entrancelogs | OPEN | with a confusion of ideas

Entry tags:

OPEN | with a confusion of ideas

Who: Victor Frankenstein (

lifeskills) and anyone in the neighborhood.
Where: The dining room.
When: Jan. 20th.
Rating: PG-13, maybe? Possibly? We'll see.
Summary: Going to art school instead of medical school would've saved a lot of people some trouble, just saying.

The Story:

_{[It's been an odd week. It's always odd in Wonderland, but it's not often he starts a week off by getting a sunburn in the middle of winter (and he knows exactly whose mind that Egyptian adventure had come from, as if there was ever any doubt). It's been an odd year, if he's being honest. Odder than most, and that's saying something considering he's been in Wonderland for over two now.

To think it'd been around this time last Christmas that he'd been looking at a future vision of Lily and Dorian Gray ballroom dancing, and not knowing who they were. Not knowing the significance they'd have in his life once he returned to London--and he had, in time to put together all of the hints Wonderland had been dropping. About himself. About the tragic events that were coming.

Victor has taken up residence at one of the dining room tables, a common enough sight during breakfast and dinner hours while grabbing a bite to eat (lunch is usually an afterthought grabbed on the go). Only a coffee cup sits near him now--and a journal, propped up on a folded knee. He's been drawing, but not the kinds of research sketches one would have found inside in times past when scientific rigor was the focus.

As he goes to adjust his seat, the journal falls from its precariously balanced position, scattering loose pages along the floor. If a page should skitter close to one's foot, they'll find series of abstract drawings dotting it. Doodles, really. Random hieroglyphics. A pyramid crowned with a jewel. The White Queen's symbol. A blonde woman, beautiful features made sharper by her intensely piercing eyes.]}

Sorry. It slipped.

_{[Excuse him while he tries to scoop those up before someone steps on the detritus of his thoughts.]}

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[ there's no need to pick up the fallen scraps of his innermost thoughts and lingerings for klaus does those honors, a particular sketch sliding under the toe of his boot as he deigns to walk by. he had little intention to socialize with anyone today; he merely meant to visit the kitchens for sustenance his closet seemed reticent to give him this day. (intentionally, he'd guess. he's been more or less holed up since new year's.)

however. it has been long months since he approached victor. even longer since their short and secret friendship in the halls of a castle. he might've passed the man by regardless, but the scratching of his pencil and the subsequent losing of papers solidified his pause.

now, well, as he picks up the sketch of a startlingly attractive woman rendered with such exquisite and powerful detail, klaus has another reason to stay. he studies her and makes no move to return her liking. ] Isn't she striking.

_{[Before he can gather up the papers his journal has unceremoniously belched out, someone picks up one of the escapees.

Not just someone, as it turns out. "Someone" is a title reserved for those without lengthy rap sheets and memorably uncompromising personalities. Klaus Mikaelson has both, and at the sight of him musing over the sketches like Victor had personally handed him an academic study on hybridity or a particularly challenging crossword, Victor doesn't know if he should apologize for the interruption or awkwardly acknowledge the compliment, even if it's not really his compliment to accept.

But he does know Klaus must be looking at Lily's picture--he'd had the same reaction once upon a time, seeing her reborn for the first time.]}

... Yes, she is. _{[And there's a rueful note in his voice when he says it, because it's Lily and there will always be a knot of conflicted emotion where Lily is concerned. But he makes an effort to banish it and focus on Klaus.]} Hello again.

_{[He can't say encountering the current patriarch of the Mikaelson family had been at the top of his to-do list today, either, but at least this time he's not nearly bumping into Klaus on a forest path. Or idolizing him as a young, impressionable boy wizard.]}

[ isn't she? klaus considers the question bears repeating once that tone of mournful contemplation reaches his ears. klaus' eyes, sharp and elucidating, lift with quickness to take in the doctor's expression. what is not in that voice is contained in the care of these blacks and grays drawn so precisely and attentively onto the paper: he'd call it a reverence, a longing.

he would know. ] Victor, [ is his greeting, once their eyes meet. (time to dispense of his humorous 'doctor's and mockery; they were more than that.)

intrigued and uninvited, klaus sits at the table and lays the sketch in front of the doctor. ] I daresay you have lines reminiscent of Da Vinci.

_{[First love, that's what Lily had called it. The first feeling of affection for another person to plunge so deep it penetrated walls of indifference and self-directed protectiveness to touch his heart. It's a wound unlike any other, one he doesn't know how to treat. It hadn't been real love, but the imitation of it, the yearning for it... It still hurts, which is perhaps the worst part of it all, to have deluded himself so completely that he hurts like any other person deserving of love hurts.

It aches incrementally less than it did before now that some time has passed, but pain is still pain, and the look he gives the paper in Klaus' hand is subdued, like it's a cherished family heirloom that must be kept but continues to take up a regrettable amount of space on the mantle.

