#and so child murder occurred and tbh no one was sad about it which makes them all irredeemable and evil

[waspgrave]

Idk about u guys but Astarion and Lae’zel killed those goblin kids in my game. They had it coming

[bakugohoex]

If I may, could I request something with the reader being Erwin's little sibling, and Levi (who's also like an older sibling to them) has to tell them what happened in Shiganshina. Just some platonic angst...

“l…levi this is some sort of joke, it has to be”

pairing: platonic!levi ackerman x platonic!female reader

cw: platonic!, mentions of death, mentions of blood, angst and language

word count: 2600+

a/n: i could’ve made it more angsty i think idk i’m not really that good at angst tbh

summary: in which you find out your adopted older brother died in shiganshina by levi, who offers you support and comfort in your crying need  

↞ back to attack on titan masterlist

The arrival of the scouts was supposed to be a joyous occasion, it was supposed to be of happiness of regaining Wall Maria. The laughter’s and cheers as Hanji spoke of the re-capture to the crowd as they passed by. Their numbers had dwindled, that was the first thing you noticed through the window in Trost. It looked like there was only a small number of individuals left and your brother had not been one of them.

Growing up in the underground you had met with Erwin’s father when you tried to steal his wallet. It hadn’t worked but he took pity of the small frail child, the way dirt covered your face, and your dull eyes gave him nothing. You remembered him grabbing your frail body and keeping you on his hip, you were only five or six, but he kept a hold of you. That’s when you left, left the horrors of murder and theft from underground and had a home. Erwin’s father had been sweet and more so his son who was only a couple years older had taken you in as his own sister.

It had been a tough life in the underground but even worse the horrors that occurred up above were much more than you had ever expected. The theories of what was beyond the walls and the death of Erwin’s father had struck to both of you. Whilst the boy you called home joined the Survey Corps you were left at home, to run around and live a normal life. You know what he had wanted, Erwin wanted you to be safe and not fight, he knew you had the ability, but the threat of your death was something he never wanted to consider.

The wind blew through your hair and you could smell the freshly baked bread through the wind. You tried to find Erwin among the crowd, wanting to congratulate him on the success but his lack of presence gave you an uneasy feeling. The repetition through your head that he was somewhere else, he’d gone into Wall Sheena, that he was telling others of the success. Your palm pressed firmly against the window as you looked out eagerly was mess with the tap across the door.

Instantly turning you let out a come in watching as Levi’s figure fell through the door. He was still in his survey corps gear and you smiled at him but the way he looked, the even more emotionless look he had made your stomach flip. “I can’t believe we re-gained maria.”

He looked down not meeting your eyes, he was hesitant to speak, to tell you what had occurred. But the look that you gave him, of hope and happiness how could he break it. How could he tell you your brother was dead.

“Y/n, sit down.” He exclaimed softly, he was trying to be nice, trying to be calmer but he knew once he told you, you’d isolate yourself and sob till your hearts content.

You raised an eyebrow in confusion, following his order as you sat at the chair around the round table. Levi sat across, dropping his gear onto the floor, it was unusual as he was much more careful, but you assumed it was out of excitement. “What’s up? I haven’t seen Erwin yet, where is h…”

“Y/n.” Levi interrupted; he finally met your gaze grabbing your fingers.

You remember the first day Erwin had told you about Levi, Levi the boy who was around the same age as you, he always had the same the glum look. The first time you encountered him was when he had joined the survey corps, you had come to see Erwin and met the boy, he gave the same look that he did too others but he growed to see you as a sister. He was always happy to see you bring little goodies you’d made, always waiting for the days you’d run around the city with him, taking him too new places you’d found out about. He loved you, the grew up without anybody and Kenny having been a deadbeat wasn’t somebody he’d call family. But with you and Erwin he felt at home and now he had to tell you the truth.

“Yes Levi.” You gleamed out; you were happy for humanity you’d regained something you’d never had expected to regain in your own years.

His grip between your fingers tightened, “Erwin, he…he went on the front line with a lot of good men, he risked it all for the chance to get to the basement and re-gain wall maria. Without him Y/n, I don’t think we’d have won this, he had told me how much he loved you, how glad he was to have a sister like you.” Tears had pricked your eyes you knew what was coming but didn’t want to admit it, “I’m sorry Y/n, he died an honourable death for the good of humanity.”

A loud sob escaped your lips, your lips trembled as your face seethed with the salty tears. “L…levi this is some sort of joke, it had to be.” You refused to admit he was dead, refused to grief you were resistant and angry. “He’s not dead, he’s a…alive.” You chocked on your words unable to feel anything. Your whole world had broken, everything you ever had gone, it had felt all like a dream. It was all over now with the true reality of being alone setting in.

You stood up anger filling you through the tears, “he’s alive.” Trying to repeat the sentence into existence was unachievable. You remember your last words to him you better not come back with another arm missing and how he chuckled before passing you a letter in case of something bad happened. You remember discarding the letter in your drawers, he would always come back. He would come back to his sister, he’d be alive and happy, even take you to wall maria himself.

The mirror on the side of the room in an instant got kicked by you leg, the way it fell and shattered under your foot. Sobs engulphed the room, you collapsed to the ground, the shards across your knees. He’s be here, he promised he’d come back, he promised. Levi’s body shifted towards you the three simple words coming from his mouth, “Y/n, I’m sorry.”

His arms around your body as he knelt beside you, moving the shards away as your body fell onto his own. Your eyes blurred with tears and a sadness washed over you, you crumbled into Levi’s rougher body against your weak form. He had seen you fight men ten times the size of you but here you were trembling in his arms. You had broken, you had lost your family and you couldn’t even say a proper goodbye to him. He had died without you there, you hadn’t seen what happened, you didn’t know if there had bene hope for him. You had lost him.

Levi stayed beside you for a while, a tight grip around your body. Hanji had tried to come in but at the sight of you had instructed herself to remove the shards away from your teary-eyed self. She knew you’d talk to her when you could and that being in Levi’s arms, you’d be safe for the time being and not make any rash decisions.

“Y/n…” Levi spoke just as Hanji left to get you some new clothes having blood from where your body had been scathed by the shards.

You didn’t speak but he was aware that you could hear him, “Erwin would want you to fight in his name, to fight for hum…”

“Levi shut up, fuck humanity, he died saving our worthless lives. You think and talk so much about humanity but what has humanity done to us, fucking nothing. He didn’t need to die…he could’ve lived and been here with me, we could’ve been a family. He was supposed to see me have my own family and he was supposed to be there for me. He shouldn’t have died, you said he died an honourable death. He didn’t, he…he died without saying goodbye.” The sobs through each word and tears that flooded your face made Levi realise the true extent of how you were feeling.

Erwin had been your family, closer than family even. He had looked after you when his father had been killed. Protected you even stopped you from joining the Scouts yourself but here you were, the truth evident. You knew your words were lies, Erwin would gladly have rested his life for humanity, but he did it without saying goodbye to you. He did it without letting you have your final moments with him, you were cynical and all you wanted was to be left alone. “Leave Levi.”

“Y/n I…” Interrupting Levi again you stood up at his kneeling body.

“Leave Levi, I wont say it again.” You had the same superiority as your brother had, the same clear attitude and even through the dull bland face you wore. He knew you needed space and time, you watched him leave before letting more sobs come from your eyes.

Moving to the drawers, the letter had been pushed into the drawers filled with papers. You didn’t want to read it, but it was his last letter in this world. It was his last words and you wanted to read it, feel what he had wanted you to feel. Sitting on the bed, you broke the red seal and opened the letter seeing his handwriting through the paper you took a sharp breath as you started to read it.

Dear Y/n,

I assume you’re reading this because I have passed, I don’t know what will come of you afterwards, but I hope you remain the same girl I met all those years ago. I remember my father having telling me about the underground and seeing your ashy face you had always been a lot to take in. But I’m glad, I’m glad you were brought into my family, that you became my little sister who could rely on me.

One of the days in the first week of you staying with us, my father had told me to take you to get some food. You had been unaware of how easy it was to get food and how you didn’t have to ration it out amongst others. You had asked so many questions about the big walls that you had thoughts were as high as castles that you’d been told about in the storybooks my father had been showing you. You were always like that, asking too many questions and learning quickly afterwards, your first day at school you had told me afterwards how you had been ahead of your class. Your face had bene filled with joy and happiness. I’m saying all of this to make you remember how far you’ve come. How you’re a fighter who has a long future ahead, you shouldn’t stay in the city, you should find your own path where you can do everything you have wanted to do since we were younger.

I have three things to tell you, and I hope you keep to these three things. Don’t grieve over me, you were always strong, stronger then most the people in the survey corps so go out there and be happy, go out there and accomplish everything you’ve wanted to do. Go fight for humanity, and I know how you feel about that, I remember your words from last night, how I shouldn’t risk it all for humanity. But I have to save us, I have to get us out of the walls, we’re caged animals who need something more. I hope you begin to realise how important it is to fight for humanity and risk it to survive the titans and past the walls.

Secondly, don’t cry over a dead man. We both knew this day would come and I know how much you’d been putting off even talking to me about this all. But I want you to know that whatever happens you shouldn’t cry. You have ignored me to many times in the years I’ve known you and for once I want you to listen to me because you’re too strong and a fighter to cry over me. I don’t want you to spend weeks alone crying I want you to remember me and take me with you but not feel guilty that you weren’t there to save me. I know what’s going to happen and I want you as my little sister to feel that what I did was honourable because at the heart of me saving humanity was me saving you.

Lastly, I love you, you were always my family and always will be. I want you to move on, have your own family or even just remain with Levi as your family. I just need you to not isolate yourself and think that because I’m gone there’s nothing else for you in this world. Because there is Y/n, you’re important to so many people and I want you to know that I will always call you my home.

Your brother,

E. Smith

Reading out the last line, you felt your tears stop falling a deep sunken breath erupt as you finally felt a lot calmer. He wanted you to be happy, to not be isolated and to not cry and you’d done everything he’d wished again. Your brain was going wild with your thoughts, you knew what you wanted to do. What you had to do and how you needed to see Levi and Hanji as soon as you could.

You ran out of the room passing those who had fought alongside Erwin as you ignored them before you spotted Levi. “Y/n.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shouted at you.”

