I N B O X

[reznikolai]

@volkvolny NIKOLAI LANTSOV

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OVERFLOW: network mingle

[reznikolai]

magnus bane

[reznikolai]

[From here.]

I certainly wouldn't want to step on anyone's toes. Metaphorically speaking, of course. I'm too graceful a dancer for that.

Chess it is then. Although I'll have to locate a set first.

[incantates]

Oh, I am sure he'd have it coming.
It's a miracle my own toes have survived in tact.

And I can take care of that part,
although I might need to procure a bit of space wood first.
I haven't exactly seen any hobby shops around the station, and my favorite set is back in Brooklyn.

[reznikolai]

Then let's thanks the Saints for that.

Oh, do you whittle? You know, it's such a shame they couldn't give us advanced notice so that we could at least pack before getting whisked away to another world.

[incantates]

Whittle? Sure, let's call it that.
And I don't think even the people of this world expected our arrival.
At least, they seemed genuinely shocked to pick us up.

I take it this is your first cross-dimensional visit?

[reznikolai]

When you say it like that it makes me think we should call it something else entirely. Believe it or not, my ego can withstand correction.

Oddly enough, this is the second time something of the sort has happened to me. Except the last time, the dimension I was unceremoniously dumped into was connected to my world. A part of my world? I'm still fuzzy on the specifics.

[incantates]

And my ego would love to correct you,
but I'd also like to preserve some mystery between us.

[ At least until he knows it's okay to introduce the whole warlock thing without scaring off the poor guy. ]

Do you know who was responsible for your first trip?
There's no guarantee they were behind the second,
but this kind of magic is very volatile and difficult to master.
Not to mention the amount of what they call "manna" here to achieve it isn't
easy to find or generate.

[reznikolai]

Very well. Then I shall remain thoroughly intrigued for the time being.

I believe it was a what more than a who. Mysterious forces beyond my control, and only loosely within the grasp of my ability to explain. In short I have no reason to believe the two incidents are connected.

Perhaps our presence here is merely the accidental result of a night of passion.

[This is a joke that works several ways.]

amelia evans

[reznikolai]

[From here.]

Then fun shall be what we have.

You might tell me your name, miss, and your preferred reading subjects.

Re: amelia evans

[autumnsfall]

Amelia. And yours, sir?

Ah, well, my tastes are a little all over the place. Art and history among others...

I still enjoy a good fairy tale every now and then, though the originals are always dark.

[reznikolai]

Nikolai.

The study of history is an admirable pursuit. Unless we understand where we came from, we cannot understand how to move forward.

You would enjoy reading about the Saints. The storytellers seemed to be in a contest for who could create the most gruesome death.

[autumnsfall]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Nikolai. Well, ah...sort of. We'll have to meet in person soon.

Exactly. That, and I found myself in a strange new world a couple of years ago. I didn't like being in the dark. Since this isn't my first time being displaced, I'm as okay with our current situation as I can be.

Oh? Who are the Saints?

[reznikolai]

Would you believe that I'm even more delightful in person?

We are of like minds once again. Perhaps it's just my ego, but I cannot abide my own ignorance. I can't help but want to know everything. I am sorry, though, that you find yourself displaced a second time. I can only imagine that a resourceful girl such as yourself will find a way to thrive here.

The Saints are religious figures revered in my country. They all have two things in common: they used their gifts to help the people, and they died horrendous deaths.

nami

[reznikolai]

[From here.]

It's been some years since I captained my own ship, but yes I've sailed, and of course I miss it. I've been all over the world. My world, that is.

I take it that you're a sailor? Most young ladies don't have a shipwright or a sniper handy.

[weatherscience]

Ooh, of course you were a captain... hm, you should meet mine!

[ or maybe not. luffy can be a lot. ]

Yes, I'm the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates!

[reznikolai]

Has your captain accompanied you here? My, what a dedicated crew he has.

You know, not many would so openly admit to being a pirate. I myself prefer "privateer."

[weatherscience]

Yeah! His name is Luffy... trust me, you'll know it's him if you run into him.

Hm, maybe pirates aren't as common where you come from? In my home, we live the Great Pirate Era. There's new pirate crews forming every year... and big crews control their parts of the biggest ocean.

[reznikolai]

I must admit to being intrigued.

We have our fair share of pirates, but most wouldn't admit it so openly. It's generally frowned upon.

[weatherscience]

Oh, it's frowned upon back in my home, too! We're wanted by the Marines, you know. We all have bounties too.

But if you can't live your life freely and reach for your dreams... it's not really worth it, right?

[morozova]

( from here )

And you are so much more?

( difficult to tell if he's being genuine or mocking. oh, this little prince had surprised him and that was novel, but he's not about to start giving credit where it isn't due. not without nikolai showing his work, first. )

[reznikolai]

Perhaps not. I too am but a man. I'm not impervious to making mistakes.

But at least I learned something from the mistakes of my forbearers.

[morozova]

You would not be the first to think so.

( and that's the problem, ultimately. not that nikolai is different -- perhaps he is, perhaps not — but that the darkling has lived too long, heard the same thing too often to take it at face value. )

[reznikolai]

Well, I do so hate being unoriginal.

[morozova]

Then you'll have little difficulty in surprising me, I'm sure.

( he's off to such a good start, after all, with that sturmhond nonsense. he will just die bitter and mad about not seeing that one coming. and, really, challenging someone who has caught him off-guard once already is probably borrowing trouble he neither needs nor wants, but there is something ... not quite cathartic in needling this princeling. )

[reznikolai]

I'll take that as a compliment.

[The Darkling's presence here is unsettling, to say in the least. Nikolai wants to know what he knows. The last thing Alina knew from their world was the Darkling's siege of Os Alta. Would he know more? Or even less?

Most pressingly, would he know how he had infected Nikolai with his darkness and turned him into a monster?]

What do you plan to do here?