( Okay, that gets him to smile a bit—the way she reacts to her name is cute, and he knows it's because he rarely ever uses it for her, especially unadorned.
But he listens to her carefully, the smile quietly fading from his face but not his eyes, tucked in the corners of them. )
What the mind forGETS, the heart rememBERS... Isn't that how it GOES? ( Something like that; muscle memory but for feelings. Heart, soul, it's all the same: it's the core of you.
And he thinks about something he told Stephanie, long ago, that no matter what happened here, she would still be her; and he thinks about what he told Subaru not all that long ago, that regardless of what he's been through now and sacrificed now he's still him... There are still inalienable traits that make them who they are.
It doesn't have to be at odds with what Maya's saying, either. He can still be a glutton for information and someone who desires to bring a smile to people's faces, and still have learned innately from what he's experienced here, whether or not he really remembers it. It's a hopeful thought, though how much he actually believes it is... middling, but it isn't like Maya's ever lied to him, really. Not in any way he can think of, or a way he could prove. She just either answers or she doesn't. Refusing to elaborate past a certain point isn't lying, after all. )
I suppose it's possible that I'd make different choiCES. Nothing says I might repeat the same exact miSTAKES. ( The tension in his shoulders slowly starts to work itself out, little by little. Not quite out of the woods, but. ) Are you speaking from personal experiENCE?
no subject
But he listens to her carefully, the smile quietly fading from his face but not his eyes, tucked in the corners of them. )
What the mind forGETS, the heart rememBERS... Isn't that how it GOES? ( Something like that; muscle memory but for feelings. Heart, soul, it's all the same: it's the core of you.
And he thinks about something he told Stephanie, long ago, that no matter what happened here, she would still be her; and he thinks about what he told Subaru not all that long ago, that regardless of what he's been through now and sacrificed now he's still him... There are still inalienable traits that make them who they are.
It doesn't have to be at odds with what Maya's saying, either. He can still be a glutton for information and someone who desires to bring a smile to people's faces, and still have learned innately from what he's experienced here, whether or not he really remembers it. It's a hopeful thought, though how much he actually believes it is... middling, but it isn't like Maya's ever lied to him, really. Not in any way he can think of, or a way he could prove. She just either answers or she doesn't. Refusing to elaborate past a certain point isn't lying, after all. )
I suppose it's possible that I'd make different choiCES. Nothing says I might repeat the same exact miSTAKES. ( The tension in his shoulders slowly starts to work itself out, little by little. Not quite out of the woods, but. ) Are you speaking from personal experiENCE?