you understand, i got a plan for us.

[headandhand]

WHO: Errybody in the city
WHAT: Marker tag and NAPs
WHERE: Everywhere in the city for marker tag; the Spenny’s near the dorms for NAPs
WHEN: July 10-31 for marker tag; July 10-14 for NAPs
WARNINGS: Please use these if applicable!

To tag or not to tag - that is the question.

Welcome, one and all, to a long-running Dualis summer tradition: the annual city-wide Dualis Marker Tag Competition! For the next three weeks, all participants who accept the challenge will be given a marker and set free to tag any other participant in the city by making a mark on their skin, while attempting to avoid being tagged themselves. Careful, though - the ink marks last three weeks, so you’ll have to wait until the competition concludes to wash everything off.

Markers come in all colors, even fluorescent, glitter, and glow-in-the-dark, and you can use however many markers your inner child’s heart desires. These markers will leave marks even on people who have chosen not to play, but you can easily purchase an armband, headband, or similar accessory that says NONPARTICIPANT if you so desire. Marking nonparticipants is considered extremely bad form and wins you no prizes, but "misfires" do still happen, on occasion. It’s usually considered polite to offer a mistaken nonparticipant that you’ve marked a small reparation, like coffee or a more adult beverage.

Safe zones do exist! Any establishment can put out a sign that marks it as such - signs in shop windows, chalkboards outside bars, and the like; many do this, just to keep the general chaos and injury/property damage liability down. Tenants of private residences typically agree that their spaces are also safe zones, but that's up to y’all to hash out.

Have fun! And maybe try not to put anyone’s eye out, yeah?

I like to party and by party I mean NAPs.

Look at all of these bright, shining new faces! There’s even a few less bright, less shining 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, then 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?!

Plus, you get to hang out for a while at the intergalactically renowned Spenny’s Diner! Spenny’s is a declared safe zone from marker tag shenanigans - until you roll out of the door, at least. So pull up a chair, get to know your new neighbors, and enjoy a cup or two of Spenny’s famous Electric Shock coffee, which contains 900 milligrams of caffeine per cup. Hope you didn’t plan on sleeping tonight!

Comments

[silentnarration]

Does Nida have x-ray vision or something? Or is he that predictable? That's starting to become annoying - this everyone somehow knowing him better than he expects them to thing.

His frown deepens and reluctantly agrees he has to drop this for now. As competitive as he gets, he'll be miserable if he doesn't get lunch.

"Next time." That's a promise.

[skyward_eyes]

Yes, that's entirely possible. Knowing Squall well was a thing that some people could get into. Nida? Nida knew more about how Garden was trained to think, after all.

"Really? Which time is that, Sir?" Nida asks, popping his head over the edge to smile down at him. "I mean, you'd have to find me."

[silentnarration]

The ridiculousness of this and Nida poking his head down like that drags a slight smirk out of Squall, faint but definitely there. He holds the marker and straightens his arm to point it right at Nida.

"I will."

Maybe it's bizarre to be taking this so seriously, or to risk pushing buttons he doesn't quite understand yet, but he knows a good challenge when he sees it.

[skyward_eyes]

"Except the dorms are a safe zone, so unless you're going to try and blow your whole day trying to catch me, you're sort of doomed, aren't you? This is my specialty. Like you're better at cutting things with a gunblade."

Nida can avoid whatever he needs to, to enjoy this power he has over Squall right now.

[silentnarration]

Ugh. Smug bastard. He's just as bad as Seifer, just ten times more slippery.

"Don't look so smug. I'll find a way."

[skyward_eyes]

Maybe that's why Seifer and him ended up getting along. Maybe, if they'd talked back when they were kids, Nida would have ended up posse.

"But I understand that smug is just divine on my features."

Oh yes, he's grinning happily down at his 'boss'.

"Come on, I'm valuable with these skills. My contracts brought in SUCH gil."

[silentnarration]

Squall huffs and folds his arms.

