FACILIS DECENSUS AVERNI

It is easy to go down into Hell...; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air -- there's the rub... Home to Citta Alveare Movie Nights. See the navigation page for relationships/'verses, stats, movie night info, etc.

[abstersivetournure]

@citta-alveare

Ty, to start with, I would’ve loved to talk to you privately instead of doing this. You probably don’t remember me and I don’t blame you -- I’m Nitro, and we talked quite a lot several years ago, back when the team was first looking for assistant moderators and I was one of them. I dropped off the face of the earth due to mental health problems and life problems, and I regret not communicating about that fact, but that’s all rather beside the point now.

There were so many other ways you could’ve handled this. Not just this situation, but for YEARS. Let me just give you the benefit of the doubt and say that your decisions and intentions were reasonable on your end, and that the moderators’ perceptions of it are a result of poor communication and miscommunication. I’m sure that part of this really is a result of communication issues. But in that case, it doesn’t matter what your intentions and motives were; ultimately, it’s still your responsibility that things got this bad and that none of it was ever resolved. You are responsible for this mess, no matter how you spin it. And you can’t frame yourself as “solely responsible for Citta even existing” without taking responsibility for things that have been festering under the surface for so long.

I’m not trying to frame you as “the devil”. None of the moderators were trying to frame you as “the devil”. There is no black-and-white here. There is only the cold, hard facts: there were and are problems in the mod team, there have been for years, and all attempts to fully resolve them were stopped because you wouldn’t actually resolve them. Forget about this particular blow-up, too -- again, this has been going on for years! I know for a fact it was the reason at least one former mod left, and I suspect it was a factor for several others. Because you couldn’t bring yourself to take responsibility.

This doesn’t make you evil or awful, strictly speaking. It makes you a terrible leader, though. And regardless of your intentions, you should have taken responsibility for and resolved these things that have been festering in the mod team for so long. If you wanted to do what was best for Citta, you should have found a real solution long ago. The fact is: you didn’t, and these are the results. There’s no two ways about it. Things that could have been resolved were not resolved, and now the entire community is paying the price.

And your solution was to shut everything down. Okay, fine. But regardless of your feelings toward the community, they are the ones being hurt here more than anyone. More than you. Don’t paint yourself as the victim when you’re the one, the ONLY one, who had the power to actually do anything about this. None of the former mods have EVER tried to slander you, and the way they handled this situation, before your retaliation, left you with as much dignity as possible, while also no longer refusing to be transparent with the community being hurt by your actions and inaction. (Or should I say “unable” to be transparent, given your aggressive response to this.) There were some members who said things that I don’t think they should have, dragging you through the mud preemptively, but don’t frame this as if the moderators launched a smear campaign.

And in the end, even if it were a “smear campaign”, you’re still the one ultimately responsible. You’re still the one who sat by and allowed these problems to grow to the breaking point instead of establishing an authentic and mutual understanding with the mod team. You’re still the one who’s never been willing to take responsibility or really listen and change yourself when there have been problems in the past. You can claim all you want that you “didn’t know”, but I know former moderators tried to talk to you about these kinds of issues, and are now being framed as having “conspired against you”.

This isn’t just based on the current (former?) mods’ word; this is something I’ve been partially aware of for a long time, and even then, the people who told me that never tried to slander you or frame it like you’re a terrible person. No one is out to get you, Ty! You’re the only one that you have to blame for things getting this far.

I’m not saying this because I think the worst of you. I think it’s frustrating, actually, because I remember talking to you at great length about things exactly like this issue. I know that you’re aware that communication is the only solution to issues like these, and that reacting like you just did is only going to make things worse. For yourself, for the community, for everyone. I don’t know you well, but I fully believe that you know better. But I don’t think you apply that thinking to yourself. I’m sure you don’t realize it, but you really need to take this time to think on your own actions and attitude toward the people around you. You don’t seem willing to even try to understand anyone else’s perspective on your words and actions.

You reacted incredibly abrasively to the mod team trying to sort out this mess and give the community a way to move forward, when your actions and lack of communication in locking them out of the account are what caused this; how else are we supposed to take that? What else are we supposed to think of you, and of the situation? Should we give you the benefit of the doubt just because you say so? You, the one who seems to have no intention of fixing things or trying to help the community move forward in any way? Who seems to have no concern for the outcome of this except indignation over how you’re being treated? Who, even now, won’t take responsibility or give any attention to trying to fix the situation? Respect is something you have to earn, not something given by rights of existing, and if there were ever any time you could’ve earned the whole community’s respect, it would be in how you chose to handle this situation.

Instead, all you’ve done is provide first-hand evidence for everything that the mod team has said about how you’ve treated them over the years -- including accounts that I heard years ago. Repeated and unrelated accounts of this incredibly unkind treatment and your refusal to take responsibility are not a coincidence, and you no longer have any room to defend yourself.

