unknownseas | WEEK 5

That's three murders now - and this last trial got more than slightly out of hand. It looks like you might be in for another tough week... or at least, maybe that's just the refusal of this place to change too much. You lose Saturday again, but maybe six-day weeks are starting to feel normal by now. Who knows? The cycle of day and night continues apace, changing so little.

Speaking of change, though, there's a new area to look through, the biggest and most complex yet. And the end of one wing of the facility, from the looks of it - though you can probably guess where more areas might start to open up.

And speaking of opening up (segues!), this week if you're out particularly late, you might sometimes see Angel out and about! So hey, maybe change is on the horizon.

Just gotta hope it's a change for the better, don't you?

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 5! Remember to turn in AC here, threads for regain coins here, and if you feel so inclined you can visit Angel's office hours over here! Or, if you want Angel to come to you, that's now an option! Simply put a prompt after lights-out into your toplevel and indicate you want Angel in the subject line, same as investigations! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Isn't it just?!

[ Ah, that enthusiasm really takes her back. Ema doesn't think she'll ever forget the first time she begged and begged Lana for her very first bottle of luminol. It took a couple months worth of allowance money to scrounge up the cash for it, and the shipping felt like it took ages, but her reaction when she saw the blue light for the first time...

Well. It was a lot like Mira's, now. And there's something about seeing the gleam in those eyes behind bright pink glasses that gets Ema a bit sentimental, because she imagines this is how Lana must have felt, seeing her amazed little sister all those years ago. ]

To me, there's nothing like the feeling of seeing something invisible. Hands-down, it's the best part of the job, whether you're spraying luminol or dusting for fingerprints. It's like you're catching a glint of a diamond in unpolished rock...like there are amazing things that are happening right under your nose, behind the scenes, and all you need is a new perspective to be able to see it.

[ She brings a finger to the bridge of her nose, lifting the glasses up just a hair. ]

It's not always the easiest line of work. Definitely not the prettiest, either. But that moment where you find something that goes beyond what you can see with your eyes alone...to me, it never gets old. And even better is when I let someone else in on the secret.

It's like a whole other world, just waiting to be discovered... I can see why you love it so much.

[ It's funny, but... Ema's sort of ignited something in her she thought had burnt out a while ago. A thirst for discovery, to learn; along the way, in the face of everything, she'd lost grasp of some of that passion. She hadn't even realized it, how much she needed something like this...

She's sure she couldn't do what Ema does, but she certainly admires her. ]

It really means a lot, that you're letting me into the secret. [ She nudges her, just gently. ] You're kind of amazing, did you know that? Doing all of this, showing me... You wouldn't make a bad teacher, Ema Skye.

You're actually not the first person to tell me that, believe it or not.

[ In her opinion, the science is the real amazing thing here. She's not all that special, especially not in comparison. But far be it for her to deny a sincere compliment like that. ]

And if all of my students had the enthusiasm you do, maybe I would've considered it a little harder. You're pretty amazing, yourself, you know. [ There's a small little chuckle that escapes from her throat. ] But the thought did cross my mind, more than a couple times, though. Back when I was just an ordinary old detective on the force, working a job I couldn't stand, I was thinking that might make for a nice change of careers. It was getting to the point for a while where I dreaded going to work, sometimes, so...

[ In the end, she is thankful she stuck it out, because she wouldn't be where she is now if she didn't, but...she's really, really glad that those days are behind her. ]

[ Ah, geez... A compliment from Ema's hard to refute, with how genuine and earnest she is... And hey, she's learning to take them as they come, not immediately shoot them down. That's got to count for something, but she certainly can't help the way she blushes and pushes a bit of hair behind her ear. ]

Did you know back then what you really wanted to do? I know it would've been hard for me to keep going, if I hated it... but it was something you had to do, I'm guessing?

[ Ema... she's a resilient one. Mira knows that much. ]

It was more like...hm, how to put it...fish me?

[ As though she's not going to be able to properly explain it if she's not shoveling gummies in her mouth. Thinking about the work she had to do back then just gives her the urge to start stress-eating... ]

I knew for sure I wanted to go into forensics after SL-9 and all. But when I got back from my study abroad, and I took the certification test, I...well, I totally botched it. Not just once, either.

[ Not for lack of trying, either. That just made it hurt so much more. ]

The exercises, I had no trouble with. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, but it's not like I didn't know what I was doing. But every time I sat down for the written part of the exam...I think I just kept psyching myself out. It's a hard enough test to begin with, but I'd be so stuck in my own head on top of it, and...it was definitely discouraging.

[ And every failing grade just put her deeper and deeper into a funk... ]

In the meantime, I worked as a detective for the LAPD, just like Lana did before she became Chief Prosecutor. It wasn't like I was trying to take her old job or anything like that, though. I figured that working on crime scenes and seeing the actual pros at work would motivate me a little harder to pass that test.

Boy, was I wrong.

[ And just like that, Mira holds out the open bag of fish for Ema. Scoots a little closer, too.

She's quiet as she listens, thoughtful. She's been there--right in an exam room, the answers bouncing around in your head, but when it came to actually getting them down... It had to be frustrating, knowing everything but second-guessing all of it. And going through that more than once...

She leans against Ema, just lightly. ]

In theory, it sounds like it was an alright plan. In practice, it was eye-opening, but... not in a very pleasant way?

Part of it was valuable experience, I'll admit that.

[ She'll scoot in a bit herself, as she picks some fish out of the plastic baggie. She (thankfully) has the decency to swallow her food before she picks up where she left off. ]

But I spent most of the time pushing paper back at the office, and the rest of it locking down crime scenes and watching other people do the job I wanted to do so, so badly. It made me...I mean, I was bitter, and frustrated with myself, more than anything else. My idea to join the force was okay on paper, but every time I watched someone take out their luminol or doing print analysis...

[ "Why isn't that me? What do I keep doing wrong?" ]

Like I said, I thought it'd make me feel motivated. But instead, it felt more like I was kicking myself while I was down...

WEEK 5

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