abraxaslogs | [open] july catchall

Entry tags:

[open] july catchall

Who: Viktor and special guests and YOU
When: July through early August
Where: Cadens, the Horizon, Nocwich
What: open stuff, closed stuff, whatever I WANT
Warnings: general sadsackery, the usual references to (previously) terminal illness, otherwise will list as needed

[open and closed starters in comments! If you want a custom starter or something specific, just hit me up. full horizon details are here for any and all wildcarding needs. For everything else, I’m on plurk at

whitticus and on discord at whitticus#8139.]

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Sometimes the differences aren't so slight. [ His mind is off and running with the possibilities of this after Viktor says it'd be for all of them. Something that Claude can accept as true based on all that's been done, even if the reasons behind it probably (definitely) aren't limited to that alone. ] Or more that they're... incompatible would be the right word, since I have to believe they are.

[ Perhaps that's a rhetorical not-quite-a-question he doesn't want to be answered. It's difficult to picture a world in which Fodlan isn't thrown into war even with the chance to bring all of those timelines together. But maybe there is - maybe it would be possible somehow to prevent so much from happening and direct it in other ways. That feels like a dream even with Viktor's intent to straighten out all diverging paths into something possible.

Claude still finds himself nodding when it comes to the mention of a choice. Such a thing would be far more than they've been granted by being here or remaining here while others have left. ]

Whatever you're setting out to do, I support you. I'll help in any way I can. [ Starting with putting the box of pastries in front of Viktor finally, though that's not really (only) what he means when he follows that up with a wave meant to encompass their general surroundings. ] Including with whatever might be best around here, if you're open to that, so you can have time to focus on figuring out what you need to.

I've heard that, too.

[He thinks of Garrus, whose Commander is here, ostensibly, but is a different person than the one he knows. The very concept of a multiverse comes with innumerable complications, of which this is one. It's daunting, the prospect of puzzling it out, but if he can't do it, then who will? Viktor refuses to believe that the people here are the only ones able to reach beyond the boundaries between worlds.

For now, however, there are more practical matters to shore up, as Claude reminds him with the pastry box. Whatever might be best around here, he says, and Viktor looks around the workshop, realizing that he's going to have to maintain the business alone, now.]

This is-- [He furrows his eyebrows. Asking for help has never been his strong suit, so he tries to remind himself that this is practical, more than anything.] --too much for me to manage alone. We just expanded to Aquila, I won't be able to smith in-house anymore...I will have to reconfigure the whole business.

[ There's a comfort - a meager one - in not having to explain further to Viktor. It makes sense the other man would know, especially given what he hopes to do here in examining the summoning ritual to pull it apart and find out how it works. Such a thing wouldn't be possible without understanding as much, Claude imagines, though that's also surely an oversimplification of something incredibly complicated.

What's less so, however, is the expression on Viktor's face as he considers the workshop and what all needs to be done. The frown is a familiar one if only because he's sure it's been on his own face now and then over the years, and Claude's quick to shake his head. ]

Too much is exactly why I offered since it might be too much for you, but it won't be if we can get some things figured out here. I've been working for some of the merchants around the city with book balancing, orders, various contacts with whoever their clients are, for the past year or so. I can put some or all of that to use here if you'd like me to. Same goes for what I know from running a country from before that.

[ Slight wry smile there, since: that's something he realized in retrospect he probably should've told Viktor in any one of their conversations prior to announcing it to the Free Cities Summoned as a whole some time ago. ]

I don't think I'd be the only one to offer help either. You're not alone, and that's what we're here for.

[All Viktor really wants to do is make things--Jayce was the one who was good at the negotiating and the public-facing aspects of their business. He'll have to fill that void, and quickly, especially given the obligations he has now in Aquila. Claude seems ready to step in, which he's grateful for, though he still has reservations about asking for assistance. The conflict is evident on his face.]

I couldn't ask you to do that.

[Even if he's offering. The protest is more cursory than anything--Viktor already knows that Claude will insist.]

[ There's a moment where a faint flicker of a smile crosses over his face that's not humor but more Claude realizing that when it comes to stubbornness, this had to be what dealing with him during the war was like. At least they share that quality and it's something he knows well. ]

I think the saying goes that it's a good thing you're not, then, right?

[ Or however that goes when it comes to asking; Viktor's right Claude isn't going to accept that as an answer. ]

How about this as a compromise: I'll come back tomorrow and you can show me the books and we'll figure out where to go from there one day at a time. If any of it involves going to Aquila then I can do that whenever you need it to happen. But for now we just sit here, because for today all of that can wait.

