I tried to get through to you

[archboxer]

[You know what that was? A fiasco. That was an utter fiasco. Three more people gone on a chance that may not happen! This is horrible. Even if some people dislike her, Rhea... is up to the challenge once more. This time she does it nearly herself: writing out the invitations, ordering the food and telling everyone to meet at the bar. In Ema's honor, of course.

She hands out the invitations herself and if she can't find you, she'll slide yours under your door.]

Comments

[nothingcanstop]

Of course I do. It... [ She breathes in, and it...it sounds angry. ] It was over the line for her to say that. She... She was an incredibly angry person. So much that she took out her problems on other people.

[ And, she sighs. ]

...I still wish I didn't have to...bring up all that. [ The motive. The...talk with Angel. ] To force her hand.

[fivestagegod]

...I actually do get it. That got pretty intense, and it was pretty much dragging all her issues out in front of God and everyone. It's like the voting, where it was necessary, but you're not going to like doing it.

[Mm.]

This place is...it's designed to break us down. Voting that's engineered to make it feel like it's our fault when people die, no time to really process anything that's going on. It's messing with our sense of time, even. To say nothing of how it's in our best interests to play nice and be compassionate, but in the end we really can't afford to be because of how everything works.

You can't afford be entirely mercenary, but being entirely compassionate is going to get to you. It's not an easy balance to strike.

[nothingcanstop]

...She was the one who said it, that the voting...it's a choice. We could've all chosen otherwise. When I tried to explain why it wasn't for me, why... I need to get back to my family, to...let my kids grow up with a mom, not...take myself away from them again-- well. She flipped out. Started talking about...how it's always other people's families. Assumed I wouldn't get it, that...because I was upset with Lif, I didn't understand wanting to do everything for them.

[ She doesn't quite know why she's dredging this up. But it's been in her head, ever since. ]

We didn't really come to an agreement. I tried. I told her I'd want to...to find another way. If she'd talked about what she wanted... I would've tried with her too. But I don't think she would really believe that. I don't think she believed...anyone could be on her side.

[fivestagegod]

Maybe she didn't. Either way, I wouldn't say that the voting is a choice - yeah, I get that ethics or whatever say that you should always be willing to die before killing another person, but this isn't exactly a sterile situation in a controlled environment where we can afford to do that.

[Even less so for some of them than it is for others.]

Look, I get that her situation was upsetting. But she also tried to kill us all on purpose. I don't think that doing what we had to was a worse choice than her trying to do any of what she did.

[nothingcanstop]

Oh, of course not. That's not even an argument. It just doesn't feel great, knowing I'll never be able to convince her that...not everyone was out to get her. On top of, you know. The time travel thing.

I know I can't convince everyone to...stick together. That's not possible. But... [ She shrugs and sighs. ] I'm probably not making sense.

[fivestagegod]

You know it's not possible, but you want to save everyone anyway. Or at least as many as we can.

[It's not really a question.]

[nothingcanstop]

...Yeah. You got it.

[fivestagegod]

...I'd tell you it's going to be okay, or that it's going to work out, but the truth is that I don't know that. I want to think that we'll figure something out, but I don't know that for sure, either.

But I want to get as many out of here alive as possible. And I want to look out for you, okay? This is all a lot, but I'll do what I can to get you through this.

[nothingcanstop]

[ ... ]

You're a good friend, William. You know that? I know...all you told me, all that. But you are. I would've done anything to have...just a single person tell me something like that, all those years.

[fivestagegod]

I can't do anything about what happened then, or what it was like. But I can tell you now.

[...]

Not...really sure what to do with the whole friendship thing, but I guess I don't mind it. It's not really something I do, usually.

[nothingcanstop]

Lucky for you I have some experience in the subject. ...I...was still getting used to being around...people again, before all this, but...when I traveled the world before, one of the best parts was meeting others and getting to know them. Just follow my lead...in your own way.

[fivestagegod]

...I can manage that.