[ 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. ]
Not just you. I'm always punching myself in the face.
[ The second question gets a vague affirmative noise. Not all the way correct, but good enough to work with. ] Imagine if you had control of this memory, like it's a video game. You wouldn't consider the things on screen 'alive', right?
[ What's after is just a long blanket of silence. How to even answer that question. They were always people. He realized it one day, but trying to explain it to others hit a snag in the form of reputation. Too much time was spent as a monster, so being anything else is written off as senility. It shines even in the memory - it's always 'Wright'. Sometimes it's paired with Head Inquisitor, sometimes with Wizard-hunter, but it's always Wright. He is never once called by anything other than a title. Even by Lion.
Even now. Lucretia was just like Bernkastel. She didn't call for him. She called for Wright.
The jellyfish gets lightly shaken to erase the memory. The smug grin on the girl's face when it fades will haunt nightmares. ] ...Not quite. You can guess what my job was like. People become predictable. Certain lives lead to certain results. Nothin' but bad ends and sob stories because good people don't exist. If they did, I'd be out of a job. Yet there stood Lion. Here stands you. Both given the worst lives, yet somehow remain... good. You're both good. Lion became something more, but you are both equally special to me.
[ Somewhere in the past, Lion has probably ranted about how they cannot fathom how someone so short-sighted and blunt and stupid could also be so genuine and it's annoying!!! Maya has no also witnessed it and yeah. It's annoying. ]
Either way. Your turn. Show me this other Wright of yours.
[ she was partially teasing because she knows how he is, but he is so hard on himself....... she puts a hand on his arm ]
.... I think I understand. I can't imagine how it must be for you, having lived so long and seen so many people, the absolute worst of people.... it's kind of really amazing that you're still as hopeful as you are. And even though you have every reason to be totally jaded, you still help people out as much as you can, and you still have the strength to have faith. You're the one that's really good, not me.
[ gosh will she's just a normal person stop embarassing her like this. her cheeks are red, even. ]
.... And you're wrong about my life being the worst, 'cause actually? I'm really lucky to have you.
[ he's also lucky to have an emotional connection to her, because actually vocalizing that someone is special to her as directly as he did can be really hard, but he can feel the 'you're really special to me too' accompanying that last sentence from her side of the connection. she may tease it off later, but there's no denying the feeling. it's a lot of warmth. ]
[ more importantly, will has now seen maya's more genuine and realest smile. congratulations. it's just as soft and warm as how she's feeling right now. ]
Okay... I, um, I don't have a very good handle on this jellyfish stuff, but I'll do my best.
[ now it's time for her to put her hand on it and concentrate on a wright that's even more of a dork than he is ]
[ There's a snap reaction of 'what, no, that's dumb, stop being dumb' and she has a moment to prepare for his usual MO of cutting off any line of questioning that gets too close to accepting people in his life. It's beyond the Piece thing. After everything he's done, to be called the good one or special is just wrong. That kind of connection is entirely undeserved and the whole emotional connection gets beheaded for even attempting it.
Or. Not quite. There's a hesitation. Maya has dealt with him having to pull memories out from storage. It's akin to hearing a dying fax machine get stuck on a connection loop. Meanwhile anything in the past week, or things important enough to be a permanent post-it note in someone's mind, simply appear without any hassle or stress and tend to feedback over the Contract with clarity. She also knows 90% of said important things are related to Lion, because he's a predictable sap. There's no printer sound, but the voice is unmistakably hers.
I'm happy you're both alive, you know. I hope one day you two can come to feel the same way. ]
...Still don't see it. [ And she gets a half-second to squawk indignantly over his apathy-scented negativity, but it gets cut off when the arm she's not holding moves to rest a hand on top of hers in reassurance. He can't make a smile to match hers - it's some halfway broken thing, trying to be genuine and realest but only landing at 'genuine'. ] But I'm trying. Just gotta' believe you in the meantime. Glad I helped you out somehow.
[ Look, now she doesn't have to tease him if he threatens to expose her kokoros: mutual blackmail attained. With a side note here that in the faintest corner of the Contract, she can feel her own face get archived somewhere Vital. If only everyone in the world could smile like that. Maybe there'd be fewer assholes. Use it for motivation.
There's still the visceral need to punch someone in exchange for the moment of weakness, but she's not an angel and those cultural norms are kind of dumb in retrospect. Her hand is removed and placed next to the other one on the memoryfish. Treat it like training subordinates' reconstruction of game boards. The voice Maya gets is Sure in ways that don't make sense. ]
Close your eyes. Relax. Don't think too hard. Tell me about how you met. What day was it? What was the weather like? Were there any scents - coffee, flowers, cleaning supplies? How does his voice sound? Find a detail and focus on it.
[ All little details that have no purpose, but together help paint a whole picture. ]
[ she expected argument, so honestly..... this is more than she could have ever hoped for. when he puts his hand on top of hers, and parrots her own voice back at her, she threads her fingers through his and gives it a little squeeze. ]
[ rather than squawk indignantly, her voice softens. ]
Don't worry..... I'll believe in you ten times as hard, until you can see it. Until you can be happy, too.