"Whatever." He wins this time but only this time!! He's huffy for another moment before asking more casually. "Are you planning on staying up there all day?"

[skyward_eyes]

"Are you planning on some ill conceived revenge?" Nida counters, smiling as he looks down at Squall. What? This is what he does. Nesting is completely legitimate. This place doesn't even has as many good surfaces for things like this.

[silentnarration]

"Not right now," he admits. "I'm going to get lunch." He's running short on time before his shift starts again. He eyes Nida, debating if he should actually ask Nida to join him. But then he'd have to declare a temporary truce.

[skyward_eyes]

What, Squall, afraid of a truce? Nida would hold to it, provided you weren't underhanded.

"You should do that. Food is good for a growing body."

[silentnarration]

Squall is as straight-laced as it gets most of the time. He sighs and half-turns towards the door of the shop.

"You can come with. Safe zone rules."

[skyward_eyes]

Silently Nida considers the offer. How honorable is Squall? At last he stands and jumps down easily, marker tucked into his belt.

“You buying?”

[silentnarration]

Squall tucks his away too and holds his hands away from his sides casually. See? Truce.

"No way." He's not that generous.

[skyward_eyes]

"Ouch, sir. No consideration for your subordinates?" Nida asks as he starts walking with Squall, smiling to himself.

[silentnarration]

Squall rolls his eyes and turns to head into the cafe

"You're not working for me here, remember? And 200 duos a month isn't a lot." It's half the amount he should get considering he works full time hours. Not that he knows it.

[skyward_eyes]

"Well, you could go full time," Nida shrugs, because that would get him more pay, right? "And yeah, I don't make the big gil anymore."

Maybe he should bump up to full time.

[silentnarration]

"I am full time." He sure doesn't want to be at the store for longer than that. There's a short line at the counter so he steps in at the end of it.

"... what job did you get?" He realizes he has no idea. Nida just seems to come and go as he pleases.

[skyward_eyes]

"Mechanic. Apparently I picked up enough experience from the FH engineers and technicians to really earn it. And years of experience when I wasn't out on missions."

Was there a very light brush of bitterness to his voice? Yes. Yes there was.

[silentnarration]

That's right. Nida did work really closely with the engineers. He mulls over his words for a moment. He dimly remembers Nida making it clear he doesn't want anything to do with SeeD anymore.

"... is it what you want to do?"

[skyward_eyes]

What he wants to do? Nida doesn't even know. He sighs and tries to relax some.

"It's something I know how to do that doesn't hurt people. I want to live like a person who was never a mercenary. I want to be happy with the man I'm in love with. I just don't know how."

At all.

[silentnarration]

He's frowning again because of course he is. He's kind of glad he has an excuse to face forward for the conversation.

"Seifer said he's not going to go back. Are you... going to do the same?"

Because he knows that sentiment too well. Garden trained all semblance of normalcy out of them. There's just no easy way to adapt.

[skyward_eyes]

"If I have my way? No. I'm going to Earth with Billy.

That's where he belongs. At the side of the man he loves. Who loves him. He's trying his best to adapt to normalcy, though. How can he be involved with another person if he doesn't manage that.

"He's told me about his world. No monsters. No child soldiers. I'll manage it."

[silentnarration]

There's a flicker of emotion. He's trying to hide it by staring at the counter ahead. He's closer to Seifer but their friendship is heavily under construction. While Nida... He would actually miss having someone to talk to at the bridge.

He nods.

"Be happy. Wherever you end up."

[skyward_eyes]

"I'll try," Nida promises, and he does smile. Because Billy definitely brings him happiness. "May you find that wherever you are as well, Squall."

A more friendly statement from Nida than he normally gets, but there you go.

[silentnarration]

Strangely enough he can relate. He looks at Nida from the corner of his eyes and scratches at his cheek shyly, nodding.

"It'll be okay if I'm with Rinoa..." That's ultimately who matters in the end, isn't it? He'd been willing to throw it all away for her.