'cause this is what a love song sounds like

[genice]

WHO: Victor Nikiforov & Eichi, Carolina, Yuuri, & OPEN heading in this log
WHERE: Eluvio; from the ice rink to the residential levels and beyond.
WHEN: February 14th, 0800 onward.
WHAT: Victor and friends deal with the fallout from the critical systems failure onboard the Eluvio.
WARNINGS: Warning for anxiety and panic attacks.

( ooc: individual starters are below; I should have an open one up later tonight or in the next day or so! )

Comments

0759 | eichi & the rink

[genice]

( Victor steps on the ice, leaning out and looking back up toward the light tracts with a speculative squint. Root's managed to get everything working, and he trusts in her work; but he's still here so early doing a system's run because he wants this to come together well.

Then again, having swept Eichi up along with him was a matter of the younger man knowing more about Victor's choreography for the unannounced programme he'd be showcasing for the first time this afternoon. Speaking of... he looks over to the lanky teenager, tossing his head to shift his bangs off his face. )

I'm thinking it'll be better to have the main lights dimmed over the spectators when Yuuri's on ice —

( Everything seems to slow down, a thrumming in the background cutting out with such suddenness he almost feels the difference in silence hit. But it's too fast; just as the lights cut out and only the light of his comm unit is left to light up his face when the gravity cuts out, leaving him feeling impossibly light, starting to float in that peculiarity. )

What the — Eichi, grab on to where you are!

[finethanks]

[What a jump in emotions.

One moment, he's watching Victor on the ice, taking in the feel of this type of "stage." Everything is different about it, but the familiar feeling of a crowd watching the star of the show still runs through Eichi's chest. He can imagine it, the interested faces, the clapping, the amazed sounds, and it thrills him. He wants to know more about this world, if only so he can draw from it himself, and use it to keep moving forward—

And then, everything dies. The lights, the gravity, and even the air seems to go still as he feels his weight being lifted. He can't tell if he's falling or flying, but shock crosses his face before he can manage to react.

It's Victor's words that cause him to snap out of it, and his hand stretches out to grab where he'd been standing, gripping at the wall or bar or whatever he can.]

Could this be a power outage? [At first, it's easy to stay strong. He's still feeling okay, things still have the chance to get better.]

[genice]

( Victor's adjusting, letting himself achieve a sort of floating stability before he turns his comm toward Eichi, seeing how he's doing. he doesn't like this, but he doesn't let that get to him. he's scrambling to figure out what this might mean. )

Hah, maybe they took the rink off the powergrid. I've been wondering if they could do that.

( he says, conversational. it's entirely possible to have single environment controls; he taps carefully at his comm, keeping himself steady in space. the network connection shows as offline. it's the first worry he finds himself facing, more than the sudden lack of up and down, or the presence of light, of audible air. )

We should get out front, see if this is affecting more than just the rink. Have you moved in no gravity before?

[finethanks]

Hmm, does it seem like I'm the type of person who would have? [He's just teasing to try and comfort himself. To deal with zero gravity... there's no way this weak, stupid body of his could get away with that casually. And now, he's staring at what he's holding to, knuckles white from how tight he's gripping.]

This must be what flying feels like, a bit, you know? It's exhilarating. I'm actually grateful for the chance.

[genice]

Flying has more wind, I'd think, but it's kind of like swimming while being able to breathe. Less resistance, ( he notes, taking care to pull himself along the boards and plant a foot on one to "leap" toward Eichi, catching himself on the seats and coming to a full stop ) ... but all controllable. It's a controlled sort of dance, you could say.

( he hooks one foot under the seats, reaching out to take hold of Eichi's arm and gently tug him down. )

Or a certain kind of chaotic floating, yes.

???? | eichi, carolina, & the trek toward the residential level

[genice]

( He has them both collected and carefully navigated out of the rink at last, dealing with the initial shock of everything hitting their systems. Even with the power out, the rink isn't losing and of it's chill; unlike, perhaps, those who'd been inside.

Victor tugs Eichi along with him, careful and deliberate in his movements. His time spent practicing on his own, then under Jyn's guidance, have given him a sense of the body kinetics used to navigate in zero g. Taking someone along for the ride is still new, but he adapts fast, and he's motivated to get back to his room when he knows that Yuuri can't be handling this without a hitch. )

Eichi, if you can keep your comm pointed ahead of us...

