ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* Angel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brokencode) wrote2016-08-22 05:17 am
brokencode) wrote2016-08-22 05:17 am
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IC Inbox [VR]
Not much younger than me, then. I'm twenty-ish. For... similar reasons. Sometimes it's hard to remember how much time has passed in my life.
I was... afraid you might have thought me younger. You wouldn't be the first. Understably, of course. I tend to come off as younger.
I was... afraid you might have thought me younger. You wouldn't be the first. Understably, of course. I tend to come off as younger.
Oh? Is that all I need to do to act my age. I had assumed I needed to eat a proper serving of vegetables too.
I suppose what they say is true. You learn something new every day.
I suppose what they say is true. You learn something new every day.
Do you think there is a transuniversal vegetable conspiracy? To be honest, it would not be the most ridiculous thing I've heard about.
That doesn't seem like solid reasoning. If that was the case, things like cats or gums would also be a conspiracy.
Then again, there aren't guns here, are there...
Hmmm.
Then again, there aren't guns here, are there...
Hmmm.
My universe had half-naked men that screamed lines from Shakespeare. I... think I know the feeling.
[Jack has been thinking. And drinking.]
[The drinking came after. Following his unfortunately public blowout with Angel, he'd spent a little time hyping up vacation with Manaka and then retired to his study to mull over what had gone wrong this time.]
[He just doesn't understand. He does what she asks, he apologized for what he feels he needs to apologize for, and still she's acting like this. But she's his daughter. She's just like him. Just as stubborn, just as emotional, and just as unwilling to back down. This stalemate has been going on for months and no matter what Jack does, he can't get through to her.]
[Shit. He's just going to have to indulge her. That's all that's gonna make any difference, if he just tells her she's right and says he's sorry, even though he has no real reason to. Ugh. But sometimes that's what has to be done. Hell, it's how he handled his bosses, when he first started in Hyperion. Just tell'em what they want to hear.]
[But he really hates that. And he shouldn't have to at this point, but he's losing his mind trying to figure out how to deal with Angel. Somewhere in the middle of thinking about all this, he opened a bottle and started in on it. If nothing else, he needs a good liquor armor to cough up what he's got to.]
[By the time he remembers he was going to call Angel, he's got a good slosh on. Alright. He's got to be the bigger man and just end this. Then everything will be fine. Yeah.]
Hey...uh...hey, sweetheart.
Look....uh....yesterday...or earlier today...what the hell time is it? I dunno. But you know. I kind of...
[Shit. This is harder than he'd thought it would be. He has to sound sincere and honest and like this is the hardest thing he's ever done. If he just up and apologizes, she'll know something's up. That would be so much easier, though.]
You know how I get. And how I get when I'm....you know I don't like when anyone throws my.... [A deep breath.]
I'm trying to say that maybe I could have...been cooler about all that. It got....kind of out of hand.
But for god's sake, Angel, you know how I am when I'm.....not.....right.
[Uuuuuugh, even phrasing it that way makes Jack feel dirty. He'd been perfectly right. Well...maybe he could have phrased some things better, but....]
[The drinking came after. Following his unfortunately public blowout with Angel, he'd spent a little time hyping up vacation with Manaka and then retired to his study to mull over what had gone wrong this time.]
[He just doesn't understand. He does what she asks, he apologized for what he feels he needs to apologize for, and still she's acting like this. But she's his daughter. She's just like him. Just as stubborn, just as emotional, and just as unwilling to back down. This stalemate has been going on for months and no matter what Jack does, he can't get through to her.]
[Shit. He's just going to have to indulge her. That's all that's gonna make any difference, if he just tells her she's right and says he's sorry, even though he has no real reason to. Ugh. But sometimes that's what has to be done. Hell, it's how he handled his bosses, when he first started in Hyperion. Just tell'em what they want to hear.]
[But he really hates that. And he shouldn't have to at this point, but he's losing his mind trying to figure out how to deal with Angel. Somewhere in the middle of thinking about all this, he opened a bottle and started in on it. If nothing else, he needs a good liquor armor to cough up what he's got to.]
[By the time he remembers he was going to call Angel, he's got a good slosh on. Alright. He's got to be the bigger man and just end this. Then everything will be fine. Yeah.]
Hey...uh...hey, sweetheart.
Look....uh....yesterday...or earlier today...what the hell time is it? I dunno. But you know. I kind of...
[Shit. This is harder than he'd thought it would be. He has to sound sincere and honest and like this is the hardest thing he's ever done. If he just up and apologizes, she'll know something's up. That would be so much easier, though.]
You know how I get. And how I get when I'm....you know I don't like when anyone throws my.... [A deep breath.]
I'm trying to say that maybe I could have...been cooler about all that. It got....kind of out of hand.
But for god's sake, Angel, you know how I am when I'm.....not.....right.
[Uuuuuugh, even phrasing it that way makes Jack feel dirty. He'd been perfectly right. Well...maybe he could have phrased some things better, but....]
[After that public fight with Jack, it seems like an opportune time to contact Angel again. But Manaka doesn't want to lead with that subject; it would make it seem too much like Jack had sent her, whether or not that's true.
So, rather than a more elaborate message, Angel receives a single still photo of another one of Manaka's cuter Pokémon. In Anko's little arms, she holds a piece of paper, a simple message written across it in Manaka's meticulous, bubbly handwriting.]
Hello Angel ♡
So, rather than a more elaborate message, Angel receives a single still photo of another one of Manaka's cuter Pokémon. In Anko's little arms, she holds a piece of paper, a simple message written across it in Manaka's meticulous, bubbly handwriting.]
