[Jack Orion]

Jack would grit his teeth in response to Aika's denial of most of he was saying. "You quite literally dragged us into a world of your own making against our wills! If that isn't a fuckin' God-complex then what the hell is?!" he snapped, his anger somehow boiling over even more, his heart beating in his ears. Every fiber in his body wanted to rant and rave about how he was wrong about everything, how the noise and the quite literal chaos of life was what made things worth living. Yeah, life was a mess. It had been since the literal moment of creation. But that was part of the deal, part of the challenge of finding your own way in life! 

Quite honestly, he'd argue that was the very meaning of Chaos in of itself.

However, he couldn't find his words as his anger started to take over. Everything this guy was saying was pissing him off, even moreso after the realization that his pets were gone. He just about lunged at Aika, before a wall of fire would roar in between the two. The slightest bit of sense that still remained in Jack quickly backed away, knowing the limits of Kupo's Quirk and fire not exactly being his friend. That murderous glare that was aimed at Aika would quickly shoot towards Noa, sharp teeth bared at her like a wild animal.

"STAY OUT OF THIS! YOU DON'T GET ANY OF WHAT I'M DEALING WITH!! THIS HAS BEEN PERSONAL FROM THE FUCKING START! THAT TOWER - THAT DAMN TOWER, I WAS THERE! THAT TOWER IS-" he stopped himself, freezing immediately in place, almost like a bullet just pierced his skull. His face dropped any sort of malice, regret filling his eyes as he dropped to his knees. 

"...That tower is MY fault. If I had been faster, if I had reacted before...before all of those people..." he shook his head as his fell on his hands, tears starting to fall from his eyes. He remembered everything so vividly - the moment the Tortured's pod crashed, all the stupid people that had surrounded it and got slaughtered. The intense fight that followed, and ending with the Tortured's main victim dying in Jack's arms, fading into nothing.

He thought about that day almost every day. How angry he was at the Elementalist, and how angry he was at himself. "Damn it...DAMN IT!!! I CAN'T FUCKING THINK!!!" he wailed, clutching his head, shaking violently. All of these feelings were never this intense, never this painful, even before. This entire time, he had been filled with nothing but anger and fear like never before, but he never thought about the reason until now. This Quirk, Kupo's Quirk...it wasn't reacting well with him at all. How did Jason ever deal with this?? 

Glaring back at Retsu as she again tried to reason - and subsequentially threaten - him, Jack said nothing in response, the internal battle he was fighting clearly obvious. It was like trying to find himself in a tidal wave of blood red anger - it was almost impossible. And yet, a single sliver of himself still hung on. They were both right, of course - he knew that. And yet, this stupid Quirk was denying himself almost every sense of reason he had.

Almost.

"YOU!" he snapped, glaring back at Aika. "GET THIS DAMN QUIRK OFF OF ME! SHUT IT OFF! ALRIGHT?! I'LL BEHAVE IF YOU GET THIS SHIT OFF! AND FUCKING PROMISE ME MY PETS ARE FINE!" Those were his demands, not even caring in that moment if he was Quirkless or not. He needed to regain control of himself, or risk everything even more than he already had.

---

Tl;dr
-Thought most of Aika's response was absolute bs.
-Would snap at Noa to stay out of his business, breaking down in the process.
-Revealed how he blamed himself for the tower the Tortured created, and everyone who died as a result of it.
-Listened to Retsu's threat and didn't respond, still overcome with grief and anger.
-Realized it was Kupo's Quirk that was making him act so out of character.
-Told Aika he would behave if he at least shut Kupo's Quirk off and guaranteed his pets' safety.

[Arataki Noa]

To a certain extent Noa had predicted the kind of response that she would get with her interference. She was expecting something along the lines of how she wouldn't understand or maybe yet another stubborn appeal at making her actions out to be 'wrong' in this scenario. These types were always like this. Imagine her surprise when some semblance of rationality finally came out of his mouth. It was hard to sympathize with whatever trauma he was going through but the suggestion that the Quirk he was stuck with was the cause for his bad behavior and request to remove it finally made it seem like the guy was starting to use his head. Maybe the extra threats helped too. Either way she was glad that they might just be able to get through this peacefully now.

When Noa heard that the next event was an eating contest, she almost felt a little cheated when just moments ago they were offered to eat as much food as they wanted. Who offers people food to eat right before an eating contest??? And she was the only one who even ate too considering the other two were skeptical of the things offered. As she was thinking about this, the other stranger finally talked to her a bit, after spending basically their entire time here bickering with the little guy.

