dualislogs | kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it.

kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it.

WHO: Open to all residents
WHAT: Your regularly scheduled NAPs event for the month
WHERE: The RoCocoa Cat Cafe
WHEN: Aug. 10-14
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, 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?!

This month’s event is held at the brand new RoCocoa Cat Cafe, a sparkly new establishment that caters to children and the young at heart with iced and hot cocoa drinks of all kinds, delicious pastries, age-appropriate live music, and of course many friendly kitties who love to lounge in laps. The cats are of all shapes, sizes, and colors, including some who may look a little different from what you expect, or may look like an ordinary cat but are actually anything but ordinary underneath that adorable fur coat. All cats in the cafe are adoptable, too, if you meet a new furry friend and just can’t bear to go home without them!

So pull up a chair, get to know your new neighbors, and enjoy a sugary treat or two with the resident furbabies. You might just meet your new two- or four-legged best friend!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Definitely the latter. Though I did have a peacock-cat for a little while." She shrugs. She's never seen anything like some of these animals before, but she's been through enough weird nonsense that as long as they aren't actively trying to hurt her, she isn't going to worry about it.

"The definition of 'cat' does seem kinda loose here."

A...

Rinoa is evident with her surprise. She raises her eyebrows. "...A... peacock-cat?" It sounds pretty obvious and she knows what the two things are when they're separated, but still. She's having a difficult time imagining what that might look like.

"If these ones aren't being called cats, I wonder what they should be called instead."

"I dunno." She gives that some thought. What do you call something like what they have here? An extra long cat with far too many legs starts to rub on Steph's leg. She looks down at it.

"A centipuss, maybe?"

Rinoa laughs. "Centipuss?" Lifting a hand, she draws it down her face as she puts herself back together. That's probably the best thing she's heard since she arrived, really. Steph might not have much of a sense of humour, but... Well. Everyone needs a laugh every now and then and Rinoa's been a little short on those since her arrival. "Centipuss it is. Except not all of them look like this one."

She crouches down to offer Centipuss some pets, seeming not at all concerned with being examined by the alien feline form. "Aliens, I guess. I've seen some weird stuff, sure, but maybe these take the cake."

Steph grins. She has plenty of humor, especially in the dire sorts of situations this place puts them in. She's glad Rinoa appreciates her weird name.

"Are they technically alien if this is their home planet? But you're right, 'questionably feline cafe' doesn't really have the same ring to it."

"Good point. That makes us the aliens, right?"

Rinoa offers up her shoulders in a casual shrug, accompanied by the grin plastered across her expression. "Maybe that's why they're so affectionate. I bet they look at us, decide we really don't fit in, and they're trying to be welcoming. Or. They're trying to turn us into their slaaaaves." She draws up her arms and sways as if she's possessed, which really isn't that funny in hindsight considering she's rather acquainted with involuntary possession. But. Technicalities.

Maybe being the slave of an alien catform wouldn't be so bad in the end.

Steph snorts a laugh.

"Like they haven't already won that battle." She at least knows that cats consider humans their slaves. Plenty of humans act the part, too.

"I have a dog at home," Rinoa begins with a grin, "and she is the same way. She knows the moment she rolls on her side or her back, she's getting tummy rubs and probably some treats not far down the line. That animal has me wrapped around her furry paw." But she doesn't seem to mind. If she's going to be a slave to anything, let it be an animal. Her head tips as she beams radiantly. "Do you have any pets?"

"Not since the peacat," she shakes her head. "And that one was basically taking care of me, not the other way around. But animals are expensive, you know?"

How much does Rinoa really know about money? Considering she grew up the daughter of a military man, and an overprotective one at that, it's very likely that... Well. She may not understand the value of hard-earned work. And many could say that her 'work' with the Timber resistance faction was not actually work at all, but more like a glorious escapade that Rinoa didn't have the knowledge to take more seriously.

She hums a little to herself contemplatively, trying to line up Angelo's expenses. "I guess that's true, isn't it?" Forefinger tapping the tip of her nose, she continues, "I don't think I thought about it that way. You don't miss your peacat at all, though?"

