dualislogs | they show you how to swim

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!

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Loki has a nice cocktail in hand as the bell signifies he gets to join a new newcomer at their table for a round of questions and answers that may, at the very least prove momentarily entertaining. He smiles, raising an eyebrow as he takes a seat, setting his martini glass down on the table top. He's dressed casually, though for someone other than Loki, it still looks formal.

"Asking and answering inane questions on a monthly basis, evidently, interspersed with the occasional dinner, a good read. There's an establishment where you can drink and hurl axes at targets, though doing so while drunk is frowned upon." He makes a motion with his free hand. "There's also a park."

He's cleanly dressed, which Tidus definitely notices both as he approaches, and as he sits down. Doesn't remind him of a soldier, and it's a downgrade to the type of garbs worn by those of the high religion back in Spira—and this isn't Spira, so Tidus really shouldn't be forming any initial ideas about the guy on looks alone.

Doesn't mean he isn't, with his look-over of Loki not judgmental in either extreme, but one that makes Tidus pause. Wonder about the guy. And the particular point about throwing axes drunk sticks with him, when the rest of what he says (and his drink, his posture) certainly matches the dress of the man on the other side.

"You don't look like an axe-throwing kind of guy," he remarks, sounding sure of that.

Loki is certainly a man of contrasts, raised more by his mother than his father, more attuned to the finer principles of fashion, of conduct, but he also trained as a warrior from a very young age, adverse as the Asgardian people were to have a sorcerer for a king, he had to do his best to stand on equal footing with his tall, broad-shouldered and fair-haired warrior brother if he wanted to stand a chance at the throne. Now that all that was in the past, however, many old habits still remained.

Besides, Loki adored looking smart and the green brought out his eyes. It was, as the mortals called it, a win-win. He chuckles at Tidus' remark, rolling a shoulder in a shrug.

"Assumptions, then. What sort of guy do believe me to be?"

Too late to be even a little bit embarrassed, isn't it? At least the guy doesn't seem to take it bad (or not that bad), so Tidus cants his head, letting himself continue. Since he asked.

"The reading part fits." Definitely that. "Like...someone who has to read a lot for a living. An important position." Or what the consensus agrees to being important. Tidus doesn't want to say politician though, or high religion. Too fussy. "You're used to going out and being seen, so you think about how you dress. Even to a pool park."

He grins at the end of that, head nodding out in gesture of where they are.

"Am I close?"

He really is thinking some kind of official.

"Clever boy." It it's spoken lightly, either, and Loki actually sounds at least slightly impressed. "Though little of my reading was ever related to my position. Father preferred more...practical lessons." There was something about the boy, this apparently human boy that set him on edge, though, a strange sensation idling at the borders of his senses. Magic. A sorcerer? No. It was something more...encompassing. This one was one to watch, alright.

He inclines his head in greeting, smiling. "Prince Loki of Asgard. A pleasure." If he was going to keep an eye on this boy, he'd best be polite about it, at least for now.

Blink. Prince? Blink.

Prince.

"Oh." That's so storybook-esque that out of all of the tales Tidus has heard today—from mercenary schools to colonies living out in spaceships—it's this that makes him question his belief. Well, no, not really: the guy, Loki, definitely fits the bill if Tidus ever remembered anything about princes, but.

"Hiya." He's not sure if to be embarrassed, is sheepish anyway as he nods his head back. "Tidus. They really brought everyone to this place."

No one was too good for finding some cure, or whatever. Tidus couldn't feel more like he was satisfying his inner kid, but asks anyway, "What's it like being a prince?"

He chuckles at the boy's question, reminded painfully of mortals from Earth who had lost their sense of wonder centuries ago. "What's it like to be a prince? Are there none in your world? Even Earth has a few left, though admittedly they're more celebrities than leaders."

In retrospect, he and his brother had been the same, until one of them had taken the throne. "It's political. The people look to you for leadership, in combat and in matters of state."

Huh. Tidus listens, feeling he should know this, but the fact the title was political also escaped his memory. But how far back was he even digging into his memories to remember such a thing as a prince?

"Actually, 'til you said the word, I forgot they were a thing." His brow scrunches in thought. "It's something I...read once, I think. As a kid." And even then, his mind conjured up childish imagery, or a singular one: a picture book illustration, that the haze of the years since he must have seen it makes him see nothing but colours.

How much did used to exist though, before the war? His gaze had escaped the table with his thoughts, but Tidus looks back at Loki, smiling as he eases himself back into the present. Somewhat.

"A lot where I come from doesn't exist anymore." He gives a slight shrug of the shoulders. "But there's a big religion that says what people can and can't do. I guess it's similar."

Or the closest comparison he can come up with to politics.

"A lot where you've come from simply doesn't exist anymore?" He frowns at the thought, looking over to the boy curiously. "And that, I believe, defines religion in general, it's purpose at least." By the sounds of it, this religion seemed to run everything, and that was disconcerting to say the least.

He supposed it make sense the boy had never actually met a prince.

