DIVINE COMEDY.

affiliated with isola radiale. housed in apartment 339.

[spardium]

spardae​:

THE  BOY  HE  KNEW  HAD  ALWAYS  been so full of life, always shouting or smiling or wreaking havoc– and for the briefest of instants, knowing nothing of the man broken down by time and circumstance, the smile has him fooled. But he knows in his heart that his family is not remotely close to what it was. That Mundus shattered what once had been into a thousand pieces, and left two eight year old boys to glue it all back together.

His expression does not change. Sparda approaches, slow, hesitant– tail dragging against the earth like a weight shackled to his ankles. ❝ YOUR BROTHER FIRST LOOKED UPON ME WITH THE GAZE OF A WOUNDED CHILD, ❞ he says, not wanting to reach out. Fearing that just like the illusory children in the mist, this Dante will slip through his fingers. ❝ I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS… AFTER ALL THE TWO OF YOU ENDURED… ❞

It breaks his heart to say it. To stand in the shadow of doubt that the smile he sees is genuine. That the boy before him is left unscathed from the flames that devoured their home and happiness. ❝ FORGIVE ME, MY SON. TO SEE YOU SMILE, TO SEE A SOUL AS BRIGHT AND BUOYANT AS THE ONE I LEFT BEHIND… NOTHING WOULD GIVE ME MORE PEACE. ❞

He pauses, an arms length from Dante. Red eyes staring sternly into the other’s facade, praying that it will not break beneath his scrutiny. Though there is a screech in the back of his mind, an ugly reminder that every second he spends here is another second Mundus acts unhindered, he cannot peel himself away from the other. Staring into those pale eyes, clawed hand reaching gently for his son’s shoulder.

Voice dropping to a raspy growl as he adds, quiet, ❝ BUT I FEAR THE SMILE BEFORE ME IS ONE OF GLASS. ❞

He hates how small he feels.

“Mm.” At the mention of Vergil, his resolve only strengthens, fingers digging into his jacket at the mere mention of the meeting between the two. Were he in a better head space he’d try and imagine Vergil’s reaction to all this, yet he can barely gauge his own reaction.

As Sparda speaks, he can feel his heart sinking, he can feel his mouth trembling and he can feel the torrent of emotions welling within him. How his father’s words hit him harder than any demon, how his words bring Dante back to a simpler times, to the times when every day was bright and colorful and lively. At his words Dante looks away, unable to find a quip or witty line before his blue eyes land on the other’s frame, far too close for comfort.

It’s the gentle touch, it’s the familiar sensation he feels that truly chips away at his facade. It’s what makes Dante’s eyes lose that spark that accompanies his witty remarks, his strength.  “Don’t wanna let my old man down, y’know! May not be the bigger bro but I gotta’ set an example either way.” Even so he seeks refuge in the familiar, seeking cover under his fading facade, the smile on his lips now forced and strained. “I’m fine, pops.” He says in almost a hush, a murmur that makes his lie all the more obvious. 

The bags under his eyes, his unkempt hair and nervous gaze shows that it’s more than sadness. It’s weight, it’s loneliness, it’s time--- it’s the fact that he wants to hug the being before him and never let him go, to cry and cry until the void that he left is filled. Yet he won’t, he doesn’t deserve it. He knows that he’ll fade away if he does, he knows that he’ll be nothing more than a fading memory the next day. “Just a little shocked to see you ‘round here, is all.” His facade now fully worn off, Dante still tries to desperately tries to hold onto it, he tries to hold onto it against the one before him. The bright eyed child who looked up to his father more than anything else in the world is still there, staring away from Sparda, but he’s still there.

[spardae]

MISSION 5 7:41 PM - NOVEMBER 12TH

As the eclipse gives way, the veil of darkness lifted to bathe the island in moonlight once more, Sparda flies through the middle of the city– separated from Vergil in an attempt to locate the surges of demonic power he can sense in the air across the wards. A vain search thus far, every lead a dead end. But he cannot stop. Not knowing that the gates to hell could be opened the instant they make a wrong move.

