one day, in the film research club, vil confesses to ortho that he's in a bit of a bind. the club needs a new script to act out, but he can't seem to find one that truly embodies the theme of struggle that he's attempting to invoke in the members.
ortho volunteers to make a script himself, and vil allows him to do so -- it's not like he's got many other options, anyway.
knowing that creativity has never been his strong suit, ortho employs the other first-years to help him make it (because if anybody can write about struggles, it's the freshmen). they all gather in ramshackle dorm on the weekends and brainstorm, coming up with ideas and plot threads. ortho thinks all of the ideas are really good and struggles to pick just a few, so he ends up making six scripts and deciding that vil can just choose the one he likes best.
ortho brings them to vil, who is blown away by just how emotional and good they all are.
the first script is about two kids who are attending a prestigious school, where even the slightest misstep leads to the same severe punishment, and there's no hope of escape or recourse. all they have is each other... and that has to be enough.
the second script is about someone in a sports club who earnestly loves it, but is surrounded by people who prefer to cheat their way to victory. and no matter how he tries to change it, everybody writes him off as a naive child and doesn't listen to him until it's too late.
the third script is about a child actor who's trying to meet the expectations of the director, but every time he fumbles a line or steps out of character even a little, he's harshly reprimanded and made to be feel horrible about himself and his abilities. (vil will admit: that one made him cry a little.)
the fourth script is about someone constantly living in the shadow of their deceased elder brother, with everybody talking about how great he used to be -- and then it's revealed at the end that they even gave the protagonist his brother's name in an attempt to get him back.
the fifth script is about an outcast from society who finds refuge from the society that scorns him in the form of a kindly innkeeper and his two sons. but no matter how much he tries to fit in, he keeps getting reminded that he is, and will always be, an outcast.
the sixth script is about someone trying to find their way home. they keep asking everybody around them for directions, getting more and more desperate and willing to pay any price for just a chance at going home again... but they keep coming up empty.
vil decides he can't pick just one on his own, so he decides to have the film research club members do "trial weeks" of each one to see which of them they'd all prefer to do a full production of.
it's not until they start filming the third script that vil realizes that there's something... oddly familiar about all of this.
(they do say that life imitates art.)
