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[So. Ford has never actually had to have this conversation before. He's smart enough to know it's something that should be done tactfully and not skilled enough to know what that might look like, though at least he's avoided doing it on a public post like some people. Surely private is better?]
Greetings. [People definitely say 'greetings'. That's a thing they say.] My name is Dr. Stanford Pines, and I knew an iteration of you that was traveling here previously. I realize that may be a lot to wrap your head around but I can assure you it's less unusual than you might think.
[Fantastic Mr. Fox, who is curled up next to him and taking up most of the Pokecenter couch now that he's a fully-evolved Ninetails, pokes his snout into frame and whuffs in what might be construed as a friendly sort of way.]
It can take time to adjust to a new universe even without such unique circumstances. Have you been settling in? Do you have questions?
[Let Him Help]
Greetings. [People definitely say 'greetings'. That's a thing they say.] My name is Dr. Stanford Pines, and I knew an iteration of you that was traveling here previously. I realize that may be a lot to wrap your head around but I can assure you it's less unusual than you might think.
[Fantastic Mr. Fox, who is curled up next to him and taking up most of the Pokecenter couch now that he's a fully-evolved Ninetails, pokes his snout into frame and whuffs in what might be construed as a friendly sort of way.]
It can take time to adjust to a new universe even without such unique circumstances. Have you been settling in? Do you have questions?
[Let Him Help]
[Elsa is a tad bit startled at receiving his message. It's a really weird thing to just get contacted randomly by someone and a whole weirder thing for them to know you- a you, since it's the version of her from before. He's right, that is a lot to deal with and Elsa is still struggling with it.
But he's talking about it in such a frank way that's more refreshing than the usual vague response of "it's just a thing that happens". It oddly enough sets her more at ease. He isn't making her feel like he knows something she doesn't.]
Oh- hello! I'm- er, you know who I am. [It's still awkward to be introducing yourself to someone who already knows you.] You seem really knowledgeable about this kind of thing, is this... normal for you?
But he's talking about it in such a frank way that's more refreshing than the usual vague response of "it's just a thing that happens". It oddly enough sets her more at ease. He isn't making her feel like he knows something she doesn't.]
Oh- hello! I'm- er, you know who I am. [It's still awkward to be introducing yourself to someone who already knows you.] You seem really knowledgeable about this kind of thing, is this... normal for you?
Very much so, though that doesn't seem to be the case for most of the visitors to this world. I personally have been traveling between dimensions for around thirty years now.
[He had kind of hoped he was done with it, at least for a little while, but at least he wound up in a universe as nice as this one if he had to find himself traveling again. No one's tried to arrest him once! Time moves in the same direction all the time, usually! It's luxurious.]
If it makes you feel any better, you could not have fallen into a better universe than this one.
[He had kind of hoped he was done with it, at least for a little while, but at least he wound up in a universe as nice as this one if he had to find himself traveling again. No one's tried to arrest him once! Time moves in the same direction all the time, usually! It's luxurious.]
If it makes you feel any better, you could not have fallen into a better universe than this one.
[Thirty years?
Elsa can't even begin to imagine being in one universe (aside from her own, obviously) for thirty years, let alone going through multiple ones. It would be so exhausting.]
On purpose, or...?
And are they not all as nice as this one?
[You just keep giving her so many new questions, Ford.]
Elsa can't even begin to imagine being in one universe (aside from her own, obviously) for thirty years, let alone going through multiple ones. It would be so exhausting.]
On purpose, or...?
And are they not all as nice as this one?
[You just keep giving her so many new questions, Ford.]
Sometimes on purpose, yes.
[Elaborate? Why would he do that? It's fine. It's also less likely to bring up his tragic backstory and force him to have emotions if he doesn't, which is a plus.]
Let me put it this way: this universe is tailor-made to be hospitable to visitors. Everyone who arrives is given a map, guidebooks on the local fauna and basic survival supples, to say nothing of being considered worthy to keep one of the creatures around which this world's entire culture and economy is built. We have access to money, free healthcare, and are allowed to go just about anywhere we please. We are integrated into the system from day one with no legal hurdles or extra sanctions.