( It's the flash of light and the sound of other voices further off in the dark, paired with other flashing lights and calls in the darkness. Navigating through this mess is going to be less simple than when he'd gotten them out of the ice rink. He tucks and rolls them both (gently) out of the way of one person jetting along, catching them again with a muffled curse in Russian. )

This is going to be exciting. A little more warning would be appreciated!

( Called out after the long since gone skyrocketer. )

[finethanks]

[He's not sure if he can keep it together like this. The air feels heavy already, for a guy who needed an oxygen tank at hand even before oxygen was low. His heart is beating too fast from the way everything is happening, and his chest hurts. His legs feel weak. Even as he lifts his wrist to point the comm ahead of them like instructed, the light shakes gently along with his hand.

How pathetic. He really is pathetic. Victor keeps having to grab him, and he can't keep steady at all.]

It won't be boring at all, will it? Still, normally, I enjoy thrilling things, you know? But this is getting to be too much even for me. I hope it's not a total failure of power for good. I won't make it long like that at all.

[Death jokes death jokes haha he is totally fine, and that is why he is speaking like normal, definitely.]

[leaderboards]

The ship's too big for you to die before some solution can be rigged up, don't worry. [ it's not a particularly reassuring entrance, but carolina's not thrilled about current events. still, a familiar voice as she'd been on her way to the elevators to get back to her room has her inserting herself into their conversation. she might be able to be of help, after all.

her own wrist comm lit up to guide her, she bounces easily off a nearby wall and lands near them with her hand hooking what had been a light on the ceiling. she moves gracefully, like she's perfectly used to being without gravity, because she is. but usually zero g situations have her in armour, not workout clothes. ]

Victor, right? Are you two okay?

[genice]

( he directs his comm toward the woman speaking, keeping it aimed away from her face. it takes a moment for him to match voice to a face and a name; if he hadn't been trying harder to remember these things here, he doesn't know if he'd have been able to manage a: )

Carolina?

( he thinks that's her correct name. )

A little surprised, and a little shaken, but not injured. ( but he also says, completely without pause or inflection: ) Eichi has a heart condition that tends to make things hit him harder.

( it's a blunt assessment because it's information about why this isn't as simple as working with people who had physical health up to the task. )

You know, when I talked about this last time, I wasn't expecting a dramatic first hand experience less than a month later. Are you okay? Has it been like this through the rest of the exercise area?

( And the ship? )

[finethanks]

[...Mm, does he have to be so blunt with it? Eichi is immediately irritated, but at the same time, he's terrified of everything that's happening. He's been wrestling with keeping it together for too long now, and even if he's managed enough of a grasp on himself to move with Victor like this and not curl into himself, it's still a fragile thing.]

Fufu, he's right, I'm afraid. At any moment, I could really die, you know?

[Don't mind him, he's just having a crisis. Go ahead and catch up about how things are while he tries to stabilize himself in this floating by grabbing at Victor a little and shifting himself.]

??!! | yuuri, eichi, & bunking down

[genice]

( Carolina helps get the doors open, leaving Victor with Eichi by his side after he remembers to say thank you, driven to distraction by the distress of the man he can't quite reach. He's tense, looking into the dark interior of his own room and looking for Yuuri by the harsh light of his communicator. The shouts through the door had only done so much; Victor had heard Makkachin's distressed bark that had faded into whimpering near immediately. They're still working in the dark, no air, no heat, but the little light of their communicators has given a sort focus for him since everything cut out on him and Eichi at the rink. )

Yuuri? Makkachin?

( He doesn't let go of Eichi, not even now, when he wishes he could just throw sense to the wind and barrel in; but he can't, not without gravity. He tugs on the arm of his younger friend, pulling him into the room as he talks: )

I have Eichi here with me. We were at the rink when everything cut out. Yuuri, I'm sorry it took us so long to get here. Yuuri?

ok for real now

[yokunaru]

[Though Viktor's voice usually reaches him when he falls into the familiar, anxious loop of thoughts, this time there's no reaction even when Viktor calls his name a few times.

Instead, he stays curled into himself and shivering under the blanket that he's wrapped around himself and Makkachin. The poodle lets out a distressed whine when he spots Viktor and Eichi approaching them.]

