Jack told me about you. About what you could do. We were both able to do things other people couldn't, even though we never asked for such a gift.
[Manaka's usual bubbliness had already faded from her voice, replaced by a gentler tone, but now, she speaks so quietly that it might be difficult to hear her over the 'Gear. It makes her words sound oddly intimate — but then, she is describing something very personal.]
It set us apart from other people. It scared them. I'm sure... Had I ever made a mistake, short-sighted, small-minded people would have wanted to cut me open for study, and store what was left of me in formaldehyde.
[Angel closed her eyes. This... was an unexpected turn. She'd always thought herself justified in her actions -- Maya had been in a similar situation after all, and she'd fought her way out. But if that wasn't the right idea, then what?]
[Suffering?]
If you were in my shoes, what would you do? And what did you do, when you had no one...?
Oh! I don't think you were wrong to do what you had to, or anything like that. [When she answers, she sounds remarkably casual.] But still, I sympathize with the position Jack was in. I doubt my father could have protected me, if I had made myself a threat.
[Whether or not she would need him to... That's another story, and one that isn't relevant to this conversation.]
My father wanted something from me, too. It was silly and pointless, though, so I chose my own goal instead.
Oh. [Her lips twisted into a grimace. More unsavory parallels, she noted. She tasted an apology on her tongue, but didn't yet utter it aloud. She doubted Manaka would take well to her pity.]
Why can't fathers just let their children be children?
[Manaka giggles, as though Angel had said something cute.]
That's one way we're different. But I guess things were different for you, weren't they?
I was never a child. I'm the daughter of magi, born to a bloodline of magic. From my first breath, I was a tool, meant to carry on the ambitions and lineage of my parents.
[There isn't a drop of resentment behind her words. She relates the information as what it is: a simple fact.]
[Angel frowned, unsure if she was supposed to be offended or not.]
Never a child? What do you mean? [For the life of her, she couldn't figure out if it was meant to be a literal or metaphorical statement. If it were the former, she had a handful of questions for the girl.]
It's... you don't ever long for what you could have had? Ever?
Those experiences only have the importance that you give them.
[And for Manaka, that's very little.
When Angel asks that question, though, she lets that thread of conversation drop in favor of pursuing the new one. Isn't that the whole point of this exercise, after all?]
Do you really want to leave things they way they are now? If this world has given you two a second chance, I think you should take it!
[Angel swallowed. On the one hand, she ached for a normal childhood, complete with a normal father on top of it all. But on the other, perhaps it really was her own doing. Had she ever really needed such things?]
[Besides, wrong as she might have been about Jack, Manaka didn't seem the type of person to lead her astray. And if they had been in similar situations, then the girl had to know what she was talking about.]
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brokencode) wrote2016-08-22 05:17 am
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I think you're like me too, you know.
[Even with all their differences, Manaka knows that they're similar. If things were just a little bit different, for either of them—]
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How do you figure?
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[Manaka's usual bubbliness had already faded from her voice, replaced by a gentler tone, but now, she speaks so quietly that it might be difficult to hear her over the 'Gear. It makes her words sound oddly intimate — but then, she is describing something very personal.]
It set us apart from other people. It scared them. I'm sure... Had I ever made a mistake, short-sighted, small-minded people would have wanted to cut me open for study, and store what was left of me in formaldehyde.
no subject
[Suffering?]
If you were in my shoes, what would you do? And what did you do, when you had no one...?
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[Whether or not she would need him to... That's another story, and one that isn't relevant to this conversation.]
My father wanted something from me, too. It was silly and pointless, though, so I chose my own goal instead.
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Why can't fathers just let their children be children?
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[Manaka giggles, as though Angel had said something cute.]
That's one way we're different. But I guess things were different for you, weren't they?
I was never a child. I'm the daughter of magi, born to a bloodline of magic. From my first breath, I was a tool, meant to carry on the ambitions and lineage of my parents.
[There isn't a drop of resentment behind her words. She relates the information as what it is: a simple fact.]
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Never a child? What do you mean? [For the life of her, she couldn't figure out if it was meant to be a literal or metaphorical statement. If it were the former, she had a handful of questions for the girl.]
It's... you don't ever long for what you could have had? Ever?
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Why? Arguing against the truth of the world won't change it.
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[Angel paused, brows drawing tightly together as she tapered off.]
Let me ask this again, then. What do you believe I should do about Jack?
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[And for Manaka, that's very little.
When Angel asks that question, though, she lets that thread of conversation drop in favor of pursuing the new one. Isn't that the whole point of this exercise, after all?]
Do you really want to leave things they way they are now? If this world has given you two a second chance, I think you should take it!
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[Besides, wrong as she might have been about Jack, Manaka didn't seem the type of person to lead her astray. And if they had been in similar situations, then the girl had to know what she was talking about.]
[On all fronts.]
I'll... I'll try talking to him, then.
Thank you, Manaka.