[open] may catchall

Entry tags:

[open] may catchall

Who: Viktor and special guests and YOU
When: throughout May
Where: Cadens, the Horizon
What: open stuff, closed stuff, quest 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.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

i. workshopping (viktor makes you cool things)

[Do you need something built? Fixed? Improved? A great idea you absolutely MUST see realized? You have come to the right place.

Most of Viktor’s business is word of mouth, at this point, but he’s not difficult to find. Perhaps, in asking around, you’re pointed towards a small workshop where one of your fellow Summoned tinkers with both his own research and pretty much anything that people want to throw at him (provided it is not a gun). He apparently enjoys the idea of having a project more than he wants cold hard cash or favors (though those are nice, too), and is always open to a pitch, perking up at the sound of anyone knocking at the door or inviting themselves inside.]

You can come in. [He’s forward about it, whether you know him or not, and he’ll take anything—a verbal description, even a napkin drawing. Probably he doesn’t even get up to meet you at the door (the crutch leaned against the worktable next to him, perhaps, an indication as to why that’s the case), but he’s attentive all the same.] Do you have something for me?

ii. definitely an osha violation

[Stopping by the workshop later in the evening is a different experience. Having put away his various projects for clients and the research he is ostensibly being paid to do, Viktor takes some time to work on personal endeavors. The lab at this hour is organized chaos, with parts strewn about the tabletops, looking like they belong do a number of different endeavors. He might explain, if you ask nicely. He might be too busy talking to the cat that hangs around the space.

Or, he’s in deep concentration, holding a charm or gadget in one hand, the other poised over a blank sheet of paper. After a few long minutes, he seems to snap out of it, immediately turning to the notebook and scrawling a few details. He’s so into it, possibly, that he doesn’t immediately notice an intrusion until it’s too late.]

We're closed for the evening.

[Is that? There is blood on the table. Hm. Maybe don’t address that. Or do?]

Edited 2022-05-09 20:48 (UTC)

i. horizon times

[Viktor’s horizon has grown in the last month or so—Jayce has built up a city around it, though he can still be found in his usual haunts. More often than not he’s in the lab or the study, or even sitting in quiet contemplation at the overlook, and generally speaking he’s amenable to visitors. He will most certainly be working on some kind of project, and may even be happy to explain it, provided you ask nicely and do not mind involved conversations about applied mathematics or theoretical physics. Provided he is not also exploding things in here, which he does, sometimes. Watch your step.

He’s less often found down below, but more intrepid visitors might find something of interest in the cave system. Or, maybe it’s just Viktor and his weird dog. Everything’s fine and normal here, thanks.

If you've met Viktor outsize of the Horizon, the difference may seem a little striking. Given the ability, he seems to have done away with whatever ails him in the real world—his face is fuller, less pale, and he stands straighter, using a cane instead of his usual crutch. If you haven't met him, well. Good. Less opportunity for prying questions (outside of his various experiments, of course).]

ii. casual b&e (your house)

[He is also, of course, snooping. A naturally curious mind, Viktor is constantly testing the limits of the Horizon. Though he seems to have enough awareness that it might be rude to actually enact changes or to otherwise encroach on someone else’s domain, that doesn’t stop him from, you know, taking a few little walks, leading to the inevitable.

He’s in your house (domain)!! He’s touching your stuff!!! He sees nothing wrong with any of this!!!! Maybe you should have locked it up better if you didn’t want anyone poking around!!!!!!]

Edited 2022-05-09 20:49 (UTC)

[Sam is popular--that much Viktor knows, and has some measure of authority among the Summoned, at least in the Free Cities. He has a suspicion that if he were to say as much to the man, he'd adamantly deny it, but Viktor kind of likes that. Humble, not ostentatious. Perhaps a little uncomfortable with people looking to him as some kind of leader. It helps, too, that he's friendly and personable, which means that Viktor does not necessarily object to the occasions where Sam hangs around the neighborhood, and they cross paths.

He hasn't forgotten the mentions of a project, and though he has plenty to keep him busy, it's possible he's done a few sketches of what Sam vaguely described to him. Possibly it's not exactly what he has in mind. Either way, he offers Sam a nod of acknowledgment when he finds him perusing the workshops--he's making his way back to his own lab, himself, free arm carrying a bag that holds a few indeterminate metal parts.]

Are you looking for something in particular?

