synflux | closed.

[ Whether or not Elan manages to glean any answers depends entirely on the types of answers he's looking for.

Wriothesley's statement is surprisingly clear for a teenager still half-wrapped in bandages. There's a newfound conviction in his eyes when he finally begins to speak, voice even and clear despite all the accusations being leveled at him. He confesses to his crimes readily, sparing no detail on the gruesome demise of the two people he'd once called Mother and Father. A premeditated act, years in the making, one that he'd apparently do all over again if given the chance.

The crowd bursts into another uproar at that admittance, said without a trace of remorse or regret. Somehow though, no one seems to be questioning the still concealed motive, too busy gossiping over the fact that there seems to be some sort of child psychopath in their midst. ]

[ Come on, kid. Elan feels increasingly on edge listening to the testimony. He's getting the sense that either someone put Wriothesley up to this or Wriothesley doesn't want out of his charges at all, because that's a crappy defense if he ever heard one. Doesn't he know how to lie?

What's more, nobody cares to ask this kid why he did it. If his parents were assholes, he should just say it. If Elan knew he'd be like this, he would've shaken him harder earlier. ]

[ Nobody cares enough to ask and nobody does ask, more concerned (and in some cases, delighted) with the spectacle of the whole thing than with apparently seeing a teenager be properly accused. Even Neuvillette on his stage says nothing, though as the arbitor of fairness and impartiality, perhaps he doesn't have the room to say anything.

Eventually, after some murmured discussion, the verdict is handled down: guilty on all charges, with a sentence of over ten years in the Fortress of Meropide. The ruling doesn't seem to faze Wriothesley at all, who looks straight ahead and marches towards the guard in charge of escorting him away.

It's there the dream fizzles out, the heavy atmosphere of the courtroom fading away...though maybe after all that talk about murder, the atmosphere in the present is just as heavy.

Sorry for making Elan sit through all of that, he's free now. ]

[ Now he gets why they're using a stage for a courtroom, because this trial is as good as a circus. There's clearly more to the story, anyone can see the kid's in no mental state to be taking the stand. It's like they'd already decided the verdict before the trial began.

Elan stands up to...go to him? He's not sure, but the memory begins to dissolve before he can make up his mind. He may not have made it to Wriothesley while he's being escorted away, but he certainly can question the Wriothesley of the present left in the room with him. After a heavy pause taken to reorient himself, he breaks the silence. ]

Was that the truth?

[ Back in the present, Wriothesley looks....well, he looks a lot more alive than the Wriothesley of the past had, even if the recounting of that sham of a trial has his expression a little pinched. Really, but the implants seem to want to drag out his worst moments for everyone to see. What a breach of privacy.

He sighs, rolling one shoulder as if to stretch it. ]

That I murdered my parents? Yes. Did you think I was lying when I said I'd killed before?

[ There's a slight lilt to the end of that question, almost like he's cracking some sort of joke, but he looks dead serious about this whole thing. ]

[ Elan rubs at his temples, walking a few paces to peer out the window and check that Vegas is as they had left it before the illusion. These ocular implants are shitty, invasive devices that he'll be salty about later, but for now his attention remains on what he just witnessed.

Anyone would want to think someone admitting to murder had better be joking, but no, he believes what Wriothesley confessed to was true. He's certain that's not the whole picture though. ]

There's got to be more to it. Why did you do it?

[ He's still looking out the window instead of at Wriothesley if that makes the confrontation any less uncomfortable. ]

[ Why.....Always it boils down to why. But it makes sense. Most people have a tendency to want to understand, to dig towards the root of a matter. And then when things don't make sense, they twist themselves into coming up with absurd theories that fit the events they've witnessed.

He'll save Elan the twisting part, at least. ]

Because they used me. [ He says it simply, following Elan's gaze out the window. ] Because I - and my siblings - were nothing more than livestock to them, to be raised and sold to the highest bidder. And then, if we didn't sell, they found a way to get rid of us.

