red grave city au with alastor

[carvemyname]

 

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[superstylishsquid]

Someone did once ask if I was the local heartthrob...

[Okay, he knows Joe was being sarcastic there in response to being called ugly, but Dante doesn't know that.]

Just don't go so weak in the knees that I have to carry you.

[carvemyname]

I'll try my best.

[ He starts heading for the stairs, keeping his hand on Alastor's. ]

[superstylishsquid]

[He keeps pace with Dante, extending a wing to wrap around him as they walk.]

[carvemyname]

... I'm glad you didn't get rid of them permanently. I really appreciate your wings.

[ He presses the bedroom door open when they get there. ]

[superstylishsquid]

I'd never. My wings are what I'm most proud of...not to mention invaluable for flying. I'd go nuts if I was stuck on the ground permanently.

Honestly, I don't know how humans stand it.

[carvemyname]

The times I've flown were exhilarating. So I get it, even if I don't do it often.

[ Very reluctantly, he separates from Alastor so he can head to the closet. ]

I'm going to change into my pajamas. Might as well, right?

[ He's not shy about getting undressed. ]

[superstylishsquid]

Need to call it a day after that bombshell, huh?

[He just sits down and kicks off his shoes. He takes a moment to stretch and curl his toes, the movement highlighting how his foot structure is almost more like talons than human feet.]

Personally, I prefer to stay in the air unless I've got a reason to be on the ground.

[carvemyname]

Sure do.

[ He changes into some red boxer shorts and a soft and worn out gray shirt. Comfortable is the feeling he's going for. ]

We should fly together sometime.

[ He heads for the bed and sits down next to Alastor, immediately leaning on him. ]

[superstylishsquid]

That'd be nice. 'S a great feeling, soaring through the air just because you want to. Especially after all those centuries cooped up in a stuffy nightmare castle.

[His tail curls around Dante, even as he sighs. The things he saw on Mallet...it wasn't pretty.]

[carvemyname]

It had to be terrible there.

[ He lays back and attempts to pull Alastor with him. ]

[superstylishsquid]

[He flops down and folds a wing over them both.]

I know you glanced over some of the records, so I'm sure you figured out that being so close to Mundus' palace had an effect on the society that built the castle. They got more depraved and sadistic with each generation.

[carvemyname]

[ He scoots in closer, moving his head to rest on Alastor's chest. ]

Why was that, anyway?

[superstylishsquid]

That island is dangerously close to the underworld, close enough that even with the Hellgate there sealed, there were still supernatural effects. I think some of them just snapped from the way the proximity to Hell affected the island, but everyone there was basically soaking in Mundus' spiritual energy.

The fact that they ended up worshiping him as a god didn't exactly help matters, either.

[carvemyname]

Ugh.

[ Dante sounds discontent in his expression of disgust. ]

Damn good thing he's gone, then. Can't do anything about the proximity, though, other than not let anyone settle there.

[superstylishsquid]

Doubt it'll be too appealing after Mundus dragged the castle down with him, at least.

[That doesn't guarantee no one will try to rebuild, but it does make it less likely.]

Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk about?

[carvemyname]

Ah, well -

[ Dante had almost forgotten about that! Damn. And it's difficult to talk about, so he's a bit hesitant as he speaks. ]

I wonder if my mom is gonna disapprove? Of me?

[superstylishsquid]

[He frowns slightly and shakes his head.]

Can't imagine why she would, aside from maybe a bit of fussing about your bad habits.

[carvemyname]

Yeah?

[ Dante sighs. ]

I've always got it on the edge of my mind. Am I doing something they'd approve of... is it right by them...

[superstylishsquid]

I can't imagine them not being proud of you stopping Mundus' return before it even really started. Even Sparda didn't take a stand until Mundus had already changed the face of both the human and demon worlds.

[carvemyname]

Wait, really?

[ Dante is confused and surprised by this. ]

[superstylishsquid]

Yeah...back before Mundus, things were way different. Demons preferred more sustainable interactions with humans, for one...even the nastier customers would make demands of blood sacrifice to convince them to go away, instead of just eating everyone they could. Think like the protection rackets greedy humans get up to today.

Demons being inclined to depopulate entire cites if they're not stopped is thanks to Mundus' influence. I suspect he was trying to prevent rivals from taking advantage of the Qlipoth themselves by destroying its food source, and he did a good job of convincing younger demons that humans are just pests. Came close to succeeding, too. He even had the Umbra and Lumen on the defensive by the time he locked me up.

[carvemyname]

And Father didn't try to stop that?

[ He'd had an entirely different image, okay? He sits up a little, giving Alastor an incredulous look. ]

[superstylishsquid]

He was actually part of it at first...one of Mundus' best generals. I even expected to be fighting him for my right to tell Mundus where he could shove his draft.

I'm not sure if there was a specific event or if seeing how much suffering he was causing helpless innocents just weighed on his conscience until he couldn't ignore it anymore, but it took him a while to accept that he hated what was happening. At a guess...I'd speculate that he probably had the same problem I did. He'd just been so conditioned to think of compassion as a weakness, he found it easier to bear the guilt at first than to admit he cared about people other than himself.

[carvemyname]

Huh.

[ Well, that's... eye opening. Dante settles back into a laying position, thinking. ]

I wonder if maybe Mom helped him turn it around.

[superstylishsquid]

Might be. I'm sure he would've been a target for witches and sages both, and your mother definitely had it in her to confront him directly. For his sake, though, I hope he was less stubborn than I was. A heavy conscience is a miserable thing to carry around.