You reacted to problems being unveiled by pinning all the blame on David and his actions. For comparison, he reacted to your response by admitting to previous problems, saying he was wrong, and expressing the desire to improve the situation and clear the air if anyone so desires. That is the mark of growth and maturity that’s going to be required from you if you ever want to try to recover from this fallout in the future, and have healthy friendships with any of the people involved again. I really do hope that you’re able to reflect and understand the problems with how you’ve handled things over the years. You might not be a “perpetrator”, but you’re not the victim here. You have no right to frame it as such.

You need to grow, Ty, and the mod team and community need to grow without being smothered by someone who can’t take responsibility for his own actions. Something that has already involved and affected the community for years has finally become public to the community. We’re not here to play the blame game, and no one is trying to play the blame game with you -- the only thing that’s happened is that you’re being forced to deal with consequences for your own behavior over the years. And that’s not a fucking smear campaign.

Please, please, please, reflect on this and at least try to understand where things could have been different if you had acted differently. I’m not fond of total defamation and stripping people of their dignity as a person, or of their potential to become better. You can become better. But you’re not going to manage it by being self-righteous.

Thank you for creating Citta; I really mean this. I met some of my closest friends because of it, directly or indirectly. I have a lot of really good memories from it, including getting to talk to you for a time and learning a bit about you. I wish it didn’t have to die at the hands of its own creator because you wouldn’t deal with these problems properly. But you’re the one who wanted so much credit for being responsible for Citta existing, so, fine -- you’ll have to deal with being responsible for its death, too.

[wnq-music]

Guilt is cancer. Guilt will confine you, torture you, destroy you. It’s a black wall. It’s a thief.

Dave Grohl (via wnq-music)

[abstersivetournure]

send me a symbol

웃: what my muse would leave to people in their will

♛: the pettiest thing my muse has ever done

★: five things most people don't know about my muse

☄: the last five Googles searches my muse made

✉: the last five text messages my muse sent

☢: how would my muse fare in a zombie apocalypse?

☣: how would my muse fare in the hunger games?

☠: how my muse would choose to die, if it were up to them

♂: three names my muse might name their son

♀: three names my muse might name their daughter

♫: my muse's five favorite songs

☤: the last time my muse went to the hospital and why

▽: the first job my muse ever had

☃: what my muse does when it snows

☎: the last person my muse made a phone call to and why

♠: the riskiest thing my muse has ever done

➹: what my muse would do on their 21st birthday if they had all the money in the world

☞: five things my muse is good at

☜: five things my muse sucks at

✄: what my muse would say to the mun if they had the opportunity

[raisedhunter-deactivated2019061]

☠ Drabble list-- You can send one anytime.

[lacedmagic]

rpmissionboard:

☠Send me one at your leisure and I will write a drabble based on what you send— Other prompts are always welcomed and encouraged if it’s not stated on this list.

Send any of these to me at your leisure and I will write it— Please be specific to who  is going to be doing what.

Scream: My character has caused yours to scream out for some reason. Headache: How my character will take care of yours when they have a headache Expecting: Our characters find out they are expecting a child together. Milkshake: Our characters will have to split a milkshake. Coffee: My character will be hyped up on coffee and pester yours. Mistletoe: Our characters will share a kiss under the mistletoe. Graveyard: My character will visit your characters grave. Spectre: My character will be visited by your character’s ghost or vice versa. Bleed: My character will injure your character. Dream: My character will have a dream about your character. Letters: Our characters will write letters to one another. Nightmare: One of our characters will have a nightmare. Holiday: Our characters will spend a holiday together. Apologize: My character will apologize to yours. Busted: Your character will catch mine doing something they shouldn’t.

Angst of Hell

O Romeo: I will write my character missing/looking for yours. O Juliet: I will write about my character’s feelings for yours. O Macbeth: I will write about how my character kills yours. O Hero: I will write about my character mourning yours. O Puck: I will write about my character pranking yours. O Titiana: I will write about our characters sharing a night in bed or sharing a kiss. Specify. O Oberon: I’ll write about my character getting angry at yours over something they did. Regrets: I’ll write a drabble about my character having regrets about yours. Heaven: I’ll write a drabble about our characters going to heaven. Hell: I’ll write a drabble about our characters going to hell. Purgatory: I’ll write a drabble about our characters going to purgatory. Time: I’ll write a drabble about our characters doing to a different time/dimension. specify.

