[ maya will be here to emotionally support lion..... from will's shenanigans. just as she is here to support will's nerdery and nerding, despite his skepticism. ]
[ she just raises her eyebrow as he works his way through it --- mentally warning him against touching the jellyfish (not that it'd stop him), and then, finally, smirking triumphantly as he finally sees the wisdom. ]
Told ya so. You can see the mermaids' whole history with these babies! Look, see.
[ she splashes in the water to send another jellyfish in his direction -- this one will show him a memory of fabio and ferryn. ]
[ Her jellyfish-based concern is swatted away as easily as said jellyfish. W/e he can't feel it, it's fine. The newer jellyfish is observed like it's a puzzle to be picked apart. Surely, someone somewhere was in shock and awe about the pretty boys dating but. Well. They did kind of steal Fabio's love letters. Of course their memories would be left here, considering...
You know. The Sword Thing. ]
Fishing for compliments? [ Rude - but both the tone and the actual mental vibe is more well-meaning teasing. ] Yeah, you were right. Don't let it go to your head.
Not really, I know I'm always right..... sometimes you just refuse to admit it.
[ despite her sass, she's actually just happy he's entertained. it's much harder to pretend to be cool when you've got a mental link going as it turns out --- he knows, like always, she's just messing around and she just likes to make him happy. ]
It's kind of impressive how much stuff these little guys have... ya gotta wonder how they recorded it. Maybe they have little jellyfish cameras?
[ that being said, the next jellyfish will scopes out has a familiar face contained! why, it's maya herself, who is several years younger -- not that she really looks different, and there's another woman as well. who is currently in the process of making maya cry. ]
[ So mostly right. That's still something. In the meantime, most of the internal thoughts are directed to math work. How many of these records can he go through if he turns off Sleep. This is a stupid idea and is cut off by her question that is Almost Answered.
Almost. Thanks Jellyfish. Please consider someone who was holding a glass this whole time and then was told it was worth their whole year's salary. Even the thoughts go still. The original answer is still given, but tentatively, like stepping around landmines. ]
[ like that's much better. and it's lucky for him that the idea is cut off, because it would have been met with much disapproval anyway. ]
[ there's no sound, but it's pretty clear that whatever the woman is saying is nasty --- memory maya sits still, taking it silently, seeming.... almost resigned, until something changes and she is now pleading, even starting to crawl towards the woman. the woman gives her a cold glare and says something that stops her in her tracks -- she instead hunches over and resumes crying. there's also a small child bearing witness to this scene, hiding behind her mother. at one point, she starts to protest, but the woman turns around and shushes her gently, before rounding back on memory maya. ]
I wonder how they got these... do people stick 'em in or something?
[ maya does tilt her head curiously at will ] Whacha got? Something good?
[ Because he's not going to judge, but it puts Maya on the same tier as him in Bad Nutritional Life Choices.
Fun fact, despite the various tiers of anger she's been privy to during this whole adventure of sharing an MP pool with a chair, there's never been one like this. It's not even really anger. More like regret and acceptance all at once. Of course it's like that. It always is. And as long as people like that exist, so will the Court. So will he.
Blah. What a mess. The thought gets buried back somewhere small and dusty to fester with all the rest, and Maya only gets the same bland annoyance that is what's Expected. ]
Get your own fish. [ No deets. ] If it's anything like my reality, they're like... mirrors. Reflect those near them. But take it with a brain of salt. Doubt jellyfish work like Fragments.
[ But if they do, it means they just pick and choose randomly unless there's a focal point to work off of. Letting her see This would be bad, and questioning her on it is worse. So option three: throw darts at the wall and hope they stick. Please let it change before she notices, stupid scyphozoa. ]
I was kidding!! [ she eats other stuff too, gosh ] Besides, coffee isn't a food, it doesn't count!
[ calm down godot. ]
[ will's emotions have her worried though, so she's floating a little closer. did he see something bad? but will is right to go straight for distraction, because it works like a charm. she immediately perks up ]
He's blue like you, [ aka he's wearing blue ] except he has spiky hair like he's a video game character! Did you see him? Isn't he a huge dork?
