action ☍ day one
[ in contrast to how light he feels, Beyond Birthday moves with the heaviness of solid, conscious reality: the first sign that he hasn't simply woken into another dream. the second is that he feels sharp and alert and when he counts seconds, he doesn't miss any -- his perception of time is accurate, rather than the vague awareness of dreams.
the third is that he's ravenously hungry. when he realizes it, his memory snaps into place and he panics: he wasn't here when he fell asleep, and he can't shake the vague knowledge regarding his surroundings, did L capture him before he finished his challenge, is he drugged--? but if that's the case, then L cheated rather than arresting him fair and square in the eyes of the public, which isn't the detective's style at all -- B should know, he's spent long years enough studying L's cases. so he can be fairly certain that he hasn't been abducted by L at least, and if there were a drug to combine in consciousness but separate in perception dreaming knowledge and waking awareness, he would have been aware of its existence long before abduction. B has his connections, his channels.
the downside to all of this analysis is that it's theoretical. he can't possibly figure anything out while he stays where he woke up, barring divine intervention which has never come through for him yet. in light of all this, B begins carefully treading through the streets in the general direction of where he's quite sure there's a deli, relaxing just enough to thoroughly digest his surroundings. ]
the third is that he's ravenously hungry. when he realizes it, his memory snaps into place and he panics: he wasn't here when he fell asleep, and he can't shake the vague knowledge regarding his surroundings, did L capture him before he finished his challenge, is he drugged--? but if that's the case, then L cheated rather than arresting him fair and square in the eyes of the public, which isn't the detective's style at all -- B should know, he's spent long years enough studying L's cases. so he can be fairly certain that he hasn't been abducted by L at least, and if there were a drug to combine in consciousness but separate in perception dreaming knowledge and waking awareness, he would have been aware of its existence long before abduction. B has his connections, his channels.
the downside to all of this analysis is that it's theoretical. he can't possibly figure anything out while he stays where he woke up, barring divine intervention which has never come through for him yet. in light of all this, B begins carefully treading through the streets in the general direction of where he's quite sure there's a deli, relaxing just enough to thoroughly digest his surroundings. ]