#The dork lord is begging her to join him for no reasons other than he wants to

[hikarielizabethbloom]

How am I supposed to interpret this?

The dork lord's got a ring, he's on his knees, and he's talking about their future together.

He doesn't need her. He wants her to with him at the end of all things.

[anonymous-cy-666]

When somebody loved me

CW : Description of gore in the third part of this. If this isn’t your cup of tea, don’t read it. Also, if the implied presence of Horace makes you inconfortable, don’t read the eight part.

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When somebody loved me

Everything was beautiful

Virgil wasn’t really sure if all the stupid decisions that brought him here were worth it,  but one thing was sure : he was having the time of his life. For some reason, Dee had accepted Remus’ offer to have a drinking contest. Of course, Virgil had refused to participate, reasoning that they needed someone to be the judge of who had won the competition. Excuse that they clearly didn’t buy, but they didn’t complain too much.

Honestly ? He just wanted to be sober enough to witness this shitshow and still remember it the next day.

At first, he thought that Dee would win hands on. After all, he didn’t remember seeing the snake man being drunk, but then again, Remus acted as if he was drunk all the time. Seeing the difference between Remus’ normal chaos and Remus’ drunken chaos would probably be hard to see... At least, that’s what he thought.

The alcohol had started to have an effect on both of the men approximately an hour ago and the Drow had been enjoying the show ever since.

It started with Remus who had just suddenly stopped talking about how the guy with the red glasses is probably a serial killer and started looking pretty intensely at Dee. This wasn’t so much out of the ordinary for him. After all, Virgil still didn’t know where Remus’ thoughts began and ended. His drunken madness started showing when he genuinely complimented Dee’s eyes.  

And by the nine hells, had his reaction been hilarious. He clearly wasn’t expecting, as Remus had been playful insulting him for the majority of the night, because in less than a second his whole face was flushed red. Virgil had never seen Dee be that flustered and it was probably one of the most hilarious things in the world. Maybe Dee wasn’t the most regal man in the world, but he still had some poise. He would almost always stand with a good posture, looking in front of him. He would roll his eyes whenever they did something stupid before inevitably joining them, but dear lord should they never point out that he was pouting or even blushing. Because mister Bossman ‘’didn’t blush’’, oh no, he would never and they ‘’probably had seen wrong’’. Plus ‘’he wasn’t a child’’ and they ‘’didn’t have any proofs’’, so to see him openly this flustered was something new and hilarious as the same time.

Of course, Remus had then started to compliment him on his red face and how cute he was when he was blushing. Virgil had assumed that this would be the only unusual thing for the night, but then, a dozen of shots later, Dee had started giggling.

And this was when the evening went from good to great.

Dee sometimes laughed at the Drow’s and Angel’s shenanigans. They did tend to act as total idiots most of the time. But they were little laughs, quickly hidden by the back of his hand. After all, even if they were working together for quite a while, Dee hadn’t been with them for as long as Virgil had been with Remus, so it wasn’t really a surprise that he didn’t fully trust them.

So it was clearly a surprising realization that Dee was the cutest giggly mess that Virgil had ever seen. Each and everything that Remus said or, more accurately, complimented would send the snake man into another giggling fit. Which in turn would make Remus compliment him on his laugh or his voice, on the way the light reflected in his eyes or the way that he moved. It was a never ending circle, but…

It made Virgil smiles. After all, he was seeing his two closest friends being happy. How could he be unhappy ? How could he not love it ? Of course, he knew that, from the outside, they probably looked like a weird group but, honestly ? As long as his friends were there, with him, he didn’t care all that much about what others thought. If he had spent only two minutes to try and hear what people were saying about them, he would have known that they weren’t talking about the way that the giant was cooing pretty loudly or how the smaller man was laughing a lot. No, they were talking about the eyes of the Drow who had suddenly turned pink.

(The next day, Dee would deny that any of that ever happened, but it didn’t really matter if it happened or not… They were just feeling so much closer to each other after that.)

Every hour spent together

Lives within my heart

Virgil and Dee had devised a plan. It wasn’t anything big, really… At first, Virgil had wanted to do something special for Remus, but he had to admit that he wasn’t the most versed in festivity… So he had gone to ask his only other friend to please help him. Together, they had decided that doing something small instead of making a big event out of it. Even if Remus did like parties, they wanted to do something that felt like them. If they could put a smile on their Angel’s face, it would be enough.

And so, as soon as the Angel had decided to go buy something for dinner, they started putting everything that they had prepared into their places. Everything had to be perfect !

But… Let’s be honest, they weren’t masters in term of planning things in advance, so of course it rapidly into shear and, honest to the Gods, chaos.

And so, when Remus came back, grocery bags in hand, he kind of was confused to see Dee with a sloppy bow taped to his forehead, trying to help a slightly panicked Virgil who was stuck in a mountain of ribbons.

