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No, of course not. I was a real terror.
[u don't mess with the red gaze even if you are 5 years old. maybe]
[u don't mess with the red gaze even if you are 5 years old. maybe]
[There's something about the way he says that that makes them squint, but they don't have enough knowledge here to argue.]
I guess someone probably would have stopped them.
[Or told them all off in this case.]
I guess someone probably would have stopped them.
[Or told them all off in this case.]
Well, they're kids. Sometimes you can't stop them for the world.
[Except when something, someone...]
Anyways. [He brushes a hand through his bangs.] The past is the past. I guess I have some unruly children to look after on the bus, this time.
[Except when something, someone...]
Anyways. [He brushes a hand through his bangs.] The past is the past. I guess I have some unruly children to look after on the bus, this time.
It does feel like that sometimes. ...I probably shouldn't say that.
[It's true though.]
Still, it's better than it used to be. At least we don't have to worry about them killing eachother as much anymore.
[It's true though.]
Still, it's better than it used to be. At least we don't have to worry about them killing eachother as much anymore.
Oh, yes. Back in the day, I felt like I had to wipe the floor with them if they kept up their idiocy.
[But now, they're more or less in line.]
You still have a long way to go, but...you do hold the reins with a firmer hand these days, you know.
[But now, they're more or less in line.]
You still have a long way to go, but...you do hold the reins with a firmer hand these days, you know.
I do? ...I guess I do.
[They sound genuinely surprised.]
That's a relief to hear. I've been trying to improve as a Manager, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I wonder if it's... enough.
[They sound genuinely surprised.]
That's a relief to hear. I've been trying to improve as a Manager, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I wonder if it's... enough.
It's always never enough.
[That's the fact of the matter. Not for Dante, but in general.]
But at the same time, it means there's always room to improve.
[That's the fact of the matter. Not for Dante, but in general.]
But at the same time, it means there's always room to improve.
So basically don't get lazy about it.
[It makes sense.]
[It makes sense.]
Of course. Being lazy means that you will be someone else's lunch. Literally, sometimes.
It is...a dog eat dog world. After all. Even here. Complacency will be your end.
It is...a dog eat dog world. After all. Even here. Complacency will be your end.
Even here...
[It's not what they want to hear, but it's something they need to. It lines up with the pieces they've been wishing they hadn't seen.]
Don't worry, I'm still looking for ways to improve. And even if I wasn't, there's always another kaiju to show up and make me.
[It's not what they want to hear, but it's something they need to. It lines up with the pieces they've been wishing they hadn't seen.]
Don't worry, I'm still looking for ways to improve. And even if I wasn't, there's always another kaiju to show up and make me.
Well, you shouldn't let your obstacles make an example out of you. That just leads to you being kicked down the road.
[A low sigh.]
Don't be a can if you can help it.
[A low sigh.]
Don't be a can if you can help it.
[Right. Keep going and keep walking on their own two feet. Something to make sure they remember.]
Be a "can do" instead...
[Unfortunately for all present, this is said with 100% seriousness.]
Be a "can do" instead...
[Unfortunately for all present, this is said with 100% seriousness.]
[How frantic, how desperate. He was prepared, he realizes. Even after all of that, with stabbing him in the side, he had expected Vergilius to return and really give him a scolding in more ways than one.]
[He sees Silco's face, now, and for a moment its like time has stopped. He sees the pursing of those lips, the edges of his scar, the blossoming of red across usually pale skin. Something intense stabs through him. A violence that somehow tastes so sweet at the back of his tongue.]
[And meanwhile, his own face is marred by obvious lust, a passion that burns through his stare. The words come choking out, like animals escaping their den.]
I've dreamt of this every night.
[As honest as he can be. The lube is taken, cracked open. Both hands withdraw, before one returns to squeeze his ass with a slick finger that dives in, encircles his entrance with a tease.]
Oh. If only we were alone in that van that night. I would have...devoured you.
[Such horrific hunger has to have an outlet. He starts to press in, rocking his finger to and fro. Another kiss is pressed against his shoulder, before he worries a little bruise into his beautiful bare skin.]
[He sees Silco's face, now, and for a moment its like time has stopped. He sees the pursing of those lips, the edges of his scar, the blossoming of red across usually pale skin. Something intense stabs through him. A violence that somehow tastes so sweet at the back of his tongue.]
[And meanwhile, his own face is marred by obvious lust, a passion that burns through his stare. The words come choking out, like animals escaping their den.]
I've dreamt of this every night.