Will you…?—

Amuse Me: I will write a funny drabble about my character trying to cheer yours up. Accept me: I will write a drabble about my character accepting yours or vice versa. /Or both to accept one another/ Break Me: I will write an angsty drabble about our characters. Befriend Me: I wil write a drabble about our characters meeting for the first time in an AU. Call Me: I will write a drabble about my character asking for yours [be it at the brink of death/in a battlefield/knocking on the front door wounded, feel free to specify.] Comfort Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character comforting yours- vise versa. Drink Me: I will write a drabble about my character taking shots with yours. Dominate Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character dominating yours. Or vise versa. Enamor Me: I will write a fluffy drabble about my character trying to woo yours [be it out of the blue/Valentines Day,feel free to specify.] Embarrass Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character saying or doing something embarrassing to himself or to your character. Fight Me: I will write a drabble out my character fighting with/or against yours. Forgive me: I will write a drabble about my character forgiving yours or vise versa. Get Me: I will write a drabble about my character saving yours. Humor Me: I’ll write a funny drabble about our characters. Hustle Me: I’ll write a drabble about our characters hustling. Humiliate Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character doing something humiliating to yours. Haunt Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character watching over yours [as a ghost, watching from a distance, or otherwise, feel free to specify.] Hunt with me: I’ll write a drabble about your character and mine on a hunt together. Invite Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character asking your character to Join Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character giving your character an offer [be it a proposal for an alliance, asking them to join them in an activity (you can get dirty if you want), feel free to specify.] Kill Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character killing yours. Love Me: I’ll write a fluffy drabble about our characters. Mourn Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character mourning your character’s death. Nurse Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character healing yours. Offer Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character giving yours a gift. Paint Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character drawing a picture of yours [like one of your french girls~ be it painting them or drawing them, maybe offering a picture of them as a gift, feel free to specify.] Quiet Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character trying to calm yours down [be it from crying, from lashing out, feel free to specify.] Remember Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character trying to get yours to remember them [be it from an accident, meeting them after years apart, feel free to specify.] Raise Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character resurrecting yours. Vise versa. Reunite Me: I’ll write a drabble of our characters reuniting together. Shag Me: I’ll write a dirty drabble about our characters. Surprise Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character surprising yours. Vise versa. Save Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character saving yours or vise versa. Shoot Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character shooting yours or vise versa. Tell Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character confessing something to yours [be it a love confession, a secret, feel free to specify.] Text me: I’ll write a drabble about my character texting yours or your character texting mine. Trick Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character tricking your character. Unbind Me: I’ll write a drabble about your character freeing mine, or the other way around, or something among the lines [be it freeing them from jail, from handcuffs, from a trap, from a curse, feel free to specify.] Value Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character telling yours how they feel about them. Wed Me: I’ll write a drabble about our character under the subject of wedlock [be it my character proposing to yours, or marrying yours, feel free to specify.] X Me: I will write whatever it is that you wish, [specify.] Yahoo Me: I’ll write a drabble about our characters celebrating something [feel free to specify.] Zip Me: I’ll write a drabble about your character dressing mine, or the other way around [this can also be used for shutting them up as well, but feel free to specify.]

NSFW-ish Drabbles.

Torture Me: I’ll write a drabble about your character torturing mine or vise versa. Take Me: my character will kidnap yours. Leave Me: my character will leave your character behind. Deny Me: my character will either deny your character’s advances or deny them a ’ happy ending’. Grope Me: my character will grope yours. Lick Me: my character will lick yours in any specified place or manner. Suck Me: my character will suck on any body part of your character. Tease Me: my character will tease yours, whether in a friendly or a sexual manner. Please Me: my character will do anything to please yours. Bite Me: my character will bite yours on any part of their body. Blindfold Me: my character will blindfold yours in order to have their fun. Meet Me: My character is meeting yours either for the first time or just causally. Greet Me: My character will greet yours, either at the door, at work, or somewhere else. Own me: My character owns your character. Slap me: my character will slap yours. In the sexual manner, or of anger. specify. Call Me: My character will call your character for whatever reason. Hug Me: My character will hug yours. Either by surprise or for a specific reason. Give Me: my character will give yours a gift. Tickle Me: my character will tickle yours ruthlessly.

Starts With a Single Word Drabbles.

Sleep: My character needs to stay at your character’s house for the night, or vise versa. Specify. (you can add any other special things that could happen!) Drink: My character will call, text, or show up at your character’s house drunk. Specify which of the three. Heal: My character will tend to your character’s wounds, or be at their side when they’re sick. Confess: My character will speak their true feelings about your character. (or about a topic. you may choose.) Death: My character’s reaction to your character dying. Time: My character is running late! They are supposed to meet your character at ___________ (fill in the blank) or vise versa. Specify. Protect: My character keeps yours safe from harm. Kiss: My character kisses yours, or vise versa. Specify. Dream: My character wakes up in the middle of the night because of a dream with your character in it. Run!: My character is chasing your character (or vise versa) OR both characters are being chased by ___________ (fill in the blank). Rivalry: I’ll write a drabble of our characters having a rivalry between each other. Revenge: My character will get revenge on yours. Jealousy: My character gets jealous over yours. Hallucinations: My character will have hallucinations about your character. Candle: Our characters spending time together by candle light. Obsession: I’ll write a drabble about my character having an obsession with yours. Vise versa. Thief: My/your character has stolen something from yours/mine and plans to escape with said item. (Be specific on who gets which role) Healer: My/your character helping your/my character when they are hurt/sick. (Be specific on who gets which role, and whether the pain is physical, emotional, or just having to catch a fever) Sky: Our characters are stargazing. Seer: An event with our characters in the past or future. Help: My character requests help from your character (be something silly or serious, you may decide.) Gift: My character gives your character something special. Or vise versa. Specify. I Do: I will write our characters as a married couple. Broken: I’ll write our characters breaking up or in an angsty scene. Spell: I’ll write my character putting a spell on yours. Or being under a spell/curse.

Random Drabbles.