She shrugs, hands shoved in her pockets.

"Sometimes. It was a long time ago. A lifetime, even." She grins at her own bad joke. She's not sure how she came back to Gotham after the village, but it's easier to go on thinking that she died and was brought back.

"A lifetime?" Rinoa asks. The humour's lost on her, but as she really gives it thought, Time Compression felt like that, too. But that's the thing. The word 'time' gets involved and things get a little fuzzy for her. Between sorceress possession and the whole thing with Ultimecia... Rinoa really has no idea just how much time elapsed during all of that. She doubts anyone else she knows could give her much of an answer.

"Well, you're here now, right? So it's the here and the now that matters!" After a pause, she adds with a smile, "And the future, of course. Did any of your friends come with you here, or is it just you?" She hopes it's not another Heather situation, honestly. Rinoa's not sure how much her heart can take.

She just shrugs. It was a private joke, really. She can never resist poking fun at her own death.

"A few. Apparently it's a popular choice."

"...Wait, wait. Wait a moment," Rinoa cocks an eyebrow, unable to help the incredulous expression that begins to spread across her features. "You're telling me that people can volunteer to come here?"

She laughs and shakes her head, "No way. I didn't see anything about that being covered in the brochure." And the joke there is that Rinoa did not, in fact, get a brochure at all. To be fair, even if she had, she doubts it would have softened the discovery of any of this.

"That was a joke," she points out sheepishly. She can be too dry for her own good sometimes... or maybe she's just not that funny. No one can say for sure.

"There's just a lot of us that know each other, you know? It's kinda freaky."

Nah. Steph's plenty funny. Rinoa just didn't get it, as is evident by the expression on her face. Or maybe after her conversation with Heather, being stuck in the city is quite possibly not very amusing. Might be different if she were the same Rinoa from the village in question.

"So you think it's... foul play maybe?" Rinoa taps at her chin with some consideration. "Intentional? Now that you're saying it... there's a few people here I know, too." But different timelines. Rinoa isn't certain that actually counts.

"It's definitely not fair play." She shrugs. She can't see any real reason for the city to want people from the same places, but she never did figure out how the mechanism worked.

"Who knows?"

Rinoa cracks the hint of a curve in the mouth at her response. That's certainly one way of putting it.

"I guess that's just another unanswered question of mine to be added to the proverbial pile," she agrees with a subtle nod. "Seems like I've been finding a lot of those since I've arrived here. But what's that saying? Beggars can't be choosers, right? It's obvious which side of that we're all on."

Stretching an arm above her head, "Whatever the case is, they don't know who they're dealing with. I always get my way in some fashion." Which isn't really true, but like so many other times before, Rinoa must wear the face of optimism.

Steph grins widely, restraining a laugh.

"Do you? Good to know. Remind me to keep you on my good side."

If she's convincing, she'll consider that a 'win' in her book. She's not wholly certain of her own abilities, but she certainly tries to get what she wants. Usually for the right and proper reason, too.

She pauses a moment and flashes a smile in return. "Well, you seem great, and it's not easy to get on my bad side. You'll probably never see it."

She tries to recall if anyone ever has, really. Rinoa is almost positive that she has only shown slivers of displeasure. Never anything that's genuinely constituted as a bad side.

"Aww, thanks." She'll take the compliment, even if Rinoa has only just met her. Now, though, she glances at her watch.

"I'd better find a seat. I think they're gonna start soon."

It's only dawned on her that she hasn't been keeping track of time. Who knows how many people Rinoa has pulled aside thoughtlessly at this juncture. She pauses and after a moment, issues a laugh. "Sorry for keeping you. It's good to meet you. I'll have to catch you again and maybe you can tell me a little bit more about this Village you made mention of."

Because as ever, Rinoa remains on the hunt to learn more about the self she's unfamiliar with.

"No worries! I'll probably hang around after, too." Of course, Steph didn't know that other Rinoa very well, but she certainly has stories about the village.

She gives Rinoa one last parting wave before heading over to find a seat.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject