Teenagers Scare the Living Shit Out Of Me etc. etc.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Characters passing by the bulletin board may notice a new message tacked to it!]

Drinking party at the bar at 8pm. Under 21 only. Adults will be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Fun and games included, party hats optional. Don’t be late!

[Sure enough, there’s a gathering of teens (and maybe some not-so-teens?) to be found in the bar! While the posting mentions this is a teen only event, adults are in fact allowed as long as they are cool. OOCLY please be aware there are going to be teens drinking alcohol and possibly smoking! Also additionally, please let the teens/players have fun; again, adults are allowed but only if they’re cool enough to play along without snitching them out!

All party game top levels are going to be made under Ahito’s account but please assume ICly that Akira instigated/explained them! Once the game toplevels are up you can also post your own toplevels to mingle freely if you like IDK IT’S A PARTY HAVE FUN]

Comments

[shortleash]

( Cutting in— )

—And you didn't say anything?!

( THE CAUSE IN QUESTION, OBLIVIOUS, )

[mirristry]

[Once again, Phil flinches visibly, arms coming up to wrap around himself as though trying to shield himself from everyone's stares.]

I thought-- I thought it was just the consequence of overusing my magic...! I was sure it would come back once I'd gotten some rest...

[But, well. The rest is history.]

[troublereduction]

What about your— [ No, there are too many people here for him to say it, so he switches tracks. ]

Phil, that means your heart's unsettled. [ And...Day has suspected something was up for a while, ever since he carried Phil back to his room after the mission, but he thought it was mostly the illness and exhaustion taking its toll, not...

...Gods, he feels so stupid. ]

[mirristry]

[He knows. In truth, he'd known the real reason ever since he'd awakened with his emotions in a painful jumble... he's felt stretched far too thin ever since the mission in a way that no amount of rest can possibly heal.

But knowing something and accepting it are two different matters entirely, and if there is one thing Phil has never been good at, it's confronting the truth rather than hiding or trying to run away from it.]

[troublereduction]

...Phil.

[ Day's hands sort of just...clench and unclench for a moment, unsure what to do with themselves before he tentatively reaches out for Phil's hand. ]

I know you don't wanna talk about it. [ It hasn't escaped his notice how Phil has tried to be evasive in their conversations. ] But I... I think you're gonna have to, at some point.

[mirristry]

[He doesn't meet Day's eyes, just pulls his own hand away from that touch to clench it into a fist in his lap. If Day looks closely, he'll see that Phil's hands are shaking.]

... I'm all right.

[There's something sharp underlying those words, such a painfully obvious lie that he really doesn't know why he's even trying to tell it in the first place. But if nothing else, it should hopefully signal that this isn't a subject he wants to discuss right now, not when everyone's eyes are on him like this.]

[troublereduction]

[ Day is glad, for not the first time and probably not the last, that he's been schooled in not letting hurt show. Because it's understandable, really. He accidentally put this fine kettle of fish in front of everyone.

His gaze is downcast, still. ]

...Alright. [ Later. He'll make up for this later. ]

[shortleash]

( Mika isn't going to take a stab at the specific cause since that's already covered, but instead: )

It doesn't matter. You tell someone these things, even if it's small. If it ends up being bigger than you thought - like now - no one's gonna know to help.

( nag nag nag )

I don't care if you hate yourself and think you deserve everything bad that ever happens. You need to think about other people, too. All of us are working with you and we need you to be functional for that. If you don't want people helping you for yourself, at least let us help you for us.

( Otherwise, you're just flat-out selfish! )