I suppose you're not.

[But he's still guilty, that he would be in such a state, where people feel like they need to step in and help him. Viktor values his independence, and can't help but be a little ashamed, that he's made such a scene.

Claude, eloquent as ever, offers a plan. All he can really do is swallow hard and nod.]

It would be appreciated.

Then that's settled.

[ They'll start with tomorrow, and where it leads from there can be figured out on each day following. He'd meant that one day at a time, especially since that was something he kept repeating to himself in the wake of Petra and Marianne's disappearances to get through it.

Much as Claude's steered the conversation away from that topic, it's difficult to not let it sink back into his thoughts. He leans back against what's behind him and takes a silent breath, then speaks. Honesty is difficult on top of that he doesn't entirely know where he's going with this, but hopefully the sentiment behind it - support in other ways than what's been previously voiced - translates all the same. ]

I care- cared for Petra deeply. When I realized I would never see her again, I made mistakes. A... lot of them, really, and some I don't know yet how to repair though that's another topic entirely. I won't pretend my situation was the same when it comes to losing someone important, and I definitely don't mean for this to sound like the start of any kind of lecture when it's not. Just that whatever you need to do, wherever this needs to go - I understand. I'll be here for you through it.

[Well, if it's settled, then Viktor can just keep sitting here on the floor. He's well aware that he's not the only person who has had to suffer through a disappearance, as Claude says. It feel foolish, to be throwing this kind of tantrum when he wasn't the first, and he certainly won't be the last (at least until he has something to say about it).

Objectively, he knows he isn't alone, but he does need to be reminded of that. He sits there quietly as Claude talks about losing Petra, and though he's curious about what kinds of mistakes, he's not going to make Claude tell him. What matters is that he understands.]

It's selfish to think that my situation is somehow unique. That's the point of--it's why I have to find a way. So that we can all make a choice.

No, it's not selfish. Just because others have gone through this or something like it doesn't mean you can't still be upset about this happening.

[ And Claude would argue it is unique if that didn't feel like pressing on wounds for all of them - no one will fully understand what Viktor feels over losing Jayce, what he felt over losing Petra, Hilda for Marianne, and Sylvain for Felix except each person named. All that can be done is to be there for each other through it, and that's something filed under Claude's regrets from Petra's disappearance. He could've done more outside of that, but nothing to do now but provide that for another friend with a shake of his head. ]

As you said, there has to be a way to do this. Otherwise they wouldn't keep the ritual itself so hidden from us if they believed we couldn't do something to change it. Or alter it to make it do something else, including sending us back to where they drew us in from.

That’s not what I meant.

[Of course he’s allowed to be upset—-it just seems juvenile, to pretend like his hurt is somehow worse or more important than anyone else’s. He should have been working on this much sooner, not just after it affected him personally.]

I refuse to believe that any of the Free Cities officials who conduct this ritual are smarter than me. If they figured it out, there’s no reason why I couldn’t.

[ Claude hums in response, ready to let that go and especially so since he'd misunderstood the meaning. It's not ranked high in the order of importance right now when there's time to discuss it later should Viktor choose to or want to, and Claude's not going to press for answers he's not entitled to when it comes to this. Especially not when it's easier to crack a smile at Viktor's (correct) insistence on when it comes to the actual matters at hand: who can figure out what. ]

That I don't believe either on the matters of intelligence since they haven't had anyone challenge it the way you're going to, nor are they ready for that. I'll also keep bringing you these, [ because the pastry box was only meant to be temporarily forgotten once more as he picks it up for Viktor to browse for now or for later, ] when I stop by to make sure you're set with everything. I'll plan on coming by in the morning so we can get started then, if that works for you.

[Cadens stole the ritual from Thorne in the first place--that in itself is proof enough for Viktor. With the right building blocks, he's sure he'll be able to replicate it himself. Even if he can't scrape up an idea of what they're doing, he'll puzzle it out himself. He has to--there's no other choice.]

That's fine. [He eyes the pastries, understanding what it's about but so far not moving to indulge.] I'll be here.

[Where else?]

[ The pastries aren't acknowledged further though he wasn't expecting them to be, and it's confirmation that Viktor will still be here that's good enough. There's only so much reassurance he can add by saying it aloud, he thinks, and this is when action becomes more important.

Why is why Claude nods and then sits back again without pushing the box in yet another temptation; that can wait. Tomorrow's another day where the ritual also waits to be unraveled then on top of everything else to come, and for now it's enough to sit here as long as needed before getting to anything else. ]

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[open] july catchall

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wrap here? <3