[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

[passio]

W—!

[ habit means that he tries to call out to her even as his voice dies in his throat, and it takes his body a moment to catch up with the near-tragedy of maya’s leap for the pole.

he lunges, too, suddenly panicked as he puts his weight behind grabbing her—but realistically, probably both of them are going to go into the water. ]

[scooptimistic]

[ Both of them are going to go into the water.

Like champions.

Maya, at least, can swim, and she's sputtering her way to the surface while simultaneously trying to make sure Dextera is similarly above the water.

If nothing else, she's also got the pole, so hey. Victory?! ]

[passio]

[ dextera can………… not swim, so god forgive him as he flails in the water, not for the first or even the second or the third time since he’s arrived in this town. someone should really teach him how to swim, eventually, but until that day comes, enjoy the sad sight of an adult man floundering in the water and trying to reach for the pier.

please… maya. ]

[scooptimistic]

Dext--!

[ oh shit. Maya's definitely making a strong grab for him, wrapping an arm around his chest to keep him close and not sinking, as she pushes forward.

Hopefully no one else is seeing this woman lugging both a swimming pole and a grown man in the water, but she's doing her best. ]

[passio]

[ maya did not have to carry the pole to safety, but she did, and dextera will appreciate it later when he doesn’t have a mouthful of salt water he’s tying to spit out.

once they’re close enough to the edge of the old dock that’s been set up, he slams his hand on the boards like a sea monster, splattering the water across the wood. it feels like there’s some kind of weight on his coat, but he’ll figure that out once he’s not actively drowning. ]

[scooptimistic]

You got it? Need a boost?

[ she will unceremoniously shove him up there if he needs it!! ]

[passio]

[ that’s probably a nod, so when he gets maya’s help and hauls his body back onto the dock—the clacking sound behind him suggests that there is actually a crab that has clawed onto the hem of his coat.

hey, look at that! the fishing was somewhat successful after all, albeit in a roundabout way.

he doesn’t notice it for even a second, however, too busy coughing up the water he swallowed. ]

[scooptimistic]

[ Once Maya has him safely on the dock, she's tossing the pole up there and pulling herself up with a single cough. The rest of her attention? On Dextera, as she swiftly pats his back. ]

Sorry about that, I got a little too focused-- you okay? I-- oh!

[ Hold on, there's a crab she's just going to grasp and peel off.

Carefully. ]

[passio]

[ the crab wriggles in her grip, but ultimately, she is a human and it is only a crustacean, and as long as she holds it at the right angle, there’s nothing it can do to pinch her.

like the other creatures in this town, though, it’s distinctly wrong. it has a long tail, almost like a lizard, and it has… four beautiful eyes! it’s lovely, all right, even without any color. snip, snip. the claws are going crazy. ]

…

[ dextera is still coughing when he turns to look at what’s caught maya’s attention, but his eyes widen slightly. ]

[scooptimistic]

... You weren't kidding about them looking a little off, were you?

[ Maya just looks fascinated, though. It's a shame it's colorless or she'd be all for sampling this sucker immediately. ]

[passio]

[ …huh. it’s not the weirdest thing he’s seen come out of the harbor, though, which is maybe the weirdest part about it. if it had color, it might even look delectable, depending on what shade that shell came back as.

he doesn’t need his voice to speak, at least, so he’s clearing his throat when he answers her. ]

We did it.

[ he almost died, but they caught a thing! ]

[scooptimistic]

We did... actually, are you okay? Can we high-five? Do you want to catch your breath first?

[ Maya, let him breathe. ]

[passio]

[ high-five… it’s not the solution he expected to assuring her that he’s okay. every time he takes a breath, it feels like there’s still water in his throat and he starts coughing again—but then he raises his hand.

if she wants to high-five, now is the time! he’s probably fine. could a person who isn’t fine DO THIS ]

[scooptimistic]

[ Maya pauses long enough to switch the crab to one hand, grasping it in a way that it can't get its pissy little pincers on her-- before she meets Dextera's hand with her own. And... ]

Okay, let's maybe have you sit down for a minute! You did kind of just inhale a ton of water.

[ poor Dex. ]

But excellent work! Apparently you made for the best bait of all.

[passio]

[ dextera’s breath is starting to ease, at least, and his strange sense of humor is in tact. ]

Thank you.

[ the weakest grazie of all, but he’s sincere about it, anyway—he’s pretty excited to have caught something, even if it is an angry crab that’s clicking its pincers and doing its damnedest to start a little crab riot in maya’s hand. ]

[scooptimistic]

Of course! We're crab-catching comrades now, I've got to look out for you.

[ well. She'd come up with some excuse even if they hadn't just caught a very angry crab.

... Which she is now going back to clutching with both hands, Just In Case. ]

[passio]

[ an angry crab that is getting angrier by the minute.

dextera finally stops coughing, just in time for the crab to start… screaming? the crab is definitely doing something, and it is incredibly loud for an underwater creature that has no lungs. what a terrible, watery shriek.

he winces. ]

I think it’s mad.

[scooptimistic]

[ He's not the only one wincing. ]

I guess I could sympathize, but at the same time...

-- I wonder if we could gag it.

[ yes, let's make the crab look like a kidnapping victim. ]

[passio]

[ gag it… that seems a little cruel, maya?!

not that it needs its little crabby mouth to breathe. dextera shivers, the chill of the harbor water starting to settle into his bones, and he peels off his coat. once it’s off, damp and dripping in his hands, he reaches out and asks for the crab to be plopped onto the fabric. ]

…?

[scooptimistic]

Are you sure?

[ well. The crab thrashes majestically, so Dex gets about .2 seconds to answer before she unceremoniously drops the crab onto the coat. ]

[passio]

[ and dextera gently folds the coat over its head. it wriggles, angrily, its screams still going strong but now gently muffled by fabric. ]

…

[ like a bird thinking it’s nighttime, however, it soon stops. ]

What now?

[scooptimistic]

... Do you want to keep going? Or do you want me to grab you a blanket first?

[ well, she's equally soaked, but he's the one looking more pitiful here. ]

[passio]

[ a blanket does sound nice, though dextera knows from experience that it can only do so much. even after he dries, he’s going to be cold. ]

The air is warm.

[ it sounds like an ominous spy passcode… but he just means that he’s okay to sit out here and let nature do its trick for drying them both. he shivers. ]

[scooptimistic]

[ ... Dextera is way too pure of a person, and Maya studies him for a second longer.

Before her eyes narrow and she reaches for his wrist to tug him down into a sitting position on the dock, crab and all. There's no hesitation or embarrassment when she presses herself against his side, either-- because even though she's damp, her body heat is nothing to scoff at. ]

I didn't really thank you before for trying to grab me before I fell in, so we'll call this a part of the gratitude package.

[passio]

Ah!

[ maya……………

an angel, too pure for this sinful world, et cetera—dextera stiffens slightly, just for a moment, before he realizes what she’s doing. he’s embarrassed when it settles in, but thanks to certain people in town, he’s no stranger to cuddling for warmth. luckily, whatever month it is, it seems to be heading into summer. they’re not going to freeze to death out here, even with the weird magic water. ]

…

[ he ducks his head, in a grateful nod. the crab is being held carefully between them. ]