congrats, it's a kid

[effections]

THE PARENT/CHILD MEME

Parents, congratulations! The precious responsibility of legal guardianship has been placed upon your shoulders. You are now in charge of a real, live, adorable(?) child! Welcome to the greatest adventure of your life! In theory, anyway. Let's hope you don't screw this up...

Children, also congratulations! Whether you had one before this meme or not, you have officially acquired a genuine responsible(?) adult to love and cherish you, teach you useful skills, and look after your every need! In theory, anyway. Let's hope you aren't too much of a handful...

HOW IT WORKS:

Make a post with your character's name and fandom in the subject line, and make note of whether you'd rather play as a GUARDIAN, as a CHILD, or as EITHER. Guardians must be over the age of 18 and children under the age of 18, but if your character is too old or too young for the role you want to play, just shoop their age and make a note of it in the subject line!

[Examples:]
YUFFIE KISARAGI | FFVII | GUARDIAN (25)
ROY MUSTANG | FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST | CHILD (6)

Easy as pie! Now, pick out a likely-looking guardian for your child or a child for your guardian (cross-canon tagging is totally encouraged here, but canon relationships are also fine), tag their post, and start playing! Rolling up a relationship, a scenario, or both at the RNG is entirely optional. Good luck!

RELATIONSHIPS:

1: Born
Behold, the fruit of your loins! Whether you've been raising this kid from day one or have belatedly become their primary guardian, the DNA testing doesn't lie - you are this child's ancestor.

2: Adopted
Not every parental bond starts in the womb. You've selflessly opened your home and your heart on a permanent basis to this bundle of joy. Best of luck as you bond with your new child!

3: Fostered
Sometimes the greatest gift is a place to call home, even if it's just a temporary chapter of life. For however long they're in your care, this kid is depending on you for stability and love.

4: Found
Where did this kid come from? You'd better puzzle it out quick, because you've suddenly found yourself with an extra mouth to feed, and there's nobody else around to do the job.

5: Borrowed
There is somebody else to do the job...but they've passed the baton to you for the time being, or you offered your services yourself. Babysitting is a major responsibility - do your best!


SCENARIOS:

1: "Now I lay me down to sleep..."
It's time to put this kid to bed. How many bedtime stories and drinks of water is it gonna take? Only one way to find out.

2: "Part of this balanced meal!"
Food is the foundation of life, the kitchen is the heart of the home, and mealtime with loved ones can be a peaceful oasis...or a trial by fire.

3: "I'm so proud of you!"
Part of the joy of parenthood is celebrating your child's accomplishments. Whatever your kid did right, make sure you let them know how happy it's made you.

4: "Come, stop your crying, it'll be all right..."
Something has gone badly wrong for this little one. Whether the cure involves a first aid kit, some good advice, or just comfort and reassurance, it's up to you to make things right again.

5: "Say 'ahh'..."
Being sick is never fun, but having somebody around to take good care of you can make all the difference to an ailing child. Try not to catch it yourself, though.

6: "And let that be a lesson to you."
Sometimes, when your child puts a foot wrong, it's your job to set them right. A time-out, a telling-off, grounding, or even corporal punishment...what method do you set stock by?

7: "Now, follow my lead..."
Teaching a skill to a young person is a wonderful way of passing on your wisdom to the next generation. Let the training begin! And let's hope your specialty isn't anything illegal...

8: "Get behind me!"
A threat has emerged, your child is in danger, and you can feel the adrenaline kicking in. It's time to get in there and protect your young!

Comments

1, 6/7

[tenured]

[Teenagers are difficult. Entirely too difficult. Although Kayneth wasn't. No, he doesn't remember ever having proved such a trial to his parents. He was a flawless prodigy! (He thinks.) He can't understand why his own son isn't as perfect as he was. For a time, he's ignored the problem, refusing to admit it exists, but this technique hasn't met with much success, and the difficulties have only worsened. Now it's too much for him to ignore. Kayneth has finally had enough of Kanji's antics. Kanji misses school, he brawls, and he behaves altogether disgracefully. It's difficult for Kayneth to believe, at times, that this is his child, somehow grown into this scarred and pierced hoodlum. This can't be allowed to continue.

Maybe he hasn't been the most attentive parent. Maybe he's guarded and aloof and stinting with his affection, but surely, none of this is remotely Kayneth's fault.]

If you'd rather not go to school, then I will oblige you. You may spend your day with me, instead.

...fff, they DO look like it, don't they? Nice. :) *dives into Fate wiki...*

[realmenknitplushies]

[Perhaps if he'd kept his eyes open, he might have noticed what was going on. Just why his son's been acting up, these past few years...

It's hard to be under pressure to be perfect when the world wants to tell you just how imperfect you are. And so: here he is, trying to escape. If he can't be perfect, if he can't be a prodigy himself, he can try and be tough enough that it no longer matters.

But how could Kanji ever say that? How could he explain what's going on?

The offer today, then, comes as rather a surprise to him. Since when did his father ever...?]

...you mean it?

[tenured]

[Kayneth tends to assume that things are going well for him, because why wouldn't they? Kanji, as his offspring and his heir, is included in that ideal of perfection. The actual reality of raising a child has continued to elude him for all these years.]

Yes, I mean it. I'm not in the habit of saying things I don't mean, am I?

[He isn't sure what kind of reaction he was expecting, but he had half thought that Kanji would object to having his fun and truancy interrupted, and that this would be a punishment of a sort.]

You'll accompany me to my workshop, and I expect you to behave yourself.

[He doesn't often allow people into his workshop, other than his apprentices. But if he doesn't want his heir to be an embarrassment, clearly something has to be done. There can't be an Archibald who isn't skilled at magecraft! That's simply not acceptable. Magic is more important than anything else. Since others have failed to teach Kanji adequately, Kayneth will have to do it himself. He is a professor, after all. It can't be that difficult.]

[[ooc: Haha, I had to when I saw the resemblance. They also both like crafts, so I couldn't resist. I don't know Kanji's canon myself, I just looked at the wiki. I hope it's okay to make the thread more Fate-oriented!]]

[realmenknitplushies]

...guess not.

[Honestly, he's still a bit in shock. It was never about smashing things up for its own sake, after all... but he so often hasn't been able to stand it in school, lately, that what other options were there for him? There's no use even pretending.

So, at the moment, he's a little torn between excitement at the legitimate excuse to skip out on classes - teachers who despair how a child of such good background could have fallen so far, classmates who stare and whisper - and worry at just what exactly his father's even planning.

Seeing inside his workshop, though? He knows just how rare an opportunity that is. Hell, can he even remember seeing it in the past?
The instructions, though: he doesn't trust him. Damn. Then again, by now... maybe he's not surprised.]

Got it, p- [he bites his tongue away from 'pop', this is not the time, although the rest of his casual tone's perhaps not too fitting either] father. I ain't gonna touch a thing.

[Whatever his feelings regarding his father's expectations are, whatever resentment he holds for the pressure placed on his shoulders...
...it's better than the other options right now.]



((OOC: Yeah, I spotted that little detail on Kayneth's wiki page: how the heck did this work out so well? XD
As for making this a Fate thing, sure, it's all good! It's what the wiki's there for. :) I'm always interested in messing with new fandom based stuff, and it is one that's caught my eye in the past.))

[tenured]

[This seems to be working well enough. See, all it needed was Kayneth's expert hand. He shouldn't have left the matter to incompetents. It's just that he's always so busy. He hasn't had time for child-rearing, which is usually best left to others, isn't it? The staff and servants and teachers. That's what he pays them for, or why he supports their institution.

He frowns a little at Kanji's less than respectful tone, but it's not as if that's completely unexpected by this point. He'll deal with that later.]

If you do, I won't be repeating this exercise.

[As he says it, he's slightly surprised by himself, not having planned to repeat it in the first place. He considers his son again, wondering how the two of them could have become so different. Look, the boy is almost an adult. Kayneth sighs. He has to come to terms with the fact that Kanji isn't a magus of his caliber, no matter how much that disappoints him and the rest of his family. He doesn't stop to think of what a burden this disappointment might place on Kanji himself.]

There's a great deal I have to remedy. Come along.

[He turns to lead the way. His workshop is off limits, warded, but when Kayneth goes there, the spells guarding it don't so much as flicker, responding to his presence.]

[[ooc: Great! And feel free to tell me if you need me to change anything. Haha, yes, it was too good to pass up, I don't know how it happened.]]

[realmenknitplushies]

[It's only really been the staff who've looked after him that Kanji's been worrying about disappointing, lately. The few, scattered individuals who'd seen him as himself and not his father's heir alone. After all, he's grown used to the idea that he's going to disappoint his father no matter what he does: why even concern himself any longer?

