7 DAYS REMAIN

[cordibus]

Seven days remain. As the last day of the festival draws to a close, the only thing of interest to note for the week is how great everything has gone. Not a single attack has been reported...

But things have already been set alight inside the hearts of those chosen few who have received the app on their phones. For some, it's just the first bite of the apple. For others, it's been like shaking down an entire tree. Things are beginning to look...strange. Surely there are more burning questions on their minds by now.

The warning bells of the Nightly Curfew ring across the city. There's a faint hum from the phone this time before the icon appears. This time it displays a time: 1:00AM

The rest of the night is normal. Perhaps you've cuddled up with family, or you've gone to bed early to wait, but sure enough, time tick by right until 1 in the morning when....

You're back into that application again. A single question before you're even permitted to type anything else. And while it seems to be overwritten by something inside of you, it feels a lot more natural than before. Which is, truthfully...troubling.

WELCOME TO THE FINAL QUIZ!
Answer from the heart, the part of you that has been denied for far too long.

Is your life here a lie?
Yes | Definitely | Sure | I've had my doubts before, but yes | Hell Yes | There is no other conclusion | I wish I could deny it and live here peacefully but it's true.

Thank you...that will be all. Let us see what your heart blooms into...

Once you are done, you are tossed once more into the main chatroom. Now your user names are the names that you wrote down in the last survey, but with all those questions it's....hard not to think of them as your own. Maybe you'll be cursing at this device, but it looks like you're already deep down the rabbit hole by now.

[OOC: This is the final network post before Awakening. Users will now be able to speak of who they are in their AU life without the information being blocked by the application.

Additionally, while they will not get any new on their own, speaking with Luci might grant the Awakened more memories...be careful that they don't get more than they bargained for.]

Comments

PSA: don't do this. irl, get something under their head and time a seizure. Don't. pin them down.

[catchthishand]

[ Rommy's distracted with his own conversations, settled in against his twin like countless nights on the couch watching tv or just hanging out- but he's alert the second he feels his twin tense up.

The scream makes Rommy drop his phone, twisting to face Lonán with alarm and horror as his brother starts spasming, clawing at his own head and hair, all the while screaming like he was dying-

Like that brother who'd-

Rommy bolts up, grabbing for his brother's arms, trying to pin him back against the bed, not sure what to do but not willing to let this go on any longer, not letting his brother do something that might hurt him for real- ]

Lonny! Lonny, calm down it's not real! Whatever it is, it's not real!

[onlythankyou]

[Instinctively, he resists. Something grabs hold of his arms and he fights back, thrashing even harder. But Romulus has always beent he larger, stronger twin. Even with the kind of strength that only really comes from being so focused on other things that you don't limit your own strength, Lonán can't fight Rommy well, especially not at this angle.

His screams give way to half-choked sobs and utterances - something like 'my fault', something like 'stop', and a few other words that get halfway out without turning into anything. His eyes are wide, but unseeing.

It lasts a minute, maybe two, but it's entirely too long before Lonán's teeth catch his tongue and he tastes blood. It hurts, but it's thankfully enough to finally drag him back out of the memory. He's still not here, not yet, but he goes still and quiet. His heart is racing and he's barely breathing, but he's not in the throes of whatever that was anymore.]

[catchthishand]

Lon! Lonny, stop, please!

[ Rommy's been running his mouth the entire time, praying the walls are thick enough that no one would get the RA, that people thought this was another nightmare.

It wasn't like there had been any shortage of those for either of them, this last month. ]

Lonán, Lonny, it's me, it's not real, calm down Lonny, you're here, nothing's happening, it's not real!

[ He's not even sure what he's saying any more, just an endless flow of words to try and wake his brother from this fit. It takes everything he has to pin his twin to the bed,
keep him from slamming into the wall or the headboard ]

[onlythankyou]

[When he finally, finally goes still....there are a long few moments when his brain really might have exploded. He barely breathes, he doesn't blink, he just...stares. Tastes iron.

Sucks in one shuddering breath.

Then another.

Someone's calling his name, his real name, who- where- ...the dorm room. Not some weird temple floating in space. Just...the dorm room, where he belongs, and his brother is right there with him and

All at once, if Romulus will let him, he curls in on himself. It's much more controlled than his thrashing, and he curls toward his brother, toward safety. His head's pounding enough to blur his vision, but it wouldn't matter anyway because it doesn't take long for tears to get in the way. It wasn't real.

But it felt like it.]

[catchthishand]

[ As soon as Lonán stops flailing, Rommy lets him go, still hovering, still running his mouth, at a loss for what to do.

This is so much worse than any of the other visions, and Rommy has no idea what to do, hands lingering in the air over his twin as Lonán stares into the air.

It's almost a relief as Lonán breaks, curling in on himself and crying. At least now it looks like this fit, this insanity is over. Rommy shifts his weight, falling to the side and pulls his brother into a hug, not sure what else to do.

Fuck this app, and fuck that Luci jerk. ]

[onlythankyou]

[He presses as close as he can to his brother. His mind is still sputtering, still struggling to process what's real, and part of him still feels like he's there. Fire, there'd been fire - god, he can still smell it. Them. Those were people. His parents - not his parents, they looked nothing like the twins' parents.

He just...he needs a while. Hours, maybe longer - he won't be okay for a while. But as his thoughts clear and his heartbeat starts slowing down, as he comes back to where he is...he knows his brother has been right here with him the whole time. Terrified, probably. Lonán knows he would be, if it had been Rommy instead of him.

And maybe it's still lingering guilt from the....hallucination? Memory? He doesn't know anymore.]

...S....sorry...