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

[ehero]

that sounds really cool!
what kind of motorcycle was it
did it talk

[chemex]

uhhh, actually you know i never asked?
her name was johanna tho. dunno if that counts as like, make and model.

[ehero]

i havent heard of that before
but she must be special if she was alive
i want to meet her one day

[chemex]

pretty sure she didn't follow normal motorcycle rules or whatever.
are there motorcycle rules?
i don't have my license.
fair warning the friend that uses her is super hardcore and kind of intimidating.
she's nice but make sure she never finds out if you've cheated on your homework.
ever.

[ehero]

you should get one
motorcycles are fun to ride
ill let you ride mine if you want

also its a good thing that im not in school anymore
she cant get mad if it was in the past :p

[chemex]

that's a lot of trust you're putting in someone you don't know!
but i definitely wouldn't ride your motorcycle unless i was sure i wouldn't wreck it.

you say that, but you've never met her
i'm pretty sure she'd find a way to turn any social interaction into a way to study, even if it's past-tense studying.

[ehero]

youre on the app right
thats good enough to trust you!

but im not even in school anymore
or planning to go to college

[chemex]

you think?
what makes you so sure?

dang, what a rebel.
i'm on summer break between my second and third years.
one more year and i'm free.

[ehero]

everyone ive met on the app is nice so far
plus were all stuck in this together right

youre almost done
whatre you gonna do after school

[chemex]

that's the spirit,
but be careful, somebody acting nice doesn't always mean they're a good person.

haven't decided, actually.
i grew up in the boonies and lived in a big city for a year
now living in the boonies again is super boring.
so i might look into moving back to the city.
maybe work in a coffee shop.
you?

[ehero]

i know
but i want to give everyone a chance first
its not easy being transported somewhere new

the country isnt so bad
i like it but the city is pretty cool too
you can probably get hired at a coffee shop around here

im travelling right now
i was in venice before i came here

[chemex]

well that's pretty cash money of you.
sounds like you speak from experience

it's not, nice and quiet
lotta trees
but i really came into my own living in the city
going to school there and stuff
tokyo trains are crazy.

venice. all i know about italy is that pasta is great.
where are you from originally?

[ehero]

yea it happened a few times
you get used to it after a while

o yea tokyo has a big subway right
are you going back there for your 3rd year

im from japan
what about you

[chemex]

i can sort of relate, but i was usually aware of the teleportation.
this is a little new.

i feel like "big" might be an understatement, but i guess in terms of overall size nothing in japan can really be that mighty, since it's an island.
probably not, but i'm probably gonna shoot for a university closer to it, if not in tokyo itself.

same.
guess i could give you my name and that would have explained that sooner, actually.