[Mettaton hesitates after saying their name. Asriel didn't need to tell him that they hated humanity for him to get the picture, but there's still so many questions left unanswered. Even with the entire history of all things that could happen catalogued in his mind...Mettaton didn't know much about Chara.
He did want to, though he doubted they would tell him.
...But what the hell, he's dying anyway. Asking a question can't expedite it further at this point.]
Why do you hate humanity? Why do you not forgive?
[The robot doubts that he'll get an answer. But he's asked it anyway. Talking is the only action he has left to perform, and some days it's hard to do even that. How lucky for Chara, huh?]
[That earns a laugh. A small, brusque huff of one, utterly mirthless. Oh, but he knows how to twist the knife in. Perhaps they should thank him for that. A tint of yellow in his SOUL, perhaps, to match the button that flashed in gold, that turned a SOUL into a pea-shooter.
That certainly isn't what he expected. It shows in the way his brow rises, nearly disappearing into his hairline out of how surprised he was. But it was...well, it was a question.
Certainly, it was. A. Question.
One he's not sure how to answer, and which tugs at his SOUL in an unpleasant way. He...doesn't want to think too hard about this. It's complicated. Alas.]
Do I forgive you? Haha...
[He wishes he could move his arms, to add any body language at all to what he's saying. But of course, he can't. That's simply not within his power to do. Not even to scratch nervously at his neck as the torn circuitry exposed by the awful gash buzzed and irritated him.]
It depends on what I'm forgiving you for, and whether it would actually hold any weight, me being who I am.
[Not just a monster...he's Mettaton. Mettaton has done many unsavory things, treated others like tools, and will probably continue to behave in a self-serving or self-interested fashion. Of course, part of that would be to right himself from this depressive state, but he's still a terrible individual. Does it matter?]
[Chara inclines their head, faintly. There it is. A question for a question, and an answer far more cohesive than any explanation could hope to be. They are singular, as he is. If there have been lines drawn in the dirt, they crossed them long before arriving here. They burned every book. Spoiled every page. Sunk fingertips into the ashes until their nails were ugly, clotted with dark crescents of filth.]
Not as simple as a slogan on a self-help manual.
Let me put it another way.
[Perhaps they should consider this humoring him. He is making, remarkable as it may seem, some vague attempt to understand. Some poorly conceptualized, poorly implemented attempt on his proverbial deathbed, because he simply has nothing else to lose.
So humor him. Laughter is, after all, the best medicine. Is it not?]
If I were to forgive every person who had ever wronged me, starting today...
What possible effect would that have?
[They would not care, simply put. They would not have the capacity to care. They would not have any idea, assuming they devoted any brain cells to wondering about the child that scaled a mountain such a very long time ago, assuming they remainder of them are still alive to do so, that they had been absolved of their sins, free to live out the rest of their lives content that there would be no consequences for their actions, no fallout for the pair of children they murdered for the monstrosity of their appearance.]
[He laughs. He actually laughs, though it sounds very forced. Not because he doesn't find it funny, but the movement required is just that oppressive. Still, his shoulders manage to shake a little. Chara's funny.
This is hilarious, really. They're talking to him...]
Not everyone needs to be forgiven. Using myself as an example, do I look as if I wish to forgive everyone? No.
It is not worth one's time to forgive the general population. There are several to who that is suited. Frisk...Papyrus...but not me. And clearly not you.
Still, I choose to forgive a select few, because even those that seem unforgivable...often become very important and therefore ultimately worth forgiving. I...know that Asriel has done terrible things. Frisk as well, for better or worse. And yet, despite everything, I chose to forgive them because their friendship was more important to me than holding anything against either of them.
Not everyone is forgivable. But not everyone is unforgivable either.
That is just what I think, however. I know that our opinions differ.
It's fine.
[See? He's smiling. Don't you believe him that it's fine, Chara?]
[The cut away the fat, so to speak. Trim things down. Pare them to something easily understood. Speak frankly, because they've already served as the linchpin that will kill him; what more could they possibly do to contribute?]
You forgave them. They will never forgive themselves, nor will they believe that you have chosen to forgive them freely and without purpose. Because they have learned to live in a world where all things are conditional, and thus, not even forgiveness is deserved.
[So why did he choose to forgive them?
Because it made him feel better. Because it granted him the illusion that, for a brief moment in time, he could feel as though he had done the right thing. He could feel good and terribly nice about himself.
Forgiveness, like love, is a selfish emotion.
It always will be.]
No attempt to forgive humanity will ever lessen what they are and what they've done. It will do nothing; nothing but grant me the pointless illusion that, for one moment in time, I've achieved some manner of enlightenment and become an acceptable sort of victim.
What do I possibly stand to gain in lying to myself?
