[open] pay my respects to grace and virtue

[leitstern]

Who: Jasper + Open
When: April
Where: Horizon
What: Monthly log

[Starters below! Horizon information can be read here. Find me at safekeeping or Discord for plotting!]

Comments

[open] horizon

[leitstern]

[Nothing has changed inside his domain. Thunder still rumbles overhead. Clouds still conceal the sun. Twilight skies continue to roll without a spot of rain and jagged rocks still float below the bridge visitors stand upon.

Jasper stands between two demonic statues crouching menacingly upon large pedestals, guarding the magical portal at the end of the span. He ignores the motes and streams of purple energy leaving his body. It is a simple thing to exist alone. It is peaceful. It is freedom. The freedom to make his own rules.

Why, then, is fear crawling down his back?

He idly turns over his hand and studies his golden pendant. He cannot imagine how this phantom representation of his life exists in a world of his creation. Memories of betrayal - broken oaths and treason - mean it cannot exist. The past is nothing he wishes to revisit. The idea of a future with his oldest friend is a dream. When this farce is over and home awaits, what awaits a dead man? He clenches his fingers and bears his fist, attempting to convince himself to throw it off the bridge.]

[standvastig]

[Hendrik spends his time in Horizon cautiously. His experience with the entire thing is lacking, as he doesn't stay too long, wary that something may happen to his body while he is "gone." But after thinking on the shape of his own domain, he naturally starts to wonder about Jasper's, especially given Jasper looks quite different in Horizon in comparison to the real world.

That is specifically why he is in Horizon at this time, searching out whatever space Jasper calls his own.

This ... bridge. This place that he finds himself in is ominous enough to keep his attention, though he recognizes nothing of it. He isn't given long to dwell on the darkness of the place before he notices he isn't alone.

He calls across the distance even before he begins to approach.]

So this is where you have been.

[leitstern]

[Jasper stands at the end of the bridge, excusing one reason after another; right hand lowering when his old friend calls across the ether. Fingers enshrine and hide his pendant. The chain dangles out his hand and sways gently before hanging still.

Immediately he forces an emotionless look upon his face and turns around. There is a certain numbness that overcomes him in this place and he hardly wishes his companion to notice.]

You were looking for me?

[standvastig]

[Unlike the first time he had beheld Jasper in this dreamscape, Hendrik is able to take note of the ... wrongs in the other man's appearance. Even with their discussion after that first dive, Hendrik finds it unsettling to note the paleness of Jasper's hair and the practically glowing quality to his reddened eyes. Strange. So strange.]

I was. Or, more specifically, your place here.

[That said... He averts his gaze to the bridge and the darkness beyond it that seems even deeper than anything he had seen in Heliodor.]

I thought, perhaps I should see what you have created here, as you have seen for me.

[leitstern]

[He follows Hendrik's gaze - his friend noting his hair and eyes - and wrinkles his nose. He suspects the other man considers how wrong he looks beneath this dark sky. His issues with his appearance are more personal; driven by a need for perfection that had fallen short.

The worries fall silent when Hendrik peers over the railings and stares into the abyss. Below him, a darkness deeper than anything he had seen. He turns his gaze to the same blackness. Nothing quite so impenetrable for him, when it had become all he could see for years. He had come to cherish it.

Consider it beautiful, even.

He clenches his jaw. Sharing those thoughts with Hendrik would probably be inadvisable.]

Well, now you have. Interests satisfied, I should think.

[standvastig]

[With his eyes turned to the abyss, Hendrik has to focus on Jasper's voice to acknowledge him, and what he hears is distance. A clipped tone.

It takes a moment to wrench his attention away from the dark, blinking as the world grows a little bigger (and yet not big at all, considering the size of the bridge).]

In a moment? No, not at all.

[Questions start roiling in his mind, half-formed and jumbled in their number as he tries to be tactful.]

...Is this a real place?

[leitstern]

[The sadness of the question makes him look back and frown, and he approaches at a gentle pace. By the time Hendrik acknowledges him, he is standing on his left side, a small presence overshadowed by a giant. His crimson eyes dart amongst the darkness below, hands supporting his weight as he hunches over the railing.

He freezes after a moment; black nails clawing into obsidian stone.]

Yes. Do you not remember?

[standvastig]

[They have certainly come a long way since coming here. Hendrik still recalls how Jasper had been when they encountered each other -- how uncharacteristically emotional and evasive he had been. Here, in this domain of his, Hendrik sees something much closer to the man who had served Heliodor with one hand and bowed to the Lord of Shadows with the other.

Not that they were different at heart. But the facades were.

