Season 3 / Vincent Churchwell - "Mirror Mirror” [Third Trial Projection]

MILGRAM

Not too many days after Hikaru’s projection, there’s a sharp knock on the door to Vincent’s cell.

“Prisoner 006… Vincent Churchwell.”

It’s definitely Bea’s voice, but it lacks any sort of the playfulness it might have had before this final round of projections. And sure enough, when he opens the door, Bea looks up at the huge man with a deathly serious expression.

“It’s time for your final projection. Would you come along with me? And… this is your last chance, so if there’s anything else you’d like to tell us about what happened…”

Vincent is slightly surprised to see Bea looking so serious, and to be the very second one to go this time, but… he nods all the same, trying to take a slow breath before he answers.

“Yes, I’ll… go with you,” he answers simply, expression serious if just a touch nervous at the impending final projection for him. Anything else he’d like to say though, huh…? That was asked every time, and each time he’d had little to give. Perhaps this time would be the same, but he at least pauses “I… am trying not to look away from what happened, this time. I do not know how that will manifest, but… I do… want some sort of truth to be found, at least.”

That given, Vincent steels himself and prepares to follow, though his eyes do flick around to see if he can spot at least Akemi anywhere around, given he’d asked her to attend.

“…I see. We’ll do our best to find it.” She pauses. “You’ll understand if I… activate the restraints a little, yes? Just… just in case.”

She reaches for that same spot on Vincent’s back where Sie activated Robert’s straitjacket months ago, but only twists slightly. Vincent finds himself bound by his upper arms.

Ah- Vincent can’t say he doesn’t see why that would be a concern, given what was already known about him, so this might as well happen. Not that he has time to actually say if he minds or not before it happens anyways, but he nods quietly afterwards anyways. Just because he didn’t Plan to lash out didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen anyways, he supposes. Maybe this was for the best.

Being led to the projection room this time feels something like a funeral procession– strangely, that vibe is coming just as much from Bea as it is from Vincent. What sort of strange scenes would the wardens (and prisoners) find in his head today? What more could there be to learn from a third, final projection, that Vincent hadn’t already told someone?

Only one way to find out…

Bow-wow

Luca isn’t really a fan of projections. They’re all a load of gobbledygook to him- they require far too much thinking for him. Besides, he knows first-hand that the aftermath can be… explosive and emotional.

He spots Akemi and Suzune, and brightens considerably, trotting after them with the aim of catching up, but by the time his head pokes into the Projection room and he spots Vincent in the chair…

Oh, Oh man… really?

Well, turning back now would just be even more awkward. So Luca just shuffles himself into the room as inconspicuously as possible.

Emmy | Akemi

Akemi had made a promise to Vincent, that she would be there for his final projection. That she would help him face the truth of what happened, for better or worse. So, when she sees him being marched toward the projection room, she quickly picks up her pace to follow along.

True to her word, she allows Suzune to tag along as well– her friend had requested as much once Akemi made her intentions clear. Suzune was clearly worried for Akemi’s safety, enough to set aside her discomfort with Vincent explicitly to attend. She wasn’t sure it was the best idea, given what she knew about both of their situations, but she doubted she could change Suzune’s mind on this one.

Stepping into the room and seeing Luca as well leaves her…mildly concerned. She didn’t imagine either him nor Suzune felt particularly safe with Vincent at the moment, so she could only hope they would be alright.

Still, she offers a somewhat relieved nod to Kaoru as she sees him enter, quickly heading in his direction to whisper something in his ear before this whole thing can even begin. He was probably one of the best people to be here, for several reasons. Not the least of which because Vincent deserved to have people who actively liked him, here.

Finally, just before the machine turns on, Akemi looks to Vincent and offers as reassuring a nod as she can muster. Seeing that he’s already been restrained…that is probably a safe decision, even if the sight of it leaves her slightly prickly.

“I’m here as promised, Vincent. Remember what I’ve told you.”

