September Catch-All

[extengineer]

🧙 WHO: Mary and various
⚔️️ WHAT: Hot Knights, Fizzy Drinks, and A Very Heavy Conversation
🕒 WHEN: September
🗺️ WHERE: Various
⚠️ WARNINGS: Hot Knights is likely to have some nsfw conversation/atmosphere going on; closed thread with Juzo is going to have massive spoilers for the No Guns Life manga as well as discussions of death, body horror, prison, war, and all that happy sort of stuff



I. Hot Knights

[While Mary's not unfamiliar with the concept of a strip club--she grew up in the slums, after all--she has no idea what to expect inside of one. She's never had much inclination to check them out, busy with her work and the absolute insanity of her life recently. And also just not really wanting to go. If other people are into it that's their business, but it's not really her thing.

However, there's a rescue to be performed, so here Mary is dressed in a black minidress with a jacket covering her shoulders. She even bothered to put on some lipgloss. (She was also going to wear mascara, but she poked herself in the eye with the wand and decided fuck that.) In the name of not breaking her ankles by wearing heels, she's in the same boots as always.

Those who know her will notice that she's also seemingly more... erm, blessed in the chest area than usual.

Right now, she's sitting near the bar stirring some blend of liquor and juice. She turns to whoever is closest by.]

So I hear they just got a whole bunch of new people. Used to be knights, apparently.

[No one ever said she was subtle or good at this undercover thing.]


II. Fizzy Drinks

[In the name of SCIENCE, Mary has decided to check out this bubble bar thing. There's certainly no shortage of options for flavors (scents? she's breathing it in, not drinking it...), and she finds herself almost immediately taken by decision paralysis. Several of them sound good, and having to pick just one feels a bit impossible.]

Hey, which of these would you recommend?

[When in doubt, get opinions from other people!]


III. A Very Heavy Conversation (closed to Juzo)

[Now that Mary's settled into life in Avalon and has been able to get at least a rudimentary setup in the corner of Juzo's office, it's past time for her to get a good look at him. Mostly, she's curious (and concerned) about other changes to his physiology brought about by his arrival here. As hilarious as the confetti cannon in his head is, if they had discovered it while in peril it could have had disastrous results for him. That's not acceptable.

She's already declared her intentions to Juzo before getting everything together, putting on a smock and gathering tools. There's a lot that she's lacking, but she has enough to make due. It's not like she's not used to shortages and having to piece things together on a shoestring.

Once ready, she puts on a pair of gloves with a snap that is probably much more ominous to Juzo than she realizes.]

Ready for ya.


IV. Wildcard!

If you want to do something with Mary, feel free to write your own starter or hit me up at asondeiru or asondeiru #9009 to plot! ♥

Comments

sure did have to make a new icon because I didn't have one sad enough :(

[extengineer]

[It's clear that everything went top absolute shit while Juzo was unconscious. And Mary knew this story was building to some bad news, just from how Juzo's gone about it. She's been bracing herself for it, whatever it is, this entire time that he's been talking.

Nothing could have prepared her for the reality of hearing that Victor's dead. Not just dead--killed in cold blood and robbed of the very sub-brain he had wanted destroyed. The knowledge sits like an icy dagger in her heart, and it feels like the world is ending. The only sensations she's aware of for several moments are the pounding of her heart in her ears and the walls closing in.

As Juzo expected, she starts to cry. But at least there's no keening wail to go with it. (Not yet.)]

I-

[The thought evaporates before it's even fully formed. What is there even to say? A large part of her wants desperately to deny it, to pretend it isn't real, but that's not fair to Juzo and what he's putting himself through to be honest with her. She briefly considers if she can use the information to her advantage, to take advantage of this gift of foresight he's given her to find a way to stop it from happening at all. But that would require an understanding of how timelines works that she doesn't have, and the details he's provided are so few and scattered that it's unlikely she'd be able to do anything. Or maybe she'd simply make things worse. Juzo was critically injured in Wunder Bender, and messing with things risks losing him, too.

There's no escaping the reality of her future and Juzo's past. Despite their best efforts, Victor is going to die. That's all there is to it.

So she buries her head in her hands, cries harder, and says nothing.]

[gunmettle]

[ Of course he remembers the moment they found Victor, sprawled out and cooling in a pool of blood in the middle of the ruins of Violet’s precious collection. That image, and the moment that followed where Mary broke down and absolutely refused to leave her brother’s side, will be burned into his memory for the rest of his life. Right alongside the image of his brothers, barrels turned toward him, stunned and betrayed as he gunned them down from the top of the clock tower.

Anger flares up first, the sharp desire for revenge clawing at his breastbone, but Violet isn’t here. He can’t make her pay for what she did now any more than he could in the moment. Wherever she is, she’s Olivia’s bargaining chip now.