[The sort of person who goes from an irritant to something admirable. Because an angry child is to be scorned, to be feared, their trials to be dismissed. You're making things up for attention, Chara. You shouldn't lie to grown-ups, Chara.
Perhaps it did make me feel better. But I didn't do it for me. Say what you will, but I really didn't. I did it because I don't want to see Asriel hurt. He's just a child.
[He can't say Frisk--he hasn't tried hard enough with them. When they had been caught in the madness of their own disk-tampering, he'd backed off. No...no, he hadn't just backed off. He'd run away because they intimidated him.
...He owed Frisk more than that, but at the moment, one friend at a time was all he could aspire to.]
As for you, I don't want you to forgive humanity. I would not ask such a thing of you, because you sound as if you have a reason for hating them. That reason is not my business. But clearly you have it. I think that if you decided, not to lie to yourself, but to accept that not every single person is cut from the same negative cloth...you might find yourself surprised.
[After that point, the robot lets his eye slip shut. He's tired. Talking about things like this was exhausting in a way that being constantly plugged in wouldn't alleviate. He will still listen, of course.]
It's louder, this time, more earnest. They laugh, the sound ripped from their throat, churning in their stomach. Why don't you try not being a horrifying abomination formed from determination and pure hatred? Why don't you just open your eyes, and stop being so unreasonable, Chara? What an unfortunate, ridiculous thing that silly demon and their irrational hatred of everything is, getting in the way of everyone having a nice and productive life!]
How very enlightened of you, sir! I'll get right to work on improving my negative mindset!
[At any other point, Mettaton might meet their sarcasm with his own, escalating the situation into something regrettable. But not this time. Instead, he keeps his response simple. And genuine.
He's not laughing. He does wait for them to finish though.]
You don't have to. You do not have to do anything that you don't want to, least of all because I might want it from you. In the grand scheme...my opinions are not important enough to dictate your actions, Chara.
[His words are even quieter than before, though still audible.]
[They are the humble servant. They are warped by the world, and they become the thing it wishes of them. The demon. The instrument of its own destruction. The villain, playing the all-consuming role. The future of humans and monsters. The End to that future.
Clasped hands, staring over the edge of the cauldron to hell.]
[For a child who insists on following the expectations placed on them, Chara certainly does rebel quite often against those expectations. Hell, they rebel against themselves too.
It's so tiring to be in proximity to. Chara, please.]
Hell, the world is rather pointless nowadays anyhow.
[Haha, where the fuck did that come from? Though to be fair, the prerequisite of falling down is to actually be in that bad a mental state, so can he really be blamed for being so negative?]
[A perfect, painted smile. Practically scripted, ha ha. Because there are certain flags, are there not, certain triggers that generate trees upon trees of dialogue. And only in one are pointless worlds mentioned.
Not that he would know. Not that he should. But Mettaton has been inserting himself into all manner of narratives that do not concern him, these days. What's one more?]
It seems that you and I are in rare agreement there.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Mettaton hesitates after saying their name. Asriel didn't need to tell him that they hated humanity for him to get the picture, but there's still so many questions left unanswered. Even with the entire history of all things that could happen catalogued in his mind...Mettaton didn't know much about Chara.
He did want to, though he doubted they would tell him.
...But what the hell, he's dying anyway. Asking a question can't expedite it further at this point.]
Why do you hate humanity? Why do you not forgive?
[The robot doubts that he'll get an answer. But he's asked it anyway. Talking is the only action he has left to perform, and some days it's hard to do even that. How lucky for Chara, huh?]
no subject
Perhaps more indicative than first assumed.
They smile, a grim, rueful twist of the lips.]
Do you forgive me, Mettaton?
no subject
That certainly isn't what he expected. It shows in the way his brow rises, nearly disappearing into his hairline out of how surprised he was. But it was...well, it was a question.
Certainly, it was. A. Question.
One he's not sure how to answer, and which tugs at his SOUL in an unpleasant way. He...doesn't want to think too hard about this. It's complicated. Alas.]
Do I forgive you? Haha...
[He wishes he could move his arms, to add any body language at all to what he's saying. But of course, he can't. That's simply not within his power to do. Not even to scratch nervously at his neck as the torn circuitry exposed by the awful gash buzzed and irritated him.]
It depends on what I'm forgiving you for, and whether it would actually hold any weight, me being who I am.
[Not just a monster...he's Mettaton. Mettaton has done many unsavory things, treated others like tools, and will probably continue to behave in a self-serving or self-interested fashion. Of course, part of that would be to right himself from this depressive state, but he's still a terrible individual. Does it matter?]
no subject
Not as simple as a slogan on a self-help manual.
Let me put it another way.
[Perhaps they should consider this humoring him. He is making, remarkable as it may seem, some vague attempt to understand. Some poorly conceptualized, poorly implemented attempt on his proverbial deathbed, because he simply has nothing else to lose.
