I seldom feel the bright relief // OTA

[dauntless_son]

WHO: Declan Lynch dauntless_son and YOU
WHERE: De Chima
WHEN: January
WHAT: Arrival, settling in, new job, new life?
WARNINGS: None yet, will update as necessary



All Work

De Chima, Virginia, is not a place that Declan ever remembers existing. But here it is, existing, nestled on a map of Virginia that is otherwise very familiar to him. After changing clothes and taking a moment to recharge in his apartment, the first order of business is the new job. He's assured he can take a day or two to settle in more, but he requests a schedule as soon as possible. Much of his first day is spent learning the gallery itself: current installations and exhibits, upcoming events, an overview of current staff, and a run-down of projects that Declan might take on in the next few months.

There is a danger here, of course. This is the kind of job that Declan would like to do well, which sets off a clamor in his head of warnings and bursts of worst-case-scenarios, possibilities, outcomes. He spends half the afternoon shadowing his manager, learning the routine of the place as much as anything else.

Before he leaves, Declan finds himself drawn to one of the exhibits. He stands there for nearly half an hour, slowly moving from one piece to another, taking his time in front of each one. It's difficult to tell if he's appraising or simply appreciating, and it's entirely possible that he's doing both. He isn't sure he likes that someone here knew he has a history with art dealing, but maybe that's the most vanilla thing to call him. Still too exciting, but not inaccurate. He has experiencing with managing creative types and keeping their books.

At the end of his day, Declan sits quietly at a table in a cozy cafe with his binder of things to learn flipped open in front of him. He is possibly taking up more space than he needs to. What is the danger of becoming invested here? He still has reasons to keep himself safe, to keep his head down, to get along. He supposes there's nothing wrong with being a perfectly adequate (though not outstanding) gallery manager. If it starts feeling too exciting, he can look for another job. Something that won't tempt him to excel or otherwise stand out.


And No Play

Within twenty four hours of arriving in De Chima, Declan Lynch finds a Catholic church and a suit to wear to Epiphany services. The suit fits well, at least. A respectable deep charcoal. He arrives to service early and sits quietly in a pew, contemplating the body on the cross at the end of the nave, suspended above and behind the alter. His dark curls have been more or less tamed and he sits with a straight back.

That there is a church at all in town is a comfort; that it is Catholic lends some much needed familiarity and routine. As people filter into the church and the pews, Declan offers polite nods, faint and bland smiles. He sat in a place that won't be in the way as people filter in on either side of him. It doesn't bother him to be in the middle of a group of strangers. Usually he and Ronan sat on either side of Matthew during service.

Shit. There's that wicked roil in his stomach. Is Matthew alright? Is Ronan? The last thing Declan remembers is the fucking security system at the Barns.

He lets go of a slow breath and re-focuses his attention as the service begins. Declan sings every hymn, effortlessly follows every cue to genuflect and rise and sit. He takes communion, and when mass is over, he lingers again.

He just needs time to think. Or time to not think.

[if your character is church-going, feel free to strike up a conversation with Declan before or after mass]


Makes a Dull Boy

His apartment is perfectly adequate. Not as big as the townhouse, but he can manage. It's just him, after all. The first night, he doesn't sleep. He has a prescription for his sleep pills in his wallet, he hopes he can get it filled. If not, he'll have to find a doctor that will write him a new one.

Declan takes the day to run errands. There's things he'd like to have for the apartment, and he can make his current budget work until his paychecks start coming in.

At least De Chima has a wide variety of shopping options. It's not that different from Richmond or some of the NoVA urban centers; this could be his life. He can find the Declan Lynch that lives here, that lives this life.

His eyes are currently glued to his phone screen, eyebrows drawn together as he tries to orient himself with the map he has pulled up. It's his fault, really, when he collides with someone. He has the reaction time of someone used to averting small disasters and, if his victim loses their balance, he's there to help them catch it.

"Pardon me," he says, appropriately contrite and mildly embarrassed. "My fault, completely. Are you alright?"


