[ Of course the sandwich is bitten! While Shinji is talking he reaches his hand into the darkness. It clasps around the soft bread and pulls out the whole finger sandwich. He frowns at it. She had bitten it, but it now sits in his hand fully formed. Is it the same sandwich?
No. It can't be.
Is Shinji the same person?
...
The idea of a singular concept of someone, it's similar to the concepts he's been learning the past year about persona and the masks people wear in front of others. Someone can be scared and foolhardy, anxious and kind, pushy and demure. None of these traits, even in opposition, invalidates the others. So the director is saying that, much like a person is the same person through their different masks, a life is the same through its different choices. A Shinjiro that lost control of his Persona is the same as a Shinjiro that didn't. A Minato that chose to kill Ryoji and spare his friends is the same as him. She made a grab for those lives and came away with the versions she has now. ]
So. We don't know each other. And that's how we're both here.
[Almost like she can sense the discouragement in both her Reclaimer's voices, she leans back in her chair, dispelling away the darkness charm that she had cast over the sandwich. While she won't divulge her motives of who she picked, she retains the faith in who she was able to save from the Hunger's clutches. These are the smartest, most resourceful, talented people she's ever met- and she doesn't mean in terms of comparative power levels or the ability to summon sandwiches out of thin air. Every single one of her Reclaimers are unique and brings strengths to the table that, well, balances the inevitable shortcomings of each other.
She hesitates for a moment, trying to pick her words carefully.]
Whether or not the sandwich was bitten, it's still two pieces of bread, an aioli spread and sauteed eggplant. The ingredients are the same, regardless of the actions that led up to the moment where it was... ah. Consumed.
Perhaps the problem we should be solving is not looking back and discerning on the regrets of our actions, but understanding who we were when we had made those choices. This is quite the rare opportunity.
[ He's curious about how he was different in Shinji's timeline. Maybe it was different reasoning that lead to the same actions. Or maybe the only difference was the brand of MP3 player he purchased.
Practically speaking though, the differences don't really matter. Nothing has come up yet, but if there was something wildly different about their relationship he's confident he can deal with it when it comes up. At least he has an answer now. ]
no subject
No. It can't be.
Is Shinji the same person?
...
The idea of a singular concept of someone, it's similar to the concepts he's been learning the past year about persona and the masks people wear in front of others. Someone can be scared and foolhardy, anxious and kind, pushy and demure. None of these traits, even in opposition, invalidates the others. So the director is saying that, much like a person is the same person through their different masks, a life is the same through its different choices. A Shinjiro that lost control of his Persona is the same as a Shinjiro that didn't. A Minato that chose to kill Ryoji and spare his friends is the same as him. She made a grab for those lives and came away with the versions she has now. ]
So. We don't know each other. And that's how we're both here.
no subject
She hesitates for a moment, trying to pick her words carefully.]
Whether or not the sandwich was bitten, it's still two pieces of bread, an aioli spread and sauteed eggplant. The ingredients are the same, regardless of the actions that led up to the moment where it was... ah. Consumed.
Perhaps the problem we should be solving is not looking back and discerning on the regrets of our actions, but understanding who we were when we had made those choices. This is quite the rare opportunity.
no subject
Practically speaking though, the differences don't really matter. Nothing has come up yet, but if there was something wildly different about their relationship he's confident he can deal with it when it comes up. At least he has an answer now. ]
That makes sense.
[ ... He eats the sandwich. ]