So humor him. Laughter is, after all, the best medicine. Is it not?]
If I were to forgive every person who had ever wronged me, starting today...
What possible effect would that have?
[They would not care, simply put. They would not have the capacity to care. They would not have any idea, assuming they devoted any brain cells to wondering about the child that scaled a mountain such a very long time ago, assuming they remainder of them are still alive to do so, that they had been absolved of their sins, free to live out the rest of their lives content that there would be no consequences for their actions, no fallout for the pair of children they murdered for the monstrosity of their appearance.]
no subject
This is hilarious, really. They're talking to him...]
Not everyone needs to be forgiven. Using myself as an example, do I look as if I wish to forgive everyone? No.
It is not worth one's time to forgive the general population. There are several to who that is suited. Frisk...Papyrus...but not me. And clearly not you.
Still, I choose to forgive a select few, because even those that seem unforgivable...often become very important and therefore ultimately worth forgiving. I...know that Asriel has done terrible things. Frisk as well, for better or worse. And yet, despite everything, I chose to forgive them because their friendship was more important to me than holding anything against either of them.
Not everyone is forgivable. But not everyone is unforgivable either.
That is just what I think, however. I know that our opinions differ.
It's fine.
[See? He's smiling. Don't you believe him that it's fine, Chara?]
no subject
[The cut away the fat, so to speak. Trim things down. Pare them to something easily understood. Speak frankly, because they've already served as the linchpin that will kill him; what more could they possibly do to contribute?]
You forgave them. They will never forgive themselves, nor will they believe that you have chosen to forgive them freely and without purpose. Because they have learned to live in a world where all things are conditional, and thus, not even forgiveness is deserved.
[So why did he choose to forgive them?
Because it made him feel better. Because it granted him the illusion that, for a brief moment in time, he could feel as though he had done the right thing. He could feel good and terribly nice about himself.
Forgiveness, like love, is a selfish emotion.
It always will be.]
No attempt to forgive humanity will ever lessen what they are and what they've done. It will do nothing; nothing but grant me the pointless illusion that, for one moment in time, I've achieved some manner of enlightenment and become an acceptable sort of victim.
What do I possibly stand to gain in lying to myself?
[The sort of person who goes from an irritant to something admirable. Because an angry child is to be scorned, to be feared, their trials to be dismissed. You're making things up for attention, Chara. You shouldn't lie to grown-ups, Chara.
But a peaceable one?
Why, they are an angel.]
no subject
[He can't say Frisk--he hasn't tried hard enough with them. When they had been caught in the madness of their own disk-tampering, he'd backed off. No...no, he hadn't just backed off. He'd run away because they intimidated him.
...He owed Frisk more than that, but at the moment, one friend at a time was all he could aspire to.]
As for you, I don't want you to forgive humanity. I would not ask such a thing of you, because you sound as if you have a reason for hating them. That reason is not my business. But clearly you have it. I think that if you decided, not to lie to yourself, but to accept that not every single person is cut from the same negative cloth...you might find yourself surprised.
[After that point, the robot lets his eye slip shut. He's tired. Talking about things like this was exhausting in a way that being constantly plugged in wouldn't alleviate. He will still listen, of course.]
no subject
It's louder, this time, more earnest. They laugh, the sound ripped from their throat, churning in their stomach. Why don't you try not being a horrifying abomination formed from determination and pure hatred? Why don't you just open your eyes, and stop being so unreasonable, Chara? What an unfortunate, ridiculous thing that silly demon and their irrational hatred of everything is, getting in the way of everyone having a nice and productive life!]
How very enlightened of you, sir! I'll get right to work on improving my negative mindset!
no subject
He's not laughing. He does wait for them to finish though.]
You don't have to. You do not have to do anything that you don't want to, least of all because I might want it from you. In the grand scheme...my opinions are not important enough to dictate your actions, Chara.
[His words are even quieter than before, though still audible.]
no subject
[They are the humble servant. They are warped by the world, and they become the thing it wishes of them. The demon. The instrument of its own destruction. The villain, playing the all-consuming role. The future of humans and monsters. The End to that future.
Clasped hands, staring over the edge of the cauldron to hell.]
no subject
[For a child who insists on following the expectations placed on them, Chara certainly does rebel quite often against those expectations. Hell, they rebel against themselves too.
It's so tiring to be in proximity to. Chara, please.]
Hell, the world is rather pointless nowadays anyhow.
[Haha, where the fuck did that come from? Though to be fair, the prerequisite of falling down is to actually be in that bad a mental state, so can he really be blamed for being so negative?]
no subject
Not that he would know. Not that he should. But Mettaton has been inserting himself into all manner of narratives that do not concern him, these days. What's one more?]
It seems that you and I are in rare agreement there.