[finethanks]

[Eichi is freezing. Even shivering feels tiring, but it's all his body can manage right now. He's been following along with Victor and Carolina— no, he's been guided along, without any use of his own skills. He's been a useless addition, a lagging factor in what took Victor so long to get to Yuuri.

He stares through the dark, shining his trembling communicator towards Yuuri and Makkachin as he's tugged along still. Words don't come just yet, but he does place an icy hand over Victor's, where he's holding him.

Just go to Yuuri and let him float to the ceiling, honestly.]

[genice]

( Victor is careful to disengage, letting go of Eichi without adding his own propulsion to the young man's momentum. they're by the desk, partly by design; Victor gently nudges Eichi that way, taking advantage of how that nudge likewise sends him drifting in a direction he can correct from to come up on the blanket wrapped, freefloating Yuuri and Makkachin. )

Yuuri, I want you to look at me. Thank you for watching Makkachin. I'm here, Yuuri. You're not alone. I'm going to keep talking until you talk back, Yuuri, okay?

( he tries not to sound like he wants to plead, and so he doesn't. he aims for cajoling; firm in turns, when he says Yuuri's name like it's both a command and an endearment. touch isn't exactly the easiest or most difficult thing right now, but Victor is handling himself and the unknown reactions of Yuuri's anxiety leveling up to a place that Victor can't follow.

hooking a foot under their bed, glad the mattress is tied down and not freefloating like he'd expected it might have been, he reaches out and snags a corner of that blanket, carefully reeling Yuuri and his dog in to him. he catches him with a backward motion of his other arm, swimming in the air; he doesn't stop talking. )

Hey, Makkachin. Hey, Yuuri. There we go. I've got you. Will you talk to me? Once you get the hang of moving in no gravity, it's easier. Almost fun. A little like flying without wings. Yuuri, come back to me, please. Try.

( it's words and there is the warmth of his arm around him, partly around his dog, not trying to pull either free of the blanket that's kept them tightly bound together. )

[yokunaru]

[The physical touch seems to do the trick. Finally, Yuuri stirs from his withdrawn, panicked state, feebly clutching at the blanket when it almost slips out of his fingers. When he looks up, his eyes focus on Viktor, drawing recognition from him.]

Viktor...? [He asks, in a small voice. How long has it been since the power went out? He knows some time has passed since the panic attack finally hit him in the dark, but he's lost track of everything but the frantic, worried thoughts in his head, his breathing, and Makkachin's steady presence at his side.]

OPEN | after the first hour, up to when gravity is restored, throughout the ship

[genice]

( It hadn't been easy convincing himself to leave Yuuri and Eichi in each other's care; but it gave both of them a focus and company, alongside Makkachin and Kon. Once the air starts cycling again, the vents spitting out warmth instead of just leeching it, he hits the halls with a few quiet exchanges. Comms are still down, and he wants to get in contact with any of the others who are better able to handle these kinds of situations.

Victor is moving through the lack of gravity with surprising ease; it's what crunch time testing of the skills he's been cultivating has done for him. When he comes across someone he knows, or someone he doesn't, he starts with a simple: )

Hey! Hello. Have you heard anything about what's going on that took the systems down?

[qarajilqi]

[Honestly, of all the people Otabek could have run into, it was not Victor Nikiforov. Still, given the chaos it was not an unwelcome face--any familiar face was more than welcome if he was being honest.]

Nikiforov...I just got here. I'm guessing this isn't normal. [Here's hoping the older man still recognized him.]

[genice]

( Otabek isn't entirely easy for Victor to make out in this light; even with the emergency lighting having come online, it's in sharp reds and inadequately spaced lights. He still has his comm out as a pointed sort of flashlight.

No, it's not how the younger man looks. It's how he sounds, half remembered from a night now months in the past, and a year before then, when they'd shared the podium and the interviews following Worlds. )

Otabek Altin?

( Victor comes to a full stop, catching himself on the wall so he doesn't go floating on by. )

You're here?

( Shock hits sudden and like a hammer, temporarily stealing his breath away. It's not that he's close to Otabek; he's not. Part of it is Victor's age, and Otabek's relatively recent move onto the internationally competitive scene in the Senior's division. Part of it is Victor's casually friendly with most, and not particularly invested in many. Otabek he does find interesting, but more than that: )

God, when did they — did you just get out of the med bay and the orientation?

( Pointed or not, close or not, seeing someone from home he knows is too much and just enough for him to bridge the distance and clasp ihm in a very much not asked for and unannounced hug. )

Damn, talk about timing.

