inbox / purgastory.

[transmit]

HELLO

"You've reached Elysium! Lost? Need an ear? I'm your guy! I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

GOODBYE

TEXT | VIDEO | VOICE | ACTION

inventory bc i don't know where else to put this:

cursed chihuahua papers

Comments

[transmit]

To an extent, this place has been pretty consistent about forcing us to be honest with ourselves and making us face the parts we'd rather avoid, right? I can see how someone less savvy might think that thing stole pieces from the real people it mimicked, so maybe that was the intent, too. Too bad they missed the small detail that my Captain's mute.

[ That isn't nearly as important as what Yosuke has to say, though, and he'll turn his attention to him even if he can't quite see it from his ridiculous positioning. ]

Mm. Did she look like she was struggling?

[aerodynamic]

Including locking us up until we confess whatever secrets we have, yeah. [ he sounds so annoyed about that part specifically. ] I was talking to Tsukasa about this, how it'd be easy to throw us off and have us lost sight of what's happening if this place really dialed in on what might get under our skin. But it's good that you noticed a detail like that. Not that... it wasn't obvious with how it looked.

[ it's still important to him to know more about elysium in general, because the other thing he'd said to tsukasa was that the best thing they can all do is remind each other of important things that may be forgotten. but then there's saki. ]

She was good about brushing it off. I didn't know how much it bothered her back then, and even when I tried to defend her she never said anything. [ he decides maybe some context is important though. ] My family moved to Inaba because my dad became the manager of Junes. It's a really big department store, they're kinda everywhere. But Inaba's such a small town that bringing a Junes meant all of the town's business started going there and the shopping district lost it. Saki-senpai's family has owned a liquor store in the shopping district for generations, so when she came to work at Junes, people started talking.

... there's not a single person in that town who doesn't know who I am because of Junes. I heard a lot of things behind my back and even to my face about how we ruined everything when the store first opened. What can you do but shut up and deal with it? [ granted, that suppression led to his shadow but he's not getting into that. ] But people started saying the same kind of things to her, about how she was a traitor to her family and everything. She hated it... and she hated me, too, because of it. And I was too excited just to be talking to her to even notice how bad it was until it was too late. I was just a pain in her ass who was too enthusiastic to realize she was only being nice, but... I still wish I'd had more time. Maybe things would have been different then.

[transmit]

Oh, don't remind me…

[ War flashbacks to the Holy Mother Cardi B… not like this. Makes a face like he's emulating the one lemon meme. ]

Makes you wonder if the real goal here is to get us desensitised to everything. They throw so much at us, push us close to the edge but not quite, then suddenly—there's a lull. Now that's what I'd call Purgatory: if they want to hollow us out until there's nothing left.

[ His thoughts wander somewhere grislier than that, and it's not hard for them to. The hazards of working in a squad labelled for special operations! Intel-gathering isn't exactly a lighthearted pastime when it involves people who may not want to cooperate with you. ]

It's pretty messed up, isn't it? How one of the first instincts people have under pressure is to lash out at whoever they perceive as weaker, like hurting someone else means they have some semblance of control. [ … ] Hate begets hate. It always has. But breaking out of that cycle is easier said than done, and not many people are capable of it. I get both sides.

[ Bleak how universal that is; how every civilisation finds its way to the same ugly solutions. They shouldn't count as solutions, but here they were. ]

If there were people who didn't need to experience suffering firsthand just to develop empathy, the world would be a far kinder place. But you're not a mind reader, Yosuke. You can only know however much a person chooses to disclose. It sounds like you did what you could with the knowledge you had at the time.

… You can't help people who don't want to be helped. It's something we all struggle to reconcile with, my man. Don't beat yourself up so much.

[ Though, for it to have ended with her death would've made it that much harder. He feels for Yosuke—he does. ]

[aerodynamic]

... it's a possibility. If we're numb to everything happening, we'd lose the motivation to keep going eventually wouldn't we? Like there'd be no point because this place took everything.

[ which, like. scary. he doesn't like the idea of being hollow actually.

on the other hand, this conversation and seeing that monster's kind of left him feeling that way, which is why he falls quiet again. it's probably for so long it would be fair for elysium to think yosuke really did fall asleep after all.

but, eventually: ]

... she was killed by somebody who thought she was weaker, just because he could. Didn't like something she said and decided to prove to her he was stronger than she was and make her beg for her life. [ people who like hurting someone else to have a semblance of control. ]

I know you're right. [ but? ] But it's part of why I'm trying to be more honest with people myself. I want... I was really excited when I got my Persona because it meant I might actually be able to do something to help protect people. And even if people don't want to be helped, I want to do my best to at least ask better questions now. That's true for home, and true for here. But I do get it.

[ he can't beat himself up so much but also the ghost of saki konishi apparently still wants to haunt his stupid ass a year later, so. here we are. ]

Best we can do now is take what we learned, and the parts we grabbed, and see what we can make of it all.

[transmit]

[ If he's fallen asleep, Elysium isn't about to wake him. And when he speaks up again, he finds he doesn't have another wise remark ready on his tongue. Just a pause, the soft echo of his shoes, and a low hum loud enough to acknowledge he's still listening.

A few beats pass, then: ]

… That's the spirit, buddy. You did do something today——you did a lot. So hold your head a little higher, yeah? That's your better angle.

Buuuuut! Not to get all sentimental; we've reached your terminus station. [ Like the chorus of meows weren't blatantly obvious enough. ] Hope you've enjoyed your ride with Elysium Logistics. Don't forget to leave a five-star review, hm? Your man deserves it.

[ being lugged like potatoes! very cool. ]

[aerodynamic]

[ he's torn between feeling weirdly soothed by this and also extremely embarrassed that he's being treated like a child, but he's also kind of like "well, whatever." which is to say there's another brief hit to elysium's shoulder as he sits up a little to wriggle his way down. ]

Yeah, yeah. "Smooth ride, easy listening." [ he rolls his eyes but... you know. elysium did haul his ass all the way back here, so he can at least bow his head politely, albeit awkwardly. ] ... but thanks. Seriously.

[ everything is all fine and well, and then nothing bad happened to either of them ever again. ]

[transmit]

[ A brief and sharp 'hey!' at the punch with little bite to back it up. Still, it's all feigned offense and he's back to laughter within the second. ]

How many times are you going to keep saying that when I say it's literally no problem? [ He's just going to lightly tap Yosuke's shin with his foot. Lightly——as Elysium's low-key wondering if he'll even make it back to his room. ] Seriously, man. It's just what bros do for each other. Call me up the next time you decide to do something fun.

[ They continue to live their happy and peaceful lives in Purgatory! Of course they do. ]