Joke: My character pulling a prank on yours. School: How our characters live through a school day. Specify class if needed. Song: My charcter singing a song to yours, or vice versa. Gloves: How my charcter deals with news from yours, Specify news, etc. Snow flake: Our characters in the cold together.

Will you Mourn…?

Rain — I’ll write a fluffy drabble of our characters kissing in the rain.  Kill — I’ll write a angst drabble of my character violently killing yours.  Love — I’ll write a drabble of my character admitting they love yours. Lust — I’ll write a drabble of our characters making love together. Date — I’ll write a drabble of my character taking yours out on a date.   Defend — I’ll write a drabble of my character protecting yours. Fight — I’ll write a drabble of my character fighting with/against yours. Death — I’ll write a drabble of my character with yours on their deathbed. Mourn — I’ll write a drabble of my character mourning yours. Pet — I’ll write a drabble of my character buying yours a pet. (specify what kind.) Wash — I’ll write a drabble of our characters showering/bathing together. Pool — I’ll write a drabble of our characters swimming together. Beach — I’ll write a drabble of out characters at the beach together. Sing — I’ll write a drabble of my character singing to yours. Snow — I’ll write a drabble of our characters building a snowman together. Game — I’ll write a drabble of my character playing videogames with yours. Movie — I’ll write a drabble of our characters watching a movie together. Shop — I’ll write a drabble of my character taking yours shopping. Cook — I’ll write a drabble of our characters cooking together. Sleep — I’ll write a drabble of my character snuggling in bed with yours.

Some More…

Traumatic: I’ll write my or your characters going through a traumatic experience. Murder: I’ll write my character killing yours or vice vesra. Home: I’ll write our characters living together. Scars: I’ll write your character touching my character’s scars or vice versa Sketching: I’ll write your character drawing mine or vice versa Warmth: I’ll write our characters getting warm. Solace: I’ll write my character comforting yours or vice versa Drink: I’ll write our characters drinking together Game: I’ll write our characters playing a game. Love: I’ll write our character’s falling in love. Death: I’ll write our character’s mourning over each other. Hate: I’ll write our character’s hating each other. Seduce: I’ll write my character trying to seduce yours or vice versa Old: I’ll write our characters growing old together Song: I’ll write our character’s singing or playing a musical instruments. Child: I’ll write our characters raising a child. Poem: I’ll write my character speaking a poem to yours or vice versa Insane: I’ll write my character is insane inside asylum and yours is the doctor, vice versa

Our Relationship is more than a…

Rivalry — I’ll write a drabble of our characters having a rivalry between each other. Obsession — I’ll write a drabble about my character having an obsession with yours. Vise versa. Proposal — My character proposes to your character. Vise versa. Celebration — Our characters celebrate together. Or have a party. Secret — My character tells your character a secret. Promise — My character makes a promise to your character.

Spending Holidays Together…

Pumpkin: Your character and mine doing some halloween decorating Trick: Your character and mine being sneaky together Treat: Your character and mine being sweet to one another Costume: Your character or mine, dressing up for the other Candy Corn: Your character or mine being cheesy to the other Treat Bag: My character sharing something with yours Leaves: Your character or mine clearing the air about something. Stars: Our characters under the stars together Snow: Our characters in the cold together Scarf: Your character or Mine borrowing/stealing clothes from the other Hot Cocoa: Our characters enjoying a hot moment together. Candles: Our characters enjoying a moment by candlelight Gift: Your character or mine, surprising the other with a present Bows: Your character or mine, dressing/undressing the other Peppermint: Your character or mine, sharing a sweet secret with the other.

[abstersivetournure]

naughtbiased replied to your post: vergil/roxas for the brotp meme PLEASE,,,

HE HASN’T HAD A PILLOW FIGHT BEFORE can we fix that one day]]

PLEASE? PLEASE... how can we make this happen

[startshxtwithme]

Tell my muse lies about people they care for.

[abstersivetournure]

vergil/roxas for the brotp meme PLEASE,,,

who steals french fries off the other’s plate: Roxas seems like he’d kind of mind his own business, i.e. not steal stuff off other people’s plates, but I’m not going to deny the possibility of Vergil doing it to him when he’s not looking

who jokingly moves in for the kiss when someone asks if they’re a couple: No

who has to bust or bail the other out of jail: Vergil would bail out Roxas if it somehow became necessary but if Vergil was arrested while Roxas was around I think he’d just beg him not to tell Aquahonestly whichever way you look at it the end result is “Let’s…let’s not tell Aqua about this–”

who gives the other advice/comfort about dating issues: Roxas advises Vergil to date his mom – he seems like he’d offer his opinion but ultimately be like “do what you want”. Vergil would do what he can but I am doubtful he’d be all that good at it.

who shamelessly cheats at games by reaching over to cover the other’s eyes: Please. Vergil is a more subtle cheater than this.

who immediately calls dibs on the top bunk: Roxas getting excited about a sleepover is cute, I’m crying?

who starts and who wins the pillow fights: Vergil has many, many years of experience with pillow fights. He would win. I – I don’t think either would start one but has Roxas been in a pillow fight before?? If no, please fix next patch

who says “your pants would look better on their floor” to the other’s potential crush: no