( this is usually not what someone says while hugging someone else. it is, however, what Victor says today. sorry for the space invasion, Otabek? )

[qarajilqi]

[That...that was a hug. There were definitely arms wrapping around him rather securely.

He did not often let people into his personal space, but Viktor had a way of catching people off guard.]

I--yes. I haven't been around long.

[He could, at the very least, answer one of the rapid fire questions.

It's the comment about timing, mixed with knowledge the other skater had of this place--and how things worked--that makes him wonder how long the other man had been there. He remembers seeing him not too long ago at the GPX, so it couldn't have been much longer than himself. Could it?

He did not like not having answers. It made him uncertain and on edge--and that wasn't a good feeling when he was still coming off the wave of panic his initial arrival here had brought on.]

What about you? How long have you--When did you get here?

[genice]

( Welcome to space, Otabek. This is apparently a welcome to the world of Victor Nikiforov hugging you unprompted, though at least once he pulls back to clasp Otabek's upper arms with his hands, Victor's giving the other skater back most of his immediate bubble.

Most. Not all. He's not quite that caringly self aware, and this situation is not a pleasant or easy one. He's at least calm, past that initial burst of energy and confusing sort of affection. Finding any part of the home he's been taken from (along with Yuuri and Makkachin) hits him in the gut. )

By my count? Over two months. I started keeping track; by the calendar I'm using, it's February 14th today. I showed up here on December... 11th? By ship calendar. Yuuri arrived right before January 1st.

2/15 | yuuri & the morning after

[genice]

( Viktor convinces himself to untangle himself from where he lies curled around Yuuri. Makkachin is sleeping on his lover's far side, keeping Yuuri surrounded and warm, even overwarm, but it's a comforting measure. For all three of them.

He leans his head in, pressing a kiss to the side of Yuuri's head, rubbing at his upper arm with one hand. Viktor leans in to talk near his ear, a mumbling murmur of words: I'm going to make coffee, or what came closest from the stores onboard. He's reluctant but determined, tucking the blankets around Yuuri again even as he pauses and leans over, stroking over Makkachin's head. His dog hadn't been feeling too pleased with yesterday's events either. The lack of explanations for how or why it'd happened, or why systems remained down, aren't easy to live with. He doesn't accept them; he lives with and through them.

Which is why he'll put on the kettle for the water; it's what he has in mind as he steps into the small bathroom, closing the door as he makes use of the facilities. Washing his hands and his face after, just to brace himself against the sink, examining his face critically in the mirror. The parts of yesterday he'd been hoping to frame in words and skating are things that keep slipping away from him. Victor finds it bothersome; toweling his face dry, he opens the door, clearing off the desk they use as a table and securing everything more firmly in place as he puts what little they'd taken out last night away. Nothing that could have been dangerous, if the gravity went. The only unknown had been Makkachin's water; he'd accepted that risk.

Viktor measures out the grinds into the not-quite French press, setting it to the side as the water boils. Once the kettle starts to sing, he turns off the heat, glad the elements here cool so quickly; the mugs he pulled down both have complete lids, fancier travel mugs, just in case. He cracks eggs, adding in milk as he stirs them together in a measuring glass. He adds salt and pepper with a thoughtful hum, stirring again with the fork before setting it all aside.

Makkachin lifts his head, settling it again across Yuuri's hip to watch Viktor as he moves around the kitchen. He gives a lazy thump of his tail as he yawns, fairly sure he'll be fed before too much longer, and enjoying his cuddling too much to get up and move around yet.

He pulls out the rye bread, slicing it thick for himself, less so for Yuuri, setting it to the side for toasting after he manages the eggs. Cheese comes out of the latched cupboard; parmesan, or again, something close enough that he forgets the proper name and thinks of it as he likes. It's methodical, and it's meditative; it's been an adjustment, cooking like this, but he's gone from a determined attempt to master it to a genuine enjoying of being able to learn, dish by dish, what he can manage in a kitchen with the time to try.

