artisticliberty | [imeeji

...I know...

Good.

[gives him a smile and removes his hand]

I know it is hard to think well of oneself after... that entire experience.

It shouldn't be. We aren't to blame for any of that.

It would be one thing if we had been entirely powerless to the whims of the ghosts that possessed us... but I still felt like myself most of the time. Just... a different "myself".

That's what makes it so insidious. The puppet is still the one moving, even if something else is pulling the strings.

That wasn't you, Fox.

[for once, he's silent, staring deeply into his tea]

...

It wasn't you. This is you.

[gestures to the tea and sweets]

Extending kindness and sympathy to me even though you're suffering.

[his eyes widen for a moment, and then crinkle, and he smiles sadly]

... perhaps I simply didn't want to be alone right now.

It's not mutually exclusive.

You may be right. Whatever it was that came over me before... no longer has a hold on me. That much I know, whatever else remains.

Exactly.

It's not always easy to know who you are. At times, all you can do is know who you aren't.

That's quite wise of you.

[small shrug]

It's something I think about.

Ah... that makes sense.

Mm.

[eats a sweet]

... when you were brought to the house before--what did you do, afterwards? How did you cope with it?

The first time?

...At the time, I'd been fighting with Joker. After the house, I made up with him.

[nods]

Joker was... ah... I ran into him several times. Once, before the madness took me. Twice, afterwards.

What happened?

At first, we were all still ourselves--myself, Joker, Mars, and Prim. We traveled together for a while, avoiding conflict and keeping ourselves safe. By the end of the session, we were struggling, but we were still able to comfort one another.

The second time... I encountered Mars, and he led me on a chase through the house, and somewhere in there I fell prey to the ghost. I became... obsessed with the pursuit of bloody ecstasy, and that is when Joker came upon us. We ganged up on Mars. It was...

[shudders]

We did horrible things to him. Once he had stopped giving us a real fight, I stepped back to watch Joker finish it. That bloody sight... I was mesmerized by it. And then, once he was done, in his moment of vulnerability I swooped in and... tore open his throat with my teeth. I drank his blood until he was still.

[lets out a long breath like he was holding it in for a while, shoulders slumping]

[quiet for a moment]

Have you talked to Mars since then?

I saw him once we had all been released. He... forgave me, somehow. I'm truly in awe of him, sometimes.

Mars understands. Anyone who went mad in that house will understand.

... does that include yourself?

I should hope so, considering I killed nearly all of you in there.

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