[abstersivetournure]

dante and verge

who steals french fries off the other’s plate: Dante as far as anyone will ever know

who jokingly moves in for the kiss when someone asks if they’re a couple: THEY ARE LITERALLY TWINS PLEASE NO.

who has to bust or bail the other out of jail: Vergil would bail Dante out. Dante wouldn’t have to because Vergil wouldn’t get caught

who gives the other advice/comfort about dating issues: Vergil wouldn’t even date, he’s here to give hugs and threats to people as needed. Also Dante would be terrible, terrible for advice. If someone broke Vergil’s heart, though…I don’t think that would go over too well with Dante.

who shamelessly cheats at games by reaching over to cover the other’s eyes: DANTE. DANTE A THOUSAND TIMES OVER. VERGIL JUST SIGHS IN MILD EXASPERATION AT THIS POINT

who immediately calls dibs on the top bunk: Dante!

who starts and who wins the pillow fights: Dante would start them more often and Vergil would probably get annoyed, but I doubt either would win – they’re both too competitive to give up.

who says “your pants would look better on their floor” to the other’s potential crush: I was gonna say “Dante” but I don’t think he’d even be that cruel ok, Vergil having a crush is like, once in a lifetime

[misty-reeyus]

im tired of all these askmemes being for otps tbh

so leave a brotp/platonic ship in my ask and i’ll tell you:

who steals french fries off the other’s plate

who jokingly moves in for the kiss when someone asks if they’re a couple

who has to bust or bail the other out of jail

who gives the other advice/comfort about dating issues

who shamelessly cheats at games by reaching over to cover the other’s eyes

who immediately calls dibs on the top bunk

who starts and who wins the pillow fights

who says “your pants would look better on their floor” to the other’s potential crush

[dragonroleplaystarters]

Alice Madness Returns Starters!

“My memories make me vomit.” 

“You’ve used me and abused me, but you will not destroy me!” 

“Save myself from death, is that it? Is that why I’ve come here? I’m not afraid to die! Times I’ve welcomed death.”

“Is it mad to pray for better hallucinations?”

“A secret is only a secret when it is unspoken to another.”

“Threats, promises and good intentions don’t amount to action.”

“Every picture tells a story. Sometimes we don’t like the ending. Sometimes we don’t understand it.”

“Recovering the truth is worth the suffering.” 

“Different denotes neither bad nor good, but it certainly means not the same.”

“Memories define our lives and they renew us.” 

“An experience forgotten never was.” 

“I’d like to forget what you did. I’ve tried, but I can’t.” 

“Authority must be obeyed, or it must be overthrown!”

“What you claim not to know is merely what you’ve denied.”

“I’ve not come back here looking for a fight!”

“My silence is for sale, cheap.” 

“The real world is not so wonderful.” 

“You’re not mad enough to be rejected.”

“They say a cat has nine lives. I hope you have as many.”

[karmasama-com]

Change is the end result of all true learning. Change involves three things: First, a dissatisfaction with self–a felt void or need; second, a decision to change–to fill the void or need; and third, a conscious dedication to the process of growth and change–the willful act of making the change; Doing Something.

Leo Buscaglia (via karmasama-com)

[puellalux-deactivated20151109]

Her feet were on auto pilot. She had no concept of time, space, direction… nothing. She was set to wander, oblivious to her surroundings. This time was not like the last time she had been returned to the city. This time, there was really… nothing much to bring back, besides a body. 

As she roamed, her tiny shoulders brushed against the hanging limbs of many, though nothing registered as particularly important. When addressed, she only offered a stare.

“…”

Words still would not come. 

[abstersivetournure]

He couldn’t put a finger on what caught his eye -- what caused him to take note of her, in the midst of the bustling crowds of the city. Perhaps it was the blank look she carried, the listlessness, or perhaps the strange, striking sense of deja vu that came over him when he glanced at her. Perhaps it was merely her age -- no child so young should be lost and alone in the middle of a crowd.

Whatever the reason, when a young girl brushed by him and hardly seemed to notice (hardly seemed to notice anything, really), Vergil turned to watch her, brow furrowed. Was she alright...? Bumping into others wasn’t abnormal, true; hardly worth noting, except that something seemed...off. He hesitated, indecisive, for a few moments before moving after her.

“Young lady.” She didn’t make it a challenge to catch up with her, moving aimlessly and unhurried. Vergil stopped short of touching her; he knew how he would’ve responded to such an overstepping of bounds at that age. Or now, for that matter. He kept pace alongside her instead, keeping an unimposing distance. “Are you lost?” It wasn’t what he really wanted to know, but it was as good a place to start as any.

...The lack of response was. A little unnerving, to say the least. The blankness lingered, disconcerting, and he wasn’t entirely convinced that she heard him. Or at least...that she processed what he had said. Vergil hesitated a moment, brow furrowed, before resting a hand lightly on the girl’s shoulder and cautiously asking, “Are you alright?”

