No party like an pope party??

[archboxer]

[That... that was a thing for everyone. There should be no celebration for Lif but, well, even if Rhea has a very cynical view of such things it's probably for the best that everyone stays together. Her first stop is the cafeteria, after all nothing better to keep people in one spot than free food. There she bumps into Mira, leaving the snacks to her Rhea ends up writing notes to everyone to come to the cafeteria in a few hours.

Some she hands personally and if she can't find someone she slid it under their door. Rin's she slides into her room regardless.

Fortunately, you won't hear a sermon.]

Comments

[mouflon]

[ Oh, hey. Mid-trial argument buddies. ]

I'd apologize, [ no she wouldn't ] but I assume you understand where I'm coming from. Right?

[lovelikeyou]

There are...a lot of reasons I rebelled against Gem society. I'm not sure what Jasper has told anyone here about Homeworld, but...

[okay look she could dish but now she's thinking that might not be appropriate right now??? she'll just give an overview?]

There are three Diamonds who rule Gem society. Their word - their every whim - is absolute. And they don't care about anyone or anything.

[mouflon]

Whatever she's said, she hasn't said it to me. I owe her for the knife now, but we didn't exactly get off on the right foot, either.

But I get it. The kind of people who want to rule the world are never the ones you can trust to do it.

[lovelikeyou]

It's not entirely her fault. They start programming Gems when we're still in the ground. But I don't know how I could ever convince her that she deserves better.

[She does, even when she's gotta be like that. All Gems do. Especially the ones born on Earth.]

They want to rule the entire universe. They'll colonize any planet they come across, and destroy any life that's there. [...] I guess you heard about some of that.

[of course her and jasper's fight came back to colonization in the end]

[mouflon]

[ Oof. There's a split-second where that hits close to home for Rin, too. Her arch-nemesis is, after all, a 14-year-old boy. But she pushes the thought aside; the life of a rebel found her when she was barely any older than that, and she can't afford sympathy or mercy for her enemy when the Moon Cell won't offer any to its losers.

So instead, Rin crosses her arms across her chest and nods. ]

Right. When Jasper said that gems use everything, because there will always be more. It's... hard for me to imagine living like that. Like if you break the planet, you can just buy a new one...

[lovelikeyou]

They think of Gems the exact same way. Jasper and I are both Quartzes - common soldier gems. If one of us makes a mistake, even a small one, we're just shattered and replaced. As if a life - as if all of the life on Earth - could ever be replaced.

[mouflon]

...They sound like monsters. Even the Harways think they're doing the right thing for society, and not just for themselves. [ ... ] Supposedly.

[ Some more than others. Even Leo had admitted that much. ]

[lovelikeyou]

Supposedly the Diamonds want what's best for Gemkind. But that doesn't mean Gems.

[It's not about what happens to any individual Gems, outside of the Diamonds.]

Quartzes are still luckier than a lot of lower-ranking Gems.

[mouflon]

[ Hmm. Rin considers that. ]

I know plenty about rulers who care about their idea of society more than they do about the people in it, at least. They're happy to give people just barely enough to live on, as long as they do live, and then tell us it's for the good of humanity that people live like robots instead of human beings.

[lovelikeyou]

Gems don't even need anything to survive. No food, no home, no rest. So we don't get them. Higher-ranking gems can have quarters, depending on how favored they are, but the rest of us only have shared barracks. Where we go when our commanders don't need us, so we don't have to be seen.

[mouflon]

No wonder you want to fix things... And no wonder you and Jasper can't get along, too.

[lovelikeyou]

[Rose looks away.]

I tried to fix things, but I'll never be able to now. And she knows that. All I was able to save was the Earth and two of my friends.

[mouflon]

Well... Hey. Saving the earth isn't a small thing. That's what I'm trying to do.

[lovelikeyou]

No. I guess it isn't.

[Rose smiles a little. That is what she'd wanted, it's just...]

I hope you can do it at less of a cost.

[mouflon]

[ Something conflicted crosses across Rin's face at that, and she glances away. ]

...Yeah. If everything goes well, then I should be able to.

[lovelikeyou]

[Rose sees that conflict. But it makes sense, doesn't it? Nothing that great can ever come without a horrible cost. She would have given anything, to save the Earth - it's just that she isn't the one who ended up paying.]

Good. That's good.