It's interestin ta me how Edgar's life is becoming less dependent on Nny, in a way. If ya think about it, early on everything about Edgar, all da glimpses and stuff we got of him, was entirely dependent on his interactions with Nny. All we got were minor mentions of his life outside of Nny, but the only time we came back inta da story was when Nny showed up, even tho Edgar was all gungho at that point about being fine by himself. It wasn't until Scriabin began to form and bicker that Edgar began ta spend time by himself, and even then, it was defined by how he interacted with someone else. His interactions and such are still mostly defined by how he interacts with others, it's just that Scri is usurping that away from Nny, in a way. Just random thoughts.

Edgar not meeting up with Nny is partly Scri's fault, currently. Scri is doing everything in his power to keep Edgar away from Nny, and despite the fact that Scri tore Nny apart in Down and made his feelings on Nny quite clear, Edgar hasn't caught on to this yet. Not until recently in Gradient has Edgar picked up that Scri might have his own motivations fer what he argues for and about.

Scri's working now to keep Edgar distracted. He doesn't want Edgar to talk or interact with Nny whatsoever. He's starting arguments, keeping him busy, shifting his thoughts and generally doing everything he can to keep Edgar away. Why? Well, partly because Scri does have a point: Edgar's continued relationship with Nny isn't healthy and, in some ways, may be doing more harm than good. It's damaging Edgar's sense of self (you remember that one debate earlier about Edgar's doormatism? A good chunk of that is Nny's fault. Nny is altering Edgar's personality through their prolonged contact, wearing away at his self-confidence. Just one example) and there's still the fact that he presents a real physical danger.

Scri I think understands that Edgar can't die now more than Edgar himself does. I still think Edgar doesn't really *believe* that this mess is happening, tho he may have logically accepted it. But while Scri understands that they might not be able to die, the fact that Nny can still be damaged is evidence enough. No one really likes pain.

So, we have Scri's concern over Edgar's sense of self being further damaged. Considering what the process supposedly does to others (collapse), this is something that's worth being worried about. Edgar needs to be fairly strong and sure of himself to survive, or at least, so Scri assumes. Thus why Scri nowadays is a huge proponent of the "we'll survive this somehow" and "we'll get through this." He wants Edgar to have faith that they'll survive, because that (so Scri believes) will be a key factor in surviving. If Edgar allows Nny to walk over him, like he has before and probably will continue to do so, this would extend to the forces that want to take Edgar over. Scri doesn't want that.

This all makes Scri sound rather altruistic. Not so. Vargas is (or will be) split into three phases when the time comes. The first phase is over, and that one ended when Edgar died. The second phase is what's happening currently, with Edgar and the lock system. The third phase is in the future, and is TOP SECRET OMG. But anyway. Second phase marks a deliberate and sharp change for Scriabin here. There's a lot going on for Scriabin with the whole system kicking and such, along with other things that'll be detailed in later chapters, but either way, this phase marks the change from "I am you" to "I am not you." Scri's no longer hiding himself, and his goals have changed, as he said in Gradient. What he wants is Edgar to recognize this, and he wants to feel defined as a person.

Now, Scri has found that he likes Edgar's attention. He likes having power over him, and being considered an equal (or better) by Edgar. Thus, most of his interactions now work for that kind of goal. The bit in the church in Punish runs much deeper than Scri just wanting to destroy Edgar's religion. Like Edgar accused in Gradient, Scri wants Edgar to depend on him. To put his considerable faith and conviction in him. Since Scri's reality is so relative and malleable, depending on thoughts, this would be important to him.

Scri wants attention, and as time goes on, he wants power. He wants to control Edgar, to see what he could have or was cheated out of having by developing in someone's mind than as a person himself.

His motivations for the way he acts with Edgar and their relationship tend to run deeper than any kind of mutual attraction. Scriabin is using Edgar, as he would probably use anyone, to further his own goals and devices. Does Scri care about Edgar? Somewhere I'm sure he does, although I'm not sure exactly how. It doesn't easily fit into any kind of clear category. They just need eachother, as Xel said, and you don't have to necessarily love or like someone to need them. It's difficult to explain.

But no, Scri and Edgar's relationship is far from being clear-cut attraction, and at da moment, while there are hints of Scri/Edgar going around, there's no outright relationship. At da moment, they haven't crossed that line. In da fic, I don't know if they ever will. THAT'S WHAT SIDEFICS ARE FOR woohoo.

I ferget where I was going with this. UM RIGHT. Edgar's distraction and such is Scri's fault, to a good extent. Scri doesn't want Edgar to be with or even talk with Nny again. To simplify maybe a bit too much, yeah, Scri is jealous in a way. But he'll keep working to distract Edgar away from Nny as long as he can.

BUT NO I haven't fergotten about Nny. Far from it. This is just a period of introspection and such mostly fer Edgar. He's going through a lot, and it's not good. While Gradient may have seemed to have ended on a positive note, everything that happens just indicates that worse things will be coming. Same for the upcoming chapter. It's a step downwards, towards collapse, and things are falling apart.

I've planned out a good deal of Vargas now, and I know where most everything is going eventually. I assure you, and I promise you, that Johnny is coming back. He always will, in the end. Johnny plays a big part in this, and even if he's not in the chapter, he's still responsible for a lot of what happens. His influence is all over the fic. But he will be coming back.

I know he hasn't shown up recently, but again, the fic is mostly from Edgar's point of view, and it mostly focuses on him. Edgar just has a ton of stuff that's also happening along with Nny, and even though, amusingly enough, Edgar's thoughts still tend to focus on Nny in one way or another.

I know this is a long dry spell, relatively, with no Nny. And, as much as it may suck, there's at least one chapter ahead again, with no Nny. BUT, I understand yer concerns. I feel that there hasn't been enough of Nny recently myself. I may bump or move things around a little bit to try and move the chapter with Nny a bit closer. It wouldn't be too difficult.

But no, I haven't forgotten about Nny. I've joked about it here and there, but no. He'll be back. It's just going to take a while.