the_merriest | Room 308, Wednesday Evening

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Room 308, Wednesday Evening - Chilling Out

So that Umbridge lady seemed kinda mean, and Hermione certainly hadn't liked her very much. That was bad.

But how much trouble could a principal be? Really. Seriously. Besides, she and her Jude-dude had made up and therefore, all was right with the world. Plus Deadpool hadn't come looking for her yet about the car. That was a bonus.

So Rikku was sprawled out on her bed, humming to herself and bopping a little. And maybe looking over a ... letter. 'Cause tomorrow was Thursday and, well, no reason. Just, you know. Couldn't hurt.

Her door was wide open.

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"I'll have to remember that. Burning things. I usually just blow 'em up. Ooooh, and I got arrested! I totally have a mugshot now."

She bit her lip. "Yeah, I don't know, and ... maybe it's just me. I kinda don't like authority anyway, you know? She just seems really ... Yevonite. And I kinda say that sometimes about people 'cause I don't like them? But she ... she seems like them. I'm not just meaning that like an insult."

"You got arrested?" Isabel boggled. "What did you do?"

"What does that mean exactly? Not that I'm doubting you or anything, just looking to understand more."

"Me and Mel ripped an ATM-thing out of the wall," she shrugged. "They put black gunk on my fingers and were all 'no, really, where are you from, young lady.'"

She bit her lip, trying to find the words to explain. "The Yevonites ... they were ... everything had to be Good. And Proper. And Right. And organized just the way they wanted it. And if you thought maybe they were too hard on some people, or doing things they shouldn't do, or even just questioned them, or anything, then you were against them, and they'd take you down. And some of them ... some of the ones higher up, they knew it was all a lie. That there was nothing to believe in, that we were all doomed, and ... and that it was all for nothing, and yet ... they were even more strict about it. The lie mattered to them. It was the only thing that did."

"Who posted bail?"

Isabel listened carefully. She hadn't met Umbridge personally yet but Rikku's description seemed appropriate. "So not pleasant people. And Umbridge is just like them. Oh joy..."

"Oh! We just broke out," Rikku shrugged. "Mel pulled the windows out of the wall."

"Not pleasant," she agreed. "And ... this is stupid, but ... okay. Yunie was supposed to save the world, yeah? And we ... we found out they were lying. But still. She could have. It would have only been for a few years, and not for good, but it would have been for those years, you know? And instead ... instead they said we should be executed. 'Cause we knew too much. That's how important the lie was. It's ... they're crazy. That's why ... I mean, she's not that bad. She can't be. But there's something about her I don't like." She shuddered again.

"Of course," Isabel said, snickering a bit. "Silly me."

"I'm more then willing to take your word for it. I don't like her and all I've heard are the announcements." She took another piece of chocolate because it was comfort food after all. "I'd say trust your instincts. And if you're gettting a reaction like this from her, then you're probably onto something. We're all just going to have to work together to get one another through."

Rikku shivered. "I dunno. Lately my instincts are wonky. I screamed at some really nice guy just 'cause he was a priest. But seriously. A priest." She made a face as if she was saying "tax collector" or "ex-con."

"I think she's ... I dunno. Something's not right here. I mean, Hermione was all upset that she was here. And Hermione usually loves authority as much as I hate it." She popped another piece of chocolate. "Maybe we mutiny again."

Isabel only knew one priest in Fandom. "You screamed at Karal? Why?"

Considering how Fandom mutinies usually went, that would probably be a good start. "Depending on when it happens I might actually have to join in."

Rikku lifted a shoulder. "He's a priest," she said again, as if that explained everything. "I know what the Yevonites were like. The last thing I want is that happening again, here. I told him ... that if he was going to start all of that, that I'd stop him. I'd take him down, no matter what it meant. He ... he looked at me like I was crazy."

She stared at the chocolate she had just unwrapped, suddenly not wanting it any more. "See, this is why you ... you shouldn't trust my instincts, yeah?"

"Karal's not like that. Not like that at all," she said. "In fact, I think he's had dealings with people that ever very much like the Yevonites. So I'm pretty sure he'd understand why you reacted the way you did."

Isabel looked down. "I don't trust people easily. But I trust Karal. As for your instincts, this is a special case. Extenuating circumstances and all."

"Oh! Oh, we, uh, we figured it out." Rikku nodded quickly. "I mean, he told me about ... about his church. I kinda don't get it, 'cause he thinks it's gonna help people, and it's still a religion, but, uh. I mea, I trust that he's nice, so that's something, yeah?"

"Ah, sorry, I didn't realize you'd gotten past the yelling part," Isabel replied. "Being nice is definitely something. But doubting the religion part of it? Yeah, I understand that."

"You ... you've got bad experiences, too?" Rikku asked, munching on another piece of chocolate. "Seems like a lot of people have."

"Not particularly," Isabel shrugged. "I mean, no one has ever said I should be executed for questioning it. But I just wonder sometimes...you know, why? And then I look at the rules and the traditions and some of them are nice. But others? Now? They make no sense. Which I suppose makes me just like half the rest of the people in the world."

"Karal says some of them are different," she shrugged. "And really about helping people and doing good, and I'm just ... I don't know. It's too weird to think about, I guess. Why use something so broken to ... why not find something else? But I said that and he gave me a weird look."

"I think partly because of tradition," she said. "And partly because if you really, truly believe? Well I guess you'd have a hard time giving up something that's an important part of your life."

[RL calls. Back later this afternoon/evening.]

"Couldn't say," she shrugged. "We Al Bhed never bought into any of that. Yunie did. Made it harder for her, when we found out. I mean, it crushed her, you know?

"Yeah," Isabel said. "It's hard when the things you believe in turn out to be lies."

"Not really a way around it," Rikku said, chewing on her lip. "I mean, the alternative's kinda, 'don't believe in anything' and that's ... kinda a crappy way to live, you know?"

"No, I get that." Isabel sighed, and looked down. "I tend to believe in things I can actually put my hands on. Friends, family...things like that."

Rikku nodded, considering for a few moments, and then said, "So what about Fate? 'Cause I usually think Fate's kinda just ... more words for the same thing, but ... then weird things happen and I start wondering."

She looked away, remembering how she'd been running from Destiny when she came to Fandom. "I don't know. I have issues with fate, or destiny. Whatever you want to call it. I have one. I'm not happy with it. But at the same time? I can't just walk away."

"It's ... it can be kinda reassuring, sometimes," she said uncertainly. "I mean, my Godhand, it's ... it's a legendary weapon thing that's, like, ancient. But it was meant for me, and I used it, and we ... we saved the world, yeah? And then I think about it just sitting there in Mushroom Rock, like, who made it? When? How did they ... then my brain starts to hurt."

She hugged her knees. "I don't think you ever can. Walk away, I mean. It's kind of ... it'll find you either way, yeah? If it's real. And if it isn't, then ... maybe things aren't what you think."

"When your brain starts hurting it's time to stop thinking and take things on faith. Which in theory brings us back to the whole religion thing." Isabel shook her head. "We might need more chocolate."

Not that she reached for any. "I could walk away. But then I'd have the fate of a planet full of people on my conscience. I don't think I can live with that."

"Saving the world, in general, sucks," Rikku observed, making a face. "'Cause even when you manage it, you gotta bury the bodies while everybody else has the afterparty and whoa, this topic sucks." She popped another piece of chocolate. "What's new with you? Other than world-saving."

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