GREAT REVIVAL (just for Jake ♥)

[magicgunworks]

[Books. Books as far as the eye can see! No matter how long you search, you can't find an exit. Books line all the walls, and row after row of shelves occupy most of the floor; the pattern is only broken by several clusters of tables or chairs strewn throughout the infinite levels of the complex

Comments

[contractedto]

[He knows himself- or "herself", in this case -better than anyone else, so it's without needing to hear a word that he sits down in the armchair next to hers.

His smile is a little warmer than usual today.]

[magicgunworks]

[It takes a moment for Mami to acknowledge the newcomer. When she finally finds a good place to stop, she tucks the ribbon-like bookmark between two pages, closes the book, and sets it aside.

It's... still strange, seeing this reverse-gendered doppelganger of herself, but it's been long enough that most of the shock as worn off, so she returns the smile.]

I see you've decided to be a bit more friendly today.

[Oh Mami...]

[contractedto]

I have good reason to, I think.

[WE ARE THE MAMI, IT IS US. He leans over a bit.]

Might I ask what you're reading?

[magicgunworks]

[She picks up the book again, holding it out for him to examine.] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Have you ever read it?

[contractedto]

[He reaches out to trace his fingers along the cover in a wondering way, but doesn't take the book.]

....yes, but it's been awhile. I don't quite remember the whole story.

[magicgunworks]

I don't blame you. [She opens the book again, flipping through the pages as she examines the illustrations.] There's so much nonsense going on, I'm surprised people can figure out the plot.

[contractedto]

That explains the focused look I saw on your face, then.

[magicgunworks]

[After a few silent moments of flipping through the book, it closes once more with a snap.] If you don't mind me changing the subject... I have a few questions for you.

[contractedto]

[He's not surprised in the slightest.]

Who am I to refuse myself? [A world of irony in those words.] Please, feel free.

[magicgunworks]

... What were things like, in your version of our world? [It seems silly, to ask such a thing. This boy is her, right? Their experiences should be the same... but at the same time, Mami finds it strange that the only thing that would change is gender.]

[contractedto]

[He reclines a bit and closes his eyes, steepling his fingers on his thin chest.]

Mostly the same, from what I've seen of yours. Of course, it's not nearly as....glamorous-sounding, to be a "magical boy". Kaname-san and Miki-san weren't so much impressed as deeply confused when I first appeared. [a dry chuckle] As for the creatures we hunted- they were called Warlocks, not Witches.

[magicgunworks]

I can see why they would be confused. "Magical boy" just doesn't have the same ring to it as "magical girl". [She laughs; it's genuine, not mocking in any way.]

It's interesting how little things have changed... [She pauses before asking the next question.] And what about your relationship with those two?

[She says "those two", but it's obvious what she really means.]

[contractedto]

It really doesn't, you're right.

[A thoughtful silence. Something in his face tightens....but just for a moment, and very subtly; it would be a lie to say he wasn't bitter.]

I'm [the briefest of pauses] grateful to say that, at the time, it was nothing less than the one you shared with the two you know. [But neither was it anything more.]

[magicgunworks]

[The bad thing about talking to yourself is that there's nobody that knows you better. Mami's built up barrier upon barrier, covered herself in mask after mask.... but she knows exactly how it feels when each one of them cracks.

So, even though he tries to hide it, she can read the alternate version of herself just as well as she read the book still in her hands.]

I see. [And she doesn't say anything else. She leaves it open to him if he wants to elaborate, or to talk more, but... she's not going to pry. It wouldn't be fair to him.]

[contractedto]

....I suppose it would have been vain to wish otherwise, with my luck. [a slight inflection in his tone to denote a question: does she, himself in all the important ways, agree?]

[magicgunworks]

I don't think so. We seem almost exactly alike, with only a few minor differences. It should be the same for others from your world, correct?

[It's... strange, trying to comfort another person, after being the one comforted for so long.] If that's the case... then there's hope. It's not in vain if you wish for something that has the possibility of happening.