Levi’s face was still dull, but he put his hand to your shoulder making you feel at home. “It’s understandable…you read the letter then.” Levi remembered Erwin having mentioned a letter and here it was still grasped onto by your nimble fingers.

“I did and that’s how I know what I need to do, Erwin he died saving humanity, and I understand that, but I have nothing now except you, I…I want to join the scouts, I did the same cadet training but never joined a faction due to Erwin, I need to do this, in his name, let me…let me join.” You hadn’t met his gaze knowing tears would fall if you did. It was a hefty ask but you had had the training, you remembered it all and you wanted to fight in Erwin’s honour.

Levi signed having expected something like this from you, “Y/n…”

“If that’s truly what you believe is what Erwin would want you to do then you can join.” The voice came from behind you, Hanji stood there as both of you faced her. As the new commander of the scouts she knew Erwin might be angry at this occurring, but you were strong and had the background.

“I want to do this, Erwin spoke so highly of humanity and me, I understand now that there’s more than this world and I want to help, like you said Levi i’m doing this in his name.” It was true you had gone against Erwin’s words many years ago but reading the letter it was the right thing to do you had nobody and joining would give you a cause for being alive. For sticking with Levi, you might have lost Erwin, but you certainly weren’t loosing Levi as well. You’d protect both of you until the very end just as Erwin did, you’d risk your life for the sake of the human race.

i’d really appreciate if you guys could leave a like, reblog or comment, thanks x

if you guys want to be a part of a tag list, just reply to any post and i’ll add you xx

@samusimp @alainarose13 @crispychannie @underratedmage @jennammaee @cathy8taffy @sugacious @moonlightaangel @kat-sukis-hoe @effmigentlywithachainsaw @swankiifiied @maat-the-prescriptive @missmultifangirl @tvwhoresblog @kuroos-world @chrrylevi @katsuhera @answer-the-sirens @animexholic @wapbenders​ @the-shota-king-masayuki @bakugousmrs

[southslates]

yup, Zutara’s got an evil kid. I wrote about slightly evil steambaby in one of my fics, and I got a bunch of crit for that, so lemme explain why evil steambaby is a thing alright?

who’s the steambaby family tree? Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Azula, and then further out you’ve got Hakoda, Ursa, Kya, Ozai

putting aside the crazy Fire Nation genes that could easily pop up down the line, let’s focus on the four important people. 

so you’ve got Zuko as this kid’s dad. Zuko, even though he’s awesome now, was a struggling villain for a bit. and a key aspect of his personality is his dogged determination. Zuko was literally so blindly dedicated to his honor he was about to die in the North Pole. Zuko has got a lot of blind faith when he believes in something, and unless his world falls apart he’s loyal to a fault. three years on that ship, and he stayed dedicated to finding a dead man. and we’ve seen him practice with Aang. Zuko’s entire personality is about hard work -- he works for everything he’s ever got. so, yeah. from Zuko we get stubborness and dedication to an ideal, and a severe lack of thinking-things through

then you’ve got Katara. now the reason Zutara is great is that it has Katara retain her utterly fiery spirit, and Zutara work together because they’re both really passionate. Katara also has a lot of faith in her convictions, and she will go the extra mile when she thinks she’s doing the right thing; case in point offering to heal Zuko’s scar under Ba Sing Se. when she thinks she’s doing the right thing. Katara can also be a little hot-headed and stuck in her ideals. she found a random guy in a block of ice and followed him halfway across the world. she’s also not the best at thinking-things through

who does think stuff through? Sokka and Azula, this kid’s uncle and aunt. let’s go on with Sokka. we saw it with the painted lady; when Sokka is on a mission, he’s on a mission. he plans everything out, and nothing gets in his way. Sokka follows through on his plans and is a bit of a perfectionist, something he shares a bit with Zuko. Katara is Sokka’s moral half of the equation. Sokka is a warrior and a friend, and Katara and Aang and Suki keep him in place, but he would do a lot for his people. he has that determination

and then Azula, which is kinda a Sozin’s line lump-sum. she thinks everything through, and is such a perfectionist that she literally goes crazy (the hair symbolism) when everything isn’t working properly for her. this is a trait she and Sokka share, and why she sees him as such a threat. they are both leaders, planners, warriors, and thinkers. and both tend to give up on their morality sometimes to make it work, being insanely realist and not idealist

where am I getting? this combination of traits works in these ATLA characters. but here’s the thing; Zuko and Katara’s moral holdbacks stop them from getting swept up in their passion. Sokka and Azula’s ruthlessness and ability to calculate and think stuff through has them holding themselves back. when you mix these two things up?? um

you got a kid who fixates on something and decides that they want it, no matter what. this kid has Sozin’s blood in his veins, and it’s easy to feel ostracized in a mixed-bending family, especially if they’re the firebender or nonbender. they have the indignation of Zutara and the follow-through capacity of Sokka and Azula, and they don’t always have someone to hold them back, because parents make mistakes too

I just genuinely don’t think that Zuko could run away from his father and sister that quickly. it’s nice to idealize Zutara and their relationship, but it’s definitely likely that they’d have a problem child that could easily get carted away into some extreme pro/anti-FN group, because teens and kids are like that -- they get carried away easily, especially when there’s a lot of pressure on them. and maybe the kid gets the redemption arc, maybe they don’t, maybe it’s soft. 

even though I love Zutara, I don’t want to pretend that some genetic drive doesn’t run through their veins. I also wrote an entire fic about this headcanon and didn’t entirely redeem my ZK kid, because people aren’t always black and white, you know?

like the ATLA world is a kid’s show, but murder definitely occurred in it. and when I say morally ambiguous, I don’t mean softly. I mean hardcore evil Zutara kid. potential story villain. might kill some people. think Azula + emotional capacity and genuinely not caring about that emotional capacity without suffering abuse of any kind. some people are just. a little inherently bad. and telling stories about those people is cool

(tbh there was so much potential in canon for an evil Zuko kid or even K/ataang kid and I’m sorta sad that was a dropped ball, I love the evil kid dynamic)

this is a terrible ranty essay, but this is why I believe one of Zutara’s kids is evil. *mic drop* I’m sorry, goodnight, and thank you for listening

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

Are you going to finish the Tiny Virgil AU? Cause the last chapter ended on a cliffhanger. If you don't feel like finishing the whole thing, you could maybe give us bullet points of what was supposed to happen?

Ahaha whoops, I kinda forgot that fic. at the rate I'm going, it'll take like ten years for that or any of my other fics to get finished. Tbh, I actually have a whole outline for that one? Acantha (@theeternalspace) and I brainstormed the rest ages ago and then I took our thoughts and bullet-outlined it out.

The thing is? Like, emotionally I want to hold onto my thoughts and finish it, but if I am to be completely honest, realistically it probably won't happen. Because I wanna prioritize Gibbous over it and all.

so tldr: I'd like to write more installments, but in the case I never finish it and/or you don't care about spoilers, check the read more for what happens.

warnings: hurt/comfort, crying, morally grey sides (all sides are present so beware idk its been awhile im not up to date with how the fandom handles this sorta thing)

Chapter 5

Anx cant believe he forgot about Thomas!

He was so caught up in Creativity wanting to play with him, he's forgotten about his whole purpose

He goes to the real world, worried about all the things that could've befallen his host without his guidance

Anx is confused to be faced with adult Morality and another...side?

"Thomas?"

Thomas is big, Anx is not

This can't be real, can it? How can he protect Thomas like this?

Roman shows up, but the damage is dealt (Ro and Pat converse a bit)

Virge starts panicking and panics even more when he sees Thomas affected by it

Ro & Pat try to comfort Virge but no use

It's Thomas who gets to him. Who is...helping? Why?

"Wh-why are you so nice? I'm bad, I hurt you--I do bad things."

Thomas looks sad at that. He tries to explaining that he doesnt think Virge is bad, he can be good

Virge doesnt really understand but at the same time...Thomas loves him??

Thomas offers him a hug and he accepts it. Still so confused but at least his host loves him.

Chapter 6

Virgil ends up tuckered up in Thomas' arms

"Crying is exhausting, don't like it" He complains to Roman.

"I know. You've been very brave, little prince."

It's not that late but Thomas seems nervous. "I should go to bed." (Basically feels like if he doesnt adhere to his childhood bedtime, he'll get in trouble aka lil Virgil's influence)

Patton asks if he'd like for him to accompany him and Thomas nods

Roman and Virgil end up back in the mindscape with Patton promising to follow soon after

Roman tucks him into bed

Patton comes back, looking tired, and both Roman and Patton agree to talk with Logan in the morning about things

in the morning with Virgil still asleep, Lo, Pat and Ro talk briefly

Logan shares some theories (Age regression maybe?)

Patton tells them what's up with Thomas

Roman decides to bother the Dark Sides. "If this happened before in the past, they would know, wouldn't they? And if they're behind it this time then I can get them to stop it"

They decide to have Patton look out for Thomas again and for Logan to watch over Virgil while Roman ventures out to the Dark Sides

Chapter 7

Logan mulls over what is happening

Grateful that Thomas is going to bed early at least

He is not worried, he is Logic

Tries focusing hard on his book

Virgil wakes up, disappointed to see Logan and not Roman

Roman ventures through the dark mindscape

infodump detail on how it differs vs. the regular mindscape, quiet, silence nobody is around

"HELLO" Roman screams as his brother pops up

"What do I owe brother dear for this visit?"

Virgil is worried about Roman, but Logan placates him a bit

The two end up doing a puzzle

During which Virgil randomly hugs Logan

When Logan asks why, Virgil explains "You're scared. Hugs make me feel less scared"

Logan thanks him for the sentiment but insists he is not scared

"You're scared, I can feel it. It's okay, I get scared lots of times so you don't have to." Virgil says

And then Logan's fear dissipates

He stares at Virgil, shocked, because did tiny virge take his fear away??

And if so, if tiny virge knows how to do this, has adult Virgil been doing it without them knowing??

Chapter 8

"I know you did it" Roman growls. It makes sense really. Remus did random things for sh*t and giggles

Remus blinked "Oh! You found out about ____, didn't you?"

"What no!" Roman says, disgusted. "I'm talking about Virgil."

"Wait, you think I did it with Virgil? Mr. Emo?"

"NO!" Roman snaps. "Stop playing dumb!"

The two have a scuffle, ending up with Remus having a sword at Ro's throat (who is stuck in green goop)

"I really don't know what you mean." Remus says, "What is it exactly do you think I did again?"

