[Even herself. From what little he saw and heard when he was in Pringles' head, from what he picked up eavesdropping on various seekers and regulators out in the field, Lucretia was a completely different person as Madam Director. She would have to be. The woman he knew for a century could be so sensitive, so insecure. She'd have to harden herself, wall off her emotions in order to stay strong and persevere.
But he's not going to say that out loud. Taako might already know, somewhere deep down, might already realize that this must have been hard on Lucretia too. But trying to convince him of anything is clearly a lost cause.]
I don't care if y'trust her or not. That's obviously not gonna happen, huh. And Taako? I get it. You know I do. Y'think it's easy for me to trust her? To stand here and defend her? After what she did t'me? Know how many times one of her regulators shot me down? Guess.
[His hands tighten their grip on his shoulders. Barry is shaking.] But like it or not, she's family. That's why what she did hurt us so bad. And even when they hurt us, y'don't fuckin' talk about family like that.
[The burst of rage ebbs away, and all he's left with is the frustration, the hurt. He loves Taako. Seeing him put up walls like this is so hurtful, but he doesn't know if he has the strength to help tear them down. So his hands drop from Taako's shoulders, his whole body deflating with exhaustion, face sinking. Yelling at him isn't going to fix anything. Barry isn't sure Taako is even listening.]
Y'should apologize to Lup. Y'really hurt her feelings.
no subject
[Even herself. From what little he saw and heard when he was in Pringles' head, from what he picked up eavesdropping on various seekers and regulators out in the field, Lucretia was a completely different person as Madam Director. She would have to be. The woman he knew for a century could be so sensitive, so insecure. She'd have to harden herself, wall off her emotions in order to stay strong and persevere.
But he's not going to say that out loud. Taako might already know, somewhere deep down, might already realize that this must have been hard on Lucretia too. But trying to convince him of anything is clearly a lost cause.]
I don't care if y'trust her or not. That's obviously not gonna happen, huh. And Taako? I get it. You know I do. Y'think it's easy for me to trust her? To stand here and defend her? After what she did t'me? Know how many times one of her regulators shot me down? Guess.
[His hands tighten their grip on his shoulders. Barry is shaking.] But like it or not, she's family. That's why what she did hurt us so bad. And even when they hurt us, y'don't fuckin' talk about family like that.
[The burst of rage ebbs away, and all he's left with is the frustration, the hurt. He loves Taako. Seeing him put up walls like this is so hurtful, but he doesn't know if he has the strength to help tear them down. So his hands drop from Taako's shoulders, his whole body deflating with exhaustion, face sinking. Yelling at him isn't going to fix anything. Barry isn't sure Taako is even listening.]
Y'should apologize to Lup. Y'really hurt her feelings.