"I wish I knew. Don't you think it's unfair that they just offered us food to eat right before revealing the next competition is about eating? I'm probably gonna lose."

In truth, whether or not she ate food earlier, she was probably not going to win either way. As someone who judiciously watched her diet, scarfing down large amounts food was never really her forte. But maybe there would be a twist to help even the playing field a bit.

"I personally hope it's not that straightforward."

TLDR: Noa is glad that Jack is finally talking some sense. She talks about not being too excited for the eating competition.

Bakiri Retsu ,Aysu ,Jack Orion

[Aysu]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

Dream World?, 7:00 pm

For the most part, Aika Ao expected these reactions. The unsureness, the uncomfortable- all of it was standard practice of what anyone would expect with the situation they were in. Aika Ao watched as Jack's emotions came out like a wave, the once hot-headed menace turn into a puddle of tears. He wanted to pat his shoulder, but he decided not to. "I'm sorry." A genuine look of sadness was on his face, somber and quiet. "I am sure that the quirks all of you have are not fairing the best for your psyche. I appreciate you all wanting to at least try everything I've given you. I know it isn't easy." He'd put his hands together. "I promise that all will be explained when we finish this last area. I'll reveal everything to you."

With a nod, he would look at the three of them, before blinking at the request that Jack asked of him. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. The way you came here is the way you have to stay, there is nothing I can do to alter or revert it. Your animals however, I'm sure they're fine." It was a sweet and quick answer, but hopefully one that would satisfy him.

As they made it to the next area, Aika Ao would sigh in relief. "Hm, this is going to be a fun one!" Before them, there was a small stage. It was nothing like the big stage that they may have seen looming in the center of the world, but instead something akin to a rural county fair. There were seats and nametags positioned behind a long, white table. "Please take a seat where your name is." There was nothing on the tables, but sitting down did provide a nice view of a local pond. Swans and ducks seemed to bob their heads up and down into the water lazily.

"For this final challenge, you are all going to be working together. I will be basing your success off of the group effort, and not individual triumphs." A few moments passed, before a giant, layered cake would appear before them. Each layer would be a different type of cake, with the top one being a little cupcake. "Your job is to eat all of this. You can take as long as you need, and use whatever methods you want to eat it, good luck!" With that, Aika Ao would move to sit down across from them on the other side of the table. Noa, however, feels especially famished!

Rules and Information: Eat the cake, or well.... cakes!! It seems that Noa can eat a bit more?

TLDR; Aika is sad for how everyone is feeling. He lets them know he can't revert or change anything. He then asks them to eat a series of cakes.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The next round will begin on 13/05/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: Jack Orion Rin Bakiri Retsu

[Bakiri Retsu]

A certain saying Retsu had once heard came to mind. When the gods were handing out brains Jack had definitely been lining up for a nose. What was he even on about? She'd heard about the tower, sure, but there had simply been a flash and then they'd found themselves in a different version of the park. What did the tower have to do with any of this?

"Will you shut up, man?" Retsu asked calmly. It was a rhetorical question. She was well aware that asking someone to shut up or calm down never worked. Not without the right deterrent and Jack was just stupid and suicidal enough that she didn't happen to have one she was willing to use. "This kind of shit is why you keep getting people killed."

She didn't know whether he did of course but looking at his behavior and combining it with his words she'd say there was a fair chance. He was pissing her the fook off and if he made it out of here she might just put a hit on him, whoever the hells he was. They were in a situation where they were all stranded gods knew where and their best chance of survival was working together. If he acted like this during whatever fuckery he'd gotten himself into when The Elementalist threw experiments at the city it was no wonder some poor sods had gotten been introduced to the bucket. 

Retsu raised an eyebrow at his next outburst. Now he was throwing a tantrum over the hand he'd been dealt? Pathetic. She'd seen his type before. Blaming anything but themselves for their problems. What, was he going to say this new quirk of this was responsible for him doing a toddler impression in more than just height next? She scoffed. Standing back up she waited until the Ringmaster had finished speaking before looking down on Jack with cold eyes full of disdain.

"Boo hoo, ya fooked up and murdered people. Gon' make that into a pattern?" Retsu asked with a wavy gesture at Noa. "She's one a' your kind, ain't she?" She followed up, his earlier outburst making it clear that they were both UAU students. "So are ya gonna fail everyone again t'day? Get another person killed bah bein' you? Do us all a favor and fookin' get over y'rself. Break down when shite's over and done."