Logic must hate him, Anx thinks, otherwise why would he be looking strangely at him?

but its okay, even if it really really really hurts, Anx has done it before and would do it again to keep from any of them feeling pain

He asks if Anx took his fear away and he nods

surely this must be a happy thing but Logic seems even more upset

the fear grappling tiny virge is foreign. It's so different than fears he's taken before. He finds himself drowning in it. he doesnt quite understand most of it. But there's fears about himself, Logic being scared for him, not of him. (basically oh boy adult fears are much harder to process for a child Anxiety)

Logic grips his hand and asks for his fears back

"I can't" Tiny Virge says, shaking like a leaf

Logan asks it again. Virge shakes his head "I can't, I--I don't know how!"

He really doesnt know how. Usually he just holds it all in until it explodes.

Logic echoes some of what the fear is telling him, that Logic cares for him. And weirdly, it means a lot for him to hear that Logic actually cares.

But noooo he must only care because of Thomas, right?

Anyways this is resolved somehow idk lmao and then Logan is called to help with Thomas

Virgil promises Lo he'll be okay, not wanting to stop him from being able to help their host

Logan promises he'll back momentarily

Virgil squeezes Zola and tries his best to stay calm

Previously on Rem and Ro

Roman spills the beans on whats up

Deadbeat silence

Remus then babbles about how he has no clue what Roman is talking about, but is super intrigued and wants to check this out for himself

He sinks out as Roman grabs onto his ankle, but isn't enough to stop him from sinking out.

Chapter 9

"Hiya!"

Little Anx squeaks, shadows gathering at his feet, ready to strike at....

A Green-Dressed Creativity? He dresses fancily like him.

"Princey?"

Green laughs. "No, I'm The Duke! Princey's my brother!"

And Lil Virge is kinda confused but rolls with it because Creativity pretending to be someone else/splitting himself into two is a very Creativity thing to do and isn't too worried about it.

Roman shows up, fuming

However, because of Virgil, he has to play nice

They end up having a pretend tea party

Roman finds himself shocked that Remus is decent with kids? Or at least a Kid Anxiety??

He still says outrageous things but Virge giggles at them (Basically kids really have no baseline for moral right-or-wrong, they find talk of murder funny)

Roman feels a bit guilty/regretful realizing he never played much with Remus growing up

Eventually, Logan pops up slightly frazzled

He's relieved to see the twins there looking after Virgil

Explains the situation w/ Thomas to Roman while Remus and Virgil play

Patton pops up, looking slightly weary, leading Roman and Logan to insist he take a day off from watching Thomas

Upon seeing Logan & Patton, Virgil runs up to hug Logan, but shies away from Patton

Patton tries to hide his disappointment about this

Remus tries to leave upon seeing Lo and Pat are here

but Virge clings to him, insisting he stays

The Others agree, and Remus perks up a bit.

Somewhere, there's a discussion about Virge again, late at night?

Logan reveals Virgil taking fears from him

At some point it's decided to leave Janus out of it as it's unknown how little Virge would react to him and the fact that Janus most likely knows what's up and has chosen to stay out of it

It's decided that Remus and Roman will traverse the Imagination to see if there's a solution there

Logan will be with Thomas

Meanwhile Patton will look after Virgil

Chapter 10

Patton's POV

Little Virge is upset about both Remus and Roman leaving

they try to placate him but it does little. (Telling him how they'll stay safe and they don't want him going because they want to keep him safe)

Patton's heart breaks but he has to holds back Virge.

Eventually the two have heart-to-heart

Apparently the two had a classic childhood spat, that means a lot to Virge even tho poor Pat doesnt remember the spat at all.

Pat tells them they're the best of friends now, even shows him evidence

Virge feels a little better

Sees a snake stuffy in Pat's room, asks about Dee

Patton deflects

The two end up making cookies together

The Imagination is a bust, although the twins return squabbling in a good mood

And Remus has a "present" for Virgil, who delights in it.

They chat, when suddenly Virgil screams

Chapter 11

Virgil's POV

He's been trying his best to stay calm, to hold back the anxiety gained from Logan and also the other fears swelling inside of him

But it's too much, and push comes to shove. A burning sensation occurs

And it explodes

He has a panic attack and realizes it extends into the real world

Overwhelmed and upset, he runs off.

He runs off to his hideaway and sits there

Getting bombarded with fears

He's there for what feels like hours when--

"Oh my dear Anxiety" A crooning, unfamiliar yet familiar voice says

Virgil looks, surprised, to see Deceit!! There's a lot more scales and he's wearing a funny outfit but it's him

He is happy to see him albeit sobbing into his capelet because of what happened.

Dee holds onto him going, “Shhhh everything’s alright. Shhh it’s not your fault. It’s my fault, I’m sorry—“ and Virgil interrupts shrieking it can’t be his fault, because in his mind Dee would never do anything bad and it hurts Dee to know that young Virge has so much faith in him.

"You'll hate me" But Little Virge refuses to accept that. "You're lying, you don't mean that"

"Okay, you caught me. "We stay best friends forever" OR something along those lines

Dee convinces him to bring back to the others, that they don't hate him

When they return, the others "freaking out" is a mild understatement.

Dee slowly produces tiny Virge out of his capelet.

Hisses at them to keep their distance because crowding Virge will only freak him out

Apologies and misunderstandings are made clear

Thomas summons all of them and they all have a sleepover

Virgil falls asleep snuggled between Remus and Dee

Chapter 12

Maybe Roman's POV?

Along with Thomas, they have a discussion

Dee waits a bit, before revealing that he's behind the reason for Virge's current state.

As his role Deceit, he has access to both truth and lies. One lie is that Virgil believes his kid self died and is no longer a part of him--attempting to actively repress those memories

He then points out the childish aspects of each side's function. (Maybe Logan input something about growing up and stuff)

P: "But why would Virgil think this?" J: "oh gee, I wonder why. It isn't like he was made to feel like an outcast from a very young age or anything"

Instant Guilt for all

Anyways Dee explains some mishap occurred, thus reverting Virgil back to this state

You get the sense Janus isn't telling the whole truth.

Janus says he has a way to fix things, and that's when there's a noise

"Anx?"

Virge is there, standing incredibly still, slightly heavy breathing

"Anx, it's okay, we're not upset"

Little Virge heard everything and is upset but he understands

He knows Thomas needs big him, and the others reassure him that they'll be there for him, each having a small moment with him

Then he starts glowing brightly, causing them all to be alarmed, Janus included

Chapter 13

Virgil is back and boiiiiiii is he freaked the heck out

The Others including Thomas are all there, F*CK how can he ever recover after they saw him like that?

He's both embarrassed and mortified

Not to mention it hurts to have two sets of childhood memories rattling inside his head. One that was lonely and painful, and the other that was happy but fake

He snaps at Janus and ends up fleeing in his room

He doesn't duck out

He cant do that

He just doesnt....go out. He doesn't want to hear the jokes start. He doesnt want the babying or the pitying to start.

He does his job and that is that.

(inwardly he knew this would happen, but not like this)

They try summoning him (Thomas included) but he wont come out. His door is locked.

Patton slips a note under the door but Virge refuses to look at it.

Blares MCR

Somehow Zola appears in his room, and he'd like to tear it apart or something, but he can't help but squeeze the stuffed bat tight and cry for the childhood that never was.

A week passes, and there's a very sad prince at his door

Virgil ends up letting him in because look, he's not a monster

it's very...awkward at first

but they eventually have a heart-to-heart and some snarky banter

and Virgil is very confused when Princey feels the need to apologize to him

They also discuss Janus and Virgil very reluctantly agrees to talk to him

Virgil ends up talking with Janus over tea

Janus doesn't really look at him, staring at his teacup as he explains himself

and dammit, Janus has hurt him (but then again so has Virgil hurt Janus)

But a part of him really misses him. A part of him that has always missed him.

Janus explains he just wanted to know where he went wrong in their friendship, that he went the round-about way because knew Virgil wouldn't talk to him but messed with things he shouldnt and accidentally caused Virgil to revert to the age before their friendship started fraying by accident.

He admits that he almost wanted to leave Virgil that age, to take advantage of it as a way to start again, but ultimately couldnt let himself take advantage of virgil in that way

He also apologizes, telling Virgil "Showing weakness isn't bad. I told you once that you had to stay strong and not let anyone see it, but I was wrong" and that he understands if Virgil doesnt accept his apology right away or if ever

And Virgil doesnt completely accept, not yet, but he's willing to try

It ends happily with them going down to dinner with the others. (possibly Virgil having moments with the others??)

the end

BONUS, Written Scene from Chapter 11 w/ Virge's and Janus's reunion because I was self-indulgent and wrote ahead

“Oh my dear Anxiety,” A silky voice croons, so achingly familiar.

He sniffles, raising his head to meet eyes with the much older face of his best friend; Deceit. It has to be, there is no other side whose left side of face is reptilian in nature. He’s crouching beside Virgil, only one set of arms present at the moment. He’s wearing a funny outfit, but then Deceit has always dressed funny, just like Creativity. Neither of them have ever been worried about standing out.

“Dee!” Anxiety cries out, all but flinging himself onto the older side. The velocity of it flattens the two onto the ground, with Deceit letting a small grunt from the impact. He’d be more worried about possibly hurting Deceit if he wasn’t too busy bawling his eyes out into the strange cape Deceit is wearing.

Deceit strokes his hair, so soft and gentle. Then two sets of arms hoist Anxiety upwards, settling him onto Deceit’s lap. Deceit hugs Anxiety, cocooning him in a warm embrace. For a moment, everything feels normal again. As if they’re all kids still and Anxiety had sought Deceit for comfort after a bad nightmare.

Then Deceit speaks, saying words meant to be comforting. They are comforting at first, until Deceit says things that don’t make sense. And Anxiety knows Deceit is a liar, that he says things that aren’t true. But he knows when Deceit isn’t lying. They’re best friends after all.

“Shhh, it’ll be alright. Shhh, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s not your fault. It’s mine. I hurt you and I’m--”

“No!”

“No?” Deceit repeats.

“No, it--it--you didn’t do anything bad, you wouldn’t!” Anxiety says, nearly shrieking, “You’d never, ever, hurt me. We’re best friends and best friends don’t do that.”

