Pascal de Cyriac (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
excontractu) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
eldritchinc2020-03-01 08:46 pm
excontractu) wrote in eldritchinc2020-03-01 08:46 pm
rp post
for offscreen interaction
[ i said i'd do it so i'm doing it.
today, 5 o'clock comes and goes. 6 comes and goes. 7...
and Maeve doesn't leave the near-darkness of their office. like, it's not unusual for the employees of a law firm to stay late—it's not even rare for Maeve to stay late—but... paper sheaves are spread across their desk by the dozens, their desk lamp turned to the lowest brightness setting. there's a pile of oily tissues to one side, plus a mostly-eaten box of chocolate truffles hoarded probably from the last white elephant.
on their computer screen is an email to Pascal. it's... blank. the cursor blinks incessantly. eventually, Maeve just opens the company slack and leaves a message. ]
7:03 p.m.
Does anyone have any work they are willing to delegated?
*delegate
today, 5 o'clock comes and goes. 6 comes and goes. 7...
and Maeve doesn't leave the near-darkness of their office. like, it's not unusual for the employees of a law firm to stay late—it's not even rare for Maeve to stay late—but... paper sheaves are spread across their desk by the dozens, their desk lamp turned to the lowest brightness setting. there's a pile of oily tissues to one side, plus a mostly-eaten box of chocolate truffles hoarded probably from the last white elephant.
on their computer screen is an email to Pascal. it's... blank. the cursor blinks incessantly. eventually, Maeve just opens the company slack and leaves a message. ]
7:03 p.m.
Does anyone have any work they are willing to delegated?
*delegate
[ stares at their mountain of paperwork
it's easier than staring at the name attached to that message. he hasn't gone home yet...?
eventually, ] Paperwork is fine. If it works for you, you can drop it off at my desk when you leave. Or I could come pick it up
it's easier than staring at the name attached to that message. he hasn't gone home yet...?
eventually, ] Paperwork is fine. If it works for you, you can drop it off at my desk when you leave. Or I could come pick it up
[ okay. okay. it takes a few minutes to work up the courage to check his response, to then process it and to stand, and to dip into the bathroom to touch up the smeared, oily mess of mascara away.
about ten minutes.
there's a quiet knock at his office door ]
about ten minutes.
there's a quiet knock at his office door ]
[muffled] Come in . . .
[facedown on his desk]
[facedown on his desk]
[ i can't do this i can't do this i can't do this i don't want to do this
Maeve comes in. ]
Hi. Sorry. Just show me which ones to take.
Maeve comes in. ]
Hi. Sorry. Just show me which ones to take.
[flicks up a sheaf of paper without looking over]
Mmrrrrrrhhh.
Mmrrrrrrhhh.
...Okay.
[ they hesitate. hang. there at the door. approach his desk, head down, making nary a footfall's measure of sound, and tuck that stack into the crook of an upper arm. then a quiet retreat, one step, two steps ]
You should go home. You said you'd take the vacation time Vesper and Phosphor offered.
[ they hesitate. hang. there at the door. approach his desk, head down, making nary a footfall's measure of sound, and tuck that stack into the crook of an upper arm. then a quiet retreat, one step, two steps ]
You should go home. You said you'd take the vacation time Vesper and Phosphor offered.
[ ...three steps ]
I—don't know. [ out of the gaping void of feeling comes the renewed urge to cry and Maeve shoves it back in. it hurts ] I do not know what you do with your free time. I did not even know who your friends are here. I just thought you wanted time away, so— ...so that's all.
I—don't know. [ out of the gaping void of feeling comes the renewed urge to cry and Maeve shoves it back in. it hurts ] I do not know what you do with your free time. I did not even know who your friends are here. I just thought you wanted time away, so— ...so that's all.
I realized . . . it's not like I have anything outside of work.
Don't cry.
Don't cry.
I am not.
[ though her ponytail has that oily, sticky look to it ]
And I do not know what you want me to say.