[He imagines that Sam is looking for people (Peter, maybe), but if he's got his eyes on any equipment or specialty craftspeople, then Viktor is happy to help.]

I'm not much of a tour guide, but I can point you in the right direction.

Edited 2022-05-13 19:51 (UTC)

[Viktor keeps his promise when it comes to the book from Thorne—he takes it back to the workshop, copies over the interesting passages into his own notebook, duplicates the whole thing with carbon paper for good measure, then brings it back to the apothecary where Nadine works. He shares the information with Jayce, notes things that might be useful to look up in Cadens’ various libraries, but otherwise doesn’t follow up until he has something notable to share.

He’s not sure that anything he finds will be useful to her, and Viktor understands that his own interests can be esoteric at best, but there’s something to be said for this kind of collaborative research.

When he returns to the apothecary again, he’s got a a few books that he’s loaned from one of the smaller libraries, one she may not have had a chance to peruse quite yet, plus a vial of a powdered medicinal plant he would otherwise have to send someone to the desert to get—a trade with one of the alchemists in town. He knows he doesn’t need an excuse to seek her out at her workplace, but it seems appropriate (and polite) to bring something along.

So, here he is. Poking his head inside the shop and seemingly brightening a little when he sees that Nadine is here. Then, he steps inside.]

I was hoping you'd be in. Do you have a moment?

Edited 2022-05-09 21:52 (UTC)

[He works late, usually. It’s a bad habit from home, spending the entire day working on his “real” projects, and then finding some time later at night for personal endeavors. Tonight, however, he decides to turn in early, closing up the workshop and heading back to the apartment (an actual apartment, now) that he shares with his research partner. It’s not often that he chooses not to devote every waking second to some kind of work, so he imagines they’ll both want to take advantage of it. He’s coming around to the fact that he needs to relax, at least a little. Occasionally. For a carefully-controlled period of time.]

Jayce—

[Viktor is calling out more-or-less the moment he walks in the door, not necessarily expecting Jayce to be around (he works something of a hectic schedule as well), but there are tools on the little kitchenette table that he knows aren’t his, so he feels confident enough that he isn’t alone. The apartment is small—a little cramped, given their financial situation, but at least they aren't sharing a single room anymore.]

—I finished early. I thought we could get something to eat, if you—

[Jayce is there, in his room, apparently in a state of meditation. Well, if Viktor had known he was in the Horizon, he might have started there. He supposes he still could, but it occurs to him that there’s probably a way to expedite this. Viktor reaches out, grabs Jayce by the shoulder, and gives him a vigorous shake. If it doesn’t work the first time, he’ll just do it again.]

What are you doing in there? [Mumbled, to himself, at least while Jayce is not in the waking world.] Aren’t you supposed to be closing up shop?

Edited 2022-05-09 21:18 (UTC)

It was only a matter of time before Viktor's curiosity would drive him to visit Goro's domain. It's not hard to find, the hunk of rock like part of a cliff-face carved out and deposited on the ground of the Singularity crater. The heavy doors in the rock are flanked by statues of Shokan warriors, which serve as an obvious identifier as to the identity of this domain's master.

The Tigrar guards in the entry hall, felinoid where Goro is reptilian do not bother Viktor or bar his way to the central chamber. The cells that line the walls of Goro's audience chamber are unusually full today. A bare-chested Tarkatan, rictus grin full of teeth, too many teeth, forearm blades retracted but still visibly protruding out of his arms leers from behind the bars of his cage. Another is almost completely taken up by a Centaurian lying in repose, long biomechanical tail lashing in simulated frustration at its flank. An Osh-Tekk covered in warpaint and bones braided into his hair sits on the bench in his cell, staring stoically at the far wall. The other two are filled by more recent additions Goro has conjured up; a Netherrealm Oni sits hunched in the far corner of its cell, chained to the wall by a leg, while the final prisoner is human, at first glance. But the unnaturally dark, mottled grey of his skin, the way his flesh is torn and cracked, and the unnatural red glow of each of those wounds and his eyes suggest a being more...unnatural.

Goro had previously sought the refuge of his Domain, as he does when the press of humanity around him becomes too much, and Viktor's arrival did not go unnoticed. The Shokan himself steps out from his private quarters behind the throne.

"Ah, Viktor. Welcome to my domain." It had only been a matter of time, Goro knew, before Viktor would seek this place out.

[Here's Goro's domain page if you need any refreshers. It's all terrible!]