A strange, choking noise erupts from Deceit. Anxiety looks to see Deceit’s human eye glistening. His best friend’s lips quiver, like Anxiety gets when he gets too scared to speak. Except Deceit is never scared. He always knows what to say in a situation, confident in ways Anxiety could never be.

“Oh, I’ve forgotten what you were like at this age,” Deceit whispers, so low that Anxiety thinks he wasn’t meant to hear it. Then Deceit shakes his head, a weird laugh escaping him. “You’re going to hate me, Anx. Or rather, you’re going to hate me more after this is all over.”

“You’re lying,” Anxiety accuses, his fingers tightening around the fabric of Deceit’s cloak, “You don’t mean that. I love you, Dee, you’re my best friend and--and...Big Me is still best friends with you, right?!”

Deceit inhales sharply, as if there’s something stuck in his throat. Before Anxiety can even grow concerned for his well being, he breaths out a long dramatic sigh.

He rolls his eyes, smirking, “Alright, you caught me.”

“I did?”

“Yes. I was only lying to scare you out of crying,” Deceit assures him, “I didn’t mean to scare you into thinking we weren’t best friends still. Of course we are.”

“G-good,” Anxiety huffs, “don’t scare me like that, Dee, I don’t like it!”

“I won’t do it again, I promise,” Deceit says, his smirk fading a bit as he takes on a somber expression, “it still isn’t your fault for what happened, Virg--Anxiety. Neither I or any of the others think it is. They certainly despise you for it.”

“Despise?” Anxiety’s heart jumps a bit, “Oh! You mean...you’re saying...they don’t despise me?”

“I don’t know,” Deceit raises an eyebrow, “Why don’t you try reaching out? See what their fears tell you.”

Anxiety closes his eyes, sticking his tongue out in concentration. If he thinks super hard, he can envision everyone's fears like spider webs, branching all over the mindscape, interconnected in some ways and in others, completely disconnected in each side's little corner.

And he is the itsy bitsy spider, that scuttles about and maintains the webs to some degree. Because a little bit of fear is good, it helps keep Thomas alive. So he traces the webs and searching for what Dee suggested. There is one thread present, in every nook and cranny of the web, he searches, even in the splinter-offs. One fear that repeats and loops through the whole network that he has never seen before.

"Oh." Anxiety breathes, eyes widening. They're not afraid of him. They're afraid for him, worried about his safety and wellbeing. Anxiety doesn't know what to think of that.

[sageukfilms]

historical context pt 2: on yi bang won’s brothers (and sisters), seon-ho and his father, women’s rights in joseon vs goryeo

a bit more focus on yi bang won’s family this time, since he’s always fascinated me as a real historical figure. he did a lot of good, but he committed a lot of terrible things in order to achieve the good and he’s always been a pretty polarizing figure to Korean historians. (the majority of them like him because he’s the father of Kim Sejong aka the King who invented the Hangul/Korean alphabet while the others are like ‘damn why this dude so murderous’)

yi seong-gye had six sons from his first wife and two sons from his second wife, but why are only like three of them mentioned in the drama?

- mostly because they don’t have any major relevance to the plot, tbh. yi bang won IS arguably yi seong-gye’s most talented/qualified son in a lot of ways. he really was the only son who passed the civil examination in that entire family.

Eldest Son Yi Bang-U

- yi seong-gye mentions him in the drama when discussing who should be named crown prince and dismisses him bc he’s an alcoholic. which was true, yi bang-won’s oldest brother WAS an alcoholic, but he only became so after Yi Seong-Gye seized the throne. he was so distraught by the rebellion that he literally retreated to the mountains and retired. imagine serving your dad and your country and then seeing him betray the very country you both spilled blood for your whole life?? he was granted a princely title, but otherwise stayed away from politics and the military until his death

Second Son Yi Bang-Gwa

- this is the dude who is currently king that appears in episode 14. the one who’s in the throne room while bang-won and bang-gan yell at each other lol.  basically he was just put on the throne bc he’s the second son (and the eldest was like don’t even contact me about this shit) and later in history he renounces the throne so yi bang-won can take it. he also had NO legitimate sons from his first wife (though he had many from his concubines, but they were all illegitimate and couldn’t become princes). meaning he was the safest choice to be bang-won’s puppet ruler. all in all he was supremely lucky in that he got to live in peace and avoid getting murdered by anyone

Third Son Yi Bang-Ui

- while he was on yi bang-won’s side during the first coup, he’s never mentioned in dramas/television because apparently he’s not all that interesting. he’s been described as someone who had a loving relationship with ALL of his brothers, which imo COULD have been interesting to see but what do i know

Fourth Son Yi Bang-Gan aka the One That’s Weirdly Comedic and Also Murderous and Has Like that Weird Sword Boner For Hwi

- bang-gan did in fact try to murder bang-won and seize the throne, but he was urged on to do so by a historical figure called park po who was bitter that all his efforts during the first coup were not recognized by bang-won. the most hilarious thing is that bang-gan is like “damn this is a great idea, im gonna do it” and sets an official date for murdering, and NEVER TELLS park po the day he’s gonna murder bang-won so park po is just hanging around in ignorance until bang-won arrests him and then has him executed

- bang-gan actually tells his father yi seong-gye and his second bother yi bang-gwa of his intentions and they BOTH tell him that he’s stupid as fck. at this point, the historical yi seong-gye is SICK of the fighting between his sons and tells bang-gan to stop (unlike in the drama when he purposefully eggs him on). 

- bang-gan obvs doesn’t stop though, but his attempts are foiled bc bang-won knew of his coup beforehand. bang-gan is not executed and is instead sent away in exile. the fault of the coup instead lands on park po who again has no idea what’s occurring until he’s arrested. (damn it would suck to be park po, though inb4 seon-ho becomes the park po of this sageuk)

The Ill-fated Crown Prince Yi Bang-Seok and his brother Yi Bang-Beon

- in history, Yi Bang-Won forces his father to remove Bang-seok from the crown prince position during the coup, which Yi Seong-Gye IMMEDIATELY does in order to save bang-seok’s life (bang-seok is still alive at this point in time). unfortunately, bang-won then murders bang-seok anyway. (fulfilling the queen’s prediction that no matter what he would have murdered her sons)

- there are two versions of the crown prince’s death: the first is what we saw in ep 12 when he was assassinated right after stepping out in the palace. (this is the official record. his final recorded words are “my brother promised to spare my life, do not worry.”). there’s another version that yi bang-won went into the palace and threw his brother into a well to kill him. which is... not recorded, but yi bang-won’s side framed everything in the records to make him and his people look good. (because they were the winners!!! winners in history get to frame themselves however they want)

- so what about yi bang-beon? aka the queen’s other son that never gets mentioned? he gets murdered too of course!!! though bang-won is content with just exiling him, his brother bang-gan murders bang-beon (of course in the show, we see bang-won approving of the assassination). (Bang-beon also suffers from the unfortunate position of having a.) envied his younger brother for being crown prince and therefore did NOT alert him or his father about the upcoming coup and b.) trying to maintain a neutral position that ultimately got him killed

- btw, yi seong-gye was absolutely in the palace during the Strife. He never left to go to a Temple. he was dragged from his throne and forced to abdicate during the coup after stripping Bang-seok of his position as Crown Prince in order to save him.

The Sixth Brother

 - died at a relatively early age, sadly.

Sisters?!

- yes, Yi Seong-Gye had daughters!!! Two from his first wife and one from his second and two more from his concubines (yah he had concubines). sadly, nothing else is known about them. Queen Sindeok’s daughter aka Bang-seok and Bang-beon’s younger sister outlived both of her older brothers, and died maybe nine years later. (somewhat comforting, but ultimately sad.)

- Bang-won’s sisters lived a little longer, but ultimately they had little historical relevance (or they did and the records refused to record them bc they were just Women). mostly, they were just married off to build political alliances

more on seon-ho

- there’s a scene in ep 5 where bang-won makes fun of seon-ho’s bastard status and compares him to Sambong and i just want to say that imo this is very realistic of bang-won. Sambong is an incredibly important and vital figure in history -- he served as yi seong-gye’s aide and was actually the mastermind behind ALL of yi bang-won’s social/political reforms. unfortunately, yi bang-won murdered him because.... uh.... he wanted to carry out those reforms HIMSELF, essentially. (no one else gets to do it but ME!!) he disliked sambong strongly, and there were rumors that sambong was descended from bastards/had slave blood in his family, so Bang-won sneering at Seon-ho for essentially having the same background would be legit. the line where he mentions that “in his country, bastards will never gain status” is so sad... and also true, even though he introduced the new Slave Law (that law was immediately repealed later)

- in other words, illegitimate children from nobleman + slaves were still eventually barred from taking the government exam and owning property in joseon. seon-ho’s fate would have more or less remained the same.

Seon-ho’s father Nam Jeon

- is a fictional figure, but his status as Yi Seong-Gye’s aide in the show cooouullld place him as the stand-in for the actual Nam Eun who was one of Yi Seong-Gye’s trusted aides and who was also killed by Yi Bang-Won

- the difference here is that Yi Bang-Won regrets murdering Nam Eun after and gives government positions to Nam Eun’s friends as like a way of apology lmfao

women’s rights in goryeo vs joseon

- just wanted to talk about this because hee-jae is such a kickass figure, but the long and short of it is that women lose all the rights (what little they had) in joseon vs in goryeo. they’re forbidden to step outside their homes after marriage, are NOT allowed to mingle with the other sex, they lose their rights as land-owners and property-inheritors, and Confucianism gains a huge foothold in a country that already treats women as second-class citizens. they weren’t allowed to re-marry if widowed, and were encouraged to kill themselves if they were assaulted or harassed so like....... life continues to suck for bastard children and ladies

fun fact for that (1) Legitimate Child that Yi Bang-Won Allowed to Live

- in my last post I mentioned that Yi Bang-Won killed the children of the “traitors” who conspired to prevent his coup except for Sambong’s eldest son, who was demoted (name: Jung Jin). Fortunately, this son managed to rise through the ranks of the government again and became the Minister of Justice under Yi Bang-Won’s reign. 