[ because she'll never change her mind on that. something else might be changing, though. buried very deep down, deeper than even will can reach, deeper than even maya can reach, sometimes, there's been a steady fear and sense of hopelessness steadily growing with every mission, every death and every horrible thing that happens. right now, though, it's not there in any capacity. for the first time, looking at will's more genuine attempt at a smile, sitting underwater with the jellyfish like this with their hands intertwined, maya actually feels like things might be okay. in this one moment, no part of her is scared. ]
[ and that means more to her than she'll ever be able to express, even after it's over. ]
How we met...?
[ oh boy. she wanted to give him a happier memory to look at, but..... maybe this will help him understand what's so special about nick. ]
[ she takes a deep breath, and follows his advice. but, uh, a dark office is coming into focus --- with mia's corpse's laid out under the window, and maya sobbing over it, just seconds too late to stop it. ]
[ "Sis....." she sobs, just as a mysterious, unknown man enters the room and gasps. the maya in the jellyfish can't make out what he's saying, but overcome by terror that he might be the killer or something else -- she straight up faints. ]
[ This thread is way too wholesome and it's giving the narration diabetic shock. Don't do that. :( ]
Until both of us can. You deserve it too.
[ And it sounds stupid and impossible, heaven knows he's been thinking it since Ever, but on one hand - maya you asshole you are not dragging him through positivity and then not suffering the same hell yourself. On the other, she actually does cave too easily about things. Probably only visible mark the world has left on her. Feels too much like a burden when she really shouldn't. So? Two way street. Maybe someday she'll believe the same thing she's preaching. And if not, he can shout about it until it sinks in or his vocal chords snap. Whichever happens first. Hopefully the former.
Normally around here is when the recoil of Time To Pretend Feelings Didn't Happen would occur, but it doesn't. It's just the comfortable silence of someone watching a replay of one of the most traumatizing momements of your life. ...Maybe slightly uncomfortable. On the positive side, there's no shock or misplaced empathy at this display of a girl mourning her sister. It's not even bemusement or non-surprise that filters through. Only the casual observation of 'yeah, this seems legit, must've been a friday, messed-up missions always came in on fridays to con people into working weekends'.
This is immediately followed with the realization that that's a bad thing.
Oops. ]
...Hell of a first impression, huh. Guessin' you were the main suspect?
[ she is happy to be alive, she always has been, but she's never quite been able to feel like she particularly deserves it. instead, she's focused on "earning" her life by helping out and being "useful" at every given opportunity. and never focusing on her feelings. it's fine. ]
[ it's hard for her to feel like she truly deserves to be alive. it still is. but this.... will.... thanks to him, it's a tiny, tiny modicum easier. he'll have to yell a lot to get it to progress more than that, though. ]
[ yeah, that is a bad thing, thanks, will, but she's relieved he isn't reacting worse. neither of them grasp just how weird it is for him to react that way, in this one instance ]
... Yeah, pretty much.
[ it goes by quicker: phoenix, introducing himself to a traumatized maya (once she's conscious) who doesn't want to talk to him, trying to soothe her by assuring her he works there, which gets her to introduce herself to him. then, he ill-advisedly shows her a receipt with the word 'maya' written in blood, which, obviously, upsets her. ]
[ detective gumshoe sweeps in, finds out that her name is maya, and arrests her for murder on the spot. she's carted away instantly. ]
[ (will was absolutely right, to no one's surprise) ]
[ Hey, despite everyone thinking problems can be fixed with a thanos snap, it doesn't work that way in reality. It's small steps that feel like nothing, unless someone else is nearby to help you with perspective. Even a tiny modicum easier is a win. Progress! Progress is good.
Also if neither of them grasp how weird something is, that means it's not weird. #logic.
Though he almost wishes it was weird. This short play isn't even shocking. It's just another day on assignment, feeling like home in all the worst ways. The current head investigator on duty getting a confirmation of something Damning - whether by accident or on purpose - then the nearest assistant goes WHOO PROOF OF MURDER and drags them off to be tortured. There's an expression here of 'moments like this, I understand why humans take up alcoholism' but without enough disgust to actually start up the bad habit.
