maskormenacelogs | AGE PLOT SHENANIGANS

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AGE PLOT SHENANIGANS

WHO: Everyone and anyone!
WHERE: De Chima, various
WHEN: Around 6 PM EST, March 25th
WHAT: Age plot kickoff!
WARNINGS: Cuteness.

[ LET'S GET THIS PARTY OFFICIALLY STARTED! Opening events so we don't do too much comm flooding (although people are welcome to make their own posts for the event). You're welcome to toplevel with your character if you'd like to have them show up somewhere else for this plot.

Current toplevels:
Spring Festival in a De Chima city park
De Chima #1
De Chima #1, later (Minato)

The age plot will run from March 25th through Sunday, March 29th. More deets available at the plotting post. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He's a lawyer.

[Puffing himself up, his voice practically oozing with pride. There's a slight pause, though, when he realizes that's not enough, and elaborates]

A defense attorney, actually. He defends people in court, when there's no one else to defend them.

[ He looks so proud, and so happy. Kitty hesitates - and then, for the first time, an actual smile comes over her glum face. ]

Yeah?

[ Her voice, too, is decidedly warmer. ]

And he's honest, is he?

[Nods vigorously]

He has to be. If he lies in court, and someone catches him, then his client just looks guilty. But a good attorney shouldn't have to lie to win, anyway. The facts and evidence should be enough - you just have to figure out what's right and what's wrong.

[ Honestly, how sweet. Kitty's smile is tempered with a little bit of melancholy as she corrects: ]

In a good system, the facts and evidence are enough. There are places where that's not true.

[ Places where you'll see your friend mutilated in a vicious attack, where you'll feel the pain of that attack yourself, and you'll go and search for justice and meet with nothing except for ridicule and hatred, where you'll be called a thug and a villain and end up saddled with an unpayable financial burden. Anger kicks up in Kitty again - But she chokes it down. Instead: ]

But good for him. That's a really noble job.

[His smiles vanishes in an instant, and he looks down, with an expression that can only be described as "glum". While the compliment alleviates some of the gloom, his face his still serious and sober, lacking the joyous pride he felt a moment ago]

It is. [Speaking quietly, free of enthusiasm] But it's not always easy for him.

[He shoves his thoughts aside, though, and straightens up, holding his head high, and speaks more confidently (but still as seriously as ever)]

That's why it's so important, though. We need people who can fight for others, no matter how hard it is.

[ She glances over at him. And, because miserable or not, this is still Kitty, and she's still curious as her namesake animal: ]

How has it been hard for him?

Well...

[He looks down again, struggling with his words]

The system, it's not always fair. Even if you've got all the facts, sometimes people twist them around, or ignore them. Or you can't get all the facts, because someone else covered them up.

[Oh, how ironic it is, for Miles "Ethics Are More of a Suggestion Than a Rule" Edgeworth to say something like this. Thankfully, there's nobody in Heropa who knows the seedier parts of his past]

[ Too true. Apparently, this kid isn't quite as sweet and wide-eyed innocent as he looks - he's a little savvier. And so, out of respect for that, he gets a bit of forthrightness. She's quiet a moment, then says: ]

No. It's not. Fair, I mean. [ A little pause. ] I could have used someone like your dad once.

[Miles blinks, surprised. Did she get in trouble? He stares at her, his expression more concerned than curious]

What happened?

[ A slight hesitation. But he deserves it. And she likes this kid, really a lot. He's smart, and level-headed. So: ]

My world's run by magicians. A friend of mine and I - we made a magician wreck his car by accident. So he hurt us. Jakob - my friend - got hurt really badly. And so I tried to sue the man who did it.

[ She can't even summon up a grim smile. ]

It didn't go well. People like me don't get a voice where I'm from.

[He furrows his brow at the mention of magicians. What, like the guys who pull rabbits out of their hats? No, no, that can't be right...

That train of thought doesn't last long, though. As Kitty continues her story, Miles' eyes widen, his jaw practically dropping]

And he got away with it?!

[Oh wow that is an awfully loud voice for such a small child. Volume has never been a problem for him when justice was on the line, though]

[ Oh - that is...some voice. She's startled, and blinks at him, her misery rather interrupted by his fierce little temper. But that doesn't last too terribly long; after all, she doesn't think his anger is disproportionate. She's just not used to people being as outraged as she is. ]

He more than got away with it. I had to pay him a hundred pounds in apology, and cover all his legal fees. More than I could pay. If I hadn't had help, I'd have gone to debtors' prison. And if I'd been older, I'd have gone to prison for wrecking his car, too.

[ ...She manages to work herself up to a good amount of anger, too. Before the end of it. ]

That's... that's not fair!

[What he just said is immature, and Miles knows it. He harrumphs to himself and crosses his arms, closing his eyes as he tilts his chin up]

And what kind of stupid place still has debtors' prison, anyway? That's illegal here. It's unconstitutional.

[You can't sound immature when you're using legal terminology. This is objective fact]

I know.