Makkachin finally rouses himself once Viktor's pulling the spinach and eggs off the heat, setting the pan to the side and pulling down dishes for serving. Part of him pauses, wondering at if the gravity shuts down again. It's not a critical need system, unlike air and environmental controls; but he shrugs it off. If it does, it does. They'll handle it, all of them, together. He hears Makkachin as the older dog jumps off the bed with a huff and clattering of nails against hard floor. Victor pulls out rice and chicken from the fridge, deciding that Makkachin deserves a morning treat as much as Yuuri does; Makkachin is all too happy to obliged, scarfing down on the small shredded pieces of chicken over the rice. Viktor pats his dog's shoulders, shaking his head and tsking. )

Slow down, you silly thing.

( Makkachin wags his tail, absolutely not listening. He finds he still doesn't mind, pressing the coffee and pouring it into the mugs. He has to toss the bread down into the egg pan after dishing the eggs up onto the plates; once the pan's back on the heat, he cranks it up, barely toasting the rye. It's when he has both set and served on the desk-table, turning back to nab Yuuri's mug, that he heads for his sleeping beauty where he lounges in bed. He plants a knee on the bed to lean in, carding his hand through Yuuri's messy thatch of glorious, dark hair. )

Breakfast's served, sleepyhead. Here. The coffee's still hot.

( Viktor hasn't changed out of his sleep clothes; the loose shirt and the loose pants hanging from his hips in straight lines. He's pulled on a pastel striped sweater for warmth, but beyond that, he almost envies the cozy warmth he imagines Yuuri is still wrapped up in. Viktor's head tips forward, his bangs falling away from his face as he smiles down at Yuuri, indescribably fond. The coffee in its fancy travel mug stays offered like a lure; he loves this man, and the moments like these, even in the midst of the blossoming chaos of their new lives. )

[yokunaru]

[Though Makkachin's enthusiastic jump off the bed had woken Yuuri up, he'd opted to stay burrowed into the covers still half asleep, listening to Viktor move about the kitchenette busily. When Viktor finally returns to the bedside to rouse him, Yuuri slowly, reluctantly opens his eyes. Darkness greets him--or what would be considered dark to the norm. The emergency lights are still dim, barely providing adequate lighting in the bunk, and it's only when he checks the wrist communicator on the bedside table that Yuuri believes it's "morning".]

Did you really make breakfast like this? You can barely see anything. [His voice is still rough with sleep as he pats around his pillow for the glasses he's placed somewhere yesterday night. Finally, his fingers close around the metal frame and Yuuri slides it onto his nose before taking the coffee cup gratefully.

Even in the terrible, flickering light, Yuuri finds Viktor a welcome sight. The effects of yesterday's panic attack have worn off for the most part, though some of his uneasiness lingers at the back of his mind, and Yuuri knows it could have been much worse if Viktor hadn't been so quick to reach him even in the complete darkness. Him and Eichi--they'd both helped yesterday, and Yuuri knows now that he has a lot to be grateful for out here in the unfamiliar, vast space.]

[genice]

I work with what's on hand.

( He says mildly, watching Yuuri pat around for his glasses. He loves the little moments like these. There's something ridiculously endearing in watching his sleeping prince turn into his ruffle-haired, bleary eyed, glasses wearing prince. That or Viktor's bias is leaning toward prince metaphors the last few months.

Cup handed off, he moves back and off the bed, "helpfully" twitching the blankets back and "liberating" Yuuri from the comforter and sheets. )

Come, while the food's still hot.

( He holds out a hand, flashing Yuuri a winning grin; he probably has too much energy, but it's a different sort of thought percolating in the back of Viktor's mind. Words he wants to say, because the universe is never going to give him a good or proper moment, and while this is in so many way, rushing what might otherwise take years of deciding one way or another...

It's important to him. Important to claim the moments now, and see about empowering Yuuri's lucky rings with something else on top of that luck, maybe. Just maybe. )

[yokunaru]

[The answering squint that Viktor gets says it all: why are you so chipper when it's still so early? He'll put his hand in Viktor's with a hopelessly fond smile all the same, careful not to let the coffee spill as he tries to maneuver his way out of the bed.]

What did you make? [Yuuri tilts his face up and sniffs curiously; he can smell the food, but he can't be sure what it is yet.]

[genice]

Eggs with spinach and something like parmesan. There's toast, too.

( Unbuttered, but that's Viktor's preference. He keeps hold of Yuuri's hand once he's standing, leading him over to the desk and pulling out the chair. They're eating at once corner instead of across from each other; it's closer, more intimate, but also easier to move if they must. Viktor doesn't want to be weighed down by anything other than choice. )