(closed) how many times must i tell you? i only take tea with friends!

[irrationally]

Who: Alice and friends (Allen, A-Qing, Aziraphale, Crowley, Devero, Little one, Natsuno)
When: Jelly 19
Where: Upper level of the dining carriage
What: Tea party time!
Warnings: Nothing so far, will edit!

After making sure to invite everyone ahead in time, Alice sets everything out she bought for the tea party on the upper level of the dining carriage, making sure it's at a time between means when it's not as busy in there.

And it seems like she got quite a lot. There's a box with all sorts of tea in the middle of the table, with a few teapots next to it, filled up with water and ready for whichever flavour of tea anyone decides to pick. But there's not just tea - the rest of the table is filled with all sorts of snacks one could imagine for afternoon tea. Some bread, butter and simple sandwich fillings, but also small cakes, miniature pastries, fruits and other sundries.

By the time everyone starts to arrive, Alice is already sitting there, waiting.

(ooc: this is a mingle sort of thing, so feel free to make your own toplevels and/or tag around! c: it's not just one big thread!)

Comments

[subcircuits]

Devero's first instinct is to flatly deny what Alice is saying; his second, to deflect it with sarcasm or a joke.

He waits through both impulses, and thinks about what she's saying.

"Gov tries to be better than that," he says finally. "The world almost ended because of-- of systemic corruption like you're describing. Because of those with power broke the rules they made however they pleased. We have systems in place to make sure power is only given to those who are able to wield it responsibly!"

And those very same systems judged Valdana as able, and made her Administrator of her own isolated little community of people.

He hides his face in his hands and heaves a huge sigh. "Those-- systems aren't perfect, though," he admits. The words are halting and he hates them, but nonetheless he says them, because he's come to see that they're true.

[irrationally]

She watches him as he moves, as he hides his face like that. Alice is quiet, listening to his words. She doesn't blame him for defending his world - it's where he comes from, after all. It's what he must have been used to, all this time, even though Alice doesn't exactly like everything she's hearing about it.

But then again, when does Alice ever like something.

"Exactly," she says, though softer this time. "They can fail."

And while Devero may have a hand in what happened, Alice certainly doesn't think he deserves to blame himself as much as he's doing right now.

"And if those systems are already being so hard on you, then you shouldn't also be hard on yourself on top of it."

[subcircuits]

He breathes deeply and exhales again, composing himself before he lifts his face again. He regards her for a moment with a thin, sad smile. Finally, he says softly, "Thank you, Alice. You're very kind. I-- I'll try."