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent, currently restrained by his straitjacket and being put into the chair, initially gives a nod to Akemi as he sees her here, and Kaoru as well, before… Oh, oh God. The double whammy of seeing Suzune AND Luca here makes Vincent’s eyes widen with immediate fear. Suzune at least seemed to inexplicably be here on purpose, anxiety inducing as that still was, but Luca…

“Luca, get out now, before it-”

Of course, things can never be so perfect as to actually let there be time for that, though, as the machine(?) does it’s thing, and the projection proper starts. Vincent closes his eyes and tries to take Akemi’s words to heart, before everyone suddenly finding themself somewhere else…

—

You find yourself in a cozy looking living room of a home, by its size either an apartment or a small house. It’s warm and inviting in here, with comfortable looking seating comprised of a love seat couch and two matching armchairs, and complemented by soft pink lighting coming from the pink tinted windows that cast the entire room in a beautiful ethereal glow. This light is already enough to see everything clearly, so the only other light source of the room is from an antique style lighting fixture on the wall that’s meant to hold a flame rather than a lightbulb, though it currently isn’t on.

The decor of the room is lovely, with a bookshelf full of aesthetic looking books and odds and ends alike. These include a variety of framed photographs of what’s clearly Vincent and a beautiful pink haired woman that is presumably his wife, sometimes the pictures are in couple photo poses, and sometimes among other groups of people that must be friends. On the walls around the room, there’s some cute framed posters that say things like ‘Fated to Be <3’ or ‘Home is Where the Heart is’ with simple designs as decorations, as well as a few paintings that give the space a more personal feel. In the corner of the room, there’s a well organized polished wood desk with an empty wastebasket beside it, and there’s also a coffee table in the middle of the room by the love seat couch with a vase of fresh pink roses atop it, as well as a box of small figurines.

There’s a few doors visible from the main living room here, perhaps going to other rooms in this home or being the front door, but for now they seem to be closed off to you. Perhaps they just aren’t relevant to whatever it is you’re here for right now.

Kaoru Naito

Kaoru struts in with the casual air of a guy on a walk at the park. He seems calm, grinning when he sees Vincent and hanging out near the wall. When Akemi whispers to him, he gives a nod and a thumbs up in response.

In the cute room, he stays pretty calm, thumbs hooked on some of the straps of his belt.

“Ain’t this shit cute.”

He picks up the photos and turns them around in his hand before putting it back, then reaches into the box of figurines to see what’s in there. Nosy.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Kaoru Naito He picks up the photos and turns them around in his hand before putting it back, then reaches into the box of figurines to see what’s in there. Nosy.

Kaoru actually finds pretty immediately, that no matter what he touches other than the figurines, they cannot be moved at all! This goes for everyone else, too. As for the figurines…

A set of 12 animal figurines with matching hexagonal bases sit out on the coffee table a bit away from the fragrant pink roses, with a handwritten note written in pink semi-cursive next to it. There are 6 matching large black dogs that appear to be great danes, and there are 6 matching pretty white house cats with pink tipped ears and tails. Despite the dogs being noticeably larger than the cats, their hexagonal bases are the same size beneath them.

The note beside them has pretty handwriting with heart dotted ’i’s, and reads the following:

Aren’t these figurines so adorable? They look just like us! I know we keep accidentally taking each other’s things, but I had the idea that we could try putting them by what belongs to us! - Gracie

…It’s only after picking up the figurines, you suddenly realize that this is the only thing in the entire apartment you seem to be able to actually move at all. Even the cute note next to them seems entirely frozen in place on the table. At least you have a dozen dogs and cats now…? Though… that does beg the question of where to put them.

Scanning the room with your eyes, it’s not hard to realize that the only points of interest in the room that might hold something of relevance seem to be the bookcase full of pictures and knickknacks, the desk work station, and the wastebasket next to it, even though you’d thought it initially empty.

Chula - Suzune

As per Suzune’s request, Akemi kindly informed Suzune of the situation and allowed her to tag along. Well… “tag along” made this sound much more cheerful and lighthearted than it really was. The problem was that Suzune couldn’t stand the idea of Akemi attending this kind of thing alone, lest something horrible happen to Akemi. Lest Suzune lose a friend again, to a man like this. At least… At least regular conversations were in more controlled environments, right? She stared at Vincent with a rather neutral expression, but that, alone, was a lot given her usual smiley nature.