[ she'll go back to looking at jellyfish in a second she's too distracted by will's clever plan ]
[ It's less that she's shoo'd out of his thoughts and more her answer gets an immediate spike of amusement. It's nonverbal, but it entirely comes off as 'awww you're totally fond of this hypothetical dork, /pinches cheeks'. It is also followed as easily and naturally as if nothing was ever off in the first place. ]
Nah. The reception's terrible. I need to see the dork who stole my title. Maybe describe a specific memory?
[ This last part is underlaid at the same time by an instinctual Maybe I should smack it. What a garbage angel. ]
[ don't call attention to it, will!! now she's embarrassed. Geez, don't make a big thing of it!! He's my sidekick. Like, my regular sidekick, before you. ]
[ turned it back around on will, excellent. ]
Technically, you stole the title 'cause I knew him first. [ that's how it works. ]
But um, there was this one time where we had to cross-examine a parrot? Try that?
[ in the meantime, she'll be checking out a jellyfish herself to see if there's any trace of nick to show will ]
[ See, on one hand, this was supposed to be a distraction for Maya, but with very precise parameters. If it's reading memories, it can't be ones she wouldn't have shared normally or ones that would have hurt her. In addition, his own memories are entirely off the table for two reasons. The obvious one is from needing to not share those with Anyone. The more important one is his own memories are 99% terrible and throwing that on someone is Bad. Thus, the solution here is to focus on how she claims some nerd of hers had the name first, which is entirely and objectively wrong-
But alas. Maya said a sentence that ricochets off something primal, a paragraph condensed into a flash of red text in her mind, burned in a language she can't read. A hand goes over his eyes and the jellyfish immediately hops screens.
It's some level of argument. There's a maid looking scared and lost, a single woman in Blue looming close to her, and Will standing between them. A few other assistants are huddled in a corner trying to stay as far away from the argument as possible. Whatever words don't play, but the faces paint the story well enough. The woman says something. The maid immediately goes to Absolutely Horrified and backs away a step. Will shouting something or other in a fury, and the woman's face is just...
Disgust. Annoyance. The face of someone dealing with a senile old man, shouting about things that don't matter. ]
How-?! It's a parrot! How the hell can a parrot give a valid testimony?! You'd put someone's life in the hands of that kind of heresy?!
[ no it's objectively right??? or rather, wright. ]
[ maya watches the memory with interest, recognizing will and her eyes flick in between it and him. what's with this old-timey atmosphere? maids? women in blue? will? will yelling about something? geez, memory will sure is being loud -- ]
[ wait, that's not memory will, that's actual will. she looks up from the jellyfish momentarily, and shrugs ]
Yeah, I thought it was pretty bonkers too...... like, real desperate kind of move.
[ thanks for that scintillating defense, maya!!! ]
But it ended up working out, 'cause we needed the parrot to confirm her owner's identity, and she did do that.
[ maya is completely nonchalant in the face of will puffing up, like this kind of insanity is normal for her. ]
[ Hhhhhh- don't get mad. Her guy was a defense lawyer, right? So surely a the testimony of parrot was helpful in proving that person innocent. Assuming they were actually innocent. Or deserved to be innocent after using a parrot for testimony. It's fine. He's not even allowed to weaponize the rules anymore, it's just his concept getting uppity. It's fine.
As if with perfect timing, there's the sound of a wooden table being slammed, and a voice calling out in muffled mono speakers.
"This is why everyone says you've gone soft...! All the suspicious must be interrogated! That is how we Inquisitors conduct our trials!!"
If looks could kill. The Jellyfish gets smacked for its efforts, the memory dissolving with a spark of electricity. Maya gets a mental text notif that her chair's been hit for 2d8, please make sure it's not getting murdered via stupidity. Nobody here is surprised at all. ]
Whatever. If I meet your Wright in person, he's getting the name taken away. Doesn't deserve it. [ Rude- ] 'Think you need to be the one touching it.