[dianapana]

SH Day 10- Historical Romance

Well would you look at that...i am alive after all. Sorry for the long wait and for lowkey being like...a month late. I got home a few days ago but i wasn’t in the mood to write all that much and tbh this prompt didn’t inspire me all that much but i didn’t want to skip a day so yea...i will be posting everything (hopefully)

Anyway! I hope everyone had an amazing SH 2019 Month!!! And again sorry for the delay...Enjoy, Love Dia~~~

Clans - Part 1

Hinata  

They say that tragedy is for royalty and that comedy is for the common people. They say that the “common folks” can’t grasp the depth of the anguish that all these tragic plays show. If you ask me that’s a pretty bad deal for us royalties, especially when we are young. The kids belonging to the bourgeoisie’s class sit down on dirt, watch and laugh as actors trip and tell jokes, while I was forced from a young age into stiff dresses, I was thought t only sit on half a chair with my spine so straight that it feels like it will snap in two and watch as the actors cry and kill each other, as they lie and their lives fall apart. I know that this is a whiny complaint, one that hardly matters, but as I'm looking out the carriage onto the street and see a kid’s theater, I can’t help but be envious, even now at almost 19 years old I want to sit between the small children and laugh with them as one of the actors falls and rips his pants.  

“Hinata” Neji’s voice was stern and he was looking at me with a pleading face. He wanted me to cut it out, to stop looking longing towards something that is less than proper. I know he means well; God only knows what would have happened had father seen me, or even worse, grandfather. Closing my eyes, I try to conjure up a memory of grandfather which wasn’t unpleasant, but nothing came to mind. The older man inspired only fear and fury in me, and I hated how I could never look him in the eye anymore, scared of what I'll see when his ice-cold gaze was fixed on me.  

We were on the way to a family whose name I couldn’t remember, to do and discuss something I didn’t care about. I wish father had went alone, but he snapped at me when I proposed that, he argued that we must appear as a united and loving family. At least he was honest and didn’t lie saying he wanted out company on this long journey. Hanabi was next to me trying her headrest not to fall asleep since that would be un-lady-like. I closed my eyes and mourned her innocence. If father and grandfather stole my childhood, they murdered Hanabi’s in cold blood. One summer day my little sister was running around the Clan House in her small toddler bare feet and the next her eyes were cold and unwelcoming. I do not know what had happened in those hours, Hanabi never shared but it was such a brutal change.  

I look at my older cousin and try to picture him as a care-free child. When we were finally allowed to spend time together Neji was already calloused I wasn’t given the opportunity to know him before they broke his spirit.  

“We are almost there” my grandfather said in a low voice right before we came to a stop, I saw Neji look towards him and nod but I did not acknowledge him. I look out the window and see that we are no longer in the village, the scenery changed to a forest. There is a paved road that led right to the front gate of a house just as big and stoic as the Hyuuga House. I saw the sign of a clan large and proud above the door but I had never bothered to learn which sign belonged to which clan, nor did father bother to teach me. I can only imagine his utter disappointment when his first born was a girl and then his second born followed and it was also a girl. Mother died when Hanabi was young not giving father any son-heirs. That issue was very discussed for a long time in our clan. I heard talk about how Neji should have been the heir, I've heard talk about how both me and Hana would be married, and Dad wouldn’t step down until one of us had a son and he was old enough to lead.  I don’t know about Hana but I never wanted to be the head clan. I just want freedom.

We stop again, but this time we’ve reached the house. I get out of the carriage the last. I'm in no hurry to be here, once more I wish dad had left alone, when he is away, I like going to the village and just pretend I'm one of them.  

“Welcome” says a man in his late 40s. I assume he is the leader. Next to him is a beautiful woman, probably his wife. My father greeted them back as did my grandfather. “These are my beautiful daughters Hinata and Hanabi, and my nephew Neji, a fine young man” father says and gestures to eac of us. I know this dance, he says our name and we bow, this is easy and safe.  

Sasuke

“The guests seem to have arrived” Itachi says but neither of us makes any move to go and introduce ourselves. This is the 5th family to come visit us in the past 2 weeks. It's exhausting to meet so many new people and to constantly pretend like you care what they have to say. Especially since most families that came had one reason only, to present their daughter or daughters if they had more than one, in hopes that Itachi would take a liking to them.  

We are both laying on our back on the porch, my eyes are closed but I believe that Itachi is looking at the sky. Sooner or later dad will call for Itachi or both of us, sooner or later we’ll be forced to talk pleasantries with some strangers. The parents are the ones that want the marriage for title and prestige, while the girls were ok with it because Itachi was known as the ‘most eligible bachelor’ and they wanted to be the ones to catch his eye. While here the girls flutter their lashes and act as sexy and desirable as they could yet Itachi never finds any of them interesting. The guest have arrived for quite a while and dad hasn’t called for us yet which is weird, usually dad pushes the girls toward Itachi as fast as he can. Maybe this meeting is different. Just as I think that two girls take the corner. Itachi and I look at each other,I give him a ‘here we go again’ eye roll and he simply smiles.  

“Hello ladies” Itachi is the first to speak and he gets up. The older girl flinched when Itachi spoke. She was smiling at her sister but now, looking at me and my brother her smile fell. The younger one bows and when she sees that her sister isn’t doing the same she touches her shoulder. The older sister bows too but I see her jaw is clenched and she seems to be in a foul mood now.  

“My name is Itachi and this is my younger brother Sasuke” Itachi says and we both bow. “What brings you lovely ladies here?” My brother is a very good actor and he excels in small talk.  

“Our father has a meeting with yours. We simply tagged along, we didn’t want to be alone home without father. Whenever he is gone we miss him dearly” The younger girl says with a smile on her face that looked anything but genuine. Her sister scoffed and turned around while her sister was talking. “My name is Hanabi and this is my older sister Hinata.” Hanabi makes a show of looking at our house before turning back to us and saying “You have such a lovely house” I look at Itachi and he smiles at them, he I amused and to be honest I am too.  

“How was the trip here?” Itachi asks.  

“It was marvelous. You have such a beautiful village nearby. I asked dad to stop so we could take a look around. And as soon as the village ended this beautiful forest started! I was so surprised; I haven’t seen so many lush trees in my life.” Hanabi talks with great theatrics, if I didn’t know she was lying I might have believed her.  

“What about you Hinata? Did you like the village, do you like the trees?” Itachi furthered asks. I get the impression he wants to get the older one to talk as well, she hasn’t said a word yet, hasn’t looked at us.  

Her head turns, she looks at Itachi and then at me and for a moment I think she’ll ignore us. But she sighs, closes her eyes and when she opens them ack up it’s like she’s a different person, her smile looks genuine, her posture changes to a more welcoming one. “It was lovely. I enjoyed the kid's theater very much. And this forest seems perfect for an evening stroll. I do hope you’ll accompany me so I wouldn’t get lost” her voice is gentle, and you couldn’t be able to she was annoyed just a moment before.  

Before Itachi could reply a man took the corner as well, he appears to be Itachi’s age, maybe a year or two younger. When his eyes land on me and Itachi he plasters a fake smile on his face and bows but doesn't bother to tell us his name or greet us. He goes to Hinata and whispers something in her ear, I'm closely watching her, and I see her face falling. I see panic overtake her eyes as she turns to the man. His jaw is clenched, and his eyes are sad. The younger girl watches the interaction looking alarmed and confused.  

“I’m sorry Hinata” the man says and he puts his hand on her shoulder, squeezes it and leaves, like whatever he told her didn’t just ruin her life. And it occurs to me that maybe she didn’t know the reason why she’s here. Her eyes look at Itachi and then at me she looks scared and cornered.  

[atopearth]

Higurashi When They Cry Part 3: Ch 3 Tatarigoroshi-hen

I guess this one will focus on Satoko and her past relationship with her brother Satoshi that is missing. I’ve always been curious about that so I’m hyped. But Satoko really is kind and sweet despite her expected trap making skills lmao. Lucky she saved Keiichi from burning his house down omg, I was so scared for him lol. Btw, Chie-sensei the curry maniac is so pretty and cuteee omgg!! She doesn’t look scary but danggg lol!

As someone with two brothers, seeing how much Satoko misses her brother and sees her brother in Keiichi really makes me teary. My brothers are really important to me as well so the thought of them disappearing would probably make me feel really lonely as well. Even if Keiichi is like a replacement brother, he’s a good and sweet one. 💯 approved!

Their club games are literally the best, that baseball game was so funny and cool, especially the way Satoko called him out making him misunderstand that they were in a physical fight and needed help lmaoo. So hilarious that Kameda’s weakness was that he has a secret guilty pleasure in eating desserts because he’s into sullying pretty things with his sportsman exterior HAHAHA. What kind of fetish is this?!😂😂 Coach Irie is such a good guy though, only if you take his random inappropriate jokes as jokes though haha. I thought it was really kind of him to want to give the best to Satoko and even have the intention to adopt her but be unable to since he’s not married.

Think I read somewhere that Shion was Satoshi’s girlfriend so I wasn’t very surprised but I guess this is another reason for her dislike of Hinamizawa and not living there or going there often? Rena and her obsession with Oyashiro-sama’s curse is as scary as ever. With a bit more context this time, it seems like Satoshi may have thought about escaping Hinamizawa and that’s what angered Oyashiro-sama and Rena seems to have experienced this firsthand… She said she begged for forgiveness and that’s why she was saved or spared or something… I wonder what happened to Rena… Did she try to run away once upon a time? Satoshi doesn’t seem like the type to abandon Satoko so he’s probably dead I guess… But whaat, is Satoko’s dad actually still alive and he even had a lover?? As the leaders of the faction that was all for the dam project, he was actually spared? Doesn’t seem like Mion and them to allow him to live though…

Why does Ooishi seem so evil or malicious or something in this one…? He literally grabbed Keiichi and hurt him.. but Ooishi being Oyashiro-sama’s servant and that he decides that the sacrifices for the curse every year? That’s a new theory.. Oh my mistake, the one with a lover is the uncle?? And he’s back… And preventing Satoko from going to school… Keiichi is such an asshole and so mean to Mion. He’s not the only one that cares about Satoko but he pushes the responsibility of saving her on to her as if it’s her fault that Satoko is in pain. He’s so naive and ridiculous to think that he can just say all this to Mion and make her cry when he’s not even doing anything to help Satoko either! I’m glad Rena shouted at him, he totally deserved it😡😡

I guess you can understand why Satoko blames herself for Satoshi’s disappearance. He’s always been a good brother protecting her after all, and she was the one who reported the child abuse and in turn made her aunt and uncle abuse them even more due to the report. There was nothing wrong with her relying on her older brother but I guess since she’s older now, she also knows that it must have been painful for him to take everything on himself. So her hope that if she becomes more mature and deals with this problem herself, her brother will come back is logical.. tbh Keiichi this time around is very infuriating because he keeps on thinking that just because people aren’t reacting as badly as him towards Satoko’s situation that they don’t care as much or aren’t as desperate. It’s like who does he think he is, what puts him on that high horse, seriously. Everyone cares and worries in their own different ways and he’s constantly judging and thinking of them as lesser than him in terms of this mentality and it just makes me want to hit him, because they’re trying to think of ways to make the situation more positive for Satoko but he just rains on their parade because they’re being “happy”. 