It was a bit of a relief to see him be restrained. That at least limited the chances of the worst possible scenario occurring. This man waking up and lashing out at everyone and the like. Suzune gives an approving nod to Bea, with a small smile of appreciation.

“I’m here for Kuro-chan, so you know.” She stated softly in Vincent’s direction. This wouldn’t be for him, but surely he would understand. He would understand why she of all people wanted to be here for Akemi.

But Bow-Wow? That was a bit more of a surprise that he’d–

—

Oh. And there they were, in what seemed to be a rather cozy home. Suzune grimaced. She knew why that was, no need for an explanation. Homes were where domestic abuse cases really happened. It was always behind closed doors, where no one was watching. “Hah…. This makes sense, doesn’t it?” Fated to be. Hadn’t Suzune said something similar once? That their romance seemed like a fairytale?

She stepped forward to take a look at the figurines, as surely Akemi would want to take a look at the paintings herself. Though, Kaoru immediately beat her there, huh? She paused, hovering from a bit more of a distance, instead.

She flashed a quick smile at Akemi on the way. “Thanks again for bringing me along. It’s a comfort to be here.” Rather than stewing in anxiety alone.

As for Bow-Wow, though…. “Hey, Bow-Wow-san, if you need someone to lean on in the meantime, I’m here.” Having seen one of his projections in the past, she knew enough to know that he was going to have a hard time here, too.

Bow-wow

Luca visibly wilts somewhat, having previously startled like a deer in the headlights as Vincent addressed him. He was glad they’d been swept into the projection before he could say something…

He blinks at Suzune, a little owlishly, as if he hadn’t expected to be addressed directly.

He scratches the back of his neck, ducking sheepishly and avoiding eye contact. “Oh- yeah, uh, thanks! Miss Suzune!” He certainly did feel awkward here. It was a mixture of homesickness combined with regret for a childhood he could have had.

She… must have really liked pink.

Luca approaches one of the framed photos and stares at it. How the hell could Vincent kill someone who looked so… carefree? Luca scoffs to himself, brow furrowed as he glances over toward the figurine display.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Bow-wow Luca approaches one of the framed photos and stares at it.

Now that you’re looking a bit closer, there’s one group photograph that stands out as slightly different than the others here, with the title “First cabin trip with my [boyfriend/girlfriend]“ hand-written across it. Both Gracie and Vincent are smiling and simply standing among a mixed gender group of presumed friends by a cabin seemingly in a dense forest, though they look notably younger than the more modern photos around here, perhaps around 18 to 20 years old, and there’s a similarly hand-drawn heart drawn around both of their faces. Perhaps it’s to make up for the fact it’s not an otherwise romantic looking pose. There’s a hexagonal shaped hole beside it on the bookcase.

Strangely, when you move the black dog closer to the hole, the ink is in black and the handwriting on the note is more blocky, it says “First cabin trip with my girlfriend,” and Gracie’s smile seems a bit more unsure. But when the pink cat is moved closer the ink is in pink and the handwriting on the note is more curly, it says “First cabin trip with my boyfriend,“ and Vincent’s smile seems a bit more unsure. How odd. It looks like either piece would fit, but which should be placed here?

Emmy | Akemi

As the room comes into view, Akemi silently looks around. The decor, the pink, it certainly feels like a space that Gracie had curated without very much regard for Vincent’s sensibilities, if this was indeed true to what their real home was like. It feels far more like her space than his, at least at a glance.

“Of course, Gikou-chan.”

Her eyes quickly catch onto the paintings, and she steps toward them to take a closer look.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Emmy | Akemi Her eyes quickly catch onto the paintings, and she steps toward them to take a closer look.

There’s three paintings on the wall that seem to be entirely unique pieces, given who they depict. Two of them are painted portraits, helpfully labeled as part of the frame as ‘Vincent’ and ‘Gracie’ respectively. They’re clearly a matching set painted by the same unknown person, but they look generally fine. It’s almost strange to see Vincent looking less tired than you’ve always seen him, though.

The third is a pretty painting clearly featuring Gracie as the subject, though it includes full scenery as well. Overall, it matches the look of the room well, giving a sense of peace and security to it all. There’s no signature on this one either, though, making it hard to know if it’s something from Vincent’s real home or an invention of his brain.

