(it's gonna rain tonight)

[idolpro]

Who: :)
Where: Game Tower
When: Day 503, evening

[ wuh woh!!! time for a game!!! ]

Comments

[at_heart]

...You sure that was the right call?

[happydreamed]

Am I certain? No. But Aliza was distraught, and I didn't wish to make things worse for her.

[at_heart]

[ Doesn't say anything for a long moment. Eventually: ]

I think making choices like that together — is a little less painful for most people.

[happydreamed]

Even if you disagree about how much suffering each of you is worth?

[at_heart]

[ ??? ]

—I mean helping her pick which units to send what to.

[ He definitely did not mean arguing with her about sending anything at all, and apparently it's hard for him to even imagine. ]

[happydreamed]

Ah, that. ...That hardly seems fair, when it's for my sake.

[at_heart]

...it doesn't seem fair to you to help her?

[happydreamed]

To bring my own desires of who to spare into account when I am the reason anyone is being hurt in the first place.

[at_heart]

[ ???? ]

To help her make an impossible decision.

[happydreamed]

[???????]

...I suppose...

[A little reluctant, still.]

[at_heart]

—It takes the pressure off to have some units off limits.

[ Among other things? ]

I mean, I'm not trying to speak for her, or anything...

[happydreamed]

No, you're correct. I'll keep it in mind for the next time I'm suspended in a fishbowl.

[at_heart]

Hey, with this place? We'll definitely get a repeat eventually.

[ Lupine purses his lips. ]

—Also? You weren't the reason anybody else got hurt. That's on the producers.

[happydreamed]

Objectively, I know that, of course. Emotionally...

[at_heart]

[ ... ] [ This is where he'd go for a shoulder-squeeze but he's at kind of an awkward angle for it. Hand-squeeze? ]

Everyone else letting me drown would've been my first choice, too.

[ Call it an educated guess? ]

[happydreamed]

[Squeeze in return. He's right on the money - they really are too similar sometimes.]

...Perhaps it's for the best I was grouped with Aliza. I didn't even try to argue for that.

[He knows how upset she would be if he suggested it.]

[at_heart]

[ And mutually sorry for the other about that, probably. ]

When I heard the list of hostages, I did kind of wonder how many of us tried to talk our teams into taking that option.

[happydreamed]

Not as many as just thought about it, but Causality, for certain.

[at_heart]

[ ugh ]

Great, that's... very healthy for all of us.

[happydreamed]

Sadly, I'm a doctor, not a therapist.

[at_heart]

Heh. Probably better for you that we can't all dump our problems on you anyway.

[happydreamed]

I don't know how therapists handle it, frankly.

[at_heart]

Well, they are getting paid. That probably helps.

[happydreamed]

Also, they generally aren't subject to the same traumatic events as their clients.