Milkshake. If you ever want to order it from somebody not me. [ but they're moving to get to work, grabbing some ice cream, milk, blender, etc. they're HELPING. ]
[Maybe Arcane has milkshakes, and I just seem like a fool now. It's fine. He watches the process with curious interest, but probably because he was once an inventor before he was a messiah.]
No. It was very good, though. I'm sorry to have you make something so dull when your talents are probably suited to something more refined.
[ it's methodical in a way, but it's also a practiced hand. they don't seem to mind watching, a little more aware that they are being watched so they go just slow enough that viktor can see the whole process as they go. ]
I don't think it's dull. I kind of like making things that aren't booze all the time. I should... maybe do it more often, actually. Besides, the whole point of having a bar is to make stuff people like. Doesn't matter what it is.
[ viktor, resisting the urge to take the blender apart and put it back together. ]
Not always, no. This is the first one I've run. I spent a couple of months learning to mix better than whatever skills I reserved for parties, and I'm still learning a few tricks. It's been nice enough. Keeps me busy.
It helps that it's a lot of the same things over and over again, and then knowing what flavors work well. I don't know if I'll keep it up after this project's over, but it's been fun while it's lasted.
I wasn't really doing anything before this though. So I prefer the bar gig. It's just enough people to talk to without the huge crowds most customer service jobs deal with.
[He will probably undoubtedly most likely ask....... once he gets the milkshake, of course. Sorry to your blender, Gabe.]
It isn't bad to learn a new skill long enough to be satisfied and then move on again.
[Become Dana. Learn all the skills in a mad rush at 3 AM for self improvement.]
It sounds like you might enjoy keeping it up a little, though, even after all of this is over. What is after for you exactly? Here? Another chance. You said you think you messed your second chance up, so...
Maybe not. I'm not great with a lot of things that require a lot of brains, so if I pick up enough skills like this I might be able to keep myself busy and employed for the rest of my afterlife.
[ this is maybe a joke, and maybe not. but they do finish, pouring the milkshake into a tall, frosted glass. ]
Oh, I know I messed up my second chance or I wouldn't have died. [ cavalier. ] And now I'm here and there's no way back, so... it depends if God decides to try this project again. If they do, I'll stay here. If they don't, I'll do something else, probably.
[So many people here said Gabriel is stupid, they love that in a man. Haunted and stupid? Damn, he would get along really well with Royce's friend, Hadrian. Hadrian would be here drinking every damn day to forget the horrors.]
You don't have to have brains to be successful.
[But he understands. Both bizarre metal and purple flesh hands are already on this bar waiting for the milkshake, it's kind of hilarious.] Thank you. [For the shake.]
I see. If God decides not to do this again, what do you think you would like to try next?
[ haunted and stupid is completely correct, yes. ah yes, the fabled husband, hadrian. ]
Sure. [ they don't entirely believe that's true, but they don't mind viktor saying it. anyway this is very funny, they're glad he's eager for his shake. they're setting it down and plunking a straw into it. treat for you. ]
I haven't put too much thought into it. Maybe some sort of construction? Making something that'll last. But who can even tell anymore what'll happen?
[Please believe that, so many people without brains were sitting on the Piltover council. Please believe it.
Thank you for this treat. He will have a very almost too-long drink of it through the straw. He does not need to eat, but he'll be damned if he won't drink this frozen sweet milk.]
May I take apart your machine?
[CASUALLY ASKS THIS AND THEN CARRIES ON LIKE IT'S SOMETHING YOU ALWAYS ASK ANY BARTENDER YOU MEET.]
Building is very rewarding. So is leaving behind a legacy through your craft... if you live long enough to have a legacy. [Baggage for another day.] What would you want to make?
[ that's because nobody in the government is smart.
anyway they look at him like they're startled he asked. ]
My. Blender? I mean sure? Probably should clean it first.
[ but yes. building. they nod to this. ]
I don't know about a legacy, I think I would just like to build a place people would enjoy and get use out of. I've built some things already and they've been standing steady, but I'm still learning. I'd eventually like to build something huge. Not a hotel, really, but the same idea.