[ the scene is now maya in jail. phoenix is her only visitors, and though he offers to defend her, she refuses him. her sister told her that he's a rookie and that he still needs time, and part of maya thinks that he thinks she did it. "Even you, you looked at me like I had done it!" ]
[ everyone else does, that's for sure. she instead gives him the contact info of a famous lawyer who mia had told her to call if she was ever in trouble. phoenix disappears. ]
[ when he reappears, he's clearly lying to her about the guy because he doesn't want to say what really happened. "What really happened?" memory maya asks, and phoenix just gulps because he doesn't want to say it, "You don't mean.... he refused to help?" ]
[ the expression on phoenix's face is enough for maya to tell she's right. ]
[ "I see. So I've been abandoned, then. " ]
[ her expression is crushed, broken, but somehow, not surprise. phoenix stays: he asks her about herself. she tells him that e.s.p runs in her blood, and the women of the fey family have been mediums for generations. she tells him that mia was all she had in the world, that her father died when she was very young and her mother has been missing from around the same time. she knows of a man, called 'White', who ruined her mother -- he found out about a case where they used a spirit medium to try to solve an unsolvable case, but something went wrong. the man her mother had helped implicate was innocent, and details of the investigation were leaked to this man..... who made her a laughingstock. since then, she fled the village and hasn't been seen since. how mia left several years after that, and maya has been living by herself since. the implications here are pretty yikes. ]
[ she tells all this to phoenix, as her time to find a defender is almost up. then, he makes a decision. ]
[ "I've made up my mind. I'm going to defend you whether you want me to or not!" ]
[ maya clearly has no idea what to do with this. she stares at him, uncomprehendingly. "Why?" ]
[ "I won't abandon you, Maya. You can count on me. " ]
[ maya in the memory sniffles, moved by his kindness, and then smiles. actual maya nudges will and points at the jellyfish like he's not already watching it. ]
[ "One last question," says phoenix, "You are innocent, aren't you?" ]
[ "Yes!" responds memory maya, finally showing her usual exuberance, "And I trust you! So you trust me too, okay?" ]
[ To Maya, the connection is dead silent, processing power aimed elsewhere, recording and filing details, notes, references, in a way she's never witnessed. There was never anything important enough to justify it. It also probably helps that it's untranslatable, both from how it's managed compared to humans and also because it's simply too fast.
It also means she doesn't get the thoughts behind it. Both from the short glimpse of a memory from before with that woman scolding her, and the memory's testimony now, there is no question on where she picked up her fear of abandonment. Her blinding need to be useful - because doing so is proof that she has value, and thus less likely to be abandoned. There's a lot of Yikes here. Especially the glimpses of how she's been raised. Extremely yikes.
Yet, here stands this moron with stupid hair, who she shoved away once and who came back anyway. With none of the pity that would come with hearing a sob story. It references against how Similar it is to home. No one would have taken her side. Sure, she's obviously innocent, there's no motive to Maya killing her own sister, but no one cares about the heart anymore. To take her case is suicide. To believe her case is sheer ignorance. Yet, all he needed to hear was her say she was innocent. And he went for it. Following the usual narrative tropes that come from this situation, and the fact Maya constantly sings his praises and, he most likely proved her innocent.
Normally, the verdict would be kept internal to gather dust in the archives for eternity. But this is a Bonding Moment, and this entire mission has just been metaphorically pushing an envelope further and further, seeing how far it gets before the memories of fear become actual fear. This kind of admittance doesn't even rate. ]
What a well-meaning idiot. Everyone thinks he's a rookie, so he picks up an impossible case? Because it's right? I'd kill for a successor like him.
[ it goes deeper than he knows, but yeah. maya herself doesn't even seem to realize the implications the memory's giving on how she was raised, because it's normalized to her, and that's even more yikes. ]
[ the memory fades out, and maya's left with a ridiculously fond look on her face. don't tell nick if he ever does show, will, she'd never live it down. ]
Told ya.
[ the memories of phoenix are bittersweet because she really, really, misses him, so it's just so nice to hear his voice and see his face -- even if it is a memory being displayed through a jellyfish. ]
He's always like that. Our cases are always impossible, we have to fight through loads of lying witnesses and evidence and jerk prosecutors... He always looks like he doesn't know what he's doing, he does some really dumb, crazy things...... he gets desperate, we're always flying by the seat of our pants, but.... he always comes through. That's why he's my partner.... he saved me, and sis asked me to take care of him, so..... I help him.
[ because she wants to save people, too. she loves working with him, being able to prove innocents innocent. ]
He is an idiot, but he can be pretty smart, too. .... But don't tell him I said that, 'cause it would go straight to his head.
So gonna tell him. [ There is actually enough inflection here to tell it's a joke. Your secret is safe with the murderbird, Maya. ] Still can't let 'im have the title without a fight. Part of the Rules.
[ The more she talks about him, the more it sounds like this idiot with the terrible hair and ridiculous parrot-questioning antics sounds more worthy of his Title than anyone else he's ever known. It's a last name, not a Title, so it's really just rolling with Maya's jokes than anything else, but it's a shame. At least he has Lion. Even if it's bec
Let's not think about that.
The worst part is the little things. From her words to her expression to even little things (and here he thought the phoenix's name was a bad pun), it must be killing her. With each month that goes by with more people turning up and getting their friends from home, Maya received her sister but not her Sun. And then you have certain idiots running around saying that their worlds aren't coming back. Yeah, it's fine to be skeptical, but to say it aloud is like saying to give up hope. Even now, he can hear some galaxy brain asshole going on about present versus past tense. Blah. ]
Oh, yeah? I have pleeeenty of embarassing things I could tell Lion, too. [ but it's just as obviously a joke. she giggles at him. ] Fight him all you want, but I'm warning you.... he loves making terrible puns with his name.
[ but yeah. it aches every day maya is without him, both because she misses him and because every day she's without him is another one where she has to tell herself to be hopeful that he's not really dead, that she didn't trade one dead family member for two. ]
... He is. I'm lucky to have him, too.
