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

[ Laurent quietly hums, thoughtful. ]

You don't think I'm a naturally good and kindhearted person?

[ He says it in a lighthearted way, with a little bit teasing. ]

I think you’re a good man.

[But thinking and knowing are two different things.]

But I don’t know much about you. What if you prove me wrong?

[So it’s probably stupid she’s so attached to him, that she thinks so highly of him.]

[ There was a reason why Laurent wasn't particularly close to a lot of people despite knowing many and being on good terms with them. People laughing and saying that they're friends when Laurent feels the exact opposite--though there's something about this island that really makes Laurent want to reach out and call more people his friends.

He wonders what it is. ]

I might be able to, but I don't want to.

[ No person is 100% good, etc. ]

Underneath everything... well, there are so many layers, you know? Each and every single one are real; none are fake. Each and every person uses a different layer. I don't think this is particularly called "two-faced", since it's merely socially adjusting according to who I'm interacting with.

[ That being said-- ]

There's a lot we can go from here, but let's start with the fact that I'm not human. Or, well... I used to be, but not anymore. Staying on the island helps with deluding myself into thinking I'm human again.

[ He thinks it's pretty pathetic. ]

[She's quiet, listening to Laurent speak. Layers, huh... Real ones, but ones that are still somehow manufactured based on the people he's with. Is that why Laurent always seemed so happy around her, because he thought that's what she wanted?

But she stays quiet until he's done talking, mulling over her words. Not human anymore... That could make him any number of things, even something she's never heard of, but...]

So you... Were changed against your will and you want to go back?

[...]

You can tell me if I'm wrong. I know I'm not very smart.

[She's decidedly average in... Basically everything.]

[ Laurent was about to explain further, but then Adelaide goes ahead and says that, so he shifts his shoulder and grabs her face with both hands cupping her cheeks, making her look right at him.

Then he pinches her cheek. ]

[Wh-hey!! Don't do that,

She blinks at him, brow furrowing, but she gets it. She thinks?]

...Alright, fine, I'm not stupid.

[She doesn't even roll her eyes!]

But... Is that what happened?

[ Good, Adelaide. Laurent lets go of Adelaide's face and rests his hands at his sides. ]

More or less, but I know I can't go back to the way I was before. This island is the closest thing I have to it, so... I'd like to stay here if I can.

[ Though he looks rather conflicted as he tells Adelaide and sighs. ]

... I hate having to depend on hope.

...Isn't hope that things will get better all we have?

[She reaches for one of his hands, cautiously, letting him pull back if he wants to. If he's okay with it, she'll thread their fingers together.]

I hope you can stay here. If going home will... Ruin you, I hope you get to live a happy life on this island.

[ Laurent is more than fine with it. Their fingers are threaded together and Laurent looks down at the sand beneath their feet. ]

I got burned by it a lot.

[ It's a short, empty laugh. ]

And it resulted in a person dying every time. I can't handle the notion of keeping hope within me, and yet...

[ He quietly breathes out. ]

Joonghyuk said something ridiculous and Dokja agreed. They said that they'd save me. It's funny, since I didn't think I'd need it.

[Someone dying every time he had hope... That would break anyone's spirit, ruin any capability they had for hoping. All of that loss, all of that tragedy...

It's a wonder he can seem so happy and it's a wonder he can be so kind.]

...

[She squeezes his hand.]

I don't think it's ridiculous. You deserve to be saved from a terrible fate, same as anyone else. And I... I don't know what I can do, and maybe I don't know exactly what you're dealing with back where you came from... [She hesitates to call it home, if it's somewhere he doesn't want to go back to.] But I want to help.

[ Laurent lightly squeezes her hand in return. ]

I'm not quite there yet, but as time passes, it'll get worse. If I go back to where I came from, I won't have much freedom to do what I want. Even if my friends are there... or even if my uncle is there. Even if it's too selfish, I don't know how I would live a life... that constantly knows the end of something all around the world.

[ ... ]

What I'm slowly becoming is, essentially, a personification of "end". That's why I wanted to stay here, with people. Even if I lived the rest of my life on this island, I wouldn't mind. But now that there's an option, I'm not sure anymore.

A personification of "end"...

[Constantly knowing the end of... Everything?]

And everything ends... So you would... Know every time something happens? Every time someone dies, or, or breaks up, or... I don't know.

[That's what she assumes, anyways, not quite sure she really gets it. It sounds a bit like being some sort of... God, some force beyond understanding, and if it's something you have no control over... It sounds terrible.]