Maybe if you ever come back to this place it'll be done by then. I'll have decided what to do with it. But I also kind of hope that won't be for a while. I've made some things around here though. The Tavern was described to me by the brothers, and I put it into play.
[ they don't elaborate on that because they're busy blinking at the empty glass. ]
[This is probably not the meeting Gabriel expected from a guy who sounded a little less insane if a bit more traumatized through letter, then showed up looking like the Renaissance art movement version of Jesus, but here we are.
He has destroyed a tall glass of chocolate milkshake and is about to destroy the blender next.]
Thank you, but maybe I will get one to take with me when I leave.
[He is trying not to make Gabriel need the blender when he is ready to be nosy.]
You did a good job, at least. [Glancing around.] It isn't exactly the same as The Last Drop in the Lanes of Zaun, but it gives the same impression.
[ this description is so funny because it's also not technically wrong I guess. but they nod because sure, they can make a to-go milkshake. instead they will pass over the blender for him to obliterate as they lean against the counter to watch. ]
Careful with the blades. [ an idle, gentle warning. ] But thanks. If it feels like something familiar to multiple people means we did the job right. Tell me about The Last Drop. Was it somewhere a lot of people went?
I'm not sure how much I could tell you from my own experience.
[First, he simply inspects the blender to see the way it is shaped and its cursory functions. And to commit how it looks to memory. He has no tools, sadly, but he doesn't need any when he has become the tool himself.
He begins pulling the bladed base of the cup apart from the reservoir. The blades are what he is interested in, sorry to Gabriel's warning. He turns it around, then lifts his right hand to pull the magic up through his palm, pulsing. The mechanisms quiver before beginning to unpiece from each other.]
It was a bar in the Lanes, and I wasn't allowed to go very often since I was a child even though children could go inside. The owner's name was Vander. Zaun was still polluted and barely livable, and there was no leader because it was a part of Piltover, but Vander made it relatively peaceful as an interim one.
I was already a student in Piltover's academy above by the time he was said to be murdered. But... I met him recently. It is strange how life comes back around. Two girls who were like his daughters brought him to me to be healed. He had been mutated experimentally by a former mentor of mine, but his humanity was still inside. It was difficult to get through to him.
[The pieces settle on the bar in front of him, and he sorts through them one by one, inspecting.]
I saw his life, his time at the bar. He was a good man. He cared about the people of Zaun. His bar was a place people of Zaun could go when they were tired, when they needed a drink or to talk.
[ well. that's fine, he's just watching like "what the fuck" and letting viktor do what he's doing while listening. ]
Yeah, well, kids probably shouldn't be in bars anyway. But I get where some places might allow it, especially if the rest of the place is just... you know. Trying to get by.
... sounds like a pretty good guy. I always kind of thought bars were meant to be that way. Like a retreat, you know? Hide out when the world goes to shit, and talk to someone who can just hear you out even without fully knowing the situation. [ go back to the healing thing though. ] How... were you able to heal him?
[Kids shouldn't be in bars? Looks directly at you.]
I will admit, I was never really a bar sort of young man, so perhaps I am not the best person to agree.
[He was a nerd, and he spent more time by himself being a nerd more than anything. No one is going to want to party or drink with a cripple from the Undercity anyway. Not in Piltover.
He spins the blender blades in the air without touching them, and then he begins piecing things together again.]
Once a connection was established between us, I could enter his mind and search for the man he once was. We... Sky and I... traversed this space to see if we could open where it was hidden.
No, you seem more like the "sit in a library with a pot of tea and a prayer" kind of guy. [ not even because of the cripple thing, just in general. viktor gives off kind of a quieter vibe despite being played by you. ]
Sounds like a lot of deepdiving. A person's mind can be really busy. How did you know what to really search for? [ also who's sky? ]
Okay, you're a nerd. Which is fine, I kind of like nerds. [ it's cute when they're passionate about stuff, an attractive quality in a person when your own will to live is rock bottom. ]
So it was kind of a blind search and hoping for the best. Even if it was possible you wouldn't find it. Did you and Sky do this a lot? What if... what if someone's humanity didn't exist anymore?
[Do not be attracted to nerds, for god's (lol) sake. The worst decision you could make.]
