don't go breaking my heart

[inaclearing]

[Well. All that sure happened!

Brett hasn't done much for one of these post-trial gatherings thus far, but he's been trying very hard to be functional lately, and...well, the fact that so many other people aren't okay right now just makes that all the more important. So he'll go around telling people, or slipping notes under doors if need be:]

We're going to have some food at the bar, if anyone wants it.

- Brett & Joy

[It feels a little weird to have it there, but...let's be honest. He expects quite a few people will be passing through the bar of the own accord tonight. They may as well not drink on empty stomachs.

There's not a ton going on. Brett's figured out how to turn the light-up dance floor off - it seemed a little inappropriate. Despite being hosted at the bar, Brett hasn't actually set out any alcohol; there's tamagoyaki and a big vat of chicken noodle soup sitting on some tables in the middle of the room, as well as tea for anyone who wants a drink that isn't alcoholic. Everyone who does want to drink can serve themselves. Also, someone has draped a rainbow pride flag over the bar? It seems appropriate given who's throwing the party, at least, and he didn't really have it in his to stop Joy, so.

You're free to turn on some music, if you want. Brett couldn't pick anything out on the jukebox, it seems.]

Comments

[asymptotes]

I thought I found a way to be better than a hero. To save... everything. That's a hero's job, right? To make the world a better place?

[ And well, since you're interviewing him, Brett... ]

It's always the same
The same every fight
And you start to wonder
Am I doing this right?
So I made my choice, ran to the dark and all it contains—

Zordon picked children 'cause they do what they're told
Gives them all the power he thinks they can hold
That's the mark of a man who cannot be saved

You asked me what a Ranger is, the first day. The Power Rangers are the protectors of Earth. They fight monsters from space. And when Zordon had his way... they were just kids. An ancient man from beyond the stars grabs a bunch of teenagers, tells them they're special... of course they're going to believe him, right?

Rita Repulsa got to me instead. Told me she could bring order. That was the start of the idea. Protect the world by controlling it. I wanted to believe her.

[inaclearing]

[Brett doesn't really react outwardly - certainly not to the singing because obviously that's just a normal thing people do.

Inwardly...well, "protect via control" is really just the most basic start of every nasty downward spiral, isn't it?]

That was why you wanted to remake the world.

[It's a statement said sort of like a question. He heard what you and Joy were talking about today.]

[asymptotes]

Yeah.

Her name was Rita
And she was evil
And I mean that's what she'd tell you, so

Week after week, and
She had insisted
And as I quickly found out:
When Rita commands you, you go

She made me her general. And slowly but surely, with me at second in command? The monsters started winning. I knew it was wrong. But she was so...

There was something so pure, how she saw the world
Through the view from her telescope lens
She'd find despair and death in the heart of mankind
She had wanted a war and well that,
I could give her an end.

I learned what I could do. Power Rangers, they're not just called that for fun. They're connected to something called the Morphin' Grid. And if I could... enter it, then reality itself would...

There was something so pure how she looked at me
Like her darkness might be my reprieve
I'd never had faith in forgiveness or grace
But I'd look in her eyes
And to my surprise I believed

And we took New York and Asia and Europe
We made monsters that laid claim to the sea
I felt eager and wanted
But more than all that I was free

The first step was easy. Beat the Rangers. Take their power. The next step was even easier: kill Rita. Take hers. Then I just needed enough to rewrite the entire multiverse. No big, right?

[inaclearing]

...but it wasn't that simple?

[Is he judging? Yeah, somewhere deep down, probably. But Brett's been in this place for over a month now. He...already knows people who have killed others, people he...still doesn't hate. Forgiveness isn't really his responsibility to grant or deny, anyway. As an interviewer, it isn't for him to pass judgement.]

Go on, I'm listening
Don't stop