headandhand: (Default)
the head | the hand ([personal profile] headandhand) wrote in [community profile] dualislogs2019-06-17 11:40 am

ya gotta wanna be a battering ram

WHO: The entire dang city.
WHAT: Dualis Days, a week-long summer celebration.
WHERE: Central Square Park and the rest of the city.
WHEN: June 17-23.
WARNINGS: Terrorist violence, likely some blood and injuries. Please warn in individual threads!

June 17; Central Square Park.

Every year for as far back as anyone can remember, the start of summer is heralded by the week-long festival known as Dualis Days. This celebration officially kicks off at midday in the middle of Central Square Park with a commencement speech by the current mayor. This year marks Marcelina Dubanowski's third term as mayor of Dualis; she is an average-sized, middle-aged human-presenting woman with blonde hair styled in a short bob and a plastic, toothy smile that never seems to turn entirely off.

"Welcome, one and all!" she begins, with the practiced cadence of someone who is quite comfortable with public speaking. She invites all citizens, new and old, to spend the next week indulging in festivities in all districts of the city and getting to know their neighbors a little better. This is a joyous time of celebration, and the crowd responds with enthusiastic applause as the mayor finishes her speech and introduces this year's parade marshall, Peshtigo Tengfei.

Tengfei blows a whistle six times to signal the start of the parade - and this is where the celebration goes sideways.

A loud explosion tears through the air, and it's followed by panicked screams and the sharp screech of microphone feedback. A bomb has gone off at the platform where the mayor was standing, collapsing the wood and tearing it to splinters and dust. Chaos erupts in the gathered crowd, and as the people shift in all directions to get clear of any possible additional bombs, a loud siren cuts through the cacophony, calling attention to the sudden crackle of video feed present on all television screens throughout the city, including those set up in the park to broadcast the mayor's speech for those standing far from the stage. The picture is plain, a black background and bold white block letters filling the screen:

WAKE UP
WAKE UP
DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES


The final image is an anatomical graphic of a human heart, displayed for about three seconds, and then the feed goes black again.

Confused murmurs sweep through the crowd as citizens resume tending to the injured and evacuating the area until official first responders arrive.

June 17-23; aftermath around the city.

Dualis Days continues as scheduled, though Mayor Dubanowski is unable to enjoy the festival, as she is spending the week in the hospital recovering from her injuries. A team of Iterations guard her door - no visitors allowed - but the news media frequently report updates on her condition. Nothing to worry about, folks! Return to your celebrations, and don't mind the increased visible presence of the Hand as Iterations are stationed every few blocks throughout the city. It's only for your protection, after all.
aleifr: (3)

[personal profile] aleifr 2019-06-24 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"If I stabbed you, they'd notice."

Blood, screaming, a giant fucking knife -- all of these tend to draw attention.
silentnarration: unknown artist (uh huh)

[personal profile] silentnarration 2019-06-25 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Squall tchs. It'd be interesting to find out if anyone here would react to actual violence but he's not going to be the guinea pig for it.

"Just do it..."
aleifr: (11)

[personal profile] aleifr 2019-06-26 07:26 am (UTC)(link)
All the invitation Aleifr needs. He pulls Squall over to him, inspects the tangle of belts one more time, and slips his knife underneath one of the belts that makes up the outermost layer. He turns the blade so that the cutting edge is facing him and works it back and forth until it's carved a deep groove into the leather, at which point he tears through it with one clean tug.

Then he goes to work on another, and another.
silentnarration: unknown artist (hmph)

[personal profile] silentnarration 2019-06-30 12:40 pm (UTC)(link)
As much as he wants to get out of this harness, it kind of pains him to watch these perfectly fine belts get torn to shreds. Better them than him though. He lets out a sigh of relief when things loosen enough that he can move his arms and proceeds to tug and yank at the rest to see if he can tug the whole thing off.

He grunts when he can finally pull the belt harness off and throw it aside, rubbing at his stiff arms after.

"Thanks..." Guess the guy isn't so bad after all.
aleifr: (6)

[personal profile] aleifr 2019-07-10 06:27 am (UTC)(link)
"You're welcome." Aleifr replies as he slips his knife back into it's sheathe.

And that's about it in terms of a verbal response. Might not be so bad, but he's definitely not chatty.
silentnarration: unknown artist (sulky)

[personal profile] silentnarration 2019-07-11 08:43 am (UTC)(link)
Squall sighs and finally takes in their surroundings. Some kind of event. Festival? The park is filling up.

"What are you celebrating?"