Memory Share Broadcast

[bufus]

[ Should someone actually want to find her, Mitsuru can be found in the The Fountain Square sitting at the gazebo writing in a small notebook. Occasionally, she takes a break to stand, walk around, and eventually even look at the strange falling leaves. A mistake as when she does memories come back. The memories that play out unbeknownst to her on the network are: ]

A Recording of Mitsuru in her room after having taken a shower. No warnings, just her being down on herself a bit and talking to herself in a towel.

First use of Potential Stops at the 4 minute mark. The first time Mitsuru used her Persona ability as a child. Includes creepy amoral scientists using a kid for her powers and some death/transformations.

Script of Mitsuru's shitty fiancé An altercation between Mitsuru, her fiancé, and Minato. Content warning: verbal abuse, talk of parental death, huge age gap relationship, and just a generally awful person.

Comments

[bufus]

I insisted on coming. If I did hold the potential in me then I wanted to be able to protect my father should anything go wrong. As it turned out, it was a good thing I had insisted. [ Ignore the fact that she was a child and her father could have easily just said no and set her out somewhere if he'd really wanted to keep her out of it. ]

My grandfather and the other scientists were very pleased to have someone that proved their theories correct. [ Aka they ran a lot of tests and experiments on her. ] I...found out later that they were able to bring out artificial Persona in people--children. Children they found on the streets. [ she swallows. There's a part of her that feels like that's her fault. That they'd only succeeded in finding a way to do that to those children because of her own natural talent. But, as always, she keeps those thoughts to herself. ] After an incident many shadows from Tartarus, the place in that memory, were released into the regular world. I was tasked with trying to keep their numbers under control and with looking for others to join me that might have the natural potential themselves. We formed a group called SEES.

[ask_whydunit]

[ Deep breaths, Waver… He certainly felt the argument concerning what her father could have (should have) done on the tip of his tongue… But he knew it wouldn’t be accepted without conflict considering the sureness in her tone, and it was unbecoming to start an argument with someone who was hurting. Not that it stopped something particular close to troubled bleeding into his practised tone, he was only human. ] Were there no members of the study aside from yourself with that much potential…?

[ Like, adults. Then she continued talking, and it was rather obvious what the answer was. ] Children. Was there a reason that all the subjects were children, beyond the obvious ease of securing them. [ He is well aware of how easy it can be for those with the means to target children. It wasn’t strange in mage society. If a family’s own children weren’t off the table, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine those without families to be targets. Even young that showed promise in some way were often adopted into families for their abilities. ] I recall you explaining your group, so this was just before that then… You’ve certainly been dealing with this for longer than I had guessed based on your earlier explanation.

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There were no others that had the natural potential at all. I was the only one to display it.

[ She paused for a few seconds. ] My only assumption would be that they were both easy to obtain and also that it seems easier for someone younger to develop the ability to summon a Persona while they're younger. [ Why that was she wasn't entirely certain. ] Perhaps that has something to do with how incomplete a child's sense of self is and how easy it is to manipulate it at that age.

[ She seemed a bit dismissive there. ] I suppose I have. It's never bene something that particularly bothers me. [ Which was and wasn't true. ]

[ask_whydunit]

[ Of course there hadn’t been… He shook his head to himself at her thoughts on why the young would be easier to develop the ability was probably true… ]

I suppose that would make sense depending on the ability… A lot of magecraft is taught from a young age in families with specific kinds of magic, so I can see why it might be easier to train one in a unique ability like that in the young as well…

[ Children who were raised to believe something was normal, that they were carrying on some great purpose through generations? They didn’t tend to question if they were used as tools for their elders. Some even thought it an honor… Until they didn’t. His student Mary had finally had enough of being a possession, and when she saw the opportunity for freedom from her rather cruel father… She had taken it. Waver was glad for her at the end of the day, even if some might say otherwise if they found out. So it was hard not to wonder if Mitsuru really had never questioned or wondered about her own childhood and the problems put upon her.

Her dismissive tone gets a rise of his brow on the other end of the line. He wondered how often she had to tell that to not only other people, but herself as well. ] Ah… I see. So you kept yourself that focused on learning and helping with your grandfather’s research.

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I wish I knew more of it. [ Sort of. In some ways she doesn't want to know, because knowing means further accepting how awful it was. ] It was not until fairly recently that I met the only remaining children who were a part of it and...[ she falls silent for a few seconds. ] based on them whatever was done was hardly 'training'. [ It sounded much more like torture at the hands of a group that used her families money and name. ]

For me it was more about helping my father than my grandfather. Keeping him safe and helping to alleviate some of the pressure that came with the Kirijo name.

[ask_whydunit]

[ It seemed like the similarities, even with slight differences, could be found in most worlds. Waver frowned to himself, shaking his head and not liking what he could imagine. Nor did he like that it wasn’t hard to imagine the mindset that such things were ‘normal’ to some people. Still, that couldn’t have been easy for Mitsuru to learn. ] That must have been difficult for you to learn after everything.

Ah… Protecting and supporting your father, then. I take it that it was just the two of you to have taken on that responsibility?

[bufus]

It...was quite difficult. Particularly because I was informed of this by some of those children. [ And they...had really not been good people. Or happy. They'd also had a particular disdain for her that she could hardly blame them for. ]

Ah, no. My mother simply had little to do with the company. She's rather... sickly.

[ask_whydunit]

That would be terribly difficult if you weren’t aware of how bad it was back then. [ And her tone made it clear enough that it had been. ] I see… Does that mean she didn’t know about what was going on with your situation? Regardless, I am sorry to hear that. It must have added a weight on your mind as well. My own had poor health, and it can make things rather difficult.

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I would like to say I would have tried to make a difference had I known. However, that would be a rather empty statement. There would be little I could do. [ Which...was rather upsetting to know, but best to accept. ] She knew, but she had little to do with the company due to her illness.

[ask_whydunit]

I’m afraid I’ve seen too many situations where there was little someone, let alone someone of your age at the time, could have done to change things when someone else had plans and was in charge.

[ It was practical for her to see that, of course, but it was still… Sad to think she had to do so at all. To face and carry that now. Their worlds really did put a lot on the shoulders of those who should be able to simply have a childhood, didn’t they? ]

[bufus]

I...know that's often the case. It's still difficult to not place some of the blame on yourself. Or, at the very least, to carry some of the weight.

[ask_whydunit]

I know too well that it’s hard not to feel responsible on some level for things that happen. [ Even still, he continued in a serious tone. ] But that doesn’t change the fact that what happened isn’t your fault, and you should remember that. You’re still doing what you can now, instead of letting that weight crush you or running away.

[ Because even if he got the distinct feeling that she wasn’t the sort to run from a situation like that? A lot of people would tuck tail and run from that kind of mess. ]

[bufus]

Thank you. I appreciate your sentiment. [ Even if she didn't quite agree. ]

[ask_whydunit]

You’re welcome. [ He didn’t expect her to. He knows too well how that feels… But it had needed to be said. ] And I know it is rather hard to take such sentiments seriously, but do remember them. And if you need a distraction, you can always join me at the historium.

[ Because where he knows that his words will do little and frankly his awkwardness is obvious… He can at least offer distractions from this mess if she decides she needs it at some point. He knows they share… similar ways of dealing with things if their first meeting was anything to go by. ]

[bufus]

Thank you. I will certainly keep that it mind.

[ask_whydunit]

You’re welcome, I hope that you will.