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No title.
(2013-05-06 - Now)
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Maximilien Paris! The beautiful Paris, jewel in the crown that was beautiful France! The magnificent Paris, majestic and proud! Its sweeping, beautiful architecture; its lovely, cultured people; its wealthy, shapely avenues! Paris is the most beautiful city in the worlds; even this ancient, historic Paris stirs memories in Maximilien Amadeus Renaud-Sylvianne, this Paris from hundreds of years before his own time, a nationalistic sort of nostalgia from his years before his transformation into the most notorious of Phantom Thieves. He was proud of his people's ancient accomplishmets; even if what they had become was a far cry from the glory of their land, their ancestors still did them proud.

For a brief moment, Maximilien wonders idly if any of his own ancestors lurked about this ancient Parisian streets, if perhaps the worlds were the lines of time stretched infinitely across reality. Quickly, however, he dismisses it - he had more immediate family to pay attention to today, after all.
Emi Dennou Paris is beautiful. That is just a fact of life. It only gets more beautiful with time too, even if of course with anything that ages the style of beauty had shifted. The Network has never been. She was eager for this day which, of course, she had technically asked for to begin with--but much like certain aged adventurers, circumstances kept getting in the way. But not today. Max needs companionship. To Emi, companionship hardly means romance. Frankly, she's starting to wonder if maybe it might be better off to avoid romance the way one might hope to avoid a landmine. Except landmines are less dangerous.

She smiles once she sees Max--she does a lot more smiling than she used to, frankly, but she has about two gradiants of smiles and this is the more subdued flavor. She has brought a large bag with her, which she is carrying over her shoulder, and her visor, which she has pushed up to the top of her head.

"Max," She says fondly as she approaches."Thank you."
Maximilien The big difference between landmines and relationships is that Max is capable of avoiding the damage from a landmine.

"Non, Petite; I am glad to have a day out with you. It has been far too long, and I have been putting you off far too much. Though I understand you have of course been busy, non? I hear you have been very active." Max bows, in that over-the-top, Fairy Tale Prince flamboyant way that he always does, then offers Emi his hand like a proper gentleman, a dazzling smile on his face. "You must forgive me, then, for my seclusion; it has been a strange month for me, I fear."

"Welcome to Paris, Petite; the most beautiful city in all of France, and, if you will forgive me a bit of arrogance, all the worlds. Though it is not the Paris of my birth, it is Paris all the same, and like a fine wine, it only matures and becomes greater with age."

"So what would you like to see first, Petite? A play? A restaraunt? The whole of Paris is open to you this day, and I am my adorable little sister's humble servant and no more."

It was such freedom, to just surrender himself for a brief little moment of unconflicted, unchanging joy. A day with the girl he considered his second little sister - no mistakes, no emotional damage, no jagged spiked love affairs or secrets or misery...just him and Emi, out on the town.
Emi Dennou "It would be criminal to be slothful in our circumstances." Emi says. She really doesn't want to talk about rabbit girls right now. She does, though, play along. It should be noted that this is probably more for Max's sake than for her own. Emi doesn't cotton well to being the 'master' of any sort of relationship. Sure, she might have thought about it before, but she's just so accustomed to being servile that being in a reversed position, even in jest and play, is a bit difficult for her.

But she does smile. "I'll permit that arrogance. It /is/ very pretty. The Network had always wanted to visit. Also Chernobyl." A strange place to juxtapose with Paris but Emi is strange. "And of course I forgive you. You'll have to work rather hard to do something I wouldn't." Which may be a bit of a reckless statement, but The Network rarely holds grudges for individuals they dislike, for individuals they DO care for it seems, to them, that it'd be even harder. She understands Max's circumstances. Maybe not wholly, but enough to know how much Love has gripped Max. That young girl who doesn't have long to live, Cirra, herself even--she hasn't forgotten how Max was willing to fight for her, even as an avowed pacifist.

She takes Max's hand, her smile broadening slightly. "This one was wondering...and will share a bit of a secret...but do they have nice hats in Paris?" ... "This one likes unusual hats." She frowns a bit suddenly. "...Mercade needs to wear more hats."
Maximilien "I hear that Russia is also quite beautiful in the winter," Max agrees. Of course he wouldn't recognize Chernobyl's significance, though; he wasn't versed in the history of the world after the 1940s. "It is also quite deadly, I understand. Once, long ago, so too was France."

Max's hand tightens around Emi's, and his smile broadens. "I am glad you approve, Petite. There is no country more beautiful than France; even after the wars, it remained glorious to behold."

Emi makes her request, and Max laughs. "Even this far back, Petite, Paris is the most fashionable city in the world. French fashion is the height of culture; I have no doubt we can find you some wonderful hats."

