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All Coiny wanted was some clothes.
He didn’t know it would lead to this.
Was the cool jacket worth it?
Was it worth being trapped in his barren house in isolation?
Was it worth being forced to repeat scripted lines about “the retail version”?
Every time he uttered a pre-determined line, he felt like his mouth wasn’t his own.
He was an outsider looking in on himself.
The Player had long stopped visiting.
Honestly, he couldn’t blame them.
Who would want to interact with someone who had been lobotomized to the point of no return.
Not even Coiny wanted to be around himself.
As he sat in his one-room empty house, starving and lonely, he reflected on what had led him to this moment.
Leafy had given Dream Island back to Firey.
But Firey didn’t want to own it anymore. He put it up for sale.
Someone bought it.
A mysterious entity, known only as The Player.
They invited Coiny first.
Coiny was pumped. He was going to be the first to actually live on Dream Island.
The Player never talked, but they fed him and gave him head rubs, which he greatly appreciated.
Coiny felt bad for thinking this, but he sometimes wanted to interact with someone normal for once.
So he requested a friend.
To his surprise, Firey showed up on the island.
Coiny was confused, seeing as Firey had sold the island in the first place.
He talked to Firey, who said The Player had invited him and he had thought “why not”?
Firey and Coiny hadn’t interacted for a while, but the mysteries of the island and The Player fostered a bond between them.
Soon Leafy arrived as well. Firey was stoked.
Things were going pretty well.
One day, Coiny was thinking about something.
Clothes.
The outfit he had arrived in was awful. He wanted something snazzier.
So he decided to ask The Player about it.
After all, they had gladly given him food after he asked, so why would this be any different?
What was the harm?
Coiny would soon find out the dark irony of that question.
A new shop was opened: Where & Wear.
Coiny got a new jacket and some jeans.
He thanked The Player.
And then—
Something in the universe shifted.
Coiny opened his mouth to speak.
“I hear that there’s a retail version of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.”
What.
That’s not what he meant to say.
He tried again.
“In the retail version, you can build all sorts of facilities on the island, like a restaurant.”
Okay.
That’s definitely not what he meant to say.
The Player looked confused.
Coiny couldn’t blame them.
Maybe Firey and Leafy would no what was going on.
Coiny tried to leave his house, but he came across a horrifying realization: his door was boarded shut.
In a panic, he ran at the door to try and break it down, but to no avail.
The Player tried to help them.
They attempted to drag him out of his house like they had done so many times before.
It didn’t work.
The Player popped out of existence for a moment, then returned.
Coiny came to a terrible conclusion: The Player wasn’t stuck. Only he was.
The Player gave him a worried look.
They showed him a Nintendo Switch. Coiny was horrified to see that both Firey and Leafy were also stuck in their houses, reciting the same lines about “the retail version”.
The Player stayed with Coiny for a little while, but eventually left.
They sometimes visited him, but this stopped after a few days.
Coiny, all alone, had to grapple with the fact that this was his fault.
He was the one who requested the clothing, which led to this house arrest.
He felt awful about it, especially since his friends were trapped too.
He lay on the ground and closed his eyes.
He wanted to sleep forever.
A few days later…
Coiny woke up to the sound of talking.
Wait, talking? That meant there were people outside!
He immediately rushed to the door. He turned the knob and it swung wide open.
Firey and Leafy, who were standing outside his house, turned around.
“Coiny!” Leafy exclaimed. She and Firey ran toward him and wrapped him in an enthusiastic embrace.
“I’m so sorry…” Coiny said, tears stinging his eyes. “This was all my fault.”
“Don’t say that,” said Firey, gently squeezing Coiny’s hand. “You didn’t know that would happen.”
“Guys?”
The two boys ceased their loving moment to look where Leafy was gazing.
“Pin?” Coiny’s eyes widened.
The two ran to each other, Pin picking Coiny up and spinning him around.
Firey and Leafy watched the happy reunion.
Firey took Leafy’s hand.
Coiny had never been so happy in his life.
Maybe the lobotomii was worth it.