This time Retsu didn't bother to give him time to reply before she left, ignoring any parting words he may have thrown at her as she went. Should he try to retaliate physically the fire in her hair would flare up, burning bright as the sun to ward him off. Either way she'd move to the next challenge, utterly done with him. 

"Lahf ain't fair," Retsu shrugged in response to Noa. "It's a bitch 'nd then ya die. Some sooner than others with a bit of luck," she added with a scowl, the target of her ire plain to see. "Ah rekken y'r hopes are roite. Ah dun' think it'll be as easy as beatin' each other ta win."

She had no idea why she was telling Noa any of this. Depending on the challenge it was likely that the confident the others were the more likely it was that Retsu herself would win. So why was she trying to put Noa at ease? It didn't make any sense. Her eye twitched, frustration at herself bubbling up below the surface, not quite enough to set off her quirk but just enough to be a constant irritant. Like a splinter underneath your fingernail.

At least it looked like her hunch had paid off. The burning in her hair died down to embers before fully returning to long purple locks. She wasn't letting down her guard -or at least so she believed- but there didn't seem to be a point in keeping her quirk running at full when it contributed nothing to the next challenge. Unless burning calories would count. For some reason she struggled not to laugh at that dumb thought. What had gotten into her? 

Waiting until Aika Ao had finished talking she nodded in reply while keeping an eye on him as she took a seat. Her eyes narrowed. He hadn't said they had to eat the entire cake. Just that they'd be judged based on their group effort. That was problematic. If the sinking feeling in her stomach proved to be right that meant they might just fail if her words hadn't gotten through to Jack. Either way she'd done what she could in that regard, anything else she said might just worsen the problem. All she could do now was carry her weight and then some while hoping it'd be enough. She didn't like the odds.

"Let's naht fail 'ere, aye? That'd just be the cherry on top," Retsu stated lamely while grabbing the cupcake, not entirely sure whether she was trying to give a motivational speech, tell a dumb joke or simply fill the silence. Neither of the three were like her. Putting the thought aside she focused on what mattered: getting the hells out of here.

She scarfed the cupcake down in short order, only realizing right after that she'd been rather hungry. Odd. She'd eaten plenty during the Unity Festival. Was it a result of whatever this place was or some kind of toll from using her newfound quirk? That energy had to come from somewhere, right? Maybe she could quite literally burn calories after all. It was worth a try.

As she picked up another piece of cake a streak of fire left her eye and reignited her hair. With one hand shoveling chocolate cake into her mouth the other reached behind her at neck height and firmly grasped the blaze. Pulling off enough hair to leave her with little more than a bob cut she tossed the volatile mass of fire as far away from them as she could, ignoring the following explosion in favor of forcing her quirk to regrow the missing hair. This time she felt exactly how draining making it grow back was. It wasn't enough to incapacitate her anytime soon but it definitely didn't get more fire magicked out of thin air, each use sapping her bodily reserves to fuel the blaze. Whether it would have any effect on her digestion in the short term remained to be seen but if nothing else it made her feel hungry enough to eat a horse.

Grabbing her next piece she supposed she'd find out soon enough. She wasn't planning to eat herself sick but Retsu had never been one to roll over when faced with difficulties. Besides, she was an absolute menace even without a quirk. Throwing her regrown inferno into the distance once more before channeling her quirk to refuel it again her gaze flicked to both her allies and the ringmaster alike. Even if she stuffed herself until she couldn't take another bite would it reduce her capabilities enough that she couldn't take everyone here at the same time?

Nah, she'd win.

---

TL;DR: 
Retsu talks shit and gives Jack a reality check, tries to put Noa at ease in case she needs her for the next challenge and goes along with Aika Ao's plan. Once at the next challenge she laments Jack's presence and gets started on the cake while using her quirk and regenerating it over and over to eat as much as possible.

Tags: Aysu,Arataki Noa,Jack Orion

[Arataki Noa]

It seemed her prayers were answered. After leading them to a new area with a table waiting and seats for each of them, their host suddenly produced one of the largest cakes she had seen in her life. It was technically only one cake however. This last event was going to be a team effort. A team effort? As far as Noa could see though, there was no other team close by. So who exactly were they competing with?

As she sat down, she heard a bit of the talking and honestly she couldn't care less. It's not that she was heartless, but there was a time and place for everything. Now, it was time to eat. For some unexplained reason, Noa was feeling especially hungry as soon as she sat down. As someone who was typically overly conscious of her body's condition, she immediately noted this phenomenon as extremely unnatural. Were her 'teammates' correct in suspecting that the food they were offered earlier was spiked something? She felt like she had the appetite of a horse.

