[ yves thinks about it as he looks down at the bar counter. does he feel it in a different way? ]

... my heart does ache for people. I do get sad and disheartened. All other physical sensations are intact too.

[ as far as he knows, anyway. but he seems to hesitate for a second as he tries to figure out if he has the courage to say more. shadowheart has been so kind to him, and that is both the reason why he wants to trust her and the reason why he is so afraid to lose her if she decides he's too strange.

ultimately, he wants to hope. ]

But... one day when I was younger... I realized how badly I wanted to be loved. So I decided to try to cope by loving everyone, in hopes that someday someone would love me back. I know it sounds childish and bizarre but...

Ever since then, I let go of feelings of anger. Hatred. Contempt. Anything that might make me harder to love.

[ everyone always talks about how yves is so absurdly kind, to the point that it's insane.

and it is. he is insane - and severely traumatized. ]

I do think I'm an abnormal person. I don't expect anyone to say sorry for it. After all, I'm the one who's twisted.