it only hurts for a moment - you get used to it quickly

[swordsinternally]

[ After everything's said and done, Shirou's going to go ahead and set things up for today. It's the same as always; nothing has changed-- but he still wants to believe that there's something worth in doing this, so he'll at least go ahead and do that once he's given out notes (or told a person verbally, one on one) under their door, a small neat note stating: ]

For those who don't want to be alone today:

I know it's been a hard month. And I know it's probably going to get even more difficult from here. But I don't want anyone to give up just yet. If you'd like, there'll be food and drinks in the simulation room.

- E.

[ And for those who decide to make the trip to the simulation room, they'll find themselves walking into what seems to be a karaoke bar! Shirou's made it pretty spacious and there is, in fact, a table set up with some food for everyone to take - primarily burgers and ramen (hell, there's a bit of ramen burgers, too, the Biggest Cancer) - that he's made the decision to make, so feel free to take it, and he's willing to even get drinks for everyone, too.

This includes virtual drinks, as he actually has some experience working at a bar, even if it was more menial tasks and less bartending. But hey, there's a first time for everything, yeah?

And there's also the option to sing your heart out-- although that might not be the most appropriate, given the last execution, but he's. He's trying, anyway. ]

Comments

[throwabookatit]

...He was nice to me. I...said he reminded me, with his optimism...of a friend, from home. We... Last week, he sang...to try and help me, when...the hallucinations...

[ Rebecca's not looking at Terra, not looking at the book. Dragging the words out. ]

He was there, when I learned... [ She just winces. ] I couldn't have expected it. The bastard took every kind thing, and just- just pissed it all away.

[buriedearth]

It must be hard, hearing what he's said, knowing what he did after all of that.

[ It was difficult for him, in a different way. ]

... This place just drags out the worst in people, doesn't it?

[ It brings their darkness to the surface, to those who can't resist it, and at the thought, he closes one of his hands into a tight fist. In the end, however, their actions will always be their own, whether though suggestion or not. ]

It makes me wonder what we can come up with to put a stop to people acting on these motives.

[throwabookatit]

It's his own bloody fault.

[ Her voice is hard and cold, but it wavers. It hurts, damn it. It hurts so much, to have that friendship ripped away. Just when she's been accepting other people in spite of...her own insecurities.

Rebecca sighs. ] It's not like they're doing the same thing, every week. We've already got our own disadvantage, with...well, with all this. We can't find a way to stop it, if it's going to change so radically every time.

[buriedearth]

[ It's his own bloody fault.

Terra finds that some part of him feels some sort of satisfaction at hearing that. At the same time, it didn't make him feel all that necessarily good. It just was. ]

...Yeah, it was.

[ A shadow passes over his expression, but then it shifts to something more thoughtful as he considers her other words. ]

But, we have to at least continue to try, right? The alternative doesn't seem to give us much choice to do anything else if we don't want to seem like we're just...waiting around for people to lose it to whatever they're offering or forcing on us each week.

[ It just seems like the difference would be that, in the middle of their efforts, people would be losing their entire shit anyway. But at least no one could say most of them weren't trying...which would have to count for something. Though Terra's not feeling all that positive right now to say as much, to put it lightly. ]

[throwabookatit]

Of course we do, I just... I don't know even where to start.

[ And she has a feeling the rest of them don't, either. ]

[buriedearth]

... Yeah, you're right. Even I don't know.

[ ... ]

I guess it's really not something I've been wanting to admit. It feels like...saying as much is some sort of defeat.

[ And he doesn't like the way that it feels. Terra's never liked the feeling of being so powerless. But maybe he's looking at it the wrong way--still, it's how he feels about it. ]

[throwabookatit]

...We've got to keep...digging. Until we find something we can use.

[ There has to be something. There will be something. Right? ]

[buriedearth]

That's really about all we can do for now.

[ ... ]

Who knows? Maybe we'll come across something that'll finally make a difference...sooner than we think.

[ It sounds like wishful thinking all the same, but in a situation like this, if it's what helps them get through it before they get the right answers and get out of this somehow, then what's the harm? ]

[throwabookatit]

Maybe. ...Maybe we will.

[ She's quiet for a moment. ]

I... I'm sorry. About Maya. [ He'd known her for longer, after all. ]

[buriedearth]

[ Terra had, and it doesn't change the circumstances, but... ]

...

[ He didn't know what to say to that, not right now. He doesn't want to say 'it couldn't be helped' for sure, because he didn't believe that at all. He'll just nod, to kind of acknowledge it. He's thankful for the thought, but he doesn't know how to put it into words. ]

I hope she's at least been able to find peace, even after all of that.

[throwabookatit]

Me too. I... After everything she's done, or offered to do, for the rest of us...

[ The note she could finally read, earnest and sweet. Rebecca needed some time, after that, to just cry. ]

...She was a good girl.

[buriedearth]

...She was.

[ He closed his hands into tight fists, before releashing them with a sigh. He's too tired to even get worked up like this. ]

Let's continue to do all we can--not just for ourselves, but everyone else who can't.

[throwabookatit]

I agree. ...For all the ones...we've lost.

[ Isabella. Ashton. Viral. Maya.

...

The friendship she thought she had. ]