"Yeah, well, I dunno if they have as much say these days."

Tidus didn't miss the question, the potential interest. But there's a chance to move on from getting in too deep, so he takes it by nodding his head assuredly, arms cross over his lap.

"Say, if a guy wanted to learn more about this place..." There's some deliberate consideration being given to his words here, his expression unsure, brow pulled inward. "What's, uh, the best way to go about it? What's good to know? Got any advice?" A pause, and his face lightens. "Any good books?"

Someone knows enough to at least try to do a Discreet here. ...even if he isn't sure if that joke was the best thing to tack on.

Loki was nothing if not perceptive and he could identify when someone didn't want to talk about something. It only served to enhance his curiosity, but he could respect the boy's wishes for now.

"Books? Well, well." He smiles, arching an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "I mean no offense, of course, but I took you for a man of action, not academics, one better served exploring rather than reading."

Tidus will give a short laugh, absolutely deserved. There's no hurt feelings here, except for the faux defensive, "I've read!" Note: past tense, and the slightly-sheepish admittance, "magazines," that then carries on more naturally.

"But I wouldn't go anywhere without a map, you know? When you end up somewhere new, you don't know anything about it. It's good to listen to what people have to say."

He's been through this rodeo once, sort of. But the idea of exploring does make tilt his head some.

"Is there anywhere to go outside the city anyway? ...I haven't actually seen a map of this place, now that I mention them."

A map of the world, anyway. Did any exist, when the ones in charge wanted them to, well, stick around?

"Magazines! Please, forgive my assumptions, then." The glint of mischief in his eye and the curl of his lip proved he was certainly not serious and he may be playfully judging Tidus, but it was without malice. Tidus, after all, was quickly reminding Loki of a tall, strapping blond he was rather acquainted with on account of being his younger brother, albeit a much younger version. It's almost making his nostalgic and is definitely making him homesick for a world he'll never see again.

"There is a swamp out there, so I hear. Beyond that, I cannot say. I haven't ventured, and things have kept my attention well enough here." He was involved in things he wasn't comfortable walking away from for an extended period of time, but they weren't things to discuss with strangers, or at a government funded event. "As for a map, I doubt one exists. The city changes, you see."

"Yeah." Yeah, the layout does change, and it earns as much of a burrowed brow as it should. And also a more increasing interest than takes Tidus away from caring about what's outside the city so much as the city itself.

"Is that... I mean..." He's raised a hand, an extended forefinger. "How does that happen? Isn't that...really weird? Like." A pause. "Impossible?"

Because he knows it's not normal, but it's not even the kind of 'not normal' that at least he can follow. Cities just changing—Zanarkand was advanced, but it sure didn't shifts its roads or lose and add new buildings at random.

"Far from impossible. Matter is held together tangibly by forces of nature, which are easily manipulated with the proper application of will and opposing force. Why is a far better and more interesting question."

It was a question only marginally more interesting than the second, "And also how. While it's certainly possible, it would take a monumental degree of force, even moreso to maintain it. Either there is a sizeable reactor somewhere deep, or it's being generated. It's even possible it's achieved by perpetual motion, which would mean the process was begun with one large application of force, and set in it's movement. I've yet to perceive a pattern, however, and the perpetual motion theory would require it to be shifting on a course, like a train, but I digress."

So Tidus is following, and he's listening. Why isn't bad, though he doesn't still get the how that the prince seems to believe is easily achieved. And then Loki is offering potentials, and well.

Well.

It may be be somewhere around perpetual motion that the concentration in Tidus's eyes begins to fog in this attempt, his lips parting slightly in that implies there's a question, but that he also wouldn't know what that was, even if he asked it. Which may be why Tidus is silent when Loki finishes, still staring.

He blinks.

"...Okay."

Said, as if there's something to agree with in any of that. Like oh, yeah, that makes sense. Okay!

At his reaction, Loki laughs, shaking his head. "It's really inconsequential at the moment, isn't it?" He's seen that look before, when he was much younger and Thor had asked what powered a soul forge. He'd gone blank and glassed over halfway through Loki's explanation then, but that ha'd stopped him. He'd been too proud at his own knowledge.

"There are constants here, the dorms, the park. It's fairly straightforward to find some other establishments: this place for instance, the police precinct." He rolls a shoulder in a shrug. "It's as though it's all intentional."

He's left somewhat dumbfounded, but Tidus does recover, slowly. Takes what he can from Loki's theorising and translates it as something simpler in his mind ('Something somewhere can change the city') so he can at least return to the conversation. Somewhat.

"Mmm... I guess it is?" A rub to the back of his head. Recovery still in process. "I really don't get it," obviously, "but I mean... I figured this place was way ahead of anything I knew back home. Bringing us here, and everything."

Especially the everything part. Plenty vague, but something more to him.

"But you haven't ever looked at the new buildings, and it's kind of...seemed familiar to you? Does that make sense with what you were saying?"

