abraxaslogs | [open] march catchall

Entry tags:

[open] march catchall

Who: Viktor and special guests and YOU
When: throughout March
Where: Cadens, the Horizon
What: open stuff, closed stuff, general nerdery, horizon visits, whatever I WANT
Warnings: the usual references to terminal illness, will list additional warnings 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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[ He's not exactly sure what he's doing her, but a rocky crevasse being guarded by a fearsome beasts seemed apropos. At least initially. Originally he'd come to investigate for the aesthetics alone and a desire to go down, down, as far as he can. There's something beneath the ground waiting for him, that's the sense he gets. So when he sees an opening he has to go for it.

But the beastie that guards it is...somehow not what he would expect. A little too.

Cute?

It's definitely cute. Definitely clashes with his own appearance, covered in hard black scales with a magma-like glow between the cracks.

Despite his own fearsome appearance, he regards the creature and her keeper with as much of a curious expression as his face is capable. ]

Not exactly a good guard dog if that's the case.

[Correct. Rio is definitely cute but Viktor is fully aware that most people are probably not going to think that, upon first glance, so he makes an appearance fairly quickly in an effort to preempt any unfortunate altercations. The last thing he needs is violence, even if it's between a fellow summoned and something he quite literally conjured from the depths of his memory. He's still, perhaps, a little startled that he could even create something like this in the first place.

There are too many strange implications to think about, with regards to this place, but anything he was about to say doesn't make it out of his mouth because he's rounding the corner of some rocky outcropping and this guy is a whole entire lava monster.]

Uh--

[Okay, no. That's rude. Viktor needs a moment to wrangle his expression, and Rio (who is, in fact, extremely harmless), slinks back around behind him (which is at least a little funny, because she is very large and Viktor is not), apparently having second thoughts about this situation.]

This isn't--she's not guarding anything.

[This is just where the giant pink salamander thing lives, apparently. He's still figuring this out.]

[ Dante cocks his head to the side. No, hiding behind the comparatively diminutive man isn't going to do much on the outside, but in truth it's probably the best thing she can do. If there's one thing he knows in this place, it's that humans are to be protected.

So as long as she behaves, there won't be any problems.

And...she doesn't really have the aura of a bloodthirsty beast, but appearances can be deceiving.

He looks up and around them, the glow between his armored scales pulsing gently. For as an imposing figure as he appears by default, his posture is relatively relaxed. ]

Then what is this?

[He’s still not entirely convinced the threat is passed, if only because he doesn’t know just who or what he’s dealing with. A fellow Summoned? It has to be, but he’s sure he would have remembered someone like this at the summit—it occurs to him that if he can change his own appearance while in the Horizon, others might take a more extreme opportunity to do so.

Not something to ask outright, thought. He needs to feel out the conversation a little more, first. Rio, thankfully, is behaving, and after a few moments of Viktor’s hand on her to ensure that she won’t lunge, she scoots off into the darker recesses of the cave. He decides not to go anywhere, not wanting to betray any apprehension, even if it’s a little difficult not to show it on his face.]

I used to visit this place as a child. [Viktor himself seems a little bewildered that this is even here, but he supposes that’s the nature of the Horizon—taking things from the depths of his memory and making it a reality, consciously or not.] I thought it would be good practice, to see how much of it I remembered.

[ That, it seems, strikes a chord with Dante. He thinks of the place he felt oddly compelled to create, a mix between a dirty run down building and something...older, a little grander. A family portrait hung above a fireplace, faces that he recognized even if he couldn't put a name to it. A man, a woman, and two children. ]

You don't say?

[ Dante steps forward then, movements strangely casual as he looks up around the entrance of the cave. ]

That's a helluva playground.

[ He strokes his chin with a large clawed hand. ]

Can't say I blame you, though. Deep and dark crevices aren't the place for kids but also exactly where they want to be.

[Yeah, this is the part where he maybe starts to realize that spending some of his formative years running around in a dark cave with a giant salamander is probably not normal for most people (to say nothing of the mentorship he found in these depths, but that door is shut and locked for a reason). Still, he shrugs, feeling he has not gone so far into the realm of the unusual that he can't excuse it with 'kids will be kids'.]