"I'm not sure why but I'm suddenly feeling famished. Like I haven't eaten for days. I guess I take back what I said earlier. I suspect the food from earlier had effects to make someone hungrier than normal."

She wasn't going to waste this opportunity. While the other girl started from the top, Noa would work on the bottom. Just because she was hungry however didn't mean she forgot her manners. She would neatly partake in the cake once slice at a time with a knife and fork. Their host didn't specify a time limit. They just had to finish the cake in any way possible. And if she was going to be given bottomless hunger to assist with that challenge, then she would gladly make use of it. She would eat until there was nothing left to eat at a moderate steady pace.

TLDR: Noa notices she feels hungrier than usual and shares that information. She then starts to eat the cake from the bottom and will keep eating for as long as the hunger effect persists.

Bakiri Retsu ,Aysu ,Jack Orion

[Jack Orion]

To say that Jack wasn't exactly satisfied with the answer that he ended up getting would've been the understatement of the century.

He would glare back up Aika the moment his faulty apology left his lips. Tears flowing down his cheeks, the fire in his eyes still ignited all the same. "Save your damn apologies for when you go to Hell." he spat, sorrow and anger united in conveying just how much he meant that statement. As far as Jack was concerned, Aika even using that damnable tower made him just as guilty as the Elementalist was. Maybe even moreso, given he's just using their deaths to make his twisted fantasy a reality.

Maybe this was all just a ploy in the greater mastermind's greater plans. Be that the Elementalist, or someone even worse than that. The thought crossed Jack's mind for a split second, before having to shove it aside for later. Once he was more back to his senses, he would definitely have to make some moves if that was true.

Nonetheless, Jack's eyes narrowed at Aika's seeming refusal to revert or at the least turn off his Quirk for the moment. At least he got half-confirmation that Opal and Lapis were fine - his answer made it seem like he didn't even actually touch them at all. What were the versions that appeared to him before, then? An apparition of his mind in an attempt to calm him down? At the least, the confirmation seemed to let Jack untense somewhat, the fox boy leaning back down as he would rub his temples, just trying to breathe through the sheer panic that was starting to slowly die back down as he focused himself.

Was kinda hard to do that with all the basic screaming in his head. Even moreso when Retsu decided to open her fat mouth again.

Jack would slightly glare at Retsu as she would begin to chide him again, obviously not knowing even remotely what it was he was on about. "Not that you would care, but it wasn't me that murdered them. The Elementalist, the 'Tortured'. Any of that ring any bells?" he asked. Surely even a low-life villain would have at least had access to the news during that whole event. Especially given the basic spectacle Jack had to put on to put the damn thing down. Even if he still regretted how things turned out, deep down.

Shaking his head, Jack would slowly start to stand. Admittedly, he took a bit of what Retsu said to heart, knowing that he can't just fall down, despite the roaring fear and anger in his mind and body. He dealt with worse, he had to remember that. It was just hard to focus with how fast everything was happening, how completely unprepared he was.

Maybe that was his problem.

He took a deep breath, taking a couple of minutes to compose himself, looking a bit in a meditative state. Trying to just empty himself, even if just for a moment. Flashes of those he cared about - friends, family, Opal and Lapis - zoomed through his mind, at least giving him an anchor just for a moment. Another deep breath, and he opened his eyes.

Let's just get this over with.

Following the others without even a word more, Jack would eye the giant cake in front of them. Seeing the others dig in, he pursed his lips for a second. Not like he had much of a choice at this point. Luckily, at least he already had a big enough appetite as it was.

Cracking his knuckles, and eyeing that Retsu went for the top while Noa went for the bottom, Jack would eye the middle of the cake, his eyes suddenly sharpening, like he was looking at prey. With a leap and a bound, Jack would hop onto the table, to the opposite side of either of them, and start tearing into the middle like a mad man, trying to use up as much energy as he really could while simultaniously getting refilled because of the cake.

....Cheesecake was a million times better than this. That much was certain.

---

Tl;Dr

-Told Aika to save his apologies for when he goes to Hell.
-At the least relieved Opal and Lapis seemed to be fine, though lamented being stuck with his Quirk on for the moment.
-Flatly reminded Retsu about the Tortured, considering how things played out it likely would have been on the news.
-Took what she was saying to heart nonetheless, taking a couple of minutes to meditate and at least regain himself a little.
-Would tear into the middle of the cake while Retsu and Noa took the top and bottom.