They start walking, Max cheerfully pointing out buildings that would eventually be very, very different in the future. Paris may be many things, but it is mostly unchanging; the street layouts are not so different, the city is not so strange to him that he does not know its paths as they walk, seeking a shop with appropiately bizarre hats. Eventually, they come to one, labelled all in French; Max opens the door and helps her inside like she's a noble lady, and once inside, he folds his hands behind his back. "Are these unusual enough for you, Petite?"

Then he pauses. "...speaking of unusual..I find myself in interesting circumstances. Would you...mind if I asked your advice?"
Emi Dennou Emi is enjoying herself. The smile eventually fades but it's not that she's not having fun--she's just not very prone to smiles. Frankly the amount of time she smiles now is like 300 times the amount she used to smile. Maybe she thinks it's unbecoming to advertise your emotions that much, or maybe it's just a matter of habit, but her expression falls back to her eyes which are alight with wonder, excitement, and--paradoxically--restfulness. The only other form of expression is how she squeezes back Max's hand. "It is less so dangerous where I'm from, or so this one has heard. We haven't been."

But when they get to the hats, oh man when they get to the hats--the smile remains locked up but her mouth opens up wide in astonishment. Stars sparkle in her eyes. Hats, hats, so many hats. Some of them are quite wild. Are those peacock feathers?? Not really her style, but she still approves.

But then she stops as Max asks for advice. This is also something of a rare treasure so she focuses her full attention on him IN SPITE OF hats hats hats.

"Certainly, how may I help you?"
Maximilien Max is happy to see her smile. His fingers brush through her hair gently as he crouches down a bit (he is, after all, enormously tall), putting himself at eye level instead of being like a foot or so taller than she is.

"Two days ago, I found myself making a very foolish mistake, Petite. Over the last month, I have found myself entangled in a relationship that I am attempting, to the best of my abilities, to make work. So two days ago, I went to rid myself of a few of the chains holding me back, in the form of the lady Judge."

Max sighs.

"Is it not just my luck that, on the day that I go to attempt to do the right thing, she finally reciprocates? And..."

Max straightens and looks away. He really doesn't want to say 'we slept together' to his adorable little adopted sister. He wouldn't say such a thing to Sylvie *or* Emi. "One thing led to another, and now I do not know what I should do, Petite."
Emi Dennou Emi isn't sure she is the best to answer this question but she does notice a few choice words in his explanation. All the same, she knows she is biased. Cirra Constantine HURT Max. She may be Will's friend, but she has caused Max a lot of pain. She still feels it to this day. The only thing keeping Emi from answering immediately, in fact, are those choice words.

Emi reminds herself that her purpose here should be to properly advise Max, not be upset for him. She remains strangely unmoved by Max's admission of cheating on Jihl but Emi always had a solid poker face.

She cups her chin for a moment, strokes it, and then snaps her fingers.

"Menage a trois!" She says. "The Network inquires whether that has been considered before going further into their analysis."

She seems a bit pleased with herself, remembering there's something french about this situation and all.
Maximilien SOMETIMES Max forgets that Emi is a lot more world-wise than she actually is. Sometimes he also forgets that she's...well, as she is. It's not that he's caught up in the illusion of sisterhood so much as it is that Max just sort of doesn't think of people as terribly different.

When you get right down to it, everybody's pretty much the same, after all, as far as Max is concerned.

The look on his face says more or less all of that. He looks somewhat shocked for a good minute or so as Emi makes the suggestion; his eyes are wide, his mouth hangs open, and he stands, taken aback. The very idea sort of...well. "I...n-non, of course I have not...! What sort of man do you...I mean, the sheer idea of it, the...the arrogance that I would be worth something like that! I..."

Then he laughs, and shakes his head, his fingers going to his face. Of course she would say that. Emi was, after all, a multi-person entity; Emi may be unique among that entity, but they still all felt the same (basic) emotions, all basically the same person at heart. Of course her perspective was such. "Forgive me, Petite; to hear that from you simply...surprised me. It is...a...unique suggestion. I suppose I will...speak to them about it."

"But today I am not going to get caught up in such matters of the heart. As I promised you," Max reaches out and sets a rather large hat with a very big ribbon on it on Emi's head, "Today I am your humble servant. I simply wanted your perspective...and it was, I confess, unique."

"Do you see anythng you like, Petite? Anything that catches your imagination?"
Emi Dennou It's also easy to forget that Emi fancies herself hilarious.

Emi smiles faintly. "It's alright. The Network isn't so silly as to think that you would have the same attitude as The Network." But she must admit that that would be their ideal situation. "The Network doesn't mind. We're happy, in a way, at being relied on." She pauses for a moment and then adds, a bit more seriously. "This one has to admit, however, that there is a significant chance of you being hurt--but The Network thinks you need to explain and apologize to Jihl first. How she reacts may be indicative of what you should do after. She will find out on her own otherwise at the worst possible time, The Network notes this as an inevitably as expressed through daytime tv and soaps."

