August Event

[adsum]

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Please let August be better than July I'm begging

✽ Due to 10+ classes raising their ranks last month, ALL characters have access to the courtyard via the door in the locker area and the windows facing the courtyard.
✽ Characters with 1-10 tallies are not able to get any further past the end of the courtyard before they fall unconscious; characters with 10-20 can get halfway to the pool building before the same happens to them; characters with 20+ tallies can reach the pool building but unfortunately, the door is on the other side. There are no windows on the walls, but from the clocktower, characters can see that it has a glass ceiling, though they are unable to see inside.
✽ Outside, there is no breeze, and it occasionally rains ash.
✽ Characters going up to the 4th floor will feel that the door is warm to the touch, and will occasionally open (see: missions)
✽ The student store opens, with the door propped open with a doorstopper. The npc running the store is currently not interested in conversation, but may be available for threading in the future and is available for threading in the toplevel below. Please see the updated bonus activity page for more information.
✽ Posted on the bulletin board and also handed to each club president before break is the notice that proof of club activity is due at the end of break. Please submit these proofs in the toplevel below.
✽ There is another ad on the bulletin board advertising an exchange student program for the month of October. Applications will be taken until the end of August, and there is a 300 merit point fee. Sister cities include Death City, Devildom, Ishigami Village, Lanling, LazyTown, and Maiami City.

Comments

[sisters]

No, I get that. That's exactly why I have to do what I've been doing.

( though, the alternative payment option is a bit of a relief. it was intended for someone else, but there is something that comes to mind. )

I won't leave you hanging though, so do you mind if we stop by my locker?

[adsum]

[ Doing what, running away from home? They don't get it, but they can't fault him for it either. ]

I don't mind. What is it? What are you giving me?

[ present present present present present ]

[sisters]

It's something I picked up not too long ago. You can keep it or sell it, and I'll work on getting the money in the meantime.

( talking robot whale that might be some kind of plushie? idk it looked like it to me but anyway — it's probably easier to show than tell, so they can make their way over to the locker. when they get there, amami will open it up and pull out the Prize 094. Helping Yacchi that he found a month or so back, holding it out to npc-kun.

are they troubled enough for it to speak to them... )

[adsum]

[ !!!

oh nooooooo it's a plush toy now so npc-kun can take it and clutch it to their chest ]

Oh, it's so cute!

[ "We investigated how anti-consumption lifestyles and materialism correlate with personal debt and account balances. The data collection was conducted in partnership with a financial institution which provided a representative sample of account holders and theirs personal debt and account balances. We found that the happiness dimension of materialism correlates positively with personal debt and negatively with account balances. Additionally, we found that the success dimension of materialism correlates negatively with personal debt and positively with account balances. We also found that..."

...

Yacchi's not helping. ]

[sisters]

...

( you know what? it's fine, it's from some big 90's anime, so surely they can find someone to pawn it off on. amami is grinning, obviously taking this none too seriously, but he'll offer up a defense for the poor yacchi who cannot defend itself. )

It's called a Helping Yacchi — It's trying to help. I guess because it heard me say that I owed you.

[adsum]

Oh.

[ It's cute if it doesn't speak, but maybe if npc-kun clamps a hand over its mouth that'll muffle it enough. ]

What's it saying...? People who are in debt aren't as happy as people who aren't? That's obvious, isn't it? Money buys happiness.

[sisters]

Yeah, I think it's something like that. Apparently all its help comes from research though, so it might turn out useful.

( if nobody discusses their debt in front of it, anyway. and if there's a cute side to it, then it can be npc-kun's new friend. oh, wait, actually — )

And it definitely has test answers.

( so if there's not, surely it'll be a big sale. )

[adsum]

Oh.

[ holds Yacchi up... where were you during finals...

...

... ]

You can take your time putting together the money.

[ If this thing can help, if they can ask it things they can't ask anybody else... Maybe they'll keep it for a bit. ]

I won't sell it.

[sisters]

Thanks. I appreciate it.

( it's a better home for it than amami's locker, at least. )

Is that enough to cover the collateral for Rika-chan's things?

( like, the presents too, but... priorities, y'know? )

[adsum]

Mmhm.

[ Regardless of its material worth, npc-kun likes it and so it's enough. Yacchi gets set on top of their head and they hold it there to keep it balanced. ]

I'll give it back to her the next time she stops by my shop!

[ And maybe buys something, before npc-kun brings the pomander up. ]

[sisters]

I'll let her know then.

( and his expression spreads into a grin. ohhh no... don't be cute like that. they're such a kid, it's like a shot through amami's heart. )

By the way, I don't think I ever caught your name.

[adsum]

[ pew pew ]

You didn't. I was told not to give my name to people.

[sisters]

Oh. ( a headtilt. )

Why not?

[adsum]

[ Headtilts back... They can't remember the reason, if Komaeda had given one in the first place, and I am not going through that thread to find what it was, so they offer their own reason: ]

Because I can make money off that information. 110,000 yen, easy. The more people who know, the more the name will spread and I won't be able to profit off of it.