[Aysu]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

Dream World?, 7:00 pm

Aika Ao watched, perhaps a little bit too intently. His eyes would shift between each of them, seeing their resolve. Would they eat it? Were they going to defy something else that he said? He waited, not intervening and just watching as each of them, discussed and eventually made up their mind.

Once each of them started to each, Aika stopped watching. Instead, it seemed that he was looking over to the grand stage, in anticipation. He wouldn't look back for quite a while, waiting for them to make a bit of progress- to enjoy the cakes and the teamwork they had created. A smile would fill his face, sly but not malicious, before clapping softly. "You did it. I'm proud of you all." You'd think that them eating cake and perhaps not even finishing it wouldn't warrant any type of response from Aika, but it did. "Congratulations on completing the last event- please, feel free to eat more of the cake though, you have time until the end." He would rummage through the pockets on his suit and pull out three tokens, much like the ones that he had presented them at the other two trials. "Here, for each of you." Rather than passing them over, they would float in the direction of each of them in wait for them to be grabbed up. This time, unlike the other tokens, they were all the same, showing a big cake on one side, and a smiley face on the other.

With a happy sigh, Aika would clasp his hands together, looking over the three of them. "I'm very proud of you all. You've, for the most part, completed all of the trials that I gave you. If you would, please, join me on the stage now." Aika would motion to the grand stage, something that had loomed in the middle of the festival area for the whole time. "There, I'll let you go, I'll allow you to go back to the real world, but not before I remind you of what you've learned here today." He'd smile, motioning with his hand for each of them to follow him on the short walk over.

Rules and Information: Follow Aika to the end. You're... going home?

TLDR; Aika is pleased with the performance of everyone and let's each of them know that they passed. He then asks them to join him on the grand stage to go over what they did and to go home to the real world.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The next round will begin on 20/05/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: Jack Orion Rin Bakiri Retsu

[Bakiri Retsu]

"Huh, that's convenient," Retsu replied to Noa in between bites. She pointedly refrained from bringing up the idea that there might be side effects. So long as it helped them here she didn't quite care what'd happen to the girl after the fact. Retsu's brow furrowed as she ate. Something about Noa felt familiar to her. Had they met before? Gulping down another bite she shook her head and put the thought aside. It was likely just the sight of the audience from before messing with her head. There were more important things to focus on. Like this chocolate cake.

Retsu wasn't quite a sweets person, more of a bitter one, but this dessert was much better than she could have hoped. Far too often chocolate cake was thick and cloying, one ingredient overpowering the others, but this one had far more nuance to it than what she was used to. It had some of the familiar bitterness of quality chocolate, a richness that added to it instead of overwhelming the core ingredient's characteristics and just a tinge of sweetness induced into it through an addition she was unfamiliar with that made it greater than the whole. From the token in her pocket a goose honked mockingly, as if drawing a comparison to something. Retsu shut it out and kept going. 

Even as she did she knew her efforts wouldn't be enough. Digestion took more than a few minutes to happen and after the third time she threw out a cataclysmic explosion Retsu began to realize that while the strain certainly made her crave sustenance it did nothing to speed up the process of assimilating those needs. Yet somehow her efforts had been enough and resulted in her reaching the desired results without her even noticing. As she accepted the token given to her by the whims of The Ringmaster without her ever reaching the goal she'd been aiming for she took another bite and swallowed the piece whole. It left a bitter taste in her mouth. 

There was lethargy in her features as she stood up once more and moved on, a sound coming from her pocket that was like a honk mixed with a laugh, one she once more pointedly ignored. Paranoia made Aika Ao's words sound incredibly ominous. In her mind simply being let out seemed unlikely and his words appeared to carry a double meaning. Nothing came free in life and she'd had to fight for every scrap she had. Retsu let out a sigh somewhere between an exhale and a sigh, the slightest bit of hope desperate to stay above water amidst an ocean of skepticism. Even if this were some kind of Dream World could it truly be different?

---

TL;DR:
-Retsu replies to Noa and vaguely feels like she's met her somewhere before
-The cake is a metaphor
-Walks over to the Grand Stage while being paranoid as fook

Tags: Aysu,Arataki Noa,Jack Orion

[Arataki Noa]

It was a big cake, but with three people working on it who were on the hungry side, it went down quickly enough. It almost didn't feel like a competition, unless someone was secretly recording their time somewhere. Noa didn't let this bother her and proceeded as efficiently as she could.