Remus looked at them in silence, both of the man frozen in clear embarrassment before dropping the bags, roaring with laughter.

Dee also started to laugh, still a bit embarrassed, as Virgil simply groaned, as he was still stuck in an unenviable position. He tried to get out, realizing that his two friends were too far lost in their laughter to even begin to think about helping him out. Sadly for the Drow, he just ended up being more tied up, clearly not thinking straight at the moment.

Pitying him, Remus finally ended up tearing up the ribbons, without even breaking a sweat, a little smile on his face.

‘’What were you two dorks even doing ?’’ The dorks in question just looked at each other, slightly hesitating before smiling awkwardly. ‘’Happy birthday, Remus !’’ The Angel looked a bit shocked for half a second before starting to laugh again. ‘’What does my birthday have to do with tying Vivi in ribbons ? You wanted to try bondage without me ? That’s mean !’’ Virgil blushed, throwing bits of torn ribbons at the bigger man. ‘’You idiot ! We just… It’s your birthday and we didn’t really know what to give to you… You never seem to really be interested in material possessions that aren’t weapon and you really don’t need another morningstar at the moment, so…’’ ‘’Of course I do ! One can never have too much weapons !’’ ‘’What kitten is trying to say, is that, even if we don’t have anything to give, we… We are family. And that’s not going to change, so… Our gift is us ?’’ There was and awkward silent before the snake man quickly added : ‘’And the cake that we have in the kitchen.’’ Remus blinked, before a shining smile was drawn on his face. ‘’You two are such dorks !’’

And when she was sad

Virgil couldn’t help but tremble. Everything hurt. He was on the ground. His hands clutching his stomach. He looked at his hands. They were bloodied. They were trembling. He fought the urge to sniffle. He swallowed back his tears. He didn’t want her to see him cry. And he was strong. He wouldn’t cry. Not in front of her. Ever.

She was over him. She was looking at him. That smile. That smile had haunted him for so long.

He was… scared. He was terrified. Someone ! Anybody ! Help ! Dee ! Remus ! Where were they ? Why weren’t they here ? Maybe they had fled when he had asked them to. He… He was relieved. He didn’t want them to see him. Not after what she would do to him.

He tried to get up, but even before he could rise to his knees, a cold hand was on his cheek and he passed out.

Honestly, he wished that he would have stayed in blessed oblivion, because when he opened his eyes, all he could see was blood. All he could hear were screams. The screams were slowly dying down. And after a little while, all Virgil could hear were agonizing moans. He looked around. Blood freezing in his body.

He was looking into Remus' eyes and it took him way too much time to realize that his dear friend’s head wasn’t attached to his body anymore. The Drow ?frantically looked around him to try and find Dee. Please. He had to be safe.

When his eyes finally found Dee, he wished that he never saw this. The man’s always nice clothes were bloodied, dirty and torn. His breath was labored and he seemed to be barely holding on. Virgil didn’t know what was worse. The intestines that were lying on his body, looking like a very familiar memory of a mountain of ribbons or the absolute terror and hatred that could be seen in his glazed eyes. Distressed whimpers were coming out of his mouth. So quiet. Too quiet.

A screeching sound resonated in the air. Virgil stopped for a second, looking around. No one could have made this sound… Then he realized that he was the one who was screaming. He tried to grab, helplessly, his friends’ body against him, as if he could somehow bring them back to life.

But, as he looked down as his hands, they… They weren’t hands anymore. What was in front of him were bloodied talons. He blinked, tears running down his face.

A cold hands gently caressed his face as the familiar voice of the priestess murmured so softly : ‘’You knew that this would happen if you disappointed me, my dear Aenxiétee. If you had listened to me, none of this would have happened… But look at you ! You are so lovely in this spider body.’’

An agonized scream was ripped out from his throat as he begged her to stop. To save his friend. They hadn’t done anything wrong. They didn’t deserve this. He just wanted this to stop. Just stop. Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop. Stop this. Stop all of this. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP, JUST STOP, STOP THIS, JUST STOP !!!

Virgil’s eyes shot wide open as he sat up, heart beating rapidly. His hands were trembling. He looked at them, convinced for a second that they would just change back into talons. He hugged himself, trembling.

A soft, cold hand caressed his cheek gently, making him flinch and recoil even more into himself. They were just as cold as hers.

‘’Virgil… Moonlight… You need to breathe.’’

A bigger, warmer hand slowly snaked his way under his arms, softly pulling him closer. Virgil’s breath hitched as he wondered what would happen. Would he get crushed? Thrown out? Killed-?

“Cuddle bug, I need you to listen to my heartbeat..”

The soft voice helped ease his anxiety, and he leaned back onto the warm source, hearing the soft thump thump thump of his heartbeat and letting his eyes slip shut.

