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

CLOSED TO AKIRA

[silentends]

[ It's another workout day in the gym. Nier usually has an intense routine that he goes through whenever he goes out here to train. Looks like he's just lifting weights for the time being. There's an unfamiliar face here though.

Nier's never seen Akira around before so he pauses whatever he's doing. ]

... We haven't met before, have we?

[ There's a level of uncertainty in his voice because he's terrible at remembering names and faces. ]

[chemex]

[Akira who honestly looks pretty fucking out of place in a gym, being a skinny little narrow-shouldered guy with glasses and hair that looks like it's never been brushed in his life. He's stretching when Nier speaks to him, having taken note of him but opted to not bother him mostly for reasons such as him being a pretty big dude in a gym who probably didn't want to be bothered.]

[He stands up straighter and angles himself toward him, giving him a cursory once-over.] Don't think so, nope. [He folds forward into a shallow bow in greeting.] Hope I'm not intruding on your gym time.

[silentends]

No, you aren't bothering me.

[ Nier drops a weight or two and takes a moment to catch his breath. ]

Really? I thought you looked familiar somehow. Maybe I just imagined it. Sorry for the mix up.

...I'm Nier. Nice to meet you.

[chemex]

[He reaches up and twists a bit of his fringe between his thumb and forefinger, running his tongue along his teeth in thought, idly inspecting Nier's feet through the spaces between the lenses of his glasses. Eventually he shakes his head.]

Case of mistaken identity, happens all the time. [He raises his head to look at him through his glasses again.] Kurusu Akira, same to you.

[silentends]

Kurusu then is it?

[ Nier grew up in America. He's got half Japanese and half French parents. He doesn't seem too sure about the pronunciation or if he botched yet another name. ]

What kind of training are you doing down here?

[chemex]

[He grins, shrugging one shoulder.]

Y'can call me Akira, I'm not fussy about names. [And he would wager that Nier is Not Entirely Japanese, if at all, so he's not about to force his customs on somebody he's just met. He shifts his weight to one foot, kicking his other back slightly to tap the toe of his sneaker on the ground.] Just some basic endurance training. I used to do some... parkour kinda stuff, at home, so it's good to keep up the habit.

[silentends]

Akira, okay I got it. It's good to build up your stamina and do endurance routines. I've been working on my strength by doing weights.

[ Nier takes another look at Akira and his jaw drops. ]

Huh. Oh, now I remember why you seem familiar. Aren't you on the weird phone app thing?

[chemex]

[He stretches his arms over his head and arcs slightly to one side, then the other, grinning with a nod. Weights, huh? The dude was pretty shredded.]

[He blinks.] Oh, that? Yeah. I'm kinda bad at paying attention to it, though.

[silentends]

I knew someone who was like that too. She didn't pay much attention to the app. Her name was Kainé.

[ Apparently Nier had spent something like half a decade doing nothing but train. He seemed pretty dedicated to it. ]

Were you living in this city for a while?

[ Nier grabs a bottle of water and starts taking a few sips. ]

[chemex]

Kainé... Pretty name. Don't think I've met her. [The way Nier speaks, it sounds like Kainé is a past-tense sort of situation, but he doesn't press. His expression pinches and he shakes his head, waving a hand dismissively.]

Nah, I've only been here... about a month now.

[silentends]

Oh, I see. We lived together for a while and she helped me out a lot.

[ Kainé is still around and she lives in the city. Nier's memories are inconsistent with reality because he could have sworn that she died. It's a mess. ]

A month? That's not too long. Have you settled in alright?

[ Hopefully Akira has a place to stay and he's eating properly. ]

[chemex]

[Again, past tense. Akira tries to be delicate about things where he's able, and he has no way of knowing Nier has inconsistent memories making things Weird, so he just smiles and nods.] It's nice to have help from a housemate.

[He's actually probably still homeless even though he could have a place pretty easily, but he's not about to say that.] Yeah, I've been managing. What about you, have you been here a while?

[silentends]

Managing is all we can do. I can't cook or do things like that so I have friends help sometimes.

[ Akira's polite and friendly as far as Nier is concerned. He doesn't mind this conversation. ]

I've been living in this city ever since I was born. How long is that? Twenty one years.

[ Long time. He doesn't recall ever moving out of Vitae.]

[chemex]

[He perks up a little, shifting his posture and sliding his hands into his pockets.] Ah, well if you ever need help with that, holler. I'm no grand chef, but I make a mean pot of curry and some pretty good coffee, if I may say so myself.

[He whistles softly, nodding.] Explains why you were confused to see a newbie around your workout space. [He thinks Nier might be the first resident he's met, so far everyone has been jamjar'd like himself, but he hasn't gone too far out of his way to socialize yet.]

[silentends]

You can cook curry? That's amazing. It sounds delicious too. That's better than anything I can whip up.

[ Home made curry tastes better than the ones you find at stores. Nier looks happy to hear it. ]

I'd be glad if we could be friends. Want to have dinner together?

[chemex]

I lived above a cafe for about a year, the owner putting me up had me earn my keep by having me man the shop from time to time. [He rubs at the back of his neck.] I got pretty good under his tutelage, I think.

[He perks up a little, a small, crooked grin pulling at his mouth.] Hell yes, you're on.

[silentends]

The cafe owner sounds like a great person.

[ That's great news. Nier is hopeless in the kitchen and even more hopeless as a cook. Having Akira for dinner might make things lively too. ]

Then it's settled. What do you feel like eating? I'm not that picky with my meals so I'll take anything.

[ When Nier talks he speaks with a friendly tone. He's glad he met Akira down here. ]

There's a stove in my apartment so you can use it if you want.

[chemex]

[The smile that pulls Akira's lips is small, but very fond. He nods.] He is.

[Akira isn't a super chef, but over the course of a summer road trip he did add more recipes to his arsenal. He pushes his sleeves up (needlessly, as his polo is short-sleeved-- it's for the effect, okay) with a grin.] I'm not picky, myself, but I'll definitely use your stove. Do you have allergies, or dietary restrictions of any kind?

[silentends]

No, I don't have allergies. Lately I've been eating a lot of meat and vegetables. That gives me enough energy to do things like work out.

I need to cut back on the coffee though.

[ He looks back at Akira curiously. ]

How about you? Any diets or food worries?

[chemex]

[He laughs quietly, the smile remaining on his features.] I don't think I could cut back on coffee if I wanted to. Meat and vegetables, though... I think I can handle that.

[He slips his hands into his pockets, shaking his head.] Nah. Gut of steel, pretty much. I once ate a cheeseburger the size of my torso.

[silentends]

It'd be hard to completely quit coffee. It tastes really good.

[ Nier's got a coffee addiction from being a tired college student. He usually takes it with some cream and sugar. ]

Wait, what? How would you even eat something that big? Did you slice it up into tiny pieces?

[chemex]

I'm also very addicted to caffeine.

[He laughs, shaking his head.] Burger joint challenge. No help, thirty minute time limit. I had to work myself up to it, I failed quite a few times.

[silentends]

I probably couldn't even begin to imagine eating with that kind of time limit.

[ He imagines an over sized galactic burger and already feels intimidated by the sheer size of it. How does Akira do this? ]

I mean, I eat slowly? Sometimes it takes me a while to finish a meal. That must have been a hard challenge.