july event.

[falsitates]

JULY 4 ~ 15, 2021

July starts off busy.

With Independence Day approaching, city residents have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming Sunday celebrations. Vitae has always been enthusiastic about the Fourth of July and has made it a city-wide celebration every year. Although it's warned that another heatwave will sweep through the city for the first two weeks of July, everyone still works hard to ensure that they have another memorial holiday.

It's time to unwind.

  MISSION BOARD

Bzzz. Bzzz.

It's your phone. It feels like a brick of ice when you pick it up, providing welcome relief from the heat. It shuts down completely, as usual, until new white words on a black background appear.

NEW MISSIONS HAVE BEEN ADDED.
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY.
SOLAMEN MISERIS SOCIOS HABUISSE DOLORIS

True to its message, three new tasks appear under the missions module.

  FOURTH OF JULY

Despite the oppressive heat, it almost seems like everyone has gone out for the day. Many people hold barbeques or picnics in their backyards or parks, while others bars and restaurants offer day-long specials, such as free drinks or sides with meals. For those without cash or a barbeque of their own, the church provides free burgers and hotdogs to anyone who stops by their parking lot. Juice and pop are given as drinks, but occasionally, when no one is looking, the volunteer pulls out a bottle of beer from the very bottom of the ice-filled cooler. She gives a wink and puts her finger to her lips. Shhhh.


The beach also has its own free barbeque, though there is no hidden surprise of alcohol to be found. Only food and-- wait, a beach?

It first appeared in the early hours of the morning. A section of the forest has vanished at the city's very edge on the south side. In its place. a large beach is found. Although the waters stretch out as far as the eye can see, Vitae has always been a landlocked city. Where did it come from? Residents claim it's always been there, that the city built an urban beach years ago, before quickly changing the subject. It's Independence Day, man! What does it matter? Let's just have a good time!

Although packed, the beach provides enough room for everyone to find a spot and relax. The water is nice and cool and flocked with screaming kids as they splash each other. Apart from the beach's incredibly strange appearance and the concerning questions it raises, everything appears to be at peace.

Later that night, elaborate fireworks are launched in front of the city hall. Many people also light their own and with a fireworks vendor at every corner, there appears to be no end in sight. The sounds of explosions reverberate throughout the entire night and many people stay up to continue partying, celebrating as if this is the city's final Fourth of July.

  DECISION TIME

The following two weeks are quiet, everyone using up all of their energy for the Fourth of July. The city returns to normal and users of the app are left in peace.

Until the 15th.

YOU HAVE SELECTED [ALLY/BETRAY].
CHOOSE A USER.

A list appear below the message. It contains the names and photos of every person on the app. Until you select one, your phone will be unusable.

Towards the end of the day, if you still have not chosen, it stays stuck to your hand and begins to slowly overheat with an ominous timer counting down from ten minutes. It will not be able to be removed, no matter how much force you use. It will only finally let go after you have chosen a name. A new message will appear after you've made your choice.

YOU HAVE SELECTED [NAME].
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER.
PLEASE WAIT PATIENTLY UNTIL THE NEXT UPDATE.

Comments

network

[ehero]

sorry again about your sister
at least she wont have to deal with all this anymore

what do you need all that stuff for

[silentends]

Oh, thanks. It's probably better if she doesn't have to deal with it. I agree.

I'm trying to make some fertilizer and I've got other side projects.

[ehero]

yea she cant get worried or stressed if she doesnt know anything

o
i dont have any of that stuff but i can probably find you rusty nails if you still want that

[silentends]

That would work, yeah. I'm trying to fix up a broken table.

[ a table that Nier broke with his giant weapons but he doesn't wanna talk about it. ]

Could use some hardwood too.

I can pay you for these items.

[ehero]

nah dont worry about it
ill see what i can do
wheres your place
ill get over there as soon as i grab the stuff

[silentends]

if you say so

I live in an apartment closer to the east district.

Just be careful okay

[ehero]

i will

[ It'll be later in the evening before Nier gets a text. ]

hey
which building are you in
im in the parking lot of [ some nearby address. ]

[silentends]

[ Nier just tosses his address to Judai. ]

I'm not too far away. I'll come outside and see you.

