[open]

[techmaturgy]

Who: Viktor and special guests and YOU
When: end of January/February pre-event
Where: Cadens, the Horizon
What: it’s canon update time baybe and things have become…weird…
Warnings: potential references to suicidal ideation, and also a manslaughter. arcane season 2 spoilers through episode 6.



[open and closed starters in comments! If you want a custom starter or something specific, just hit me up. Details on the canon update, including new powers are here. I’m on plurk at whitticus and on discord also at whitticus.]

Comments

[techmaturgy]

[Part of him is still processing. Part of him knows that the point where the dream ended is a situation just as untenable as returning to his illness. The problem he wants to solve--to return to their homes with memories of their time here--still needs to be solved. Everything about journeying the cosmos with Kyle is hypothetical.

Viktor comes to a stop near the temple, turning and taking Kyle's hands in his.]

I hope he would see the merit of all this.

[Despite the circumstances under which they parted, and despite the fact that Viktor already knows Jayce is not coming to the Commune in his right mind.]

It is everything I hoped our work could do.

[ushiri]

[ Kyle lets their fingers thread together again, glancing into the wide open entrance of the temple - all that golden light causes the entryway to appear darker, obscuring the inside of the structure. ]

You miss him. He must miss you the same. [ A beat. ] Maybe you both needed this space, to find compromise.

[ He generally tries not to speak for this man he never met. But he understands now, bending for these reasons. For someone. ]

[techmaturgy]

I do.

[Viktor misses him, and the wound is more fresh now that he's dreamed of more time together and awakened to the memories of their relationship. He wants to think that Jayce misses him, too--but this Jayce, the one from the dream, was never his intimate partner. Quite the opposite, in fact.

His Jayce might still be out there somewhere. He wonders what he would think, seeing what Viktor has become.]

But that doesn't mean I am unhappy.

[He is happy, with Kyle, in ways he never expected to be.]

[ushiri]

I know.

[ This time he says it with a small smile, somewhere between faintly sheepish and wry. He turns Viktor's hand in his own, running his thumb over his knuckles. ]

It's easy to tell when you're not unhappy.

[ It's only Kyle finding himself being possessive about what they've shared together now. And other things. He frowns a bit. ]

- it's just that this vision... it makes me think of what it did to John. [ To come into his power. To find himself forced to fight a war. No one knew he was the Rifter, but people still feared him - it must have been isolating. ] I don't want you to go back and... have this change you too.

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor returns the smile--fair enough, it seems to say. The rest, well. He can see how this might be concerning, to someone like Kyle. He knows enough about John to understand where this is coming from, and though he wants to insist that this is different, that it doesn't necessarily mean Kyle's fears will come to pass, he can't promise.

He holds Kyle's hands in his, and standing at the entrance to the temple it almost feels like they could be performing some kind of ceremony.]

I'm proud of what I've accomplished here. The journey was not...what I anticipated, but at least I'm able to do something.

[He wants this--or he's convinced himself that he does. He's finally bringing his work to those who need it most.]

[ushiri]

[ What happens when someone finally comes to stop you? he wants to ask. Instead, he looks conflicted for a moment, not wanting to lead back into the same argument - one Viktor does not seem to have an answer for yet, anyway.

He turns toward the temple's entrance again, to finally ask: ]

What work do you do here?

[techmaturgy]

This is my private space.

[They can go in if they like, though Kyle will find it strangely empty. Viktor has places for his more physical, scientific endeavors elsewhere on the premises, but this is where he makes himself the most vulnerable. Research in the psychic plane leaves his body idle, so he's carved out a place here for only himself.]

I meditate. Explore various arcane phenomena. Conduct research that is more...metaphysical in nature.

[ushiri]

[ Seemingly with permission, he will walk inside. Past the threshold it becomes lighter within the inner space. He's not sure what he was expecting from the exterior - maybe something closer to the greenhouse from earlier. He's certainly not expecting towering visages or golden script like the Payshmura's aesthetic, but neither did he predict this space to be so empty and almost colorless. Something about the strange texture in the stone or metal (he can't tell what it's made of) feels off and slightly unpleasant as well, reminding him of the nests of stinging insects. He can't determine how any of it was made or constructed. ]

You meditate?

[ There's a faintly teasing lilt to his voice, an attempt to mask his discomfort with this room. ]

[techmaturgy]

Sort of.

[Just in case Kyle things he's spiritual now, or something. Truth be told, Viktor isn't quite sure what to think of all this, only that the arcane has provided him a new way of viewing the world. Perhaps he's become more receptive to the idea of a higher power.

Kyle can probably guess that Viktor requires neither food nor sleep in this form, though it still doesn't explain the design and construction of this space, only that everything in the commune has taken on the spiral forms of wild magic.]

I have access to a kind of...psychic plane, that allows me to operate outside of my body. [So, it doesn't necessarily matter what the temple looks like, on the inside.] I could show you, if you like.

[ushiri]

[ Just because Viktor doesn't consider himself spiritual doesn't negate everything that Kyle is seeing in this place with his own two eyes.

