Security Department [open log]

[jurisimpudent]

CHARACTERS: Any and all
LOCATION: Security offices
WARNINGS: None at the moment, but if Tyke posts, then profanity, and if Soysauce posts, then goopiness
SUMMARY: Open log for SEC for the month of December.
NOTES: This is open to members of SEC and also members of the public who want a bit of SEC-siness in their lives. So you can post in here if you're a SEC member who wants an open thread for his/her patrol route, or a SEC member who wants to thread out patrolling with their partner (bonus points for buddy-cop banter); you can also use this for interactions in the main SEC offices, or you can post in here if you're working out in the gym and need a spotter, or you can post in here if you're lost in the halls and want someone official to help you back to your halls, or you can post in here if you're breaking into the SEC offices to have SEC-s on the desks - the possibilities are endless! (But don't feel limited to this log, either.)

Comments

[whippings]

[ somewhat reluctantly: ]

And family.

[ Although after what her father had done, could she really consider him such? Somehow, despite how much she wants to hate him, she knows what her answer is, and it's: of course. ]

[bibliophilism]

Then you should be happy that you're surrounded by both family and friends here!

[You don't sound particularly glad to say your family's here, Franziska. Don't make Michelle lecture you on the importance of family.]

[whippings]

I was faring just fine without them back home. [ She hadn't even meant to keep running into Miles Edgeworth while she was collaborating with Interpol. That, of course, hadn't stopped their paths from crossing again. ]

[bibliophilism]

[A very sharp, very shocked intake of breath. Michelle raises a hand to her face as if she had been slapped. "Faring just fine without them"? How could this woman surge on ahead without her family?

Congratulations, Franziska, you are the first person to ever pull the rug out from under Michelle's feet like that. Getting tossed onto a spaceship? Fine. Without her sisters? Hard, but okay. People asleep and not waking up? She'll get to the bottom of this.

But to meet someone who could claim that she was just fine without her family...]

What? How could you say such a thing?!

[whippings]

[ That had... clearly been the wrong thing to say, somehow, for even this woman whom Franziska had seen beaming at everything seems taken aback. Oh, well, nothing to be done about it, but the harshness of her expression does soften slightly, although her tone remains just as firm as ever. ]

I simply meant it in the way that I am an independent woman who's focused on her career. Nothing about that's changed.

[ It really didn't help that the family she had aboard the ship were her once-dead father and her little brother, even littler than usual. ]

[bibliophilism]

Focusing on your career doesn't necessarily mean leaving your family behind. Your job should never be an excuse.

[Michelle's voice is softer, more subdued, but...passionate. She truly wanted to get that point across.]

[whippings]

[ Leave them behind? Leave them behind? Her hand clenches tightly around her cup of coffee; any trace of previous softness is now present from her expression. Getting to her feet, she snaps: ]

It's not an excuse. You shouldn't talk about things that you don't understand.

[bibliophilism]

[When Franziska snaps, Michelle doesn't step back, or shrink away. The only sign that she's taken aback is in her eyes - her eyes widening a touch. She raises a hand to her chest, as if she had taken a blow to the heart.]

I do understand. [She isn't petulant, or pleading. Her voice remains level, as if she was speaking to a child.] Family is important. Being independent doesn't mean turning your back on people who are important to you.

[Michelle, you have no idea who you're talking to. Give up while you still can.]

[whippings]

[ With every word she spoke, this woman simply clarified how little she knew of the true situation. She should just walk away; it would be simpler if she walked away, but something in Franziska's mind still associated leaving with giving up, so she stayed put, if only to prove her point. ]

Not that it's any of your business, but I'm not the one who needs to be told that.

[bibliophilism]

[She sighs. It certainly was none of Michelle's business, but...family.]

What do you mean?

[whippings]

That they're the ones you should be talking to, not me.

[bibliophilism]

...Why?

[whippings]

As I was saying, it's clear that you don't understand. In any case... they're just fine without me.

[bibliophilism]

You don't know that, especially if you're not with them. You can't be sure.

[whippings]

And just what makes you say that?

[bibliophilism]

You're not with them, which means you don't see or hear them everyday. How can you be so sure that they're doing fine?

[whippings]

Because I know the type of people they are. [ A beat. ] I'm starting to think I have a good idea of the type of person you are, too.

[bibliophilism]

[A pause. Well, that derails her sufficiently.]

...You do?

[whippings]

[ Tersely: ]

A nuisance.

[bibliophilism]

Mmmmnnn...

[Michelle pouts, and pinches her cheek, glancing down at her shoes. And she sighs.

Being called a nuisance isn't really new for her, though.]

[whippings]

[ Well, that's about that, then. Franziska gathers the rest of her things (her mug, the whip), and makes to leave -- but of course, in true Franziska fashion, she can never resist getting the last word: ]

And I've had just about enough of you.

[bibliophilism]

[She watches Franziska start to leave. Michelle opens her mouth to protest, but is not sure what else to say.]

Wait - I never got your name...