[ They do have fairly intense schedules and it's not always easy to juggle everything. Most of the time he has a fairly good list of what work has to be done and what time he can spend at the academy, but it's not as organized as he'd like it to be. Still, Jayce loves hard work, he loves his time being filled up so he doesn't have a lot of idle moments. Those are supposed to be saved for relaxing or eating with Viktor, or sleeping, which he does a little more than his partner since he has a tendency to collapse after working late. He's strong with good endurance, but he's not supernaturally so.

Now there's been a new addition to his schedule. He sneaks in time to practice his new magical skills in the Horizon. When he's not getting specialized training, where he needs to be there at an exact time, he's still using it on his own. He's made the field where the mage saved him in the Horizon as a quiet place to do that. Lee decided to close up today after Jayce went a little intense on making things, telling him he worked too hard, so he of course did not listen and simply went to work on something else.

He is focused in that field but he feels something jolt him while inside. It's surprising as he always chooses when to leave the Horizon, but his eyes snap open after the second shake. It takes two to make it happen. Jayce glances up at Viktor, since there's no one else it could be in their apartment, and looks surprised. ]

Either it's later than I thought or you're back early.

[ Which is rare and unexpected, thus why Jayce thought he had time to get in more practice. It could be late though, he's not always sure. He would've told Viktor to just find him in the Horizon, but he's been hiding out in places or going elsewhere for training.]

Sorry, I was working on something. Are you hungry?

[Gideon is quick to stride inside after her knock is met with the all clear, face bare of paint and her black attire decorated with streaks of desert dust. She scans the space quickly, before her aureate eyes settle on Viktor. She slants him a crooked smile.]

Yo. Ciri told me you can make like, all kinds of shit. Do you know what sunglasses are?

[Silly question maybe, but you'd be surprised how frequently people around here have expressed only confusion in the face of half the things she takes as given.]

[He perks up a little at the mention of Ciri--he won't go so far to say that any friend of hers is a friend of his, as well, but he at least knows this is a potential ally. Besides, he's not going to turn down business. The larger his network the better, at this point, though he does raise his eyebrows a little at her request.]

Tinted lenses? Yes.

[Easy enough to execute, all things considered. He'll just need to source some of the materials, but it's not like it will be hard to come by, nor will it be difficult to instruct someone to make glass of a specific shade. Viktor reaches across the table and pulls a notebook towards him, poised to jot down some specifications.]

Are you telling me no one's thought to make those?

[Or, maybe she just prefers to do business with other Summoned?]

[Oh. Good. It worked. As soon as Jayce regains consciousness, Viktor takes a step back, not wanting to intrude more than he already has. He could probably go anywhere in the apartment and hold a conversation (it's not large), but instead he lingers in the doorway, waiting for Jayce to get his bearings and corners of his mouth quirking up in amusement when he looks surprised.]

I could tell you anything I want, and you'd have to believe me.

[A joke--because who knows how long Jayce has been in there? The truth is that Viktor is back early, but probably doesn't want to admit it. He's even fully prepared to have them both set aside their projects for the night and actually eat something, for once, but now his interest is piqued.]

If I'd known you were in the Horizon, I would have looked for you there. [Viktor might be apologetic that he's rudely halted Jayce's work--knowing that he'd hate it, if he'd been the one forcibly shaken out of his meditative state.] What did I interrupt?

Fucking A.

[Her own expression visibly brightens as he confirms this is something he can do for her. Adjusting to the frankly obscene levels of daylight here had been a real bitch without her glasses, and perhaps she's over the worst of it now, but she's still more shadow-cultist than she'd like to admit to. Emboldened by his response, she moves a little further into his workroom. Peers curiously at the notebook in his hands.]

I haven't seen any around, but maybe I'm just not looking in the right places? And I kiiiinda want something specific, anyway. You know, for the sentimental value.

[She reaches into the pocket of her pants, pulls out a crumpled piece of paper which she begins to attempt to smooth out with uncommon reverence. It doesn't matter how long she spends here apparently, her old respect for things that had been incredibly rare in her part of the universe dies hard. She holds it out for him to take with just the barest hint of reticence-- she's not exactly an artist. On the paper he'll find a sketched approximation of black metal framing dark lenses. Aviator glasses.]

Kinda like this.

I always believe you.