[ He's chilling outside his apartment waiting for Judai to show up. ]

[ehero]

[ And off Judai goes! It............... takes him a bit longer than usual to arrive since he's godawful at directions. He eventually finds the building though! And he pulls up with his ~brand new motorcycle~. On his back, he has his bag and tied to the seat behind him are a few 2x4s. Some of them are chipped at the end or cut strangely, though. ]

[ He pulls off his helmet and grins. ]

Hey! I think I got everything that you need.

[silentends]

Thanks for coming all the way out here. You can leave them in my place.

[ Nier just wordlessly walks back to his apartment room and opens the door for Judai. The inside of it looks more than strange. There's blood everywhere but there's also a smaller trail that leads to the closet like he's hiding something. ]

...I haven't cleaned up yet so sorry it's a bit messy.

[ That isn't the issue here. ]

[ehero]

[ After Judai parks his bike and grabs everything, he follows behind. When Nier says that it's a bit messy, he figures that it'll just be dirty laundry or unwashed plates, not.............. ]

-- what happened?!

[ holy shit ]

[silentends]

Nothing happened. If you're worried it's not my blood. I'm not hurt. It's just this.

[ Nier opens up the closet and pulls out a terrifying looking sword covered in blood. ]

I think this was supposed to be my compensation for the missions? Yeahhh.

[ehero]

[ Judai has seen a lot of weird and crazy shit over the last three or so years, but this... is a whole new thing. ]

And it came bloody like that?

[silentends]

That it did. This isn't even the first time something like this happened. It's been three or four times? I'm not keeping track of it anymore.

[ To make matters worse Nier isn't even home alone. There's a little girl who's just standing off to the side not even reacting much to any of it.]

So that's my sis.

[ehero]

[ He looks over. Niko is just watering the plants that she placed all over the apartment. She says h-hello! But doesn't say anything about the blood or weapon. ]

... isn't she freaked out about all this?

[silentends]

No, she's not. She's not freaked out and her reactions aren't normal.

[ Niko looks too happy watering those plants and isn't even a little concerned so no worry. ]

You probably shouldn't stand too close to me unless you want blood on your clothes.

[ehero]

It's all right. I already have blood on some of my clothes.

[ THANKS LEON ]

Have you taken her to the hospital?

[silentends]

Judai, I'm her nurse.

[Nevermind the fact he remembered Judai's name for the first time. ]

She was admitted to the hospital frequently and it didn't help much. There isn't a whole lot I can do for her.

Do you have other questions?

[ehero]

No, I'm sorry.

[ He doesn't specify what he's sorry for because there's a lot of things. He knows that things are serious when Nier remembers his name... ]

... if you need to talk, you know that I'm around, right?

[silentends]

Thanks, I guess. Why don't we head out in the balcony? It's not really good for you to apologize. You did nothing wrong.

[ Nier puts the cursed weapon back in the closet but he's still covered in blood. Help. ]

I need some air so I'll see you outside.

[ehero]

[ Ah, okay. Judai looks around to see where he can set everything down. He figures the floor is good enough and lays the wood, his backpack, and motorcycle helmet before he heads out to the balcony. ]

So, what were your side projects?

[ Maybe changing the subject will be good. ]

[silentends]

I'm growing some flowers and vegetables. These plants are starting to get a little too big.

[ There's a batch of green tomatoes and small white flowers next to them.]

So I need to give them a new home and fresh soil. It takes a really long time for plants to grow.

You probably don't know too much about gardening, do you?

[ehero]

No, not really, but I think I got most of the stuff that you needed. I asked around and got things that no one needed or couldn't sell.

[ Hence why the wood is kind of shaped really weird but it's free! Do you know how expensive wood is these days? It's fucking ridiculous. ]

[silentends]

I appreciate it. Gardening helps me relax.

Plus, I get to save some money on vegetables. Small sheets of wood would keep all these vines in order.

[ a weirdly shaped piece of wood is fine for this job. He would have to hammer it in place. ]

These plants should be thanking you too.

[ehero]

Haha, glad that I can help.

[ Though he didn't really do that much. Just picked up some scraps. ]

What are the white flowers?