The Longest Day (Open to All)

[cordibus]

Who: Open Log (All)
Where: Point-à-Tarte
Summary: The Longest Day
Warnings: N/A

"Do they ever stop partying? Probably not...I gotta say that's one thing Eddan has going for itself..."

A Festival for the Sunlight

Eddan prides itself in its many festivals. While the summer solstice doesn’t have much religious significance to the city, it’s surged back into popularity as a holiday partly due to the city’s curfew. More daylight means more time to be out and about and to party!

It’s for this reason that the rest of the week is a holiday for most of the city. Everywhere people look, the city is decorated in bright flowers and lights that light up even the darkest of night (although everyone is warned to stay inside regardless).

A music festival with rock and electronic concerts is being arranged in Point-à-Tarte's park. Many great local acts are scheduled to take the stage until sunset, though that won’t be enough for some. The party will move into bunkers and underground clubs once the sun goes down, with the pounding beat of the music lasting until dawn.

The Arrows Never Lie

However for the Awakened, they will soon notice something odd. Some of the festival goers around them will take on a different appearance if they don’t look at them directly. If that’s not enough for someone to notice, the red arrows that begin to appear over their heads with the same symbol from Applenet is a pretty big clue.

No one else seems to notice, however. Not even the people themselves.

However if an Awakened person gets closer to one of them, a disclaimer will appear on their phone.

"Don't overdo it, got it? If you shake their brain too much, it might be dangerous. But keep a close eye on them for me, won't ya? Don't give them multiple headaches! That's bad!"

[OOC: If Awakened speak with non-Awakened characters, their conversations may bring little bits of memory back to them. However, be careful! If they overload them with memories they might attract the attention of something they wouldn't want to. Let us know if that happens!]

Comments

[sociallyarcward]

[Oh...that made sense. John appreciated the gesture, but it wasn't that big of a deal. He hesitated...but Kei was being pretty sincere and generous--it seemed wrong to just refuse.]

Well...it's not like I have to get up for work tomorrow either. I guess it could be fun...

[hachitaro]

Yeah! So let's see... there's a classical piano bit scheduled in an hour... there's a rave downtown... oh, and a pop concert a little ways from here. Which sounds the best to you?

[sociallyarcward]

[John thinks about those possibilities...the first and last didn't seem like really his cup of tea.]

A pop concert doesn't sound too bad.

[hachitaro]

All right!

[He types something into his phone, frowns, and then grins.]

There we go! Two seats reserved. We've got a little time before we need to head over there... how have you been doing?

[sociallyarcward]

[Well, no backing out now. And maybe John can keep an eye on this whole...floating symbol thing.]

I've been great. Finally getting sleep again now that both the festival and my major tests are out of the way. I failed the history exam--but the professor said I could do some extra assignments to bring up the grade.

What about you? I don't think I've seen you since the last student council meeting.

[hachitaro]

I've been okay. My grades have been average, but fortunately Grandma and Grandpa don't really ask about my grades. I've been... okay?

[He frowns, and scratches the side of his head.]

I had a really bad headache the other night, but I feel better now. I swear I didn't have anything to drink that night...

[And even when he's partying, he tends to keep his drinking under control. He's sociable, but he's not stupid.]

[sociallyarcward]

O-oh. Well...

[John, listen, not every headache has to be related to the app.]

...be careful. There was a bug going around a few weeks ago--I think it starts with headaches. I know it took me out for a few days, that's why I missed school.

[Half-truth, John's a terrible liar but technically this wasn't a lie. And he'd been saying it so often that it felt a lot like the truth.]

Let's just make sure you stay hydrated if you have any drinks, okay?

[hachitaro]

Oh. ... Okay. I'll be careful. Wouldn't wanna get sick and miss the parties, right! And of course I'll drink water if I drink alcohol, that's just basic drinking 101!

[He throws an arm around John's shoulder, grinning.]

I'm glad you're better, though! Let me know if you get sick again, I'll run you food or something if you need it.

[sociallyarcward]

Right. Of course.

[John didn't drink much. Partly it was his lack of a desire to party but also he'd only come of legal drinking age fairly recent.]

Thanks. That's good of you. So, I guess speaking of, if we have a little bit of time to kill before the concert should we grab something to eat? Or I think there's supposed to be a street set aside for carnival games.

[hachitaro]

[... Well Kei just kind of... does anyway... but shh. He knows John won't rat him out.]

Getting something to eat sounds good. As long as we don't go to your place... I don't want them dragging you into another shift when you're supposed to be having fun.