Yet he can’t help but stop, not too far from the gaping void at the heart of the wards. There is a scent in the air– a familiar one that cannot be ignored. Sparda turns, scanning the ground below, and as he spies a head of white hair half-leaned against a taxi, his wings carry him to the pavement on their own.

One would think that having done this song and dance already, it would be easier. But to look over and see a man grown, a near spitting image of his own human form…  ❝ DANTE, ❞ he murmurs, forcing his growling voice louder to add,  ❝ SURELY THAT MUST BE YOU. A MAN GROWN, AND YET… ❞

( He still sees a hint of the boy in you, @spardium​. )

[spardium]

Dante’s body feels light for a few moments, airy and weightless upon feeling a certain pull calling him back, dragging him to the place where he once belonged. Isn’t long before the lightness fades away, it isn’t long before turning back reveals the familiar sight of the hole below, signalling his return to the fabled city. “Mm.” Dante hums, the lack of expression on his features telling of the man’s mood.

He can feel the oppressive energy around, the familiar sensation of dread and gloom that invaded him upon his youth. A single name comes to mind, yet it’s brushed off almost immediately--- Impossible, he thinks, Not here. The nagging feeling of powerlessness comes and hits him far harder than he’d like, not even moments into the city and he already wants to hide.

Dante leans against the nearest surface, trying to think, trying to reason the how, the why and the looming fact that he’s not going to be able to do anything this time around. He scowls to himself, the bubbling seed of guilt and rage only stopping short upon hearing an all too familiar murmur.

 “Huh?” He whispers, fearfully looking up at the looming figure before him, his body tense and rigid. He turns his head to look at the familiar man, Sparda, his father. The panic, the rage and the sadness spreading within his chest is far too jarring, far too painful and ruthless. It grabs him and doesn’t let go, decades of feelings bottled up, how many tears has he shed since then? He doesn’t know, he doesn't want to know.

He’d scream, he’d shout--- he’d run away, but he finds himself frozen in place. He slips into something familiar, his confident bravado comes to save him once again. “The one and only, yeah!” He grins at the familiar man, extending a friendly wave his way. “Nice to see you ‘round, old man. How’s it going?” He walks up closer to the figure, beckoning for him to come closer. Greeting old ghosts isn’t something he likes doing, but he’ll humor it just this once.

[spardium]

dante vc: so long suckers! i rev up my motorcylce and create a huge cloud of smoke. when the cloud dissipates im lying completely dead on the pavement

[spardium]

heclingmuzik​:

God, This fall isn’t enough to kill her but…BUT is she back in her apartment? She hopes not. It’d be the….Ismael cringes at the thought. IT would have been the third time. She would have not kept her promise to Nero but most of all herself. She should open her eyes. Mhm, yeah, she should open her eyes.

Okay, she shouldn’t be freaking out. She didn’t feel the ground beneath her. And…She CERTAINLY doesn’t feel any pain. She DOESN’T feel the ground beneath her and…

Hey, you okay? 

It’s only then does she peek, almost hesitatingly so. At first, because she’s had her eyes shut tight for so long, it takes her a moment to focus, she thinks it’s Nero. He’s the only one she knows with white hair. Aside from Gloria of course, but Gloria is female and she has BIG rabbit ears. This man is much older looking and DEFINITELY does not look like Nero. Hair length about the same, but yeah, no. 

“I didn’t even see you.” Where did he even come from? She’s looking around, mainly for that charm. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for catching me. Have you…by chance….Seen a charm?” She doesn’t want to push herself off to get on her feet, so she’ll wait patiently for him to lower her.

Dante sees her take a peek and he’s glad he caught her in time  ---  even though the grass isn’t deadly, it still would’ve hurt like hell. Even if his tree climbing days are over (for now, at the very least) he can spare others from suffering the same fate he once did. Also, he’s pretty much confirmed that she is indeed not a cat, a most surprising development, in his opinion.

With a smirk, Dante replies. “What can I say? I’m a pretty stealthy guy! Gotta make sure I can sneak around.” Truth is, he was just passing by. But his need to look cool and stylish always overrides his need to be honest and genuine, as it always does. Self introspecting aside, he looks for the charm in question on the grass  ---  it won’t be too hard to find.

