Work Text:
Maya was sitting hunched over in front of her computer, in a shrimp-like crescent, like usual. However, this time, Maya was actually doing school work, namely finishing her Dutch homework. Well, at least she was trying to. Because Maya's attention was divided between three windows on her computer. Maya was alternating between writing her homework, listening to music, and writing in another document. This other text document contained a text that Maya had spent the last few months writing. A document Maya felt closer kinship to, than with her sisters. However, Maya would rather die than reveal the contents of this document to anyone (and no, it's not because it's perverse.) The music drumming in Maya's ears, through her headset, came from a series she had recently binged. Furthermore the high energy and strong lyricism of the music gave Maya the strength to finish her homework. Although it was still 50 words short of the word requirement, Maya didn't worry, because Coco had promised her that she would read through and correct her homework. But first Maya had to write corrections to the second document, her fanfiction. When Maya first heard about RWBY, she had declared it blasphemy. An anime made by some pathetic Americans? But after only a few episodes, Maya was captivated by the series' fast pace and explosive action scenes. But the series had one flaw, one character, that dampened Maya's enjoyment. Ruby's (the main character of the series) half-sister, Yang, a brawny blonde with a supermodel body. Every time Yang arrived, she took over the scene and overshadowed the other characters with her big... Personality. Furthermore, several people had written in the comments that Yang was their favorite character, some even thought she should be the main character. Those comments angered Maya, once again the world had decided that a charismatic blonde (Yang, not Coco), was more important than a black-haired introvert (Ruby, not Maya). Society's bias had crept into the anime world. Maya's oasis against the prejudices of the outside.
That's why Maya had been slaving away for weeks to write the first chapter of her rewrite of RWBY, a version that wouldn't include attention-seeking blondes (Sun is still included. Who could say no to those abs?). A new version of the story under Maya's control, without anyone else's interference. Maya had just gotten to the part where Marys (the new fourth member of Team RWBY, since Yang was removed from the story) had impressed the rest of Team RWBY by defeating a Nevermore Grimm on her own, in record time. In addition, Marys's petite figure and long, straight black hair roused Ruby's jealousy. Part of Maya was proud that she had maintained her concentration to finish the chapter. But another part of Maya was embarrassed to have dedicated so much time to something that, without question, was cringe. Especially since Maya had spent her math classes writing the complex backstory of Marys, which was almost longer than the first chapter, instead of doing any of the math exercices. At least no one would read the fanfiction and thus corrupt it with their normative attitudes. Maya's escape from the Cocos of the world was safely stored in her Word account. But enough brooding, Maya had a document to send! After the text document was sent to Coco, Maya returned to meaningless introspection. Then Maya went to bed to take a nap, but got back up to scroll through brainrotting/ragebait content on the internet for a solid hour. Thereafter, Maya went to bed to take a nap that will hopefully last until dinner.
But Maya's planned catnap was interrupted by Coco kicking her door open.
“Maya! I didn't know you had such a wonderful creative soul!”
Maya froze, her jaw and eyes wide open. Even as Coco sat down on her bed and looked at her expectantly, Maya remained petrified. Coco's presence on the unmade bed seemed out of place, she shouldn't or want to be here. Coco blinked briefly, waiting patiently for Maya to come back to life.
“Soooo, I think what you sent me was really imaginative and cool! That’s why I’m flattered that you’re asking for corrections from me.”
Corrections? Maya shivered as she remembered the message she had sent Coco with the Word file: “corrections please”. It was the first and last time Maya would show her sister any courtesy.
Coco gave Maya a quick nudge to wake her up. A low humming sound came from Maya, who couldn't yet navigate this scenario.
“Yeah, I sent it… totally on purpose.” Said Maya, whose ability to lie about her comfort, was well-trained. Coco took out a notebook, Maya trembled at the thought of being judged by little ms.Perfect. Once again, Maya was helpless to stop Coco from invading her bubble of safe isolation. This blonde avatar of society would soon put Maya on trial for her breach of regularity.
“The first thing I'll fix is the spelling. There should be way fewer punctuations and more commas.” Coco said, which made Maya grit her teeth, but still Maya held her tongue. From experience, it's best to endure Coco's overbearing normie routine than to resist.
“Also, I think Marys is a bad protagonist and should be changed.”
Maya clenched her jaw tighter, trying to prevent at herself from punctuating her displeasure at Coco. Was Coco serious about Marys? Marys, a true reflection of the unique emotional pain, Maya endures daily, was to be changed?! Coco had a hobby of thwarting her joy, of twisting anything that didn't conform to her sanitized worldview. But deleting Marys was over the line. Maya scratched her wrist, eager for this lecture to end.
“Could you elaborate?” Maya muttered, through clenched teeth that ground together.
"Of course, well she seems a little too perfect, the only problem she has is that she's shy. But that really doesn’t come into play, when Ruby and the others are so eager to be her friend."
Maya narrowed her eyes. Of course, a manipulative Stacie like Coco wouldn't understand that people would befriend someone like May-Maryse. Someone who doesn’t rely on her looks or needs help from a self-righteous savior. But still Maya remained silent, one of the few things she was an expert at, because soon this would be over.
“Besides, I also think Marys is, what’s the word?… Unsympathetic, she always seems to blame others and holds grudges. Not to mention the countless paragraphs filled about her self-hatred. Maybe you could change her to be more confident and proactive in solving her personal issues” said Coco, every word like a stab into Maya’s blossoming artistic soul. To put it bluntly, Maya took the criticism personally, as if every point against Marys’s personality was an attack on her very existence. Causing a flood of femcel anger coursed through Maya. Even though Maya’s legs had been passive for the past few hours, they found the strength to carry Maya’s meager weight. Now a trembling Maya towered over Coco, who was still sitting on the crumb covered bed.
“Maybe Marys shouldn’t be changed, just because you can’t accept her, because she’s not like you. Maybe it was even a mistake to ask you for corrections, you have no perspective, on what it’s like to be me- Marys. You know nothing about having social anxiety, you… You can’t fix my story. If you think you can just swoop in here and demand changes from me, you’re wrong. This story is mine, mine alone, and I don’t need you budding in! Because you can’t fix me, and I’d never be changed by a Barbie bitch like you!” It was only with the last words that Maya realized that she was now standing up and that Coco’s lower lip was quivering. Coco stood up too, her hands folded together, golden hair strewn over her eyes. Maya curled back in her office chair and squeezed herself into the fetal position, mentally prepared herself for the beating of a lifetime. But all Coco did was turn her back on Maya and walk towards the door. However, before Coco left the pigsty, she looked back at Maya. A single tear ran down Coco's cheek, making Maya feel a hundred times smaller.
“You know, Maya, sometimes you can be a real asshole.” With those words, Coco left Maya, slamming the door behind her. But for Maya, it was okay, even though she herself had started to cry. It was okay. This isolation protected her. If Maya could never earn the admiration of her sisters, forever remain the black sheep of the family. Then why shouldn’t she give up on life, outside her digital biome? Maya sat in front of her glowing screen, it was okay.