Yes, the search was blind initially, but as we went along, went deeper, we could tell what paths to take. We had never done a case this... serious before. One with a man mutated so heavily. He had become a beast on the outside, fueled only by instinct and aggression.
I'm not sure. I have never met anyone without their humanity. If they had it at the start, I believe there would always be a piece of them you could reach.
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I thought the same.
[He will have a seat on one of the stools.]
One of those... chocolate, icy sweet milks you made before, please.
[The way I realized I don't think he knows it's called a milkshake. Anyway.]
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Milkshake. If you ever want to order it from somebody not me. [ but they're moving to get to work, grabbing some ice cream, milk, blender, etc. they're HELPING. ]
Never had one before?
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[Maybe Arcane has milkshakes, and I just seem like a fool now. It's fine. He watches the process with curious interest, but probably because he was once an inventor before he was a messiah.]
No. It was very good, though. I'm sorry to have you make something so dull when your talents are probably suited to something more refined.
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I don't think it's dull. I kind of like making things that aren't booze all the time. I should... maybe do it more often, actually. Besides, the whole point of having a bar is to make stuff people like. Doesn't matter what it is.
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A little bit of Viktor the nerd might still be in there.]
Enjoy your break crafting a milkshake then. Have you always had a bar?
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Not always, no. This is the first one I've run. I spent a couple of months learning to mix better than whatever skills I reserved for parties, and I'm still learning a few tricks. It's been nice enough. Keeps me busy.
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It seems you have become quite efficient with it. Maybe being a bartender was your calling actually.
[A bit of a joke.]
Do you prefer it or what you did before more?
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It helps that it's a lot of the same things over and over again, and then knowing what flavors work well. I don't know if I'll keep it up after this project's over, but it's been fun while it's lasted.
I wasn't really doing anything before this though. So I prefer the bar gig. It's just enough people to talk to without the huge crowds most customer service jobs deal with.
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It isn't bad to learn a new skill long enough to be satisfied and then move on again.
[Become Dana. Learn all the skills in a mad rush at 3 AM for self improvement.]
It sounds like you might enjoy keeping it up a little, though, even after all of this is over. What is after for you exactly? Here? Another chance. You said you think you messed your second chance up, so...
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[ this is maybe a joke, and maybe not. but they do finish, pouring the milkshake into a tall, frosted glass. ]
Oh, I know I messed up my second chance or I wouldn't have died. [ cavalier. ] And now I'm here and there's no way back, so... it depends if God decides to try this project again. If they do, I'll stay here. If they don't, I'll do something else, probably.
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You don't have to have brains to be successful.
[But he understands. Both bizarre metal and purple flesh hands are already on this bar waiting for the milkshake, it's kind of hilarious.] Thank you. [For the shake.]
I see. If God decides not to do this again, what do you think you would like to try next?
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Sure. [ they don't entirely believe that's true, but they don't mind viktor saying it. anyway this is very funny, they're glad he's eager for his shake. they're setting it down and plunking a straw into it. treat for you. ]
I haven't put too much thought into it. Maybe some sort of construction? Making something that'll last. But who can even tell anymore what'll happen?
no subject
Thank you for this treat. He will have a very almost too-long drink of it through the straw. He does not need to eat, but he'll be damned if he won't drink this frozen sweet milk.]
May I take apart your machine?
[CASUALLY ASKS THIS AND THEN CARRIES ON LIKE IT'S SOMETHING YOU ALWAYS ASK ANY BARTENDER YOU MEET.]
Building is very rewarding. So is leaving behind a legacy through your craft... if you live long enough to have a legacy. [Baggage for another day.] What would you want to make?
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anyway they look at him like they're startled he asked. ]
My. Blender? I mean sure? Probably should clean it first.
[ but yes. building. they nod to this. ]
I don't know about a legacy, I think I would just like to build a place people would enjoy and get use out of. I've built some things already and they've been standing steady, but I'm still learning. I'd eventually like to build something huge. Not a hotel, really, but the same idea.
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[Luckily, he is very smart, and he will be able to put it back together again afterward, so Gabriel won't be down a blender.]
It's good to have big dreams. I would like to see your "huge" building, though I am not sure if I ever will.
