August Catch-All

[scooptimistic]

WHO: Maya and whoever wishes to deal with her!
WHERE: All around Chroma
WHEN: The merry, merry month of-- August
WHAT: Quests and bonding and shenanigans, oh my. There will be a few open prompts within!
WARNINGS: Nada, will change if it changes!



[ HEALING, FRESH HEALING - OPEN ]

[ It's only taken a few days to realize what's going on in the woods. Because Maya is a journalist and journalists are all about gathering information, she's half-tempted to check out the woods herself. But her arm is only newly out of its sling, so she's opting not to go charge into The Pit herself.

Instead, if you exit the woods, and you look as though your ass has been thoroughly kicked, you'll find this young woman waving an arm over her head to get your attention. ]

Ciao! Need a complimentary healing before you collapse for the day?


[ MY SWEET RED ROSES - OPEN ]

[ Good random day of August, person who Maya happens to familiar with! Or maybe she has no idea who you are, that might actually be a real possibility. But all the same, she's grinning at you and extending an arm, on which is draped no less than eight flower crowns of varying designs. ]

Take your pick! Free of charge, of course! One of these really has to bring out your eyes, right?


[ DON'T DO THE CINNAMON CHALLENGE - OPEN ]

[ Look... just. Look. She got a crate full of blue cinnamon, and now she's wandering around with her arms full of jars of the stuff, smiling wryly when she makes eye contact. ]

So I know it's not as great as fish or chicken or whatever most people ended up with, but if you want a sweet seasoning, I'd totally be willing to part with a jar!

Comments

[scooptimistic]

Nice to meet you, Michael! My name is Maya-- Maya Amano.

[retrobeats]

Yeah, you too. Now at least I won't call you "blue cinnamon lady" in my head the whole time.

[scooptimistic]

... Yeah, I appreciate that. I happen to have a bunch of other, better titles you could have called me!

[retrobeats]

[ he can't help grinning a little. he also doesn't have the shame to be even slightly sheepish about it. ]

Yeah? Like what?

[scooptimistic]

Like--! Beautiful and talented journalist, or swift sharp shooter or--

[ Okay, Maya. ]

[retrobeats]

[ okay, that gets him laughing. not 'cause it's funny to think of her being those things so much as the way she puts it reminds him of a super cheesy superhero cartoon, or maybe some kind of wrestling hype man listing off all his wrestler's many titles. ]

Oh man, I get it, I get it! [ he rocks back on his heels a lil. ] So you're a journalist? That's gotta get interesting.

[scooptimistic]

[ He's not wrong, Maya is a dramatic ham anyway, when she doesn't have to be the Semi-Responsible Adult. ]

Like you wouldn't believe. Serial killers and rumors coming to life...

[retrobeats]

Whoa. You serious? [ y i k e s. ] That sounds like... super heavy and high-profile stuff.

[ they usually give big stories like that to people who are good at what they do, right? that's the logic that makes sense to him, anyways. still... y i k e s.

of course, then what she said actually hits him, properly. ]

D'you mean - literally come to life, or was that just a figure of speech?

[ he has learned quickly not to put anything past any of the lives of the people in this town. ]

[scooptimistic]

I mean like... say a rumor started about the owner of a ramen shop actually working for the yakuza and selling weapons. If that rumor spread enough, the owner would suddenly act as though this was how their life had always been and would end up selling weapons.

[retrobeats]

You mean like... an actual literal "clap your hands if you believe" kinda situation?

[ GOD, IS THAT TERRIFYING OR WHAT... he feels kinda like someone just poured ice water down his spine thinking about it. ]

[scooptimistic]

-- Yeah, that's a really good way of putting it.

[ Haaaa. ]

As you can see, it was pretty tough trying to stay on top of rumors and not letting them get too out-of-hand.

[retrobeats]

Yeah... [ brrrrr. ] No kidding. My school's got a pretty efficient rumour mill going on, so-- I can picture it.

[ beat. he scuffs one shoe against the ground. ]

You ever find out what caused it?

[scooptimistic]

... Yeah, but I think that's a story for another day. It gets crazier, trust me.

[ let's not scar this poor kid just yet. ]

[retrobeats]

Oh, man. [ Y I K E S... ] Why am I not surprised?

[ because there is not a single person he has talked to yet in this town who DOESN'T have some kinda bizarre thing going on, that's why. it's just the flavour and the extent of the bizarreness that switches up! ]

[scooptimistic]

... Because you're an extremely open-minded individual?

[retrobeats]

[ with a pffft of laughter, thank u for breaking the emotional tension: ]

Yeah, that's one way to look at it! Or I coulda just been living in this town too long, one or the other.

[scooptimistic]

That can't be it. You're newer than me and I'm still surprised by all of the new things I keep running into!

[ Maya, never lose your sense of wonder. ]

[retrobeats]

Hey, it's not that I'm not surprised. I'm just good at rolling with stuff I guess. [ he shakes the little jar of blue cinnamon that he's still holding. ] Like with this stuff!

[scooptimistic]

... Should I hope that all of your stuff is just as fun and brightly-colored?

[ that sounds safe. ]

[retrobeats]

Thaaaaaat'd be telling, doncha think?

[scooptimistic]

Is telling bad?

[ please, she's a journalist. ]

[retrobeats]

[ she sure is!! ]

Oh no, is that a journalist trap? I think the thing I'm supposed to say here is "no comment", right?

[scooptimistic]

I mean, you could, but that would be boring for the both of us!

[retrobeats]

Yyyeah, maybe. --Nah, I'm just messing with ya. I mean, all my stuff is just... your typical teen stuff, so y'know, nothing headline-worthy.

[ he said, you know, like a liar who suddenly can't make eye contact. ]

[scooptimistic]

... You know, it's the ones who don't have the typical teen stuff that tend to insist that it's nothing, right?

[ It's Eikichi and Tatsuya all over again. ]