Dreaming Stargazer

. . .

Still, it sure is gloomy in here. The trees are blocking the sun to the point it doesn't even look like the morning anymore... In other words, there's no way we can be found by a helicopter above while we're here! Our best bet would be to backtrack even further so we reach that open area from before, but that was already dangerous enough to cross... Hmmm...

An alternative path... Well, there's a limit to how much we can backtrack when we're already lost, so I suppose that's the only choice... But, since we've already come this far, I'm sure it'll be okay! There's bound to be an exit somewhere. If not that, then we might see something interesting...

Hey, what do you think it'll be this time? We were meant to gather at the heart of the park, but we're probably far away from that destination by now. We haven't come across any houses or paths, but there's this forest, so maybe we'll find a grand lake or something like that!

And under it, maybe a dead body housing a monumental secret...

I-it's just a hypothesis, so don't worry about it! As long as we don't go into the lake, we won't have to find out, anyway... Ah, but it's different if we find something by the shore. Like an animal's carcass with...

I'm sorry, really! It's not like those are the only possibilities on the table, so let's focus on something else! Like, for example... Um, I didn't find any gardens when I searched up the area briefly, but there could be a hidden corner in this forest with beautiful vegetation. I thought I heard water around this path before, and I mean... Plants look greener with water nearby, don't they? Almost like they're more alive than the others…

That level of saturation is usually enticing to the eye, right? Green is also said to be a calming colour... Well, not that we're lacking in any of it right now.

But, it's no wonder that shade of green is usually more pleasant. People are always drawn to shiny and beautiful things, after all... Where there is life, there's also hope. That much is obvious.

Though, that alone might not be very lucky. It's not a rare find, and we've already wandered around for hours now. Maybe there'll be some kind of treasure?

Who knows? Whatever it is, I hope it's light enough to take back with us as a souvenir!

Look, there's a nice enough spot to rest for the time being! The shade is a given considering we're inside the forest right now, but these fallen trunks also look pretty sturdy. Though, if we're making a stop here, we better double-check the area... If we're any close to a bear's hunting grounds, we may as well be the next prey... It would also be bad if you got stung by an insect while sitting down. Let's unpack our things for a second, and...

Ah, wait...! Don't go down there!!

Waaaaaaaaah...!

. . .

Hey...

Hey, wake up...

Are you okay? Does your head hurt? How many fingers can you see?

Thank goodness... It's just like the doctor said, then.

Ah, you see... It turns out we fell straight into the vacation home of a retired doctor! While you were unconscious, we happened to be found by one of the housekeepers. There was actually supposed to be a fence where you fell, but since barely anyone passes by, they neglected it for a long time... And maybe because he felt guilty, we got the free pass to stay here for the whole day.

It's a really large mansion so it's got all sorts of places to explore! With a garden that big in an old mansion like this, we're bound to find some antique structures! We'll probably be watched by someone along the way, but it's an unique opportunity, so let's make the most out of it while we're here.

It's a good thing you mentioned that. You were unconscious the whole time, so you didn't get to see it, but... We can make that our first destination. Come on. Hold onto my hand.

. . .

And here we are! This is where we fell from. As you can see from above, there's a small cliff, and a flowerbed right at the bottom. You fell into the center of that flowerbed.

Well, to be precise... The two of us fell into that flowerbed, but I was still better off. You probably fell in head first, and I just had to fall on top of you... I was worried you wouldn't open your eyes again!

Thankfully, we landed into private property and you were okay, so it was really lucky! I already know how to get back home, so that's solved, too. Though, in my opinion, we should still go to a hospital just in case. You can't be certain there's nothing wrong without getting a proper exam, and there are no facilities like that here...

Huh? Where are you...

Hahaha...

Ahahahaha! You're right! For now, you're alive... That's the inviolable truth. You don't care about anything else right now, huh? You're really optimistic... And considering the reason we fell in to begin with, that optimism is only reckless!

But, I still agree with your proposal. Our time is limited, so we might as well celebrate! Is that why you're on that flowerbed?

We better hurry, then. While the damage might already be done, I don't think the people of this mansion would approve, after all. Now, stay still... One, two, and...

Say cheese!

. . .

Author's Notes: THANK YOUUU I wanted to exercise the muscles somehow but I wasn't finding the prompt in my head! I had this very solid mental image but couldn't move on from it, making it not have a lot of use. This is also because it's hard to depict all kinds of events with this format since it can't drag for too long and also can't have other people in it. Which is funny because this is the longest of the snippets and also there are people mentioned in it but !! I couldn't help it because part of the idea to me was the process of getting lost and what subsequent enthusiasm could be taken from it so then I wanted something to happen properly? I don't know, while it's an occurrence, and it might mean good luck, bad luck could still pile up so I guess maybe the next time I get him and you lost I'll amp the tragedy factor and see what might come of it.

The idea was to follow the guidelines of your yapping to some extent, though not doing so religiously since this isn't a request. Still, it did inspire me to take the idea in a different direction, so I wanted to bring the forest in. I don't know, I was optimistic about it by the first half, but the second half made me uneasy. Flowerbed was the name of the title I came up with first thing, and then I wanted that to tie into an unusual event that could justify getting lost so hard. I'm not sure if that necessarily succeeds, but maybe it doesn't need to if Nagito can consider that lucky and thus believe it balances it out. I wanted to get you in a flowerbed from getting lost in the woods and so it was...

But yeah most of the runtime in my head was spent with Nagito wondering about safety hazards and possibilities... What I thought was interesting about Island Mode was the idea that luck could be sort of additive, the same way for example there is luck happening within the unlucky event that is the killing game, but then there's a bigger luck that's meant to come after that killing game is over. And that killing game takes a while, so basically, there would be an accumulation of deaths, and that would hopefully lead to a proportionally big good fortune. In this case, while Nagito expected to be lucky, he could still expect luck to come after another unlucky event I suppose? While being confident he would be able to leave. Maybe? Not being Junko and thus being unable to predict RNG truly nerfs me... The people will have to tell me if this sounds remotely like Nagito Komaeda...