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Jun. 29th, 2022 05:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fifthbeatleOnce Viktor is well and truly satisfied that Luther isn't dead, he takes some time. First, it's alone with himself, examining feelings and teasing out... memories, maybe? Really, it feels like they are, but it's not possible. It can't be. Viktor's been here. Instead of landing in the righted timeline in 2019, Viktor had landed here. He never saw--
(the outline of Reginald's new children, siblings tossed around the Sparrow Academy, a blinding white discharge of power, a busted-ass hotel, his family licking their wounds, a diner downtown...)
Dissonance so extreme has a sound now, like a throbbing, blinding hangover that comes and goes. It is not entirely dissimilar, Viktor knows firsthand, from torture.
What guides Viktor back is himself. That guy in the mirror. Viktor Hargreeves, concert violinist, forgotten child, destroyer of worlds, is considering his reflection with something he's never felt: patience. Elation. Freedom. He turns the shower on to begin a day of chores and errands, smile bright as the sun.
1. Boutique Shop
The sun is shining outside, too. It's hot, but a faint breezes seems to follow Viktor where he goes. Whether it exists in the air or the sway comes from him, he couldn't say. Bony little hands stay tucked in the pockets of his jeans as he walks, passing a window with a very handsome pair of sunglasses in the window. Viktor drops the underwhelming pair he has on to give them a better look. As he examines them, he sees his faint expression in the reflection of the window and knows he's about to spend more money on a garment that he has since he ended the world.
It's not like colors are brighter -- though there is a tint to his new shades he's not used to. It's trying on clothes that fit in a way he likes. Being excited to try it on. The way he nervously pulled his ID out of his wallet to pay for his new clothes to find the ID in the window slot has changed, as well.
Viktor leaves the store in a whole new getup, shades to shoes.
And tosses the old shit into a nearby garbage bin.
2. New Leaf Used Books
Errand one, check. A pleasant task, shedding old shit to make way for new. The second is just as breezy. Viktor spends a good enough amount of his free time in bookstores. They all know him, and they all know (much to Elio's annoyance) that New Leaf is his favorite. They get strange and interesting curiosities, often of unknown origin. Viktor has found some fascinating music books, and it's reached his ear that some new ones have hit their well-loved shelves.
Viktor checks his new watch: still early enough for coffee. And if he's got the timing right, around the time Dani might be needing a pick-me-up if she's working this shift. He knows her order, and the barista knows them. Though, this time, it takes him a minute for the kid to register. Instead of writing what they always do on the cup, the kid asks for a name. Viktor smiles brilliantly.
Two cups of coffee in hand, Viktor strolls to the bookstore. If Dani's not around, someone will surely take a free coffee while Viktor gets his hands on some new sheet music.
3. Piano Bar
Someone from the orchestra invited him, and he wasn't going to go, but Viktor can't be home tonight. Whether it's the dream or Five's weird, unsteady vibes or the creeping feeling that something terrible is coming... these are the shitty feelings Viktor's been steeped in so much of his life. Scrimping for attention, a feeling, a purpose -- belonging. Darrow is a place Viktor belongs. It's where his family is, where his people are, and it's given him another gift: a shortcut to healing himself, to be who he's always been.
It's a raucous night, at least for classical musicians. People drift in and out, smoking or meeting dates or relocating to the next bar along the stretch of them. This is open mic night, and there are many atrocities to be visited on these poor, unsuspecting patrons in the form of terrible spoken word poetry from a harpist and even a few basically-karaoke hits. The night is exactly as Viktor guessed it might be when he was telling his friends and family about it. That was only yesterday, but it was a foot and a half of hair and thousands of memories ago.
The next person Viktor recognizes will be treated to a warm, brilliant smile that didn't exist before this man was let out of the box he didn't know he'd been in.
[Find him at some little clothing/accessories boutique, at New Leaf Used Books, walking between either of these locations or at a little jam sesh in the evening at the piano bar.]
(the outline of Reginald's new children, siblings tossed around the Sparrow Academy, a blinding white discharge of power, a busted-ass hotel, his family licking their wounds, a diner downtown...)
Dissonance so extreme has a sound now, like a throbbing, blinding hangover that comes and goes. It is not entirely dissimilar, Viktor knows firsthand, from torture.
What guides Viktor back is himself. That guy in the mirror. Viktor Hargreeves, concert violinist, forgotten child, destroyer of worlds, is considering his reflection with something he's never felt: patience. Elation. Freedom. He turns the shower on to begin a day of chores and errands, smile bright as the sun.
1. Boutique Shop
The sun is shining outside, too. It's hot, but a faint breezes seems to follow Viktor where he goes. Whether it exists in the air or the sway comes from him, he couldn't say. Bony little hands stay tucked in the pockets of his jeans as he walks, passing a window with a very handsome pair of sunglasses in the window. Viktor drops the underwhelming pair he has on to give them a better look. As he examines them, he sees his faint expression in the reflection of the window and knows he's about to spend more money on a garment that he has since he ended the world.
It's not like colors are brighter -- though there is a tint to his new shades he's not used to. It's trying on clothes that fit in a way he likes. Being excited to try it on. The way he nervously pulled his ID out of his wallet to pay for his new clothes to find the ID in the window slot has changed, as well.
Viktor leaves the store in a whole new getup, shades to shoes.
And tosses the old shit into a nearby garbage bin.
2. New Leaf Used Books
Errand one, check. A pleasant task, shedding old shit to make way for new. The second is just as breezy. Viktor spends a good enough amount of his free time in bookstores. They all know him, and they all know (much to Elio's annoyance) that New Leaf is his favorite. They get strange and interesting curiosities, often of unknown origin. Viktor has found some fascinating music books, and it's reached his ear that some new ones have hit their well-loved shelves.
Viktor checks his new watch: still early enough for coffee. And if he's got the timing right, around the time Dani might be needing a pick-me-up if she's working this shift. He knows her order, and the barista knows them. Though, this time, it takes him a minute for the kid to register. Instead of writing what they always do on the cup, the kid asks for a name. Viktor smiles brilliantly.
Two cups of coffee in hand, Viktor strolls to the bookstore. If Dani's not around, someone will surely take a free coffee while Viktor gets his hands on some new sheet music.
3. Piano Bar
Someone from the orchestra invited him, and he wasn't going to go, but Viktor can't be home tonight. Whether it's the dream or Five's weird, unsteady vibes or the creeping feeling that something terrible is coming... these are the shitty feelings Viktor's been steeped in so much of his life. Scrimping for attention, a feeling, a purpose -- belonging. Darrow is a place Viktor belongs. It's where his family is, where his people are, and it's given him another gift: a shortcut to healing himself, to be who he's always been.
It's a raucous night, at least for classical musicians. People drift in and out, smoking or meeting dates or relocating to the next bar along the stretch of them. This is open mic night, and there are many atrocities to be visited on these poor, unsuspecting patrons in the form of terrible spoken word poetry from a harpist and even a few basically-karaoke hits. The night is exactly as Viktor guessed it might be when he was telling his friends and family about it. That was only yesterday, but it was a foot and a half of hair and thousands of memories ago.
The next person Viktor recognizes will be treated to a warm, brilliant smile that didn't exist before this man was let out of the box he didn't know he'd been in.
[Find him at some little clothing/accessories boutique, at New Leaf Used Books, walking between either of these locations or at a little jam sesh in the evening at the piano bar.]
