Yes you can. You can put on a smile. You can say the right words, you can do whatever you have to do, because the consequence of not doing that is far worse than half a minute of pain.
[ Which is not to diminish those thirty seconds. They had been some of the worst of his life. They had not marked the first time Sturmhond thought he would die here in the CDC's arms, but it had been hard to keep perspective when he had felt the life squeezed from him.
But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what they do; he will show them the same face that he always does, because righteous anger has never served anyone well here. And he has more than once been shown that it wouldn't take very much for them to cut absolutely everyone on this crew off permanently. ]
FROM: sturmhond@cdc.org
You smile when you don't feel like smiling. Anger is a guise, Vriska, like anything else. You wear it when strength and indignation is needed, you lean on it to stop yourself falling.
FROM: sturmhond@cdc.org
You show it when you choose to. But never when you feel it. Then it becomes a weakness, and that's when it will be used against you. You did not fight your way back to Blue for that.
no subject
Yes you can. You can put on a smile. You can say the right words, you can do whatever you have to do, because the consequence of not doing that is far worse than half a minute of pain.
[ Which is not to diminish those thirty seconds. They had been some of the worst of his life. They had not marked the first time Sturmhond thought he would die here in the CDC's arms, but it had been hard to keep perspective when he had felt the life squeezed from him.
But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what they do; he will show them the same face that he always does, because righteous anger has never served anyone well here. And he has more than once been shown that it wouldn't take very much for them to cut absolutely everyone on this crew off permanently. ]
FROM: sturmhond@cdc.org
You smile when you don't feel like smiling. Anger is a guise, Vriska, like anything else. You wear it when strength and indignation is needed, you lean on it to stop yourself falling.
FROM: sturmhond@cdc.org
You show it when you choose to. But never when you feel it. Then it becomes a weakness, and that's when it will be used against you. You did not fight your way back to Blue for that.
FROM: sturmhond@cdc.org
So smile. For his sake, if not your own.