[ specifically, nick be like that. he does get beyond desperate, it's a thing. ]
[ maya's eyes follow the sounds coming from the jellyfish, though, curiously, and she leans forward to get the scene, but--- ]
[ then that happens ]
Will! Geez! Don't hit it! You're gonna electrocute yourself! [ she like.... pets the top of the jellyfish like that's going to make a difference. maybe the scene will play itself out. she's also looking at will's hands to make sure it hasn't been burned too badly, but she knows he'll object if she visibly fusses too much. ]
[ the idea of nick showing up is bittersweet. even though she knows will is just messing around, she doesn't know what's taking nick so long. like, isn't the whole point of phoenixes that they rise from the ashes? he's staying dead too long and it's unsettling. but: ]
And good luck! I don't think your hair is nearly spiky enough to take him on. Plus, he has way more terrible Wright jokes than you do.
I'm not. [ ...But the notif. The hand gets a brief check. Scorch marks in leather. Maybe minor burns? He'll have to replace the gloves, siiiiigh. At least that flash of emotion went away. Always annoying when that happens. Moreso than being fretted over by a teenager. ] It's fine.
[ Idiot.
And it's less smacking the jellyfish that turned it off, but the internal thing above where Maya can notice he did That Stupid Thing where he turns off thoughts he doesn't want to deal with. This is x2 idiot wombo combo. However, the jellyfish appreciates the pets and swirls through various colors in response like a friendly lava lamp. ]
Terrible Wright jokes are a weakness. And I'll shave his head to claim my victory.
Objection, as the younger of the two Wrights, yours should be number two.
[ But that's a deflection, and Maya herself notices it's a deflection, and he hates how he's been stuck around people long enough they're reading his tells. It's worrying. But dodging the subject means bringing up Maya's memory. Unacceptable.
...Which means he's staying the target. Great. ]
Yeah. Not important. It's just the ravings of a moron. With any luck, she got killed before my multiverse did.
Nah. You'll just be the really, really, really old fart Wright.
[ nice try, will. she is indeed wise to his bullshit, and drifts away from the jellyfish and a little closer to him. look into her big anime eyes, will...... ]
[ despite his harsh words (which, honestly, oof), maya knows it goes deeper than just this. ]
Are you worried your memories are in here? 'Cause we don't have to look at them if you don't want to.
[ as curious as she is. which.... she's extremely curious, thanks. ]
[ The first part just gets the silent eyeroll of 'God, have mercy, grant me the patience to not get into arguments over stupid petty nonsense'. Not that he can argue it anyway. Compared to her and Her-Wright, he's definitely the really really really old fart.
Insert a moment of silence. He's not worried. Even ignoring the fact Maya got blanket permission to do a Master Flex and get whatever deets she wants, to be worried means considering those memories as something Important. The problem is more that most of them are terrible, bordering nightmarish, and no one deserves that sprung on them. In addition, there's the whole Dad's Gonna Get Mad If You Talk About Classified Things, Also Friendship With Mortals Is Banned - but he's not here anymore. Silvanus is still a huge box in a corner to be unpacked and dealt with later, but it's been dealt with enough where there's no kneejerk reaction to avoid the entire subject like usual.
While this is all processed in a few seconds, the Contract filters it as the noise of a computer fan kicking into high gear. In addition to a bemused surprise, of the flavor that comes with realizing you could not give any less of a fuck about something you used to give every single fuck in the world about. It's a bit liberating. ]
There's a list of content warnings, but I don't mind. ...But only if we're taking turns.
[ good. he understands he can never win against maya. excellent. wright #2 is learning!! ]
[ it's a bit late to worry about friendship with mortals, though, will's already already collected a few. one of which is currently staring at him with her big anime eyes ]
[ honestly, this is more than she could have expected....... minus the part where he throws the gauntlet. that gives her pause. sure, it's only fair that they both share, but if she has no control over what's being shared, that might be an issue. ]
Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure I can handle it. [ .... ] Some of my memories are... not great, though [ understatement of the century ], and I don't wanna be a downer.
[ she does trust him, though. it's more that (like always), she's worried about burdening him. ]
[ This can be read as either they both have bad memories, or that her memories won't be bad, or that she's not allowed to escape the gauntlet throwing with half-baked dodges. So many options. She's given a vague wave towards the nearest coral Seat-Like Arrangement in a way that is neither calling her bluff or as a threat while still being both. ]
[ listen despite seacats being seacats, she's not wrong, she can handle it. it just might not be pretty. and might end up with maya holding his hand. he can deal. ]
... If you're sure.