What have you made so far?
[A glance down... The milkshake is already gone. He just got it. Sadly, it was good, and he drank it too quickly. Hubris.]
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Maybe if you ever come back to this place it'll be done by then. I'll have decided what to do with it. But I also kind of hope that won't be for a while. I've made some things around here though. The Tavern was described to me by the brothers, and I put it into play.
[ they don't elaborate on that because they're busy blinking at the empty glass. ]
I'm. [ HELLO? ] Do you want another one or...?
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He has destroyed a tall glass of chocolate milkshake and is about to destroy the blender next.]
Thank you, but maybe I will get one to take with me when I leave.
[He is trying not to make Gabriel need the blender when he is ready to be nosy.]
You did a good job, at least. [Glancing around.] It isn't exactly the same as The Last Drop in the Lanes of Zaun, but it gives the same impression.
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Careful with the blades. [ an idle, gentle warning. ] But thanks. If it feels like something familiar to multiple people means we did the job right. Tell me about The Last Drop. Was it somewhere a lot of people went?
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[First, he simply inspects the blender to see the way it is shaped and its cursory functions. And to commit how it looks to memory. He has no tools, sadly, but he doesn't need any when he has become the tool himself.
He begins pulling the bladed base of the cup apart from the reservoir. The blades are what he is interested in, sorry to Gabriel's warning. He turns it around, then lifts his right hand to pull the magic up through his palm, pulsing. The mechanisms quiver before beginning to unpiece from each other.]
It was a bar in the Lanes, and I wasn't allowed to go very often since I was a child even though children could go inside. The owner's name was Vander. Zaun was still polluted and barely livable, and there was no leader because it was a part of Piltover, but Vander made it relatively peaceful as an interim one.
I was already a student in Piltover's academy above by the time he was said to be murdered. But... I met him recently. It is strange how life comes back around. Two girls who were like his daughters brought him to me to be healed. He had been mutated experimentally by a former mentor of mine, but his humanity was still inside. It was difficult to get through to him.
[The pieces settle on the bar in front of him, and he sorts through them one by one, inspecting.]
I saw his life, his time at the bar. He was a good man. He cared about the people of Zaun. His bar was a place people of Zaun could go when they were tired, when they needed a drink or to talk.
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Yeah, well, kids probably shouldn't be in bars anyway. But I get where some places might allow it, especially if the rest of the place is just... you know. Trying to get by.
... sounds like a pretty good guy. I always kind of thought bars were meant to be that way. Like a retreat, you know? Hide out when the world goes to shit, and talk to someone who can just hear you out even without fully knowing the situation. [ go back to the healing thing though. ] How... were you able to heal him?
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I will admit, I was never really a bar sort of young man, so perhaps I am not the best person to agree.
[He was a nerd, and he spent more time by himself being a nerd more than anything. No one is going to want to party or drink with a cripple from the Undercity anyway. Not in Piltover.
He spins the blender blades in the air without touching them, and then he begins piecing things together again.]
Once a connection was established between us, I could enter his mind and search for the man he once was. We... Sky and I... traversed this space to see if we could open where it was hidden.
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No, you seem more like the "sit in a library with a pot of tea and a prayer" kind of guy. [ not even because of the cripple thing, just in general. viktor gives off kind of a quieter vibe despite being played by you. ]
Sounds like a lot of deepdiving. A person's mind can be really busy. How did you know what to really search for? [ also who's sky? ]
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[There is still a hopeful sliver of Viktor somewhere down in there based on the sass.]
We didn't. We knew we would understand when we found it, whatever piece of Vander's humanity was left. We would know when we came across it.
[Don't ask, damn.]
She was our lab assistant.
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So it was kind of a blind search and hoping for the best. Even if it was possible you wouldn't find it. Did you and Sky do this a lot? What if... what if someone's humanity didn't exist anymore?
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Yes, the search was blind initially, but as we went along, went deeper, we could tell what paths to take. We had never done a case this... serious before. One with a man mutated so heavily. He had become a beast on the outside, fueled only by instinct and aggression.
I'm not sure. I have never met anyone without their humanity. If they had it at the start, I believe there would always be a piece of them you could reach.
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