applenet | COUNTDOWN: I SEE YOU

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oi!

[ Guts tries to be gentle with kids, he really does, but he hates repeating himself even more. ]

What were we just talking about? You're just lying to yourself now. If you hate me, hate me. You think I can't take it?

[ If he was in person this would be when he would have jabbed Kidou in the chest, but instead he just settles for typing especially forcefully. ]

I ain't claiming to be no great person to you. Hell, far from it. I know what I am but seriously kid, do you? If you can't form an opinion that isn't acceptance, how can you ever expect people to respect you?

[That was not what Kidou was expecting. Maybe he should have. It fits with what this guy told him before. But no one has ever gotten after him for backing down and suppressing his opinion on someone for any reason. Wasn't that what he should be doing?

But...to be asked how he can expect respect by attempting to force himself to accept the situation...?

What?

To accept a middle ground and attempt to, if he can't understand, work with the best case provided is to seek a way to move on. It causes neither of them to lose face... right? It's true that he can't accept this person for who he is. It's true that doesn't sit well with him. None of what he's learned does. But... it's also true that he shouldn't say such things so overtly...

Guts gets to wait a solid minute or two before Kidou can figure out how to reply to that.]

It's not that I have no opinion.

And that's the problem...

[ He lets that sit for a while. ]

Look I don't know what happened to you in your fucked up little life. And I don't care. [ He cares immensely. ] It's not my business and you can think what you want about it. But there ain't nothin that pisses me off more then a guy saying one thing and thinking another.

[Lost his temper a little there....forgot that swearing at kids was bad now...could he edit messages on this thing? ]

Hrgh. God kid. I know you said you didn't have to change this second but you didn't have to spring that on a guy not five minutes after he finished talking about it. Gonna make an unreasonable guy like me a little snappy

[And Kidou's not inclined to say what he's been through, either, so that works out. He doesn't expect he'll need to or that almost anyone here particularly wants him to.

It's not too often he can't deal with a conversation, but this would be one of those rare instances. Shame of failure hangs heavy, even though he's done exactly what he knows he ought to be trying to do. But he won't apologize for what he's said.]

I understand.

[He's trying.]

[ Not apologizing for anything every is step 1 of Gut's Great Plan For Self Improvement And Independence so Kidou is already doing great actually. ]

Sure you do. But I won't know that until at least ten letters of anon hate appear on my doorstep, informing me of my disgusting sins.

[ He can smell the shame on the kid even from here and just for a moment, Gut's the black swordsmen slips back and Gabe the track couch who babysat on weekends took the wheel. Making the kid feel guilty wouldn't do anything productive especially with so many threats around ]

... If that happens, it won't be from me.

[He can't and won't ever sacrifice his principles to appease anyone.]

Not gonna join my hate club? Well its the first bit of backbone you've shown, so thats something I suppose.

[RUDE. But Kidou forces himself to not type a word until the flare of irritation subsides, and he can be sure of his words again. He won't rise to that bait. And not just because it's blatantly and completely untrue.

One thing Kidou is absolutely sure he has is backbone.]

I will not. Not unless you give me a reason to in this life.

[You're a doormat kiddo. At least by Gut's extremely harsh standards]

Now that's just a blatant challenge. You should watch your words there.
There are some very stupid people around here who might take you up on that.

["Are you one of them?" he wants to ask. He doesn't. "Do you want to be hated?" he also wants to ask. He doesn't do that, either. That's more bait he's not rising to.]

I'll keep that in mind.

[Of course hes one. Of course he wants to be hated. But he already shared enough of his life story today. ]

Well then that's all I have to ask. Maybe try about getting that sense of humor. Act your age a bit. Try out breaking something. But hey...take care of yourself out there kid?

[....Cause somebody really cares about you. ]

COUNTDOWN: I SEE YOU

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