[ but hm. doesn't look like she has a choice now. she's a little squirmy, but she does get to the seat...... being underwater makes this even weirder. ]
Um, so we just... grab one, I guess? Without hurting it or ourselves?
It didn't hurt. [ Please ignore the fact that he doesn't feel pain and thus, is effectively cheating to hell and back again.
Either way, Maya's left to her squirming. There's the ghost of a sensation at the back of her mind, passing over the worries of burden and anxiety of what to show. The only action taken in response is to grab the jellyfish near them. Only fair the one who makes the challenge goes first.
Downside. The colors the jellyfish gives change, go dark and muted, reflecting only what looks like a bottomless sea filled with stars, or crystals; the only sound being a faint breeze. Where to even start. That first memory isn't worth the time spent remembering it. The only good ones that immediately come to mind are with Lion, and that's blatantly cheating. Hm. ]
[ rude but true and deserved, thanks!!! she gives him a look for his argument (he knows what she means!!) and there he goes, grabbing a jellyfish. if he's not gentle with it, he'll get scolded, but she stares into the jellyfish as it swirls and changes colors..... wow. ]
Um.... Lion.
... If you're not too embarrassed.
[ that's half a joke, semi-teasing, and genuine in the way that if that's too personal she'll readily back off. ]
[ The jellyfish just kind of hangs out, not shocking anyone, but there is a hesitation. It's an easy enough question. He'll take that to mean as when they first met. But that is...
Oh boy. ]
...A bit embarrassed. Don't smack me for it.
[ Almost immediately, the vision of not-space disappears, which is the one positive towards having a perfect memory. Even moments like these come back as clear as reality. Maya is shown the inside of a church, or a chapel, same thing, but there's a strange overlay to the whole scene - which actually kind of hurts to focus on. There's a color to it, but she can't actually name it, and it leaves behind a sense of confusion and nonexistence, too many worlds compressed into too small a space. The narrative would like to point to the Neathbow's Irrigo if you want to get a deeper sense of what madness she's dealing with.
There's nothing notable aside from a coffin on display at the front - opened to reveal a single book and a sea of golden roses - and three people. Two people she immediately recognizes as friends and a third she does not. A girl with long blue hair, a black dress, and eyes devoid of all life. She is also an absolute shitlord, on account of she's literally standing in the coffin, crushing the roses in an action that's not even disrespect - it's more she doesn't care.
In fact, only Lion does.
"I-I don't know who you are, but please get down from there. That's a sacred altar-"
The girl doesn't move at Lion's demands. Alas, Lion is even ignored by her. What's worse is Will cuts them off immediately with a thumb jerked in their direction. The Lion in question doesn't even earn a glance. Dismissed as pointless.
"Lion, was it? Who is this person?"
Lion gets a look of immediate offense to this, but the girl cuts them off with a voice as dead as her eyes.
"You've already heard who."
"Is this your Piece?"
"No. It's a true and proper piece of this game board. One of the appearing characters."
"You're the Game Master. That means it's your Piece."
"I've just enclosed Beato's cat box in a larger cat box. Lion is one of the pieces who has a possibility of appearing inside it."
"Ah, I see. In other words, it's your Piece."
"...A piece I've placed would be the correct way to say it."
The conversation goes back and forth with only one brief aside for Will to verbally impale Lion a few times over their parentage, their status as an heir, who the hell even are you anyway, before they're written off immediately for the rest of it. After a certain point, Lion ends up doing that one deep sigh one gets when trying to put up with things they don't want to deal with, and stand there glaring into space for the rest.
Maya herself has witnessed this bad habit multiple times, even if she could never put a name to it. But for once, he actually acknowledges it. ]
Without looking at my records, I cannot count the amount of worlds I've been to. Lives I've seen. My job was to appear where there was a problem, fix it, then disappear without a trace. After that long, it's... not a person anymore. Just a piece to make my job harder, or a monster to be removed. I didn't meet Lion Ushiromiya. I was merely introduced to a character that had never appeared in the narrative. No better than text on a page.
[ There's even a moment where the girl refers to "this Lion" helping and when Lion complains, Will effectively dismisses them as a handicap rather than help. It's not even anger-inducing anymore. If anything, between that weird non-color overlay and the attitude of the two people involved, it's easy enough to fall into the trap that it's two people talking about the rules of a chess game in front of one of the pawns. ]
[ maya watches this umineko nonsense play out, eyes flicking between poor lion, the blue-haired girl, memory will, and will himself. the first thing she says when it's over -- ]
No wonder Lion pinches you. I'd pinch you too, if you talked about me like that.