(He tells himself that, at least.
If he didn't really care, perhaps he wouldn't have jumped on this opportunity.)

Kayneth's last words before he heads on his way are a little more disconcerting, again, though.]

'Remedy.' Huh.

[That ... doesn't sound as good as the rest of the offer by a long way. Still, he's committed, now: and so he follows towards the workshop.]

So... what're we gonna be doing?


((Will do. :) If I screw anything up/miss something that would be obvious in this setting, too, please let me know?))

[tenured]

[Kayneth had been raised in much the same way that he is raising his son, and he sees no problem with it. He had been the family heir, and that had taken precedence over any personal interests. He only vaguely remembers his feelings of dissatisfaction and yearning for independence or individuation, because he'd stifled them, as a member of the family should, if they arise! Carrying on the family line is what matters most.]

We will not be doing anything. I will working, and you will be watching me, and hopefully learning something.

[He's sure he can deal with this problem better than any of Kanji's teachers. He is Kanji's father, so he should know best.

He makes a careful gesture with one hand as they approach the workshop, and the door opens. The gesture is misleading. It's not what opens the door at all. It's only for show, but the complicated magecraft necessary to undo the wards on the door is evident, its energy discernible to anyone who can sense it.

The way cleared, Kayneth enters his workshop through the door, expecting Kanji to follow. The room is not so archaic and arcane as one might expect. It's filled with books and magical apparatuses, but it is modern, neat, clean, and well-lit.]


[[ooc: Sure thing! I'm sure you'll be fine. It's AU, so the specifics aren't so important. Also, I'm sorry for being kind of slow.]]

[realmenknitplushies]

Yeah, okay. ...Hope so too, [he adds in a slightly bitter note. Okay for some.
It's ... less exciting than he was hoping for, to be blunt. Damn it. His face falls a bit, but he tries to restrain himself. What was he even hoping for, anyway?

Unskilled as Kanji might be, he's still able to notice the energy as the wards shift to allow them through. Could he ever be good enough to do even something half as good? He knows that the potential's in his blood, of course. With ancestry like his, how could it not be? It's just his mind where the problem lies.
So he follows Kayneth in, looking around as he goes, taking a good look around.

He's not entirely sure what he was expecting of his father's workshop, but even someone growing up in a family of magi isn't going to be immune to the imagery of the tropes surrounding it - he'd probably have associated what he's seeing more with a laboratory than anything else. His hands are shoved straight in his pockets to try and refrain from feeling the shining surfaces and apparatus around them - sorry, dad, yet another sloppy attitude.]


((Slow is absolutely fine as long as I know that everything's okay and I haven't bored you out of the thread or something. :) ))

[tenured]

Try not to be too overwhelmed.

[Kayneth speaks dryly, not sure what to make of his son's attitude. He doesn't read people well, and Kanji is no exception. It could be that he's too self-absorbed to realize what other people are thinking, or it could be that he's never been expected to be understanding, leaving it a skill he never learned. He looks around the laboratory and sighs, thinking of where to start. He wants to do his work and have Kanji observe, but if he tries something too complex, Kanji won't be able to follow it. He needs something simple. That's probably safest. He sighs. This is vexing for him. He'd hoped his son would become a peer, someone he could converse and do research with.]

Let's see, we'll have to start somewhere... Really, you're far too behind. I bore our family's crest at your age. I should already have begun the transplant, but I'm not sure whether you can withstand it.

[The family crest is where generations of magic are held, and it should be passed along, but the truth is, Kayneth is loath to give it up, especially to his inadequate son. Sometimes he wishes he'd thought to have another child, but that wasn't possible. Having two children was too dangerous. They might well fight for the crest and fracture the family.]

I wonder if I'll have to choose another heir from the family. [He says this callously, as if selecting another heir wasn't a personal matter at all.] Tell me, is there any magecraft you can successfully perform?

[[ooc: Yes you are quite fine, no need to worry. Not boring at all! And edits are fine, too.]]

[realmenknitplushies]

[And there it is. The issue of why he was still waiting... He'd always suspected that that might be the case, but - hearing it confirmed out loud makes him look away, ball his fists up.
Just not good enough, once again. The imperfect son of perfect parents.

Dammit, he can take it. He's sure he can. He's strong enough... Why shouldn't he be able to? What's wrong with him?