Most, if not the majority, of the infinite universes out there are not nearly so friendly toward outsiders.
[Elaborate? Why would he do that? It's fine. It's also less likely to bring up his tragic backstory and force him to have emotions if he doesn't, which is a plus.]
Let me put it this way: this universe is tailor-made to be hospitable to visitors. Everyone who arrives is given a map, guidebooks on the local fauna and basic survival supples, to say nothing of being considered worthy to keep one of the creatures around which this world's entire culture and economy is built. We have access to money, free healthcare, and are allowed to go just about anywhere we please. We are integrated into the system from day one with no legal hurdles or extra sanctions.
Most, if not the majority, of the infinite universes out there are not nearly so friendly toward outsiders.
[Oddly enough, when it's all laid out in front of her like that, it's... way easier to feel better about being here. There are many perks about being here- she'd never admit it outright but some of them are even better than living in Arendelle.
Don't tell anyone she considered that in introspection.]
I guess we are lucky, then. [Thank you for that weirdly comforting spiel, Ford.] So how do you deal with... you know, the other versions of yourself? Isn't that a little weird, even for you?
[Someone is still having a time coping with the idea that another version of herself had been here. It's weird and makes her feel guilty.]
Don't tell anyone she considered that in introspection.]
I guess we are lucky, then. [Thank you for that weirdly comforting spiel, Ford.] So how do you deal with... you know, the other versions of yourself? Isn't that a little weird, even for you?
[Someone is still having a time coping with the idea that another version of herself had been here. It's weird and makes her feel guilty.]
It was to begin with, I will admit. But by the time I had to deal with it in practice I had already studied multidimensional theory in-depth, so it was less a surprise and more just a novelty. When one accepts that all realities are possible, one accepts an awful lot as consequence.
[That world where you never had your powers, or you never accidentally hit Anna with them, or you never lost it in front of a room full of people? Those worlds all exist out there somewhere, Elsa. Just like the world Ford found where he stopped being an idiot thirty years early and it didn't take his entire world almost ending for him to pull his head out of his ass. Anything is possible.]
On the other hand finding a universe where you and everyone you know is a baby is incredibly unsettling. As my niece would say, there's good-weird and bad-weird. That was bad-weird.
[That world where you never had your powers, or you never accidentally hit Anna with them, or you never lost it in front of a room full of people? Those worlds all exist out there somewhere, Elsa. Just like the world Ford found where he stopped being an idiot thirty years early and it didn't take his entire world almost ending for him to pull his head out of his ass. Anything is possible.]
On the other hand finding a universe where you and everyone you know is a baby is incredibly unsettling. As my niece would say, there's good-weird and bad-weird. That was bad-weird.
Edited 2017-09-28 05:59 (UTC)
[That's a really deep statement, but Elsa can appreciate it. It's all about acceptance, that's a lesson she's learned the hard way in the past. So if she just accepts that it's a Thing, then it might become easier. It's just doing that's the hard part- but she'll get there.
When he mentions that last part, though, she can't help but look a little disturbed.]
O-Oh, that... that does sound bad-weird.
[In the back of her mind, she figures Anna would probably appreciate that term, but she's mostly focused on how strange it would be to end up in a place like that. She'll take the Pokemon world any day in comparison to that.]
If you know so much about all of this, how come you're still here?
When he mentions that last part, though, she can't help but look a little disturbed.]
O-Oh, that... that does sound bad-weird.
[In the back of her mind, she figures Anna would probably appreciate that term, but she's mostly focused on how strange it would be to end up in a place like that. She'll take the Pokemon world any day in comparison to that.]
If you know so much about all of this, how come you're still here?
Ah, well. Knowing an awful lot about something doesn't always mean you can control it. [It took him a long time to be able to admit that.] I don't know where a doorway between worlds might exist here and I don't have the kind of equipment necessary to make one, let alone be sure it might put me back in my native universe.
