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[thedifferencebetween]

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Backdated to the 24th

[girlcorrupted]

[ It's been over a week since Jack sealed the two of them in here. This awful, dark castle that Angel could feel her leaves wilting in even before the lockdown. It's been over a week since he took away the only means of communication she'd have to the outside world, any chance she had on checking on her friends, making sure they were okay with whatever was going on out there. And she'd promised- she'd promised Steve she wouldn't disappear again. Just when things seemed to have been mending and here she'd gone MIA, denied even a chance to explain before Jack pulled the plug on her.

It's been a little less than week since she trashed her bedroom, deep scratches left across the upholstery of her furniture, ottomans overturned in her anger and frustration. In her helplessness. She couldn't tear down the main thing in her way, she didn't have the power to tear down Jack.

But finally, finally on the morning of the 24th she notices the windows have been opened again, that the guards are not blocking every possible entry way. She's free- except she's not. And she has something to say about that.

By the time she finds Jack, even if her anger weren't given away by her posture, expression or tone, he would know how mad she is by how her vines are glowing a bright and threatening red. ]

The one condition I made. You broke it.

[thedifferencebetween]

[Jack is catching up on some paperwork that's been brought by from the labs, standard procedure for following an Upset. He doesn't leave the castle when something goes down - no one does. It's the security system. He doesn't appear to look up when Angel enters.]

It's standard security when shit goes stupid and weird. Castle goes on lockdown, no one in or out, radio silence. And it's got nothing to do with you, this is how we've been doing it since before you moved in. I have a castle full of people to look after, including a bunch of humans who tend to not do well when monsterkind is going nuts. I've got a lot of employees, Angel, and people can't keep track. It's not like I got a couple that everyone knows to leave alone. I'm sorry about the inconvenience, but I promise, I wasn't thinking 'gotta lock my kid up'. Just trying to keep everybody who lives and works here safe. You got any better suggestions, I'll listen to'em.

[The castle's protocols have nothing to do with her. There's dozens of humans that live here and are just as susceptible to whatever fuckery is about. Plus her and Virgil and the horses and shit...there's a lot. And it's not as easy to replace employees here. It just hadn't occurred to him how it'd seem to Angel.

Finally he looks up.]

Cuz I do mean it - this wasn't about you, or me, or the messy crap between us. I probably shoulda said something but...look, ya know I've been having a hard time lately. I wasn't even myself half the time. I make all kinds of weird choices when my brain turns off. But...uh...we can talk about this. Figure something else out for next time for you. I'm not trying to make ya feel trapped.

[girlcorrupted]

[ She keeps opening her mouth intending to protest, intending to get at least one word in edgewise but Jack just keeps going. Steamrolling over her without even glancing up.

She is seething, anger only controlled by years of practice holding it all down. Safer in then out, though this week has tested that as she was suddenly overwhelmed with the animal like urgency of being caged again. ]

You gave me no say in the matter-

[ Cut off, even as Jack asks for her suggestion he just goes on with his own point of view over hers. Making it about him, suggesting there are alternatives but they will not be considered when the time comes. It will always be his word over hers. Reducing the issues between them to simple mistakes, like using milk instead of cream in a recipe.

She grapples with what to say next without just completely exploding on him- as if that would do any good either, he'd just dismiss that too. ]

It was the only thing I asked!

[thedifferencebetween]

I know.

[Jack sets his pen down. It's not like he had been thinking about her specifically when the castle went into lockdown. Which he doesn't even control the majority of, that's what his well paid staff is for. They get money, luxury, and the promise of none of the castle monsters eating them. It's a sweet deal and they do their jobs.

But it's okay. This is fine. This is fixable. He's got this. He can remember the big things for this: don't get mad, try and listen, respond to what Angel actually says. His stupid computer components have gotta be good for something.]

And I'm sorry about it. Your first lockdown came at a shitty time, sweetheart, I wasn't focused, I didn't stop and think how you'd take it. I can't change that now. Look...you know I'm not super great at compromising or anything, so I'm probably gonna mess up here, but...we can talk about it. And let's agree right now, both of us, that if we start getting worked up...we just walk away and come back to it later. Cuz getting pissed off and yelling at each other doesn't do anything.

[Even if it's Jack's natural inclination. But his simulacrum mind can't ignore the fact that it never accomplishes anything. The same way his computer components won't allow him to jump into a pool, they discourage taking repeated actions that bring poor results.]

[girlcorrupted]

[ Angel doesn't know how to approach a Jack like this. A Jack who still holds all the deeds of their past, the disregard of her agency, and yet still is altered enough by the computer components and his time in Ryslig that his demeanor begins to make her anger feel unjustified. Like she's the one overreacting.

No no no!]


Stop it!

[ It would be so much easier if he just yelled back at her. ]

Stop acting as though you have truly changed!

[thedifferencebetween]

[Jack is quiet a moment, just looking at Angel. He's doing this 'right' and she's still mad!]

Sweetheart...all I've heard since you got here is how I'm the problem and I have to do shit differently. So I'm trying. I meant what I said, I wanna fix things. I...I mean come on. Ya know? We...uh...we saw that shit can be better.

[This isn't going the way he was assured it would. Again, Jack has the suspicion that Angel just wants to be mad at him. That it doesn't matter how much he bends or how willing he is to try and hold back his emotional responses to try and talk to her.]

And look...I think we've both here been too long to claim that I haven't changed at all. I don't like that I have, I don't enjoy having a friggin computer processor handling half my decisions, but that's what I've got. I'm not even human anymore, neither are you, shit has changed.

[girlcorrupted]

[ He makes it so confusing, saying the right things now but still after all he's done. All the unforgivable acts, more monstrous then any creature in this place was capable of. ]

No it can't!

[ That other reality...Angel still dreams about it. Yearns for that normal life, that normal- if not a little overzealous- version of her father. Sure, he had been overbearing, he'd still be a jerk, but he was a good father there in comparison to the Jack of this reality. ]

It can never be like that! You made certain of it the day you pulled the lever on the eridium injectors and insured my death for your stupid gains.

[ She's on the verge of tears, only holding them back in order not to totally crumple and lost it in front of him. Make him write her off as an emotional teenager, as always. What does it even matter? He will anyways. ]

It doesn't matter how much you change in this place, when you can't change all that you did to me and made me do!