001 | voice

[hardedged]

[ the network post begins with a disgruntled exhale. great way to start, jones. nice first impression. clearly, this mysterious new arrival is glad to be here. ]

I'll make this quick and painless. The name's Jessica Jones, and I'm looking for answers.

They brand us like cattle. Expect us to play house. Assign crapass jobs.

And of all the places to wage the Cold War 2.0, they pick fucking Florida. [ she scoffs, as if that's somehow the worst offense of all. ] How do we leave this shithole?

[ there's a pointed beat of silence, as she presses her lips together in contemplation. almost as an afterthought, she adds: ]

And where can I get a drink around here? The cheaper, the better.

Comments

video, private;

[23wishes]

First of all, we can't leave. The entity that's inside the Porter is asleep and so she can't be reasoned with. From what I've heard, it also can't be destroyed. We're all stuck here until our time is up and we're ported back out.

Secondly, if you want to make sure no one's watching when you say things like this, use the Mirrornet. Just in case. I'm not sure it really matters yet but it probably helps if we look like we're playing along with all of this.

[Her voice softens now and she smiles softly.]

By the way, what city are you in?

[hardedged]

[ woah, information overload. jess tries to absorb as much of it as she can, at least. ]

Why?

[ regardless of the kind smile, she's not the trusting type. she won't switch to video either. ]

[23wishes]

[Really, after all that, she thought the "why" would be obvious.]

Because the best and cheapest drinks are in Maurtia Falls, of course.

[hardedged]

[ oh, right. damn, maybe she is acting too paranoid. whatever. ]

How cheap?

[ notice that she doesn't comment on the "best" part. who cares if it tastes good, she's used to the bottom of the barrel. ]

[23wishes]

Cheap. Maurtia Falls is kind of just like that. It's the sort of place some people would say girls shouldn't wander through alone, buuut something tells me you can handle yourself, right?

[Still, she's not just gonna let another woman go through there without a warning.]

[hardedged]

[ she snorts in mild amusement. ]

I'll manage.

[23wishes]

I had a feeling. Watch your back, okay? Oh, and if you have any questions you can ask me.

[But she might not be able to answer everything... Oh! She knows!]

Oh! Or my roommate Kanaya Maryam. She's been here for five years or something like that. She knows everything now.

[hardedged]

Five years? Shit.

[ well, that just felt like a punch in the stomach. ]

[23wishes]

I know. Some people get sent home after a few months, and some... don't. Some end up coming back, like you did. Sometimes they remember and sometimes they don't.

[It hit her the same way too.]

It's cruel. Gods are like that. That's why they try to get us settled down, in jobs and with homes, I think. They don't know how long we'll be here either.

[Speaking of--]

What kind of job did you get? Was it one of the weird ones?

[hardedged]

Sommelier. Whatever the hell that means.

[23wishes]

Something to do with wine, I think.

[It's a heard she only heard once or twice in the context of Tifa not having one, as if she'd ever be able to afford one, or want one at all with their clientele.]

... Maybe you're a professional wine taster?

[hardedged]

Figured that much.

[ the wine part, that is. after all, her place of employment is a vineyard. at the question, jess scoffs. wine has never been her alcohol of choice, especially after her captivity with kilgrave. that was the only booze the pretentious prick would ever drink. ]

These assholes have some sense of humor.

[23wishes]

What do you mean by that?

[Not that it's surprising.]

Usually they give out really stupid jobs, so at the very least, you're lucky you've been given an actual profession.

[hardedged]

[ she's just gonna ignore that question for right now, thanks. ]

Yeah? What'd you get stuck with?

[23wishes]

Proposal planner. Like a wedding planner, but more pointless. Anyway, I quit it a while ago.

[Aerith, you were fired.]

[hardedged]

Sounds like a crapass gig. Not much of a loss.

[23wishes]

Exactly. Who needs help proposing? I think if it were up to me, I'd rather be spontaneously proposed to. That seems a lot more romantic.

[Pauuuuuse.]

Are you seeing anyone?

[hardedged]

[ well, that sure was a segue. there's a pause, followed by a deadpan quip: ]

At least buy me dinner first.

[23wishes]

[Whoops, Aerith cracks right up.]

I mean, you're pretty, but I'm not interested, sorry. I was just making conversation.

[hardedged]

[ jess just snorts in response. ]

Yeah. Nosy conversation.

[23wishes]

Guilty as charged. Sorry. I didn't realize it was such a sore subject.

[hardedged]

[ after a beat, she sighs. ]

It's not. Just personal.

[23wishes]

... Sorry. You weren't very friendly the first time we met, either. I shouldn't have expected that to change.

[She sighs too.]

It's just... you remind me a lot of one of my friends from back home. That's probably what I'm seeing.

[hardedged]

[ it's tempting to act like even more of an asshole, but she just doesn't have it in her right now. ]

Whatever. It's fine.

[23wishes]

Mm. Maybe I'll see you around.