[ Maeve breathes her work. it's sincerely all she has since Bugsy left ]
[ though her ponytail has that oily, sticky look to it ]
And I do not know what you want me to say.
[ Maeve breathes her work. it's sincerely all she has since Bugsy left ]
Why do you think I want you to say anything in particular?
[ wanted Ivan to say something
and now it's her job to say things, fix things
neither of those can make it past the lump in her throat, so she's just painfully voiceless for a while ]
...I don't know. I'm sorry.
and now it's her job to say things, fix things
neither of those can make it past the lump in her throat, so she's just painfully voiceless for a while ]
...I don't know. I'm sorry.
You know you don't have to pretend to like me.
[ and something breaks. tears anew, oozing from every eye, while Maeve stands and chihuahua trembles in place ]
You are the only friend I even have!
[ she gasps, instantly awash in a pitiful fear, a drowning shame, and she turns and fumbles blindly for the doorknob. escape, escape, escape escape escape escape escape ]
You are the only friend I even have!
[ she gasps, instantly awash in a pitiful fear, a drowning shame, and she turns and fumbles blindly for the doorknob. escape, escape, escape escape escape escape escape ]
That's just not true. Lysander is your friend. Tandy is your friend. Ivan, I'm sure, at least does not want you to die.
[ her voice changes; still small, but hoarse and low instead of high and thin ]
I work with them, I work with them. I have died because I work with them. I do not know who they are, they don't talk to me, we just do bad things together.
[ just like always.
and she's lost like half the sheaf of papers just from the shaking, so down to her knees to scrounge them back together. try not to cry on them, Maeve—that'd be just what you need right now, is to ruin them with oil spots ]
I work with them, I work with them. I have died because I work with them. I do not know who they are, they don't talk to me, we just do bad things together.
[ just like always.
and she's lost like half the sheaf of papers just from the shaking, so down to her knees to scrounge them back together. try not to cry on them, Maeve—that'd be just what you need right now, is to ruin them with oil spots ]
I don't know. I don't know! We were supposed to be Fixing things, but all I have done is get mugged and die and kill Tandy and make deals with liches, and we sent someone to the Dreamlands who might never have been able to come back without Wren.
[ she wipes her nose on her sleeve and it's gross and leaves a stain ]
—And set fire to a circus! All the worst people have us on retainer, and they don't care, they don't weigh what it means to contract with the Faceless, they don't worry about sending Hester to the Dreamlands or giving the RIPD to Tascheron for an "interview". They don't even care about going to Dylath-Leen over and over and having to kill ourselves to get back or else have Wren suffer for us. I can't do this on my own. So I do what they are alright with doing, and it's... this.
...They didn't even choose to be here. They were just chosen to be here.
[ she wipes her nose on her sleeve and it's gross and leaves a stain ]
—And set fire to a circus! All the worst people have us on retainer, and they don't care, they don't weigh what it means to contract with the Faceless, they don't worry about sending Hester to the Dreamlands or giving the RIPD to Tascheron for an "interview". They don't even care about going to Dylath-Leen over and over and having to kill ourselves to get back or else have Wren suffer for us. I can't do this on my own. So I do what they are alright with doing, and it's... this.
...They didn't even choose to be here. They were just chosen to be here.
[roughly] Vesper and Phosphor have got to have a plan. The Partners have got to have a plan.
[ "they are incredible..." a Christmas party from what feels like eons ago ]
I don't want this plan. I want what's gone. Before this partnership. Doing good work.
When you liked having lunch with me.
[ too much. too open. she stops grasping for papers and just goes still on her hands and knees on the floor, screwing her eyes shut. red ladybird. green caterpillar. blue butterfly. green honeybee. breathe in.................. out ]
I don't want this plan. I want what's gone. Before this partnership. Doing good work.
When you liked having lunch with me.
[ too much. too open. she stops grasping for papers and just goes still on her hands and knees on the floor, screwing her eyes shut. red ladybird. green caterpillar. blue butterfly. green honeybee. breathe in.................. out ]
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