And... looking elsewhere for an heir, too? That cuts deeper than he'd thought it would. The ultimate statement of how much he'd failed.
He's not going to take it. In a voice that's a little angry, a little panicked, betraying how much it still means to him even after his rebellions, he nearly shouts-]

I can do it, okay? [He takes a deep breath, after snapping, and in a calmer voice, goes on-] ...Sorry. I can do it. I ain't bad at working with energy flows and currents, and things where I can tell what's going on... [He names a couple of examples that are at least around the standard of a normal magus his age.] It's when spells start gettin' complex and I can't tell what the theory's gotta do with the result that I ... [and his voice is definitely quieter now] don't do so good.

[tenured]

[Kayneth stills, studying him, a frown playing over his lips. He doesn't like displays of emotions, which is hypocritical of him, as he's very emotional--but he does what he can to suppress his feelings, although his control over them is admittedly imperfect.

Really, Kanji is more like him than he would admit, albeit less suppressed.]

Do you really think so? That you can handle the full weight of the family magic? I have yet to see any proof of that.

[Part of him does want Kanji to succeed. He wants his son to do well, for his family to prosper. But he also sees, in Kanji, everything he dislikes: uncertainty, weakness, vulnerability, emotion. It makes him resentful, and it makes him believe in the inevitability of Kanji's failure. Yet there's enough hope in him to inspire him to ask:]

So show me. Show me something that can impress me.

[This was supposed to be a training session for Kanji, but Kayneth asks for this because he does want to be impressed. He wants a son he can be proud of.]

I know all about you "not doing so good". I'd like you to show me something else, for once.

[realmenknitplushies]

[...He's being given a chance.
He can't believe it. But - why would he have even been asked here if he wasn't going to be given one, of a sort? It's something, at least. And he'll take it.

He looks around the workshop, desperately looking for inspiration. Is there anything in here that he dares use to help with the demonstration? Not sure. Let's start with the basics, then. What can he do without anything else...

He's muttering incantations under his breath. Magic circuits active, power starting to flow... he lifts a hand, and around them, the air starts to feel heavy. It's moving, but it's not so much what he's working to control here.

It becomes prickly and sticky with electrical charge as he works, beads of sweat starting to form on his brow. A second hand raised, and the charge starts to gather to them, turning to visible glowing plasma, captive lightning - his true affinity. He starts to loop the electrical currents around, technique poor but control precise, as he forms glowing images in the air: first simple geometric figures, then things more complex: flowers, animals, making the latter appear to run and eventually move around the room. Through all this, he's concentrating hard, making sheer willpower and force make up for his lack in other areas.

Eventually, rather inelegantly, he disperses the gathered charge into the air and looks down. Honestly, he's got no idea if that's anywhere near good enough. Right now, he doesn't know where he stands. Somewhere between hesitant and defensive, he asks-]

... Is there somethin' else I can show you?

[tenured]

[Once Kanji begins, Kayneth falls silent, watching? He feels a mixture of emotions. He wants his son to succeed, but at the same time, he doesn't want to be supplanted, to give up his crest, his status as prodigy. That's the way things are, the way they're supposed to go, but how can he give up that power to Kanji? He's so untutored, unpolished. He's absolutely wrong, and he always has been. Somehow, he hadn't received the right son; that's how he's felt for a while.

Yet he does give him a chance, because of the part of him that wants to be proud of his own son.

His affinities are for wind and water. He doesn't have a particular feel for electricity, although he can manipulate it. Not like this, but it does remind him of something. He used to do the same thing with water, to form it into shapes: into pillars and temples and dancing figures and the shapes of flying birds. He used to play with it, to enjoy himself. It used to be a kind of art.

He's put away all his art, ceased it completely, or hidden it: the things he made with magic and the things he made with his hands. He doesn't like to think about it, but for a moment, he remembers, and it occurs to him that he's probably not a good father. He frowns.

When Kanji finishes, he's not sure what to say. He wouldn't say he's satisfied. It was clumsy and not effortless, but there was power there, and even some skill: an unmistakable talent, however rough. He's not sure how to explain it. There's some raw potential. Is no one training him properly? He could compliment him, but Kayneth isn't used to handing out compliments, especially not to his son.]

No. That will be all.

[At this, he turns away without further commentary, beginning to open some of the cupboards to remove the apparatuses he needs.]

[realmenknitplushies]

[Kanji lets out a breath he didn't know he was even holding. He's not sure how to feel about that comment. He'd put everything he could think of on the spot into that little show. If he'd had time to prepare, perhaps he could have done better, perhaps he could have done something...

