blunt anyway, and knows Jefferson will just keep bugging him until he tells all]

[hylights]

[The shops are still a confusing experience for Zelda. They're just... so large, with so many items on sale, that she hardly knows how anyone finds what they need. Lately she's taken to trying the smaller boutiques, feeling they're less intimidating.

It's in one of these that she comes across Victor, frowning at one of the displays. She puts the book she was leafing through back on the shelf, giving him a politely questioning look.]

Trying to choose something?

[jolting]

[Victor glances over at the voice, his eyes taking a quick scan of the woman]

Waiting for something to jump out at me. There are so many different worlds represented in the Quarantine and I'm curious what sort of things are being sold from those worlds.

[books are always good, but it's one thing to have a first edition of Frankenstein (which he does) and it's another to find a botany book describing plants he's never heard of before]

[hylights]

[The most noteworthy thing about her is her long ears - it makes her stand out, she knows, among a lot of the populace. Zelda nods her agreement, taking to the topic with interest.]

There are a lot, aren't there? And that's in addition to the Quarantine's own resources and items. I find it's hard to tell where everything is from, at first glance. It's all so new to me.

Questions; Dorian

[jolting]

[Victor sent Dorian a message asking the robot to meet him at a coffee shop. He's been forming an ever-growing list of questions he wants to ask, though he's already made the commitment to stop if the robot shows any signs of discomfort or distress.

He orders his coffee while he waits]

[sentiences]

[ Dorian doesn't take long. When he approaches, Dorian waves before taking a seat. ]

Hello, Doctor. I hope you were not waiting long.

[jolting]

Not very long at all. Thank you for seeing me, Dorian. I just want to clarify that you don't have to answer any question.

That said, I'll start with something easy: your designation number. Does that mean there are over a hundred robots like you in your world?

[sentiences]

[ Dorian considers this. ]

I'm not fully aware of my company's workings and they've long gone out of business. I believe they're just numbers to differentiate. Since each one of us are different and they didn't really believe in quantity.

Pieces of Home; James

[jolting]

[mostly Victor's been staying over at James's loft. This is largely because the place is bigger, but also because Victor has been using his spare time to transform his own little space into a recreation of his lab. It's not perfect and he has to do a lot of improvising, but he's determined to do this rather than just show James some drawings.

Once Victor is satisfied that the room looks close enough if maybe scaled down, he invites James over. He found a CD that would play rain and thunder in order to create the proper ambiance]

[winscenario]

[ Jim's honestly not sure what he expects, but he goes into it with an open mind, knowing that if he has no expectations or ideas built up in his head, then there's no way he'll be disappointed.

The moment he steps inside, though, he can tell right away that, even if he had pictured the lab in his mind, he still would be impressed in the best of ways. His eyes widen as he looks around. expression openly awed as he walks around the room, taking in the overall feel to it before focusing on the details, one by one. ]

This is amazing. [ Tone it down Kirk, don't be too much of a nerd. ]

[jolting]

[Victor is even dressed for the occasion. He really wants James to get a feel for what it's like being in Frankenstein's lab, so he's dressed for the occasion in his old lab coat. He smiles and takes the captain's hand, pulling him farther inside]

Obviously this space is a lot smaller than the actual lab, but I've recreated it the best I can. And look, this is a drawing I made of Igor.

[he picks up a sketch, showing it to James. He figured the man would want to see the famous assistant, even if the bald head and lack of a hunch are unexpected features]

[winscenario]

[ Jim's noticed before, and he eyes Victor up and down yet again now, smile tugging at his lips. He's endeared more so than anything, taking in every little detail of Victor's appearance right now, from the lab coat to the neat hairstyle he's not as used to seeing on him.

He takes the sketch from Victor's hands, looking at it for a long while before a fond smile takes over his features. ]

This is really nice, Victor. All of this. I don't think anyone's ever done something like this for me. [ There's a beat before he backpedals a little. ] Not that I'm saying you did this just for me, but— you know what I mean.

Absence; Lucy

[jolting]

[Victor hadn't seen much of Lucy lately. But his gift for her is ready and he wants to be sure she receives it. He sends her a text]

Lucy, I have something for you. Is it all right if I come over?

[thestoriesarereal]

[Normally, Lucy would be thrilled to have Victor come over. She loved spending time with him, but today was a bad day. Today, she came home from school with no trace of Emma. She was gone. Lucy heard that people went back to their own worlds, but she thought Emma wouldn't go, not without saying goodbye.

Since coming home, she's locked herself in the home she shared with Emma and cried. Having Victor text her is good, and bad. Good that he is reaching out, and bad that she has to deliver the horrible news.]

Come over..

Emma's gone.

[jolting]

[of course he doesn't pick up that she means "gone" as in returned to Storybrooke. He just assumes Emma is out on an errand or something. Victor goes ahead and invites himself over. Her gift is wrapped in brown packaging, and he knocks on the door to let her know he's there]

[thestoriesarereal]

[Lucy would've used different phrasing to say Emma had stepped out or was out on errands. Simply to say she was 'gone,' was huge. Lucy stays in Emma's bed until she hears someone knocking at the door.

She gets up, slowly making her way over to it. When she opens the door, Victor will see the dried tear stains on her cheeks, her messy hair and her lower lip trembling--all for a brief moment before she clings to him and starts crying again.]