[ this is gonna be hilarious later when will sees him being a dick. but for now, she nudges him gently. ]
You have no evidence. [ Read: no seriously even as a joke lion would never let him live it down. Also yeah, feel free to keep the above compliments on a backburner for when the memory of Nick being a jerk comes up and see how quickly they get redacted. Then when he shows up, he can get punched right in the face.
At the nudging there's still that moment of 'god what do i even show it's all terrible' quickly sliding off into finding excuses to run away from the whole thing. That is totally okay to do. Except it's not and he's being a coward. Hhhhhh- ]
Yeah yeah. Keep making demands. Nothing will play otherwise.
[ Don't threaten hand holding! Worst punishment. And the nudging is almost bolted away from on instinct, but gets caught halfway through the motion, ending up leaning slightly away from her but frozen in place. That's not even the problem. But explaining it is stupid.
But she deserves it explained otherwise she'll take it as him not having faith in her. The jellyfish is stared at like it holds the answer to speaking about your shortcomings like a normal being-holding-a-high-functioning-consciousness. The jellyfish floats listlessly back, as if saying 'no way dude i'm not getting involved in that shit'.
Yeah, thanks bud. ]
I know. Not that. It's... I have nothing worth showing. Aside from one or two moments, it's all the same thing. So nothing comes to mind.
[ Narrative-side, there's also the fun paradox even in human minds where the longer one lives, the less relevant any one moment seems to be, until it just reaches a blur of Existing. Alternatively, there's probably a joke here about outdated technology taking ages to find anything with the search function. Pick your flavor of metaphorical misery. ]
[ hand-holding already happened, and it may happen again. he better be prepared. she tilts her head at him when he pulls away, withdrawing her arms at his reaction ]
[ maybe it's a more sensitive topic than she thought before. maybe it'd be better to leave it alone...? ]
[ also the jellyfish is tired of will's shit. relatable. ]
There's gotta be more than one or two.....
[ like, he's gotta have multiple lion memories, at the very least. also: cat death. that's definitely worth showing!! ok no. ]
.... But, um, whatever you want to show me is fine.
[ so like, none is okay too. she's giving him an out. ]
[ (of course, that means he doesn't get any more of hers either. fair is fair! ) ]
[ "Maya, I'm a retired mass murderer" but the sarcastic response gets killed before happening. She said whatever. That means for once in your life try not to beat yourself up over not having a huge box of happy memories to throw in people's faces to pretend you're functional. Whatever is fine. ]
...I suppose s'as good a time as any. Our Contract has gone on long enough. ...There are two people you should be aware of.
[ She doesn't get hit with the worst one first. Well, kind of. The initial glimpse of the jellyfish flickers between scenes in some vain attempt to try and find a scene that isn't terrible. The first is a small child in a coat like his, lavender hair done up in princess curls, standing over an old man in handcuffs. It's immediately erased. The second is the same girl sitting next to him, sobbing into a teacup. That one's erased even faster.
The third one works. There's that strange violet haze of Not Right over everything, even worse than last time, like it's trying to rewrite some other scene into a way that translates to something Maya can see. It means things like the background has only vague details, quickly-sketched illusions to cover up holes. Generally, the memory is of an office. There is definitely the Will she recognizes there, but it's not the one she knows. The coat is the same, the hairstyle is different, but the expression is entirely heartless in a way that looks like someone else. Some faceless thing nearby continues to add more piles to the desk. The monster is minding its own business, accomplishing a neverending task, when the door gets thrown open with no remorse.
The girl's face is actually visible this time. It's the same lifeless gold eyes Maya's seen countless times. Her face is the apathy of a doll's, with the same quiet scraping of porcelain clanking together that would come with a doll's movements. In the background over the girl's shoulder, Maya can make out the face of a handful of others who look Scared Shitless. Everyone immediately goes back to their work, in the fashion of those trying really hard not to get murdered.
"Willard. You did not answer my LETTER."
There's something wrong about her speech. The voice is quiet and innocent, but the last word goes to a pure robotic monotone. A computer skipping in place. The intern tries to shoo her out, but she effectively ignores him and walks straight up to the desk. She barely reaches the top.
"Did you not receive IT? If so, I will repeat the MESSAGE."
The intern attempts to make her leave. She does not move. Will does not answer. Two robots and an accountant in a single room.
"... Gertrude said one day could be PERMITTED. Please come to my office for CHRISTMAS."
He doesn't look up, but not out of rudeness. There is only the autopilot of a machine working. The girl sighs, expression turning slightly more apathetic before one arm raises and slams down in a loose fist.
There is no longer a desk, only two large scraps of wood cleaved down the center and papers tossed to the air, slowly falling down like confetti. The faceless intern hisses in aghast horror and bolts from the room before death takes him. The Absolute Monster in her friend's face has gone from no expression to the type of shocked offense your average scolded cat has. How dare??? The Doll responds with the cat expression of 'yeah i just knocked over ur fuckin coffee waNNA GO??'
"...Good afternoon, Knox."
"I want a day OFF. You are coming and that is FINAL."
"Fine."
"Very GOOD. For your information, it is the twenty-fourth of DECEMBER."
"...Coming."