"Yes, in a very basic sense." He breathed a sigh and looked thoughtful for a moment before reaching out, clearing space at the center of their table. "Allow me to demonstrate in a way that may make more sense to the visual learner." It had always worked with Thor. Maybe it would here as well.

He holds out his right hand, palm up, on the table, and in his palm manifests a floating illusionary projection of a semi-opaque glass orb. "A light sphere, or bulb as some call it, requires energy to illuminate. As you can see, currently, it is dull." And then he extends his left hand, above which appears in a small and rather simple model of a city, complete with tiny buildings, a central tower rather like the one in which they live, and a park. Beneath the streets of that city, a bundle of rotating and interlocking gears turns, their motion shifting sections of the model city in his hand. "This is where we are, hypothetically speaking," and as he explains, a shimmering thread of green energy drapes between the orb in his right hand at the model in his left, pulsing as the miniature city shifts, and with each pulls, a dull glow in the connected sphere grows brighter. "And the orb here is whatever the city is supposedly powering. Is it more clear now?"

The guy really didn't have to, but it's amazing all the same. Reminds Tidus for the briefest second of a projection of Zanarkand he'd seen back in Spira, but doesn't let himself make comparisons any further than that. Loki's talking, so he's listening.

"So, it's like...magic?" And there's something nagging then, when he thinks about it like that. Doesn't think of the city around them and instead the projection of one hovering Loki's palm with its less tangible form. Something separate from his own perception what a city is, if a city could be magic.

"Are we the energy?" But out of mouth, it doesn't sound so great—one of those things you should keep to yourself. Tidus's eyes flicker to Loki before turning away awkwardly. "Back home, there's uh... things. I dunno what they're called here, but they're something between memories and the dead, or their emotions. They're energy," really, if he gets down to it. "Pyreflies. They can use them in the machina. And sometimes...they turn into things. They can be powerful. They can do a lot of things, now that I think about it."

The press of his frown hardens, and he groans quietly, slouching with an arm on his knee to keep him propped.

"But it doesn't make sense if we're not... dead," he admits, the word taking a moment to come out while his eyes stick to the illusion. At least as far as he knew, living beings didn't just give off...energy, or whatever.

"This is magic, yes." He nods and closes his fists, the illusions dissolving into shimmering golden green mist before disappearing. "As for the city, I find that less likely. Magic and technology have similar origins, where I come from they are interchangeable, but here it seems less so. It's just as likely the shifting has nothing to do with power generation." And everything to do with keeping them confused, but it was a statement he left unspoken. They were always watching, after all.

"It's doubtful we're the energy, but such conversations are far too heaving for a 'meet and greet', wouldn't you agree?" He levels a meaningful gaze in Tidus' direction. No more talk of this here, boy, it said. Hopefully he got the hint.

Fiends, now, those were interesting and he perks up. "Pyreflies? Elaborate."

Edited 2019-11-28 18:19 (UTC)

Tidus doesn’t quite get it at first, but it doesn’t delay his nod in agreement all the same. Realising a moment after, that oh, right, it probably isn’t good to speculate the city too much.

The subject works though, even if Tidus starts slowly.

“I never really understood them myself. When people die, pyreflies gather where they fell, or when a summoner sends them. It’s...a way of helping them move on,” he clarifies. Tidus can still remember when he had to be told what sending meant. “But I think they’re everywhere, even when you don’t see them. They look like lights when you do — small colourful wisps that can gather and show you memories. Or when you’re in the water where they are, it’s like floating in air. You can breathe.”

His gaze have shifted elsewhere, away from the table— away from the park. A fond smile playing on his lips, a memory remembered; but he remembers as well to return to the conversation, if with the affection lingering on his tongue.

“They put them in a stadium pool for a sports game I play.” He raises a hand in meaningless gesture. “It helps you stay breathing through all the action going on. And there's spheres you can watch recordings on.”

"Are the pyreflies souls, or are they simply drawn to the energies of death?" It was a question posed more to himself than to the other man. It was a fascinating concept to ponder, after all. Asgardians had their own beliefs about death, but few could attest to their accuracy. He knew Helheim and Valhalla existed, that much was not up for debate, but the true nature of those places? It was difficult to say.

To learn that other worlds had different views of death? Beyond interesting. "What is a sending?"

“It’s a kind of dance. Summoners do it so that the souls of people who died can go to the Farplane. A…” what’s the best way to describe that? “...place where the dead go?"

Tidus looks at Loki, unsure. Did he sound really weird now, talking about the dead like this? “People don’t really know if it’s where the dead go—there's some who think it's all pyreflies and memories making the people you see there, but it seems plausible to me. Fiends usually appear where people die, but they haven’t where I’ve seen sendings. Or maybe it’s...all emotion. Or energy. And the summoner clears it.”

But he never gave that deeper thought to what it meant if the dead weren't involved. He just had his own thoughts and feelings about it.

"Aren't we all just a collection of memories?" It was no different from Valhalla, or the spirits who guide the souls to their final rest, not really. "Summoners must indeed be important to your culture, then."

they show you how to swim

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