[The corners of his mouth lift for a moment. But it's only a moment, the smile never really materializing on Gladion's face—his quip was light, but there's something more bitter than sweet about the whole thought.
Still wrestling with the questions, he backs up and takes them one at a time.]
I don't know whether she'd drag me into things on purpose, but I doubt it. [Alright. Question two.] Not many people know about us to make the connection if she did something. Though it wouldn't be hard if you met both of us. She has a Pokemon with her, and we look alike. [...Shakes his head because he's digressing. Would people blame him? And is that even what he's concerned about?]
The...surrounding circumstances are so different here.
[This is not an answer. But Gladion closes his eyes after that and finally commits to something more like one.]
No, I'm not worried about...blame. But if something happened, and I hadn't done anything about it—like confronting her, or telling people things they should know—I would never be satisfied with that. If she—
[Opens his eyes again, running a hand back through his hair.]
If I had to admit to my sister—if I even imagine admitting to her—that I didn't try to stop Mother from...destroying herself even further, let alone keep hurting other people, I wouldn't—I don't want that.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2023-07-04 01:11 pm (UTC)Still wrestling with the questions, he backs up and takes them one at a time.]
I don't know whether she'd drag me into things on purpose, but I doubt it. [Alright. Question two.] Not many people know about us to make the connection if she did something. Though it wouldn't be hard if you met both of us. She has a Pokemon with her, and we look alike. [...Shakes his head because he's digressing. Would people blame him? And is that even what he's concerned about?]
The...surrounding circumstances are so different here.
[This is not an answer. But Gladion closes his eyes after that and finally commits to something more like one.]
No, I'm not worried about...blame. But if something happened, and I hadn't done anything about it—like confronting her, or telling people things they should know—I would never be satisfied with that. If she—
[Opens his eyes again, running a hand back through his hair.]
If I had to admit to my sister—if I even imagine admitting to her—that I didn't try to stop Mother from...destroying herself even further, let alone keep hurting other people, I wouldn't—I don't want that.