It's a generally disarming scene. The girl continues to chirp about cases she's had, how she hates doing paperwork, transfer more high-profile cases to her division so she can actually fight someone, she wants his opinions on a new method of interrogation and see if it works as well in practice, you know. Basic coworker things. The actual Will gives a vague gesture at this small child. ]
This is Head Inquisitor of the Seventh District, Dlanor A. Knox. Should you ever see her, she is one of the few trustworthy people from my reality.
[ it's a good thing will showed restraint, or he would have gotten sassed into next week. she knows he has good memories and neutral ones, not just murder and getting murdered! ]
[ maya's eyes flick in between all the scenes shown, just watching quietly as he finally settles on one to show her. his environment is so weird, it's so far from what she would have guessed angels would be like. apparently, they're just office workers. ]
[ heartless will sends a little chill down her spine, but she's quickly distracted by the girl. ]
She's so cute!
[ of course that would be her first reaction. robotic monotone nonwithstanding. ]
[ it's especially cute the way she bullies will. maya approves. even heartless will is no match for her. ]
And tough, too! I like her. I bet she keeps you on your toes.
[ and she feels a very strong pride that he has a friend. he can feel how proud of him she is. this is dumb. ]
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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. ]
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[ The second question gets a vague affirmative noise. Not all the way correct, but good enough to work with. ] Imagine if you had control of this memory, like it's a video game. You wouldn't consider the things on screen 'alive', right?
[ What's after is just a long blanket of silence. How to even answer that question. They were always people. He realized it one day, but trying to explain it to others hit a snag in the form of reputation. Too much time was spent as a monster, so being anything else is written off as senility. It shines even in the memory - it's always 'Wright'. Sometimes it's paired with Head Inquisitor, sometimes with Wizard-hunter, but it's always Wright. He is never once called by anything other than a title. Even by Lion.
Even now. Lucretia was just like Bernkastel. She didn't call for him. She called for Wright.
The jellyfish gets lightly shaken to erase the memory. The smug grin on the girl's face when it fades will haunt nightmares. ] ...Not quite. You can guess what my job was like. People become predictable. Certain lives lead to certain results. Nothin' but bad ends and sob stories because good people don't exist. If they did, I'd be out of a job. Yet there stood Lion. Here stands you. Both given the worst lives, yet somehow remain... good. You're both good. Lion became something more, but you are both equally special to me.
[ Somewhere in the past, Lion has probably ranted about how they cannot fathom how someone so short-sighted and blunt and stupid could also be so genuine and it's annoying!!! Maya has no also witnessed it and yeah. It's annoying. ]
Either way. Your turn. Show me this other Wright of yours.
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.... I think I understand. I can't imagine how it must be for you, having lived so long and seen so many people, the absolute worst of people.... it's kind of really amazing that you're still as hopeful as you are. And even though you have every reason to be totally jaded, you still help people out as much as you can, and you still have the strength to have faith. You're the one that's really good, not me.
[ gosh will she's just a normal person stop embarassing her like this. her cheeks are red, even. ]
.... And you're wrong about my life being the worst, 'cause actually? I'm really lucky to have you.
[ he's also lucky to have an emotional connection to her, because actually vocalizing that someone is special to her as directly as he did can be really hard, but he can feel the 'you're really special to me too' accompanying that last sentence from her side of the connection. she may tease it off later, but there's no denying the feeling. it's a lot of warmth. ]
[ more importantly, will has now seen maya's more genuine and realest smile. congratulations. it's just as soft and warm as how she's feeling right now. ]
Okay... I, um, I don't have a very good handle on this jellyfish stuff, but I'll do my best.
[ now it's time for her to put her hand on it and concentrate on a wright that's even more of a dork than he is ]
no subject
Or. Not quite. There's a hesitation. Maya has dealt with him having to pull memories out from storage. It's akin to hearing a dying fax machine get stuck on a connection loop. Meanwhile anything in the past week, or things important enough to be a permanent post-it note in someone's mind, simply appear without any hassle or stress and tend to feedback over the Contract with clarity. She also knows 90% of said important things are related to Lion, because he's a predictable sap. There's no printer sound, but the voice is unmistakably hers.
I'm happy you're both alive, you know. I hope one day you two can come to feel the same way. ]
...Still don't see it. [ And she gets a half-second to squawk indignantly over his apathy-scented negativity, but it gets cut off when the arm she's not holding moves to rest a hand on top of hers in reassurance. He can't make a smile to match hers - it's some halfway broken thing, trying to be genuine and realest but only landing at 'genuine'. ] But I'm trying. Just gotta' believe you in the meantime. Glad I helped you out somehow.
[ Look, now she doesn't have to tease him if he threatens to expose her kokoros: mutual blackmail attained. With a side note here that in the faintest corner of the Contract, she can feel her own face get archived somewhere Vital. If only everyone in the world could smile like that. Maybe there'd be fewer assholes. Use it for motivation.
There's still the visceral need to punch someone in exchange for the moment of weakness, but she's not an angel and those cultural norms are kind of dumb in retrospect. Her hand is removed and placed next to the other one on the memoryfish. Treat it like training subordinates' reconstruction of game boards. The voice Maya gets is Sure in ways that don't make sense. ]
Close your eyes. Relax. Don't think too hard. Tell me about how you met. What day was it? What was the weather like? Were there any scents - coffee, flowers, cleaning supplies? How does his voice sound? Find a detail and focus on it.