The beat was soft and weirdly gentle, so he just let the sound lead him, slowly but surely coming back to his senses.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw clear brown eyes staring at him worriedly.  He blinked, looking down at his hands. Instead of Talons, he saw regular, normal hands. He looked back at Dee, studying him closely. No blood, no intestines, nothing. He was perfectly fine. He turned to look at Remus, making sure everything was okay. There was no blood, no glazed eyes. He was okay. Everyone was okay.

Virgil let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, whispering softly :

“You’re okay…”

He heard Dee let out a confused hum, ‘’Of course we’re okay, Raven, why wouldn’t we be?”

Virgil shook his head, sighing, “It’s nothing, Bossman, don’t worry about it..”

Dee sighed, but didn’t press him because he knew that wouldn’t do anything. For now he could just cuddle with Virgil and Remus, and bring this up later when Virgil was ready to talk about it…

They all went back into a pile of hugs. Virgil was still clutching to Remus’ shoulder and, every now and then, he would turn to look around at Dee. They were safe. She hadn’t gotten to him. To them.

He closed his eyes for a second, bloody images coming back to him. He opened them up again, but even before he could start panicking again, a soft cold hand was brushing through his hair in a gentle, soothing way. Remus pressed him closer to his chest. A soft kiss was pressed against his temple.

Maybe he wouldn’t sleep again tonight. Maybe those images would haunt him for a long time, but… Right now. Looking at the stars. In the warm, alive, embrace of his friends, he felt safe.

What more could he ask for ?

I was there to dry her tears

Virgil rubbed his eyes, a bit confused. A second ago, he was being held in a warm embrace, his own limbs mangling with Dee’s and Remus’, but now he was on the cool ground. A small sleepy groan came out of his mouth as he looked around, ready to complain about the sudden wake up call, but as soon as his eyes found Remus’ silhouette, his words died in his throat.

His entire body was hunched on himself. As if he was trying to disappear. He wasn’t talking. He wasn’t trying to make a joke out of the fact that they were now all awake in the middle of the night. He was just… quiet. Quiet and shaking slightly.

Virgil blinked and looked at Dee, who seemed to be as shocked as he was. To be honest, Virgil didn’t really know what to say. Remus wasn’t the type to act like this. All quiet and distant.

Softly, the Drow rose to his feet, walking over to Remus. Slowly, as to not scare him, he took one of his hands within his own, dragging him back next to the campfire who was all but embers now.

There was silence for a little while as Remus seemed to slowly calm down, thanks to Dee’s and Virgil’s hug who had just held down tightly. Virgil’s face was hidden in the Angels’ neck when Deceit softly asked : ‘’Do you want to talk about it, hun ?’’ ‘’Not really. It was a stupid dream, really ! Not even a gruesome or bloody death !’’

Virgil hummed a bit. He wasn’t pressing to continue on. He just… Let the man say what he wanted to say about his dream.

They all stayed in comfortable silence for so long that the Drow was starting to fall back asleep when Remus finally opened his mouth again.

‘’I have a brother, you know ? A twin brother actually. We haven’t seen each other in over a decade. Sometimes… Just, sometimes, I wonder… Does he think about me as much as I think about him ? We left each other on a big fight. He seemed so mad. I know that he is passionate and that his emotions are always big and bright, but… What if he doesn’t forgive me this time ? What if he doesn’t want to see me anymore ? What will I do then ?’’

The trio just stayed silent again in the wake of this confession. Remus… Remus had always been the grounding force in their group. No matter what happened, he was there for them, smiling and screaming dirty jokes that would probably make an owner of a sex shop faint.

It was always like this so, to see him tremble. To hear him doubt. It was unheard of. Virgil opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, but before he could even try to comfort the Angel, Dee snorted.

He.

Flat out.

Snorted.

‘’My dearest Lionheart… He is your brother, isn't he ? Do you truly believe that someone who calls himself your twin could forget so easily about you ? You are the most unbelievable man that I have ever met. Maybe he was mad, I can easily believe that, I get angry at you all the time, but if he's anything like you, then he won’t ever forget about you. Because you have the most open bleeding heart that I’ve ever seen and someone like this never forget someone who they call family.’’

A small smile slowly appeared on Remus’ lips as Virgil quickly added : ‘’You crazy fool, you adopted me just because you never had a drow assassin partner before and you were curious about me. And then, you never let go of me because you are such a big loving baby. If someone doesn’t like you, then they aren’t worthy of your time and they deserved the biggest punishment in all the lands !’’ There was a little awkward silence for a couple of seconds, before Remus started chuckling, pressing them even closer to his chest. He was radiating heat, making the Drow melt almost instantly. ‘’You’re right ! I am great ! And anyone who doesn’t think that deserves to die !’’ Dee chuckled a bit before adding in a quieter and sleepier voice : ‘’They do deserve to die, but you know… Maybe not by your hand.’’

