gascogne: (Default)
D'Artagnan ([personal profile] gascogne) wrote in [community profile] singillatim2025-11-01 04:22 pm

arrival/catchall

Who: D'Artagnan + open
What: arrival/settling in/catchall
When: November
Where: Milton

Content Warnings: tba


[In the days since his arrival, D'Artagnan sets out to explore most of Milton with the eagerness of a young man unused to the environment but relatively aware of its dangers. He'd procured a scarf and gloves from a man on the road early on, the latter ill-fitting, and before he goes too far, he's searching for warmer clothing in the Community Hall, huffy and particular about some things, like more weather-appropriate boots to replace his own, where their padded and insulated interiors feel uncomfortable and awkward, and it's been difficult to find a pair where his toes aren't curling inside them. The materials of many items confuse him, and he might oddly finger the fabric, or struggle with unfamiliar small fastenings as zippers. Whilst there, he lends a similar frustrated curiosity to the bathrooms and the kitchen, and any relatively modern items he doesn't entirely fathom, whether they work presently or not. On his way out to the streets, he'll glance over the message board, anything regarding traveling out of Milton of particular interest.

Odd as it is to occupy someone's home when they'd died of mysterious madness, as far as he might understand it, or fled such things, D'Artagnan had chosen a smaller two room cabin on Mackenzie Street, and he might be found examining the exterior, rooting around inside re-arranging things and taking stock of what's been left behind that might be of use, or introducing himself politely, if dry and monotonously, to anyone he hasn't met, potentially his new neighbours for the foreseeable future. He heads out to Paradise Farm earlier on, as he'd promised to have a look at things and see where his skills might be needed or desired, and in the later days, he wanders out towards either end of town, quite confused by the gas station and abandoned cars, and stops into the hunting supplies store to look for any weapons or gear not yet absconded with, spare as they may be, and will hang around the general store, as the proprietor had been generous with his whisky and he'd found the place comfortable enough to loiter.

He's generally an amicable attitude if he stops to ask questions or offer assistance if seems one might need it, yet tends to towards a judgmental bent when enquiring of things he doesn't understand, as if it a personal offense to be made aware of his ignorance.]



(ooc: some basic 'around milton' ideas there. i welcome wildcards, any continuations or other tdm flavour things here as well, and will write individual starters upon request!)
friendsfordinner: (i am the only person finding this funny)

community hall

[personal profile] friendsfordinner 2025-11-02 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hickey also stopped in the community hall, though it's mostly because he knows it's a good choice to store some clothes, slip in as a wolf, and have some privacy to put his clothes back on when he turns back human. There's enough people in this town and enough of them who can turn into wolves, hopefully people are smart or sensible enough not to mess with a bundle of random clothes sitting around.

Hickey's making his way from one of the back rooms, slipping his shirt over his head, very obviously getting dressed (though thankfully his pants are on) as he spots D'Artagnan looking through some clothes.
]

Those should all be fair game, [ Hickey says, with a little nod. He's glad to see D'Artagnan being sensible, looking through all the clothes to find something to claim of his own. ] Though there's a pair of boots stored in the back of one of those closets, that one's mine. Take any shoes but those.
friendsfordinner: (smirky little shit)

[personal profile] friendsfordinner 2025-11-04 06:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Sometimes you’re a shortass with tiny feet and that is NORMAL, okay? Hickey rolls his eyes at the comment, though it’s obviously nothing personal—just the sort of eyeroll one gives when a new friend is being a shit and they both know it.

The dressing continues, as Hickey makes his way to the closet where his boots were stashed in.
]

First month I was here, took me ages to find a pair of boots in my size. I ended up wearing something just a little too big—wore three pairs of socks just so my feet would stop slipping around. [ He gives D’Artagnan a little shrug before, ] Not complaining about the free clothes, mind you. But sometimes, the selection could be better.
sputnik: — 𝑺𝑷𝑼𝑻𝑵𝑰𝑲 (ᴛʜᴇ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇsᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ — ᴅᴇʟɪʙᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ)

hunting supplies store!

[personal profile] sputnik 2025-11-04 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's been a bit since Konstantin last took a trip to the old supplies shop to pick up some more ice fishing gear. The past few months have been taken up with other ways to keep busy — treks to and from the coastal town or out to Lakeside, working on setting up that physical fitness center he's had on the mind for some time now, doing as much labor as he can. They say an idle mind is the devil's workshop, and while the cosmonaut doesn't quite believe in such things, he has to appreciate the concept. Better to stay busy.

