[Open] + [Closed] DIVERSITY

[scooptimistic]

WHO: Maya and many individuals
WHERE: All over
WHEN: The month of June
WHAT: Punishment shenanigans, quests, and a catch-all for additional threads?? Closed threads will be added to the post, open prompts will be beneath the cut.
WARNINGS: Talk of nonexistent gruesome injuries, spoilers for both P2 games idk is that a warning!!!!
NOTES: If you'd like to plot anything additional, you can PM me or reach me on plurk at starswept!



[ That first week of June. ]

[ If you are a teenager or younger, regardless of whether or not this young woman has met you, she's looking incredibly upset the minute she gets a good look at you. This is a prelude to her hurrying over, gaze anxious, as she looks you over and-- ]

This is... definitely going to be a weird question, but are you actually hurt?

[ SHE MIGHT LOOK LIKE SHE'S ABOUT TO CRY. ]

[ Alternatively, she can be spotted making a much slower way around the town. Slower because she's apparently decided to use her necktie as a blindfold, and even Maya isn't about to go sprinting about an area where she can't see.

It won't stop her from bumping into someone, or-- ]

Whoops! Sorry!!

[ A tree. Or the well. Or literally anything else, but she doesn't seem keen to take that blindfold off? Wonder why???? ]

Comments

[scooptimistic]

Mm... well, I guess I can relate.

[ Sort of. Maya is not very old. ]

But that's pretty amazing, Caramia! I never would have guessed!

[ it would have been weirder if she had guessed, more like... ]

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

Admittedly, I think it's gotten a little worse since I've gotten here? [ Or he could be imagining things! It's fine. It's not like he completely forgot his best friend as a person or anything. Haha... ]

Anyway, you... ah, wanted to do a quest with me, right? [ AKA "I want to change the subject now." ]

[scooptimistic]

Oh, right--

[ there's a pause... and then Maya's smile takes on a tinge of ruefulness. ]

So I realize this isn't going to be the happiest of topics, but I was thinking about that painful memory one. And it's nothing you need to share, obviously!

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

After just talking about my bad memory, too? How fitting.

[ There's a bit of an awkward laugh. Whoops. ]

Are you sure that's something you're comfortable doing? Because, I'm fine with it if you are.

[scooptimistic]

Truthfully, I don't like it!

[ she says. With a laugh. ]

But I'm devoting myself to figuring this town out, and so I need to do my part. Which means doing as many quests as I can.

So I'm prepared!

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

I don't think anyone does, honestly, but... [ Well... that was pretty much the end of that statement, really. No "but"s about it. ]

I suppose that's a good outlook on it, though. Would you rather... us sit somewhere comfortable to talk about it, then...?

[scooptimistic]

Yep! Let's step outside for a bit. Just-- not too far.

[ Maya's still not ready to see injured kids. ]

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ Caramia wouldn't deal well with that, either, it's fine. Still, he takes Maya's hand to pull her somewhere the both of them could comfortably sit, so they could at least pretend like they weren't about to share their uncomfortable memories with one another. ]

I know the saying is "ladies first", but if you want me to talk about something to start with, I wouldn't decline. [ He didn't want Maya to deal with that if she didn't want to. ]

[scooptimistic]

... Thanks, but I'm the one who asked this of you. I think the least I could do is say it.

[ he's considerate, though; she appreciates that. ]

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

If you're certain. You can leave out the details, if you'd like. I'm sure it'll still count.

[scooptimistic]

... [ Hm. ]

So say you had a group of friends, and you were all incredibly close... but in order to fix an incredibly big problem, you had to forget each other.

More specifically, you had to make it so that you never met.

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ Oh, the irony of forgetting about your friends. Not that Caramia would know all about that, since, you know, he forgot. ]

That... must have been quite the problem to have to forget about your friends. I could never imagine having to go through that.

[ Hahahahaha... ]

[scooptimistic]

Technically, I didn't, since I was dead, but...

[ MAYA. ]

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

I... I'm sorry, you were what?

[ MAYA!!!!! ]

[scooptimistic]

[ look, this had to be brought up to have the story make sense!! ]

Um. Dead. Impaled, actually, I sort of bled out...

[ UH. ]

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

...

[ What. ]

...????

[ What!!! ]

Maya, I- [ W h a t !!!!!!!!! ] I don't really want to ask any questions, since I told you to leave the details out...

But also, what the fuck.

[scooptimistic]

... I'm sorry. We can move past that, I just kind of had to add that in as a note...

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ It's not everyday someone tells him "Hey, just as a side note, I'm dead in this story, just so you know". Forgive the reaction, Maya. ]

Don't be sorry, I'm just... concerned. [ That means, technically, she's dead now, right? Not like, now-now, but if they found a way home...?

That's... sad. ]

[scooptimistic]

[ really, she's fine. ]

Ah, don't be. I have the memory of dying, but thanks to what I mentioned before, things were reset to the point where I never met those friends I mentioned. Meaning I was never actually killed, because the events of all of that didn't happen, either.

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

...So, you remember them, despite all that never technically happening? [ And they don't...?

If only he could remember Kyrie, he might have even looked a little guilty here. As it is now, he could only show Maya what pity he could, because even if he doesn't remember experiencing this, it still sounded fucking awful. ]

[scooptimistic]

I do. But I used to be like that, too.

But there was someone else who didn't forget at all. And he took everything on his shoulders because such a simple, strong emotion became his sin.

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ Caramia listens carefully, but despite how worried and concerned he may have looked, he holds his tongue to let Maya speak. He did say she should only say the minimum. Caramia only regrets that he's unable to console her in any way.

He does his best, anyway, resting a hand on her shoulder and giving a small squeeze. ]

[scooptimistic]

[ She's fine, really. Mostly. But she also reaches a hand up to pat his own. ]

The boy I mentioned had to deal with a lot-- someone else remembering who shouldn't have, who became a serial killer and tried to kill me while forcing me to remember, people endangering his friends who no longer remembered him, and all the time, he kept trying to keep me out of it. Because he blamed himself for all of this happening.

... When I did get my memory back, it was-- I mean, I witnessed what happened back then. This high-schooler had... called out to all of us, and cried out that he didn't want to forget, and because of that, he was forced to fight alone.

I've... never regretted anything more in my life. He was trying so hard to handle everything on his shoulders, but he looked like he was going to break. And if I'd realized it sooner, he wouldn't have had to face it all alone.

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ Fine or not, this isn't exactly something he's going to sit idly by for! Admittedly, this is a little easier to listen to then "hey, btw I died lol", but it's still not great. ]

I've seen the people who try to carry way more weight than they can handle way more than I would've liked to. I can imagine watching that... must've been... [ He trails off, figuring she could fill the blanks in. ] I'm sorry.

[scooptimistic]

It was... painful. I felt like a failure of an adult, for letting this kid suffer so much on his own-- and a failure of a friend, for not having remembered sooner.

He... didn't deserve any of that.

[ and for that, she is genuinely not that fond of gods. ]