Laughter shook the trio as they all went back to sleep. They had their ups and their downs, but they were family and that was something that would never change. No matter what.

And when was happy so was I

When she loved me

The next time that Virgil was startled awake, it wasn’t by his own terrifying dreams or by the lack of warmth in his back, no. It was by Dee. He was trembling next to him, sniffling back tears that were already all over his face. He was obviously trying to be quiet, not wanting to wake them up, probably.

After a bit of hesitance, Virgil closed his eyes, as if he was still sleeping and rolled in Remus’ arms, going closer to Dee. Without a second of hesitation, he dragged the snake man into his arms, using him as a teddy bear.

Dee froze up for a second, before melting into his arms. Sure, the sudden wetness in his neck was interesting and Dee was holding unto him so tightly that he felt as if he was about to be killed by a snake, but… Virgil had cried himself to sleep so many time. He wasn’t about to let his friend do the same.

Slowly, Deceit lowered himself into his arms, only stopping once his ear was against his heart. He hummed a bit, seemingly calmed by the regular sound and tightened his embrace against the Drow.

He started tapping the beat of his beating heart on the Drow’s back, slowly calming down. With his eyes closed, he couldn’t help but slowly fall back to sleep.

The last thing he heard before sleep could finally win him back over was Dee murmuring softly : ‘’This was a such a stupid dream. Of course you two would never leave me alone…’’

Through the summer and the fall

We had each other that was all

Just she and I together

Like it was meant to be

Virgil had his eyes closed, arms open, facing toward the sky. There was no one in the street except him, Remus and Dee. The rain was flowing down the street and running down his cheeks. A small smile was drawn on the face on the Drow. They didn’t get a lot of rain in the Underdark and it was one of those things that he simply couldn’t get used to it, but… Unlike the sun, it didn’t hurt him.

Sometimes, it was cold that he had to spend the next hour huddled near Remus and a fire to feel fine again. Sometimes, it was just so refreshing in the summer heat, but all the time, it was something that just felt so new and so sweet. Remus and Dee would make fun of him for his fascination towards the rain, but they would always indulge him and let him enjoy it to its fullest. Could they really blame him ? Water falling from the sky, a simple gift from the Gods that made life so much easier for everyone. If Dee and Remus indulged him with the rain, they would simply leave the room each and every time that someone would mention thunderstorms. The drow didn’t know why, but it was simply so… fascinating. The shear force behind the lightning, the water that could hit his skin, the incredible sound of the thunder. It was so grand and beautiful. Who couldn’t be mystified by such a force ? Virgil couldn’t help himself but to gush over the subject for a few hours each and every time that someone mentioned it.

Sure, some fools were scared of it, but when Virgil faced these storms ? He felt unbeatable. What could ever change such a pure and powerful feeling ?

And when she was lonely

I was there to comfort her

And I knew that she loved me

Virgil closed his eyes. He was cold. So very cold. He huddled near the fire.

He missed strong arms that would heat him up.

He missed sly eyes that would make him laugh.

He missed the slightly scaled lips that would kiss his face, his shoulder, his cheek. He missed laughing so hard that his belly hurt.

He missed having someone to talk to.

He missed things that he couldn’t fill with a one night stand.

He missed the people that once filled the aching hole in his heart.

He missed singing drunken song with them.

He missed the sound of their laughter.

He missed the sound of their voice.

He missed the way that the light reflected in their eyes.

He missed the simple curve of their lips when they smiled.

He missed the way that they would tell stupid jokes to make him smile.

He missed having someone who understands his fears.

He missed having somebody to trust.

He missed fighting side by side with someone.

He missed being tranquil and simply smiling.

He missed having somebody to hug, to fill his arms in a way that was so perfectly simple.

But he didn’t have that anymore, so he simply took his backpack into his arms, not even bothering to try and hide the silent tears running down his face as he curled up on himself.

So the years went by

I stayed the same

But she began to drift away

I was left alone

Still I waited for the day

When she'd say I will always love you

His heart was beating so fast that it was the only thing that he could hear at the moment. It was incredibly dark outside, but he could still see pretty well around him. He didn’t want for the floorboards to creak or to bump into some piece of furniture and drop something on the ground. He could not let them know that he was leaving.

