vella | Week 4

Week 4

WEEK 4 LOG ♬
Weather: Monday AM & PM - Clear Skies; Tuesday - Thursday AM Cloudy, PM Rainy; Friday - Clear Skies

The Meteor Shower

On Monday, there are, in your mailboxes, passports for those who happened to not pick them up when the airport opened. Hold onto these--they’re important, after all! Open them up, and you’ll find not only a title, your name, and your hometown, but you’ll also find…

A blank page? That’s right. There’s a page in the back of the admittedly small passport with only one thing on it: a space that looks like it has room for a star stamp. Huh. That’s strange, isn’t it? There are no hints as to what it could be about, but maybe the announcement will shed some light.

There’s also, like last week, a familiar face around the island… it’s Audie! Come around to her house to say hi--she’s very excited to be here, and very fashionably dressed as she strolls around the island.

And like clockwork, at nine AM, Tom Nook makes his announcement once more:

“Good morning, Isla Sonrisa! A few things this morning. Please give a warm welcome to our new neighbor, Audie!”

Audie smiles and waves at you all with both paws--she’s pretty flattered at the warm response. Tom Nook continues--

“We have for you the ability to build bridges now! Yes, yes, these will prove very useful indeed. Of course, you will most likely have to work together to figure out the best places to put these bridges, as we have only a limited number… But I am sure working together will be little trouble for you all! The only thing to note is that each bridge will come with a construction fee of 15,000 bells each. Consider working together to get some bridges up and running...?”

He pauses, and the next part comes with some measure of almost… not quite dismay, but there’s a certain cloud over the tanuki: “It also seems Iori and Mira have also left the island… Again, we’re looking into it, and should any discoveries come to light, I will tell you immediately.”

He nods to himself, and continues on--

“Next, I’d like to tell you all we have a very special event tonight… a meteor shower! Yes, yes, starting at 7 PM, we will have clear skies and many stars to wish upon. Who knows--maybe your wishes will all come true!” He says that with a bright smile, almost like he really believes it… Or maybe that’s just his quiet optimism? Anyway, he continues--

“Finally, I’d like to thank you all for your hard work in making items for our new friends! Yes, yes, you all have been working so hard to create furniture and items for our housing plots, but this week, I invite you all to put your best DIY skills to the test! There are no specific style requirements in mind, but please make sure our potential new friend has:

1 Table
2 Dressers
1 Clock
2 Chairs

Of course, if you’d like to make more, I am sure our friend will not be opposed…” He pauses, and seems to remember something! “Ah, yes, we are very close to opening our museum… I am sure Blathers would appreciate any bugs, fish, or fossils regardless! Hmm… Yes, that is all I have for you! Thank you once more for your hard work, and have a wonderful day!”

Possible Objectives

1. Help Tom Nook prepare a housing plot for the last villager house.
2. Donate more specimens to Blathers.
3. Attend the meteor shower, if you so desire. There may be some secrets waiting for you...
4. Make a money pool for some bridges.

Turn-Ins
Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday

(OOC: Welcome to Week 4! Please direct all questions to the FAQ.

Here's this week's Weekly Plotting Post for you all to use!

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let us know! Have fun!)

Taken / FAQ / Locations / Rewards / Full Nav

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Minato stares at the can for a moment, but doesn't say anything about it; enjoy your free empty energy drink can, Laurent. ]

About the same as always. Used to stay up past midnight all the time too, so...

[ So he pinches off another little bit of clay, rolling it around in his palms in what's supposed to create a sphere, but ends up oblong. Good enough. ]

It was nice tonight. You'd've missed it if you were at the casino working.

They're still up there, you know.

[ He chuckles and looks up at the sky. It's so late at night, but occasionally, a shooting star streaks across the sky. Assuming this is before 4 AM anyway. ]

But that's true. I would have missed it if I was still working there. Maybe that's why I'm feeling a little grateful today. It's a wonderful sight, with a chance to make wishes...

[ His voice trails off when a thought interrupts him. Wishing upon dying stars and falling rocks are nothing but wishful thinking without effort--is what his pessimism screams, but a part of him believes there's no harm in doing this sort of thing every once in a while. ]

Edited 2020-07-21 01:43 (UTC)

[ Minato tilts his head up, careful not to flop all the way onto his back or else he won't get back up again, and his arms would get tired holding the clay up and mushing it over his face. He's never once wished on a star... never thought to, until it was brought up today. Sometimes he lived in cities so bright at night it would've been impossible anyways. Most of the time, he has no wishes deep in his heart. ]

Yeah... This is the first time I've done anything like this. Watching stars burn up. Did you wish for anything?