[wifeyzashi-blog]

Level Up! Nobody -> Citizen

The device on his doorstep is foreign: A little black rectangle with tiny speakers and a glass screen. He knows that it has to be something from the future – an invention of the Saniwa’s time, perhaps – and he’s charmed by it, although he’s not sure how it works. There’s a manual inside of the packaging, but he finds himself completely unable to wrap his head around the technical jargon within. All he gleans from the text is that his new black rectangle is meant to aid in contacting fellow citizens; a welcome gift, to be certain, because he’s kept to himself within this city for far too long.

Many things from the future are voice-activated, right? He neatly folds the manual back up, tucking it away within the discarded cardboard box, and lays the black rectangle flat against his palm. Using this object to communicate with others should be easy enough… After all, everyone who’s been here for longer than a month should have one!

“Hello! Excuse me!” Horikawa speaks into the phone’s speakers with a friendly smile, his tone pleasantly formal. “I’d like to speak to someone else in the city, please! It doesn’t matter who – I’m not picky!”

… No answer.

“That’s odd… Is it broken?”

[abstersivetournure]

Of the many things that Vergil expected to see on a daily basis in the city, a boy conversing politely with his phone wasn’t one of them. But, given all the other bizarre things that had happened in the city, perhaps it should’ve been.

It was the “Hello! Excuse me!” that caught his attention as he walked by, in the middle of going over a mental list of groceries. He paused mid-step. Who would want his attention and why? And did he really want to acknowledge them and risk getting swept up into some nonsense? Granted, they might simply ask for directions or the like, but it might be something else entirely -- any number of things -- and he had no desire to get caught up in any of them.

...Yet he found himself turning anyway, brow furrowed. The voice had been polite and pleasant, after all -- perhaps deceptively so, but it was impossible to tell without giving the situation a chance.

Luckily(?) for him, he found that the source of the voice wasn’t paying attention to him at all. A young boy sat on his doorstep with a small box at his side and a plastic rectangle in hand, one that he was addressing. Quite kindly, as well -- remembering to say please and speaking congenially, more so than most people Vergil knew when they were talking to...well. Real people. It was a remarkable sight, really, and one to which he wasn’t certain how to react.

The boy’s puzzled question, seemingly spoken to no one but himself, broke Vergil out of his surprised stupor. He ought to leave and let him figure out the phone’s functionality himself, or find someone he knew to help -- there were groceries he had to fetch, after all. And yet...

“Is it on?” he wondered dryly instead, eyeing the object. If one was unfamiliar enough with the operation of a phone to assume that it would respond to a polite request, without any of its keywords, then it didn’t seem like an entirely unlikely possibility. And if it were so simple, it wasn’t as though it would take more than a few moments to lend his...er...”expertise” was an exaggeration, but his aid, at any rate.

[sardonicstripling-archive]

Devil Will Probably Cry || CA Closed w/ abstersivetournure

   Familiar faces weren’t what he was expecting when he entered this city. But, really, he didn’t expect a lot of things. 

   The chance meeting happened almost by accident. He was out on the streets, in the ‘Green Sector’. That’s what they called it, anyways. Not like he couldn’t see why; the place reminded him of another jungle he’d explored pretty recently. He almost expected a certain demon to come spiraling out of nowhere, hissing at him. 

   ‘Course, he wasn’t that unlucky. Oh no, the world had something entirely different planned for him. 

“…Dante?” 

   The familiar white hair was a sight he wasn’t too unfamiliar with. Not to mention the overall build, and even his face. But… Something was off. He looked… Younger? And a lot more focused? Disciplined? He looked less like a crazy uncle who would pick on you for kicks and more like an actual swordsman. 

“Yo, Dante!! That you?” 

   Without thinking, he’d run over to the man. Even if he didn’t really care for the guy all that much (though he blamed that more on how little he’d gotten to know of him), seeing a familiar face gave him a burst of energy. Of course, the quarter-demon knew not who exactly he had run into, nor the immense impact his meeting would have on him…

[abstersivetournure]

Spending years upon years of one's life being constantly mistaken for another person, one begins to expect such things.

The first seven years of their lives, of course, at least two people knew them apart at little more than a glance, and the few others they saw regularly before....well, before, had learned to identify them as well. But for something like ten years, their identities were regularly misattributed to one another. Annoying as it was, Vergil had, naturally, learned to cope with it, even expect it. Answering to the wrong name, not correcting those who wouldn't tolerate it ("Watch your attitude," they told him sharply, when his background was far enough in the past and from their minds that they felt no guilt), and calmly interrupting to state his true name to those who would (who shied away with sheepishness like he'd just bitten them, stuttering apologies). Anger, despite what others seemed to expect, was rare for him to feel over such an ultimately petty mistake.

...Granted, his brother's reputation was not one that he wanted to carry, so he did make a point of correcting the error wherever he could.

The most awkward situations were created when his brother's friends approached him by mistake. He didn't know how to react to them, to their jesting and expectation, and they tended to...retreat when they became aware of their mistake. As though frightened preemprively of him. Not that he minded; Vergil had no desire to masquerade as his brother while his friends shared nonsense and secrets in the same breath. He had no desire to be near them at all, if he could help it. Still, it was something that one grew to expect.