In the last few days, he had been silently preparing his escape. Sneaking some bread into his backpack, walking up and down the house as quietly as possible, trying to figure out which door made the least noise when it was opened, all of this preparing him for this moment.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Dee and Remus, it wasn’t that at all, it has just been that, since that time in the cavern, both of them had started to behave so strangely that he couldn’t help but be put off by it. Remus would suddenly act out against him or Dee for no apparently reason, Dee’s voice would change into something softer and weirdly more threatening. Their habits that once were so familiar were now so foreign. And all of that screamed to him that he needed to go. This was a matter of life and death. So even if he was choking on the guilt and the shame of leaving his friends behind, of still, after all these years, wearing so perfectly the name that she gave to him, he had to go ! Biting on his lips, he finally put his hand on the handle of the door, ready to finally go when he heard a voice behind him : ‘’Moonlight… Where are you going so late at night ?’’ Dee… He sounded so sleepy and so confused. He must have woken him up when he got up to leave. Virgil could also now hear Remus’ footstep going down the stairs as the man continued with the voice shaking of a realization that seemed to be slowly growing within him: ‘’I don’t think there anything that we need that would require you to go out so late at night… Come back to bed. Please, whatever you want to do, we can all do it tomorrow. Together. Right ?’’ Virgil didn’t answer, tasting the blood on his lips. Remus rapidly interjected with a voice that the Drow had never heard him use. It was trembling and so, so small : ‘’You do plan on coming back tomorrow, right ?’’ Virgil’s answer was to stay quiet as he unlocked the front door, this seemed to change Dee’s mood from calm and confused to rage. Something else had also changed within the man but this, he wouldn’t know about it until it was far too late to change what was about to happen. What was about to be broken. ‘’You can’t leave, not now ! Why do you even want to leave us ?! Have we done anything to earn your distrust ? We need you Virgil ! Maybe you don’t understand this at the moment, but you soon will ! And I don’t want to have to get through the pain of dragging you back to us. ’’ The Drow quickly opened the door, fear throbbing through his veins, ready to bolt as away as possible from here but, for some unknown reason, he suddenly stopped.

He didn’t know why he wanted to leave. Maybe it was because of the anger ? He did feel so full of hatred right now. Towards whom, he didn’t know, but he couldn’t help it. He just wanted to scream. To hit something, someone. To break something, someone.

He turned around as if a puppeteer had just commented him to do so, but his eyes just locked on Remus. At this exact moment, he didn’t really know why, but he just wanted him to die. And if it was by his hands, it would only be better. Virgil started to slightly move towards his target when the Angel moved, knocking Deceit out right then and there, stopping the Drow immediately. His anxiety came back as soon as that strange anger left him. He turned around and ran out the house, not trusting himself or his friends anymore. He kept running and running until he could no longer feel his legs or his lungs, without ever turning back. He swore to himself that he would not turn back. Ever again.

But if he did, he would have seen Remus crying, cradling Deceit’s unconscious body into his arms. He would have seen Dee wake up hours later, so confused and scared before he started sobbing uncontrollably when he finally realized that Virgil was gone and there was nothing they could do to change that.

If he had turned back, he could have seen all that.

Lonely and forgotten

Never thought she'd look my way

And she smiled at me and held me

Just like she use to do

Like she loved me

When she loved me

Virgil was nervously biting on his lips, his arms wrapped around his body. Even if he normally would feel safe and at ease surrounded by Patton, Roman and Logan, he couldn’t help his anxiety flowing through his veins at the moment.

The small group had agreed to work with Deceit and Remus to defeat the Dragon Witch and Horace’s new form to stop them from enacting the prophecy. Of course, they had all agreed to work in a team, but… Virgil couldn’t help but feel anxious. He didn’t trust them. Not at all. Especially not after what Dee to him… He had explained that it wasn’t him, but Horace, who had cast The Crown of Madness spell, which made a whole lot of sense, but still… He had seriously lied to him.

He knew that Deceit was known for his lies. He wasn’t a total idiot ! But still… He had trusted him 100% and Dee hadn’t even deigned to return the favour… So of course he was hurt. Of course he didn’t want to talk to them, but… That resentment wouldn’t affect his reasoning thinking, now... Would it ? They were in an inn, around a table, discussing the two newest members of their party who had just decided to go to sleep. After all, it was pretty late and they were all exhausted from their last fight.

