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.
silentnarration: (whatever)

[personal profile] silentnarration 2019-06-30 12:53 pm (UTC)(link)
He takes the toy plane back, giving it a cursory check for damage before holding it beside him.

"Flying wasn't part of my training. The closest I came was bringing a ship back to earth." By inputting controls for autopilot according to instructions. It really doesn't count. And why is he telling a stranger this anyway?
scathefires: (like you promised me)

[personal profile] scathefires 2019-08-04 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Why indeed. Sometimes you just gotta tell strangers about yourself - Jason's as guilty of this as anyone. And Squall's statement is a curious one, so OK, Jason will bite.

"So you weren't trained to be a pilot, but you brought a ship back from space? You just wing it, or what's the story there?"
silentnarration: unknown artist (meh)

[personal profile] silentnarration 2019-08-10 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Squall angles his head as he considers how to summarize the incident.

"We were lost in space and found the airship. Ground control taught me how to turn on auto-pilot and input the coordinates to get us home."

Yep that works.