“Hmmmmm, lemme see.” Dante says, looking at the grass for any sign of the charm. He takes the opportunity to gently put her back on the ground  ---  that should do it. “Pretty sure it’s around there somewhere.” Dante points around the area around the violin, below the tree. Rolling up his sleeves, in his sudden burst of good mood, he speaks up again. “I can help out, shouldn’t be too tough to find.” He’s using the power of teamwork for once, a miracle.

[spardium]

“Summer festival, huh... Might as well give it a look.”

[spardium]

heclingmuzik​:

@spardium​

“Okay Onai, let’s try this again.” Clicking her tongue, she moves her fingers around an object carefully. Every once in awhile, she’ll glance down and make sure that her violin is still leaned up against the trunk of the tree on the bottom below her and then she’ll proceed with focusing on the task at hand. She was doing well until a small clover pendant falls right down. “Aw man!” It took her almost forever to climb up and now she’s gonna have to climb down. Okay, you know what?

She shoves the remaining of the pieces to make this charm into her pocket, grabs her phone and places it in the opposite pocket. Time to climb down and STAY down. Slow and steady. Slow and steady. “Climb a tree. It’ll be fun she said.” It was. She’s definitely gotten better with heights if being on top didn’t bother her much…Though maybe she climbed a little too far for her liking, because she’s struggling to find her footing on the right spot to descend. 

SNAP~.

Lovely, the tree branch that she was holding onto for life decided it didn’t want to support Ismael and decided to just snap in piece. “Shit!” And with that she does lose her footing. “Whaa!” In midair she tries to make herself smaller. May not be the smartest idea to try to turn into a ball (because it’s not like she’ll bounce like one), BUT what else is she supposed to do?

Strolling through the park was something that Dante enjoys every once in a while. Exploring the city has always been something he’s been fond of, no matter how long he’s been stuck within the walls of the city. It’s the adventurous spirit that comes with the job, he guesses --- a permanent sense of wanderlust even when it comes to those he considers dear to him.

Dante deduces, through careful and precise abstraction of concepts, that violins aren’t normally supposed to be next to tree trunks. He also cleverly concludes that the rustling he sees on the trees isn’t too normal for trees to do and that maybe, just maybe, there’s someone up there. The fallen charm only confirms his suspicions --- he’ll keep a close eye on this suspicious tree. Sure, he might rescue a cat from a tree from time to time but something tells him that this isn’t a cat.

Partially because he’s done the good ol’ tree climbing routine quite a few times and while results often varied, he knows this tale very well. Almost in cue, Dante sees a small figure falling from the trees  ---  and with trained dexterity he catches her in his arms, making sure she isn’t hurt. Hopefully the fall wasn’t too tough, he hasn’t caught anyone dramatically in quite some time now.

Dante looks at the girl and nonchalantly speaks, cheery smile accompanying him as always. “Hey, you okay?”

[breezeinmonochromenight]

He just gets better with age.

[spardium]

sanpatron​:

What was originally thought to be a quick run over to the convenience store for some snacks has now turned into some unintentional loitering.

The man should consider himself lucky that he runs his own company, else he’d more than likely get chewed out for taking an overextended lunch break just to read the latest in fashion magazines.

But hey, you could definitely argue that he’s still working. I mean, he sure as shit would. How can you run a successful clothing company without making sure to see how the rest of the competition is doing? Gotta stay up with the latest trends and all that. See what he can sink his teeth into like the deranged money-hungry shark he is.

“ Woooow. I didn’t know this was making a comeback. ” He says to himself after taking an obnoxiously loud slurp of his legally distinct frozen drink. “ Should probably look into this more. Though is it really on brand for us? Hmm… ”

@spardium​ // Starter Call

If there was one thing that managed to drag Dante out of his cave, it would be the promise of candy or a potential world ending threat. In his eyes, the lack of candy was a world ending threat, so he went to the usual convenience store near his place and began perusing the goods with the trained eye of someone who’s eaten quite a few sweets in his lifetime.