It's my first time too, watching shooting stars like this. Never really had a good opportunity to.

[ Laurent looks up. Another shooting star trails in the sky, disappearing when it gets low enough. ]

I wished that my uncle could live a good life. I was planning to let him comfortably retire early.

[ Taking the prompt to glance up when Laurent does, Minato catches the streak of white in the air, almost like an afterimage— it disappears as soon as he blinks, and he's left wondering if he'd even seen it in the first place. How can a wish be carried out by something so ephemeral, it's already gone? ]

...is that why you spend your time working two jobs?

[ He looks back down in his hands, tacky with clay, and he dries them off the sides of his pants. ]

He'd have a better life if you were there home with him, I'd bet.

I actually work three, but the third is a freelance sort of thing.

[ Laurent thinks about it. Maybe Minato is right, but... ]

I already moved out a while ago. If any event I disappear or die, everything in my bank account goes to him... I still visited him though, so it's not like I left forever.

[ Three jobs... It's impossible to imagine holding three jobs without some sort of work ethic, or else things will fall apart like with Minato and his four clubs and abysmal attendance, of which Laurent doesn't seem like the sort. ]

You've pretty much already disappeared for a couple weeks, so...

[ That money is probably already as good as his uncle's, Minato thinks, with each passing day diminishing the prospect of them being able to go home. There's a glance up towards the stars- the ones that haven't fallen yet, that hang in the air the same way all of them are still stuck here. Turns out the stars didn't align, huh? ]

Why not give him money and be with him too? Kinda weird that you have to be dead for it...

He's well off on his own, but I wanted to help him retire early. Yet, I want to stay here.

[ Laurent doesn't think it's confusing, but that's because he knows why. He holds the pieces dn he debates on telling Minato to help him understand. ]

If I go back, I might as well be dead.

[ How he's understanding it, Laurent is a wanted man, in trouble with both the mafia and the police, probably with a "shoot to kill" charge against him. It's the only thing that makes sense, because how can one dedicate their life to somebody but not want to be with them? It's what tears Minato apart; he wants to be with his friends so badly, and cannot bring himself to let go. ]

But you get to see your family again. It's not worth it, for you?

My uncle is the only family I have. And well, before I came here, I was already in something like a jail with someone swallowing the key, but on a dimensional scale.

[ Laurent, in the end, decides that he'll tell Minato. ]

If I had the choice to return, but it drops me off at the same place where I was before, I would never want to go back. In fact, I made my mind to live the rest of my life here.

[ He thought that might've been the case, but hearing it from Laurent still make Minato's brow furrow, lips curling into a slight frown. ]

You don't need a key to break out of a jail. Weren't you the one encouraging me to face and fight something as impossible as Death?

[ "My uncle is the only family I have." Is he not worth it? Laurent never answered his question. ]

Yeah, I did. Because I thought you could. But you're right. I can maybe convince one of the "prison guards" to let me out, but they're pretty up there, being something like gods and all. But maybe it won't be so bad?

[ Laurent know it's pretty bad. That's why he's in a dimensional jail in the first place. ]

In my world, you could bargain with Death. I played cards with him a week before I came to the island. It's that sort of world. It's crazy and sometimes, things shouldn't be the way they are. If I live long enough, I'll become a part of what's wrong with it.

What's a god to a non-believer...

[ He huffs a sigh and sits back, thinking of the Death he knows, the one with the bright smile and cheerful laugh, the one who he'd sung karaoke with, who he'd played arcade games with— and in the end, hadn't Ryoji offered him a bargain too? ]

I don't understand anything, and that's why I can say stuff like this. Why can't you fight against a god? Why can't you choose how to live your life, instead of becoming part of something you hate?

A god is nothing to a non-believer, but functions of the world are something that are ever present in everyone's lives.