There is something irresistible about it, yes.

[At least, for a kid with little concern for rules and a penchant for sneaking into places one should not be.]

Probably unwise, in hindsight. [And then, somewhat pointedly, because you are a lava monster, my guy--] I don't believe we've met.

[ Unwise, yeah, probably. But kid ain't wise--they're creatures of instinct and raw emotion. They're also some of the most trustworthy beings you can get before the rest of the world starts to close in on them. There's not a hint of judgment in his weird, scaly body.

Something that sounds like a scoff comes out of his nostrils, the red glow between the panels of his hard skin glowing more brightly for a minute. ]

And most would consider that a good thing, I'd say.

[ He won't admit that it took him a hot minute to remember his own name, but it isn't the name that's been most on his mind. ]

Name's Dante. Probably the most handsome son-of-a-gun you'll find this side of hell.

[ There's a chuckle. It's a joke, clearly! He's not a monster from hell. Not at all. Just a guy with a thing. He'll even hold out his hand to shake like an average dude and everything. ]

[Well, as long as there's no judgement...

Viktor seems perfectly content to move the conversation away from his weird childhood cave adventures to the fact that Dante is a lava monster (who is now joking that he is from hell? This can't be right), even if it doesn't really make things any less awkward. He's doing his best. Unfortunately, his best is less-than-diplomatic.]

I think I would have remembered seeing you at the Summit. [Perhaps a slightly rude way of addressing his current appearance. He will, at least, introduce himself in turn.] It's Viktor.

[ At the Summit? Dante tilts his head to the side--it'd look extremely cute like a puppy if he weren't some sort of scaly demon. He looks back at the path that brought him down to this cavern. The summit of these cliffs? ]

I like to think I know how to make an entrance.

[ That seems apropos. A flare for the dramatic as a form of self-entertainment. He's enjoyed a bit of the creation he's allowed himself to indulge in until it got weird. ]

Maybe you can help me out Viktor.

[ Dante crosses his arms. ]

You know anyone named "Sparda"?

I can see that.

[Viktor is still sort of wrestling with the Horizon allowing him to alter himself--certainly not to such a degree that Dante seems to have. Maybe it's best not to address it further, so it's something of a relief to have a change of subject handed to him.

Even if he still doesn't know what this guy is talking about, but Viktor likes to look at everything as a learning opportunity.]

No, the name is unfamiliar to me. Someone from your world?

[ It's the exact question to ask, but one that Dante doesn't have an answer to. Something about it weighs heavy on him. He knows there's more to it, but he also knows that it's his responsibility. Somehow. And as much as he feels inclined to shirk.

He doesn't want to admit to weakness or ignorance, but he may have to. ]

My world?

[ Those fiery eyes squint. ]

Yeah, I think so. It's been knocking around in my noggin all day.

[He's starting to realize what's going on here, and it does help things make a little more sense. Viktor can't help him find this Sparda, but perhaps he can help orient him, if only a little.]

Your world, yes. The place you come from?

[If this is his first time in the Horizon, however, perhaps he doesn't remember.]

Unless, this place is all you recall, at the moment.

The place I came from...

[ He repeats, knowing that should hold some significance. There's a house, an old house that both made him happy and distraught at the same time. He tore it down because it was too much, yet a portrait with washed out faces remains.

But that wasn't a world--not the definition he would use it in, anyway. All of this is a world--this strange, changeable place, isn't it? ]

...I'm getting the feeling I'm missing something.

[ At least he is, apparently, still good at taking things in stride. ]

[Okay--all this makes sense now. Unfortunately, Viktor is not great when it comes to guiding total strangers through their first Horizon visit (especially not a lava monster guy), but right now he has no choice. He's going to try and do his best, though he has to admit it's one of the more difficult things to explain.]

It's best not to think too hard about it. Enjoy your time here, make whatever you want, and then...you'll wake up.

[Possibly he doesn't realize that this might sound distressing.]

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[open] march catchall

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dw ate this notif I'M SO SORRY, i understand if this is too late

omg no problem

BLESS YOU

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