Juneau Where She's Going?

[doitrockapella]

Who: Carmen Sandiego (doitrockapella) and a bunch of other people!
Where: Various locations in Johto, over the course of the week!
When: The week of January 26th
Summary: This week, her itinerary's loaded with more than just moving violations.
Rating: PG as a default; deviations from that will be marked!
Log:

⛵ WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SANDIEGO? ⛽
MONDAY January 27th	Goldenrod City — ALL DAY
TUESDAY January 28th	Goldenrod City — ALL DAY
WEDNESDAY January 29th	Goldenrod City — MORNING through 5:00 PM En Route to Ecruteak City — 5:00 PM ONWARD
THURSDAY January 30th	En Route to Ecruteak City — PRIOR to 11:00 AM Ecruteak City — 11:00 AM ONWARD
FRIDAY January 31st	Ecruteak City — ALL DAY
SATURDAY February 1st	Ecruteak City — ALL DAY

People interested in interacting with Carmen or having her pay your character a visit at some point during this week, feel free to throw in a starter with a date and location for the thread! You can either write the starter yourself and I'll have her tag into it, or you can drop a top-level just with date and time and I'll come up with a reason for their paths to cross, either way. o/

Comments

[ardent]

[ ... :|a ]

...I don't think it's that they can't...most people just won't if they don't have to, and up to a point, they don't have to.

[doitrockapella]

Mmm. I think I agree with that, honestly. But I think for me it has more to do with a person's ability to reach their full potential. That's something that really only comes through hard work, regardless of the starting baseline of aptitude — and so really, setting the bar of expectation low enough that a genius can reach it without trying is doing a disservice to the genius, as much as it is insulting the hardworking ordinary person's efforts.

[ardent]

...I know. That's why things need to change as a whole...the way things are now encourages those low expectations.

I want people to be the best they can. That isn't...possible now, I don't think.

[doitrockapella]

You mean with the way things are now.

[...]

For what it's worth, I think you do a fine job of leading by example when it comes to striving for excellence.

[ardent]

Ah...

[And that...seems to hit him strangely; give him a moment.]

...I wasn't able to change anything, in the end. Everything I did back home was for a goal that never came to pass...and nothing I do can change that.

But I...

[He trails off, his gaze darting away; it takes him a moment to recover himself, but he manages eventually.]

...I don't think that it was for nothing, either.

[doitrockapella]

Not reaching the goal you'd had in your sights isn't the same thing as achieving nothing. That's true.

[She's just going to let him have his space; right now it's just as well, since she's trying to keep her own focus on saying legitimately helpful things, too.

Given her track record, this is a noble and admirable undertaking.]

You've mattered, Ishimaru. Even if it wasn't the difference you'd set your sights on, I hope you can at least take comfort in that: the knowledge that you've made a difference in the first place.

[ardent]

[He mulls that over for a moment.]

...I never hurt anyone. Back in the school, I mean. Even after...Ishida happened, I never hurt anyone.

I'm doing what I can to look after everyone here - because it's what I want to do, not because I think I have to. I want to...make sure that everyone's okay, even if I couldn't do that back home. But in some ways it's...good. To know that I didn't hurt anyone back home.

[...]

Sometimes I feel like that might be good enough. To know that I did everything I could, and even after I couldn't do that anymore at least I didn't hurt them.

[doitrockapella]

We don't have to talk about Ishida if you'd rather not. I know it must be painful for you.

[...]

I don't think you're the type to hurt anyone. No matter how upset about him you might've been.

[ardent]

[...wait, what]

I don't know if I'd say I was upset about him...?

[doitrockapella]

[...wait, what]

You wouldn't call this upset? I'd hate to know what you would give that description to, then.

[ardent]

What does this have to do with Ishida...? Ishida didn't...

[...happen? appear? randomly become a thing?]

...He isn't around yet.

[doitrockapella]

[...son she distinctly remembers a conversation in which you were high as balls and the aforementioned Ishida got on the phone to assure her that yes, you did in fact just try to Forget Beam her over the network —]

Wait. Who's Ishida?

[ardent]

[...oh god. Um.]

...I am. Kind of.

[doitrockapella]

...I beg your pardon?

[ardent]

...Do you remember how I told you that I sort of went insane after my brother died...?

[doitrockapella]

[...Oh, for uneducational words' sake, SURE WHY NOT, LET'S JUST GET INTO ALL THIS AGAIN.]

I do. That's also something we don't have to talk about if you'd rather not.

[ardent]

[...for what it's worth, he doesn't seem terribly upset by the topic. Unlike last time, um.]

...No, it's okay. I don't mind.

There was a lot wrong with me after my brother died. Not...physically, though that was getting bad too because I didn't want to eat anything and I couldn't sleep, but...in my head, something wasn't...right. And after a while Ishida happened. To help me deal with it.

I couldn't stop hating myself, so I...sort of became someone else, I guess. But that hasn't happened back home yet.

[doitrockapella]

...

[............]

Is that why your friends are so worried about you? Moreso than...the obvious reasons, anyway.

[ardent]

...It might be. I'm not sure; I just know that I...had a lot of problems, and then I became Ishida afterwards. I think Naegi-kun said something about letting me talk to an AI program that Fujisaki-kun wrote, and that's what set it off.

I wasn't...very good to them, when I was like that.

[doitrockapella]

But that's not likely to happen again, here.

[The "is it?" is implied.]

[ardent]

I don't think so.

[...]

I don't...want it to, either. It...

[... ... ...]

The idea sort of scares me...?

[doitrockapella]

And understandably so. Honestly, I'd be more concerned if it didn't.

[ardent]

I can see why...

[No, really, the entire thing is sort of terrifying, um -

...wait.]

...Who did you think Ishida was, anyway?

[doitrockapella]

...Your brother. When you said "even after that happened", I assumed you were trying to avoid talking about...something that'd happened.

It seemed to follow, anyway.

[ardent]

[ ... :|a ]

Oh - no, that's Oowada-kun. "Ishida" is a combination of his name and mine.

[Because there's nothing at all strange or awkward about that.

Moving on.]

Alice-san is my sister; you'll probably see her around eventually, too.