[He puts one six-fingered hand sheepishly at the back of his neck.]
And despite all my studies engineering isn't my strong suit. The first time I made a doorway it was with a lot of help from someone far more skilled than I.
[He puts one six-fingered hand sheepishly at the back of his neck.]
And despite all my studies engineering isn't my strong suit. The first time I made a doorway it was with a lot of help from someone far more skilled than I.
[Elsa gives a nod. It's true, she ought to have realized it. There's only so much you can do based on experience alone, you need the supplies and actual know-how. Something tells her that whatever force brought them here probably isn't going to let anyone have access to the tools required to actually go home. That would be too easy.]
At least you're using your knowledge to help ease people into this new world.
[She gives him a smile.]
I feel better- I think it's because you're so matter-of-fact. Everyone else makes it all sound so mysterious and unsettling.
At least you're using your knowledge to help ease people into this new world.
[She gives him a smile.]
I feel better- I think it's because you're so matter-of-fact. Everyone else makes it all sound so mysterious and unsettling.
[He made someone feel better? By being his usual blunt self, no less? Well that's a first. Feels kinda good, too.]
I've seen enough mysterious and unsettling things that this is like a swim in the kiddie pool comparatively. It's all about perspective. Some people when faced with the unknown like to put all their effort toward sitting around talking about how they don't understand it. I find a calm, rational approach is better. The more you learn about something the less frightening it becomes.
[He pauses to consider, and then amends:]
Actually sometimes it becomes much more frightening. Luckily I can safely say that's not the case here.
I've seen enough mysterious and unsettling things that this is like a swim in the kiddie pool comparatively. It's all about perspective. Some people when faced with the unknown like to put all their effort toward sitting around talking about how they don't understand it. I find a calm, rational approach is better. The more you learn about something the less frightening it becomes.
[He pauses to consider, and then amends:]
Actually sometimes it becomes much more frightening. Luckily I can safely say that's not the case here.
There's the problem, I don't want to be one of those people.
[Not that there's anything wrong with them, honestly, everyone has a different way of dealing with things. But Ford's approach is much more something that she can get behind.]
I want to understand all of this- I don't want to be afraid of it. I think-
[Elsa hesitates a little, looking away as she chews at her bottom lip. He's confided in her about his world and his life, she wants to be able to tell him something about herself as well. It's just... a Big Thing. She hasn't told anyone else here.]
Let's just say I wish more people took the time to understand things, instead of deciding they don't and won't.
[She's tiptoeing around it a lot, she knows that.]
If I told you something, could you... keep it a secret?
[Not that there's anything wrong with them, honestly, everyone has a different way of dealing with things. But Ford's approach is much more something that she can get behind.]
I want to understand all of this- I don't want to be afraid of it. I think-
[Elsa hesitates a little, looking away as she chews at her bottom lip. He's confided in her about his world and his life, she wants to be able to tell him something about herself as well. It's just... a Big Thing. She hasn't told anyone else here.]
Let's just say I wish more people took the time to understand things, instead of deciding they don't and won't.
[She's tiptoeing around it a lot, she knows that.]
If I told you something, could you... keep it a secret?
Of course.
[Ford likes to hear himself talk a lot of the time, but he isn't in the habit of blabbing about other people. He's kept Dipper's real name close to his breast since he learned it. Whatever she has to tell him, it won't leave this conversation.]
[Ford likes to hear himself talk a lot of the time, but he isn't in the habit of blabbing about other people. He's kept Dipper's real name close to his breast since he learned it. Whatever she has to tell him, it won't leave this conversation.]
[Hoo boy. Okay. Here goes.]
Well-
[It's... not as easy to say as she thought, the words catch in her throat. It's not that she thinks Ford is going to turn into one of those people with torches and pitch forks that her parents warned her about, it's just-
Well, fears aren't always rational. She knows better, but her brain isn't being friendly right now.]
Back home, in my... dimension?
[She says the word carefully, trying to use the terms she's picked up in this conversation.]
