#baccano land tbt /

[zeveth]

@empiriical said "the universe is a dark place. i’m trying to make it brighter."

zeveth hums, granting him the slightest twitch of a smile at the corner of her mouth. "you do make it brighter," she tells him honestly, "at least for me. but i think... not all of us know what we really want. people think they do. sometimes they just end up destroying themselves."

[zeveth]

she throws him the most mildly irritated glance when his grip shakes the table, curtly lifting her iced tea before it can threaten again to slosh over the rim of the glass. might as well take a sip and help further defer that incident. "you're missing the point. even for us, we might achieve those goals of ours -- only to see them fall flat, or not live up to all it took to get to them. maybe by then, things have changed, or maybe we will have changed. the only person whose full story you really know is your own, and even then..." another sip, until it seems safe enough to set down again. she shrugs. "i like the idea that there's something for everyone, too, but it also depends on whether they're ready to receive it, or not. maybe deciding they'll never be happy... makes them happy. some people find comfort in that, even if it is a bit of a lost opportunity."

he thinks on that, mindlessly ripping off small chunks of the bagel in his hand. "...well, okay. i see what you mean. people can completely lose themselves in the pursuit of something unattainable. but also, i can't really speak for mortal folk, but for people like you && me? eternity's a long time. who's to say what's truly impossible if you put centuries of work into it." elmer leans back in his chair, rocking it onto its back legs && balancing precariously by grabbing onto the edge of the table between them. "but if you just stop looking, && decide that you'll never be happy — well, i just can't accept that! everyone has to have something that'll make them smile."

[zeveth]

she shares the bark of a friendly laugh, leaning comfortably back in her chair (notably keeping all four legs firmly planted), and smiles. admittedly, it borders on a smirk, and it lingers distantly on the ice in her glass before she turns it up to elmer. "what makes you think i'm not happy?" more playful than challenging, she lifts her chin. "what makes you think anything i've said has anything to do with me?"

but then her expression crumples like a discarded idea on a scrap of paper.

"did you say... huey? now-- wait a minute, wait a minute." she leans forward again, drumming her nails rapidly on the glass tabletop. "300 years... you're not talking about huey laforet?" blink. "are you?"

he listens to her words, && though the smile doesn't quite slip, elmer finds himself nodding contemplatively. there's something familiar in what zeveth is saying, something he feels like he's heard before. that kind of pessimistic realism sounds an awful lot like what huey used to say to him. of course, huey had set a goal for himself too, one that maybe, privately, elmer considered impossible. but knowing that only seeing monica again would make huey smile, elmer had been willing to do anything to help him achieve it.

still. the uncanny resemblance to his old friend's attitude strikes him, even hundreds of years after he last saw him.

"then you can smile, knowing at least you tried your best! or — what is it they say? it's about the journey, not the destination? or, if they really are content that way, then they should smile, because — why not, right?" lowering the legs of the chair back to the ground, elmer cocks his head slightly. "if you're worried about not finding happiness for yourself, though — trust me. my friend huey only has one thing in the world that'll make him smile, && he's been working toward it for 300 years! i'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."