dualislogs | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

At least now he has a goal and a task to distract himself in between finding a way back? Since, at least right now, Seifer was dead set on not returning. This would be Squall's only chance. Although he was right, it was a lot easier to start to sort things without the constant threat of those familiar things over their heads. No Garden. No Galbadia. No other responsibilities getting in the way. Just time to think.

"Yeah, yeah you were," A faint smirk. It was... actually kind of nice to see that despite all the shit they've been through he thinks there might have been an overall positive change for Squall. That's reassuring, at least. Now he just has to go his own way far away so he won't ruin it by existing himself. Although he freezes at the word, brows knit in confusion once more.

Friends. Squall considered them friends? What? "What?" Wanting to help, being called friend by Rinoa wasn't that striking, but to hear it from Squall? Now he doesn't know what to say again. Evidently they both have a really odd view of what counts as a friendship.

A distraction was good because Squall would be climbing walls by the end of the week otherwise. He didn't take sitting around and waiting very well.

He looked faintly embarrassed by Seifer's agreement and awkwardly ran a hand through his hair on the side of his head, eyes flicking to the side. Despite everything, he appreciated that his friends, especially Rinoa, drew this side of him back to the surface. He may have underestimated how embarrassing it could be confessing this though.

"You heard me."

Squall just needs help learning how to make his own distractions. That's where Seifer comes in, he's the master of finding ways to entertain himself. Not always without consequence. Although, that might also be part of the fun.

At least Seifer wasn't the only one incredibly uncomfortable by this conversation. This emotional roller coaster was really throwing him off-kilter. He wasn't ready for this, not even a little. At least with Squall being weird too he felt less self conscious in the face of Squall being self conscious. Funny how things worked.

"Nah, I don't think I did. I'm gonna need you to say that again." Is it because he's being an asshole or he genuinely thinks he misheard? The world will never know.

Or maybe it's both.

Squall knows how to entertain himself. He fights T-rexaurs! And train... and play Triple Triad... He has a lot of hobbies, really.

Squall frowned, clearly asking the same question in his head too. He sighed after a moment and leveled a steady gaze at Seifer.

"We're friends, so I have your back now."

He's going to have a hard time finding an outlet for... honestly all of those. Might be able to teach some people to play Triple Triad with him, but beyond that? Good luck, Leonhart. Maybe it's time to invest in some new hobbies.

"Just like that?"

He almost felt cheated that it was that easy. All he had to do, and suddenly they're friends? What the hell, Squall?

Wouldn't be the first time he got thrown into the deep end of experiencing things.

He nodded in response. It didn't have to be complicated, Seifer.

True, very true. Unfortunate as that is.

Yes it does! It's very complicated! "You don't make sense." He huffs, part annoyed part relieved. Should have expected that dealing with Squall would be more simple than he made it out to be. Squall had always been reliable, and not one to take offense. Or even take things personally. Though, honestly, he should maybe take a few things personally now and again.

Squall crosses his arms and looks away. "Neither do you." There's no heat to the words though. The weight of whatever was hanging over them seems to be gone. It's bizarre how easy some things could be when he opens up, even if that act alone is difficult.

There's still a lot to deal with between them but it's a start.

He's figuring out what to do now when an announcement blares that the festival kickoff is starting in thirty minutes and that people should make their way to the park in the center of Dualis.

Sounds like the place to go.

The act is difficult, and Seifer knows it all too well. Which is part of why he's willing to ease off seeing this side of Squall. He's not accustomed to anything beyond Squall's being closed off and hostile, so to see him honest and earnest... It's a shock. But more than that it means something.

And Seifer just can't ignore that no matter how much an asshole he is. They've by no means really cleared the air, but it's a start. A small foot in the door and that's a hell of a lot further than Seifer had ever expected. Especially on a first meeting!

At the sound he lifts his head, shooting Squall one final look then offering a shrug. They should go check things out.

ya gotta wanna be a battering ram

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