She can't help but worry though. What if Jihl dumps him? Or they both dump him? Really they don't care who he makes his roost with, but seeing him in pain...

But they are detectives and all, so it'd be against Emi's nature to not add this latter bit. "...But we think you already knew that. This one is of the belief you are asking us for advice to delay something painful and difficult, and perhaps for confirmation for something you likely already have decided. We believe in you, Max, and hope we've lightened matters somewhat."

But hats! She smiles suddenly as the topic is brought up. "hmm--there is quite the selection... This one will run off recklessly as well to examine the wares."

Emi is not very girly, it seems, and heads off towards a more practical--if still fashionable--selection of headwear. She naturally picks up a beret with a feather in it, examining it for a bit, but not quite settled. She seems to prefer smaller hats. Of course this is Disney Old Paris so it's entirely possible that some may be a bit more modern than the era would suggest. "Too normal..maybe? Hmm... but doesn't want one too big."
Maximilien Emi was likely right; he already knew he had to apologize to and explain things to both of them, and he probably was just putting it off. Still, her advice had made him smile, at least, and that was a step up from what he had been doing the night before. He needed it.

"It looks very fashionable, Petite. You look like the belle of the ball; very beautiful." Max is not terribly concerned with the impressive price tags of the store; being a good thief tended to mean you didn't really care too much about having spending money. Besides, this is a special day, he's not going to ruin it by stealing a hat or anything, even if he could get away with it. He didn't want to rob the man blind unless the man was a complete jackass, and so far, the owner of the store had been polite and cheerful.

"Merci beaucoup," Max adds quietly, squeezing her hand a little tighter.
Emi Dennou Compared to Max, Emi is practically Scrooge McDuck. And like Unca scrooge, Emi has good reason to be miserly. She's got six people to take care of. Some of them also take on jobs, but they don't do it to the extent Emi does and Emi prefers to save up money for when jobs are scarce. If she hadn't been paid half over her last job she wouldn't have even asked to see the hats.

Emi frowns at the beret's price tag. How could a hat be so expensive?!

Fun Fact: Hats are expensive.

She sets it back on the rack. She looks around a bit more, checking price tags and such. She gets increasingly more distressed before considering, "Perhaps a less fashionable store would be better."

She pauses, though, and then smiles back at Max. "I love you, Max."

She says it warmly, kindly, but much like Max sees her more akin to family, so does Emi. And much like family one doesn't shy away from saying such things to them. She actually could probably manage a hat, she thinks, but then what will she get Max? He has a fine eye for treasure, even of the sentimental kind, it wouldn't do to be careless.
Maximilien Hats *are* expensive, especially in France. Max notes which hats she frowns at, which ones she clearly likes but clearly finds too expensive; at that point, they disappear into his cloak quietly. He'll pay for them once she's left Paris, and politely explain to the man that it's a surprise for the sweet little girl...and he was charismatic enough to pull it off, too.

"I love you too, Petite. And Sylvie will love you, as well. She will adore having another sister." Max has never thought of Emi as anything but family, it's true; since the day he became attached to her, he's looked at her the same way he looked at Sylvie (though perhaps a bit less so, if only because Emi is strong and independent and Sylvie is...not). "If you wish to go to a different store, I am sure we can find one."
Emi Dennou Emi doesn't notice immediately, but it may be a good idea to sneak her out before she realizes that a hat she was looking at is no longer present. Who knows how she'd react if she found out Max stole hats for her? Lord knows how she'd feel if he /bought/ hats for her, for that matter. It's an almost certainty that she'd end up embarrassed as all hell if it feels like Max is spoiling or otherwise pampering her but, then again, maybe Max wants to see her embarrassed. Big brothers can be like that, you know!

Emi would also find being referred to as 'independent' flattering if also kind of amusing--MORE HIVE MIND HUMOR.

But Sylvie is mentioned. "I am looking forward to meeting her." She says. "She must be something." She pauses. "Well--maybe--but I would like to go somewhere you'd like to go to, too, so maybe that first--this one expects it wouldn't be much fun to spend the whole day looking at hats." She smiles again, not worrying about it too much. "Perhaps--there is some manner of--sights?"
Maximilien "Mmm...at this year? I believe the only real sight to see is Notre Dame...so we may as well see it, mm?"

Max gestures to the door. " He slides some Munny across the countertop with one hand, a smile on his face as he leads her out; he'd rather she not get the wrong idea, after all. Again, he resumes his guided tour of Paris, pointing out all the buildings that will exist in the future. He pauses, awkwardly, on one corner; he's silent for a long moment, then carries on.

The corner doesn't appear to be terribly significant at the moment.

