[ McGillis is much older and for him, the distinction between fake and real smile has long blurred. He does it without thinking now and probing at whether or not it is genuine would get him hours of complex strands to untangle.
But he remembers being about her age, with every smile a conscious effort. ]
And it ties back into provoking him. I could have lied on the post, but I knew since his palace that he'd detest me if he knew the truth. Every interaction has been, and would have continued to be, a lie in the face of that knowledge.
[ He feels it less strongly with the others where he'd had less reason to think they'd feel so viscerally about it... (Not that anyone would have ever approved.) ]
no subject
[ McGillis is much older and for him, the distinction between fake and real smile has long blurred. He does it without thinking now and probing at whether or not it is genuine would get him hours of complex strands to untangle.
But he remembers being about her age, with every smile a conscious effort. ]
And it ties back into provoking him. I could have lied on the post, but I knew since his palace that he'd detest me if he knew the truth. Every interaction has been, and would have continued to be, a lie in the face of that knowledge.
[ He feels it less strongly with the others where he'd had less reason to think they'd feel so viscerally about it... (Not that anyone would have ever approved.) ]