[ so there's no physical smacking, but there is a little sass --- which he should be used to by now. the girl gives her a weird feeling --- a bad one -- and she the piece thing is semi-lost on her. she only understands a little, but probably the most unsettling thing about all of this is that both the girl and will act like it's just a game. ]
That's why you keep talking about pieces and game masters and stuff? [ just trying to make sense of all of this. she thought he called himself a piece, but apparently everything and everyone can be pieces. and: ]
Lemme guess.... Lion's the one that changed all that, right? Who made you realize it's people you're dealing with? 'Cause they're special.
[ and special to him. pearl would have a field day with that. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ she just raises her eyebrow as he works his way through it --- mentally warning him against touching the jellyfish (not that it'd stop him), and then, finally, smirking triumphantly as he finally sees the wisdom. ]
Told ya so. You can see the mermaids' whole history with these babies! Look, see.
[ she splashes in the water to send another jellyfish in his direction -- this one will show him a memory of fabio and ferryn. ]
Am I right or am I right?
no subject
You know. The Sword Thing. ]
Fishing for compliments? [ Rude - but both the tone and the actual mental vibe is more well-meaning teasing. ] Yeah, you were right. Don't let it go to your head.
no subject
[ despite her sass, she's actually just happy he's entertained. it's much harder to pretend to be cool when you've got a mental link going as it turns out --- he knows, like always, she's just messing around and she just likes to make him happy. ]
It's kind of impressive how much stuff these little guys have... ya gotta wonder how they recorded it. Maybe they have little jellyfish cameras?
[ that being said, the next jellyfish will scopes out has a familiar face contained! why, it's maya herself, who is several years younger -- not that she really looks different, and there's another woman as well. who is currently in the process of making maya cry. ]
[ awkward. ]
no subject
[ So mostly right. That's still something. In the meantime, most of the internal thoughts are directed to math work. How many of these records can he go through if he turns off Sleep. This is a stupid idea and is cut off by her question that is Almost Answered.
Almost. Thanks Jellyfish. Please consider someone who was holding a glass this whole time and then was told it was worth their whole year's salary. Even the thoughts go still. The original answer is still given, but tentatively, like stepping around landmines. ]
They're Fragments. Memories.
[ awkward x50 ]
no subject
[ like that's much better. and it's lucky for him that the idea is cut off, because it would have been met with much disapproval anyway. ]
[ there's no sound, but it's pretty clear that whatever the woman is saying is nasty --- memory maya sits still, taking it silently, seeming.... almost resigned, until something changes and she is now pleading, even starting to crawl towards the woman. the woman gives her a cold glare and says something that stops her in her tracks -- she instead hunches over and resumes crying. there's also a small child bearing witness to this scene, hiding behind her mother. at one point, she starts to protest, but the woman turns around and shushes her gently, before rounding back on memory maya. ]
I wonder how they got these... do people stick 'em in or something?
[ maya does tilt her head curiously at will ] Whacha got? Something good?
no subject
[ Because he's not going to judge, but it puts Maya on the same tier as him in Bad Nutritional Life Choices.
Fun fact, despite the various tiers of anger she's been privy to during this whole adventure of sharing an MP pool with a chair, there's never been one like this. It's not even really anger. More like regret and acceptance all at once. Of course it's like that. It always is. And as long as people like that exist, so will the Court. So will he.
Blah. What a mess. The thought gets buried back somewhere small and dusty to fester with all the rest, and Maya only gets the same bland annoyance that is what's Expected. ]
Get your own fish. [ No deets. ] If it's anything like my reality, they're like... mirrors. Reflect those near them. But take it with a brain of salt. Doubt jellyfish work like Fragments.
