would you kindly?

virgil, 30s, lover of original characters, video games and writing. sometimes i mod bethesda games and obsess over evil residents. I went by romantichore once.

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welcome to this pit, anon. we're here all day and have been here for years lol apologies, this got long and maybe not entirely coherent?

something in my heart tells me having (loving, dedicated) parents would fix him. he had to grow up too fast and too weird, but turned out to be independent, diligent and fairly competent in spite of it all.

I say that because: he starts visiting the room as a child, by himself; once he is told about the Sacraments, he goes out of his way to learn to read them well, which he does despite horrendous torture; he then goes on to become a college student, an accomplished serial murderer, and does attain the powers of "heaven". imagine what this man could accomplish if he had a healthy tether to life.

he'd still be a weird kid, in the way some kids are unsettling because they come out of left field with things that sound wise way beyond their years. the kid who learns to speak too early and becomes an almost sophisticated kind of eloquent. you know how there's this thing with kids that they sometimes remember their past life until they're like four? he'd be the kid who's seen too much, because he has. he'd be quiet, he'd play weird, he'd be filled with guilt but not understand it. which is why loving parents would be essential to guide him through it.

I can't decide whether he'd forget as he grew up, as children often do, or he'd be like Alessa/Heather. though it'd be an interesting situation of history repeating itself if he were to remember - in the sense of Walter having to face his past memories, like Heather did. having to put his foot down that he is not his memories.

whether he'd be a mama's boy would be down to Henry's attitude. Walter knew from the very beginning that he was unwanted and hated by his father, it's no wonder he gravitated so strongly towards his mother. reborn Walter would likely hold on to that, which means that Henry would face some resistance.

the pregnancy would not be the result of years of a loving relationship. Eileen and Henry are both traumatized and there's no other person in the world who understands what they went through. they'd stick together. they'd want to feel alive. they'd want closeness. it'd be only natural. they'd want to drown in the other's attention then not know what to do with what they have in their hands. for a while they'd do nothing with it, actually.

perhaps strangely, romance would be the last thing in their minds for a while. love would be there, but it wouldn't be romantic in nature for a bit. love would be conscious every step of the way, love would be effort, because it'd be the only thing that makes sense. but there are no butterflies, no giggles, no candlelit dinners. there are flowers, and smiles, and care, and not a single thought about whether this is right or whether they are loved back. it's only natural, and it's all they can do.

when thoughts do come, they'd hit Henry the hardest. you cannot convince me he didn't have a crush on Eileen before. then he was alone, she was the only anchor to reality through the hole in the wall, he likely saw her in situations he had no right seeing, and Walter's world was anything but well-adjusted when it comes to attraction and desire. Eileen head room would do things to him that'd make him deeply uncomfortable. and he'd have a hard time digesting all that when they come out on the other side, the attraction he feels towards her, how that closeness that was a distant wish is now at his fingertips. he'd feel wrong for wanting more. he's fairly sure she wouldn't deny him and that makes it worse.

Eileen would be content with letting things happen, but she wouldn't think she'd actually fall for Henry. in fact she'd feel a little guilty that she'd be using him, and maybe she's giving him the wrong idea. but he came through with protection, and she wants his support, and they both need to figure this thing out, so why not do this together. that she wants to see him and be with him would be a feeling that'd creep up on her.

regarding the pregnancy itself: it would be fairly difficult, and both Eileen and Henry would know, from the start, that what's coming out is Walter Sullivan. even in the womb he'd affect things around him. Eileen would get his profound sadness, and Henry would be the target of his anger. which would mean Eileen would need extra extra support and Henry would be the one getting terribly violent nightmares.

Eileen would find herself unable to hate baby Walter despite wanting to. she's shown to be kind and deeply empathetic to Walter's plight, and while the idea of carrying him would be revolting at first, she cannot help but see the human side of him. a human side who would now be hers to shape.

Henry would have a hard time wrapping his head around it all. I feel like throughout the game he doesn't know how to feel, because he's just dealing with things as they come up. he was starved and tired and stuck between reality and nightmare and all he could focus on was putting one foot in front of the other, then keeping Eileen safe, then making sure they'd both get out alive. does he hate Walter? I doubt he stopped to think about that. now he has to. he had never thought about fatherhood. now he has to. Eileen seems to want to give it a chance. maybe he has to.

once it's all out in the open the possibilities are endless and I never really decided where I'd like to go if I were to write this for realsies.

there's a world in which they return to Ashfield Heights and try to continue living as they had been. would the room still retain the memories and desires of Walter? or was it finally cleansed? either way, I doubt it'd feel like a safe, nurturing environment. staying could be torment. torment could be good.

what if the Cult found out Walter was close to succeeding? what if they found out that the two survivors are having a child? could they tell Walter is being reborn? would they be interested to see whether the child came out with supernatural powers?

perhaps more importantly, do I want to put both Henry and Eileen, and later Walter, through a blender? or do I want to give them a happy, if weird, ending? I do not know.

about the doll, that raises more questions actually. giving the doll to baby Walter could likely trigger his memories. we return to the blender question. also what happens when you give a child the knowledge that they were once a murderer?

also