Week 6

[vellamods]

WEEK 6 LOG ♬
Weather: All Week - Clear Skies

A New Week

This weekend, you had unusual dreams. For some of you, they brought you to an outdoor arena that none of you had ever seen before. For others, you dreamed of a familiar place: a place that felt like home in some way. And when you fall asleep on Sunday night, you’ll find that dreams of your homes are continuing. Your home may be exactly as you remember it, at any point in time before you arrived here; perhaps there will be slight differences, or maybe it seems like a different version of your home altogether. Maybe nobody else is in it except for you.

For each dreamer, however, you’ll find that your dreams will start in your own world; but at some point, there will be a mysterious blue light that appears. It looks like a large portal that will lead you to somewhere. Choose to step inside, and you’ll be taken to a random islander’s dream. Alternatively, if you elect to remain inside of your own dream, you may suddenly see a ray of yellow light that appears, and once the light fades, another one of your fellow islanders will appear before you.

Abilities will work as they did over the weekend in your dreams and in the real world. Everyone will have one of their own, whether it be their existing powers from home or something new entirely. Even the formerly powerless will have something within them -- namely something similar to what the strange boy you saw this weekend could do. Perhaps you now have the ability to launch apples at your opponents at a lightning fast speed. Maybe you can rip a tree out of the ground with your bare hands.

And most importantly...everyone will remember their dreams when they wake. Your memories of seeing your friends’ homes (or seeing them in your home instead) will remain. These dreams seem to happen every night for the rest of the week.

--

Things do seem to return to relative normalcy on Monday morning. Tom Nook’s announcements begin, though he only has two new things to report.

“Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a fun weekend, yes? I apologize for not having much for you to do this time around, but hopefully you could all use it as a chance to relax. Now, though, it’s time to get back to work on event planning. I’m hoping to bring K.K. Slider over by August 15th, so if that date does work for all of you to host the event, then that’s when you’ll need to be ready by. Once you’ve all decided on what to do, the other thing I’ll need for you to do is to create flyer designs.

In my tent are some papers and markers, crayons and what have you. It may see a little...childish, for some of you, but I assure you that your creativity will come a long way in capturing the hearts of all sorts of people in this world! Feel free to submit as many designs as you want, and I’ll send them over to Nook Inc. to make copies of all of them. We’ll work with Orville to get them all sent out.”

The next and final announcement follows immediately afterwards.

“And finally, we have an exciting opportunity passed onto me by the Able Sisters! Mabel and Sable are holding a design contest for an Isle Sonrisa pattern to put on some of their clothing! Channel your island spirit into your design and create something that you think best represents the island. You can use the supplies for the flyers to draw out your designs, and submit them to Mabel by Thursday. Everyone will get a participation prize of 5,000 bells, but there will be a grand prize for the person whose design gets selected!”

He claps his hands for a brief moment in excitement.

“That’s all for your announcements! Have a wonderful week, everyone!”

Possible Objectives

1. Participate in the Able Sisters' design contest. (Note: Entries can be drawn OR written out OOCly. We will choose a winner via RNG.)
2. Work towards preparing the island for your event
3. Make those flyers and submit them to Tom Nook (drawn or written OOCly is fine)
4. See what's going on in your dreams...



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Comments

[spiritoso]

[ In your dreams, you might find yourself in a school, but one that looks completely overgrown, as if it has been abandoned for decades. The air is heavy, so much that it feels like it's weighing down on you, making you think of all your worst fears. All of the windows have bars on them, with a barbed wire over those bars. You'll also notice monitors in every room, some in big setups and others hanging from the ceiling. The monitors look incredibly out of place, and definitely should not be there. All of them have nothing displayed on the screen, but they are still working.

There's plenty of places to explore, from the gym to the dining hall and even to a giant storage room with all kinds of supplies. The amenities are nice, but out of place as patches of grass and trees still make their presence known in every room. As you walk around, you might come across some of the residents, but no matter what you do, they won't notice you as they continue to go about their business.

Eventually, you may end up outside and realize that there is no way to leave as the entire school is surrounded by what looks like a giant cage. Half of the building seems to still be under construction too, with walls blocking off whatever projects are being built.