[ But if they do, it means they just pick and choose randomly unless there's a focal point to work off of. Letting her see This would be bad, and questioning her on it is worse. So option three: throw darts at the wall and hope they stick. Please let it change before she notices, stupid scyphozoa. ]
Hey. What's that Wright a' yours look like?
no subject
[ calm down godot. ]
[ will's emotions have her worried though, so she's floating a little closer. did he see something bad? but will is right to go straight for distraction, because it works like a charm. she immediately perks up ]
He's blue like you, [ aka he's wearing blue ] except he has spiky hair like he's a video game character! Did you see him? Isn't he a huge dork?
[ she'll go back to looking at jellyfish in a second she's too distracted by will's clever plan ]
no subject
Nah. The reception's terrible. I need to see the dork who stole my title. Maybe describe a specific memory?
[ This last part is underlaid at the same time by an instinctual Maybe I should smack it. What a garbage angel. ]
no subject
[ turned it back around on will, excellent. ]
Technically, you stole the title 'cause I knew him first. [ that's how it works. ]
But um, there was this one time where we had to cross-examine a parrot? Try that?
[ in the meantime, she'll be checking out a jellyfish herself to see if there's any trace of nick to show will ]
no subject
But alas. Maya said a sentence that ricochets off something primal, a paragraph condensed into a flash of red text in her mind, burned in a language she can't read. A hand goes over his eyes and the jellyfish immediately hops screens.
It's some level of argument. There's a maid looking scared and lost, a single woman in Blue looming close to her, and Will standing between them. A few other assistants are huddled in a corner trying to stay as far away from the argument as possible. Whatever words don't play, but the faces paint the story well enough. The woman says something. The maid immediately goes to Absolutely Horrified and backs away a step. Will shouting something or other in a fury, and the woman's face is just...
Disgust. Annoyance. The face of someone dealing with a senile old man, shouting about things that don't matter. ]
How-?! It's a parrot! How the hell can a parrot give a valid testimony?! You'd put someone's life in the hands of that kind of heresy?!
no subject
[ maya watches the memory with interest, recognizing will and her eyes flick in between it and him. what's with this old-timey atmosphere? maids? women in blue? will? will yelling about something? geez, memory will sure is being loud -- ]
[ wait, that's not memory will, that's actual will. she looks up from the jellyfish momentarily, and shrugs ]
Yeah, I thought it was pretty bonkers too...... like, real desperate kind of move.
[ thanks for that scintillating defense, maya!!! ]
But it ended up working out, 'cause we needed the parrot to confirm her owner's identity, and she did do that.
[ maya is completely nonchalant in the face of will puffing up, like this kind of insanity is normal for her. ]
no subject
[ Hhhhhh- don't get mad. Her guy was a defense lawyer, right? So surely a the testimony of parrot was helpful in proving that person innocent. Assuming they were actually innocent. Or deserved to be innocent after using a parrot for testimony. It's fine. He's not even allowed to weaponize the rules anymore, it's just his concept getting uppity. It's fine.
As if with perfect timing, there's the sound of a wooden table being slammed, and a voice calling out in muffled mono speakers.
"This is why everyone says you've gone soft...! All the suspicious must be interrogated! That is how we Inquisitors conduct our trials!!"
If looks could kill. The Jellyfish gets smacked for its efforts, the memory dissolving with a spark of electricity. Maya gets a mental text notif that her chair's been hit for 2d8, please make sure it's not getting murdered via stupidity. Nobody here is surprised at all. ]
Whatever. If I meet your Wright in person, he's getting the name taken away. Doesn't deserve it. [ Rude- ] 'Think you need to be the one touching it.
no subject
[ specifically, nick be like that. he does get beyond desperate, it's a thing. ]
[ maya's eyes follow the sounds coming from the jellyfish, though, curiously, and she leans forward to get the scene, but--- ]
[ then that happens ]
Will! Geez! Don't hit it! You're gonna electrocute yourself! [ she like.... pets the top of the jellyfish like that's going to make a difference. maybe the scene will play itself out. she's also looking at will's hands to make sure it hasn't been burned too badly, but she knows he'll object if she visibly fusses too much. ]
[ the idea of nick showing up is bittersweet. even though she knows will is just messing around, she doesn't know what's taking nick so long. like, isn't the whole point of phoenixes that they rise from the ashes? he's staying dead too long and it's unsettling. but: ]
And good luck! I don't think your hair is nearly spiky enough to take him on. Plus, he has way more terrible Wright jokes than you do.