[ Jayce replies with equal humor. It's not meant to be a jab, they already have discussed the rare case of dishonesty and it doesn't apply in general. Jayce is completely gullible. It's hard for him to really see through anyone's dishonesty, look at Marcus as an example, that should have been an obvious guess for someone paying that close attention.

He hesitates before answering, and since Jayce is a terrible, terrible liar himself, it's usually pretty evident when he's trying to think of a smart reply. Even if he practiced coming up with an answer, he'd probably immediately give it away upon having to do it. It's just that he doesn't know if he's good enough yet. His training is incomplete. He wanted to only show Viktor when he knew he was impressively skilled, but that also is irrational since Viktor could be helped now, sooner. Early days, but better than nothing. ]

Come here and I'll show you.

[ He pats the bed next to him, he'd been meditating in there. He's nervous, right away. What if it turns out unimpressive? Jayce is very skilled when he puts his mind to it though, there's no reason to think his determination won't have gotten him here already. ]

I need you to trust me. And, um. Take off your shirt. You'll understand in a minute, I promise.

[He does not know what Fucking A means, but he can only assume that it's good. She seems pleased with the development, at any rate, and has come prepared, which is always helpful to him. As soon as he sees the piece of paper, he understands why she hasn't been able to find something like it around town.]

Ah. Not exactly the style, is it?

[Viktor doesn't mean any offense--just that it's not at all what people wear around here (though that seems a little silly to him, given the fact that Cadens is more-or-less on the edge of a desert, and tinted glasses with large lenses would probably be a useful development). At any rate, it takes him only a few moments of scanning the drawing to determine what needs to be done.]

I'll have to source the glass. Probably something custom, to more effectively filter out the sun. Beyond that, however, this should be fairly straightforward.

Viktor is used to ostentatious--everything about Piltover is style over substance, after all, and if nothing else, they're certainly committed to design. This is, obviously, similar in that way, if Piltover was into the aesthetics of ominous, high-vaulted caves. And skulls. And...hm. Disconcerting.

He can make a few guesses as to whom this place belongs, even before he encounters the statues and the guards. Viktor himself has a few compunctions with conjuring up anything more than animals, in a place like this, but it seems that Goro has no reservations, populating his domain with actual people, even if the effect is less than convincing. Maybe it's not meant to be convincing. Imposing, perhaps.

Still, he does his very best to be unintimidated, venturing further as if he's going to find something that explains all of this. Who better to ask than the guy responsible?

"It's certainly impressive. I imagine that's what you're going for."

Careful. That will be your downfall, someday.

[All said in good fun, of course, though Viktor doesn't keep the upper hand for very long. At Jayce's instruction, he takes a few steps into the room but pauses as soon as he elaborates. It's not that he thinks he's asking without reason, it's just such a strange segue that he has no idea how to respond, given no additional context. Viktor fixes him with something of a puzzled look, as if he's deciding whether or not to entertain this. After a pause, he answers.]

Let me just--one moment.

[He makes his way out of the room, at that. One moment is more like several long minutes. Viktor spends some time in his room. Takes his braces off. Gets changed. When he returns, it's as Jayce requested--wearing a simple button-down, trousers swapped for the softer pants that he sleeps in, not wanting to sit on the bed in dirty work clothes. Viktor eases himself onto the bed, leans his crutch against the wall, and pulls his shirt over his head, keeping some respectable distance between them, expression still unsure about where this is going (though he might have an idea).

He's never been ashamed of himself, even as his illness further diminished his physicality--any uncertainty comes from the fact that he knows Jayce worries about him on a good day, and this is probably not going to ease his mind, in that department. Still, he knows this must be for a good reason, so he resolves to see where this is all going. He's the one who asked, after all.]

Are you going to tell me what's going on, or...?

[ It's about after the second minute that Jayce realizes it was a very, very request, and so strangely roundabout too. This is definitely not the way he expected to have Viktor shirtless on his bed for the first time, he'd really been hoping that would be a little more romantic, but he is intentionally not daydreaming about that right now. He has to focus. He really isn't sure yet if this will work.

He doesn't know why Viktor left until he returns changed and he puts it together, and feels relief flow through him. Jayce has to reassure himself that he'll understand in a few minutes. Hopefully. He doesn't know how to explain it, really, what he'd say. I've practiced healing every day since I got here and I think I can help you? Well, that's pretty easy, actually, but he doesn't know how it would go over with Viktor. ]

Trust me, V, you'll completely get it in a few minutes. I, um.

