[His laughter this time is bigger, more heartfelt. Oh Chara, he understands. He may not completely know the extent of everything they have done but having enough to write pages and pages of a book to apologize for, the pages overflowing and bleeding ink, is something he knows.]
You know, I've wondered that myself plenty of times; If apologizing is really "enough". It really does feel useless at times. But just short of doing the impossible and fixing every problem in the world, it's most of what we've got.
[How can justice truly be dealt if nothing completely solves the problem? Is it really healing if the wound doesn't close? Forgiveness and acceptance is a rocky road filled with pitfalls and setbacks and it's hard to know the best way forward.]
Unfortunately, when it comes to things like that, that's not something you can truly stop. That's on Frisk to change about themselves. When you apologize to someone who feels they have to forgive everyone and everything, it always comes with that risk of making them feel obligated. But it's better than saying nothing. You're acknowledging that you hurt them and that they deserve the apology.
[He smiles a bit sadly. He doesn't even have to pretend why he understands this here. They know. Chara knows how Napstablook is. How Alphys is. But it can change for the better. He knows this. He only got a small taste of it on the surface (three months was not enough) but he knows.]
You can help them along with that, at least. You can help them understand what you mean and help them learn to only accept apologies when they actually want to, rather than all the time. It's hard work. But it is doable. I was making some headway with Alphys on that front back home before coming here.
[He gives their hands another comforting squeeze and a soft splaying of fingers to gently stroke their skin.]
And with time, you can eventually come to forgive yourself too. Because that is another important part of the process.
[He hasn't gotten there yet. He doesn't think he has a right to be there yet, not when he spent so long convinced that he did nothing wrong. But maybe one day.]
This CR put on my favorite album and made me dinner when I was too sick to move
You know, I've wondered that myself plenty of times; If apologizing is really "enough". It really does feel useless at times. But just short of doing the impossible and fixing every problem in the world, it's most of what we've got.
[How can justice truly be dealt if nothing completely solves the problem? Is it really healing if the wound doesn't close? Forgiveness and acceptance is a rocky road filled with pitfalls and setbacks and it's hard to know the best way forward.]
Unfortunately, when it comes to things like that, that's not something you can truly stop. That's on Frisk to change about themselves. When you apologize to someone who feels they have to forgive everyone and everything, it always comes with that risk of making them feel obligated. But it's better than saying nothing. You're acknowledging that you hurt them and that they deserve the apology.
[He smiles a bit sadly. He doesn't even have to pretend why he understands this here. They know. Chara knows how Napstablook is. How Alphys is. But it can change for the better. He knows this. He only got a small taste of it on the surface (three months was not enough) but he knows.]
You can help them along with that, at least. You can help them understand what you mean and help them learn to only accept apologies when they actually want to, rather than all the time. It's hard work. But it is doable. I was making some headway with Alphys on that front back home before coming here.
[He gives their hands another comforting squeeze and a soft splaying of fingers to gently stroke their skin.]
And with time, you can eventually come to forgive yourself too. Because that is another important part of the process.
[He hasn't gotten there yet. He doesn't think he has a right to be there yet, not when he spent so long convinced that he did nothing wrong. But maybe one day.]