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I'll wait, so show me why you're strong
[And so the day's trial for the attempted murder of Gabriel Knight draw to a close with... charitably better results then usual.
They were alive, at the least, but that didn't mean there wasn't several blows against the trust that had been built up here. One mole that attempted murder, another that quit, and another that was given the offer no doubt put strain on several relationships... most notably Sigrun's.
It was all, in a word... frankly shitty. But now it's all out there, no sense in trying to get it back.
An hour (or two) after the "trial" ends and everyone's gone off on their own business, Speedwagon heads back to the kitchen. It was the usual plan in mind, what they did after every trial. And everyone, regardless of what was said or done, would soon find a note being slipped under their door.]
[Name],
There's gonna be food in the dining hall, in case anyone's got an appetite for it.
I know some might want to be alone after that mess of an investigation, but if you don't then the offer's as open as it's always been.
I'd say sticking together might still be safer then not.
-R E.O. Speedwagon
[And yes, folks that arrive in the dining hall will find a nice spread of sandwiches, soup, and what leftovers Speedwagon could scrounge out of the fridge. Speedwagon isn't the best cook in the group, but there's definitely stuff here that's good enough to eat.
...Sigrun's 'masterpiece' was, thankfully, left out of this. Keeping folks alive is the goal, after all.]
They were alive, at the least, but that didn't mean there wasn't several blows against the trust that had been built up here. One mole that attempted murder, another that quit, and another that was given the offer no doubt put strain on several relationships... most notably Sigrun's.
It was all, in a word... frankly shitty. But now it's all out there, no sense in trying to get it back.
An hour (or two) after the "trial" ends and everyone's gone off on their own business, Speedwagon heads back to the kitchen. It was the usual plan in mind, what they did after every trial. And everyone, regardless of what was said or done, would soon find a note being slipped under their door.]
There's gonna be food in the dining hall, in case anyone's got an appetite for it.
I know some might want to be alone after that mess of an investigation, but if you don't then the offer's as open as it's always been.
I'd say sticking together might still be safer then not.
-R E.O. Speedwagon
[And yes, folks that arrive in the dining hall will find a nice spread of sandwiches, soup, and what leftovers Speedwagon could scrounge out of the fridge. Speedwagon isn't the best cook in the group, but there's definitely stuff here that's good enough to eat.
...Sigrun's 'masterpiece' was, thankfully, left out of this. Keeping folks alive is the goal, after all.]
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so tired
to put it lightly.
After their meeting initially disbands Bruce heads down the chapel first, because he feels like he needs to go down and apologize to everyone down there. For suffering through this, for... being played with, all this time, by the Kingmaker. Bruce wasn't blinding himself to the truth of that but it stings all the same. No matter what they did, it wasn't as if it was of any use anyway. The Kingmaker knew everything.
It feels more or less like a giant slap in the face.
He spends a fair amount of time there, stopping by each portrait and giving each one their apologies, lingering the longest at the pictures of Aqua and King. Even as ghosts, they're still here in a sense... and he needs to do his part for them, as much as he can. They all need to do something soon. But not right now.
He does come to the gathering soon enough, but for the most part he sticks to a corner with some food and looks through his notebook, occasionally scribbling down a couple of notes. He's certainly open enough for conversation, though how much you can get one with him depends on who you are.
(If you're Sigrun or Black, chances are you won't get much. At least for now.)
...much later, close to nighttime, if you happen to be near the bar you'll see Bruce rummaging through the shelves here in search of something... which turns out to be alcohol that he's drinking from should you look at his room. It's unlocked and the door is open, and Bruce is sitting at floor with his back against the bed, drinking straight from the bottle.
For a guy who has 'alcohol' listed as a dislike on his profile, the fact he's drinking now certainly isn't a nice indication of how he's feeling.]
Bruce's room
So rather than turning in just yet, he ventures further down the hall and gently knocks on Bruce's open door.]
...Bruce, may I come in?
[No Mr. Banner this time, though he really kind of wishes he had used it now that he addressed Bruce by his first name. He doesn't know if he's earned informality anymore, not after earlier.
He sticks his head in though, and...oh.
He's pretty good at remembering profile information, so...oh.]
Ah...
[This is probably so bad.]
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Of course. [There's the same quiet voice as always but there's something... indescribable underneath that, this time. He uses his free hand to gesture for him to come in.]
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Once he's settled, he gently removes his glasses and fidgets with them as a way to distract himself into just getting on with the conversation.]
I realize that I did nothing to help the situation earlier, and I want to apologize for that.
I...also wanted to check in on you.
[It's obvious that the discussion took a toll on everyone, but Bruce in particular...he definitely wasn't taking it well. He still isn't, from what Colress can see.]
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Said bottle is swung around a bit as Bruce gestures a little, eventually ending with a shrug.]
It's fine. [...] It's safer to have come out clean then, anyway.
[Since they were all apparently unloading their secrets out.
And he says nothing about being checked on. Its easy to just try and brush that off, but Bruce is sure Colress probably doesn't appreciate that right now.]
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[He's looking at Bruce now. ...While squinting a little bit since his glasses are off, but there's still a pretty neutral if not slightly guilty look on his face.]
However, the one danger that did not cross my mind until a bit later was the danger of losing the relationships that I had built because of my actions. Losing trust was inevitable, but at the time I did not hold the concept of trust with much regard. And I believed I would never build any actual relationships with you all- after all, I had managed to avoid it for so long. That changed, and...
