shoyu | [ IC CONTACT. ]

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[ click! as the device starts recording. a pause, before soysauce's voice comes on, sounding a little confused, a little curious. ]

Ah, is this how this thing works? [ beat ] I do wish it was a little easier to get used to these things.

[ some rustling noises as he shifts his grip on it. ]

Nonetheless, if this is functional and receiving messages as it's meant to, please feel free. I suppose I'll find a way to get to those messages somehow eventually.

Best wishes, friend.

[ a long, unintentional pause before he manages to cut the recording. ]

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Nnn.

[ after thinking that over for a moment, partly looking up from his pillow: ]

... but wouldn't he be closer to family for you? Respect, yes. But -- it sounds rather distant. Like one would call a professor, rather than almost-family.

[Yes, Edgeworth feels...deeply uncomfortable and deeply uncertain. He struggles for a moment with how to answer, finally settling on:]

Mr. von Karma has been deeply generous with his time and resources. That does not mean that any more significance can be assigned to his actions than actually existed.

[ gosh this sound like such a stiff arrangement. might possibly explain a bit about why edgeworth is so dysfunctional about friendship and such. after mulling over that for a moment: ]

You -- have a pet dog. And you haven't been 'generous with your resources' to your dog with no emotional investment, yes? So -- wouldn't it be a natural assumption that a person raising another person naturally have an equal or greater emotional attachment?

[Very stiffly:]

You would have to ask Mr. von Karma about that, though I advise you do not.

... would it upset you if I did ask?

[Somehow, his voice gets even more stiff.]

It would be deeply embarrassing to me on a personal and professional level.

[ a small sigh at that. ]

Then -- I'll refrain from making the inquiry. Though I do hope that if I did ask Mister von Karma, the answer would have been yes. Rather sad to think a relationship between you and him could be so dry.

[And not losing any of that stilted quality - ]

Sir, I requested that he train me to be a prosecutor; he did so. That does not make him my family. We take in dogs because we want companionship and seek a friend, canine or otherwise; my situation was nothing like that.

[ for a moment there's that noise like soysauce is gonna say something, but cuts off with a sigh because he -- really can't think hard enough to go through this argument, not until this hangover wears off a bit. have a muffled response from where he's got his face mashed in his cot: ]

... Mister Edgeworth, if I didn't know any better I'd ask if you were one of those people who were originally robots or automatons, except they're usually more expressive than you are.

[He clenches his jaw.]

I do not see why insults are remotely appropriate at this juncture.

[ GROAN. have the loud rustle of blankets and the creak of the cot as soysauce finally sits up, sounding just a little bit irritable. ]

Now, listen here, Edgeworth. That was hardly an insult. If I really wished to insult you, I'd call you an immature, stubborn, inconsiderate man who pretends to know more about how people work than he actually does.

But first, I don't entirely believe in that -- and second, I've no intention of putting you down in such a manner. My comment -- not insult! -- was an observation about how -- how sterile you seem to keep all of your relationships, which is something you can hardly deny. Something I simply cannot understand.

If I were to insult you at any point in time -- now, or in the future -- it would be immediately clear to you.

[And he's somewhat eager to take offense, because better to be angry than to half to talk about the aching, bitter feeling that had come with that previous discussion. Better by far, because he'd always wanted...]

Well, I think you've insulted me then indeed. Immature, stubborn, and inconsiderate, is it. Good to know what you truly think.

[ an exasperated sigh. ]

You're skewing my words. I said if I wished to insult you, and that I do not believe in that hypothetical insult.

But those are the words that come to mind when you think of me.

You've admitted so yourself in the past that you can be stubborn, you're much younger than me, and you are attempting to skew my words while I feel as if a horse is trying to kick my skull apart from the inside. Other words that come to mind include lonely and self-sacrificial and afraid. Shall I continue?

I'm not -

[Those three hit a bit harder than they should.]

I'm not any of those things.

[He tries to firm his resolve - ]

You're projecting.

[ oh no you don't. soysauce may not be that smart about law and such but he certainly knows you're hesitating about this issue, edgeworth. ]

Even if I were projecting these same faults from myself onto you, I would not be ashamed to confront these weaknesses instead of trying to pretend they do not exist. But I know that I'm not projecting. You're young, you feel you must be strong and invincible and perfect, and you most likely are afraid of failure.

[ a sharp, angry exhale -- before he calms down a little bit. his voice is muffled as he rubs at his face with a hand. ]

... this isn't an insult, it's an observation. Call me whatever you like, though, if you must feel offended about it.

[He clenches his teeth. He still feels...stupidly hurt. He did not, of course, accept the man's friendship, so it's not like this is coming from a friend. But it's still coming from someone who calls himself a friend, and...]

It sounds quite like an insult to me.

[ sigh. all out of steam, now. soysauce isn't used to being angry, and he sounds a little more apologetic when he answers. ]

... Mister Edgeworth, I've got nothing to gain by insulting you. I'm merely stating what I see, because I feel you're in very real danger of burning out quickly and crashing, like a poorly-constructed engine, which no one likes seeing happening to a friend. No one likes to hear their engine's in danger of catching on fire, but the problem cannot be addressed unless it's pointed out, first. Can you at least understand that from my point of view?

[A pause, and then quietly - ]

I'm not a machine. No matter what you're accusing me of.

That is not my point, and you're quite aware of it. Please don't act thick.

You do understand what I'm saying, don't you?

It is only those who are weak of will who "burn out," as it were. I am not weak-willed.

You're trying to avoid the issue. This has absolutely nothing to do with 'will,' and I've never once called you weak-willed.

[ sigh. ]

Please just answer me this -- do you understand why I'm concerned about you, and why I might feel that way?

[He's too uncomfortable answering that question, so he tries to wriggle out from under it again:]

You should not be, you know.

[ not dropping the matter so easily this time. ]

What I should or should not be feeling is neither what I asked, nor something you can control like that. Must I explain myself to you? I'd think you'd find that rather degrading, since I assume you're more than smart enough to know what I'm getting at.

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