[More to him than anything. That's the thread that binds most family together, isn't it? What had Mr Apple called it, not that long ago...?]
...Unconditional love.
[That's what it must be. To have someone mean more to you than anything, no matter what. And the protective nature of being an older brother must underline than tenfold.]
She's lucky to have you. And you're lucky to have someone like that, too. How much younger is she?
[Unconditional love. Yes, he thinks that's accurate. No matter what, Tsukasa will always love and do anything for Saki. It's the core of his dream, and the core of who he is as a person.
He beams to have it understood, of course.]
She's a year younger than me. [Even though Tsukasa talks about her like she's a lot younger than him.]
But yes, absolutely! I am the luckiest older brother in the world!
Ah, and she is an incredible musician as well! She plays piano much better than I do at this point, and she composes as well!
[It is... a little sad, yes. But so is plenty that he's experienced, not just what exists in a past that he had no control over, and Pinocchio has learned to try to elevate the good above the bad. After all, he still has his Father. He still has the people in the hotel, who have been nothing but kind to him, and have helped him so much.
No, he doesn't want to be brought down by the emotions that hurt. Those are human, too, but he thinks too much of them will make life... harder to trudge through. Instead, he wants to be like... Tsukasa, really. Bright and smiling all the time.
They spin, and it is with a swiftness—yet still graceful—that makes some of the roses tilt away from their momentum.]
[And he just basks in that, honestly, beaming. He likes to believe he is, yes.]
Toya is... hm! He was one of my mother's piano students, so he was often over at our house when we were all younger.
[A beat, and his expression fades into a frown, more contemplative than anything.]
His father is... very strict. So he wasn't the sort of boy who would smile often, if at all. Naturally, that made it my responsibility to make certain he would be nothing but smiles when he was at our home!
Tsukasa smiles at the praise, though he's quick to nod with a fiercely determined expression.]
Yes, precisely! I absolutely agree! It is a parent's role to be there for their children, after all.
Toya has been through more than any one person should have to go through, but... he's found his own path that makes him happy, and he's following it now. And I'm so happy for him!
[He did, but honestly, not even Tsukasa is entirely aware of his own impact there. The one blind spot in his massive ego is how he helps others.]
Hmmm... well, he found his passion! Toya went out and explored the world for himself, and found something he decided he couldn't live without--as well as people who understood and supported him in that passion!
And that gave him the strength to stand up to his father so he could start to pursue his own dreams.
[... Something Pinocchio will have to do too, huh?]
[Explored the world. Stood up to his father? He...
Briefly, Tsukasa loses his gaze. It slides away.]
Sort of. When I was first awoken, he gave me a lot of instructions on what to do once we reunited, because I really didn't know any better. What was happening to the city and the people in it... It was all new to me. I didn't have context. And I thought he knew what was best.
[And, sometimes, the warmth of his approval was more than enough of a reward.]
A parent is supposed to know best, right? They're the ones we're supposed to look up to. But the more I learnt about the city, the more I realized that he's just human like the rest of them. Complicated.
[... Hm. This sounds like the sort of tale that might end up grim. He continues to step in time with their waltz, but his expression is a little concerned.]
[A look of conflict crosses P's face. It's hard to know where to begin, and there are parts of the tale that are still foggy to his own understanding, told only in pieces of the past that he's stumbled across — sometimes quite literally.]
Above all, he wants to make me like his previous son. Carlo. He was willing to do anything to make that possible; he sent me from place to place to fight threats in the city, and to protect certain people, but the truth of the matter is that... he wanted to strengthen my heart, since Carlo's soul resides in it. He wanted to make me more human, and I think he believes... that pushing me through hardship is the fastest way for that to happen.
[Thing is, he probably wasn't wrong.]
He even... he... [He seems to struggle at this point; as though his love for his father battles, still, with the things he's done.] He was the one who made all the puppets go mad. All because of that.
[... Oh. Immediately, he's frowning. He wanted to make Pinocchio like his son. But then, if Pinocchio had to be Carlo, then where was the space for Pinocchio to be Pinocchio?
...
And then he falters in his steps at the last bit, the dance stuttering for a moment out of its smooth progression.]
Wh... what? "made the puppets go mad"? Why? How would that--hardship?!
[The stumble in the dance makes him look down at their feet briefly, then finally back up to Tsukasa to meet his gaze.
It is really a surprising thing to hear. Seeing someone else's reaction, someone who had no context prior, underlines that in his mind and heart. His father had done bad things all for the sake of trying to regain what was lost, a twisted love that must have run so, so deep to make him act in that way.