Everyone just seemed to trust others, but Virgil… Virgil could not ! ‘’I just don’t think that we should trust them ! They could stab us in the back at any moment. We need to be ready for it !’’ The group just stilled for a second as they all seemed to be shocked by Virgil’s reaction. Sure, they knew that he had a past with these guys, but he did agree to work with them, didn’t he ? Roman rapidly interjected : ‘’Easy there, Stormcloud ! It’s my brother and his boyfriend ! I trust them, we want to work together and for that, they won’t to betray us, right ?’’ Virgil bit even more on his lips, his nails piercing his arms as he hugged himself even tighter. ‘’It’s just… I know them ! Why can’t you just trust me when I say that we shall all be wary of them ? I’m not asking for much here.’’ Logan cleared his throat, finally pulling his head out of his book : ‘’It’s not that we don’t trust you, Virgil, it’s just that you have a tendency to be paranoid near new people and, statistically speaking, it tends to only sets us back for no reasonable reasons. So it’s only logical that we take your input in this problem with a grain of salt.’’ Virgil stepped back, eyes shot wide open as if he had just been slapped on the cheek. Oh… Oh. So he had been paranoid ? He had been paranoid when this creepy lady had invited them in her home, in the middle of nowhere with a knife hidden under her clothes. He had been paranoid when he had argued that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to follow the large tracks on the ground that seemed to be coated with more and more blood. He had been paranoid when he went looking for Roman when nobody else had and he had seen him cornered, alone with a monster. He had been paranoid when he told Patton to go back to sleep because he seemed to be this close to passing out on the spot. He had been paranoid when he finally convinced to not let the Whispers take freely control of his body. All this time that he had put his life, his body and his heart between his companions and danger, he just had been… paranoid ? Was that all he was ? A pitiful little scared Drow who couldn’t help anyone ? Slowly, he took a step backward before dashing upstairs, ignoring the voices calling his name. He sprinted in the hallway, tears running down his cheeks. Of course ! He had been stupid ! Why did he cared for them ! They never asked for him to do so and he, himself, had never asked for them to love and accept him so why… Why. Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why. Why ? Why was he so disappointed ? Why did he feel like his heart was ripped in half ? Why did he feel like this moment, these confused and broken feelings so familiar ? These questions flowed into his mind as he quickly opened the door leading to his room, tears still running down his face, closed it behind him and leaned onto it to be sure that it stayed closed. Just as he was about to sink to the ground, a soft worried voice resonated in the room : ‘’Raven ? Not that I am disappointed to see you here, but why are you- wait ! Are you crying ?’’ In less than a second, warm brown eyes were the only thing that he could see as Deceit slowly wiped away his tears. His touch was so familiar and so soft that, for a second, he could feel himself melting into the touch. He just wanted to open his mouth and lay it all right here, right now. How he had missed them so much. How those two last year were so lonely. How he had been even more scared for them that he had been scared to himself. How he had tried to forget them only to deal with the crushing pain of all those sweet memories coming back to mind. How he loved the others from the deepest part of his heart, but that they could never replace them. He just wanted to melt into their embrace and forget all of his worries, but instead of doing this, he batted Deceit’s hand away as he got back on his feet, replying with a trembling voice : ‘’Everything is fine. I shouldn’t have come here. It was stupid of me.’’ Virgil tried to get out of the room, but a large warm chest was suddenly in his way and two arms wrapped around his body. His face was pressed against the heated body as Remus softly said : ‘’You always were a horrible liar, cuddle bug…’’

Virgil fought back, hitting Remus’ torso as he tried to get free from his embrace, but as soon as he felt Dee in his back, wrapping him in a hug burrito, he just felt his walls crack down. Everything that he felt in the two last years, the fear, the guilt, the shame, the hatred and the incredible loneliness just came back in a single powerful wave. He just stayed there, being hugged by his two friends, tears running down his face and he just… Broke down. ‘’I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, oh my god, this is all my fault… I’m supposed to be the one who protects you, you tell you when what you do is a horrible terrible idea but I encouraged you to go into this cave. I made the fucking plan along with the both of you, I should have been the voice of reason ! I shouldn’t have pushed you there ! I shouldn’t have blamed you, after because everything was different and everything was so scary. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! I shouldn’t have, I’m sorry…!’’ Remus pressed him closer, his hands trembling slightly in Virgil’s hair, as he said softly in a hesitating voice : ‘’It wasn’t your fault, V… It was never your fault. You were scared and we failed to recognize that. We said that we loved you and we did and we do, but we didn’t even stop to think about how you felt about all of this… And that’s on me.’’ Dee stayed silent for a little while before adding: ‘’I didn’t think that you could accept the truth so I lied to you. I asked you to trust me, but I didn’t even think to trust you. What kind of horrible friend does this ?’’ The snake man slowly turned Virgil around before wiping his tears, caressing his cheek even after they weren’t wet anymore. He slowly moved the Drow’s head to kiss his forehead. ‘’I know that you won’t forgive us that easily, but… Do you want to stay with us for the night ? You didn’t seem to be in a mood to be with the others..’’ Virgil didn’t even hesitate and, a second later, he was on a warm bed, surrounded by familiar bodies. This. This is what he had been missing for the last two years.

A little laughter came from his left : ‘’Vivi, you’re purring’’ ‘’Shut up Remus’’ ‘’All right, all right… But just so you know, if they make you cry again, I will kill them all !’’ Virgil couldn’t help but laugh at the comment. He was back with his family and that was all that mattered at the moment. Tomorrow, he could think of the Dragon Witch or of Horace’s diabolical plans, but right now… His mind was filled with undeniable love.