...You don't have to be sure. It's a lot, to believe we can do anything to change your life, but... But I think it's worth trying, because maybe... If people die every time you have hope things can change, maybe we can break the cycle and nobody will have to die for you anymore.

It's...

[ Laurent pauses and looks up at the sky. The shooting stars remind him of falling tears instead of the celebratory confetti that he imagined a while ago. ]

Yeah, I would know every time it happens. All over the world at every second, minute, hour, day, weeks, years of my life. I'd hope no one would have to die because I fail, but back home, there's still something like that happening right now, even as we talk in this moment. It's the same person, stuck in a time loop. He's the one I talked to you about.

[ The one he said was kinda like Adelaide. Yeah. Here's the tragic friend backstory you wanted, Avery. ]

[Hey now,]

...Why?

[It's probably a stupid question, and it might be one that he doesn't even have the answer to, but it's all Adelaide can wonder. Why would something like this happen? Why does Laurent have to suffer like this, why does his friend have to live and die and live and die over and over again? It's fucked up and horrible and Adelaide's stomach twists.

She squeezes his hand again, pressing her forehead back into his shoulder.]

We're going to find a way to stop this. He'll get to live, okay? And you can... You can be happy.

If I'm the luckiest person in the world, then he's the unluckiest.

[ It's another empty laugh. ]

I miss my friends, and my uncle. He's the only family I ever had, but if I go back...

[ His voice trails off. It doesn't finish. Laurent remembers a moment in his childhood and it takes some willpower to snap out of it. He doesn't squeeze Adelaide's hand in return, but his hold doesn't waver. He pulls her into a hug. ]

... I want to be happy again.

[She lets the hug happen, shifting so she can wrap her arms around him in return. The luckiest and the unluckiest men in the world...]

We'll figure it out. Nothing is ever set in stone.

[A pause, and she laughs, thought it's a little weak.]

We'll figure out a happy end for you, and your friends, and everyone else on this island who needs one. That seems fitting, right?

... Yeah.

[ His voice is quiet as he agrees. ]

Though, with all this, you don't need to feel responsible for everyone.

I don't have to, but...

[She sighs.]

I want to do something good for somebody. And... You're important to me, y'know? You're...

[She trails off, not sure what to say.]

[ And here's Laurent, waiting for Adelaide to finish what she was going to say.

The silence is heavy. ]

[Why do you do this to her, ugh.

The silence lingers for a long, long moment, before Adelaide sighs.]

I'm not... Going to say I love you, so don't worry about that. [Because her loving him would be a Bad Thing, obviously.] But... Just. I know it's probably stupid of me, but you're special to me. Especially now. So if there's anything I can do to make you happy, I want to do it, because I want to know that you are.

Even if that happiness means... Never seeing you again or you telling me to fuck off, or just. Whatever you want. I don't know! Just. It's complicated and stupid and I know I don't deserve you thinking of me but...

[She groans, knowing she's rambling and going in circles.]

Just. I wanna make you happy without you worrying about what's happening to your friends.

[ Despite thinking in a similar wavelength regarding one's own self-worth, Laurent can't help but feel frustration when other people do it. That's why Laurent pulls away from the hug, but doesn't go too far. Instead, he holds Adelaide's face by cupping her cheek and kisses her. It's slightly rough, but doesn't last long. ]

You're not going to make me happy if you think me telling you to fuck off is a chance at my happiness.

[ He quietly breathes out. ]

... So let's work together.

[Pot, kettle, so on and so forth. She blinks, brows furrowing when he steps back and cups her cheeks, but... She's both surprised and not surprised by the kiss.]

...Well. I wanted to give you the option even if it's the thing I'd hate the most.

[She sounds sulky and petulant, cheeks puffing out under his hands.]

We'll figure things out, okay? You can trust me. Trust us... Maybe even trust yourself, too.

... Yeah.

[ Laurent reaches over to give her a gentle pat on the head. ]

It'll be okay, in the end. I'll believe you.

[Always with the head pats... Not that she's complaining.]

Good. I won't let you down!

[And she means it. No matter what it takes, she'll do it.]

I'm... Glad we got to meet.

[ Yeah he pats heads a lot... the sudden burst of enthusiasm has Laurent smiling more. ]

I'm glad too.

[ Hm. Since they're at this stage now, he might as well ask-- ]

Maybe I should get this straight before misunderstandings happen, but do you want to date me?

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