He wonders what it might be like to love someone quite that deeply, or at least the idea of a person. It must be something close to madness, and he feels a little guilty thinking that way.]
He's a genius engineer. Puppets in general only really exist because of him. And they're all installed with a Convenant that acts as a sort of rules they all have to abide by — but I found out that he hid a secret directive in it, too. That all of them have to obey him.
So, he turned them all mad on his order. The city went into disarray. I guess there's something to be said about tragedy making someone more... human?
[I forgot the roses bloom in response to any strong emotion, so whereas before it was a slow unfurling of petals, now his rose has fully bloomed as he stares at Pinocchio with wide eyes.
...]
That's... not true. It isn't tragedy that makes someone human.
[He refuses to accept that.]
... I'm sorry. That sounds... horrifying to have to experience. [And for why? For reasons like that? It's not fair.]
[Look they're both too head empty to pay constant attention to the roses, and besides, the conversation at hand is very distracting.
Tsukasa will feel P's grip tightening incrementally, an extra tell of emotion where it just flickers as a frown across his face. He feels bad, in more ways than one: the discontent that stirs in his own chest, having to speak on this matter, even if he's accepted it as truth. And... making his friend feel bad for his sake, too.]
It's okay, Tsukasa. I made friends, too. I learned how to make some people happy. That... makes someone human, too, doesn't it?
[He drags a slow breath in, and then since he still has one of Pinocchio's hands in his own from their aborted dance, he'll just squeeze it in a show of solidarity.]
What you choose to do with your life, the bonds you make with others... all of those things are truly what make you yourself. I suppose tragedy is part of it, but even more important is what you choose to do after said tragedy! And that is all that really matters, I'm sure of it.
[These are lessons that Pinocchio has slowly intuited himself, his adventures having taken him on quite a hero's journey for good or ill, but hearing it spoken aloud by Tsukasa, who always seems so sure and so confident, it's... nice.
Nice to know that he does have that freedom. That he is not confined by the past that his father would tear down the world in order to revive again.]
...Thank you. It makes me feel... [What's a good word?] ...lighter, to hear you say that. I'll have to tell my father this, too, someday.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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...Unconditional love.
[That's what it must be. To have someone mean more to you than anything, no matter what. And the protective nature of being an older brother must underline than tenfold.]
She's lucky to have you. And you're lucky to have someone like that, too. How much younger is she?
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He beams to have it understood, of course.]
She's a year younger than me. [Even though Tsukasa talks about her like she's a lot younger than him.]
But yes, absolutely! I am the luckiest older brother in the world!
Ah, and she is an incredible musician as well! She plays piano much better than I do at this point, and she composes as well!
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I wish I could hear her play. [He huffs, amused.] She could accompany our silent waltz.
[Which they still dance to, drifting along with ease; it wasn't a complaint, really.]
But... yeah, you are lucky. I'm actually a little bit jealous.
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Tsukasa hums a thoughtful note at that, head tilting.]
... I take it that means you don't have any siblings? Even, er... constructed ones?
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No, my father only made me. I told you about my heart, and its soul, remember? Well, that soul belonged to his son, who died a few years ago.
[So. Maybe someone could count Carlo as a long-lost brother he never met, but that would be a very, very big stretch.]
But that doesn't really count. So it's just me and my dad, no siblings.
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[... It sounds terribly sad, when put that way.
...]
Of course, many of my friends are only children as well, so it isn't unusual at all. But...
[Hm.
A spin, as they move away from a larger patch of roses to more open ground.]
I can't imagine life without Saki, honestly. It does make me realize how lucky I've been.
[Not that he would--or could--ever take her for granted.]
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No, he doesn't want to be brought down by the emotions that hurt. Those are human, too, but he thinks too much of them will make life... harder to trudge through. Instead, he wants to be like... Tsukasa, really. Bright and smiling all the time.
They spin, and it is with a swiftness—yet still graceful—that makes some of the roses tilt away from their momentum.]
Is it just the two of you?
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Hm...]
It is me, and Saki, and my parents, of course!
[And then a smile, eager.]
There is also Toya! We're not related by blood, but he is also like a younger brother to me!
[Tsukasa is ready to be a big brother. Born for it, really.]
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You really are the big brother type, aren't you?
[He will say what the metatext is thinking.]
Who's Toya?
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Toya is... hm! He was one of my mother's piano students, so he was often over at our house when we were all younger.
[A beat, and his expression fades into a frown, more contemplative than anything.]