[He realizes at this point that he's rambling a bit, so he pauses to collect himself again.]
What I am trying to say is...I do not want to lose what we have built.
[In non-Colress terms, he doesn't want to damage their friendship because of his poor life choices.]
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You don't need to worry about that.
[Considering everything else Colress barely did anything to garner any kind of hate or anger from Bruce. Not that is reserved for something else entirely.]
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[He's a little surprised to hear it, actually. He knows that in the grand scheme of things, he didn't commit an enormous crime this time. But in the heat of the moment, he was concerned that his reveal would have been the icing on the Terrible Cake.
He sits in silence with Bruce for a moment as it sinks in.]
Do you recall the time that you spoke with me when I was in a particularly bad place? You wanted to talk to me, and extended a helping hand though you said you were not sure what the best way to help might be.
...Might I extend the same hand? I understand if you would rather be left alone, but...I do feel concerned about you.
[May as well just say it. He knows that Bruce probably isn't okay right now, and that's understandable. But he wants to show he cares about that.]
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He starts to try and take another drink, but pauses when Colress speaks to him and kind of... pauses for a bit. It's not a very long pause by all account, but its one that is perhaps kind of speaks a lot on Bruce's on end.]
...I'll be alright. [He says, after the pause is over, and Bruce takes the drink that he had been going to do so before Colress made him pause.] I just need some time.
[Some time to stuff this all the way down and possibly never dwell on it until the time when they do get out of this place alive. If he is still alive at the end of it. Who knows at this point.]
Bruce's Room
He doesn't come in or say anything, but there's a moment of obvious hesitation outside.]
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You can come in, you know. [He's not facing the door when he speaks, though after a moment he does turn over to look at him. There's really nothing to indicate that he's been drinking beyond the bottle in his hand... and a few more bottles nearby, though they haven't been touched yet.
It's incredibly tempting, though.]
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I don't wanna bother you. [.....] I know you don't like drinkin', so.
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[He glances away at the latter part of what Stan says, though, staring at the bottle in his hand. It's not that he's ever minded drinking so much, its just... there's too much bad history with it. His childhood, as he grew up, and even with the Avengers, recalling the weeks he had to try and deal with Tony after New York--
He tightens his hold around the bottle.]
I'm not going to do anything stupid.
[As tempting as that is, too. But no, Bruce isn't so childish as to want to make others suffer just because he is.]
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[Thought it? Well.]
But I've spent a lotta time drinkin' alone. It's depressing as hell, and that's when you like whiskey.
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Doesn't seem to stop anybody, though.
[As he knows well from experience.]
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[Stan falls silent for a moment. He knows how to pull one over on people, how to manipulate them into buying his product. It's actual genuine feelings that give him trouble. You can't just con someone into feeling better; it's not that simple.]
If you need anythin' from me, you just ask, okay?
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Still, he knows better. And its not a matter of being a better man (because he isn't, he never will be, not like this) but rather reminding himself again that nobody benefits. It's only a moment of petty satisfaction and nothing more and that? Isn't worth it.]
...okay. [Is what he does eventually say, after a pause, and then another passes before Bruce picks up the bottle and takes another drink from it.]
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I'm sorry, for my part in all that. Realized I never really said it. [He'd explained himself, but he'd never actually just apologized.]
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It's not like I didn't expect this to happen. [The worry was always there, at the back of his mind, but he couldn't be sure at all until Mettaton happened. And then after that he had been more certain, though Aiden was a bust so he had thought that perhaps...
How very wrong he was.]
I prepared myself for that eventuality a long time ago. [Because betrayal is always a thing for him so it just makes sense to be ready for it, to know that its there so that the pain will sting less. And he was prepared... he just was never prepared for what Sigrun did. Funny how that works.]
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[Well. No sense kickin' himself about that now. It's funny, but Stan is more stung by Black's attempt on Gabriel's life than by his long betrayal of everyone. Like he said, he could've gone that way too. He gets it.]
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(Why did they all even risk their emotions like this? Bruce wishes he could do the same, in a way. But he can't.)]
...I wasn't sure until him, actually. [Until that point he had nothing to prove himself and his (presumably now justified) paranoia.] But after him, I knew there was more. I just couldn't think who else would be able to do it.
[After all its not as if... Bruce allowed himself to try and get close to anybody. For this reason, and for many others. And then he was trying with Sigrun, and looked where that got him.]
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[There's no humor in his tone. Who would be able to, indeed?]
...dunno if I would've pinned Black.
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Everyone had some degree of suspicion upon them. [And that is a brief glimpse into his world, a world where he has nobody to trust and nobody he can depend on. Not because he has anything against them, but its just how things are for him.] None of us are truly innocent, in the end.
[They all sent people to die here, using their lives to extend their own in this terrible place. Because they all could have chosen to not play and die for it, but... they didn't. They made the choice to send them to die and that weighs on Bruce in his every waking moment.]
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[Stan, truly, doesn't feel an enormous amount of guilt over the culprits. If they didn't want to get executed, they shouldn't have gone and killed people. Everyone knew the terms and made their choices.
Except possibly Norman. Insanity's a hell of a defense.It's all the Kingmaker anyway. Not like they formed a torch mob on their own.]
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I suppose that's one good thing. [The fact that there aren't any children. Bruce is pretty sure its because the Kingmaker doesn't want to deal with kids but its still a blessing, regardless.] Nobody that young should suffer through this.
[It'll break them apart. Ruin them forever. Bruce knows this all too well.]
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