Higurashi aftermath

[sharpasafawkes]

[IN OUR LAST EPISODE Shaun and Cesare had a little trip down to the labs, if by "trip" we mean "a magical adventure full of torture-filled antics". Needless to say there's one historian laid up in a hospital bed, more or less asleep and bandaged like you wouldn't believe.]

Comments

[maleborgia]

*this is the most carefully unreadable listening to this account*

[sharpasafawkes]

[When he's done with everything he goes quiet, for once not making a single sarcastic comment throughout the whole thing.]

[maleborgia]

I see.

*was quiet, thinking, and falls quiet again but after a moment he remembers that Shaun liked the pettings and starts that up again*

[sharpasafawkes]

[More worried about Cesare right now, gently headbutting him]

I'm sorry...

[maleborgia]

*snapped out of it*

Why are you apologizing? I wanted you to tell me.

[sharpasafawkes]

That doesn't make it any less painful to learn.

[maleborgia]

It is less painful to learn about than to experience. And it takes place far, very far in the future. Perhaps it will not even come to pass in my world. I am not certain that our histories are entirely similar. Or maybe it is simply that mine is still open to change in ways that yours is not.

[sharpasafawkes]

...

[this is a look that very clearly says "Oh, Cesare".]

[maleborgia]

What is it?

[sharpasafawkes]

[pausing and really, really wondering if he should say it at all.

Then yeah, saying it]

You're rubbish with emotions.

[maleborgia]

*just. just laughing at that. this is all too absurd to do much more than laugh.*

Am I?

[sharpasafawkes]

[OH GOD, OH GOD, IS THIS THE CRAZY LAUGH?]

[maleborgia]

*no, more like worn and a little honestly bemused*

For a man who was just saying he was afraid of me, you certainly don't know how to hold your tongue.

[sharpasafawkes]

[NOT... SURE HOW TO TAKE THAT, one may note that he's entirely puffed up, but not quite retreating yet]

It's a bad habit of mine...

[maleborgia]

That's all right. *starts petting him again* I expect it by now. I even appreciate it sometimes.

I am upset by what you have told me, but I think it is beyond even my reach to change, at least knowingly. I am tired of trying to fix things that I cannot and as it is no immediate threat... I will have to deal with it as it comes up. Am I frustrated by the actions of the various nations I have affiliation with? Yes, of course. But I would be lying if I said I was surprised.

[sharpasafawkes]

[Visibly relaxing, and leaning into the petting]

I'm not sure if you're too optimistic for your own good, or jaded.

[maleborgia]

*continues!*

Perhaps it is a little of each.

[sharpasafawkes]

... May I ask something?

[maleborgia]

What is it?

[sharpasafawkes]

If you could realize your goal, what would it be? I'm not talking about anything like "survive Rodrigo's death without the lot of it going sour", I mean if you could make it past every obstacle.

[maleborgia]

*quiet for a moment, then, in a slow and deliberate voice that shows he is clearly thinking of something much larger than the tiny hospital room and much grander than his words on their own let on:*

I have heard it referred to as the process of unifying Italy or of bringing her under the Papacy's control, but it is more than that. I want to create something new. The city-states are weak and impotent, capable only of warring amongst themselves or temporarily staving off a larger enemy. It will require more than simply bringing them together under a single name. Rome herself is weak and all too bloated with corruption. She cannot be the head, not in her current form, much less the crown she claims to be. I want to take part in the birth of a new nation, one which will offer the stability and protection to its citizens that is currently all too hard to find. And in return, my name will be held up for men to learn and remember and I will be able to prove all of them wrong about the family of Borgia.

1/2

[sharpasafawkes]

[Thinking over that for a good long time, mulling over the fine details and eventually nodding]

As long as freedom and equality are still on the table, that's not a bad dream at all.

[sharpasafawkes]

... You know, you're not like him, well you are a bit, but not in some of the places where it counts.

[maleborgia]

...Thank you.

[sharpasafawkes]

Oh don't sound so shocked.