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

one

[kokuyoyo]

[Even if Chikusa thinks of the Gardening Club as something from a false life, well, he has to admit it's still something that has his interest now. Besides, it offers a good excuse to not deal with people too much.]

[That's why he's looking over the flowers as well, having offered to get some plants that were on sale for the GVGC. At a voice speaking up, he glances to the side.]

...Bad with plants?

[failedhandjob]

[Emily looks a little bashful at her thoughtful murmuring having actually been picked up by someone else, although not enough to warrant an apology. she laughs instead, waving her hand gently.]

Oh, no, I do alright enough. I wanted to get a few for the kids at my parents' daycare.

[and no matter how well-meaning the child...well, the tougher the plant the better.]

[kokuyoyo]

....Bean sprouts.

[He goes back to idly browsing even as he says it.]

Seeing the whole thing makes it easier to care...

[failedhandjob]

[she considers this for a moment or two before breaking into a pleased smile.]

That sounds like a pretty good suggestion, thanks! They'd probably like to see all the funny shapes they can sprout into.

[another thought crosses her mind, and she can't help but laugh softly at it.]

It'd probably give my parents an excuse to try and talk about proper nutrition, too, but I don't think that's going to go over as well.

[kokuyoyo]

They'll be ignored. [At best. Chikusa looks over the leaves of one plant in particular.] ...And it'll take away from learning about plants...

You can't shove everything onto people...

[failedhandjob]

Not all at once, anyway.

[she makes a thoughtful noise, bending in to get a closer look at things now that she actually knows what she's looking for. they're all going to grow up the same, but somehow it feels very important to be discerning about what she picks.]

As long as they make some nice memories, I think it'll be a success.

[kokuyoyo]

[That has him pause. Nice memories.... What to say to that, when it's relatively certain that all of the ones he thought he knew are fake?]

...And if they forget those memories?

[failedhandjob]

Well, they are pretty young. I'd be surprised if all of them remembered that sort of thing for the rest of their lives.

[but she smiles anyway, idly turning a nearby pot so that the blossom faces forward.]

But that's fine. Even if they forget what shape their favorite bean sprout sort of looked like, they're always going to remember the feelings it gave them. That's what's really important.

[there were so many parts of her own childhood - hell, her own school life - that she couldn't recall with any clarity. but she knew the emotions, could still tell exactly how she felt. the heart hung onto those things, the ones that colored a person's vision of the past. it was fine.]

[kokuyoyo]

[They'll still remember the feelings, huh...? His gaze goes a bit distant as he stands there, just staring down at the plants, before he slowly shakes his head.]

....Well. Maybe, I guess. It's just a plant in the end...

[So it's fine to forget things like those. People is where it gets tricky.]

[failedhandjob]

It all depends on your perspective, right?

[maybe it's just a plant. or maybe it's something that becomes incredibly precious even years down the line. there were so many ways it could go, and that was kind of fun.]

[kokuyoyo]

...So it sounds like yours is a more positive one, then?

[He finally glances back over to her, somewhat curious about the answer even though he suspects he already knows it.]

[failedhandjob]

I guess you could say that. It just seems like a waste to close yourself off to things before they ever happen, you know?

[she's not naive by any means - Emily knows the dangers of the world, and all the myriad sorts of disasters, both minor and major, that could befall someone in daily life. it just never seemed particularly productive to her to dwell on it.]

[kokuyoyo]

I guess that depends on how much value you put on the reward and any potential consequences.

For some people, the latter outweighs the former, even if it's just plants.

[....Probably weren't expecting this sort of conversation during plant shopping, huh, Emily?]

[failedhandjob]

[not especially, no. but...after everything that's been happening with that phone app, she can't bring herself to be as stymied by these sorts of bizarre happenings as she once was.]

If someone's thinking that seriously about this sort of thing I don't think it's 'just plants' to them.

[like, for real. most people don't give that much thought to the statistics of the future for things they believe to be trivial.]

But risk and reward can only take you so far. Nothing's set in stone, after all, no matter how likely it looks.

[kokuyoyo]

[....Oh, right. Being on the app too much is affecting him- or maybe it's just the whole situation. Another lapse of silence, words chosen slowly and carefully.]

Even with how much of an impact the past has?

[failedhandjob]

I guess...the past is sort of like a crater, you know? The landscape's never going to look the same, and it's not something that you can just ignore, but...

[she trails off for a moment, sliding a plant towards her. this one was definitely a purchase - and a convenient way to make sure she was saying exactly what she wanted to here.]

If you stay in it forever, then that's all you're going to see.

[and that wasn't living. whatever troubles her heart has suffered since those awful thoughts started entering her mind, that's something Emily is certain of. the past couldn't be all-consuming.]

[kokuyoyo]

....A crater with a long and deep tail...

[And then, rather abruptly-]

The Flower Festival.

[failedhandjob]

- sorry?

[she'd like to think that she's been doing pretty well with rolling with the punches lately, but this sudden left turn has left her slightly mystified. she's not entirely certain how his response correlates with the rest of their conversation.]

[kokuyoyo]

The Flower Festival.... Schools that participate usually have educational displays about plants, and things children can do.

...For next year.

[That clarifies everything, right?]

[failedhandjob]

[it does, actually, in a strange sort of way. Emily's smile doesn't widen very much, but it certainly grows warmer. she refrains from making this embarrassing, however, like a good girl.]

I think that they'll really like that. Thank you. [a pause, and then she giggles.] And even if they don't, I know I will.

[kokuyoyo]

[However slight the addition is, it seems to make him blink over at her for a second before he barely shrugs.]

...You asked.

[Just like that, taking one of the plants, he moves away and heads to the register. Not the neatest way to end a conversation, but it's what he knows.]