I was born with- with ice magic.
[She has to close her eyes and force the words out of her mouth before she can hesitate, so it comes out a bit of a speedy jumble.]
Nobody understood it or tried to. I had to keep it a secret and I learned to fear it just as everyone else did.
Well-
[It's... not as easy to say as she thought, the words catch in her throat. It's not that she thinks Ford is going to turn into one of those people with torches and pitch forks that her parents warned her about, it's just-
Well, fears aren't always rational. She knows better, but her brain isn't being friendly right now.]
Back home, in my... dimension?
[She says the word carefully, trying to use the terms she's picked up in this conversation.]
I was born with- with ice magic.
[She has to close her eyes and force the words out of her mouth before she can hesitate, so it comes out a bit of a speedy jumble.]
Nobody understood it or tried to. I had to keep it a secret and I learned to fear it just as everyone else did.
[Oh.
Alright, so, Stanford Pines has a notorious problem with having a hard time thinking outside of himself. It's not malicious, exactly, it's that he was isolated enough growing up that he legitimately never got any practice with it. With other situations like this one he might launch into questions in a spectacular demonstration of how tone-deaf he can sometimes be, but here he holds them back. He knows, immediately and intuitively, exactly what she's talking about.]
Well. I would know something about being born different.
[He holds up his hands, which up until now he's kept studiously out-of-frame or hidden behind something else. He generally tries to draw as little attention to them as possible, a habit he learned very young, but right now is a special sort of case.]
Though from what I understand, while my extra fingers remain in this world your powers are likely to have been suppressed.
Alright, so, Stanford Pines has a notorious problem with having a hard time thinking outside of himself. It's not malicious, exactly, it's that he was isolated enough growing up that he legitimately never got any practice with it. With other situations like this one he might launch into questions in a spectacular demonstration of how tone-deaf he can sometimes be, but here he holds them back. He knows, immediately and intuitively, exactly what she's talking about.]
Well. I would know something about being born different.
[He holds up his hands, which up until now he's kept studiously out-of-frame or hidden behind something else. He generally tries to draw as little attention to them as possible, a habit he learned very young, but right now is a special sort of case.]
Though from what I understand, while my extra fingers remain in this world your powers are likely to have been suppressed.
[Elsa isn't expecting him to relate so much to what she's been through, but when he shows her his six fingered hand, she realizes that he must've dealt with some very similar things. She isn't surprised or disgusted by this revelation- it's a hand, no one should give him trouble over that.
Did he choose to be born with six fingers? No, just the same as she didn't choose to be born with ice magic. She gives him a small nod of understanding, but she doesn't pry. If he wants to open up more on it, but she's okay with this unspoken solidarity they have going.]
You're right, I can't so much as create a single snowflake now.
[She... doesn't actually sound upset by this. Is that a vague hint of relief somewhere in there? Truth be told, yes. It's a weight off her shoulders, even if she'd learned to control them. How hard would it have been to maintain control on the day she arrived, scared and confused?
Elsa might have cast an eternal winter over Johto by complete accident. Or frozen "Mom"'s heart when she woke up. There are so many reasons she's okay with not having her powers.
When she speaks next, her voice is small.]
You've been to so many places and seen so many worlds. Can you tell me why I might have been born with magic?
[Elsa had long since given up on learning the hows and the whys, no one had ever been willing to talk with her about it. It's just something she had to conceal, not something she was allowed to understand. So having someone who has the smallest chance of knowing is bringing back that hope that she'd long since lost.]
Did he choose to be born with six fingers? No, just the same as she didn't choose to be born with ice magic. She gives him a small nod of understanding, but she doesn't pry. If he wants to open up more on it, but she's okay with this unspoken solidarity they have going.]
You're right, I can't so much as create a single snowflake now.
[She... doesn't actually sound upset by this. Is that a vague hint of relief somewhere in there? Truth be told, yes. It's a weight off her shoulders, even if she'd learned to control them. How hard would it have been to maintain control on the day she arrived, scared and confused?