But the more Mary cries, the louder her sobs become, he realizes that he can’t just sit here. He’d tried so hard to talk to her about it back home, but she put on a brave face and acted like nothing was wrong until she could break down on her own. Now, however, he’s right here, and he doesn’t want her to have to deal with this by herself, not again. He couldn’t save Victor, couldn’t even avenge him, but this? This he can do.

He gets up from his seat and moves over to where Mary sits curled over, her small body shaking with the force of her grief, and for a second, now that he’s here, he’s not quite sure what to do. He’s never been good at this. Another sob wracks her and he thinks suddenly, fuck it, and drops to one knee to curl his arms around her. He doesn’t say anything – what could he even say right now? Nothing that would help, certainly – and instead simply holds her. ]

[extengineer]

[Juzo's embrace doesn't lessen the grief she feels. There's nothing that could. But it does provide comfort all the same, helping to ground her and serve as a reminder that she's not alone in this. She hasn't been alone for quite some time now--despite both of their best efforts, they've formed something of a family of their own. To think that it all started with Victor hiring Juzo to keep an eye on her. A job.

But then again, that's how a lot of things start with Juzo. Look at how close he and the kid have gotten. He has too much heart not to get invovled in the people near him, even if he insists otherwise.

In some kind of sick, poetic way, their relationship is Victor's final gift to her, more profound than anyone could have imagined it being. As much as she desperately wishes it doesn't have to end this way, at least she has that much. She'll cherish it.

She cries it out a bit longer, sobs eventually subsiding to sniffles before quieting altogether. In the silence that follows, Mary feels a nudge against her hip. When she looks, Lefty is standing on the couch next to her, tilted up toward her as if waiting expectantly for acknowledgement. It's a bittersweet sight, knowing what she knows now, but not wholly unwelcome.

If her time with this fragment of her brother is limited, then she'll cherish it too while she can. She pulls the small Extended into her lap, where it immediately settles like a cat trying to comfort its owner.]

Thanks, Juzo.

[For telling her, for being here, for everything.]

[gunmettle]

[ Looking back, he’s not sure when he started to see this little group of oddballs he’d gathered as family, but they certainly were – despite his best efforts to keep each and every one of them at arm’s length. He’d practically declared it to Spitzbergen’s lackeys, and again to that bastard Avi when he put a bullet through Mary’s boot. All of this, a rag-tag little found family, all because Juzo took a couple of jobs, and deep, deep down just didn’t know when to leave well enough alone.

He's awkward as hell about it, and maybe he always will be, but he learned his lesson about being there – for Mary, for Tetsuro, any of them. When Mary broke away to sob and scream and cry on her own, his heart broke for, and he wished like hell that there was something he could’ve done. He has the chance now, and he doesn’t squander it. He stays still, sure and steady, as Mary cries it out. It’s good for the both of them, probably. Even if Mary has yet to experience it for real, this feels better than it had back home. A little more like closure.

Juzo draws back a little as Lefty settles into Mary’s lap. He still doesn’t know how this little slice of Victor managed to follow her here, or even how it’s still functioning so far from the main unit, but he won’t question it. The little guy’s presence is a gift, however it happened. ]

You don’t need to thank me for up and makin’ you cry.

[ His voice comes out a little thick in spite of himself. Juzo doesn’t cry, he can’t, but perhaps in that moment if he could have, he would have. He clears his throat. ]

In any case, that’s pretty much all I know. We can talk about it again sometime if you want, but I understand if you need to take some time.

[extengineer]

[Mary wipes at her face with the heel of her hand and takes a few deep breaths, forcing herself to stay steady and not let the way Juzo's reacting have her start crying anew. This whole interaction has become uncomfortable and vulnerable, and neither are especially adept at navigating those kinds of emotions. Despite that, this feels... okay. As "okay" as the topic allows, in any case.

It feels right.]

I don't think I'll want to talk about it again, but thanks. There's nothing more to say. [And god forbid they just talk about their feelings for the sake of it. One heartfelt moment isn't going to change their personalities that completely.] I'm going to go for a walk and try to clear my head.

[With that, she scoots away from him, scoops up Lefty to relocate him to her shoulder, and gets off the couch. She gets about halfway to the door before she stops and turns back.]

When I get back, you wanna grab dinner or something?

[It's an olive branch, of sorts. A sign that she's not running away for long.]

[gunmettle]

[ The air between them does feel a little lighter. Things aren’t okay, and how could they be after that kind of news? But having it out in the open… it helps. Still, Mary is ready for some time alone, and Juzo can’t argue.

She makes sure to tell him, in her way, that she’ll be back. Maybe a normal person wouldn’t be able to see the soft smile he casts her way, but she surely can. ]

Yeah, I’d like that. See you in a bit, Mary.

[extengineer]

[Mary does see that smile, and she returns it in kind despite herself.

Yeah, this feels right. It's good to know he's there for her, through thick and thin.]

Later, Juzo.

[With a small wave, she heads out the door to get the fresh air she desperately needs.]