Seriously, how would Satoko feel if they always looked at her with sad eyes of pity and concern all the time, she’d feel so inadequate, embarrassed and even more sad! Gahhhh! He’s so emotional and not helping the problem at all! If it helped I’d be all for it but it really doesn’t and just makes it harder for everyone that’s trying to help the situation so it really makes me angry! If I was Mion, I would have snapped at him already because the way he treats her just makes me so protective of her especially since she always apologises to him when it’s not even her fault! So what if she’s got housekeepers dude, Satoko’s guardian is her uncle because he’s a blood relative and so it’s not a money problem at all. He really needs to keep his emotions in check omg. It was so cruel of Keiichi to tell Mion to choose Satoko’s uncle to be the sacrifice for Oyashiro-sama’s curse just because he heard that she’s the head of the Sonozaki family. I’m aware of how desperate he is towards trying to save Satoko but, he was literally accusing her of being a murderer, a serial killer and the mastermind of everything with no evidence or anything, just ignorance I guess. He really didn’t consider Mion’s feelings at all and that angers me. He’s always hurting her when she’s so kind. He doesn’t think about anyone else’s feelings!

But wow, I never thought that Satoko’s actually had many “dads” since her mother remarried once and had many de facto partners, and that Satoko played malicious pranks on them to the point that they couldn’t stand Satoko. I guess she wanted attention from her mother and she thought the existence of this father was stopping that so she never really accepted any of them and kept up this behaviour… She’s an emotionally hurt child but I can’t help but sympathise with some of them to an extent since Satoko’s pranks can go quite far tbh… It seems that there was the theory that Satoko purposely hurt herself so she could chase her stepfather out with the child welfare people… And she really did lie about it so this theory was actually true… Which is why the second time they were called, they were wary of it and wanted to wait and see how the situation goes..

To see Satoko break down so badly and hurt Keiichi so badly (physically and emotionally) was daunting. Kinda glad Rena shouted at him when he kept talking when it was obvious that he was scaring Satoko with his existence as a guy probably. But I guess what I feared seems to have begun to happen. Keiichi is losing it and thinking of how to kill Satoko’s uncle. I wonder if Oyashiro-sama’s curse is actually some supernatural being taking in the vulnerable emotions of those who are really mad etc and exacerbating that and thus leading to the death of those they hate? And then they get eaten by the supernatural being themselves and that’s why they disappear?

So, in a sense, the reason Keiichi’s family moved was because of him. He was a special kid that was “smart” in that he was quick to pick up things and go beyond the expectations of his teachers, but that kinda made him get a big head I guess and he slowly lost his normal social life with others. And as others do, the parents decided to move somewhere to help change the environment and hopefully he can start anew happily somewhere else. But I honestly didn’t think Keiichi would really go through with the murder of Satoko’s uncle. I really enjoyed the entire deliberation he had over the whole thing though and his previous annoying actions made it easier to believe that he was capable of doing this. It felt very real because of how detailed his thought process was and how understandable his thoughts were, which is also what made it so uncomfortable as well. Because really, it showed how easy it could be to kill another person as long as you plan it, have the intention and go through with it. This time, Keiichi didn’t go to the festival so I’m curious about what happens in this game. I’ve read manga and books where the closest person to the victim ends up killing the perpetrator, and it always makes me feel so sad to see it happen, because they’re all ordinary people who wanted to protect the victim so much…so much that to an extent, they went insane from the trauma. It’s just so devastating…

The possiblity of Takano killing Tomitake…never occurred to me. I guess it was because they always seemed like they were dating so I never thought she’d ever kill him, I mean.. What could be the reason? And who kills Takano every time if she is the one who supposedly killed Tomitake? Unless Keiichi actually has another personality or something and so even though he was exhausted, he ended up killing Takano as well~ although I could imagine Mion or someone killing Takano to protect Keiichi. But what? Keiichi was at the festival, just like he was in the other games? Does that mean the worlds are connected?? One disappears and one dies… Did Takano disappear or die? If one Keiichi disappeared and we’re left with this one that killed Satoko’s uncle.. Is he actually a demon and not Keiichi? As expected, the uncle is actually not dead though. Does that mean, somehow Keiichi has gone into a different timeline after killing the uncle? Different world?

I feel sorry for Keiichi that Irie thinks he’s crazy after he told him how he shouldn’t have been at the festival but everyone else said he was, and that he killed the uncle. But you really can’t blame Irie, considering Keiichi’s past actions with how emotional he was over Satoko and everything, tbh I’m not even sure that just because I’m reading this from his perspective that he really did kill the uncle or whether his hatred was just so magnified to such an extent with his helplessness towards Satoko that he thought he killed the uncle when he really didn’t. The missing baseball bat etc could have been moved by him when he’s in a dazed state or whatever as well, just like in the first game when he killed Mion and Rena after he turned crazy. Keiichi has always been the scariest when pushed to the limits after all… Maybe Satoshi really did the same thing as Keiichi, maybe he did beat the aunt to death to protect Satoko, maybe Satoshi and him are as similar as they keep saying in this game and the previous ones.. Maybe he’s just Satoshi with brown hair hahahaha.

Is it true that whoever Keiichi wishes for to die, they’ll die? Irie didn’t believe his story and was cursed, so he died? Ooishi kept hitting him with mud when Keiichi tried to dig up that hole where the body should have been and was cursed by Keiichi, so he died? I’m glad Satoko’s okay though, she was literally bathing in boiling hot water for one whole night, I’m surprised she’s still alive and conscious tbh. But, I can’t believe Rika is dead and killed in the way the Hinamizawa torture would go, with her stomach cut open and her bowels and organs taken out. Poor Rika, how cruel… So, Satoko snuck in that ritual storehouse when she was a kid and broke one of those cages making it hit into an image of Oyashiro-sama as she ran away and Rika got blamed for it.. so Satoko thinks that everything crazy that has happened, her parents dying, her brother disappearing, her aunt beaten to death, Rika dying, Keiichi killing her uncle, everything is all because of Oyashiro-sama’s curse of killing the people closest to you first and then you last. Is the curse real, or is the curse as real as they believe it to be, I wonder? Satoko really can’t help but think that Keiichi has been possessed huh?

But to think that his wish that this cursed version of Hinamizawa would disappear would actually make everyone besides him disappear from this world through toxic volcanic gas… I guess this was an ending where Keiichi survived huh? Not that living is any better though. He lived long enough to torment him until his eventual death. Yeah, that’s not nice at all.

Btw, the all cast review session is always so great, I’d recommend watching them for every game, this one was especially great and funny hahaha! I mean it’s so true that Tomitake is like a newscaster, his death is always the announcement that Higurashi will be going into the second half which is darker hahaha! They always so calmly analyse how they died etc and stuff like that, it’s so interesting! Kinda interested that Shion will be the main character for Meakashi, I really like her just like many others do XD

Overall, I enjoyed this game as much as the others but I do admit that Keiichi frustrated me at times and it was a bit draggy about the depressing things, sigh but it was really good. I guess it just made me sad to read it every time, rather than scared lol. Gotta say the killing part was a highlight and a very interesting turn to the series. Can’t wait to play the next one~~

[thebootybitchdragon]

So, first of all, I am super excited to have found somebody as excited about the clone as I am. I've been thinking about it a lot since Butch posted his video. But, I'm confused, because I thought this was ten years into the future? Wouldn't original Danny be older? Like 24 I think? Aside from that, you guys got some really good ideas about this character, and I've been laughing at some of the comments for a good few minutes.

AHHHH someone else who likes the clone!Welcome friend!!! 8) lmao, I was browsing the Phantom tag yesterday waswas so disheartened by how many people were irritable at all of thedesigns or downright kicking them to the curb. Which, isunderstandable, everyone has their tastes, and I agree that most ofthem are just…..Put Them Back embodiments, but it was still sad tosee so little interest in the Clone.

Because its such a good idea ripe withpotential, both for TUE levels of darkness and for hilariousscenarios. For once (ONCE) Butch has done okay by me.

And now to actually answer yourquestion, lmao: Yes, you are correct, the original concept was Vladfor ten years into the future, with a teenage Danny clone (I do admitthat’s super squick, like Vlad do you have no other hobbies besidesbeing fucking creepy? Go outside and play some tennis my dude.) sincethe video was a part 2 to the original Phantom concepts for the tenyear anniversary. However, at least in the ideas and concepts I’vebeen talking about and personally throwing around, I’ve gotten rid ofthe ten year span.

Because it literally doesn’t makesense.

I have contempt for the officialPhantom timeline bc its so inconsistent, but a majority of peoplehave it taking place over a two year time span, based on the twosummer episodes. (This is something I personally don’t agree with,but I have no evidence to argue it so I’m stuck like a petulantchild grumbling in the corner) and Vlad gives Valerie her gear in S1Ep10, Shades of Grey. I cannot recall if it was specifically statedin canon Vlad was using her to get Danny’s DNA, but I’m trustingthe wiki bc I really don’t want to endure re-watching Kindred Spiritsand D-Stabalized. If we assume that this had been Vlad’s goal fromthe start (something I disagree with and will touch more aboutbelow), that means that he’s been gathering Danny’s DNA for about ayear to two years if we estimate heavily with the nonsense timebetween the episodes.

In that time span, he figured out howto do the cloning, built the equipment, went through countlessprototypes to figure out all the bumps and snags, made severaldecently “functional” clones (Dani and the one he fucking murdersas a display), made the “perfect” one, and figured out exactlywhat he needed to stabilize an artificial hybrid of ghost and humanorigin.

In two years max.