When it was all over, their host would once again give each of them a token while offering more words of praise. It felt like the kind of words you would hear from a doting grandparent who still thinks their young adult grandchildren were still little kids. She neither liked nor disliked it, but coming from someone as suspicious as they were, it was hard to feel positive about it. The one thing she was glad to hear though was that this event was finally coming to an end.

The last step was to follow their host up to the waiting stage. It didn't seem like the other two were gonna make trouble this time and Noa was certain the promise of finally being allowed to leave was probably the best thing they've heard all day. Pocketing the last token, she stood up and followed shortly behind Aika Ao matching his walking pace. Surely there were no more surprises today right?

TLDR: Finished the cake. Received the token. Followed everyone to the stage.

Bakiri Retsu ,Aysu ,Jack Orion

[Jack Orion]

Well, that went surprisingly uneventfully.

Finishing at least his portion of the cake was easy enough - or at least enough to where Aika was satisfied enough. He paused again, overhearing his little 'proud father' moment. Again, his eye twitched, his anger starting to boil back up all over again. Seriously, everything about this day pissed him off, even without his internal instincts yelling at him to go into fight or flight mode. He wanted to scream, to shout, to let it all out at this bastard and his stupid red coat.

Why was his coat the thing he was focusing on? No idea.

As Aika would proclaim the end of the event, Jack would simply scoff and stop eating. Hopping off the table and leaning back against it, a look of disgust still on his face. He didn't trust himself to speak at this point - at this point he knew there was a high chance he would likely end up snapping again. Still, the look he was giving Aika would say all he really needed to. A look of pure hatred and disgust, of complete and utter apathy.

Sooner or later he'd probably reconsider how 'proud' he was of Jack when he would inevitably hunt him and the Elementalist down. But would it really be for justice, or revenge at that point? Honestly, he didn't know, nor did he care at that exact moment. Those feelings were for when he calmed back down and was back to himself.

He would snatch the coin as it would be thrown at him, almost half tempted to throw it right back in his face. Or shove it down his throat. Especially as he would then claim that while he would set them free, he would first remind them of what they had learned from all of this.

At that point, he couldn't help himself from snapping a little bit as the group would follow him. "You mean besides the fact that slapping random Quirks on people and hoping they cooperate and don't go nuts isn't the greatest idea on planet Earth? Or that you're a massive hypocrite who likes to make people dance like monkeys and remind them of how much of a failure they are?" he growled, clutching his fists a bit. "I didn't 'learn' anything! All you did was drag me from actually doing something I actually liked doing and reminded me of people who died because of me! How is that any sort of fucking lesson?!"

At that, he would then cross his arms and look away. "Just send me home already. I just want this fucking screaming in my head to stop." With that, he would look over at Noa, his features again softening. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry we met like this, and sorry at least to you for what trouble I've caused. Hopefully next time...you'll see me. Not...this," he said remorsefully, not even looking at Retsu, nor apologizing to her.

She knows what she did.

---

Tl;dr
-Promptly stopped eating the moment Aika said they were done.
-Didn't speak at first, not trusting himself at the moment.
-Eventually snapped a little again, claiming he didn't learn anything - just reminded of his own failures.
-Apologized to Noa for the trouble he ended up causing and hoped they met again under better terms.
-Notably didn't say a thing to Retsu.

[Aysu]

As everyone gets into their position on the stage, Aika smiles. "Thank you all for all that you've done throughout today. I know it wasn't easy for all of you, and that we had some struggles, but I'm proud of each of you for all the work you put in to completing the tasks I set out to you."

With everyone on the stage, Aika would look to each of them, starting with Retsu. "Retsu, it was good to meet you. Your spirit is unlike anything I've met before, and I surely hope that I can meet it again. Even with your hot-headed temper, you were able to keep your cool and guide your companions through the trials. You chose the middle path, a goose, and friendship- those things may seem insignificant, but they matter more than you think they do." He'd pause, the tokens that Retsu had received coming out of thin air and appearing before her. "Even though you were skeptical of me and of this land, you stayed true to your guts and eent through with that caution rather than let it hold you back. You first chose a path for yourself, preformed without fear, and worked with those around you. I'm proud."