Hello Angel ♡
[Everything about this situation seemed off. Something in Angel screamed to not listen, urged her to ignore the message and simply continue about her business. But Jack had been drinking, which meant he was upset.]
[If he was upset, she hit a cord. He had listened. That prospect alone was enough to blind her to the more logical side of her.]
Jack. I want to be a family, again. There is nothing I want more in this world than to be able to trust you enough to come back to you.
[That much was true, even if she hated admitting it out loud. The only reason she ever got so upset was because she hadn't stopped loving him.]
I know I asked this a long time ago, but it still holds true. I need time. And more importantly, I need you to realize what you did wrong. If you can give me that then I promise to at least try to come around.
Okay?
[If he was upset, she hit a cord. He had listened. That prospect alone was enough to blind her to the more logical side of her.]
Jack. I want to be a family, again. There is nothing I want more in this world than to be able to trust you enough to come back to you.
[That much was true, even if she hated admitting it out loud. The only reason she ever got so upset was because she hadn't stopped loving him.]
I know I asked this a long time ago, but it still holds true. I need time. And more importantly, I need you to realize what you did wrong. If you can give me that then I promise to at least try to come around.
Okay?
[The gesture was enough to cause every bit of emotion that had stricken her earlier to rise up to the surface. Before Angel had processed it, tears spilled from her eyes, staining her cheeks and clothes before she could even so much as lift a hand to attempt to wipe them away.]
[With the outpouring of emotion, there also came a sense of relief, as well. Manaka was listening. She was coming around, at least enough to, at least as far as Angel saw it, console her in her grief.]
[She was making progress, even if it didn't seem like it.]
[It was considerably difficult for Angel to type out the message she wanted to send Manaka. With each letter came more tears and the occasional sob. Eventually though, she managed a short message, one that she could only hope would be enough to summarize her gratitude. ]
[With the outpouring of emotion, there also came a sense of relief, as well. Manaka was listening. She was coming around, at least enough to, at least as far as Angel saw it, console her in her grief.]
[She was making progress, even if it didn't seem like it.]
[It was considerably difficult for Angel to type out the message she wanted to send Manaka. With each letter came more tears and the occasional sob. Eventually though, she managed a short message, one that she could only hope would be enough to summarize her gratitude. ]
Thank you, Manaka. This means more than you could know.[Manaka had planned to skirt the issue a while longer, but Angel's reply makes it clear how her confrontation with Jack had affected her. There shouldn't be any harm in broaching the subject, then.]
I saw what happened. How are you feeling? Jack took what you said pretty hard, so I thought I should check on you too, even if I can't be there.
I saw what happened. How are you feeling? Jack took what you said pretty hard, so I thought I should check on you too, even if I can't be there.
[Angel cleared her throat before clicking her device on once to respond. While she doubted Manaka expected Angel to be anything but emotional, she didn't want her state to be the focal point of their talk.]
It isn't something that hasn't happened before. [They'd been in worse fights, and it easy to move past things when Jack wasn't around to physically lord it over her.] I'll be fine, I promise.
[Admittedly, the fact that Manaka felt the need to tell her about Jack bothered Angel in the slightest, especially if she had witnessed the fight they'd just had, but she didn't mention it. Helios wasn't built in a day, after all. The girl on the other end of the line would come around soon enough.]
It isn't something that hasn't happened before. [They'd been in worse fights, and it easy to move past things when Jack wasn't around to physically lord it over her.] I'll be fine, I promise.
[Admittedly, the fact that Manaka felt the need to tell her about Jack bothered Angel in the slightest, especially if she had witnessed the fight they'd just had, but she didn't mention it. Helios wasn't built in a day, after all. The girl on the other end of the line would come around soon enough.]
No, no, no....that's what I mean, Angel. I'm trying to....
[So much for just implying an apology. She's gonna make him really put on a show, isn't she? Friggin hell...thank god he drank for this.]
Look, it's hard for a guy like me to admit....
You know once I commit to something, I'll defend my decision to hell and back cause...I mean...what am I gonna do, admit I'm wrong? Even...in cases where my....state of rightness is...questionable.
Please, please tell me you get what I'm getting at here, because I'm sure as hell not talking about how wrong or right it was to yell at you and you know I'm not an apology guy.
[Even though she had provoked him. She was the one that.... no, no, Jack, chill yourself, this is what got you here in the first place.]
Let's...let's just start over. Both of us, huh?
[Jack's quiet a moment, and then even he's not sure how much of what he says next is manipulation and how much is honest.]
Your mother wouldn't want this.
[So much for just implying an apology. She's gonna make him really put on a show, isn't she? Friggin hell...thank god he drank for this.]
Look, it's hard for a guy like me to admit....
You know once I commit to something, I'll defend my decision to hell and back cause...I mean...what am I gonna do, admit I'm wrong? Even...in cases where my....state of rightness is...questionable.
Please, please tell me you get what I'm getting at here, because I'm sure as hell not talking about how wrong or right it was to yell at you and you know I'm not an apology guy.
[Even though she had provoked him. She was the one that.... no, no, Jack, chill yourself, this is what got you here in the first place.]
Let's...let's just start over. Both of us, huh?
[Jack's quiet a moment, and then even he's not sure how much of what he says next is manipulation and how much is honest.]
Your mother wouldn't want this.
Mm, maybe. But that doesn't mean you can't be upset right now, does it?
...Oh, but if you don't want to talk to me about it, that's fine! I just wish everyone could be happy, that's all.
...Oh, but if you don't want to talk to me about it, that's fine! I just wish everyone could be happy, that's all.
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