Especially now that more of his precious ones in this place have vanished. There's an odd tightness in his throat as he steps into the store and heads for the wall where some augers, poles, and lures still remain. Much of this place has been picked through of things like weapons and clothing, but the fishing section a bit less so.

He's not used to bumping into company here. His attention's fixed on the task at hand when he hears movement an aisle or two down and freezes, looking that way. Clutching a pole in one hand — he already has one, but he's been thinking about bringing one to his housemate — Konstantin moves to where the other is, brows lifting in surprise. A newcomer... Konstantin hasn't seen any of those in a while.

Is that how it works? For every person who disappears, another takes their place? The stranger looks young, and that makes that tightness in his throat constrict further; with a flash, he remembers another young man who suddenly wasn't here anymore. Kieren's empty cabin, art left behind. But Konstantin's friendly despite that hitch, putting on a smile quickly.
]

Hello there. [ His voice is coated in a thick Russian accent. ] I hope I didn't startle you. I'm not used to bumping into anyone here. You finding what you're looking for?
friendsfordinner: (i am the only person finding this funny)

[personal profile] friendsfordinner 2025-11-07 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I see some. Here.

[ Hickey reaches into a box on the closet shelf, pulls out a few hats, then lightly tosses them in D'Artagnan's general direction. He's still shoeless, after all. He bends down to put on his boots as the conversation continues. ]

Making do is all you really can do in this place. Still, I don't mind. Stuck in a worse situation back home—this feels like paradise in some aspects.

[ No bear's trying to kill him! They have actual food here! ]
sputnik: — 𝑺𝑷𝑼𝑻𝑵𝑰𝑲 (ᴀɴᴅ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ's ɴᴏ ɢᴏᴅ)

[personal profile] sputnik 2025-11-07 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Konstantin's easy smile relaxes more, into something warm and conversational, no matter if it's a literal stranger he's conversing with. He leans against the nearest shelf, the fishing rod tilted at a comfortable angle from the crook of an elbow. ]

Most of the good stuff has been picked through, but you're in luck. We've recently discovered a new town — out on the coast. More supplies coming back and forth. If you don't find anything in here, there's still hope.

[ ...And with more people vanishing these days, there's sure to be things left over, but he doesn't say that. Instead— ]

What's your weapon of choice? I'll keep an eye out.

[ As he does, he stands up straight and sticks out his free hand, offering a firm but friendly shake. ] Konstantin Veshnyakov, but please call me 'Kostya'.
friendsfordinner: (quietly plan that mutiny)

[personal profile] friendsfordinner 2025-11-08 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
Lack of food.

[ It's obvious that Hickey doesn't like talking about this. That the lack of food back in his own world bothers him more than he wants to admit. But he keeps his tone calm, as if talking about the weather, and not about the possibility of starving to death. ]

We went on an exploratory voyage to a place like this. However, we were stuck. Frozen in the ice. No food around, nothing for us to eat. It was miserable. [ There's a pause before, ] This place is a lot like that. But here, at least there's game.
friendsfordinner: (smirky little shit)

[personal profile] friendsfordinner 2025-11-08 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Indeed, Hickey, who's been here for two years and who even back home was more than happy to resort to...less savory methods to stay alive, looks far healthier than Hodgson. He moves with ease, acts like everything's fine, like the specter or horrors of starvation don't affect him.

Hickey knows that D'Artagnan is probably thinking about something. What, specifically, he doesn't know. However, he's going to let the man guess. Hickey's certainly not bringing up the things that happened when food was scarce, God no. He can be left to his own thoughts.

Besides, there's a question he can answer.
]

Yeah, there are. I'm more of a trapper than a hunter myself, [ unless he's in wolf form but that's a whole other conversation, ] but I don't mind showing you what spots have worked for me. When do you want to do this?

[ Because based on Hickey's mood, he's up for going out to hunt right this moment. ]
friendsfordinner: (Default)

[personal profile] friendsfordinner 2025-11-09 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ Hickey, a man who will always prefer action over inaction, can't help but give D'Artagnan an appreciative little nod at that gesture. Somebody who will actually do things, who takes action, who makes decisive choices instead of sitting around with 'will I, won't I.' He appreciates that in a person, and this only further raises his opinion of the man.

Hickey steps out of the community center, expecting D'Artagnan to follow. He purposefully walks towards the woods, looking back over his shoulder slightly to talk,
]

I set up a few snares yesterday. There's a chance of game in one of them. I'll happily split the rewards if you're skint.

