solnet | And They All Lived "Happily" Ever After.

[It's a good thing that the network doesn't require people to take a profile picture, huh?]

Ah, the never ending questions. What if I had done this, what if I had never done that...

[She knows more than one person who did exactly what they wanted. Sometimes, even here in the castle, they still dream of their past; how one by one everything was stripped of them, from their name to their ideal. In the end, they were left with nothing but the desire for an end.

Rin isn't the only one very good at keeping things off their face, either.]

And what addendum would that be?

[It's hard to put into words. Another time and another place, it might never have occurred to her at all. Or if it had, maybe she wouldn't have cared; dismissed it as none of her business and not thought about it twice.

But it's no longer so simple for her. The glimpses she's gotten into Archer's life do nothing but piss her off, and confronted with the boy she loves and his perception of himself, she feels sick to her stomach.]

If feels strange to even voice it, but let's say there's a path where you can grasp what you wanted, and your biggest dream comes true. Only that dream destroys you, and over a million possible lifetimes, it might be the saddest ending of them all on a personal scale.

Even if it were me and my dream, I don't think I could accept that. In such a scenario, before it gets so bad, I'd hope someone would come along and straighten me out for a real shot at happiness.

[There's a shift in their expression. Just for a moment, as they go still. Hair still sways in the wind, and the sound of the waves below still faintly makes itself heard through the feed, but Chara-

Is a world away, for a moment. A world and almost fifty timelines, and over one hundred years.

It's always a surprise when someone can summarize it all succinctly, yet it happens. Some pathways through life are just similar enough to leave the same impressions. Over a million possible lifetimes, your dream becomes the saddest outcome. Nothing can ever be okay again.

Look at what you've done.]

...For your sake, I really do hope so.

[They look back to the feed, offer something of a smile.]

Not many have the chance.

[She almost misses it, lost in her thoughts about how to save that person. Just manages to tune in because that's an odd look on a child, even one as strange as Chara, and the words they offer her just make them sadder.

But Rin isn't one to pity others. Pity is a useless thing, not even good for buttering bread. If she has the time to feel sad for someone, it's time that can be better spent.]

That's the point of there being someone around to give it to them. I refuse to think all of them are a lost cause. But... [And she smiles too.] I know that can't happen for everyone. And I'm a selfish person, so I won't lose sleep about it, either.

[But for a few people, she won't stop until she's done everything she can to turn that fantasy into reality. Archer is like that, even if she doesn't think she can be the one to save him. Chara is... Hm. Rin is loathe to make any real connections here, but to borrow a phrase from a certain someone's brackets, she has a soft spot for them. She's not sure if that's a confession or not, or how much or little she'd be willing to care if it were.

It's not like she has to change someone's life here, though. There's no obligation other than to not be a jerk.]

Want to play a different game?

Sometimes even the people you hope will SAVE you never will. Be careful, should you decide to rely upon someone like that.

[Take it from them; they've had plenty of experience in the matter..though she's practically an expert in that, isn't she?

She's already met Sans.

The slightest cant of their head, and it's clear enough that she's caught their interest.]

Pray, do tell. What game did you have in mind?

[Besides being curious advice, that warning conflicts with Rin's inner optimism. Because sometimes they do come. Sometimes it's even someone you didn't expect. And if they don't, does it mean your story is over? Just because you're let down once, sometimes many times over doesn't mean things will stay that way.

To people like Chara and Archer, that's not something they can believe easily. You'd have an easier time convincing a blind person they can see if they stare at a painting long enough. If she knew Chara better, she might argue that harder. But she doesn't, so it's easier to move on.]

Have you heard of one called "Would you rather"?

[On the contrary. If Rin knew them better, the likelihood of her arguing back would probably diminish as a possibility even further than it is now.

She'd know for certain just how pointless it would be.]

I may know of the concept.

[Know it; hasn't played it. Still, the rules are more than simple enough, and she's stolen their attention enough to get a slightly easier smile.]

Since you suggested it, you first.

[Really it's anyone's guess at this stage, but okay, let's start with a silly one.]

Would you rather... Have a bad haircut for the rest of your life, or only wear itchy sweaters with embarrassing designs?

[Well shit looks like you've stumped them.

Or not, really. Chara's clearly not keen on either prospect, wrinkling their nose as they consider the options, but there's an easy solution there.]

Bad haircut. If it's that terrible, I can just wear a hood.

[And since she's playing foul-]

Would you rather... look like you've gained fifty pounds in any pictures or videos you're in, or inexplicably turn a vibrant shade of pink?

Wow, right for the jugular!

[Rin hugs herself, sticking her tongue out. MEANIE.

Those options are terrible for two completely different reasons, but there's an easy answer on her side too. The sensibilities of a magus win out over her girlish, teenage heart.]

If it's only in pictures, then I suppose I'll take the first option. [Rain raises her hand in a theatric, sweeping gesture, like celebrity on parade or perhaps royalty.] Denying all forms of photography and hiring artists exclusively for painted portraits will only add to my cool, mysterious image.

[Okay, a new one for Chara. She drops her hand.]

Would you rather... Be trapped on an island with plenty of food but nothing to do, or be stuck in a library with plenty of entertainment but also someone really annoying?

[Sacrificing her self-image for the good of the people-! Chara would gasp and swoon, but their academy award has just been stolen from them by one Rin Tohsaka; they're just...no match! Woe.]

Good thing that the paparazzi don't listen; I want to see those photos.

[They tease, really.]

