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* That is not you. You are shaped by your choices, Frisk.
* If the way they behave is not congruent with what you would choose to do, then... well.

* They're still sort of merciful? They must have some of your niceness, deep down.
* They don't hit me because they like it. They hit me because they have to.

They hit you?

[Frisk's hands scrunch into fists as they straighten up, shoulders squaring. A mirror is different in key ways, isn't it? Well, they weren't always nice Underground, were they? That wasn't fully them, but it wasn't fully anyone else, either.]

Why?

[They keep firing that question out. Why. But the thought that this version of Chara might have been conditioned to think that they deserve it...

...that's horrible.]

You - you know no one deserves to be hit, don't you?

=)

[A smiley face isn't an answer to their last question. But there is no answering that in a very happy way, not unless they start lying. So just... draw something happy, move on.]

* You really are kind, huh.
* They got mad. They were going to taunt you, and I got in the way of it before they could write more.
* I ruined their fun.
* ...It's. It's generally not very fun on this side.

I...

[They put a hand to their mouth. The smile. Another thin, bright-faced drape over whatever turmoil must be going on within. They can't see anyone in their own reflection, can't read anything from the subtle nuances in this Chara's facial expression.

But the ellipses tell a whole story all on their own.]

I'm sorry. I wish that...that I wasn't so cruel on that side. You don't deserve that either.

[Regardless of who this Chara is, no one deserves to simply be slapped around like something disposable.]

* Most of them are cruel here.
* Don't trust them. Mirrors hate their real selves.
* They'll say anything to hurt you.

[See, Frisk? They're on your side. It's the kind of warning anyone over on the real side would offer up, the obvious "oh gee doppelganger bad," but when it's written on glass like this, it's brave, huh? Someone risking themselves to warn the quote-unquote enemy?]

* Um, I'm sorry as well.
* It's not always nice on that side either, right?
* The Chara on your side of the looking glass is pretty cruel too.

[Mirrors hate their real selves. So the things the other Frisk said and did were meant to make them feel uncomfortable, scared, watched. But this Chara...doesn't seem hateful, or much like they want to make them feel uncomfortable.]

So why're you being nice to me?

[They tilt their head to one side, confused, though not demanding. It simply puzzles them.]

Chara...they're trying their hardest. It doesn't mean they're a bad person.

* Wasn't I always nice to you, Frisk?
* Remember the hints? Migosp, Whimsun, Greater Dog, Ice Cap, Snowdrake... I was always trying to help you understand the monsters when you Checked them. So you'd know they weren't bad. So you'd know how to Spare them.
* I tried to joke. Make you smile. I picked you up when you fell.
* We're partners.

[It's hard to make handwriting look fond, but they try their best to put fondness into it. It's not impossible to believe, is it? That a Chara, an actual Chara and not a demon, would want to help Frisk?

The next line is anything but fond, smooshed down at the very bottom of the glass.]

* The Chara you're stuck with, though...
* Are you really sure about that?

Edited (how type word) 2016-05-05 06:23 (UTC)

[Frisk...they don't know what to make of them. The words are nice, even if they are somewhat playing to Frisk's sense of pity. But...it's kind of working. They smile.

But it soon fades a bit, by increments, at the next words.]

I'm not "stuck" with them. They're my friend.

[...It's not fair. Why is that thing getting defended? It's done nothing to warrant that. It kills people. Killed Frisk's friend! Undyne! Has hit every single person who's actually been nice to them! Has a bruise shaped like the bottom of Chara's shoe totally faded off Frisk's chest yet, they wonder?

They should be the Chara that Frisk defends, not that hellspawn. They're willing to change for Frisk! They're willing to be a good person! They don't have any LOVE dying them a hideous black!]

* Please, Frisk, be careful.
* How long would the cut on your arm take to heal if you didn't LOAD that away?
* You were terrified, weren't you? They really would have killed you.

I don't know a single person from home who hasn't tried to kill me at least once.

[And they've treated them all with dignity and respect. They owe Chara the same. And besides...Chara really is trying to help them. The latest event, sitting with them, fighting through hordes of mindless abominations to keep them safe, sharing food with them? That's the kind of thing a friend does.

It strikes them that maybe this Chara might be worried that there's not room in Frisk's SOUL for two of them, and that's why they're so upset? Does that make any sense?]

That doesn't mean I can't care about you too, though.

[Not good enough. It's not good enough to leave that threat running around unchecked, over on a side where nobody even wants it. Not good enough to just drop a little commentary once in a blue moon, never touched, never heard, never seen.

But Frisk is far more determined than they are. They give up pushing. For now, it's getting a foothold, huh?]