Kaoru Naito

He picks up a literal fistful of the figurines and pokes around at them, then will hold up a pair to Suzune, wiggling them in place. bark bark bark, meow meow meow, he says in his head and doesn’t actually verbalize. He holds them out for her to have some.

“They’re fer taggin’ stuff. These two were like, straight as fuck.”

Chula - Suzune

Reading the handwritten note, Suzune frowned. “… When you’re married, you mostly own everything together. Borrowing each other’s things is a pretty normal thing, unless it’s something, like… necessary for one person or the other to have. I guess like… clothes, car keys, wallets and stuff like that. But things like books and dishware and the like is sort of… expected to be shared.” Weird distinction to put forward. Vincent must be particular picky about keeping to his own items, huh? Makes sense. Possessiveness was one of those traits you find in a marriage like that.

That was never a problem she had. It wasn’t like she used the things Haruki needed for work, like his sewing machine or work computer, but most things were pretty communal. But when you have a husband that doesn’t leave the house, you also don’t need to worry about him accidentally taking your car keys or anything. “I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel, like… important to really make that distinction for knickknacks, right? Maybe we should look for stuff that’s like… I don’t know, necessary for work or daily life.” She took a couple of the cat figurines. “… Based on how Churchwell described Gracie-san in the past, I sort of get the feeling that we had some similar tastes. I might be able to pick out some stuff.” Though Grace seemed to like pink more than Suzune did. Suzune was more of a red gal. Then again… weren’t Pink and Red super similar?

“Does anyone know what Gracie-san’s job was? That might like… add some extra context, too. I’m not sure if she was like a stay-at-home wife.” That was also a common thing in these kinds of relationships.

Holding those, Suzune takes a look at the desk!

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Chula - Suzune Holding those, Suzune takes a look at the desk!

On the desk, it seems like some sort of little work station is set up, with a laptop set out that has a background image of an absolutely stunning wedding picture of Vincent and Gracie staring happily into each other’s eyes, surrounded by an arch of pink roses during a sunset. There’s also a mug here filled with pens and pencils that says “#1 Cutest Couple” on it too.

The other thing of note seems to be a phone left out on the desk surface, currently on and in the text message app to show a past conversation, though the actual date isn’t visible. It doesn’t seem that you can scroll to see more context for the conversion, but the name at the top is marked as a rose emoji, and you can see the following:

[Right Side] I looked, it says pregnant.

[Left Side] Seriously? How is it positive, haven’t we been using birth control?

[Right Side] Of course we have been!
[Right Side] I swear I don’t know how this happened either! It must be fate or something, but I don’t know what to do…

[Left Side] We aren’t ready for this, we aren’t even married yet.

[Right Side] Exactly, I don’t know what your family would think of us, but I just can’t imagine giving up on the baby. We just can’t.

Strangely, it’s taken you until now to notice that there are two small hexagonal holes in the desk near the phone on either side of it. Bringing the dog to either the left or right side text bubble turns them either Black for the dog, or Pink for the cat. Whichever figure is near the right side also makes the color of the phone’s case change to pink or black respectively. It looks like either piece would fit in either spot, but which should be placed where?

Bow-wow

Huh… that was certainly weird. Those photos were… actually a little freaky. At least it was just projection magic. He doesn’t move to make a decision on which animal belongs there, yet… but he does move toward the waste basket.

“Uh, I kinda get the concept of all of this, but… I’m kinda lost, actually.” He’s not very smart.

Is there anything in the trash if he sticks his arm in and fumbles around?

Luca will not learn not to shove his arm into potentially dangerous places. This is arguably funnier if it’s an entirely see-through trash can.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Bow-wow Is there anything in the trash if he sticks his arm in and fumbles around?

Sticking his arm in accomplishes nothing, as nothing moves when he touches it at all. But looking with his eyes…

Though it had looked empty at first, after looking closer, it seems that long locks of hair sit in the wastebasket next to the desk, neatly snipped off presumably with a pair of scissors from a haircut. It’s hard to tell exactly how long they are with things in this form, but it’s they’re clearly over a foot in length. There’s a small hexagonal hole in the floor next to the wastebasket you hadn’t noticed before… strange.