[ He won't really happily do it. Hickey very much wants to keep all the game for himself. But at the same time, it would be beneficial to have D'Artagnan as an ally and you do things like 'share' when you want someone to think well of you. (It's entirely possible that Cornelius Hickey is still wrapping his head around concepts like 'friendship.') ]
ricochetingbullets: (Making a point)

Mackenzie Street

[personal profile] ricochetingbullets 2025-11-09 09:56 am (UTC)(link)
[D'Artagnan's nearest neighbor is a tall, serious-looking guy that rarely smiles and keeps to himself most of the time. He doesn't introduce himself at first when he sees he now has a new neighbor, the closest one to his own cabin in fact, simply minding his own business after taking note of that fact. When it comes to interacting with people, Dex prefers to do so as little as possible. He's not good with social interaction, not when caring about people in a normal fashion is impossible for him.

When D'Artagnan finally makes his way over to say hello, Dex is on his porch, sitting there performing a curious task. He's got an enormous pile of stones and is holding each one briefly, just for a few seconds at the most. He seems to be testing them for something, though how he can figure anything out in that short amount of time isn't immediately obvious. The majority of the stones are set into a separate pile, a large reject one. Every so often, he finds one, and puts it into a smaller pile by his side. These stones all have the same qualities: large, smooth, and with no irregular edges or lumps that would make them feel off-balance.

He nods when he sees the guy next door coming over. He nods to him briefly, keeping his eyes on him even while he continues to sort out rocks. They're the flat, emotionless eyes that would look more appropriate in a predatory animal like a wolf or bear instead of a human being.]


You're new?

[There's very little emotion in his tone, just the barest amount of politeness Dex can summon when he's talking to anyone. He sounds very much the same talking to a stranger as he does to someone he's known for years.]
Edited 2025-11-09 09:57 (UTC)
friendsfordinner: (Default)

[personal profile] friendsfordinner 2025-11-09 02:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hickey nods, making a little noise of approval as he does so. A man does need to provide for himself—Hickey's loathe to depend solely on the company of strangers. ]

It's easy enough to provide for yourself here. There's nothing premade, of course. And you'll be eating a lot of the same damn thing every day. But if you know how to hunt, how to forage, at least there's always food on the table.
ricochetingbullets: (Shootout)

[personal profile] ricochetingbullets 2025-11-11 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
That was me two months ago. I'm Dex.

[The former FBI agent tells the guy he supposes he's going to be seeing a lot of now. Dex thinks he should probably at least pretend to be friendly in that case, which isn't much of a surprise. Most of his life has been spent pretending to be a person that in truth has never actually existed.

Dex shrugs as he picks up another stone, holds it, and then sets it into the bigger pile.]


I don't mind.

[He says in a flat tone. No truer words have ever been spoken. Dex cares about one of the Interlopers hanging about him as he does the funny wolfdog that has apparently decided he is its new owner. The lack of empathy means both register with him little emotionally.]
friendsfordinner: (thinky think think)

[personal profile] friendsfordinner 2025-11-11 02:30 pm (UTC)(link)
There are these little red berries, [ Hickey muses. ] Rosehips. They’re pretty good, people can make tea out of them. There’s mushrooms? Though some of them you’ll want to eat, others you don’t.

[ Hickey moves through the snow and ice with ease, like he’s lived here all his life. He pushes forward, deliberately moving onwards, not at all bothered by the occasionally difficult terrain. If anything, he seems more bothered by the temperature. Going from a nice, warm, community center to the cold outdoors isn’t fun—and like a lizard, Hickey craves the heat and sunshine. ]

You’ll want to meet up with Chloe. She’s got a greenhouse going, all sorts of things there. She’s smart. Good head on her shoulders. Doesn’t let this place get to her, unlike some people.

[ It's obvious from Hickey's tone that he's very fond of that objectively rude woman. ]
ricochetingbullets: (Maybe this will all work out)

[personal profile] ricochetingbullets 2025-11-12 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
The best stones to use for a sling.

[He pulls what at first glance looks like a weird scarf from around his neck. In truth, it's a sling he's made from some fabric that was lying about. Finding (or creating) a gun or bow and arrows had been harder than Dex would have liked. But a sling to use with stones? That was a lot easier to make and use. With his uncanny abilities when it comes to hitting anything he aims at, Dex has found it a handy weapon.

While he could really use any stone with the sling, why make it harder for himself when he could make it easier? Hence picking out the best stones available for him to launch at a subject. All he needs is one shot when it comes to taking down a subject, whether an animal, monster, or a human being.]

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