It would not take him ten fuckin yearsto recreate a successful perfect clone. Even if everything wasdestroyed twice and he lost Valerie’s “assistance”. And thereason for that is because he already knows how. The hard part isdone. Once you know how to do something through so much trial anderror, you know what not to do and what you should do the nexttime around. Vlad doesn’t need to re-figure out how to make astable, perfect clone again, he can just get the equipment, the DNA,whatever and just do it.

Which he was most likely attemptingto already do in D-stabilized.

[Edit: I neglected to look on thewiki before writing this entire thing bc I was confident I know thematerial and apparently I need to get a reality check on my ego bc Iwas completely misremembering D-Stabalized. The fallowing should betaken with gratuitous lumps of salt bc I’m salty at this discoveryand also I haven’t changed anything in it.]

Why do you think hewas going after Dani? Why would he want that information of “Whyare you so stable?” if he wasn’t trying again? If he wasn’t at thepoint that he NEEDED to stabilize something? For future knowledge?Please. If Vlad was truly going to make another perfect clone, hewould not wait several months after loosing the first doing literallynothing but tormenting Danny and being an ass, nor until after he’sfigured out Dani. He was working on the Clone project for a long timeunder everyone’s noses in the first place, so who’s to say he wasn’tagain?

I’m saying Vlad wasliterally within inches of succeeding in D-stabalized. That healready had a second Clone ready to stabilize.

[Edit: I was incorrect in thinkingVlad only wanted Dani to learn why she’s stable, he wanted to use herto make another perfect clone. I was close, but not close enough. Iam still standing by my theory, however, canon can suck it. It’sstill at least feasible.]

Hartman suggestedin the video, as I’m sure you know, that the Clone (I call himDaniel bc there’s literally no way he’s not namedDaniel.) has some of Vlad in him. And this, my friend, melds so well with where canon dropped off.

Vlad wanted andattempted to stabilize the clones with Danny’s full DNA, probably soit would be 100% Danny, enough to the point he was willing to murderDani to figure her out/use her. However, after failing to get themid-morph from Danny (failure 1) and failing to get anything fromDani (failure 2), Vlad would be unlikely to try the same thingsagain. I would also like to think he’d also be unlikely to continuing to announce “OI I’M CLONEING YOU” to Danny, but it’sVlad so you never know.

He would be forcedto think of something else.

There is nothing incanon suggesting that Vlad couldn’t use his own mid-morph tostabalize a clone. He never brings it up, never explains why themid-morph is the critical link aside from the fact that it just is.There’s very little info about just how these clones are made, sothere’s no known rules to what could work and what wouldn’t. A possible reason this might not work is that it could function likebody parts or blood types, where you need a match in order for it tobe properly accepted. In that case, however, its just figuring outwhat you need to tweak in order to force an acceptance, somethingprobably made easier to do when you’re in control of the entiregenetic sequence you’re fiddling with.

This would not taketen years to do. None of it would. It would take at most, I think ayear. Maybe two, but that’s pushing it. I also have a theorythat Vlad was being so obtuse in Season 3 was to purposefullydistract Danny, but take that as you will.

This is all of myfancy way of explaining why my personal ideas are set so close to theactual canon and kicking that gross ten years to the curb.

As for my forgotten notion about why Idon’t think Vlad started cloning from Valerie’s beginning was becauseVlad was still mostly focused on Maddie up until Maternal Instincts,which occurs 6 episodes after Shades of Grey. Shades of Greyis only three episodes from Bitter Reunions as well.That’s a pretty small amount of time for someone still (reasonably)sane to go “I liked that kid, I want him to be my son. I shouldclone him.”

I’d also like to state that in the fourepisodes Vlad appears in before Kindred Spirits (not including TUE)but after Maternal Instincts, not once is his main goal Danny.Nor is it ever Maddie, either. Danny becomes a factor in MillionDollar Ghost, however his main goal is still stealing the portal. InReign Storm, he’s more inclined to use Danny than to try to make himhis son, bc again: his goal is the artifacts. In Secret Weapons, Vladisn’t even interested in Danny when he’s dropped in the middleof his lab. Tbh, I can’t for the life of me figure out what Vlad’sgoal was in the whole sibling battle thing, he really just fucked hisplans up himself in that one. In Masters of All Time, his goal wasthe cure, and again, had no problems using Danny as a pawn.

Kindred Spirits is the first place inthe entire series where we see the extent of how far he’s willing togo to get Danny to be his son. The first episode where it’s his maingoal.

I just realized how close MaoT andKinSpirits are, I wonder if Vlad triggered the Ectoacne flare workingwith the ectoplasm for the clones? Hmmm, interesting.

Anyway, the point is: Vlad kept hiscloning stuff a secret, but for how long remains a mystery. Mostlybecause there’s no point in time where it becomes obvious just howdesperate he is to have Danny. Is it when he saw an opportunity withValerie? Or is it after Danny ruins his attempts to get the Ring ofRage back from Pariah by blowing up the ectosuit so he was just like“Well fuck, now what do I do to keep myself busy?”

Getting back onto the topic of Cloneand Original Danny, there’s a second, lesser reason I’ve personallybumped the time skip, and that’s because there would be literallyZero conflict between a 14 year old and a 24 year old.

OlderDanny would kick his ass, trainingfrom Vlad be damned.

OlderDanny would also not be fazed asmuch as a younger Danny as his identity being perverted by a clone.This is because the age gap would automatically render them as beingtwo different people. OlderDanny would not see the clone as himself,at least not fully, because he’s already a mature adult. The clonecould not torment Danny with the fact that he’s him, that he’sstealing anything, that he’s threatening his notion of being andsense of self. Because OlderDanny has nothing to fear about a youngerversion of himself; he’s stronger, wiser, and different enough. Thedynamic simply doesn’t work. This is why Danny could be okay withDani: he doesn’t see himself in her. He doesn’t think of her as aclone, as the doppelganger. Because she’s a girl, she’s younger,she’s different. She isn’t him in his eyes.

With an identical copy, that’s notsomething you can avoid or ignore. Can’t deny that its not your facetwisting into that evil smirk that looks so wrong because itsfamiliar but not. Its you, but its not, and its uncomfortable,its an invasion of privacy, the ultimate identity theft. Its a personthat wears your face, sees with your eyes, speaks with your voice,thinks with your brain, and bleeds with your blood. And yet its notyou.

The closest thing Danny had to this wasDan. But Dan could be defeated. Dan could be made so that he neverexisted in the first place, completely avoided.

Daniel could not.

Daniel’s creation is out of Danny’scontrol, his existence never takes into account what Danny wants orcares, because its done at Vlad’s whims. And that’s the worstpart: the lack of control. To know that an identical yet completelywrong version of yourself exists against your will and you haveabsolutely no control over it is torture, especially for someone whoalready had cause to fear himself once before. Sure, Danny can fightDaniel, suck him up into a thermos, and maybe kick it into the ghostzone to try to be rid of him forever, but he would still existand he could always come back. Unlike Dan.  And there’snothing Danny could do about it.

What even could be do? Try todestabilize him? Ask clockwork to erase him from existence? Lock himin a thermos and bury him deep in the ice caps? Kill him?

Would Danny truly be the person to tryany of those?

In other words, the closer Daniel is tobeing like Danny, the worse effect it would have. So its all aboutmaximizing that to get the full potential of the conflict. Dannyneeds a reason to see Daniel’s creation as the ultimate line crossed,the “This has gone too far” moment. Danny needs a reasonto not only despise, but fear his clone.

There are some….problems, with this,and I’ve already used them in my argument: the fact that it another you is too different, you stop seeing it as yourself. AndDaniel is not an identical copy. He has aspects of Vlad in him.There’s a very fine line to be walked, between Daniel being similarenough that it hurts Danny while being different enough to count as adifferent character. The design alone might already doom it. But fuckit, you people can pry my inverted skunk haired baby from my colddead hands.

I realize that this is a very longresponse, and very little of it pertains to what you asked. However,I hope you enjoyed my analysis and my explanation of my personalreasoning. This was a lot of fun to talk about (I can’t remember if Igot into some of the things in other asks or if I’m recalling themfrom a thing I was gonna post but hasn’t gotten to yet. If thereare repeat things, I’m sorry! My memory is v bad.) and I thank youfor the ask!

I also realize that a majority of thisask talks about making Daniel Danny’s worst enemy, which goes againstthe “They slowly become bed buds” ask I got earlier. I receivedthat ask before I really had any ideas of what to do with Daniel, andsince I’m loving this worst enemy idea, the conflict isunderstandable. The friend idea is still on the table tho! All itneeds now is a climax, a trigger, a turning point. Something thatchanges the dynamic to start that “I hate you, but not as much as Idid, and I kinda sorta enjoy your company a little bit.” ball a’rollin.

Fuck if I know what that is tho lmao

[demonkniife-blog]

Based after THIS post. Have a discussion between Vincent and Percival that me and my boyfriend did. If you wanna read it that is. Essentially this takes place in the ‘after life’ where Percival has found Vincent. Vincent doesn’t really want to face his friend or what he did, and well it’s an RP so it kinda goes on from there.

My Boyfriend is the one who created Percival BTW, and it was just a small idea we had to have Vincent have more backstory. However, with that ask, I couldn’t help but want to make him cry. Instead I was the one almost crying by the end of it all. Its technically in “script form” but TBH we never really intended on doing actions, but when Vincent broke I had nothing else to do. So you got script for like- 2 replies. 

Anyways I am literally only posting this for reference and so I can save it. So yeah. :) Have a read if you wish!

Percival: Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed you did that to me. But all can be forgiven. There's a difference between forgiveness and anger

Vincent: No, it can't. There isn't a difference. If there is anger, then there is no forgiveness. I've learned this. You cannot forgive me for what I have done, just as I cannot be forgiven for anything I have done. My punishment is harsh enough without my mind playing tricks on me. This is the cruelest one yet.

Percival: OH, so you'd rather believe me to be a malevolent spirit haunting you for all your misdeeds? Get over your self. Did you talk with the guards? Did they tell you what happened when they arrested me?

Vincent: I would rather believe you are an illusion made by my mind, Percival. Because-... No. I avoided it, and just requested for it to be painless. I was sure they didn't listen to me, but...

Percival: Oh, they didn't do anything to me. I went without a fight. I knew what had happened.

Vincent: ........... That doesn't make me feel better.

Percival: It's not supposed to. You did frame a guy for murder. Granted, I was pissed for a good solid while. But then I thought about it and I forgive you.

