[Well, now she's just irritated on this child's behalf.
[Alisaie doesn't remember her own schooling. She does, however, remember this: for all she was burdened with a somewhat different set of supposed-to-bes than her brother would have done, nobody ever told her she wasn't good enough, wasn't male enough to sit in an exam hall alongside him. She is certain she was never torn away from her studies to do chores while he stayed safely ensconced in his books.
[She's made some notes; they're politely furious. Late 19th Cen. Gender Equality Norms can go take a run and jump at themselves. But she returns the book neatly to its place on the shelves, just the same. It's not its fault its pages are filled with quiet injustice.
[She reaches for Power Struggles in Qing Dynasty China. The mystery books are still intriguing, but mayhap context will help to unravel them somewhat.]
For all the injustice inherent that seems obvious from an external perspective—she seems to have been determined as a child to make her dreams become a reality, no matter what she had to do.
[She's not surprised. Twelve be good, she's not even remotely surprised. But she still has it in her to feel disappointed.
[She remains courteous of the book. Replaces it; takes down the black-bound Mystery Tome. Hopefully it won't be quite as infuriating as its companions.]
—more than infuriating, confused, grief-stricken, angry, and full of a strange and alien affection that doesn't make sense. The senselessness of war and a senseless and lonely salvation.
And there's a crack and a thud from somewhere nearby, above—though not in this room. Like something hitting the roof.
[It's the only context Alisaie has, and yet it doesn't feel right. The only context she has for him, anyway. The rest of it... well, that's only depressingly familiar. She knows this story in her blood and her bones.
[The thump on the roof registers only as an annoyance. Back to the shelves.
[She hesitates only for a moment before taking the last one down.]
You open the hand-bound sheaf of papers. The writing is in slightly childish-looking script, and decorated with marginalia doodles illustrating parts of it.
Unlike the other books, it doesn't seem to be associated with a particular memory—but it does give you a sense of warmth and excitement.
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Re: PRIMARY SOURCES: MID-TO-LATE 19TH CENTURY
[Alisaie doesn't remember her own schooling. She does, however, remember this: for all she was burdened with a somewhat different set of supposed-to-bes than her brother would have done, nobody ever told her she wasn't good enough, wasn't male enough to sit in an exam hall alongside him. She is certain she was never torn away from her studies to do chores while he stayed safely ensconced in his books.
[She's made some notes; they're politely furious. Late 19th Cen. Gender Equality Norms can go take a run and jump at themselves. But she returns the book neatly to its place on the shelves, just the same. It's not its fault its pages are filled with quiet injustice.
[She reaches for Power Struggles in Qing Dynasty China. The mystery books are still intriguing, but mayhap context will help to unravel them somewhat.]
Re: PRIMARY SOURCES: MID-TO-LATE 19TH CENTURY
You open Power Struggles in Qing Dynasty China, Mid 19th Cen. Once again, you have the odd sensation of feeling the emotional impressions of the memory contained in the book...
Re: PRIMARY SOURCES: MID-TO-LATE 19TH CENTURY
[She's not surprised. Twelve be good, she's not even remotely surprised. But she still has it in her to feel disappointed.
[She remains courteous of the book. Replaces it; takes down the black-bound Mystery Tome. Hopefully it won't be quite as infuriating as its companions.]
Re: PRIMARY SOURCES: MID-TO-LATE 19TH CENTURY
It's—
—more than infuriating, confused, grief-stricken, angry, and full of a strange and alien affection that doesn't make sense. The senselessness of war and a senseless and lonely salvation.
And there's a crack and a thud from somewhere nearby, above—though not in this room. Like something hitting the roof.
Re: PRIMARY SOURCES: MID-TO-LATE 19TH CENTURY
[It's the only context Alisaie has, and yet it doesn't feel right. The only context she has for him, anyway. The rest of it... well, that's only depressingly familiar. She knows this story in her blood and her bones.
[The thump on the roof registers only as an annoyance. Back to the shelves.
[She hesitates only for a moment before taking the last one down.]
Re: PRIMARY SOURCES: MID-TO-LATE 19TH CENTURY
Unlike the other books, it doesn't seem to be associated with a particular memory—but it does give you a sense of warmth and excitement.
/2
[Alisaie puts the papers down, her hand resting on the cover.
[Suddenly, she feels so homesick it hurts.]
Re: PRIMARY SOURCES: MID-TO-LATE 19TH CENTURY
[Let's try the next room. Late nineteenth century, wasn't it...?]