Which came first... [MASSIVE SPOILERS - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

[Vixx]

So which came first: was Maya/Sakura drawn to The Villa(s?) because it's a suicide hotspot, or is the Villa a suicide hotspot because Maya/Sakura/The Witch keeps drawing people there?

Discuss!

[leftshoe18]

IIRC the villa became a suicide hotspot during the pandemic (so like 2020 - but it had also been the place where the Witch of the Far East had possibly committed suicide in 1947, right?) and Maya died in 2021 (or maybe it was late 2020?). I may have the dates wrong since I've only played through it once so far. I think Maya was just attracted to the place as a graffiti canvas. The growing suicide rate at the location, along with relationship issues and her struggle with identity outside of her social media presence, led to her committing suicide there.

[Vixx]

Yep, I figured the Villa was definitely built on the grounds of the hospital where the witch killed herself.

Good point about the timeline, though! Although I do wonder if there's always been a presence there, drawing people in...

It reminds me of the Bridgend suicides that happened just up the road from me back in 2007/2008. Absolutely awful stuff.

[Droo]

If only we had a resident expert on timelines.....oh well.

[Chris Sunderland]

Maya was drawn to the Villa because she was looking for inspiration for her art? She seemed to find them relatable due to them being mainly female and young. At least that's what I got in my one play through.

[The Adversary]

If only we had a resident expert on timelines.....oh well.

No idea how I missed this comment entirely. I must have avoided the thread because at the time I hadn't played it yet and wanted to go in blind.

What we know from the game is Maya's great-grandmother, the "Witch of the Far East," committed suicide by jumping off a hospital roof in 1947. There's no indication if the hospital was later destroyed and the Villa was built over it, so the locations are probably unrelated — outside of both being in Kettenstadt.

All three of the girls — Maya, Amelie, and Anita — were born in 2004, with the Kettenstadt Villa Apartments being built in 2008.

The suicides seemed to have become a recurring event at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, generally happening every 6 months. Which, in that regard, makes sense with the pandemic beginning in late February/early March 2020. The Amelie-foil was on 24 September, 2021; Maya was 12 March, 2022; and Anita was going to the day of THE SHORT MESSAGE, 12 September, 2022. All 6 months apart.

So that would mean at least three other girls jumped previously: in March 2020, September 2020, and March 2021.