they show you how to swim

[headandhand]

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!

Comments

[theirondragon]

Once he'd gotten to his room, Bull had gingerly taken a seat on one of the beds, testing its stability and trying to sort through all the weird shit he'd encountered on the way here. The cars he could sort of follow, they were machines fueled by some sort of power. The lights? Maybe magic, maybe something else. He grew up in a communal atmosphere, though, helping his Tamassran raise the others, so living with someone else wasn't a bother.

If he was honest, it was a blessing. Less quiet, less chance to think too much about all the stuff going on out there, or how he came to be here. Her footsteps were quiet outside the door, so it opening was his first indication anyone else was here. She was a pretty little wisp of a thing, but so was his boss back home. That didn't mean anything.

And she was staring, but that was okay, too. If they were sharing this space, they were going to be reaaally comfortable. He grinned.

"The Iron Bull," and he inclined his head as he said it. "Nice to meet you, Yuna."

[whereishe]

Yuna placed her bags on the remaining bed before taking a look at the rest of the room. It appeared small but that might simply be because her new roommate took up a large chunk of the space. She didn't mind. She wasn't too picky about where she slept.

"The Iron Bull." She repeated his name slowly, committing it to memory and then smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

She hesitated for only a moment before adding. "I've never seen anyone quite like you before. Do you mind if I ask where you are from?"

[theirondragon]

"Yeah, that's it." He nods in satisfaction as he leans forward, elbows on his knees. "I like article at the front. You got it right." A lot of people liked to drop it, which left him feeling, well, something lesser than himself. His people didn't have names, and so they made their own.

He grins more broadly. "Nah. Probably won't mean anything to you, though. I'm from up north, continent of Par Vollen."

[whereishe]

Yuna smiled. "Right. I'll make sure I remember."

She took a seat on the bed that she assumed was hers and took another look around. Yuna wasn't sure what to think of this room or of this city. It was all a little strange. "It doesn't but I like to know. Should I meet anyone else from that continent, now I know." She met his gaze as she continued. "So what do you think of this city? It's a little strange, isn't it?"

[theirondragon]

"Good. Then we'll get along fine."

He nodded. She has a simple viewpoint, direct. He liked that. "Strange is one way describe it. What about you, though. Where are you from?"

[whereishe]

She should have expected that he'd ask her but Yuna was so used to people already knowing who she was. It felt odd to introduce herself after being a celebrity for over two years. "I'm from the island of Besaid. It's a beautiful place but small. I don't spend a lot of time there anymore." Ever since she'd become a summoner, her life had taken unexpected turns.

"I actually spent a lot of time traveling. That might be why I can take things in stride here. It's just another place though I can't say I know much about it. Spira doesn't really have big cities like this."

[theirondragon]

"There aren't many back home, either, at least not down south, unless you check out Orlais, but it's still nothing like this." He makes a vague sort of gesture toward the window overlooking the city below. He watches her for a moment before continuing. "So, who're you back home, huh? You seem surprised."

[whereishe]

"Oh. I guess I am but I shouldn't be. I was a Summoner before the Final Calm. The summoners were charged with the task of defeating a large fiend we called Sin. After the Final Calm, Sin was finally gone and I got used to being known because it was my friends and I who faced him. It's nice." Her fingers brush against her lower lip as she smiles. "I never expected a journey quite like this."