COUNTDOWN: I SEE YOU

[cordibus]

Seven days remain.

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.

But then something happens...

WƎ☹C!ERROR!OMƎ ▒ O ▒ HƎ FIN⟡☹ QUIZ!!ERROR!!ERROR!
⟡nƧwƎ!ERROR!r from ▒ hƎ hƎ⟡r▒ , ▒ hƎ p⟡r▒ of you ▒ !ERROR!h⟡▒ h⟡Ƨ bƎƎn dƎniƎd for f⟡r ▒ oo ☹ong.

Is your ☹ife here ⟡ ☹ie?
YƎƧ | DƎfini▒ Ǝ☹y | ƧurƎ | I'vƎ hd my !ERROR! doub▒ Ƨ bƎforƎ, bu▒ yƎƧ | HƎ☹☹ YƎƧ | ▒ hƎrƎ iƧ no o▒ hƎr conc☹uƧion | I wiƧh I cou☹d dƎny i▒ nd ☹ivƎ hƎrƎ pƎcƎfu☹☹y !ERROR!bu▒ i▒ 'Ƨ ▒ ruƎ.

▒ h⟡nk you...!ERROR!▒ h⟡▒ wi☹☹ bƎ ⟡☹☹. ☹Ǝ▒ uƧ ƧƎƎ wh⟡▒ your hƎ⟡r▒ b☹oo!ERROR!mƧ in▒ o...

I SEE YOU.

What had just happened? Before you can think about it for too much, and as your heart beats faster, the screen returns to normal, and another message flashes.

Well shit. Lets try this again. Answer from the heart, the part of you that has been denied for far too long. DO IT QUICKLY!

Is your life here a lie?
Yes.

Sorry lambs, this time we can't kid around...

Once you are done, you are tossed once more into the main chatroom. Is fear rising? Is your heart beating faster? There's a lot more at stake now it seems. Fortunately, 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.

And now...something's might be looking right back.

[OOC: This is one of the final network post before Awakening. ALL 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 speaking, Applenet might spazz out, like above. If this happens, a random painful memory will hit both Awakened and Unawakened (please warn if the visions are graphic for other players). They might find themselves writing down things afterwards regarding the memory (for example, getting shot, they might write down the pain they are felling, etc) and regretting it. This can happen up to 5 times per user.]

Comments

tw; human experiments on children

[kokuyoyo]

You won't get them right now. Even in person, I won't be able to tell you and !ERROR!▒ h⟡▒aoij!ERROR!▒ h⟡▒gerro

[And suddenly he can't type anymore, fingers spasming across the keyboard and across the white white floor, blue flames licking out of his skin where his knuckles connect, blue veins nearly popping out from pale skin, and he's gasping, screaming, throat aching as if he's swallowed razorblades. Above him, the adults' voices drone on about more tests, incomplete, but he can barely hear them over the sound of his own cries. Salt and copper mix on his tongue, and he can't remember if he bit his own tongue or what. All he knows is-]

hrts
stosp
donts want anrmoe tessts

[megacurious]

[Okay... Now that's something he doesn't see every day. But still, something has happened and he can't ignore this.]

Chikusa? What happened?

What's the matter?

[kokuyoyo]

[A few minutes pass by before he remembers where he is properly, finding himself curled up by the side of his bed instead of on it like before. Pursing his lips, he gets back to the app.]

Something that was supposed to stop didn't.

I would guess that's part of the problem with the app.

I'll find you. Until then, I recommend not using the app too much.

[megacurious]

Well, I just hope they can fix it very soon.

And okay... I'll try not to use it too much.

[But after he sent that reply, it doesn't take long for him to do a double take at the last message.]

And excuse me?!

[kokuyoyo]

It's fine.

[Sorry not sorry.]

[megacurious]

Okay...

Just be careful out there then. I might unplug from my phone for a while after this...

Makoto Fukami ⚔ Marchosias

[transient_specter]

Your room?

Chikusa Kakimoto ☸ Astaroth

[kokuyoyo]

Door's open.

Makoto Fukami ⚔ Marchosias

[transient_specter]

On my way.

[He heads down to Ciro's room and goes inside, closing the door. He doesn't speak, just looks for Chikusa to make sure he's all right.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Chikusa isn't in the small living space, but definitely his room, where he's sitting on the bed with his phone in his hands. While there's the usual neutral look on his face, it's offput by how pale he's gotten and the slight tremble in his fingers.]

[When he hears the door open, he glances up at Makoto.]

...It was similar to the time Luci triggered a memory in me. I just don't think it was him this time.

[transient_specter]

[He makes sure the door is closed securely, before heading over and sitting next to him. Gently, he reaches out to push the phone down.]

You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.

[kokuyoyo]

[UM EXCUSE- he looks mildly annoyed as his phone is pushed down.]

I was keeping up with things...

[transient_specter]

I know. But I don't want you pushing yourself too hard.

[He pulls his hand away, the point made.]

I can understand looking for information. But I don't want you to sacrifice your health. ... Whatever happened really bothered you, didn't it?

[kokuyoyo]

It....

[There's a pause as he drifts off, gaze sort of wandering as he tries to find a way to explain it.]

....was another memory. But since we remember everything, we don't need those sort of things again... It's probably because of whatever has broken into the app. Luci usually has a point when he does that.

[transient_specter]

Mm. I guess so.

[... Awkward silence. He turns back to his phone and scrolls through... huh. There's someone who's asking about what to do. He types back to her, and gets a response quickly.]

[He goes to type out more to her, and clutches his chest, gasping even as his thumb types something out that he didn't intend.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Just bros being awkward emotionally incompetent shitshows.]

[Chikusa goes back to his as well, because that's fine. He's mostly focused on the screen of his own phone, and yet- the second Makoto gasps, his head snaps towards him, and he goes to reposition himself as he starts to look over the other to make sure that there's really nothing wrong with him.]

[...Even if he has a suspicion to what it is already.]

[transient_specter]

[He's shaking a bit, though looks otherwise physically fine. The shaking slows, and he lets out a few harsh breaths before his breathing goes back to normal.]

... Not something I wanted to experience again...

[kokuyoyo]

...So a negative memory...

[A pause.]

...You have positive ones, right...

[transient_specter]

[He huffs in amusement, leaning against Chikusa slightly.]

Some. A lot of them involve takoyaki. ... But I was shoved into another world for ten years... where I had to give up my real body and watch my sister die...

[He hasn't had a lot of time to make good memories, in other words.]

[kokuyoyo]

[That's- okay so that's a lot of information he wasn't expecting, and Chikusa pauses a little.]

...If everyone who gets error messages like that is also getting only negative memories... Then it might have something to do with the compromised system.

[transient_specter]

... Maybe. I'd ask 'how can they do that', but how were we getting flashes of memories before? If Takeru were here he might be able to figure it out... one of his abilities while he was dead involved memories. But I don't know.

[kokuyoyo]

Figuring out how it works is probably for the best... But now isn't the time for it.

...We should probably go easy on using the app until it's fixed. Just in case.

[transient_specter]

Probably.

... I'm all right, though. Really. So don't worry about me.

[kokuyoyo]

[This long pause is totally normal]

...Was I?

[transient_specter]

... You checked on me.

[He was in pain, not blind, Chikusa.]