[sociallyarcward]

[John chuckles.]

Hey. No sweat. I work there and may be really proud of my mom's restaurant...doesn't mean I want to eat there all the time.

[Which was VERY true, he was NOT going to go back to work if he could help it tonight. He considers their location.]

I...think there's supposed to be a good noodle place around here. Unless you're in the mood for something else.

[hachitaro]

Noodles sound good to me! Let's head there, then.

[Mmm, noodles. Get in his stomach, beef bowl. Still, his grin fades a little bit. What he saw in that hallucination still bugs him.]

... Do you ever get that thing where... you're like half asleep and dreaming, but it feels like you're awake?

[sociallyarcward]

All right! Let me just make sure I have the right place in mind.

[He pulls out his phone to start looking for the exact location. It'd suck if they just started walking randomly and ended up in the completely wrong area. He pauses when Kei asks his question. Hitting enter but then looking up, his eyes flicking to the hovering arrow again and then thinking about the app on his phone.]

Uh...yeah [hesitates] yeah I think I've had something like that happen before. Why? Having some weird dreams lately?

[hachitaro]

Yeah... it was weird... like I was in someone's house, and then I guess I had to get out of there... I'd never break into someone's house. That's just stup -

[He presses a hand to his forehead, trying to push out the sudden pain.]

[It's dark. There's someone in front of him, but he can't see them clearly.

'You have something we want. Give it to us.' He can feel his face break into a grin.

"Nah. Finder's keepers, right?"

'... If you want to play it that way. We'll see each other again soon... perhaps.']

[Kei stumbles, hand reaching out to smack against the brick of the building they're next to in order to support himself.]

Ow... ah...

[sociallyarcward]

[One minute they're walking and chatting and the next John pulls ahead. He thinks he sees another flicker behind him--something small and not Kei-sized at all--but it isn't until he realizes that Kei isn't beside him that he turns.

Shit. Shit shit shit. John wonders if he can keep denying what is becoming pretty clear. Kei is INVOLVED in this. Somehow. 'Don't overdo it, got it?' Had he already pushed it too far?]

Kei! [He puts a hand on Kei's shoulder] Hey...are those headaches back?

[hachitaro]

[It takes him a moment to blink back to reality, shaking aside whatever the hell that was.]

I... yeah. A really bad spike, too. This shouldn't be happening... I went to the doctor recently and he said I was fine...

[sociallyarcward]

[He bites his lip. He can't say anything, but maybe he should...leave. He'd have to figure out an excuse or lie and he's not really good at either of those things.]

M-maybe we should find you some place to sit. It could be anything: dehydration, hunger, lack of sleep...

[Crap. That last one was too close to the actual issue.]

Are you sure you still wanna go out tonight?

[hachitaro]

... I'll be fine. I don't wanna ruin a night out for just a little headache. Maybe I'll feel better after some food.

[Even though there's a weird pit in his stomach... ugh, why won't it go away?]

[sociallyarcward]

[He hesitates...but then nods. He's...really going to have to think of something but maybe it will be okay if he keeps conversations away from anything related to the arrow floating over his head.]

All right. If you're sure. The noodle place is just around the next block--another five or ten minutes tops.

[hachitaro]

Yeah. ... Sorry about that.

[He keeps going, though he's blinking a lot. He slows down a bit, but not too much. He does go quiet, though, trying to work out where the hell that feeling came from.]

[sociallyarcward]

Hey. No problem. I'm just worried you're pushing yourself.

[Or that he was pushing him. How did that work, he wasn't even talking about the app! John falls silent too--feeling weird himself. He didn't want to make it worse.]

[hachitaro]

I know. You've always been like this... too nice for your own good.

[But he smiles at that, because... it just makes things more nice when there's nice people around. Not the sort of people he usually hangs around, but just someone genuinely nice because that's how they are.]

[sociallyarcward]

I'm...going to take that as a compliment, though I'm not sure if that's really helped me out much.

[Considering how often he used to get shoved into lockers and some of his issues that he COULDN'T talk to Kei about, well, John knew he probably had a point.]

[hachitaro]

It's not a bad thing. ... For other people. I guess it's a problem for you. ... But it's nice, being around someone like you, at least?

[He meant it as a compliment? He's trying, okay.]

[sociallyarcward]

I wouldn't really say it's a problem for me...it just sometimes gets used against me I think. But...I'd rather be nice to people, you know? Just as long as I don't have to be the laughingstock for it.

[He wanted to be useful, not a joke. He stopped and pointed across the street.]

Hey. We're here.