Elsa might have cast an eternal winter over Johto by complete accident. Or frozen "Mom"'s heart when she woke up. There are so many reasons she's okay with not having her powers.
When she speaks next, her voice is small.]
You've been to so many places and seen so many worlds. Can you tell me why I might have been born with magic?
[Elsa had long since given up on learning the hows and the whys, no one had ever been willing to talk with her about it. It's just something she had to conceal, not something she was allowed to understand. So having someone who has the smallest chance of knowing is bringing back that hope that she'd long since lost.]
[See, if he were perhaps a younger Disney character, Ford might be surprised that she sounds relieved. He might launch into a speech about how a person's differences make them special and how her powers are a part of who she is, etc, etc. He doesn't. He understands the relief he hears in her voice. He's grown used to his own fingers and self-medicated with his overwhelming love of the strange and unusual, but the fact remains that if he were to wake up tomorrow with only ten fingers he'd feel a palpable sense of relief.
The question is what actually gives him pause. He knows exactly why his fingers are how they are, knows the genetic markers that led to it, knows why his twin brother wound up blessedly normal despite having those very same markers. It's better that way, probably. If they'd both been freaks growing up on Glass Shard Beach would have been doubly hard.
He couldn't point to the place in her DNA that says 'ice magic'. Or rather, he could if he had time to study it and discover what such a sequence might look like. The Pokémon world isn't exactly equipped for that, is the problem. All he has is hypotheticals.]
I could guess. Is magic a known force in your world and simply not something that humans normally have access to, or are you the first case of it appearing at all?
The question is what actually gives him pause. He knows exactly why his fingers are how they are, knows the genetic markers that led to it, knows why his twin brother wound up blessedly normal despite having those very same markers. It's better that way, probably. If they'd both been freaks growing up on Glass Shard Beach would have been doubly hard.
He couldn't point to the place in her DNA that says 'ice magic'. Or rather, he could if he had time to study it and discover what such a sequence might look like. The Pokémon world isn't exactly equipped for that, is the problem. All he has is hypotheticals.]
I could guess. Is magic a known force in your world and simply not something that humans normally have access to, or are you the first case of it appearing at all?
[Elsa is Very Glad that Ford isn't a younger Disney. Having someone who gets it and understands the struggle is a very validating thing. She's hesitant to even confess it to Anna, because Anna is all about accepting one's self and whatnot. It isn't a fault, but sometimes that just isn't how Elsa sees things.
His question has her thinking back, trying to remember if there were any other noteworthy cases, but- she can't really recall- but she also hadn't really been allowed to read up on those kinds of things. It would go against the whole conceal, don't feel thing that had been so deeply instilled in her.]
Well, there are the trolls, I suppose? I believe they can perform at least some magic. Or... something close to it. And then there's the odd sorcerer, if rumors are to be believed. But as far as I can tell, no. Just... me.
His question has her thinking back, trying to remember if there were any other noteworthy cases, but- she can't really recall- but she also hadn't really been allowed to read up on those kinds of things. It would go against the whole conceal, don't feel thing that had been so deeply instilled in her.]
Well, there are the trolls, I suppose? I believe they can perform at least some magic. Or... something close to it. And then there's the odd sorcerer, if rumors are to be believed. But as far as I can tell, no. Just... me.
[Yeah, the lack of access to information certainly couldn't have helped her. Ford is incredibly lucky his parents encouraged -- or at least never discouraged -- his voracious appetite for research.
He also isn't the kind of man for platitudes. He doesn't use them on small children and he certainly won't use them on a grown adult. He is blunt and direct, and that holds true here.]
I can't tell you that it was meant to happen in the way that it did or that it was you for a particular reason, not with the information I have. If I had to venture a guess I would lean toward saying it was a curse of some kind, but in my travels I've learned over and over again that most things are simply up to random chance. There are recurring themes and staggering coincidences, but I strongly believe there is no real fate. In your universe it was you, but a world over it may have been someone else.