He wanted to get in and out, at least that was the plan initially. He had urgent plans, said urgent plans which consisted in not doing a lot on his own and brooding --- he’s a man with a busy schedule. However, on his way back, Dante spotted a certain someone he hadn’t seen in quite a bit, so he got the great idea to try and catch up, be a general nuisance and scruff him just a little. Like old times.

Holding his own nondescript frozen ice cream cookie, he silently approached the man --- lending an ear to his plight.

“Hmmmm...” Dante peers over Boss’s shoulder, spotting the legally distinct frozen drink.

After pondering this very serious matter, Dante finally comes up with his best reply. “I’d say making it purple should do the trick, right?” After nonchalantly taking a bite of his own treat, Dante continues. “Unless you’ve switched your brand up since last time.”

[spardium]

The gang’s all back together, huh?

[spardium]

devilbring​:

V’s body begins to crumble, and when Nero moves to grab his hand, it wastes away to ash beneath his touch. It’s hard to accept the truth when the evidence of V’s very existence is fading fast; when the most tangible proof of his being is the blood still soaked into Nero’s clothes. “Even if the body is gone?” He asks, and again, his lip curls in disgust at his own inability to prevent this.

And to the offer? Internally, he wants to whisper an immediate, ( Yes. ) But he already feels so weak. Yet the need for another’s support persists. He lifts his head. If Debbie hadn’t already left with the robot girl, he probably would have forced himself to follow. But she’s long gone. The only company the carnage around him and the police at the far perimeter, still uncertain as to whether the threat has passed.

Finally, Nero replies, ever quiet. “Golden Ward. You… can still see the smoke.” His way of saying please, don’t let me be alone. Even though the last time we spoke, I condemned you to your face for things beyond your control. He hesitates for but a moment, then lowers the phone, hanging up.

He was sitting in the street when he called, and he’ll be sitting in the street when Dante arrives. Unmoving by a pile of ashes, V’s wooden cane a few feet away. This night is a bitter one, and the dawn only serves to shine unwelcome light on his haggard face.

For once, he figures that saying anything more than needed will do more harm than good. His own dealings with death in the city are more of a distant memory than anything else, but he can recall them with enough clarity to give him an answer. “Mhm, yeah.” They do that, fade away into ash and into the heavens above. He’s seen it happen and he’s hated it every single time  ---  it feels too personal, too close. His brief bout of nostalgia is interrupted by Nero’s answer, a frown dawning over his features.

Smoke? Just what the hell happened there? “Gotcha.” When V comes back, he’ll have to pester Nero for details. Weapons at hand, he goes up looking for the smoke  ---  it isn’t hard to find in the lightening night. The wreckage almost reminds him of his younger years, the smoke is a familiar sight for him, almost nostalgic.

Nero stands out, even among all the destruction --- something else stands out as well, something he only notices once he gets closer. Slow steps come to a halt once he’s next to Nero, next to the ashes, next to the cane.

He doesn’t know what to do, to be perfectly honest. Maybe once upon a time he would’ve tried to cheer him up, probably with a pat on the back. Maybe talk about anything, really --- something to take his mind off things, but as the light slowly seeps into the streets, he decides otherwise. Ever since he got to this place, he’s been overthinking too much and he hates it. In the end, he chooses to sit down next to Nero, silence tense and gloomy.

 If they’re anything alike, the feeling of powerlessness that invades him upon seeing the scene is something they might have in common. Dante can only hope that he’s helping, that he isn’t just making this worse for Nero. Dante turns to look at him --- as the light of day slowly seeps into the scenery, Dante breaks the silence. “He’ll be okay, promise.” It’s surprisingly sincere, reassuring, even. He doesn’t move an inch, concern written across his features, the least he can do is stick around.

[spardium]

devilbring​:

He makes the call to Dante before he can even process what he’s doing. The phone rings. Painfully long. And Nero sits, in the middle of the street, beside V’s corpse. Not even trying to regain his composure.

