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

[commences]

( he is... he's not a failure in this, he just... he's focusing, and you never know... maybe the floor needs a nice wash? )

Could you figure out which sister tells lies?

( just randomly, unprovoked, and a question posed towards npc-kun. he stands up, walking towards the trashcan nearby to dump when he picked up, and then walks back to the sink an inch from overflowing. he looks at the pool of liquid, seeing his reflection, before turning it off so he can let most of it go down the drain. )

[adsum]

The older sister.

[ No, they have no idea what Komaeda's talking about, but they do pause in their stirring to watch him save the room from flooding. Maybe he plans to soak the pot— no, he's draining the water. ]

[commences]

( as it swirls down, he lets it stop halfway so there's some water for him to clean the dishes with. )

Are you sure she's not the one who tells the truth and lies? There's two other sisters to choose from.

[adsum]

There's no other sister, though... Or are they yours?

[ Komaeda... no, he doesn't look little brother material. He must have younger sisters. ]

[commences]

Your sister tells lies? She's not part of the riddle...

( at least there's context of what he was thinking about. )

These three are imaginary.

[adsum]

[ Oh, imaginary sisters. Komaeda being an only child makes sense, and npc-kun nods to themselves. Sad, though. Some people have imaginary friends, but to have imaginary sisters...

... ]

If you want, I can be your si— [ ... ] sibling.

[commences]

( why does npc-kun think komaeda is lonely? and has no family?? oh wait. )

...No.

( he doesn't hesitate. ) All my family is dead, there's no need for you to be part of that pile of bodies.

[adsum]

[ oh...

no...

npc-kun goes ): at him ]

[commences]

( komaeda goes :) at them?

what's wrong? )

Don't let the food burn, how will we try it if it gets all black.

( he's moved on, he's moving on!!! )

[adsum]

[ npc-kun goes ): at the pan, stirring so nothing gets burnt. ]

How old were you?

[commences]

I don't know... Seven or eight.

( a lucky number, and an unlucky number, so he isn't sure what to note that unfortunate day as. it could go either or, a blessing or a curse, whatever it is, he can't remember too well — he does have dementia after all. unfortunately, he doesn't sound too sad about it, because he's not that attached to the family aspect.

...he is a father, but those kids aren't his kids. )

It's just old memories, they don't mean anything.

[adsum]

[ ): at the little plate they pick up for their portion, and the blender for Komaeda's ]

Memories are what make you who you are. They mean something, even if you don't understand the meaning. Come here and taste this before I make the drink, so I know how many beans to add.

[commences]

( stop :( because it makes komaeda feel uncomfortable, he doesn't understand what's there to be sad about.

he looks towards npc-kun at their mention of memories, and if only that mattered to komaeda. he'll live, learn and forget, and what makes him who he is today...

is hope, and he'll never forget that. )

Do you remember your happiest memory?

( komaeda wouldn't be surprised if he forgot, if what he believes has a few errors... because hinata's memories are gone, and he would have been the one to remember. he trots over close to them, parting his mouth as if waiting to be spoonfed. )

[adsum]

[ npc-kun opens their mouth like of course they do—-

...but nothing immediately comes to mind when they think about it. A time when they were happy. Not even the happiest time, just a normal happy time, just one...

...

They think of when they were really really little, the game they played, the soft grass and warm dirt beneath bare feet as they chased somebody's shadow. Back then, they were happy. ]

Yes. I do.

[commences]

Does that memory give you hope?

( he's standing right next to them, his elbows on the counter, and not on the stove so he doesn't burn himself. he'll turn his head to look towards them, a smile on his face like he's excited to know the answer. besides, they had to think long and hard about it — komaeda noticed the way their mouth parted, and how they were hesitant, and so... he's curious.

people being happy, having memories like that which they can cherish. )

[adsum]

[ The memory makes them sad more than anything, then confused, because why should their happiest memory hurt the most? But if they had to answer the question, even if it's the tiniest bit of hope, ]

Yes.

[ It's said with the briefest of smiles that falls away as they start pouring most of what's in the pan into the blender, because you can't be sad when things are going WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Besides, in the end, they're still chasing that shadow. ]

[commences]

...Why did you do that?

( a positive response, then the fall of a smile, it's bittersweet, and komaeda attempts to salvage what's there. )

You should smile, no matter the pain that comes from it... it's made you who you are today, isn't that what you said to me...

( happy memories, sad memories, the ones that'll give someone hope... it's needed to help them grow. a frown is nothing but a dead leaf attached to the tree, and it's one that komaeda wants to pluck off. he wants to see this become something more, using it to... smile for something. )

...Have you ever smiled and cried at the same time?

[adsum]

[ Do what— oh, the blender. They turn it off so they can hear Komaeda speak, finger hovering over the power button. ]

Yeah, I do that all the time.

[ Wanting to cry, and then putting a smile on their face so they won't, but sometimes they do. They've gotten very good at that, though. Almost no more cracks. ]

[commences]

You're pretty lucky.

( he says that, but he's reaching out to place his hands on both side of their face, pulling at the corner of their lips to bring upon a forced smile. )

You have to do it for others, because some are unable to do it... to smile for hope, to cry for hope, to do both... is a talent.

( his thumb brushing against npc-kun's cheek, and he smiles himself. ) It's not a bad thing.

[adsum]

[ Are they lucky...? They suppose so, compared to the alternative that is being genuine instead of knowing how to put on an act. Crying on cue is hard when the impulse is to stop, but smiling?

Smiling they can do, bright and cheerful, for the sake of putting others at ease. ]

I know! You don't have to tell me.

[commences]

So don't give up on it, because if you keep up the good work, I can smile too.

( as if komaeda isn't always smiling, as if they they're even genuine — it's just an expression he's molded himself into making. if npc-kun can bring out one that's meaningful, a little better than what komaeda can do. then it'll be fine. )

Oh, this means I can stop praising you now?

( literal... )

[adsum]

No! You have to keep praising me! Don't ever stop!

[ use your words!!!!!

This is a high maintenance hope ]

[commences]

You don't need my words when you have your own.

( like he's teaching them something, or giving advice. )

I believe in you, no matter what, and as long as you remember... it's like I'll praise you every day.

[adsum]

No! I want your words! From you! You have to be here to tell me every day!

[ Memories... sometimes they're not enough, when you go over them again and again until they're worn thin and threaten to fall apart, voices and faces fraying. Memories will be something they'll cherish because that's all that's left when people leave them behind, but until then, they want to hold onto the person as long as they can. ]

[commences]

Those are my words... If I tell you I'm proud of your hope, then that should carry on forever!

( happily, he claps his hands together to prove his point. that hope is the only thing yhay serves such importance and should be enough than words said every day, but he has a feeling it won't be that simple.

he watches them, staring for a moment, and then he nods: )

Because everyone is proud of hope, there's never a day that goes by, isn't it nice... universal praise, unspoken, because that's the way we live.

( how komaeda lives. )