iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 34m

It felt like a strange feeling had settled in my chest. We've been through a lot together, but now we have to move on. It's time for this extension period to end.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 1h

Once we film this last scene, finish another movie, and present it to an audience... We can finally move on.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 2h

Of course, I was doing it partly to cheer B-ka up, but I think another part of me felt lonely being the only one not doing a story. The others must have figured me out, and were making exasperated faces, but they still went along with my nonsense. I was reminded again of how nice those four are.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 3h

B-ka probably wouldn't get lost here, so what could've happened to him? Well, let's just wait for D-suke to get back for now...

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 4h

But I'm the director, see! It'd be weird for me to appear when I'm not part of the story, right? So you guys are on your own!

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 5h

Oh, I wonder what my class ended up doing; I pretty much didn't help out at all, huh. Well, y'know, I was busy with filming...

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 6h

Dream? Reality? Dream? Reality? Dream? Reality? Dream? Reality? Dream?

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 7h

Adding meat to bone, or rather, thinking about what other things we need to know in order to prepare for our chosen answer, I wrote the script.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 8h

Besides, we have ideas for other things we want to film next once we finish working on it. I'm sure that whatever we work on next, we'll have fun with it.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 9h

"Alright! Then I'll make..." Thinking about it, I came to a sudden realization. "Guess I'll make you, then?"

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 10h

After school, we dropped off the filming equipment in the clubroom and left the building to wait at D-suke's house nearby. We chatted about what we were going to film while making our way through a huge pile of snacks.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 11h

Apparently humans can go crazy just from being confined in a white room. If that's true, I wonder if I've already gone crazy...

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 12h

A sweet scent mixes with the air as I sense it stir. I hear that voice again today. I don't know what it's saying... But it's a terribly, terribly gentle voice. They brought flowers, told me mundane stories, and left with a final "See you later."

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 13h

I sat down next to B-ka. Another set of candy-sculpting tools was set down before me. Now that I've sat down, though, I can't think of anything...

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 14h

You're the type to suck at games no matter how much you try 'em, huh!?

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 15h

Not having any particular place I wanted to go, I aimlessly wandered through the bustling halls. But even that alone filled me with a sense of excitement.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 16h

However, D-suke showed no sign of returning either. It had already been 10 minutes since he left the room. At first, we'd just been chatting amongst ourselves like normal, but we started to realize that something really wasn't right.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 17h

By the way, it sounds like after that, D-suke went to the other stalls and got some fried octopus balls and other things to eat. He really fits his title... The food warrior of legend...

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 18h

It's like a whole Mt. Fuji's worth of noodles! My brain made that comparison, but I had already begun to break into a cold sweat.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 19h

I want to do, like, that kind of scene: 'You're the culprit!'

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 20h

As we talked, I felt both fulfilled and a little empty. I'm sure the others with me were feeling the same way.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 21h

Gong. Gong. Gong. It rang at regular intervals, the sound almost hypnotic in nature. The ringing of the bell, coupled with the spooky atmosphere, only made our surroundings feel more like a dream.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 22h

It's a surprise to me that D-suke had that kind of past, but... knowing D-suke, it's totally possible.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 23h

Yet, in reality, it wasn't as simple as that. Perhaps because it was in a strange state in which it looked like a detailed wax model.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

We began at last to film the last scene of the movie. We call this scene the "Schrödinger's Cat Arc."

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Wait, hold on, this isn't normal! There's never been a "continue" in life in the first place....! This isn't the sequel of some B-grade movie...!!

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I heard an unusually high amount of screams coming from within. Isn't that like... too many?

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

It showed me something else I never see: A-no wearing glasses! That adds some points!

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

He's usually a mess, a teacher with no motivation to work whatsoever, but he really did his best for us. He probably single-handedly raised the value of this year's school festival.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Besides, we have ideas for other things we want to film next once we finish working on it. I'm sure that whatever we work on next, we'll have fun with it.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The curtain opened. Before us sat a completely unreasonably-sized pile of fried noodles. The enormous metal plate was around the size of an entire straw mat, and atop that sat an even bigger pile of noodles.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I just learned how to do this, but I can't fear failure so much I don't do it at all!

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

We can't all stay together forever. We can't live only within our happy memories forever. If we were trapped in them, that wouldn't really be a good thing. So that this world didn't repeat in an endless loop, though that was impossible...

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Hey, if she's gonna be like that, it's gonna turn into a tsundere cafe...!

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

And now, we'll get a display of A-no's legendary skills...!!

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

What had resulted from my work wasn't something you'd recognize as being B-ka, or even something you'd recognize as being a person at all, just like last time.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

If an ordinary charm can stop these tears, a wish will be granted.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Oh, that's what it was. It really would be fun to go on a trip together, just the five of us.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

C-na smiled as she said that. I feel like the longer we worked on filming the movie, the more often I saw C-na's smile.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

While the audience has, so far, been able to experience the movie as detached observers, we're going to make them become an actual part of it. To do that, we'll create the illusion that those in the audience are actually there.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

They were heading towards me with seriously pissed-off looks on their faces. Huh? Did I really do something? Me?

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I was probably going to try to cheer her up, um, uh... W-Why do I have to get so flustered...!?

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Ummmm, what was it again? That, right? Yeah, that. It was, uh... Oh, right. I could feel the neurons in my brain firing.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

It's said that when a letter is put into the locker the portrait is looking at, a worry-filled reply will come.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

After all, this feels more lonely than painful.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Thinking about it, I realized that this was the same feeling I had last time. I felt like maybe I was the only one still feeling squirmy like this.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

When I was just a lil' kid, I got separated from my family in a haunted house and got lost, and I was a bit traumatized by the experience. It was so long ago that I thought I'd gotten over it by now, but looks like I didn't.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

But, but! The part of the scene where I opened the door and they all pointed at me! That was exactly the type of atmosphere I wanted to capture in that scene!

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force myself to move. No matter how many times I tried to stand, I couldn't. I guess my strings have already been cut as well.

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E-ki Quote Bot @thereses-sigh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

4... No, 5 people? Just like us, back then. Those days were so fun... Oh, I see, am I already dreaming?

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