[ All little details that have no purpose, but together help paint a whole picture. ]
no subject
[ rather than squawk indignantly, her voice softens. ]
Don't worry..... I'll believe in you ten times as hard, until you can see it. Until you can be happy, too.
[ because she'll never change her mind on that. something else might be changing, though. buried very deep down, deeper than even will can reach, deeper than even maya can reach, sometimes, there's been a steady fear and sense of hopelessness steadily growing with every mission, every death and every horrible thing that happens. right now, though, it's not there in any capacity. for the first time, looking at will's more genuine attempt at a smile, sitting underwater with the jellyfish like this with their hands intertwined, maya actually feels like things might be okay. in this one moment, no part of her is scared. ]
[ and that means more to her than she'll ever be able to express, even after it's over. ]
How we met...?
[ oh boy. she wanted to give him a happier memory to look at, but..... maybe this will help him understand what's so special about nick. ]
[ she takes a deep breath, and follows his advice. but, uh, a dark office is coming into focus --- with mia's corpse's laid out under the window, and maya sobbing over it, just seconds too late to stop it. ]
[ "Sis....." she sobs, just as a mysterious, unknown man enters the room and gasps. the maya in the jellyfish can't make out what he's saying, but overcome by terror that he might be the killer or something else -- she straight up faints. ]
[ that's a good first impression. ]
It's... not all doom and gloom, I promise.
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Until both of us can. You deserve it too.
[ And it sounds stupid and impossible, heaven knows he's been thinking it since Ever, but on one hand - maya you asshole you are not dragging him through positivity and then not suffering the same hell yourself. On the other, she actually does cave too easily about things. Probably only visible mark the world has left on her. Feels too much like a burden when she really shouldn't. So? Two way street. Maybe someday she'll believe the same thing she's preaching. And if not, he can shout about it until it sinks in or his vocal chords snap. Whichever happens first. Hopefully the former.
Normally around here is when the recoil of Time To Pretend Feelings Didn't Happen would occur, but it doesn't. It's just the comfortable silence of someone watching a replay of one of the most traumatizing momements of your life. ...Maybe slightly uncomfortable. On the positive side, there's no shock or misplaced empathy at this display of a girl mourning her sister. It's not even bemusement or non-surprise that filters through. Only the casual observation of 'yeah, this seems legit, must've been a friday, messed-up missions always came in on fridays to con people into working weekends'.
This is immediately followed with the realization that that's a bad thing.
Oops. ]
...Hell of a first impression, huh. Guessin' you were the main suspect?
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[ she is happy to be alive, she always has been, but she's never quite been able to feel like she particularly deserves it. instead, she's focused on "earning" her life by helping out and being "useful" at every given opportunity. and never focusing on her feelings. it's fine. ]
[ it's hard for her to feel like she truly deserves to be alive. it still is. but this.... will.... thanks to him, it's a tiny, tiny modicum easier. he'll have to yell a lot to get it to progress more than that, though. ]
[ yeah, that is a bad thing, thanks, will, but she's relieved he isn't reacting worse. neither of them grasp just how weird it is for him to react that way, in this one instance ]
... Yeah, pretty much.
[ it goes by quicker: phoenix, introducing himself to a traumatized maya (once she's conscious) who doesn't want to talk to him, trying to soothe her by assuring her he works there, which gets her to introduce herself to him. then, he ill-advisedly shows her a receipt with the word 'maya' written in blood, which, obviously, upsets her. ]
[ detective gumshoe sweeps in, finds out that her name is maya, and arrests her for murder on the spot. she's carted away instantly. ]
[ (will was absolutely right, to no one's surprise) ]
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Also if neither of them grasp how weird something is, that means it's not weird. #logic.
Though he almost wishes it was weird. This short play isn't even shocking. It's just another day on assignment, feeling like home in all the worst ways. The current head investigator on duty getting a confirmation of something Damning - whether by accident or on purpose - then the nearest assistant goes WHOO PROOF OF MURDER and drags them off to be tortured. There's an expression here of 'moments like this, I understand why humans take up alcoholism' but without enough disgust to actually start up the bad habit.
Sigh. ]
Not to be rude? He's not getting high marks.
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... He takes a bit to warm up. Give him a chance.