He frowns at the question, distant and still filled with some sort of expectation. It takes him a moment to shake his head.]

I have never been here before. Surely I would remember if I had.

[leitstern]

I had thought Fate played a cruel trick to bring you to me; without memories of meeting me over time.

[Without memories of meeting each other in battle. He narrows his eyes and bows his chin against his chest. Had Hendrik those memories would they be standing together like this? Talking without recrimination? Fingers grip onto the railing, wrapping around the obsidian as though they long to wrap around himself - or this man standing close by.

He lifts his right arm but returns his hand to its place.]

Now I think it was Destiny being kind.

[carmesi]

[wanda likes to walk around the horizon; there is so much one can do in the solvunn commune, between herding sheep, tending to crops, or looking after children. it's not really a necessity, but it appeases the waves of boredom that come and go, and it also allows her the opportunity to familiarize herself with the summoned from either thorne or the free cities.

this domain feels different, though—dark clouds overhead, the rumblings of thunder a sure sign that she shouldn't step any further into this mindspace, whoever it belongs to surely the kind of individual that is warning others to keep away. but this thought does not deter wanda, stepping further in through, onto the bridge that links this place with the rest of the horizons, the notice of jagged rocks as she turns her gaze downwards below the bridge.

usually, wanda is lucky enough not to run into anyone when she wanders into a stranger's horizon, but there is a man here—likely the owner—waves of purple around him.

she stops, tilts her head, and then takes a few steps forward toward him before stopping.]

This realm can be anything you make of it. [a pause, for the drumming of thunder removes all silence.] Most people choose to make a place they can find rest in.

[it's not a question, but she's curious nonetheless.]

[leitstern]

[Jasper finds attention pleasurable but finds scrutiny disagreeable. Solitude and isolation - privacy, in other words - are preferable to forging relationships where there is no feeling. He indulges in the memory of his adoptive father informing him that strangers can become friends and grasps his pendant. His shoulders roll and he turns around on his heel, the chain of his token dangling out his fist.]

Most rarely choose to wander when they have found rest. Feeling adventurous, are we?

[Does he deserve to rest? You make your bed, you lie in it.]

[carmesi]

I like to look around.

[it is not quite a feeling of 'adventure', really; just a slight towards the boredom she feels, at the inaction of most days. wanda notes that her question was not answered, but she admits that she would probably also not answer it most honestly should she have been asked it.

she glances at the chain dangling from his fist, but doesn't move from where she stands. instead, she raises an eyebrow, impassive, not wanting to be — well, whatever this man may deem as rude.]

I can leave if you prefer.

[leitstern]

[The wrinkle in his nose fades and his confused expression is replaced by cold resignation. The rather unfortunate truth of the matter is he would rather have no visitors at all - but he cannot overlook the advantage of making friends in unexpected places.

But the fact said place is his personal domain is a hard thought to ignore. He altogether hardly sounds thrilled.]

And have my first impression be a poor one? You are already here. Why waste our time by sending you on your way?

[And if anything else, at least his realm reeks of magic, as one had put it.]

[carmesi]

[there is that other thing to consider from wanda: even with the looming clouds and the never ending thunder, she is not afraid. there is nothing, she feels, that she cannot handle in the horizon, because of her magic and the ability to remove herself from the situation entirely should it become too much.

at least, she thinks, this man does not seem to irritate too quickly despite appearances.]

I wouldn't have judged you for it. I don't expect to always be welcomed. [a bit more at ease, her shoulders relax, and she steps towards the wall of the bridge, just so she can glance to what is underneath better; a hand rests atop it, feeling the texture of stone on her palm.] My name is Wanda.

[leitstern]

[Her words elicit a flash of something even he cannot identify. His arms fold across each other, then across his stomach before resting over his chest. His words are controlled and offered without false kindness nor embellishment.]

Jasper.

[One word, then. He acknowledges it has been a while since talking to this amount of people, preferring the company of monsters and well...]

Come far, have you?

[carmesi]

[perhaps this would be easier if wanda was the kind of person to speak freely without filter? as it stands, it seems like she and jasper have much in common—in the way that they both seem to go straight to the point.]

It's hard to miss the horror aesthetic you have going on here.

[traversing through the horizons, that is, undoubtedly this kind of place will catch someone's attention a lot more than—say—wanda's tiny cabin amidst the mountains.

she glances at him.]

I take it that the magic here is your own.

[leitstern]

[The statement is a question hidden in an observation. His gaze is unblinking, focused with mistrust and caution. One crash of lightning interrupts their conversation, two follow in a moment, then silence. He takes advantage of the calm to offer an answer.]

Indeed.