[ what does hair have to do with it. ]
no subject
I'm not. [ ...But the notif. The hand gets a brief check. Scorch marks in leather. Maybe minor burns? He'll have to replace the gloves, siiiiigh. At least that flash of emotion went away. Always annoying when that happens. Moreso than being fretted over by a teenager. ] It's fine.
[ Idiot.
And it's less smacking the jellyfish that turned it off, but the internal thing above where Maya can notice he did That Stupid Thing where he turns off thoughts he doesn't want to deal with. This is x2 idiot wombo combo. However, the jellyfish appreciates the pets and swirls through various colors in response like a friendly lava lamp. ]
Terrible Wright jokes are a weakness. And I'll shave his head to claim my victory.
[ Rip alternate reality Bald Phoenix Wright. ]
no subject
I don't know, don't underestimate how bad the Wright jokes are. He might be your match, Wright #2.
[ the dumb stuff out of the way, maya pauses. she did notice that stupid thing he does. ]
Are you okay? That was your memory, right?
[ the inquisitor and emotional reaction kind of fave it away, so there's no sense in him denying it. ]
no subject
[ But that's a deflection, and Maya herself notices it's a deflection, and he hates how he's been stuck around people long enough they're reading his tells. It's worrying. But dodging the subject means bringing up Maya's memory. Unacceptable.
...Which means he's staying the target. Great. ]
Yeah. Not important. It's just the ravings of a moron. With any luck, she got killed before my multiverse did.
[ Harsh. ]
no subject
[ nice try, will. she is indeed wise to his bullshit, and drifts away from the jellyfish and a little closer to him. look into her big anime eyes, will...... ]
[ despite his harsh words (which, honestly, oof), maya knows it goes deeper than just this. ]
Are you worried your memories are in here? 'Cause we don't have to look at them if you don't want to.
[ as curious as she is. which.... she's extremely curious, thanks. ]
no subject
Insert a moment of silence. He's not worried. Even ignoring the fact Maya got blanket permission to do a Master Flex and get whatever deets she wants, to be worried means considering those memories as something Important. The problem is more that most of them are terrible, bordering nightmarish, and no one deserves that sprung on them. In addition, there's the whole Dad's Gonna Get Mad If You Talk About Classified Things, Also Friendship With Mortals Is Banned - but he's not here anymore. Silvanus is still a huge box in a corner to be unpacked and dealt with later, but it's been dealt with enough where there's no kneejerk reaction to avoid the entire subject like usual.
While this is all processed in a few seconds, the Contract filters it as the noise of a computer fan kicking into high gear. In addition to a bemused surprise, of the flavor that comes with realizing you could not give any less of a fuck about something you used to give every single fuck in the world about. It's a bit liberating. ]
There's a list of content warnings, but I don't mind. ...But only if we're taking turns.
[ Gauntlet thrown. ]
no subject
[ it's a bit late to worry about friendship with mortals, though, will's already already collected a few. one of which is currently staring at him with her big anime eyes ]
[ honestly, this is more than she could have expected....... minus the part where he throws the gauntlet. that gives her pause. sure, it's only fair that they both share, but if she has no control over what's being shared, that might be an issue. ]
Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure I can handle it. [ .... ] Some of my memories are... not great, though [ understatement of the century ], and I don't wanna be a downer.
[ she does trust him, though. it's more that (like always), she's worried about burdening him. ]
no subject
Then I guess we'll both be downers.
[ This can be read as either they both have bad memories, or that her memories won't be bad, or that she's not allowed to escape the gauntlet throwing with half-baked dodges. So many options. She's given a vague wave towards the nearest coral Seat-Like Arrangement in a way that is neither calling her bluff or as a threat while still being both. ]
no subject
... If you're sure.
[ but hm. doesn't look like she has a choice now. she's a little squirmy, but she does get to the seat...... being underwater makes this even weirder. ]
Um, so we just... grab one, I guess? Without hurting it or ourselves?
[ gentle callout ]
no subject
It didn't hurt. [ Please ignore the fact that he doesn't feel pain and thus, is effectively cheating to hell and back again.
Either way, Maya's left to her squirming. There's the ghost of a sensation at the back of her mind, passing over the worries of burden and anxiety of what to show. The only action taken in response is to grab the jellyfish near them. Only fair the one who makes the challenge goes first.