His father is... very strict. So he wasn't the sort of boy who would smile often, if at all. Naturally, that made it my responsibility to make certain he would be nothing but smiles when he was at our home!
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I'm glad you're able to do that for him. Not that I think you'd have a hard time making anyone smile. But...
[ ... ]
It's sad to hear that, too, in a way. A parent should always try to make their kids laugh, and grin, and feel happy.
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Tsukasa smiles at the praise, though he's quick to nod with a fiercely determined expression.]
Yes, precisely! I absolutely agree! It is a parent's role to be there for their children, after all.
Toya has been through more than any one person should have to go through, but... he's found his own path that makes him happy, and he's following it now. And I'm so happy for him!
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[He has a feeling that Tsukasa's helped in that equation.]
That's something I'll have to figure out how to do, too, eventually.
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Hmmm... well, he found his passion! Toya went out and explored the world for himself, and found something he decided he couldn't live without--as well as people who understood and supported him in that passion!
And that gave him the strength to stand up to his father so he could start to pursue his own dreams.
[... Something Pinocchio will have to do too, huh?]
... Your father is also strict, then?
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Briefly, Tsukasa loses his gaze. It slides away.]
Sort of. When I was first awoken, he gave me a lot of instructions on what to do once we reunited, because I really didn't know any better. What was happening to the city and the people in it... It was all new to me. I didn't have context. And I thought he knew what was best.
[And, sometimes, the warmth of his approval was more than enough of a reward.]
A parent is supposed to know best, right? They're the ones we're supposed to look up to. But the more I learnt about the city, the more I realized that he's just human like the rest of them. Complicated.
[Flawed.]
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... "Complicated"...
[...?]
What happened? What... was he telling you to do?
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Above all, he wants to make me like his previous son. Carlo. He was willing to do anything to make that possible; he sent me from place to place to fight threats in the city, and to protect certain people, but the truth of the matter is that... he wanted to strengthen my heart, since Carlo's soul resides in it. He wanted to make me more human, and I think he believes... that pushing me through hardship is the fastest way for that to happen.
[Thing is, he probably wasn't wrong.]
He even... he... [He seems to struggle at this point; as though his love for his father battles, still, with the things he's done.] He was the one who made all the puppets go mad. All because of that.
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...
And then he falters in his steps at the last bit, the dance stuttering for a moment out of its smooth progression.]
Wh... what? "made the puppets go mad"? Why? How would that--hardship?!
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It is really a surprising thing to hear. Seeing someone else's reaction, someone who had no context prior, underlines that in his mind and heart. His father had done bad things all for the sake of trying to regain what was lost, a twisted love that must have run so, so deep to make him act in that way.
He wonders what it might be like to love someone quite that deeply, or at least the idea of a person. It must be something close to madness, and he feels a little guilty thinking that way.]
He's a genius engineer. Puppets in general only really exist because of him. And they're all installed with a Convenant that acts as a sort of rules they all have to abide by — but I found out that he hid a secret directive in it, too. That all of them have to obey him.
So, he turned them all mad on his order. The city went into disarray. I guess there's something to be said about tragedy making someone more... human?
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...]
That's... not true. It isn't tragedy that makes someone human.
[He refuses to accept that.]
... I'm sorry. That sounds... horrifying to have to experience. [And for why? For reasons like that? It's not fair.]
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Tsukasa will feel P's grip tightening incrementally, an extra tell of emotion where it just flickers as a frown across his face. He feels bad, in more ways than one: the discontent that stirs in his own chest, having to speak on this matter, even if he's accepted it as truth. And... making his friend feel bad for his sake, too.]
It's okay, Tsukasa. I made friends, too. I learned how to make some people happy. That... makes someone human, too, doesn't it?
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[He drags a slow breath in, and then since he still has one of Pinocchio's hands in his own from their aborted dance, he'll just squeeze it in a show of solidarity.]
What you choose to do with your life, the bonds you make with others... all of those things are truly what make you yourself. I suppose tragedy is part of it, but even more important is what you choose to do after said tragedy! And that is all that really matters, I'm sure of it.
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Nice to know that he does have that freedom. That he is not confined by the past that his father would tear down the world in order to revive again.]
...Thank you. It makes me feel... [What's a good word?] ...lighter, to hear you say that. I'll have to tell my father this, too, someday.
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I'm glad to hear it. And... I'm glad you'll be able to tell your father.
I hope it goes well. But... mm, even if it doesn't, this is your own life to live. You deserve the chance to live it how you want to.
[And that's important.]
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Saying stuff like that, so easily... You really are like a prince, aren't you?
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