[As honest as he can be. The lube is taken, cracked open. Both hands withdraw, before one returns to squeeze his ass with a slick finger that dives in, encircles his entrance with a tease.]
Oh. If only we were alone in that van that night. I would have...devoured you.
[Such horrific hunger has to have an outlet. He starts to press in, rocking his finger to and fro. Another kiss is pressed against his shoulder, before he worries a little bruise into his beautiful bare skin.]
I thought it was clever...
[Not nearly as inspiring as they hoped, then.]
[Not nearly as inspiring as they hoped, then.]
Don't give up your day job for puns, Dante. My advice for the day.
[ Vergilius promised him he's just a man, that they're both just men, but they're still more than that, aren't they? He's spread beneath him like a tableau for him to take his pound of flesh from, and what does he do? He takes. Silco knew there was violence under the man's skin, and he wants to drag it out of him, see it in full bloom over, and over, and over. As many times as he can.
Over his shoulder, he sees it, in the way he stares down at him, that look in his eyes that makes him want to turn around and stare at him, swallow his every word, and scrape his fingernails along each and every scar on him, find the places where there are new ones, excise from him his doubts and guilt, and keep him focused on taking from him, instead of flaying himself for his every sin. He was a monster too, didn't that fit?
He would crystalize this moment, if he could, the confession, but that look on his face, with lust heating his gaze, like it's burning him up inside, and he has no other outlet than him to take it out on him. He wants to capture that, he'll remember it, every time he looks at him, every time they're in the same space. Maybe he is addicted — obsessed — but that look on his face, the words he says...
Isn't he just as much as Silco? ]
I wanted — [ A hiss, when he slips inside, a bruise already blossoming against his back. His fingers want to find something to hold onto — him — but he won't let him. Maybe this really is punishment designed to make him go mad. He feels it, a little mad, a haze that makes him shudder against him, and he's barely started. ] — you. I thought you were doing it on purpose, driving me mad like that.
[ The accusation is heavy on his tongue, as if he hadn't been doing the same to him. How he would have liked to see that careful composure of his crumble just for him. Watch him be foolhardy, brash. Take a chance — all just for him. Because he couldn't hold back. ]
Understood.
[And they'll stick to memorizing Vergilius's advice the old-fashioned way.]
I do appreciate it, though. The advice. I know it's probably frustrating, dealing with someone who knows as little about the world as I do
[And they'll stick to memorizing Vergilius's advice the old-fashioned way.]
I do appreciate it, though. The advice. I know it's probably frustrating, dealing with someone who knows as little about the world as I do
...
[He will close his eyes at that.]
I have expectations, Dante. I wouldn't call it getting frustrated. You're a far cry from the trembling soul I found in the dark forest back then.
[He will close his eyes at that.]
I have expectations, Dante. I wouldn't call it getting frustrated. You're a far cry from the trembling soul I found in the dark forest back then.
[They cringe at the memory. Despite being one of their first, many of the details still stick out in stark detail in their mind.]
In my defense, there was a lot going on at the time.
In my defense, there was a lot going on at the time.
There was. Even all the Sinners died. Do you remember that?
[They got wiped like yesterday's stain.]
[They got wiped like yesterday's stain.]
Yeah. It definitely made an impression at the time, too. Everyone came in as if they knew exactly what to do, Faust taught me some of the basics of command, and then everyone died right in front of me.
And then, just as I thought I was gonna be next, you came in.
And then, just as I thought I was gonna be next, you came in.
That's the contract. Everyone is incapacitated...so the guide steps in to save all your sorry behinds.
[But he can't interfere before that. Unfortunately. And when he did...]
Those troublesome people, though...I think they were ready to ambush you.
[But he can't interfere before that. Unfortunately. And when he did...]
Those troublesome people, though...I think they were ready to ambush you.
You think so? I don't remember anything that led up to them cornering me in the forest, so I wouldn't know.
[They still wonder sometimes just what they were doing all the way out there in the middle of nowhere.]
[They still wonder sometimes just what they were doing all the way out there in the middle of nowhere.]
...
[He glances away, something hard in his face. The Serpent and her lackeys...]
[No. This wouldn't be the last he would see of her plans.]
Either way. They were sent home with their tails tucked behind them. So we don't have to worry about them for a while, one hopes.
[He glances away, something hard in his face. The Serpent and her lackeys...]
[No. This wouldn't be the last he would see of her plans.]
Either way. They were sent home with their tails tucked behind them. So we don't have to worry about them for a while, one hopes.
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