[ Jayce lifts his hands and moves them closer to Viktor, pausing before touching him. Like he's approaching their lab cat the first time they met, careful and uncertain. ]

Have to put my hands on your chest, just ... I'm not ... being weird. There's a reason. If that's okay?

[ He doesn't feel confident enough to simply reach through the last few inches between them and do it. They've touched more recently than he dared ever before, but it's been on Viktor's terms each time. He isn't going to stop letting it be his choice. Gold-brown eyes are plaintive, begging him to trust, and also very nervous at the same time. It's pretty clear that he's not actually hitting on Viktor, despite being bad at that too, his attitude is one of shy hope rather than anything inappropriate. ]

Please.

[Viktor has worn plenty of hospital gowns and sat on plenty of examination tables. It feels not unlike a medical appointment, except Jayce is his friend, not a doctor, and he still doesn’t really know what this is about, so his first inclination is to treat this as if he’s a patient—as clinically as possible. Of course he trusts Jayce, implicitly, and he has no concerns that whatever is about to happen will harm him, but the other man is clearly flustered about what is about to transpire. Viktor wishes he could put him at ease, but the whole situation is a little odd, to say nothing of the Big Deal Jayce seems to be making out of everything.]

You’re, eh. Going to make it weird. If you keep looking at me like that.

[And talking like that. And acting like this is some kind of feat, on Jayce’s part, though maybe it is—he’s clearly working himself up to this. The asking for permission is endearing, though Viktor doesn’t say as much. surveying him with the corner of his mouth quirking upward just slightly, the only indication that he actually finds this kind of amusing. The please sends it all over the top, and though it's very tempting to needle him further, he has an idea of where this might be going, so he decides to encourage, instead.

Viktor straightens a little. Shifts to face him.]

Go ahead.

Edited 2022-05-12 00:22 (UTC)

"To an extent." Goro replies, stepping further into the audience chamber. "It is a mix of Kuatan Palace and a private retreat of my own I once possessed." He stops by the cell with the Tarkatan. "When I first constructed this place, I found the idea of being able to create opponents tailormade for my needs appealing. Sadly, these constructs fall far short of that goal. But they do serve admirably as reminders. Of threats and enemies waiting for me when I return to Outworld." He clarifies. "A ruler in Outworld may never rest easy, for his enemies are legion."

He turns away, and strides back towards the entrance hidden behind the throne, beckoning Viktor with an upper arm. "Come. You may share a drink and then should you wish for a guided tour, you may have one."

[ It's a mixture of struggles in this matter, because Jayce has been training and studying and absorbed with doing this since he arrived and found out there was magic. He's wanted to use magic his whole life, as Viktor knows, but this was his first stop, and it's not only about healing Viktor, although that is the #1 focus. All he can do is hope it works. But it's also that this will be his first big magical action, more so than all the little attempts and training before this. It's a lot, for him. ]

I know, sometimes I'm weird. Just know that I'm new to this, but I'm going to get much better.

[ He carefully places his hands on either side of Viktor's chest, over where he knows his lungs are. Jayce's hands as well as the rest of him are always warm, so they're comfortable that way. He closes his eyes so he can concentrate on everything he's learned. At first he murmurs an incantation, academic magic as a starting point, he's memorized a lot of spells already, so it's a stable start. But his true skill was given to him by the Horizon and then trained since discovered. It's not until he feels the energy shift from within him and pour into his hands that a difference will be felt.

His hands don't glow but they do get warmer from the transference. If it was a cut, he could easily fix it, but this is more generalized. It seeps into Viktor's lungs from his chest but also stretches through his torso. Jayce is still learning so as he said, in a few weeks, he'll be even better at this. His magic will be stronger, more precise, and longer-lasting, but his long hours and training pay off regardless. When it wears off, they can just do it again. It feels so natural and he pushes past how much he's done before this. He can tell when he's given as much as he can to it and the heat slips away for now, a little sweat on his brow from trying so hard.

His eyes open and he anxiously searches Viktor's face to see if it worked, his hands not moving yet. ]

[Viktor holds still in preparation--Jayce's hands aren't cold, but it's hard not to flinch at the contact, even though he's ostensibly prepared for it. It's been a long time since he's been touched like this, and despite attempts to steel himself and approach this clinically, he finds himself caught off-guard.]