[He's always wondered if, a couple of universes over, it was Stan who had the six fingers and the cleft chin. He never found that universe but that doesn't mean it didn't exist.]
In this case I feel as though the 'why' is less important than the 'how'. If your powers had been treated as a gift rather than a curse I think we would be having a very different conversation.
He also isn't the kind of man for platitudes. He doesn't use them on small children and he certainly won't use them on a grown adult. He is blunt and direct, and that holds true here.]
I can't tell you that it was meant to happen in the way that it did or that it was you for a particular reason, not with the information I have. If I had to venture a guess I would lean toward saying it was a curse of some kind, but in my travels I've learned over and over again that most things are simply up to random chance. There are recurring themes and staggering coincidences, but I strongly believe there is no real fate. In your universe it was you, but a world over it may have been someone else.
[He's always wondered if, a couple of universes over, it was Stan who had the six fingers and the cleft chin. He never found that universe but that doesn't mean it didn't exist.]
In this case I feel as though the 'why' is less important than the 'how'. If your powers had been treated as a gift rather than a curse I think we would be having a very different conversation.
[Elsa tries really hard not to flinch at the 'C' word. It's always what she's called it- a curse. But it doesn't make it any easier to hear from someone else, even if Ford doesn't mean it in any other way but factual.
She also tries not to deflate at the fact she isn't getting a solid answer- honestly, did she truly expect one? No. But hope is a powerful thing and she can't help that she'd gotten her hopes up.
When he says that last part, Elsa can't help it when she looks away, suddenly finding it really difficult to look at him. She isn't upset at him, but the everything that's coming to the surface after years of trying to push it all away.]
The funny thing? For a little while they weren't. At least as far as I can remember. Do you... want to know what changed things? Or would that make you uncomfortable?
[She doesn't want to give him TMI, after all. But it feels good to talk about this with someone who gets it, who isn't shoving positivity down her throat. Being real about it in a safe space is something she's really never had the opportunity to do.]
She also tries not to deflate at the fact she isn't getting a solid answer- honestly, did she truly expect one? No. But hope is a powerful thing and she can't help that she'd gotten her hopes up.
When he says that last part, Elsa can't help it when she looks away, suddenly finding it really difficult to look at him. She isn't upset at him, but the everything that's coming to the surface after years of trying to push it all away.]
The funny thing? For a little while they weren't. At least as far as I can remember. Do you... want to know what changed things? Or would that make you uncomfortable?
[She doesn't want to give him TMI, after all. But it feels good to talk about this with someone who gets it, who isn't shoving positivity down her throat. Being real about it in a safe space is something she's really never had the opportunity to do.]
[It really is odd to think of himself as a safe space, but he's glad he can provide that. He's... not great in social situations. He's bad at high-emotion, high-intimacy things. But he also likes feeling wanted and needed, which means he likes to at least try.]
If you're willing to tell me, I'll listen.
If you're willing to tell me, I'll listen.
[Don't worry Ford, Elsa also isn't good in social situations- which is probably why she's okay with oversharing with a stranger who she happens to relate a lot with. She's so caught up in the moment she doesn't even think about it.]
When Anna and I were little girls, we were playing. Everything was fine, until-
[Elsa shudders as she flashes back to the memory, clear as day as if it had happened just that morning.]
I was making pillars of snow, she was jumping from each one as they got higher and higher. She was going too fast for me to keep up because she was so excited. A reached out to warn her to stop, but because I was so afraid, I lost control and hit her in the head with my magic.
[She swallows hard, fighting back all that guilt and anxiety bubbling to the surface. This is the first time she's ever talked about it to anyone, so it's... a lot to go through. But it feels good to get it out, in an odd way.]
Anna was knocked out and her hair started to turn white. My parents took us to the trolls, who... who fixed her, but they had to wipe all memory of my powers. My parents said it was for the best, and then from that day on everything changed. I stayed away from Anna, I concealed my powers, I... I stopped living.
When Anna and I were little girls, we were playing. Everything was fine, until-
[Elsa shudders as she flashes back to the memory, clear as day as if it had happened just that morning.]