I might as well go for the library- I've never murdered someone with a book.

[And then they don't.]

[Does the meaning of that statement just completely go over her head, or is she blatantly ignoring it? The world may never know.]

Too bad you just killed your only delivery man! No tabloids for you.

Who needs tabloids? I have books.

[Blood-stained books, apparently. But books all the same.]

Would you rather...

Be trapped in an eternal time-loop, watching the same day progress over and over again, or witness the end of life itself?

[NO WAY OF GETTING THOSE PHOTOS THEN, SHE WINS. Except not, because the next "would you rather" is brutal in a completely different way. It's not the same thing, not with those qualifications, but she tenses all the same.

Barely perceptible in her shoulders. But then it's as if she's aware of it, lowering her eyes to the camera with a smile that doesn't quite reach them.]

That's tricky. There are a lot of variables.

[What day is she reliving? Is she the only one aware of the time-loop? How is all life being wiped out? How old is she?]

To be honest with you I would cheat in either scenario, but that's a boring answer.

For the sake of the game, let's say eternal really means eternal, and witnessing the end means there's nothing I can do to stop it. If that were the case... Well, the end of life itself would be pretty exciting, in its own way. I could have plenty of fun before then.

[Whoops, forgot to mention.

You'd be doing both anyway. And the world only ends when you decide to end it.

It's very nice to have that reinforcement, however; in the long run, the End is far more appealing than what comes before it. Sans- would never understand that. Rin?

Hard to say.]

I'm sure you could. At the very least, when it's over, it's over.

["Hard to say" doesn't even begin to cut it. Putting aside optimism, her approach to problem-solving is a mechanical one. Variables like that really do matter, when it's not for the sake of a game.

And if her canonpoint was even a few hours ahead of what it is, she'd definitely answer differently.]

My turn. Would you rather be here, or wherever you came from?

[Oh, we are getting into the hard questions, aren't we?

Chara doesn't answer straight away; in fact, they don't even continue looking at the camera. Just switch it back to the view over the bridge, so she can enjoy the lovely sight of the waves curving across the water below, the sparkle of the sun.

Makes the pause as they consider their answer a little less boring, hopefully.]

Realistically, or in a perfect world?

[Tit for tat, and all. The view really is pretty, though, even if it doesn't distract Rin from how long Chara's answer takes, without it really being an answer.]

If it were a perfect world, it wouldn't need that much thought. [On her end, she's plucked a few strands of grass, which she now seems to be braiding together.] Here is this place, this castle and its war. And then the place your from... Well, you'll know whatever that's like better than I do, but it'd be just the same as you left it. Or if that was an unusual circumstance, the life you'd go back to.

If that's the case, then there isn't actually a question there, Rin.

[The image shakes, slightly. Is Chara laughing?]

My answer must be this world. If the world I left was simply the same as it is now, then I'd hardly be anywhere.

[Unless a dusty path walked by the body of another really counts. They doubt it.]

I see...

[There's a little narrowing of her eyes, as she redoes a section of the grass braid, concentrating there. But maybe on the screen, too. It's hard to tell.

Yeah. She'd wondered if it was something like that. it surprises Rin, with how sad that makes her feel. And yet a part of her can't help but feel happy, too, which is probably her response comes off as simply as it does, with little inflection. The two cancel each other out.

Mm. She's definitely happy, yes. Not just for Chara, but for the person she had in mind when she asked that question. Finding a way to anchor him to this world has been something she'd thought about a lot, after all, if he'd have it. If Chara would pick this world over whatever they'd go back to, maybe he would too.]

Do you now?

[They're hard pressed to believe that. No matter how many times people have surprised them over the past several months, the fact remains; they don't understand as much as they'd like to.

It goes both ways, of course. Having never been to their worlds, Chara can't begin to understand them either. As it is, they could hardly understand the two people they've shared a mind with, never mind the rest of their world.

People like to pretend there's something to relate to, because it makes them feel less lonely. Funny, how that's never quite worked out for Chara.

The differences just stand out even more starkly.]

Then you have my sympathy.

You can save it for someone else. I wasn't thinking in that way.

[She smiles a little bitterly, looking across the horizon with her chin propped up with one hand.

Yeah, there's no way Rin can relate to someone like Chara. In her head, she can't even relate to some of the people she cares about most. She cares about them and empathizes with them, but that's different than really understanding their life.

So she makes no illusions to try, nor to take sympathy from someone who's suffered more than her. Misconceptions are ugly things.]

There's no way I could really get it, after all. And if I thought about it for long, you'd be uncomfortable. So all I have to say is your answer makes me happy you're here instead.

Your turn.

[Would she still be happy if she knew why they really wanted to be here?

Would it really make her happy, if she knew that the only thing this world really held for Chara was- a death that stuck? No more resets. No more pain.

Just an end.

Is that truly a thing to be happy about? If so, she's the first to see it that way...but Chara's hardly about to break her bubble.]

A plate of Papyrus' spaghetti, or a date with Sans?

[Well. That would really be a question to explore.

But to the actual one she receives, the mood shifts. Rin looks back at the camera blinking in surprise.]

Huh? [She laughs a little.] Sorry, I don't know who that is. Even so, I think I'd take the spaghetti.

[Talking about Papyrus, of course.]

I would've picked the date with Sans, honestly.

[Considering the likelihood of death is just slightly less of a likelihood when face to face with a lazy skeleton in comparison to...

well.]

But good luck. The- taste, if that's what it can be called, is indescribable.

And They All Lived "Happily" Ever After.

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