Oh--

[He watches Jayce concentrate for as long as he can, at least until he's distracted by the very distinct feeling of warmth, and then an easing of pressure that starts from where Jayce touches him and spreads through his chest. It takes him a moment to process, even as the pain he's grown so accustomed to living with lessens in waves. Jayce has learned magic--healing magic. Just like he promised, his brain helpfully supplies.

When it stops, Viktor takes a deep breath almost automatically, and looks surprised, unsure of how to proceed. It only lasts a moment, however, before he's scrambling to get off the bed--not because he wants to be away from Jayce, but because he can't help but view this as the experiment it is, and his mind immediately goes to one place.]

We need to--I need paper. We should be taking notes.

[He needs to be recording his symptoms, how much they ebb or remain the same, how long the effect lasts. Viktor isn't so naive as to think this is a cure, but if it helps, well. They need to understand exactly what it's doing and if it's an actual improvement, or halting of the progression, or just temporary relief.]

[ It isn't obvious at first if it works, outside of the fact Viktor takes a noticeable deep breath, and it doesn't seem to rattle in his chest or be as difficult to do. Jayce is hopeful and he is about to ask when Viktor seems to practically vault himself off the bed. Jayce looks genuinely startled until he explains and he leans over to the side of the bed and picks up one of his notebooks that he stashes there. They share a few in the lab, but he has several of his own, and it might be very apparent at the moment that almost every single book stacked around Jayce is a medical one. There's a New Magic one here or there, but he's surrounded himself with medical books and healing magic. ]

Come back here, hold on.

[ This one he's only gotten a few pages into, so he simply rips those out and decides this will now be the experimentation notes. Jayce does have to lean over to grip for a pencil for a few seconds, but it comes up after a few scrambling seconds. He hands it all over to Viktor. ]

Like I said, I'm still new, I'm going to get better. I've been training in a few different ways. Every week I'll get stronger, and be able to do more than what just happened.

[ Jayce looks at him. ]

I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully cure you, but I thought if I could pause the degradation, if I could make living day to day easier for you as we worked, that would ... be something.

[ Maybe not enough, Jayce would only consider enough to be fully curing him, but it's something close to enough. It's helpful, which is all he can strive for right then. He's thought about this a lot, made it is his priority as he promised. If he can pause it and help Viktor's pain, it will mean real action can happen, not just him helplessly sitting there wishing he could make it better. ]

The Horizon power I got right away was healing. I noticed it a few days after my first visit, so I've been working on it since.

[ He just didn't want to mention it until he could do more than heal scratches and bruises. It wouldn't be enough. ]

Edited 2022-05-12 21:09 (UTC)

Most of the place names and jargon of other worlds mean very little to him, but given the aesthetic of the place and everything else that he knows, he can make a few guesses. Abraxas has been a difficult exercise in his understanding of morality--there are so many places and worlds that function on entirely different sets of rules. Goro rattles sabers because that's all he really knows, and it follows that his domain would be an extension of that.

Doesn't mean that Viktor likes it, but he's at least not so immediately appalled as he might ordinarily be. Uneasy, however? Oh yes.

Still, he's not going to be rude, fully aware of his tenuous situation and figuring he has no choice but to accept the hospitality. "Only if you're not otherwise occupied."

He doesn't want to intrude, after all.

Edited (wrong icon) 2022-05-13 14:58 (UTC)

[Viktor devours the books in a day, more-or-less, taking notes as he goes. They are all at once incredible and terrifying--he can fully understand Alucard's complicated relationship with his father, if this is what was going on. Despite the discrepancy in technology, there's plenty to glean, and he complies the information that's most directly relevant to him. Good enough for a first pass.

He can't bring the books out of the Horizon, but he does reproduce the notes as soon as he's back in the real world, if only so he and Alucard have something physical to discuss--over dinner, apparently. Viktor is not much of a cook, having spent most of his adult life at the Academy, where it had been easy to rely on the dining hall, and even easier to just not think about it at all.

So, he'll let Alucard handle that part (though he does provide the wine), instead spreading out his impressions on the tiny kitchen table (he'll make room for them to eat, when the time comes), actively annotating. His own notes on the Hexcore are present as well, and he cross-checks occasionally while they both work.]

I understand this is, perhaps, a complicated subject for you, but there's no doubting he was a genius.