Vincent: How? How can you? I can't even forgive myself. Getting over myself is one thing, but- Of the countless I've killed, I never once felt like this. You know that, right? There's no way if this is what *I'm* feeling, that you can just forgive me like that. This is a trick, and I know this is. I refuse to believe that you could forgive me. I'm sorry Percival, but you saying that means nothing when it's my own demons telling me this.

Percival: That precise feeling is WHY I can forgive you. Had you never felt that I probably WOULD be a malevolent spirit out to do to you what you did to countless others

Vincent: I-.... You can't be..... If this is what remorse feels like, then rage like how you know must be unexplainable... How could it all just- go away? Because it hasn't for me. I block it off, and I ignore it, but... it never goes away.

Percival: You, everyone needs to learn to live with what they have done. They need to learn to live with that remorse. The greatest of rage can be extinguished by the smallest showings of humanity. I understand that the weight on your shoulders is tremendous, but look at the people you speak with, those that aren't shouting hatred at you. Look at the ones that talk to you like a normal human. They are willing to help carry that burden. I was and still am willing to help.

Vincent: .... I.... how could you even stand me. Heh.... I'm sorry, Perci... I don't know what took over me that day I-I don't know... I'm so sorry though. The ones who don't shout hatred for me, I worry about though not enough to really care. I know people see the things I did as bad, so I cannot see how someone can just- ignore it.

Percival: A person is more than the weight of their memories. What overtook you that fateful day was a fear of being caught. Fear is one of the oldest instincts in any mortal race, you were simply acting on instinct. How can I hold anger towards instinct? You don't ignore, you look over and past. It is still there, but a friend, a true friend, will learn to see it and then see the person beyond it. And that person is the one who feels remorse for their actions

Vincent: I don't understand any of this... I just- anger breeds hate, and hate isn't easily forgone. I've seen it time and again towards me and others. Hell, I enjoy to make people hate me but... Is what all I did my life instinct then? Could that not be an excuse for all? Instinct of the self over instinct of the mortal race? I just.... I can't see over it... That's the one time I have ever felt that feeling in my chest, or in my stomach. I can't describe it. Just thinking about it brings it back? This is.. this isn't right. I shouldn't feel like this, and yet I do. I don't feel remorse for my actions, I never have. A child could be screaming, crying seeing their parents bleed out in front of them and their hand next to my feet and I feel nothing. I don't get remorse. I can't. I don't know what this feeling is, but it's not right.

Percival: Yet the feeling of remorse EXISTS inside you, for you felt it before, and can feel it when thinking about when it occurred. And it is that sliver of remorse, that sliver of humanity, that allows forgiveness. Granted, there are many voices, all of which shouting venom. They shout about vengeance. And it's not my place to oppose them. But it IS my place to stand by your side and help you in the times when you feel remorse.And to stand by you at the times when it is needed the greatest.

Vincent: But I SHOULDN'T be forgiven for what I did! Don't you get that!! Even I can see it! There should be no forgiveness for someone like me, who did all of that. Who just- in an INSTANT betrayed my friend. That's not something that should be forgiven. I should be forced to stand alone for what I have done. I won't drag you through the dirt more than I have already, Perci. Please. I'm asking, and I mean it. Please do not forgive me. Allow me to see you as hating me as I have done for so long. I don't want to cause any more pain.

Percival: I can't do that, and you know that Vincy, even if you don't know WHY I can't. The reason is because you DON'T want to cause any more pain. In all the time I've known you, this is the first time you DON'T want to cause pain. Remorse is humanizing, and you don't like that. Some religions believe that to gain access to the afterlife, the deceased must climb a mountain with the chains of all the pain they have caused on their backs and limbs. And just knowing a portion of the pain you have caused, is more than any one man should have to shoulder. I have forgiven you, all that needs to happen is you learn to forgive yourself.

Vincent: You're acting as if I've become a changed man! I haven't! All that I did in life I still do in death. You are the ONLY thing that has caused this-this feeling in me and I hate it! I want to rip it out! I don't feel regret for anything else, so why do I deserve forgiveness if I haven't changed! I don't care what religions say. I don't care what you believe. It's just one person amongst the countless. Does that really constitute forgiveness? Or does that justify more of a punishment due to the fact that this is the only thing that makes me feel like this! You cannot say that I am humanizing whilst denying the 99% of the time I do not feel it. I think you've allowed yourself to create an illusion that you've forgiven me, or that you are simply going to do what I did to you. While I do not deserve the kindness of foolery, if you are going to get revenge I am fully welcoming it.

Percival:  Hatred begets hatred, anger begets anger. This cycle of violence must end. Everyone deserves forgiveness, from the greatest of men to the lowest of monsters. For what is left in a world without forgiveness? Darkness and evil, and no matter how far you have fallen my friend, I will be there to drag you out of it. It is because of that 1% that you deserve forgiveness. One voice in a crowd can ring out louder than others, if YOU are willing to listen. The countless voices, I will admit, have basis in their screams. There will be punishment for your sins, but there forgiveness is achievable due to the smallest bit of remorse. This hatred you feel is simply fear. Fear of all the pain you have caused, fear of all the people you have hurt. You have a right to bear this fear, but you also have the right to being forgiven for all you have done. For even the greatest of men have committed atrocities, and the lowest of monsters has felt remorse.

Vincent: No, Percival. There is a time when there is a point of no return. Where there is no place for forgiveness for a monster disguised as a man. I’ve done far too much. There was no hate that made me, no anger or sadness that became my driving force. I did it for fun, don’t you get it! That’s unforgivable to people. I am fully aware. No one forgives such actions. I have no excuse, and that is what most would consider an unforgivable crime Percival. We both arrested men who had done much less than I who got what I had. My punishment is never ending. I knew in life that what I was doing would damn me to a wretched afterlife if I was wrong on how Death was. I was right on one, and wrong on the other. Can you guess? Listen to me. I feel no fear, Percival. I feel no sorrow for my actions, fear for the repercussions or fear for forgiveness. I see things as they are. For most people, it is impossible to forgive me. You should never have forgiven me, for you are damning yourself to the same fate I hold. I’m trying to save you from it. You cannot drag me out of what I was born and made from. The most I can do is make sure you do not become one with the dark as I have. So please. Listen to me, and don’t forgive me. Don’t do this to yourself. Don’t fall for the illusion of forgiveness to all men, when I am clearly not one that should be factored in on that scale.

Percival: All men are capable of being forgiven. I have spent every waking day since learning of your "itch" forgiving you. It was this itch pushing you down the path you follow. I understand you cannot make this itch go away. I was about to become like all the other countless voices and believe you to be the monster you see yourself as, but when I heard you apologize and feel your remorse, I knew you were more than a monster. You were a man, in that instance, you were human. You might not feel fear for your actions, but you ARE afraid of what will happen to me if I forgive you. And in that fear and your remorse you have become human. And humans can be forgiven, for it is the ones that don't want to be forgiven that need it the most. So, Vincent, I forgive you. I forgive you for all the pain you have cause others. I forgive you for all the pain you have caused me. And I forgive you for all the pain you have caused yourself.

Vincent: ..... If I accept your apology, that won’t fix the countless other lives I have ruined. I don’t see what one apology will do... I just-.... I can’t see why you’re fighting so hard for me. After all I have done I just.... I can’t see how one sliver of emotion grants you so much confidence in what you believe I am inside. I’ve shown clearly time and again that I am nothing more than what people see me as. I see no pain I’ve caused myself, and the pain of one man doesn’t fix the pain I have caused to the hundreds I have affected. Thousands possibly......

Percival: If you were nothing more than what people see you as, then there would have been no remorse in the first place. The smallest rock can cause the largest avalanche. You cannot see the pain you have caused yourself because you hide behind what people call you. You hide behind their anger because you don't want to confront all the pain you feel for yourself. You are right, one apology will do next to nothing, but it is the forgiveness of one man that will lead to the forgiveness of yourself. There will be a debt to pay, and it will be due soon, but the debt cannot be paid until you confront your demons and put them to rest, for the greatest demon is not the voices shouting out in suffering, it is the one that resides inside you, clawing it's way free with every kill you make. It is this demon that is making you a monster, I simply see the real man hidden by the monster.

Vincent: And what if all this time, Perci, I have been deceiving you? What if this entire time, has been all one act to hide what I truly am. The monster inside manipulating you to see what is not there. A human who needs the forgiveness just so the monster can stab you in the back again. I myself have lost track of who I am, and I can no longer recall. The monster is what I really am, and the monster is all I will be. Demons are meant to trick, Percival. I tricked entire towns. It’s possible to trick a man again with a simple show of emotions that are fabricated. A demon stuck in the poise of a person. A Reaper stuck in the shape of a man. What you see, or rather what you think you see is not there. The remorse you saw was only the demon inside getting far too into character, worried about the possibility of getting caught. There is nothing to forgive, for there is no man inside.

Percival: If this has all been one big trick, props to you for staying in character for so long. If you believe me to be a fool to forgive a man overcome by his demons, then a fool I shall remain. Why would a demon need to stab me in the back? For I have no back to stab now. I have nothing to lose from forgiveness, while on the contrary I have all to gain! I can save a man from the precipice of destruction, even if that man believes he has fallen long ago. There are many things that separate man from demon, but the one that stands out above all the others is that man can feel remorse where devils cannot. So if the remorse you felt was a deceit, that demon has become greater than itself and is realizing it could be a man. And all men can be forgiven.

Vincent: [Vincent just blinks, tears growing in his eyes as he stares at his friend. No matter what, he was defending him, even after all he's done. Taking a small sniff, he walked up to his friend, the tears finally over flowing, and trailing down his cheeks, and he just grabbed him in a hug, and squeezed tightly, burying himself in the crook of his friends neck, sniffling. ] I... I'm so sorry... please... please forgive me Perci... I... I missed you. I'm... so sorry.....

Percival: [Percival receives his friend with open arms, with a light smile on his face] You have my forgiveness my friend, you've had it for a while now.

Vincent: You always were to kind to me.... even when I did nothing to deserve it.

Percival: Without kindness there would be nothing left. The dark shows us where light can be.

Vincent: And to think I feared at one point that there was nothing but the dark within me. Though I disagree with you on that, Perci. Without kindness, I would dare say there would be more.. well me's in the world, and it is quite obvious it could barely handle one.