* You'd be willing to care about me?
* ...
* I could really use a friend.

* So could you, I think.
* A real friend. One that doesn't hurt you or kill you.

* You know no one deserves to be hit, don't you?

Of course I am!

[What happened to this Chara, to make them feel like they don't deserve even the slightest modicum of kindness? It makes their heart hurt just to think about it.]

It's...the friends I have...we're still working on how to really be friends, in a lot of ways. But that just means we'll come out of it on the other side much, much stronger! You can be their friend too, I bet!

[A moment where they wipe the writing off and pause, just... lingering on that sort of raw, hopeful optimism. That's... that's right, isn't it? An enemy is just a friend you haven't made yet. You're just getting hurt because you haven't found the right way to win them over.

Maybe even the Frisk on their side is like that, huh? Maybe they want to be Chara's friend, they just don't know any other way to show it. Maybe if Chara keeps trying... well. Maybe that won't even matter. The better Frisk, the one right here, already has room in their heart for Chara! Already suggests... haha, this is exactly what Chara hoped it would be!]

* You think so?
* Won't they hate me?
* I'm not a demon, but I'm... you know what I am, huh.

Everyone deserves a second chance. If I can explain that to them, I think they'll listen.

[Their friends trust Frisk. They've trusted Frisk thus far when it comes to Chara, certain events notwithstanding, and as tenuous as the peace is, it's still kept them going so far.]

It doesn't matter what you are. You're alive, so that means you have the right to live. Right?

[Another moment where there's a pause between wiping the glass clean and writing. An asterisk appears, a few letters start to follow it, but get smeared away into nothingness before a complete thought is put down.]

* I could help them out, too! I'd make it worth their while!
* There are things I shouldn't say, or can't, but... it would be useful, right? Having a friend on the other side.

[Frisk's mouth opens, closes again. Their brow furrows in concern.]

Is that...the only reason you think I'd want to be your friend? Because you'd be "useful"?

[Perhaps that's just how this Chara has been conditioned to think, to live like a commodity. They were created as one, weren't they?]

Because you - you deserve more than that. You know that, don't you?

* I deserve whatever I get, ha ha.
* Really, Frisk, it's enough that you're being this nice to me. That...

* That someone's willing to just. Hear me, I guess?
* Not that it's really hearing when it's all writing. Um. Sorry, you know what I meant.

N-no. You don't.

[They say it firmly, eyebrows knitting together.]

Doing or saying or thinking something bad doesn't mean you forfeit your right to - to ever treated nicely! If that was true, I wouldn't have any friends at all!

* I'm glad you've found some real friends, Frisk.
* But that's... I don't think it will ever work like that on this side.
* None of the mirrors here believe things like that.

* I mean... if you can't escape a world where people think you deserve to be hurt...
* Then... that belief. It's basically true, isn't it? If everyone believes it, then it might as well be.

Why not?

[They cock their head to one side, puzzled. They haven't encountered anyone's mirrors, so they can't know how it all works. Maybe they should ask Dipper. He seems to know a lot about this place, and even keeps notes and stuff.]

Can't you...can't you stay determined?

[Ha ha... ha.]

* Why would I ever want to be determined?
* That power is the reason the thing on your side murdered Asriel. Used monsters like toys just to start a war. Murdered everyone. The whole reason it won't ever, ever go away, even if it's already supposed to have stopped existing.
* I'd rather suffer than be like that.

[...oh. That must be the difference, then. Between them and the Chara on this side. No determination?

That's...

They try not to feel irreconcilably sad, but there's something awful and morose in the pit of their stomach anyway.]

Can't you just...I mean, you can still decide who you want to be. You don't have to be whatever - whatever you think you have to be.

[Their voice drops a little, quietly rankled.]

Chara's not a "thing".

[Another swell of bitterness, a scornful look that Frisk cannot possibly see. Nothing there but their own pitying reflection, after all.

Why? What's got Frisk so bent on defending something that would surely never stick up for them in return? They could tear their Real to pieces with hateful, disgusted words, but... they're trying to win Frisk over. Better to be agreeable. Better to drop it.]

* What should I be, then?

Anything you want to be.

[One of those grossly optimistic statements that Frisk utters without irony, spreading their hands wide with an encouraging smile.]

You're allowed to choose. Being a mirror doesn't change that, does it?

[They don't even consider deciding for themselves. They were made to be a pawn, and one utterly lacking in determination at that. Not an ounce of resolve to change fate.]

* For now, I think... just being your friend would be enough?
* You've given me a little hope already. That's more than I've maybe ever had.

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