the real question is, who didn't see this coming. ( spoiler-free, looking for a rp! )

[iswritten]

 "  She who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence. "

[ William Blake's Proverbs of Heaven and Hell. He lets the leather-bound book in his grasp slip closed with ease. ]

If such is the move you intend to make, then I'd suggest you stall no longer. Time is precious, after all; the clock stops for no one.

Comments

[devilbreakers]

Clock stops for no one? I should introduce you to Ragtime.

[auguryofinnocence]

Particularly for you. Are you certain that's wise?

[Maybe he's entitled to some worry. Only mild, of course.]

[iswritten]

Oh, we're already acquainted. I fear we aren't to one another's liking.

[ He has memories of that Geryon Knight. They're not particularly fond ones, either. ]

[devilbreakers]

And what is to your liking, V? Poetry, chickens, and big kitty cats?

[iswritten]

Difficult to say. Finding certainty in much of anything proves quite the onerous task, as of late. Wouldn't you agree?

[ He dances around the question masterfully, to no one's surprise. ]

[iswritten]

Fortunate, indeed, that your rhetorical question went unheard by the two you've mentioned.

In any case, I don't see why that should matter.

[devilbreakers]

[ Well damn, that's no fun then. ]

You like being the mysterious guy, huh?

[auguryofinnocence]

[Shocker of the ages. He knows that trick. He frowns for it, but then again when isn't he frowning.]

I suppose. Even death isn't absolute these days. You might get lucky.

i’m living for this wholesome content rn

[iswritten]

I might just. Or —

[ The slightest break in an otherwise illegible facade: his lips, faintly smiling. ]

Perhaps I find these guessing games of yours entertaining, Nero. Who can say?

i’m like 80% done with the game but i know about v so no worries. i’m still suffering rn

[iswritten]

Well, if anyone could attest to that, it would be you — wouldn’t it?

[ There’s something serene about him, then, oddly enough. As though seeing the man whole again came as a reprieve. ]

... A world of second-chances. And how I do so hope you make the choice to act wisely,everything considered.

Oh man good luck with that final push! I was just, can we keep V though?

[auguryofinnocence]

[If there's any one person that a lie won't work on...]

I can make no guarantees. It all depends if you prove a good enough influence, doesn't it?

v is my CHILD and i will not allow them to tear him away from me, i will FIGHT

[iswritten]

[ He should have expected such an answer. In spite of himself — he laughs. ]

While you make a fair point, I’d argue that receptiveness is just as critical as the influence itself. If not moreso.

[ That said — ] What are your plans for this place, if I may ask?

Same!! I refuse to accept this

[auguryofinnocence]

[Maybe so. Maybe V is absolutely right in fact! But he only shrugs ever so slightly.]

More or less the same as yours. With somewhat less enthusiasm on my part given...previous experiences.

although, i will say this: any iteration of vergil wearing mandals is inexplicably hilarious to me

[iswritten]

[ “Previous experiences”? Someone surprisingly knows something V doesn’t. It gives him pause. ]

And what did those “previous experiences” entail, exactly?

MANDALS....... V has. he sure has some kind of taste. it's not good

[auguryofinnocence]

[How does one explain the things that have happened to Vergil in games. Horror games are a bad time.

He frowns even harder, as if that brow could get any more furrowed. There's a lot, but one thing in particular stands out.]

Mother was there, alive, for quite a long time. And then one day she died. I was given her head, like some sort of trophy.

LET V LIVE HIS LIFE !!! ( also hey hello if you plan on going to a game soon 👀 take me with u )

[iswritten]

[ It’s the news itself that knocks the very wind from his lungs, hits him in the stomach with such an intensity that he feels it could damn well bowl him over. His brow knots too, then, as though to match his company’s expression. His eyes close in thought. ]

“... For those had been wonderful times, and they had never returned, at least not with the same glory.” [ Kafka’s Metamorphosis. It seemed suiting. A frown. ] If that’s at the forefront of your recollection, I shudder to think of what else you might have endured. Is that all this place has to offer?

He should be ashamed of his terrible fashion sense but I still support him (I'm gonna shoot you a pm

[auguryofinnocence]

[Good lord, into absurdism now? Would he have been so pretentious if he'd lived a normal life? Vergil's laugh is more of a scoff, but it's precisely because he knows it to be true even now.]

That, at least, is by far the worst of it.

[It was worth it to see her, and to feel like he was actually protecting her day to day. Not that he'll say so to anyone, even this man.]

Who can say what else there is. I suppose, in the end, there's little difference to any other time or place.

look verg don’t be mad that v’s fashion is Choice and Hip and yours hasn’t changed in 11 yrs

[iswritten]

I imagine that’s meant to be something of a comfort, Vergil?

[ The vague smile he seems only to reserve for when he speaks with that deadpan, snarky edge of his. In any case, it’s just enough to cover up the fact that saying the name aloud feels almost foreign. Ironies! ]

With regard to this place, perhaps that’s true. But does that hold, still, when compared to the place we call home? No — I imagine there’s at least one jarringly obvious difference, there.

[ He doesn’t need to say it. After all, it stands before him now. ]

Look!!! It's changed! Marginally!

[auguryofinnocence]

[If it doesn't get worse than the worst thing you can think of...then at least there's a ceiling on it that's visible? He does think that's mildly comforting, thanks. Hearing his name from, well, himself, is a bit jarring though. Almost as much as speaking with him indeed. It's vulnerable, really. Not something he likes to be.]

I don't suppose there's any way I can hide my thoughts on that matter from you.

nero and v are presh in their own way

[devilbreakers]

You should try board games. They're a lot more fun for everyone involved.

[ A beat. ]

Usually.

[naturomdemonto]

Intelligence breeds profit.