dualislogs | they show you how to swim

WHO: All Dualizens, old and new
WHAT: Your regularly scheduled NAPs event for the month
WHERE: Dualis Oasis
WHEN: Nov. 7-10
WARNINGS: Please use these if applicable!

Look at all of these bright, shining new faces! There’s even a few less bright, less shining faces - maybe even a few folks without faces - but hey, this city welcomes all types. Chances are, if you’ve just arrived, you're seeing some pretty crazy things, unless you're used to an eye-blinding amount of neon, robots, weird-ass technology, magic, and an omnipresent police force...and hey, if you are, congrats, you're gonna settle in juuuuust fine. But for the rest of you, the Head knows this has gotta be pretty overwhelming, right?

Well, since your quaint individual processing units are probably having a hard time, why not link up with another one? By which the Head means...

Hello, new citizens of Dualis,
and welcome to your monthly Network Adjacency Protocol~!

NAPs are a monthly community networking event similar to the Earth concept of speed dating! Two citizens (new arrivals and old hands alike) are placed at a table together with a handy cue card of queries to help break the proverbial ice. Ask queries and receive results, or ignore the card and yeet yourself straight into a brand new friendship! But don't be too shy, you've only got ten minutes together, and if you just sit in silence for the whole ten, the Network Admins are likely to come supervise and try to repair the uplink through a mild shock to the ol' central nervous system. You might find yourself saying all sorts of unintended facts about yourself if that happens...probably better to just make friends, right? Who doesn’t like friends?!

The weather outside may be taking a turn toward chilly, but you can still get your swim on during this month’s NAPs, held at the Dualis Oasis, an indoor temperature-controlled aquatic amusement park with giant slides, swimming pools, and lazy winding float rivers. Appropriate swimming gear is required for entry to this part of the park, but there are a number of shops just outside that will gladly sell you swimwear and accessories.

For those of you who wish to avoid a humid environment or just hate fun, a dehumidified lounge and restaurant offer quieter, dryer spaces for chatting and snacking. The actual speed-friending itself is in progress here, but you’re welcome to stick around and continue conversations with your new friends.

So c’mon, what are you waiting for? Just dive right in for fun and friendship - the water’s fine, fine, fine, just like everything else in this fair city. But hey, remember to play safe. No running!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After he's had his own fun talking to people, Bull decides to move the next time the bell rings, and he smiles amicably as he takes a careful seat on the stool clearly not designed for a guy half his size.

"Nice to meet you, Aqua. I'm The Iron Bull." He makes a motion toward her hair. "Aqua, like the color, right? I like that."

"It's nice to meet you-" She falters just slightly before trying to push ahead. At least she's trying! "-the Iron Bull." The comment about her hair has her lifting a hand to brush some of the blue strands away from her face. "I guess so. I don't know if I was named for my hair or something else."

To be honest, she only remembers a life of training with Master Eraqus. Who knows what came before that?

"Have you been here long?"

"Whether or not that's why, blue's a good color on you." He smiles as he says it. It's a gentle statement, and not overtly sexual. Honestly, he means just what he said. He gives a shake of his head at her question, though, rolling his shoulder in a shrug.

"Nah, just a couple days. You?"

"Thank you," Aqua says, trying very hard not to blush. She isn't used to compliments, even if they are completely innocent ones. Maybe one day she'll get used to it, but it hasn't happened yet.

"A few months, actually," she admits. "At least three, though I think it's actually been four by now. I was... brought here right before the bombing."

"Bombing?" That sounded pretty important and he leaned forward, weight on his elbows resting on his knees, interested. "Sounds like I got a lot of catching up to do."

Aqua hesitates. Not because she doesn't want to talk about it all, but more because she doesn't think their current environment is really good for that sort of talk. She might not be good at being subtle, but Seifer's words at the bombing come back to her now. She doesn't want either of them to suddenly be seen as targets.

"There was a bombing by a resistance group calling themselves the Heart," she explains, keeping the details to what has already been established in public. "A lot of people were very seriously hurt. I was there when it happened and I did what I could to help the people who were injured. It was... a really stressful time for a lot of people."

He raises a hand to stop her before she gets too detailed, even before she starts to ebb the topic herself. He may not be familiar with modern surveillance equipment, but he knows this sort of gathering, organized by the people who brought them here, was most likely monitored. Talking about a resistance group was probably a red flag.

"Head and Heart. Cute." He nods. "What's your favorite dessert?"

They can get into talking about the real details later, when they aren't at a function with Iterations and the mayor and who knows what else. Aqua isn't much of one for secrets or subtlety, but even she recognizes the risks here. And even if she doesn't agree with the Heart's methods, she understands their reasoning and she won't out them if she can help it.

"Mm," she says in agreement, nodding. The sudden question has her tilting her head a little bit in thought. Her mind immediately lands on something she'd only had once, something that was made for her, Ven, and Terra. A small smile crosses her face at the memory. "Royalberry Ice Cream. I've only had it once, but it was a gift." She'd won it by being a hero, but she won't ever say that outright. Too boastful and not at all like her. "It tasted like raspberry with a hint of something sour underneath the sweet."

Food is always a topic the Bull can agree on. It was one of the reasons he'd selected it in the first place. He looks pretty impressed at the description, and nods, grinning.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. I'm not really sure what ice cream is, though. Iced milk?"

The idea that someone might not know what ice cream is had never occurred to Aqua. Surprise colors her face for a minute.

"You've never had ice cream?" She can't really imagine that, but she supposes some worlds might not have the same things, with or without the Prize Pod ingredients.

"It's frozen. So think of a flavor that's been creamed and frozen. It's dairy dessert, but very smooth and cold. A lot of people really like it."

they show you how to swim

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