Kaede can be found outside in the courtyard. There isn't much in the courtyard, aside from a ninja statue and a building with a red door. The other paths, aside from the one leading into the courtyard, are blocked by rubble. She looks lost in thought, but Kaede turns around as she hears someone approach. ]

You're here too?

[ She's not surprised, however, as she was wondering when someone else would show up in her dreams. ]

[conceptualize]

[ Laurent had taken his time wandering around this place. The weeds sure are overgrown to the point he wondered if someone was deliberately growing them in between the floor cracks. He passed several residents before finally meeting up with Kaede. ]

I suppose so. I've seen a unique bunch on my way here... was there a robot?

[spiritoso]

Yeah, that was the Ultimate Robot. His name is K1-B0.

[ Unique is a great way to describe all of them, honestly. They're definitely a strange bunch to see all together. ]

Everyone here is an Ultimate. We're all part of the Ultimate Initiative, where students are selected for having a lot of talent in a certain field. You get all kinds of perks for being one too.

[ She pauses. ]

It's probably pretty obvious, but I'm the Ultimate Pianist.

[conceptualize]

[ Ah. Hm. Huh.

...

That sounds very overspecialized, but you know what--this could work if it was a legitimate school with proper teaching for the students to grow. As a teacher, he has this opinion, but seeing the environment... it doesn't look suitable for any of that. He also recalls Minato's words about Kaede dying in her home world, so it really just keeps off... an awful vibe. He squints off to the side for a second before looking back at her. ]

Things went wrong here, didn't it?

[spiritoso]

[ She glances down at the ground before looking back up at him. That question isn't that surprising, especially since he came from the direction of the school. It's easy to see that something is off here. ]

Yeah, it did. We're all trapped here.

[ Kaede looks up at the sky, at the giant barrier keeping them in. ]

There's no way out unless you win the killing game. That's what we were told.

[ She still believes otherwise, but it's hard to continue to have that determination. ]

1/2

[conceptualize]

[ There's a certain amount of stillness as if the atmosphere has frozen over. Even if one usually can't read the room, there's an unbearable pressure being pressed down within a certain radius. Though, it only lasts a second, just like Laurent's absolutely furious look on his face.

What is it about killing games that keep happening, no matter what world it is? Did people deem these Ultimates as too dangerous for society and sought entertainment to watch prodigies kill each other? Laurent thinks people aren't defined by what they're good at. People are people--there's always more to them than their expertise. He knew Joonghyuk and Dokja had to deal with gods watching an apocalyptic event as entertainment, while Laurent has metaphysical embodiments doing the same thing. He doesn't know what Kaede's is, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was a human. Humans are also capable of being monsters, after all. In fact, that only makes him resent the idea even more. ]

[conceptualize]

[ Laurent's expression shifts to a more neutral look, but slightly frowning still. The pressure is gone as if it was never there, but it was absolutely here. ]

Were you a victim here?

ndrv3 spoilers

[spiritoso]

(( just let me know if you're not good with spoilers and i'll be happy to change things up!! ))

[ Kaede feels that shift in the air, a sudden pressure that surprises her with both the intensity and quickness with which it is gone, leaving her to wonder if it was her imagination. Maybe it wasn't. Dreams are like that, after all.

She sees the furious look on Laurent's face, but that's gone soon too and she looks down at the ground. That question has her eyebrows knit together in worry. Was she a victim? She died, but she wasn't killed. She was executed, and that's different. All that happened was that she faced punishment for her crime. As much as she likes to think her motive as a good one, Kaede still killed someone.

There's a noticeable pause before she finally shakes her head. ]

...No, I wasn't.

[conceptualize]

[ I'm a-okay with spoilers since I'm canon-familiar! Kaede's answer breaks my heart due to hindsight...

There's a bit of silence after Kaede says that, while Laurent looks a little thoughtful. If someone had to think about their answer to that extent, there is probably more than what meets the eye. He thought of Kaede as a sweet girl and still does, so if she doesn't think of herself as a victim even after dying and wanting to stay on the island (though the information is mostly secondhand from Minato), he feels like he can deduce several things from those facts--for example, Kaede killed someone in order to escape, since it looked like she never wanted to be here anyway. It's a possibility, but there are others too. Such as, of course, factoring in Kaede's personality. Laurent knows a fake smiler with hidden intentions when he sees it, because he knows that type a little too well. It's not Kaede.