His eyebrows raise slightly at 'psychic plane', his first thought that Viktor has found access to something similar to what they have here in Horizon. He gives a small nod. ]

Show me.

[ He'll save his questions for when he sees it. ]

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor has both of Kyle's hands in his, and he takes a step backward, pulling him further into the dome of the structure. Another step, and their surroundings dissolve, making way for a sea of stars. His appearance changes again, and if Kyle looks down at himself, he'll see the same shifting colors across his silhouette. They are weightless and ethereal, and Viktor seems thrilled to be unburdened by gravity.

He'll hold on, in case Kyle feels like he's going to drift away, but there is no danger, here.]

[ushiri]

[ The shift is disorienting at first, he keeps hold of Viktor's hands for that stability as the ground disappears beneath them and the world opens up, his gaze drifting across the endless space. But his focus is soon drawn back to Viktor - and himself - with their hands still clasped he lifts them to either side, unwinding their fingers so that palms splay against palms, and he watches the iridescent colors dance across their skin.

When his gaze returns to Viktor's face, he seems more like himself to Kyle than the version in the commune, his expression less dulled by whatever he'd experienced in those months, the bright gold of his eyes returned. Whatever questions he might come up with are set aside as he draws their hands back, leaning forward to kiss him. ]

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor watches expectantly, wanting Kyle to enjoy the thrill of this--the vastness of the cosmos and how all of it as at their fingertips. He doesn't really think about how differently he imagines himself, from his body in the real world, only that the magic of this place is beautiful.

Kyle pulls him in for a kiss and Viktor reciprocates, enjoying the feeling of floating, untethered, together. He cups Kyle's face, holding him there, smiling.]

It's beautiful, isn't it? All of this.

[ushiri]

[ When they part he leans into the touch. The expectant way Viktor looks at him reminds him of how he gets when he's excited to demonstrate some project he's working on. His own expression is slightly bemused. ]

It is, but - what is this?

[ What does he do here? Did he create all this?

Kyle lets one hand slip around Viktor's waist, keeping him close as he lets his gaze drift above them.

(all of this is beautiful, but he can't help a part of him that wishes now to go back to the bed they've been sharing in the real world) ]

[techmaturgy]

It...revealed itself to me, after my transformation.

[Heightened perception--a new way of experiencing the world. The truth is that Viktor is not entirely certain of the nature of this place, and it can be even more difficult to explain. Like magic, it simply is.

He'll conjure the memory of the anomaly again, this time larger, surrounding them entirely, as if they're look at it from the inside out.]

I believe this to be an expression of the arcane itself.

[ushiri]

[ His grip on Viktor tightens slightly as the swirling fractals grow around them with a prickling sense of claustrophobia as most of the starry expanse vanishes from sight. ]

Then - this place is like Horizon? And this - [ he nods his head in a way to indicate the anomaly around them ] - is like the Singularity?

[ Not one to one, but similar in ways that are uncomfortable. He glances back to Viktor, a crease at his brow. ]

You can bring others here?

me trying to explain things the show doesnt bother to

[techmaturgy]

Like the Horizon, to an extent.

[He can't necessarily shape it to its will. The Anomaly is something he's less certain of, but its power is great--if only he can harness it. Viktor can feel that Kyle is nervous, tightening his grip as if he's going to fall, and he does his best to remain stable. The squeeze to his arm says you're safe here, even if it might not feel that way.

Viktor shakes his head at Kyle's second question. He can communicate with his followers here, and see through their eyes using this space, but as far as he knows they don't see the world as he does.]

Not in this way, no. But I imagine it might be something like this.

im so sry

[ushiri]

It's peaceful. [ he admits, letting himself relax again as they hover in this space. It's a little lonely too, he thinks.

He's trying to process all of this, and he knows it's so much more for Viktor to reconcile waking up with all these new memories. He tries to let some of that soothe his worries. This won't be like that other vision of the future. This won't be like what happened to John.

Kyle tips his head so their foreheads touch again. ]

Thank you for sharing this.

[techmaturgy]

[Peaceful, yes, and lonely, too. There's a sadness that returns to Viktor's eyes, as if he's processing the whole of his dream and the choices (or lack thereof) that brought him to this imagined place. He leans into Kyle for comfort, closing his eyes as their foreheads press together.

Viktor doesn't need to be thanked--if anything, he feels apologetic, for foisting all of this on Kyle so unexpectedly. But that's the thing about the Singularity, isn't it? Everything here is so tenuous. He wants Kyle to know that nothing between them has changed, in spite of all this. Despite not needing to, in this place, he lets out a slow breath.]

I think I might like to go back to bed.

[Their bed.]

[ushiri]

[ Viktor might sense Kyle's relief when he decides to call it for the night. He nods, placing another gentle kiss at his brow as reassurance for the both of them. ]

I'll see you outside.

[ He'll wait a moment, then let himself slip back into his body in the real world, still with their hands clasped when Viktor rejoins him. Earlier he would have expected Viktor to need more time alone tonight, and carefully made the offer to sleep elsewhere. Now, he thinks it's alright to follow him back to bed. ]