[He turns, and the heel of his shoe bumps against a shard.]
[This memory is rather simple. A very young girl with pink hair gets up to her feet, toddling towards a younger Sholmes, who, in his delight, reaches out for her. It's her first time walking.]
[He's never been more proud.]
[Sholmes pauses, smiling a bit distantly, but fondly.]
[... the sentiment makes him envious, but he squashes down that bubble as it forms. no one else needs to feel it.]
Well, family is important.
[and then he accidentally touches a shard, as a memory plays. throughout it all, a heavy sense of guilt and shame—for so many reasons—permeates. a terrible, sinking feeling in one's stomach, like everything is going wrong.]
his gaze flickers away, before it meets sholmes's again.]
... Regardless of what they think of me, they're still my family.
[despite everything, rochalizo (unfortunately) loves them to the end. he may envy what sholmes has with his daughter, but he's made his peace with lacking that kind of affection from his father.]
[and a juggling act, to try and think of how much he should say, given that he and sholmes are just acquaintances.]
They ended up becoming violent in our home—though we threw the first stone, so they were merely defending themselves. They're not to blame for that. However, my father was angry that I brought in one of their combatants to begin with.
And while my father is normally accepting of foreigners... for whatever reason, he was convinced that particular group of people was cursed and an unknown evil, at the same time that he wasn't willing to let them go.
... Your words are kind, but the sympathy is undeserved. I was hardly innocent in the entire affair.
[it's not an easy thing to talk about, but even worse is hearing as though he was some kind of victim, when it feels like everything started because of his own ugly insecurities.]
But that's one of the reasons I must return home. There's so much to gain by accepting others as friends, rather than put up a wall against outsiders—I've realized that's a notion I should've stood by, and one I need to convey to my family before it's too late.
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Yes, and you seem determined to keep that up!
[aaaaaaaaaaaaaah]
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[He turns, and the heel of his shoe bumps against a shard.]
[This memory is rather simple. A very young girl with pink hair gets up to her feet, toddling towards a younger Sholmes, who, in his delight, reaches out for her. It's her first time walking.]
[He's never been more proud.]
[Sholmes pauses, smiling a bit distantly, but fondly.]
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it's a strange feeling—it's not his, and it's not a sentiment he's usually felt in his life.]
Your... daughter?
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[He looks back at Rochalizo, continuing to smile lightly.]
That's Iris, alright. Though that's an older memory. She's older now.
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[he looks away for a moment.]
You seem to be a happy family.
[they might not be a connected pair, but it's hard to miss the love sholmes has for this girl.]
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[He tilts his head, like a thought came to mind, but he doesn't say it.]
It's been a long ten years. And I don't regret a single moment of it.
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Well, family is important.
[and then he accidentally touches a shard, as a memory plays. throughout it all, a heavy sense of guilt and shame—for so many reasons—permeates. a terrible, sinking feeling in one's stomach, like everything is going wrong.]
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[He may not understand much of anything that those men were talking about, but...]
[To see a parent hit their own child...]
[His eyebrows furrow, and an unnaturally serious expression settles in his face.]
...It's only important if your family treats you like family.
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his gaze flickers away, before it meets sholmes's again.]
... Regardless of what they think of me, they're still my family.
[despite everything, rochalizo (unfortunately) loves them to the end. he may envy what sholmes has with his daughter, but he's made his peace with lacking that kind of affection from his father.]
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[He frowns.]
...You have a sibling? I saw one there, in that memory.
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[sometimes, you just decide that it's fine if your family doesn't love you back,
he pauses, as if trying to decide how to answer that question.]
... Three older brothers. Chasmourito isn't one of them, though—at least not by blood. He's one of my vassals.
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[He means that, even though it breaks his heart a little, just to think about it.]
Vassals? As in...a servant? He seems close to you.
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His mother was my wet nurse. Despite being as tiny as he is, he's the same age as me, so he was my childhood companion.
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[He is really so tiny...]
He rushed to your side and your...grandfather's side so readily. He seems to be quite loyal.
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... That was his grandfather, not mine. But yes, I'm... very fortunate to have him. Both of them.
[or was before his dad arrested them. it's fine.]
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...
What...was he so displeased with, exactly?
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how does he explain this...]
... Political issues dealing with foreigners I brought, from my travels at sea.
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[He...frowns, slightly, like it's reminding him of something.]
Were they not allowed in your country?
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[and a juggling act, to try and think of how much he should say, given that he and sholmes are just acquaintances.]
They ended up becoming violent in our home—though we threw the first stone, so they were merely defending themselves. They're not to blame for that. However, my father was angry that I brought in one of their combatants to begin with.
And while my father is normally accepting of foreigners... for whatever reason, he was convinced that particular group of people was cursed and an unknown evil, at the same time that he wasn't willing to let them go.
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[Oh.]
[Well, now.]
How funny it is. It seems even in different worlds, everything is so similar. How terrible that must have been for you.
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... Your words are kind, but the sympathy is undeserved. I was hardly innocent in the entire affair.
[it's not an easy thing to talk about, but even worse is hearing as though he was some kind of victim, when it feels like everything started because of his own ugly insecurities.]
But that's one of the reasons I must return home. There's so much to gain by accepting others as friends, rather than put up a wall against outsiders—I've realized that's a notion I should've stood by, and one I need to convey to my family before it's too late.