He quietly breathes in. ]

I'm sorry.

[spiritoso]

[ She shakes her head. It's nice to hear, but Kaede can't help but feel like those words shouldn't be applied to her. ]

It's okay. It was my fault anyway.

[ Part of her is afraid to say more than that, because she's worried that Laurent will hate her and she wants to be friends with him. Still, a smaller part wants to finally say what she's been afraid to say out loud since she woke up on the island. ]

I thought I would be able to take care of the mastermind and get everyone out. I thought I would keep everyone safe if I took initiative... but I was wrong. I should have known better.

[ She finally looks up, but instead of looking at Laurent, she looks over at the building with the red door. ]

[conceptualize]

[ If only she knew... Laurent glances over at the same building with the red door. He doesn't ask anything about it. Instead, he looks back over to Kaede. ]

Do you regret doing it?

[spiritoso]

[ Does she? It's hard to say, because everything happened so fast. Would things have gone differently? Would all of them be safe now, and would Rantaro still be alive? There's a definite possibility of it, just as there's one that they would have all died when their time limit was up. That possibility of saving everyone, however, isn't one she can ignore.

She finally looks at him. ]

I do. I thought I had everything under control when I was just playing into the mastermind's hands. If I didn't try to solve everything on my own, I think things would have turned out better.

[ In the end, that's what made her do it. She tried to save everyone and take on that guilt by herself. ]

[conceptualize]

[ Oh, Kaede... masterminds should never be underestimated. Laurent knows this from experience, and how it feels to be outgambitted every step of the way. It's sad to hear that Kaede failed in her attempt, because it sounds like she was doing it for everyone's sake to get them to leave that horrible game.

He thinks Kaede is a kind person. That's why he doesn't want to ask her the question of constant time looping this particular scenario, because he gets the feeling her answer would be "yes" without a doubt. No one deserves that. ]

I understand, since I believe trusting people in that kind of environment would be difficult, especially when the stakes are so high.

[spiritoso]

[ Kaede nods. She didn't trust all of her classmates, even though she wanted to be friends with them. It was hard to trust someone enough to go to them with her plan to overthrow the mastermind. But... maybe she should have. ]

Yeah... I did trust one person, and I should have gone to him about this before I tried anything. I think if we worked together, maybe we would've actually caught the mastermind.

[ Then again, masterminds really shouldn't be underestimated. Who is to say that the mastermind wouldn't have figured out whatever plan they came up with?

She shakes her head. ]

It's probably silly to go over what I should've done, since I can't change the past anyway.

[jokersonyou]

[The atmosphere is nothing short of oppressive, and it's just as uncomfortable as the world around him. A school at first glance, but the more he walks about, he realizes it's more of a prison. Not that the cage around the area isn't a dead giveaway.

No one he passes by seems to notice him. They must be residents of this world, he guesses. It isn't long, however, until he comes across a familiar figure.]

Seems so. Kaede... Is this your world?

[spiritoso]

[ She nods. ]

Yeah, this is where the killing game took place.

[ It's certainly the perfect environment for one, after all, with its oppressive atmosphere and no escape. ]

[jokersonyou]

[That's definitely right. This hardly seems like a playground.]

I know what it's like to be locked up, if not directly behind bars, but this...this is something else. It's worse, especially knowing that there was a killing game going on. I just... You don't belong in a place like this.

[And gods, he really needs to figure out how to get her out of it.]

ndrv3 spoilers

[spiritoso]

[ Kaede looks down at the ground. Part of her can't help but feel like she does belong here because of what she did. Even if her intentions were to get someone out, she still killed someone. ]

At least I ended up on the island. I got really lucky with that.

[ So much so that she feels like she doesn't deserve it. ]

[jokersonyou]

Yeah, you did. And whatever did it, I'm grateful for. What happened to you, it never should have happened.

[And if he has anything to say about it, then either it won't, or she'll still be saved from it.]

I...passed by other people, I'm guessing they were other people stuck here with you in this killing game. Which means...did one of them...?