Even now, he half expected it. It wasn't often, but once or twice in this city, someone had mistaken him for his brother, and he calmly corrected them and sent them on their way. It would seem their social circles (small and limited as his own was) either rarely overlapped or perhaps could merely tell them apart more easily (probably both). A thankful thing, at that. Awkward conversations weren't things to which he'd ever looked forward.

But regardless of how infrequent it was, the automatic reaction remained the same. When someone called "Yo, Dante!" in his direction, with a high note of anticipation and surprise, Vergil first glanced around to confirm his brother was nowhere near him (he was at home, sleeping, the last that Vergil knew) and then sighed softly, stopping where he was. He could ignore the call and hope that the individual wouldn't press their luck when they saw that he didn't answer to the name, but...no. Might as well get it over with. And then he could return his attention to enjoying the peace and quiet that the park was supposed to offer.

"That you?" It was only then that he saw the source of the sound, and had to do a double-take to make sure of what he was seeing.

The young man approached quickly, nearly a replica of Dante except for his clothing. The face, the nose, the uncanny spark in his eyes (though they seemed a shade darker, more like -- well, darker, at any rate). Appearance wasn't the only similarity; the inhuman smell that he carried was relatively lesser, but still distinct. Vergil felt vaguely like he had entered an episode of the Twilight Zone and caught himself looking at the boy like he was an alien. The expression flashed only for a moment before he schooled himself, but the shock remained, his mind spinning like tires in mud to process the series of facts that had presented themselves.

He...knew Dante?

"I...apologize," Vergil found himself saying, his mind too numb to form words consciously and running on autopilot. That didn't stop the tension from creeping into his voice, strangled with his perplexity and wariness. "I am afraid not. Who --" His fingers worked anxiously against the lacquered wood of Yamato's sheath, a constant presence that anchored him. Whatever peace and quiet he'd desired, he thought absently in the midst of the harrowed confusion, it was doubtful he'd find it today. "How do you know him? Who are you?"

[herestothelittleguys]

listen children, all is not lost

[herestothelittleguys]

As he rounded the corner of the long, vine-infested hallway, Steve was immediately confronted with a blue coated figure that nearly ran into him. He froze, lifting his blade to defend himself- only to realize that hey, he knew this guy.

The crushing grip on his arm still hurt, though, and he immediately attempted to wrench free with a “Get off, Redgrave-”

Steve stepped back to put some distance between them, then glanced down at the knife in his (beef goop covered) hand. It…was kind of small. “T’s better than nothing,” he grumbled.

Vergil’s mention of strategy (and of his inhaler- good to know the guy was still a mother hen even in a crisis situation) got Steve to focus again. Battle plan. Right.

“We absolutely need to make sure none of the soldiers you mentioned get down that elevator. And we do need to get better weapons than what we can find in the kitchen to make that possible. So let’s make that happen.”

A faint beep echoed down the hallway behind him. Steve paused, then turned on his heel to hurry back the way he came.

“As soon as I turn off the oven!” he called over his shoulder.

[abstersivetournure]

Steve, impulsive mess that he was, still had his wits about him enough to strategize quickly, and for that, Vergil was grateful. He didn’t look up from the object in his hand as the small man spoke, busy sifting through the rapid influx of mixed panicked requests for aid and reports from those brave and present of mind enough to offer them. Helpful information, even if it wasn’t what he wanted to see printed across the scene.

“Wash your hands, as well!” It was almost comical, someone rushing to clean up and make sure the oven was off and other such mundane things under the blare of figurative bomb sirens, but it wouldn’t do to have the over-oxygenated base camp that they were forming erupt in flames. Vergil followed more slowly after a moment, the purpose in his demeanor intensifying with every step. Something like that of a soldier on duty.

“They’re creating weapons caches in the each sector,” he reported as he entered the designated kitchen, the radio still alive in the background. The hand that held his sword flexed anxiously, habitually. “We won’t be able to carry a great deal in one go, and there will need to be a decent supply if we intend to hold District Zeta. But a start is a start.”

The radio, crackling away like nothing was wrong, caught his attention. Vergil crossed the room and leaned down to turn the station, tuning it to HCR. One of the few stations whose number he had committed to memory (naturally). As expected, Flammelle’s voice was present and intense, reporting on the situation already. Vergil made a mental note to ensure there were plenty of batteries for this, and perhaps other radios around that could be used. He had a feeling the reports would be a godsend.

But that was a secondary, perhaps tertiary concern. The man turned his attention back to Rogers’ general direction, intense as ever. More so than usual, even. “Do you have any other weaponry here, aside from...cutlery?” The Yamato would serve well enough, but he was not so blindly faithful in its abilities that he was without caution.

At least, he was certainly not blindly faithful in his own abilities.

[keepinitssstylish]

TAKE ME TO WONDERLAND, OR, WELCOME BACK TONY [EVENT OPEN]

Kicking a can down a dark and silent sidewalk, a gloomy youth stalked through the toxic tinged streets of the Industrial Sector… well, not his Industrial Sector. That much was plain as day, and thank fuckin’ Moses on Mt. Sinai for that. If he had to live here, he’d sooner jump off of a skyscraper and call it a night. You wouldn’t know him. Good riddance, too. It was none of your business. 

