[ Weiss listens to his words, not really sure where to start on them. She gets why he might've wanted to quit. Maybe that was what he wanted to tell her before the whole.. body swap mix-up. She doesn't know. She'll probably apologize for it later, but right now she wants to make something very clear. ]
I'm not Pyrrha, Jaune. I'm not going to run off knowing that I can't win because it's the right thing because I know that in the long run, I can protect more people alive. I can protect more people now, here, if I resigned from being City Guardian.
[ She takes a deep breath, then adds, because it's important to her that he understands. This isn't quitting. ]
I didn't quit, I did what I had to do to make sure that I don't become a monster in the process and that my father doesn't get everything he wants. I'm always going to love him- he's my father and he's my family and that's why I can't just cut him out of things here, and if I destroy him here then how does that make me any better than him? It isn't just good action, bad action. Good people do bad things and bad people do good things; both can become either. Right now, with my resignation, I'm choosing not to become a bad person. This is my decision, not his. His actions affect my decisions because he's in my life, just like you are, just like Mercury is and Garrus is and Sun is and so many others. Every decision I make is affected by what happens in my life and who is in it and who I want to be in the face of everything around me. I can't just ignore him because doing that would've been choosing to selfishly stay in a position I couldn't maintain the integrity of, because there's very little he has left to take from me but what he can is the most important thing I have- the people who stand by my side. Without power or money, he thinks they'll leave me. And before you say it, no this isn't some selfless leap into the pyre to protect my friends. It's avoiding the pointless drama and pain that would happen if I didn't and protecting Nova City from what I might do to avoid that pain if he cornered me instead of while it was under my control. I intend to prove him wrong, and I intend to find my own way now that he can't influence or hold dominion over. I depended on being City Guardian as much as I wanted people to depend on me for their protection, and I need to find out who I am without that if I want to find out who I can be when I can't run away from him to protect myself.
[ She leans back slightly in the chair, finally looking him in the eyes. It's still not a perfect explanation of her father and her relationship- nowhere near it, but she's hoping it helps him understand what she's doing-- that it's not running or cowering before him, it's changing strategies so she find a way to be happy. ]
To save a drowning person, you don't attack the person who pushed them in, Jaune. You throw them a life raft and it's their job to take it or leave it. I haven't stopped struggling to swim any more than I think what we have is unsalvageable. Avoiding me won't solve it, but you need to find a way to change your behavior. You need to find a way to do that, because I'm done letting men make me feel like less because I'm a person with my own feelings.
no subject
I'm not Pyrrha, Jaune. I'm not going to run off knowing that I can't win because it's the right thing because I know that in the long run, I can protect more people alive. I can protect more people now, here, if I resigned from being City Guardian.
[ She takes a deep breath, then adds, because it's important to her that he understands. This isn't quitting. ]
I didn't quit, I did what I had to do to make sure that I don't become a monster in the process and that my father doesn't get everything he wants. I'm always going to love him- he's my father and he's my family and that's why I can't just cut him out of things here, and if I destroy him here then how does that make me any better than him? It isn't just good action, bad action. Good people do bad things and bad people do good things; both can become either. Right now, with my resignation, I'm choosing not to become a bad person. This is my decision, not his. His actions affect my decisions because he's in my life, just like you are, just like Mercury is and Garrus is and Sun is and so many others. Every decision I make is affected by what happens in my life and who is in it and who I want to be in the face of everything around me. I can't just ignore him because doing that would've been choosing to selfishly stay in a position I couldn't maintain the integrity of, because there's very little he has left to take from me but what he can is the most important thing I have- the people who stand by my side. Without power or money, he thinks they'll leave me. And before you say it, no this isn't some selfless leap into the pyre to protect my friends. It's avoiding the pointless drama and pain that would happen if I didn't and protecting Nova City from what I might do to avoid that pain if he cornered me instead of while it was under my control. I intend to prove him wrong, and I intend to find my own way now that he can't influence or hold dominion over. I depended on being City Guardian as much as I wanted people to depend on me for their protection, and I need to find out who I am without that if I want to find out who I can be when I can't run away from him to protect myself.
[ She leans back slightly in the chair, finally looking him in the eyes. It's still not a perfect explanation of her father and her relationship- nowhere near it, but she's hoping it helps him understand what she's doing-- that it's not running or cowering before him, it's changing strategies so she find a way to be happy. ]
To save a drowning person, you don't attack the person who pushed them in, Jaune. You throw them a life raft and it's their job to take it or leave it. I haven't stopped struggling to swim any more than I think what we have is unsalvageable. Avoiding me won't solve it, but you need to find a way to change your behavior. You need to find a way to do that, because I'm done letting men make me feel like less because I'm a person with my own feelings.