nobody's in the mood for recording 6.9: the post-trial garden tea "party"

[tsunderine]

The flowers that bloomed at the end of the trial are ones that only seem to prove, continuously, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Of course, it's only natural that many of the people are full of mixed emotions - grief? sadness? anger? frustration? maybe something else completely different?

But it's there, along with the end of the week.

Miasma still continues to be around, of course - but make use of the fact that this might be the last time it'll be at a low level one before it shoots up again.


Well.

Life continues as usual, disregarding any feelings that any of the house's occupants might be feeling.

So what are you doing these next two days?

Comments

[reanimania]

Um, all right.

[ Kind of sounds like maybe he shouldn't have offered this after all!!

But okay, he'll take it and come back with a glass of water in a few minutes. ]

Here.

[ And he's just... going to maybe put this bottle back under the bed again... ]

[golden_dream]

[She wastes no time gulping that down too... her eyes are the tiniest bit more glossy, but the warmth inside her is real and it helps.]

... Thank you, Doctor.

[reanimania]

...Yes, you're welcome.

[ man, downing stuff is just Her Way, huh... ]

Hopefully that helps a bit?

[golden_dream]

Yes... it does.

[A loooong sigh.]

...Why are you so nice to me?

[reanimania]

A-ah, am I?

[ hahaha BECAUSE HE'S AFRAID OF DYING is the real answer... first he just figured she'd be more likely than some of the others to attest to his value if it came down to a popularity vote so he'd wanted to stay on her good side, and... after today's display he now really feels like he needs to stay on her good side. ]

I mean, you're not nearly as insufferable as some of them, and you... tend to show me more respect than most, so. That's appreciated.

[ also being a grudge-holding trainwreck is relatable but he doesn't have the self-awareness to recognize that ]

[golden_dream]

...

[That answer gets a small choked sob from her as she starts to tear up.]

I'm sorry, Doctor... you're a fine young man. --Who's picking on you? Who could pick on you?

[Her eyes start to water further as she holds in tears, barely.]

[reanimania]

[ !!! whoa uh ]

I-- what??

[ This... is not something he has ever gotten in his life and he doesn't know where to start with it?? ]

I mean, thank you? I-it's just kind of a general tendency not to take me seriously...

[ scrambling to try to find a clean handkerchief in the collection he's amassed from the dressing room--! ]

[golden_dream]

No, I'm serious! Who's picking on you?? They have no right!

[She'll take one, when he finds it, dabbing at her eyes.]

[reanimania]

[ I appreciate that you have so much faith in the possibility that he hasn't already blown his nose in all of those...

Honestly, Giovanni is the one openly calling him a nerd all the time here, but he's also been nice to him aside from that, so he's not going to throw him under the bus here... and even though Subete is kind of a dick, he's not going to say anything about him in case it gets back to him and he stops letting him hide in his shield...

Also, Dazai sucks, but he still doesn't really meet the criteria for this conversation. ]

I-it's not really "picking on" so much, I don't think? I mean, back home as a child was one thing, but...

[ but haha let's not go into that ]

Again, you just seem to have more respect for my abilities and the work I do, so it's only fair to show you the same respect in return, yes?

[golden_dream]

They're assholes, then!! House full of bullies and crazies who only want to pick on the weak... and then there are ghosts, too!

[reanimania]

[ omg what button did he press here ]

Yyyyes, there are definitely some... assholes here, and the ghosts are obviously much less than desirable.

[ understatement of the fucking year ]

All things considered, though, many of them aren't really that bad. Right?

1/3

[golden_dream]

Who knows?? At this rate it's all we'll have left! Who's going to be next, I wonder? It could be you... it could be me...

[golden_dream]

...

[slight pause as she realizes what she just said.]

3/3

[golden_dream]

I'm... I'm never going to see my daughter again...

[And then she just breaks down and starts bawling her eyes out.]

[reanimania]

[ IT WON'T BE HIM, DON'T-- oh no ]

O-oh.

[ If he were actually someone accustomed to physical affection, maybe he'd consider hugging her or patting her shoulder or something, but he isn't and he doesn't. (Which might be for the best.) Instead, he just kind of stands there awkwardly, looking around the room as if some kind of anti-crying device might suddenly appear in a corner at any moment.

A-at least she's already got a handkerchief?? ]

Um... I'm sorry.

[ He is way the fuck out of his depth here....... ]

[golden_dream]

[It was quite the way to teach Saphir she wasn't a good drunk, as the tears continued. Eventually the handkerchief got soaked and she was using her sleeve to try to stop her blubbering.]

She's going to be all alone...

[reanimania]

[ He has indeed learned that much, yes, and he will absolutely remember it!! He kind of cringes at the sleeve thing, but less because it's gross and more because he's realizing what he must look like to Jade sometimes.

...All that aside, looking at the odds, she's probably not wrong, and "she's already been alone since you joined the Foundation anyway" likely isn't going to be very comforting at all, so he'll refrain from saying that, at least.

Honestly, he's in at least kind of a similar boat, with someone he's afraid of not being able to go home to, and wow, listening to this is sure not helping that stress. But... he'll just let her get it out of her system, he guesses (the crying, not the alcohol, hopefully), since he can't think of anything to say that wouldn't make things worse. ]

[golden_dream]

[It's after a few minutes of silence, silence except for her crying, that she realizes he's just calmly staying beside her and letting her cry...

...it's awkward. It wasn't rejection or comfort. She almost didn't know what to make of it.

Fortunately she had enough control, barely, to realize what the situation was turning into, and that she still needed Saphir's support.]

Ah... I'm sorry.

[Her voice broke a little, but she was able to force her bad emotions back down. She finally got the last of her tears wiped off.]

...No more pity-party. I... I just needed to get that out of my system.

[It was still very much in her system... but she gave a weak little smile.]

I'm sorry, Doctor.

[reanimania]

[ It sure is awkward! He lets out a slight sigh of relief without really thinking about it when it seems to be over. ]

No, it's-- [ He runs his hand through his hair, face slightly red. ] I'm just not good at this kind of thing, obviously, but it's fine.

[ ... ]

I worry about that too, you know. Not... making it back to someone who needs me.

[ why do you think he has so many fucking used handkerchiefs, he is also an emotional trainwreck, it just happens to be less apparent at this one particular moment. ]

So... I mean, I don't blame you. ...is what I'm trying to say, I think.

[golden_dream]

[...oh, yeah. Other people had dependents and stuff too.]

T-Thank you. That helps.

...In that case, why don't you join me?

[reanimania]

[ ....Yes, all right, I guess we can go with "dependents." ]

In drinking, you mean? I only had the one glass in here...

[ also she they should probably not do that anymore!! ]

[golden_dream]

We can share. Haven't you ever heard of a 'loving cup'...?

[reanimania]

[ ??? ]

No...? I can make an inference, probably, but...

[golden_dream]

It's simple... you have one cup with one drink, and you pass it around.

[reanimania]

[ god you can't just suggest this when there's going to be a pandemic going on in 20 years!! ]

That's about what I was picturing, yes.

[ ...which is kind of an indirect kiss and he doesn't know how to feel about that. ]

I... suppose I could have one small drink. But let's both leave it at that.