Aftergathering 6

[clearasmud]

Rule 17 hits like a gutpunch. The plan she'd talked about, as improbable as it already was, had just become much harder.

But something - someone - digs its heels in inside her, the same way it did prior to their most recent trial. The presence of their latest, insurmountable hurdle, has the odd effect of only making Youko more determined.

They're going to win.

There's hot soup, rice, and tea in the kitchen. We're holding a meeting tomorrow morning in the conference room. I want you to be there.

- Youko

Comments

[clearasmud]

[ Youko will join her with her own cup of tea - or at least, an attempt will be made. ]

Do you mind if I join you?

[icysemblance]

Not at all.

[Weiss tries smiling; it's strained.]

How are you holding up, Youko?

[clearasmud]

Not as well as I was before the trial, admittedly. But even with rule 17... the path may have been altered, but our destination remains the same. We bring them back and we go home, and we don't stop until we've succeeded.

[ There's no doubt in either her expression or words. ]

[icysemblance]

I don't think any of us are particularly okay, not after that mess of a trial.

[And that gets a smile out of Weiss.]

No, we don't. We owe it to them, and to ourselves, to keep trying.

[clearasmud]

Mm.

[ It's weird to have those two assholes gone. Somehow, after a certain point, she expected everyone she liked to die while the people she didn't stayed alive. ]

That's exactly right.

Even after what Rick did... even "bringing them all back" doesn't change. Making moral judgements wears you out - no, more than that. If you make a bunch of them, and need to do so right on top of each one - it's exhausting. So if we just say, "we're going to save them all" and not think about it, it's so much easier.

...I've always thought the best way to deal with this stupid game is to think about it as little as possible, because thinking about it is what the Conductor wants us to do. He wants us to form opinions, make conclusions, to judge each other and ourselves. The less we acknowledge it, the more we actually win.

[ ...Good grief, that was actually quite a mouthful, wasn't it? ]

Sorry Weiss, I had more on my mind than I thought.