[This magic is more than his own; the power of the monster that had been his master. Yet, it is his own. He at least needs to claim that power of darkness to stop everything being meaningless.

Darkness. He looks around. How he misses the sun.]

APOLOGIES IT TOOK SO LONG I got behind

[itookashot]

[ooc: hopefully this is still ok!!! It's okay if not.]

[ Jesper loves wandering around the Horizon. He is so easily distracted and bored and no matter how many times he shoots or plays games at his table, eventually he wants to go on a walk. He likes seeing how all the pieces sort of connect to one another, or rather, how they don't connect to each other at all. An example, a giant random bridge with thunder and clouds and jagged rocks at the bottom, which is quite funny if you're walking from an area that's a field or a small inn just a little bit away.

He can't help but be drawn to it, so dramatic! Jesper is wearing bright green, his signature color, a dramatic-looking jaunty suit, with his pearl-handed pistols slung at his very skinny hips. He is a tall and slim youth with curious gray eyes, spinning to take in the full experience of this odd bridge as he goes.

Jesper is fairly quiet on his feet, he's a criminal after all, and the thunder rumbling ahead is loud enough. So he seems to have no fear nor makes a lot of noise as he wanders up to the only person in the area. He's got purple energy coming off him. Weird. ]

Why just a bridge? You know you can make like a mansion if you want to, right?

[ Jesper speaks up as if they're in the middle of a conversation rather than him just popping up. ]

[leitstern]

[ooc: it's fine!]

[Jasper frowns a little and turns around. More strangers, more guests. And this one ignores formalities to assume familiarity. His fingers release, clench and stiffen in frustration, dragging against his sides. More people to observe the hidden and unseen. His nose wrinkles in surprise and distaste. What is it about this world that encourages intrustion?

He crosses his arms. His fraught nerves now find another thing to criticise: bright green?]

I know. Perhaps I fancied starting small.

[To admire one's work over time. Even this fool understands that, right?]

[itookashot]

Starting small is making one room or a cottage. This is a bridge to nowhere, mate.

[ It could be a lot worse, it could be boring colors, it does have interesting colors! It's shiny. Odd and shiny. Jesper does not care at all that he's intruding nor will he pretend that he is sorry about it. All their Horizons connect, sooner or later people can run into each other, that's how it is. He only wishes more people wandered into the Crow Club. ]

I like the statues though. Very dramatic.

[ Hey, appreciate what should be appreciated. Some design is worth commenting on. ]

I made an entire mansion in ten minutes, what's holding you up?

[leitstern]

Nothing. I simply refuse to indulge in unnecessary labour.

[What can he say about that? Nothing. Give him a beach and an open bar and he is pleased.

He leans backwards with his arms over his stomach, fingers hitched in his belt. The truth is he cannot see any point in building a future in this imaginary place when he has no future to return home to.]

I cannot pretend that makes me sound especially industrious.

[But he doesn't care.]

[itookashot]

Don't you have an imagination? With a good one it wouldn't require any labor.

[ Jasper said that it was unnecessary labor, and that is funny considering how easy it is to make something with a little effort. Not that Jesper can honestly get on a high horse, he simply recreated real places from his home with some changes. He didn't create an entirely new space, although he helped Mat do that, and he definitely could if he wanted to. ]

Come on, ideally, if you were told to picture your ideal place to relax or spend leisure time, this is what you'd come up with?

[ He's highly skeptical. And yes, Jesper has continued their conversation as if they know each other regardless of the fact he's never met him before. He just does that sometimes. ]

[leitstern]

Hardly. Give me a sandy beach, a bar and two weeks off the clock.

[Leading men whom one feels less and less responsible for? Stressful. Leading demonic armies against mankind? Demanding. He cannot abide exacting efforts upon his time and energy. He tilts his head in thought, as though he might roll an idle shoulder.]

Heaven.

[He does not sound like it would be - but it is relaxing to think of, regardless.]

back from vacay!

[itookashot]

Oooh, good, I love that.

[ Jesper claps his hands together in obvious glee, because yes, that sounds fantastic. Actually, that is something they would very much have in common if it's the truth. ]

So make that. What's the point of this weird bridge thing? Don't we deserve a beach and a bar?

[ He throws that we in there as if they're a team and not just random strangers that Jesper decided to go plague someone clearly trying to be alone in the Horizon. Don't try to understand his logic, it never works. ]

[leitstern]

[Sands. Beaches. Ocean. Sunbathing to relax, swimming with friends to pass the time. He indulged in both, back in the past, back when he deserved it.

He answers quickly, finding the subject uncomfortable.]

Certainly. But we also deserve privacy. You would not welcome attention to some of your more personal habits, surely?