[ the scene is now maya in jail. phoenix is her only visitors, and though he offers to defend her, she refuses him. her sister told her that he's a rookie and that he still needs time, and part of maya thinks that he thinks she did it. "Even you, you looked at me like I had done it!" ]
[ everyone else does, that's for sure. she instead gives him the contact info of a famous lawyer who mia had told her to call if she was ever in trouble. phoenix disappears. ]
[ when he reappears, he's clearly lying to her about the guy because he doesn't want to say what really happened. "What really happened?" memory maya asks, and phoenix just gulps because he doesn't want to say it, "You don't mean.... he refused to help?" ]
[ the expression on phoenix's face is enough for maya to tell she's right. ]
[ "I see. So I've been abandoned, then. " ]
[ her expression is crushed, broken, but somehow, not surprise. phoenix stays: he asks her about herself. she tells him that e.s.p runs in her blood, and the women of the fey family have been mediums for generations. she tells him that mia was all she had in the world, that her father died when she was very young and her mother has been missing from around the same time. she knows of a man, called 'White', who ruined her mother -- he found out about a case where they used a spirit medium to try to solve an unsolvable case, but something went wrong. the man her mother had helped implicate was innocent, and details of the investigation were leaked to this man..... who made her a laughingstock. since then, she fled the village and hasn't been seen since. how mia left several years after that, and maya has been living by herself since. the implications here are pretty yikes. ]
[ she tells all this to phoenix, as her time to find a defender is almost up. then, he makes a decision. ]
[ "I've made up my mind. I'm going to defend you whether you want me to or not!" ]
[ maya clearly has no idea what to do with this. she stares at him, uncomprehendingly. "Why?" ]
[ "I won't abandon you, Maya. You can count on me. " ]
[ maya in the memory sniffles, moved by his kindness, and then smiles. actual maya nudges will and points at the jellyfish like he's not already watching it. ]
[ "One last question," says phoenix, "You are innocent, aren't you?" ]
[ "Yes!" responds memory maya, finally showing her usual exuberance, "And I trust you! So you trust me too, okay?" ]
See?
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It also means she doesn't get the thoughts behind it. Both from the short glimpse of a memory from before with that woman scolding her, and the memory's testimony now, there is no question on where she picked up her fear of abandonment. Her blinding need to be useful - because doing so is proof that she has value, and thus less likely to be abandoned. There's a lot of Yikes here. Especially the glimpses of how she's been raised. Extremely yikes.
Yet, here stands this moron with stupid hair, who she shoved away once and who came back anyway. With none of the pity that would come with hearing a sob story. It references against how Similar it is to home. No one would have taken her side. Sure, she's obviously innocent, there's no motive to Maya killing her own sister, but no one cares about the heart anymore. To take her case is suicide. To believe her case is sheer ignorance. Yet, all he needed to hear was her say she was innocent. And he went for it. Following the usual narrative tropes that come from this situation, and the fact Maya constantly sings his praises and, he most likely proved her innocent.
Normally, the verdict would be kept internal to gather dust in the archives for eternity. But this is a Bonding Moment, and this entire mission has just been metaphorically pushing an envelope further and further, seeing how far it gets before the memories of fear become actual fear. This kind of admittance doesn't even rate. ]
What a well-meaning idiot. Everyone thinks he's a rookie, so he picks up an impossible case? Because it's right? I'd kill for a successor like him.
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[ the memory fades out, and maya's left with a ridiculously fond look on her face. don't tell nick if he ever does show, will, she'd never live it down. ]
Told ya.
[ the memories of phoenix are bittersweet because she really, really, misses him, so it's just so nice to hear his voice and see his face -- even if it is a memory being displayed through a jellyfish. ]
He's always like that. Our cases are always impossible, we have to fight through loads of lying witnesses and evidence and jerk prosecutors... He always looks like he doesn't know what he's doing, he does some really dumb, crazy things...... he gets desperate, we're always flying by the seat of our pants, but.... he always comes through. That's why he's my partner.... he saved me, and sis asked me to take care of him, so..... I help him.
[ because she wants to save people, too. she loves working with him, being able to prove innocents innocent. ]
He is an idiot, but he can be pretty smart, too. .... But don't tell him I said that, 'cause it would go straight to his head.
[ she misses him so much. ]
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[ The more she talks about him, the more it sounds like this idiot with the terrible hair and ridiculous parrot-questioning antics sounds more worthy of his Title than anyone else he's ever known. It's a last name, not a Title, so it's really just rolling with Maya's jokes than anything else, but it's a shame. At least he has Lion. Even i
f it's becLet's not think about that.
The worst part is the little things. From her words to her expression to even little things (and here he thought the phoenix's name was a bad pun), it must be killing her. With each month that goes by with more people turning up and getting their friends from home, Maya received her sister but not her Sun. And then you have certain idiots running around saying that their worlds aren't coming back. Yeah, it's fine to be skeptical, but to say it aloud is like saying to give up hope. Even now, he can hear some galaxy brain asshole going on about present versus past tense. Blah. ]
He seems like a wonderful partner.
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[ but yeah. it aches every day maya is without him, both because she misses him and because every day she's without him is another one where she has to tell herself to be hopeful that he's not really dead, that she didn't trade one dead family member for two. ]
... He is. I'm lucky to have him, too.
[ this is gonna be hilarious later when will sees him being a dick. but for now, she nudges him gently. ]
Your turn.
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At the nudging there's still that moment of 'god what do i even show it's all terrible' quickly sliding off into finding excuses to run away from the whole thing. That is totally okay to do. Except it's not and he's being a coward. Hhhhhh- ]
Yeah yeah. Keep making demands. Nothing will play otherwise.
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I have all the evidence I could ever need! [ so don't mess with her, will. she looks at him expectantly, nudging him once more. ]
[ she knows what he's thinking, and what he's worried about ]
Come on, you don't have to hesitate. I can handle it, remember?