Wildcard

[Feel free to surprise us! If you want to plot something out or run an idea by me, I'm at givemedragons and givemedragons#7125]

Comments

wildcard ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[nightmarist]

It's been over a year since the final episode of fuckups + tryhards aired on ETV, but that doesn't mean the Lynch-Murphy fandom has quieted down. In fact, there's been a resurgence of interest since Murphy's reappearance, though Murphy himself doesn't remember a single thing about starring on any reality TV show. ETV has been working on Ronan (and presumably Murphy) for weeks now, trying to convince them to return for a third season. Ronan, somewhat preoccupied with the apocalypse and then dying a hideous nightwashed death, hasn't given much thought to the proposal.

But it's January now, and time to consider what the next year will look like. Ronan heads down to ETV's De Chima headquarters for a brief meeting with executives, and apparently his arrival (and the rumored revival of the show) is documented by an excited fan on social media, because there's an entire crowd of teenage girls waiting to greet him by the time he exits the building.

Once upon a time, this would have represented Ronan's idea of Hell. But now he snaps into celebrity mode by reflex, taking the first sharpie that's offered to him and scrawling his name across several oversized photographs of himself (and sometimes Murphy, because who can tell the difference?) in between hunching down to pose for selfies with girls one or two feet shorter than him.

All Work

[helpdesk_hero]

There are a lot of people who make use of this cafe, including David Alleyne, a local knower of things. This was where he came after work most days, and here he was now, coming in with a coffee in one hand, a stuffed full shoulder bag over one arm and even more books tucked under one arm.

He too soon has a table taken up, one next to where Declan has settled down. He even gets a few sips into his drink before his eyes come over to the other man and he raises an eyebrow.

"Adjusting to a new job?"

Makes a Dull Boy

[mofi]

De Chima, the same city that one (1) John Murphy resides in. It isn't too often he strays from the Meadows. It's home, it's safe and there's no real reason to wander through De Chima. Things have gotten askew in the last month, however. How he treated Ronan. How he attacked Rupert. He needed space or maybe he was giving space to everyone else because John Murphy is a lot to handle. And, so, we find Murphy traipsing through the streets of De Chima.

That makes two people not paying attention to what's ahead of them. Murphy has done a fine job of scrolling through his phone without a hiccup. Until, well, until Declan walks right into him. Murphy's phone nearly slips out of his hand. He curses, under his breath, clutching his phone; his dialysis machine.

"The hell are you going that you need to mow people over, asshole." he asks, a very pointed look is being shot at Declan.

Makes a dull boy

[sassydadfriend]

To be fair, Sammy's not completely paying that much attention to where he's going either. He's lost in his thoughts about something he's working on at work and simultaneously he's rolling his eyes still over the fact that he's working for a conspiracy publication. How is this is life? It's worse than King Falls AM and there's no Ben here to provide a balance in the stories to his cynicism.

So he's responding with, "Oh no, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking." At least he was sturdy enough that he hadn't been knocked off balance or something more embarrassing.

"I'm fine," he assures.

Wildcard, after the fight. What fight? Sophie asks

[ficcion]

She asked him if he wanted to see how her power worked, and he had said yes. So Sophie was going to go and show him, she guessed. Nothing like pulling something into reality from a piece of paper as a talent show, right?

The whole getting to wherever Declan is dynamic though... Sophie needs to work the maps and the buses and the everything because she has never been to the States, weird alternate version or not. There's a lot of fidgeting with her phone and double guessing and a bit of getting lost, too. She's pretty sure that Declan would've probably met her halfway had she asked, but that would be rude, Sophie thinks. He's offering his house for the demonstration (and most likely to talk without the barriers put by being behind a screen) so she couldn't ask more of him.

But eventually, Sophie finds herself in front of a nondescript door that's most likely Declan's. She thinks. It has to be. Sophie lifts a hand and knocks gingerly first, but then adds a couple more of stronger knocks.

"...Declan? It's Sophie."