[sisters]

I should have known.

( do names really go for that much? damn... amami should have charged for his when he got here, then he wouldn't be in debt right now. well, speaking of his debt... )

I don't suppose I can have it added to my tab?

[adsum]

I don't trade for maybes.

[ Tabs are just that, maybe they'll be paid back, maybe the tab will just get bigger and bigger with no returns. The only thing of worth in this world is money.

...

Looks up at Yacchi, brings it down to clutch to their chest.

... ]

If you have another toy, though, I'll take that. Because I'm so generous.

[sisters]

It's not a maybe...

( c'mon now, have a little more faith in him, would you? though they do seem to like that yacchi... amami glances back into his locker... does he have another toy? all his bonus activity ends up in rika's grabby little hands somehow, so it doesn't look like it. )

Does it have to be a toy, or will you take another kind of collateral? Oh, I'll want this one back though.

( he's only got two options to pawn off here — something he actually likes, and friend b. )

I could give you something important for half, and then get the other half when I pay back my tab.

[adsum]

...It doesn't have to be a toy.

[ The slight disappointment in their voice suggests they'd prefer it, though, even if it's only temporary company. If they have to take something to pawn, a boring item of importance would be the most logical, especially when they'll have to let go of it eventually. ]

What else do you have?

[sisters]

I've only got two things to pick from. First... ( he'll raise up one hand into a wave. )

I could give you one of these rings.

( he's wearing three though, and a bracelet; he could probably be convinced to part with any or all of them. )

Otherwise, there's something I've been taking care of for a couple months — if you promise to treat it well, you can hold onto it until I get the money.

[adsum]

[ The ring is tempting, only because they can easily set a monetary value on it if Amami doesn't pay up, but when he dangles "something else" in front of their face, how could they not be curious? ]

I'm not... good with anything living. And I won't take care of something you promised to take care of for somebody else. Other than that, I promise I'll do my very best to take care of it.

[sisters]

( one ring would easily cover the cost of that entire tab, not gonna lie, so it stands out to amami the way that they don't zero in on it immediately, even with all those disclaimers. )

If you need help, I can still come by to make sure it's doing okay, but I think you can probably handle it.

( he's not much of a gardener himself, and it seems to like him well enough, so!! anyway, give him a minute to shut his locker because they'll need to go on another walk. )

It's upstairs — just one floor.

[adsum]

[ "make sure it's doing okay" oh no, it's something living, isn't it... They should have made it an ultimatum like the other one that they wouldn't take care of living things, but

It is important to recognize that meeting animals' needs is not always straightforward, partly because they are not fully understood. Determining how, where and when to promote positive, caring behavior towards animals is also a significant challenge, as adults often behave in confused and conflicting ways towards—- ]

Yacchi, shh.

[ Hand gets clamped over Yacchi's mouth again, and they hold it a little tighter, sticking close to Amami's side instead of following behind him up the stairs. ]

[sisters]

Oh, right. Yacchi will be able to help you too if you run into any trouble.

( surely yacchi will know how much water a potted tree needs, won't it? anyway, it's a short trip — 3-E isn't far from the stairs either, so once they make it in, maybe that'll reassure npc-kun. it's hardly the only plant in there, but amami will bring them over to a little tree that's wearing a label that says not to touch on the pot. it looks like it's doing pretty well!! even has the little plant food thingy sitting in its dirt and everything, it's fed. with that, he spares a glance to npc-kun. )

It should be easy enough, right?

[adsum]

[ npc-kun peels away from Amami's side to look at the plant. "Do not touch" is perfectly fine with them and there's some suspicion that Amami just doesn't want to take care of a plant, but they're already thinking about where they can put it in the shop— by the suncatchers, so it'll have light, maybe near the door for better air flow— but not too near that somebody would accidentally bump into it and knock it over. Maybe hanging from the ceiling like they do the suncatchers, or on one of the higher shelves? Then they'd be able to see it from the checkout counter, and it'll just be a matter of getting up there each time if they want to check up on it. What if it gets lonely without npc-kun there to talk to it? Maybe they should leave it on the counter next to them after all.

... ]

Is this okay? Life is priceless, so exchanging this for my name... is this really okay?

[sisters]

( if he had harboured any doubts up until this moment, the words are enough to clear any evidence of them away in one go. npc-kun is a good kid, and the fact that they recognize the importance of values beyond the money they're so concerned with only sets the impression in stone. )

You said you'd take good care of it, didn't you? And it's only for a little while — you know just how precious it is, so I'm sure that it will be in good hands with you.

( besides, what was it nene had told him before? something about how it "liked" amami — it it can do that, if it likes people, he feels a little bad about the note, but he's hardly going to let just anybody go around messing with it either. having it in the care of npc-kun, besides being a show of trust, maybe it can be an opportunity for it to make a new friend. )