[ don't make her hold your hand again, will ]
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But she deserves it explained otherwise she'll take it as him not having faith in her. The jellyfish is stared at like it holds the answer to speaking about your shortcomings like a normal being-holding-a-high-functioning-consciousness. The jellyfish floats listlessly back, as if saying 'no way dude i'm not getting involved in that shit'.
Yeah, thanks bud. ]
I know. Not that. It's... I have nothing worth showing. Aside from one or two moments, it's all the same thing. So nothing comes to mind.
[ Narrative-side, there's also the fun paradox even in human minds where the longer one lives, the less relevant any one moment seems to be, until it just reaches a blur of Existing. Alternatively, there's probably a joke here about outdated technology taking ages to find anything with the search function. Pick your flavor of metaphorical misery. ]
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[ maybe it's a more sensitive topic than she thought before. maybe it'd be better to leave it alone...? ]
[ also the jellyfish is tired of will's shit. relatable. ]
There's gotta be more than one or two.....
[ like, he's gotta have multiple lion memories, at the very least. also: cat death. that's definitely worth showing!! ok no. ]
.... But, um, whatever you want to show me is fine.
[ so like, none is okay too. she's giving him an out. ]
[ (of course, that means he doesn't get any more of hers either. fair is fair! ) ]
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...I suppose s'as good a time as any. Our Contract has gone on long enough. ...There are two people you should be aware of.
[ She doesn't get hit with the worst one first. Well, kind of. The initial glimpse of the jellyfish flickers between scenes in some vain attempt to try and find a scene that isn't terrible. The first is a small child in a coat like his, lavender hair done up in princess curls, standing over an old man in handcuffs. It's immediately erased. The second is the same girl sitting next to him, sobbing into a teacup. That one's erased even faster.
The third one works. There's that strange violet haze of Not Right over everything, even worse than last time, like it's trying to rewrite some other scene into a way that translates to something Maya can see. It means things like the background has only vague details, quickly-sketched illusions to cover up holes. Generally, the memory is of an office. There is definitely the Will she recognizes there, but it's not the one she knows. The coat is the same, the hairstyle is different, but the expression is entirely heartless in a way that looks like someone else. Some faceless thing nearby continues to add more piles to the desk. The monster is minding its own business, accomplishing a neverending task, when the door gets thrown open with no remorse.
The girl's face is actually visible this time. It's the same lifeless gold eyes Maya's seen countless times. Her face is the apathy of a doll's, with the same quiet scraping of porcelain clanking together that would come with a doll's movements. In the background over the girl's shoulder, Maya can make out the face of a handful of others who look Scared Shitless. Everyone immediately goes back to their work, in the fashion of those trying really hard not to get murdered.
"Willard. You did not answer my LETTER."
There's something wrong about her speech. The voice is quiet and innocent, but the last word goes to a pure robotic monotone. A computer skipping in place. The intern tries to shoo her out, but she effectively ignores him and walks straight up to the desk. She barely reaches the top.
"Did you not receive IT? If so, I will repeat the MESSAGE."
The intern attempts to make her leave. She does not move. Will does not answer. Two robots and an accountant in a single room.
"... Gertrude said one day could be PERMITTED. Please come to my office for CHRISTMAS."
He doesn't look up, but not out of rudeness. There is only the autopilot of a machine working. The girl sighs, expression turning slightly more apathetic before one arm raises and slams down in a loose fist.
There is no longer a desk, only two large scraps of wood cleaved down the center and papers tossed to the air, slowly falling down like confetti. The faceless intern hisses in aghast horror and bolts from the room before death takes him. The Absolute Monster in her friend's face has gone from no expression to the type of shocked offense your average scolded cat has. How dare??? The Doll responds with the cat expression of 'yeah i just knocked over ur fuckin coffee waNNA GO??'
"...Good afternoon, Knox."
"I want a day OFF. You are coming and that is FINAL."
"Fine."
"Very GOOD. For your information, it is the twenty-fourth of DECEMBER."
"...Coming."
It's a generally disarming scene. The girl continues to chirp about cases she's had, how she hates doing paperwork, transfer more high-profile cases to her division so she can actually fight someone, she wants his opinions on a new method of interrogation and see if it works as well in practice, you know. Basic coworker things. The actual Will gives a vague gesture at this small child. ]
This is Head Inquisitor of the Seventh District, Dlanor A. Knox. Should you ever see her, she is one of the few trustworthy people from my reality.
[ Read: awwwww he had a friend ]
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[ maya's eyes flick in between all the scenes shown, just watching quietly as he finally settles on one to show her. his environment is so weird, it's so far from what she would have guessed angels would be like. apparently, they're just office workers. ]
[ heartless will sends a little chill down her spine, but she's quickly distracted by the girl. ]
She's so cute!
[ of course that would be her first reaction. robotic monotone nonwithstanding. ]
[ it's especially cute the way she bullies will. maya approves. even heartless will is no match for her. ]
And tough, too! I like her. I bet she keeps you on your toes.
[ and she feels a very strong pride that he has a friend. he can feel how proud of him she is. this is dumb. ]