Downside. The colors the jellyfish gives change, go dark and muted, reflecting only what looks like a bottomless sea filled with stars, or crystals; the only sound being a faint breeze. Where to even start. That first memory isn't worth the time spent remembering it. The only good ones that immediately come to mind are with Lion, and that's blatantly cheating. Hm. ]
Pick a starter prompt.
no subject
Um.... Lion.
... If you're not too embarrassed.
[ that's half a joke, semi-teasing, and genuine in the way that if that's too personal she'll readily back off. ]
blah blah spoilers
Oh boy. ]
...A bit embarrassed. Don't smack me for it.
[ Almost immediately, the vision of not-space disappears, which is the one positive towards having a perfect memory. Even moments like these come back as clear as reality. Maya is shown the inside of a church, or a chapel, same thing, but there's a strange overlay to the whole scene - which actually kind of hurts to focus on. There's a color to it, but she can't actually name it, and it leaves behind a sense of confusion and nonexistence, too many worlds compressed into too small a space. The narrative would like to point to the Neathbow's Irrigo if you want to get a deeper sense of what madness she's dealing with.
There's nothing notable aside from a coffin on display at the front - opened to reveal a single book and a sea of golden roses - and three people. Two people she immediately recognizes as friends and a third she does not. A girl with long blue hair, a black dress, and eyes devoid of all life. She is also an absolute shitlord, on account of she's literally standing in the coffin, crushing the roses in an action that's not even disrespect - it's more she doesn't care.
In fact, only Lion does.
"I-I don't know who you are, but please get down from there. That's a sacred altar-"
The girl doesn't move at Lion's demands. Alas, Lion is even ignored by her. What's worse is Will cuts them off immediately with a thumb jerked in their direction. The Lion in question doesn't even earn a glance. Dismissed as pointless.
"Lion, was it? Who is this person?"
Lion gets a look of immediate offense to this, but the girl cuts them off with a voice as dead as her eyes.
"You've already heard who."
"Is this your Piece?"
"No. It's a true and proper piece of this game board. One of the appearing characters."
"You're the Game Master. That means it's your Piece."
"I've just enclosed Beato's cat box in a larger cat box. Lion is one of the pieces who has a possibility of appearing inside it."
"Ah, I see. In other words, it's your Piece."
"...A piece I've placed would be the correct way to say it."
The conversation goes back and forth with only one brief aside for Will to verbally impale Lion a few times over their parentage, their status as an heir, who the hell even are you anyway, before they're written off immediately for the rest of it. After a certain point, Lion ends up doing that one deep sigh one gets when trying to put up with things they don't want to deal with, and stand there glaring into space for the rest.
Maya herself has witnessed this bad habit multiple times, even if she could never put a name to it. But for once, he actually acknowledges it. ]
Without looking at my records, I cannot count the amount of worlds I've been to. Lives I've seen. My job was to appear where there was a problem, fix it, then disappear without a trace. After that long, it's... not a person anymore. Just a piece to make my job harder, or a monster to be removed. I didn't meet Lion Ushiromiya. I was merely introduced to a character that had never appeared in the narrative. No better than text on a page.
[ There's even a moment where the girl refers to "this Lion" helping and when Lion complains, Will effectively dismisses them as a handicap rather than help. It's not even anger-inducing anymore. If anything, between that weird non-color overlay and the attitude of the two people involved, it's easy enough to fall into the trap that it's two people talking about the rules of a chess game in front of one of the pawns. ]
no subject
No wonder Lion pinches you. I'd pinch you too, if you talked about me like that.
[ so there's no physical smacking, but there is a little sass --- which he should be used to by now. the girl gives her a weird feeling --- a bad one -- and she the piece thing is semi-lost on her. she only understands a little, but probably the most unsettling thing about all of this is that both the girl and will act like it's just a game. ]
That's why you keep talking about pieces and game masters and stuff? [ just trying to make sense of all of this. she thought he called himself a piece, but apparently everything and everyone can be pieces. and: ]
Lemme guess.... Lion's the one that changed all that, right? Who made you realize it's people you're dealing with? 'Cause they're special.
[ and special to him. pearl would have a field day with that. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)