When Dante picks up, there is a silence. And at last, regardless of how Dante greets him, there comes a threadbare voice: “They come back, right? People who die here… they come back. Tell me they come back. Dante… tell me… they come back.”

( Tell him they come back, @spardium​. )

The day felt off the moment he woke up. Call it a keen sense of precognition or merely pure luck, Dante knew something was up. It was only the moment when his phone rang and he saw who it was that his suspicions were confirmed. He lets it ring for a moment, his own personal and unfortunate flair.

“Yeah?” Dante asks, tone serious and low. He doesn’t expect the thin voice that comes through, he doesn’t expect the question that accompanies it ---  a sinking feeling accompanies it as a tense silence forms. “...”

He’ll grill him about this later, but for now he answers. “They do.” It’s one of the things he’s grateful about, a perk the stars granted them for reasons he has yet to understand. “Takes about a day, but they do.” Dante speaks from experience, he’s seen it happen with his own eyes. “Need me to pass by?” He expects a no for an answer, but he’s ought to ask.

[spardium]

devilbring​:

It seems that neither of them truly know how Nero is feeling, least of all himself. Is this one of the shitty tricks that the pixies of this maze have up their sleeve? As much as he’d like to believe it, it’s all too real, too timely, and the Dante in front of him is most certainly the Dante he remembers leaving behind.

( You? In the sidelines? Get real. ) Such is the response he’d like to give with the roll of his eyes and a most unamused frown. Waves of conflicting emotion choke out any retort that comes remotely close to his lips, however, and Nero is left gawking.

Most of all when Dante drops the bomb. Upper lip curls back ever so slightly in repulsion. “You’re not serious,” he says, the conviction in his voice whole before it wavers. Nero finally moves, jolted from his paralysis, and takes a few steps around Dante in a quarter circle. “A guy like V makes sense. You take away his power, and you could probably snap him in half by lookin’ at him the wrong way. But you– two years?” 

He shakes his head. Not wanting to believe it but knowing deep down, not even Dante has a sense of humor that fucked up. Nero looks up, blue eyes fierce. “And you still haven’t found a way out? Have– have you even been looking?”

He wants to come up with an answer, something, something to hold onto. Any words end up in his throat when he hears that word. Power. He can barely hide the cringe written across his features, his lack of powers has been most, if not the source of his turmoil in the city --- and the scowl in his face can barely hide it.

It stings.

At Nero’s words, he feels embarrassment. Shame, anger --- anger at himself, at the circumstance, at his inability to do anything. He’d be lying if he wasn’t ticked off, but aside from the flickers of rage, he doesn’t do much more.

Dante repeats the same hum, the smallest tinge of anger behind it. “Mm.” He looks at anywhere but Nero. “At the start, maybe. Tried to do as anybody would.” He can feel Nero’s eyes staring right through him  ---  he can probably see how Dante’s eyes are the same blue as his, yet there’s not a flicker behind them. “But once you see people stronger than you bein’ trapped in here for years n’ years on end...” He trails off, trying to figure out his own point. "Ya’ kinda’ start to lose steam. Like it or not, ya’ start gettin’ used to this place.” There’s something in his tone, something tired, defeated even. 

[spardium]

devilbring​:​

Quest after quest. Maybe it’s an obsession at this point, or maybe it’s something to kill the time between his efforts to regain his arsenal and strike out to the Yesteryear in hopes of finding a way out. Hell, even Nero himself doesn’t know for certain why he’s doing all this. But here he is, attempting another one of the Stars’ very special quests in the thin hopes he might be able to puzzle out something about them, their motivations, their powers.

It’s a maze, plain and simple. A few shitty tricksters and maybe a partner. How hard can it be? He phases in, momentarily dazed by the sudden transition, but otherwise completely collected, eyes only half-focused on his surroundings, more interested in his theories and thoughts than the maze itself, lips settled in the slightest of neutral frowns–

And then he hears the person beside him speak.