When somebody loved me

Everything was beautiful

Every hour spent together

Lives within my heart

When she loved me

Virgil groaned as the sun hit his eyes. He rolled over, trying to hide his face in the slim shoulder next to him, earning a small laughter from the person protecting him against the elements. ‘’Well, good morning sleepy head... I was planning to wake you up sooner or later, but seemed I didn’t even have to !’’ The Drow groaned a bit, pulling the blankets over his head. Nope. He was nothing coming out of bed this early this morning. They had traveled all day yesterday, couldn’t he have at least one lazy morning ? ‘’Hey, get up, dearest. Remus has already packed up all of our stuff. If we leave early enough, you could finally see your boyfriends again. Not that I don’t want to see you anymore, but you’ve been saying that you really missed them in the last month and I can’t stand Remus’ brother calling me every day demanding that I return to him his boyfriend.’’ Virgil couldn’t help but giggle at that comment. That did sound like something that Roman would do. He groaned a bit, letting his eyes peek outside of the blanket. The room was unpleasantly light up, but Dee had moved to block him from most of the sun, thing that he was grateful for. ‘’Here you go ! Don’t worry… Even if I let your boyfriends kidnap you for a little while, you know where we live… We can always go off on another adventure anytime that you feel like it. You only have to turn around and come see us. We’ll be right there with you. Virgil smiled a bit. They would be there, wouldn’t they ? Now and forever. Side by side, the Drow felt simply invincible. Especially that now, he wasn’t scared anymore to turn around and smiled at all the ones that he loved. Especially that now, he knew that they would never leave him behind… He knew that he was loved and in all honesty, what could matter more to him ?

--------------------------- So... This took a while to write, but I’m really proud of the end result ! It came out even better than I could have hoped for.

I want to give some big thanks to @ask-fantasy-sanders-sides, Mango you really are inspiring (and this is based on her AU ;) ) Also, big thanks to @ratbastardstan for beta reading this and dealing with my bullshit. Speaking of putting up with my bullshit, @lostchoirchild, you are an angel and I will not change my mind about this fact even if we spent about 30 minutes discussing how to describe someone getting their intestines ripped out. And finally, thanks you to my waifu who endured me writing this when she wanted attention. I love you J !

[qrhymes]

Tales of Berseria Analysis - Laphicet (Phi)’s and Eizen’s character arcs - Coexistence and Romanticism.

Three and counting.

I don’t have problem with child characters (And when I talk about child characters, I mean genuine child characters, no adults or teenagers looking like children or immortal children or characters that age different and looks like child but in reality are legally adults…they are a complete different subject)…conceptually. I don’t like when they are used as plot devices, I don’t like when they are pointless and I specially dislike when they behave like fucking adults without a motive. 

…Therefore you may suppose that I really like Elise from Xillia 

…and you would be right reader, I love her, she is a great character and Teepo would be the best Tales mascot if not for Rollo…

(…He is a god in comparison with other anime (Videogame) mascots…)

But if you want to have a child character, with clear motives, good development, a meaningful arc, etc. I say go for it, and make it great…and Laphicet (Phi) is indeed great.

First of all, he is adorable, he can cast Indignation and he also is the middle-ground between emotion and reason that the game wants to reach.

If Eleanor is the constant inner-conflict between the ideas, Phi would be their natural coexistence.

Phi starts as blank page, a puppet just referred as Number 2 and a representation of the Malakin subdue for the Abbey, then he is “taken” from Teresa and joins for the party and then…he just start to learn, to grow, to know these flawed people…and even if he cannot understand the totality of each one, he can acknowledge the inner goodness that he sees in each one of them. And in that matter, we as the players get to know a lot more of the cast trough his interaction with him (Eleanor also serves to this purpose but is with Phi that we get to know the best of the party because…). He is an adorable, cute and innocent child and the party, conscientiously or not, TRIES (and I emphasize the tries, because wanting it or not, the Menagerie is still the Menagerie and there is still conflict here, these most notorious been Velvet’s seen him as a replace for her brother, that gets resolve in a really heartwarming scene, I loved that scene… or Rokuro intent to kill him during the encounter with Kurogane) to be the best to him, teaching him, explaining and in reward we, and Phi, have this amazing little insiders for each one of the party members; Velvet’s first redeemable traits are shown us thanks to her interactions with Phi, seen Rokuro and Eizen playing the wiser older brothers is hilarious, Am I right, Rhinostragros? But it also let see us that Rokuro and Eizen have a genuine concern about been good examples for Phi with they “Don’t be like us” and fuck it, some of the first shades to Magilou’s true character are through her interaction with Phi. And in the end he takes the best all of this knowledge and experiences, this great and epic journey, and grows thanks to that travel.

He is the moral compass of these less than perfect people (Eleanor also tries to play this role, although with less success than Phi) and thanks to him we get to know the better of them.