Eventually, they reach Notre Dame. The sweeping cathedral and its wide doors yawn, accepting pilgrims from all walks of life; Max's free hand slides into his pocket, and he withdraws a bit of Munny, depositing it in a donation bin quickly and quietly as they arrive.

"Do you believe in God, petite?"
Emi Dennou Emi is asked a strange question. Does she believe in God? "I have heard of Notre Dame." She says. "That should be quite incredible to see!" She pauses a moment, glancing back at the store, but then puts it out of mind. She oohs and ahhs at various sights and, notably, doesn't rush Max when he stops at a corner. She has a feeling of what that might be. She isn't going to push it, not today. Today she's not a detective but just someone spending time with 'family', after all. She does pat him lightly on the arm, though--but eventually they reach one huge cathedral. She thinks about whether or not she really should donate money to God and then she thinks, really, maybe she does have something to pray for.

She puts a few coins in and thinks: Please give Isaac another chance.

She looks back to Maximilien, takes in a deep breath, and then says, "Yes. This one believes that God killed himself to avoid allowing his infinite nature to destroy reality but then it didn't quite take, thus answering the question of whether a deific being can create something that they cannot destroy."

She pauses. "This one trusts her source of information even if she was not personally present."
Maximilien Max stops and stares at her for a very long moment as Emi rattles off what she believes. He glances around; thankfully, there are no priests in sight. That's...that's a good thing, given the era they're in. "You should, I think, perhaps keep such beliefs to yourself here; in Paris, especially in this day, they are fiercely Christian, and such words would get you burned alive for heresy."

"But even if you do hold such...erm...unorthodox beliefs, we can both appreciate the splendor of Notre Dame, mm?" Max heads inside; into the sweeping arches, the beautiful architecture, the candles, the buttresses, the stained-glass windows, the statues...it's a moving place to be. Max had been here often when he was younger; standing here again, however...it's a very different feeling than when he was a child.

"Notre Dame is the most beautiful cathedral in the world. Even if what it represents, whom it represents, you do not love...it is still a work of the highest art, non? A magnificent tribute to God and France alike...though in different measure, I wager."

He doesn't elaborate on what sort of measure.
Emi Dennou "Well, it isn't so different." Emi says. "Christian God also allowed himself to be slain and ressurected." She thinks this over for a moment before shaking her head. "In any event, The Network shouldn't go into further detail, it isn't really our place to say. Still, this one is not one to rely on faith. Using the term 'believe' is a bit misleading. I don't believe in God, I simply accept the one's whose existence seem irrefutable."

She looks around for a moment, perhaps curious as to what Max is worried about. Apparently Emi isn't especially cognizent of the concept of a crusade. Or at least, not anticipant of zealotry.

"Naturally I don't disbelieve in their version either, so this one isn't sure of what the problem is admittedly, it is simply that I don't have any evidence..."

She taps her chin lightly before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter." She follows Max inside WHEREUPON SHE IMMEDIATELY BURSTS INTO FLAMES.

Well maybe not. In fact, she seems quite impressed by the architecture, allowing a faint 'oooooooh' to escape from her lips. "Yes, this is quite impressive. The Network hasn't seen much that can match this, admittedly." She thinks it over. "Though the Tower...was likely more imposing than anything else? Hmm."
Maximilien "They do not much like talking about differences here. Even a little difference, petite, is enough to see someone sent to the stake. It is not...terribly Christian, I admit, but..." Max shrugs. "People were different...er, now. They were filled with more hate, more irrationality; people were more willing to strike someone down for disbelieving in their version of the events, and Heaven help you if you believe in something else. Many people were killed in the name of God; many people will continue to die in His name, too. It is a sad state of affairs, but...well, I have never been much of a churchgoer myself."

"The Tower?" Max asks after a moment, then shakes his head. He probably doesn't actually want to know. "Well...in any case, Notre Dame may be the home of a God that..." He keeps his voice quite low.

"Is not necessarily home all that often...but it is certainly a palace fit for a king."

"Is there anywhere else you wish to see in Paris, Petite? Anything else you'd like to do today?"
Emi Dennou Emi doesn't seem troubled to talk about 'home', but is reticient about certain details for whatever reason (it begins with I and ends with saac).

But she can't help but wonder, if religion was like this, why did Max ask her about it? Perhaps just intended as a harmless lead-in, maybe it was something she wasn't supposed to actually answer in that great of detail. Hmm.

"It must trouble him for crimes to be made in his name. Well, The Network can't anticipate how a God would think, not a true one."

She thinks for a moment as Max asks if there's anywhere else she'd like to go.

"Well, The Network would like to try french pastries, if there is an art gallery, The Network would like to see one. The Network intends to take as much of your time as possible, with apologies."

She smiles again, broadly, now that more dire talk is done with.

 
This scene contained 20 poses. The players who were present were: Maximilien, Emi Dennou