Next, he looked to Jack. He'd such first and foremost, looking at him with uneasiness. "Oh Jack, aren't you a peach. I wasn't sure what to think of you, you were a wild card. Not doing trials, yelling, trying to even punch me- really, I was hurt that you were abrasively against everything. I know it isn't easy to be thrown into an area like this and be expected to fit into everything, but slowly and surely, I think you realized the value of it. You picked the fast lane, wanting to be the fastest and the best when it was never a competition. Secondly, you refused to perform, perhaps not wanting to confront those that have doubted you. That's okay, it's perhaps not the right time for you to do that. Lastly, you pulled up your boots and worked with your team to complete the last challenge." The two tokens would display in front of him. "Though you didn't complete all the tasks... I'm happy to see your growth."

Lastly, he'd look to Noa. "Ah Noa, I had a feeling that you'd rather have left than to have to deal with these two, but you did it. I'm excited and happy that you were able to stick through it all. Being around those that opposite you and one another can make it harder. I'm the first challenge, you chose the slowest route, wanting to take your time and use your new-found quirk. I admire that. I think it was evident to you the most that this wasn't a competition at all. Secondly, you used a horse to show those that ever doubted you that you could do it. That takes a lot of guts, but I'm sure they were pressed. Lastly, you didn't doubt the food and you didn't hesitate to eat. I think your willingness to know that I was never here to harm you was your strength. Thank you for that." The tokens would flash beside her. 


With a long sigh, he would adjust his coat. "Now, the truth. All of this has been a dream. The real Dream World is back in the real world, each of you are asleep there, having fallen unconscious due to me. Not everyone was as lucky. Some experienced horrors, some not. For the three of you, I just wanted you to have fun with Dream World. I made it for people to enjoy, to spend time with people and to be in the moment
 Nowadays though, people don't like amusement parks anymore, they don't like doing "kiddy things" and would rather be on their phones, disconnected. As I watched people go about the park, it saddened me that people wouldn't talk to strangers, or try the weird things. That's why I made this place." He would cough a bit, the sun slowly setting more around them.

"The first trial was meant to show you to rely on yourself. There was no right path, or no right way to do it. You could have taken as long as you wanted, all you had to do was complete it. It can hard to be separated, in literal bubbles, from others that you rely on. You had no help but yourself, and I envy each of you for being able to complete it with no fear. Even while you were hundreds of feet in the air, you got through it and proved to me that you can rely on yourself."

"The second trial was meant to challenge your past and your fears. Putting those that doubted you in the crowd was meant to make you second guess yourself, and in turn, wonder if you were good enough. Let me tell you- you are. You are good enough. No matter who says you aren't, you're all good enough. You preformed effortlessly regardless, and showed me and yourself that no haters or unstable is too much for you."

"The third trial was meant to show your teamwork. It can be hard to trust people that you don't know, especially if you've been at odds with one another. I'm situations like this one, and in the real world, there are going to be times where you have to make hard choices and trust those around you to follow through with you. It isn't easy to rely on others, but I hope I'm the future you can do that a little bit more. No matter the faction or background, we are all people, and we all need help sometimes."

He would sigh again, clapping his hands together in a finalizing way. "Well. That about wraps up our time together, I'm sorry. It seems that you're needed again in the real world. Though no one will perhaps believe you of what happened here, please take the lessons and time here with you. I'll miss you. I doubt I'll be able to see any of you again, but you will remain close in my heart and minds." Aika Ao would smile a somber smile. "You're all worth so much, you can achieve the world, and I surely hope to see that in the real world." He would bow, the sun finally setting fully behind him. "Well, until next time!” With a snap of his fingers, each of them would fall unconscious, before waking up on little makeshift beds that had been set up by ambulance forces. Sirens could be faintly heard. As you open your eyes, the image of Aika would be flashed, would red sparkles before disappearing
 You're safe. You're back to your lives, unharmed. What will you do now? 

[Bakiri Retsu]

Retsu wasn’t sure how to reply to Aika Ao’s words. The whole message was foreign to her and so was the unsettling feeling that came with it. As the tokens began to float in front of her she settled upon a nod and a hum, making no eye contact as her gaze was upon the horizon, eyes glossing over. For one rare minute, a minute she’d been keeping an eye out for this entire time in case it'd be the one where Aika Ao pulled off whatever he was planning, Retsu lowered her guard without her even realizing it as she lost herself deep in thought.

A place where they could have fun. Was that what was different about her then? Here she was able to have fun just like others did? She didn’t like the thought of what that said about her. If that felt this different, this off compared to what she was used to, what could that mean? The thought weighed heavy on her.

As if she were withdrawing her hand from a fire before it could get burned she turned her train of thought towards the three trials she'd completed.