There was, however, something about his face…

…Whatever. Like he said – none of your goddamn business. You start talking like that and he’ll cut your pretty face so bad they won’t even remember what you looked like. And y’know what? You won’t have anybody to blame but yourself. So chew on that.  So this was the ‘other world’, huh? Some place. If they were trying to impress him, then they oughta try harder, ‘cause they were getting a big fat F all around. Looked like a crummy pile of junk if you asked him. He coughed, choking on the smog, which was so thick he swear he was swimming in the Oil Ocean Zone. 

Yeah, definitely a crummy pile of junk. At least their garbage dump had some class to it. What made them think they were so much better than them, huh? ‘Cause he sure as hell wasn’t seeing anything special. Figures, bunch of limp dicked jackasses thinking they can push people ‘round ‘cause they think they’re so special. Tch, yeah, he’ll show them special. He’ll sure show them, alright. He’ll show them real special.   Too bad, then, that he couldn’t find a single soul for the life of him. He’d been crawling all over this damn health hazard and he kept coming up empty. Maybe they were smart and avoided this place like the plague, not wanting to come out of here with a six arms or a third eye or some shit like that… Or maybe they were just scared.  What do you know, limp dicked and a bunch of yellow bellies. Two tastes that taste great together. They sure were special, alright. Couldn’t beat that. Might as well lie down and die right now.  He had a feeling that this place was a ghost town, but before he tried to escape this hell hole– ‘cause, like hell if knew where he was going in this screwed up town– he’d give it one last try. You know, just for shits and giggles.  “What? Is everyone out t’fuckin’ bingo?” He yelled, spinning around with his arms wide open. “Or are y’just too chicken?” And just to drive the point home, make it really count, y’know, he snatched up the can and– with an arm that’d make Babe Ruth blush–threw it straight through a window, shattering it.  Ha ha, nice. Maybe he oughta throw a few more. He’s not sure they’d really get it with the first one. Wouldn’t want that, would we? He was doing them a favor here, really, paying ‘em back for that whole ‘trying to kill you’ thing.  What nice folks.  He didn’t know what he was expecting, though. They were no different from any of the other ‘nice folks’ he ever met. No damn different at all. 

[abstersivetournure]

It wasn’t hard to guess where he went.

The warning came down with urgency and the word to attack first, for friends, loved ones -- and if not those, then one’s very existence. Fight, they said, in prettier words, while militia armed themselves and made for the gateways that had opened. He had every intention of surveying, of assessing the threat and eliminating it as best as he could, as soon as he...

As soon as...

That was when he’d realized the ticking time bomb that was Tony was nowhere to be found. Ah.

(The fear that formed in his throat was choked down easily, a churning, sickening feeling in his chest, like he couldn’t quite breathe deeply enough, invisible beneath the cool-as-steel surface. He was well enough practiced at it, after all. Breathe deep, steady. Never flinch.)

He focused on his task. Tony had a way of deliberately breaking open every can of worms he could find, only to leave them scattered on the pavement to rot in pure spite. All while everyone around him had to clean it up. Sometimes he even made a point of spitting in the face of anyone who tried to help. Those were simply the best times.

(He’d become a master of showing nothing in those moments, when his heart dropped into his stomach and left his chest empty, a suffocating vacuum. Nothing. Cool as steel.)

The architecture here was different -- more modern, akin to that of most modern cities of his day. He ignored it, jaw set as he scoured for his -- the object of his search. Some natives had the gall to attack him and were struck down, the blade in his hand alive with silent, suppressed power, nevermind his own. It took scouring most of...well, their equivalent of Sector 2 to find him. The similarities between the two cities were remarkable, but not enough so to make him break pace to regard the differences.

“Were you planning on breaking all of their windows?” His voice was stiff, loud enough to be heard clearly up the street where Tony was poised to fling a scrap of garbage through a window, right alongside one already shattered. “Clever,” he continued in the flat tone that he tended toward, the one that made it nigh impossible to decipher if he was being sarcastic. “The broken glass will surely hinder them, no doubt.”

Probably sarcastic.

(A tension he hadn’t noticed drained out of his shoulders with the deep sigh he released, nigh invisible. And then he gripped his sword ever more tightly and was again unflappable, with the air of a veteran soldier. Always at war, if only in his own head.)

[abstersivetournure]

I am alive over here, miraculously. I’ve been busy mostly with meta stuff but assume Vergil is protecting the Zeta safehouse, helping with supply runs, and generally doing his best to protect the innocent.

Alt Vergil is probably mostly following around his brat little brother or trying to find him. He’s markedly more ruthless and very likely to eliminate any direct threat to himself or his brother in particular, as he has no real emotional attachment to anyone else and nothing to hold him back from succumbing to his “ends justify means” kind of mentality.

If you’d like to interact with either, by all means, let me know! Skype’s available for plotting or general chatting at twitchingwithsanity.