[ His voice is terribly dispassionate, devoid of emotion. It's a tone of voice more appropriate for a dry university lecture than a talk about child trafficking. ]

[ Elan keeps his own reaction in check, save for a glance over in shock because what the hell. Given his condition at the trial Elan could've guessed Wriothesley's foster parents were abusive, but this is a whole other level of fucked up. Parents treating their own kids like disposable livestock...He's met some despicable people but these two so-called parents are gunning for worst. He crosses his arms, fingers digging into his skin. ]

You should have said something to the judge. Why cover for those assholes?

[ He gets that adults are pretty useless. It shouldn't have been Wriothesley's job to defend himself, or to take matters into his own hands in the first place, but sometimes that's the hand you're dealt. ]

[ Another good question. With enough waterworks, enough pleading, enough time, he probably could have convinced both judge and jury. Then he could have lived a free life and ended up in a vastly different place than he had. ]

Under the law, everyone has a right to a fair trial, regardless of whether their crime was a stolen loaf of bread or the murder of hundreds. I should have reported them to the authorities.

[ Should have but even at the tender age of way too young, he'd known better than to place his faith in a judicial system that freely allowed kids to struggle on the street while those with money and power continued to cling onto their cushy lives protected from the law. The law is supposed to be fair and just, but in Fontaine it's become a mockery of what it should have been. ]

At the end of the day, what I did was still murder. [ 'Cool motive, still murder.' ] Who knows, maybe if they'd been given a fair trial, a proper sentence, and enough time, they would have come to repent for what they'd done. [ He glances over at Elan. ] Don't get me wrong, I don't regret what I did, but I didn't want to be like them, taking lives without receiving due punishment.

[ And so: prison. ]

It's only a fair trial if you get to say your piece. Looked to me like you got the short end of the stick. Besides, who are they to judge when they haven't been in the situation themselves.

[ Right and wrong aren't so clear cut even if the law determines someone guilty or not. People in desperate situations do desperate things. In that sense, he can understand where Wriothesley is coming from. Elan's not exactly proud of the person he's been in the past, either. Maybe there were other, better choices they could have made, but he doesn't want to hear it from anyone who hasn't gone through it. It's easy to say when it's not your future being threatened and it feels like there are no other options left. ]

[ Despite the gravity of the situation - and the memory they'd both had to sit through - Wriothesley can't help but smile a little. Not very many people have ever come to his defense, largely because he's never given anyone a reason to, but he has to admit that it's a nice feeling all the same. ]

Maybe, but there's nothing that be done now to change what's already happened. [ All things considered, he's not sure if he would change anything that happened regardless. ] Besides, I turned out okay, didn't I?

[ This is such a loaded question. ]

Compared to others? I'll give you props.

[ Wriothesley gets credit where credit's due for being one of the more normal-passing people around. He could have turned into yet another shitty adult, there was certainly no shortage of them in that memory. However, if we're talking okay, don't think Elan hasn't noticed the way he trivializes the horror of what he went through. ]

The real question is whether there's a single one of us who's okay.

[ That's also a loaded question. Maybe we don't get into that. ]

Edited 2024-07-19 06:56 (UTC)

[ Look, it's fine, his coping mechanisms are completely normal and healthy? It's completely normal to trivialize traumatic experiences and put on a carefree face.

At least Elan's not digging too much more into things, which he appreciates. ]

Somehow I doubt LILITH picked us for our mental and psychological stability.

[ People who are nice and normal probably aren't going to have a good time fighting giant monsters in a civilization on the verge of collapse. Just sayin'. ]

[ It's not like Elan can judge since he copes in the exact same way. Shhh, it's fine. ]

These glitches aren't making it any easier when we relive memories like that! If they're going to put stuff in us, they could at least test it properly.

[ He rubs his temples. He would have better mental health if technology that's been installed in his body did what it's supposed to, but Peil and LILITH prove scientists just shouldn't have that much power. ]

Speaking of, we should probably check on things.

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we can probably wrap this one up?