I was making pillars of snow, she was jumping from each one as they got higher and higher. She was going too fast for me to keep up because she was so excited. A reached out to warn her to stop, but because I was so afraid, I lost control and hit her in the head with my magic.
[She swallows hard, fighting back all that guilt and anxiety bubbling to the surface. This is the first time she's ever talked about it to anyone, so it's... a lot to go through. But it feels good to get it out, in an odd way.]
Anna was knocked out and her hair started to turn white. My parents took us to the trolls, who... who fixed her, but they had to wipe all memory of my powers. My parents said it was for the best, and then from that day on everything changed. I stayed away from Anna, I concealed my powers, I... I stopped living.
Oh.
[Mmmmm. What do you even say to that? 'I'm sorry' isn't right, and what else really is there? Sure, his own 'gift' tore his relationship with his brother apart, but it's difficult to talk about that even when talking to his brother. It's difficult to think about his brother at all when Stanley isn't here with him. Elsa is incredibly lucky in that respect.]
I see.
Why was it necessary to erase her memory?
[Mmmmm. What do you even say to that? 'I'm sorry' isn't right, and what else really is there? Sure, his own 'gift' tore his relationship with his brother apart, but it's difficult to talk about that even when talking to his brother. It's difficult to think about his brother at all when Stanley isn't here with him. Elsa is incredibly lucky in that respect.]
I see.
Why was it necessary to erase her memory?
[Elsa knows there's really not much you can say to any of this, so she isn't really looking for much. Just... having it out in the open is good enough for her.
She sniffs a little, trying to bring herself back down from the emotional high she's worked herself up in so that she can reply to him.]
Oh, um... because it was for the best.
[The words sound wrong coming out, a hollowness to them that shows she doesn't really believe what she's saying, just repeating what she'd been told all of her life.]
I think because... if Anna knew I had powers, she would want me to use them? It made it easier for, um. For my parents to make me hide them.
[Her voice goes quiet the more she goes on, as if she's... not really agreeing with the idea behind what she's saying, which is. Uncomfortable after so long of just going with it and not really thinking about it. She doesn't mean to speak or think ill of her parents.]
They- our parents, just wanted what was best. They tried.
She sniffs a little, trying to bring herself back down from the emotional high she's worked herself up in so that she can reply to him.]
Oh, um... because it was for the best.
[The words sound wrong coming out, a hollowness to them that shows she doesn't really believe what she's saying, just repeating what she'd been told all of her life.]
I think because... if Anna knew I had powers, she would want me to use them? It made it easier for, um. For my parents to make me hide them.
[Her voice goes quiet the more she goes on, as if she's... not really agreeing with the idea behind what she's saying, which is. Uncomfortable after so long of just going with it and not really thinking about it. She doesn't mean to speak or think ill of her parents.]
They- our parents, just wanted what was best. They tried.
[And see this is where things break down, because Stanford Pines is literally incapable of just letting something be. He will chew on a problem until all his teeth fall out.]
It just seems counter-intuitive, you understand. If she knew that you were capable of magic then she could also be taught that it was something to be treated with caution and respect. What happened should have been a learning experience. Children are far stronger and capable of understanding complex concepts than they are often given credit for.
[Or maybe he's just biased because the two children he's closest to are both in that camp, but this is a man who thinks it's perfectly okay to give children crossbows and mind control devices so long as they 'use them responsibly'.]
But magical creatures are notoriously bad at understanding how the human mind works.
It just seems counter-intuitive, you understand. If she knew that you were capable of magic then she could also be taught that it was something to be treated with caution and respect. What happened should have been a learning experience. Children are far stronger and capable of understanding complex concepts than they are often given credit for.
[Or maybe he's just biased because the two children he's closest to are both in that camp, but this is a man who thinks it's perfectly okay to give children crossbows and mind control devices so long as they 'use them responsibly'.]
But magical creatures are notoriously bad at understanding how the human mind works.
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