Nero whips his head around to meet his partner. Instinctively he takes a step back, looks him up and down in disbelief, and tries to no avail to shut his gaping jaw. “Wh–” he starts, head racing with a million questions, “Dante? You’re…”

( Alive? )

No, that’s not the important part. Not right now. “You’re here too.” There is a torrent of swelling rage close on the horizon. A slight whisper pierces the initial veil of relief, of joy that Dante is alive and well and standing there with that stupid smile on his face like nothing is wrong. The whisper is a reminder of the last time they met– according to Nero’s memories, at least. ( Dead weight, ) it says, and Nero shifts a little to hide his stump, ashamed without even realizing it that he’s standing here, in front of Dante, and nothing has changed since their confrontation with Urizen.

If anything, it’s worse. He’s down not just an arm, but Red Queen, Blue Rose, and any semblance of his demonic blood he once had. “V never said you were here,” he says, “When did you…?”

It isn’t long before Dante reads the mood for once, exaggerated expression relaxing into something neutral, unreadable. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t gauge Nero’s reaction to any of this  ---  anger, shock ? maybe both ? it’s been far too long since he’s been around him to really know. He figures that joking around too much might cause him an early grave, or worse, a not-so-hilarious chase sequence spanning all across the maze. Usually he’d be up for that, but now....

He listens intently, not daring to even make a single move --- he feels like a deer in headlights and he hates every second of it, this wasn’t the heartwarming family reunion he had in mind. At the mention of V, he doesn’t move a muscle, something resembling annoyance flashes on his eyes before quickly fading away. “That so, huh.” There’s a silence between them, small and tense when Dante tries to continue the conversation, he could really use his talent for words right about now.

“No wonder he hasn’t heard about me. I’ve been keepin’ myself in the sidelines.” He’s been keeping mostly to himself lately, not doing much other than the occasional training session. Without his friends or family to drag him out, he never really found a reason to go out more than necessary. At the question, though... “...Mm.” A hum, uncomfortable and almost annoyed. He knew the question was coming, but he knows the answer won’t be pretty.

He might as well be honest here, might as well find out from him than someone else. “About two years, give or take. Not too long, I’d say.” Despite the edge of humor in his last words, he’s not kidding at all.

[spardium]

QUEST START !!  -  THE AMAZE-ING CHALLENGE.

a maze didn’t sound too bad, all things considered. sure, he wasn’t exactly fond of them or anything like that, but they were marginally better than doing a whole lot of nothing. his time in the city has been pretty uneventful, not counting the world ending threats and other fun wacky adventures he’s gone through --- he’s been in the shadows, sometimes helping, sometimes not.

the sense of unease he’s been having ever since he got to the city is slowly but surely slowing down. they plague him even now --- it’s been the same song and dance, one that might come to an end sooner than later. he needs to go out more, he figures a nice and peaceful maze should help him out a little. dante looks around the scenery as he awaits to be brought to the supposed maze, 

in the blink of an eye, he gets brought to the maze --- walls closed, and only his instincts andd the bright sky to guide him. feeling someone next to him, dante’s suddenly glad he didn’t wind up alone. “ready to find your way outta--” he turns to look at who’s standing next to him.

oh, he’s getting his ass kicked. might as well make it funny.

he composes himself in the blink of an eye. “heeeeey, nero.” he makes sure to put on his most annoying smile. “the weather’s nice out, yeah?” after how their last meeting ended, he’s bracing himself for just about anything.

@devilbring​

[spardium]

QUEST START !!  -  THE CATNAPPER.

to be fair, the quest didn’t catch his attention when he first stumbled upon it. finding cats isn’t something he does, he’s no everyday hero  ---  he’s not even a hero. that’s why he initially didn’t even bother to read it all the way through. however, once he looked into it a little bit more, he found that it was. well. different than what he originally thought.

a huge cat that climbs buildings sounds a lot more exciting. watching his partner for this duty fills him with a strange sense of curiosity, so he speaks up.

“you ready to find this kitty? can’t be too hard to miss.” knowing his luck, it’ll somehow manage to escape him. “i can take care of gettin’ the stuff back, but we gotta’ spot it first.”

@whisperedshadow​

[spardium]

cursed wahoo pizza man comes into your home and drinks all your pepsi

[spardium]

small event starter call! this’ll be capped at two for now.