[ Her lips tighten. Though...she doesn't know about that unconstitutional part - but hey, his outrage fuels hers, she's not about to slow him down. ]

It's not in my world, though. In my world, it's just part of the machine that goes to feed the system. The desperately poor get swept up off the streets and recycled into the most menial labor. They do the most horrid and dangerous jobs to work off their debt. And they never have a chance to speak for themselves. And no one speaks for them. We haven't got anyone to protect us.

[ She lifts her chin, her posture mimicking the boy's. Stubbornly, fiercely, she says: ]

But I'm going to protect them. I'm going to defend my people, like no one has ever done. I'm going to crush all the injustice, all the evil of that system, and remake it into something kinder.

[He's looking at her, listening to her, hanging onto every word. And then, a question]

How are you going to do it?

[He does not ask her to mock her, or to shove his doubts in her face. The idea that she could fail hasn't occurred to him yet. His curiosity is completely genuine]

[ This boy is the first person she's told the truth to. Everyone else has gotten half-truths; she's always stuck to her story of recruiting heroes, because that's something that any new magicians coming to her world wouldn't be able to stop - that's something Mandrake wouldn't be able to stop, either, though she's gotten less worried about him. This kid has been honest, though, and he's so sweet and so genuine and so idealistic: for the first time, she confides in someone her more delicate plan, the one that could more easily be crushed and defeated. ]

I'm going to cut off the magicians' access to the Other Place. The world of spirits.

[ She takes a breath. ]

It'll stop their magic and rob them of their ability to hurt us, and once they're not strong we can topple them. And it'll save the spirits from being abused by them, too. They're so awful to the spirits, which are such...strange and proud creatures - I'm going to stop them doing that any longer.

[Aaaand he's lost now. Miles furrows his brow, trying to follow Kitty's plan, but there's just too much he doesn't know. Oh, he gets the gist, he thinks, but he's missing too much context. She might as well be saying that she'll block the hurgen from the blurgen so she can flormpenschtap, for all that he knows about magic]

And how does that work? The... the spirit thing, I mean.

Edited 2015-04-14 22:07 (UTC)

[ She glances at the kid - and he looks confused. Which is sort of disappointing. This was supposed to be a really cool, dramatic declaration, and he was supposed to look impressed...Ugh.

Well... ]

The magicians that rule my world - they got to ruling it by calling over spirits, creatures of magic who can cast spells, and enslaving them. And I don't mean that dramatically, either - they're really slaves. Magicians can inflict pain on them from hundreds of miles away if they don't obey, or even tear them in two and kill them. It's horrid. Spirits alone can do magic; magicians can't. And so they torture the spirits until those spirits use magic on us, the commoners, and keep us afraid. They use the spirits to kill us, too, if we try to rise up against them.

But they only get access to spirits by reaching into the Other Place. If I can cut off the Other Place, then I can cut off their ability to bring the spirits into our world. And if they haven't got that, then they haven't got any access to magic at all. And we can fight them. And the spirits will have peace.

And the secret to severing our connection to the Other Place is here, in this world. People who used to be able to travel through dimensions can't any longer once they're Ported in. So I've just got to get access to the Porter and figure out how it seals off interdimensional travel.

[ She hopes that sounds...clearer. She's afraid it doesn't, and so she bites her lip self-consciously. ]

[He flinches when Kitty describes the spirits' plight, his face twisted by squeamishness and nerves. Miles doesn't let himself become paralyzed by horror, though, and he nods solemnly, trying his best to look both serious and brave. There's only one thing he doesn't understand now]

That could work... but why don't you just get the spirits to fight back? I mean, they're the ones with the real power, right?

[ A very good question, young man. An Kitty's face twists with frustration due to the answer to that: ]

I tried.

[ A short, unhappy shrug. ]

They don't trust any human at all. Even a commoner like me. They assume that we'll just use them like other humans have. It's frustrating that they think that, but...not surprising, I guess.

[ And then a sigh. ]

Which is why I wish that we had better people. People who'd do things the right way, to show the spirits that we won't hurt them.

Well...

[He hesitates, biting his lip. This sounds like a stupid question. It may very well be a stupid question. But it's one that needs to be asked]

What about a magician? Are they all bad?

[ Kitty hesitates. First, the answer she feels: ]

They're all wicked.

[ And then the one she knows logically. The one that her experiences have shown her. ]

Maybe. I always thought. But there might be one who might be willing to help.

[The hope that there's one decent magician, however faint it may be, perks Miles up]

That's a start. You just have to win him over.

Yeah.

[ She felt like she was maybe getting somewhere. Before. Back before they all lost their memories...But who knows now? Who knows how far they've been set back? Or even if all of that was real -

She struggles against the choking weight of despair. The kid doesn't deserve to have to deal with her existential crisis. And they're getting close to her cafe anyway; she points it out - ]

That's where we're going.

[ And then a huffed breath. ]

Anyway, I told you all that and I don't even know your name.

Oh!

[How rude! Miles' cheeks turn pink, but he clears his throat, puffing himself up as if he's never even heard the word embarrassment before]

Miles Edgeworth.

[Fancy name for a fancy kid. He sounds pretty proud of it, too.]

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[muffled alanis morisette playing in the distance]

ALANIS DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IRONY IS

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