He is also the best developed character in the cast and seen him grow from this helpless and quiet child to this determined badass who will fight for what he thinks is right (And been honest, leaving Magilou’s monologues to Melchior, he has the best scenes in the game)

“Eat my arm! I don’t care just leave me the other one! I need It to clobber the jerk who made my Velvet cry!”)

It is just fucking amazing.

In regard as his ending as Maotelus (And his eventual fate in Zestiria)…Is fitting. This kid that was nourished for this amazing journey with Velvet and the Menagerie, for all of these different experiences, points of views and teachings…He grows assimilating both ideologies and now he stands as the ideal manifestation (With Eleanor been the practical) of the healthy coexistence of reason and emotion…and the literal hope to reach Velvet’s endless and idyllic dream, …it gets the better of me in the same way that Velvet does and it’s just a beautiful ending for Phi’s arc and the game.

And that was the four…Uff…uff…you know what they say about pointless worries…

…MAGIKAZAMAZAMAZAM…

Eizen is awesome; he has the height, the posture, the voice, the long coat, the quotes, the family connections, the dorkiness, the “Perfect Mayhem” one of the most kickass designs of the franchise, his character screams “I’m fucking badass”

…Badass indeed…

…he is also one of the most interesting members of the cast.

Eizen is 1000 years old Malak afflicted for The Reaper’s curse which cause misfortune to the people that surrounds him, he is also a pirate, the second mate of The Aifread’s pirates, who ends joining Velvet quest in order to seek pass through one of the Abbey’s fortress and later for the possibility to find clues of the missing Captain Aifread whose disappearance maybe connected with one of the highest ranks of the Abbey.

Eizen is pirate, a ruthless thief, a man with little regards for the rules of the Abbey or the Kingdom, someone who has no moral compass other than his own convictions, an intrepid and dorkish adventurer who travels the eleven seas for the pure joy of doing it, loyal to his crew, to his captain, and his creed…

Wait a minute…He is still a bad guy, right?…

Let me see, thief? Check. Inclination to punching people? Check. Does business with morally questionable people? Check….oh he is also a second in command of a well knowing pirate crew…double check …then why he still looks like he could be one the good pirate characters in One Piece?…Well because that is the point.

In the same way that One Piece (Or the first Pirates of the Caribbean) explore a heavy romanticize vision of what a pirate is, Eizen is the romanticize vision of what a life led by emotions is. His arc doesn’t deal with themes like obsession or blindness or about losing yourself in your own overwhelming emotions (through there is something like that in regard to his arc during the Zaveid side quest, but is played in a different manner but don’t worry we’ll get there) like Rokuro’s or Velvet’s. No, his arc revolve about why emotions are so important for us and how following our own path, our own believes, is the only way to live our own life to the fullest, and in that regard he is the biggest contrast with the oppressive ways of the Abbey.

Eizen is someone that live adventures with his friends, he travels to exotic places, he doesn’t answer to anyone, a man that values his freewill above anything else and that will not letting that anything or anyone take it away from him, but as I said in the begging he’s not an auto-destructive person nor an anarchist, he plays the role of the lovable rogue (Despite that we actually don’t see much of thesem because the game isn’t about the adventures of Eizen and Benwick in the Van Eltia) with a stoic attitude and tough demeanor but also with a heart of gold a dork and in that regard he is the most enjoyable and funny member of the party (Aside for certain witch)…he is the most open to express his appreciation for the group aside for Phi, maybe, his completely honest fanboy rants about history or relics or just expressing his more pure inner feelings about his ways of life…He is amazing…Live hard and day young, Am I right, Eizen?… but in that regard, how many people have the raw muscle to decide their own fate? But even more important than that. Do you have it, Eizen?

Eizen has a role in the narrative and goal in the game, but they are just little bifurcations in a much greater story about Eizen fighting his own fate.

His natural affinity as an earth Malak, The Reaper curse, the laws of the Abbey, the Malevolence that slowly has started to overcome him and even the event of the game are no more than other rock blocking his way to…well, nothing. Eizen journey is just an endless resistance test that will have an abrupt end (In the context of the life spam of Malikhim/Seraphim), a romantic one for sure, fighting for the sake of the word against a future Lord of Calamity, and later, after becoming a dragon, killed as a way of saving him and putting him to rest of his madness state, but an end after all.

Eizen’s story is one of a man against the world, an endless path which mere travel through him symbolize the quest of men for freedom in his lives…Eizen is the coolest, and he was made to be the coolest, a romantic hero who has been throw it in a cynical story about clashing ideas as one of the idealist and inspirational parts of the emotion side…and again he does amazing in his job.

Part 1: Tales Series Retrospective

Part 2: The Elements of a Wonderfull Game

Part 3: Velvet’s character arc - Blindness and toxicity

Part 4: Rokuro’s and Eleanor’s character arc - Obsession and Conflict.

Part 6: Magilou’s character arc - Contradictions.