[He still doesn't know the exact circumstances of her death.]

[spiritoso]

[ Kaede can't bring herself to look at him. She knew this would come up, especially if anyone actually came into her dreams. Even though she doesn't want to tell Ren, part of her wonders if she'll feel some kind of relief. It's okay if he no longer wants to be friends with her, she'll understand. But he deserves to know the truth.

There's a long pause, as Kaede tries to figure out how to tell him. ]

...I killed one of them. [ She barrels on ahead, not wanting to see his reaction. ] Saihara-kun and I came up with a plan to find out who the mastermind was... so I came up with another plan and set a trap that would kill the mastermind. I thought we would be able to escape after, that everything would be okay.

[ Kaede crosses her arms, practically hugging herself. ] But that didn't work, and I killed one of our friends instead. We had a class trial, and I hoped that I would be able to draw out the mastermind that way but... I couldn't do it and I was executed as a punishment.

[jokersonyou]

[Of all the things for her to say, that? That was not what he had expected. Kaede, sweet Kaede, not just a victim but a killer herself? It boggles his mind momentarily, because he just can't see it.

And yet, she has no reason to lie about something like that.

Ren is quiet as she goes further into her explanation of her situation.

Somehow, her being executed hurts more than her being murdered.]

Kaede... I can't and won't say that killing is the right thing to do, but the situation you got thrown in? It's enough to make anyone desperate to get out. For what it's worth, it doesn't seem like you meant to hurt anyone innocent. You just wanted to get out of a nightmare.

Besides, how could I possibly judge you? I told you about the guy who I miss more than anything. He killed, and in cold blood, at that. And yet here I am, mourning him and wanting him back. What you did isn't anywhere near as bad as what he did. There's no way I could hate you for it. You wanted to survive and save everyone. I can't chastise you, knowing the hell you must have been in... You must have been terrified.

[spiritoso]

[ As much as she tries to hold it back, a few tears start to fall. Hearing that she wouldn't be hated for it makes her feel relieved, like maybe she does deserve to get out of here and have a second chance. Even if Ren still cared about the person he told her about despite everything he did, she still can't help but feel guilty about holding back all of this. ]

I... I was really scared. I didn't know what to do. I felt like there was nothing I could do.

[ She wipes away her tears, but more replace them. ]

We were on a time limit too, so I didn't have time to think things through all the way. If someone didn't die by the time limit, we would all be killed. I really thought that I was saving everyone, but now I can see that I was just making things worse.

[jokersonyou]

[Seeing her cry does nothing short but wrench his heart tight in his chest. Hearing about how frightened she was, learning further about her situation, knowing that he couldn't possibly imagine the terror that had caused her to do what she did...

Ren steps forward, pulling Kaede into a tight hug. More than ever, now, he wants to solve this.

He's going to save her.]

You can't expect to be calm and rational in a situation like that. Don't...be so hard on yourself, you hear me? You didn't do what you did maliciously. Even if it didn't work, even if it caused something bad to happen, you wanted to save everyone, didn't you? What happened to you, and to everyone here, it wasn't fair. I know you'd never want to actually harm someone. You're not a horrible person for doing what anyone might have done in a situation like that. I could've easily done the same thing if I were in your shoes.

[spiritoso]

[ The hug surprises her, but she doesn't pull away, instead wrapping her arms around Ren's torso, hugging him tight. Her tears don't stop, and it feels like she can't stop them now. ]

...Thank you. Hearing that... it means a lot.

[ It makes her feel like she really was pushed to her limits here, and that she wouldn't have made that decision in any other situation. Keeping this kind of thing inside for so long has had her doubting herself, doubting that her hand was forced in this situation. ]

[jokersonyou]

[One hand reaches up to stroke through her hair in a comforting motion. She needs to get out those tears, and he knows she must have been keeping a lot of this buried inside. And that, he knows, isn't healthy (not that he's in much of a position to chastise much).]

You're a good person, Kaede. A great person. I can tell that, even though I've only known you for a month and a half. The pain of what happened to you...what happened here... It's not easy to carry, but I know that you're strong. Stronger than I think you give yourself credit for. And when you feel like it's still too much, remember that I'm here for you, okay?