[Some bitter, dark part of them wants to laugh that Frisk would even think to tell them that. That Frisk would understand. No normal, unbroken person they ever met had a thought like that occur to them - the haunting paranoia that they're so manipulative and awful that they must somehow be conning people into caring, must be forcing them to do something they'd never want to do if they were in their right mind.
Really are two peas in a pod, aren't they?]
It's not being perfect I'm worried about.
[That's a lie.
The surface taught them what happened when they made mistakes. Even the smallest slip-up brought on catastrophic punishment, yelling and mockery and pinches and slaps in places where nobody would see welts or red marks. The Underground taught them they were supposed to be the future of humans and monsters, the angel that had seen the surface, their only hope - they had to be as perfect as Asriel thought they were, and when they failed to be that... well, look what happened, right? Even in the perfectly happy ending, where every problem came to a tidy conclusion, there was nobody saying "I forgive you, Chara."
...Even Frisk didn't get spared from that. Their every action was judged. They only deserved to be happy when they didn't make a single mistake. Didn't fight back at all. Didn't avoid the people who'd hurt them, because that wouldn't be very friendly of them, would it? They got their praise at the end, but it was only "you're so good," only "you're a softhearted weenie," never an "I forgive you" for them either.
Ha. Is it any wonder neither of them knows the first thing about how to react rationally when they make mistakes?]
It's... you got hurt.
[They don't know how to say it, how to find the right words for it. That they don't care about intentions or accidents, they care that they're just perpetuating this pattern where the people who love Frisk end up hitting them.]
It's not - I'm not saying "I'm sorry," because that doesn't even mean anything.
[They're so sorry it hurts, but the word is never enough. They hate "sorry."]
It's not "it won't ever happen again," because... what if it does, right? No matter how much I... you know, don't want to hurt someone -
["Love" is no easier to say, especially not at a time like this.]
- I don't know for sure I won't hurt you. Maybe I will. Maybe I'll say something stupid or I'll get mad and awful or it'll be another accident, but maybe it'll happen again. It's...
[What is it? They don't have a script to pull from for something like this.]
I wish you hadn't been hurt. You didn't deserve that at all. You were just trying to be nice to me.
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Really are two peas in a pod, aren't they?]
It's not being perfect I'm worried about.
[That's a lie.
The surface taught them what happened when they made mistakes. Even the smallest slip-up brought on catastrophic punishment, yelling and mockery and pinches and slaps in places where nobody would see welts or red marks. The Underground taught them they were supposed to be the future of humans and monsters, the angel that had seen the surface, their only hope - they had to be as perfect as Asriel thought they were, and when they failed to be that... well, look what happened, right? Even in the perfectly happy ending, where every problem came to a tidy conclusion, there was nobody saying "I forgive you, Chara."
...Even Frisk didn't get spared from that. Their every action was judged. They only deserved to be happy when they didn't make a single mistake. Didn't fight back at all. Didn't avoid the people who'd hurt them, because that wouldn't be very friendly of them, would it? They got their praise at the end, but it was only "you're so good," only "you're a softhearted weenie," never an "I forgive you" for them either.
Ha. Is it any wonder neither of them knows the first thing about how to react rationally when they make mistakes?]
It's... you got hurt.
[They don't know how to say it, how to find the right words for it. That they don't care about intentions or accidents, they care that they're just perpetuating this pattern where the people who love Frisk end up hitting them.]
It's not - I'm not saying "I'm sorry," because that doesn't even mean anything.
[They're so sorry it hurts, but the word is never enough. They hate "sorry."]
It's not "it won't ever happen again," because... what if it does, right? No matter how much I... you know, don't want to hurt someone -
["Love" is no easier to say, especially not at a time like this.]
- I don't know for sure I won't hurt you. Maybe I will. Maybe I'll say something stupid or I'll get mad and awful or it'll be another accident, but maybe it'll happen again. It's...
[What is it? They don't have a script to pull from for something like this.]
I wish you hadn't been hurt. You didn't deserve that at all. You were just trying to be nice to me.