The first trial she was no stranger to. When it came down to it the only person she could count on was herself. It had always been that way and would always be that way. Several familiar faces flashed through her mind, lingering for just a second before she pushed them away. With a shake of her head she refocused on what mattered. Making sure she caught on to whichever way Aika Ao was about to try to screw them over. Her caution was only halfhearted, the majority of her attention still lingering on the past.

That she'd breezed through the second trial was no surprise either. Retsu had never let anyone else’s opinion decide her actions. She always blazed her own trail forward in whichever way would get her the best result, their judgement be damned. Good enough? No. She was better. Better than what all of them thought of her and soon enough she’d show them. She'd show them all.

A snort left her at the thought of the third trial. Trust others? What a riot. She didn’t trust anyone here further than she could throw them. The only thing you could trust in was that everyone was gonna be a self-serving sack of shit. It was exactly why she'd made all of those threats. Either they did what would benefit her because it would benefit them too or they’d do it because the only alternative they could get was a bullet through the head. Nothing more, nothing less. Growing up in the lawless backstreets of Tokyo she’d seen exactly what happened to fools who trusted without being able to verify. Hells. She’d buried several herself. Retsu didn’t need their help. She’d be fine by herself no matter what the world might throw her way. They’d all see that in time.

Even so Aika Ao’s smarmy speech agitated something deep inside her chest. If she didn’t know better she’d almost believe he was genuine. For some reason she was even having a hard time convincing herself he wasn’t. That couldn’t be right.

Something felt wrong. Retsu did not know what it was and she’d been ignoring it this whole time but the closer she got to leaving the more she felt it. There was almost a reluctance to leave this place, ridiculous as the thought was. Retsu's fists clenched. That had to be related to his quirk. She couldn't imagine -refused to imagine- that it could come from herself. There was no way that was true. Absolutely no way. Their bodies and powers had been changed so he likely had a way to affect their minds too. The thought angered her so much another plume of fire left her eye and ignited her hair while she reached for her weapons. A snap ended her efforts before they could begin. 

She awoke the same way she'd just fallen asleep.

Her eyelids snapped open and she shot upright startling every waking person around her. With adrenaline coursing through her veins she took in the scene in an instant. Somehow the chaos combined with the fact that she wasn't wearing her eyepatch and had longer hair had caused her to go unrecognized amongst the mass of unconscious civilians. She couldn't count on that lasting for long. Ignoring the surprised exclamations and caretakers swarming to one of the few people that had woken up by themselves since the Unity Festival had ended she grabbed her stuff and left, her burning hair flaring up in warning to any who'd dare interrupt her. 

Half-formed thoughts and ideas she didn't even want to consider risked burning a hole through her head long before the quirk she somehow still possessed even outside of the Dream could. She pushed them away with action. There was much to do and she had no idea how long she'd been out. Time worked differently in dreams, for all she knew she could've laid here for hours, days or even weeks. It didn't matter. So long as she kept moving she didn't have to focus on thinking. So, as always, Retsu kept going without looking back. There was no other option. Not for her.

---

TL;DR:
-Peace out, suckers! o/

Tags: Aysu,Arataki Noa,Jack Orion

[Arataki Noa]

Noa woke up in an unfamiliar environment. From what she could tell, she was on an emergency bed in a tent set up outdoors. There was no one nearby at the moment or at least not anyone conscious. There were still a few other beds with occupants fast asleep. There was also the odd empty bed or so every few rows that would tell her that she wasn't the first to wake either.

She sat up feeling oddly refreshed. The first thing she did was stare at the pitcher of water close by and caused its contents to start swirling subtly. That was great. She had her actual Quirk back. Thoughts of the 'dream' she just had still lingered in her mind. All of those events being a dream explained the weird stuff that happened to them. Speaking of 'them' it seemed neither of the two she traveled with were in that tent with her. That was a huge relief.

Honestly she was still expecting some sort of twist at the last moment. But it seemed their eccentric dream master really did just end the dream just like that, with positive messages. None of which were particularly useful to her. If she wanted some positive reinforcement she would just talk to the school counselor.

Sighing she stood up and went to look for the person in charge. She felt fine but they would probably want to give her a check up before letting her go. The sooner she got the standard procedures out of the way, the sooner she could go home.

Bakiri Retsu ,Aysu ,Jack Orion

[Matsu]

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What a great Dream Dream World

+10000 EXP for Jack Orion
+100 Tokens for Arataki Noa
+100 Tokens for Bakiri Retsu

PHARAOH LEAP.

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