[ He thought it would have been simpler if he called them gods, but they're really... not like them. ]

Let's say... you have a piece of paper and a pair of sharp scissors. When you attempt to cut the paper with that same pair of scissors, you expect it to cut. But to someone who is the personification of "cut", they can deny the latter of cause and effect and make it impossible for a pair of sharp scissors to cut paper. It's a little like that.

It wasn't my choice to be chosen. My existence was converted without me realizing, until my friend told me. It was quite a shock.

[ He quietly breathes out. ]

Did you ever wish for the end of something, Minato? Even if the end of it would never come?

[ God is a shitty pair of scissors. Heaven knows how many times he's picked up scissors thinking they're sharp enough, but trying to cut through paper that's got too much give on it just makes it bend beneath the blades instead of cutting through; this is the sort of disappointment any student experiences many times in their life because safety scissors suck. Life in general is like that sometimes. You get a shitty pair of scissors that can't cut anything. Your existence gets converted without you realizing. You get a monster shoved into your soul and carry it around for ten years without knowing. Sometimes it's just like that.

Sometimes you just have to take those defective scissors and stab with it instead.

He thinks about himself, about his life, and his answer is simple: ]

Yes.

If I can end it for you, would you ask me to?

[ Enjoy your Very Important Visual Novel decision, Minato. ]

No.

[ Again, his answer is simple. Direct. No hesitation at all- in fact, he gives Laurent a bit of a look, because what he wants to end... There's no way he can say it, even if it means that wish would be granted. ]

[ Minato's answers are so simple and straightforward that Laurent stares at him for a second before patting his back twice. Why? Who knows? If Minato doesn't want to say it in full, he doesn't have to. Laurent will give him that choice. ]

For me, if I go back to where I came from, I'll resume being something like the personification of the "end". That's where the others differ from you. They'd answer yes without hesitation.

[ ... ]

And I'd rather die than do it for them.

Then don't do it.

[ His answers are simple but rather than being because he's so detached from the concept, more and more there's this dawning realization that he's feeling... angry. This confuses it. It's not directed at Laurent, nor at himself- but he thinks of Ryoji and how he personifies the end, personifies death, how he talked on and on about how it's a fate he can't escape.

Ryoji too, had chosen death.

Minato had chosen to give it to him.

But he's angry now because he was wrong. Him, Ryoji, Laurent, all of this is wrong. ]

Don't die for something like that. Don't run away and hide here. Don't you take the easy route and give up, Laurent Heath.

[ He's actually surprised by how Minato talks and takes a moment to contemplate on his words. Minato sounds angry and it's something he didn't expect. Though, Laurent, can't really feel angry about his situation anymore. He looks down at the questionable clay figurine on his lap in silence, mulling over what to say next. ]

Hey, Minato...

[ He tilts his head back up to look at his face, lighting dim from the gas lantern. ]

Who are you so angry for?

[ He blinks, surprised by the question, and just like that the spell is broken. The anger evaporates and all it leaves behind is a boy staring dazedly at Laurent, lost and confused.

Angry? Anger only comes when you care so deeply about something. But the anger- the brief flash that it was- felt so much larger than just a something. He's angry for everything and everyone. For every single person who's caught in the web of fate and gives into it. For all those stripped of free will, or made to believe they are. ]

For you, and for me as well. For my friends back home. For Kaede's. For Dokja's. For every person that I know, for every stranger that I don't. I'm angry on the universe's behalf.

[ At this moment, Laurent thinks... Minato really can be protagonist material. There's something about his words spoken with conviction that he's in awe of. When was the last time when he had that kind of conviction himself? It's honestly a little inspiring. ]

Would you fight for everyone, or with everyone?

For.

[ With? lmao this is the protag that scaled all of Tartarus all by himself because he couldn't stand putting the rest of his team in danger. Bad end protag is level 99 while everybody hung around in the low 20's. ]

[ Laurent smiles when he hears that and he ends up laughing, because that really sounds like Minato. It's a very Minato-like answer, which isn't surprising since it's Minato himself. In the end, despite everything, Minato will just be Minato. ]

I'd love to see you fight against the functions in my world. If I could, I'd be your Aide.

[ Laurent laughs at the strangest things, Minato can't help but think to himself. ]

I'm serious.

[ Don't dismiss him and laugh him off like that!! ]

I gotta fight against the functions in my world first, though. In the meantime, fight for yourself. Get angry. Be stubborn. I know you can do it.

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