But - still. It could have been worse. A lot worse. He's not raised his father's anger, after all - he's not been so poor as to push him away on the spot. That's something, perhaps. At least he's no worse off for the attempt, and he knows that that could easily have happened if it'd gone wrong. It's not a victory, perhaps, but he's not defeated yet, and he'll take that for what it is.

...It's just that it would have been nice, just once, to hear some acknowledgment. To know that it's worth him even trying, that he shouldn't just give in for good like he's come so close to in the past...

His voice is heavy, and he's unable to keep the disappointment entirely out of it as he simply responds-]

Alright. Let me know what's happenin' next.

[He drops his gaze to the ground, mind full of worry.]

[tenured]

[It's something, but is it enough? Kanji's control is poor, the control of a child. Why is he so unpolished? So little like his father? This is not at all what he'd expected having a child would be like. He'd thought his child would be like him. He'd hoped that maybe his own offspring would be someone with whom he could discuss subjects that interested him. Someone he could talk to... Sometimes he has these sentimental feelings, though he tries to quash them. As usual, Kayneth's expectations are so unrealistic, they blind him to what's actually there, and in the light of their differences, he can't see their similarities clearly.]

I'm working on some calculations, a new spell. You can--

[He hesitates to say "assist me".]

Observe.

[The equipment is very delicate, made to hold, refine, and alter substances, when manipulated properly. Usually liquids, sometimes gas, as this is Kayneth, and he prefers to work with those substances he has an affinity for.

He pulls out a book as well, in which careful figures and symbols are written in his own hand.]

Try not to get in my way.

[realmenknitplushies]

...Alright.

[Kanji nods slowly, a little disheartened by the last comment. He's already promised that he's not going to interfere: why would he dare?

Observing alone, though. He's not sure if that's going to help either of them. He's not the sort to learn from study, but from doing... still. Perhaps it's a step up from sheer book-work and calculation, the sorts of things that he's never wrapped his head around. To actually be able to see the process close-up, see how it all works out, done by someone who knows what they're doing...
Maybe it'll be useful in its own way, he thinks, looking over the complex equipment and wondering what's going to happen with it. Maybe it'll help things make sense.

He peers at the book, trying to see if there's anything in there that he can decipher at all.]

[tenured]

[Kayneth takes out a vial of perfectly clear liquid. It's been treated many times over by his magecraft and is perfectly pure, all but glowing with power to someone who can sense such things.]

With this, I plan to make a new Mystic Code, more powerful and less vulnerable than previous ones. It will pull prana from its surroundings rather than relying on mine. This liquid has already been purified and enhanced.

[Kayneth pours the water carefully into one of the apparatuses, a crystal container held up by a web of golden lines.

He shifts the book, making sure Kanji can get a good look at it, all the symbols and calculations written in Kayneth's very elaborate yet careful hand.

Does this make any sense to you?

[realmenknitplushies]

[Kanji's eyes widen a spot at the sight of what his father's been working on - Ah. That makes sense. Unskilled he might be, but the power's still evident to his eyes, and he peers in more closely for a moment as it's poured into the new container. It's rather beautiful, really.

When he's shown the book, he reads through it slowly, trying to make it out, before speaking up.]

I recognise a lot'f the terms and symbols - I know the definitions of this stuff, what it's supposed to mean. It's just ... trying to connect 'em all together. The actual process, the calculations... that's where I get stuck. Like, this bit here...

[Without actually touching it - he wouldn't dare - he points out a particularly tricky looking sequence.]

How d'you get from one step to the next?

[tenured]

[In its new container, the fluid grows and then swirls, as if of its own volition, becoming opalescent, flashes and spirals of soft color evident in its depths.

The colors aren't strictly necessary, but Kayneth likes beautiful things, and he adds these aesthetic touches regardless.]

At least you recognize some of it--these are very high level calculations.

[At Kanji's age, he would have been able to understand them, but then, Kanji isn't a prodigy, as he was. Unfortunately.]

That? It's quite simple.

[Kayneth casts around for a piece of parchment paper to write on, but there's no shortage of them, so he locates one quickly. With a pen, he sketches out one of the symbols.]

This one refers to the element of water. This next one, hear, is a sigil of controlling water, but only water from a specific area, with a specific mineral content, which I have replicated perfectly. The more specific the symbols, the more powerful the control--but such sigils are more difficult to discover or develop. The next few symbols define the latitude and longitude of where the spell is being performed: this workshop. Finally, this-- [He quickly sketches another symbol] Binds the previous set together, so that the subject of the spell is clearly defined. The calculations and lines in between bind them together.