Neither friend nor foe, or any clear designation therein, Klaus himself is another area of conflict Victor knows not what to do with or how to feel about. As ever, opting for polite neutrality seems the safe bet. All the more so when Klaus deigns to sit--and offer up unexpected praise that has Victor blinking.]}

That's a high compliment I'm not sure I deserve. I studied his anatomical drawings when I was young myself--he was a prolific artist in more than one area. But I gather you would know the best of us both, with the lifespan you have.

_{[If Klaus flat-out told him he'd met Da Vinci right this second, it maybe wouldn't make the top five list of unbelievable things he's heard, but the top ten for sure. Carefully, he slips the paper back inside the journal where it belongs. It feels strange to leave her image out in the open.]}

Edited 2017-01-27 09:12 (UTC)

[ it's certainly possible he has met da vinci—and degas, freud, magellan; the list does go on. klaus has certainly studied da vinci's work at length and with admiration. he wasn't alone either in keeping abreast of the renaissance as it occurred, but the respectful and polite manner in which victor pays him that mind is equally appreciated and deserved.

and worthy of a moment's consideration; he wonders if it is all manners that directs victor's language. in their castle, he would have assumed victor's behavior as the idolizing words of an ambitious wizard. before their sojourn into another life, he would have thought victor interestingly uncomfortable around a powerful species of another kind.

it's why, after the space of a pause (after noting the careful way victor slips the drawing away) klaus draws an errant line on the cool polished tabletop and asks, ] Is it true? The account of your fictional life; I assume you've heard of it. Are you the infamous doctor of yore?

_{[Victor can see the shape of the question coming before Klaus has finished, and it gives him pause for one long second.

Honestly, he's a little surprised; he'd have thought Klaus would have suspected by now. Suspected and come to his own conclusions about what manner of blood Victor is wearing on his hands. This isn't the first time he's been asked--not even the first time he's been asked this abruptly--but coming from someone as strategically keen as Klaus, it seems oddly innocent. A low ball pitched underhand.]}

Unavoidable, after I unwittingly began introducing myself by my given name. _{[So yes, he's heard of it.]} You were one of the first I met back in the early days, actually.

_{[And they'd beat around this particular bush, though back then Victor would have already been looking for an excuse to change the subject, or talk along the outside edges of it. With time comes accountability.

He's not sure why Klaus is asking now, but-- He takes in a breath and answers plainly.]}

You mean have I resurrected the dead? Yes, that much is true.

_{[No longer does the confession ride on a secret swell of pride, however. That arrogance has burned itself out since he and Klaus last spoke about it, long ago with a different Klaus entirely.]}

[ there is no reason to pretend. victor knows who he is and is cautious enough to know or suspect in part what he is capable of—for it is a low ball, but it is not pitched underhand. he means to level them. he does not want victor's careful and measured respects; he does not want deferential nonsense. victor is as much a capable monster as he is. what's more under that fear and calculation, klaus knows he must know it.

he studies the doctor placidly, his fingertip tapping slow and steady onto the table. finally, he answers, ] Well, I suppose we have that in common. [ and isn't that a humorous aside. ] I wonder, [ and he does wonder, moving to shift forward in his seat, ] did you know my family before?

Edited 2017-02-07 16:11 (UTC)

_{[Attention is a double-edged sword. For Klaus, this line of questioning might be harmless, idle conversation between residents making use of the dining room, a way to pass the time. For Victor... who knows. Cats taking interest in canaries can end a few ways, some of them not so well for the canary.

For now, though, Victor doesn't sense danger in entertaining the topic, and he aims for the same casualness Klaus displays in his body language. A stray musing thought skids across his mind: which part does the hybrid find a commonality with? Being the one resurrecting the dead, or being the one to slough off his old life for a new existence? Something of both?]}

Some, in passing.

_{[Another truthful answer. He'd promised not to reveal the conversations he's had with Elena to date, but the prior presence of the Mikaelsons can be easily corroborated--it's not worth lying about.]}

I met Kol and Rebekah, while they were here for a brief time. I believe there was another, but our paths didn't cross.

[ it is harmless, but despite appearances, it is not idle. the truth is not all strategies are underhanded, nor does it mean they are without risk. victor could be just as easily reticent to a subtle question as he might be to a straightforward one. cats sometimes do not catch the canaries, but klaus believes this one would be a fine enough chase, either way.

and he does so like the chase. victor is somewhat of an enigma. there is something reserved about him, something as hidden as his drawings of a beautiful woman. those small peeks into the man klaus sits with now has only whet his appetite and knowing victor knew klaus' family makes him all the more curious.

and so: he chats. ] Ah, that would be Elijah, I assume. My noble, elder brother.

Edited 2017-02-09 18:53 (UTC)

_{[A pause to consider, then a nod. That name does sound familiar. There had been upsets with the Wonderland vampires, as he recalls--perpetrated in part by the previous Klaus, and mitigated by Elijah.

And Kol... Victor had gotten the sense Kol intended to go to war with them all if need be. Quite the dysfunctional family--not that he's one to talk.]}

I believe so. Is it just you and Rebekah now?

