White Chapel – yes, this was in reference to Jack the Ripper. The private religious academy that my Hakuba attends as a child in the backstory that I totally made up is (ficticiously) located in the Whitechapel District in London, England… and home to the infamous Whitechapel Murders. Where better to put a horrific past full of abuse and pain?
It’s really unfortunate, but something that really was/is common in that kind of school. The priests that do the abuse know just what to say to make the kids feel so guilty that the never expose the truth, allowing them to continue preying on them. Sometimes they’ll go for years before anyone hears about it… and even then, a lot of the churches just shuffle the priests around to different schools instead of excommunicating them or whatever.
Ugh, such a depressing topic… but one that I wanted to include in his past because it lent really well to my theories for his actions. Also, having a detective who is religious, particularly with the rest who aren’t particularly sounded fun to play with. It sets him apart, which is what he should be, given the difference in his cultural background.
Baron – OMG. Yes, it was a good idea, just soul-crushing. That’s where I’m at in the 7 Sins of White Chapel story. The point in the story where some hope is restored to the young Saguru and then we get the villain with a literal ‘kick the dog’ moment and all hope is lost.
I will, eventually, finish the story… I just really don’t want to write about poor Baron being beaten to death with screaming 9 year-old Saguru helpless to do anything about it…