[realmenknitplushies]

[That really is pretty. Kanji can appreciate that much. Like father, like son, perhaps... in one of those unrecognised, unacknowledged ways, again.

He nods along as he listens to what Kayneth's saying, spinning the ideas through his head.]

I tried to read some of the books. [The keyword there is definitely 'tried'. Tried a lot, even, until he'd given into despair where it was all concerned.] Just... couldn't get my head around the language they were usin'.

...Think I get what you're sayin' there, though. It's pinnin' down the exact thing you want the spell to work on, so it ain't going to ... spill out and affect anything else?

[tenured]

[The liquid continues to move, becoming more opalescent, and even starting to glitter faintly, as it begins to take on seeming greater solidity. To manipulate and alter water in this way takes great strength and skill; Kayneth is altering its very nature.]

Calculations like these are essential for a magus. You can't simply make guesses and expect to muddle through! It's not going to work. If you can't understand them, you're not going to be strong enough. Lightning sculptures are all well and good, but they're not going to protect you against a skilled enemy.

[There's some harshness in his tone, but he seems to expel it with a sigh, continuing to explain.]

Yes, that's right. And the more focused the spell, the more concentrated the energy, so the more powerful the end result will be.

[realmenknitplushies]

[Kanji flinches back slightly, looking a bit defensive, at the comments. Muddling through... that's always been how he works. Trial and error, seeing what happens... it works just fine for his art, for most things in his life. If you mix two paints, you get a new colour. If you put more clay onto a sculpture, it stays or it falls off - you know for next time.
But he knows that it can't work for everything - he's seen that much so often over time. The precision of the calculations involved, the procedures, the detail... it's just been the thing that holds him back, so often.]

...Yeah. Yeah, I get it.

[Is he talking about the theory or about how he's been told off? From his tone, it's hard to tell.]

[tenured]

[Muddling through might be good for some things, but it isn't anywhere near good enough for magecraft: a precise, difficult practice that's been perfected over centuries by generations of magi.

(Kayneth also wouldn't necessarily approve of Kanji's approach to his art, but that's something they haven't discussed. Kayneth keeps that a secret; it's simply not proper.)]

Do you? Sometimes I wonder how much you "get".

[It's not as if he's never talked about these matters to Kanji before, but for some reason, Kanji doesn't seem to listen to him. It couldn't be that his way of expressing itself is off-putting, is it? No, that could never be the case!]

You can't take this lightly. Imprecision in magecraft can be fatal.

[It's not something he conveys well, if at all, but he does worry about his son. Part of it is that he doesn't want a son who's a failure, but magecraft is extremely dangerous in unskilled hands. There's no question that Kanji has some measure of raw power, but that makes the danger all the greater. If his son were to die... he'd see it as his fault. He'd have failed as a father. He's just frustrated that he can't seem to make it right. Magecraft has always come naturally to him, but he doesn't have the power to reach in and change things so that it's the same for his son.]

[realmenknitplushies]

Don't you think I know that by now?

[Kanji's volume rises for a moment, and he looks like he's about to thump the table, but he restrains himself before doing something that he will seriously regret. Curling his hands up, tense, he takes a deep breath before he goes on-]

I don't like not understanding what's going on. I want to know how everything works. I want to be able to do this right.

[His voice is a little sad and resigned as he finishes.]

After all... why else'm I even here?

[tenured]

I would hope so. Sometimes you don't act like it. Considering that shoddy control of yours, I'm surprised you didn't cause any damage during your earlier display.

[Although he could point out that Kanji did fine and didn't cause any damage--but he doesn't do that.

He stares down Kanji as his voice rises. Like father, like son: they do share a temper, but Kayneth doesn't get angry yet, though he's clearly annoyed.]

I can't explain why you don't already know how to do it. I've tried to teach you, and your tutors have. If there was some way I could make you understand, I would.

[His parents hadn't coddled him. He'd been treated much like a small adult. He was rarely disciplined--he sees it that he didn't need to be, but in truth, he was spoiled. Since he did so well in his studies, he was allowed free reign elsewhere. As Kanji fails, in Kayneth's mind, he deserves to be treated with strictness.]

That is why you're here, yes.

[He means in the workshop specifically, but he's frustrated. He doesn't know how to communicate with his son.]

Though at times I wonder why I bother.