_{[There are other vampires from Klaus' world about, but not Originals, as far as he knows. Though in a sense, if all vampires descend from the Mikaelsons he supposes they're all related in a distant way.]}

[ victor would be right—they are connected. or they were, more accurately; for klaus it is different. no one knows it here but his link to his sirelings has long been broken; an unfortunate and deadly consequence his enemies sought to remove him from the protection of that link: when an original dies, all vampires they have beget die with them.

it's best those that are in his sireline here—all of them from mystic falls, actually—do not know. klaus has no idea if due to timelines are they still linked or not and he's none too eager to find out.

nor is he particularly eager to divulge more to victor about his family, but his family's presence is no secret either. klaus' brow lifts at the mention of rebekah. he wonders if they've crossed paths. ] There's our eldest sibling, the long-lost sister, Freya. A long story, [ he adds with some humor. ] And you? Have you any family or acquaintances here?

_{[Another sister? That gets both of Victor's eyebrows lifting, wordlessly giving away his ignorance that he hadn't known there was yet another sister. Given Klaus has said before they have a thousand years of history behind them, he imagines that's a long story indeed.

He'd be lying if he wasn't on the curious side about how an immortal comes to be "long-lost," but for now, having gotten his answer, he opts not to ask and make it seem as though Klaus sitting down was an invitation for an interrogation. Klaus hasn't asked about the woman in the drawing yet--he can return that favor.]}

In the early days, there were two friends from home for a short while, but not since then.

_{[And Caliban, briefly, in the crush of newcomers that had briefly crowded Wonderland's corridors while the multitude of parties had been going on. Victor's lips thin for a passing moment. Caliban counts as family in his own way, and family is a rather complicated beast to discuss, just as it is for the Mikaelsons.]}

The closest to a peer would be a one Mr. Dorian Gray. We don't share a world, but we do share a... literary sphere.

_{[Said knowingly as Klaus will probably grasp what he means. Fictional Victorians make for popular stories.]}

[It was a pity Victor associated poor the Dorian here with someone else. He locked himself out of a potential friend, a common familiar. It wasn't like he was anything like this other counterpart, was it?]

[No, this Dorian was caught by surprise when he found the drawing of the beautiful woman fly out of Victor's journal and land at Dorian's feet. Picking it up to inspect it, Dorian was awed by the keen attention to detail, the beauty in her features etched onto the page. Beauty... Pure beauty on the page. Dorian idly reached out to brush a finger against the sketched cheek when he heard Victor muttering an excuse.]

Doctor Frankenstein? I had no idea you were such a talented artist!

[He's not going to give the evidence back. Not now.]

Edited 2017-01-22 22:27 (UTC)

_{[Victor almost, almost lets his wariness show when he looks up from his page-collecting and sees which of the dining residents he's disturbed. The young Dorian Gray has truly impeccable timing.

Composing his expression at the last second, he manages the kind of blank-faced interest reserved for strangers in the street or on a long train ride in a shared compartment. He straightens, slipping the sheets of paper back into place with a crisp snap of the journal's covers closing around them.]}

It's a skill required for diagramming. _{[It would be an understatement to say he mistrusts the avid attention Dorian pays the drawings. Victor's hand goes out, expectant.]} Thank you.

_{[For picking it up and returning it. He won't let anything belonging to Lily fall into this or any Dorian's hands again, not even her likeness. It makes an uncomfortable feeling bloom behind his ribs that he does his best to ignore.]}

[Dorian noticed the change in expression, yet he replies with a smile.] The statement still stands. Truly, you capture the most delightful details in your work!

[He still isn't going to give it back. Not now. He wants to gaze upon this beautiful woman's face and note every feature of her beauty. He paces, partly to keep away from the agitated scientist.]

You ought to submit this to the Gallery. [He smirks as he finally returns the drawing to Victor's hand. Can't get him too upset.] I'm sure there are plenty of folks in Wonderland who would want to see your work.

You're awfully invested in my work.

_{[There's an unyielding edge to the observation as he purposely fails to return the smile, hand still outstretched. Waiting. He hadn't been interested in playing Dorian's game when they'd been children in Hogsmeade, and he's not now. Perhaps it's about time the younger Dorian Gray learned not ever.

Especially not over her. That had been a one-time mistake that he deserves to pay for, but one he won't make a second time.]}

No.

_{[And frankly, a flat-out refusal is more of a response than he feels the nosy voyeur deserves at this point, but since he did return the paper with only minor fuss, he can have that much at least. Victor lays the sheet on top of the others, returning the stack to its orderly neatness. He's more relieved to have it away from the other's hungry gaze than he can properly say; it's discomfiting to know two men with different faces can have the same proclivities.]}

Why not? The public would love to see your work!

[He smiles, coyly. He knows not of his assumed relationship with the woman in the picture, but he knows how some people are very protective of their things.]

It doesn't have to be of that woman, if you really put that much of yourself into that sketch, but think of the possibilities. Maybe you could go into portraiture?

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OPEN | with a confusion of ideas

did you say art

puts up the bat signal

na na na na na na na BATMAN

all hail king of vampire bats

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It would be a shame if this knowledge slipped into the wrong hands...

squints suspiciously at

smiles sweetly

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I forgot about this one! Sorry.