What’s possibly more odd, is that the indistinct color of the hair changes from black and white strands to light pink with light brown towards the cut end depending on which figure is near. The dog makes the hair black and white, and the cat makes it light pink. It looks like either piece would fit, but which should be placed here?

Emmy | Akemi

Akemi glances at the portraits, her expression remaining rather inscrutable as she takes in what Gracie actually looked like, as well as what Vincent used to look like.

However, she stops at the other painting and her eyebrows lower. A white picket fence, yellow roses being painted pink, Gracie’s posture and expression, even in his subconscious seemed to lean toward such clear and unveiled messaging. She doesn’t say anything aloud regarding her interpretation, beyond a quiet ‘I see.’

Finally, she turns back to the rest of the room to silently observe what the others are looking at. The figures, the note, the photos, before she ultimately joins Suzune in looking over the desk. Peering over her shoulder to read the texts, her expression remains stern, focused. She wanted to be sure to see everything she could, to fulfill her promise.

Finally, she approaches the bookcase to give it a thorough looking over.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Emmy | Akemi Finally, she approaches the bookcase to give it a thorough looking over.

The one picture that Luca previously saw seems to be the only place with a hexagonal hole like the base of the figurines have… But Akemi can at least see that most of the actual books here aren’t actually high class literature, mostly just pretty covers. There’s a fair few that are fashion related though, surprisingly! And a few more are trashy romance novels.

Kaoru Naito

Well, this is as dysfunctional as he figured it would be. He feels like Vincent might not even remember half of this now, given how similar they are.

He will take a dog and crouch to stick it in the slot by the wastebasket, mumbling an explanation, “Well, ’e told me ’e cut ’is hair ’fore,” and makes a scissor snipping motion w his free hand.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Kaoru Naito He will take a dog and crouch to stick it in the slot by the wastebasket, mumbling an explanation, “Well, ’e told me ’e cut ’is hair ’fore,” and makes a scissor snipping motion w his free hand.

After placing the Dog figurine and setting the hair’s color to Black and white], and before you can move on to anything else in the room, you hear two voices sounding like they’re coming from somewhere in the room, though looking for them you only spot two shadows cast on the wall, one much taller and with broader shoulders than the other. The voices are distinct, though, and it’s not hard to tell which one is Vincent’s, the other belonging to a young woman who must be Gracie.

“See? I told you you’d look great with short hair! Seriously, you look way more handsome this way, I don’t know why you were so against cutting it,” says the Gracie voice with a small laugh.

The other voice, Vincent’s, sounds a bit less sure. “I… I guess so, if you like it this way. I might want to at least grow by bangs a little longer, again…? I don’t really want to end up looking like my…”

The Gracie voice sighs, though it seems to be in a lighthearted way. “Short hair is professional on men, Vincent. You know it’s time to start looking like a proper man. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. And It’s not like you were left with no bangs at all!”

The taller shadow nods, but it’s impossible to see it’s expression. And, after a moment, the voices and shadows both fade away, whatever little scene that was ending. Does that mean you made the right choice?

Chula - Suzune

Suzune paused, reading the texts. She vaguely remembered something or other about that. “… In Churchwell’s first projection, I saw that…” She stopped. That wasn’t actually important to this choice, now, was it? It didn’t matter. Suzune shook her head.

“So, like, I can’t for the life of me imagine Churchwell texting with exclamation points, so I’m pretty sure the news of pregnancy came from Gracie-san, right?” She points to the phone, holding up one of the cat figurines in her other hand. “Besides, Gracie-san is more likely to actually have the results of a pregnancy test first.” But she was willing to wait to put that in… up until Kaoru placed the wastebasket hair figurine in first. She frowned a bit, still waiting, but definitely moving to put the cat figurine she was holding towards the right side of the text conversation.

It was fine, though, if Kaoru just already knew that fact. “That’s good to know, thanks Naito-san.”

“Kuro-chan, didn’t you mention the other time that yellow roses can mean friendship, by the way?” She asked, peering at the painting from afar. She didn’t know about pink roses, though. That one hadn’t come up.