[ Among the oldest domains that still stand, there is a modern, boxy building lit in pink neon around the edges. The dull thrum of bass can be heard from nearly anywhere in the Horizon, felt through the ground whenever one gets close enough. Pink velvet ropes and a pink carpet wrap from the front door and around one corner, constantly awaiting what is clearly going to be quite a long line. The front entrance consists of two large, frosted glass doors, the gold handles shaped to look like a vertical cloud of butterflies in flight. The doors generally remain unlocked, regardless of the presence of the owner, but are often propped open when she's in.

Inside, it's a busy nightclub, the lights bright and the music pumping. Dozens and dozens of people crowd the dance floor, but Viktor might notice that these people seem remarkably more... dynamic than the manifested people in other domains. They're all unique in appearance, if fairly nondescript; they react appropriately if bumped, are capable of very basic conversations. They make choices, rather than just repeat a single task -- some dance, others drink at the bar, and still others are at tables, taking selfies on iPhones together. They don't appear to be following direction given by the domain creator so much as they seem to be simply existing within the club walls.

If one were to walk through the lavish club, to the back of the building, they'd find that the furnishings gradually lessen, that the carpet stops, and the entire rear third of the place is an eerily haunting warehouse, abandoned. Stay here and a feeling of isolation will begin to set in within minutes; stay longer and the feeling will become oppressive, like a weight settling atop one's chest. On one wall, closest to where the club ends, there's a lofted structure, obviously an apartment. It has a balcony that looks over the dance floor, with plants and chairs visible toward the front.

But Viktor won't make it that far before he's stopped. A tall man, sort of blandly handsome, will appear by his side, smiling and welcoming him. He'll be presented with a drink -- the drink will be Viktor's favorite, whatever that may be, alcoholic or not, and it will be Insta-ready with garnishes (though, of course, he is free to order anything else he may desire at the bar). The man seems to already know Viktor in some way, and gives his name as Steven before he retreats back to the bar with a grin.

On the VIP balcony above, a woman in gold sequined hot pants and thigh high black boots leans on the railing, her chin in her palm and a whole stack of bracelets on her arm. She has bright pink hair, pulled up in two small buns atop each side of her head. She seems somehow more vibrant than any of the people around her, more saturated. As if she's drawing color from those surrounding her, though none of them look noticeably different from the ones downstairs. The woman is the odd one out, just brighter than the rest. She is very sparkly from head to toe, wearing a large amount of jewelry in addition to her glittering makeup, the crystals in her manicure, the shimmer in the fabric of her sheer white top.

Even if he doesn't notice her looking down, he'll suddenly hear a voice next to him, in a perfectly ordinary speaking tone. Not the yelling that this music should necessitate. The accent is a syrupy sweet American Southern one, thick like molasses. ]

Y'all gonna just get lost in the crowd, or are you gonna come up and introduce yourself?

[ When he does spot her, she smirks, waggles her fingers at him. The bartender from before, Steven, will have somehow ghosted his way upstairs, passes behind her with a whisper before he's out of view. The next time Viktor looks over toward the bar, he'll be there as if he never left. ]

Edited 2022-05-13 18:50 (UTC)

[Viktor is getting ahead of himself, as he usually does, but the good news for Jayce is that he can't really get anywhere fast, which means that he's barely grabbed for his crutch and left the bed when his attention is pulled back. Oh. right. Obviously Jayce would have paper and pencil here, so after a moment he slowly moves to retake his seat, reaching for the notebook when it's offered to him.

Anything he wanted to write down, however, is put on hold when Jayce explains. He's still not accustomed to anyone going out of their way for him, to say nothing of the way Jayce has focused singularly on his illness since he arrived here, and part of him isn't sure what to do with that knowledge. He should say thank you. He should, somehow, outwardly express the sudden gratefulness he feels, at having someone care for him this much that he would do these things.]

You've been training.

[And keeping it from him, it sounds like, though he of course understands why. Jayce probably hadn't wanted to get his hopes up. Viktor looks like he needs to process this, slouching a little as he sits back down on the bed. His hand hovers over the paper, like he suddenly can't remember what he wanted to write. Maybe he should simply start with what he's feeling, right now.]

It hurts...less. A little. [Easier to breathe.] It may just be pain relief; I'll have to see a doctor to be sure, but...thank you, Jayce.

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[open] may catchall

cadens

horizon

[closed] sam

[closed] nadine, some nebulous post-aquila time

[closed] jayce

Horizon Cave-Diving (B&E)

i can do what i want

i. workshopping!!

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[closed] alucard

ii

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